Stakeland:
What's it about?
Treating the vampire curse as if it was a zombie apocalypse, mixed with John Hillcoat's bleak The Road, this meandering tale of 'Boy' and 'Mister' casts a stylishly dark shadow across a sub-genre that is more commonly seen as romantic, or laced with temptation, rather than cannibalism, religious cults, and a struggle for survival in a dying world.
Who would I recognise in it?
Erm ... oh yeah, Danielle Harris.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
The pacing isn't especially cinematic, as it feels more like a portion of an overall journey that we join for a little while, which can prove problematic in the second half when an ill-conceived 'big bad' is attempted to give the third act some sort of grand finale. However, turning a world in which vampires exist into a struggle for the very survival of humankind slaps a fresh lick of paint on proceedings that works quite well for the first half - but beyond that, the transient nature of the roughly-sketched supporting characters, and overall thrust of the plot can prove somewhat disappointing. Very stylish, oftentimes bleak, but quite distanced - however the overall impression remains positive. Good.
Click "READ MORE" below for thoughts on Arthur (the remake), and Get Carter (the original)...
Showing posts with label vampire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vampire. Show all posts
Friday, 15 June 2012
Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Hextuple Bill Mini Musings: November 2010...
Witchfinder General:
I've never seen many, if any before now, British horror movies from the era of Hammer, but I found this - which was at the time a bit of a 'last hurrah' for Brit-horror at the time - to be really quite interesting. The actions of these deluded witch finders writ large across the screen really does pack a punch - you often read about such things as a kid in history class, but to see them painted vividly before Vincent Price's scowl is another thing entirely.
Most interesting of all was the print itself - as shown on BBC4 during the run of Mark Gatiss' History of Horror - which showed in no uncertain detail, exactly which moments of the film's violence had previously been cut out. It's a period of history that's not commonly covered in horror, if at all really, so even coming to it decades after-the-fact, it manages to hold on to the impact it no doubt had upon its original release.
Jennifer's Body:
Following hot on the heels of the just-this-side-of-smug Juno, comes what almost becomes a vehicle for Megan Fox to cock tease the sweaty-palmed teenage male section of the audience. Most of the famed 'Diablo-gue' already feels passe, but certain lines still hold on to the individualism that Juno displayed ("you give me such a wettie", for instance).
The tone of the movie however, is unsure, illustrated best by the fire that acts as the catalyst for the rest of the script. I was left feeling dumbfounded by how off that whole portion felt, and the flick never really gains a strong sense of footage, let alone itself. Perhaps the main problem is two-fold - firstly it's essentially Juno for the horror genre, and secondly because of the insane amount of focus on Megan Fox that surrounded the movie.
In short - it's disappointing. It has some good moments, but the whole feels misguided.
Miss March:
I entered this movie expecting the usual level of direct-to-DVD smut-comedy - thinking it'd be like one of those quite naff "American Pie Presents" flicks - but I was pleasantly surprised. The plot is simplistic, but it's the foul-mouthed, sex-obsessed, wide-eyed half of the central duo that makes for a pleasantly vulgar surprise throughout. Trevor Moore (who also co-wrote the screenplay) really stands out, grabbing his dialogue and performance with both hands, to give a comedic turn that's way above the expected station for this kind of fare. Without his character, his performance, and a handful of appropriately daft running gags (the whole "horsedick.mpeg" moniker, for one) it would be like all the other direct-to-DVD sex comedies, but his gusto lifts it head-and-shoulders above its peers.
Brides of Dracula:
Included in the same week of programming as Witchfinder General, I was quite surprised BBC4 didn't show 1958's Dracula. Instead they showed this, which to be honest wasn't all that great. There's barely any horror, the first half is pretty damn dull, and it never pops when Peter Cushing isn't on-screen ... so aside from some charming production design, I wasn't too interested in this one.
Let The Right One In:
Much was made of this Swedish vampire horror, which isn't really about vampires or horror, when it first came out, but I just never got around to it. Fast forward to May 2010 when it showed on FX and I stuck it onto the Sky+ box ... then fast forward six months to when I finally got around to watching it.
I can see exactly why this got so much praise. As Mark Kermode said, it's a film about childhood that just so happens to feature vampires - and that's exactly why this stands out. More than that though, the Swedish sensibility elevates this further in my opinion - when so many horror flicks are British or American, the perspective of an entirely different nationality comes as a welcome change of pace.
Subtitles wise though, I have a mixed view of them. Sometimes it's entirely appropriate for the film - such as the superior Downfall - but other times, particularly on visually electric flicks like Versus, I feel a dub is better (as long as it's done well, of course). It all depends on the type of film, and I do sometimes struggle to keep up with screeds of dialogue represented in English subtitles, something that's more annoying because I want to experience the visuals (for example a swift paced action flick like District 13). However Let The Right One In has really quite a sparse script in terms of dialogue, and this lends itself to the subtlety of it all. Little needs to be said when so much information is delivered visually with the smooth, almost painterly, direction and cinematography.
The moments of horror come quickly and leave just as swiftly, but their imagination, presentation and execution makes them memorable and entirely worthy of one or two rewinds to get another look-see. It'll be interesting to see what the American's English language remake does, but if Mark Kermode's assessment that it has been turned into a 'vampire movie that just so happens to include children', then it certainly won't beat the original ... but that's so often the case with remakes, be they inspired by age or a foreign language.
Pontypool:
Sat on the Sky+ box for a couple of months, all I knew of it was that it was a viral infection flick where the virus is spread via the English language, and that we focus on a small town disc jockey (played superbly by character actor Stephen McHattie). The fact that 99% of the movie takes place within the confines of the radio station is impressive, even more so in that you never want to leave it. The first act gets us gradually into the swing of things with performances, dialogue, editing, direction and sound design that convincingly present us with a truthful depiction of a small town radio station.
The pace is pitch perfect, and the performances (particularly that of McHattie) emphasise the almost-entirely-off-screen action and horror so well that the movie is genuinely creepy. As things take a turn for the worse and it becomes clear that there is an infection spreading through this small Canadian town, which we learn about on-the-hoof, you really do get a sense of this is how things would really play out in an equivalent real-life scenario.
The last ten minutes go a little bit off-the-boil, but other than that this is a properly creepy horror flick with a great script that successfully keeps the all-too-real-feeling horror off screen. Highly recommended.
I've never seen many, if any before now, British horror movies from the era of Hammer, but I found this - which was at the time a bit of a 'last hurrah' for Brit-horror at the time - to be really quite interesting. The actions of these deluded witch finders writ large across the screen really does pack a punch - you often read about such things as a kid in history class, but to see them painted vividly before Vincent Price's scowl is another thing entirely.
Most interesting of all was the print itself - as shown on BBC4 during the run of Mark Gatiss' History of Horror - which showed in no uncertain detail, exactly which moments of the film's violence had previously been cut out. It's a period of history that's not commonly covered in horror, if at all really, so even coming to it decades after-the-fact, it manages to hold on to the impact it no doubt had upon its original release.
Jennifer's Body:
Following hot on the heels of the just-this-side-of-smug Juno, comes what almost becomes a vehicle for Megan Fox to cock tease the sweaty-palmed teenage male section of the audience. Most of the famed 'Diablo-gue' already feels passe, but certain lines still hold on to the individualism that Juno displayed ("you give me such a wettie", for instance).
The tone of the movie however, is unsure, illustrated best by the fire that acts as the catalyst for the rest of the script. I was left feeling dumbfounded by how off that whole portion felt, and the flick never really gains a strong sense of footage, let alone itself. Perhaps the main problem is two-fold - firstly it's essentially Juno for the horror genre, and secondly because of the insane amount of focus on Megan Fox that surrounded the movie.
In short - it's disappointing. It has some good moments, but the whole feels misguided.
Miss March:
I entered this movie expecting the usual level of direct-to-DVD smut-comedy - thinking it'd be like one of those quite naff "American Pie Presents" flicks - but I was pleasantly surprised. The plot is simplistic, but it's the foul-mouthed, sex-obsessed, wide-eyed half of the central duo that makes for a pleasantly vulgar surprise throughout. Trevor Moore (who also co-wrote the screenplay) really stands out, grabbing his dialogue and performance with both hands, to give a comedic turn that's way above the expected station for this kind of fare. Without his character, his performance, and a handful of appropriately daft running gags (the whole "horsedick.mpeg" moniker, for one) it would be like all the other direct-to-DVD sex comedies, but his gusto lifts it head-and-shoulders above its peers.
Brides of Dracula:
Included in the same week of programming as Witchfinder General, I was quite surprised BBC4 didn't show 1958's Dracula. Instead they showed this, which to be honest wasn't all that great. There's barely any horror, the first half is pretty damn dull, and it never pops when Peter Cushing isn't on-screen ... so aside from some charming production design, I wasn't too interested in this one.
Let The Right One In:
Much was made of this Swedish vampire horror, which isn't really about vampires or horror, when it first came out, but I just never got around to it. Fast forward to May 2010 when it showed on FX and I stuck it onto the Sky+ box ... then fast forward six months to when I finally got around to watching it.
I can see exactly why this got so much praise. As Mark Kermode said, it's a film about childhood that just so happens to feature vampires - and that's exactly why this stands out. More than that though, the Swedish sensibility elevates this further in my opinion - when so many horror flicks are British or American, the perspective of an entirely different nationality comes as a welcome change of pace.
Subtitles wise though, I have a mixed view of them. Sometimes it's entirely appropriate for the film - such as the superior Downfall - but other times, particularly on visually electric flicks like Versus, I feel a dub is better (as long as it's done well, of course). It all depends on the type of film, and I do sometimes struggle to keep up with screeds of dialogue represented in English subtitles, something that's more annoying because I want to experience the visuals (for example a swift paced action flick like District 13). However Let The Right One In has really quite a sparse script in terms of dialogue, and this lends itself to the subtlety of it all. Little needs to be said when so much information is delivered visually with the smooth, almost painterly, direction and cinematography.
The moments of horror come quickly and leave just as swiftly, but their imagination, presentation and execution makes them memorable and entirely worthy of one or two rewinds to get another look-see. It'll be interesting to see what the American's English language remake does, but if Mark Kermode's assessment that it has been turned into a 'vampire movie that just so happens to include children', then it certainly won't beat the original ... but that's so often the case with remakes, be they inspired by age or a foreign language.
Pontypool:
Sat on the Sky+ box for a couple of months, all I knew of it was that it was a viral infection flick where the virus is spread via the English language, and that we focus on a small town disc jockey (played superbly by character actor Stephen McHattie). The fact that 99% of the movie takes place within the confines of the radio station is impressive, even more so in that you never want to leave it. The first act gets us gradually into the swing of things with performances, dialogue, editing, direction and sound design that convincingly present us with a truthful depiction of a small town radio station.
The pace is pitch perfect, and the performances (particularly that of McHattie) emphasise the almost-entirely-off-screen action and horror so well that the movie is genuinely creepy. As things take a turn for the worse and it becomes clear that there is an infection spreading through this small Canadian town, which we learn about on-the-hoof, you really do get a sense of this is how things would really play out in an equivalent real-life scenario.
The last ten minutes go a little bit off-the-boil, but other than that this is a properly creepy horror flick with a great script that successfully keeps the all-too-real-feeling horror off screen. Highly recommended.
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Doghouse...
June's double-flick cine-trip's second movie kicked the ass of the last 'second in a day' movie we saw at the cinema (which was the utterly pish Observe & Report) - plus we'd had Pizza Hut between screenings, so my gut and blood sugar was thoroughly happy after an ice-cold Pepsi and a delicious individual-size (i.e. the literally perfect portion) Meat Feast pan-pizza ... it makes me want one right now just talking about, so I'd better shut up and start blog-juicing about Doghouse!
Was it ever going to be Shaun of the Dead? No it wasn't, and neither was Lesbian Vampire Killers, but that's not the point, and when you think about it for a moment, it's not even a fair target to aspire to. Shaun of the Dead was simply too good to be beaten.
Shaun of the Dead "ish" or "like" perhaps - as in, it's a "British horror comedy".
It'd be far more worthwhile to compare LVK and Doghouse - so which one wins out of the two (both released this year) - Doghouse wins. It's got a far more consistent style than LVK, it has more gore, it's funnier, and it's better constructed.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Lesbian Vampire Killers, but it generally felt a bit inconsistent and rushed, and then it all kind of fell apart towards the end. Doghouse on the other hand sticks to its guns, and provides the viewer with a greater sense of consistency from start to finish. You're not rushed into things - you get the required set-up time - but you're not left checking your watch either.
I rather enjoyed Jake West's previous flick Evil Aliens, so I'm really glad to see he's getting to play with a bigger budget and bigger names. Doghouse (adapted from a cult comic) is a horror film for horror fans, it's for the 'nerds' in the crowd, the sort of person who relishes in the gloopy gore of The Evil Dead ... primarily at least. It plays well to those not versed in the world of Sam Raimi before Spider-Man or the 1990s, or 'pre-Rings' Peter Jackson, but it certainly helps if you're a lover of Sam Raimi's madcap horror stylings.
Doghouse has a better-than-average bucket of gore to chuck around (although a few more stand-out gore-gags like in Evil Aliens would have been welcomed by the Evil Dead lovers in the audience), Danny Dyer's 'geezer schtick' doesn't wear thin, and the general feel of utter daftness was a real pleasure to watch.
It doesn't dawdle - which was ideal for a second-screening on a double-dip trip to the cinema like we were doing at the time - and, put simply, it's a good fun slab of Grindhouse-ish exploitation horror comedy. Buckets of fun - so here's hoping that it gets a spiffing treatment on DVD for the genre fans to lap up.
Was it ever going to be Shaun of the Dead? No it wasn't, and neither was Lesbian Vampire Killers, but that's not the point, and when you think about it for a moment, it's not even a fair target to aspire to. Shaun of the Dead was simply too good to be beaten.
Shaun of the Dead "ish" or "like" perhaps - as in, it's a "British horror comedy".
It'd be far more worthwhile to compare LVK and Doghouse - so which one wins out of the two (both released this year) - Doghouse wins. It's got a far more consistent style than LVK, it has more gore, it's funnier, and it's better constructed.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Lesbian Vampire Killers, but it generally felt a bit inconsistent and rushed, and then it all kind of fell apart towards the end. Doghouse on the other hand sticks to its guns, and provides the viewer with a greater sense of consistency from start to finish. You're not rushed into things - you get the required set-up time - but you're not left checking your watch either.
I rather enjoyed Jake West's previous flick Evil Aliens, so I'm really glad to see he's getting to play with a bigger budget and bigger names. Doghouse (adapted from a cult comic) is a horror film for horror fans, it's for the 'nerds' in the crowd, the sort of person who relishes in the gloopy gore of The Evil Dead ... primarily at least. It plays well to those not versed in the world of Sam Raimi before Spider-Man or the 1990s, or 'pre-Rings' Peter Jackson, but it certainly helps if you're a lover of Sam Raimi's madcap horror stylings.
Doghouse has a better-than-average bucket of gore to chuck around (although a few more stand-out gore-gags like in Evil Aliens would have been welcomed by the Evil Dead lovers in the audience), Danny Dyer's 'geezer schtick' doesn't wear thin, and the general feel of utter daftness was a real pleasure to watch.
It doesn't dawdle - which was ideal for a second-screening on a double-dip trip to the cinema like we were doing at the time - and, put simply, it's a good fun slab of Grindhouse-ish exploitation horror comedy. Buckets of fun - so here's hoping that it gets a spiffing treatment on DVD for the genre fans to lap up.
Thursday, 9 April 2009
4 short March movie musings...
I've been meaning to post this up for a while/a long while, so here's a run-down:
Lesbian Vampire Killers...
You know what, it does what it says on the tin - it's got lesbians, who happen to be vampires, and they get killed. It was never going to be Shaun of the Dead (despite playing to that idea and audience), but it does what it does and as a result it was good for a night out with the lads.
A bit of silly throw away fun with brash, if scattergun, visual flair with a plot so simple you get the whole thing within minutes. Script wise - what do you expect? Well, a few more gags would have been nice - you do wonder, if it hadn't been for Horne & Corden, would this flick have done as well as it did ("well" being a relative term mind you).
It's been said that it's a bit soft on both the horror and the comedy fronts, and I'd have to agree. A few more gags to propel the final act more convincingly would have been nice, and a few more gore gags to elevate the bloodlust to From Dusk Till Dawn-ish levels.
Nothing especially memorable, but like I said - good for a watch and ideal lad's night fodder.
Transporter 3...
What's there to say really - Statham plus car plus random scrawny euto-trash bimbo plus silly make-do plot equals Transporter 3. A shame really, as the first movie was quite promising in terms of simple-minded action fair - lots of fun to be had with a cool jet-black motor roaring around with Statham doing his "action look" ... but Transporter 2 was utter pants, and Transporter 3 is perhaps marginally better ... but by the thinnest margin.
If you're going to watch a Transporter movie - watch the first one.
The Spirit...
Aye - late on this one as well, but whatever - it's nothing to get fussed about sadly. After the sheer bucket of awesome that was Sin City (the movie), it was a case of high hopes for The Spirit - but evidently, it definitely was Robert "do everything" Rodriguez who brought the directing talent in Sin City.
Frank Miller - he's a talented guy - but it's painfully obvious with his solo directing gig of The Spirit, that he just doesn't quite have the movie directing "thing".
No doubt the PG-13 rating was a major problem with this flick, it simply does feel like "Sin City for tweens" from start to finish, and the story feels too jumbled for those (of which there are no doubt many) who have never heard of "The Spirit" before. The film jumps right into the middle of it all, and only explains - sort of - about mid-way through, what on earth is going on - a major mistake, quite frankly...tacked onto the distinct softening on the sex and violence front. Regardless of what the source material was like, the movie just DOES feel neutered - and it's a damn shame.
It looks nice - albeit basically identical to Sin City, which is perhaps another downside - but over-the-piece it just doesn't grip at all. There are moments of kick-assery, but it's really not that convincing throughout from the out-set, and I say again - it's a damn shame. It was shaping up to be feckin' schweet ... but alas, no dice.
Roll on Sin City 2 methinks.
Very Bad Things...
I remember seeing an advert for this flick - absolutely YEARS ago - on the back of a film magazine. I remember the line-up of characters (mainly a procession of "oh that guy from..." sorts), but I never got around to seeing it - but at last, I dipped into it the other day.
Kind of like U-Turn, in that it's one of those movies where "shit" simply gets progressively "more fucked up" for the protagonist(s) as the running time flows on.
It just goes to show really - when you accidentally kill a hooker in Vegas - just call the fuckin' cops, for crying out loud! Kinda like "Swingers" ... if it had gone REALLY badly in "Vegas, baby!" ... indeed.
...
Now if you don't mind, I'm off to watch yet more Angry Video Game Nerd episodes online - I've been a fan for quite a while, but I only saw it sporadically - thanks to His Name Was Jason getting the wind up me to see more AVGN stuff, I'm now methodically going through them ... but backwards ... to replace my "YouTube time", as I call it.
Lesbian Vampire Killers...
You know what, it does what it says on the tin - it's got lesbians, who happen to be vampires, and they get killed. It was never going to be Shaun of the Dead (despite playing to that idea and audience), but it does what it does and as a result it was good for a night out with the lads.
A bit of silly throw away fun with brash, if scattergun, visual flair with a plot so simple you get the whole thing within minutes. Script wise - what do you expect? Well, a few more gags would have been nice - you do wonder, if it hadn't been for Horne & Corden, would this flick have done as well as it did ("well" being a relative term mind you).
It's been said that it's a bit soft on both the horror and the comedy fronts, and I'd have to agree. A few more gags to propel the final act more convincingly would have been nice, and a few more gore gags to elevate the bloodlust to From Dusk Till Dawn-ish levels.
Nothing especially memorable, but like I said - good for a watch and ideal lad's night fodder.
Transporter 3...
What's there to say really - Statham plus car plus random scrawny euto-trash bimbo plus silly make-do plot equals Transporter 3. A shame really, as the first movie was quite promising in terms of simple-minded action fair - lots of fun to be had with a cool jet-black motor roaring around with Statham doing his "action look" ... but Transporter 2 was utter pants, and Transporter 3 is perhaps marginally better ... but by the thinnest margin.
If you're going to watch a Transporter movie - watch the first one.
The Spirit...
Aye - late on this one as well, but whatever - it's nothing to get fussed about sadly. After the sheer bucket of awesome that was Sin City (the movie), it was a case of high hopes for The Spirit - but evidently, it definitely was Robert "do everything" Rodriguez who brought the directing talent in Sin City.
Frank Miller - he's a talented guy - but it's painfully obvious with his solo directing gig of The Spirit, that he just doesn't quite have the movie directing "thing".
No doubt the PG-13 rating was a major problem with this flick, it simply does feel like "Sin City for tweens" from start to finish, and the story feels too jumbled for those (of which there are no doubt many) who have never heard of "The Spirit" before. The film jumps right into the middle of it all, and only explains - sort of - about mid-way through, what on earth is going on - a major mistake, quite frankly...tacked onto the distinct softening on the sex and violence front. Regardless of what the source material was like, the movie just DOES feel neutered - and it's a damn shame.
It looks nice - albeit basically identical to Sin City, which is perhaps another downside - but over-the-piece it just doesn't grip at all. There are moments of kick-assery, but it's really not that convincing throughout from the out-set, and I say again - it's a damn shame. It was shaping up to be feckin' schweet ... but alas, no dice.
Roll on Sin City 2 methinks.
Very Bad Things...
I remember seeing an advert for this flick - absolutely YEARS ago - on the back of a film magazine. I remember the line-up of characters (mainly a procession of "oh that guy from..." sorts), but I never got around to seeing it - but at last, I dipped into it the other day.
Kind of like U-Turn, in that it's one of those movies where "shit" simply gets progressively "more fucked up" for the protagonist(s) as the running time flows on.
It just goes to show really - when you accidentally kill a hooker in Vegas - just call the fuckin' cops, for crying out loud! Kinda like "Swingers" ... if it had gone REALLY badly in "Vegas, baby!" ... indeed.
...
Now if you don't mind, I'm off to watch yet more Angry Video Game Nerd episodes online - I've been a fan for quite a while, but I only saw it sporadically - thanks to His Name Was Jason getting the wind up me to see more AVGN stuff, I'm now methodically going through them ... but backwards ... to replace my "YouTube time", as I call it.
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