Famine Blu Ray Review (Unearthed Films)
Famine (aKa Stupid Teens Must Die! & Detention Night) is a 2011 independent horror film co-written, special fx, produced, & directed by special fx artist Ryan Nicholson (Gutterballs 1/2, Hanger, Torched, Star Vehicle, Dead Nude Girls, Live Feed, & Collar). Nicholson is mainly known for his special fx work on such films as Final Destination, Scary Movie, Ghost Rider, The Predator, Deadpool 2, Blair Witch, Reindeer Games, Dreamcatcher, Lake Placid, & many others. He directed his own films for his own company Plotdigger Films while he wasn’t working on those major productions. It was co-written by Jeff O’Brien (Bone Dry, Prey for the Beast, Attack of the Giant Leeches, Girls Guns and Blood, & Cannibal Lipstick). It was produced by Charie Van Dyke (Nuked, The Clean-Up, The Cargo, & Cannibal Lipstick) & John Craig (The Privileged, Alarming, A Safe Place, & Star Vehicle).
At Sloppy Secondary High School, new teacher Ms. Vickers (played by: Michelle Sabiene from The Clean-Up & Truth) has put together a 24 Hour Famine (volunteers stay in the school gym & starve themselves for a day) for charity. The first famine held since an incident occurred during the last one five years prior. Ten students which includes Cathy, Sarah (played by: Karyn Halpin from The Flash, The Good Doctor, Kid Cannabis, & A Christmas Story 2), Darren (played by: Des Larson), Nick (played by: Christopher Lomas from Star Vehicle), Terry (played by: Gustavo MacSerna from A Forest), Vanessa (played by: Thabi Maphoso from John John’s Next Big Scene Partner), Andrea (played by: Ady Mejia from Star Vehicle), Katie, Jenny & Peterson (played by: Leo Wong from Criminology) sign-up for the event for the extra credit.
Vickers asks Jenny (played by: Christine Wallace from Brainstorm) what happened at the last famine & she is told that rumor has it the organizer Philip Balszack (played by: Nathan Durec from Star Vehicle & Hit Man 101) was accidentally disfigured by acid when he tried to have sex with Cathy (played by: Beth Cantor from The Switch & A Safe Place) in the chemistry lab. Balszack disappeared & Cathy was supposedly briefly institutionalized after the traumatizing event. Before the famine begins, Katie (played by: Sanya Silver from Endgame & Arrow) hides food in one of the gym washrooms & while doing so is confronted by someone wearing the costume of the school mascot, a carpenter called The Nailer (played by: director Ryan Nicholson from Necrophagia: Nightmare Scenarios, Seed 2, More Dead Nude Girls, & Death-Scort Service Part 2: The Naked Dead). Hours later, with the famine in full swing, The Nailer picks off straggling students. Jenny rejoins Vickers & the remaining students in the gym when a distorted voice begins making threats over the PA system. No one can be trusted at this school now. Who’s the real killer? Will these students survive this bloodbath????
If you are a fan of Ryan Nicholson then you know what to expect from his films which includes lots of gore, nudity, & they are always very entertaining. He delivers on all of that with Famine. At the same time, you can always expect a lousy screenplay & bad acting when it comes to most of his productions. Personally, the main things that I want from a feature like this to have fun & be entertained which it does. I don’t go into them expecting an Oscar worthy performance or QT dialogue especially with low budget direct to video independent horror. Christine Wallace & Beth Cantor were awful in this. Both of them were way too over the top even for this type of film. Cringe worthy at it’s highest level, I am honestly shocked that they didn’t re-shoot some of this material after viewing it. I will say that Christine Wallace is great eye candy & the other girls in this are beautiful. Most of the supporting cast doesn’t do that much better when it comes to the acting in Famine. I am guessing the casting process was quick & it gave people off the streets a chance to be in a horror movie. Most of the actors in this have barely worked or not at all since this production. Michelle Sabiene & Karyn Halpin were actually solid in this, definitely the two best performances. I can’t put all the blame on the actors because the script was terrible when it came to the dialogue. It tries to be funny but it falls flat. It’s very amateur & immature with no real humor. That’s always been one of Ryan Nicholson’s biggest weakness besides putting together a cast.
You are probably thinking that I hated Famine from some of these comments but I didn’t & I thought it was so much fun. The Metal & Hip Hop soundtrack added to the chaotic atmosphere. Ryan Nicholson knows how to put on a costume & kill lots of people so he was solid as the main villain. He has some experience in that department. I loved the look of The Nailer, I haven’t really seen a slasher like him before. Yes, there’s been High School mascots in other horror films but they weren’t anything like this character. The true highlight & selling point for Famine was the special fx. It’s none of that CGI crap, it’s all practical like back in the day & they look amazing. It’s loaded with creative kills & gruesome outcomes on it’s impressive body count plus it has some nice nudity. It could have easily been made in 80s, it has that vibe to it. I thought it had some nice twists at the end. I’ve been fan of Ryan Nicholson for years now & I am glad that Unearthed Films is giving his independent legacy the proper treatment it deserves. I wouldn’t consider Famine one of his best features but it’s worth checking out especially for gore, slasher, & independent horror fans. It has everything that you would want when it comes to the slasher sub-genre, pure entertainment & fun with top notch special fx. At 77 minutes, it has a nice pace to it & it moves really fast, RECOMMENDED!!!!
Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Unearthed Films! This 1080p (1.78.1) transfer looks really good especially for it’s lower budget. The school location is a nice & simple set up for the feature. They used every bit to go with it’s dark atmosphere. The production design is cool for this & it creates some fun scenarios. Famine has been released on home video before & this is the best it’s looked so far. I streamed it under it’s Detention Night title a long time ago & this is a major improvement over that. The Dolby Digital 2.0 English track is solid. The dialogue is clean for the most part, all the chaos is elevated, & the music is best part about this particular track. As for extras on the disc, there’s not much here. It has a little over 4 minute “Stills Gallery” featuring all kinds of photos from the shoot & behind the scenes. It has a “Trailer” for the film. It has various Unearthed Films related “Trailers” which includes one of Nicholson’s own films Collar. It’s rare to find a modern slasher that feels like something from the 80s, Famine achieves that with no problem. I can’t wait for the other Nicholson films to be released on blu ray especially the unreleased Gutterballs 2 from years ago. This is available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!
Another awsome suggestion. Thanks for the Amazon link as well…….