Holiday Horrors Triple Feature (2017) DVD REVIEW

Comedy in horror is as varied a concept as horror itself. There are plenty of ways to combine horror, genuine suspense, and laughter into a single cinematic experience. Filmmakers can bring all of these things together in a layered, complex package that suits the kind of story they want to tell. Some horror films offer subtle shades of humor beneath a truly grim thrill ride. Other horror films choose to be a little blunter, in bringing these things together Cheap, goofy laughs can combine with decadent violent and gore easily enough. Those movies can still be well worth your time. It’s just important to know how you like your comedy blended with your horror. There are quite a few recipes out there.

With his Caesar and Otto series, four of which are featured on this Holiday Horrors Triple Feature from Wild Eye Releasing, Dave Campfield has opted to go for Abbott and Costello meet Troma (indeed, Lloyd Kaufman shows up in one of these). He isn’t the only one making low budget horror/comedies in that vein, but the Caesar and Otto movies, as a whole, offer a good deal more heart than some of the other films that try to be as bloody and hilarious as humanly possible. Campfield is definitely interested in those things. He is the writer, director, and co-star of all of these movies. His vision has evolved over the years. It still seems to have the same general goals you would expect from horror parodies. At the same time, one consistent thread throughout all of these films, none of which are perfect, is that Campfield is interested in doing other things with his horror films, as well.

There is more imagination here than the packaging of Holiday Horrors Triple Feature might suggest. Included with the films are features like commentaries, blooper reels, and more.

 

Feature #1: Caesar and Otto (2007)

To put it simply: Caesar and Otto is fucking ridiculous. What the movie lacks in a budget, it makes up for with copious amounts of gleeful, well-acted stupidity. That doesn’t mean the movie is poorly written, or badly made in some significant way. Caesar and Otto is an endearing, relentless comedy of errors. The main thread has a struggling actor named Caesar (Dave Campbell) being forced to share a life, and an acting career, with his half-brother Otto (Paul Chomicki). The low budget isn’t going to bother you. The loosely-connected series of episodic misadventures is really just a simple setup for Campbell and Chomicki comedic chemistry. Since that chemistry contributes to most of your interest in the film, the movie’s unremarkable backdrop isn’t going to bug you either. The entertaining chemistry between Campbell and Chomicki will offset both of those things. This movie is easy to enjoy and appreciate on its own goofy, endearing terms.

6/10

 

Feature #2: Caesar and Otto’s Summer Camp Massacre (2009)

Likable schmucks like Caesar and Otto make sense for a wide-reaching parody of slasher movies set at summer camp. Ridiculous circumstances force them to take up jobs as counselors at a summer camp. You can see where this is going, but the movie has a good time with the subgenre clichés and the punchlines one would expect in pointing them out. Summer Camp Massacre is filled with silly, effective comedic characters and performances. Always good to see B-movie veterans like Joe Estevez, Brinke Stevens, and Felissa Rose in a movie that embraces its absurdity, and gets a lot of mileage out of it. For fans of the FOX series Empire, it’s worth mentioning that Trai Byers made his screen debut in this.

6/10

 

Feature #3: Caesar and Otto’s Deadly Xmas (2012)

At this point, if you’re watching the movies chronologically, as I did (although they are not presented this way on the DVD), you’re either in it or not with these guys. Same basic premise as Summer Camp Massacre. The Christmas setting makes sense, and a large cast of weirdos and bystanders keeps the movie running to its conclusion. As horror parodies go, Deadly Xmas tries to keep a balance between referential humor, and comedy built out of their own original characters and setups. It succeeds often enough to keep you watching. It also helps to have a cast that includes Linnea Quigley, Joe Estevez, Felissa Rose (who is terrific), Debbie Rochon, and Robert Z’Dar.

6/10

 

Feature #4: Caesar and Otto’s Paranormal Halloween (2015)

This might be the most confident film Dave Campfield has made yet. Featuring Felissa Rose, Brinke Stevens, Vernon Wells, and others, it may be his most entertaining. The formula he has established for the ongoing misadventures of Caesar and Otto yields films that improve in one way or another with each entry. The movie gets some obvious comedic punches out of pitting Caesar and Otto against familiar beats from such films as The Exorcist and Insidious. What matters is that it pulls off these punches more often than not. Furthermore, the film also features moments of inspired comic touches that rely implicitly on good timing between the characters. Paranormal Halloween isn’t for everybody. It doesn’t try to be. This might be where the confidence comes from. Campfield has clearly improved as a director and writer from 2007, the year Caesar and Otto was released. Paranormal Halloween is a solid sum total from someone who knows their audience, and knows exactly how to please them.

6.5/10

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