Friday, June 28, 2013

Who are you and why are you doing this?

So, here this goes...

I've been writing film reviews for a site (that I'm sure hardly anyone reads) - with varying degrees of effort - for the better part of four years now. I like it. The gig pays me exactly nothing, but the fringe benefit is a box of titles shows up on my doorstep about once a month. This box is generally 60-70% utter shit - DTV Thai action movies, terrible comedies, things Steve Austin has starred in - but I manage to wring a gem out every so often. These are what keep me going, because if I had to review films like Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts (2009) every week I'd have begged for mercy and hung up my hat long ago.

Then why do this?

Short answer: I'm a controlling bastard. Although I get sporadic moments of joy reviewing for a website, the fact of the matter is that I am a man who is passionate about film. Namely, horror/exploitation/cult/sleaze/kung-fu/etc. films. Sadly, I just don't get enough of those titles to write about. Do you know how hard it is to write more than a couple sentences about a mediocre direct-to-video film that just... exists? I'm talking about the kind of film that leaves you feeling absolutely nothing once the credits begin to roll. The filmmakers have put in such little effort to craft something memorable, so why should I? Right, because I'm supposed to. And while I plan on continuing on with what I'm doing (because I like the people I "work" with, and it gives me some semblance of purpose), I wanted to create this blog to have an outlet for gushing about the films I've been spellbound by from an early age.

I may also throw in the odd album review every so often. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool '80s thrash metal fan, but as I've grown older my tastes have expanded considerably. Musically, this blog might go all over the place. I'd expect a focus on good metal and horror soundtracks, though. I like those things.

Hopefully, with some effort, people might find this blog and enjoy what I present. I have no aspirations of this attaining much of a following, but if I can sway a few more people to check out titles, like Ninja III: The Domination (1984) or Ernest Scared Stupid (1991), I'll consider it a success.