Homegrown Horror Review: Mother Noose Presents: Once Upon a Nightmare
Nothing has democratized filmmaking more than the advancement of technology. From hosting platforms like YouTube and Vimeo, to the impressive video and camera capabilities found in today’s mobile devices the barrier to filmmaking has never been lower. In tandem is the rise of boutique genre labels such as Arrow, Severin, and the delightfully spontaneous Vinegar Syndrome who have helped to shine a light on forgotten regional SOV horror films from the 70s, 80s, and 90s (and giving them the deluxe treatment in both packaging and special features). In general, horror fans tend to fetishize the films from their younger years in favor of more recent efforts. The thing is though,defaulting to the past is short-changing us from the great work that is being created right in front of us (figuratively speaking). Platforms like Kickstarter have made it easier than ever to raise funds and awareness, but they still fail to help create an audience since everything is fighting for the attention of our eyes and ears with a new streaming platform appearing seemingly monthly.
Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox. The point I’m making is that as horror fans it’s important to keep a balanced diet of horror old and new. And in particular, some of the more independent efforts that are happening online. This brings us to MOTHER NOOSE PRESENTS: ONCE UPON A NIGHTMARE. This macabre, funny, and at times downright strange independent horror anthology film dishes up a fucked up vision of familiar fairy tales that are sure to make you laugh and gag.
What’s it about?
A poor young man, desperate for money, stumbles onto a job as an assistant to an eccentric storyteller living deep in the woods. As her stories become darker and more menacing, he quickly finds out that there is no happily ever after.
How is it?
I will preface this review with a disclaimer: this is an independent and self-financed production. I mention this because it isn’t uncommon for even horror fans to have a bias against low-budget horror efforts. It’s an odd situation, really, given the popularity of the boutique labels mentioned in the opening paragraph that many horror fans turn their nose to the current slate of homegrown horror films out there. To be fair, they aren’t always easy to find given the challenges they face with distribution, but that’s a conversation for another day. So to get us back on track, if you’re able to put your bias aside there is a lot to enjoy about MOTHER NOOSE PRESENTS: ONCE UPON A NIGHTMARE.
The film follows a very familiar anthology pattern with a wrap-around story involving the titular “Mother Noose” and a series of short stories thereafter that offer up diabolical new takes on the stories so many of us grew up reading and watching. Of the five stories, not including the wrap-around, there are some definite stand-outs among them. In particular, the first story (BREAD CRUMBS) and the third story (THE REAL BOY) stand out as examples of how darkly creative this film is. Oddly enough, BREAD CRUMBS was hard to pinpoint as to what fairy tale is being riffed on and had more in common with a vignette from Severin’s recently released FAMILY PORTRAITS mixed with Edgar Alan Poe. THE REAL BOY, as you may have already guessed, is a twisted take on the story of Pinocchio which I can’t say too much more about without ruining the surprise. Suffice to say, it’s like PINOCCHIO and A SERBIAN FILM came together directed by Rob Zombie...and that’s a good thing!
With any anthology film, not all stories are created equal. While some of the other stories didn’t tick my boxes as much, they are still worthwhile as a showcase for some interesting approaches to well-known stories like CINDERELLA and LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. Another thing that kept running through my head while watching this was, how has this concept not been done before?! I can’t think of another film that takes the anthology formula to the likes of classic fairy tales, but I’ll tell you what; I would love to see more of these! For the most part, all the stories get equal amounts of time, and I genuinely think the biggest thing holding the overall film back is that self-financed films are largely underfunded. In fact, it kind of reminded me of THE MORTUARY COLLECTION that SHUDDER recently released in that if it had some premium financing it would be able to fully execute its vision. I don’t fault the filmmakers for that, and it’s another reason why horror fans should support local and independent filmmakers. The more you support them, the better the pickings are for us down the road.
Last Rites
MOTHER NOOSE PRESENTS: ONCE UPON A NIGHTMARE is not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. If you fancy yourself a fan of films from TROMA and UNEARTHED FILMS then you’ll come to appreciate the charm in this homegrown horror!
The Gory Details
Directed by:
Written by:
Starring
When and where can you watch it?
You can pre-order MOTHER NOOSE PRESENTS: ONCE UPON A NIGHTMARE HERE directly from A BUCK SHORT PRODUCTION!
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