SQUEAL - Cheap indie horror. I liked it. A vanful of the usual brats is offed by a family of mutant pig people. Could've been played for a few schlocky laughs but this swill flies straight from the trough with a genuine seriousness of intent and gets real morbid as a result. Lots of screaming and wailing in collusion with electronic drones, bits of gore, snippets of Pigman rape and the odd touchingly surreal skit mostly courtesy of the clown - dwarf pig guy (!) OK, so there are some laughs. But try laughing when a pig faced ogre forces you to strip amidst your dead bandmate's offal, then makes you put on a yellow dress FOR NO REASON AT ALL. The tears are already streaming down your face. Grating, haphazard, derivative and inspired by turns. Worth a shot.
AXE - The films of Frederick Friedel prove difficult to pin down, for those in search of easy answers at least. They kind of mix 70s American student 'art-house' with more obvious horror / exploitation / grindhouse riffs. I really like them, but they seem to be an acquired taste. Axe is no exeption - it's morbid and languid and will only appeal to those who enjoy chilly dissociation, cryptic imagery and a lack of pace. But if you fancy watching parts of 'Repulsion' reconfigured as fragmented drive-in fodder (sort of), then step up. Or, if Ingmar Bergman and SF Brownrigg got together, maybe this would be the result. Ask yourself the following question - "does seeing a momentary shot of a doll's head sat on a patch of green carpet define my idea of cinema if a sharp stab of discordant synth happens to be the soundtrack?" I know which way I voted. Very available on DVD and highly recommended for fans of sickly alienation.
Last edited by Frankie Teardrop; 24th March 2012 at 12:51 AM.
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