tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68174262793510156942024-03-05T09:36:05.985+00:00 Fleapits and Picture PalacesPaul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.comBlogger233125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-76021880707690247972023-08-03T16:52:00.001+01:002023-08-03T16:52:57.886+01:00An interview with Kirsten Baker (Terry from Friday the 13th Part 2)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ckZTc5LON3LGKGJiyyOInXxgrpq_VXprOgKx25Ix7aNcxtPeaHDGKBvB-jdWAK3YqBo_d130DsxKZAMq-yYYX8hBshdC_J7zAu51jhTzzQN2PI_GAG2VD1DxaS6r_dssbRCE_7qdx5iEVm9VMrKtV4OT39-E1CPZ79X1z1Yy8E4pJqNgjrZUmSHgM3I/s719/tumblr_oo0mpnJqcB1thr7ppo2_r1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="719" data-original-width="678" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1ckZTc5LON3LGKGJiyyOInXxgrpq_VXprOgKx25Ix7aNcxtPeaHDGKBvB-jdWAK3YqBo_d130DsxKZAMq-yYYX8hBshdC_J7zAu51jhTzzQN2PI_GAG2VD1DxaS6r_dssbRCE_7qdx5iEVm9VMrKtV4OT39-E1CPZ79X1z1Yy8E4pJqNgjrZUmSHgM3I/w378-h400/tumblr_oo0mpnJqcB1thr7ppo2_r1_1280.jpg" width="378" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Former actress and model, Kirsten Baker's place in the Friday the 13th franchise hall of fame is safely assured thanks to her iconic portrayal of the ultimate nubile teen counsellor 'Terry' in <i>Friday the 13th Part 2</i>'. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Born in Norway, Kirsten Baker came to the US when she was just 6 weeks old having been adopted by US foster parents.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I caught up with Kirsten recently in London where she was a first-time guest appearing at London Film & Comic Con. Kirsten admitted to me that she was still adjusting to transatlantic jet lag so sightseeing wasn't a major priority so much as her hotel bed! She did however graciously grant me a quick interview in between signing autographs for her many fans so I started by asking about Norway and given how young she was when she relocated to the US, whether she'd been back since? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">“I’ve been back as a foreign exchange student (a long time ago), like 1976. And I went when I was 16 and explored the native country that I came from and boy it was amazing! So different from the United States and the UK even. I actually speak a little bit of Norwegian: </span></b><span style="color: #01ffff;"><b>"Hvordan går det med deg?” </b></span><b style="color: #01ffff;"><i>(Translation: “How’s it going with you?”).</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Very well indeed thank you Kirsten! Now I understand that the makers of Friday the 13th Part 2 had pre-selected you in advance and so you didn’t have to audition for the role of ‘Terry</i>’?</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfL5rK_LR_YqHO9jiItTVGj0nyot-cKyJzhIj8jSF63gNn_Fl3U02aGZ7nrPfeR3r15WCai2oqjvHdaTZhwYsoicwYrOP1Q9uz3d_1YY6Ad9p5yBX8oD-stgtlJCGK-Ms7MMb3ACc1W68zr7bvSF8GSJLwC__t4WKp_zCRC7lHvt8zbsBz1d0oGEPtt0/s2945/img035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2333" data-original-width="2945" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkfL5rK_LR_YqHO9jiItTVGj0nyot-cKyJzhIj8jSF63gNn_Fl3U02aGZ7nrPfeR3r15WCai2oqjvHdaTZhwYsoicwYrOP1Q9uz3d_1YY6Ad9p5yBX8oD-stgtlJCGK-Ms7MMb3ACc1W68zr7bvSF8GSJLwC__t4WKp_zCRC7lHvt8zbsBz1d0oGEPtt0/w400-h318/img035.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>“No, that’s correct, they offered it to me.”</b></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>And you hadn’t seen the original film before accepting the role had you...?</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>“No”</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Am I right in saying you are not a big fan of horror films per se?</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>“Right, I’m not too big of a fan”. </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>But you can make an acception and watch Friday the 13th Part 2?</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>“Oh yeah, it’s fun. I think it’s a good movie. I like the ensemble cast that we had”.</b></span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I was going to say there’s a discernible good vibe amongst the cast in that instalment. How did you get on with Russell Todd (who played your over-eager pursuer/stalker ‘Scott’)?</span></i></p><p><b style="color: #01ffff;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Scott was always chasing me…”</span></b></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">What for real, as well as on camera?</span></i></p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">“Ha! No, just on camera – we were friends”.</span></b></p><p><i><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span>(Well that's a relief). </span>And I have to ask about your character Terry's very cute pet Shih Tzu, ‘Muffin’…?</span></i></p><p><b><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">“Ok, Muffin actually didn’t die”.</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">[You heard it hear first folks! That’s nice to hear, however implausible given the onscreen evidence to the contrary]. Anyway, Kristen </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">did get to bond with the impeccably groomed canine offscreen: <b><span style="color: #01ffff;">“Muffin liked me, and I liked Muffin.”</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Obviously, you didn’t have an onscreen death [Kirsten's character Terry discovers Todd hanging suspended upside down with his throat slit, turns and screams directly into the Steadicam] but did you have an actual death detailed in the script?</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>“No, it was an oversight in the script.”</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>That’s ridiculous!</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>“Isn’t it? Something that important.”</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>But then we see you (or at least your lifeless corpse) lying by Jason's shrine to his mum Mrs Voorhees in his shack towards the film's finale, and there’s some discernible makeup on your face but that’s the only hint we have of your demise…</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>“That’s right, so I can come back!”</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>Exactly! And all these years later, why do you think it is that Friday the 13th Part 2 has to this day not only maintained - but if anything increased -in affection and appreciation amongst the fans of the franchise and beyond?</i></span></p><p><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>“I think it was the ensemble cast."</b></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIf85AV_Kpuv7sa1wJZof2_c-K9r8xAlZJKTEmyS6hvGbTPj0J7fWZ-zYR6zK89el3M4Zm-wSkPvkXvBOn2LWrUtvHC233Bz_ai_f0KC3pvBmv57vT2ZOjo_cYQhxA9HMgDetu0ZpZv3xqq8-8_I6AaM2Y8Ce_2oWYXKGx3P1o6KfpIoJbwU5AvdB59r8/s4032/IMG_6396.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIf85AV_Kpuv7sa1wJZof2_c-K9r8xAlZJKTEmyS6hvGbTPj0J7fWZ-zYR6zK89el3M4Zm-wSkPvkXvBOn2LWrUtvHC233Bz_ai_f0KC3pvBmv57vT2ZOjo_cYQhxA9HMgDetu0ZpZv3xqq8-8_I6AaM2Y8Ce_2oWYXKGx3P1o6KfpIoJbwU5AvdB59r8/w400-h300/IMG_6396.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>For me personally, I think it’s the scariest film in the entire series. Every case member is absolutely fabulous, (Jason is at his scariest in his burlap sack) and you of course were absolutely fabulous in it as well. So thank you for being in my favourite franchise of all time! <br /></i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">“Thank you very much, you’re welcome!” </span></b> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Interview by Paul Worts conducted on 7th July 2023.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> </span></p><div><br /></div>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-75100899038638137162023-07-30T13:54:00.002+01:002023-07-30T14:04:08.780+01:00PAREIDOLIA (2023) <p><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZmQFZu0zeQ05_cEA-Z2s4Ysv-UXxDwtDQpdU6FtxVI9Pv1ltGzess8NIw2gb4f5o4XX4MSfD8Vj3PwH2NXsjDkCEXdwe_4aPP3WCMSyDmkUemUl7UhA8f2nVga6F9TmBUEm1vo4moIhzTgM_EJplUz7rrhJ4G8uZg77IQXoJRprxNgvqqw52oouvTv4/s869/Picture2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="869" data-original-width="587" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZmQFZu0zeQ05_cEA-Z2s4Ysv-UXxDwtDQpdU6FtxVI9Pv1ltGzess8NIw2gb4f5o4XX4MSfD8Vj3PwH2NXsjDkCEXdwe_4aPP3WCMSyDmkUemUl7UhA8f2nVga6F9TmBUEm1vo4moIhzTgM_EJplUz7rrhJ4G8uZg77IQXoJRprxNgvqqw52oouvTv4/w216-h320/Picture2.jpg" width="216" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed by: Aaron Truss. Starring Diane Franklin, Graham Cole, Carolyn Pickles, Joe Acres. Short. Horror, UK 2023, 13.5mins.</span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A Q Cumber Films & Misty Moon production. Festival screenings ahead of official cast & crew premiere on 16th October 2023. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>Pareidolia: <i>a situation in which someone sees a pattern or image of something that does not exist, for example a face in a cloud.</i></b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The literary ghost stories of M.R. James are littered with academic scholars foolishly poking around in matters they shouldn’t and often unleashing supernatural entities upon themselves. In PAREIDOLIA (how undeniably cool is that title by the way?) university lecturer Sinead Chambers, (Diane Franklin, <i>Amityville II: The Possession</i>), sets her students an assignment to go out and photograph examples of pareidolia. Unfortunately for Sinead, her own curiosity attracts a very real entity which appears intent on unleashing its own lesson – in fear and mortal dread – upon her.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihChDfk1Q0a1Q-rRYkXCGLGkE9yP2YB-lJmWdhowxCK4Uw5P6wT0Z7k3OoMrvpsOdbqGxf6j8JY3mvgtPvbZqzCHG4UroSA0ePJF_o55rEbMr0-dy11GVT0llnymrq3ze0d_tEjr0jjc5Ddih7N4MzpPx4miw6jMAH7Bs1W56ptCMvR8f8V8opcm54GOo/s697/Picture1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="697" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihChDfk1Q0a1Q-rRYkXCGLGkE9yP2YB-lJmWdhowxCK4Uw5P6wT0Z7k3OoMrvpsOdbqGxf6j8JY3mvgtPvbZqzCHG4UroSA0ePJF_o55rEbMr0-dy11GVT0llnymrq3ze0d_tEjr0jjc5Ddih7N4MzpPx4miw6jMAH7Bs1W56ptCMvR8f8V8opcm54GOo/w640-h272/Picture1.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There is a ton of material both included and implied in the modest runtime of this crisply paced, tightly edited, and strikingly lensed short sharp spooky shock fest. Director Aaron Truss delivers a punchy tale, scribed by Aaron's dad Aiden, and it’s obviously a labour of love to the horror genre. A frankly astonishing cast is assembled for a modest crowdfunded project headed up by 80’s icon Diane Franklin, who pulls out all the stops as her terrified lecturer plays hide and seek in the on-off dark with a flashlight in standout sequences reminiscent of <i>The Conjuring</i> and <i>Lights Out</i>. Ably supported by British TV stalwarts Graham Cole and Carolyn Pickles who bring assured quality to the tale, and a nice turn from Joe Acres as the archetypal wisecracking mortuary attendant, the technical acumen behind the lens is proficiently complimented by the onscreen talent.</span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Lovely nods to the classic franchises come courtesy of the radio announcer ‘DJ Micki Myers’ voiced by Sandy (“Michael’s around someplace…”) Johnson - Michael Myers’ sister and first victim in Carpenter’s seminal original <i>Halloween</i> - here referencing another Carpenter film, <i>The Fog</i> with her ‘Stevie Wayne’ like weather warning. And <i>Friday the 13th</i> also gets a sly cameo courtesy of a carefully framed bottle of Adrienne King’s ‘Crystal Lake Wine’!</span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It's an ambitious short, (when was the last time French sociologist Jean Baudrillard was referenced on screen?), with a number of potential threads that could easily dovetail off into a full-length feature, or even dare I say it, a franchise. For example, there’s a potential prequel exploring Father Cavanagh’s past and previous run-ins with the entity. But for now, unlike the dictionary definition of the film’s subject matter, there’s more than plenty to see in plain sight in PAREIDOLIA, a scary warning to the curious, and the lurking dread in its dark corners will likely cause you to keep your lights permanently on at night… </span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>****</b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Paul Worts</b></span></p><div><br /></div>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-72057723954475673032022-09-03T12:06:00.009+01:002023-07-30T16:18:03.627+01:00CULT OF VHS (2022)<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4cMmXNvZAqtUbD4Pc1oVHkriJGUqey8ec9439S5QJ2yhj-T0md4ZXpU3A7CgakWHVhfG3VgZtZMMRs39bxdz_FjYToXZwoMkJCYGKtPM7iFqgI1NaSHs6J_GdIhg1VdjLeJZgjJAki0ENZxAjI4L9SBTJjjfR7pSL2BhJTCybblSBn_Je1S0yep7/s1280/IMG-20220704-WA0005.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="828" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4cMmXNvZAqtUbD4Pc1oVHkriJGUqey8ec9439S5QJ2yhj-T0md4ZXpU3A7CgakWHVhfG3VgZtZMMRs39bxdz_FjYToXZwoMkJCYGKtPM7iFqgI1NaSHs6J_GdIhg1VdjLeJZgjJAki0ENZxAjI4L9SBTJjjfR7pSL2BhJTCybblSBn_Je1S0yep7/w259-h400/IMG-20220704-WA0005.jpg" width="259" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed
by: Rob Preciado. With:
Graham Humphreys, David<br /> Gregory, Michael Keene, Kevin Martin. Feature-length
documentary. 89mins. Strangelove & Q Cumber Films & Studio POW.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 1.0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">World
premiere screening at Arrow FrightFest on 28<sup>th</sup> August 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 1.0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">“VHS
you know, it’s like vinyl, if vinyl kinda sucked.”</span></b></i> (Michael Keene (‘The Head’,
‘Fatal Future’).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 1.0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Despite
the above opening quote, Rob Preciado’s documentary about the VHS video format is
a kind rewind back to the origins of the home video revolution. It’s a
fascinating celebration of the experiences of the renters, the mom-and-pop (US)
and corner shop (UK) independent video stores, the current-day collectors and
curators of the treasured tapes bound in amaray boxes, and a speculative fast-forward
to the future: will VHS enjoy a vinyl-like renaissance? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 1.0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It
revels in the tactile (sometimes forbidden) pleasures of under-age viewing of age-inappropriate
horror films. It highlights the luscious and at times lurid cover art which
lured us into renting those often obscure and dodgy titles, whilst celebrating arguably
the finest exponent of the art, the UK’s very own Graham Humphreys.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkArtnb_S8v6KvAb-J9vD4kGkPOLt-QUUdPhvczQoJE88Kt7ywRXuR96SfyWHI4AbOcMaAjGBJLaq3B0Pmt992Ova0wsu24CvXsV3YmQdxALGoP2OFPhZgMFoCUBNpbPw-jWNLLznZLcl0tuKqaIqRJk_lyQXWtslKRIGh4Vb4O00fCfIrYL6fkmVE/s1920/CULTOFVHS_Still010.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkArtnb_S8v6KvAb-J9vD4kGkPOLt-QUUdPhvczQoJE88Kt7ywRXuR96SfyWHI4AbOcMaAjGBJLaq3B0Pmt992Ova0wsu24CvXsV3YmQdxALGoP2OFPhZgMFoCUBNpbPw-jWNLLznZLcl0tuKqaIqRJk_lyQXWtslKRIGh4Vb4O00fCfIrYL6fkmVE/w400-h225/CULTOFVHS_Still010.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 1.0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Naturally,
no discussion of VHS can take place without considering the ‘video nasty’ saga –
something which us UK horror fans of a certain age still have nightmares (in our
damaged brains) over the vilification and moral panic which saw some of our beloved
gore fests being withdrawn, or cut to ribbons, robbing us of most of the best bits.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 1.0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">CULT
OF VHS draws in the (often moving) global experiences from a multitude of fans
and collectors both young and mature. From Mexico to Holland, from Australia to Spain as well as here in dear old Blighty.
Conceived during lockdown, it’s poignant that so many of the interviewees highlight
the advantage of being able to watch a physical copy of a film as opposed to
having to rely on your broadband speed to stream a selective algorithm-curated
range of largely mainstream fare. Whilst the world was stuck at home who had the
last laugh when internet providers couldn’t cope with demand...?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 1.0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Accompanied
by a suitably rocking retro synthwave soundtrack, a bounty of old VHS adverts
and juicy trailer snippets – and a fabulous opening credits sequence homaging John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’, CULT OF VHS is a love letter to VHS for
both seasoned home video romantics, and a timely reminder to current and future
generations of the advantages and unadulterated pleasure of owning physical
media – whether that be in ultra-HD, or pan-and-scan snowy tracking 4:3 VHS.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 1.0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">“VHS
<u>is</u> a cult, but it’s not the creepy kill yourself cult, it’s the let’s
kick ass and let’s be good to each other kind of cult because movies fucking rule,
and in a time like this, escapism is the best and their ain’t no better
escapism than trying to go back to the 80’s and 90’s when life just seemed
simpler”</span></b>.</i> (Kevin
Martin, Owner of the Lobby Videostore).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 1.0cm;"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">****</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Paul Worts</b></span></span></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-45969738861869341832022-05-21T11:10:00.002+01:002022-05-21T11:23:38.635+01:00COLD MOON (2016)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSWMM0czYzp6hRWRyt3rmA2naJ_u8AbXZGJozvRcPCp6lVP_d3JpiBoEB2XcTnwunwZQj4YX6k5OwH0CRb7ktnbS2I5bs1XWsX5SRdhFgPD9XA2FXVaMk-fd19wjG23X9AbgCIBcW_6Okar314EFAUaTeJfSQNWC9G6AxqnNH1JZs_6IbBXQnf0E0/s1600/71cTOxAd3ZS._RI_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpSWMM0czYzp6hRWRyt3rmA2naJ_u8AbXZGJozvRcPCp6lVP_d3JpiBoEB2XcTnwunwZQj4YX6k5OwH0CRb7ktnbS2I5bs1XWsX5SRdhFgPD9XA2FXVaMk-fd19wjG23X9AbgCIBcW_6Okar314EFAUaTeJfSQNWC9G6AxqnNH1JZs_6IbBXQnf0E0/w300-h400/71cTOxAd3ZS._RI_.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed
by: Griff Furst, Starring: Josh Stewart, Frank Whaley,<br /> Chester Rushing, Candy
Clark. Horror, US 2016, 83mins, Cert 15.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Approximately 55 minutes into this
adaptation of Michael McDowell’s 1980 novel ‘Cold Moon Over Babylon’, a coffin
levitates out of its freshly dug grave, explodes, and deposits a snake-like
creature bearing a remarkable resemblance to Michael Keaton’s ‘Betelgeuse’.
Given author McDowell co-wrote Tim Burton’s BEETLEJUICE, this is either a
belated tribute to the late writer (who died in 1999), a cynical attempt to
miss-sell this Southern gothic tale of supernatural revenge, or a complete
coincidence (admittedly, Candy Clark’s Grandma Larkin is a dead ringer for the
“...ghost with the most...”).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It’s 1989. Down at the Larkin
Blueberry Farm in Babylon, Florida, Jerry Larkin (Chester Rushing from MY
FATHER DIES, STRANGER THINGS), is worried the blueberry yield is getting lower
every year, and those red repayment reminders building up in the kitchen drawer
look increasingly likely to spell foreclosure in the not too distant future.
But Jerry and his grandmother Evelyn (the venerable genre Candy Clark, hugely
over-emoting here) have a more immediate concern: why hasn’t Jerry’s 16 year
old sister Margaret not returned home from cycling into town to help her
teacher Mr Perry...?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There’s a lot of plot strands all
desperately straining for screen time in this unnecessarily overcomplicated
ghost story. Like the muddied waters of the river which Margaret Larkin’s strangled
corpse is fished out of, the narrative focus constantly seems to be shifting,
which, whilst never dull, makes for an uneven, muddled experience. There’s a
murder mystery for starters (who strangled Margaret?) which is then abandoned
at the start of the second act when, in a double-whammy that the film never
really recovers from, not only is the killer revealed, but they also brutally
dispatch two of the main characters by unflinchingly beheading one before
swiftly running a sword through the other! As I said, dull it certainly ain’t!
Then, whilst the sheriff (Frank Whaley) does his best to complicate matters
further by arresting an innocent man on the basis of a clue stitch-up even the
writers of Scooby-Doo would baulk at, the unsympathetic bank manager who’s been
itching to grab the deeds to the Larkin Farm, Nathan Redfield (Josh Stewart),
is consuming increasingly vast quantities of hard liquor and drowning his liver
whilst seemingly transforming into Sean Penn with every swig. Meanwhile, his wheelchair
bound dad James, (Christopher Lloyd, wasted – in the role I mean, not literally
like his on screen son Nathan) spends most of his limited screen time
nonsensically ranting whilst leering at his nubile cheerleading babe carer,
who’s favourite past-time is trying on new bikinis – when she’s not sleeping
with his alcoholic son that is – and who also just happens to be the sheriff’s
daughter to boot.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There’s the obligatory scene of
characters watching NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) on TV for those who wish to
play genre cliché bingo. The Tommy Wiseau cameo is of the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it
variety (who thought that would ever be a selling point anyway?),</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Oh yes, I nearly forgot, there’s also
the ghost of strangled Margaret Larkin, floating around town suspended in
mid-air peddling her invisible bicycle and generally harassing her killer at
inopportune moments. These yield some visually striking flourishes, but even she
too flounders (along with her fellow haunters) in the near hysteria of a film
which is trying to cram too much of a novel into its relatively modest running
time. Ultimately, COLD MOON eclipses itself. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><o:p> </o:p>** (out
of 5*)</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Paul
Worts</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This
review was first published by <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/cold-moon.html"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a>.</span></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-22308695640013471592022-04-12T13:08:00.005+01:002022-04-24T11:21:40.243+01:00TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (2022) <p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoZ7RoIz5E7qHyztEoo6aaHNZsJag1emdt0__aUl0qdGyJsxpBZGoSDCNXv3MgB7TJ27tMrpJFhF1ExR-phYTtZ4E-NLbc0T1321kfThc6UPJdYaN2fTcELmbk77YzM_X-1TW6Z7EJ5wLi6pdpoXEERfFDF5j6kF-wI140aLq-KDkT2Dt9BTNYPd4/s1800/TCM_D31_04792c.webp" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1800" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpoZ7RoIz5E7qHyztEoo6aaHNZsJag1emdt0__aUl0qdGyJsxpBZGoSDCNXv3MgB7TJ27tMrpJFhF1ExR-phYTtZ4E-NLbc0T1321kfThc6UPJdYaN2fTcELmbk77YzM_X-1TW6Z7EJ5wLi6pdpoXEERfFDF5j6kF-wI140aLq-KDkT2Dt9BTNYPd4/w640-h426/TCM_D31_04792c.webp" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed
by David Blue Garcia. Starring Sarah Yarkin, Elsie<br /> Fisher, Mark Burnham. Horror, 2022, 81 mins, Cert 18.</span><p></p>
<p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Available to stream on Netflix from 18th February 2022.</span></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">"The only way to deal with an invasive species is to eradicate them."</span></b> [with a chainsaw]<i> </i></span></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span>Leatherface gets a retcon facelift in this direct sequel to Tobe Hooper's seminal 1974 classic. Taking its lead from the rebooted <i>Halloween </i>franchise, <i>TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE </i>(2022) eschews all the previous TCM prequels, sequels and reboots whilst employing artistic amnesia by erasing the entire Sawyer family; thereby granting our chainsaw monster the status of orphan for nearly 50 years. </span></span></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>Helmed by David Blue Garcia (no, me neither<i>) </i></span><span>from a story by the</span><span> </span><i>Evil Dead (2013) / </i><i>Don't Breath </i><span>tag-team of Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues,</span><span> </span><span>this latest entry in the face peeling franchise sees a disappointingly brief return for original final girl 'Sally Hardesty' to face-off (so to speak) against her one-time nemesis. Sadly Marilyn Burns passed away in 2014 so the original's 'final girl', now a Texas Ranger (albeit a not very good one) is portrayed by </span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">Olwen Fouéré in a frankly underwhelming few minutes of screen time.</span></span></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span>The aforementioned invasive species of the film are a bunch of young millennial "Gentri-fuckers" led by Melody (Sarah Yarkin, a spitting image of 80's Diane Franklin) and Dante (Jacob Latimore). Somewhat implausibly, these two restaurateurs and social media influencers have assisted a bank in buying up an abandoned Texan town and are coaching in a busload of potential young hipster investors to auction off the old dilapidated properties to transform the town into a trendy 'village' of restaurants and art galleries. <i>(In reality, their sole </i></span><i>raison d'être is </i><i>to augment the film's body count as human cattle for literal slaughter).</i> There's just one problem with this regeneration project - the sick and elderly remaining tenant running the local orphanage claims she still retains her property deeds - and the last remaining 'orphan' upstairs has been with her ever since 1973 when he was taken in as a troubled teen "...that needed me to show 'em mercy for their ways." </span></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Reports of a troubled production, (original directors being fired after underwhelming dallies and allegedly disastrous test screenings) combined with the decision to drop a theatrical release and dump it straight onto Netflix meant expectations were lower than usual for a TCM entry (if that is actually possible at this point in time). </span></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Credit where it's due however, this is the first installment to actually deliver an on-screen chainsaw massacre. There's certainly no scrimping on the (largely practical) gore, despite the film's ruthlessly pared-down running time, with the coach/bus (UK/US translation) scene a truly Bacchanalian bloodbath. </span></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span>The abandoned town setting gives off <i>House of Wax (2005)</i> vibes, and visually feels more like a Western (despite bizarrely being filmed in Bulgaria) albeit with kitchen rather than saloon doors swinging open to reveal a gruesome tableaux. Plotwise, Leatherface (</span><span>Mark Burnham) is essentially Jason Voorhees this time around. The death of his mother-figure, Mrs MC (Alice Krige), who knowingly harboured a mass-murdering butcher all these years, here sparks </span><span>his murderous instincts back to life, and persuades him to crank up the old 'saw once more. </span><span>Of course Jason didn't honour Mrs Voorhees by skinning mummy's face and using it as a mask, but both are adept at </span></span>constructing rudimentarily gruesome altars of sorts to their respective deceased matriarchal guardians.</span></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The truncated brevity of the film's running time results in the ruthless slaughtering of the majority of characters without giving us any realt time to get to know them (although perhaps here this isn't <i>always</i> such a bad thing). The relationship between Sarah Yarkin's 'Melody' and her younger sibling 'Lila' (Elsie Fisher), a lone survivor from a High School shooting, is still reasonably affecting however. The sisters form an interesting tag-team when they are forced to pair up against old, near-geriatric, but still surprisingly nimble Leatherface. Moe Dunford also brings an ounce or two (no more mind) of nuance to the role of local gun-toting </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">rootin'-tootin' petrol </span><span style="font-family: arial;">polluting mechanic 'Richter' who bonds with Lila over a rifle and some clunkingly obvious foreshadowing. </span></span></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Visually, the film offers some striking sequences, such as the chainsaw blade slicing through floorboards like a deadly metallic shark fin, and the finale staged in an abandoned flooded moviehouse which allows Leatherface a watery jumpscare as he launches out of a submerged rain filled basement <i>(</i>instead of a lake onto a canoe, surely I don't need to spell out<i> this</i> visual nod?<i>). </i>The photography is pleasingly free from shaky-cam, which allows the often richly detailed production designs space (if not time) to be appreciated, and the set-pieces are nicely choreographed to generate at least a modicum of tension. </span></span></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sure there's some gaping, <i>chasm-wide</i> plot holes: was Leatherface <i>really</i> so<i> </i>hard to find that he remained undetected for so long purely because he'd worn a mask? Had he been working out in an unseen home-gym in the orphanage throughout all those intervening years to make him so spritely (and seemingly impervious to bullets)? </span></span></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span>But brushing obvious faults aside, this is still a slick, sick thrill-ride with just enough meat on the bone in terms of script to hook one's attention for 81 mean-spirited, nihilistically splattery minutes deep in the heart of Texas (or Bulgaria).</span></span></span></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>****(out of 5*) </b></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"> </i></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-size: x-large;">Paul Worts</span></b></p><p class="cast---crew-18pt"><br /></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-84128685442234088942022-02-06T19:28:00.004+00:002022-02-09T20:08:34.946+00:00A HYMN FOR HER (2022) (Short)<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrGlgad_4h_NTamkHyYlREronrzaWqiJwzG6VpCSYExy31Db6hx4H8Mfp3TgPUXoHuoJw-PhMVlP1-uNgoIeqcGWojvGCj6pEQJAjZRanoBzQ6Y7KmHxGWYutU8bdUBo5JRmnyxPEji8SjZO7ruarIvwecori41kH4Wp9YQrcJm2g0FQbb5cuBNWDa=s1440" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1440" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhrGlgad_4h_NTamkHyYlREronrzaWqiJwzG6VpCSYExy31Db6hx4H8Mfp3TgPUXoHuoJw-PhMVlP1-uNgoIeqcGWojvGCj6pEQJAjZRanoBzQ6Y7KmHxGWYutU8bdUBo5JRmnyxPEji8SjZO7ruarIvwecori41kH4Wp9YQrcJm2g0FQbb5cuBNWDa=w640-h342" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed by: Emma Pitt. Starring Linda Marlowe. Short. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Horror, UK 2022, 9mins.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A Misty Moon & One Eyed Man Music and Film Production. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Premiering at
the Genesis Cinema, as part of The Dark Side magazine’s DarkFest 5 in November.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #01ffff;"><b>“I’m not a monster.”</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Whilst viewing award winning writer/director Emma Pitt’s latest short film A HYMN FOR
HER, I was very much reminded of a Pet Shop Boys song entitled ‘Invisible’: “<i>After
being for so many years, the life and soul of the party, it's weird, I'm
invisible.” </i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Former starlet <a name="_Hlk95064121">‘Rosemary</a>
De Souza’ (Linda Marlowe) sits in front of her mirror surrounded by posters and
framed imaged reminders of her younger self reflecting to her reflection on her
heyday years past, the adulation and attention she once commanded, garnering
rave reviews and turning heads as a young glamorous actress. Now, with the
ageing of time, Rosemary feels herself invisible and largely ignored by a
society that assigns a woman’s value and worth on looks and pigeon holes and prejudices based on the superficial exterior of youth and perceived ‘beauty’. Barged
into without a hint of an apology, sneered at in a boutique, on the receiving
end of unsolicited advice “for women of your age” from her hairdresser, and ignored
whilst waiting to be served at the bar: a day in the life of ‘Rosemary De Souza’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But, as ‘Rosemary’ confides directly to
us, “When I said earlier I do nothing
about it, that’s not strictly true…”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Having been executive producer on Misty
Moon’s previous short: READY FOR MY CLOSE UP (about a fictional fading homicidal
B-movie actress), the venerable Linda Marlowe - whose own illustrious stage, film,
and TV career is neither fictional nor B-movie in quality – here brings her A-game
to writer/director Emma Pitt’s poignant and pithy tale of societal
patronisation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">After soliloquising into her bedroom
mirror, Marlowe breaks the fourth wall to brilliant effect. Pitt’s script gifts
Marlowe with some juicy barbs such as: “It’s not you, it’s my secretary who’s
20 years younger than you” when ruthlessly translating her husband’s attempt to
justify leaving her, and the sharply inflected expletives land like verbal
grenades. And even without dialogue, Marlowe’s turn to camera upon being advised
to consider a bob by her stylist manages to convey the film’s theme in just one
succinct gesture.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">All this is not to say the film is in
anyway preachy or ‘woke’. Rosemary’s exacerbations never ring as hollow
posturing and Marlowe draws us along with her sympathetically before her plight
simmers over from frustration to boiling point and we are invited to be
complicit in her very literal strategy for dealing with a cutthroat world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There’s fun to be had in spotting cameos
from Deborah Voorhees (director of 13<sup> </sup>FANBOY and ‘Tina’ from FRIDAY
THE 13TH</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"> PART V), Hayley Greenbauer (13 FANBOY) and the amusing
‘missing’ posters cropping up during both mid and post end credits: one
featuring producer Stuart Morris; and one of Rosemary’s ‘missing’ husband, played
by Dave Sutherland, who also contributes the end-credits song ‘Meadow Daises’.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Speaking of which, the song's melody is also
employed in the film’s opening, treated with a haunting piano arrangement from DOP
and editor Jason Read which sets the off-key tone of the film perfectly.
There’s also some nice use of Mozart and later Tchaikovsky to accompany the
grand guignol macabre.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Whilst Linda Marlowe’s ‘Rosemary De
Souza’ is largely unnoticed to the world and invisible, A HYMN FOR HER very
much deserves to be seen by audiences who will surely sing its praises. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial;">****</span></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Paul Worts</b></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-69814895756684701572021-10-26T17:55:00.001+01:002022-02-06T12:10:43.464+00:00THE BLACK FOREST (A MATA NEGRA) 2018<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4rGGCm5SmdWvTBE2Pn9V_cyTBFHT9wx6GYs60-P8om98UjdUXjeF28mjDTYecRVRTlOqsTZEsl5D9KFU9keVh_dxcOvf3_Fjp17cWd5T80GjVPZJB_maxfQmqlHrl6hxE2twzidnEFg/s821/MV5BOTE5ZGU1YjMtYzlmYi00MzA3LWJlYjAtMzY3YjZiZTUxZDI5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTIzMjUxMg%2540%2540._V1_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="821" data-original-width="560" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF4rGGCm5SmdWvTBE2Pn9V_cyTBFHT9wx6GYs60-P8om98UjdUXjeF28mjDTYecRVRTlOqsTZEsl5D9KFU9keVh_dxcOvf3_Fjp17cWd5T80GjVPZJB_maxfQmqlHrl6hxE2twzidnEFg/w273-h400/MV5BOTE5ZGU1YjMtYzlmYi00MzA3LWJlYjAtMzY3YjZiZTUxZDI5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTIzMjUxMg%2540%2540._V1_.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed by: Rodrigo Aragão. Starring: Carol Aragão, Elbert<br /> Merlin, Francisco Gaspa. Brazil, 2018, 98 mins. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD meets Lloyd Kaufman's POULTRYGEIST, with a seasoning of Michele Soavi's DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE in this bloody bananas Brazilian folktale.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Naïve foundling teenager Clara's (Carol Aragão) eventful and hostile first excursion into the nearby village concludes with her coming into possession of a demonic spell book known as Cipriano's Black Book. The book's dying owner warns Clara to burn this Necronomicon of black magic after entreating her to perform a ritual from its pages to aid his soul passing peacefully into the afterlife in exchange for a bag of gold coins. Unfortunately for Clara, the villagers, and ultimately all of humanity (but not for us viewers), the lure of gold leads to tragic consequences and Clara's increasingly desperate attempts to redeem the situation by resorting to darker and darker magic from her book of spells results in the boundaries between life and death blurring amidst a bloodbath of hellish retribution. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">For a modest budget, director Rodrigo Aragão delivers a heady intoxicating cornucopia of nightmarish set-pieces and some gloppy practical gore effects in a (quite literally) all hell breaking loose final third featuring demonic chicken embryos, reanimated corpses, an exploding head and demonic disembowelment. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Before unleashing his KFC bargain bucket of blood, Aragão’s magical realism tale lands a couple of critical punches towards religious hypocrisy and a few stabs at socio-political themes. None of which detract from the essence of this cautionary terror tale warning of the potential perils of selling your soul and renouncing your moral beliefs.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">It's a rollicking yarn, directed with maniacal assurance and infectious gusto, and given Aragão's resources, quite a coup (or rather coop considering the demonic fowl he unleashes)</span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff; font-size: x-large;">****(out of 5*)</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff; font-size: x-large;">Paul Worts</span></b></span></p><div><br /></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p><br /></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-57233331678631733122021-10-24T18:15:00.002+01:002022-02-06T12:10:01.391+00:00AMSTERDAMNED (1988)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBR_dKYCq62IIuwB-MRS1ho5xKR4gLHrD7dsTPVqwNjqFrg5pJeJdCJsQ9XyBEeUX1sdQaYNFmRNcOIKouimYzoNCpJr3inOSbOwTBVkz8822GTsHqhCZjXwylOG8nO8Z5EiZKs6iscy4/s750/uNPQUEd13n9fIDliOYfOyxfyY4Y.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBR_dKYCq62IIuwB-MRS1ho5xKR4gLHrD7dsTPVqwNjqFrg5pJeJdCJsQ9XyBEeUX1sdQaYNFmRNcOIKouimYzoNCpJr3inOSbOwTBVkz8822GTsHqhCZjXwylOG8nO8Z5EiZKs6iscy4/w266-h400/uNPQUEd13n9fIDliOYfOyxfyY4Y.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed by: Dick Mass. Starring: Huub Stapel, <span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;">Monique van<br /> de Ven, Serge-Henri Valcke. Holland 1988, 104mins. Certificate 15.</span></span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thanks to streaming on Amazon Prime, this was a rewatch after a 30+ years gap from when I first caught it at the cinema on its initial
release. It took many years to get that damned catchy ‘Amsterdamned’ end credits
song out of my head, so now of course after all these years it’s once more
taken up long-term lodging in my brain. Damn you<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘Amsterdamned’!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I have a lot of
time for Dick Mass flicks, which is just as well given that here he stretches the (admittedly nifty) premise out to just 7 minutes short of 2 hours. And whilst this
Dutch frogman canal giallo/slasher is relatively restrained with regards to the body count and actual on-screen kills, it more than compensates with:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">zippy
dialogue (even surviving relatively intact in the English dubbed version),</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">gloriously
immersive location work,</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">quirky
throwaway moments such as the bakery holdup,</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">cheeky
references to ‘Jaws’,</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">outrageous
set-pieces:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>e.g. the very messy tourist
canal boat ride, the James Bond like over the top speedboat chase, and a
restaging of Nancy's Elm Street bathtub nightmare on an inflatable with a rather large knife.</span></li></ul><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial;">Definitely
worth a punt down these murderous Dutch canals.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: arial;">P.S. all
together now…</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>"Amsterdamned,
Amsterdamned, ooohooo<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>This is
Amsterdamned<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial;"><i> </i></span></o:p><i style="font-family: arial;">Amsterdamned,
Amsterdamned, oho</i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>(This place is
damned!)<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><i>This is
Amsterdamned"</i></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>****(out of 5*)</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Paul Worts</b></span></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-8654503022822194682021-08-07T13:47:00.000+01:002021-08-07T13:47:08.395+01:00SHADOW IN THE CLOUD (2020)<div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xOnkidOSDoR7cYwcGB3bE9K7LvhN3c9PdAghoqIDiT2aqIwVs8LVPcphtaI_0MrhSlnxuTpIz_iiHeWkGraF8zYK7G3sBY_vYElDVbfAVRLh5b30zYBQNkj7gNujVt55d0_5blOxW2Q/s1500/5fdfd75b37b7c2b353841fefa1ffd580.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1012" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xOnkidOSDoR7cYwcGB3bE9K7LvhN3c9PdAghoqIDiT2aqIwVs8LVPcphtaI_0MrhSlnxuTpIz_iiHeWkGraF8zYK7G3sBY_vYElDVbfAVRLh5b30zYBQNkj7gNujVt55d0_5blOxW2Q/w270-h400/5fdfd75b37b7c2b353841fefa1ffd580.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>It’s Murray Futterman’s ‘Nightmare at 20,000 Feet’. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Chloë Grace Moretz‘s World War 2 take on Ellen Ripley sees her fending off a gremlin on the wing, an aircrew of (mostly) salivating misogynists, Japanese fighter planes, and the basic laws of physics as she fights to protect her secret carry-on case and its precious contents.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">An increasingly ludicrous premise which climbs to hysterical hysteria (and then manages to ratchet it up yet another notch). Roseanne Liang directs the hell out of it, delivering a jaw-dropping WWII creature feature and bringing it in to land with a rousing aplomb whilst Moretz pummelled me into helpless giggling submission. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Hugely enjoyable over the top fun.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>*****(out of 5*)</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Paul Worts</b></span></div>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-54280478942682053042021-05-21T18:06:00.001+01:002022-05-01T12:35:14.808+01:00GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES (1988)<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87_zXaqPnKvsKrK4hJ3rjGZBQKghBBpjvQkVa-_otjG29PaqGu3cgub8VuvYhdRR3UKpnIDbBSfdtbyOPQx6uaUb87N_m_JfDpoAy1pYDvck3LFnuuN329le91hNZcfg4tU_QG7JM0hQ/s768/grave-main.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj87_zXaqPnKvsKrK4hJ3rjGZBQKghBBpjvQkVa-_otjG29PaqGu3cgub8VuvYhdRR3UKpnIDbBSfdtbyOPQx6uaUb87N_m_JfDpoAy1pYDvck3LFnuuN329le91hNZcfg4tU_QG7JM0hQ/w640-h360/grave-main.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed
by Isao Takahata, Featuring the voices of: J Robert<br /> Spencer, Rhoda Chrosite, Veronica
Taylor and Amy Jones. Animation, Japan,
1988, approx. 90mins, Cert 12.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Based on
Akiyuki Nosaka’s semi-autobiographical novel, writer/director Isao Takahata’s
1988 Studio Ghibli anime focuses on 14 year old Seita and his 4 year old sister
Setsuko, and their desperate struggle to cling to life and hope amidst the
scorched ruins of a firebombed Japan in 1945.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">With
father away serving with the Japanese navy, Seita and his little sister live
with their unwell mother in the city of Kobe. During a devastating air raid by
US forces, the two children are separated from their mother and upon emerging
from the dust and smoke are confronted with a decimated landscape. Forced to
flee the rubble they initially escape to the countryside to stay with an aunt.
Tensions soon mount as food supplies become scarcer and Seita takes the
decision to leave their aunt and seek refuge on their own. Alone, they face an
arduous struggle for survival.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Not an
obvious choice of subject matter for an animated film then. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This is
a profoundly moving and truly unforgettable piece of filmmaking. It fully deserves
its status not only as classic anime, but also as one the greatest war films
ever made. The depiction of the horrors of war are presented with searing
honesty and without overwrought manipulation. Director Takahata himself
experienced an air-raid when he was 10 years old and this clearly infuses the
bombing sequence with a chilling level of authentic detail. The awful 'beauty' as the glowing firebombs fall from the sky, the eerie silence before the
flickering flames of the incendiary devices burst into deadly life and rip
through wooden homes without mercy are images which seer straight to the mind's'-eye and linger.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Although
Seita and little Setsuko’s plight is heart wrenching, director Takahata takes
time to pause from the inevitable bleakness and gives the children precious
moments of innocent pleasure and beauty. Running on a sandy beach and paddling
in the sea. Sharing a bath, Seita uses a piece of cloth to create an air bubble
which splashes a giggling Setsuko. And of course we have the magical glow of
the fireflies, caught in numbers to illuminate their abandoned sheltered
hide-out. These gentle bittersweet scenes stand out like sun rays bursting
through the storm clouds of war. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This is
not an anti-American film. The B-29 bombers that drop their deadly cargo are of
course US, but the film is not about apportioning blame, but instead about the
loss of innocence and the consequences of war. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Originally
released in Japanese cinemas as a Studio Ghibli double-bill with the charming
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, audiences understandably gravitated toward Miyazaki’s sweet
fable compared with its more challenging and provoking accompaniment. (The intention was for TOTORO to be the soothing second feature balm, I can only imagine the impact if the audience had watched FIREFLIES <i>after </i>TOTORO). I freely admit I sobbed uncontrollably at the closing image. But this
is a film everyone should see. It may not be one you can easily revisit time
and time again, but even if you only watch it once, you will never forget
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">*****(out of 5*)</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Paul Worts</b></span></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-78763659766568155692021-05-21T17:46:00.001+01:002021-05-21T18:13:07.279+01:00KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE (1989)<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQYNKPds9Y8ybwbDGFAWcnOl_FqDI2DPV0uA6ybl3MN2BEyowmp8ll-pUEBKXE_HTNS9LfdVhAJGH7WtjkGqWojBOtTMTKfec33pUjpnas1_ZASlDYFm_JfKVCcYSrOjHbyJnuwdqhBM/s630/screen-shot-2014-11-18-at-12-50-48-a-m.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="630" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQYNKPds9Y8ybwbDGFAWcnOl_FqDI2DPV0uA6ybl3MN2BEyowmp8ll-pUEBKXE_HTNS9LfdVhAJGH7WtjkGqWojBOtTMTKfec33pUjpnas1_ZASlDYFm_JfKVCcYSrOjHbyJnuwdqhBM/w640-h326/screen-shot-2014-11-18-at-12-50-48-a-m.png" width="640" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed
by Hayao Miyazaki, Featuring the voices of: Kirsten Dunst, Janeane Garofalo, Debbie
Reynolds, Animation, Japan, 1989, approx. 103mins, cert U.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Adapted
by Hayao Miyazaki from the children’s book by Eiko Kadono, this was Studio
Ghibli’s fourth feature film and yet, somewhat surprisingly, their first real
box-office success.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Upon
turning thirteen, teenage witch Kiki must leave home in order to complete her
training. Accompanied on her broomstick by her sarcastic familiar black cat
Jiji, Kiki leaves her loving parents behind and clumsily flies off into the
starry night. A storm forces her to seek refuge on an overnight cattle train.
Awakened by the cows on board who are breakfasting on the straw Kiki and Jiji
have bedded down on, Kiki takes flight once more into a clear blue sky morning
and eventually comes to a picturesque city by the sea. Not possessing any
specific skills like potion-making or fortune-telling, Kiki is initially at a
loss as to what she can offer the city as their witch in residence. But she
soon utilises her broom-flying abilities to reunite an infant with its
“pacifier” (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dummy</i> to you and I) and
an idea begins to surface...<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This is
a gentle coming-of-age tale set in an alternative 1950’s where world war hasn’t
occurred. Bi-planes and airships grace the blue skies over the fictional city
of Koriko (largely inspired by the cityscapes of Stockholm and specifically the
city of Visby on the island of Gotland). Beautifully detailed buildings and
streets are meticulously rendered and offer a breathtaking degree of realism.
The magic elements of the story are played very matter-of-fact and at its heart
we have a young teenage girl embarking on a journey of self-discovery (albeit
on a broomstick). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In
Miyazaki’s skilled hands he conjures up a potent charm which avoids falling
into saccharine sweetness by its genuine honesty and consummate craftsmanship. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Purists will no doubt insist on the original Japanese audio track (and I would never usually go against this point of view) Audio-wise, but the US dub is a fairly decent effort,
albeit tweaked for its targeted audience. Kirsten Dunst gives a reasonable account as
Kiki but Phil Hartman’s sub-Nathan Lane turn as JiJi the cat adds a welcome
touch of cynicism to the proceedings which plays more favourably to my ears than the harsher-sounding original (sacrilege I know but...) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>*****(out of 5*)</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Paul Worts</b></span></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-32824114945834528372021-05-01T11:32:00.003+01:002022-02-15T14:38:23.135+00:00RAW (2016)<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNe1ovXTVroJdYfJd8_VE6jzTClOKI9xE5TB984DZDxK3s7Yg3I1mRb_ITkQq09lsFDGtQf4tFCBGMh9QyY2nWFTiKvv11LUXukaheKJmxzikadtp0VfYqa0VpxR_1s4b-5SaVEpG6wJY/s1170/Raw-1170x585.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="585" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNe1ovXTVroJdYfJd8_VE6jzTClOKI9xE5TB984DZDxK3s7Yg3I1mRb_ITkQq09lsFDGtQf4tFCBGMh9QyY2nWFTiKvv11LUXukaheKJmxzikadtp0VfYqa0VpxR_1s4b-5SaVEpG6wJY/w640-h320/Raw-1170x585.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed by: Julia Ducournau. Starring: <a name="_Hlk69571139">Garance
Marillier, Ella<br /> Rumpf</a>, Rabah Nait Oufella. France/Belgium 2016, 99mins,
Certificate 18.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Released on Blu-ray in a limited edition by Second Sight Films from 26<sup>th</sup>
April 2021.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Early on in writer/director Julia Ducournau’s 2016 debut feature, first-year
veterinary student Justine (Garance Marillier) is asked by the school’s doctor:
“How do you see yourself?” Justine replies: “Average”. There is however nothing
remotely average about this arthouse coming-of-age cannibal hybrid. Nor,
fittingly enough, is there anything average about Second Sight’s stunning
limited edition blu-ray release both in terms of disc content and in the
gorgeously designed slipcase, booklet and collectors’ art cards that accompany
it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Having been brought up in a strictly vegetarian family, Justine follows in
the family’s footsteps by enrolling at the same veterinary school her parents
graduated from, and where her older sister Alexia (Ella Rumpf) is a senior.
Having barely had a chance to unpack and be introduced to her gay male roommate
Adrien (Rabah Nait Oufella), the hazing initiation rituals orchestrated by the
senior faculty begin their onslaught. These culminate with Justine having to
eat a rabbit kidney after her and her fellow newbies are drenched in animal
blood. After being pressured into consuming meat for the first time, Justine
suffers an allergic skin reaction before a craving for meat takes hold and
she’s pocketing burgers from the canteen and chowing down on raw chicken breast
from the fridge. However, Justine’s cravings for meat will transition from
animal to human flesh following an unfortunate accident, forcing her to
confront family secrets and wrestle with her newly acquired animalistic
instincts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In what sounds like classic grindhouse exploitation hype, during a
screening at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016, several audience
members allegedly fainted during the film’s graphic scenes and required medical
attention. (Clearly, they hadn’t been repeating to themselves: ‘It’s only a
movie…only a movie…’). Whilst hardened gorehounds would certainly sneer at this
over-reaction, the film does contain some genuinely raw (no pun intended) real
sequences involving animal dissection and veterinary practice which I can appreciate
could be deemed upsetting. Given the film’s subject matter, the actual on-screen
cannibalism is however relatively restrained (at least when compared to the
notorious Italian gut munching nasties of the 80’s). But its intimacy, coupled
with the searingly committed performances of Garance Marillier and Ella Rumpf,
sell the prosthetics (and light-touch CGI in one scene) and achieve far greater
impact as a result. If I am honest, after revisiting the film it made me
ravenous (not for human flesh you’ll be pleased to know). I actually feel the
most wince-inducing moment involves a close-up botched Brazilian wax job.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The brutalist architecture of the location lends the film visual
comparisons with David Cronenberg, as does aspects of the body horrors
presented. Overall, it has an arthouse sensibility which is somewhat jarring
with the gore and jet-black humour, (and may account for the Toronto audience’s
reaction). The clear early visual nod to De Palma’s CARRIE, whilst audacious,
seems to hint at an intention to position the film firmly in the horror genre,
but there are multi-faceted aspects at work which straddle genres, and takes
them confidently in its stride.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Ultimately, it is an exploration of humanity, or as director Ducournau
states in the interview feature on the disc entitled ‘In the Name of Raw’: “I
think it’s the story of a girl who becomes a human being”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Speaking of the discs extras, there’s a rich bounty to get your teeth
into which provide plenty of food for thought (and that’s enough of the puns).
The extraordinary Garance Marillier is interviewed a fresh, providing her with
an opportunity to look back on her experiences and close collaboration with her
director. Producer Jean des Forets shares some of the practical considerations
in terms of the film’s budget, and its selling challenges. As well as a previous
audio commentary with Julia Ducournau and film critic Emma Westwood, there is
also a new commentary by film critic Alexandra West to lend a fresh critical
perspective. Alexandra Heller-Nicholas’ new video essay contributes a perfectly
succinct, and frankly perfect 12-minute summary of the film’s themes and
concepts. There’s tons more content including footage from the Australian
premiere, panel discussions, an alternative opening, deleted scenes and
trailers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">*****<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff; font-size: x-large;">Paul Worts</span></b><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This review was </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">originally </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">published by <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/raw.html"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span></p><br /><p></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-6829863154096061882021-02-28T20:32:00.005+00:002022-02-06T11:59:51.061+00:00THE STYLIST (2020)<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyYrlQrSkYZ0G1NKIqmva96xNemH2hKGKTjzHqXdh53_6O8KP-aq07-OVtnxvQM7cox5braTZzW7wKb4cQ537M9ABC4doJnQyn_XzHQ9oqVd6dwRZIJCWx0kvPvP8eeHH168xD3gcg1g/s1000/stylist.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="1000" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLyYrlQrSkYZ0G1NKIqmva96xNemH2hKGKTjzHqXdh53_6O8KP-aq07-OVtnxvQM7cox5braTZzW7wKb4cQ537M9ABC4doJnQyn_XzHQ9oqVd6dwRZIJCWx0kvPvP8eeHH168xD3gcg1g/w640-h322/stylist.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed by: Jill Gevargizian Starring: Najarra Townsend, Brea<br /><br /> Grant, Sarah McGuire<span face="Arial, sans-serif"> US 2020, 105mins, Certificate TBC.</span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Available exclusively on the Arrow VOD platform from 1<sup>st</sup> March
2021.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">“But we all want what we don’t have”.</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Expanding on her award winning 2016 short, writer/director Jill
Gevargizian’s debut feature is a stylishly crafted and beautifully executed
portrait of a serial killer hairstylist. Claire (Najarra Townsend, CONTRACTED) has
a penchant for drugging her clients and scalping them. By candlelight, Claire then
sits in her cellar wearing her victims scalps in a macabre costume role-play
acting out her clients perceived coveted lives through recalled phrases, flesh
and hair.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A cursory glance at the above would suggest comparison with Joe Spinell’s
grungy grindhouse scalper ‘Frank Zito’ from William Lustig’s MANIAC (1980). However,
shorn of the male gaze, Gevargizian’s primary focus is less the dissection of
the female form, (albeit unflinchingly graphic on occasion), but rather more
about social isolation. Her protagonist Claire’s crippling low self-esteem
hampers her from successfully navigating the intricate cutting mores of social
interaction and precludes her from forming any meaningful female friendships. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The opening sequence, re-worked from the short, encapsulates the intimacy
and sensuality of the hairstylist’s work and maps out the dichotomy of the
stylist/client relationship. A new random customer reveals that she is having a
marital affair. A hitherto secret that the client feels she can somehow
unburden to a stranger, enlisting Claire as an anonymous confessor. What her client
doesn’t realise is that Claire absorbs these snatched intimate details of her
clients lives, the only meaningful interactions she has beyond ordering her
daily coffee, and weaves them into her fatal fantasies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">When Claire is asked by regular client Olivia (Brea Grant) if she will
step in as an emergency replacement hairstylist for Olivia’s upcoming wedding,
it sets in motion a chain of events that will give Claire am initial tantalising
glimpse of the friendship she dreams of creating before exposing her emotional
fragility and unhinged psychology. Inevitably her obsession will eventually
lead to nightmarish consequences. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">They say write what you know, in which case writer/director Jill
Gevargizian’s background as a hairstylist has obviously informed her insight
into the nature of the profession (but hopefully not into the mind of a
scalping female serial killer). This is an astonishingly assured debut feature,
with a nuanced performance from <a name="_Hlk65004500">Najarra Townsend </a>at
its core, accompanied by lyrical storytelling imbued with vividly rich colour
and texture.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-HUITcBUbZFFJStSMTaLmDBH2UvdHfg5uu9mFehkhNkUPAmoMlBsczOP_DJef91XwQETZ3GmyobygWmZjEE5lcPjtqQAkWpIamVDaSJfN82beu-T-1pAJvcGQAcXl7Htf9Pr4D10QpBE/s2740/Stylist_Still07.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1148" data-original-width="2740" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-HUITcBUbZFFJStSMTaLmDBH2UvdHfg5uu9mFehkhNkUPAmoMlBsczOP_DJef91XwQETZ3GmyobygWmZjEE5lcPjtqQAkWpIamVDaSJfN82beu-T-1pAJvcGQAcXl7Htf9Pr4D10QpBE/w640-h268/Stylist_Still07.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Stylishly shot by Robert Patrick Stern, the film looks fantastic, with a
vibrant giallo-like palette which belies the modest budget. Split screen
sequences highlighting the contrasting lifestyles of Claire and Olivia are pure
De Palma, and Nicholas Elert’s lush score, punctuated with discordant notes
perfectly encapsulate Claire’s dysfunctional state of mind. Production, costume
and of course the hairstyles (naturally) are all meticulously interwoven to
illustrate character and setting. Claire’s ornate chandelier and candlelight
cellar is a glowing gothic subterranean lair, not unlike that of the operatic
Phantom, in contrast to the relative starkness of the salon and Olivia’s
apartment.</span><p></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But the film isn’t merely gorgeous to look at on the surface, it has real
bite and Gervargizian pulls off an excruciatingly nasty sequence involving a
drugged victim’s untimely regaining of consciousness. Hitchcockian transference
of empathy is earned as you cringe for Claire when her Single White Female
stalking leads to her having to take refuge behind the shower curtain of an
intended victim or almost being caught red-handed (and red-faced) on Olivia’s
bed. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Claire’s backstory is only briefly sketched in, an absent father and the
death of her mother (also a stylist) at a relatively young age are nearly all
the hints we are given. When recalling her mother’s constantly changing hair
colour and styles, Claire does however tellingly reveal: “I never knew who was
gonna come home”, foreshadowing Claire’s own (twisted) role-plays.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The interplay between Claire and bride-to-be Olivia is teased out with
precision playing by Najarra Townsend and Brea Grant (writer/director of the
also excellent 12 HOUR SHIFT), and incrementally increases the cringe factor we
share with, and for, both characters before the final bleak yet beautiful
payoff.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span>Originally screened at the Arrow Video FrightFest online Halloween event
in October 2020, I was glad to book in another appointment to see THE STYLIST,
and to reconfirm my opinion that it’s a cut above the rest and destined to be one
of the genre highlights of 2021. </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>****(out of 5*)<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-size: x-large;"><b>Paul Worts</b></span><b style="font-size: x-large;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This review was originally published
by<b><span style="color: red;"> <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/streaming-review-the-stylist.html"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a></span></b>.</span></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-53705738388473727072021-02-19T13:26:00.011+00:002022-05-21T10:49:55.961+01:00BREEDER (2020)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7pCaZlV7OevFq2fRy_cBJ9JjqiO4aJKpJzeACbu88IRl7bdqoxY03Q3QHw9-Qq8Rto6JVH7PCqXqlIwM4FmcYWK8R27PcmrM6sP8MlD5q42i3U3NQ9dY7kQR5cBAVubCGPFXVikqzJ0/s599/MON70414_BREEDER_both-packs_website.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="599" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv7pCaZlV7OevFq2fRy_cBJ9JjqiO4aJKpJzeACbu88IRl7bdqoxY03Q3QHw9-Qq8Rto6JVH7PCqXqlIwM4FmcYWK8R27PcmrM6sP8MlD5q42i3U3NQ9dY7kQR5cBAVubCGPFXVikqzJ0/w640-h456/MON70414_BREEDER_both-packs_website.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed by: Jens Dahl. Starring: <a name="_Hlk63524358">Sara Hjort
Ditlevsen</a>,<br /> Anders Heinrichsen, <a name="_Hlk63524799">Signes Egholm Olsen</a>,
Morten Holst. Denmark 2019, 107mins, Certificate 18.</span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">“How much can you get away with when you hold the
reins?”</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff;"><br /></span></b></span></p>
<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Originally premiered as part of the Arrow Video FrightFest Digital
Edition 2, Jens Dahl’s disturbingly chilling dissection of biohacking certainly
created a stir in genre circles. Inaccurately dismissed by some as a belated
Danish entry into the annals of the so-called torture porn sub-genre, the
strong reactions to sequences in the film’s final third seemed less about the
actual content, but more about their jarring juxtaposition in contrast to the relatively
measured restraint and cold sense of foreboding intrigue which precedes.</span></div><div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Olympic equestrian Mia (Sara Hjort Ditlevsen), conscious of her body
clock and with a specific window before the next Olympics, wants to have a
child, but her investment banker husband Thomas (Anders Heinrichsen) has taken
to refusing her sexual invitations. One of Thomas’ clients is Dr Isabel Ruben (Signes
Egholm Olsen), who is experimenting with a revolutionary new anti-ageing
treatment labelled ‘Resurrecta’. After a neighbour’s Russian au-pair narrowly
escapes abduction and staggers dishevelled to their door for help, Thomas
offers to drive her to the hospital. Mia’s suspicions lead her to track Thomas’
iPhone not to a hospital, but instead to an old sugar factory, and it is here,
in the bowels of the facility, where Mia will discover the ghastly secret
behind Dr Ruben’s ‘Resurrecta’ and be forced to engage in a brutal struggle
with her tormentors for survival.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There is a clinical precision to BREEDER, both visually and scripted. At
its cold heart is Signes Egholm Olsen’s white-coated Dr Isabel Ruben, whose unflinching
pursuit of the fountain of youth has transformed her into a modern-day Countess
Elizabeth Báthory. “There’s nothing natural about ageing. Ageing is a disease”,
she opines to an interviewer. Interestingly, screenwriter Sissel Dalsgaard
Thomson admits in the disc’s interview that she did not originally envision Dr
Ruben’s mad scientist as being female. However, the change of heart adds
additional resonance and poignancy to the script when it tackles gender
inequality and the sexual politics of ageing.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The film also takes broad swipes at the injustices in the class divide,
and the moral implications of animal husbandry.<br /> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Visually, the colour grading is predominately tinged sickly yellow once
the narrative arrives at the old factory, reflecting the (very) queasy goings
on within, and the notable focus on urination and urolagnia. Branded like
cattle, the caged women are tortured and humiliated by Dr Ruben’s viscous caretaker
‘The Dog’ (Morten Holst) and his assistant ‘The Pig’. “You’re a sadistic
misogynist, and I’m letting you live out your dreams” admonishes Dr Ruben, who
seemingly will turn a blind eye on her video monitor to nearly every act of
enforced degradation metered out by ‘The Dog’ but will draw the line at rape
(presumably not wanting her ‘cattle’ to be internally compromised). For this however
is all merely a prelude to the gynaecological procedures awaiting ‘breeder’ Dr
Ruben’s captives, and the horrific DNA extraction method that will follow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /> </span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Although compared in some quarters to the New French Extreme films of the
early 2000s, the level of onscreen violence, gore and nastiness, whilst
unquestionably repugnant on occasion, never reaches those notorious ‘heights’. Nor
can it be said that it delivers such a devastating denouement as Pascal Laugier’s
MARTYRS (2008). The most affecting moment is a disturbing display of Stockholm
syndrome by one of the captives towards ‘The Dog’. Cathartic just deserts for
torturers and experimenters are relatively slim-pickings, and the somewhat
hurried wrap-up does not fully satisfy or entirely gel given all that has
transpired, and the various plot-elements that remain underdeveloped.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /> </span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Nevertheless, this is an intriguing Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde hybrid entry in
the medical conspiracy sub-genre, popularised by more mainstream fare such as
COMA (1978). However, once Dr Ruben’s secret is revealed, it transforms into a
strong survivalist horror nightmare which is a different beast altogether. Be
warned.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial;">***(OUT OF 5*)</span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #01ffff;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Paul Worts</span><br /></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"> <br /></span></o:p></b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">This review was originally published by <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/breedergore-in-the-store.html"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a></span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span></div>
Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-44529220977446011562021-01-29T18:58:00.005+00:002022-02-06T11:52:21.639+00:00LINK (1986)<p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Directed by: Richard Franklin. Starring: Terence Stamp, Elisabeth Shue, Steven Finch.</span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZ_796xlsqoS1tigKK4ICGo0eDmR1jd9-BWTCvfziYx5gEfVGPx7QO2SC8p__kBEQoSgWrE69WP08CLPXKAWkgFlHcw7FeEMAEFGi7ZkRIMVrS2K3p9xTgBRhN9F-JhKu3JzKOs0MvCo/s1864/OPTBD4386_3D.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1864" data-original-width="1352" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixZ_796xlsqoS1tigKK4ICGo0eDmR1jd9-BWTCvfziYx5gEfVGPx7QO2SC8p__kBEQoSgWrE69WP08CLPXKAWkgFlHcw7FeEMAEFGi7ZkRIMVrS2K3p9xTgBRhN9F-JhKu3JzKOs0MvCo/w290-h400/OPTBD4386_3D.jpg" width="290" /></a></span></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">UK 1986, 104 mins, Certificate </span><span style="font-family: arial;">12.</span></span><p></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span>Released on Blu-ray, DVD & digital download digital on 1<sup>st</sup>
February 2021 by Studiocanal.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Thankfully, Australian director Richard Franklin (PATRICK, ROAD GAMES,
PSYCHO II), chose not to heed W.C Fields’ advice to never work with animals or
children when he helmed his pet project (no pun intended) high-concept killer
chimp flick, LINK. Eschewing the conventual wisdom of using stunt performers in
ape costumes, Franklin plumped for dyeing an orangutan’s fur black and kitting
him out with prosthetic ears to provide his gloriously barmy conceit with its
titular ‘chimpanzee’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A brief plot summary just doesn’t do this film justice in terms of its
numerous jaw-dropping elements. But for the record, future Oscar nominee Elisabeth
Shue (THE KARATE KID, BACK TO THE FUTURE II/III, LEAVING LAS VEGAS), plays American
zoology student in London ‘Jane’, in a far from subtle Tarzan reference from Ozploitation
scripter Everett De Roche. Taking a summer job at a remote gothic farmhouse
pitched picturesquely and precariously on a cliff-top along the English
coastline, her goal is to work for, and study with, its human inhabitant, Dr
Steven Phillip. Sporting a wild mop of hair and a crazed Rik Mayall like
appearance, it’s none other than ‘General Zod’ (SUPERMAN II) himself Terence
Stamp. Dr Phillip, a mad misguided anthropologist, is studying the link (ahem),
between man and ape, and rather dubiously exploring the concept of ‘civilisation’
by utilising his prime primate chimpanzee ‘Link’ (played by Locke the orangutan)
as a butler. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">(Side note: the film’s German title was literally ‘Link, der butler’). <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In addition to which, Dr Phillip also encourages his former circus
trained captive companion to recreate his talent for lighting and smoking
cigars. (This is foreshadowing folks). In addition to Link, Dr Phillip is also
working with a rather aggressive and mostly caged elder female chimp ‘Voodoo’,
and a deceptively playful younger chimp, ‘Imp’, who may well be not nearly as
child-like and innocent as the cheeky little scamp appears. This dysfunctional
and frankly disturbing set-up cranks up through several bizarrely unnerving notches
until Jane finds herself suddenly abandoned and alone in the farmhouse with the
three primates. And she’s about to find out quite how accurate were Dr
Phillip’s graphic warnings about the inherent aggressive nature of chimps…<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This stylishly idiosyncratic addition to the killer primate sub-genre,
released two years before George A. Romero’s critically regarded MONKEY SHINES,
is often unjustly overlooked. Having pulled off, with some considerable aplomb,
the unenviable task of delivering a worthy sequel to Hitchcock’s seminal shower
slasher, director Franklin (a Hitchcock devotee), works in several PSYCHO
references in his commendably warped take on beauty and the beast. Dispensing
with the star-billed lead a third of the way in mirrors PSYCHO structurally. A further
doff of the cap occurs from a notable dissolve into a bath drain sequence. Then
there are the PSYCHO (and PSYCHO II) reminiscent interiors, crowned with the ominous
looming overhead shots of the grand staircase. Lensed by veteran cinematographer
Mike Molloy (who worked as camera operator for Kubrick on A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
and BARRY LYNDON), Franklin pulls out all the stops visually, including a
bravura opening POV sequence stalking a pursued cat up a trellis and across a
rooftop toward a pigeon coop, whilst cutting to TV footage of Marlene Dietrich emerging
from a gorilla costume in BLONDE VENUS.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Even though most of the film’s mayhem (and modest final third body count)
occurs offscreen - which may have harmed its commercial success – the tangible simian
threat (not to mention the added menace of attack dogs) is convincingly staged thanks
to the work of animal trainer Ray Berwick (THE BIRDS) and skilfully judicious editing.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The actual ‘performance’ from Locke the orangutan as ’Link’, garnered
from the meticulously crafted use of montage, is brilliantly nuanced, and the
scene whereby Link perves at a naked Elisabeth Shue is unforgettably disturbing
on several levels.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Composer Jerry Goldsmith (scoring again for Franklin after PSYCHO II), opts
for an impishly playful musical approach, reminiscent of his GREMLINS work,
which perfectly complements the largely tongue-in-cheek off-kilter material on
screen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Inspired by the work of primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall
(perhaps another reference for Elisabeth Shue’s character’s name), LINK is a far
more interesting work than its somewhat limiting and misleading tagline: ‘an
experiment in terror’ suggests. Thematic development and character backfill were
pruned from the released print’s running time, but thankfully there is some
tantalising clues to the originally intended version provided on this disc with
a generous reel of deleted workprint scenes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">As well as a superbly restored HD transfer, which showcases the richly infused
visual storytelling of this hairy tall tale, there’s also some juicy treats to forage
for.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">A new audio commentary by film historian Lee Gambin, (author of ‘Massacred
by Mother Nature’) and film critic Jarret Gahan is both exhaustive and
exhausting. Lee’s boundless enthusiasm for nature-centric horror films is
infectious, and it’s a great accompaniment. Film programmer and horror expert
Anna Bogutskaya’s interview offers a fascinating reading of the film, and a
short audio interview with director Franklin serves up some tantalising titbits
about the project. (I particularly chuckled at his disappointment with the work
ethic of the British film crew and their slavish devotion to tea-breaks.
Perhaps it was the simian cast providing a constant reminder of PG Tips TV
commercials?). Jerry Goldsmith’s demo of the main theme is included as an audio
extra – fair warning, it’s an infectious earworm, and the original UK trailer rounds
off a decent selection of extras.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: large; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span>LINK is very much a product of its time. Were it to be made today (highly
unlikely, granted) we would probably have Andy Serkis’ motion-capture wizardry
replacing living breathing primates. Of course, it is morally questionable to stick
fake chimpanzee ears on an orangutan and dye his fur (or for that matter dyeing
a tiger in order to play a black panther, Don THE BEASTMASTER Coscarelli I am
looking specifically at you here) purely for the pursuit of entertainment. But
LINK is nevertheless far more than one-dimensional schlock, and worthy of
reappraisal and appreciation. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span> </span> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Paul Worts<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-size: x-large;">****(out of 5*)</span><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This review was originally published by</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: red;"> <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/linkgore-in-the-store.html"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a></span></b></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-34573507595342442532020-12-18T17:47:00.003+00:002022-02-15T14:37:29.345+00:00CRASH (1996)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLIe2FH8eaFQvYPBeI5dWiPK-CrXPF88TVCAwJgeP5jSZu7rrjps_vsXD5dhz6w_0goz3MdHfhZz1QyK47JUSfN_i0aA_SJbi2pVcRzLLUL6Ix6no4eq6OJEuYbpB3xtOwunQaX0fZ_g/s1200/30471d3d-b18d-4386-b837-1bb0ecdc688d.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="943" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwLIe2FH8eaFQvYPBeI5dWiPK-CrXPF88TVCAwJgeP5jSZu7rrjps_vsXD5dhz6w_0goz3MdHfhZz1QyK47JUSfN_i0aA_SJbi2pVcRzLLUL6Ix6no4eq6OJEuYbpB3xtOwunQaX0fZ_g/w314-h400/30471d3d-b18d-4386-b837-1bb0ecdc688d.jpg" width="314" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed by: David Cronenberg. Starring: James Spader,</span><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Deborah Kara
Unger, Elias Koteas, Holly Hunter, Rosanna Arquette. Canada 1996, 100mins, Certificate
18.
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Released on digital download from 30<sup>th</sup> November 2020, and on
both Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray in limited editions by Arrow Video from 14<sup>th</sup>
December 2020.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff;">“The car crash is a fertilizing rather
than a destructive event.”</span><span></span></b></span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">When David Cronenberg’s adaptation
of J.G. Ballard’s controversial 1973 novel ‘Crash’ screened at the Cannes Film
Festival on the morning of 16<sup>th</sup> May 1996 it set off a chain-reaction
that became a very English moral panic. The Evening Standard’s pompous film
critic Alexander Walker pronounced the film as being “beyond the bounds of
depravity”, and wrote in his review that it contained “some of the most
perverted acts and theories of sexual deviance I have ever seen propagated in
mainline cinema.” </span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span>So, thanks to Arrow Video you can
now view these depraved sexually deviant acts in ultra HD courtesy of a 4K
restoration of the uncut NC-17 version, supervised by director of photography Peter
Suschitzky and approved by director David Cronenberg himself!</span></span>
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span>Not that the film was ever
actually banned or cut in any way by the BBFC. Instead, thanks largely to a
concerted crusade spearheaded by the Daily Mail - which eventually led to some
400 press reports on the film – and harkened back to the ‘video nasties’ moral
panic in the 80’s, <span> </span>Westminster City
Council insisted on cuts being made before it was shown in London’s West End.
This, despite the fact the Council had previously given permission for the film
to be premiered as part of the 1996 London Film Festival. Having been granted
an uncut ‘18’ certificate from the BBFC, to the distributors considerable
credit, they refused to re-submit for cuts and the film was therefore
effectively banned in the West End, including Leicester Square. (I watched it
at the A.B.C. Shaftesbury Avenue, a short walk away over in neighbouring
Camden). </span></span>
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span>Reviewing it again after some
considerable time in this glorious HD restored version, I found the film to be far
more sexually focused, both visually and dialogue-wise, than I originally
recalled. Still somewhat restrained compared to the moral indignation it
stirred up however, with only one scene I’d class as actual sexual ‘body-horror’
(involving Rosanna Arquette’s leg, and even that is shot largely through
implication rather than graphic close-up). I chuckled appreciatively at the
customary dark Cronenbergian conceits (Cronenberg himself admits in the TIFF
Q&A to laughing all the way through a recent re-watch). And I admired the detached
unblinking viewpoint, admittedly here never bleaker, as he focused his
microscopic lens on the Petrie dish of human subjects crashing and colliding
about, indulging their symphorophilia and car crash fetishism, or ‘benevolent
psychopathology’ as their leader, Vaughan outlines. </span></span>
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span>Having only previously been
available in the UK in a bare-bones DVD, this limited edition release from
Arrow Video represents somewhat of a gourmet banquet in comparison.</span></span>
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span>Firstly, the HD transfer, which I
viewed on standard Blu-ray, is superb, rendering every scar and metallic
infusion with skin in pristine clarity with natural film grain, and showcasing Cronenberg
regular Peter Suschitzky’s cinematography richly and with depth. I would imagine
the Ultra HD 4K version is equally terrific and then some.</span></span>
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span>There’s a brand new audio commentary by the Australian film scholar Adrian
Martin. Significant new interviews are included: director of photography Peter Suschitzky, (who doesn’t like horror
films, thought Cronenberg was ‘just’ a horror film director, but concludes he
was “the most intelligent
director I’ve ever worked with”), executive
producer Jeremy Thomas, composer Howard Shore (three harps and six guitars),
and casting director Deirdre Bowen, which collectively add up to some 90 mins. </span></span>
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span>There’s two substantial Q&A’s
included on the disc, one recorded in 2019 at TIFF with Cronenberg and actor
Viggo Mortensen (52 mins), together with the gargantuan 1996 Q&A at the
National Film Theatre with author J.G. Ballard (with a running time longer than
the film itself, clocking in at a whopping 1 hour 41 mins). Some behind-the-scenes
footage, contemporary press interviews and trailers are sprinkled in for good
measure, along with a brand new video essay by Caelum Vatnsdal entitled ‘<span>Architect of Pain: The Cronenberg Project’</span>
on the Canadian auteur’s use of architecture and location.</span></span>
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And
then there’s five short films vying for attention on the disc. Firstly, an 18
minute film originally broadcast as part of the BBC’s Review series, starring
J.G. Ballard and loosely adapted from his 1970 novel <span>The Atrocity Exhibition entitled, ‘Crash!’ (catchy title). Two shorts </span>inspired by Ballard and the novel <span>Crash: Nightmare Angel</span> (33 mins) and <span>Always (crashing)</span> (14 mins). And
finally, in terms of what’s crammed on the disc, Cronenberg himself contributes
two short films: ‘The Nest’ (2013, 10mins) and <span>At the Suicide of the Last Jew in the World in the Last Cinema in the
World</span> (2007, 4 mins).</span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The only extra which appears
missing, which will apparently be included on the upcoming US Criterion Blu-ray
release, is a 1997 commentary by Cronenberg himself, which does seem an odd
omission. Personally I’d have sacrificed Adrian Martin’s commentary if it was a
choice (no offence Adrian).</span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The limited edition also includes
a fully illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Vanessa
Morgan, Araceli Molina, Jason Wood and Zoe Beloff, and a reprinted excerpt from
<span>Cronenberg on Cronenberg (which I have
a dog-eared and well-read copy of on my shelves at home).And to top and tail
this lavish release, there’s a </span>fold-out double-sided poster featuring
original and newly commissioned artwork, and Limited edition packaging with
reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles
Vranckx</span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In an archival interview on the
disc, Cronenberg states that his intention with the film was to avoid all the
emotional response clichés (in the same way that Ballard’s original source
novel does). In this I think he certainly achieved his goal, as it’s a film to
be admired and respected, but perhaps a challenging work to completely warm to.
Cronenberg, whist somewhat horrified to admit it, also considers CRASH to be
‘politically correct’ in the sense that all the sexual and violent acts
depicted in the film are consensual. Ballard, in turn, described his novel as a
cautionary tale, a nightmare marriage between sex and technology, but at the
same time an invitation to explore. A perfect analogy of the<span> </span>Cronenberg approach, and now with Arrow’s
fine limited edition release, an invitation I’d certainly recommend accepting.</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><span><span style="color: #01ffff;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif""> </span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">*****(OUT
OF 5*)</span></span></span>
</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><b><span style="color: #01ffff; font-size: x-large;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif""></span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">Paul Worts</span></span></b></span>
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This review was originally published by <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/crash--gore-in-the-store-review.html"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a>.</span></span><span face=""Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></p>
<p></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-85438076433779641442020-12-18T17:31:00.008+00:002022-02-15T14:37:13.200+00:00SPRING (2014)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYyJ_okfW3bl0KbPPkIBpH-ae6vRiSe3vFrmHZx3_XxsDkT-E5NGnnd6XtMrI2_zKB-6AqURArUyr3SQVoeocumaws6QExHTvCl7sKbbfWyLvzgcdwSZMsC8PE0kEBXKH9F7J9rK4YTbY/s1902/101FILMS513_spring_BR_2d_2400x.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1902" data-original-width="1537" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYyJ_okfW3bl0KbPPkIBpH-ae6vRiSe3vFrmHZx3_XxsDkT-E5NGnnd6XtMrI2_zKB-6AqURArUyr3SQVoeocumaws6QExHTvCl7sKbbfWyLvzgcdwSZMsC8PE0kEBXKH9F7J9rK4YTbY/w324-h400/101FILMS513_spring_BR_2d_2400x.jpg" width="324" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Directed by: Justin Benson
and Aaron Moorhead</span><span style="font-family: arial;">. Starring: Lou
Taylor Pucci, Nadia Hilker, Francesco Carnelutti. Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi. US
2014, 109mins, Cert 15.</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><b style="color: #01ffff;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Are you a vampire, werewolf,
zombie, witch or alien?”</span></span></b></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>In answer
to American tourist Evan’s (Lou Taylor Pucci) question posed to his alluring ‘Italian’
girlfriend Louise (Nadia Hilker): actually none of the above as it turns out in
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead’s critically acclaimed romantic/sci-fi/body
horror hybrid. Think Richard Linklater’s BEFORE SUNRISE, Andrzej Zulawski’s
POSSESSION, by way of Ron Howard’s SPLASH with a healthy dollop of H.P.
Lovecraft.<span> </span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>Finally
available on Blu-ray here in the UK,(after an inexplicable wait), plaudits are therefore
in order to 101 Films for coming up with a handsome package of special
features, including 2 separate director commentaries, a HD transfer that
showcases the subtle palette cinematography and meticulous framing, and comes
replete with a reversible sleeve with alternative artwork.</span><b><span> </span></b><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></b></span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>On the
surface it’s a deceptively simple story of boy meets girl, at least initially,
before splicing sub-genres into a romantic exploration of the cyclic nature of
change, rebirth, renewal and decay. </span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>In
California, Evan Lou Taylor Pucci – EVIL DEAD, 2013) gets into a vicious bar
brawl after attending the funeral of his mother, his last remaining relative,
who he has cared for whilst watching her gradually succumb to cancer. Losing
his job as a result of the fight, and with the cops on his trail, on impulse he
gets on a plane and heads to Italy. After several days spent in the company of
a couple of boozy British travellers (incredibly grating), he finds himself in
a sleepy coastal town where he encounters a beautiful woman in a red dress,
Louise, (Nadia Hilker, THE WALKING DEAD). Plucking up the courage to ask her
out, she instantly offers him sex, which arouses (steady on) his suspicions
that this is all too good to be true and that maybe she’s a prostitute.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span>He takes a
job as an assistant to an elderly widowed farmer named Angelo (Francesco
Carnelutti), and spends his nights back in town hoping for a glimpse of Louise
again. Soon enough he finds her and a relationship quickly develops. Louise is
however somewhat of an enigma. After confiding as such to farmer Angelo, Evan
is counselled with: “Women, jewels of the world”. Evan will however eventually
discover Louise’s true nature, and just what she means when she describes
herself as: “half undiscovered science”.</span></span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Gradually, as their relationship
develops, Benson and Moorhead begin to introduce visual hints and pointers into
their widescreen frame. Spiders entrap flies in webs, and there’s a creeping
accumulation of dead strewn fauna scattered around the town. Seemingly in
contrast however, vines begin to grow rapidly, leaves spring out of brickwork,
and flowers bloom and wither. The poster on Louise’s wall warrants close
scrutiny too. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The film’s third act goes into
overdrive in terms of explanation, revelation and off-the-wall humour. The
script throws up all manner of details and mind-boggling reveals which quietly
explode like a row of firecrackers. In the interest of not overly spoiling the
almost giddy pleasures herein I will not go into them here. I will however
quote Evan’s consoling “At least you’ve got the same back story as Harry
Potter” in response to Louise’s “You’ve got the same back story as Batman”.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The final sequence is a
brilliantly conceived resolution, which lingers long after the end credits
roll. Benson and Moorhead manage to pull off a naturalistic and convincing
balancing act, on the one hand an engaging portrait of two young people falling
in love, (perfectly played by its two leads), whilst on the other, delivering a
sprinkling of practical and CG enhanced creature effects to supplement themes
and concepts which all blend into a richly entertaining and quietly moving
tale.<span> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;">Recommended.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">**** (Out of
5*)</span></span></span></b></span></p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></span></b></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="color: #01ffff;"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">Paul Worts</span></span></span></b></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This review was originally published by <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/spring--gore-in-the-store-review.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a>.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span><p></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-32411507558828799572020-10-22T17:14:00.004+01:002022-02-15T14:35:57.523+00:00DEAD WATER (2019)<p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_k8C5BDbfHCkAWZHTXkuKxnrQx_HdpCQoxPQBKALS6d08hcIrC0SDmOHMBypxzpaU5mK6mrQv-pgcpkO_PiWlJta_FNxaXgzj34eGPJBGpaWzOPsUk6gWnx2-OeDtOp84mUdmnQTs3HU/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="904" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_k8C5BDbfHCkAWZHTXkuKxnrQx_HdpCQoxPQBKALS6d08hcIrC0SDmOHMBypxzpaU5mK6mrQv-pgcpkO_PiWlJta_FNxaXgzj34eGPJBGpaWzOPsUk6gWnx2-OeDtOp84mUdmnQTs3HU/w283-h400/image.png" width="283" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed by: Chris Helton. Starring: Casper Van Dien, Griff Furst, Brianne Davis, Judd Nelson. Thriller, US 2019, 86mins, Cert 15.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-size: large;">“You ready for a weekend that’s gonna change your
life?”</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">DEAD WATER meekly follows in the wake of far more
effective claustrophobic sea thrillers such as Phillip Noyce’s 1989 DEAD CALM and
Rob Grant’s 2019 HARPOON. It sinks itself with a script that treads (dead)
water for two-thirds of its modest running time before introducing Judd (THE
BREAKFAST CLUB) Nelson’s black bearded pirate (no, really), who appears to have
randomly drifted in from a completely different and far more interesting film.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In a clear attempt to kick against type-casting, STARSHIP
TROOPERS Casper Van Dien is implausibly cast as a rich orthopaedic surgeon named
Dr John Livingstone (I presume). Whilst his decorated Marine buddy David ‘Coop’
Cooper (Griff Furst) was on active duty in Afghanistan, the bone doctor
Livingstone was ‘taking care’ of David’s TV reporter wife Viviane (Brianne
Davis). Returning home with full-on raging PTSD, buddy John suggests the couple
come along for a few days away on the open water cruising with him on his new luxury
75ft yacht the ‘Bella Would’ (don’t ask). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Once onboard, Dr Livingstone’s rehabilitation
strategy consists largely of plying Coop with beer, poker and a supremely
inadvisable game of truth or dare. When that fails, he employs an unorthodox
therapeutic technique of shoving a harpoon gun in his mate’s face and demanding
he tells him how many people he killed in combat! As Coop understandably storms
off Van Dien strains every sinew of his chiselled jaw to deliver this
cod-psychology diagnosis with a semi-straight face: “You know you act like a
calm ocean but you’re turbulent underneath!” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">When Coop first boards the yacht, he quips: “It’s
not going to be a ‘three hour tour’, is it?” Well the first hour almost feels
like three, with ponderous rather than portentous pacing floundering to the
point where I would have welcomed the introduction of a poorly rendered 3-headed
CGI shark to chow down on this plodding love-triangle. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">However, just as I was about to send up a boredom
distress flare, along comes partial salvation in the shape of a fishing vessel
named ‘Usual Suspects’ (no, really) and Judd Nelson as Sam, a black bearded pirate
with a freshly-inflicted scar above his eye (sadly a poor substitute for an
eye-patch). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The unwritten commandment thou shall not spoil
prevents me from navigating you much further through the remaining turbulent waters
of salty and frankly ludicrously laughable plot twists and weakly staged (belated)
violence. However, I honestly wished the film had introduced Judd Nelson’s
pirate a whole lot sooner, or better yet, jumped ship completely over to the
‘Usual Suspects’ vessel.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">But, the location photography shot in the U.S Virgin
Islands provided an agreeable distraction when viewed on a grimly wet and windy
Sunday morning. To give Casper Van Dien his due, although he would have been
better served playing the ex-marine role, Casper acquits himself competently
enough given the blandness of the writing and the unsubtle direction which undermines
any implied ambiguity as to his character’s motivations. Apart from his PTSD,
all I learnt about his buddy Coop was that he prefers pistachio ice-cream to
actual food, and Brianne Davis’ ‘Viviane’ is a better shot with a firearm than Dr
Livingstone is with a harpoon gun. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Ultimately, DEAD WATER is dead in the water long
before Yo Ho Ho! pirate Nelson climbs aboard. There’s just about enough story
here to fill up the running length of an episode of ‘Tales of the Unexpected’,
but the preceding 50+ minutes serve as unnecessary ballast that should have
been heaved overboard long before this ship set sail. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">(P.S. Note for all scriptwriters, if you’re going to
reference arguably the finest sea-faring suspense film of all-time, please have
the courtesy to at least get one of its main protagonist’s character’s names
correct: it’s ‘Quint’ not ‘Quintin’.) <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Paul Worts</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #01ffff; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>**(Out of 5*)</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This review was originally published by <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/dead-water--frightfest-gore-in-the-store.html"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a>.</span></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-74960953046902328992020-08-11T20:44:00.003+01:002022-02-15T14:28:05.274+00:00ECHOES OF FEAR (2018)<br /><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span face=""arial","sans-serif""></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNApFFed3VQ25SG11SPa5MhzilwwGXYpo5I_wQfjBJ5ZgDFnCoCSDoMFW2ug3HLx7RU_dGBI0zclrAv1zng1zKXTBYD_rUxiWjgeASXKT3EjofmmPNY_YXwRfWcD5NdF_KFyu5Uq3KFOs/s1500/81eAeVbN0uL._AC_SL1500_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1060" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNApFFed3VQ25SG11SPa5MhzilwwGXYpo5I_wQfjBJ5ZgDFnCoCSDoMFW2ug3HLx7RU_dGBI0zclrAv1zng1zKXTBYD_rUxiWjgeASXKT3EjofmmPNY_YXwRfWcD5NdF_KFyu5Uq3KFOs/s640/81eAeVbN0uL._AC_SL1500_.jpg" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Directed by: </span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"></span></span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="background: none 0% 0% repeat scroll white;"><span></span></span>Brian Avenet-Bradley and Laurence Avenet-Bradley Starring: Trista
Robinson, Hannah Race, Paul Chirico, Marshal Hilton. Horror, US 2018, 90mins,
Cert 15.
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Available on-demand/download from 20<sup>th</sup> July 2020 and on DVD
from 3<sup>rd</sup> August by Second Sight Films.</span></span></p><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="color: #01ffff;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b>“Retirement
is death.”</b></span></span></span></p><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">When her grandfather dies unexpectedly, Alisha (Trista Robinson) inherits
his house. Unable to afford the upkeep, she temporarily moves in to get it in a
reasonable state to sell. But almost straightaway there’s an eerie atmosphere,
and things soon start to go bump in the night. Is the supernatural presence
trying to guide her to hidden secrets buried in the crawlspaces of the house,
or is there a more tangible threat lurking around the periphery of the
property?</span></span></p><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The modern urban setting is reminiscent of JU-ON: THE GRUDGE, (albeit
with California instead of Japan) and the well-worn spooky haunted house tropes
are familiar from an inordinate amount of genre ghost-fests. However,
writer/director Brian Avenet-Bradley and his co-directing real-life partner
Laurence have two aces up their sleeves which elevate the material, enabling it
to deliver more than the sum of its initially clichéd parts. </span></span></p><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Firstly, they execute with clinical precision half a dozen absolute doozy
jump scares, several of which had even this semi-jaded old horror connoisseur
yelping involuntarily. The first doesn’t arrive until nearly a third of the way
into the running time, even though the measured preceding build-up is laden
with portent indicators. Doors creak open, intercoms and pipes convey
whispering voices, a creepy ornament twists it head before revealing an old
photograph inside with a face scratched out, bathwater turns black, and, in a
nice variation on the child’s ball bouncing down the staircase, a pet mouse’s
exercise ball clatters and spins on its axis (without its owner inside). Whilst
on the staircase, and trust me, I wouldn’t choose to linger there any longer
than necessary, this is the location for the film’s most effective jump scare, a
perfectly choreographed staging of sleight-of-hand misdirection not unlike the
type of shock pulled off in-camera by Mario Bava in his literally titled
SHOCK.<span> </span></span></span></p><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And then there’s the Avenet-Bradley’s second ace. Incidental details incrementally
build to a disconcertingly and unexpectedly dark twisted third-act reveal.</span></span></p><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">I must mention ‘Twinkie’ the mouse (and Twinkie’s stand-in ‘Twixie’). At
one point Alisha’s friend Steph (Hannah Grace) suggests letting Twinkie run
free in order to lead them to where a secret is hidden. I half-hoped she would
justify this theory with something as equally barmy as Dario Argento’s
assertion in PHENOMENA that: “It’s perfectly normal for insects to be slightly
telepathic.” Sadly no such justification was forthcoming.</span></span></p><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">ECHOES OF FEAR is a well-engineered ghost train ride. From the outside it
appears to be housed in the back of an old funfair lorry with sunlight poking
in through the holes in its walls. The ride initially meanders through a steady
cheesy stream of the cinematic equivalents of rubber cobwebs and juddery
animatronics before cranking up to some genuine gotcha seat-jumper scares and delivering
a grim finale in amongst the crawlspaces. It’s by no means a game changer, but
it left me with a wry smile on my face when I finally emerged back into the
daylight and exited the ride. <span> </span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="color: #01ffff;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>***(out of
5*) </b></span></span></span></p><span><span style="color: #01ffff;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="color: #01ffff;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>Paul Worts</b></span></span></span></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">This review was originally published by <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/echoes-of-fear--frightfest-gore-in-the-store.html"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a>.</span></span>
</p><p></p>Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-2753189202581788002020-07-19T22:14:00.005+01:002022-02-15T14:36:42.879+00:00BLACK RAINBOW (1989)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRtbGGx9wmNpTdilIxWbiSz77FSDT_rlwnx-c80JuYAFhVJmrMo62Cq4zDQ6h0wmud6yay6oDImGfZzjon-ppcbS-R2pfudl7SIdaiMu2Gu2doKH5qLnVjEDTEI03xjz1O156GKzKUidY/s1600/91Swsurk0iL._RI_.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRtbGGx9wmNpTdilIxWbiSz77FSDT_rlwnx-c80JuYAFhVJmrMo62Cq4zDQ6h0wmud6yay6oDImGfZzjon-ppcbS-R2pfudl7SIdaiMu2Gu2doKH5qLnVjEDTEI03xjz1O156GKzKUidY/s400/91Swsurk0iL._RI_.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span>Directed by: Mike Hodges. Starring: Rosanna Arquette, Jason Robards, Tom
Hulce. Horror, US 1989, 103 mins, Cert 15.</span></span><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: cyan; font-family: arial;"><b>“We steal if we touch tomorrow.
It is God’s.”</b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span>Criminally under distributed on its initial release, this intriguing
late-80’s metaphysical thriller is
finally now getting the HD release it merits courtesy of Arrow Video. In a
brand new restoration from the original negative, approved by writer-director
Mike Hodges (FLASH GORDON, GET CARTER), all the colours of this dark rainbow
radiate in a spectrum of themes and ideas about religion, bilocation, corporate
corruption and the darkness that lies ahead for the planet. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span>In a spellbinding performance
eschewing her early 80’s ‘kookiness’ Rosanna Arquette (DESPERATELY SEEKING
SUSAN, CRASH) plays Martha Travis, a travelling medium who tours across the
Bible-Belt with her sceptical alcoholic father (Jason Robards, ALL THE
PRESIDENT’S MEN). Conducting séances on stages to relay messages from the
deceased to their ticket-paying loved ones in the audience, during one such séance,
Martha communicates with a dead man, violently murdered, all of which comes as
quite a shock to his wife who insists she left him watching TV at home only an
hour ago! But Martha has been given the blessing/curse of foresight – for later
that evening the husband is indeed assassinated by a hit man whilst he’s at
home watching James Cagney in WHITE HEAT on the tele. But this is only the
beginning of Martha’s prophetic messages from the afterlife, and as more of her
psychic predictions come true, this attracts the attention of both an investigative
journalist, Garry Wallace (Tom Hulce, AMADEUS), and the aforementioned hit man,
for Martha knows his name... </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span>Although labelled a supernatural
thriller, Mike Hodges twisty, serpentine-like film is a Hydra of multiple plot
strands, much like the Kudzu weeds whose tendrils invade the Southern US,
consuming the landscape and the film’s ambiguous coda. Perhaps there’s actually
just too much going on here for one film? For example, you could certainly
argue that the sub-plot involving the hit man seems somewhat incongruous given
the main thrust of the subject matter and it’s overreliance in the trailer miss-sells
the film’s ambiance as a result. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span>Rosanna Arquette’s medium, (sister
Patricia would coincidentally also go on to play a medium in the literal-titled
TV show ‘Medium’), is not only a conduit for the dead to relay words of comfort
to their loved ones, but also it seems a prophecyer for the destructive path human
beings are on course for to turn the world black. If that wasn’t heady enough
material, religion also comes up for close scrutiny and Hodge’s sprinkles in
some spicy quips in amongst the debate. A corrupt policeman warns his dodgy
benefactor that: “As the only Jew in the area, I know where the nails are
going...” Hodges’s dialogue is often ripe and juicy with a hard-boiled pulp
cynicism, as when Martha explains her willingness towards one-night stands to
reporter Garry: “This way men lie with me and not to me”. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span>Industrial corruption, health and
safety whistle blowing scandals, meditations on the afterlife; it’s certainly a
rich concoction. Little incidentals such as Martha’s wristwatch always seeming
to be an hour or two behind merely float on by without further extrapolation. I
was tickled by the wryly mundane scene at the airport check-in where the
ruthless hit man is firstly informed his ticket isn’t for first class, that he cannot
therefore access the first-class lounge, and finally, to add insult to injury,
his flight is delayed! </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span>The North Carolina shooting
locations provide a richly rewarding backdrop, and veteran cinematographer Gerry
Fisher (EXORCIST III, WOLFEN, THE NINETH CONFIGURATION) pulls out all the tops
with his crisp cinematography. A particular standout sequence encapsulates the
early morning rising sun gradually illuminating the reflective glass of
downtown office blocks before cutting to the raising of the American Flag and
concluding with an ominous gust causing traffic lights to sway in the breeze as
an explosion rings out in the distance and sirens are heard.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span>Jason Robards is splendidly
grizzled (and guzzled) as the burnt out father who dismisses his daughter’s
abilities (as he did her mother’s) but relies on the takings from her séances
to keep him in liquor. Tom Hulce acquits himself equally well as the reporter
initially described as being “...an agnostic and an arsehole” who starts off
merely chasing a story before gradually becoming obsessively entangled both
with Martha’s psychic claims, and then with Martha herself, spiralling downward
into one of the film’s open ended strands.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span>This is not a film that provides
a neat explanatory wrap-up. As the weeds encroach upon the finale, the fate of
one, (and the very nature of another) lead protagonist is ambiguous to say the
least. Listening to the director’s commentary, this is intentional, so don’t
castigate yourself if you too can’t immediately formulate a satisfactory hypothesis
upon first viewing. Normally, I find open-ended conclusions frustrating, but
given the richness of the material presented beforehand, combined with the
strength of the performances, most notably Rosanna Arquette’s hauntingly
beautiful and ethereal Martha, I’m willing to concede there is still a pot of
gold waiting at the end of Mike Hodges’ BLACK RAINBOW. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">
<span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: cyan;"><b>**** (out of 5*)</b></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br />
<span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span style="color: cyan;"><b>Paul Worts</b></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />
<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><span>This review was originally published by <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/black-rainbow--gore-in-the-store.html"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a>.</span></span></span></div>
Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-81994824048687330832020-06-24T20:20:00.004+01:002022-02-15T14:36:21.184+00:00SNOWPIERCER (2013)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoGwgIX1YJkqJR3PSq61lryxwruZk081Yj9Zd7qRH_e6-FtORgRj6hpPCMOL6UOwEs-_mJC421SZhe8wPxJoj57AavsCNQC9V9WCkL9vymU6XpgCCxA00yF7qVwDkPzYml7yYA1oBhLk/s1600/45141_3_SNOWPIERCER_2D_BD_DC_OCARD-600x748+%25281%2529.webp" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="748" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoGwgIX1YJkqJR3PSq61lryxwruZk081Yj9Zd7qRH_e6-FtORgRj6hpPCMOL6UOwEs-_mJC421SZhe8wPxJoj57AavsCNQC9V9WCkL9vymU6XpgCCxA00yF7qVwDkPzYml7yYA1oBhLk/s400/45141_3_SNOWPIERCER_2D_BD_DC_OCARD-600x748+%25281%2529.webp" width="320" /></a><span face="arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">D<span style="font-family: arial;">irected by: Bong Joon-ho. Starring: Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho, Tilda
Swinton. Sci-Fi, South Korea 2013, 126mins, Cert 15.</span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br />
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: cyan;">“The train is the world. We, the humanity”</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><b><span style="color: cyan; font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Finally arriving on Blu-ray and DVD in the UK 7 years after its
completion, this dystopian allegory on a train from Oscar winning director and
co-scripter Bong Joon-ho (PARASITE) seems all the more pertinent given the
present enforced world-wide lockdown.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In an attempt to combat global warming, scientists dispersed a chemically
engineered coolant dubbed ‘CW-7’ into the atmosphere to bring Mother Earth’s
temperature down a bit. Unfortunately, it worked rather too well and ushered in
a new ice-age killing off almost the entire planet except for a few survivors who
manage to board a train – the Snowpiercer. Designed by a rail-obsessed maverick
genius known as Wilford, his technologically advanced ‘rattling ark’
circumnavigates the world once every 12 months on a global track layout,
smashing through built up snow and ice blockades whilst being entirely
self-sustaining.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Based on the French graphic novel ‘Le Transperceneige’, the film wears its
class struggle allegory on its sleeve. The working class poor suffer squalid
conditions in the rear of the train, whilst the first-class passengers towards
the front enjoy luxurious dining and recreational facilities. However, 17-years
after boarding the Snowpiercer, anti-hero Curtis (Chris Evans) is planning a
peasant passenger revolt under the mentoring eye of his elder confidant Gilliam
(John Hurt). But this plot to obtain a collective upgrade by taking the engine:
“We control the engine, we control the world” will rely on a security
specialist Namgoong Minsoo(Song Kang-ho) who is seemingly addicted to a drug manufactured
from flammable industrial waste, and a hunch that the ‘armed’ guards have actually
run out of live ammunition...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Minister Mason (Tilda Swinton - marvellously </span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif">grotesque), in one of her raids on the
poor end of the train, places a shoe on the head of protective father Andrew
(Ewen Bremner, ‘Spud’ from TRAINSPOTTING) to reinforce the social hierarchy in
this new world order on rails. Echoes perhaps to George Orwell’s chilling
pronouncement from ‘1984’: “<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">If you want
a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face— forever.” But
in case you think SNOWPIERCER will be bogged down with socio-political
commentary, rest assured it storms through its (admittedly scientifically dodgy
premise) with as much forward momentum as the train the action explodes within.
Like a bleakly violent reworking of THE WIZARD OF OZ, every newly hot-wired
door opens into a carriage of increasingly colourful lands offering tantalising
glimpses of luxury and civility, with the ultimate prize being an audience with
the omnipotent wizard himself, Wilford (Ed Harris) in the train’s Emerald City,
the engine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In order to avoid spoilers, details must remain vague and sketchy as to
what the increasingly darker journey down the Snowpiercer specifically entails.
There is a standout bloody set-piece when the train enters a tunnel, and a
memorably disconcerting visit to the classroom section. But the fact that revealing
the ingredients of the gelatinous ‘protein packs’ fed to the rear-end
passengers occurs less than an hour into the running time signals that far more
horrific surprises are awaiting further down the line.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Technically and
visually, the film is a marvel of design, with each new section of the train
offering bold, intricately detailed carriages. The cinematography pulls off the
not inconsiderable achievement of making the potentially claustrophobic set-up
of confined spaces visually arresting and immersive. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">To this end, Bong Joon-ho is assisted with some strong performances, with John
Hurt, now sadly missed, but fascinating as always, and Chris Evans stepping up
to the mark proving he is more than just Captain America and delivering a
third-act monologue which is so disturbing Marvel fans should be forewarned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The Blu-ray
transfer vividly captures the nuanced detailed textures in both set and
character, reproducing the extensive gamut of colour from the drabness and
gloom of the rear carriages to the opulent garishness of the front sections
whilst offering a pin-sharp transfer with a pleasingly filmic texture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">With a Netflix
commissioned series due to arrive shortly, and director Bong Joon-ho’s stock
higher than ever thanks to PARASITE (although genre aficionados were already
championing the director after his 2006 creature-feature THE HOST),<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>now is a perfect time to catch this
exceptionally well-realised, uncompromised, Korean Sci-Fi actioner
powerhouse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""arial" , sans-serif"><span style="color: cyan; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">****(out of 5*)<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: cyan; font-size: x-large;">Paul Worts</span><span style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This review was originally published by <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/snowpiercer--frightfest-gore-in-the-store.html"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a></span></span><span face=""arial" , sans-serif" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span>.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br />
</span><div class="cast---crew-18pt">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4CBYvQ5ejhrXIMr5-45pZbrwMZwYQq5aDnEJTPkEmVmJySQW6EnGLk_uaJPBVfjAbTxAlv8JR449BSr2uIymq4nxD7I-jSxvyKWt_G_B9td2_D5ZXGqG7-1aNKzFR1P-hvVu38OMBwXM/s1600/magic.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="394" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4CBYvQ5ejhrXIMr5-45pZbrwMZwYQq5aDnEJTPkEmVmJySQW6EnGLk_uaJPBVfjAbTxAlv8JR449BSr2uIymq4nxD7I-jSxvyKWt_G_B9td2_D5ZXGqG7-1aNKzFR1P-hvVu38OMBwXM/s640/magic.jpg" width="504" /></span></a><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Directed
by Richard Attenborough. Starring Anthony Hopkins, Ann-Margret, Burgess
Meredith, Ed Lauter. Horror, US, 1978, 107 mins, cert 15.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="cast---crew-18pt"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>
</b></span></span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>“It was you the whole time...I hope
I don't die first, is all...”</b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Back in 1978, way before Chucky
and Annabelle, but some considerable time after Hugo from DEAD OF NIGHT (1945),
director Richard Attenborough chanced his arm by bringing William Goldman’s
novel and adapted script to the screen with Anthony Hopkins chancing his arm by
sticking it up a creepy ventriloquist dummy.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">MAGIC was Attenborough’s only directing
foray into the horror/thriller genre - his follow up project turned out to be
the multi-Oscar laden GHANDI. It’s a well-crafted portrait of psychological breakdown
and all-consuming schizophrenia with shades of PSYCHO (1960). Corky (Anthony
Hopkins), is an unsuccessful meek and mild stage magician who hits the big-time
by reinventing his act with the addition of a snappy foul-mouthed sidekick ventriloquist
dummy named Fats. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The film’s pedigree is
undeniable. Hopkins throws himself into the role hook line and sinker and delivers
an unbridled tour-de-force performance, even taking illusion and ventriloquism lessons
before filming in order to pull-off his voice-throwing magician routine
in-camera. Burgess Meredith provides sterling support as Corky’s cigar smoking
agent Ben Greene, “The Postman” (because he always delivers). Having discovered
Corky, Ben secures a potentially lucrative network TV contract for his client,
the only stumbling block being the network’s insistence on a routine medical
examination. Corky panics (presumably due to a fear of what the psychological
tests might find) and flees New York heading back to the rural wooded Catskills
where he grew up. Taking a log cabin by a lake, he meets (and hooks up) with his
old high school crush, Peggy Ann Snow (Ann-Margret). Having been far too shy in
high school to act on his yearning, Fats’ persona imbues Corky with the swagger
to finally act on his feelings. Inconveniently, Corky gets caught in a
love-triangle because Peggy Ann is married to her alcoholic high school
boyfriend, Duke (Ed Lauter).</span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Corky’s agent pursues him into
the Catskills and stumbles in on one of his client’s argumentative meltdowns
with his dummy Fats. This leads to one of the film’s most effective scenes when
Meredith’s character challenges Corky to keep Fats quiet for a full five
minutes. <span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">It’s a film which incrementally
creeps up (and out) thanks to Hopkins’ sleight-of-hand performance instilling
the genuinely unsettling Hopkins lookalike dummy with a palpable sense of
menace. To this end, Victor Kemper’s cinematography cunningly frames Fats in
ways that suggests the dummy is an active participant and teases the occasional
twitch from the wooden doll in the shadowed periphery. Attenborough orchestrates
a couple of surprisingly violent and bloody sequences which jar (in a good way),
and the lake setting provides suspenseful mileage thanks to a corpse that firstly
won’t stay dead, and then won’t stay submerged. Proceedings are accompanied by
a typically lyrical and rich score from legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith,
with initially soothing strings punctuated with a disconcerting harmonica. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The sharp robust HD transfer is
really good with an appropriately authentic cinematic feel (by all accounts an
improvement on the previous US release). This is praise indeed because I’m a
fussy old git when it comes to PQ! </span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">And yet – despite its obvious
qualities both on and off screen - the film doesn’t quite fully satisfy. Perhaps
it because for a film that’s called MAGIC, there ultimately isn’t any narrative
misdirection to surprise the viewer. The final act kind of feels like it needs to
pull a rabbit out of its hat. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt"><br /></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt"><b style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt"><b style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">*** (out
of 5*)</span></b></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>
</b></span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="color: cyan;"><span><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Paul Worts</span></b></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"" style="font-size: 11pt;"></span></b></div><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt"><span style="color: cyan;"><span><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt"><span><span><p class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span style="color: cyan;">This review was originally published by</span><span style="color: red;"> <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/magic---second-opinion--frightfest-gore-in-the-store.html"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a></span><span style="color: #01ffff;">.</span></span></b><b style="color: cyan;"><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p></span></span></div>
Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-31758522704876163572020-02-04T20:28:00.008+00:002023-05-07T12:06:29.347+01:00THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (1971)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio7HHZRHspyiwT920hgH6KQH_lpiZ9Z881kEzy6VT8zDmIAYVpYATx6xFwBjqO_hX2CKcRE8MqQb4Y_aErnfyXRmc9zds5a4Of8Tc7AoHlzdkV1uGyKhSwCOvwcDhXGBOG6jal1LDnV-o/s1600/HOUSE_THAT_DRIPPED_BLOOD_2D_BD_540x.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="540" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio7HHZRHspyiwT920hgH6KQH_lpiZ9Z881kEzy6VT8zDmIAYVpYATx6xFwBjqO_hX2CKcRE8MqQb4Y_aErnfyXRmc9zds5a4Of8Tc7AoHlzdkV1uGyKhSwCOvwcDhXGBOG6jal1LDnV-o/s400/HOUSE_THAT_DRIPPED_BLOOD_2D_BD_540x.png" width="348" /></a><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Directed by Peter Duffell. Starring Denholm Elliott, Christopher Lee, Jon
Pertwee, Chloe Franks, Peter Cushing, Joss Ackland, Ingrid Pitt, John Bennett.
Horror/Thriller, UK, 1971,102 mins, Cert 15.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Originally released in an highly sought-after Limited Edition Blu-ray
package back in July 2019, Second Sight have now released the Standard Edition
Blu-ray alongside fellow Amicus portmanteau ASYLUM, porting over the previous
generous special features and infinitely superior reversible sleeve from Graham
Humphreys.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Amicus anthology flicks are British horror’s equivalent of a comfort
blanket, and they don’t get much cosier than director Peter Duffell’s only
horror foray: THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD. A charmingly old-fashioned,
bloodless (despite the misleading title), quartet of Robert Bloch adapted
stories boasting genre stalwarts Cushing and Lee, alongside the ever dependable
Denholm Elliott and a film-stealing turn from Jon Pertwee.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Like ASYLUM, the wraparound premise is housed in an imposing building,
here a creepy gothic mansion whose occupants find their true natures tested and
exposed with fatal consequences. The somewhat tenuous and clunky framing device
grinds into gear when a Scotland Yard Inspector (John Bennett) investigates the
disappearance of famous horror film star Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee) who was
the latest resident at the house, and uncovers a sinister history of tragic
events befalling all the previous tenants... <span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The first story, METHOD FOR MURDER features Denholm Elliott as Charles, a
horror author suffering from writers block until he moves into the
inspirationally atmospheric house with his wife Alice (Joanna Dunham).
Initially impressed with the library of classic horror books on the dusty
shelves, his writing comes along leaps and bounds as he types up his latest
horror novel about an escaped homicidal mental patient called Dominic whose
modus operandi is strangulation. There’s only one problem, Charles starts
seeing his fictional character popping up around the house and gardens. Will a
visit to the psychiatrist help him delineate fact from fiction...? <span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Peter Cushing is the main protagonists in the second story, WAXWORKS,
where he plays Philip a recent retiree still longing after his unattainable
deceased true love. A trip to the local wax museum sets in motion a sinister
train of events when one of the exhibits seems to be the spitting image of his
lost love... </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span face=""Arial","sans-serif"">SWEETS TO THE SWEET stars Christopher Lee as a single father to a young
girl (Chloe Franks). Insisting his daughter must be home tutored, he employs
private teacher <span style="color: black;">(</span></span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif""><span style="color: black;">Nyree Dawn
Porter</span><span style="color: black;"><u>)</u> who is initially perturbed by Lee forbidding the child to have any
toys, especially dolls, and missing candles seem to send him into a state of
irrational panic. But what exactly is his daughter researching in the
encyclopaedia in the ‘W’ section...?</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">And then, rounding things off with a hilariously show-stealing turn is
John Pertwee, an aging prolific horror film actor on the set of his latest
picture, a low-budget vampire flick entitled: ‘Curse of the Bloodsuckers’.
Disgruntled with the wardrobe department’s offering, he purchases a second-hand
cloak from a unique theatrical costumer by the name of Theo von Hartmann
(Geoffrey Bayldon). The garment is quite authentic, perhaps too authentic in
fact...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif""> </span></span><span>
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Director Duffell originally wanted to call the film ‘Death and the
Maiden’ after the classical piece by Schubert Peter Cushing is listening to in
the WAXWORKS segment), but was over ruled in favour of a more luridly
commercial title. The producer’s even insisted on an ‘X’ rating for the film,
despite its entirely anaemic content!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif""> </span></span><span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif""><span></span><span>
</span></span><span face=""Arial","sans-serif""></span></span>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">There are
some cheeky in-jokes and genre references scattered throughout the film which
alert one to the fact that Duffell, whilst treating the stories with care and
attention, wasn’t above winking to the audience at times. The classic genre
books on the shelves that Denholm Elliott browses through are carefully chosen,
and the placing of ‘The Haunted Screen’ (an analysis of Expressionism in German
cinema) against the director’s opening credit hints at Duffell’s loftier
ideals. The waxworks Cushing attends features a tableau which is clearly
Christopher Lee’s DRACULA (ironically the best rendition in the whole set), and
poor Mr Lee is also the brunt of an aside by Jon Pertwee’s character when he
reminisces about the classic old horror films such as DRACULA: <b><span style="color: cyan;">“The one with
Bela Lugosi of course, not this new fellow...” </span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">The opening
story METHOD FOR MURDER is the most effective and delivers some genuinely
creepy moments, even if Dominic the strangler looks like a cross between Boris
Karloff in THE OLD DARK HOUSE (1932), perhaps intentionally, and ‘Oddbod’ from
CARRY ON SCREAMING! – certainly not.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Peter Cushing
is always a consummate professional, and he certainly gives it his all in the
otherwise largely underwhelming WAXWORKS segment, particularly during an axe
fight. (The actual waxworks are this story’s major hindrance). It’s always nice
to see Christopher Lee cast against type in SWEETS TO THE SWEET – even if he is
upstaged by little Chloe Franks. And the scene between ‘Doctor Who’ and future
‘Worzel Gummidge (Jon Pertwee) and ‘Catweazle’ and Worzel’s future ‘Crowman’ (Geoffrey
Bayldon) – giving his best impression of <span>Ernest Thesiger - is a TV trivia joy to behold. (Quick side note:
Geoffrey Bayldon turned down the part of ‘Doctor Who’ when it was offered to
him as he was reticent about committing to a TV series – and then the script
for ‘Catweazle’ came along).</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">Whilst THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED
BLOOD doesn't, it does positively ooze with a comforting nostalgic atmosphere. And in these
dark times, when you fancy a little lighter genre offering, why not snuggle up
and pay this house of Amicus a visit?<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="color: cyan;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">***(out of 5*)</span></b></span></span></div>
<span><span style="color: cyan; font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>
</b></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span><span style="color: cyan;"><b><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Paul Worts</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><span><span>This review was </span></span>originally published by FrightFest.</span></div>
Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-38514638171769440162020-01-30T20:39:00.005+00:002022-02-15T14:42:41.026+00:00ASYLUM (1972)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVyrmY-4wSzarp8-b-nCWB_YkJMsLPVIBwSijjbyTxOJRdjaNDW2wAUQgdUH1AEc-mcTJ-Wroyrw1vdeI1f81-K7RFUDEUtYfIEhpNjxFCdzxWaTLoUbPLImnH4jWDf9uG_hxV36u2ng/s1600/ASYLUM_2D_BD_540x-932x1066.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1066" data-original-width="932" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUVyrmY-4wSzarp8-b-nCWB_YkJMsLPVIBwSijjbyTxOJRdjaNDW2wAUQgdUH1AEc-mcTJ-Wroyrw1vdeI1f81-K7RFUDEUtYfIEhpNjxFCdzxWaTLoUbPLImnH4jWDf9uG_hxV36u2ng/s400/ASYLUM_2D_BD_540x-932x1066.png" width="348" /></span></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">Directed
by Roy Ward Baker. Starring Peter Cushing, Robert Powell, Charlotte Rampling,
Britt Ekland, Patrick Magee, James Villiers, Herbert Lom, Geoffrey Bayldon.
Horror, UK, 1972, 88 mins, cert 15.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="cast---crew-18pt"><br /></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></b></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="color: cyan;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">“Never turn your back on a patient”. </span></span></span></b></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">Following on from their special limited
edition Blu-rays back in July, Second Sight has now released standard editions
of the classic Robert Bloch penned Amicus anthologies ASYLUM and THE HOUSE THAT
DRIPPED BLOOD. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">Amicus’ production model of modest tightly
scheduled shoots allowed Messrs Subotsky and Rosenberg to attract top-drawer
acting talent as they often only required them for a day or two of shooting. Case
in point, ASYLUM, for which director Roy Ward Baker (SCARS OF DRACULA/THE
VAMPIRE LOVERS) had a more than respectable roll-call of quality thespians to
marshal for his first Amicus film.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hammer legend and stalwart Peter Cushing
provided the essential iconic genre anchor, and surrounding him were Herbert
Lom, Robert Powell, Charlotte Rampling, Patrick Magee, James Villiers and Britt
Ekland.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">As with all portmanteau pictures, the
wraparound framing device is the glue that binds the individual tales into a
satisfying whole. ASYLUM’s is both a particularly effective premise and also a
kind of whodunit to boot. To the dramatic classical strains of Mussorgsky’s
‘Night on Bald Mountain’, Robert Powell’s Dr. Martin drives up to the mist
enshrouded grounds of an asylum for the incurably insane. Upon arrival he is
greeted by interviewing doctor Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee), who sets him a
challenge. Can he correctly identify which of the patients confined upstairs is
the former doctor (now completely mad) for whom he is hopefully to replace?
Guiding him into each of the patients rooms, and hearing their individual
stories is the asylum’s intern, Max, played by the wonderful Geoffrey Bayldon –
who also appears in THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD. (Quick aside: I once had the
pleasure of chatting to Geoffrey about ASYLUM at a ‘Catweazle’ convention – he seemed
to have found memories of it, and was keen to know whether it was available on
DVD – it wasn’t at the time).</span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">So, patient one (story one: FROZEN FEAR), Dr.
Martin meets Bonnie (Barbara Parkins), who was having an affair with married
man Walter (Richard Todd) who murders his wife (Sylvia Syms), chops her up into
pieces, wrapping each part in brown paper and storing them in the newly
purchased deep freezer in the basement. However, unlike Julie Andrews’ song in
THE SOUND OF MUSIC, <i>these</i> brown paper
packages tied up with string turn out to be anything but a few of Walter and
Bonnie’s favourite things...<span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">Patient two (story two: THE WEIRD TAILOR), Dr
Martin then meets Bruno (Barry Morse), an old-fashioned gentlemen’s tailor who
is behind with his rent until he is generously commissioned by a ‘Mr Smith’
(Peter Cushing), a keen astrologer, to fashion a suit out of a special glowing
fabric for his son. Mr Smith gives very precise instructions as to how and when
Bruno can work on the garment. Having followed his client’s exact instructions
to the letter, it is only when he delivers the suit to his client that he finds
not only are his money troubles still far from over, but he has blood on his
hands and the sinister true nature of the suit will be revealed once it is
returned to his shop... </span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">Dr. Martin then meets patient three, Barbara
(Charlotte Rampling) in LUCY COMES TO STAY, where Barbara insists she does not
belong in the asylum. She then recounts her story of how she and her ‘friend’
Lucy (Britt Ekland) colluded to help Barbara escape from the confines of her
sedative administering nurse and controlling brother George (James Villiers)
using sharp implements... </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span>And finally Dr Martin encounters Byron
(Herbert Lom) in MANNIKINS OF HORROR, who has been fashioning a collection of
robot dolls with life-like clay faces. He claims his creations have actual
internal organs and he is experimenting with transferring his personality into
the doll he has created of himself... </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial;">My favourite Amicus anthology remains FROM
BEYOND THE GRAVE, but ASYLUM does have its own rewards. The framing device is
sound, not to mention sinister, and its denouement is pleasingly unsettling.
FROZEN FEAR features a nice jump-scare involving a severed arm, although the
sight of a wiggling leg and shuffling torso are liable to induce giggles rather
than shudders. THE WEIRD TAYLOR has a more sinister gothic aesthetic than the
other stories, but the payoff doesn’t satisfy as it seems to go off on a less
interesting tangent. LUCY COMES HOME features a nicely effective murder
set-piece clearly inspired by PSYCHO (as does the basic premise –
unsurprisingly given the scriptwriter Bloch). Herbert Lom appears to be
rehearsing for his Chief Inspector Dreyfus role in the future PINK PANTHER
films. You can almost imagine him trying out his deadly robots on Peter
Sellers' Inspector Clouseau! (In Bloch’s original story the robots were actual
mannequins, but presumably a typically tight Amicus shooting schedule wouldn’t
allow for the luxury of stop-motion).<span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;">In conclusion then, my diagnosis is that whilst the
stories contained within make for an uneven bunch of bedfellows, no one, least
of all me, would consider you mad if you checked out this ASYLUM.</span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>
</b></span></span><div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="color: cyan;"><b><span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">****(out of 5*)</span></span></span></b></span></div>
<div class="ts1100---basic-paragraph-black-14pt">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><b>
</b></span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;"><b><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Paul Worts</span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: cyan;"><b><span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This review was first published by <a href="https://goreinthestore.co.uk/asylum--frightfest-gore-in-the-store.html"><span style="color: red;">FrightFest</span></a>.
</span></span></div>
Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6817426279351015694.post-28527790617845320472019-11-18T21:13:00.004+00:002022-01-29T15:43:40.002+00:00THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL (2019)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOuoW1zchIb5j9Kzr_fmBQaZxNWmZykH8aNNAWbc0JweaD4Oy_4ke8hJ6CU_I_LXg3RgZH-fCW_WH_7gVRNWm0LxdFVlyD48CvYvfXWc2xVvAMkdduaKBm8q6tBtV5sLR6R3tegMpUabU/s1600/31.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOuoW1zchIb5j9Kzr_fmBQaZxNWmZykH8aNNAWbc0JweaD4Oy_4ke8hJ6CU_I_LXg3RgZH-fCW_WH_7gVRNWm0LxdFVlyD48CvYvfXWc2xVvAMkdduaKBm8q6tBtV5sLR6R3tegMpUabU/s640/31.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Directed by: <span style="color: white;">Lee Won-Tae.</span>Starring: Ma Dong-Seok - aka
Don Lee, Kim Mu-Yeol, Kim Sung Kyu. Action thriller, South Korea, 2019,
109mins, Cert 15.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">
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<span style="color: cyan;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">“The real devils are those who commit crimes with kind faces.”</span></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Around the 76-minute mark in Lee Won-Tae’s slick pulsating crime/serial
killer hybrid actioner, there’s a brief humorous scene which perfectly
encapsulates the film’s premise. Scarred crime lord (the ‘gangster’ of the
title) Jang Dong-su (Ma Dong Seok, TRAIN TO BUSAN), stands at a bus-stop in the
pouring rain waiting for detective (the ‘cop’) Jung Tae-Seok (Kim Mu-Yeoland) and
gives his umbrella to a shivering school girl. When the detective turns up he
advises the schoolgirl not to take random things from strangers: “<span style="color: cyan;"><b>He’s a
gangster!”</b></span> to which the girl responds: <b><span style="color: cyan;">“You look more like a gangster than him!”</span></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The moral boundaries between cop and gangster are not merely blurred like
the smudged fingertips of serial killer ‘K’ (Kim Sung Kyu), but bludgeoned into
a bloody pulp as gangsters teams up with cops to hunt down the devilishly brutal
killer. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Already earmarked by Sylvester Stallone for a Hollywood remake, director Lee
Won-Tae delivers a headily entertaining mix of sparring mob rivalry, corrupt
police bosses, and a brutal murderer whose modus operandi involves crashing his
car into lone motorists before repeatedly stabbing them to death. That is,
until he randomly picks on the wrong victim, and sets in motion an
extraordinary manhunt involving both sides of the South Korean judicial system.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The uneasy and often queasy alliance between gangster Jang (introduced pulverising
a punch-bag containing a rival gang member), and cop Jung (introduced
alleviating boredom at being stuck in traffic by marching into a gambling den
on a whim because the ‘hooligan’s’ running it ‘need a serious beating’) delivers
a fascinating and darkly funny tension.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Director Lee Won-Tae has fashioned a pacy K-cop vehicle for some
splendid, ferociously choreographed mayhem as rival gangs bloodily clash, and a
stabby killer slices and dices. The courtroom finale seems incongruously
restrained in comparison, but it’s a reminder that the script is based on a
true story, set in August 2005, and that there is a morality tale here least we
temporarily forget it in amongst the kinetic carnage. And then there’s the
impish fade-out which earns a wry-smile. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: cyan;"><b><span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">****(out of 5*)</span></span></b></span></div>
<span style="color: cyan;"><b><span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">
</span></span></b></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: cyan;"><b><span><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-large;">Paul Worts</span></span></b></span></div>
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</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">This review was first published by <span style="color: red;"><b>FrightFest</b></span>.</span></span></div>
Paul Wortshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05859108488633779277noreply@blogger.com2