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  #38401  
Old 21st September 2016, 09:10 AM
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HEADLESS – This is an example of that rare beast, the horror 'spin-off'. Its inspiration, the acclaimed indie horror flick 'Found', was a kind of dark coming of age type yarn in which a kid finds out that his brother is a serial killer. We got to see bits of the kid raiding his bro's horror tape collection and zoning out to transgressive looking clips of basically some dude in a skull mask going around shagging severed heads. Well, 'Headless' is a film-within-a-film no more, and here is the full throttle feature length version of, to quote my last sentence, “basically some dude in a skull mask going around shagging severed heads”. 'Headless' could be thought of as being part of an underground tendency in latter day US horror, one typified by the work of people like Ryan Nicholson and Brian Paulin and by some of the films that get released by the likes of Unearthed – a no holds barred sub-genre with a fixation on taking revolting gore and depravity to the limit, or at least trying to. That said, 'Headless' didn't strike me as being the wall-to-wall celluloid abattoir I was expecting, although you couldn't say it doesn't deliver on the splatter front - along with the obligatory decaps, there's plenty of eyeball munching, gut ripping, male genitalia slicing etc etc, but it never feels totally excessive, which is probably for the best in a way because with these kind of films you can kind of get too much of a good thing if the 'spice' isn't there. So, is the 'spice' there in 'Headless'? Or better still, what is the 'spice'? For some, that might be the slight novelty of the necro stuff, the head fuc*ing which is 'Headless's selling point, sort of. Actually, that aspect is pretty subdued for the most part, although I can think of one scene that wouldn't get past the BBFC. I was more interested in the surrealist window dressing that the filmmakers threw in now and again to liven things up i.e scenes of killer dude writhing around with a mysterious faceless woman who often sits between two red candles. Also, hard-gore films are inevitably shot on digital and have a tendency to look skanky even these days, whereas 'Headless' sports a very realised aesthetic, one which is indebted to the whole 'grindhouse' thing that won't quite go away, but which is really well done – it's a film set in 1978 and supposedly made in 1978, and I have to say, in quite a few scenes and sequences they got the period look and feel just right, to the point of the film appearing indistinguishable from an old nasty. What else is there? An obligatory back story about horrendous childhood cruelty and, or course, a thin plot about – wait on, we've covered that base, I think. 'Headless' is a great film for unrepentant gore hounds who just want to see something messed up and mean spirited, preferably after having been force fed a 'Leprechaun' box set.
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  #38402  
Old 21st September 2016, 11:38 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop View Post
HEADLESS – This is an example of that rare beast, the horror 'spin-off'. Its inspiration, the acclaimed indie horror flick 'Found', was a kind of dark coming of age type yarn in which a kid finds out that his brother is a serial killer. We got to see bits of the kid raiding his bro's horror tape collection and zoning out to transgressive looking clips of basically some dude in a skull mask going around shagging severed heads. Well, 'Headless' is a film-within-a-film no more, and here is the full throttle feature length version of, to quote my last sentence, “basically some dude in a skull mask going around shagging severed heads”. 'Headless' could be thought of as being part of an underground tendency in latter day US horror, one typified by the work of people like Ryan Nicholson and Brian Paulin and by some of the films that get released by the likes of Unearthed – a no holds barred sub-genre with a fixation on taking revolting gore and depravity to the limit, or at least trying to. That said, 'Headless' didn't strike me as being the wall-to-wall celluloid abattoir I was expecting, although you couldn't say it doesn't deliver on the splatter front - along with the obligatory decaps, there's plenty of eyeball munching, gut ripping, male genitalia slicing etc etc, but it never feels totally excessive, which is probably for the best in a way because with these kind of films you can kind of get too much of a good thing if the 'spice' isn't there. So, is the 'spice' there in 'Headless'? Or better still, what is the 'spice'? For some, that might be the slight novelty of the necro stuff, the head fuc*ing which is 'Headless's selling point, sort of. Actually, that aspect is pretty subdued for the most part, although I can think of one scene that wouldn't get past the BBFC. I was more interested in the surrealist window dressing that the filmmakers threw in now and again to liven things up i.e scenes of killer dude writhing around with a mysterious faceless woman who often sits between two red candles. Also, hard-gore films are inevitably shot on digital and have a tendency to look skanky even these days, whereas 'Headless' sports a very realised aesthetic, one which is indebted to the whole 'grindhouse' thing that won't quite go away, but which is really well done – it's a film set in 1978 and supposedly made in 1978, and I have to say, in quite a few scenes and sequences they got the period look and feel just right, to the point of the film appearing indistinguishable from an old nasty. What else is there? An obligatory back story about horrendous childhood cruelty and, or course, a thin plot about – wait on, we've covered that base, I think. 'Headless' is a great film for unrepentant gore hounds who just want to see something messed up and mean spirited, preferably after having been force fed a 'Leprechaun' box set.
SOLD!!
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  #38403  
Old 22nd September 2016, 04:53 PM
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Killing Season (2013)

John Travolta and Robert De Niro star in this outdoors action thriller. Travolta, a member of a Serbian mercenary group and De Niro a former US soldier who once came face to face in the Balkan war, seen here in a prologue. Now in the present day Travolta finds out De Niro is living retired in the remote Appalachian mountains in the United States, so sets out to get revenge on the man who killed the rest of his death squad.

As a concept this is fine, it's major problem is that it really isn't anything special and has been previously done to far superior effect in the Tommy Lee Jones / Benicio Del Toro thriller Hunted (2003) and the John Cusack / Morgan Freeman runaround The Contract (2006). The action is at times incredibly gory - witness Travolta with an arrow through both cheeks which would make Argento squirm and De Niro hung by his calf muscle from a tree - but it's all a bit too implausible and even worse repetitive, and is lumbered with what i feel is a total let down of an ending.

Whilst both De Niro and Travolta are always worth watching, Killing Season sees both heavy weight actors punching well below their weight in an outdoors thriller that is merely okay.
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  #38404  
Old 22nd September 2016, 05:12 PM
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Just want to say that the first film that I will have seen at the cinema this year cough will be Under The Shadow. Saturday!!! Wish me well ahem
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  #38405  
Old 22nd September 2016, 05:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Demoncrat View Post
Just want to say that the first film that I will have seen at the cinema this year cough will be Under The Shadow. Saturday!!! Wish me well ahem
That's one more than me then!
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  #38406  
Old 22nd September 2016, 05:47 PM
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That's one more than me then!
Awwwwww. There's still time!!
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  #38407  
Old 22nd September 2016, 05:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs View Post
That's one more than me then!
And me...this decade.
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  #38408  
Old 22nd September 2016, 05:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Demoncrat View Post
Awwwwww. There's still time!!
Honestly there is nothing on I feel compelled to go and see!

Plus, cinema prices have become ridiculous and many of the small indie screens have closed meaning we're left with vapid, sticky 'Vues' showing films in smaller auditoriums (so they can cram more viewings in). Almost everything seems to be in ****ing 3D nowadays too, and the calibre of audience leaves a lot to be desired - especially evenings and weekends (which is pretty much the only time I could make a showing)... if they're not tapping on their shiny, brain dissolving gadgets they're incessantly talking or laughing with one another.

Grumble, moan, get off my lawn etc.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs View Post
And me...this decade.
...and I thought I was bad!
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  #38409  
Old 22nd September 2016, 05:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs View Post
Honestly there is nothing on I feel compelled to go and see!

Plus, cinema prices have become ridiculous and many of the small indie screens have closed meaning we're left with vapid, sticky 'Vues' showing films in smaller auditoriums (so they can cram more viewings in). Almost everything seems to be in ****ing 3D nowadays too, and the calibre of audience leaves a lot to be desired - especially evenings and weekends (which is pretty much the only time I could make a showing)... if they're not tapping on their shiny, brain dissolving gadgets they're incessantly talking or laughing with one another.

Grumble, moan, get off my lawn etc.

This, this and this. ^
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  #38410  
Old 22nd September 2016, 07:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs View Post
This, this and this. ^
Agreed!
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