Saturday is Horror Day #125 - Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings, Deliver Us From Evil (doc)

 Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings

A group of college students on a snowmobile trip get some bad directions and end up taking shelter at an abandoned sanitarium...where it all began.

I am going to save some trouble and cut to the chase now. I couldn't even finish this one. Since I sat through both 2 & 3, which were horrendous, this has to say something. The focus (at least, of what I saw) was exploring the couples' various sexual exploits, including one lesbian couple. Never mind they're stuck in this creepy, abandoned, filthy building, they all want to get their groove on. 

My advice is to do what I'm doing. Skip this one and jump ahead to the next.

Deliver Us From Evil (doc)

The brave survivors of priestly sexual abuse step forward to talk about what happened to them in this documentary by Amy Berg. Their families are present as well, having suffered from what was done to their loved ones. The surprise here is that the priest also speaks - candidly and openly - about what he did to those children. And it is clear to see by his expression, in his voice, and the casual air he maintains, that he is not truly sorry for what he has done.

Father Oliver O'Grady (Father Ollie to those close to him) was accused during the 1970s of horrendous acts against children. But, as has come to be expected of the Catholic Church, rather than do anything about the problem, they simply relocated him - to another parish, with other children! And the abuse would start again. Of course there are those higher ups who claim they didn't really know. As if they would admit to it. This story is indicative of the Catholic desire to gloss over the abuses of their own, and simply pay out hush money to the victims.

Father Ollie was finally taken to court, received fourteen years, served seven, and was deported to Ireland, where he runs around happy as a lark and fancy free - freely among children.

This is an eye-opening and disturbing documentary which will make you question why this church gets away with so much. Kudos to the brave survivors who dared to tell their stories. I give this film 4.5 Stars

Saturday is Horror Day #28 - There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane

 There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane

On July 26, 2009, New York wife and mother Diane Schuler left a campground in upstate New York, driving a minivan she'd borrowed from her brother. Inside the van were Diane's two children and her three nieces, her brother's kids. Four hours later, she drove the minivan the wrong way on the highway, at a high rate of speed, for almost two miles before crashing into another vehicles. Eight people died, including the three occupants of the other vehicle, Diane, her daughter and three nieces. The little girls were found in a heap, without seatbelts. The only survivor of the crash was Diane's five-year-old son Brian.

In this HBO documentary, director Liz Garbus interviews witnesses and family members, as well as professional people, in an attempt to make sense of the horrific tragedy. Diane's autopsy revealed a blood alcohol level of .19%, which is over twice the legal limit, as well as the presence of THC (the active ingredient of marijuana).  A bottle of vodka was also found in the car. Her husband Daniel insists that his wife was not an alcoholic and must have had a medical emergency, although nothing showed up in the autopsy.

According to people who knew her, Diane Schuler was a great woman, a super Mom. Strong and

confident. The kind of woman who would never complain if she was in pain. Video footage shows Diane entering a gas station, looking for ibuprofen, but she was told they didn't carry it and she left. Daniel claims that she had a tooth abscess she'd never gotten resolved, it was causing her problems, and maybe caused a stroke. There is no evidence to confirm that diagnosis.

Daniel and his sister Jay hired an investigator (Tom Ruskin) to look into the matter. They said he took their money and didn't get back to them with the results of a second test done on Diane's samples. However, a phone call from Ruskin to Jay revealed that he had told them about it months prior, and that the results of the first autopsy had been confirmed.

Witnesses report seeing the woman driving the van the wrong way and say she seemed determined and very intent, not slowing or swerving in any way. When she hit the other vehicle, her speed was estimated at 85 mph. Diane's brother and his wife declined to participate in the making of the documentary, believing it to be an attempt to clear Diane's name. 

This documentary is not for the faint of heart. It was a very tragic event, and eight people lost their lives. I find it hard to believe that it was a medical emergency, or that she mistook vodka for water (they don't even taste the same). I believe her husband is in denial because he was oblivious to the extent of his wife's problem. Perhaps self-induced stress from the way she lived, the tasks she took upon herself. It was hinted that her mother leaving the family when Diane was 9 was a factor, but that just seems like an excuse. I think the real reason lies between Diane and Daniel, and we will probably never know the truth. If he would admit to her drinking, this could be used as a cautionary tale. But one of the things that really disturbs me is that the little girls weren't wearing seatbelts. Maybe they could have been saved if they were. Did Diane want to commit suicide? We'll probably never know.

Dear Zachary Review

Dear Zachary  

Director/Studio/Author: Kurt Kuenne/Oscilloscope Studios/Kurt Kuenne

American release date: February 24, 2009

Format/Genre/Length: DVD/Documentary/95 minutes

Publisher/Industry Age Rating: NR

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Andrew Bagby was a special young man with a big heart, whose potential was destroyed, his life cut short by a psychotic woman. This is his story—and more.

Synopsis:

Andrew was a nice looking, friendly young man with a lot of personality, and a lot of drive. His  death came as a shock to many people. The manner of his dying was especially horrific, coming at the hands of a woman he’d dated but had broken up with. She refused to accept that from him, and because he spurned her, she killed him, then fled the US for her native land of Canada. St. Johns Newfoundland, to be precise. Andrew’s parents, Katie and David, fought to get her extradited back to the US to stand trial for the murder of their son. The plot thickened. It turned out that Shirley Turner, Andrew’s ex and his killer, was four months pregnant with Andrew’s child. What followed was a nightmare.

Katie and David moved from their home in California to Canada in order to be near their grandchild, and to be a part of his life, uprooting themselves from the home they’d lived in for some twenty-five years. In due course, Zachary was born. The legal shenanigans which ensued were extraordinary and ridiculous. Twice, the accused killer was set upon the streets, having been determined to be no danger to the community. Despite having three other children by three other men, all of whom had custody. Despite having threatened other lovers with suicide and/or death. If one examines Shirley Turner’s actions preceding and following her murder of Andrew Bagby, it becomes incomprehensible that this could be.

And yet it was.

And the worst was yet to come…

Commentary:

My son Michael recommended this film to me, and I’ll unabashedly admit I cried my eyes out. He’d warned me about that, told me to watch it without even knowing what it was about. He’s very wise, my son. The film was heartwrenching, poignant, touching… a fitting tribute to a man I would have loved to be able to know. His friends cannot say enough good things about him. His parents are amazing—in their devotion to him, and to his son Zachary, and in being able to instill the love and respect that they have. They’ve had to be strong, in a world gone crazy.

I watched all the extras on this film, including Andrew’s fire story, and his best man toast. And the home movies of Zachary. It’s worth every minute of it. Kurt Kuenne has captured Andrew Bagby for posterity. I commend him for it, and recommend this film to everyone.