2000s horror

Monsters, Marriage, and Murder in Manchvegas

mmmmanchvegas

Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas (2009)

All is not well in the seemingly idyllic town of Manchvegas. A knife-wielding murderer has been stalking its lovely ladies and there are monsters -gospercaps, actually- all over the woods. But fear not for M.O.S. is on the case. That’s the Manchvegas Outlaw Society, in case you didn’t know, and their leader is Marshall (Matt Farley), a plucky young man with the gumption to get the town back on its feet again. With him as always is Jenny (Marie Dellicker) and All-Star Pete (Tom Scalzo). But solving crimes and fighting monsters is not all that M.O.S. has on its plate. When Jenny’s burgeoning feelings for Marshall go unrequited, she starts going on dates with some of the eligible men of Manchvegas. Marshall and All-Star Pete go about sabotaging her good times with some wild pranks.

The creators of Freaky Farley, my favorite indie horror film of 2007 (possibly my favorite of the millennium), are back with Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas. Once again, director/co-writer Charles Roxburgh, co-writer/actor Matt Farley, and their dedicated crew drop the viewer headfirst into a delightfully strange and freakishly innocent world. The obvious care put into every line of dialogue in this movie really shows as this film behaves the way it wants to behave, not in the way you think it should. The intersecting love stories are convoluted yet undeniably sweet and essential to moving the plot along.

A key factor to this film’s success is due to the fact that Roxburgh filmed this movie with actual film! MMMManchvegas is lovingly shot on 16mm with excellent attention to color and detail. Of course, the writing is immensely important to what makes these guys’ movies so special. Even the songs by Moes Haven scattered throughout the film are custom made to keep the audience hip to what’s going on. My favorite of these catchy tunes is “Basketball Fun”.

The cast is ready, willing and able to bring this weird film to life. Matt Farley is great as the single-minded Marshall. He won’t let anything stand in the way of M.O.S., even if it means denying his feelings for Jenny. And speaking of Jenny, Marie Dellicker practically steals the show with her fine portrayal of a girl who wants to grow up just a little bit but knows that it might mean losing her best friends. Some familiar faces from Freaky Farley pop up when another love story blooms in Manchvegas. The irrepressibly plucky Sharon Scalzo plays Melinda, a young woman in love with the easy going and somewhat clueless Vince (played by Kyle Kochan), even though her overbearing father (Kevin McGee) doesn’t approve.

Though it has monsters and a couple of dead bodies, Monsters, Marriage and Murder in Manchvegas is not a horror film. And don’t expect an ounce of gore from this one as the film is practically bloodless and hell, there isn’t a scare to be found. This whole offbeat cinema production revels in its gloriously cheesy vibe and driest of dry senses of humor while remaining very, very watchable throughout. I can’t stress enough how badly I want to live in their alternate universe. Finally, I know where “everything was beautiful and nothing hurt.”

“Gosh dang, it’s monster central, man!”

Visit the Shockmarathons site for more.

Freaky Farley

freakyfarley

Freaky Farley (2007)

Ever since the death of his mother, “Freaky” Farley Wilder (Matt Farley) has been constantly punished and repressed by his father, radio personality Rick Wilder (Kevin McGee). The small amounts of time that Farley can sneak away, he spends spying on girls and tubing on the river. This all changes when he meets and falls in love with Scarlett Carter (Sharon Scalzo), a young lady with ambitions to write a novel about the bizarre characters in their town. When his father forbids Farley from seeing Scarlett and reveals a terrible family secret, Farley goes on a bloody rampage. Now, locked in an insane asylum and recounting his life story to a psychologist, Farley reveals that there is something even more monstrous behind his killing spree.

It’s extremely rare that I feel the need to return to a film within 24 hours of my first viewing. Yet somehow, the first thing I did the morning after I watched Freaky Farley, was watch it all over again. Independent horror films rarely get to me like this. The guys behind the Shockmarathons books have created a film influenced by the 70s and 80s VHS horrors they endured during their movie marathons. Yet this is not a wannabe demonic possession rip-off, or a slasher clone (though it fools you in thinking it is in the beginning), or even another dull zombie flesh-munching festival. No, this is something very, very different.

The combination of 16mm film, kitschy organ soundtrack, and the gorgeous New Hampshire (in autumn) locations, is a perfect concoction for grabbing and holding my attention. So the corny script with banal dialogue and silly characters should have instantly put me off, right? Not with delivery like this. The lead actors in this film take eccentric and quirky to a new level. Everyone in this film is either as stiff as a board or going so over the top that it is breathtaking.

Matt Farley practically steals the show as “Freaky” Farley with his bizarre sincerity, nervous energy, and odd intonation. It is impossible not to find humor in his delivery. The post-dubbing of his voice also adds an otherworldly quality to his performance. His role is complimented by the other oddballs around him. Sharon Scalzo is vivacious, endearing, and quite entertaining as Scarlett, the girl who steals “Freaky” Farley’s heart. I also really like Katie Reidy as Katie, the annoying “girl next door” who Rick, Farley’s father, is always trying to set him up with. The rest of the cast is even more awkward and strange but they all seem to fit in perfectly.

Shortly after the hour mark, Freaky Farley goes bat-shit crazy as the deadpan humor is abandoned for an even zanier tone. I was hoping the film would stay in a comfortable place forever but it does veer off into some wacky business. Yet, it didn’t lose me along the way. The grand surprise (which I won’t ruin here) is that the rules the film establishes are thrown away and things get even stranger. Thankfully there’s no winking at the camera or subterfuge of any kind. Freaky Farley never lies.

Freaky Farley is a sincere masterpiece of low budget eclecticism which resists the crassness which most horror comedies suffer from and the Kevin Smith-isms that so many indie films rely on. This isn’t the horror movie version of Clerks in Morgantown, New Hampshire. Freaky Farley takes its cue from the low budget horror pioneers of the 70s and 80s yet somehow stays innocent and barely even hints at their exploitative tendencies. I can’t wait to see what this crew does next.

“Heh, silly ninja.”

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