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  #40811  
Old 13th April 2017, 08:22 AM
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I know I've been pretty quiet in this thread of late, the truth is I've not been watching many films because I two big Uni assignments due in the next fortnight - I re-watched Rogue One spread over two nights because I was too tired to watch it one go.

Interesting review of Hex Dem, I pretty much agree with everything you said as to the reasons why I wasn't taken with it. Certain parts of the film isolated were actually really good though, particularly the draining of the pond was handled very well and I guess that's the Les Diaboliques parallel.

I think one of the main things which made it a bit annoying, and I don't know whether you noticed but the audio track is actually a dub of the wrong language as to what the characters on the screen are speaking. I don't speak either Cantonese or Mandarin so I don't know how they sound different but essentially the subtitles are translating one language and that isn't the one used on the dub track. And the dub track isn't matching the mouths of the actors. Therefore you get that 'Hong Kong Movie' mis-matched dub famous of Kung-Fu movies and the subtitles are out of sync with the audio because of it.
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  #40812  
Old 13th April 2017, 11:01 AM
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There was an issue with at least one of the Shaws films. Audio stated on the back of the box was either Cantonese or Mandarin and the film actually contained the other. I think they should actually be in Mandarin, not certain though. As I'm at work I can't check and confirm.
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Last edited by sqoops; 13th April 2017 at 11:39 AM.
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  #40813  
Old 13th April 2017, 12:28 PM
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Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things (1972)

6 aspiring movie makers dig up a corpse named Orville then experiment with witchcraft and voodoo rituals in an attempt to bring him back to life... only to be surprised and shocked when they actually do awaken the rotting dead from their graves.

Having only seen a poor quality copy of the film before i was perhaps unfairly critical. The first hour of the film is very talky and with a murky, faded picture quality became very quickly tiresome. However this beautiful restoration from Nucleus Films gives me a whole new perspective on the film.

As previously mentioned the first hour is slow and it's also very talky and that's to be expected from a film as low budget as this however what i was missing before was the suitably macabre ambiance of the atmosphere that director Bob Clark oozes into proceedings as well as a beautifully disturbing avant-garde electronica score. This first hour has a marvelously hedonistic feel to it, a vibe that still very much washes over from the previous decade and is helped by a constant stream of chatter that is both witty and audience friendly. The film is well cast and the script avoids many of the cliches that affect teen movies to this day, utilizing likable and believable characters.

Clark doesn't really seem hampered by the low budget when it comes to the scares. The ghouls rising from their graves is superbly executed with a spooky atmosphere, well produced practical effects and clever photography.

The final half hour is grim, grim, grim! Characters sacrifice one another in a bid to escape the ghouls and all signs of friendliness quickly dissipate. In fact the scene as group leader Alan pushes a female friend down some steps into the zombie hordes in a bid to escape is as mean spirited as horror gets, and yes, i include torture porn in this statement, as all the characters are supposedly mates and colleagues.

Although coming a full four years after Romero's groundbreaking Night of the Living Dead CSPWDT is the first movie to ride on it's coat tails. Having said that, this films final scene depicting the ghouls entering the city suggest that this, (together with the whole resurrecting the ghouls via voodoo idea which had been done before but not with flesh eating zombies) may have influenced Italian film makers especially Lucio Fulci who borrows the scene for his closing shot on Zombie Flesh Eaters more so than the Romero classic.

Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, perhaps not, but big kids should definitely watch this!

Also posted in The Nucleus Films Thread.
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  #40814  
Old 13th April 2017, 01:23 PM
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I'm glad you liked this one a lot more on a re-watch, Dem.
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  #40815  
Old 13th April 2017, 01:26 PM
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Yeah, i quite like it. It also has the sort of sniping script that became popular much later on with Abrams and Whedon and the like, so can be viewed as somewhat ahead of its time in that regard. There's also the rather unpleasant whiff of necrophilia in the background.
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  #40816  
Old 13th April 2017, 01:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs View Post
I'm glad you liked this one a lot more on a re-watch, Dem.
It just goes to show how a nice print can work for quite a few of these older low budget affairs.
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  #40817  
Old 13th April 2017, 02:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs View Post
It just goes to show how a nice print can work for quite a few of these older low budget affairs.
Imagine what you'd be like if you went Blu - you'd end up loving everything!
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  #40818  
Old 13th April 2017, 02:18 PM
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I think the only release I have of it is called Cemetery of the Dead, which is probably the strangest title for any film purporting to scare the audience!

I haven't seen it in years, but don't think I was particularly impressed. Maybe it is something overdue a rewatch.
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  #40819  
Old 13th April 2017, 03:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs View Post
Imagine what you'd be like if you went Blu - you'd end up loving everything!
It's not available on blu...so there!

I'm so worried about going blu then spending thousands of pounds replacing films that don't need replacing.

I mean. I've just been to Asda and nearly bought the Fright Night combo pack. Just because it was there. I'm sure had it a slipcase i'd have bought it.

The temptation is too great. I have zero self restraint and am an incurable shopaholic.
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  #40820  
Old 13th April 2017, 03:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs View Post
The temptation is too great. I have zero self restraint and am an incurable shopaholic.
I'm the same, but I have managed to save a fairly considerable amount of my salary this month - I'm quite amazed by myself. That being said I was just thinking that I might pop into HMV on the way home.

One of the pitfalls of living in a city centre, all of my money traps are right there within 5 minutes of my front door
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