Filth to Ashes, Flesh to Dust (2011)

Directed by Paul Morrell

Starring Meredith Lane, Linda Bella and Allison Ochmanek

Runtime 90min. - Unrated

Zero Stars

Normally I provide links to V.O.D services. I feel morally obligated to leave them out of this review. I also feel obligated to tell you the DVD is available on Amazon.com - avoid it at all costs.

This movie is one ripe piece of shit. I am a long-time fan of micro-budget horror films and I even have made an acquaintance in filmmaker Charles Cullen. Charles makes films on the lowest budget imaginable. So I know a better movie can be made for $18,000 than the thoughtless piece of shit Paul Morrell has made. Did I mention it's a piece of shit?

The movie apparently made $86,000 even though it was only on 11 screens. That bit of information is what led me to seek out the film. Now I'm wondering who the audience was. Were those 11 theaters filled with mentally disabled adults from some sort of outreach program? It seems that would be the target audience. I'm not trying to be insensitive towards the disabled. In fact, I believe they deserve much better than what this film offers. It just seems to me that something so shallow could only be enjoyed by people with inhibited mental faculties.

I'll try to briefly summarize the plot, though I don't think it will matter much.

A group of friends go out to a remote location to get the scoop on a local serial killer. The killer is named Purge because of his tendency to kill what he considers "undesirables". That includes any non-whites and anyone who may lead a morally bankrupt life. Purge's requirements for deeming someone kill-worthy seem to be quite low. I sadly note that this sentence concludes the synopsis of the entire film.

The plot alone is enough to make the movie bad, but not this bad. This is by far one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Some movies are so bad that you at least get a chuckle out of it. Not this one. It gives the impression that the filmmaker put everything he had into it and failed miserably. I did laugh occasionally, but I was laughing at the film and not with it.

The film needs no further review but I'd like to name some specifics that make it so awful.

The characters tell us that the killer chooses his victims based on their lifestyle and race. He apparently adheres to a strict moral code. Why is this stupid? The killer is mute. He doesn't have one line in the entire film. How does a mute killer become notorious for his moral code?

Two of the main characters know exactly where this killer lives. They just drive out there and he starts picking them off. How do a couple of average kids know the whereabouts of a serial killer? If its common knowledge, then why have the authorities not arrested this man?

Purge's hideout only contains instruments of death and some old newspapers. There is no explanation about how he sustains himself. His clothes are trashy and permanently stained with blood. However, he manages to keep his mustache and goatee perfectly groomed. 

All of the kill scenes are stupid. The first one is just Purge stepping on someone's face. They die instantly. There is one kill scene that tops all the others in terms of ridiculousness. Purge punches a girl through her back and all the way out the other side. He leaves a gaping fist-size hole right in the middle of her chest. 

A girl walks up to the front door of her friend's house with a pump-action shotgun. They are getting ready to go rescue their friends. Upon seeing the shotgun he gives her an incredulous look. Her response is "I live in a rough neighborhood". Really? I'm not sure many people regularly carry shotguns around because they live in the "hood". I can understand a handgun. But a shotgun? I'm just not buying it.

The aforementioned shotgun is pointed at the killer's head on numerous occasions. Do they pull the trigger? No. They try to escape without violence even though he's already maimed, killed and beheaded over half of their friends. When they point the gun at him for about the hundredth time they finally pull the trigger. It jams up and they toss it to the ground.

All of these issues compound and make the movie terrible, yet that's not why I didn't enjoy myself. The problem I have is with its lack of originality. When you are operating on a small budget it is of the utmost importance to have unique ideas. Filmmakers like Sean Tretta, Travis Betz and Gregory Hatanaka have that creative edge. Paul Morrell does not.

What concerns me most is the $86,000 that this movie made. I'm afraid it may convince this crew to make another film. That wouldn't be a horror, but a tragedy.