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Trapped Ashes (2006) DVD Review
Trapped Ashes (2006) DVD Credits:
Trapped Ashes (2006) Directed by:
Sean S. Cunningham, John Gaeta, Monte Hellman, Ken Russell, Joe Dante
Trapped Ashes (2006) Written by:
Dennis Bartok
Trapped Ashes (2006) Cast:
Jayce Bartok, Henry Gibson, Lara Harris, Scott Lowell, Dick Miller, Michèle-Barbara Pelletier
Trapped Ashes (2006) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Trapped Ashes (2006) DVD Release Date:
14th July 2008
Our Rating: Extras Rating:

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Trapped Ashes (2006) Synopsis:

Seven strangers are trapped in a haunted house while on a studio tour. Now in order to escape, they must tell each other their most personal and horrifying stories.

Trapped Ashes (2006) DVD Review:

Trapped Ashes is a collaborative effort that combines four short films directed by four different directors with a wrap around story, much like the cult favorite Four Rooms, which featured segments directed by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Once Upon a Time In Mexico) and Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2). All of the four short films were tied together by their location, date of the events and one hapless bellhop named Ted, left alone on his first day of work, played by Tim Roth (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Reservoir Dogs).

The film finds a group of people, all of who received an invitation to a special VIP Hollywood studio tour, led by a demented little man (Henry Gibson, The Nutty Professor, The burbs). The tour is progressing nicely, until they are denied access to a working movie set to a cult classic horror film. The group demands that they are allowed to explore the so called Haunted House, and eventually their guide concedes defeat, allowing them to enter. Once inside, the group is allowed to explore with caution, quickly, however, each and every member finds their way to the a large chamber in the center of the house. Miraculously, the house shifts and all of the doors they have just moments ago entered from, are now blocked.

The guide suggests that the group humor the spirit of the house and tell their most frightening and personal horror stories, an idea based upon the plot of the film made in the house. One by one, each group tells a horror story to appease the spirit.

It is these four segments that were each directed by a different filmmaker. The first story is The Girl with the Golden Breasts, directed by Ken Russell (Altered States, The Who’s Tommy). When aspiring actress Phoebe begins to get passed over for film roles, she decides that it is time for breast augmentation. Phoebe enlists the help of a surgeon with a revolutionary new procedure that implants actual human tissue into the breasts rather than silicon or a jelly. Things seem to be paying off with great success for Phoebe as she begins earning film roles previously unattainable, she actually looks younger as a result of her surgery. Things take a turn for the worse however when Phoebe discovers that her breasts were actually implanted with a blood sucking creature that must feed on human blood regularly, but in return, she will live forever.

The second segment is told by a icy couple, their story Jibaku, is directed by Sean S. Cunningham (Friday the 13th, A Stranger is Watching). A couple whose marriage is on the rocks tries to rekindle their marriage while on a business trip exploring Japan. However, after a bizarre encounter with a handsome young man, who later turns up dead, the couple finds that they are at a much greater risk than a failed marriage.

The third segment, Stanley is directed by Monte Hellman (Two Lane Blacktop, Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out!). It tells the story of Stanley Kubrick from the point of view of a friend. He and his friend love to play chess, that is until Stanley begins seeing a sexually liberated woman named Nina who seems to be tapping Stanley’s essence all the while trying to sleep with his best friend.

The fourth segment, My Twin the Worm, is directed by Oscar winning visual effects artist John Gaeta (The Matrix, What Dreams May Come) tells the story of a young girl who shared the womb with a tapeworm she calls her twin. During her childhood she develops a sort of eating disorder as she hides food around the house, left for her twin. Her abusive step mom, however, cannot deal with this idiosyncrasy, and begins to abuse the young girl.

The wraparound segments are directed by Joe Dante (The burbs, Innerspace).

Trapped Ashes is the brainchild of screenwriter Dennis Barok. Bartok began working on his film concept several years ago, a project that was inspired by several very bizarre but allegedly true stories. Among the stories told is a bizarre tale of Stanley Kubrick and his Hollywood successes and exploits from the 1950s, as well as Bartok’s own personal gruesome discovery of a suicide while visiting Kyoto, Japan.

Bartok set out to create a script that included both the macabre and an amped up eroticism in a sort of extended homage to several of his favorite films from the 1960s and 1970s.

Trapped Ashes is an entertaining and enjoyable film or set of films. It is relatively light hearted in its delivery, creating a highly erotic thriller.

The DVD release of Bartok’s vision Trapped Ashes includes the film presented in widescreen with a 5.1 stereo surround soundtrack. The special features include a director’s cut of Stanley’s Girlfriend as well as an original cut to The Girl with the Golden Breasts. It also features a filmmakers and cast commentary and deleted scenes.

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Trapped Ashes (2006) DVD review written by: Andrew Mattson

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