When the Kitty's away...

...she's usually watching more movies!

I know I've been a bit slack about updating but as I have no followers as yet, I will forgive myself.

I went back to work this week after an extended period of r'n'r so I've been fairly busy. But fear not! My priorities remain intact.

As well as watching a couple of movies to comment on I also caught the following just for fun: the Dark Knight trilogy; We Need to Talk about Kevin (with the superb Tilda Swinton); Predator; Hot Fuzz and Silence of the Lambs.

I'm not reviewing SotL at this time but I do rate Hopkins and Foster in that film if no other. And it always makes me hungry. Is that bad?

The Phantom Carriage 1921

Directed by and starring:
Victor Sjöström

This black and white Swedish film was the earliest I could lay my hands on immediately. It feels quite magical watching a piece of film history. Even before anything has happened the sepia toned images give the images drama.

Sister Edit is dying of consumption and she asks for a man named David Holm to come to her bedside. Her friends consider this a scandalous request but they set out to find him anyway.

David (Sjöström) is celebrating New Years Eve with some friends and several drinks. David begins to tell a tale about their old friend Georges and we are transported into a story within the story.

David recalls how Georges was mortally afraid of dying on New Years Eve as he believed that he would be doomed to drive Death's carriage to collect the souls of the dead. He says that each day of servitude feels like a hundred years.

For the silent format I believe the acting was wonderful,  mixing naturalism with melodrama for effect. This is a different way of telling stories than a 21st century audience is used to, but it really captured my imagination. The images are also remarkably clear and the music is perfect - woodwind and brass weep and sigh ethereally.

We are shown the ghostly carriage and the hooded figure moving through doors collecting the dead. The cart and figure are given a spectral translucent quality through the use of a double exposure technique (which at the time would have been technically difficult). It remains an impressive visual effect.

David recieves the message to visit Edit but he refuses and winds up in a drunken brawl which sees him killed just before the stroke of midnight. As the phantom coach arrives David's spirit sits up from his body to see its arrival. The driver is none other than his friend Georges, who explains that it is now David's turn to take the reigns.

Through a series of flashbacks we witness David's life of drunken selfishness.  He is a self pitying and unrepenting figure who made life unbearable for those around him. There is a very frightening scene where he hacks through a door with an axe to get to his terrified wife (scarier than Jack Nicholson in my book). Sjöström does a great job of eliciting both disgust and pity from the audience.

We begin ro understand why it is so important for Edit to see David and the dramatic irony is gripping as we know this cannot be.

In terms of film making this seems to my humble untrained eye to be a work of great skill. It uses non-linnear narrative, flashbacks and special effects as well as excellent performances. This is a tragic morality tale (similar to but darker than A Christmas Carol). The suspense is high at the ending - I was on the edge of my seat.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this film and it deserves 7/10.

I was planning to look at Nosferatu next HOWEVER I have seen it before and I am very well versed with Bram Stoker's tale. I don't think I can give this iconic film an objective review and until I feel this is possible I have decided to leave it alone.

A fresh approach?

There are so many movies coming to my attention which I am getting excited about. I think I may have to ditch the themed weeks and just go with the flow for a while.

The idea of watching a cluster of films by decade or subgenre was so that I could really immerse myself in one style in order to learn more about it. It also helped to make comparisons between films with at least some linking feature.

But in order to keep things fresh and not lose the joy and excitement of watching the movies I need to go with my gut a little more. There are currently 10 titles on my 'must watch' list and they are demanding my attention.

This week I had intended to take a break from the viscera and check out some golden oldies from the 1920s. We'll see how this goes, but I can tell you that a certain red-headed Good Guy is tugging at my sleeve and I wouldn't want to keep him waiting too long...

The Return of the Living Dead 1985

Director: Dan O Bannon
Starring: James Karen; Clu Galager; Don Calfa; Linnea Quigley

Young Freddy has just started working at a medical supplies warehouse which, amongst other things, stocks skeletons, cadavers and 'split dogs'. Uch. Whilst showing Freddy the ropes his new supervisor, Frank, starts bragging about some corpses they have in the basement.

He asks Freddy if he has seen 'Night of the Living Dead' and claims that the film was based on true events. He says after the army had rounded up the re-animated corpses they ended up in the warehouse basement. Sounds unlikely but there they are in airtight zombie pickle jars. Whilst having a sneaky peak the pair damage one of the containers and release a toxic gas into the air.

I was struck in the opening scenes by the vivid colours which really emphasise the lurid cartoon style of the movie.  It also shows off the punk characters in their full glory.

These punks are friends of young Fred and before they pick him up from work they decide to kill time in the nearby cemetery. Why not eh? One of the girls 'Trash' (Linnea Quigley) inexplicably decides to get naked and remains that way for most of the film.

Back in the warehouse Frank and Freddy wake up on the floor only to realise that the gas has awoken the cadaver hanging in the cooler. Freaked out Frank recalls the lesson from NOTLD - destroy the brain.  Unfortunately this film rewrites the accepted rules ("You mean the movie lied?!") and even with a pick axe through its head, this zombie refuses to lay still.

When total body dismemberment fails, they take the still wriggling parts to a friendly mortician to get them cremated. Alas, this releases the zombie virus into the atmosphere and when it rains the local cemetery starts to wake up. Tons of zombies, in various states of decay, burst from their graves and savage poor nekkid Trash.

In the warehouse basement we get to meet Tar Man - one of the pickled zombies who has been in storage for 15 years. The effects here are fantastic.He's so slimy and skeletal it is difficult to tell whether he is a puppet or actor in make-up. His appearance is gruesome but I also found his pop-eyed skull face had lots of character. And I almost clapped my hands with glee when he groaned the immortal line: "Braaiins!"

The survivors gather in the mortuary as events continue to escalate. They have no hope of escape and can only watch as cops and ambulances arrive on the scene to be mobbed by the growing army of undead.  The zombies even figure out how to use the emergency vehicle's radio "send more cops!" It's like ordering a takeaway! As the ferocity builds you genuinely want to know how this is going to end.

The special effects are absolutely spot on - especially the animatronic skeletal half-zombie who takes a chunk out of one mohawked head. She is sensational. All the zombies are delightfully cartoonish with big facial expressions, not to mention convincing decomposition.  And they're green!!

The film contains some blood and gore as you would expect from a zombie flick, but its well balanced without gratuitous lingering shots and it works well in the context of the action.

There is a dark side to the film too. The suffering that Frank and Freddy experience is quite disturbing and the reason given for the zombies' hunger for brains is genuinely horrifying.

The film is not a mindless zombie romp (though it appears to be) it is a black comedy played entirely straight. I didn't find it laugh out loud funny, but it is fun and the darker subtleties will leave you thinking. No doubt the visuals are what impressed me most, both in concept and execution.  The film popularised a cool and distinctive look for zombies in film. I couldn't possibly give it less than 7/10.

NB.
I also wanted to add a note about Linnea Quigley. Though in this film she does little more than writhe around naked, she has become something of an icon in exploitation films. She starred in such epic titles as "Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-a-Rama" and "Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers" as well as over 60 other horror titles! Nice work lady!!

Resident Evil: Afterlife 2010

Written and directed by: Paul WS Anderson
Starring: Milla Jovovich; Wentworth Miller; Ali Larter; Kim Coates

I saw the first of these films several years ago and recall it had some interesting ideas and may have been vaguely scary. I haven't seen any of the intervening titles. I also recognise that purists may not consider this a true zombie title - but infectious re-animated corpses are good enough for me.

Four years ago the evil Umbrella Corporation was responsible for the 'T- virus' wiping out most of the planet and they are still operating underground in Tokyo, apparently experimenting on victims. 

Alice (Jovovich) was at ground zero when the outbreak began and we understand that she is now a virally enhanced super ninja who is trying to take down the corporation. After an action packed gun fight between her clones(?!) and some stormtroopers,  Tokyo is completely destroyed along with most of the city. Alice then heads off to search for survivors.

I like Milla Jovovich, despite her limited range of facial expressions, she is watchable. I can even tolerate her Sarah Connor style voice over, but many may not agree. She even pulls off poignant when she questions whether she is the last person on earth.

Eventually finding one survivor Alice flies back to LA where she finds another improbable group hiding in an abandoned prison. The prison gates are doing a good job of keeping out the horde of baying zombies, but the sheer number of them is staggering. Their efforts to breach the prison gates and the dreadful rage on their faces sets the tension simmering.

Then out of nowhere, a truly creepy sight. A very large hooded figure walking down the deserted LA streets dragging a giant meat tenderiser/ scythe smeared with blood. As the survivors plan their next move the incongrous yet terrifying hooded monster joins the masses at the gates and begins to pound on them relentlessly. It's only a matter of time before hundreds of raging undead overrun the facility.

Sadly the film doesn't know how to capitalise on the tension and whilst there are few moments of excitement when the survivors escape, the pace then then slackens completely and I started to lose interest.  The group end up in an Umbrella Corp stronghold where victims are inexplicably being kept in cold storage. The ensuing action scenes are highly derivative of the Matrix and have nothing to do with zombies. The ending is dull and sets the stage for inevitable next film.

The stylish camera work and CGI promised in the films opening scenes grows tiresome and self congratulatory by the end. There is also a massive overuse of slow-motion footage. 

A few parts of the movie showed promise but they were quickly ditched to move on to the next concept. Lots of ideas are floated but none are developed, perhaps this is another tool to persuade viewers to see the next movie? Nothing  in the film feels new or creative and the overall result is a forgettable film which doesn't know quite what it wants to be and is unable to deliver on any count.

I'm giving it a 4/10 because it's bland, derivative and seems to be just another slice of the franchise instead of a stand alone movie.

Shopping!

Just got back from trawling my local pre-owned DVD shop. Happy happy days! 

I snagged:
Child's Play 1-3;
Angel Heart;
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original and uncut);
Boogeyman (2004) and
The Return of the Living Dead.

All for a princely sum of £17.75. Can I get a "Hell Yeah!!"?

Zombie Nation 2004

Director: Ulli Lommel
Starring: Gunter Ziegler

I'm going to keep this as brief as possible because I actually begrudge spending any more time on this unmitigated piece of crap.

Singer is a vile misogynistic cop, a fact the script beats over our heads when he arrests his first victim. He manhandles her into a warehouse and kills her whilst his bemused partner waits outside. Singer comes out without the woman but carrying a very large and heavy bag. His partner seems to accept his piss poor explanation.

The twisted cop then kills the wrong girl. She's just been to see some voodoo women who doused her in pig blood and encouraged a large snake towards her lady garden. You know, for protection.

At this point the murdered girls begin to rise from the dead and the film becomes even more objectionable. Despite the fairly cool looking zombie on the DVD cover, what we actually get is chicks wearing too much black eye make-up. Terrifying. These 'zombies' can talk, drive, dance and apparently apply for jobs. A note here on the title: Racoon eyes do not a zombie make and while we're at it - five is not a nation.

The acting is bad. Bad, bad, BAD.
But the script, directing and editing are equally terrible.  Each scene is about 10 seconds long and there is no plot - just a random jumble of events including an appalling Marathon Man rip-off; senseless flashbacks and a random fight club scene. Most characters are detestible the rest are a homogenous blur.

It's clear that most of the set was constructed in the same warehouse and this is particularly grating in the police station scenes. The camera angle doesn't even attempt to disguise the exposed brick and pipes or the false lighting.

I'm all for low budget films so long as they are not also devoid of intelligence,skill and imagination.

I just can't say any more. This film is the biggest pile of shite I ever saw. Please don't mistake me - this is NOT a 'so bad, it's good' film. Honestly. I really looked for anything which would enable me to give it one star but couldn't find a single redeeming feature. 
Absolute toss. 0/10.