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eOne's November '11 Releases

Chillerama (November 25/11)

An almost astonishingly terrible horror anthology, Chillerama follows Richard Riehle's flamboyant Cecil Kaufman as he prepares to shut down his drive-in theater by showing a quartet of ultra-rare horror films - with problems emerging as an employee inadvertently begins spreading a zombie virus among the establishment's many patrons. Admittedly, Chillerama makes its tongue-in-cheek intentions perfectly clear right from the get-go - as the movie opens with an unabashedly absurd sequence in which a man digs up and attempts to have sex with the corpse of his deceased wife. The subsequent emphasis on the exploits of the drive-in's customers and employees does hold some promise, with Riehle's expectedly compelling performance going a long way towards cultivating an atmosphere of affable silliness. It's only as the movie segues into its first short, Adam Rifkin's Wadzilla, that the viewer's interest begins to wane, as the filmmaker has infused the (mercifully brief) tale with a painfully over-the-top sensibility that proves disastrous - with the plethora of unreasonably unfunny jokes and gags heightening the decidedly low-rent nature of the film (eg what's with those horrible special effects?) It is, as such, not surprising to note that the remaining shorts fare just as poorly, with, in particular, Tim Sullivan's I Was a Teenage Werebear triggering the movie's transformation into an excruciatingly unwatchable piece of work. (At least Wadzilla wasn't saddled with jaw-droppingly terrible musical numbers.) The end result is a campy mess that might play better surrounded by loud, drunk moviegoers, but watched alone at home, Chillerama comes off as nothing less than an interminable ordeal.

out of


The Rhythm in Me (November 27/11)

The Rhythm in Me casts Mylène Saint-Sauveur as Delphine Lamarre, a struggling dancer who reluctantly agrees to team up with a hunky newcomer (Nico Archamabault's Marc Painchaud) in the build-up to a pivotal audition - with the film subsequently detailing Delphine's ongoing efforts at dealing with her new partner as well as her back-and-forth battles with a disapproving mother. Though competently made and relatively well acted, The Rhythm in Me, for the duration of its overlong running time, comes off as a plodding, excessively familiar drama that seems to have been geared exclusively towards teenage girls - as filmmaker Charles-Olivier Michaud places a consistent emphasis on CW-level melodrama and long, drawn-out dance sequences. The pervasively bland atmosphere prevents the viewer from working up even a hint of interest in Delphine's ongoing exploits, which proves increasingly problematic as Delphine and Marc's preparations inevitably take center stage. The end result is a competent yet hopelessly tedious drama that feels about an hour longer than necessary, although, as mentioned, there exists a very small possibility that undemanding teenagers might find something here to get excited about.

out of

About the DVDs: Both films arrive on DVD courtesy of eOne Films, and although The Rhythm in Me comes up empty in terms of supplemental materials, Chillerama boasts a commentary track, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and much more.
© David Nusair