Halloween Horrorfest 2018: JOHNNY GRUESOME (2018)

Through the first act of this Greg Lamberson joint, I wasn’t sure what exactly the tone of the movie was.  There was a feeling that maybe Lamberson was taking this very basic story--guy gets  generally tormented, guy gets killed, guy’s death is made to look like an accident, guy comes back, guy gets revenge on those who tormented him and killed him in life--too seriously. 

And then there’s this glorious scene where two gravediggers bitch about their lives while Johnny’s corpse comes stumbling across the background.

What Lamberson has done is what some of the goofsin the Neo-Grindhouse movement (like the guy who made frickin’ Zombie Hunter) wishes they could--he’s recreated the first effort in an 80‘s slasher franchise.  The film wears its low budget nature as a badge, sticks with practical effects, and concentrates on creating a monster that can be used again and again in subsequent Johnny Gruesome films (presumably with diminishing returns).  This is a film that embraces grindhouse sensibilities and creates a scenario that fits in well right next to the Mary Lou Maloneys and Angelas of 80‘s horror cinema.



Based on Lamberson’s novel of the same name, the emphasis of this film is on telling a story as opposed to emulating the Grimy Cool that wasn’t necessarily always there in actual Grindhouse Cinema.  Quite the opposite, in fact--Lamberson manages to make the gore and carnage fun (how can you not when there’s a scene where Johnny Gruesome suffocates his high school principal with a bag full of his own guts?) while also emphasizing the horror of what is happening.  This film knows that the humor stands out more when it’s used sparingly, picking and choosing the best spots for it. 

There are some problems with the film.  I wasn’t quite sold on Anthony De La Torre’s take on Johnny; he doesn’t quite attain the level of menace I think was needed to sell me on his character.  Two relationships central to the plot aren’t quite developed enough, leading to set pieces (including one that is supposed to provide our hero’s motivations in the final act) that don’t quite make sense.  And the mythology needed a little more heft (Why does running water hurt a revenant?  We’re never told, and it nags throughout the rest of the narrative.).

I do want to point out some of the other actors, who are genuinely good.  Playing the villain, Chris Modrzynski acquits himself quite nicely--of course, it helps that he has one of the most punchable faces I’ve ever seen.  When she’s called upon to play someone crushed by PTSD into numbness in the second half, the singularly named AprilAnn is pretty decent.  Michael DeLorenzo looks at first to be a cardboard Deadbeat Dad, but reveals some nuance in the character after Johnny is killed.  And I would be remiss if I did not mention Jon Cesar, who gets one of the biggest laughs in the second of his two scenes as the comic shop/coffee bar/model kit store...to be honest, I’m not sure what the business model of that place is...Blind Bill.  These performances help bolster the film when it sags, and gives it a momentum it might not otherwise have.

I would recommend this film, especially if you want to understand what a real grindhouse experience is like. 

You can still head over to my Twitter Page to vote on tomorrow’s Halloween Horrorfest Movie of the Day.  I am most likely going to hibernate for several days come November 1st, so enjoy this final stretch!