Kiss the Abyss (2012)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

One part coming of age and one part Frankenstein's monster, Kiss the Abyss is a film that is more character study than pure horror. Well, at least until the end that is.Our film starts off with a trio of men driving in a Rolls through the California desert. We aren't really given a 'why.' However, interspersed are a few scenes of one of the men, a young man back home lying in bed with his wife. Slowly, we start to piece things together. After all, she's the only one missing from the car's passenger seating. Along with a distraught look from the young man, you start to think that something terrible has happened.We come to find out through a continued series of flashbacks that these two young love birds lived next to another couple. The boyfriend was terribly abusive and their daily ritual of shouting matches unnerved our other young pair. On one particular day, he takes things too far and starts beating his girlfriend outside. The love bird couple take it upon themselves to try. But it doesn't come without its consequences. Our enraged drunken neighbor comes over that night with bat in hand but instead of taking revenge with the young man, he accidentally kills his wife.Flash forward to our 3 men driving out to the desert, they arrive at a small house and are eventually greeted by a crass, cowboy-ish man who holds the cure for what ails them. As you could probably guess, the dead girlfriend is in tow and she's taken out of the back trunk and taken to the man's shed which doubles as his mad laboratory. Our man, who acts the part like a cross between Billy Bob Thornton and Dr. Frankenstein, is given a bag of money by her father and brother (the other two travelers being revealed as such). They are given a strict direction by our mad doctor of 'no return policies.' All oblige and he shoots her up with some sort of serum. She comes to and the small group leave to continue on with their lives. But they soon learn that they're getting a lot more than they've bargained for.I won't go to much into the rest of the details of the film as I don't want to play the spoil. But as you can imagine, our revived wife becomes too much to handle in her newly 'transformed' state. And our dedicated husband with his undying love is left with a choice to make.A refreshing film that delicately balances the relationships of all of our on screen characters (without getting too cheesy) along with some really horrible happenings (one scene in particular is pretty brutal), Kiss the Abyss is continued proof positive that original film making and story telling isn't dead.

To be honest, I had pretty low expectations for this movie when I saw the box cover. They were blown out of the water pretty quickly though.From the unusual premise, to the solid acting, to the wild characters, to the narrative style, there were plenty of surprises. As a whole, it was pretty outlandish concept with some over the top acting. But it really sucks you in as there are some truly unique moments that were very fun to watch. Everything worked well from a technical perspective. The effects were good enough not to detract from the story. The production values were high. I'd give this film a strong recommendation to any horror fans (and people who like weird movies).

This is more than just another horror film. There are complexities intertwined in the story that include the deep devotion of young love, the corruption of character that money can sometimes cause, and how power over life and death, in the wrong hands, can make a person crazy. The characters are both believable and colorful and ultimately ones you won't soon forget. it is refreshing to see the effort at character development was as important as the shocking action scenes and the horror of Leslie's descent into darkness. The film's creepy aspect was intensified by the unique monster, and the desert dwelling couple that will make your skin crawl. I would like to see more from this young writer / director.

Reanimation takes on a life of its own in Kiss the Abyss, a unique indie horror that's full of surprises. By melding the things we learn from stories of Frankenstein, vampires, and zombies into one horror tale, the film provides an interesting bit of macabre that provides several neat turns.Our story starts in the middle of things, as Mark (Scott Wilson) heads into the desert on a secret mission with what we soon learn are his father-in-law and brother-in-law. As the film moves forward, it also works backward to reveal the events that put Mark on this journey, culminating in the death of his young wife Lesley (Nicole Moore).As you can guess - especially if you can read the poster - death is only the beginning. The group's desert destination is the home of something of a magic man, a cowboy named Gus (Douglas Bennett) who uses a couple of simple injections to bring Lesley back to life. In the process, he makes sure to point out that he has no return policy. The three men attempting to restore Lesley to her previous state should take this as a bad sign, but those blinded by love rarely see things clearly in this kind of situation. (Just ask that Victor Frankenstein fellow.) Lesley awakes shortly after the treatment, but she quickly realizes that her life is no longer what it was. She first begins to suspect something when she hears her husband and father arguing about whether or not they should tell her what happened, but things truly get interesting when she begins to notice changes in her behaviors and desires. I won't go into details here, as much of the film's intrigue comes from watching her plight evolve, but it's safe for me to say that the Lesley that came back is not the same as the one Mark married.While the monstrous hijinx are Kiss the Abyss' calling card, I found myself very impressed by the film's attention to the relationships between the characters. Mark and Lesley are at the foreground of all the film's events, but their interactions with others - particularly the difficulty Mark has with his father-in-law - provide added depth to the proceedings. Like other horror tales that grow from good intentions, we're shown two people who are interested in the preservation of Lesley, but the disconnect between them adds to the drama. There are also some interesting twists involving Lesley's siblings that add to the film, and the actors work well within the script to represent the human drama of the story well.The evolution of Lesley's character after the accident is handled very well, and the film uses practical special effects to highlight the changes in the character that drive us toward the film's bloody conclusion. As the film returns to that desolate ranch - you had to assume that no return policy comment meant something, didn't you? - the film speeds up and offers a barrage of carnage that provides plenty of thrills. The introduction of two more undead characters in the final act is a nice touch, as the shifting odds certainly add another dimension to the film's climax.In the end, Kiss the Abyss resonates with me as a thoughtful piece of horror that is confidently made. Director Ken Winkler and his crew have put together a well-made film that is a fantastic slice of modern day mad science, and the cast presents the story quite well. The film still feels a bit hollow - most of the characterizations fit into roles we've seen in other films - but Kiss the Abyss still manages to be wildly entertaining and deceptively thought-provoking. It's more fun than I've had with a new horror film in some time.