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Little late to the party but this looks fun, in it for 13 as well.
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May 9, 2017 02:59
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I've been watching movies but forgetting to actually post in this thread, so apologies for the big block of reviews. I've still got a few to get through so I'll do them in chunks. The Fly (1986): Despite being a fan of the original, I've somehow gone my entire life without seeing this, mostly because it never seems to show up on any streaming services. It's been a long time since I've seen the '58 version, but this feels like a bit of a slower burn in the beginning, which was pretty surprising. Goldblum is excellent as always, and Davis puts out a good performance too; I don't think this movie would be nearly as effective if not for how their relationship is handled. There's enough humor and tenderness there to really sell the way things unfold, and it just adds to the horror. While I've seen pictures of the fly monster before, the "in-between" stages were new to me, and wow, that is some gnarly makeup work - probably one of the more repulsive things I've seen in a Cronenberg movie, though my reaction to it wasn't as visceral as some of his other body horror. I think the birth dream might be my favorite scene, but there are a lot of excellent shots to choose from.  1/2 Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970): Czech surrealist horror that plays out with a sort of fairy-tale logic that is pretty unique. A little hard to follow in some places, and the plot is pretty vague to begin with, but it mostly ends up coming together, and you can see a lot of influence from stuff like Frankenstein / Dracula / Nosferatu mixed in with more traditional Central / Eastern European folklore. A lot of the film has a sort of soft, gauzy look, and I saw some review that described it as having a 70's softcore aesthetic, which is maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but not entirely off the mark. There are certainly a lot of interesting shots, with a distinct gothic vibe, a fairly subdued palette, and some complex compositions that make certain scenes feel like a Dutch renaissance painting. It's also interesting how insistent the movie is at keeper the viewer at arm's length from its central character - we really only get to see how other characters perceive Valerie, and her own thoughts / intentions / feelings remain pretty opaque, which I suppose is appropriate given that the film is, at its core, about a girl's sexual awakening filtered through the perspectives and desires of others. Dead Ringers (1988): That was quite the opening scene. I liked this one a lot - like The Fly, it feels much more ...human, I guess? compared to some of Cronenberg's other work. It's essentially a character study with the more existential horror of the situation serving as a backdrop, and I think it was a pretty restrained choice considering how easy it would be to turn this into a much more run-of-the-mill horror piece. Irons is incredible here, and I can't believe he didn't get an Oscar nomination for this role - you can instantly tell which of the twins he's playing at any given moment, except when the film is deliberately trying to play with expectations or as they begin to merge. The technical side of the equation is just as impressive, and it resists the urge to do any flashy shots to let the audience ooh and ahh over the dual performance - it feels completely natural, and judging by how many movies I've seen gently caress that up, it must be a lot harder than this makes it look. Favorite shot here might have to be in the operating room with all of the surgeons in red gowns (and now I retroactively see what the Hannibal show was referencing). Bujold puts in a killer performance as Claire, which is even more impressive when you consider that she has to hold her own against Irons. And drat, that ending. It's not the most horrific Cronenberg by any stretch, but I think it might be one of his best. Haxan (1922): Some very impressive visual effects here - the flying scene is pretty incredible for the time, and the craftwork sets for images of hell and the divine cosmology were great and obviously involved a ton of work. Generally speaking, the cinematography here finds a way to do a lot even when there isn't much to work with. As a documentary, I'm not sure that it is all that informative unless you don't know much at all about the history of witchcraft, but the decision to dramatize it keeps it interesting even when you aren't learning anything new. It feels a bit disjointed, with multiple threads that don't really add much or lack any kind of satisfying context / resolution, though a few of them add a little dose of humor, but it's still worth watching for the visuals alone.
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May 29, 2017 22:02
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Review batch 2/3: Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964): Lewis' movies have been a weird blind spot for me considering he's basically the granddaddy of both gory horror movies and also backwoods-flavored horror (from what I've heard, Texas Chainsaw Massacre probably wouldn't exist without his influence). This wasn't a particularly good movie, but it was interesting - you can tell it's experimenting with just far to lean into the silliness, and as a result it doesn't quite stick the landing as either a horror movie or a dark comedy. The deaths were fairly creative and surprisingly brutal for the 60s, and that seems to be the film's central draw, but they are spread out pretty thin and there isn't really enough substance to the filler in between - characters are thinly sketched, the acting is mostly terrible (though a few people are having a lot of fun with it), and there is impressively little tension. Making most of the score diegetic was an interesting choice that I think mostly worked - it definitely aged better than a lot of the music from low-budget horror movies of the era. An interesting piece of history, but probably a bit too slow and not quite campy enough to make up for it for most people. There's also a completely unnecessary twist that could have been interesting, except it shows up in literally the last 5 minutes when the plot has already been resolved, so. Blood Feast (1963): Another Lewis film with a goofy premise that I sorta have to admire - a creepy old shopkeeper named Ramses is murdering young women and taking parts of their bodies as sacrifices for the blood feast of the goddess Ishtar, who is Egyptian here for some reason. He also has a really bad limp, yet somehow manages to keep sneaking up on his victims. The actor playing Ramses is pretty much the only one having any fun with their role, and is basically holding the entire movie on his shoulders. The acting otherwise is godawful (worse than Maniacs), the writing is just as bad, and the soundtrack here is pretty distracting. The makeup work for the gore is pretty good for its time, but unlike Maniacs, there isn't a whole lot of creativity to it - mostly he just walks up to people and stabs them. The only real exception is a pretty funny death by garbage truck. Lots of glaringly bad cinematography here - messy composition, weird angles, etc. Another movie that isn't quite campy enough to be enjoyable, but not competent enough to be taken seriously. .5A Field in England (2013): I didn't realize until afterward that this was directed by the same guy who did Kill List, but it immediately made perfect sense. I'm also surprised there isn't more horror that mines this particular period in history, because there's a lot of potential. A small cast, but they all put in great performances - Shearsmith and Smiley in particular. Shooting it in black and white was a good choice, I think, and there are a lot of pretty shots. Some of the really strobe-heavy sequences were a bit excessive for me, and I could see them putting someone off completely since in a couple places it feels kind of amateurish and irritating, but I think the overall effect hits the mark they were going for. Favorite scene is probably Whitehead getting turned into a human divining rod - his expression and body language were just creepy as hell to me for some reason. Interesting ending, with a few different possible interpretations. Alien: Covenant (2017): Wasn't sure what to expect with this one, but I ended up liking it for the most part. I like that Scott is totally up for experimenting even in a huge studio film, and there's still quite a bit of thematic connective tissue between this and Prometheus even though it feels like a much different movie in places. My favorite scene is probably the opening, but there are a lot of really pretty, well-composed shots, which isn't really a surprise. I do think Scott struggles a bit with really kinetic scenes in open spaces - the editing feels a little off in a way that I can't quite put my finger on. Fassbender is great as usual, but really the whole cast is pulling their weight here. I'm not entirely sold on how many contextual plot elements occurred off-screen - even though it's mostly pretty easy to imply / make an educated guess as to what is going on, it took me out of the movie in a couple places because I was trying to figure out if I had blanked out some scenes from Prometheus or something. My opinion will probably change as time goes by and I digest more of it, but I think Prometheus might be slightly more interesting but also a bit less entertaining.
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Jun 1, 2017 11:32
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Review batch 3/3: Inland Empire (2006): The last film I needed to check off my list to have officially seen all of Lynch's stuff. This is a surprisingly hard movie to track down, couldn't seem to find it streaming or for rent anywhere. I think this might be in my top 3 favorites of his now - it's both purestrain Lynch and purestrain cinema, with layers and layers of recursive imagery, symbolism, and narrative beats. Dern is awesome, and definitely the best performance here, but there are a lot of bizarre little bit parts that really bring everything together. I can definitely see why the really smeary digital look would turn some people away, and I think there are a few shots where it looks amateurish in a way that doesn't entirely lend itself to the scene, but I thought it was an interesting choice, especially in a movie where filmmaking itself is such a cornerstone element. This movie is definitely long and not an easy watch, but I think it's pretty rewarding. Really wish I could have caught this in a theater when it was released. .5Black Christmas (1974): Is this the first slasher movie? I guess you could probably make a case for Eyes Without a Face, but this feels more prototypical. Also maybe the first movie to do the "calls coming from inside the house" thing? Either way it's a pretty fun movie - the acting is a little hit or miss, and most of the bit parts are honestly more memorable that some of the main cast, but I think the decision to focus most of the movie on the female lead instead of the killer gives it a lot more depth and makes more a punchier, tenser time. Ending was a little predictable, though probably much less so at the time, but there was still a surprising amount of restraint with the script and direction. Definitely a classic for a reason. Belladonna of Sadness (1973): This was certainly something else. Really gorgeous artwork throughout, the style combined with the score give it a really cool psychedelic vibe. Tons of interesting imagery, and a pretty neat depiction of the devil. I was totally unprepared for the movie to go completely off the rails and become an acid trip for like 10 straight minutes, but it was amazing. I had to keep pausing because there were so many crazy things going on that I couldn't pay attention to them all. The ending is really interesting, but I'm not sure I've fully digested this movie yet. .5Carnival of Souls (1962): This was a rewatch, because the last time I saw it was with other people and while I enjoyed it, I didn't pay it as much attention as I wanted. I'm glad I did, because this is definitely a movie to watch alone with the lights out. I love how it just starts right away without any title cards or studio info or anything. The atmosphere that it builds is really thick, and the organ-music score was an inspired choice. Interestingly, some of the things that call attention to the fact that it's a film - the harsh lighting, heavy makeup, and brusque editing, etc. - make it even more disorienting (similar in some ways to how I felt about Inland Empire). Lots of great shots and interesting composition throughout, and overall absolutely worth a watch for anyone with even a passing interesting in horror. Repulsion (1965): It's crazy to me that Polanski could make a movie like this and then do what he did. It's a bleak, unpleasant movie with a lot of psychological depth, and it does a very effective job of externalizing Deneuve's interior traumas (though there are lots of minor physical cues that do a lot of work too, like the way she starts taking on little rabbit-like ticks juxtaposed with the rabbit carcass rotting on a plate). The hallway scene is powerful, even knowing about it beforehand. There is just a really oppressive atmosphere throughout the movie - it's really impressive how it manages to feel claustrophobic and even dangerous outside in broad daylight. I do kinda feel like that atmosphere slips a bit in the end when it all devolves into violence, even though it makes thematic / narrative sense. An uncomfortable movie, but a great one. I also watched a couple short films as a bonus but I'm not counting those. edit: is there a limit to the number of :spookies: in a post or something?
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Jun 2, 2017 03:32
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Franchescanado posted:That's an insane list. Were these all first time views? All aside from Carnival of Souls, which I tried to watch with some other people and didn't end up paying very close attention to. BoS was very bizarre, and I probably wouldn't have ever found it if not for people in genchat talking about it a while back. I am definitely going to be thinking about it for a while.
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Jun 2, 2017 07:51
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