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CREEPY TALES 2: GIRLS NIGHT OUT
Produced by Neal Hagelgans, Joe Heffernan, Scott Schiaffo, Charlie Shumacher, and Michael Russin
Directed by Michael Russin
Written by Jayson Palmer and Michael Russin
Edited by Schott Schiaffo and Michael Russin
Directors of Photography - Neal Hagelgans, Charlie Shumacher, and Michael P. RussinThe Professor - Michael J. Heffernan
Tina - Samantha Turk
Marie - Bianca Chavers
Nikki - Kimberly Hiss
Cindy - Nicole Cicchella
Mo/Ronald - Scott Schiaffo
Laura - Francine CivelloThe Professor is back and I couldn't be happier. There are number of horror hosts still working the public access channels across America, but those guys are pretty tame compared to our guy. Maybe it's because he's not on television and instead hosts a series of feature length anthologies that The Professor is allowed to let his darkly savage wit run wild. Consider his opening bit where he drinks the last drop of his Bloody Mary. The Professor calls for Mary and the zombie-like woman shuffles in. He jams an old-time beer tap into her neck, turns the flow, and fills his glass.
That scene pretty much sums up the tone of CinemaSky Productions' CREEPY TALES 2: GIRLS NIGHT OUT, a movie that I'd been assured by director Mike Russin for the past year and a half would be far superior to the first CREEPY TALES. Mike lived up to his promise with the exception of my one true gripe regarding CREEPY TALES...that the tales weren't creepy enough. While far more developed than their predecessors, with a stronger emphasis on character, the shorts this time around play like a no-budget Twilight Zone. As campfire stories, they'd work perfectly.
To compensate for the lack of creepiness, Russin and crew decided to do the next best thing, make the movie as fun as possible. Pretty much everything is amped up from the first movie. The writing is superior, the acting is better, and the all-around storytelling is taken up a few notches with an emphasis on dark humor. There's also a stronger emphasis on the ladies this time around. More so than the improvements in technical polish, I was simply amazed at the wealth of talented eye candy Russin and gang were able to pack into this movie. The majority of the cast could comprise a who's who of New Jersey's most gorgeous.
The title short, GIRLS NIGHT OUT, plays up this angle. Tina and Marie are getting ready for a evening out. Tina is sure and confident in her beauty. Marie isn't. And like any best friend, Tina uses this to amuse herself.
The short is a Murphy's Law of out-on-the-town paranoia. Anything that can go wrong to these ladies does. There's an escaped mental patient on the loose. A rapist running about. A chase through the woods in high heels...and these ladies just can't get a break. The only thing that gets them through the night is their sisterly loyalty.
Of the shorts presented, this is my favorite. The pace is quick, Russin shows more visual flair this time around and it keeps things moving. Editing conventions like inter-cutting and jump-cutting that Russin didn't employ the first time around and utilized to a high degree but never to a disorienting effect. The ending doesn't have the punch it needs, but it's so randomly strange that it works.
In the second short, titled THE CREEP, Nikki is a lawyer, growing paranoid of the man who stares at her everyday in her favorite eatery. Her best friend Cindy, portrayed by Nicole Cicchella (a gal so stunning that Casanova would stutter thought his best come-on), tries to reassure Nikki that it's all in her head. It's not long before Nikki's paranoia eats away at her to the point where she loses her sanity.
In terms of execution, THE CREEP is the weakest of the set. In terms of storytelling, it's the loosest and most fun. Sure, you can see the final twist coming a mile away, but the journey getting there is so much enjoyable that the ending is forgivable. Nicole Cicchella is every bit as hysterical as she is gorgeous while playing the quintessential Jersey Girl. Russin and Scott Scott Schiaffo, in supporting roles that parody Jay and Silent Bob, are every bit the endearing lunkheads as the characters they mock.
BLOOD MOON RISING is the most serious of the bunch, and almost feels out of place. Ronald is grumpy crippled millionaire who can't get over losing his wife and child. Laura is his golddigging nurse who plans to marry and kill the curmudgeon.
More so than the other two shorts, BLOOD MOON RISING is all about character and story. It's the most developed and well-rounded of the bunch with lingering scenes of everyday chit chat defining the ordinariness of each player. The down to Earth nature of the piece lends a helping hand of everyday evil. The final twist goes for supernatural angle that undermines the preceding 45 minutes. Something more confrontational would have worked better.
Credit has to be given to the Michael Russin and his filmmaking pals, they didn't give up until the got it right. Though not without its faults, CREEPY TALES 2: GIRLS NIGHT OUT is that rare sequel that surpasses everything about the original.