The 27 Club

1994

A year when i was listening to a lot of great music albums. I used to play Soundgarden´s amazing album Superunknown a lot in my CD stereo, on very high volume. Especially to the song Spoonman, with the magic voice of lead singer Chris Cornell ( RIP, we miss you bro ). This was also the year when i played Jamiroquai´s magic second album The Return Of The Space Cowboy, a very strange studio album ( perhaps they did smoke a lot of pot like Jay Kay have said in interviews during the studio sessions ), but still a very good album. Of course this year was unique since this was the year when Rollins Band released their best studio album Weight, with fantastic songs like Disconnect, Liar and Shine. But the year of 1994 probably is mostly known for the tragic headlines worldwide, when Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain was found dead, where the evidence turned towards suicide. If you were a teenager like me in the early 90´s, i think most people owned the Nirvana album Nevermind. Nirvana made music that a lot of teenagers could relate to, and Kurt Cobain had a voice that no one will forget. I remember when i heard the news of his death in April 5th, 1994. I was shocked, as many of my school friends were. Especially one class mate of mine named Michael, he was a huge Nirvana fan. I remember seeing him crying, and becoming even more depressed after the news. I have seen the great documentary film Kurt Cobain: Montage Of Heck, a film worth checking out if you love the music of Kurt Cobain. He died only 27 years old, and the same happened to English singer Amy Winehouse on July 23, 2011. Amy had a very unique voice, and her album Back To Black was a huge success. Unfortunately with drug and alcohol problems, Amy passed away too soon just like Kurt Cobain. I recently came across a movie review on YouTube channel Screen Stars of the film The 27 Club, a horror film that links the death of famous people at the age of 27. Is this a surprisingly good horror film, or is this a very silly concept that does not work at all ?

Singer-songwriter Lily ( Maddisyn Carter ) is chasing fame, while her friend journalist student Jason ( Derrick Denicola ), investigate why famous musicians and artists are dying at the age of 27. Famous rock singer Caleb ( Adam Celentano ) was found dead under mysterious circumstances. Lily is fascinated about The 27 Club as well, and realise that this could be her way to become famous. But does she really understand what she is getting herself into ?

I have to say, this is a horror film that is quite different from most B movie releases. While some B horror Movies use a lot of ideas that we have seen so many times before, but The 27 Club manage to stand out for trying something different. I like the idea of a demon being behind the kills of all these famous music artists, as if they signed a contract to the Devil. The acting in this film is very divided, but there are especially 2 characters i enjoy in this film. Let us start with lead actress Maddisyn Carter, who plays Lily. It is nice to see a female character who makes an impact, and i especially enjoy her just being rough. I don´t buy her quick fame transformation, as if she became famous over night, but she does a good job with her character. The other character i enjoy in this film is actor Todd Rundgren as Professor Crawford. He really is a perfect choice for this character, and i love his hippie style. Especially in one scene in the record store Lily works, where Professor Crawford tries to teach a young man what to listen to, and aviod crappy modern artists. I have to mention actor Eugene Henderson, who plays music legend Jimi Hendrix. He actually did a good job portraying the legendary artist. The portrait of Lily as an artist does not feel very interesting, because it does not feel like she is singing. Maybe it was hard to do this another way, but i would rather have wanted to hear actress Maddisyn Carter sing with a live voice, that would have been a nice touch. The strength of The 27 Club is when you see the actual demon coming into our world, taking the lives of those who have agreed to sign the contract. There are a few parts of the film that tries to explore another story, but you don´t really feel interested in that. Director Patrick Fogarty ( who directed a lot of episodes on TV series Average Joe ) have made a horror film that you have to say feels unique. He may not have found the right tone, to make this film more interesting. But i do enjoy his effort to do something different in a genre that needs some fresh ideas. The 27 Club shows that there is still hope for low budget horror films, if you dare to do something different in this genre. A film worth checking out if you enjoy B horror movies. I am glad i have survived The 27 Club, turning 42 years old this summer. I guess the Devil wont get my signature after all, unless he gives me a lot of Ron De Jeremy Rum, then we might have a conversation.....

Rating: DDD