What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I really like Inside (The best of the Euro shock films from the 00's) and also enjoyed Livid. I wasn't sure what to expect from Among the Living. Should i seek it out?

I was going to order some dvd's from HMV's 5 for £20 offer so will go with Leatherface instead of the latest Chucky film i think.

I really liked 'Among The Living' - shades of 'Stand By Me' type coming of age stuff with something more horrific in the background. An interesting third film after the other two they did, though not as graphic or, re 'Livide', as over-the-top surreal.

As for a solid 'fourth'... I do prefer 'Leatherface' to the latest Chucky film on balance. Both are by-the numbers potboilers in essence, but I was definitely more entertained by 'Leatherface', which seemed a bit nastier but also felt like it maybe had a bit more going on with it. I might be wrong, but I don't think at £4 you'll be too disappointed.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

Bravo, Frankie you have probably created the post of the day! I'm surprised I haven't seen this because I like Joe Spinell in everything I've seen in, so I'm going to investigate that right now.

I think Alex Garland is a wonderful writer who seems to have a problem with the third act of films as everything he has written suffers at the end, with Ex Machina being the sole exception. I'll investigate this one as well!

Absolutely no idea why I haven't seen this film either, so another for the watchlist!

I've been meaning to rewatch The Lobster and have had this in my wish list since it was released (it was never in the cinema near me) so I hope it's on Netflix soon. If not, I'll get it as a blind buy because you have really sold it with the comparisons to Ballard and Cronenberg. Fortunately, it's available to watch on Prime Video, so that might be something for this evening.

This is a film in which I had no interest until I read your review. I don't think there's anything intrinsic the wrong with exploring the background of the 'monster' – Bates Motel is a prime example of that as I thought delving into Norman Bates' childhood/teenage years would be a mixture of sacrilege, boring and diminish Psycho, so I was surprised about how much I liked the TV show and how it had no impact on Hitchcock's great movie when I saw it subsequently.

Everything I have seen in the rebooted Texas Chainsaw Massacre film series has irritated or somehow annoyed me, but Leatherface (I actually like the 1990 film of that name) might be something I enjoy as a stand-alone fast-paced horror flick.

Very kind! Were you talking about 'Killing of a Sacred Deer' or 'The Lobster'? Both are great. If you check out the former, I think you'll definitely find that it's a keeper. The references to Ballard and Cronenberg in my review are meant to index tone / atmosphere... it's a cold, detached movie full of people who seem depersonalised to the point of seeming like renditions of humans... same was true of 'The Lobster' in a way, although that film was a bit warmer / funnier. KOASD gets a lot of comparisons to 'Funny Games', not unreasonably, although it's treading different territory really.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

Very kind! Were you talking about 'Killing of a Sacred Deer' or 'The Lobster'? Both are great. If you check out the former, I think you'll definitely find that it's a keeper. The references to Ballard and Cronenberg in my review are meant to index tone / atmosphere... it's a cold, detached movie full of people who seem depersonalised to the point of seeming like renditions of humans... same was true of 'The Lobster' in a way, although that film was a bit warmer / funnier. KOASD gets a lot of comparisons to 'Funny Games', not unreasonably, although it's treading different territory really.

I was talking about The Killing of a Secret Deer; I've seen The Lobster once and it made quite an impression on me, so it's something I want to own. Fortunately, TKoaSD is currently available to watch on Prime Video (as is The Undertaker; Annihilation is on Netflix) so I don't need to immediately order the physical media of everything you recommended!

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I was talking about The Killing of a Secret Deer; I've seen The Lobster once and it made quite an impression on me, so it's something I want to own. Fortunately, TKoaSD is currently available to watch on Prime Video (as is The Undertaker; Annihilation is on Netflix) so I don't need to immediately order the physical media of everything you recommended!

Wow, funny that a film as obscure and 'niche' as 'The Undertaker' is on Prime. Then again, they have shitloads of stuff I haven't even begun to explore yet, partly because I'm fairly sure the ratio of 'trash gold' to 'mediocre rubbish' probably won't justify time spent for me nowadays. As enjoyable as 'The Undertaker' is, I probably would've settled for streaming it rather than shelling out twenty odd quid for the disc... naughty, drunken Frankie (again). Let me and everyone else know your thoughts when you see it (Sacred Deer, too). Yeah, good job that my recommends don't automatically result in you buying physical media as generally I don't have the best track record for that kind of thing!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

Yeah, good job that my recommends don't automatically result in you buying physical media as generally I don't have the best track record for that kind of thing!

You do with me. Sure there's the odd missfire but generally i'm on your wavelength.

[Cinematic Shocks]

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

The last 20 minutes is full of cheesy awesomeness, but it sure is a slog getting there.

**1/2 out of *****

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

You do with me. Sure there's the odd missfire but generally i'm on your wavelength.

Ha ha, I still remember mis-selling 'The Vault'! Wasn't I fairly avid about 'The Void', too? It's weird, one reason I rarely go back to the same film twice is that I'm worried I just won't see the good stuff that I thought was there, if you know what I mean.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

Wow, funny that a film as obscure and 'niche' as 'The Undertaker' is on Prime. Then again, they have shitloads of stuff I haven't even begun to explore yet, partly because I'm fairly sure the ratio of 'trash gold' to 'mediocre rubbish' probably won't justify time spent for me nowadays. As enjoyable as 'The Undertaker' is, I probably would've settled for streaming it rather than shelling out twenty odd quid for the disc... naughty, drunken Frankie (again). Let me and everyone else know your thoughts when you see it (Sacred Deer, too). Yeah, good job that my recommends don't automatically result in you buying physical media as generally I don't have the best track record for that kind of thing!

I'll do my best to a) remember to watch the films and b) write something about them and post it here.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

Ha ha, I still remember mis-selling 'The Vault'! Wasn't I fairly avid about 'The Void', too? It's weird, one reason I rarely go back to the same film twice is that I'm worried I just won't see the good stuff that I thought was there, if you know what I mean.

Ha,ha. I'm exactly the same.

Other things i think 'Damn i'm sure i should have enjoyed that more than i did'. Blade Runner 2049 for example.

I haven't got rid of The Vault. I do intend to give it another go.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Prevenge (2017)

Written and directed by Alice Lowe, someone perhaps best known for her lead role in Ben Wheatley's Sightseers, Prevenge follows Ruth, a heavily pregnant single woman with some tragedy in her past and a very real line of communication to her foetus.

This occasionally draws on films like Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion, and even Possession as the voice in Ruth's head, apparently from her womb, urges her to commit murder. Some of these are seemingly random, others linked to a historical event which only becomes clear later in the film and I won't go into here. All the while, Ruth has routine meetings with her midwife, someone who tiptoes a fine line between comforting and condescending.

The death scenes – all of which are carried out with a knife – are very bloody and realistic, and vary from throat slitting to castration. Like the rest of the film, they also vary dramatically in tone with strong elements of both humour and horror, sometimes lurching from one to the other and leaving me feeling disorientated.

The film was made when Alice Lowe was really heavily pregnant and the 'bump' is not a prosthetic, so there is a sense that what is happening is in some part influenced by her own understanding of the prepartum state of mind and the different emotions, urges and understanding of reality someone experiences during pregnancy. Since sightseers, I've admired Lowe as an actress and writer, but this firmly establish is her as a real talent behind the camera and someone who can direct with a sense of style and give the audience a sense of discomfort.

The BD isn't packed with extra features, containing a 10 minute behind-the-scenes featurette and commentary with Alice Lowe, a producer, the editor and DP. I watched/listened to those last night and they are quite informative. Apparently people react to the film very differently on a second viewing, so that's something I endeavour to do this month.

I don't think everyone will quite embrace the blend of extreme violence and absurdist comedy, but if those two things appeal to you, then this is recommended.