The Nines

Title: The Nines

Director: John August

Released: 2007

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCarthy, Hope Davis, Elle Fanning, David Denman, Octavia Spencer, Ben Falcone, Dahlia Salem, John Gatins

Plot: A troubled actor, a show runner and a videogame designer discover that their lives might be more linked than they suspect.

Review: While John August might not be a name which leaps out at you he has worked on several noteworthy screenplays for the likes of “Titan A.E.”, “Frankenweenie” and the cult indie movie “Go” which initially launched him as a screenwriter with this film marking his directorial debut with decidedly mixed results.

A three part existential drama  this pet project clearly has the feel of someone trying to imitiate the experimental style of Charlie Kaufman only with none of the quirky charm as here Ryan Reynolds plays the three lead roles each heading up their own chapters starting with “The Prisoner” which see actor Gary barbequing his ex-girlfriends things before flipping his car and landing himself on house arrest. Soon however he finds himself being being plagued by the continual appearance of the number 9 around him.

Next up is “Reality Television” which now sees Reynolds playing the Television writer Gavin who is trying to get the pilot for his TV show “Knowing” off the ground while being followed for a reality show. The whole segment being shot in reality TV show style making for an interesting change of pace and helping the segment to stand out along with elements such as Melissa McCarthy’s role in this segment being to play the fictionalised version of herself. This segment perhaps the most autobiographical for August who based most of the plot on his experience’s working on the failed television series “D.C.” while he wrote the film with McCarthy in mind for her role, mirroring Gavin’s own writing were he wrote his TV show for this reality’s version of her.

The final segment is “Knowing” were Reynolds now plays the acclaimed video game designer Gabriel whose car has broken down in the middle of nowhere with his wife Mary (McCarthy) and daughter which aims for the big reveal of what has supposed to have been happening throughout the film and bring all the parts together. Instead we get the feeling of August self congratulating himself for what he’s created even though its still very much feels like a half baked and largely confusing mess.

Released before Reynolds achieved the mainstream approval he got from “Deadpool” and when many critics for some reason were keen to write him off like Ben Affleck as box office poison a tag I never really understood for either, especially Reynolds who might have come to the forefront through throw away cult comedies like “Van Wilder” and “Waiting” he’s constantly remained an intresting actor to watch especially when given a more dramatic role like he got with “Adventureland” or “Smokin Aces” and here he certainly gets that by getting to play three different leads all three of which he manages to make stand out from each other. This is certainly true in the case of “The Prisoner” and “Reality TV” two characters which are at polar opposite to each other with Gary coming across as bratty and self indulgent compared to the self-doubting and moody Gavin its just more frustrating that neither character ultimately get the interesting arc’s that they deserve and instead are left in meandering plotlines blogged down by August’s attempts to link all the segments together and play into his end game.

The supporting cast are equally great with both Melissa McCarthy and Hope Davis joining Reynolds in playing multiple characters across the different stories with mixed results due to the strength of the material rather than either actresses performance.

While I might have entered into the film with an expectation of what I was going to get it was somewhat disapointing to ultimately end up with a plot so plodding and ultimately navel gazing as the one that August chooses to craft here, as a potentially interesting idea is squandered by his attempts to really tie together three half baked stories that perhaps would have been better developed on their own than stuck together here.

Symbol

Title: Symbol

Director: Hitoshi Matsumoto

Released: 2009

Starring: Hitoshi Matsumoto, David Quintero, Luis Accinelli, Lilian Tapia, Adriana Fricke, Carlos C. Torres, Ivana Wong, Arkangel De La Muerte, Matcho Panpu, Dick Togo, Salam Diagne

Plot: A Japanese man wakes up in a plain white room covered with phallus like switches which cause random events to happen within the room, while I attempts to find a way out. At the same a Mexican luchadore called Escargot Man prepares for his match despite being concerned that the fact his opponent is much younger than him. At the same time the worlds of these two men are surprisingly connected.

Review: Director Hitoshi Matsumoto might be a director whose work I never intend to seek out and yet our paths for some reason keep crossing, first with the Kaiju parody “Big Man Japan” and later the delightfully perverted “R100”. This time though its a lighter tone that Matsumoto brings to this film of two randomly interconnected tales even though from the start they couldn’t seem to be further part.

Of course surreal worlds have always been one of the trademarks of the comedian turned director and here that’s certainly the case for at least one half of this film as Matsumoto plays the unnamed man who wakes up in the plain room devoid of any colour bar his garish poka-dot pajamas. He has no idea how he got there or why he’s there and certainly by the end of the film we are arguably none the wiser, but it certainly doesn’t stop it being fun to see him being put through the slapstick ringer like your watching “Saw” with jokes.

The main humour of the film comes from him trying to figure out his new surrounding which seem to have designed to purposely test him at all times. The main one of these challenges being the phallus like switches which at one point turn into cherubs which emerge from the wall before disappearing again. Each switch causes something to happen or appear in the room, be it a plate of sushi, a pair of chopsticks or even cause a Zulu warrior to run through the room and this is the challenge which he is faced with let alone the fact that they all look identical.

Just seeing Matsumoto try and find a solution of each problem as he encounters is facinating to watch and his background in comedy only helps further sell even the simplest of jokes such as counsuming a small pile of sushi after resigning himself to the fact that there is no soy sauce only for the next switch he presses to produce the much desired soy sauce. Often these problem solving sections are presented with comic book storyboards while he stares at the viewer just clicking his fingers and the trail and error of the situation is designed so that you want to see him succeed yet at the same time the pay off for each failed plan is so amusing your equally wanting to see him crash and burn aswell.

The second story involving our ageing masked Mexican wrester is a much gentler far and works well running parallel to Matsumoto’s tale. Escargot Man loves his craft as a wrester yet at the same time he’s worried that his age is meaning that he is almost out of the game, especially when faced with competing against a pair of wrestlers half his age. Seeing him permanently wearing his mask regardless of if he is wrestling or not felt like a fun throw back to the likes of “Santo” while at the same time keeping in with the traditions of Lucha Libre. Over the course of his story we see the impact it has on family, including his son who is see defending his father’s in ring ability when two of his classmates make fun of Escargot Man.

Compared to my previous encounters with Matsumoto’s work this one surprisingly didn’t have a darker edge to it, or even go anywhere remotely downbeat in its tone. True instead the finale is a random mish-mash of ideas which includes a Kiss tribute act, ascension and a rather unique ending to Escargot Man’s match. True by the end of the film I might not have been any the wiser as to what I was watching than I was at the start but the ride is so unquestionably fun you really don’t care, while for those willing to take a few risks with their movie watching then this is certainly worth checking out, especially as a more gentle introduction to Matsumoto’s work.

Samaritan Girl

Title: Samaritan Girl

Director: Kim Ki-duk

Released: 2004

Starring: Yeo-reum Han, Ji-min Kwak, Eol Lee, Hyun-min Kwon, Yong Oh, Gyun-Ho Im, Lee Jong-Gil, Shin Taek-Ki

Plot: Jae-Young (Yeo-reum Han) is an high school student who also moonlights as a prostitute while her best friend Yeo-Jin ( Ji-min Kwak) manages her dates and acts as a lookout as the pair plan to use the money to escape to Europe. However when Jae-Young killed trying to escape from the police Yeo-Jin trying to deal with the loss of her friend decides to track down every man Jae-Young slept with.

Review: Despite being viewed as the enfant terrible of Korean cinema, Kim Ki-duk for one reason or another has never managed to gain the same kind of name recognition that the likes of Takashi Miike or Sion Sono or even Park Chan Wook. Perhaps its due to his ability to move between making arthouse movies like “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring” and “3-Iron” aswell as more shocking fare like “Bad Guy” and “The Isle”. Here though he gives us a film which sits on the boundary line between his two styles.

To say this is a film about teen prostitution its a surprisingly upbeat movie with Jae-Young seeing no shame in what she is doing to raise the money the pair need for their tickets to Europe, though the reasons why are never clarified. Still Jae-Young who comes across like some otherworldly presence constantly reassures her friend that she enjoys these dates that the pair arrange for her, even citing the connection she feels with some of them in particular a musician (Yong Oh) who acts as the catalyst for the main meat of the film as following Jae-Young’s baffling escape attempt of jumping out of a forth story window and landing on her head, which somehow she survives only to later die in hospital asking to see the musician who she claims to be in love with.

This relationship that Jae-Young has with the relationship is one of the only times that we see any kind of tension between Jae-Young and Yeo-Jin and who are not only clearly best friends but at the same there is the hint of somthing else between them, more so when Kim Ki-duk seems so keen to include so many bathhouse scenes between the play

Its worth noting that this isn’t a film that you can watch questioning the logic of anything happening, because here Kim Ki-duk is flying in the face of logic and instead just telling the story he wants to tell. This of course is the only way I can explain why Yeo-Jin sees the best way of honouring her friend is by sleeping with all the men that Jae-Young did before returning their money. Perhaps its to try and find the same connection that Jae-Young had with these men who she previously is shown dismissing as being losers or perhaps its an attempt to live in her skin for awhile, the answer is unclear and certainly not clarified by the film.

The real twist here comes when Yeo-Jin’s police officer father Yeong-ki (Lee Eol) discovers what his daughter is doing though not understanding why nor choosing to investigate the reasons he instead embarks on personal mission to intimidate the clients. This imitation quickly escalates with Lee Eol seemingly channelling Beat Takashi’s performance in “Violent Cop” during these scenes as he shows up to the family dinner of one of the clients, unflinchingly slapping him around in front of his family before leaving as calmly as he entered, the fact that the man is shown throwing himself out of the dinning room window only serves as a grim encore to the scene. Yeong-ki’s mission against these men climax’s in a brutal toilet beatdown.

The final act of the film comes as something of a gentle let down with Yeo-Jin and her father head out to the countryside, both of them unable to tell the other about what they have been doing while the finale plays out with an air of unease as your not sure if her father plans to kill her off or not which going off his actions leading up to this spontanious visit to her mother’s grave it really could really go either way.

A strangely watchable film even though at times its unclear what is supposed to actually happening let alone the direction which Kim Ki-duk is choosing to take the film, something only made the more unpredictable considering his aforementioned love of playing with the audiences expectations of his work. At the same time while not as angry as his earlier films, it lacks the artistic whims of his later work as it falls between the two worlds and perhaps to this extent makes it the best starting place for his back catalogue.

Tokyo Tribe

Title:  Tokyo Tribe

Director: Sion Sono
Released: 2014
Starring: Ryohei Suzuki, Young Dais, Seino Nana, Ryuta Sato, Shoko Nakagawa, Yosuke Kubozuka, Riki Takeuchi, Takuya Ishida, Shunsuke Daito, Yui Ichikawa, Shoto Sometani, Denden, Hideo Nakano, Bernard Ackah, Hitomi Katayama, Kokone Sasaki, Mao Mita, Yoshihiro Takayama

Plot: In an alternate vision of Tokyo, the city has been divided up by street gangs collectively known as the Tokyo Tribes who co-exist in an uneasy state of peace, one which is soon shattered by crime boss Big Buppa (Takeuchi)

Review:  While many of the original outlandish and controversial directors such as Takashi Miike have mellowed with age its kind of comforting to see that there are directors like Sion Sono who is still carving his path as a truly original voice in Asian cinema. Having previously given us suicide cults, killer hair extensions and the hooters version of a fish shop to barely scratch the surface of some of the randomness that his films to date have covered.  I guess that he would attempt a hip-hop musical version of “The Warriors” which I guess might be the best way of describing the randomness he gives us here.  

Based on the Manga series by Santa Inoue, this adaptation is shot with a combination of hip-hop excess and hyper-kinetic cinematography, its once again another unique world view that Sono gives us here, right from the opening rap which introduces this world as a grandma works the decks. It’s also in this scene that we get our first introduction to the varied gangs of this version of Tokyo with Buppa’s son Mera (Ryohei) tracing out the territories on the naked flesh of a naïve female cop who attempted to arrest him as he rakes his knife from her breast to her butt.

Unquestionably its once again a colorful group of characters that we get here, while the sheer number of players however does mean that only the most outlandish of these characters prove to be memorable as many slip into the background unless actively doing something to further the plot at that particular moment. However whenever Takeuchi is on the screen all attention is drawn straight to him, as his crime boss Buppa seems to have been inspired by every crime boss from Tony “Scarface” Montana through to Durant from  “Darkman” as seen by his cigar box of severed fingers. Here Takeuchi somehow manages to crank up his usual snarling style several more notches than his usual craziness as he commands the screen every time he’s on, whether he’s groping his amply breasted wife or jerking off with a black dildo he’s a fantastically cartoonish creation and one which Takeuchi seems to be having a ball playing.  While Buppa might have made for a suitable big baddie on his own, much of the heavy lifting required to maintain his empire is handled by equally psychotic sons the aforementioned bleached blonde Mera while his other son languishes in “A Clockwork Orange” inspired room of living furniture.

While the film might be a hip-hop musical in Japanese, a language whose suitability for the musical style is debatable, especially going off the frequently droning tone that most of the raps take here which is more worrying when you consider the amount of actual rappers amongst the cast. That being said even if you’re not a hip-hop fan it never overwhelms the film to point where it is unenjoyable for the non-fans.  That being said around the halfway point Sono seemingly loses faith in the concept and instead opts to turn the film into an all-out kung-fu spectacle as the rapping is changed out for stylised ass kicking.

Action wise if you were impressed by what he brought to the screen previously in “Why Don’t You Play In Hell” here he cranks up the energy even further to create some great set pieces including a showdown in a room which hides a giant fan which is put to great use thinning out most of the cast, while we also get a sadly too brief Bruce Lee homage and a character being turned into a human pin cushion via a dozen samurai swords to the chest. True none of these scenes are aiming for realism, as instead Sono aims to only add to his ongoing spectacle but when shot with such a sense of chaotic fun as it is here, such things hardly matter.

Perhaps due to the sheer amount of characters and muddled plotting it wasn’t until I watched this film for the second time that I was able to appreciate it, having been left with a sense of indifference after my initial viewing. Perhaps more flawed than some of his other films, this is still a highly unique film from a director who continues to prove himself as an original and exciting force in Asian cinema, making it little surprise that critics / Asian cinema fans continue to draw comparisons between him and Takashi Miike even if perhaps Sono is barely pushing the boundaries of taste in the same way that Miike did during his outlaw years. In the meantime though this is another great entry into an already impressive body of work, even if perhaps it fails to reach the same levels of some of his more recent films, this is still an experience worth having.

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

Title: Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For

Director: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller

Released: 2014

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, Jaime King, Christopher Lloyd, Jamie Chung, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Meloni, Juno Temple

Plot: Another collection of tales from Frank Miller’s “Sin City” as Cocky gambler Johnny (Gordon Levitt) finds himself on the wrong side of Senator Roarke (Boothe) after beating him a backroom poker game. Years before “The Big Fat Kill” Dwight (Brolin) gets caught up with his former lover Ava (Green) only to get caught up in a dangerous double cross.  Elsewhere four years after the events of “That Yellow Bastard” exotic dancer Nancy (Alba) is still plotting her revenge against senator Roarke who she blames for Hartigan’s suicide.  All in all it is going to be busy few nights for muscle for hire Marv (Rourke)

Review: It’s hard to believe that it has been nine years since our last visit to Frank Miller’s legendry neo-noir city of violence and corruption, but after various delays and re-casting Rodriguez and Miller have teamed up once more for this second collection of stories from Miller’s cult series as this time the film builds around the story “A Dame To Kill For” which forms the main meat of the film while book ended by two new stories “The Long Bad Night” and “Nancy’s Last Dance” which Miller penned specifically for the film.

Right from the opening short “Just Another Saturday Night” which sees Marv waking up next to a crashed police car and trying to figure out how he came to be surrounded by a group of dead frat boys, its almost as if we’ve never been away as Rodriguez once again sticks to the black and white shooting style of the first film, while once again clearly using the source comics as the storyboards. A style which Miller tried to replicate for his misguided let alone plain random adaption of “The Spirit” but thankfully Rodriguez it would seem is the voice of reason in this team as this film thankfully is free of any such randomness, while largely giving us more of the intoxicating mix of gratuitous violence and black humour, even if the later is noticeably more absent than in the previous film as the duo seem to be aiming for a solid noir style tale. Frustratingly though when humour is introduced it is often clumsily handled and more of a distraction than the light relief it provided the first time around.

Still despite this slight change in direction, the familiar faces waiting to welcome you back to Basin city means that it’s often none too noticeable until you stop to examine the film closer. Thankfully in the time which has passed nothing seems to have changed for any of these characters, with perhaps the exception of Dwight who we get to finally see what he looked like prior to his surgery. For most of the cast though it’s still business as usual as they go about their various dirty deals or trying to find a way to escape their various issues. At the same time we also get a whole heap of new characters to add to the local colour even if these new characters are largely to fill minor or supporting roles.

Sadly while it is a great cast which has been assembled here, the performances throughout vary greatly with Bruce Willis phoning in yet another performance for what is essentially a glorified cameo. Rourke especially suffering as a result of his role being increased so that he now appears in every story with the exception of “The Long Bad Night” almost as if no one can pull of a plan in this city without his assistance, something which really damages the mystique of his character as previously he was seen as a lone wolf, while here he is largely to add to the violence quota or to provide clumsy comic relief. Elsewhere and most disappointingly Joseph Gordon-Levitt appears to be giving us a poor man Bogart impression as he snarls though his lines, with none of the cool he brought to his previous Neo-noir effort “Brick”. The fact his character lacks of any real purpose other than trying to embarrass senator Roarke only adds to the creeping sensation that like “Nancy’s Last Dance” that this story was only added as filler when it became obvious that they couldn’t stretch “A Dame To Kill For” to feature length, while the fact its split into two parts lacks the natural breaking point that we had with “That Yellow Bastard” in the original and comes off looking like they remembered part way though the film that they hadn’t finished Johnny’s story and return to hastily wrap it up the same way all the stories end this time with someone getting a bullet to the head.

Due to the long delays between this film and the original it has meant certain roles being recast with Jamie Chung taking over from Devon Aoki due to being pregnant at the time of film resulting in deadly little Miho going from a stone cold killer to just another pretty girl from old town whose handy with a sword. Dennis Haysbert makes for a great replacement for Michael Clarke Duncan even if he doesn’t have quite the vocal presence of his predecessor. Josh Brolin is equally on good form, even if his portrayal of Dwight is perhaps alittle more gritty than Clive Owen’s who was supposed to share the role with Brolin only to ultimately not be available for filming which now leaves us with the scenes were Dwight has supposed to have changed his appearance through plastic surgery, which I suppose would have seen the role switch to Owen and now leaving us watching Brolin looking like he’s had a bad facelift while bad guys act like he’s a completely different character!?!

The real star of the show here though is Eva Green, who is utterly captivating as the titular Dame and despite spending a vast amount of time in the nude, it never feels that it is being done for titillation, as here it gives her an almost siren esq quality, especially when she uses her womanly charms to further her own causes, usually with fatal consequences for the men who succumb to her. While Angelina Jolie was the original choice for this role, this is truly Green’s role and its hard to imagine any other actress being so willing with some of the more risqué elements of this role, much less the amount of nudity required.
 

Unquestionably though “A Dame To Kill For” is the strongest of the stories featured and in a way makes sense considering that it was written when Miller was writing in his prime, which as anyone who has read any of his more recent efforts will tell you those days currently seem like a long lost memory. Judging by Miller’s directorial debut with “The Spirit” it would also seem that Rodriguez is the voice of sanity in the duo as this features none of the sheer randomness that plagued that film, while lifting the visual style of “Sin City” which here doesn’t seem to be as edgy as it was back in 2005, yet at the same time it is a style which suits the film still even if perhaps the moments of colour we get throughout the film don’t seem to have any of the poignancy of the original, which only used colour for the character of Goldie and occasional splashes of crimson. Here though what qualified for the colour treatment seems more sporadic and frequently without reason, though thankfully Eva Green’s eyes are amongst the things which do.

While this might not come close to the original, it still has its moments as well as fun smaller appearances by both Christopher Lloyd and Lady Gaga as a drunk doctor and waitress respectively. Perhaps because of the strength of its middle section though I still would love to see another film in the series, if perhaps based solely on original material than letting Miller try and write anything new again as here when it does it only detracts further from the film. Like any night we see in the film this is one to be certainly approached with caution.

Maniac (2012)

Title: Maniac

Director: Franck Khalfoun

Released: 2012

Starring: Elijah Wood, Nora Arnezeder, Jan Broberg, Liane Balaban, America Olivo, Joshua De La Garza, Morgane Slemp, Sal Landi, Genevieve Alexandra, Sammi Rotibi, Megan M. Duffy

Plot: Frank (Wood) by day works restoring and selling mannequins, while at night he trawls the streets looking for victims to help him quell his violent urges as he is constantly tormented by the voices in his head.

Review: Usually the news of yet another iconic horror film being given the remake treatment is enough to bring cries of despair from the horror community (let alone myself), mainly because they have tendency to be just plain awful! Frequently these rushed out efforts try to play off the legacy of their namesakes in hopes of guaranteed box office return and more than often minus any of the scares. The exception to this rule though has been with Alexandre Aja, who despite exploding onto the scene with “Switchblade Romance” (aka Haute Tension / High Tension depending were in the world you are)  has since then been responsible for some of the best films to come out of the current horror remake trend, as he has helmed remakes of The Hills Have Eyes, Mirrors and Piranha and here he turns his attention to William Lustig’s cult slasher. Despite teaming up once more with his long term writing partner Gregory Levasseur, this time he hands over the directorial reigns to Franck Khalfoun for his most high profile film to date after his ho-hum debut “P2” and the direct to DVD “Wrong Turn at Tahoe” which he clearly has learned from as this film is very much a different beast entirely.

First off I should highlight that I won’t in this review try and draw comparisions between this film and the 1980 original which like so many of Lustig’s films has a very dedicated fan base many of whom dismissed the film on its release which is kind of a shame as both films have their own merits yet at the same time they are very different beasts.

Shot almost entirely from the Frank’s POV the film is heavily reminiscent of “Peeping Tom” with Frank only being seen occasionally via reflections or out of body hallucinations. It is from the opening were we see Frank in his van stalking his next victim that we are immediately given an insight into his fractured and tortured psyche as he mutters to himself and provides his own commentary as he watches his victim, before we ultimately follow Frank as he slowly moves in for the kill. Frank though is not content to just stalk and kill young women though, as he also enjoys scalping his victims and later transferring their hair onto one of his numerous mannequins which in Frank’s mind gives them the personality of his victims.

Here Khalfoun is not content to give us yet another run of the mill slasher as the focus is kept completely with Frank throughout the film and in doing so ensures that he is fully able to explore the complex psyche of Frank, whose issues are certainly deep rooted to say the least as we get frequent flashbacks to Frank’s childhood in particular his mother moonlighting as a prostitute, scenes hauntingly shot with the young Frank being forced to watch grotesque sexual scenes happening infront of him, while clearly not being able to configure in his young mind what is actually. Combined with the frequently nervous tone which Frank speaks with it is a strange sense of sympathy that Frank invokes in the audience even though we are watching him commit some truly hideous acts and its this conflict of emotions we feel for this character that Khalfoun frequently plays with over the course of the film as he shows us Frank’s tortured psyche before showing him committing some hideous act ensuring that we are never sure how to feel about him.

Speaking of these acts, unsurprising for any film which Alexandre Aja is involved with it is unquestionably violent in places with scalping being the main order of the day and while certainly toned down than some of Aja's previous films, he it is unquestionably effective when it is used and never seemingly for the sake of easy shocks as Khalfoun is careful to not loose the mood of the film for the sake of adding more gore, instead preferring to use intense bursts rather than prolonged violence and only allowing himself to truly go overboard for the finale as Frank suffers a full mental breakdown escalating in a suitably gory climax.

The real strength of this film though lies in the casting of Elijah Wood who gives us his second turn as a psycho after previously playing the mute cannibal Kevin in “Sin City” and here he continues his surprising talent for playing serial killers as he continues to prove himself more than a one trick pony considering how many people still see him as Frodo. Here though that role seems like a distant memory as he tackles possibly one of his most complex roles to date and while he might seem like the last person who could play a convincing psycho he soon blows any doubts out of the water within minutes of the film starting, as he is effortless flows between Frank’s many frames of mind.

The other standout aspect here is the synth heavy soundtrack by French composer Rob and which instantly brought to mind Cliff Martinez score for “Drive” with undertones of “A  Clockwork Orange” and it really suits the film which after all is a (loose) remake of an 80’s film.  Like so many of John Carpenter’s films here as well the film is framed by its soundtrack, moving from softly haunting during the stalking sequence, while fully coming to the front during the climax as Frank truly looses all control he may have had over his murderous urges

 

Yet another film to add to the argument for remakes, this is unquestionably exciting film making and even without the link to the original film, this film more than stands on its own merits, especially with Wood providing one of his most memorable performances to date. No matter what your stance on the unrelenting stream of remakes might be, this is certainly one of the better films to come out of this trend.

John Dies At The End

Title: John Dies At The End

Director: Don Coscarelli
Released: 2012
Starring: Rob Mayes, Chase Williamson, Clancy Brown, Paul Giamatti, Doug Jones, Glynn Turnman, Fabianne Therese, Daniel Roebuck, Jonny Weston, Jimmy Wong

 

Plot: On the streets there is a new drug called “Soy Sauce” which not only gives the user latent psychic abilities, but also the ability to drift across time and other dimensions, something which has led to a doorway for an otherworldly invasion being unwittingly opened. So with mankind in need of a hero, worryingly what they get instead is John (Rob Mayes) and David (Chase Williamson) a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down a job, while receiving back up from the TV psychic (Clancy Brown) whose own psychic powers might not being a fake as they would seem.



Review: I think it’s safe to say that this film is unlikely to be anything resembling a mainstream hit, which is hardly going to be of any surprise to the established fans of director Don Coscarelli, who is probably best known for helming the “Phantasm” series, aswell as turning Elvis into an OAP mummy slayer in “Bubba Ho-Tep”. However considering that his last directing gig was the “Masters of Horror” episode “Incident On and Off a Mountain Road” way back in 2005, it is something of a relief to know that he has not lost any of his trademark randomness in the meantime, as he now returns with this adaptation of David Wong’s cult novel, which in many ways could have been written specifically for him, especially considering the sheer randomness he conjured with his own Phantasm series.

Opening with David beheading an undead skinhead, while philosophically musing over having to replace both the handle and axe head over the numerous attempts it takes him to despatch of this foe and whether this would still make it the same axe. This will be one of the easier questions which the film poses, especially as you find yourself frequently questioning what exactly is supposed to be happening, as David recounts his experiences to reporter Arnie Blondestone (Paul Giamatti) starting with their battle with a monster made of meat products while slowly revealing how he came to encounter the mysterious and seemingly living drug known simply as “Soy Sauce”.

While seemingly recounting a supposedly linear story I couldn’t help but feel like the film was some failed TV show, which had been picked up and then edited into a movie format. Such creeping feelings are only further reinforced as David and John move randomly from battling one threat to another, as the plot involving this mystery drug, soon paves the way for a possession storyline, before throwing that out of the window, so that the boys can travel to another dimension, were the inhabitants all wear masks and walk around topless (not such a bad thing) while being ruled by a the sentient machine Korrok, who has a habit of feeding those who oppose him to giant spiders. Incase you haven’t realised it already; it is safe to say that this is one truly random ass trip though time and space, even more so when you consider that at one point David is forced to communicate to John telepathically with the aid of a hotdog.

A film like this only really works if all involved are committed to the joke, which thankfully can be said for the cast comprised of largely unknowns, outside of cult cinema favourite Brown and Giamatti, while Doug Jones who is probably better known for his CGI motion capture work, appears here in a rare unsuited role. Still both Mayes and Williamson are both engaging and believable leads, even though it is left to Williamson to carry the film for the most part, it only serves to up the crazy factor when they are finally brought together and makes me hope that Coscarelli will direct an adaptation of the follow up novel “This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously Dude, Don’t Touch It” especially as this film so perfectly sets up what could make for a great series of misadventures, such like “Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil”, though I guess that will depend heavily on how this film is received.

The fact this film is so unlike anything currently being released in the mainstream, is something which only plays to its advantage, for while the plotting is largely incoherent as the film swerves between plot points like a drunk driver, with Coscarelli occasionally taking hold of the wheel to give us a burst of coherency, only to then pile further randomness on top of things, with such random plotting almost ensuring that it will appeal to a select audience at best. However at the same time there is something surreally wonderful about how this film is put together, much like the underrated “Southland Tales” and a film which I would say this is most easy to compare to, especially when it never strays into the same deeply bizarre realm operated in chiefly by David Lynch, with its random film references which include a nod to both “Return of the Jedi” and more sneeringly “The Sixth Sense” only further warming it to its indie audience, aswell as Coscarelli’s established fanbase who will no doubt already be used to this incoherent style of film plotting from his previous films.

Far from the easiest of films to sell, especially as it has every potential of being viewed as a cult classic in the making, while highlighting to the Coscarelli fan base that his time away from the director’s chair hasn’t caused him to lose his highly original style, with original certainly being the key word for describing this film, which while not to everyone’s tastes will certainly appeal to the more adventurous movie goer aswell as fans of “Todd and the Book of Pure Evil” which is the closest comparison to anything I can draw, other than saying that this film does for Horror and inter-dimensional time travel what Douglas Adams did for sci-fi. Still if you’re looking for one of the more original releases of this year, look no further!

The Cabin In The Woods

Title: The Cabin In The Woods

Director: Drew Goddard

Released: 2012

Staring: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, Brian White, Amy Acker, Tim De Zarn

Plot: Five friends spending the weekend at a secluded cabin in the woods, soon find out that not everything as it seems, as unaware their every move is being watched by a vast network of puppeteers.

Review: Sometimes it only takes one simple tweak to breathe new life into a well worked genre and this is essentially what makes this film so special as Director Goddard and uber scribe Joss Whedon have done just that, taking the established idea of slow witted teens finding horror in the woods and giving it a completely new spin without trying to reinvent the wheel. True I might be at this point one of the last people to stumble into this film, something which only makes me wish that I hadn’t put it off for so long, but before we get down into the guts of this film, if your like me and put off seeing this film for whatever reason, bewarned that spoilers lie ahead! Okay now you have been duly warned, lets look closer at the cabin in question and the secrets hiding within it’s walls.

Written by Goddard and Whedon, as an attempt to revitalize the horror genre which in their observations had leaned more and more towards torture porn since the success of “Hostel” with Whedon going on record in an interview for “Total Film” stating:

“I love being scared. I love that mixture of thrill, of horror, that objectification / identification thing of wanting definitely for the people to be alright but at the same time hoping they’ll go somewhere dark and face something awful. The things that I don't like are kids acting like idiots, the devolution of the horror movie into torture porn and into a long series of sadistic comeuppances. Drew and I both felt that the pendulum had swung a little too far in that direction.”

Having seen the finished film, it is safe to say that they have achieved this goal, as like Wes Craven did with “Scream” back in the 90’s, they have done here by taking horror back to it’s basics, while at the same time looking at things from a new perspective which in this case is that of the puppet masters controlling or more precisely Richard (Jenkins) and Steve (Whitford), who watch and control when needed what is happening to the group. From their control station these two technicians can control events within the cabin, from simple tricks such as a cellar door opening to releasing pheromones to help loosen the morals of the horny teens. Such self referencing nods are essentially what made “Scream” so successful and to a lesser extent the painfully underrated “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon” and here it is none the less effective, especially when some of the more clever nods are hidden subtly within the film such as Deadites and Angry Molesting Tree being listed a possible fates on the betting board.

The film construct is well within the usual framework of your typical slasher movie and plays out essentially the same to start with, as our largely clueless teens upset the creepy gas station attendant and set about drinking and partying within minutes of arriving at the cabin and while the usual archetypes are done away with as the group despite seemingly falling within the usual templates are actually quite an educated bunch, with their more questionable moments being more to do with the tinkering actions of the technicians controlling the events. Still the cast who at the time of filming were all largely unknowns, something which had certainly changed by the time film was finally released, but here despite their lack of experience they all manage to sell their roles well.

Despite seemingly low on gore once the real action of the plot starts with the teens unwittingly unleashing a family of torture zombies, in a scene which playfully hints at the other triggers, the outcomes of which thankfully saved for later rather than being left as a mystery, while Goddard focuses more on peeling the layers surrounding the mystery of the cabin, so that by the time the film reaches its conclusion there is no mystery left with nearly everything being brought full circle, rather than setting up any kind of potential franchise and ensuring a solid pay off while containing this world as a satisfying one shot movie. Meanwhile for the gore fans feeling as if they might be getting cheated out in earlier scenes, Goddard more than makes up with it in the finale for as the film gets closer to the final revel he essentially paints the screen crimson and throwing more gore at the screen than I have seen in a long time while at the same time being so gloriously over the top and out of control, it was hard to fight the goofy grin it brought to my face, especially as the sheer inventiveness of Goddard and Whedon is truly unleashed here, with some of the creations making me wish that they were given longer screen time, while also showing a much darker side to unicorns (finally).

For myself the real downside to this film was with its conclusion which ultimately didn’t really feel like the pay off I was hoping for, while only further ensuring that the film is kept as self contained as it is. Still with the ride until this point being as fun as it is, ultimately it comes down to more a question of taste especially as discussing this with other people, no one else seems to mention the ending in any kind of positive or negative context. Ultimately this is smart and entertaining film making which plays on the expectations of the viewers and their established ideas of the horror genre, as it walks the tightrope between embracing and rejecting their established ideals, while poking fun at the current state of horror, while bringing a few fresh ideas of its own, making for a worthwhile watch for both the established horror fans and the more casual movie goer.

Martyrs

Title: Martyrs
Director: Pascal Laugier
Released: 2008
Staring: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin, Isabelle Chasse, Robert Toupin, Patricia Tulasne, Juliette Gosselin, Xavier Dolan-Tadros

Plot: Fifteen years ago Lucie (Jampanoï) was abducted and tortured as a child. Now having tracked down her kidnappers she set’s out with her childhood friend Anna (Alaoui), who also carries her own abuse scars to get her revenge. It’s only when Anna arrives at the house does she start to question her friends actions before discovering a hatch in the basement.



Review: There is a memorable line in David Fincher’s classic thriller “Seven” (1995) uttered by a doctor having who having examined the Sloth victim proclaims

“He’s experienced about as much pain and suffering as anyone I’ve encountered, give or take, and he still has Hell to look forward to.”

And this was the line which came to mind as the end credits rolled on this film as I was left reeling and still unable to comprehend what it was that I had just watched, much less how I was going to write about it. “Matyrs” is anything but a straightforward movie and it is certainly one best going into blind, so once again this is you getting off point for those wishing to experience the film with all its shocks intact, as potential spoilers lye ahead.

Opening with Lucie as a young girl bloodied and running terrified through a derelict industrial estate, Director Laugier wastes zero time in establishing a mood for what is essentially the rest of the film, as Laugier then establishes exactly what she has been though via a mixture of documentary footage taken by the team sent to investigate, aswell as snippets of her therapy which in turn establishes her friendship with Anna and the strong bond that they two girls share, growing out of their status as abuse survivors. Still this is merely the warm up for what is to follow, as Laugier shifts gear and slams on the gas, as the film now becomes an unrelenting nightmare of visceral horror and violence.

Shot almost like two movies cut together, the first half is a pure home invasion / revenge thriller as the now grown up Lucie breaks into what would to be your typical suburban household, as they sit down to breakfast quickly unloading shotgun shells into the family without even any attempt at an introduction or welcome. It’s in the aftermath of this savage attack that Anna re-enters the story, while Lucie seems to be quickly losing her grip on reality having visions of a Lovecraftian style monster which frequently attacks her causing her to mutilate herself as she tries to defend herself. It’s also at this point that Anna begins to also have doubts about her friends sanity, let alone if she has even found the people who had abducted her, especially when the house shows no signs of either of the parents being capable of the acts inflicted upon Lucie as a child. Still it’s the discovery of a mysterious hatch in the basement which marks the start of what could essentially be classed as the second film which is almost a polar opposite of the first half as gone are the frantic cuts and shooting from the hips, to be replaced by tightly framed shots and an almost clinical approach to the screen violence, as the hatch proves to be an almost metaphorical for the secrets the parents have seemingly hidden from their children, continuing normal family life while hiding the real horrors in the basement. Now if you have made it this far into the film and wondered what all the fuss was about, you should perhaps not speak so soon, as it’s the halfway mark were Laugier chooses to really unleash the demons on his audience, as he redefines what unrelenting horror which are only unleashed once the hatch is opened.

Despite being heavy on torture especially for the second half of the film and shocking imagery, “Martyrs” refuses to have the clumsy “Torture Porn” label attached to it, as the savagery on display here isn’t played with any sense of fun, but rather approached with a clinical and sterile approach, as the camera largely plays witness to the acts on offer, only occasionally allowing itself the luxury of a more artsy shot or two including a memorable close up of a dilated iris which in turn morphs into a 2001 Esq. Lightshow to help highlight the deteriorating mental state of the sufferer. Still once the film moves into it’s brutal second half, it is from here that it becomes more a test of endurance and as well as your ability to keep your lunch down and while other films have certainly pushed the boundaries further in terms of gore, but it is still none the more pleasant to sit through, to find out the big answer to what is actually going on and one that seems to divide audience reaction as to if it was worth the trek through hell to find out the reasons behind everything you have just witnessed, especially with Laugier failing in many ways to explore the titular theory perhaps as indepth as some would like or even explain it better to the less well read viewer.

The gore on display here is creative to say the least, with bodies being flung across the room by shotgun blasts to the chest and even a flaying are just two things on the menu, though for the hardened gore hounds nothing that they probably won’t have seen before, despite cries of “The most Violent movie ever made” from the conservative broadsheet reading crowd, but what’s on offer here, easily pales when compared to the likes of “Cannibal Holocaust” (1980) or even more recent releases such as “Frontier(s)” (2007) which certainly pushed the boundaries further and here Laugier seemingly more interested to approach the screen violence with the an unflinching lense similar that used by Michael Haneke for “Funny Games” (1997) were violence was used as part of his exploration of media violence, though it would seem that Laugier isn’t trying to explore such themes, but rather adopting a similar style to ramp up intensity while ensuring that he doesn’t let up on the pressure for a moment. Needless to say as someone who is disgusted by domestic violence, towards the end of the film it became especially tough watching what is essentially a succession of scenes were one of the characters is repeatedly beaten over and over, while being further proof as to why I no longer talk to my parents about the films I review here.

While certainly not the easiest of films to recommend based on the levels of violence and grim subject matter, yet it’s strangely fascinating and gripping at the same time, though the true power will no doubt hit you after the end credits have run, as it’s only then that you mind will find the time to churn over what you have just watched, as Laugier has here created one of the most shocking yet highly original films I have seen in along while, though one to certainly approach with caution.

Teeth

Title: Teeth
Director: Mitchell Lichtenstein
Released: 2007
Staring: Jess Weixler, Hale Appleman, Ashley Springer, Josh Pais, John Hensley, Nicole Swahn, Lenny Von Dohlen

Plot: Dawn (Weixler) is a spokesperson for local Christian abstinence group “The Promise”, while she unknowingly also suffering from a condition known as “vagina dentate” better known as a toothed vagina.




Review: “Teeth” is a film which is all about it’s concept much like “The Human Centipede” (2009), “Zombie Strippers” (2008) and “Snakes On A Plane” (2006) and while having a concept film sure helps to generate a lot of word of mouth press, these films usually end up being as quickly forgotten as they burst onto the public conscious, with this film certainly being similar to this extent like “Snakes On A Plane” for although it succeeded in generate a lot of interest on it’s release I’ve yet to find more than a handful of people who actually bother to watch that film when it came out, the same could also be said for "Teeth" though it’s not quite been forgotten yet, but this could also be a lot to do with the sheer snigger factor that the idea of a vagina with teeth tends to bring out in folks.

The directorial debut of Mitchell Lichtenstein (son of 60’s pop artist Roy Lichtenstein), here he has clearly aimed for shock appeal here by taking such a b-movie premise and one also previously explored in the slightly less subtle “Sexual Parasite: Killer Pussy” (2004) and to an extent achieved it, especially how he had neighbours to the film set protesting the film, believing that the film was porn and only it's when you watch the film that you realise that he is more bizzarly and surprisingly aiming to hit the indie comedy market only to miss it completely as well as creating what is essentially an extremely tedious horror film at it’s core, no thanks to a painfully slow build up to the first real introduction of her condition, after hinting at it from the opening in which a young Dawn extra teeth unwittingly bite her step brother Brad’s wandering finger, which even more creepily he does in a paddling pool directly in front of their parents, an incestuous obsession he continues into adulthood. Still her condition is never fully explained though, seeing how their house is located in the shadow of a huge nuclear power station, we can only assume that Director Lichtenstein wants the audience to assume that this is the cause

Dawn’s is played convincingly by Weixler whom unsurprisingly picked up the jury price when the film was premiered at sundance, while also drawing comparisons to Meryl Streep. constantly being torn between her ever increasing sexual urges, while her religious beliefs, leave her stranded in the social no mans land between frigid and slut, a battle which rages on within her school as her fellow classmates face the continual pressures to give into their urges, meanwhile sex education classes have pictures of the female reproductive organs taped over no doubt due to pressures from the local religious community and further explaining the lack of knowlege about her own body Dawn posesses, with her own belief further driving home in her mind the idea of such areas a being taboo for any kind of self exploration, as seen in scenes of her cautiously and gingerly exploring herself. Still though many questions are raised in this film Lichtenstein chooses not to clarify the majority of them.

When faced with her own sexual awakening brought on by dating fellow promise member Toby (Appleman), and the rejection of his sexual advances, which in turn lead to an attempted rape, which needless to say ends badly for Toby, that we finally get the first pay off at almost 45 minutes into the film, which is certainly almost torturous when being forced to endure so many of the characters, who are either cookie cutter caricatures or just plain unlikable sleaze balls which seemed to be nearly every male character in the film, making me wonder if this film had been scripted by the writers of “The L Word” which also had the tendency of portraying nearly all their male characters in some form of negative light and usually as greasy and disgusting almost as if they were trying to put across the message that their predominantly lipstick lesbian cast, had become lesbian purely because the men around them were such scum and thier fairer sex was a much more attractive proposition, when faced with thier limited choices and it’s similar feelings I felt here, were it would seem that any guy she feels any form of attraction to is either a potential rapist or complete Douchbag. Still Hensley’s attempt at tough guy bravado playing the quick to violence step brother Brad is arguably one of the most laughable performances in the film, with Hensley coming off more moody than threatening and certainly not helped by his cheap fake looking tattoos, much like the fact he continues undeterred to have sex with his girlfriend while his step mother collapses outside his bedroom door, in one the least plausible moments in the film, which seems to serve only as a way to setup Dawn’s revenge against him later in the film, where her revenge is one certainly served ice cold.

The body count is surprisingly light here, thanks mainly to Lichtenstein refusing to turn Dawn into a woman on a mission of vengeance against these obnoxious men who she seems to frequently attract and only hints at Dawn taking on such a mission with the stumble of an ending, which rather than setting up a sequel pretty much marked were the concept finally runs out of steam, as honestly this film leaves nowhere essentially for her character to go. Still the attack scenes while being all centred predictably around the crotch region (but then what else is going to go there…..actually don’t answer that), we also get some chopped off digits formally belonging to Dawn’s Gynaecologist, all filmed in a very over-exaggerated style, which added a nice comical edge, much like the surviving victims refusal to say how they got their injuries, while having their assorted detached limbs reattached. Rather than trying to go for full on gore, though for those of you wandering wanting to see a chewed of penis, will be happy to know that Lichtenstein doesn’t disappoint or cheat the audience by keeping things off screen.

“Teeth” might be an intriguing premise, but essentially this ends up being a film which is certainly all bark and very little bite, thanks to it’s mish mash characterisation and horrible pacing, let alone the fact Lichtenstein seems to be trying cover far too many bases, rather than focusing on the main reason were watching the film to begin with, while leaving far to many of these avenues of exploration open, to the point that you wonder if there was any real point to the film. So like any potential date of Dawn’s I would recommend that you approach this one with caution.