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Reviews
Children of the Damned (1964)
Ingenious, subtle and brilliantly effective.
Beautifully made and strikingly ambiguous "sequel" to the creepy original. This time, the kids are not so obviously "evil" and while the revelation that they are evolved humans comes completely out of the blue, it is a nice touch. The film looks fantastic, the sharp b&w photography is gorgeous and the script is witty and intelligent. The final revelation as to why the children are here is genuinely chilling. Recommended.
The Witches (1990)
Bitter & Sweet
Largely excellent adaptation of Roald Dahl's wicked novel. Huston and Zetterling are superb as the warring women, and Jim Henson's effects are suitably fantastic. The ending has been tweaked here. In the novel, the end is downbeat but philosophical, however I honestly can't see it working in the film. Director Nic Roeg aims for the next best thing, and while it doesn't quite work, it can't sour the sheer inventiveness of all that proceeded it.
Cronos (1992)
Unsettling reinvention of the vampire myth
A novel twist on the vampire myth. The main protagonist here, an ageing Mexican antiques dealer is not a likely candidate for the undead treatment. However, when he stumbles across a small mechanical device hidden in one of his antiques, he finds he has little choice. By keeping the traditional vampire wisdom at arms length (no gothic trappings, no fangs, no evil helpers called Igor) the film manages something entirely new, but equally disturbing. The old mans love of his granddaughter adds anguish to his plight, largely represented in his growing fear of hurting her - in the films most disturbing scene, he is forced to suck a mans blood, while she watches from the sidelines. Compassionate, moving and never conventional or predictable. Cronos is unlike anything you have ever seen before.
The Seventh Victim (1943)
Moody, atmospheric and unsettling
No surprise that Val Lewton was involved with The Seventh Victim, his fingerprints can be seen on every frame. Like Cat People and I Walked With A Zombie, the atmosphere oozes from the screen, although Tournier was not involved here. Young Kim Hunter tries to find her sister, only to find she has fallen into the clutches of a group of Satanists. Oddly, the Satanists are presented as a gentile bunch, no raving lunatics here, they all seem disturbingly sane. There are some magnificent images here. Hunter breaking into her sisters room to find nothing but a chair and a noose, a creepy shower scene that pre-dates Psycho and the extraordinary downbeat ending. A grim little chiller that remains unsettlingly plausible throughout.
U-571 (2000)
Gee, those plucky ol' Americans
What a nice idea for a film. In 1941, HMS Bulldog (from the British Navy) salvaged a German Enigma machine from a stranded German U-boat, and consequently altered the course of the war, thanks to the decoding activities from Station X based in the heart of the English countryside.
Needless to say, historical fact is being ignored somewhat for US heroism. Nothing wrong with that of course if it makes an entertaining film, but if it is successful a hell of a lot of people are going to take it at face value - which would be a big mistake. (America weren't even involved in the war in 1941) Watch the excellent Channel 4 documentary "Station X" instead, or wait for the film of Robert Harris' novel "Enigma".
A Simple Plan (1998)
Moving, character driven thriller.
What makes A Simple Plan so effective is the fact that the film concentrates more on the development of the characters than on creating big explosions or dumb special effects. The characters develop plausibly as the film progresses - Hank is initially weary about the discovery of $4million, but soon is trying to get his brother to betray is friend in order to save him (and it). His brother's morals move in the other direction resulting in the deeply moving conclusion. Soon all the characters are on a downward moral spiral and there's no going back. That the character's motives are believable (given the initial decision to keep the money) the rest of the film works like a (nightmarish) dream. Paxton and Thornton are excellent in a kind of Of Mice & Men type set up, while Bridget Fonda does her best with a comparatively underwritten role as the Lady Macbeth figure of Hanks's wife. In fact, by the end of the film, I had become to doubt her motives and become suspicious of her, which made the final face-off almost unbearably ambiguous. Impressive, complex and moving.
Braveheart (1995)
Scots Missed
Someone really missed out on a good story here. The William Wallace story is exceptional so why do Hollywood have to "improve" it and turn it into a second-rate, overlong mess of a film? How can you have the Battle of Stirling Bridge _without_ the bridge? Producers have claimed that the bridge "got in the way". Funny, the English army discovered that too. And why demean the hero by having him up against such a pantomime villain - sure Edward was a twisted b*****d, but the filmmakers might as well have given him a sidekick called Igor and have him cackle at choice moments throughout the film, he was that unsubtle. Most importantly, however, it seems a real shame that it should be this film that should have captured the hearts of the Scottish nation, they deserve so much better. Would you believe there is now a hideous statue of Mel Gibson at the foot of the Wallace Memorial in Stirling? Would you believe people are leaving flowers beneath it? This film is a travesty of both a good story and history itself. Scotland deserves so much better.
Urban Ghost Story (1998)
Impressively ambiguous
Saw this at the Edinburgh Film Festival last year, and enjoyed it a great deal. The 'ghost' element was kept off camera which made the whole story very ambiguous - concentrating more on grief and social conditions than special effects. The acting was terrific (even Jason Connery) and the script literate and well paced. The film was interesting the way it came up with dozens of "explanations" for the events - some supernatural, some scientific - before underlining that the reasons behind such things aren't so important as the psychological effects on the protagonists. I hope it gets a wider distribution soon, as it deserves to be seen by a larger audience. Very impressive - considering its budget, doubly so.