10
out of
10
people found the following review helpful:
Instant Classic
Just the right amount of horror comedy action and drama. The Actors were all extremely likable and each scene was well thought out and shot. For the budget that was used, this film should be a standard for future directors and cinematographers alike to learn from. Plus, the story was both original and progressivly interesting. Elements of the story had a certain comic book/anime feel to it and it all came together brilliantly. highly recommend this film.
9
out of
9
people found the following review helpful:
110% AMAZING!
This is such a new and exciting concept. A black Elvis impersonator who also kills vampires and fights demons! AMAZING! The "uphill battle" of a friendship between Velvis and Samael is so entertaining. They are completely reluctant hero's and many people can relate to them even with the concept being so far fetched. With a larger budget this movie could become a cult classic, easily. I'm in love with this movie!
7
out of
7
people found the following review helpful:
With a budget this could have legs
This genre of movie, horror/fantasy/comedy, always needs a good script and premise, and the crazier, the better. In this case, the script has plenty of the over-the-top to make it work. This script is reminiscent of Bubba Ho-Tep, but with an additional twist, a black Elvis impersonator who is forced to fight demons to save the world and gain his freedom. Overall, the story is solid, though the script in terms of action and backstory could use some work and clarification. There's a lot of dialogue about the backstory that could use less of it and more flashback sequences instead. It would have also been fun to see Velvis actually sing an Elvis song, but that is also part of the charm of the script, you know he fights demons, but can he really cover Elvis?
The characters are solid in the movie. From Velvis himself to his sidekick and the dead girl, the demon and her minion, Clavon and his girls, the dude who sells the demon-killer bullet and the bar owner (who plays three different characters) and the rappers, all commit fully to their roles and bring in twists of the crazy that work well for already far out characters. The vampire's head in a bag is a particularly funny notion and brought many laughs and guffaws. There are some stretches of reality when it comes to the well-established lore of vampires and demons, but whatever, it's fun.
Overall, with some slight changes, a bigger budget, some CGI, and more realistic fight sequences (which comes from the low-budget quality of this particular version), I think that Velvis has legs with good tie-ins, a possible cult following, comics, merch and what-not. Good luck, it's fun stuff!
The characters are solid in the movie. From Velvis himself to his sidekick and the dead girl, the demon and her minion, Clavon and his girls, the dude who sells the demon-killer bullet and the bar owner (who plays three different characters) and the rappers, all commit fully to their roles and bring in twists of the crazy that work well for already far out characters. The vampire's head in a bag is a particularly funny notion and brought many laughs and guffaws. There are some stretches of reality when it comes to the well-established lore of vampires and demons, but whatever, it's fun.
Overall, with some slight changes, a bigger budget, some CGI, and more realistic fight sequences (which comes from the low-budget quality of this particular version), I think that Velvis has legs with good tie-ins, a possible cult following, comics, merch and what-not. Good luck, it's fun stuff!
5
out of
5
people found the following review helpful:
Cool story with exciting, gritty performances by a group talented actors.
Loved that this movie storyline moved along and that the characters were developed enough to tell who was who and what was what.
What a great concept to have a black 'Velvis'. And his side-kick steals a lot of the scenes. They've got great synergy.
The bad guy was 'BAD'! won't want to meet him in a dark alley!
The vampire action scenes were excellent! I would love to see more of those fight scenes.
All in all, a great new film - want to see more these guys!
What a great concept to have a black 'Velvis'. And his side-kick steals a lot of the scenes. They've got great synergy.
The bad guy was 'BAD'! won't want to meet him in a dark alley!
The vampire action scenes were excellent! I would love to see more of those fight scenes.
All in all, a great new film - want to see more these guys!
5
out of
5
people found the following review helpful:
Pleasantly Surprised
I went into this movie thinking that it might be a little on the "cheesy side" and somewhat skeptical. I was actually happy to see that it really was not about an Elvis impersonator at all. The concept is radically original, which is so refreshing. It seems like all movies being made now are just slight variations on the same handful of concepts. The Velvet Elvis is so different, which is what kept me watching the film. The story seemed solid, and it had a good amount of comedy, nothing extreme, but enough to keep me laughing and break it up on the emotional level. It is a fun movie that I would recommend to others.
5
out of
5
people found the following review helpful:
Really diggin' this picture!
There are so many things to like about this movie... Great character development, smooth plot lines and a truly unique premise. Jeff and his team did a great job of breathing life into these characters... Kirk kills it as Velvis, Samael (Ridgeway) is the perfect sidekick to Velvis, always providing that edgy comic relief. All in all... Great Job Jeff and team!
4
out of
4
people found the following review helpful:
Viva la Velvis!
Well now... Quite the pleasant surprise that turned out to be!
I am going to keep this as short and sweet as possible! In the spirit of keeping things perfectly honest, I had my doubts at first. Although, I had absolutely zero premeditated doubts, but they were established within the first few minutes of the film...
And boy were they extinguished quite quickly.
The Velvet Elvis moves along, quite smoothly thanks in part to some sleek editing and a more than convincingly carried performance by Kirk Ponton, who plays the films title character with such ease, like he's performed it on stage a million times before. It's no secret watching this film that Jeff Stewart (the director for those who don't already know!) had a clear cut vision of what he wanted to do before he fired up the camera. This film had a very Tarantino-esque feel to it from top to bottom. From the choice of music, weaponry, sharp witty dialogue that holds absolutley no bars and knows no bounds, to the eclectic group of characters, some of the shots, and pure ruthlessness that pushes the film along at a hurried pace.
And that is damn fine in my eyes.
Stewart was able to draw inspiration from someone (and I mean, I really could be wrong about the whole Tarantino thing, but for some reason, I do think Mr. Stewart is a fan) whose work he seemingly admires, and make it entirely his own. It's very rare that we see someone with their own vision, who can also sprinkle in a twist of an artist they revere, and come up with something so refreshingly original.
I can imagine being in the actor's shoes, sitting in that audition room, looking at their sides, saying to myself, "holy hell, what exactly is going on here?," with the other half of my brain retorting, "WHO CARES!? It's Awesome!"
It truly is. I found myself wanting more at the films closing. And I do believe, that with the combined imagination of Brenton Lonkey and Jeff Stewart, these characters not only can, but will live on after this film. I believe they have created their own little whacky universe where, not only do they not HAVE to use the same characters later on, but they CAN and not even have to make them stand out. They can simply be referenced, or cameoed and you would still known you were in the realm that is that of Brenton Lonkey and Jeff Stewart.
Now back to the performances (side note: I know I said this would be short and sweet and all, but, well). Kevin Ridgeway was just about as convincing as you can be. For his first few scenes of screen time, you could have told me he was Jesse Pinkman's brother and I would have honestly believed that. At first he came off forced, almost out of his element, but in no time flat, he makes you eat those words when you realize just how perfectly cast he was in the role. This is no offense to Kevin Ridgeway but if you also decided to tell me he was playing himself, I would have believed that to. He always carries this sense of maniacal frenzy coupled with the good sense to know exactly what he has to do and when he has to do it. There's something beautiful about a character that at any given moment could jump off and cause a huge mess, yet, never does. There was a certain commitment needed to do this character justice, and Ridgeway brought it with him to set constantly.
A stand out performance to me, came from Miss Jensen Bucher. When I say stand out, I don't mean the over-powering, dramatic, take over this entire film type of stand out, but, it seemed all so effortless for her. Her character didn't have any motives really other than to manipulate whoever necessary to get her power back. This is fine, because she does it expertly. At this precise moment it's safe to say that if she approached me, and wanted me to kill 100 people for her... I wouldn't do it. On the other hand, there's pretty much nothing else she probably couldn't convince me to do. That's what I love about her, her role... The conviction. You absolutely believe her, 100% of the time, and that's something you can never have enough of from actors.
Michael Markiewicz... don't run in to him in a back alley. As a matter of fact, don't run in to him anywhere. You see Michael Markiewicz, you turn the other way, and you run. You run as fast as you can and you never look back... Unless he grabs you by the collar of your shirt and pulls your head clean off of your body. In which case, you're free to look any which way your head rolls on the ground after that. Markiewicz is menacing from start to finish. It's that kind of menacing that makes me do karate around every corner of my house, on my way to the kitchen for a glass of water so I can finish typing this review with proper hydration.
But really, practice your karate folks. You never know.
Todd Ryan Jones... Oh that Todd Ryan Jones. I hated every single character he played in this film.
And that's a good thing.
Because I didn't realize until the ending credits that he plays one of the rappers, the vamp, AND the bootleg Buddy Holly looking fellow that Velvis so despises. So you know, Todd Ryan Jones, here are some props for you. Not the gun or vampire teeth kind of props either, but the street ones. As an actor myself, I like to get deep into the psyche of my characters. I like to create entire lives for them. Their history, their walk, talk, mannerisms, everything, as to try and separate myself from the characters as much as possible, to of course make the character one of its own. Todd does that not once, not twice, but three times! Kudos to a one Todd Ryan Jones. Sweet name by the way.
Todd Ryan Jones, Todd Ryan Jones...
Now last, but certainly not least, Kacie Marie. A quick IMDB search will show you that she is quite new to film. Nevertheless, she exudes a confidence that let's you know she's here to stick around. She's an absolutely other type of gorgeous that regrettably, much regrettably, I'm not used to seeing. Want to make a great film? Cast Kacie Marie, and only Kacie Marie, point the camera at her face and record about 90 minutes worth of just that. She's one of those very fortunate actors who has that look, those wonderful genetics that just allow her, no matter what the circumstance, to look perfectly perfect all the time.
And that's just skimming the surface.
Every now and then, you catch a glimpse of a young film actress (Marie) who is just sinking her teeth into the craft, who is new and unexperienced, but eager, brave, and willing to throw herself into the mix with formidable co-stars. This is yet again, a beautiful thing. In this film, you get to watch her grow and evolve as both a character, and an actress. Where she might have had you having second thoughts in the first few minutes, by the end, you absolutely enjoy everything about her presence. Every moment she disappears from screen, you want her back immediately. She has these little looks that she does, these quirks that she has, that really makes you care for her as a character. You want her to come back to life, you want her to stick around, you want a happy ending for her. Yet, sadly, we don't get it. That is not to say, that in this wonderful little universe they've created, that she won't come back later on down the road some time, but you will miss her while she's gone. For an actress whose career depth, compared to a body of water, is at that stage comparable to the moment you skim your toes across the top to test the temperature, she simply dives in without a care. Cold? So be it. She's ready for it.
This review is very performance heavy due to the fact that I myself, as previously stated, am a performer. So! I will leave all the wonderful little technical aspects to those more qualified to discuss such things.
The Velvet Elvis certainly has a fan in me. I look very much forward to seeing what Jeff Stewart puts forward next.
I am going to keep this as short and sweet as possible! In the spirit of keeping things perfectly honest, I had my doubts at first. Although, I had absolutely zero premeditated doubts, but they were established within the first few minutes of the film...
And boy were they extinguished quite quickly.
The Velvet Elvis moves along, quite smoothly thanks in part to some sleek editing and a more than convincingly carried performance by Kirk Ponton, who plays the films title character with such ease, like he's performed it on stage a million times before. It's no secret watching this film that Jeff Stewart (the director for those who don't already know!) had a clear cut vision of what he wanted to do before he fired up the camera. This film had a very Tarantino-esque feel to it from top to bottom. From the choice of music, weaponry, sharp witty dialogue that holds absolutley no bars and knows no bounds, to the eclectic group of characters, some of the shots, and pure ruthlessness that pushes the film along at a hurried pace.
And that is damn fine in my eyes.
Stewart was able to draw inspiration from someone (and I mean, I really could be wrong about the whole Tarantino thing, but for some reason, I do think Mr. Stewart is a fan) whose work he seemingly admires, and make it entirely his own. It's very rare that we see someone with their own vision, who can also sprinkle in a twist of an artist they revere, and come up with something so refreshingly original.
I can imagine being in the actor's shoes, sitting in that audition room, looking at their sides, saying to myself, "holy hell, what exactly is going on here?," with the other half of my brain retorting, "WHO CARES!? It's Awesome!"
It truly is. I found myself wanting more at the films closing. And I do believe, that with the combined imagination of Brenton Lonkey and Jeff Stewart, these characters not only can, but will live on after this film. I believe they have created their own little whacky universe where, not only do they not HAVE to use the same characters later on, but they CAN and not even have to make them stand out. They can simply be referenced, or cameoed and you would still known you were in the realm that is that of Brenton Lonkey and Jeff Stewart.
Now back to the performances (side note: I know I said this would be short and sweet and all, but, well). Kevin Ridgeway was just about as convincing as you can be. For his first few scenes of screen time, you could have told me he was Jesse Pinkman's brother and I would have honestly believed that. At first he came off forced, almost out of his element, but in no time flat, he makes you eat those words when you realize just how perfectly cast he was in the role. This is no offense to Kevin Ridgeway but if you also decided to tell me he was playing himself, I would have believed that to. He always carries this sense of maniacal frenzy coupled with the good sense to know exactly what he has to do and when he has to do it. There's something beautiful about a character that at any given moment could jump off and cause a huge mess, yet, never does. There was a certain commitment needed to do this character justice, and Ridgeway brought it with him to set constantly.
A stand out performance to me, came from Miss Jensen Bucher. When I say stand out, I don't mean the over-powering, dramatic, take over this entire film type of stand out, but, it seemed all so effortless for her. Her character didn't have any motives really other than to manipulate whoever necessary to get her power back. This is fine, because she does it expertly. At this precise moment it's safe to say that if she approached me, and wanted me to kill 100 people for her... I wouldn't do it. On the other hand, there's pretty much nothing else she probably couldn't convince me to do. That's what I love about her, her role... The conviction. You absolutely believe her, 100% of the time, and that's something you can never have enough of from actors.
Michael Markiewicz... don't run in to him in a back alley. As a matter of fact, don't run in to him anywhere. You see Michael Markiewicz, you turn the other way, and you run. You run as fast as you can and you never look back... Unless he grabs you by the collar of your shirt and pulls your head clean off of your body. In which case, you're free to look any which way your head rolls on the ground after that. Markiewicz is menacing from start to finish. It's that kind of menacing that makes me do karate around every corner of my house, on my way to the kitchen for a glass of water so I can finish typing this review with proper hydration.
But really, practice your karate folks. You never know.
Todd Ryan Jones... Oh that Todd Ryan Jones. I hated every single character he played in this film.
And that's a good thing.
Because I didn't realize until the ending credits that he plays one of the rappers, the vamp, AND the bootleg Buddy Holly looking fellow that Velvis so despises. So you know, Todd Ryan Jones, here are some props for you. Not the gun or vampire teeth kind of props either, but the street ones. As an actor myself, I like to get deep into the psyche of my characters. I like to create entire lives for them. Their history, their walk, talk, mannerisms, everything, as to try and separate myself from the characters as much as possible, to of course make the character one of its own. Todd does that not once, not twice, but three times! Kudos to a one Todd Ryan Jones. Sweet name by the way.
Todd Ryan Jones, Todd Ryan Jones...
Now last, but certainly not least, Kacie Marie. A quick IMDB search will show you that she is quite new to film. Nevertheless, she exudes a confidence that let's you know she's here to stick around. She's an absolutely other type of gorgeous that regrettably, much regrettably, I'm not used to seeing. Want to make a great film? Cast Kacie Marie, and only Kacie Marie, point the camera at her face and record about 90 minutes worth of just that. She's one of those very fortunate actors who has that look, those wonderful genetics that just allow her, no matter what the circumstance, to look perfectly perfect all the time.
And that's just skimming the surface.
Every now and then, you catch a glimpse of a young film actress (Marie) who is just sinking her teeth into the craft, who is new and unexperienced, but eager, brave, and willing to throw herself into the mix with formidable co-stars. This is yet again, a beautiful thing. In this film, you get to watch her grow and evolve as both a character, and an actress. Where she might have had you having second thoughts in the first few minutes, by the end, you absolutely enjoy everything about her presence. Every moment she disappears from screen, you want her back immediately. She has these little looks that she does, these quirks that she has, that really makes you care for her as a character. You want her to come back to life, you want her to stick around, you want a happy ending for her. Yet, sadly, we don't get it. That is not to say, that in this wonderful little universe they've created, that she won't come back later on down the road some time, but you will miss her while she's gone. For an actress whose career depth, compared to a body of water, is at that stage comparable to the moment you skim your toes across the top to test the temperature, she simply dives in without a care. Cold? So be it. She's ready for it.
This review is very performance heavy due to the fact that I myself, as previously stated, am a performer. So! I will leave all the wonderful little technical aspects to those more qualified to discuss such things.
The Velvet Elvis certainly has a fan in me. I look very much forward to seeing what Jeff Stewart puts forward next.
2
out of
2
people found the following review helpful:
Very Entertaining
Love this film, its a blast!
2
out of
2
people found the following review helpful:
Very Imaginative and Well Acted. Bravo for the Budget!!!
I was first interested in this film just because it was a black elvis fighting demons. Thought it would be kind of "cheesey" and something funny to watch. I was half right. Even though this is such a wild and crazy idea, its anything but cheesey. Fantastic job to the writers and actors as well. I was pulled in from the very begining and was highly entertained throughout the entire project. And Velvis is just so great!!! A smooth ass kicking singer with some southern twang. For all of you who did this movie, i'd just like to say "Thank you.....thank you very much." lol Great Work!
2
out of
2
people found the following review helpful:
The Velvet Elvis has everything it needs to become monster cult hit
The Velvet Elvis is a really impressive film that I can only sit and think will become a huge cult hit as it becomes mainstream. If this film received a bigger budget and was in theaters, I honestly believe it would become a huge hit. The characters range from badass (velvis) to hilarious (samael) as the lead actors and damn are they impressive. Legit couldn't stop laughing from Samael's lines. Definitely worth a watch on amazon and lets help this film become the big hit it deserves to be!
