Film Review: Mediatrix ((2011}}

There is something about Indie films that just screams "Watch me".  Of course I have been following Cory J. Udler's trail of bread crumbs since 2009.  There is the saying believe in your friends to see them soar about it all...well maybe that's my saying.  Of course, when I heard about this project I would have loved to participated in a grander scope than doing a film review, but Cory being the sweetheart wanted me to care for my young child.  It's a treat for me to being able to review this.....

Mediatrix

~~Warning Spoilers Ahead~~

It opens with  "This is all true".
Granted opening up with a Wyatt {{ Matt Ukena}} and Mary Ann {{Paula Duerksen}} having sex while the there is suppose to be a seance down.  Mary Ann and her mother {{Heather Renken}} exchange words about her lifestyle. We get a little flash back on what happened to little Mary Ann which led her becoming a whore as an adult. 
The filming is a cross between old 70's, 80's and some 90's.  Mary Ann...does the whole helping of the lost soul, but steals her ID.  8-weeks later, she decides to fake a pregnancy and even extortion money from poor patsy Wyatt.  You sort of feel sorry for him being duped into thinking he fathered a child.
Mary Ann tells her mother that she has been called by the spirits and leaves.  She taunts a Hobo,  but goes stays with Carrie {{Kaylee Williams}} and William Brackett {{Michael Katzenberger}}, where she deceives Carrie by cutting into her hands making her believe she has the Stigmata.  Carrie calls Father Foster {{Tom Lodewyck}} and informs him about Mary.
Strange as it is that Brackett's don't mind Mary doing her drugs, till you find out that William is having sex with Mary Ann.  It got a bit confusing that there was another house guest or was there??  Despite that they appear to be religious, the two ladies staying in the room are smoking, doing drugs and so forth.
The Brackett get a couple of uncalled visitors while they are gone....where Stu {{Greg Johnson}} and Gabriel {{Joe Hollow}} come rummaging through the house.  Stu looks like he can be easily swayed with his mental problems.  Mary has them do a little deal for drugs or sex, which you can tell or assume that they went with deal number 2.
Mary starts to show her devious side when she gives William a heart attack by combining drugs.  Gabriel and Stu show up.  Carrie has basically lost her mind because she believes her husband was a nonbeliever and was struck down giving Mary Ann all legal duties to her home.  Granted you still don't really understand about the other woman, who happens to be the Virgin Mary {{Shannon Lark}} is a delusion that Mary Ann sees.  It got a bit confusing if she was an illusion or if she was sharing the room as a living being.
Mary has Stu have sex with Carrie and making her believe that it was the Angel Michael and she will be given birth to the new messiah.  Father Foster  is told that Carrie has been given the savior of the world since her husband has been in a coma state as a vegetable.  Mary Ann has started to gather a following and made many people believe that she giving the world the divine word.
Father Foster knows the truth and hires someone to help him to expose her.  Granted Stu and Gabriel have become her devoted followers doing her every bidding.  When it is time, they kill William just before they reveal to him that Mary Ann had planned for him to see all the her plans come to fruition.  Father Foster and his reporter friend {{Andy Schatner}} show up and get caught.  Granted the reporter gets killed off and Father Foster gets his face bashed by Mary Ann...and I am serious this is one sick bitch.



At the end, Gabriel hands her a little baby boy.  Which makes me believe there is going to be a part 2.   


~Production Notes~
Written Paula Duerksen and Cory J. Udler.  Directed by Cory J. Udler.  Mediatrix is the 3rd film by Shalenn Productions.  Even though Mediatrix has been estimated at $150,000 it was actually shot around $6,000.  The most expensive movie that Cory has yet filmed to date.

 ~Ask the Director~ 

Hellz Writer: You have mentioned that this was based on a true story. What inspired you to write about it??

Cory: The inspiration came from and IDS2 shoot with Paula Duerksen, she played the hooker that Greg Johnson butchers in a bathroom. She's from Oklahoma, we have been friends for a while, and we wanted to get her into the movie. She was phenomenal. I wanted to take her on a cool tour of weird Wisconsin stuff, so I took her to Plainfield to see all the Ed Gein stuff, and then to the Mediatrix of Peace shrine in Necedah. On the way back we started to talk about how that story would make a great exploitation movie, and we put some of the pieces together and a year later we shot it.

Hellz Writer: What drives you to write/direct films that are considered "Controversy"?

Cory: I've always loved doing creative things. I've been in radio, done music, writing, television, pro wrestling. And ever since I was like 12 or 13 I've wanted to make a "weird" movie. So, when I went back to school in my late 20's, I discovered filming and editing and that was that. What really inspired me to make the kind of movies I make was a show called "The Incredibly Strange Film Show" hosted by Jonathan Ross. It was a cable show that featured Ted V Mikels, HG Lewis, John Waters, Ed Wood, etc. It was an hour long feature and I fell in complete love with it. To this day those are still my favorite filmmakers.

Hellz Writer: What future works are in stored deep within??

Cory: Currently I am working on a short called "Ed Gein: DDS" starring Judith O'Dea from Night of the Living Dead. It's a short film that'll be part of a larger feature film called "Hole In The Wall" featuring work from Derrick Carey and Frank Anderson. Don't know when that'll be out, but probably year's end or early next year. And I am shooting IDS Rising, which is the Incest Death Squad prequel/sequel. Hoping to premiere that in October. I am also working with Ted V Mikels on our 3rd script together, this one, tentatively is called "Paranormal Extremes: text messages from the dead", and it's going to be wild. That's a dream come true, writing with Ted and calling Ted a friend. And my next film project won't be until next year, and I know exactly what it is, but I don't want to talk too much about it until I have a script!

~Final Thoughts~
I have seen Cory's films and I must say that they do get more twisted and bizarre by the moment, but at least the filmmaking has gotten better and better with each passing movie.  It's a learn process, but this one surely bites the "What the fuck" bullet.  I had to watch the damn thing 3-times to make sense of it.  It gets into your head as if you are seeing the Virgin Mary as an actual being or as an illusion.  I don't know but I think I am in need of some serious fucking therapy after this.  There was minor flaws to it, but I think for the budget and so forth it is only understandable.

You may purchase his movie on his website



~Ratings~
Each film is rated individually

~Hellz Writer~

Film Review: IDS2 (2010)

This was posted on another page:

With the radical and bold move by Cory J. Udler to have IDS 2 {{Incest Death Squad 2}} shown for free on Horror Society’s website as his World Movie Premier on September 17^th at 9pm central time. Incest Death Squad 1 & 2 was written and directed by Cory J. Udler, who in the last 2-years has made a dramatic improvement in his story telling, camera angles and taking you deeper in to gutter cinema. Cory may even tell you that he is crazy for doing a free event, yet showing the low-resolution on Horror Society Website was a brilliant idea. If you truly want a better high quality resolution, then it is best to go and buy the DVD from the official IDS website.
Even though it was a low-resolution World premier, thanks to Horror Society was able to continue the event until 12am with live chat with the cast, crew and insane creator of IDS. For those that know about IDS {{Incest Death Squad}} this story continues a month later…even though it was shot a year later. The impressive thing about Cory is how he can produce a movie on a micro budget to actual no budget. When you meet the creator of IDS, he is a very down to earth guy who can chat your ear off about his passion for movie making. Which is that passion and drive that is shown brightly in IDS 2. The greatest thing is that Greg Johnson, Carmela Wiese, Melissa Jo Murphy and Tom Lodewyck all reprise their original roles from the first movie
Here is the continuation of the tale of Aaron, Andrea, and Amber & Jeb Wayne. During that month things have been left in the air. Amber Wayne {{Carmela Wiese}} has strong feelings for Aaron {{Tom Lodewyck}} and wants to let him know about his unborn child. Aaron on the hand has found a natural taste in “skull fucking” the dead, while his stay at home fiancée Andrea {{Melissa Jo Murphy}} has taking up some extra-sexual fun with the neighbor. You find out that sweet little Andrea hasn’t told her fiancée about her bi-sexual secret, but holds strong mistrust about Aaron keeping secrets from her, especially with him holding up in his downstairs office.
The scene cutting and flow of the story was incredible especially with the choice of music that the Cory had selected. The relationship between Amber and Jeb {{Greg Johnson}} is shown at a different level then the original movie. The love the Jeb has for Amber is shown more than the constant babble of religion that was shown in the first movie. He accepts reluctantly to take her to see Aaron and head on a road trip with blood, death and incest. The way Cory moves the movie in a tighter more intense feeling was seating gripping. The script proved to be more natural with what goes on between the lives of these two separate households. Seeing as shit goes out of control, when Amber calls Aaron’s house and speaks to Andrea.
Knowing that Amber can feel remorse for something and seeing that Jeb despite the deep rooted love for his sister, losses his temper and watch his actual reaction of this road trip that he did not want to take. During the process, Aaron confesses to Andrea about the night at the barn. Which leaves Andrea fuming and informs him about hiring her criminal cousin to hunt and kill the Waynes. Unlike the first IDS, there was some distance from the audience and the characters, but watching IDS 2, there is a connection towards the Waynes. Jeb really was the Anti-hero in this movie and even though killing people in the name of God is something the average person doesn’t want happening to them. Despite him killing a hooker in a park bathroom and asking God for forgiveness for how he treated his sister really showed the deep-rooted love and loyalty he really had.
You also find out how vulnerable Amber Wayne really is with out her brother’s un-godly protection when she takes on more than she can handle after a sexy table dance and bringing two men back to her room. Amber tries to take them on and instead you see her get raped and reveal to a very concerned Jeb that she lost the seed of Aaron. In a moment of shock and awed, seeing Amber scooping out the disgusting remains of the dead one month old out of the toilet. As the Waynes head out, the douche bag cousin finds where they are and tails them. Yet with everything, the long-winded monologue of a person that should really kill instead of talking ends up being shot. Which in the middle of this Andrea slowly follows Aaron as he sneaks out of bed to go down to his office and discovers his dirty little secret. Before the video started to malfunction Aaron had agreed to meet Jeb and Amber at some plant.
Over all, this movie isn’t a high budget production deal. It is a true Independent film that represents the passion, drive and determination of a fantastic person that likes to assume he is crazy. If a person is crazy for following their dreams and going beyond the lengths to make a film that he wants to share with the world. Then yes, Cory J. Udler is insane for following his passion and dreams, especially with a free World Premier that some people complained about because it was low-resolution. Free is free and in today’s day and age, shows even on a massive free event that people are never satisfied and how wonderful a person like Cory is by offering to give this person a free copy of the movie.
The saddest thing about true local Independent Film making is that Cory has another project in the works, but lacks funding. Most movie studios would do a fundraiser by auctioning off the movie props, but the thing is after speaking with Mr. Udler, he would actually spend more money on shipping and putting the item on E-bay than he would make any money to help fund his future project. Support your local Indie Film Production companies to help Directors like Cory J. Udler continue making movies and to see him develop his talent as an upcoming movie Director.

Irenia Guajardo
~Hellz Writer~