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Category:    Home > Reviews > Horror > Slasher > Supernatural > Demonic Possession > Easter Sunday (2014/Camp Motion Pictures DVD)/Lake Eerie (2016/MVD Visual/Film Rise DVD)/Split (2016/Kampmeier/Candy Factory DVD)

Easter Sunday (2014/Camp Motion Pictures DVD)/Lake Eerie (2016/MVD DVD)/Split (2016/Kampmeier/Candy Factory DVD)



Picture: C/B-/B Sound: B-/B-/B Extras: C/D/D Film: C-/C/C+



Easter Sunday


An attempt at Holiday horror, Easter Sunday (2014) is a micro-budgeted indie that takes the slasher film formula and mixes it with crude humor that consists of more groans than screams.


Obviously shot digitally but altered in post to look like a '70 or '80s video nasty or grindhouse-type film, the film achieves this look and it's goal of being a Z-grade slasher but doesn't offer up anything particularly groundbreaking or inventive enough to leave a lasting impression.


The film stars Robert Z'Dar, Jeremy Todd Morehead, and Ari Lehman (the first Jason in Friday the 13th) to name a few.


A small town is stalked by a bunny mask wearing killer with an axe that is relentlessly hacking to death every human that crosses his path. Thought to be a long dead deranged serial killer named Douglas Fisher, who viscously killed a bunch of innocents on Easter Sunday, a group of kids conjure up the killer during a campfire ritual and are soon running for their lives.


Presented in 1.78:1 widescreen with a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track, the film doesn't look too bad on DVD and doesn't really necessitate a Blu-ray release either. The best aspect of the film is its score by Dave Ferguson, which mimics the work of John Carpenter.


Special Features include...


Behind the Scenes Mini-Doc


Trailer Vault



Easter Sunday is a challenge to sit through in how incredibly dumb its script is, but may amaze some who don't aim high for horror.



Lake Eerie


Chris Majors' low budget indie Lake Eerie (2016) is a supernatural haunted house horror film in the same vein as What Lies Beneath in that it takes place by a river and has a ghostly presence in a seemingly perfect house that has gone bad. Featuring Betsy Baker (the original Evil Dead), B-Movie Icon Lance Henriksen (TV's Millennium, Pumpkinhead, Aliens), a more than a cameo by Marilyn Ghigliotti (Clerks) and a score by Harry Manfredini (Friday the 13th), the film has these three things going for it but unfortunately isn't anything we haven't seen before.


Kate (Meredith Majors - who also helped write the film) is a young widow who moves into a house near a lake. As soon as she moves in, she immediately starts to notice several strange and bizarre things happening. With the help of her bizarre neighbor (Baker), her father Pop (Henriksen), Kate struggles to adapt to her new lifestyle. However, as she soon discovers, the longer she stays inside his haunted house, the more power it feeds off of her.


The standard definition presentation of Lake Eerie has a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track that looks and sounds good enough but not very impressive. The color correction is a bit underwhelming with shots that don't feature as much contrast as they certainly could. The score by Harry Manfredini is fantastic and really helps give the film life.


No Extras.



Split


Not to be confused with the recent M. Night Shymalan film, Split (2016) is a very dark and immersive film that certainly is for acquired tastes. Directed by Deborah Kampneier, the film stars Amy Ferguson, Morgan Spector, Anna Mouglalis, and Fredrick Lehne to name a few.


The film is a visceral mix of theater performance, dreams, and reality - centering around the disturbing life of a young actress (and sometimes stripper) named Inanna, who falls in love with a mask maker and discovers herself sexually and spiritually through a bizarre series of events.


Presented in standard definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78 and a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround mix, the film looks better than expected on DVD with a unique color palette and an unsettling score that helps channel the darker themes of the film. An HD release could be benefit to help bring out some more of the detail in the cinematography and help make the sound mix more intimate as well.


The disc simply features the film itself. No extras or menus of any sort.


If you're a fan of Lars Von Trier films or movies of that tone and nature, then this Split may be up your alley. For all of its artistic merits, the film tends to beat you over the head with some of its themes a bit too much and at some points feels like its aiming to put as much nudity and unsettling imagery on the screen as possible.



- James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/


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