What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[JamesN]

Watched DEMENTIA with the wife a couple nights ago. Worth a one-time watch on Netflix, but it wasn't as good as I had heard it was gonna be. Felt like a made-for-TV movie as far as the production and performances went.

Tried to watch THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE, but it bored me to tears. I may give it another chance at some point, as I've heard really good things about it, but I don't know when that will happen.

Currently watching WHEN ANIMALS DREAM.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by JamesN

Currently watching WHEN ANIMALS DREAM.

Got this in my wish list. Look forward to reading your thoughts on it.

[iank]

Now You See Me 2. Mildly entertaining sequel that see the trickster magicians on the back foot against an old nemesis who's out for revenge. It's passable enough fare, though the fact that neither of the female leads from the first movie are back rather sucks. They do at least account for Isla Fisher's absence, and Lizzy Caplan is an affable enough replacement, but I was decidedly cheesed not just by the complete absence of Melanie Laurent, but a complete lack of any reference to her either (given she and Ruffalo's characters seemed to be a couple by the end of the first movie and indeed their burgeoning relationship was one of the most affecting things about the film). The final retcon pretty much renders almost all the first film completely pointless too. Average.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by iank

Manhunter. Quite good, though I did the ending rather OTT and silly. Will I be tarred and feathered if I confess I think Red Dragon is a better film?

I'm not sure if people will go that far, but they should definitely question your taste and knowledge of what constitutes a 'good' film!

[Frankie Teardrop]

CHERRY TREE – This cautionary tale warns of the dangers of teen pregnancy, particularly when it involves the occult. High schooler Faith is groomed by her witchy gym teacher into giving over her womb for a satanic birth – in return, she gets to keep her dad, who appears to by dying of leukaemia. Things don't really go to plan, and Faith ends up with a coven on her case as well as a demonic kid. 'Cherry Tree' was made by the guys behind 'Wake Wood' – that doesn't mean a whole lot to me, as I haven't seen the latter film. However, I have noticed a lot of unfavourable comparisons in other reviews, as by and large 'Cherry Tree' hasn't been well received. I can't claim
that it blew me away, but 'Cherry Tree' is certainly a passable time waster for those who have their sights set on schlock rather than art, especially those who can tolerate a badly conceived, poorly constructed melodrama for the sake of seeing some centipede action. Yes, 'Cherry Tree' rather bafflingly imports that staple of early eighties Chinese Horror, The Centipede, which is here deployed as a flesh-burrowing envoy of evil integral to some kind of reanimation ritual. Disappointingly, the centipedes don't get all that much screen time and tend to limit their activities to chewing their way into human bodies (I was hoping for some rather more creepy orifice bothering), but kudos to 'Cherry Tree' for featuring them at all. Besides yucky insects, 'Cherry Tree' offers a handful of brash visuals, an overstated and trashy ending, and some surprisingly good acting given the material. I couldn't help but wonder what it would've been like as a seventies Brit horror, maybe done by Norman Warren. As it stands, it's no great shakes but is worth a punt.

NEITHER THE SEA NOR THE SAND – Speaking of seventies Brit horror... 'Neither The Sea Nor The Sand' features Susan Hampshire as a lonely woman washed up on Jersey after a failed marriage. She meets enigmatic islander Hugh, and the pair go for may soul searching walks against a backdrop of bleak island terrain. Things get more tangibly 'horror' when Hugh dies suddenly, only to return as an inert, blank faced zombie man. The two head for a romantically doomed conclusion beneath the waves. 'Neither The Sea Nor The Sand' will certainly not be coveted by anyone looking for hardcore sex and violence. It's a quiet film, and tends to undermine itself through a lack of incident as much as it establishes itself through its densely layered atmosphere. The island locations are all used really effectively, and do manage to conjure that sense of windswept, soulful bleakness we tend to encounter when faced with endless wilderness... this the spiritual tone of NTSNS, and is exploited well in the second half of the movie, when Hugh 'comes back' and the whole sense of the nothingness all around starts to feel claustrophobic as the Hampshire character's world collapses in on itself. All well and good, but I can't deny that the film is a bit of a chore to sit through for the first forty five minutes, nice atmos or no. The music is all over the place too, ranging from cool radiophonic rattlings to awful seventies Euro-la-la-la. All told, 'Neither The Sea Nor The Sand' is a mildy unsettling curio from bygone times, one which I can only really recommend to those whose horror glands are stoked by endless shots of mud flats and waves crashing against ancient rocks.

NUDE FOR SATAN – If you felt that 'Black Magic Rites' was too linear and easy to understand, then you might want to try seventies Euro anti-classic 'Nude For Satan'. I won't really attempt to summarise the plot, as 'Nude For Satan' obviously resides in a cosmic micro dimension where there are only scenes of people doing stuff which don't add up to anything like a story but which do involve getting 'nude for satan'. Quite a bit. OK, I'll try a bit harder and admit that there is a narrative unfolding of sorts. It has to do with a doctor and a woman he meets on the road – she's just had a car crash. There's a castle where the doctor and the woman meet their doppelgangers (or something), there's a lot of toing and froing between rooms, lots of the aforementioned nudity for satan, then crazy moments like the bit where someone is sexually menaced by the worst pipe cleaner spider ever conceived on an Italian film set (worse even than the one from 'Murder Obsession'.) Is this whole enterprise cringe inducing or mind blowing? You be the judge. Just take my advice and don't watch it under the influence or if you have a high fever.

LEMMING – Very cool and in some ways inexplicable French thriller with the wonderful Charlottes Gainsbourg and Rampling. It's about an engineer who develops these really annoying looking drone prototypes and finds that his sink has been blocked by a Lemming. How relevant are these details? 'Lemming' has a way of laying down a plot which resonates beyond itself in cryptic asides. The narrative gets going when engineer guy and wife Gainsbourg host a really awkward dinner party for engineer's boss and his wife Rampling. Things take a further slide when Rampling inserts herself into the younger couple's lives and plays mind games with them both before killing herself in their spare room. A strange dynamic involving displaced identities then unfolds. 'Lemming' is a real curiosity, a frosty domestic drama which elegently builds into a nightmare. It's difficult, and perhaps inadvisable, to pinpoint what's going on 'really' – you could impose a supernatural explanation on events, or come down on the side of psychology. The allusive little alleyways that run through it, and the telegraphed references to dreams and nightmares all auggest a different explanation. Whatever, I recommend that you check out 'Lemming', which comes from the director of the excellent 'With A Friend Like Harry'.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

NEITHER THE SEA NOR THE SAND – Speaking of seventies Brit horror... 'Neither The Sea Nor The Sand' features Susan Hampshire as a lonely woman washed up on Jersey after a failed marriage. She meets enigmatic islander Hugh, and the pair go for may soul searching walks against a backdrop of bleak island terrain. Things get more tangibly 'horror' when Hugh dies suddenly, only to return as an inert, blank faced zombie man. The two head for a romantically doomed conclusion beneath the waves. 'Neither The Sea Nor The Sand' will certainly not be coveted by anyone looking for hardcore sex and violence. It's a quiet film, and tends to undermine itself through a lack of incident as much as it establishes itself through its densely layered atmosphere. The island locations are all used really effectively, and do manage to conjure that sense of windswept, soulful bleakness we tend to encounter when faced with endless wilderness... this the spiritual tone of NTSNS, and is exploited well in the second half of the movie, when Hugh 'comes back' and the whole sense of the nothingness all around starts to feel claustrophobic as the Hampshire character's world collapses in on itself. All well and good, but I can't deny that the film is a bit of a chore to sit through for the first forty five minutes, nice atmos or no. The music is all over the place too, ranging from cool radiophonic rattlings to awful seventies Euro-la-la-la. All told, 'Neither The Sea Nor The Sand' is a mildy unsettling curio from bygone times, one which I can only really recommend to those whose horror glands are stoked by endless shots of mud flats and waves crashing against ancient rocks.

I've only seen it once and couldn't really decide if i liked it. Made me think of an episode of Country File if directed by Jean Rollin.

[Deadite]

I must confess that i've never heard of it. I guess i'll have to hand back my Cult film geek badge now, won't i.

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by iank

Manhunter. Quite good, though I did the ending rather OTT and silly. Will I be tarred and feathered if I confess I think Red Dragon is a better film?

Yes. Hopkins overacts, unbalancing the film imho.

Criminal Activities (2014, Marco Webber)

Well worth a look, 4 unlikely "crims" are tasked with a kidnapping. Recommended!!

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Last week's viewings:

The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism (Die Schlangengrube und das Pendel) (1967)



63/100


The Living and the Dead (2006)



64/100


Night After Night After Night (1969)



44/100


Deviation (1971)



71/100


Creature of Destruction (1967)



32/100


Eye of the Devil (1966)



73/100


She Freak (1967)



28/100


Mantis in Lace (1968)



49/100


Eye of the Cat (1969)



62/100

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Mallrats (1995)

Cult director Kevin Smith's second film, that is actually a prequel to his first, the previous years Clerks.

Completely different in style to the talky but hilarious Clerks, Mallrats goes for a more slapstick approach which thanks to Smiths individual style is just as funny, mainly due to the antics of the deadly duo Jay and Silent Bob.

There are many references to characters from Smith's world of View Askew (his production company) both from Clerks and films yet to be made at the time, and many of his regular go to actors pop up here such as Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Brian O' Halloran and Jason Lee. Whilst a bigger budget meant star names like Shannen Doherty, Michael Rooker, Clair Forlani and Stan Lee were also on board.

Crackling with pop culture dialogue although not as good as Clerks, Mallrats is still a very good film and a regular in my dvd player.