Perkins' 14

2009 "Years have gone by... not heard from, nor seen. Destined to KILL. Its..."
5| 1h35m| R| en| More Info
Released: 09 January 2009 Released
Producted By: After Dark Films
Country:
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Ronald Perkins builds an army of 14 people brainwashed through cult-like methods to protect him from his parents' killers. When Perkins is imprisoned, the police unwittingly unleash his followers on a small town and they've only got one thing on their mind: "Kill for Mr. Perkins."

Genre

Horror, Thriller

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Director

Craig Singer

Production Companies

After Dark Films

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Perkins' 14 Audience Reviews

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good
Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.
Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.
lovecraft231 One a night shift, deputy sheriff Dwayne Hopper (Patrick O'Kane) finds out some terrible things about Ronald Perkins (Richard Brake) and the disappearance of 14 children-one of whom was Hopper's son. Well, Hopper kills Perkins in a fit of rage, and the next thing you know 14 nearly unstoppable zombie like killers cause mayhem in town with only one thing in mind-kill for Perkins.While it sounds great, "Perkins 14" is a mess from the get go. How could a movie with such an inventive premise go wrong? Well, for starters, the acting (save for Brake, whose performance as Perkins is bone chilling) is universally awful and largely amateur at best. While it's satisfyingly gory and has some decent moments in direction (I love the use of color schemes which bring to mind directors such as Argento, Bava and Fulci), the script is terrible and ends up being uninteresting, while the conclusion is too anti-climactic, the plot-holes are too gaping, the characters are uninteresting and the editing and score are jarring. I could go on really.So why am I giving it 3? Because it's at least original, has some nice gore and has a few interesting moments. In the end though, it reminded me somewhat of another bad horror movie I've reviewed called "Frozen Scream" in that it has a great premise, yet it all goes to waste and feels like a letdown.This is also the 4th of this years "8 Films To Die For" I've seen so far. As of now, the gory and blackly comic "Autopsy" is the only one that I've enjoyed, as the others have been decent but disappointing ("The Brøken "), a total mess (the film reviewed within) and pedestrian and dull ("Dying Breed.") So far, this years Horrorfest has mostly been a letdown. Too bad really. Maybe the next one will have more good entries. If not, then maybe they should just stop now.
redsguy I got to see the first public screening of this film at the After Dark Film Festival and thus was able to meet all of the actors and directors from this. And I have to say that this was one of the greatest horror movies of all time. It is original, the first fan based horror movie ever, there is no hope, its dark, gory, mysterious, and just plain evil. Some of the death scenes are fantastic. The premise is set up extremely well. The acting is right where it should be, not overdone. And the plot was great. Even though the ending leaves you with so many questions it is the greatest ending to a movie ever. It was single handedly the most unexpected turn of events in a movie. I just had fun and loved this. Should get a nice big release if you ask me.
xxxLadyKroftxxx Today's horror movies are a far cry from the ones I grew up on. Rarely, if ever, do you find the hard-edged rawness of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" or the original "Halloween" in today's highly-polished offerings. "Perkins' 14" is an outstanding exception. Watching this movie is akin to riding a very, very scary roller coaster. It starts off easily enough, building up a great back story and creating empathy and understanding for the main characters. Then, suddenly, you're plunged into a hellish heart pounding ride that leaves you, at the end, trembling with sweaty palms. The acting in this movie is superb and believable, the story is unique, the directing is masterful, and the photography is amazing. At first I had an issue with the dark appearance of this movie. However, on second viewing I realized it contributed to the entire ambiance and storyline. Considering the time constraints the director, cast, and crew were under, this movie turned out beautifully. I doubt it would have in less capable hands. It is my opinion that Perkins' 14 will go down in cinematic history as one of the top horror movies of all time. For those who doubt it, remember that "Halloween" was widely panned in it's day by critics who were unable to see the future of the genre. For those of you who like happy endings, look up "Disney" and/or "Pixar", because this movie won't give you one. What it will give you is honest-to-goodness hardcore horror, which is what a good horror movie should do. Watch it if you dare.
GoneWithTheTwins "Perkins' 14" begins decently enough. We meet Dwayne Hopper (Patrick O'Kane), a police officer from the small town of Stone Cove. He has been detached from his wife and daughter ever since his son, Kyle, was kidnapped some years earlier along with thirteen other children, and now he's consumed with finding the culprit. Whether or not his son is still alive, he doesn't know. All he does know is that tonight is the tenth anniversary of the first kidnapping, and he begins to suspect that one of his inmates, pharmacist Ronald Perkins (Richard Brake), is responsible. Hopper then coerces one of his fellow officers to search Perkins' home for evidence. This leads to the discovery of a secret cellar, which is hellishly dark and dank, filled with medication vials and stacks of videocassettes.But before I go any further, let's examine why the first part of this film works. There were hints that the relationship between Hopper and Perkins would develop in much the same way as the one between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling. Perkins methodically probes Hopper's mind, trying to find his weak points so that they can be exploited. Hopper tries to be strong, but it's obvious that the pressure is getting to him, which is understandable given his one-track mind. And then there's the relationship between Hopper and his remaining family, which is strained to say the least. He doesn't get along too well with his daughter, Daisy (Shayla Beesley), who dresses a bit punkish and is dating a much older guitar player named Eric (Michale Graves), who apparently has a criminal record. As for Hopper's wife, Janine (Mihaela Mihut), she's been having an affair for who knows how long. Given her husband's inability to move on, her actions are somewhat understandable.Then, without warning, "Perkins' 14" shifts gears, veering away from psychological drama to become a gory zombie film. It begins when Hopper's assistant discovers the aforementioned secret cellar; along with the meds and cassettes, he also finds filthy teenagers locked in cages. He opens one of them, thinking the girl within is desperately in need of help. Rather than clinging to him like a helpless child, she savagely attacks him. It isn't long before the other wild teens are released, which quickly plunges Stone Cove into chaos. The townspeople are brutally attacked and killed by mindless, violent teens, which under different circumstances might have worked as satire. It soon becomes a life or death struggle, with Hopper and his family barricaded in a police station. I did not like the last three quarters of this film. For one thing, the idea behind the killings is completely implausible, even within the context of a horror movie: As revenge for being forgotten when his parents were brutally murdered, Perkins used cult-like techniques and mega doses of PCP to brainwash fourteen Stone Cove children. Once they break free from his cellar, their new programming only allows them to do Perkins' bidding. Does this sound a little far fetched to you? It sounds to me like a diabolical plot only a mad scientist in a grade-B movie would think up. Indeed, maybe this film would have worked better if it had gone in the direction of a parody. That would necessitate a complete rewrite of the film's first quarter, but hey, at least the film would have been both consistent and fun.There's also the fact that the final twenty minutes or so take place in areas so poorly lit that there's no sense of mystery or suspense. The Stone Cove police station is a maze of dark hallways and strobe-light effects, which is visually irritating.But the biggest problem is the needlessly dark nature of the plot. There's no sense of classic horror movie fun with this movie; there's only a prolonged sense of hopelessness and grief, and that just seems a bit melodramatic. This movie ends on such a low note that it was impossible for me to feel thrilled, and isn't that what horror movies are all about?Now here's the interesting thing: "Perkins' 14" is the first ever fan-generated horror movie. Fans and filmmakers alike were asked to submit story ideas to Massify.com, where a team of judges would vote on the best one. Out of 400 submissions, Jeremy Donaldson's story about fourteen mindless sociopaths attacking a small town got the most votes. I admit, the idea is intriguing, especially since it plays on our fears of what would happen after a dangerous criminal is arrested and put behind bars. But in the hands of screenwriter Lane Shadgett and director Craig Singer, the idea was turned into a complete mess of a film. "Perkins' 14" is unpleasant and unfocused, and it doesn't seem to value the possibility of hope. If another horror movie is made on the basis of an idea submitted by fans, I can only offer this piece of advice: Make sure you hire filmmakers who can actually make something of it. Chris Pandolfi