#12. Perkins' 14 [2009]

Perkins' 14 is a 2009 horror film originated by Jeremy Donaldson, written by Lane Shadgett, and directed by Craig Singer. The film is produced by Jeremy Donaldson, Matthew Kuipers, and Christopher Milburn. The film was released theatrically nationwide January 9-15, 2009. The DVD which includes the 10 making-of webisodes from the Massify Ghosts in the Machine Competition was released on Tuesday March 31, 2009.

Synopsis
Robert Perkins was just six years old when his parents were brutally slaughtered right before his very eyes. Unable to overcome the incredible trauma of witnessing such a diabolical event, Perkins becomes convinced that the killers who murdered his parents will eventually return to finish the job they started years ago - and he plans to be fully prepared to fight back when they do. Years later, when Perkins turns thirty-four, he kidnaps fourteen people from his hometown of Stone Cove, and sets about reprogramming them to become relentless killing machines. Now, if the killers ever do return, they'll have to get through Perkins' 14 in order to reach their intended target. Trouble is, now that Perkins' 14 are ready for battle, they've become increasingly difficult to contain.



Dark Ride director Craig Singer returns to the helm with this shocking horror film about a delusional psychopath who creates a unified team of fourteen maniacal killers. Produced entirely over the internet, where writers uploaded story details and actors submitted audition tapes, Perkins' 14 was released into theaters as part of the third After Dark Horror Fest. Usually anything branded with the 8 Films to Die For moniker is a watch-at-your-own-risk affair, but I'm pleased to say that this movie is original enough and possesses enough strong performances to elevate it above the usual mess. And it's weird. So damn weird, in fact, that the movie's main shortcomings arise from the fact that it tried to get a little too-out there, and I think the writers wrote themselves into a corner, but more on that in a bit.

The stronger of the two halves of Perkins' 14 is definitely the first half, which is more of a creepy homicide drama than the latter half's zombie-esque horror stuff. O'Kane turns in a fine dramatic performance as Dwayne Hopper, perfectly emoting the characters' pain at the loss of his son all those years ago. The problem is that he keeps the audience from instantly connecting with him. He's ... well, he's scary! Like I said, he does a tremendous job at his role, but his tough, brooding appearance doesn't lend well to the father-figure type. I don't blame him for the miscast though, as much of the film's strength comes from him.

By far the biggest show stealer though, is Richard Brake and his snakey, frightening and downright crazy portrayal of kidnapper-murderer-mad-scientist Ronald Perkins. Brake is fast becoming one of my favorite character actors, never shying away from any role, no matter how creepy or reprehensible it makes him out to be. Here, he's only in the movie for maybe 20 minutes, but his role is pivotal to the plot and makes for the most memorable scenes.

Speaking of plot, be warned -- there isn't much of one. After the child-kidnapping thread is dealt with and the creatures are unleashed, the rest of the movie is a frantic fight for Hopper's family's survival. Whatever science was involved in the transformation of the children into these -- Spoiler alert!! Oh, who cares? -- zombie-like ghouls is never explained beyond a few tables worth of different colored liquids in test tubes. Perkins' motivation for his diabolical experiments is touched on, but I guess because my parents were never killed in the same way his were when he was a boy, I can't see making my revenge scheme against the world revolve around turning kids into cannibalistic monsters. But what do I know?

This is thankfully one of those movies where you won't spend too much time worrying about the hows or whys. This brings us now to the ending. I mentioned earlier that the writers had painted themselves into a corner, and really, there isn't any other way to phrase it. The film just ... stops, kind of. Viewers looking for any real resolution, or answers, or anything will be left holding the ball. The final scene is so strange that no amount of repeated viewings will really clarify why the characters onscreen do what they do, when for the previous hour, they'd preached against such an act. Anyway, this is a decent little low-budget horror film. With its use (maybe overuse) of lots of strobe lighting, extremely solid performances and some really good gore effects, it's a good way to pass an hour and a half.

Source :
Wikipedia,IGN, After Dark HorrorFest [2009]