Over the years I have really come to enjoy Anthology movies, especially from independents. They fill time like a feature, but don't usually come with the unnecessary filler. Without a strong budget, a lot of indie features, some of mine included, fill out space with dialogue in not very impressive locations and less than thrilling action. But Anthologies tell their stories quickly. Generally getting to the action fast and not bogging themselves down too much with deep character development or dialogue driven drama.
"Night of the Seamonkey" was more like a featurette, which is fine, except it was one of those movies that builds up to the action and then, plays it out so quickly that if you bling, you may miss it. So, why was this my favorite story? For one, killer sea monkey? I mean, if you know me, you know the idea alone is something I'm going to enjoy. In fact, one or two sequences reminded me of our alien in the Alien Vengeance series of movies. "Alien Vengeance: Bad Morning" especially sprung to mind.
Secondly, Lynn Lowry gives a stand out performance in this film. Most of the acting is strong enough throughout (not a lot of Oscar material here, but that's not what movies like this are for), but her performance as a grandmother who is a bit rude and a lot suffering from boughts of dementia is a step above most of the other performances across the entire movie. The creature, the glimpses we get of it, is a decent design and definitely holds to the throwback feel the movie's marketing promises. No CG fish creature here. Nice bits of gore round out the movie nicely. So, sit through the parts that seem slowly paced. It gets fun. A bit shorter and this would have been a great episode of the old TV show, "Monsters".
The other stories are more serious, but not as much fun. At least, they weren't for me. Felissa Rose's wraparound movie, "Love Starved" is consistent with this type of movie. It has a quick set-up, not much middle and ends with a twist you see coming well before it arrives. That said, it does its job and stick around during the credits for a bit more of that tale.
"Homewrecked" was my least favorite. Partly because home invasion movies aren't my thing and largely because those types of stories actually rely largely upon character development and deeply involved backstories to be interesting. As a short, this movie had none of these things, or if it did, I missed them. Two dimensional characters being violent towards one another. Lots of shouting and a few bloody good moments, but when it was over I didn't care who lived or died.
"Lamb Feed" was another one that just isn't my subgenre. Not even sure how to describe it, but the title probably gives you an idea. Hill Billy cannibal? There is a bit of drama set up between "The Fiance" (Melanie Robel) and the leading man in "Lamb Feed" that sets him as the unlikeable character you want him to be in this type of movie. Some interesting make-up and gore in this one, so if it's type of movie, you'll probably really enjoy it.
Overall, like most Anthologies, there is something here for multiple types of fans and many moods. I may not suggest buying it, but it's definitely worth a spin on Amazon Prime if you subscribe to the service.
Trailer
