LARVAE GIRL THE ROAD TO REVENGE PART 1

When your only complaint about Dune Part 1 was that it was only half a story. but it all ended up being ok in the end.

You have improved so much since last year! Although last year's film was absolutely hilarious and you made it to the regional finals, this year's had so much more story, and most of the gags helped forward the story instead of just being gags! This was such a blast to see in the theatre.

Your camera work has improved as well, we as the audience almost feel like a character in the story with the amount of involvement the camera has!

Absolutely loved this one, and the sequel! Keep it up!

Herms Heroes are the SHIT! It's a blockbuster event everytime these guys pull up and the audience think likewise!

This is very close to dethroning last year's "Shart Boy and Larvae Girl..." as my favourite as it had more story than just gags, but this is definitely up there!

Herms Heroes bring the guerilla back to 48 Hours. Movement and bravado and over the top melodramatic EVERYTHING is the order of the game that calls to mind classic gung-ho classics of yesteryear like WHORECOP 3 but with a unique vision of just not giving a fuck. I could honestly seeing PJ loving what you guys do.

When the new intergalactic space force chief asks to speak to the titular Larvae Girl, memories are brought back that drives her towards revenge against a ghost cult.

And the audience is left with intrigue after the film opens with a hack em up gorefest.

Tonally wild obviously so hopefully we get to see the conclusion someday...

I never knew feminist ghost gore was missing from my life, but now I am complete. Who is this heavenly creature venturing into the bush to fight the forces of evil? A truncated bonanza of understated humour.

WILD WILD WILD! Absolutely Red Letter Media levels of gold. Leaning into the cheesiness is what a film of this nature needed... and lean they did. Throwing polish out the door in favour of entertainment is what this wild ride is all about. GIVE ME MORE. I could watch films like this all comp long. Fingers crossed we get to see more;)

Martin Scorsese, jazz hands. Subtitle: KINO

Before doing 48 Hours this year, I asked myself, "how can I be more like Herms Heroes?" and after seeing this film, I've decided I should be asking myself this question every day.

This is what 48 Hours is for: pure, unadulterated passion for making cool movies. The gags are great, the action even greater, but the greatest of all...

(Sorry, ran out of words. Will have to follow up in a sequel maybe...?)

Totally feel the same as the comment above. This looked like pure fun, no limits, all energy and creativity. Honestly, I think we could all use a dose of this, especially the ultra-polished films that usually make it into nationals.

What got my attention:
Some fun action at the start, clever dialogue, good acting from the lead and I enjoyed all the little site gags such as AJ on a wanted poster and the meta shots of Joel & Rachel and other creatives on the wall. Nicely set-up and delivered. As always great editing, sound/music impressive and the car sequence is awesome.

Take it or Leave it:
A road movie? Well, there’s a car and some driving. A journey she’s on – I guess but it stops so to set up Part 2 and all the bang-bang, shoot-shoot blood and guts to come. This film has to be reviewed as a separate piece though so it really goes nowhere and is pretty light on story - she's out for revenge because a cult burnt down her house - but we don't get any more of this in this film because it's in the fucking sequel. It's just all a set up. Genius or pulling a sheet over the judges? It’s a real throwback to the 48hour madness of the past and so specific to 48Hour groupies. But again, fair play if that’s a bit of you. I tells ya though, if I see one more ghost in a sheet this year with a silly hat and glasses, I’m fucking done.

Final thoughts:
This film is Herm’s Heroes doing their thing so fair play. It was a real crowd pleaser at the screening and as such will do pretty well I expect as part of probably the CHCH showcase at the EntX as people love this shit. For me, it is a case of ‘Same-old-same old though’. “Sperm-less in Seatle” was a breath of fresh air, and “Cop Out” a work of editing witchery. It’s also super rewatchable. So, while you’re handing out advice on team’s extending themselves, it’s time Herm’s Heroes got out of Bottle Lake Forest, consigned Larvae Girl to the Red Bin and make something different that is going to challenge us all to think outside the film-making square rather than attempt to clone something done by others. The conflict for me is that, in reality, I really hope you don’t ‘cos like my team I believe you make the films you want to make in the 48 and not those that others want you to make, just because you do it so well.

*sigh*

It truly breaks my heart to be writing this review now instead of after finals. I had the utmost confidence that Herms Heroes would be not only the biggest crowd pleaser in the heats but a worthy addition to the city finals. These guys are everything this film competition is about in my opinion, from knowing their audience, to creating a tight and entertaining story, to being the most ambitious in terms of scope and bending the boundaries of the comp to your will. It’s always impressive, and it’s always exciting to see what you make.

And we were half right - the crowd lost their MINDS. This was carnage. This really was CINEMA. This was Herms Heroes unleashed. The fact the judges couldn’t understand it made us feel like someone robbed ChCh 48 of a crown jewel, and we’re still very, VERY salty about it, angry even.

Nobody does 48 like Herms. You don’t just turn in a film, you summon a whole goddamn event. Guerilla chaos, melodrama dialled up to 11, miniatures caught on fire, sequels to existing characters in the Herms Heroes Universe (HHU) and a knowing wink to the audience that says, yeah, we know this is ridiculous, now strap in anyway. That’s the good stuff. That’s why people cheer the loudest when your names come up.

But, okay, fine. If we have to take the judges seriously for a moment, then yeah, the “story clarity” box didn’t get ticked - or at the very least, because of your plan to do a double feature, as a film it is incomplete. The judges this year were genre cops with a ticket quota, and instead of saluting the flag of “Road Movie,” you charged through their checkpoint with “I’m driven by revenge”. Which, to be clear, is iconic - but also explains the no.

If we were going to touch on an objective challenge from this film that we hadn’t considered until after chatting with the judges - it’s simply that making this a sequel for a familiar character, for a bunch of judges who didn’t know that - probably not the best move to win them over. “Who tf is Larvae Girl and why should we care” came up, and while Rachel and I were seething at the question, cause why should it matter, I guess they’re not incorrect in suggesting that perhaps the judges just didn’t feel “in on it” as much as audiences and 48hours regulars do. Being self referential has risks, Neato Productions ran into this too in a small way this year, so I suppose that’s where the clear divide in the sand is between the culture of 48CHCH and the judging panel - a panel that is likely to have high turnover year after year, making it impossible to build culture and community with them, resulting in films like this being risky to make, but a risk that we still feel strongly is worth taking!

Here’s the challenge: don’t lose the chaos, don’t sand down the edges, don’t you dare stop being Herms Heroes - but perhaps what the judges are after is just a steel rod of genre right down the spine of the madness. Give the audience the wild ride and give the judges just enough sense to keep them from clutching their pearls. Do that, and you’re not just in finals - you’re bulldozing your way to Nationals with a grin on your face and blood on your boots.

THE BEST THING: Utter, gleeful anarchy delivered with total confidence. Nobody else could have made this film. Also, it was an honour to be featured, genuinely, we feel cemented in history, this did it more for us than becoming city managers bahaha

THE NEXT THING: Keep the wild and wacky, keep the gags, keep the madness - but I suppose if you’re wanting to gun for a finals spot, you’ll have to bolt it all to a story/genre engine that even the most boring judge can’t ignore. You’ll still be insane, just unstoppable and undeniable.