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  #62131  
Old 31st December 2023, 03:14 PM
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Smile Before Death (1972)

Hugely enjoyable Giallo about inheritance and murder starring Rosalba Neri, Jenny Tamburi and Silvano Tranquilli. Lots of nudity as Neri photographs the oft naked Tamburi and features a finale i didn't see coming but also an actual final scene even i could see from a mile away.

Roberto Pregadio's excellent score includes the ear worm of all ear worms 'Iena Sequence' which has since become a classic of Italian lounge music and is perversely erotic and disturbing all at the same time.
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  #62132  
Old 31st December 2023, 04:06 PM
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I'll keep this short and sweet we all know it we have all seen it so no need to go into details.

When all the J Horror started to take over I think some of us got a little burned out especially with all the remakes that sort of took a little away from what are truly amazing films or maybe we just went all in and watched so many in such a small space of time we needed a break.

Anyway watching Ring today for the first time in years and the first time ever on blu ray I was reminded of why I got so swept up in collecting Tartan Asia Extreme and tracking down as much asian horror as i could find because no body does it quite so well. Every second of Ring is creepy there is a heavy tension constantly hanging over you I found myself seeing things in the background that were not there or were they I'm not too sure. The soundtrack is fantastic keeping everything so creepy it's not just music but creepy sounds sometimes jarring sounds like steel scraping on steel makes you feel uneasy until the end credits roll and there is a strange 90s Japanese techno playing but we shall forget about that .


To me Ring is still a master work in creepiness and that final scenes driving on the long straight road into the countryside still unnerves me to this day.


I think I shall be revisiting me Asian horror collection more often over the next few weeks.MV5BZTk4NzI5NGItYmIxOS00OGI0LTg4NzEtOWU5YjQ0OGEzZDkxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_.jpg

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  #62133  
Old 31st December 2023, 04:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordicdusk View Post
I'll keep this short and sweet we all know it we have all seen it so no need to go into details.

When all the J Horror started to take over I think some of us got a little burned out especially with all the remakes that sort of took a little away from what are truly amazing films or maybe we just went all in and watched so many in such a small space of time we needed a break.

Anyway watching Ring today for the first time in years and the first time ever on blu ray I was reminded of why I got so swept up in collecting Tartan Asia Extreme and tracking down as much asian horror as i could find because no body does it quite so well. Every second of Ring is creepy there is a heavy tension constantly hanging over you I found myself seeing things in the background that were not there or were they I'm not too sure. The soundtrack is fantastic keeping everything so creepy it's not just music but creepy sounds sometimes jarring sounds like steel scraping on steel makes you feel uneasy until the end credits roll and there is a strange 90s Japanese techno playing but we shall forget about that .


To me Ring is still a master work in creepiness and that final scenes driving on the long straight road into the countryside still unnerves me to this day.


I think I shall be revisiting me Asian horror collection more often over the next few weeks.Attachment 249377

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I love Tartan films and anything that's tartan I buy, I must have over 100 of them. All in a box somewhere.
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  #62134  
Old 31st December 2023, 05:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordicdusk View Post
I'll keep this short and sweet we all know it we have all seen it so no need to go into details.

When all the J Horror started to take over I think some of us got a little burned out especially with all the remakes that sort of took a little away from what are truly amazing films or maybe we just went all in and watched so many in such a small space of time we needed a break.

Anyway watching Ring today for the first time in years and the first time ever on blu ray I was reminded of why I got so swept up in collecting Tartan Asia Extreme and tracking down as much asian horror as i could find because no body does it quite so well. Every second of Ring is creepy there is a heavy tension constantly hanging over you I found myself seeing things in the background that were not there or were they I'm not too sure. The soundtrack is fantastic keeping everything so creepy it's not just music but creepy sounds sometimes jarring sounds like steel scraping on steel makes you feel uneasy until the end credits roll and there is a strange 90s Japanese techno playing but we shall forget about that .


To me Ring is still a master work in creepiness and that final scenes driving on the long straight road into the countryside still unnerves me to this day.


I think I shall be revisiting me Asian horror collection more often over the next few weeks.Attachment 249377

Sent from my Nokia C01 Plus using Tapatalk
I done the Japanese Ring versions about a year or two ago and the first two really creeped the the "F" out of me, the third one was a disappointment, the latest American version Rings released in 2019...I think, gets some flack but I found it decent.
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  #62135  
Old 31st December 2023, 08:08 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nordicdusk View Post
I'll keep this short and sweet we all know it we have all seen it so no need to go into details.

When all the J Horror started to take over I think some of us got a little burned out especially with all the remakes that sort of took a little away from what are truly amazing films or maybe we just went all in and watched so many in such a small space of time we needed a break.

Anyway watching Ring today for the first time in years and the first time ever on blu ray I was reminded of why I got so swept up in collecting Tartan Asia Extreme and tracking down as much asian horror as i could find because no body does it quite so well. Every second of Ring is creepy there is a heavy tension constantly hanging over you I found myself seeing things in the background that were not there or were they I'm not too sure. The soundtrack is fantastic keeping everything so creepy it's not just music but creepy sounds sometimes jarring sounds like steel scraping on steel makes you feel uneasy until the end credits roll and there is a strange 90s Japanese techno playing but we shall forget about that .


To me Ring is still a master work in creepiness and that final scenes driving on the long straight road into the countryside still unnerves me to this day.


I think I shall be revisiting me Asian horror collection more often over the next few weeks.Attachment 249377

Sent from my Nokia C01 Plus using Tapatalk
I seen the third of these first (Ring0) about 20 years ago. I gather it is not as fondly thought of as the previous two entries but i found it a very effective horror film. Most of those Japanese films have a feeling of dread and a tense atmosphere that is more effective than American horror films which rely on cheap tactics.
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  #62136  
Old 31st December 2023, 09:16 PM
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Ring still works. The economy of the whole thing helps.



Steak (2007, Quentin Dupieux)

Yes, it's business as usual, as we enter another quasi realistic situation that verges on magical realism at times. Our protagonist is another lost soul adrift in an alien land. What we learn from his journey isn't reassuring.
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  #62137  
Old 1st January 2024, 12:38 AM
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Babylon (2022)

I have no idea how to even begin writing about this epic three hour plus movie about Hollywood as the 'talkies' took over from the 'silents'.

It's beautifully made and a mesmerizing and at times extremely gripping piece of modern cinema. I was completely immersed in the whole thing and the hours up to midnight on New Years Eve were lost to me.

Oh, and a Happy New Year to you all.
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  #62138  
Old 1st January 2024, 10:12 AM
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Sick of the rat race and needing a break from people in general a family makes a last minute decision to rent a house in a rich beach town and just leave it all behind. While enjoying a few glasses of wine the owners of the house show up and ask can they spend the night with them because there is a major black out in the city and they felt safer coming home. The wife is filled with distrust and paranoia but the husband is a bit more relaxed and feels well it's their house what can they do so begins a Rocky relationship between the father and daughter who own the house and the family. With all communication down no one knows what's really going on if anything at all.

At the begining I was interested but I just got increasingly annoyed as the film went on Julia Roberts character just drained me of life just a complete sarcastic controlling bitch of a woman she just grated on him the whole time I did understand her a bit more towards the end a little but it was really overkill how her character was portrayed.

This is one of those typical films that social media has hyped up talking about the meaning of this and that why is this blue why is the picture changing why is the kid obsessed with Friends linking things like the death of Matthew Perry to the film like they knew before it happened complete rubbish and when you watch the film it's all pretty straightforward you don't have to work anything out its all there for you in plain sight just creating hype for a film thats mediocre at best but will get views because Facebook tells everyone to watch it. As I'm not a social media person it wasn't my choice of films to watch last night all I knew was what I had been told so I thought what harm can it do well here I am angry so it did that

Then there is creating false tension with the music there are scenes where the music keeps getting louder and louder building and building then the scene is over and everything is normal it was just two people having a conversation and the music stop the scene cuts and goes back and everything is as it was before the music started. Then there are these pointless stupid camera angles or the camera starts sweeping across over someone's head maybe trying to disorientate you or something I'm not sure but it was pointless and a couple of times the camera would pan up to reveal something but the shot would be sideways WHY.

Julia Roberts screaming at CGI deer was pretty funny all the same.


Don't recommend unless your in a good mood and for some reason want to be in a bad mood

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  #62139  
Old 1st January 2024, 08:54 PM
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Death Wish 1974
First film of 2024 is the original and some say best of the series. Myself i like part 3 more than any other for its comedic over the top violence. The original is more of a thriller, clearly influenced by current events of the time and just a classic. I have the 5 dvd boxset and will be watching them all in order throughout january.
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  #62140  
Old 3rd January 2024, 10:09 AM
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New Year's Evil (1980, Emmett Alston)

Cannon time.
Starting the year off with a belter. As with all their films, this exists in a parallel dimension where soft rock is mistaken for "new wave" ... for starters.
A maniac is using an annual tradition as a timetable for his stabby shenaningans. A phone in host is sucked into this nightmare as he taunts her with his "greatest hits".
Honestly, it was hard to keep a straight face with this one. The killer is portrayed reasonably well, but everytime they cut back to the "concert", reality just flies out the window. Might even make Boxing Day ahem. Recommended ... to people who know what they're getting
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