Mulberry Street ended up not only being the best film in the Horrorfest but one of the better horror films I’ve seen in years.
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For the second year in a row, horror-film distributor After Dark Films hosted its After Dark Horrorfest, featuring eight independent films that played in 350 theaters nationwide. Just like last year, Lionsgate is releasing the eight films to DVD, and just like last year they´re all pretty terrible. I had already digested (and somewhat regurgitated) the other seven films by the time I got to "Mulberry Street," and I was not looking forward to sitting through another one. With the exception of "Borderland," none of the films had been good or even entertaining, so I had little hope that "Mulberry" would change my sinking views of After Dark films and the junk they were dumping on horror fans. Imagine my surprise when "Mulberry Street" ended up not only being the best film in the Horrorfest but one of the better horror films I´ve seen in years.
Filmed on location in New York City using a guerilla-style filming technique, "Mulberry Street" follows a group of neighbors living in a dilapidated apartment complex in Manhattan. Clutch (Nick Damici) and his flamboyant neighbor Coco (Ron Brice) are awaiting the return of their friend Casey (Kim Blair), who is coming home after a tour in Iraq. The first act of the film simply follows the tenants as they go about their day-to-day rituals, as reports of bizarre attacks in the subway system play on TVs and radios in the background. While waiting for a train to take her back to the apartment complex, Casey realizes that something is wrong in the underground. It turns out that the "isolated" attacks on riders are part of a viral outbreak that is turning the infected into something…else. As the terror rises from the depths of the city and spreads across its streets, the people living in the apartment complex band together to defend themselves from the creatures as Casey attempts to make her way across New York back home to "Mulberry Street."
Far too many films promote themselves as "a return to the gritty horror of the late 70´s" without ever actually living up to their self-professed hype. I never heard any such tagline attached to "Mulberry Street" during its promotion, yet it effortlessly captures a grimy vision of New York that has remained relatively unseen since William Lusig followed Frank Zito around the Big Apple almost thirty years ago in "Maniac." While both films focus on a dark and dirty New York City rather than the family-friendly theme park it´s been turned into in the past decade, "Mulberry" showcases the undying spirit of its citizens while maintaining its edgy filmmaking style.
"Mulberry Street" is a very "New York" film, the dialogue and character traits exhibited by the cast fairly synonymous with the clichéd view of native New Yorkers, but it never feels forced or disparaging. The film´s genuine feel can undoubtedly be attributed to its creators living in the city itself. Director/writer Jim Mickle and his co-writer/star Nick Damici do a great job capturing the manic mentality of city life. One of the film´s high points is the fact that the outbreak that infects the city is treated somewhat like any other obstacle one might encounter living in New York. Garbage strikes, sewer back ups, packs of rabid rat creatures hungry for human flesh? What's the big deal? Fuggidaboutit!
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