The Bullet Vanishes

Title: The Bullet Vanishes

Director: Lo Chi-leung

Released: 2012

Starring: Nicholas Tse, Sean Lau, Yang Mi, Boran Jing, Wu Gang, Liu Kai-chi, Jiang Yiyan

Plot: Song Donglu (Lau) an eccentric detective and expert in criminology is teamed up with Guo Zhui (Tse) who has a reputation for being “the fastest gunman in Tiancheng”. The pair soon finding themselves trying to solve a series of mysterious shootings at a bullet factory were no bullets can be found.

Review: I’m not sure what it is about Asian cinema but it’s not only proven to be a surprising source of great Westerns such as The Good, The Bad and The Weird and Miike Takashi’s Sukiyaki Western Django especially for someone like myself who never cared for the Western genre. The other surprise has being these Sherlock Holmes style mysteries which we saw so memorably reworked in Detective Dee and the Phantom Flame and now here with this film which takes place in a sumptious vision of 1930’s China.

While our lead might not own a deer stalker hat or even smoke a pipe, there is an unquestionable Holmes like air to Detective Donglu who is introduced testing out one of his theories by hanging himself so that he can compare his own injuries to that of the victim. We also get to see him trying to understand how Fu Yuan (Yiyan) a woman convicted of killing her husband pulled off the murder as he demonstrates as keen a mind for criminology and the criminal mind as he does for detection.

His partner Guo Zhui on the other hand is on first appearances more of the muscle of the pairing and while he certainly gets to demonstrate some impressive shooting skills, he also comes with an indepth knowledge of firearms and balistics which certainly come in handy in this case especially in figuring out how the owner of the bullet factory was able to win a round of Russian roulette refered to here as “Fate of the Heavens” and makes up one of several mysteries that the film presents over the course of it’s runtime including a locked room mystery. At the same time director Lo Chi-leung even brings his gunslinger knowledge to the action scenes as memorable seen during a shootout were he must work out the range of the badguy during a tense stand off.

Of course when it comes to these kinds of mysteries there is the tendency to provide far fetched explanations to solve the mysteries being presented and thankfully Lo Chi-leung never resorts to such thing as every mystery has for the most part a logical explanation. That being said if the solution for the Phantom bullets actually would work or not if unclear but certainly it atleast seems plausible. Still it’s an intoxicating blend of mystery and action that we get here and which works only the better due to the skills set of the films two detectives.

Heading up the villain quota for the film is Liu Kai-chi as the factory owner Boss Ding a truly odious cigar smoking villain who is more than happy to send his thugs to impose his will on not only his workers but anyone who opposes him and certainly Lo Chi-leung wastes little time in establishing just how ruthless he is as the film opens to him forcing a female worker he has accused of stealing bullets to play him in a game of Russian roulette or “Fate of the Heavens” as he refers to it as and what will be seen as the catalysis for the phantom bullet murders which start befalling his men. Even with such an obvious lead villain the film still manages to work in numerous other twists as it soon become clear that this is a mystery that goes a lot deeper than Boss Ding’s questionable business practices.

Sadly while we do get a lot of strong male characters, here the female cast are rarely given as much to do, other than to pop in and out of the story to provide a clue or uncover a piece of evidence to keep the story running. That being said Yang Mi is great as the fortune teller Little Lark. Sadly used to lesser effect is Yumiko Cheng as the coroner who for some reason also keeps an Ostrich in her lab, the reasons for frustratingly never being revealed.

A gorgeous looking mystery if one which will no doubt draw comparisons to Guy Richie’s take on Sherlock Holmes, despite the film constantly proving that it’s able to stand on it’s own merits even if it does choose to break up the pair just when I was looking forward to hopefully getting a series of adventures with them which is sadly dashed in what very much felt like was a tacked on epilogue to the story as Lo Chi-leung opts for one last twist instead of ending the film at it’s logical end point. Despite this what remains is a fun mystery complimented by action scenes which are as often as inventive as the detection methods.

Rollercoaster

Title: Rollercoaster

Director: James Goldstone

Released: 1977

Starring: George Segal, Richard Widmark, Timothy Bottoms, Henry Fonda, Harry Guardino, Susan Strasberg, Helen Hunt

Plot: When a bomber (Bottoms) plants a device on the tracks of a rollercoaster causing it to derail, it soon becomes a deadly game of cat and mouse as Safety Inspector Harry (Segal) attempts to stop him before he strikes again.

Review: A film probably best known for its rather spectacular opening roller coaster crash than the film the footage was taken from this would be one of the few feature films that director James Goldstone directed spending most of his career directing TV Pilots for Ironside and the original Star Trek were his work was not only noted for its momentum but also the “fifteen-minute cliffhangers” he brought to them. A film equally noteworthy for being one of the four films which Universal presented in “Sensurround” were selected theatres were low-frequency bass speakers were used to create vibrations at key moments, which ultimately proved to be so successful that it cracked the plaster of some of the theatres which choose to use it.

Despite the impressive opening crash this is surprisingly a much more subtle film than I was expecting as Goldstone instead here chooses to craft a tense thriller with the rest of the film plays off the tension of not knowing were the bomber has hidden his next device let alone the mind games between Timothy Bottoms unnamed bomber and George Segal’s Safety inspector Harry. Bottoms however was criticised for being too boring as a villain in reviews for the film when it was originally released but here he gives a performance reminisant of Kevin Spacey’s John Doe in Seven which here really works for the film, especially when he is spending the majority of the film taunting Harry over the phone or a walkie talkie, all the time knowing that he holds the power in this situation with Harry left to play the unwilling puppet in the proceedings.

Segal meanwhile is an engaging leading man as the frustrated safety inspector he works in humorous subtle digs at his incompitant bosses while also having to work with the local police chief and Richard Widmark’s tough FBI agent. While it might seem that his talents are perhaps alittle wasted here seeing how he spends most of the film talking to the Bomber over the walkie talkie while moving through a variety of amusement rides which for theme park fans provides its own enjoyment with the film being shot on location at Ocean View Park, Kings Dominion and Six Flags.

The Cinematography throughout is extremely impressive especially with the rollercoaster footage were large portions are shot from the front of the carriage creating that simulator feel of being on the ride which is a nice touch especially when Goldstone isn’t planning on giving the audience any more crashes. The fact that they are shot from so many angles including some impressive profile shots is really add to the excitement, especially during the finale were the cat and mouse games are played out on the opening of the six flags Revolution the world’s first coaster to use a clothoid-shaped vertical loop and more fun against the backdrop of a Sparks concert a gig which had rumoured to had been offered to both the Bay City Rollers and KISS the later turning it down in favour of doing KISS Meet The Phantom of the Park. Sparks would later recall doing the film as one of the worst things they have ever done which I had to wonder if this was before or after they did their 2006’s album Hello Young Lovers. Despite what they feel about it, the high energy performance here really play well against the tension of this final game between the bomber and police.

While it might initially be a little disappointing to see what seems to be setup as another disaster movie dissolve into a thriller it ultimately proves to be the right move here, especially with Segal’s performance certainly able to carry the film so that such shocks are never required even though the film had originally been planned to be a lot more gruesome with both the opening crash and how the bomber ultimately meets his demise, a plaque for which can still be found on the rollercoaster at Six Flags. While perhaps not a film that rewards repeat viewing it’s one still worth checking out especially for the opening crash as you wonder just how they pulled it off.

The Midnight Meat Train

Title: The Midnight Meat Train

Director: Ryuhei Kitamura

Released: 2008

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Brooke Shields, Roger Bart, Ted Raimi Vinnie Jones

Plot: Leon (Cooper) is a photographer with an obsession with the darker side of the city, however when challenged by gallery owner Susan Hoff (Shields) to find darker subject matter he by chance discovers a serial killer (Jones) using the midnight subway system as an abattoir.

Review: Another film to be adapted from Clive Barker’s “Books of Blood” short story collection this film also marked the English language debut from director Ryuhei Kitamura who much like Barker is equally no stranger to blending genres. My main reason for checking this one out those was the memory of Vinnie Jones’ role as the sharply dressed serial killer who rides the midnight subway trains being compared to that of Arnold Schwarzenegger in “The Terminator” and its certainly a performance he nails here with him imposing form and ice cold demenor.

Bradley Cooper’s role as the photographer Leon meanwhile is kind of confusing as here he plays a photographer obsessed with exposing the seedier side of the city which we are lead to believe is for artistic purposes while at the same time he shows no qualms about putting himself in harms way when he chooses to photo graph a gang on the subway. Frustratingly the background or reasons for Leon pursuing this work is never made clear so why he’s willing to take such risks much less become so obsessed with tracking down this suspected killer.

Of course seeing how this is a film being based off a short story there is of course the requirement to pad out the story which here questionably adds Leon’s girlfriend who really doesn’t add a huge amount to the film in terms of plot and really only served to bring an element of melodrama to the final act. What is confusing though is how Kitamura manages to craft a film which is clearly in need of some trimming as while the additional elements certainly don’t detract from the story the film still felt like it overstayed it welcome especially when it passed the point I felt like we should be getting some kind of resolution.

Unsurprisingly for Kitamura and the fact this is based on a Clive Barker text the film is gratuitously bloody which can in some scenes work such as one potential victim attempting to craw across the blood drenched floor while other seem like bad 3D effects which made me wonder if this film has ever been scheduled for any kind of 3D release. Still there is still some inventive violence on show here as skulls are clubbed with a meat hammer and crimson sprays across the carriages. The highlight being when we get to see the nights quota of victims strung up like a human abattoir.

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Outside of the gore which is the arguably the obvious draw here Kitamura also brings his underrated eye for detail in his settings as he bring a real feeling of sleaze to the subways, while a cat and mouse style chase through an abattoir bringing a real menace to Jones character as he stares down a corridor of carcasses. All of which rises it about the predicted disposable horror that the film is sold as, something also not helped by its throwaway distribution by the studio.

A frustrating film at time as it diverges from being an effective thriller to tedium but when it works it is an effective film but far from what fans of Kitamura have come to expect from the director who here feels at times like he's had his wings clipped.

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.

The Shallows

Title: The Shallows

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Released: 2016

Starring: Blake Lively, Oscar Jaenada, Brett Cullen, Sedona Legge, Angelo Jose Lozano Corzo, Jose Manuel Trujillo, Pablo Calva, Diego Espejel, Janelle Bailey

Plot: Struggling to deal with the loss of her mother to cancer medical student Nancy (Lively) travels to the same secluded beach in Mexico her mother had visited. However when she is attacked by a large great white shark, she finds herself stranded 200 yards from the shore while being stalked by the relentless shark.

Review: Director Jaume Collet-Serra really is a director whose work its hard to place as while he’s given us films such as “Orphan” and “Non-Stop” he’s also the same director responsible for giving us the likes of “Goal 2: Living The Dream” and the “House of Wax” remake which so memorably was sold on the prospect of seeing Paris Hilton die. As such your never really sure what your going to get from him and while the concept and trailer for the film really gave it all the potential of being another disposable summer release this film thankfully really isn’t.

Stripping the film down to its key elements here Collet-Serra really crafts something surprisingly special as he seemingly knows that the real heart of the film lies in the battle between Nancy and the shark currently standing between her and the shore... and that’s essentially it. This is also what appealed to Lively who was drawn to the project when she saw the similarities between this film and her husband Ryan Reynolds “Buried”.

True it might be a big shark which continually torments Nancy but this at the same time this isn’t some gigantic creature with super intelligence, which makes this already miles better than the countless shark movies which have continually attempted and failed to top what Steven Spielberg achieved with “Jaws”. The shark here instead is designed with a much more natural behaviour for the most part with Collet-Serra really only letting it off the leash in the build up to the finale. As such the shark only attacks Nancy initially when she stumbles into its hunting ground, while her injuries only serve to maintain its interest in her.

Despite the fact that Blake Lively has hardly set my world on fire with her previous performances which always felt that she was getting by on just being the token pretty girl rather than anything resembling dramatic talent and yet she is fantastic here, especially when its a role that requires her to act by herself for about 90% of the film though she does get a seagull (nicknamed Steven Seagull by Lively) to chat with. While this sounds like kind of a drag here it actually works as we get scenes such as Nancy treating any time she has to perform first aid on herself like she is treating a patient, which sees her talking her way through each procedure which largely consist of short term solutions she can cobble together on the fly.

Seeing how Nancy only has her wet suit, jewellery and a strap from her obliterated surfboard to help her, its fascinating to see how she deals with a situation which only continues to get worse for her especially with the clock continually ticking down to high tide. This of course means we do get some cringy moments such as her pinning a leg wound together using earrings and her necklace and it surprised me to see how willing Lively was to play a character who is essentially brutalised by the elements for the film, especially when she does all her own stunt work here outside of the few moment of surfing which were handled by pro surfer Isabella Nichols who also taught Lively some of the surfing basics such as how to Wax the board and attach a leg rope to give it more of an air of authenticity.

Outside of the survival aspect of the story we also get brief asides to her family as her father questions her decision to drop out of medical school after her mothers death, while her younger sister only further cements the impression we get of her home life. We also get passing interactions with a pair of fellow surfers and her local guide which while they serve to provide potential saviours for her its soon clear that its going to fall to Nancy to get herself out of the situation.

By keeping the shark for the most part for the final quarter it really helps build a sense of creeping dread throughout the film. At the same time while it might be a CGI shark it is still miles ahead of the phoney looking CGI that the Asylum / Sci-fi have been lumbering their productions with and it makes for an effective threat by the production not skimping on this element, especially as we all know how a cheap effect can quickly deflate a production of any tension gained in its build up.

One of the big surprises of the 2016 release schedule this is a film certainly worth seeking out, especially for Shark movie fans left craving the same kind of thrills that “Deep Blue Sea” delivered. At the same time its tight plotting and brief run time stop it outstaying its welcome or becoming too outlandish.

Imperium

Title: Imperium

Director: Daniel Ragussis

Released: 2016

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Toni Collette, Tracy Letts, Devin Druid, Pawel Szajda, Nestor Carbonell, Sam Trammell

Plot: FBI agent Nate Foster (Radcliffe) is sent undercover as a neo-Nazi when it is suspected that a white supremacist group is plotting an attack.

Review: I’m not sure if its just me but I’m sure that the career paths of both Daniel Radcliffe and Elijah Wood if put side by side would pretty much match up with both coming to the attention of the general movie going public through blockbusters before moving into more indie productions and arguably producing some of the best work of their respective careers with Elijah Wood giving us the likes of “Grand Piano” and “Maniac” after the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy while Daniel Radcliffe only continues to make the Harry Potter years seem like a distant memory as he’s matured as an actor let alone showing the same kind of ballsy role picking with films like this and “Swiss Army Man” that helped Joseph Gordon Levitt become such a darling of the indie scene.

Of course when you think of Neo-Nazi’s I’m sure that Radcliffe’s name would be way down the list of potential actors but then that was one of the main things which drew me to this film, after all this is a the kind of role which has become synonymous with the performances given by the likes of Edward Norton and Russell Crowe as well as perhaps to a lesser extent Ryan Gosling. Yet somehow Radcliffe pulls off the role playing up the lack of believability to extraordinary effect.

Based on the career of former undercover FBI agent Michael German who wrote the script with director Daniel Raguissis who makes his feature debut with this film. German over the course of his career spent time undercover with both supremacists and right-wing militants which brings some legitimacy to the always dubious “Based on real events” title card the film opens with.

When Radcliffe’s FBI agent Foster is introduced during the arrest of a terrorist suspect were he is pushed to the background of the arrest while his superiors claim the credit for his work. At the same time Foster is shown as being something of an intellectual loner as he spends his evenings drinking expensive wine, listening to Brahm’s and sharing his meals with a book. However this seemingly makes him the perfect candidate for going undercover it would seem in the eyes of Agent Zamparo (Collette) who is investigating the involvement of white supremacist groups in the theft of caesium-137 which could be turned into a dirty bomb. The fact that Foster is such an unlikely candidate for undercover work, let alone to imitate a neo-nazi is seemingly what makes him perfect for such an operation seeing how many members of these organisations share a similar upbringing as Foster.

This idea that people’s direction in life being affected by their life experiences really plays an under lying theme throughout the film, before being highlighted again at the closing. At the same time the film equally suffers from going through the usual motions of these kinds of movies as we get the initial introduction to the hotheaded agitators while the elder figure making all the big claims turns out to be far from the person they claim to be. We do however get some interesting moments scattered throughout which do bring some unique aspects to the story such as a gathering being held in a quiet suberban neighbourhood hosted by white collar family man Gerry (Trammell) were the guest all seem like regular upstanding members of society despite the fact that one of the wives has brought Swastika topped cupcakes reminding the audience that not all supremacist look the same.

The character of Gerry is another cliché aspect to the story in which we get the Neo-Nazi who can justify his love of Jewish conductors or black music and its the kind of character who turns up time and time again and perhaps its down to the enjoyable performance given by Trammell that it wasn’t such an eye rolling cliché moment here. Gerry though provides for Foster one of the few seeming safe harbours when surrounded by members of the various groups threatening to reveal his true identity, while their shared interests and similar personalities make for a genuine friendship which leaves you wondering if he’s getting too involved with the people he’s supposed to be investigating.

Crafting a tightly plotted story there is little hanging around with the plot while the tension is kept high throughout as doubt is constantly being cast on the different aspects of his story. While Radcliffe might not seem like the most intimidating actor, here it really works to his advantage with the path they choose to take with his character so that you never get the feeling of implausibility like we got when Elijah Wood tried to play a football hooligan in the dire “Green Street”.

On the downside the final act feels kind of forced and rushed and really could have done with having more time to breathe than the sudden introduction of new conspirators to the plot, while Foster rushes around to defuse a dirty bomb plot. While it does have some tense moments such as trying to pass off fake chemicals, it just all needs more time to develop especially when the journey to this point has been so great its frustrating to see such a rushed climax.

A fantastic indie thriller that approaches the Neo Nazi material in perhaps a more subtle way than the superior “American History X” or “Romper Stomper” but this is still a great indie thriller well worth checking out.

Panic Button

Title: Panic Button

Director: Chris Crow

Released: 2012

Staring: Scarlett Alice Johnson, Jack Gordon, Michael Jibson, Elen Rhys, Joshua Richards
 

Plot: four strangers a brought together after winning a competition for an all expenses paid trip to New York on fictional social networking site “All2gether.com”. Having given up their mobile phones, the group board their private jet, were they are greeted by a mysterious voice represented by a cartoon Alligator, who appears on the numerous monitors in the plane, who proceeds to invite them all to play a series of games, in a bid to win even more prizes. It’s only once the games begin that the group realise that things might not be what they seem and even more so that they should really have read the terms and conditions.

 

 

Review: It’s safe to say that this era will be defined as the “the social networking” era, especially as it seems the majority of us can’t get through the day without our Facebook / Twitter fix and I know that i’m certainly no exception to this. So what better time could there be for “Panic Button” to come along, the second feature by English writer / director Chris Crow who here supposedly attempts to highlight the dangers of social networking sites, especially with it’s Dan Brown esq title card “Inspired by true stories shared via social networks”.

The group chosen to play the game though small in number are interesting enough from the first impressions we get from them as we have single mum Jo (Johnson), the geeky computer nerd Max (Gordon), the laddish Dave (Jibson) and the bubbly blonde Gwen (Rhys), but it’s once the games start that we truly learn who these characters really are, as their darkest secrets are dredged from their internet histories and social network pages and put on show for the others to see, as director Crow reminds us just how much information we send across the internet on a daily basis and what it can possibly revel about us. Though small in numbers especially when compared to the group numbers in similar films, they still manage to have enough dark secrets to compensate and the claustrophobic setting of the aircraft cabin certainly working to the advantage of such a small number of potential victims.

The cast are all unknowns yet still pull off believable performances, with the anonymity certainly working to their advantage here as no one is viewed with any preconceived notions of what sort of characters any of the group really are. Joshua Richards however seems to be channeling Brian Cox for his portrayal of the mysterious voice known funnily enough only as “Alligator” seeing how he’s represented by surprise! Surprise! of all things a talking alligator. Still this Brian Cox inspired voice acting is a great choice, especially seeing how Cox was so memorable with his own commentary in brutal PS2 game “Manhunt” and it’s a similar switching between playful and taunting that Richards brings to the role, which proves to be one of the stronger parts of the film, especially as he continually gives the impression of being in complete control, even as the group try to fight against the game they are being forced to play.

Premiering at “Horrorfest” it’s premise made this film instantly one of the most talked about films of the festival, with its premier being greeted with much excitement and honestly the first thirty minutes of this movie are really great with the tension slowly being cranked up, as the games start of innocent enough with truths about the groups members being exposed to revel such fun facts as who secretly has a pierced scrotum, only to then suddenly take on a much darker edge, as the once playful voice suddenly becomes a lot more taunting and with the plane in flight it leaves the group with no were to run and zero means of escape, leaving them fully in the hands of this anonymous voice. Sadly it’s around this point that the film soon starts to loose it’s way as the group members are each assigned their own individual tasks causing a serious break in the tension, as the film now starts to feel as if it has no place to really go and is essentially padding out its run time, with this drawn out final game.

The main problem though for the film is that it tries to keep the focus purely on the group, no doubt due to budget restrictions which makes sense to keep the action purely in one setting, though without a second plot thread to keep the film flowing it results in the audience soon growing bored of these characters, especially when we know who they are which results in grinding everything to almost a standstill. A quick glance at similar films to this one only further highlight this issue, for example “Saw” is set largely around the two guys locked in a disused bathroom, but we still have the second plot-line involving Detective Tapp tracking Jigsaw to help keep the action flowing, even “Cube” had it’s series of identical interlinking rooms to throw in a few surprises, were as here it feels that they have written themselves into a corner with the setting and outside of how certain contestants meet their demise, there is very little on offer to surprise the audience once their secrets have been revealed and we know who they really are, with the final big twist almost seemingly anticlimactic once the big revel is given, while when the face behind the mysterious voice is revealed it only results in more questions as to how they managed to orchestrate the whole thing, while the epilogue is certainly undeniably chilling.

Director Crow takes the refreshingly original direction here to keep the film largely gore free, which might be slightly disappointing for those expecting to see “Saw on a plane!” but it certainly doesn’t take anything away from the film by not painting the walls with buckets of gore and amputated limbs, which after seven “Saw” movies is a much needed breath of fresh air for the genre and proving once again that you don’t always need to gross out your audience.

Despite having it’s numerous flaws “Panic Button” is still worth a rental, even if it doesn’t exactly manage to keep up the tension the whole way through, it still plays out well enough to keep your attention, even when it feels like such minimal plotting is being stretched way too thin, while Director Crow show potential for good things, it is still way too early to start categorizing him as the new voice of British horror, he has still managed to pull off an effective film on a minimalist budget which reminds you again that a good films doesn’t always need to have big named stars and a huge budget to achieve it’s effect and perhaps with a little more tweaking this film could have been a better example of this.

Blue Ruin

Title: Blue Ruin

Director: Jeremy Saulnier

Released: 2013

Starring: Macon Blair, Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves, Kevin Kolack, Eve Plumb, David W. Thompson, Brent Werzner, Stacy Rock

Plot: Dwight (Blair) is a drifter currently living out of his car when not scavenging for food and money. However his life living off the grid is interrupted when he finds out the man who killed his parents is set to be released from prison so he begins to formulate a plan to take his revenge, only to soon find that its far from straight forward.

 

Review: The career path of director Jeremy Saulnier has certainly been funny one for while he made his directing debut with the 2007 black comedy “Murder Party” a film largely overlooked by most it meant that most people wondered where he had come from when he released this film while the established fans got the a completely different kind of movie than what they'd expected from him. Its also a film which despite its limited theatrical release still went on to be one of the most talked about movies of late with his follow up film “Green Room” only furthering the interest in this film and creating a perhaps unintentional one two punch as audiences often find themselves watching one and quickly seeking out the other.

Shot on a modest budget of $35,000 raised through Kickstarter and his own funds here Saulnier crafts a simple yet effective tale which not only brings to mind the Coen Brothers debut “Blood Simple” but also the equally overlooked "Big Bad Wolves" all while bringing its own unique spin to the revenge genre. While the more traditional approach to this kind of film would see the wronged party spending most of the film plotting their revenge, here Saulnier instead mixes things up by giving Dwight his revenge in the first twenty minutes with Saulnier more interested in the fallout from this situation especially when the family of the man he killed come seeking revenge on him.

Reuniting with his long time collaborator Macon Blair who here plays the unlikely angel of vengeance and who when we first meet him is an almost mute heavily bearded drifter scavenging for food and cashing in cans for money. Right from the start though its clear that Dwight is out of his depth as we see his failed attempts to get a gun only to break it thanks to his attempts to break the security lock. Its almost painfully obvious as we follow Dwight that here we have a man who is using what he’s seen in movies as a guide rather than having any kind of training, a fact that only becomes the more obvious during this first quarter to the film in the lead up to Dwight fatally stabbing the man he believes to be his parents killer in a dive bar toilet.

While this first quarter might give us a mini revenge movie of sorts its really the fallout from his actions that make up the real meat of the story here. The mild mannored Dwight soon finding himself increasingly out of his depth as he’s now hunted by the killer family who have zero qualms about dishing out their own vigilante justice as we discover when they come looking for him at his sisters house. Needless to say the real fun of the film is seeing how he handles the situation which constantly threatens to consume him.

It should be noted that while Dwight’s path of revenge might be a twisting one Saulnier maintains a very black and white world view with the members of the Cleland clan being all grimy and morally devoid compared to Dwight who now is shown as the clean shaven every man who has been thrown into this situation he now having to handle himself, knowing full well that to go to the cops would only lead to him incriminating himself in the process. This inturn gives us such great scenes as Dwight attempting to revolve a crossbow bolt from his leg and his confrontation with Teddy (Kolack) one of the Cleland brothers who he ends up holding hostage in the trunk of his car.

While the violence throughout the film is frequently bloody and graphic Saulnier still shows incredible restraint in when he unleashes such imagery which only serves to maximise its effect when it does happen such as the bathroom stabbing or during the final confrontation. At the same time his characters are not immune to the effects of the violence around them, especially Dwight who constantly struggles to deal with the consequences of his actions bringing a real sense of reality to the film rather than have him just be another emotionless vigilante.

Unquestionably this is Blair’s film as he convincingly plays out Dwight’s journey so that you can believe in the choices he makes. At the same time he also recives strong support from Amy Hargreaves as Dwight’s sister and one of the few pillars of support he has with the other coming from his childhood friend played with a perfect almost deadpan ton by Devin Ratray whose appearance while perhaps more brief than I would have liked still like so many of the characters featured throughout leaves a memorable impression.

This really is a film best seen with as little expectation as possible and while it starts off perhaps alittle slow once it gets rolling it grabs hold of you and refuses to relinquish its grip till its played out its grim finale. Between this film and “Green Room” Saulnier really marks himself out as a talent worth watching and I’m now excited to see where he goes from here.

SPL: Sha Po Lang AKA. Kill Zone

Title: SPL: Sha Po Lang AKA. Kill Zone

Director: Wilson Yip
Released:  2005
Starring: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Sammo Hung, Wu Jing, Liu Kai-chi, Danny Summer, Ken Chang, Austin Wai, Timmy Hung, Liang Jingke

Plot: Hong Kong Police Inspector Chan Kwok-chung (Yam)has spent most of his career trying to arrest triad boss Wong Po (Hung) and now dying from a brain tumour he recived following a failed attempt on his life by Wong Po’s assassin Jack (Jing) he now finds himself along with his team using ever more questionable methods to try and bring Wong Po down.  Now joined by his replacement Ma Kwun (Yen) a police detective with his own questionable past, they must soon decide what they are willing to do to take down Wong Po.

Review: The first of a series of films which along with “Dragon Tiger Gate”, “Flashpoint” and the “IP Man” trilogy which really elevated Donnie Yen from being a favourite amongst Martial arts fans to suddenly bringing him to the attention of mainstream audiences something which had failed to happen with the few roles he’s taken within the Hollywood studio system and putting in still impressive appearances in “Blade 2” and “Shanghai Knights”. At the same time this film marked the first film in a long line of collaborations with director Wilson Yip who would also direct all these breakout films for Yen who he would also give full control over the fight scenes by hiring him as the films action director aswell.

Unquestionably though it’s an impressive cast which director Yip has assembled here with Hong Kong legend Sammo Hung doning a questionable looking ponytail in a rare yet still completely convincing villainous turn as he plays the triad boss Wong Po whose wrath is handled by his personal hitman or his numerous followers. Simon Yam meanwhile is great to see as the morally conflicted Police Inspector who as the film go on becomes increasingly corrupt as his obsession with taking down Hung’s triad boss grows.

Surprisingly the weak link here is actually Donnie Yen, who as Ma Kwun gets the fantastical “Street Fighter” style introduction as he launches a drug dealer into the air with a single punch so that he lands with an impressive crash on the roof a nearby car. Much like Inspector Chan Kwok-chung he has his own personal issues to deal with having sworn off the any means necessary style of police work after he left a drug dealer mentally handicapped from a beating he gave them. A burden he now deals with by checking in on the former drug dealer and taking him to the arcade to ironically play fighting games as he atones for his actions. This of course puts him on a collision course to butt heads with Kwok-chung who he sees heading down a similar path to the one he was on. Maybe its because the rivalry between Inspector Chan Kwok-chung and Wong Po is already so intense the introduction of Yen's character does end up feeling for the most part like something which was bolted on than worked into the plot.

Perhaps also because of Ma Kwun’s desire to hold back and do things by the book I couldn’t help  but think of Bruce Lee’s “The Big Boss” which also held back the fighting till the hero is backed into a corner and forced to fight which is essentially what we get here with film teasing out its fight scenes. When we do get the fight scenes though they are certainly worth the wait with Yip giving us not one but two grandstanding fight scenes as Ma Kwun is forced to fight the hitman Jack before finally having his showdown with Wong Po.

Originally intended as a traditional police thriller before Donnie Yen joining the cast and causing the script to be reworked as he took on action director duties aswell in doing so he also brings to the film two incredible strong action sequences which are only improved by the fact that we get them back to back starting with an Alleyway fight scene which has become one of the more discussed sequences from this film and while largely improvised by Donnie Yen and Wu Jing. While this fight is unquestionably great I have to confess to having a major fanboy moment with the finale which see’s Donnie Yen and Sammo Hung facing off in a scene which surprisingly works despite Hung’s size (the questionable ponytail is something else) and Yen’s speed and makes me appreciate the fact we got a rematch in “IP Man 2” all the more as these two masters really work well together as clearly demonstrated here even if the ending left me with mixed feelings.

Quickly paced and with a healthy dose of great action there is a lot to enjoy here, especially with its three main stars all on great form. True it might not be the deepest of thrillers but the Donnie Yen choreographed action scenes really cover for a lot of the flaws. That being said for newcomers I’d sill recommend watching “Once Upon A Time In China 2” or “Iron Monkey” first to truly get why he’s such a noteworthy talent worth comparing to the genre greats.  

The Hateful Eight

Title: The Hateful Eight

Director:  Quentin Tarantino
Released: 2015

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, James Parks, Channing Tatum, Dana Gourrier, Zoe Bell, Lee Horsley, Gene Jones, Keith Jefferson, Criag Stark, Belinda Owino, Quentin Tarantino

Plot: Bounty hunter John Ruth (Russell) and his fugitive captive Daisy Domergue (Leigh) are forced to wait out a blizzard along with a collection of assorted strangers including bounty hunter Major Marquis Warren (Jackson) and the local town’s new sheriff Chris Mannix (Goggins). However its not long before tensions between the group start to rise as it becomes clear that some is plotting on helping Daisy to escape the hangman’s noose.

Review:  Watching a Tarantino film in the cinema for the first time I always find comes with the same thrill, as those familiar yellow block front titles appear on the screen while at the same time introducing the film as the “8^th film by Quentin Tarantino” once more reminding the audience just how important Tarantino views his filmography, more so as he continues to threaten us with a pending retirement once he completes his 10^th film. That being said this film certainly owes a great debt to Samuel L. Jackson who convinced Tarantino to make the film after the script was leaked online with Tarantino choosing at the time to respond by refusing to make the film. It would of course be a decision changed by a script read and the aforementioned involvement by Jackson and having now seen the finished film I’m so glad that he did.

Clearly not ready to move on from the western genre after giving the world his own addition to the long running Django series with “Django Unchained” a film which was a much a continuation of sorts for that series as it was a homage to its director Sergio Corbucci who here aswell appears to be a key influence for Tarantino who at the same time seems equally keen to take his film making back to the simplicity of “Reservoir Dogs” by keeping all the action for the most part inside the walls of “Minnie’s Haberdashery”. While the western genre is far from a favourite for myself and probably placed somewhere just above “French New Wave” yet somehow Tarantino has crafted here a western that even those of us who aren’t fans of the genre can still enjoy, especially as here it is essentially just more of a setting for him to tell his own reworking of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” in much the same way as John Carpenter did with “The Thing” which itself makes for the other main influence at play here.

What is clear though here though especially with Tarantino’s much use of film over digital especially from the Roadshow presentations of the film which included an intermission and prelude both cut out of the general release with Tarantino believing that they wouldn’t work with your average movie going audience. A risk it seems he wasn’t willing to take again after the disappointing reception that greeted “Grindhouse” and which lead to the film ultimately being split into its separate films when it was released outside of the states. True this is all essentially window dressing, but it’s clear at the same time that Tarantino is trying to once more make movie going an experience again, something that he clearly feels is being lost with the use of digital over the more traditional use of film. The downside of course being that while the intermission has been removed, Tarantino’s narration remains reminding us of what we watched 15 mins ago, despite the fact the audience on these non-roadshow screenings haven’t actually gone anywhere.

As with “Django Unchained” Tarantino’s vision of the Wild West is once more a rough and dirty place and one in which the smallest dash of light and happiness can suddenly be dashed out in an instance, while strangers all carry their own agenda and should only be trusted with caution, a trust which is truly stretched between the group as they begin to suspect that someone amongst them might not be who they seem.  At the same time Tarantino is in no rush to tell his story as he spends the first half of the film cranking up the tension and establishing the setting, which did towards the end of this section really feel like the film was dragging itself through a quagmire before ensuring that he ends this first half on a suitably shocking note.  Its once we get into the second half though that the film really gets going and the violence is cranked up to suitably bloody levels.

I guess it should however come as little surprise that the film is exceptionally bloody and violent in places, as heads are blown off, bullets tear through bodies and the disgusting effects of a pot of poisoned coffee are suddenly revealed, yet at the same time while easy to consider gratuitous is still used at key moments to provide the right amount of shocks. The same can also be said for the large amount of violence inflicted on the character of Daisy which unquestionably shocking when we first see it can see be seen as justifiable considering how she is after all a criminal and in fitting with the period likely to have hardly been treated with the most gentlemanly behaviour as we frequently see here. Tarantino though being the maestro of violence he is though never seems to push things too far as might be seen with a lesser director at the helm. That being said the ending did feel perhaps more sadistic than I personally liked it to be and kind of left me wishing that he gone for the more bloody proposed ending than the one we got but it’s a fun ride until this point and seems like a justifiable end for the events which have transpired.

Unquestionably by going back to his “Reservoir Dogs” roots and keeping the action in one location here it frees him up to craft a truly memorable group of characters who are all distinctly different from each other, while at the same time the dialogue is arguably its most memorable since “Jackie Brown” which is only further advantage here when so much of the action is based around the characters trying to figure each other’s motives out before communication breaks down and the bullets start to fly. At the same with the cast he has assembled here being as good as they are really makes for an engrossing experience once the film finds its rhythm which coming as late as it does may mean that the film comes off perhaps a little plodding for some, even if it more than makes up for things in its second half.

Ultimately this is an improvement over “Django Unchained” and an enjoyable addition to his filmography even for non-western fans like myself, at the same time though I really hope that he decides to move onto another genre for his next film, especially when he continues to taunt us with such tantalising project such as “Wild Crows” and “Kill Bill Vol.3” though I’d be personally be happy to see him doing anything other than another western, but then I guess it all rests on him being able to get hold of enough film stock, so let’s hope that someone is keeping Tarantino a private stash.

Lucy

Title: Lucy

Director:  Luc Besson
Released:  2014
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Choi Min-sik, Amr Waked, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Pilou Asbaek, Analeigh Tipton, Nicolas Phongpheth

Plot: When Lucy (Johansson) is tricked into becoming a drug mule by her boyfriend, she soon finds herself at the mercy of Korean mob boss Mr. Jang (Min-Sik) as she has a bad of the synthetic drug CPH4 sewn inside her. However when the bag begins leaking the drugs into her system she soon finds her physical and mental capabilities being increased

 

Review:  Why is it that Luc Besson never seems to get the kind of credit he deserves, so much so that when this film was released I had no idea it was even a Besson film! This of course is only the more astounding when you look back at his early career not only as a key director of the “Cinema Du Look” movement but films like “Subway”, “Nikita” and “The Big Blue” let alone “Leon” all which saw him classed as one of the rock star directors like Quentin Tarantino. For some reason though his later films have lacked the bravado of his name being attached even though he has continued to direct exciting and visually arresting films.  

“Lucy” doesn’t change the situation but what it does however is elevate a fairly simple idea by giving it a heavy dose of his visual style, while finding a great leading lady in Scarlett Johansson who here is clearly eager to prove she is more than one shot Marvel character, continuing the chain of interesting roles she has been playing even if she wasn’t Besson’s first choice having originally had Angelina Jolie in mind for the role only for her to drop out prior to filming and leaving Johansson to be cast instead. Besson at the same time here showing he clearly still having a thing for casting model style actresses in action roles as previously seen with the likes of Milla Jovovich, Lousie Bourgoin and Rie Rasmussen.

When we first meet Lucy she is the gullible and carefree American living and partying up in Taiwan and it’s fascinating to see her go from being scared and fragile to seemingly discovering her inner badass once she receives a dose of the synthetic drugs in her system, which constantly increase her cerebral capacity the increasing percentage being marked by title cards while intercut by a lecture being given by Morgan Freeman’s Professor Norman as he explains the possibilities and changes each percentage increase opens up. So what starts with increased responses and fighting abilities soon turn into psychic abilities as she is able to toss enemies aside and manipulate radio waves, before finally venturing into god like territory. True by the end things get more than alittle silly with Besson going for what could be best described as his “2001: A Space Odyssey” ending yet somehow despite these increasingly super abilities that Lucy is gaining you never get the same feeling of pretension that we got when the Wachowski’s attempted to turn The Matrix’s Neo into a techo-Jesus.

At the same time Besson is keen to show that such rapid evolution is not without its costs, with Lucy’s body at one point seemingly vaporising before randomly turning up later and unexplainably in a hospital bed. We also get to see her spit up a handful of teeth after one of these evolutionary jumps reminding us that while she might be gaining a number of superhuman abilities her body is still very much mortal and not designed for such sudden changes and requiring Lucy to take more of the drug which caused these changes to handle the changes.

Due to these lecture sequences Besson gets away with many of the far-fetched moments of the film especially when Lucy starts entering the higher percentages as theories are tossed about with even Professor Norman admitting that he can’t really understand what is happening to here as his work is all based in theory. At the same time when the tone of the film is kept so light and fun its hard to question what is happening in the film especially when Besson is making it so entertaining to watch happen. Equally you can see throughout that in many ways he is trying to make a film with elements of “Leon” as once more he crafts a number of impressive action scenes such as high speed car chase through Paris which ends with multiple cop cars being flipped through to the police versus gangsters hallway shootout which is reminisant in many ways of the finale of “Leon” which with its moments of slow motion and stray bullets decimating a statue really elevate this above being another dumb action movie, as Besson like John Woo proves that even the most blunt material can still be elevated even if it’s the type of scene we have seen done numerous times before.  

Johansson unquestionably owns this film while continuing to prove herself capable to handling the action sequences even if Lucy has little in the way of any kind of emotional depth, as she becomes cold and detached when she starts to change from the effect of the drugs while Freeman is here to essentially provide some fun narration of sorts as he’s hired once more it seems for those silky vocals than anything particularly strenuous acting wise. Elsewhere Choi Min-sik no doubt known to most as the lead in “Oldboy” really is one of Besson’s best villians and more than on a par with Gary Oldman’s corrupt DEA agent in “Leon” and Tcheky Karyo’s equally corrupt detective in “Kiss of the Dragon” even if he isn’t as quick to anger as either of those characters, his quiet ruthlessness and little regard for human life ensures that he is just as memorable.

While this film is fun for its runtime, its ending does however mean that it does in some ways fee like it has jumped the shark, as Besson seemingly implies that by reaching 100% that Lucy in some way ascends to a god like status in a scene which comes off feeling like Besson just wanted an excuse to cram in a brief history of time style footage while at the same time not being sure quite how to end the film as seen by Lucy becoming a bio-supercomputer….atleast I think that’s what it was supposed to be anyway. That aside this is still an entertaining film which plays largely like a more action orientated version of "Limitless" while reminding us once again why Besson is still a director of note.

A History of Violence

Title: A History of Violence

Director: David Cronenberg
Released: 2005
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, William Hurt, Ashton Holmes, Ed Harris, Stephen McHattie, Greg Bryk

Plot: Tom (Mortensen) a mild mannered diner owner living in the small town of Millbrook, Indiana who after foiling an attempted robbery finds himself becoming a local celebrity. However despite his attempts to return to a normal life, he instead finds himself and his family being stalked by a scarred gangster (Harris) who insists that Tom is not who he says he is.

 

Review:  Despite being known for his love of body horror on which he’d built his reputation, it was clear when this film was released that Cronenberg was keen to move on and explore different themes and ideas, than his cornerstones of mutation, disease and infection which had shape nearly all his previous films. However starting with the much overlooked “Spider” and followed by this film it was clear that he had turned a corner in his career and arguably for the better, Cronenberg perhaps realising that he’d really pushed his body horror obsessions as far as he could.

This however is not to mean that he has lost any of his edge as he opens with a pair of thugs checking out of their motel, only to tease out the fate of the motel clerk and manager, while the pair banter back and forth between themselves. In fact I was surprised to find this film more visceral than I remembered with the central diner heist quickly turning nasty before reaching its gruesome payoff while we also early on get treated to a graphic oral sex scene and clumsy cheerleader roleplay between Tom and his wife which will prove a tender comparison to the rough stairwell sex they have when *Spoilers alert* Tom’s former life is revealed.

This film also marks the first of three films he has to date made with Viggo Mortensen with the other two being the spiritual sequel to this film “Eastern Promises” and his Jung / Freud biopic “A Dangerous Method”. It’s clear though from this first collaboration that the two certainly work well together as Mortensen believably plays both sides of his character first as the mild mannered and soft spoken family man and later as his sadistic and violent gangster personality which he has been hiding all these years from his wife and family.

Despite being based on the graphic novel of the same name, released through DC Comics “Vertigo” imprint, the film actually improves on the source material by focusing on the main story of Tom and the life he thought he’d escaped and in turn cutting out the heavy use of flashbacks that made up much of the original story. In doing so Cronenberg really hones in on the meat of the story, while a tight runtime keeps the action and suspense flowing, even when it takes in subplots as Tom’s eldest son having to deal with a bullying head jock, whose dislike of him comes merely from having caused him to lose a game of softball, which makes the intensity of the bullying all the more baffling. It is unclear whether Cronenberg knew the screenplay was based on a comic book, especially when he has so frequently been outspoken on his disdain for the genre perhaps making this this first and only dabble with the genre.

Here Cronenberg once again assembles a strong cast, though at time Maria Bello comes off far too wooden especially during her seduction scenes which ultimately come off more clumsy than sexy. Still this film really hinges on the performances of both Mortensen and Ed Harris who despite his heavily scared face manages to prove himself a terrifying threat even without the threat of violence as he provides the same sort of relentless torment to Tom and his family he almost manages to rival Ben Kingsley in "Sexy Beast" only without the same prophanity riddled meltdown.

The violence throughout the film while frequently explicit is used with such reserve here, that when do get a moment of violence it remains shocking even if some of the fight scenes especially are so over the top such as the scenes in which Tom is forced to dispatch a group of gangsters threatening his family or the diner robbery. At the same time it’s clear that he’s aware of his abilities and frequently is shown trying to avoid conflict, not only to avoid revealing his previous life, but also you feel to avoid tapping into the side of him he might not be able to supress again, especially if we are to believe any of the tales we are told of his former life one which he is clearly clean to put behind him making the final scenes all the more poignant as he puts his guns to earth and cleanses himself of his sins in the lake before returning to his family, the last scene showing the family wanting to move on while the events of the film are clearly still hanging over them as they try to present the image of a happy family.

This is easily one of Cronenberg’s most accessible films to date especially when it plays more like a traditional thriller while here he shows himself more than capable of producing interesting and engaging films without body horror, while being carried by some strong performances especially by Mortensen who plays both sides of Tom perfectly and making this a thriller with real bite.

Videodrome

Title:  Videodrome

Director:  David Cronenberg
Released: 1983
Starring: James Woods, Sonja Smits, Deborah Harry, Peter Dvorsky, Les Carlson, Jack Creley, Lynne Gorman

Plot: Max Renn (Woods) the president of CIVIC-TV, a station which specialises in sleazy and sensationalistic programing is frustrated in his attempts to find his next big program. However when he stumbles across “Videodrome” a show which seemingly shows real torture and murder with his attempts to discover its origin leading him to discover a much larger global conspiracy.

 

Review:  Released during a golden period for Cronenberg, who with “The Brood” had finally found his groove after his hit and miss early experiments with body horror (Rabid / Shivers) aswell as the much overlooked “Fast Company”. Here though he would give us some of his most memorable work as he continues his obsession with bodily mutation, disease and infection which this time comes via the voyeuristic violence of “Videodrome”, whose side effects soon see James Woods undergoing a number of bizarre transformations including most memorably turning his torso into a gooey VHS slot.

Working from a script developed from his childhood memories of picking up signals from New York, when the channels in his native Canada had gone off the air while at the same time constantly worried that he might stumble across like Max something that he should see. At the same time basing the films “Civic TV” on “CityTV” which had a reputation for showing soft-core pornography which it branded “Baby-blue films”; Here he truly crafts a strange tale to say the least but at the same time for all its mutations it’s also a surprisingly straightforward story and one which is carried by Woods moral devoid TV Station president who we open to him buying an underground pornography series from a pair of Japanese businessmen and despite it featuring a hidden dildo, he has seemingly grown board by the usual sleaze and grime he has been peddling on the station until now. Needless to say it only makes it only the more believable that he would see the staged snuff TV that Videodrome offers as the future of TV.

Of course being a Cronenberg film it was never going to be enough for Max to head off on a journey into the film making underground to find out the source of this mysterious broadcast which becomes a source of obsession to Max. Instead Cronenberg turns it into something much more interesting as the broadcast comes with the ability to cause vivid hallucinations and meaning that we get such memorable scenes as Max seemingly pushing himself into his television aswell as the aforementioned chest VHS sequence which the film has become renowned for.

While it’s easy to get distracted with all the visual flair being thrown around, but outside of the big set pieces it’s still a journey filled with fascinating characters such as Debbie Harry’s sadomasochistic psychiatrist who finds the vicious images of “Videodrome” the ultimate turn on. We also meet Professor Brian O’Blivion (Creley) who chooses to only appear via video recordings than in person and while it’s true that some moments such as the homeless mission were those attending engage are forced to continually watch TV’S but like so many of these Cronenbergisms which seem so grounded in reality we don’t ever question them no matter how random things seem to get, with the switches between the reality and dreams being so fluid here, that you genuinely reach a point where you stop questioning what is happening and instead just enjoy the ride.

While this film might have its share of gooey moments this is certainly one of his more accessible films making it the perfect starting place for newcomers, while still containing plenty to enjoy for the converted while this is unquestionably fearless film making at its best.

 

Hail to the new flesh!