Cheap Ice from the Sun (DVD) (Eric Stanze) Price

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Customer Reviews of Ice from the Sun

Slow moving modern horror fantasy tale
Uhhh...I guess it is about a man named "The Presence" that rules an alternate universe between Heaven and Hell encased in "ice from the sun" (not making this up). A suicide victim named Allison is hired as an assassin to hunt him (still not making this up). She must make him remember who he was as a person to break the ice. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is that you must sit through 30min of dialogue before you watch her take what can only be described as a 60min trip through a NIN music video. <
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>Okay, here we go again (see Savage Harvest review). Stanze insists on casting unattractive people with no charisma. You will not want to watch them on screen or care to listen to them talk. This is a problem considering his films boast 30 minutes of talky-talky before you see anything. I have a feeling he has good stories to tell, which is why he continues to bore us with lengthy tales before sending us some ghastly images. I dare you to watch this without hitting the fast forward button once. I get the feeling that if Stanze had a decent budget and hired good actors, his films would be better. He has good ideas, but does not achieve them. <
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>There is decent gore and sound quality here. The only scene that would be of interest was an innocent woman stripped, tied to the back of a truck, driven a mile, then covered in salt as you watch her squirm. I have no idea who this person is or why this is happening or who the nice gentleman is driving the truck. Again, the dialogue was so boring, you fast-forward, and then stop when you get to a good scene, but it has no meaning. <
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>Favorite Quote: Stanze during the commentary when he says that this was the lowest budgeted film made at the time. This would mean that any film up to 1999 cost more than this. I think Lloyd Kaufman would beg to differ. Stanze also mentions that Super 8 looks like a music video, not film, so my description of the film is correct. <
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>DVD Extras: Trailers, Still Gallery, and Commentary. <
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>Bottom Line: If you like slow-moving modern horror fantasy tales, then I guess you might dig this. <
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>Rating: 6/10 <
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>Molly Celaschi <
>www.HorrorYearbook.com <
>MySpace.com/HorrorYearbook <
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>(Side note- Hello Sergio. You were too kind in the review)

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Now I'm going to tell you a scary tale.
Now I'm going to tell you a scary tale. <
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>Listen. <
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>A long time ago, in a Dark Age far, far away, there was an evil warlock named Ambolin. (This is the point where I ponder if "Ambolin" is a shot at Spielberg, who in the last decade managed to milk every genre that was once thrilling, from haunted houses to naziploitation. Even if that's not the case, makes me happy to think so). Rant mode off, moving on: Ambolin managed to create a parallel dimension encased within the ice he scraped off the sun (don't ask!). It was a dimension where heavenly and hellish creatures had no access. A place where Ambolin and his apprentice Abraham (the spooky DJ Vivona) pull six not-so innocent humans from Earth every few years, and proceed to play with their fears until they crack - sometimes, literally. <
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>To the screenwriter's credit, those phobias aren't the over-the-top absurdities from the 80's horror, but real mundane fears like suffocation or being cornered on a dark alley by armed thugs. I don't know about you, but surviving a car crash only to become paralyzed from the neck down is ten times scarier than a proctological exam performed by Freddy Krueger... and Stanze did well by showing the terrors we read about in the daily newspaper and pray to God not to be victims of. <
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>But power-hungry Abraham wanted more and, after overpowering and destroying Ambolin, became a more powerful being. He became... The Presence. But the idea of a soul-leeching dimension beyond their reach didn't sit well with all the angels of Heaven and all the demons of Hell, who joined forces to kick the Presence's arrogant ass. Problem is, only a being of flesh and blood can penetrate the ice that encases Abraham's realm. So they enlist a human, Alison (Ramona Midgett, a tad weak for such a demanding role), who just committed suicide in her bathtub. Alison's soul is intercepted on the way to purgatory and sent back to her body, so she can sneak into the Presence's lair along with the six humans selected for the next session of tortures and mind games. But why did they choose Alison? Well, you'll have to watch it and find out. <
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>Such story, imagined by writer-director Eric Stanze (I SPIT ON YOUR CORPSE - I PISS ON YOUR GRAVE and SCRAPBOOK), screams for CGI effects, a bunch of Rob Bottin's creatures and an A-List cast to drag even non-horror fans to theaters (well, I surely would pay to see Freddie Prinze Jr's head exploding!). But you're not Amblin, you're just... Ambolin. All you have is 193 rolls of Super 8 film, some friends who don't mind being buck nekkid in front of a camera, a very limited amount of money and no Macs. What do you do, hotshot? What do you do? You do some real filmmaking, that's what! <
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>ICE FROM THE SUN is a cheap movie with cheap sets, not-so-good actors and all the shortcomings of a Super-8 production. It just doesn't LOOK cheap, for Stanze and his crew managed to create an entire dreamlike universe using basic effects like grain, b&w and negative images, intentional scratches, over and undercranking, exquisitely clever editing choices and an astounding sound design that goes from subliminary noises to complete silence at the right moments. <
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>Ah, you're not here for the pretty pictures? Don't worry; IFTC also delivers on the gore department. You have exploding and melting heads, graphic surgery images and some extremely sadistic stuff. The fact that some of the tortures can easily be done in real life by any sicko-wacko only makes the story ookier. <
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>I must confess that I didn't like I SPIT ON YOUR CORPSE I PISS ON YOUR GRAVE. It looked like one of them porn flicks with plots. ICE FROM THE SUN was made three years earlier, so I popped the DVD in my player expecting the worst, but came out pleasantly surprised with Stanze's talents and skills. This is a guy who sure knows the tools of the trade and has plenty of imagination to burn. All he needs now is to be paired with someone with money to burn, cause I'm sure we can expect cool things from this fellow. <
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A BEAUTIFULLY BRUTAL LOW-BUDGET MASTERPIECE ! One of the best eva !
With 'ICE FROM THE SUN' Director Eric Stanze shows us all that low-budget film makeing is not a steping stone,it's an art form! I.F.T.S. is a Brilliantly creative nightmare that is sure to disturb the senses & fulfill the appetite of any fan of creative horror films. A truly ground-breaking film & one of my very favorites! This 2 disk collector's edition is beautiful! A must for true low-budget horror fans!