AnythingHorror Central

Indie Horror Film Review: Slices of Life (2010)

Posted by anythinghorror on November 3, 2010 · 8 Comments 

I consider myself very lucky over here at anythinghorror.com.  I like to think that I’ve established myself as an honest (ok; brutally honest), fair, insightful, and fun reviewer.  I have a large, faithful following (you all know who you are) of intelligent people who love the horror genre as much as I do and leave great comments under the various reviews, interviews, and articles I post.  I also get a lot of indie horror filmmakers sending me their feature length and short films.  This, perhaps, is my favorite part of running anythinghorror.com.  I absolutely love getting screeners from up and coming filmmakers.  And whereas I may not always like or enjoy the indie films I get I can promise you one thing:  You will get an honest and fair review from me.  It may not be the rave review you’re looking for, but it will always be honest.

So earlier this week I received a screener for Anthony Sumner’s SLICES OF LIFE, an indie horror film anthology four years in the making.  I first heard about this project early in the spring of 2010 and contacted Sumner for more information.  Sumner was a gracious, down to earth guy who took time out of his already busy schedule to tell me about both the history of the production and the plot.  From the moment he told me about the story I was hooked and couldn’t wait for the release of SLICES OF LIFE.  Well I’m happy to say that the wait is over and SLICES OF LIFE far exceeded my expectations and is a hugely entertaining flick with great writing, overall strong performances, and tons of well-done gore.  Tons.

Poor Mira doesn't know what the hell is happening to her!!

The story begins with Mira (Kaylee Williams) unconscious and waking up on the lawn of a rat-trap motel confused about where she is and how she got there.  She is helped by the motel’s caretakers Irma (Helene Alter-Dyche) and Tiny (Marv Blauvelt).  The two help her into the motel and put her at the front desk.  Mira’s only possession is three sketch books that may or may not be hers, so she decides to examine the sketch books in hopes of finding some clues as to her own identity.  As she thumbs through the books the sketches come alive, exploring three aspects of everyday life (work, home, and sex).  That’s right folks; this is an anthology flick.  And you know I loves me a good horror anthology!!

Great makeup f/x on the nano-infected zombies!!

The first segment “W.O.R.M” tells the story of nerdy and awkward William (Jack Guasta) who works in a company that develops and markets nanotechnology.  William just got his online degree in computer programming and is hoping to start moving up the corporate ladder.  But people don’t seem to notice William and the ones who do make fun of and laugh openly in his face.  Then one day William writes a nano program which will force people to like him.  He’s a little too successful and all the co-workers who were making fun of him now have an unhealthy obsession for William.  And did I mention that the nano-code turns everyone into zombies (well more ‘zombie-like’; they never actually die and come back to life).

Now THAT'S a scary fuckin' looking kid!!

“W.O.R.M” is the story from the “work” aspect of life and shows how dangerous and “zombifying” the corporate world really is.  We also get some really great special f/x here.  In one particular scene an office worker is accused of having his “head up his bosses’ ass”, and after he turns into a nano-zombie that accusation becomes all too real.  It’s a pretty gruesome scene that’s done really well.  It reminded me of a scene straight out of Brian Yuzna’s 1989 surreal horror flick SOCIETY (Screaming Mad George did the effects).  Fun stuff.

The next segment, “Amber Alert,” comes from the “home” aspect of life and is more of a straight up ghost story.  It begins with a serial killer kidnapping a little girl from a playground.  We soon learn that this isn’t an isolated case and there has been a rash of little girl’s disappearing from around the neighborhood.  Then we meet Vonda (Toya Turner), a pregnant woman who suddenly starts seeing the ghostly apparitions of the kidnapped, and presumably dead, little girls.  But one of the ghosts, which doesn’t seem to be one of the disappeared victims, seems more concerned with (or is it connected to) Vonda’s unborn baby.

Creepy images like this one will stay with ya long after you turn the movie off!!

“Amber Alert” is definitely the most mature of the three stories.  The acting is top notch and the story progresses at a nice pace.  Sure if you’re paying attention you’ll spot the child rapist/killer early on, but the strength of this story isn’t in the mystery, it’s in the unraveling of the story line.  We also get some great dialogue and some fantastic ghost/demon make-up on the little girl victims.

The last story’s title, “Pink Snapper,” tells us everything we need to know.  And yes; it’s exactly what you think it is.  This one comes from the “sex” aspect of our lives and concerns a brother and sister (Galen Schloming and Deneen Melody) on the run after they kill their policeman father who’s been raping the sister for many years.  They run off to a remote location and hide out in the house they stumble upon.  Outside the house is an unconscious man (who they take to the hospital), and when they go inside they find a rather sexy caged up chick.  But don’t jump to conclusions too quickly.  All is not what it seems, and the seemingly innocent characters are far from being innocent.

This is gonna take more than a bandaid to fix!!

“Pink Snapper” is easily the most enjoyable of all the stories.  It has an extreme story line and throws a nice curveball at us that works.  You’ll think you have this one figured out; trust me, you won’t.  This story is also the goriest of the group and has some pretty hot girls in it (Deneen Melody and Judith Lesser).  And did I mention Sumner injects some nice body horror into the story?  No?  Well there’s a great scene that would make David Cronenberg himself cringe!!  I don’t wanna give away anything else about the plot; this one needs to be seen with your own eyes to be believed.

She's not having a very good day; and it just gets worse!!

Sumner started making SLICES OF LIFE over four years ago.  I’m sure by now he’s completely lost perspective on the final project, but I’d like to be the one to tell him that he has a fantastic film on his hands.  There’s a few spots where some of the stories seem to drag a bit and could have used some tighter editing, but this aside Sumner has given us a hugely entertaining horror anthology.  Sumner himself calls this a “micro budget horror anthology” and I for one am impressed with the level of acting and with the incredible special effects.  I’m not sure of the exact budget, but I can tell you he stretched every penny and put 100% of the modest budget up on the screen.  Whenever I receive a screener for an indie horror movie I never know what I’m gonna get when I push the “play” button.  But SLICES OF LIFE is one of the rare indie horror projects that fully delivers in both the story and gore departments and puts a huge smile on your face.  Definitely check this one out; I’ll let you know where and when it becomes available.

My Summary:

Director:  Anthony Sumner (& writer, producer, editor, & special makeup f/x artist)

Plot:  4 out of 5 stars

Gore:  8 out of 10 skulls

Zombie Mayhem:  0 out of 5 brains (the creatures in the “W.O.R.M.” story weren’t technically zombies; they never died and came back to life)

Reviewed by Scott Shoyer