Think of it as a mercy killing for a sick animal
Main Cast: Patrick O. Kane, Shayla Beesley
Director: Craig Singer
Each year there are movies produced that are never seen by the public. Their content is considered too graphic, too disturbing, too shocking for general audiences. This is one of those films.
This particular movie had an interesting origin. The people at Massify.com asked readers to submit ideas online and the winner would then have their movie made. The winner was Jeremy Donaldson who submitted the idea for PERKINS’ 14, which was then written by Lane Shadgett. The result is one of the coolest After Dark movies I’ve seen. Lots of people set about making the zombie movie with no zombies–because really, I believe the simple idea of being overwhelmed by the masses, nowhere to hide, no way to protect yourself from the enormity of the situation, is what frightens us about the zombie movie (at the heart of it, we know the part about the dead coming back to life is an impossibility–and even if they did, how they gonna get out of their coffins anyway?). And PERKINS’ 14 responds to that dilemma in fine form.
Backstory: at the age of 6, Ronald Perkins’ parents were murdered. His mother was stabbed 14 times. Their killer was never found. The case was considered closed. Ronald Perkins was forgotten. So Ronald Perkins (Richard Brake) decided to get even. As an adult, Perkins kidnapped 14 children from loving families. 10 years later, he’s still at large. One night, exactly 10 years to the day from the first abduction, Ronnie Perkins is picked up by the police.
The officer on duty that night, Duane Hopper (played wonderfully by Patrick O’Kane), whose own son Kyle was one of those kidnapped a decade earlier and never found, notices a few strange things about the new guy down in the holding cells. He digs into Perkins’ file, looks through his car (illegally, but what’s a grieving father to do, he’s already lost everything else; his daughter (Shayla Beesley) thinks he’s a joke and his wife (Mihaela Mihut) is cheating on him), and comes to the conclusion that this is the Stone Cove Killer, as the case was originally dubbed. Perkins is well-connected, though, and his release papers come in. Determined not to let this chance slip by, Hopper convinces a fellow, off-duty, cop to case the Perkins residence and see if there’s any probable cause to search the place.
There is.
What the officer finds is a secret room where Perkins’ 14 kidnappees have been kept for the past decade. Isolated, beholden only to Ronald Perkins, animalistic, starving, and high on PCP, the victims escape their prison, which leads to their rampage through town. In the end, there are many dead bodies and much much gore and all is awesome.
I really dug this movie. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I realized O’Kane was the star–no offense but I’d have pegged him for the sex pervert, not the hero–and I did have some pretty strong reservations at first, but 15-20 minutes in, PERKINS’ 14 had my attention.
Director Craig Singer (from After Dark Horrorfest I’s DARK RIDE) has a clear vision of the kind of movie he wants to make, and this one pulls no punches. His devotion to the gore is admirable, giving the fans just want they want to see without overdoing it or being gratuitous.
The story was original, though still pretty predictable. But that was okay in this case.
I liked the actors, for the most part, although a few of them were obviously not professional actors, and everyone worked well together to bring this story to life. I liked O’Kane as Officer Hopper, and thought he and Beesley had a nice father/daughter rapport.
The zombies looked great, worn out and haggard, but not “living dead”, and I really dug the backstory dealing with how they got the way they are, living in Perkins’ basement for 10 years, locked in cages.
I had no idea what to expect going into this movie, but I definitely let my disappointment in so many other After Dark Horrorfest movies lessen my expectations, and I’m happy to say PERKINS’ 14 dashed those. It’s not a perfect movie, definitely B-rate at best, but what it does it does well, and it was entertaining as hell and absolutely worth a second viewing. In fact, this movie was so fun, I can easily see making it a regular Halloween tradition.
Read more 8 Films to Die For reviews
C. Dennis Moore is the author of over 60 published short stories and novellas in the speculative fiction genre. Most recent appearances are in the Dark Highlands 2, What Fears Become, Dead Bait 3 and Dark Highways anthologies. His novels are Revelations, and the Angel Hill stories, The Man in the Window, The Third Floor, and The Flip.
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