There are different tiers of horror film. I’m not talking about the multitude of sub-genres like found footage, creature feature, etc. What I’m referring to here is the quality and overall budget level of films in the genre we love. Of course, there are your Hollywood blockbusters, which most fans seem to hate before they even see so much as a trailer, all the way down to the low-budget indie flicks of your favorite up-and-coming directors. Then there is the Wilkinson brothers’ shot-on-video The Violence Movie and The Violence Movie II.
In The Violence Movie, a dangerous man has escaped from a local prison. When Joey (Joseph Shaugnessy) returns home, he is greeted by this killer and must fend him off before he becomes his latest victim. The Violence Movie 2 sees the return of Joey, who awakens from his horrible nightmare. Was it really all just a dream? Unfortunately for Joey, dream or not, the killer really is here this time and Joey must once again fight for his life to escape the bloodthirsty psychopath.
As much as I have loved horror films for the last 20 years, I have never had the itch to make my own little movie. The Wilkinson brothers not only had that itch, but decided to scratch it with their own no-budget home video horror flick, a sequel, and additional scenes filmed 15 years later to be cut back into the film for an anniversary release. These guys had tons of fun making these shorts and it translates straight through the TV screen to its viewers.
The Violence Movie and its sequel are exactly what you would expect if you know the story behind it. Eric and David Wilkinson, along with some friends and family made horror films simply because they love the horror genre. The special effects are done by practical means because they couldn’t afford otherwise, the editing is shoddy with tons of continuity issues, and the acting is downright silly… I wouldn’t want it any other way!
The brothers Wilkinson really took some risks when filming The Violence Movie 2, a year after the original was shot. These nuts filmed fight scenes on their parent’s roof, were dragged along by a moving car, and performed tons of other really dangerous stuff. I feel like a lot of professional stunt performers wouldn’t even do some of this stuff the same way the brothers executed it. That didn’t stop them, however.
If you enjoy shot-on-video no-budget horror or just want to watch some guys having fun as kids, making movies full of silly fight choreography, dismemberment, and decapitation, look no further than The Violence Movie. The film and its successor are available on DVD now from MVD Visual Entertainment. It is packed with reversible artwork and tons of bonus special features, which are even more fun than the films themselves.
While these films aren’t very good, they are both fun-as-hell to watch. For that reason alone, I give them a Repulsive Rating of 4 arrows to the head out of 5.
