Most importantly you see how utterly brilliant Mads Mikkelsen is, right?
The whole cast is brilliant, but Hugh Dancy and Mads steal the show and the scenes they're in together are always electric and crackle with tension. They've got great chemistry together.
Most importantly you see how utterly brilliant Mads Mikkelsen is, right?
The whole cast is brilliant, but Hugh Dancy and Mads steal the show and the scenes they're in together are always electric and crackle with tension. They've got great chemistry together.
Most importantly you see how utterly brilliant Mads Mikkelsen is, right?
The whole cast is brilliant, but Hugh Dancy and Mads steal the show and the scenes they're in together are always electric and crackle with tension. They've got great chemistry together.
Oh without a doubt. This was my favorite moment from my favorite episode of the series.
It's at this moment where all pretense is dropped and proves beyond a doubt that all of Hannibal's actions in the series up to that point were all part of the world's most twisted seduction process. Despite how fucked up it all is, it's still heartbreaking because it's also the moment Hannibal and Will both realize it can never be. Despite their deep connection and how well they understand each other, they'll always be anathema to each other. It's like the perfect storm of a toxic relationship. They're drawn to each other because of how different they are from everyone else, but the things that make them different also means they bring out the worst in each other so they can never be together.
For me this is the best and most clever Halloween movie. This is definitely the movie to watch to get in the mood for the Halloween season. Yeah, Halloween the movie is a great spooky flick, but it could really take place on any day of year because it's a story about evil stalking a small town. It's not about Halloween, which serves as spooky window dressing.
Trick r Treat on the other is steeped in the traditions of Halloween and each of the four interwoven stories take on a different aspect of the holiday. Unlike a lot of other major holidays Halloween has roots going back to thousands of years old pagan traditions. The movie constantly reminds of those ancient traditions and juxtaposes those dark origins with the more light hearted celebrations of today to create a movie that is both wickedly funny, but also has plenty of creepier moments. In some ways we've co-opted those old traditions and turned them into something lighthearted as way to deal with our of fear of the supernatural, but in this film that supernatural bites back.
At the outset the film lays downs the ground rules for the holiday and then each story is about characters breaking those rules and the terrible consequences they suffer as a result. Some of these punishments are ironic, some are terrifying and some are a combination of the two.
The film also likes to juxtapose how kids celebrate the holiday vs how adults celebrate the holiday. The kids really get into the spirit of the holiday, but the adults mostly use it as an excuse to let off some steam and there are several references to all the kinky sex they get up to on Halloween night. Halloween is very much a holiday that offers something for everyone.
I won't talk too much about the specifics of the stories because I highly recommend people watch this movie, but I will say that Sam the film's mascot deserves to be right up there with the many horror icons from the 80s. His design is simple, but effective and creepy. However, what makes the character great is his childlike nature makes him all the more creepy. Despite being a something other, he's just like every other kid on Halloween he wants treats, but will play tricks if he doesn't get his treats. It just so happens that his tricks are particularly nasty. My favorite story in the movie is definitely Sam tormenting Brian Cox for being an old curmudgeon that doesn't just refuse to participate in the holiday, but tries to ruin it for everyone.
On this watch I definitely noticed a lot of clever dialogue that foreshadows future events in the film. It's smartly written and the ways the various stories intersect make the film feel more like a whole experience rather than a bunch of different stories strung together.
And now we're really into the swing of the holiday. Two films down and 29 more to go.
ZK's 31 Days of Terror Day #3
The next couple of days are going to be vampire flicks. I'm pretty hyped about this because neither of them are the preening pretentious vampires that have clogged up the genre for too long now.
I'm extremely tired today so a moody, slow burn, atmospheric film was just what the doctor ordered. While watching I was really absorbed into the mood of the film and I think I appreciated all the things the movie did even more this way. I love all types of horror and this film really delivers something different from the first two films in the marathon.
Let the Right One in is a great vampire movie that delivers on the scares and atmosphere, but at its heart it is a subtle and beautiful dark romance story between two deeply damaged individuals. As good as the horror story is, all my favorite moments of the film are actually the quieter scenes that build up the relationship between Eli and Oskar. The brutal violence and fucked up nature of the film makes for a nice contrast with the innocent and often quite sweet scenes between Eli and Oskar getting to know one another as their love blossoms. It's still a dark and almost certainly doomed romance, but there's still something heartening about watching two characters that have been badly abused by the world find a little slice of happiness and solace in each other. I suppose a lot of has to do with how I view the world, but this works well for me because I believe that people need to find what bits of happiness they can in life.
Of course by its nature there has to be a sort of pure innocence to their relationship because
Eli isn't really male or female. Eli is a mutilated boy that's been turned into a creature that is sustained by human blood.This removes sex from the equation for the most part so their relationship that starts based on their tragedy blossoms into a deep spiritual connection between the two of them.
I'm glad the film ends where it does because it gives the two leads a bit of happiness. If the film had gone beyond that then it would have had to show the sad reality that their happiness is not meant to last. Eli needs blood to sustain her existence and Oskar will soon have to deal with some pretty horrible consequences. He's also soon going to grow up while Eli will always stay the same. No matter what happens their time together will be short, especially for the immortal Eli.
The acting for the movie was fantastic across the board, but both Oscar and Eli carry the film, which is impressive for such young actors. They're both far better than their years and they should both have great acting careers in front of them.
Let the Right One In is beautifully shot with the snowy Swedish landscape and architecture adding a lot to the atmosphere of the film. It's film with a lot of visual metaphors and each scene is impeccably shot and framed. It's a striking looking film that makes for a visual feast.
If I had one gripe about the film then I didn't care for the soundtrack. The music is really good, but I thought it was too overwrought for the otherwise subdued feeling of the movie. It's a somber and subtle film and the soundtrack is a bit too in your face. Ir's not a deal breaker for such a fantastic film, but it is something that stuck out a bit to me watching it this time.
Overall though Let the Right One in a must see for any fan of vampire movies, but more than that it's a must watch film for anyone that enjoys drama and sad romance films. It's something that transcends the horror genre to make for a sublime if somber experience. 9 out of 10
Well, shit this marathon has started out awesome. It's not too often that I watch three films that are all 8-9 out of 10 material.
I'm super hyped for tomorrow's film for a lot of reasons. First because I haven't seen it before, second because I've never watched an Iranian film before and thirdly because it's a crazy genre mashup of horror, noir and western. From the screenshots I've seen the movie is going to be damn good looking as well. Interestingly the film is black and white so I'll be interested to see if that adds anything to the film or if it's just an artistic flourish.
I had read some really good things about this, so going into it I was pretty hyped. And actually, although the film was very different to what I expected it to be, it was still really damn good.
It's definitely a film that is way more about atmosphere than it is about horror and scares, and it's not a particularly oppressive atmosphere either, at least, not in the traditional horror film way. Instead we get this atmosphere of emptiness, in this city where we see almost no background characters or extra's ever, it's like the film has intentionally cut out everything extraneous, the result of which is characters that seem like they could be the only living people in the city.
The film also shows us that it's not the TheGirl we should fear
but the evils in society that we accept, ignore, or sweep under the rug. Arash's father is a heroin addict, Atti is a prostitute, Arash becomes a thief at first and then a drug dealer.
The scenes of actual vampirism were pretty cool, if a little bloodless and clean for my liking (not looking for gore here, just something more), and I liked that The Girl came across far more as creepy and weird than she ever did terrifying and bloodthirsty.
The black and white was a good touch, but far more of an artistic decision than really adding anything to the film, it helped draw attention to the great cinematography though, and it helped confuse you at certain points as to whether it was day or night.
Mostly though, I love how this film takes its time. There's barely any dialogue throughout the whole film, but there's some excellent sound design, whether it's the industrial groaning from the power plant in the background as the characters walk along a concrete wall, or the White Lies - Death scene, where the 2 characters almost kiss, but the scene plays out for almost that entire song. In that respect, it's a bold as hell movie, the director didn't feel the need to constantly titillate your eyes with constant happenings and movement, instead we get this piece of film that just wants to do it's thing and to hell with anyone else.
I alos love the portrayal of The Girl, from this girl dancing in her little bedsit to Farah - Dancing Girls, to this spectral presence that comes and goes, to a young girl on a skateboard, pushing along the empty streets of the city. The film constantly blurs these boundaries of perception with her and it works so perfectly.
This is the type of film I can see @ZetsubouKaiji really liking, and @randomredneck really hating. And that's as good as a summary I can give. 9/10
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is without a doubt a true art house film. As such it's not going to appeal to everyone. Art house films are all about the vision of the artist and not compromising on that vision even if it comes at the expense of audience expectations. This isn't always a good thing because there are a lot of boring pretentious art films out there that don't have much to say and don't deserve the time of day.
Luckily A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is not one of those films. As Tae said the film moves along at its own slow pace and it doesn't care if you're along for the ride or not, but if you are then you're in for a visual feast. The slow pace swallows you up in the mood and gives you plenty of time to take in the bleak beauty of the cinematography. The pacing also gives added weight to the actions of the characters. There's so much focus on stillness and scenery that when something does happen it's all the more meaningful. The characters in the film don't just react to situation, but they give everything care consideration and it's a joy to figure out what they're thinking at any given time. The film doesn't spoon feed any answers so it's up to the viewer to get into their head space and figure out what they're thinking or feeling.
Another point Tae made was how desolate the film felt. It takes place in a fictional Iranian city called Bad City. With the lush cinematography the city is a character all of its own. It's a bleak and desolate place with almost no life other than the handful of characters inhabiting the film. It's all harsh desert landscapes mixed with a cold concrete buildings and industrial machinery. The constant shots of the oil drilling machines sucking the earth dry of its oil reserves is a metaphor for the city; a low place of vice and debauchery that sucks out the souls of its residents and leaves them hollow slaves to their own vices. It's a dead place that is the true vampire of the film. It's the kind of place where you'd almost expect to find Tom Waits haunting every street corner.
The characters of the film are all caught in terrible cycles that slowly lead them to their own destruction unless they can find the will to escape from it. In this city of depravity there is a single girl that walks through the town dealing out punishment to those that can't escape their own destructive tendencies. Never given a name The Girl isn't the villain of the film, but instead a dark anti-hero that deals out death according to her own sense of justice. Each of her victims have transgressed in some way and it's those people that sate her need for blood.
However, the girl isn't just some avatar of justice, but a full fledged character in her own right. She's not satisfied with her existence, but is longing for something more for herself. As she haunts the city it's clear that she's lonely and wants to find some kind of connection she can grasp. When not haunting the city she stays at home surrounded by her vinyl record collection, her walls covered in pictures of the musicians she admires. There's a delicate fragility to the character that makes her hauntingly beautiful. In her softer moments with the male lead Arash there's an innocence to her that makes it easy to forget that she's a blood thirsty vampire.
At it's heart this film has a lot in common with Let the Right One In. At its heart this is a stylized romance story about two lonely people with dark secrets finding each other and gaining a sense of purpose beyond just living out their lives in this dead end city. I love that the relationship between the two is shown almost completely through their actions. There little dialogue between the two, but that makes the words they do speak more meaningful. They don't say something unless it's something important that needs to be shared between them. Instead they bond because they both share a longing for something better than their lot in life.
and in the end they are finally able to break out of their cycles of leave bad city in their rear view mirror. However, it's not a totally happy ending because they can't leave everything behind. The Girl is still a vampire and in the end Arash is unable to leave behind the drugs or his ill gotten money. In addition there's the unspoken truth hanging between them that The Girl killed Arash's father. In a way killing his father finally gave Arash the incentive he needed to leave Bad City behind, but despite his father being nothing but a burden, Arash still feels conflicted about his death.
As great as the Girl and Arash are the real star of the film was that damn cat. There's nothing particularly standout about that cat, but I'll be damned if the camera didn't love that little fucker. The cat serves as witness to all the events of the film. The constant close ups of the cat's eyes make it seem like he's silently judging everything he sees. It's not clear what the cat feels, but he sits in silent judgement over the entire film. Even in the last scene he crouches in the car watching Arash and The Girl as they head to their new life together.
Another interesting thing about the film is how men and women are portrayed. Both the males and females of the cast are driven by their vices, but the males are the ones that wear it boldly in public, while the females tend to hide their vices to more private spaces. It's probably got a lot to do with the Iranian setting where women are supposed to be demure and submissive in public. The men are more free to express themselves, but the women of the film also have their own inner lives that show they are human with their own wants and desires. Even The Girl can only express her true self when she's locked away in her home, which is why it is so significant when she invites Arash into her own to give him a glimpse of her true self. It's kind of subtle, but can you guess what this guy's vice is supposed to be?
I've already talked about the film's cinematography, but I just want to reiterate that it is a beautifully shot film with some damn good editing. I liked the vampire bits because they were creepy without becoming over the top cheesy and overusing special effects. The effects that were used were mostly pretty subtle.
The other great thing about the film was the awesome soundtrack. There's a great mix of genres and each track really heightens the mood of each scene. While quite eclectic it works together as a cohesive whole. It really is one of the best soundtracks I've heard outside of a Tarantino film.
I've rambled on quite a bit, but I loved every second of this film. It's a fascinating genre mashup that's one part noir, one part west, one part romance and one part vampire film. It manages to be a compelling pastiche of genres while still doing it's own thing. It's full of rich symbolism and despite being pretty minimalistic in its action it explores some interesting themes. Bottom line is I fucking ate up every second of it. 9 out of 10
There's a long tradition of mixing horror and comedy in movies, but while there have been some home runs most horror comedies end up not having enough of either. However, when a movie gets it right it's like the great pairing of chocolate and peanut butter. While Tuck and Dale skews much closer to comedy and parody than it does to horror it can still sit proud in the horror comedy genre. While the horror aspect is a bit lacking it's because the type of films its parodying aren't particularly scary themselves. Other than Deliverance and the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre are both horrific, the rest of the murderous hillbilly genre tends to lean more on cheese and gore.
The film is essential one long string of misunderstandings that seen a group of typical group of victims and two sweet lovable hillbillies that just want to enjoy their new creepy cottage and do some fishing. While misunderstandings as fodder for comedy can get pretty annoying when done poorly, Tucker and Dale makes it work because the misunderstandings are all based on the horror movie cliches the movie is upending. The result is some hilarious absurdist comedy with the victim group reacting in the worst way possible and sealing their own fate. Meanwhile the hillbillies just can't understand why these college kids keep killing themselves all over their property. By the time there is finally some understanding between the two groups the douchnozzle of the college kids group has lost his shit so hard that it doesn't matter anymore.
Beyond the obvious parody aspect of the movie I think there are three things that make this movie entertaining. The relationship between Tucker and Dale, which plays out like an extended Laurel and Hardy routine, the sweet if implausible romance that blossoms between Dale and one of the college kids and the more subtle jokes and references buried under all the more obvious jokes. In particular that last point makes the movie highly rewatchable because each time I notice new little details. This time around one thing I noticed is the gas station the college kids stop at is called The Last Gas, which is a nice reference to all of the obvious omens that usually show up early in slasher flicks that warn the characters to turn back before bad shit starts to happen.
The acting for the film is pretty solid with Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine being the standouts. They have great comedic chemistry together and when the sequel comes I'll be happy to see more of the two of them together. The movie is competently shot with some nice comedic edits and creative setups. The special effects are all practical and there's enough gore to satisfy the gorehounds in the audience. My favorite death in the movie is definitely the one involving the woodchipper, but the most hilarious one was the poor cop because Tucker and Dale's reactions were just brilliant.
Overall the movie is a fun. hilarious and loving tribute to the slasher/hillbilly killer genre with some clever parody of the typical tropes found in those movies. 7 out of 10
....damn it, Gen. After an impressive string of five great movies in a row we get to our first stinker. Things could be worse though as far as bad movies go Troll 2 is one of the most consistently entertaining in its terribleness. It's definitely one of those movies that truly is so bad it's good. @GenericUser , you better be watching this tomorrow.
Oh, yeah, man, I've been waiting for this and I'm going to be totally re-watching it, possibly while I'm hammered out of my mind. This is going to be as gloriously and majesticly shit as watching Musashi Gundoh.
