Gory greetings horroryearbook alumni! Welcome to another exciting edition of IT CAME FROM THE MAILBOX, a column where your old pal Brain Hammer reviews whatever random crap the good folks at horroryearbook decide to throw my way.

Actually, the good folks (folk?) at horroryearbook had nothing to do with this one. This time around I was contacted directly by my chum Sonny Fernandez. Sonny should a familiar name to anyone who spends quality time on this fine website. Sonny is non other than the hardworking mastermind behind Down Twisted Studios. I’ve already reviewed four of his past efforts in previous ICFTMB columns. You can check out those reviews here and here.

Sonny is perhaps best known around these parts for suffering much verbal abuse from my drunken and shiftless editor Wil on an episode of the short lived horroryearbook internet radio show. Sonny earned even more of my respect that night for taking the abuse like a champ, and Wil must have felt bad when he sobered up and heard the show the next morning because he gave Sonny his very own section on the horroryearbook message boards.

Sonny never stops working. His latest independent EPIC is an HP Lovecraft inspired freakshow titled THE LAST BATTLEGROUND. TLB tells the twisted tale of a night when all hell breaks loose and the sins of mankind come crawling out of the darkness to consume and possess the souls of the wicked. The cast of characters are a seemingly random group of outcasts including an exceptionally pretty and mysteriously clean looking homeless girl, a feminine sounding artist with a gift for clairvoyance, an emotionally battered girl who talks to an imaginary friend and her abusive asshole boyfriend, and a pair of cold blooded (and young looking!) hit men.

This odd assortment of humanity, as well as several others are all thrown into the depths of insanity when hideous looking monsters begin roaming the streets devouring the flesh of the innocent. People are forced to run for lives and try to find a safe place to hide. This proves to be impossible, as the monsters cause chaos on the streets and quickly cause society as we know it to collapse. With no police and no government coming to the rescue, the outcasts are forced to band together to survive. But do they deserve to survive?

First things first, let me say that the fact that I consider Sonny Fernandez to be one cool motherfucker has nothing to do with my feelings about this film. I review all films with an open mind, and I try my hardest not to let my personal feelings about the filmmakers influence my opinions. That said, I really liked this one! I would have to say that this is definitely the best film Sonny has done to date. This one has more monsters and mayhem than all of his other films put together. Some of Sonny’s other efforts were a bit too drawn out for my tastes, but TLB had the right balance of character development and non-stop action. The scenes where the characters attempt to drive away from the mayhem only to find themselves right in the middle of it were exciting to watch. There was a genuine feeling of frenzy in these scenes and the fast editing and chaotic camera work added a lot of intensity.

I’m supposed to be a critic, so now I will criticize a bit. The only complaints I have about this one are the usual complaints I have about most homemade horror flicks, mainly the fact that the acting isn’t very good and that the effects aren’t always very convincing looking. In some ways this actually adds to my enjoyment of the film. It’s obvious that this is nothing more than a group of friends having a blast making a movie. It’s hard for me to hate that. I have to say that I much prefer the handmade monsters effects and bloodshed that Sonny creates over the digital stuff that he attempts though. My advice (whatever that is worth!) would be to stick to what’s “real,” and perhaps not to make any more cardboard bazookas!

The reason I think TLB (and for the most part all of Sonny’s flicks) works is because Sonny is a talented writer. His story ideas are always damn original, and his characters and dialog are nicely fleshed out. Unlike Sonny’s other flicks, I actually noticed a few obvious horror influences this time around. The scene where a guy apologizes to his ex-girlfriend for skipping town and talks about falling on his ass was lifted directly from My Bloody Valentine. Another scene gave me flashbacks of Roger telling Peter not to let him come back as a zombie in Dawn Of The Dead. I think this sort of familiarity should be welcomed in modern ORIGINAL horror flicks. I’d much rather see that than another lame fucking remake.

Sonny was nice along to send along a two-disc (!) screener copy of THE LAST BATTLEGROUND. The bonus disc contained a lot of funny bloopers, several deleted scenes with introductions and explanations from Sonny, behind the scenes special effects footage, and trailers for TLB and his upcoming vampire-chick flick The New Girls Did I mention that Sonny is friends with a LOT of hot looking chicks? That doesn’t hurt his films either! It would be nice to see this flick get some proper distribution. I think Sonny’s flicks keep getting better and better and he really deserves a larger audience. All horroryearbook alumni are highly encouraged to support the man and check out his flicks! You can keep up with the latest Sonny Fernandez happenings at his official myspace page.

KEEP THE BLOOD FLOWING!!!