Glad Written by Mladen Djordjevic Directed by Mladen Djordjevic 2002, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Exploration and ideas are at the core of Glad. This isn’t a film about shock and terror. Rather, Glad is a movie about the paths our mind can take. Some of those paths are truly horrific, and at times Glad gets …
Vignean Krohom (The Red Sense) Written by Tim Pek Directed by Tim Pek 2008, Australia/Cambodia Amateurism is a major facet of the film industry. There are oodles of films released every year that are amateur productions, and some of them can be genuinely great. Then there are the professional productions that employ amateurs in key …
A lazy trip down a river turns into a nightmare. It’s a plot that has been tread on many times in the horror genre, and even more in the adventure and thriller genres. Varuh meje takes an interesting approach to the old girl known as the river trip. It approaches the trip from a decidedly female and nationalist perspective. Suffice to say if the viewer has no interest in Slovenia or in the role of women in Slovenian culture, then they need not bother with Varuh meje.
Much of The Dark fails to make any sense. This carries out through the resolution of the film, where the ultimate solution to the plot not making any sense is for the ending to not make sense. Horror can be ambiguous, there’s nothing wrong with a horror movie that plays in the realm of the nonsensical. However, there’s ambiguity with a purpose, and there’s a lack of being able to make your plot make sense. The Dark isn’t ambiguous, it merely doesn’t make any sense and Stephen Massicotte has no idea how to deliver a screenplay that makes sense.
The basic conceit of El páramo is what ultimately holds the film back. Try as it might the film can never move past what it presents in its opening minutes. That’s not a good trait in a film, usually at least. El páramo tries to move past its opening scenes and present the squad as having been altered by their discovery, but that’s a lie within the film. There’s no reason that the film couldn’t have done something with its lie, but instead it tries to present said lie as a truth. The question that the film ends up asking is, how can a squad that doesn’t function properly be changed into a squad that doesn’t function properly?
There’s almost nothing more upsetting than a film that overstays its welcome. Trim somewhere around forty minutes to an hour off of 247°F and the end result would be a pretty great short film. As it stands this film is far, far too long. There comes a point, about fifteen minutes after our three protagonists have become stuck in the sauna, when it’s all too clear that 247°F is already recycling ideas. A character will yell, then another will yell, then a third will tell the other two to calm down. Follow this with one of them coming up with a possible solution to their problem, and watch as said solution fails. Repeat that chain of events ad nauseum and the end product is the majority of 247°F.
It creaks, it wobbles, but it doesn’t crack. That’s the best way to describe The Caller, a horror film that makes the most out of an interesting premise. The horror genre is not short on films with great premises, but it, much like the film world in general, is short on films that make the most out of their great premise. The Caller nearly blows it multiple times, but somehow Matthew Parkhill’s film manages to keep it all together and deliver on the promise of its premise.
Dirty, grimy, and dusty, that’s how best to describe Hell. The heat can be felt, the dryness of the film comes off of the screen like a hot summer day in Chicago. Tim Fehlbaum takes a very tactile approach with his film, daring the audience to feel what his characters are feeling. The horror of Hell is that when the characters are hot the viewer feels hot. When the characters are struggling with thirst the audience feels like it needs a drink of water. Herr Fehlbaum asks a lot out of the characters he, and his screenplay compatriots, have created for Hell. He asks just as much, if not more, out of his films audience.
Commercialism has been a part of the film industry for a very long time. It will continue to be an active part of the film industry until the day comes when there’s no longer a film industry. Movies are made to make money, that’s pretty much a given. Occasionally a movie can have its cake and eat it too; it can be a completely commercial product and still be a fine artistic enterprise as well.
There’s nothing wrong with conventional, but by the same token there’s something very wrong with a film that’s too comfortable being conventional. Prowl is the sort of horror film that desires to be nothing more than conventional.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. By this point in his career Lucio Fulci was severely running out of steam. His titles were no longer met with any fanfare and even his most ardent supporters had begun to think less of his newer creations. With his best days behind him the once acclaimed director turned towards two different pathways to help keep his filmmaking career afloat.
Bai wan ju e (Croczilla) Written by Li Sheng Lin Directed by Li Sheng Lin China, 2012 There’s been a surge in recent years of B horror monster movies. Giant sharks, giant alligators, mutated animals that are a combination of shark and alligator, and so many other animal monsters have gotten the monster movie treatment. …
How did he know that happened? How long are they going to overlay them walking with music? These are the two questions that horror buffs will find themselves asking after they’ve finished Araf. Those are not two questions that are asked of a great horror movie, they are questions asked of a mediocre horror film. That should tell you about where Araf falls on the movie spectrum.
T.M.A. (Darkness) Screenplay by Martin Nemec Directed by Juraj Herz Czech Republic, 2009 A story isn’t always just a story. As one becomes more and more of a horror aficionado this becomes abundantly clear. Horror, perhaps moreso than any other genre, relies heavily on atmosphere and emotion in lieu of story. T.M.A. fits in with …
Lilasia Psichon (Soul Looting) Written by George Vouzikis Directed by George Vouzikis Greece, 2009 Every cinephile has had the moment where they’ve thought, “I could make this movie.” Most of us let that feeling drift away and we remain cinephiles, become critics, or slowly lose interest in movies altogether. Rare is the cinephile that takes …
Jangan pandang belakang (Don’t Look Back) Screenplay by Ahmad Idham Directed by Ahmad Idham Malaysia, 2007 There’s a certain charm to Jangan pandang belakang, a charm that stops the movie from being absolutely dreadful. Said charm isn’t enough to produce a well-made film, but it’s hard not to appreciate a film that still believes horror …
Jue ming pai dui (Invitation Only) Screenplay by Sung In & Carolyn Lin Directed by Kevin Ko Taiwan, 2009 One of the calling cards of the horror genre is its ability to delve deep into societal issues. The horror genre can often go to places that other genres cannot because of the content found within …
Naboer (Next Door) Screenplay by Pål Sletaune Directed by Pål Sletaune Denmark/Norway/Sweden, 2005 Twists appear to be quite the common topic in this column lately. This time out the issue isn’t an actual twist, but the fracturing of a psyche that gives the idea of a twist. There’s no twist to spoil in Naboer because …
Taxidermia Written by György Pálfi & Zsófia Ruttkay Directed by György Pálfi Austria/France/Hungary, 2006 Striking visuals attempt to match allegory; this is the stuff of Taxidermia. From the onset it’s quite clear that Taxidermia isn’t interested in being a typical horror film. The film blends elements of comedy, body horror, and political allegory into as …
Clowns are creepy, for many a person. By using a clown as the villain of the film Stitches treads on common ground in the garden of fear. Treading on common ground is something that Stitches is quite fond of.
Movies can be different, but they can also be very similar. There’s nothing wrong with being similar, but sometimes a trend develops within film that is not a positive. Twists are such a trend, a trope of the horror genre that has been running amok in the genre for years now. That’s not to say that all twists are inherently negative. However, when the twist overtakes the film and works against what came before the twist, well, that’s a problem.
The Devil’s Rock Written by Paul Campion, Paul Finch, & Brett Ihaka Directed by Paul Campion New Zealand, 2011 Horror done on a low budget is nothing new to horror fans. The genre is littered with films that were produced under conditions where more had to be made with much, much less. The Devil’s Rock …
Modus Anomali (Ritual) Written by Joko Anwar Directed by Joko Anwar Indonesia, 2012 It’s a sad thing when the need for a twist dampens wonderful use of sound and created tension. The first fifty minutes of Modus Anomali are very tense, with atmosphere oozing off the screen. This is thanks in large part to the …