DEATH FACTORY
PLOT-A group of friends decide to "party" in an old abandoned factory, unaware that an evil mutant creature lurks inside.
VIOLENCE-Lots of blood in this one. The camera lingers on several scenes of people being ripped up by the monster.
SEX/NUDITY-Two scenes of typical "horror movie sex", where an actress is seen topless briefly before getting killed.
WHY I WATCHED IT-I'm a big fan of Tiffany Shepis, who plays the monster in DEATH FACTORY. Usually her roles aren't very big, so it was cool to see her in such a part. Plus, it really showed that she's capable of pulling off many different things onscreen (and I'm not just talking about heads and arms). If you've ever seen her segments on TROMA'S EDGE TV, you're probably familiar with the one where she goes psycho and cuts up her own mother with a meat cleaver. Covered in blood, Tiffany smiles and laughs, then goes back and forth into fits of rage. All in the name of Tromatic comedy, of course. It was then that I realized how much Tiffany really could do as an actor if given the chance, and DEATH FACTORY is but a hint of that. She's awesome in this, snarling and spitting blood. A genuinely scary performance, in line with Brinke Stevens's in the end of HAUNTING FEAR and Debbie Rochon's final wraparound scene in HELLBLOCK 13.
THE DOPE-This movie has a very standard horror formula: A bunch of teenagers (played by people who are much older) that would normally never have anything to do with one another (a latina thug chick, a punk rocker, a jock, a constantly laughing black guy, etc) go exploring in a place that nobody in their right mind would step into. They drink, they have sex, they die one by one in horrible ways, and there's a twist ending just like FUNHOUSE or any number of 80's flicks. Some might moan and groan at how familiar the setup is, but I actually enjoyed DEATH FACTORY because of its simplicity & purity. I'm not sure if the filmmakers set out to deliberately make everything so cheesy, but that really doesn't matter. They made the movie correctly. If there's an old abandoned factory, I want people to go in there. I want to know about an accident that happened years ago, and about people mysteriously disappearing. I want there to be a cool monster inside, one that offs the annoying cast in several gross ways. DEATH FACTORY is no NIGHT OF THE DEMONS and is certainly no RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, but knows that it's in the same territory and doesn't leave out any of the punches. If you're gonna make this kind of movie, just make it right. And they did. Also of note: Although Ron "The Hedgehog" Jeremy's name is on the cover, he's only in DEATH FACTORY for about a minute or two. He plays a homeless guy, and is awesome as always.
MEMORABLE SCENES-The ending had a twist that I definitely felt coming, but then has another that I wasn't expecting. I thought they did a really good job with this, especially since it's a shot-on-video production.
DVD NOTES-Brain Damage Films put out the incredible TERROR TOONS earlier this year, and did a great job with the extras on the disc. DEATH FACTORY is no exception, although the features leave a lot to be desired. For example, the "Bloopers" segment doesn't actually contain outtakes from the film. It's really short and just shows the filmmakers messing up during interviews. Speaking of which, there is an interview bit that features the director & producer, and perhaps one or two cast members. Since the director & producer are on the commentary track already (poor audio, but informative), I'd have liked to see more cast interviews. However, if you're a Tiffany Shepis fan, you should check this disc out for the "Making Of" footage, most of which was filmed on set by her. You get to see her being made up, telling jokes, and goofing off in costume. Seeing that made it all worthwhile in my opinon.
(November 2002)
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