The Editor (2014) Reviews

• Aston 6 is BACK!

  djs_3002014-09-16

  I showed up 9:15 AM at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) to watch the editor. I went into the movie only seeing the poster. I am a huge fan of Astron 6 and I wanted to be surprised once I saw the movie. Plot: Rey Cisco (Adam Brooks) is the longtime film editor, who is editing a schlock crime thriller film circa 1980. But starting with the leading actor, someone starts killing the cast and crew. Though, in typical giallo fashion, everyone acts suspiciously, macho police detective Peter Porfiry (Matthew Kennedy) trains his eye on meek Rey, against whom the case does look pretty bad. Now if you haven't heard/seen the Giallo Italian crime films then you will have a problem understanding the style in which the film was shot. Bad intentional dubbing, amazing use of color lighting, gore effects. Everything about this film was top notch. It is a low budget dark comedy, only shot with $150,000. Astron 6's earlier film "Father's Day" (2011) was only shot for less than $10,000. They used the money they had well, and made an amazing movie. The only con I had with the movie was it slowed down on a couple of parts, that's it. Everything else was great. It was a great homage/parody to trashy Giallo films. Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy, and Coonor Sweeney showed up after the movie for a Q&A I got a picture with them and amazing actress Sheila Campbell. I suggest you check this film out once it has an official release.

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• Giallo spoof

  trashgang2015-09-16

  If you never have seen those old school Italian horrors called Giallo then you will never understand this flick. The way the sound was created (overdubbed?), the score, the editing, the lighting it all referred to the seventies galore of the Italian genre. The story itself is what it should make funny, sometimes it was sometimes it didn't work at all. But overall this flick delivers on gore. The effects are top-notch. But again, it's the story that tears it a bit down. You can refer to those classics but don't exaggerate. After half an hour you have seen it all on that part. So if you aren't into Giallo's then this isn't going to be your thing, for the geeks they will search to all those references made towards the classics, I did, and get lost of the story somehow and that isn't good news. But it contains what makes a good Giallo, the glove, the POV from the knife, the eye stabbing and of course a lot of gratuitous nudity. But the story guys.... Gore 1,5/5 Nudity 2,5/5 Effects 4/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0,5/5

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• Hilarious giallo homage!!!!

  absolute_hunk0072014-09-14

  Went to see it @ TIFF, the movie was super funny, lots of gore and sex, cult actors (UDO KIER !!!!)....cant go wrong with that kind of mix the movie spoofed so many old giallo's (blade of the ripper, your vice is a closed door, the new york ripper, suspiria ), intentional bad acting , bad editing (the irony !!!!), ... makes you realize that the makers must have gone thru a lot of sleazy euro- trash titles to make this one. The soundtrack was amazing ,cinematography was top-notch . However, the movie kinda gets sluggish in the middle (especially act 2), but the ending makes up for it.... Congrats to the ASTRON 6 team... clearly the best movie they have made (also check out father's day and manborg from the same team)....definitely would recommend it to any euro-horror/ giallo fan....

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• Really weird (which I respect)!

  Hellmant2015-10-19

  'THE EDITOR': Four Stars (Out of Five) An extremely odd horror-comedy/mystery flick, from directors Adam Brooks and Matthew Kennedy; the two also co-wrote the film, with actor Conor Sweeney. Brooks, Kennedy and Sweeney also star in the movie; along with Paz de la Huerta, Samantha Hill, Kevin Anderson, Udo Kier and Laurence R. Harvey (of 'THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE II' and 'III' fame). It tells the story of a veteran film editor; that becomes the prime suspect in a series of grisly murders. The movie is hilarious, quirky and packed with gruesome shocks and bloody thrills! Rey Ciso (Brooks) was once considered one of the best film editors in the world. After a horrific accident, and a mental breakdown, left him disfigured; he now only works on low budget B-movies. When the lead actors, on his latest film, are brutally murdered, Rey becomes the lead suspect. He still struggles to complete the movie; while also dealing with a mentally ill wife (la Huerta), a new love interest (Hill), a moronic actor (Sweeney) and an incompetent police detective (Kennedy). The killer continues to viciously murder people, at the same time. The movie is really weird (which I respect), and surprisingly funny; not to mention shockingly gruesome. Going into it, I didn't know quite what to expect (I kind of assumed it was just a poorly made B- horror flick); so I was pleasantly surprised. The filmmakers definitely have a lot of talent, and the film is packed with nostalgic style and wit; I can't wait to see what they do next. I've also recently became a fan of Paz de la Huerta; so seeing her (in a lead role) was a nice, added touch! Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13nGzq8Gvgo

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• The Editor

  Argemaluco2015-11-14

  The Canadian group Astron-6 (formed by Steven Kostanski, Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy, Conor Sweeney and Jeremy Gillespie) is specialized in parodying the '80s with films overflowing of style, energy and a particular sense of humor which makes them transcend the nostalgia in order to become something special and memorable by themselves. Astron-6 had made a satire of slasher cinema with Father's Day, and of post-apocalyptic science fiction with Manborg (not to mention its numerous short films, many of which can be watched on YouTube). More recently, in the movie The Editor, it makes a tribute/parody of "giallo"; those thrillers bathed on blood and sexuality which used to be popular in Italy during the '70s and '80s. The most famous exponent of that style is, of course, Dario Argento, but many other directors also contributed to it, such as Sergio Martino, Umberto Lenzi and Mario Bava. Having said all that, I have to admit that I have generally not been a big fan of giallo's. I definitely appreciate its bloody violence (which was rarely realistic, but always excessive), and I also like the distinctive electronic music which usually accompanies it; but, with the exception of Argento's films, I find giallo simplistic and repetitive, with confusing and incoherent screenplays which rarely satisfy on the most elementary narrative level. Fortunately, those problems become pros when they are filtered by Astron-6's sensibility. The story of The Editor has all the ingredients required by the recipe (not to mention dozens of references to the directors and films which inspired it): grotesque deaths, mediocre special effects, beautiful women, bad dubbing, anachronistic misogyny and various suspects who can be the mysterious killer of the black gloves. The exaggerated imitation of those elements is essential for the humor of The Editor, but it's not its only virtue. Like it had done in Father's Day and Manborg, Astron-6 gradually moves from familiar territory in order to add twisted digressions and unexpected surprises, including a series of final twists, each one of them more bizarre than the previous one, until leading to an "ending ending" which is simultaneously ingenious and ridiculous. On the negative side, The Editor occasionally feels a bit repetitive, and I think I was kinda expecting something more extreme and shocking from Astron-6; however, on the other hand, this might mean the fact that the group is maturing, and I will definitely keep looking forward to its next films. In the micro-universe of tributes, satires and revivals of giallo cinema, I would place The Editor above Amer and Berberian Sound Studio, but below The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears, which was basically incomprehensible, but I think it handled the giallo style on a more artistic way. Nevertheless, I liked The Editor pretty much, and I recommend it with the warning that this film will definitely not be everyone's cup of tea.

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