Hello, once again! I'm now on week three of my marathon, and have been enjoying it endlessly this year. Since I've pledged to review each of these films, my experience is yours for the reading, friends!
A reminder of my grading system:
A =
Excellent, a must see
B = Very
good, I’d watch it again
C = Worth
Seeing
D = Maybe
don’t bother
F =
Worthless
+ = Superior
for this grade
- = Just
barely makes it into this grade
I watched some pretty excellent movies this week, actually! Most of them get a B- or higher rating, which is a rare treat for me during the month of October.
You might also notice, if you've been following my daily posts on facebook, that several of this week's films have had a rating adjustment as of the time of this post. These films include: Pandorum (C- to D+) and Afflicted (B- to B). Pandorum was just less impressive after watching so many good horror films this month. Meanwhile, Afflicted was my favorite of the found footage trio I watched this year, and while I don't want to overhype it, I do think this Canadian effort is a very well made film.
So, thanks for indulging my self-criticism! Let's move on to this week's reviews. Remember ** THEY CAN SPOIL THESE MOVIES FOR YOU **, so read at your own risk!
Pandorum
(Christian Alvart) -D+
In the
future, Mankind's last hope is the spaceship Elysium. Cpl. Bower wakes up
onboard to find no one else left except for himself and Lt. Payton. Soon, Bower
sets out, with Payton guiding him over radio, to restart the ship's reactor and
to get some answers about what happened to Elysium. The first third of this
sci-fi film has some legitimate horror to it, but in the later thirds amps up
the action... In a surprisingly low-tech way. The title of the film comes from
the space madness that humans can experience as a result of deep sleep during
space travel (along with convenient amnesia), which, as you can imagine,
factors into the plot somewhere along the way.
It's nothing
special, but Pandorum boasts neat, atmospheric moments during the early parts
of the film, before you have much of an idea of what is going on. The film
translates a sense of isolation to the viewer very quickly, and you can't help
feel bad for poor Bower, crawling through ducts, running through corridors, and
hearing the occasional heaving of starship bunkheads. Dennis Quaid, who plays
the one-room wonder, Lt. Payton, does a decent job as a concerned voice,
lending aid to Bower. It isn't until Bower starts to meet other survivors that
the film begins to descend into a Movie-Based-on-a-Video-Game kind of feel (which it isn't, but it sure feels like it is).
Actually
most of the actors in the film are decent (particularly non-english speaking Manh, who tragically meets his end when he lets his guard down in
front of an adorable alien life form). But the script doesn't take a lot of
time to explain itself. True, lack of exposition fits in this kind of movie,
but only up to a point. Any explanation to the monsters that inhabit Elysium is
either not found, or explained so quickly you're prone to miss it. Especially
in the final act of the film, the action sequences get too fast paced, and, at
points, confusing. The more suspenseful beginning of the film sets a great
tone, but that tone vanishes when the script demands action.
Afflicted
(Derek Lee, Clif Prowse) - B
A relatively
recent entry into the pantheon of found footage movies, Afflicted is the story
of two Canadian college students who plan to do a tour of the world,
video-document their travels, and blog about it. The film purports to be their
videoblog. Derek and Clif are our protagonists, with Derek being the face and
Clif being behind the camera. Early into their trip, Derek is mauled by a woman
that he picks up in a Parisian club. Clif is concerned about his pal, who
begins to act weirder and weirder, but Derek insists they keep traveling.
Before too long, both men are all too aware that Derek is transforming into
something else.
Afflicted,
in many ways, plays with the found footage, and horror movie conventions in
general. Before halfway through the movie, Clif and Derek have figured out
what's happening, which saves you the trouble of guessing. Once the audience is
let in on it, Afflicted still manages to be spooky, replacing the monsters (mostly)
with Interpol SWAT teams, firmly changing the antagonist from monster to
human. While there are still some scary moments, a lot of the films tensest
scenes comes not from sudden scares or jolts, but from watching the degradation
of Derek. This culminates around the time he and Clif go searching for a live
meal, a prospect that disgusts both men.
There are
problems with the film, of course. Clif is one of the more unpleasant found film
narrators I've ever encountered. He is annoying, and talks too much.
Thankfully, you do not have to suffer him through the whole film (and Afflicted
improves by degrees when he exits). The special effects on screen are few, but
well done (super strength effects are especially neat to see in a POV format).
It also transitions well from the tone of celebration and adventure from the
start to a much darker, tragic monster story at the end. The film does a
great job of exploring its monster mythology without being too blatant. Even
inconsequential scenes, such as Derek crossing paths with a dog after he's on
his own, give you more information about the story than dialogue between
characters could hope to.
If you watch
Afflicted, be sure to keep watching into the credits for the final scene. It
sets up a sequel, though it is my feeling that Afflicted will be much better as
a stand-alone film rather than a franchise.
An intrepid
American documentary team has gone missing and is presumed dead. Anthropology
professor Harold Monroe agrees to venture into their last known location
in the Amazon to find out what became of them (and to attempt to
recover their footage). After some adventures, Monroe and his guide, Chaco,
meet with the Yamamoto tribe of people. The Yamamoto are reclusive, war-like,
and very definitely killed and ate the American film team. Monroe, after some
quick thinking, befriends the tribe, and secures the film canisters. Back in
America, Monroe is approached by the team's financial backers to examine their
footage and see what can be edited together to finish their film.
Cannibal
Holocaust is a story of civilization versus nature, and it posits that
civilized society can be even more depraved than people who eat the fallen
corpses of enemy warriors. And they're right. There's even the sense that you,
the viewer, fit right in with this description, since you yourself are watching
this film to be entertained. Lots of depraved shit happens in this movie:
multiple rapes, multiple animal slayings (real ones! This film was made outside
of animal cruelty laws), genital mutilations, they're all there folks! Why,
there's even a scene of a late term abortion, followed by the slaying of the
mother. This stuff is still very hard to watch in 2014, so you can imagine that
the audiences of 1980 were horrified by this film. Mix in the fact that it was
being publicized as real and that there had never been a movie that was made in
a found footage style before it, and you've got yourself a recipe for director
Deodato going to court to prove that his actors were alive.
This film
was one of the hardest to watch that I've ever included in my horror month.
Cannibal Holocaust satirizes exploitation film-making, but also is an
exploitation film itself. The reprehensible actions of the American film crew
are ironically mirrored by Deodato’s cavalier attitude towards animal murder
(the other horrifying acts, while not easy to witness either, are somehow more
reconcilable because they are staged. No one was really raped, no one was
killed, and even the aborted baby is clearly a prop). The natives were not
actors, and one wonders how they were coerced into making this film. However,
as bad as the images you are seeing are, in many ways, the feeling the film
tries to evoke in you - one of horrified disgust - hits the mark. Atrocities
committed by the natives are certainly barbaric, but they are a calculated
attack on the sensibilities of the West. What is commonplace for them is
disgusting to us. The first half of the film sets this tone by way of having Professor
Monroe immediately wanting to intervene on anything he sees the natives doing
that doesn't mesh with his sensibilities. But this gets turned on its head in
the second half of the film, when Monroe is watching the footage from the
American team. The Americans commit the most heinous of deeds in the pursuit of
their film. They kill, they destroy, they take what they want, they wantonly
kill livestock and they rape without question. By the time they get theirs,
there is no question that the documentary makers were the true monsters in the
setting. You don't enjoy watching their end, but it is somehow fitting.
French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard made a film in 1968 called Weekend. I'll spare
you a lengthy outline of the plot (though it is one of my favorites of all
times), but the overarching message of the film is that the horrors of the West
can only be answered by greater horrors. So too is the message of Cannibal
Holocaust. The film even starts by saying that the marvel of landing on the
moon has already been forgotten as we look to travel further into space. And
yet there are entire realms of the planet that we have yet to fully understand.
And so Deodato expertly captures this feeling as we follow his characters into
the perilous jungles still untouched by civilized man. Not a single scene in
this film happens at night, and yet there is something dark and foreboding
about the setting. Something alien, that we in our comfortable city homes
cannot hope to conceive of.
I've gone on
at length now about the content, so let's briefly talk about format. As
mentioned, this film was the first ever found footage movie. While this format
was popularized almost 20 years later by the Blair Witch Project, before
Cannibal Holocaust, even art cinema never attempted such a thing. Now, it's not
true found footage, not like we know it today. Only the last 45 minutes of the film, the footage from the
Americans being viewed by Monroe and some executives, could be considered part
of the genre (Monroe's journey is filmed in a more or less typical style). Even
then, music is added and commentary by those viewing it is peppered through it while they are watching it. It is not one long segment either: the film takes pauses for the
concerned characters to digest and discuss what they've been witnessing. The
last 15 minutes, including the final audacious acts and subsequent killing of
the Americans, purports to be unedited, but still the soundtrack plays. And
even this sequence is broken up by the projectionist having change reels. Due
to these minor differences, the found footage style isn't
exactly present. It is merely the building blocks for what comes later in the genre
(much in the same way Bird With the Crystal Plumage wasn't a true slasher, but
clearly influenced the genre, or at the very least was before its time).
Given the
amount of emotional impact the film had on me, I'm kind of forced to give it a
decent grade. It is a well-made, and groundbreaking film without trying hard to
be. It makes valid social arguments and can be enjoyed on a theoretical level.
But please understand, though I analyze the film and put it in a positive
light, it is not something the majority of people will ever want or need to
see. I'm serious, folks. Just take my word for it. They fish a real turtle out
of a river and destroy it. Beheading and all. Please carefully consider my
words before ever watching it. As they say on Futurama: you can't unsee it.
Cloverfield
(Matt Reeves) - D
Rob is
moving to Japan for work, so his older brother Jason throws him a surprise
going away party. Jason is supposed to film this party, but instead he passes
the buck to Rob's slow-witted best friend Hud. Things get dramatic when Rob's
friend Beth shows up with a pretentious new boyfriend! Turns out Rob and Beth
slept together not too long ago, and Rob is in love with her now. After a brief
altercation, Beth leaves the party... And then a giant monster starts
decimating Manhattan. All of a sudden, Rob, Jason, Hud, Jason's girlfriend
Lily, and redshirt Marlena are in a found footage monster movie.
This, along
with Paranormal Activity, is probably the best known found footage film since
the Blair Witch Project. Cloverfield is the least horror-themed found footage
piece I've ever seen, being more of an action adventure style situation. The
problem is that most of the film's scenes after the party at the start are just
the characters running and screaming. The moments where the characters have any
control of the situation they are in are few. They, like the audience, are mostly along for
the ride. This creates tension, sure, but as most of the movie is the same kind
of tension (frantic running!), and that gets a little tedious. While there are a
couple sequences (the subway tunnel and subsequent visit to the doctor) that
have an excellent genre feel to them, these scenes are few.
It's amazing
that even with probably one of the largest budgets in found footage history,
Cloverfield has some of the shoddiest camera work I've ever seen. I know the
notion is that an amateur is taking this footage as he runs through a disaster,
but a significant amount of time is spent with Hud having the camera pointed at
the ground. There are many plot points that seem implausible, such as why the
military is so cool with letting Rob and his party do whatever they want all movie.
This may also mark the first product placement for found footage (because
nothing cleans monster bites like the fresh feel of Dasani!). Cloverfield is
light on information about what's going on. While it can be argued that this is
realistic because we're watching a disaster from the perspective of a citizen,
it also allows for lazy writing, and allows us to get at least 20 more minutes
of running under our belt. It also probably encouraged people to take part in
Cloverfield's viral marketing campaign - the only way to get ANY back-story on
the creature (which, let's face it, no one is going to do six years after the
movie was released). I know producer J.J. Abrams loves his viral marketing content, but forcing it on us to find out what the hell is going on in your
movie seems like a bit of a dick move in hindsight.
What I liked
about Cloverfield, though, was its premise. It was a fresh take on giant
monster movies, even if it was not executed in a satisfying way. It just did not
take the premise in a suitable direction. If you aren't willing to provide your
audience with exposition, then you damn well better make sure your film doesn't
lull (which Cloverfield tends to do, since the love story of Rob and Beth
continues to try and claw its way to the forefront in the face of a
world-changing disaster). There are better found footage movies, and far more
satisfying monster movies (which segues nicely to...).
Q (aka Q:
the Winged Serpent) (Larry Cohen) - B-
Shepard (played by awesome kung fu guy, David Carradine) and
Powell are investigating a bizarre series of rooftop abductions and ritualistic
flayings. At first the cases appear to be isolated from one another, but as
Shepard begins to find evidence implicating the Aztec wing at the history museum,
and more and more reports flood the Manhattan police station about a giant
flying reptile eating citizens in broad daylight, it begins to look like there
may be a connection after all. Meanwhile, small time crook and reformed junkie
Jimmy Quinn can't seem to do anything right. After a failed bank robbery, Quinn hides
in the top of a skyscraper under construction. He is surprised to find several
skeletal remains along with a giant egg in a nest. These storylines merge when
Quinn steps forward to assist the police in locating and destroying the giant
reptile terrorizing New York.
I'm going to
admit, I was hugely surprised by this film. It is a ridiculous premise, sure.
And even though Q doesn't take itself all that seriously, it still manages to
be a damned good giant monster movie. Questzalcoatl's attacks ramp up at a
good pace, showing you more and more of the creature with every convenient
rooftop victim being snatched into the sky. On the Aztec sacrifice side of the plot, this storyline fades into the background slightly, but they bring you back
into it with a jarring bloody corpse now and then. But most of the story
focuses on the bumbling actions of Quinn: a man that literally doesn't do
anything well, tends to complain about everything and expects the world of
everyone he speaks to. Because of this, the picture takes on an extremely
silly, B-Movie tone. And yet the camera work and storytelling manage to keep
you interested. We are treated to many dazzling aerial shots of Manhattan,
often feeling like a premonition to some poor sod (often a bikini-clad babe)
being grabbed off a rooftop by a giant green claw.
The monster
effects are stop-motion, done in a style reminiscent of Ray Harryhausen, the celebrated creature
animator of Clash of the Titans fame. The effects do look a little dated today,
but given everything else in the film being tongue-in-cheek, this actually adds
to the film's tone. The ending is fairly predictable, but it's supposed to be.
And, again, the visuals of the film (mostly aerial establishing shots) are excellent,
and even the Aztec regalia worn by the cultists are surprisingly sinister. Q is
a good time, for sure, and has only improved with age.
Inseminoid
(Norman J. Warren) - D-
Somebody
really liked Alien! On a remote planet, a crew of scientists gets infected by
some kind of xenomorph. Ricky, the first crew member to be infected, gets off
light, but Sandy, after a period of abduction is recovered. She has all the
same signs of trouble as Ricky, but she's also suddenly two months pregnant.
Before too long, Sandy has gained super strength and attempts to slaughter the
crew.
Inseminoid
has the look of a professional film, but its all smoke and mirrors. The props
are cheap, the acting is uneven and the script is pretty bad. The look of the
film, as mentioned, is borrowed directly from Alien, right down to the very
incorrect technology that mirrored plausible futuristic super computers, based
on the technology of the 1970s. The creature effects are few, and seem to be of
the rubber suit variety. Most of the tension comes from the batshit expressions
of actress Judy Geeson who played Sandy.
The one
quality of the film that stands out is the photography. Inseminoid has a
surprisingly good framing that makes you occasionally forget its lesser
qualities. And while its final sequence is predictable and repetitive,
Inseminoid manages to keep you involved with its cat and mouse game finish.
Les Yeux Sans Visage (Eyes Without a Face) (Georges Franju) - A-
Dr. Genessier,
a brilliant plastic surgeon recently lost his daughter, Christiane, in a car
accident. Or at least, that's what he tells the police. The more complicated
truth is that Christiane did not die in the crash, rather, her face was left
horribly scarred. No longer able to be in public (she wears a mask that makes
her look like an animate mannequin), her father keeps her housebound while he
sends out Louise, his loyal ex-patient, to walk the streets of Paris and find
suitable young women. Once found, Louise brings them to the professor's house
under false pretenses, and he steals their faces to try and graft them onto
Christiane. The good doctor is a man driven, you see, and he will not rest
until he had restores his daughter.
Tame by all
standards today, Les Yeux Sans Visage is a hauntingly beautiful film. It is
also the first film to feature a mad surgeon as its villain. With sprawling interior
locations, a never-ending series of shots featuring dead trees, and a surprisingly upbeat
soundtrack, we don't need a surgeon making a bloody mess to tell us that we
should be frightened. Indeed, there really aren't any monsters in this picture.
The professor, while certainly breaking the law, and being resolute in doing so
is driven to a vile purpose, not deranged, nor evil. He attempts to make his
facial victims comfortable, even after their surgery. Louise, his Ygor, isn't
sadistic or single minded in her duties. She is a former patient and very much
believes that the doctor is in the right (a position that nets her being
clubbed over the head and later murdered). As such, you don't really wish any
of the characters to meet their end, making this film all the more tragic.
This is a
genre classic, making the top 20 in many credible horror movie lists, often beating
out better-known classics like Frankenstein or I Walked With a Zombie. While
horror audiences of today may not find it to be gruesome enough (it is fairly
goreless, given the subject matter), the tone of the film is far darker than
most of the films I've watched this month. Many films I've cited as having good
photography or framing pale in comparison to this effort. A necessary watch for horrorphiles.
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So onwards! Today I'll be watching 1988's Pumpkinhead, starring Lance Henriksen. Beyond that, I have no exact plans, but the choices are narrowing. Stay tuned to this space for more as the month creeps on.
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