What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[gag]

Originally Posted by keirarts

Texas chainsaw 2

Probably the most divisive film of Hooper's on these forums (and most others) TC2 opens with a pair of college frat boys getting brutally dispatched in their car by Leatherface. The audio of the killings are caught on tape by local DJ Stretch (caroline williams) who is soon approached by Texas ranger Lefty (a now sober Dennis Hopper) who wants to use the tape as bait to lure out the sawyer family. It seems Lefty is the relative of Franklin and Sally from the first film. He's convinced the family are still active and killing and he wants revenge.
The sawyer clan on the other hand are enjoying success from their award winning Chilli cooked by Drayton (Jim Siedow) and don't want their secret recipe revealed! The whole film then leads to a bloody showdown at a war themed amusement park dubbed Nam land by new family member chop top ( Bill Moseley).
I think the hate the film gets is primarily from how radically different it is to part 1. Here Hooper dials both the gore and the humour to 11 and I can imagine that might be off putting to some fans. However, like the first Texas chainsaw the film is a product of its time. The original was a reflection of the state of mind of a county where traditional labour requirements were disappearing, the fuel pumps were running dry, the country had suffered a humiliating defeat in Vietnam and violence and madness were in the air. Part 2 comes from a period where America is trying to pick itself up and revise its history. Here the painful memory of Vietnam has been turned into a grotesque theme park, the family's murderous antics go largely ignored as all people see is the surface level 'success' of the family's chilli. There are numerous references to entrepreneurial spirit and making money from Drayton, especially at the end when he's clutching a roll of bills in one hand and a grenade in the other. Even one of the films posters is a direct parody of major Hollywood 80's hit The breakfast club. The film seems even more cynical of America in the 80's than it ever was in the 70's and the whole film feels like a parody of its time and place in history.
Overall I still like TCM2. I like that Hooper for the most avoids repetition. I like the set design, the gore effects and most of the actors and after the 20th time of viewing (rough estimate) I feel it still holds up

Also first one was fresh and something new and different and for the year they wernt use to these type of films hence why it was shocking for its time, and also loosely got the story from a true story ed gein, where as chances the film might not have been made if wasnt for ed gein so made the film slightly more shocking, personaly because of all the reasons above imo tcm was way ahead of its time considering the year it was made, even tho not as shocking in todays standards still stands the test of time for how powerful a film can be when considering the actual violence and gore is almost none existence. And more plays on youre mind and makes it feel like there is because of all the chasing, doors slamming, chainsaw waving etc etc, and yet in todays films some film can be extremely violent wall to wall gore but yet be dull boring and shite and no one bats a eyelid and still isnt even half as controversial as tcm
The 2nd been that long since ive seen it really cant remember much about it just vaguely more than owt.

[keirarts]

Originally Posted by gag

Also first one was fresh and something new and different and for the year they wernt use to these type of films hence why it was shocking for its time, and also loosely got the story from a true story ed gein, where as chances the film might not have been made if wasnt for ed gein so made the film slightly more shocking, personaly because of all the reasons above imo tcm was way ahead of its time considering the year it was made, even tho not as shocking in todays standards still stands the test of time for how powerful a film can be when considering the actual violence and gore is almost none existence. And more plays on youre mind and makes it feel like there is because of all the chasing, doors slamming, chainsaw waving etc etc, and yet in todays films some film can be extremely violent wall to wall gore but yet be dull boring and shite and no one bats a eyelid and still isnt even half as controversial as tcm
The 2nd been that long since ive seen it really cant remember much about it just vaguely more than owt.

One of the most interesting takes on TCM was in Carol J Clovers book, men women and chainsaws. Worth checking out.


Hercules

Seeing as I was working my way through some of the Cannon titles on my shelves it was inevitable that I'd get round to these, seeing as 101 have stuck them out with nice transfers. Its directed by schlock maestro Luigi Cozzi here as Lewis Coates and re-visits the sword and sandal epics that Italy once churned out in great numbers. In the intervening years epic fantasy pictures took over like Conan and its numerous knock off's, star wars, Krull ect. Cozzi for whatever reason seems to have decided to inject aspects of this and the film ends up with a bizarre Sci-Fi plot with king minos trying to subvert the gods with science. We even see Hercules battle stop motion animated robots! Some of the model work is clearly model work but looks quite lovely still with some great psychedelic colour choices, at points the film is so out there its actually genuinely funny. The greatest moment being when Hercules throws a bear into orbit and it becomes a constellation.
The film is no where near as good as Bava's Hercules in the haunted world however while its got a reputation as a terrible movie (not undeserved) its a lot of fun and I find it highly entertaining in a cheesy sort of way.

Hercules 2

The original was actually a big hit for Cannon so naturally we get a sequel. Here we see Zeus lose his seven Thunderbolts causing turmoil on earth and the rise of chaos, worse still the moon is threatening to collide with the earth. Only Hercules can retrieve the bolts from the monsters who have them hidden inside them and save the earth.
More of the same essentially. It feels cheaper in places and it's not as good in some respects however it remains entertaining enough and worth watching.

Sinbad of the seven seas.

Originally slated to be shot by Luigi Cozzi, he was replaced by Enzo G. Castellari who apparently totally re-wrote the picture and handed in three hours of footage which were shelved. Cozzi then came back and managed to fix the picture into something releasable. Its a little disjointed as a result but has some great action scenes and follows the plots used in a lot of earlier sinbad films showing the clash between Sinbad and the evil vizier Jaffar. Like the Hercules films its all a little daft but so long as you can handle that it is admittedly lots of fun.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

I felt The Texas Chainsaw Massacre worked because as gag says in 1974 it was original and shocking.

However i felt it worked for different reasons. For one it introduced the concept of the masked killer to the movie industry. Yes, we'd seen plenty of films with killers portrayed in them but none looked as grotesque as the ranting Leatherface. He in turn gave cinema more masked bogeymen in the form of Michael Myers, Jason Vorhees etal.

The film also brought in the idea of the dysfunctional family. Extremely dysfunctional in this case, and that idea added a lot of tension and weird, extremely effective disturbing sequences. However there was humour involved albeit very macabre humour. The hammer to the head game at the table is still the most shocking and memorable part of the film in my opinion.

Where the second film got it so wrong came in the second half. The opening half was a terrific follow on to the original. However the second act attempted to imitate the dysfunctional family set up from the first film even re-imagining some scenes completely which failed to come over successfully due to trying to copy the macabre humour but not getting it correct, thus becoming a silly parody of itself.

I also don't feel it was a film ahead of it's time. The 70's were a very forward thinking decade in film and Hollywood in particular got in on the act early on. In fact from Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Easy Rider (1969), the film industry saw the idea of counterculture and allegory hit the screens via a new breed of young director often averse to the typical film making norms and taking mainstream cinema down unconventional uncomfortable routes.

So yes, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre did take horror to a new realm, but given it was surrounded by films like McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), Straw Dogs (1971), The Godfather (1972), The Exorcist (1973) and Dog Day Afternoon (1975) to name just the tip of the iceberg. It's a film that really wasn't out of place in perhaps the most productive and boundary crashing decade in Hollywood's history.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

I agree that the late 1960s and early 1970s was a brilliant era for horror as directors were smashing down boundaries and paving the way for what would follow in the 1980s and beyond. If you just look at the Oscar success – just in terms of its 10 nominations, let alone the two wins – of The Exorcist, it was a triumph for the way it was marketed (psychological thriller) and for horror hitting the mainstream commercially and critically, being seen in the same light as The Sting, American Graffiti, Cries and Whispers, Last Tango in Paris, A Touch of Class, Save the Tiger, Serpico, The Way We Were, Bang the Drum Slowly, Paper Moon and The Way We Were.

Specifically in terms of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, it is almost as pure as horror gets – a film that sets out to terrify and does exactly that for about 70 minutes of its 84 minute running time. Leatherface is terrifying. The bizarre hitchhiker is scary. The 'cook' is unnerving and weird. The entire family – mummified grandmother and vampiric grandfather included – is a gruesome ensemble. Tobe Hooper took the nuclear family and inverted it, bastardising what had previously largely – films such as Nicholas Ray's Bigger Than Life aside – been the source of goodness in the American way of life. It's a subversive piece of cinema which is generally overlooked as such because of the sheer shock value and the impact of the title.

[Justin101]

The Bloody Judge (1970)



When watching Jess Franco films you come to expect a certain unfinished quality and amateur charm however I have to say that The Bloody Judge is a surprisingly adept film. Camera focus is almost never lost, the direction is pretty tight and the pacing is good throughout. The torture scenes are pretty dubious and the plot/script leaves something to be desired but that's a given when you're watching a Eurotrash movie.

My only real gripe is the civil war scenes which probably go on a little too long and with a bit too much smoke machine and you can't make out what's going on

Good fun!

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Justin101

The Bloody Judge (1970)



When watching Jess Franco films you come to expect a certain unfinished quality and amateur charm however I have to say that The Bloody Judge is a surprisingly adept film. Camera focus is almost never lost, the direction is pretty tight and the pacing is good throughout. The torture scenes are pretty dubious and the plot/script leaves something to be desired but that's a given when you're watching a Eurotrash movie.

My only real gripe is the civil war scenes which probably go on a little too long and with a bit too much smoke machine and you can't make out what's going on

Good fun!

Wait til you see Justine!!

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Wait til you see Justine!!

I was going to buy that one next haha, I don't know how to take your comment so I'll watch it and let you know

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Justin101

I was going to buy that one next haha, I don't know how to take your comment so I'll watch it and let you know

Justine is the one I do tend to show people first actually. For all it's non Sadean flaws, it has its own charm, plus a prettier plank of wood you'll never see haha ahem.

Then it's either Downtown or Lorna .

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Justin101

The Bloody Judge (1970)



When watching Jess Franco films you come to expect a certain unfinished quality and amateur charm however I have to say that The Bloody Judge is a surprisingly adept film. Camera focus is almost never lost, the direction is pretty tight and the pacing is good throughout. The torture scenes are pretty dubious and the plot/script leaves something to be desired but that's a given when you're watching a Eurotrash movie.

My only real gripe is the civil war scenes which probably go on a little too long and with a bit too much smoke machine and you can't make out what's going on

Good fun!

I also watched this last night. (Film club! ha,ha.)

What marks The Bloody Judge and a few other Franco films such as Count Dracula, Eugenie, 99 Women, Castle of Fu Manchu and The Girl from Rio among others out is that they were made in conjunction with British producer extraordinaire Harry Alan Towers under his company Towers of London.

All Towers productions had fabulous production design and often glorious location work in exotic countries. As he was also a producer for ITV he was never going to be ultra sleazy in the required Franco way so whilst the Franco / Towers films will always look good they often don't feel like a Franco film in style or substance. Mainly as they are much tamer beasts than he normally offers us. Another way of telling if a film is a Towers piece is to check the cast. If the gorgeous Maria Rohm appears (She was Towers wife) then there's every chance.

It's odd you mention the lack of blurry zoom shots. There are one or two. Mainly in the lesbian prison sequence as Rohm licks and kisses the bound girl. This was filmed by Franco for other European markets and wasn't intended for UK/US consumption.

Also note the scene where Christopher Lee's Judge Jeffreys fondles Rohm. You hear Lee's voice and see someones hands but Lee is never in the shot. Again it's another added scene that Lee refused to appear in.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

It's odd you mention the lack of blurry zoom shots. There are one or two. Mainly in the lesbian prison sequence as Rohm licks and kisses the bound girl. This was filmed by Franco for other European markets and wasn't intended for UK/US consumption.

Also note the scene where Christopher Lee's Judge Jeffreys fondles Rohm. You hear Lee's voice and see someones hands but Lee is never in the shot. Again it's another added scene that Lee refused to appear in.

I noticed this too, and in fact on the DVD I watched there are large segments when the dialogue goes into German, particularly the scene when Maria kisses the dead prisoner and when she gets bathed. The scene where the judge rapes Maria I could tell they weren't Lee's hands it's similar to the story from the filming of Eugenie where Lee mentioned they did his scene and his close-ups and everyone was fully clothed and when he saw the film the wide shots were completely different with naked people all over the shop.