The Thing 2011

Whenever i go see a film i always try to leave my bullshit at the door and see the film for what it is, not what i think it should be. And truthfully thats something i beleive everybody should do. If your dissapointed that you over hyped the film in your head, thats not the films fault. But there are times when I find it hard to leave my shit at the door. To me Carpenters The Thing is his shinning masterpeice. Its one of my favorite horror film ever made. Its perfect. And when ever i debate practical effects verses CGI, The Thing is the film i use as example. The stuff Rob Bottin did in that film are mind blowing. It is the ultimate practical effects film ever made. And thats not my opinion thats a fact. Its a film very near to my heart. So i had a really hard time leaving my little bag of bullshit at the door. The Thing is in fact a prequel to Capenters masterpeice. This is the film about the Norwegian camp who discover the centuries old UFO and its pilot under the ice. Alot of attention went into making this film by filmmakers to work with Carpenters film, although not quite flawlessly. But they tried with pretty good success. There were some events that ended with me thinking thats not how Russell and team find it. But truthfully i was alright with that. What i feel is this films two biggest downfalls are its atmosphere and of course the CGI creatures and transformations. I cant think of any other reason, other than a bunch of tight asses not wanting to spend the cash, for this production to have strictly CGI transformations. I dont hate CGI but i beleive its a tool when used on its own looks fake and cartoonish. They should have done the right thing and did practical effects enchanced with CGI. Thats the only way that technology works! Most of the time it looks very in-organic and theres no weight. Essentially it looks like a cartoon ala Roger Rabbit. And i cant get past stuff like that in any film. Especially the prequel to such a masterpeice were the creatures are so damn scary. Now not all of the effects sucked. Theres are several transformations and creatures that look awsome. And i couldnt tell if they were strictly CGI. But those that dont work look like a video game imposed against live actors. Another thing i feel the filmmakers failed to do was create a atmosphere were you the veiwer and actors are paranoid as to who can be the thing. The isolation and deperation of the group is all missing and more so than the effects is what really made Carpenters film work. And not once did i feel that felling of isolation and deperation in this film. I didnt hate this version of the story, but it definalty doesnt come close to being a awsome film experience. And maybe thats because i sat in that theatre and i had my little bag of bullshit with me. Ive been seriously thinking of seeing it again now knowing what to expect. I dont think it would be a waste of time or my money too. The film isnt a steaming pile. But i gotta admit to be pretty dissapointed. But i can now leave my bag at the door.

Rant

Its been sometime since i last posted, and i hope to have some posts on here soon.

A Serbian Film!

Well I am sure this is making a big buzz every were. Truthfully i had never read or heard a thing about this up till about two months ago. And at that; all i heard is that it is fucked up. Nothing more. And then a couple weeks ago a buddy of mine who has shown me more unpleasant shit in my life time, more than anyone else, told me just enough to peak my interests. If he tells me, "its the most fucked up film he's ever seen and it crosses the line" than i had to see it!
Well i can honestly say it is indeed the most fucked up film I've ever watched. This is seriously one of those rare films were you do ACTUALLY have to keep repeating its only a movie...its only a movie.
The first thing while watching A Serbian Film is that right away its apparent that the film is in talented hands. This isn't some August Underground lack of talent bullshit. This is a well made and shot movie. The acting is good...at least from what i can tell seeing is its in Serbian.
The story goes like this, an out of work former Serbian porn actor is offered a job in a new cutting edge film that calls upon his "talents. He is now retired from the jousting biz and is trying to provide for his family whom he loves. When the opportunity comes in the promise of being wealth, enough to live comfortably the rest of his life, he takes it. But there are a couple things he has abide by. One being he cant see the shooting script or know what the film is about. And from there the film becomes one of the most brutal films ever. This isn't your typical torture porn horror film. This film breaks the remaining taboos that no one has ever touched...and for good reason.
At first i thought of this film as nothing more that a shock fest bent upon becoming notorious for no reason other than its shocking subject matter. I hated it after first watching it. I was repulsed, uncomfortable and truthfully sick. Its the same feeling i got from watching one of those decapitation videos that are so prevalent on the net these days. And like those video's this film sticks with you! I really dont know were i stand on this film as of now other than knowing i will probably never see it again. But i got me thinking and any film that gets the brain working over time, deserves some credit. Beware. This isnt just some hyperbole, this is strong stuff!

Night Of The Demons (remake)

The original Night Of The Demons is a fun film. It has bad acting but its just one of those films ive never grown tired of. I remember when i first saw it on its initial theatrical runin 1988, they gave out original movie posters to each person seeing it. I still have mine..although its beat to hell seeing as it was 23 years ago.



The original spawned two sequels. I saw the first sequel but for the life of me i cant remember a thing about it other than i. I would actually like to see it again. Who knows it may actually be good?
Well like all things not old enough they went and remade it. I dont even know if this played theatres or not. But i rented it on netflix. Its appearent that the makers of the remake are fans of the original film. For the most part it follows the same basic structure, Weird Angela throws a party at an old abandoned mansion that houses a dark past. As the night progresses, the party goers become possessed by demons looking to breakout into the real world. The remake adds its obvious touches to bring the film up to date with the current generation of young horror fans.
I didnt think this film was a total peice of shit. I kind of liked it in a mildly entertaining way. But its no way in the same cheese league as the original. In actuality the only thing the remake has going for it is Edward Furlong and a pretty cool soundtrack.





Furlong is funny and his character is a real loser, but compared to the others he's the one you root for. He has the best lines and his character gets the best moments on screen. Shannon Elizabeth plays the new Angela and although the originals Angela couldnt act her way out of a paper bag she at least had a presence that added to the film. Elizabeth who is an alright actress has no screen presense here. She seems to be just another throwaway character.



The films real flaw is the make-up effect. It seriously looks like they bought cheap masks at a local dime store. I cant begin to describe how awfull they looked. And it really sinks the film. They were smart enough though to keep the lighting dark to try and hide this fact but all that ended up doing was frustrating me. There is also a recreation of the famous lipstick scene and it really has no impact like the original scene did. Although it did seem that the effects for this were good.

Really its not the worst way to spend 1 1/2 hours, you could do alot worse. But i wouldnt go out of my way to see this. And if anyone who happens to be reading this hasnt seen the original, you should do so. Its a blast. And speaking of the original, Linnea Quigley makes a cameo apperance in the remake recreating one of her famous moments.

Brothers Till We Die

Umberto Lenzi and Tomas Milian team up once again for Brothers Till We Die. This is basically one big set peice for Milian to play two roles, Humpo and Pigsty. Humpo is of coarse a hunchback and criminal extrodinaire while Pigsty is his younger (by ten minutes) twin brother who idolizes his brother. Humpo schemes a plan to rob an armored truck using smoke bombs. Humpo is double crossed by a gang of criminals and the film is about his vendetta to get revenge on them. There really isnt alot of action here, of course theres the obligatory car chase sequence but its nothing really spectacular. All of this is not to say its not a good film because it is if like me your a Milian and Lenzi fan. The added touch of comedy is kinda refreshing and thankfully it never compromised the integrity of the film. But i was pretty suprised by the lack of violence. It is of coarse a Umberto Lenzi film.
Umberto Lenzi and Tomas Milian team up once again for Brothers Till We Die. This is basically one big set peice for Milian to play two roles, Humpo and Pigsty. Humpo is of coarse a hunchback and criminal extrodinaire while Pigsty is his younger (by ten minutes) twin brother who idolizes his brother. Humpo schemes a plan to rob an armored truck using smoke bombs. Humpo is double crossed by a gang of criminals and the film is about his vendetta to get revenge on them. There really isnt alot of action here, of course theres the obligatory car chase sequence but its nothing really spectacular. All of this is not to say its not a good film because it is if like me your a Milian and Lenzi fan. The added touch of comedy is kinda refreshing and thankfully it never compromised the integrity of the film. But i was pretty suprised by the lack of violence. It is of coarse a Umberto Lenzi film.

The Gorgon! Another Hammer gem!

Combining Greek Mythology and their signature gothic horror touch Hammer films delivers The Gorgon courtesy of go-to man Terence Fisher. And the results are very cool. Anytime you had Fisher in the directors chair and a gothic horror film to be made the results were always awsome. His films have a romantic quality to them that catapult them to the level of top notch film sophistication! The scene were we first get to see the Gorgon is anything short of masterful. Italian Mastro Bava couldnt have dome a better job with that scene. Fantastic castles and thick atmosphere

Hammers Dracula and a gay vampire Baron!?

Its been a while sinc i posted anything new hew here! Jeez its looks like the last time i put anything up here was back in July! Well ive been watching a ton, i guess ive been too lazy to blog about it.
Well, this is my favorite time of the year. The Fall. And with the Fall comes my craving for Hammer Horror. For some reason i really get in the mood this time of the year for Hammer. And so its with that, that i bring to you my quick non informitive reveiws of the first three entries in Hammers Dracula film series.

In the 50's, Horror Of Dracula along with the Curse Of Frankenstein kicked off Hammer's reinvention of the classic Universal monsters. And Hammer did it better. Having not veiwed this film in a long time, i found The Horror Of Dracula to not be as engaging as i originally thought. Maybe its because ive seen this story adapted too many times to count. None the less its still a great Horror film. This is a bare bones telling of the Stoker story and thank god for that. Allowing Hammer to put their own signature touch on the timeless tale. This film moves fast and never bores. Peter Cushing is in my opinion the ultimate Van Helsing. Lee is good as Dracula in this, but really he had yet to own the character. Even though i find Universals Dracula film just O.K. Lugosi owned the character bringing more to Dracula than Lee does here. Its in the sequels were we find the ultimate Lee-Dracula incarnations in my opinion. But still his presense in the film is still very awsome!

In many ways Bride Of Dracula is a superior film to Horror of Dracula. Cushings Van Helsing is more swashbuckling and director Terrence Fisher pours on the eerie atmosphere thicker. The dialogue is a riot at times and the supporting cast of semi-Hammer regulars are great. Yvonne Monlaur in particular. She is absolutly gorgeous and captured the innocents of her character perfectly. David Peel as the gay (!?) vampire Baron was refreshing from the snarling and hissing vampire that usually occupies these films. Unfortunatly Christopher Lee is absent from this film, in fact Dracula isnt even in it. But i think Peels vampire is great! Although ive seen pratically all these Hammer films at one time or another through out my life, Brides Of Dracula had escaped me and after years of putting it off Iam now glad to say this film is incredible....bat on a wire not included.

Christopher Lee returns as the Count in the direct sequel to Horror Of Dracula, even though this is the third film in the series. Dracula- Prince Of Darkness is a darker-creepier horror film than the previous two. Christopher Lee's performance is more beastly and animalistic than his take on the character in Horror and he has no dialogue. And he's scary! As always the sets and exterior shots are magnificent. And the always incredible talent of Terrence Fisher directs another fast, brutal and elegant film.