PRESS
From Film Apocalypse
Side Sho
(2008)
Side
Sho, the debut feature film from
Lucky Kitty
Productions, is so well made that it's out of place here at
Film Apocalypse. Although some of the better films that get
sent in are around the quality of a made-for-TV movie, they're
almost never as good as a major studio release. The quality of
Side Sho may not be quite as good as a film that you
would see from a major studio today, but it's definitely pretty
damn close. With the exception of some minor issues with
inconsistent volume and a few scenes that were a little bit too
dark, it's at least as good as the quality of this kind of movie
from the 1980s and early 1990s. In fact, a lot of those movies
were too dark, so I guess the lighting doesn't even prevent it
from being of comparable quality. All in all, there's not much
about the quality that prevents Side Sho from being an enjoyable
film; and for an independent production, that's really saying a
lot!
I often read that a film is created in the tradition of some
other classic movie in the genre. Usually, all that means with
a low budget film is that the people who made the film were very
influenced by the classic movie and tried hard to make a similar
one, but didn't come anywhere close. That's not the case with
Side Sho. Lucky Kitty Productions proclaims that Side
Sho is made in the tradition of the original Texas Chainsaw
Massacre, The Hills Have Eyes, Just Before Dawn, Sleepaway Camp
and House of 1,000 Corpses. The fact, is Side Sho
just about stands right up there with these other classic
films. The story is about a family on a road trip who takes a
back-roads detour through the swamp so that the father can
photograph some old side show remains for his upcoming coffee
table book of roadside attractions. When things get creepy, the
father decides to get the hell out of there and the family hits
the road, but soon after leaving, car troubles strand the family
in the middle of no-where with a bunch of deformed freaks who
have their own twisted plans.
Director Michael
D'Anna clearly knew what he was doing and was able to capture
amazing performances from all of his actors throughout the
entire film. John David Hart stands out as absolutely amazing
in his portrayal of John Goodall, the family's father.
Actresses Toni Robider, Dana Poulson and Elizabeth Bailey freak
out and scream convincingly while playing the parts of not quite
helpless, victimized women. Actor Hunter Ballard also delivers
a great performance as the youngest member of the Goodall
family, Cory Goodall. In addition to great acting, Side Sho
offers gore galore! Not only is there a lot of gore, it's
done well and in several instances, there are unique examples of
gore. The special effects crew in this film did an excellent
job of delivering the goods. There isn't much skin, but there
is one boob and some old pinup girl photos on the wall during
one scene.
My
recommendations usually come with the disclaimer that you have
to be a fan of low budget or no budget movies to enjoy one of
these films. I usually make some kind of mention that you have
to look past the bad acting, low production quality, bad audio,
poor lighting, etc., but that's simply not the case with this
film. Side Sho is an awesome film and I encourage any
fan of movies like The Hills Have Eyes or House of
1,000 Corpses to check it out! I'm looking forward to more
great films from this company.
Gore-o-meter rating: 4 out of 5
(Gore galore!)
Skin-o-meter: 1 out of 5
(one boob and some
photos on a wall)
