Versus - 2000 - Japan

Versus - 2000 - 7/10
AKA - ヴァーサス

 
Now you’re talking!!!
Third film by Ryûhei Kitamura placed him on the radar of Asian fanboys worldwide.
Samurai, yakuza, escaped convicts, bounty hunters, zombies, damsel in distress.
Swords, knives, handguns, machine guns, heavy weapons, plenty of fistfights.
In a nutshell, within ten minutes, protagonists arrive in an accursed forest, place where yakuza had dumped whack jobs for years.
The dead begin to revive, most clutching still-lethal handguns.
Kick ass actioner looks like a million bucks, and appears very low-budget.
Clinic for young filmmakers on how to film brilliance on a shoestring.

 

Tumbbad - 2018 - India

Tumbbad - 2018 - 7/10

 
“The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed.”  Gandhi

Rainswept, rural India, 1912.  Mother “tends” to an old man, hoping her services will result in money.
Her children are observant, especially the oldest son.
Mom’s activities involve risk, though reward seems incalculable.
And years later, the grown son climbs down, ever down, into the ugly pit of wealth.
Film does an exceptional job with atmosphere and settings.
The story weaves myth, human frailty, curiosity, avarice.
Indeed, once underway, greed is the core of this terrific horror film.
The less you know before watching, probably the better.

Ebola Syndrome - 1996 - Hong Kong

Ebola Syndrome - 1996 - 7/10

 
Somewhere, this tasteless, trashy, over the top, gleefully perverse Hong Kong Cat 3 masterpiece is flying off the shelves.
Anthony Wong may be best known as the villain in Hard Boiled or Untold Story, but for sheer sleazy glory, this one is in a category all by itself.
Without giving too much away, after he rapes his boss’s wife, then kills her and his boss, lowly cook flees to Africa.
There is a massive outbreak of ebola, so he and a buyer drive to an infected village to buy dead cows cheap.
Blinded by lust, the cook jumps a corpse and catches the incurable.
Only, instead of dying, he becomes a carrier.
As soon as he realizes that, sharing time begins.
Hong Kong bad boy director, Herman Yau, made many films like this, but this exploitative jewel is the best.

To Kako (Evil) - 2005 - Greece

To Kako (Evil) - 2005 - 6/10
AKA - Το Κακό

 
Zombies overrun Athens.
Filmed for what looks like $834.00, the movie compensates with energy, heart and restraint.
Yes, restraint.  Early, when potential meals start running, the film goes split screen.
Awesome!  And, to their credit, the creators only do this a few more times.
There are sequences shot from the zombies p.o.v.  Again, only done a handful of times.
I have seen so many horror flicks that reuse trick photography until you say,  “Enough already.”
Several good (funny) combat standoffs include the outdoor cafe, and hideout.
The audio commentary is another highlight.
3-4 of the creative crew discuss the cast, budget limitations, camera tricks, audience reception.
And what inspired them, including Ang Lee, Lelouch’s “A Man And A Woman” and Bergman’s “Persona”!!
Unarguably, the best Greek zombie film I have ever seen.

Rigor Mortis - 2013 - Hong Kong

Rigor Mortis - 2013 - 7/10
AKA - 殭 屍

 
How did this nifty Hong Kong gem fly under my radar?
Actor whose career is on the skids checks into a ramshackle high rise.
Suspends the noose, kicks the stool away, only to get rescued.
Building is a way-station or limbo or purgatory or simply a dump.  Take your pick.
Marketed as Horror, this is way too artsy and moody for cheap thrill seekers.
Suffice to say the building conceals souls that will not rest.
Dead - undead - unhappy dead - humans with a death wish.
Dazzling, inspired visuals.  Plenty of “wow, look at that” moments.
Like Del Toro’s Crimson Peak (which I did not care for overall) this drips style.
Moody first half, spells and conflict punctuate the second half.

Killing Small Animals - 2020 - Sweden

Killing Small Animals - 2020 - 6/10

 
Wordless short from Sweden designed to appall and quietly succeeds.
PETA supporters, peruse the title, please.
A wife, going about her daily routine, still finds time for unsettling diversion.
Imagine, from smaller to larger.
Disturbing and well done.
Again, animal lovers, beware.

The Fall Of The House Of Usher - various - various

The Fall Of The House Of Usher

Short - 2004 - USA

 
Narrator goes to visit old friend, "Roger" Usher, then helps entomb recently deceased sister.
Truncated version is a mix of black n white sketches, animation and claymation.
The house resembles a condemned doll house, minimally furnished.
Piano score is spare and moody.
Curio, worth a look, though might be regarded as akin to a student project.

* * *

Zanik Domu Usheru - 1982 - Poland

 
Experimental Polish short in high contrast black and white.
Unseen narrator (Polish) tours the ruined Usher manor.
Creative stop motion photography indicates spreading decay or genuine weirdness.
No actors.  Rather, furniture moves on their own, Madeline's coffin slides to its end.
Point of view shifts from time to time, though my chief problem was reading subs instead of paying full attention to the hypnotic camera work.
Not overly surreal nor indecipherable as others have mentioned.

* * *

La Chute de la Maison Usher - 1928 - France

 
Full length, French retelling that tends to over linger and hold scenes too long.
Visuals are often quite arresting, and much of the camera work seems hand held
The spacious maison Usher is remarkable. albeit exceedingly drafty.
Music ranges from out of place Renaissance to discordant piano.
I enjoyed a lot of this, but the stagnant pace had me checking the time.

* * *

Short - 1928 - USA

 
Short, from near the end of the Silent era, highly Expressionistic.
Multiple exposures, distorted angles, brooding shadows, prism effects.
No intertitle cards, film creators assume viewer is familiar with Poe's story.
Madeline's clothes are elegant Art Deco attire.
This has been recently remastered and has a brief, spoken introduction.
Likely to rewatch this version again.

Quatermass And The Pit - 1967 - UK

Quatermass And The Pit - 1967 - 7/10
AKA - Five Millions Years To Earth

 
Excavation crews, working deep under the Hobb’s End Underground station, start finding skulls.
Archaeologists quickly arrive, soon discover a huge metallic object.
Military bomb experts realize it is not metal, while other members dig up the dark history of Hob’s Lane.
Extremely intelligent script, based on the legendary BBC serial from the late 50's.
Creative mix of Horror, SciFi, ancestral memory, superstition.
One of Hammer’s best.

The VVitch - 2016 - Canada

The VVitch - 2016 - 7/10

 
Tried to avoid reviews and hype swirling around this one.
17th century colonials are ejected from the fortified plantation for unclear reasons.
One gathers the family head is a malcontent and religious troublemaker.
The family relocate to the edge of the forest and go it alone.
Hard luck trails them like blight.
Austere film, desaturated colors, slow pace, dialogue lifted from very old journals and court proceedings.
These are souls adrift and their backstory is barely hinted at.
The family departed England for a reason, were subsequently ejected from the colony for likely the same.
Brilliantly conceived and executed arthouse horror, but this mood piece will not be to all tastes.

X-Files S02 - 1995 - USA

X-Files S02 - 1995 - 8/10

I enjoyed the first season, but I rarely return to it, save for an episode or two.
For many, the second year was when the series really began to flower.
The leads were no longer shrill or strident, the writing far more original, the narratives more layered.
New characters - adversaries or allies - followed their own agendas, morally indifferent.

 
At this point, creative elements of the series were on fire.
Stories often played out over several episodes.
By turns harrowing, flat out funny, or achingly poetic.

 
Planets and stars only stay in perfect alignment for so long.
The show went south for me after the location shifted to Los Angeles (closer to FOX money men perhaps?).
Much altered, not necessarily for the better.
Season 02 of X-Files remains spectacular, though.
I try not to rewatch too often, lest its magic go stale.

Monsters Wanted - 2013 - USA

Monsters Wanted - 2013 - 7/10

 
Entertaining behind the scenes documentary on Asylum Haunted Scream Park.
The site is a sprawling 40 acres outside Louisville, with four dedicated horror areas.

Asylum Haunted

Doc follows Rich and Janel, a well adjusted enough couple, and their labors to get everything in place before opening day.

 
Surprise visits by inspectors, backstabbing rival horror parks, rain and more rain, temperamental actors - including one who seems borderline certifiable, complaining business partners, equipment malfunctions, running out of money, as the opening deadline shrinks from months to weeks to days to hours.
You wonder how they can possibly get it done.
Will hold your interest from start to finish, might even plant the urge to get out Halloween night.
For anyone who is a repeat customer of haunted parks, for anyone who ever worked a Midnight Mansion, for anyone who took a stab creating their own Death House*, this film ought to be in your queue.

 * Admittance - One Candy Bar

Yes, back when I was eight or nine I can up with this brilliant notion of creating our own haunted house.
We would charge one candy bar per admission.  No cause for us to rush all over the neighborhood Trick or Treating, our victims would do the legwork, then pay to stroll our horrors.
Candy for free!  Our bags were going to burst!
Alas, the best laid plans of nine year olds . . .
Few entered.  Those that did reported back that our haunted palace - an empty garage - sucked.
(An early lesson how dreary reviews can kill Broadway openings, new record releases, lemonade stands, or haunted houses.)
There were less than ten bars to share between the five of us.  Worse, we had missed Trick or Treat night, and all the other kids blamed me and my stupid idea!  Shunned me for days.
Over the years, there would be more stupid ideas where that came from.  Many more.

Only Lovers Left Alive - 2013 - UK

Only Lovers Left Alive - 2013 - 7/10

 
My bride phoned from the library, vampire movie in hand.  John Hurt, Tilda Swinton.
Sure, get it, I said.
I flipped the box when she brought it home and, Jim Jarmusch!  Oh, no!
Film not as self-indulgent or pretentious as feared.
Story of two intellectual vampires, enduring the centuries.
Dreamy, drowsy, slow paced, filmed in nighttime Tangier and Detroit.
Film raises several points, one being the dire consequences of tainted blood.
Dark irony of the food supply being so self destructive.
Terrific use of brooding music, conversations delivered in monotone, and the feeblest of lighting to cast an aura of weariness.
Definitely worth chasing down, but it is lethargic and demands patience and concentration.
Note: For anti-Jarmusch types (such as myself) this was a nice one.

The Babadook - 2014 - Australia

The Babadook - 2014 - 7/10

 
Disclosure: I don’t like kids, especially undisciplined, over-indulged kids.
I have a problem with single mommies and sons who are way too touchy feelie.
I also dislike any film where children are in danger, a cheap trope of terror.
Chances are, if you are a parent - enjoy rambunctious children - or see nothing wrong with a 7 year old who still sleeps in Mom’s bed, you may adore this.

Outstanding acting from Essie Davis as distracted, still grieving mother whose husband died seven years earlier.
As well as newcomer Noah Wiseman who is extraordinarily annoying with his fears, homemade weapons, creepy acts toward other children, and clinginess.  To be fair, who allowed this child to be so?  Yes, good ole Ma.
For the bedtime read, he discovers the Babadook (a bad book?) book.
Apparently, merely by reading, the ‘dook is summoned forth.
In no time flat, the dumpy home sounds with late night knocks, groans, deep sighs, ebony shadows.
Real or imagined?  The film never lets on for the longest time.
Meanwhile, mother and son behavior declines noticeably, and others take note.
Much as I appreciated the acting and deft, slight of hand directing, I disliked the characters intensely and wanted them eaten.

Penny Dreadful - 2014 - UK

Penny Dreadful - 2014 - 6/10

 
Season one of esoteric Horror, set in Victorian London.
Vampires, the Frankenstein creature, even Dorian Gray, all promenade through gas lit alleys, rat infested wharves, or hothouse atriums.
A good series for language buffs, as conversations are rich, arch, almost stilted.
Precise words, layered meanings, from drawing rooms to theatre boards.
The core of the narrative, the arc, is the classic quest.  A guilt ridden father searching for a stolen daughter.
He has money enough to create a team, who in turn, provide their own shadowed backstories.
For those concerned, the S01 ending will not leave you hanging.

Welp - 2014 - Belgium

Welp - 2014 - 6/10
AKA - Cub

 
Inventive, gruesome, intense, all kinds of wrong horror, clearly in the slasher genre.
A pack of cub scouts head into the woods for camping fun.
Two of their den masters know locals shun the area.
Suicides and disappearances have left a dark legacy.
Almost forgot, one of the den leaders brings his dog.
Although the boys are ages 9-12, this Belgium horror ride is not for kids.
Children ... a dog ... understand - no one is safe.  Parents and dog lovers, this is not Disney.
Musical score is a synthesizer throwback.
Woods are packed with Rube Goldberg traps.
Hollywood remake highly unlikely.  Red meat for slash fans.

You’re Next - 2013 - USA

You’re Next - 2013 - 6/10

 
Justly praised slasher flick, for many reasons.
Family gathered at remote, grand home, for parents’ anniversary, gets attacked by killers wearing masks.
For the baddies, events go amiss owing to one of the visiting girlfriends, a survivalist.
Gore is there, but not as much as gorehounds expect.  Not gratuitous, either.
Off kilter mix of savagery, suspense, and humor.  Story glides between darkness and black comedy.
Example would be the “lamb mask”.
Few lulls and fewer heroes.  Turns predictable after the major reveals.
Great nod to Dwight Twilley, too.

Troll Hunter - 2010 - Norway

Troll Hunter - 2010 - 6/10

 
Someone is killing bears in Norway.  Only specific hunters are granted a license, and they suspect illegal poaching.
One van in particular which is battered all to hell and reeks of stench, draws their gaze.
College students, filming a documentary, pick up on the whispers and begin to trail the van and its bearded, unfriendly occupant.
The deeper into forests they drive, the more secrets and legends they uncover.

Generally, I dislike “found footage” films.  Lazy filmmaking.  Boring pace, ignorant (read stupid) characters, less than amateurish photography.
None of those flaws apply here.
The narrative moves along, lingering to explain as needed.  Student filmmakers seem normal, not stereotyped templates.  Moreover, main character Hans, the hunter, is focused and decisive.  He always knows where he is going and why.  Finally, the cinematography is well done.  Troll Hunter resembles an actual documentary, rather than spit and paste slapdash.

I can’t quite label this a Horror film, those seeking frights and chills will be disappointed.
Good popcorn movie, nonetheless.

Body Jumper - 2001 - Thailand

Body Jumper - 2001 - 4/10
AKA - Pop Weed Sayong  //  ปอบ หวีด สยอง

 
Thai masterpiece.
Busload of students teach impoverished natives exercise to improve their wretched lives.
Malcontent wino heckles them that their village beyond help, it is cursed.
Late night, the hottest girl from the bus bathes in the haunted lake and is swiftly possessed by liver eating ghost.
Two heartbeats later, students back in Bangkok, and the once-shy girl now has an appetite for boyfriends.
Guys who soon turn jaundice yellow and die of liver failure.
More comedy than horror, comedy also silly and juvenile, though plot points are inventive.
Of course she is harvesting livers.  Their backs is to her, briefs down, shortest route = the back entrance.
Add a gushy transgender, an out of place dance party, chases through ventilator ducts, a flying shaman with umbrella and magic condoms, and you have non-demanding craziness.

To The Devil A Daughter - 1978 - UK

To The Devil A Daughter - 1978 - 6/10

 
Good adaptation of the Dennis Wheatley novel, and apparently a labor of love for Christopher Lee.
A young nun is sent from Bavaria to England to await instructions.
She has been raised in near-isolation and does not know her role will be that of vessel.
Unfortunately for the scheming demon worshipers, the girl is intercepted and hidden by an American horror novelist.
The story  then becomes a high stakes, cat n mouse contest between good and evil.
A power cast leads a fast moving story across a well shot London landscape.
The pace moves, hiding plot holes huge enough for an ocean liner.  Otherwise, fun.
Final Hammer horror outing for the next thirty years.

The Gorgon - 1964 - UK

The Gorgon - 1964 - 6/10

 
Atmospheric Horror film with Cushing and Lee.
Teutonic village plagued during full moon when hapless victims are turned to stone.
Why was the Gorgon in that village to begin with?
One of several unanswered questions in handsome, albeit lethargic, Hammer production.
Well thought out set design with grays and slate exteriors to match the stone and rock motif.
Interiors awash in intense colors, hallmark of the Technicolpr process.
Reason I noted all that was because the pace was slow - slow - slow.
Minutes pass as characters methodically walk about those crafted sets.
Cushing mostly seen in first half of film, Lee in second.
For Dr. Who fans, head of police was Patrick Troughton.
Fine for classic film buffs, though this might put modern fans to sleep.

The Devil Rides Out - 1968 - UK

The Devil Rides Out - 1968 - 6/10

 
Hammer adaptation of the Wheatley shocker.
Satanist Charles Gray wants to initiate two young acolytes.
Opposing him is one of the young man’s friends, Christopher Lee.
Gorgeous production values, the film bolts fast from the onset, turns talky two thirds through.
Gray is a powerful villain, neat trick against Lee who was at an early peak.
When this originally aired, the book, from the 30’s, was still a heavy seller.
Thus, original viewers understood the ending, while later audiences might well go,  “Say what?”
Great rainy night Gothic horror.