Director – Joshua Hull (The Impersonators)
Starring – Jas Sams (V/H/S), Michael Malone (Laughs), and Haley Madison (Headless)
Release Date – 2015
Rating – 4/5
Tagline – “5 kidnappers, 1 killer after the same girl”
Comedy and Horror. Some horror fans refuse to acknowledge that the two can work well together and deny the fact that some classic films use both genres. However, some horror fans love when the two genres combine and hold the classics like Bad Taste, Evil Dead II. Dead Alive, and so many others to a very high standard. By combining horror and comedy the filmmaker is able to make light of dark situations which puts the viewer at ease. Horror comedies are also an easy way to give horror fans absurd stories that they would normally avoid if they were serious.
Last year I caught wind that Joshua Hull was directing a horror comedy titled Chopping Block and he had cast one of my favorite indie scream queens Haley Jay Madison. I was hooked on it from then on and followed this one closely. Just a few days ago Joshua was kind enough to send me over a review copy of the final product and I am damn glad he did. Thanks Josh!
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows five office employees who were fired from their jobs after one of them fails to finish a project on time and their boss discovers a pornographic drawing inside the folder. They all meet up to work on a plan to get their boss back or to possibly get their jobs back. However, after some time and heavy drinking they decide that the best course of action is to kidnap their boss’ daughter and hold her for enough ransom that none of them would have to work again.
They set the plan in motion and get masks and head over to kidnap her. They find her walking home covered in blood and decide to nab her anyway. They toss her in the van and take her back to their hideout where she reveals that she was at a party last night where a woman showed up (she always shows up) and killed everyone there looking for her. The group brush it off as the young girl trying to scare them but they soon learn that her threats are real and so is the gigantic woman with a lust for blood. **Spoiler Alert**
Sometimes people will hype up a film and they sadly never live up to the hype. However, sometimes I hear about a movie and something deep own tells me that it is going to be worth my time. Chopping Block was one I knew I would enjoy but to what degree I did not know. When the film was done and over with I knew that I was one of the lucky few that was able to see a modern hit before it was released.
The acting in this one was fantastic. I can not praise this cast enough. Every cast member created fun and memorable characters that did their purpose. If I was to pick apart each cast member and what they did perfectly I would be here forever and to save my fingers I will skip on this.
The story for this one is a fun mash-up of Office Space and any slasher with a hulking killer. The film starts out with the comedy in the lead with several funny moments and then the film mixes it up at the end and delivers on the horror and bloodshed. Most films have a hard time combining the two elements but this film just split the two up into halves.
Finally, the film does have a few kills scenes but the blood is non-stop after it starts. The kills are generic horror film kills but the practical effects are great. What makes these kill scenes stand out is the humor added to it along along with the Army of Darkness nod.
Overall, Chopping Block is a film you better get used to hearing about because people are going to fucking talk. The film is just as funny as it is bloody and deserves your time. Do yourself a favor and check it out!
