What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Invid Ninja]

Been eyeing the Network DVD of Deathline for awhile. I wish their website would have a sale again.

[SilverGunnar Hansen]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

CHERRY FALLS - Finally got around to watching this after clocking its several positive notices around here. I really enjoyed it, and, although superficially it has that late ninties / early noughties 'horror-lite' (or, to be lazy, 'post-Scream') feel to it, it's actually quite subversive on some levels. Maybe I'm easily amused, but the idea of a bunch of high school seniors organising an orgy in order to avoid being offed by a virginity-fixated killer strikes me as hilarious. This aside, the film's back story is pretty forlorn, and some scenes, like the one in the putative killer's run-down house, really creeped me out and linger on in my mind.

THE LAST BROADCAST - Well known as the forerunner of 'Blair Witch'. It looks really cheap and is a bit clunky in some respects (ie. the 'twist' at the end), but, although it doesn't reach the heights of near hysteria scaled by BWP, I think it succeeds in building an atmosphere of impending near dread, particularly in the latter part of the film (ending notwithstanding). Maybe there's something about the format which lends itself to that doom laden feeling of imminence. Beyond this, there are some interesting but unresolved ideas about construction of 'reality' / perception by the media, and, again on a conceptual level, it at least takes up the baton from 'Cannibal Holocaust' as the next phase in the development of the found-footage subgenre.

THE NEAR ROOM - Another one of the pound shop random buys. It's an interesting Glasgow-noir about a burned out journalist uncovering a mire of corruption in the search for his daughter. I'm surprised it's not better known, given the familiar faces on show and the fact that it's quite stylised and odd in some ways. I mean, it's not screamingly weird or anything, but has that expressively-lit and subtlely disjointed post-'Blood Simple' feel to it. Good. Well, worth a quid anyway.

Out on a limb, but if you feel like more Glasgow stuff, Orphans is really great, another film I feel goes under the radar (even though a lot of people saw it at the time) perhaps because it's so colloquial / parochial and covers so many different tones.

Oh, and - Cherry Falls is great fun! Lots of knowing fun to be had there. Especially with Jay Mohr and Michael Biehn! Brittany Murphy had a really kooky appeal too, such a shame she's not around anymore.

[SilverGunnar Hansen]

Also - I'm glad Deadly Blessing is getting some love these days, really suspenseful and imaginative little film! Slots into Craven's filmography really nicely, makes you appreciate what he was doing and did later even more.

[Demoncrat]

The Soul Guardians (1998, South Korea)
Reasonable satanic cult seeks vengeance film, bit overladen with the CGI, but not as annoying as, say an american film of the same ilk, cough.


I WILL WATCH THE LONG WEEKEND TONIGHT!!

Ahem.

[SilverGunnar Hansen]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

The Soul Guardians (1998, South Korea)
Reasonable satanic cult seeks vengeance film, bit overladen with the CGI, but not as annoying as, say an american film of the same ilk, cough.


I WILL WATCH THE LONG WEEKEND TONIGHT!!

Ahem.

Both Long Weekends are good! The original is def the best - really haunting, quite draining in a weird way, almost the way Texas Chainsaw is draining. Some of it is goofy but alot of it is still really intense.

[keirarts]

Originally Posted by SilverGunnar Hansen

Out on a limb, but if you feel like more Glasgow stuff, Orphans is really great, another film I feel goes under the radar (even though a lot of people saw it at the time) perhaps because it's so colloquial / parochial and covers so many different tones.

Oh, and - Cherry Falls is great fun! Lots of knowing fun to be had there. Especially with Jay Mohr and Michael Biehn! Brittany Murphy had a really kooky appeal too, such a shame she's not around anymore.

Its hard top go wrong with anything Peter mullan does!

[Invid Ninja]

Two sequels today -



Taken 2 (2012) - Bear in mind this was the uncut version. I pretty much got what I was expecting with this one, meh. A few bog-standard action scenes and Liam Neeson's palpable screen presence do not particularly save this somewhat pedestrian continuation. The film even with it's now unedited 15 rating lacks any of the punch from the first instalment (a solid vigilante film, but no modern classic by any means) and any kind of memorable threat. Not the worst 90 minutes worth of modern action cinema I've seen but there has been a lot better these past few years. If you can't find it for a few quid, I say skip.



Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) - My second viewing after several years of arguably the most loathed sequel in all horror, at least from my experience. I have a lot of time for John Boorman's work and as such I have found much of his work besides Deliverance to be both underrated and misunderstood. This being one of them. While The Heretic abandons traditional horror for it's primary genre in place of a metaphysical thriller with horror elements, the narrative's crux of the battle between science and spirituality is a fascinating concept that is explored in a well mannered fashion here from my perspective. Atypical of Boorman, his soft focus cinematography and mise en scene is weird but undeniably memorable as is Morricone's score. I appreciate this maligned sequel much more on a second viewing, not to mention it features 'Welsh Jesus' Richard Burton which for me is the cherry on top this offbeat cake.

Happy viewing.

[The Reaper Man@Cult Labs]

Wish to hell they'd release Exorcist II on Blu Ray!

Anyone know if the films in this come in seperate amarays?

[troggi]

Originally Posted by Invid Ninja

Two sequels today -



Taken 2 (2012) - Bear in mind this was the uncut version. I pretty much got what I was expecting with this one, meh. A few bog-standard action scenes and Liam Neeson's palpable screen presence do not particularly save this somewhat pedestrian continuation. The film even with it's now unedited 15 rating lacks any of the punch from the first instalment (a solid vigilante film, but no modern classic by any means) and any kind of memorable threat. Not the worst 90 minutes worth of modern action cinema I've seen but there has been a lot better these past few years. If you can't find it for a few quid, I say skip.



Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) - My second viewing after several years of arguably the most loathed sequel in all horror, at least from my experience. I have a lot of time for John Boorman's work and as such I have found much of his work besides Deliverance to be both underrated and misunderstood. This being one of them. While The Heretic abandons traditional horror for it's primary genre in place of a metaphysical thriller with horror elements, the narrative's crux of the battle between science and spirituality is a fascinating concept that is explored in a well mannered fashion here from my perspective. Atypical of Boorman, his soft focus cinematography and mise en scene is weird but undeniably memorable as is Morricone's score. I appreciate this maligned sequel much more on a second viewing, not to mention it features 'Welsh Jesus' Richard Burton which for me is the cherry on top this offbeat cake.

Happy viewing.

I totally agree The Heretic is a jewel. Maybe it would be better regarded if The Exorcist II: bit was in a much smaller font? Not having studied film and media for a lo-ong time now I wouldn't dare to use the critical language of my more learned ninjutsu friend but I liked it even when it first came out and people panned it. Watch it with no preconceptions and downplay the "The Exorcist sequel" angle and it is a highly entertaining and thought provoking film.

[Hawkmonger]

Originally Posted by The Reaper Man@Cult Labs

Wish to hell they'd release Exorcist II on Blu Ray!

Anyone know if the films in this come in seperate amarays?

I'd like to know this also, been eyeing it up for a while.