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glennbecker
Reviews
Caltiki il mostro immortale (1959)
surprisingly gruesome for its time
I must have seen this film when I was very small (who in their right mind let me watch it?) because I carried enticing vivid-and-yet-partial memories of bits of it for decades before "rediscovering" the film from which they came.
Sure, it's creaky, and the model work at the end is laughable ... but for me a lot of it kinda holds up in spite of the inevitable cheapness and the dubbing. There are a few effects sequences throughout that are *still* wince-inducing (though maybe it's because of those memories having haunted me for so long): Bob's gruesome fate (notice he is obviously -- and I think this is intentional -- still breathing when they remove his diving mask and see what ... remains); the examination of Max's arm in the hospital; Max's final chomping. This last was one of the memories I carried with me for so long.
I know, I know: who cares about my memories? In sum this is an enjoyable black and white monster movie with some good shocks and surprises. After a fabulous build-up, the ending is too abrupt ... after all that, all ya gotta do is set Cal-Tiki on *fire*? C'mon, too easy! A venerable favorite of mine. I'm not proud.
Poltergeist (1982)
6 for old time's sake
I'm old enough to have seen this when it came out. I recall thinking then that some of the f/x were cool (a few of them still are, but overall they've aged badly) but that it ultimately wasn't really scary, partly because of what felt like a sadly uncertain tone -- one that had a lot of wimpiness to it.
The scuttlebutt at the time was (and still is? no idea) that Tobe Hooper got sat on by Steven Spielberg -- that the movie would've been utterly grisly and terrifying had S. S. not stopped the proceedings and insisted on a more family-friendly production. I've no idea whether there is any truth to this, BUT the final product is exactly what I'd have expected if it WAS true.
There is a cloying spine of utter sentimental sap running through this movie. You can hear it in the score when those kids' voices start lullabying la-la-la, la-la-la, la-la-laaa laaa laaa ... when the Beatrice Straight parapsychologist character starts opining about the we're-not-going-to-call-it-Judaeo-Christian Light that Carole Ann is either supposed to be running toward or away from ... when Jo Beth Williams' Diane Freeling starts weeping tears of joy because the missing kiddo has just run straight "through her SOUL."
Awww. Yeah.
And this sappiness ensures by its cowardly H-wood-approved presence, that it will all be okay in the end -- that no one will be hurt and we'll all even learn An Important Lesson and the family will become closer, if only because they'll be watching less TV. Not much bad can happen, and stay bad, because we'll all be swallowed by that friendly Light after we die. Fun in a popcorn-munching way? Sure. But really, truly scary? Nope.
Crimson Peak (2015)
... and I generally like del Toro ...
I feel I am in a real minority here -- there are critics I respect who think highly of this movies.
I did not. It's possible some of my reaction could have been a case of "wrong film at the wrong time," but even though I was happy to accept this as a "fantasy" of sorts, I found myself yelling at the the screen (of my laptop, that is) because of the sheer style-over-substance-ness of it all.
Somehow, the Sharpe family's penury manifesting as a 20-30' foot hole in the roof through which leaves (and then snow) can oh-so-picturesquely cascade in a column throughout the film was too "I'm just doing this for the shot" for me. And that example is multiplied for the length of the film.
The leads are physically attractive, and they show that they can mimic some extremities of emotion -- but in the end, do you know these people at all and do you care what happens to them? I didn't.YMMV.
Del Toro has huge talent, but for me this was an enormous misfire. It's all spectacle.
Dark Was the Night (2014)
pretty superb ... and then the last 10 minutes happened
Wow, this film made me want to kick someone ... mainly whatever douche in a suit insisted on a) showing the monster at the end and then b) tacking a cheap "teaser" ending onto the whole thing, just in case you had missed the fact that you had just been insulted with bad CGI.
As other reviewers have pointed out, this film LOOKS great. The cinematography is top-notch and the limited color palette underscores both the creepiness of the story, and the emotional troubles of the main characters. The performances are surprisingly heart-felt and subtle for a "horror movie," especially that of Kevin Durand, who sometimes comes off like Christopher Walken's sensitive (and less drop-dead weird) younger brother.
Finally, I must say that the Wendigo legend is a favorite of mine, especially via Algernon Blackwood's clunky but creepy-as-hell short story.
... and up until the end, Dark Was the Night is a GREAT telling of the Wendigo tale. The early not-even-glimpses of the creature are unsettling. The film has pretty much everything going for it, and then ...
... in the climactic battle at the end, we see the monster, dead on. And it is lousy. I reeled from its CGI crumminess. I think I may have gasped. I felt ripped off, fooled, violated and insulted. But that producer in a suit (see above) wasn't done with me yet. The very last thing HAD to be the equivalent of the giant quivering "?" at the end of so many B movies in the 50s. And all that subtlety is flushed straight down the crapper for the sake of a cheap shot.
I'd love to talk to the director and find out what happened. Given the quality of the bulk of this film, the ending CANNOT have been his idea.