What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by gag

And soon the Darkness never seen this before but heard off it,
Boy what have I missed a very good film in lots of aspects, a slow burner that keep you interested because of the atmophere, tension and how well it's made,
It's films like this along with Twisted nerve, peeping Tom, psycho and several other films that where made in the 60/70 that they simply don't make films as good as they use to and you don't need loads of money, special effects, gore, shock value, big actors etc etc to make a very good film, all you need is the film to be potrayed well with a nice build up and a good music score.

I guess you watched the 2010 film with Amber Heard? Whilst that one is okay, I preferred the 1970 film of the same name which, although dated, is much more atmospheric and unnerving, so it's well worth checking out.

[gag]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I guess you watched the 2010 film with Amber Heard? Whilst that one is okay, I preferred the 1970 film of the same name which, although dated, is much more atmospheric and unnerving, so it's well worth checking out.

No I am talking about the original.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Absentia (2011).

Tricia's husband has been missing for seven years, now with him about to be declared dead in absentia, her sister Callie moves in to offer emotional support. Tricia begins to suffer terrible visions and Callie is drawn to an ominous underpass nearby.

Absentia is one of those films that just gets better and better as it goes along. Its a film populated by seemingly real characters, with totally natural behavioral characteristics. The horror really works, coming not from crashing jump scares but those little glimpses from the corner of your eye. Because of this the films builds from an unnerving watch to a dark, disturbing nightmare situation. Its a film with no real explanation as to what we are actually seeing on screen. A few theories are thrown at us but nothing totally concrete allowing the viewer to make up their own mind as to how and why events unfolded.

Absentia is a mature, adult horror film, a film practically devoid of splatter. The film has an eerie atmosphere more often felt in all the very best Gothic horror films of the sixties and seventies, yet the vast urban sprawl of Los Angeles' suburbs is a total contrast. Augmenting this atmosphere is a fascinating, brooding, ambient score which really complements the feeling of inevitable dread.

To me Absentia is indie horror at its very best. Horror that doesn't follow any formula. Highly recommended.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by gag

No I am talking about the original.

I thought when I read your post a second time and noticed you were talking about films from the 1960s and '70s. As usual, the original is the best.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Absentia (2011).

Thanks for the recommendation – it's now high priority on my Lovefilm rental list.

[Zann]

Foxy Brown

I'd heard this was a fairly unremarkable blaxploitation movie but I really enjoyed it and certainly prefer it over Coffy. Arrow's BD looks great too....now how about a BD of The Black Gestapo

[keirarts]

Only god forgives


I'd seen mixed reviews for this so wasn't sure what I was getting when I bought this. Thanks to a rainy day and some spare time I decided to give it a whirl and found I really like it.

Anyone expecting a repeat of DRIVE is bound to feel dissappointed. While again starring Ryan Gosling in an almost mute performance OGF is an entirely different beast of a film. Set in a lurid neon Bangkok awash with primary colors it follows the ex-pat American and British gangsters involved in the city's drug trade. All of whom are strangers in a strange land in their new adoptive country. After Goslings character's Brother is murdered in a revenge killing his mother arrives in the city seeking vengeance against those involved and sparks a wave of bloodshed that threatens to take everyone down with it. Despite its lurid color scheme the film deals in shades of grey. The Stoic Bangkok detective may be crooked but he seems to be doing everything for the right reasons. The Brother actually deserved his fate, and Goslings character is fine with letting the matter rest before his mother gets involved. Kristin Scott Thomas is great as the attractive on the surface but ugly underneath mother with a strange almost incestuous relationship with her sons. Goslings calm mute exterior only seems to crack after meeting with his mother.

OGF is an odd, brutal but rewarding piece of cinema. It looks amazing and manages to defy any expectations I had of it. It's dedicated to Alexandro Jodorowsky and the influence certainly shows in places. Especially with the framing of shots and heavy use of symbolism. The films moody score is also worthy of note. Definitely a film to seek out but I suspect its going to be the sort of film that really divides it's audience down the middle as I can see some people really hating it.


Invasion of the body snatchers


Finally, after much waiting and e-mailing to Arrow it arrives and the disc is worth the wait. Kaufman's take on the Body snatchers tale is my personal favorite and on Arrows Blu-ray it has never looked better. Set in San Francisco at the tail end of the 70's Kaufman takes the tale of de-humanising pod people and transposes it into a major city. Given the way people in city's seem to try and stay out of everyone elses way its a horribly plausible take on the story. I'm not a city person so I can recall quite vividly my visits to London and the way everyone around me would try and ignore each other. So the film is totally believable as Kaufman fills the background of his scenes with clear signs of the invasion. People being chased down the street ect.. as the main characters seem totally oblivious to what is going on.

Set in the city that defined the counter-culture movement right as everyone who was involved in the peace movement were beginning to sell out for big bucks, leading into the excesses of the 80's this body snatchers seems as much a take on the changing times and the transformation into pod people as a metaphor for the embracing of the yuppie lifestyle.

or perhaps i'm reading too much into it...

[gag]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I thought when I read your post a second time and noticed you were talking about films from the 1960s and '70s. As usual, the original is the best.

a friend put on fb how she going to see Carrie and i joked itl be shit its a remake , nxt thing i know all her friends are telling me to f off shut the **** up, stop being a dick, stop criticising ppl tatse etc pft some ppl cant take bit if banter

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by gag

a friend put on fb how she going to see Carrie and i joked itl be shit its a remake , nxt thing i know all her friends are telling me to f off shut the **** up, stop being a dick, stop criticising ppl tatse etc pft some ppl cant take bit if banter

That's facebook. The ignorance I have to put up with on there is astounding sometimes.

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by gag

And soon the Darkness never seen this before but heard off it,
Boy what have I missed a very good film in lots of aspects, a slow burner that keep you interested because of the atmophere, tension and how well it's made,
It's films like this along with Twisted nerve, peeping Tom, psycho and several other films that where made in the 60/70 that they simply don't make films as good as they use to and you don't need loads of money, special effects, gore, shock value, big actors etc etc to make a very good film, all you need is the film to be potrayed well with a nice build up and a good music score.

Can anyone recommend me any other films along these lines ? that I might have missed out on.

Assault (71)
Death Line (73) a bit gory but am biased
Fright (71)
Haunted House Of Horror (69)...a bit cheesy this, but has some nices scenes imo.
Deadly Strangers (83)...Mills is in this, a bit later but yet again, only in UK etc...
Tower Of Evil (72)