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Relic (2020)
Slow build with character and an emotional climax
Making movies for today's horror audience is a tricky proposition, but Relic impressed me with it's commitment to telling an emotional story that resonates with issues which you may recognise from our lives outside of the "fantasy-horror" tropes. The movie is a slow burn which devotes the majority of its time to establishing the central 3 characters (impressive performances), who make up 3 generations of women from an old family in an old house in rural Victoria. If you enjoy thoughtful film-making with a "less is more" approach, you'll be rewarded by a masterfully disturbing and shocking third act climax with an emotional kick that will give you closure but leave you thinking. It should be noted though, just the like characters in Relic, you'll have to give attention to the people in front of you to reap the rewards.
Merankorikku (2018)
An ecclectic mix of genres may surprise you
Last night I went to the Japanese Film Festival and saw this one on the big screen. The movie is every bit as quirky and oddball as the blurb makes it sound - a university graduate, Kazuhiko, lives with his parents and is suffering from a bad case of ennui. He finds part-time employment in the local bathhouse, which he soon discovers is used by Yakuza for executions. He becomes entangled in disposing of the bodies, whilst at the same time finding an opportunity for love with a former classmate (who happens to be equally as oddball as Kazuhiko).
It sounds like it should be overly dark, but it's actually quite light and somewhat whimsical in a Japanesey way. The movie turns out to be a strange mix of coming of age tale and crime thriller. There is violence, but it is not the main attraction here, and is not overdone or gory. What the film is concerned with is why we are driven to do what we do in life. Why is Kazuhiko so fascinated with gangland executions? Why is he so eager to be useful in this new line of work? Why has he done nothing with this life since graduating from Tokyo University (which means a lot in Japan)? Why is this or that person being killed by the yakuza?
If you're interested in that kind of inner-dialogue, AND you don't mind something out of the ordinary, give this movie a chance.
In my screening there was definitely a handful of people that were not 'getting it' and were confused by the movie. I think they had expectations that were not fulfilled, and this movie does the opposite, it gives you what you don't expect. A bit like life.
The Stone Tape (1972)
If you've read the hype, you will probably be disappointed
I've been looking forward to seeing The Stone Tape ever since I happened across it in an IMDb list that enthusiastically promoted the telemovie as a high point in British Television horror. I had only good expectations when I realised Nigel Kneale wrote it... I very much liked the various Quatermass miniseries/films.
I don't dispute that this is a very good British television horror/sci- fi production. It's really quite good, but it hasn't aged very well. There are lots of little things that work against The Stone Tape and the atmosphere the movie is pushing. The sets are at times too obviously constructed on a sound-stage, and evoke Doctor Who rather than victorian haunted house. There is also an unsettling theme of misogyny and sexism that runs through the narrative but is never seriously dealt with or reprimanded - it's something that also makes the whole setup incredible, since it's hard to believe that this group of men who carry on like they're on a boy's school outing are seriously professional audio and electrical engineers who are trying to challenge "the Japs'" and their technology companies. Overall it's hard to find anybody to like or care about in the story. Jill is somewhat like-able, but she is all too incredibly frustrating the way she is written as a woman who seems to be overly dependent on men...
Unfortunately for those looking for a scare, the mix of science fiction and ghost mystery works to the detriment of anything really scary... The way the sci-fi is worked into the ghost story is interesting, but at the cost of it completely eliminating the possibility of truly scaring the audience.
If you're not still stuck in the 70s this will be underwhelming... but it is still appreciable as a product of its time.
La planète sauvage (1973)
A strange and wonderful animated gem
Having just completed watching this film, I can say it was worth the wait. It will please fans of hard-core science fiction (not fantasy), and will seduce fans of animation (not just 3D animation, animation in general terms) with its mix of Czech style animation and illustration.
It is a good movie, but not a masterpiece. The narrative treads the science fiction tropes too strictly and ends up painting characters and events predictably when the setup seems to suggest something more interesting. In fact, I was very disappointed that the most developed and interesting relationship in the whole film is traded off for a kind of boring resistance story that does its best to not let the audience make connections with the characters. It is not picked up or revisited later... and none of the subsequent character interplay is as interesting or meaningful.
Where this film excels is in its weirdness and imagination. Strange and horrible creations are brought to life and move/eat/gestate/exist in ways that will make you go 'ew' and 'wow' at the same time. This is helped by the strong European styling of the animation (mostly limited in movement) and illustration, which reminded me of studio Zagreb..
There is something so mysterious about the atmosphere of this film - it may just grab you. Definitely watch it for the disturbing and somehow touching relationship between Tiva and Terr - you'll only wish there was more of it.
The Brides of Dracula (1960)
One of the best Hammer vampire flicks
This is an excellent entry in the Hammer studios series of vampire flicks. Almost everything that fans love about this particular vein of horror is here; the great Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, atmospheric sets and lighting, a creepy baroness, direction from the celebrated Terence Fisher... damsels in danger and the various tropes of the genre. What could be considered missing is Dracula. This is potentially confusing since the film is titled 'The Brides of Dracula', but is clearly set after Dracula's first demise in the series time-line.
What sets this apart as a relatively very good film is the amount of events they managed to squeeze in - which allows actors such as Cushing to flex their ability in a few interesting scenarios. What hasn't aged so well is the writing/portrayal of the young 'heroine', who seems to spend most of her time stupidly wandering into dangerous situations - acceptable in some cases, but in this film it just makes you question what level of intelligence they were trying to impart to her character.
If you're a fan of 'modern' horror, which is more to do with exploitation, you will undoubtedly view this film as very dated with not much to frighten. If you like Hammer horror and understand what it's "all about", or have an interest in Gothic horror films from the 50s and 60s, this film will be a very enjoyable screening.