What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Frankie Teardrop]

KANNIBAL - Do you like rubbish films? If so, you may get into 'Kannibal', an entertainingly dismal Brit-flick from 2001. It features Linnea Quigley as the head of a Russian mafia-type operation - but hold on, maybe she's a serial killer whose MO includes pubic hair removal. Then there's an enigmatic guy called Quinn, who appears to stalking the Russian mafia to settle some scores... but wait on, why is he a cannibal? In fact, why, during the film's latter half, does he morph into a rubbish but very clearly intended Hannibal Lecter impersonation, complete with trademark mannerisms ("tick tock tick tock..." etc etc)? Seriously. Truth be told, viewing 'Kannibal' will leave most with an overwhelming feeling of "why oh why oh why" on every level really. Some strange cross wiring deep within my psyche makes me think that this is actually a good thing. It would take an entire small text book to exhaustively catalogue this movie's quirks and abominations, so I won't try too hard here. Suffice it to say that if you can find room in your heart for excruciating acting (some of it from the director himself), arbitrary shots which appear to mean nothing (ie the image of a building being destroyed superposed over Quinn's staring face is repeated ad infintum throughout the film, presumably a stab at conjuring significance from senselessness, which is pretty emblematic of the film as a whole), random characters who appear for no purpose (the deformed ex-mob boss at the end didn't even serve as a plot device) et cetera et cetera... then you may enjoy this as much as I did. It also scores highly on the mild sleaze and gore front, with the first half of the movie being dominated by a procession of tits and bad gore fx. Richard Driscoll is clearly a very talented individual - not many would be able to seduce the likes of Christopher Walken, Rik Mayall, David Carradine and Norman Wisdom to appear in such absolute stinking car wrecks (the actors just mentioned aren't present here, but he has made others besides 'Kannibal' which are all said to be just as bad - has anybody seen them?) Perhaps he is as shadily mysterious as the Quinn character he plays here - it's difficult to know whether this sordid mess was directed with a raised eyebrow or with deadly serious conviction. Speaking of conviction, he went down for fraud a couple of years ago, but his crimes against culture go untried.

[PaulD]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

KANNIBAL - Do you like rubbish films? If so, you may get into 'Kannibal', an entertainingly dismal Brit-flick from 2001. It features Linnea Quigley as the head of a Russian mafia-type operation - but hold on, maybe she's a serial killer whose MO includes pubic hair removal. Then there's an enigmatic guy called Quinn, who appears to stalking the Russian mafia to settle some scores... but wait on, why is he a cannibal? In fact, why, during the film's latter half, does he morph into a rubbish but very clearly intended Hannibal Lecter impersonation, complete with trademark mannerisms ("tick tock tick tock..." etc etc)? Seriously. Truth be told, viewing 'Kannibal' will leave most with an overwhelming feeling of "why oh why oh why" on every level really. Some strange cross wiring deep within my psyche makes me think that this is actually a good thing. It would take an entire small text book to exhaustively catalogue this movie's quirks and abominations, so I won't try too hard here. Suffice it to say that if you can find room in your heart for excruciating acting (some of it from the director himself), arbitrary shots which appear to mean nothing (ie the image of a building being destroyed superposed over Quinn's staring face is repeated ad infintum throughout the film, presumably a stab at conjuring significance from senselessness, which is pretty emblematic of the film as a whole), random characters who appear for no purpose (the deformed ex-mob boss at the end didn't even serve as a plot device) et cetera et cetera... then you may enjoy this as much as I did. It also scores highly on the mild sleaze and gore front, with the first half of the movie being dominated by a procession of tits and bad gore fx. Richard Driscoll is clearly a very talented individual - not many would be able to seduce the likes of Christopher Walken, Rik Mayall, David Carradine and Norman Wisdom to appear in such absolute stinking car wrecks (the actors just mentioned aren't present here, but he has made others besides 'Kannibal' which are all said to be just as bad - has anybody seen them?) Perhaps he is as shadily mysterious as the Quinn character he plays here - it's difficult to know whether this sordid mess was directed with a raised eyebrow or with deadly serious conviction. Speaking of conviction, he went down for fraud a couple of years ago, but his crimes against culture go untried.

This sounds amazing. I've seen clips of his tax fraud film Eldorado and it looks absolutely ghastly. Will have to seek this out too by the sounds of it.

[MrRange]

I watched White Dog on Netflix last night. It was the first time I had seen it and I was really impressed. It's a real shame it was held back from release for so many years, especially as it's not racist at all.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by PaulD

This sounds amazing. I've seen clips of his tax fraud film Eldorado and it looks absolutely ghastly. Will have to seek this out too by the sounds of it.

It's well worth getting. It's not psychedelically bad in a 'A Night to Dismember' way, but it is dysfunctional tripe of a fairly high order.

You should be able to pick up a used copy pretty cheap. It's Film 2000, so obviously don't expect miracles, but the AV quality is actually fine and for once it's in its correct aspect ratio and not cropped to full screen (though non-anamorphic).

As for Driscoll's other mistakes, I'm tempted to track them down but they seem weirdly expensive.

[Vampix]

I recently watched the Shout Factory DVDs of Forbidden World, Galaxy of Terror and Humanoids from the Deep. All in all, a very entertaining experience!

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Make Them Die Slowly

That's a shame, I was looking forward to watching this as I liked the '70s vibe of science and the supernatural. Think I will hold off buying it and wait until it shows on Lovefilm or Netflix.

You might enjoy it, but apart from a couple of moments, it's dull and predictable

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

Finally saw Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning after buying the Dutch blu-ray, and man was it a tough watch. Not because it was bad, just due to the ferocity of the whole thing. Some really brutal fight scenes, and Scott Adkins owned the film. Although Van Damme is top billed, both he & Lundgren are supporting players, the "villains" (I put it like that because it's not so clear cut, and I don't want to elaborate, as it would spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet). I watched the 3D version and although it was filmed in 3D, it brought absolutely nothing to the movie.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Bloodthirsty Butchers (1970)

Andy Milligan does Sweeney Todd as only Andy Milligan can, with plenty of sleazy shenanigans, bad accents, and mutton chops galore.

However, beneath the thin crust of abject silliness lies a dark, and at times brutal filling, and a curious ensemble of characters to match. The film is quite 'talky', which some may find dull at times, but these long-winded conversations just added to the film's offbeat charm (for the most part) for me.

Milligan is definitely a director you either click with or don't, and the more of his films I watch, the more I enjoy what is served up to me.

Originally posted here: Nightmare USA Films Discussion Thread

[ArgentoFan1987]

The Purge

The year is 2022. In America unemployment is at 1%. Crime rate is at an all time low. For one night per year, for 12 hours all crime (including murder) is legal, to cleanse yourself of your hatred.

It's a pretty good concept. Too bad it's used as an excuse to make a pretty average home invasion film.

I was pretty wary before watching this. I just wanted to see it for the curiosity. It's a pretty average thriller that's been done hundreds of times before. It does win extra points for it's ending. 6/10

[Frankie Teardrop]

STITCHFACE - Scored myself a copy on the basis of Dem's recent review. I'm really pleased that I did, because 'Stitchface' turned out to be one of the strangest viewing experiences I've had in a while (OK, well it's not as strange as 'Runaway Nightmare', but I've been on a roll with movie weirdness over the last few weeks). Directed by the mysterious 'Ajai', 'Stitchface' takes us to a house in the desert, where Edward Furlong and his partner try to come to terms with the loss of their child. They hook up with two friends and get into some ceremonial catharsis which they hope will purge their suffering. None of this is very convincing. I found the characters and performances plastic and sometimes inept, which could easily have been fatal given the subject matter. You know, we have characters yelling things like "death is the infinite abyss of pure non-existence", stuff which makes me go "yay!" and "nahhh..." at the same time. What makes 'Stitchface' definitively worthwhile is the barrage of bizarreness it becomes midway through, after the housemate's ritual unleashes strange forces which manifest as apocalyptic weather conditions and decidedly creeped out looking entities. Again, there is something a bit inept about the constant flux of CGI imagery, but on some level it really works. There's just something about the oppressive atmosphere that comes into play and the claustrophobic chaos that dominates the movie's second half. 'Stitchface' may not be very a good film in conventional terms. But, in its dime-store surrealism which always seems to teeter on that thin divide between incompetence and intention, it is odd, baffling and in the end, for me, totally mesmerising. It's the kind of thing I always want microbudget horror to be, and for once I haven't been let down.