HERBIE! REVIEWS
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"FILM THREAT" MAGAZINE
8-18-2006 [excerpt]: "Herbie!" is one of those happy accidents where an actor has the perfect personality to play a certain type of character and the Writer/Director is savvy enough to invent a role that functions like a twisted funhouse mirror to the man and then milks it for all it's worth. I really can't tell you what it is about Herbie or why he's so mesmerizing. All I know is that all these elements gel together wonderfully. Drew Barnhardt has written some awesome dialogue and narration, which comprises the meat of the running time. I hear that Herbie might get his own full length movie someday. I certainly hope so and encourage anyone with the power to make this happen to jump at the chance. Impossible not to enjoy, "Herbie!" is a must see from director Drew Barnhardt. It'll be the best 18 minutes you'll ever spend. Guaranteed. for complete review visit: http://filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=9247 "CULT CUTS" MAGAZINE Herbie Duck comes across as a pretty normal guy. For about thirty seconds. Sure, he looks mild mannered, but Herbie has issues. Seems he can't be around someone for very long before he's forced to kill them. Nothing he can do about it, but he wishes he could stop. After all, chopping up people in the bathtub is bad on the knees. Then he runs into Rosie. Rosie is a beautiful, teen-age girl who has no idea how Herbie's mind works. And for some reason he doesn't want to kill Rosie. Weird, huh? HERBIE! is an engaging eighteen minutes. Reggie DeMorton steals the show as the mild mannered serial killer Herbie. You take his side regardless of his hideous nature. For an axe-wielding madman, he's a pretty likable guy. Watching this short made me realize what can be done with what must have been a minimal budget, an excellent script and a cast that is perfection. I saw that it won best short film at the 2004 New York City Horror Film Festival. Good for them, it deserves it. REVIEWER ROLAND ATKINSON "Who is this glum old guy, Herbie? Some depressed denizen of a nursing home? Guess again. It would be felonious to reveal spoilers in an 18 minute film. Just believe this: Drew Barnhardt generates more horrifying suspense in a few minutes than most feature films accomplish in two hours." "THE HACKER'S SOURCE"
MAGAZINE
In recent months, I have seen this film win best short at the NYC Horror Film Festival and HorrorDance Houston. Well deserving awards for this wonderful tale of a man trying to find love and peace in his life. Traveling house to house, town to town, looking for the right woman, he seems almost gentle. Until you realize what he does with the women who do not fit into his image of "the one" he seeks. The dark humor blended with the acting abilities of Reggie DeMorton as Herbie Duck and supported by actress Gena Shaw make this worth seeking out. What I found scariest is Herbie could be my neighbor, lawyer, mailman, or just anyone who you would come into contact with on a routine basis and not think twice about. It brings the horror into your home. That is what makes this film work. |
