What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

She-Devils on Wheels (1968)

Over the years i've seen some truly terrible films, often from US fifty movie box sets from the likes of Pendulum Pictures. Films such as Las Vegas Bloodbath and Prehistoric Bimbos in Armageddon City, films so wretched they are barely watchable. However none of the films i'm thinking about boast acting as poor and amateurish as Herschell Gordon Lewis's She Devils on Wheels.

It's only plus points were a couple of riding down the open road scenes.

I ended up turning it off. I hate turning films off but i was just wasting my time when i could have been watching something better.

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by MacBlayne

NOROI: THE CURSE

“This video documentary is deemed too disturbing for public viewing.” And thus begins Noroi. If you haven’t seen it before, do not watch the trailer. Do not even google it. It will ruin some of the best moments for you. I will refrain from any spoilers in this review. The less you know, the better, since Noroi lives up to its opening promise.

Noroi is a Japanese entry to the found footage genre, but don’t let that fool you. This isn’t a Blair Witch clone that looks like it was filmed on a camcorder nailed to a wheelchair rolling down a hill. Nor is it a Paranormal Activity style film, comprised of long static shots that might feature a door opening by itself and BOO!!!

Koji Shiraishi’s film is a mockumentary, although not one that is a parody of the genre. This has two major advantages. One, it allows Shiraishi to employ professional camerawork that knows how to frame, and when to zoom appropriately. The cameraman is a proper speaking part, that converses with the host which in itself gives the viewer a position within the film.

The second advantage is the host himself. Played by a tremendous Jin Muraki, Masafumi Kobayashi is probably the most likable protagonist within a found footage film. He’s a kind-hearted individual that holds a fascination with the supernatural. He isn’t naïve that he wantonly accepts the weird, nor is cynical that he mocks his subjects. Honestly, he appears to operate out of an element of help, trying to find the solution to an issue troubling a subject. He seems very protective of his interviewees, and at one moment expresses dismay at what he considers exploitation on a television programme. Speaking of which, Noroi possesses a surprising streak of humour, especially with the television inserts. They really nail the "uniqueness" of Japanese TV.

What’s rather interesting about Noroi is that Muraki is a professional actor, as is the rest of the cast. I don’t mean that Noroi kickstarted their careers, but that they were, if not famous, already established within their field. Granted, not being familiar with Japanese television isn’t going to mean much to us gaijin, but for a genre that thrives on anonymity, it’s an interesting decision that clearly pays off. The acting is excellent, and they really capture that sense of wishful optimism and hopelessness.

Speaking of the professional cast, Noroi also surprises with its production values. Noroi was made with a $2,000,000 budget, which is extremely high for the genre, but it’s all there on screen. There are lavishly produced sets, props, costumes, and the film even utilises some startling special effects and audio trickery. The mere mention of special effects may throw you off, but I guarantee you that they are exactly what the film needs. The accompanying soundtrack is a marvel, sort of like a countdown timer performed by John Carpenter, and lends to the overall suffocation the impending horror provides.

Noroi can probably be best described as a cosmic horror. No, that is not a spoiler, or even a hint to a Lovecraftian reveal. What I mean is, Shiraishi creates fear from what we don’t know, not from the unknown. The scary unknown is something we have never considered, and what could it mean for us overall. Noroi gives us enough to let us know something is up ahead – what exactly that thing is though, is beyond our realm of knowledge.

The visuals deserve praise, which is something you almost never hear about found footage. As mentioned, Noroi benefits from professional camerawork and high production values, but like many great Japanese horror films and games (and David Lynch), it’s the juxtaposition of upsetting imagery against the mundane trappings of reality. Slap a grainy home-video filter on top of that, and you got the worst entry to You’ve Been Framed to date. There are images and sounds here that are burnt into my soul, and I hardly slept last night after watching it.

In regards to the story, the most I’ll discuss is the theme of the traditional versus modernity. Japan is a country torn between ancient customs and the expectations of modern life, and a lot of its post-WW2 cinema deals with that. Ozu’s films were the most lamentable. Fukusaku’s were the most nihilistic. Miike was the angriest. Noroi is the most aggressive and despairing.

Noroi is a slow-burning skin crawler. It’s like being slowly pulled by a strong current. You can’t do anything to fight it, so it’s best to let pull you until it’s safe to swim again. Far too late you discover that you are actually caught in a maelstrom that is impossible to escape. You’re beyond saving, but worst of all, you are given time to consider all of the mistakes that led you here.

A thing of beauty. Kudos!!!

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by MacBlayne

DEATH WISH

Charles Bronson is Paul Kersey, eradicator of street trash, upholder of traditional values, and… Oh, hang on. We haven’t got that far yet.

Death Wish is a film that carries a certain reputation, brought about by its many sequels. While those films wallowed in excess, the first entry is almost alien to them. It shares the same setup – some close to Kersey is brutalised, and Keysey goes on a rampage. However, where the opening acts of brutality in the sequels are the trigger for Kersey’s spree of vengeance, Death Wish's opening scenes of violence is a long fuse that has Keysey descend into madness. It's worth stressing that Death Wish is not a revenge film. Kersey never finds the monsters who beat his wife to death and raped his daughter, and this is a key factor that makes the film very different from others with the series and genre.

Death Wish is a very controversial film, not just for the still-shocking level of violence, but for its alleged support of vigilantism. Of course, many self-appointed moral guardians often throw such accusations at other films, and these accusations often fall apart when you apply some critical analysis to them. But I think it’s a fair point in regards to Death Wish, so much so that the original author was horrified when he saw the finished film, and even Charles Bronson was somewhat bothered by it at the time.

I don’t think Death Wish supports vigilantism, but I do agree that it thinks the solution to rising crime is stricter punishments. Michael Winner was admittedly right-wing, and never shied from expressing conservative opinions. He strikes me as the type who thinks flogging should be brought back. But this was the period when Winner was a rather intelligent filmmaker, and he focuses more on Kersey’s gradual adoption of violence. Kersey is man whose entire world is ripped away from him in breathtakingly cruel fashion, and falls into a spiral of fear and paranoia. These are the negative traits that has him lash out in violence, and become the vigilante. But rather than turn into Batman, Winner introduces something disturbing. Kersey becomes a hero to the people, and a thorn to the police, but Kersey isn’t continuing his killing spree because he wants to stop crime. He continues because he likes it. He targets genuinely reprehensible people, luring them, and murdering them with glee. And here is where Winner turns the film back onto us. If we’re still watching, then surely we are enjoying watching Kersey kill these bastards? And what exactly is it that is stopping us from following Kersey’s methods ourselves? Is it our morality, or a fear of legal repercussions?

Death Wish is a truly “problematic” film. It taps into the more fascist element of society, and it’s not exactly disagreeing with it. But it is aware. It raises moral and philosophical musings about violence in society, and within us. Charles Bronson always said he was miscast. and Dustin Hoffman should have been Kersey. I disagree. Hoffman was amazing in Straw Dogs, which is a better, and far more intelligent film that looks at the animal hiding within man. However, Death Wish already has let the animal out of the cage, and is looking at why that loose animal is so appealing. Bronson nails that animal. By the end of Straw Dogs, Hoffman has transformed. By the end of Death Wish, Bronson hasn’t transformed. He’s just honest.

Cracking review Mac.

Sent from my SM-G780G using Tapatalk

[MrBarlow]

Yummy. 2019.

In a health clinic a young couple release a woman from her binds unaware that she is a experiment procedure gone haywire by the physician who runs the hospital.

This was a blind watch on Shudder and to be honest this was actually a decent flick from Belgium. It has a mix of native language with subtitles and English non dubbed audio, thankfully everyone speaks without being dubbed and out of
sync.

Like every other horror there is normally a element of laughter, a group of boys on a bus looking at the passenger in the car next to them who is big breasted and encouraging her to flash but obviously her mother is jealous as she is going to get a reduction. People getting shown about the hospital and then come across patient zero and all hell breaks loose.

The acting in this is decent and everyone puts a good amount of effort to make it great and yes there is always one prick in a horror and we all want him to meet karma. Certainly not one for the squeamish as the gore factor is top notch and great make-up effects used. For what seems to be a independent flick director Lars Damoiseaux knew what he was doing with the direction and getting decent cinematography at the right moments.

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[Demoncrat]

Sold methinks


Hot Seat

MEH.


Clay Pigeons (1998, David Dobkin)

If I start by saying that I think this is the best I've seen Vince Vaughn do, please don't all run for the hills.
Also if you really crave seeing people smoke on screen again, then this is the one for you all.
Wannabe quirky thriller featuring characters you just don't see anymore on screen ahem. Data also pops up, which was nice.

[MrBarlow]

Black Roses, 1988.

Demons disguised as a high school punk band hypnotises their audience to kill.

Another Shudder movie that I fell asleep to and woke up to a woman having her throat slit and decided to watch this from the start. Released by Troma so no one will ever achieve best acting performance. Mullets must have been the thing as nearly every guy has one, so throw back to the 80s for you oldies

The costume for the demons definitely looked rubbery and the actors seem to have very little movement and may have caused a bad case of the sweats and claustrophobia, but i'm sure they do anything for a paycheck. This probably sounded good on paper and not great for the screen but can't complain about the few boobies shots in this.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Wizard of Gore (1970)

The Gore Gore Girls (1972

Probably Herschell Gordon Lewis' most accomplished films. Both up the gore substantially thankfully the acting as well as both films are highly watchable.

The Gore Gore Girls for me was the better of the two, the gore is at times quite unsettling in it's nature in very prolonged scenes of explicit violence. However it also seems to have things to say in a social sense as well, bit now a day after rewatching these two (First time on Blu-ray) it's the sheer sleazy sadism of The Gore Gore Girls that lingers long in the memory. The Wizard of Gore reminds me very much of Mardi Gras Massacre as the murders all play out in similar fashion to one another.

On the whole these two films actually being any good, along with 1964's Two Thousand Maniacs, are the exception and the other eleven films in the Arrow Lewis collection are for the most part dreadful. Meaning this box set will be leaving my collection in the next day or so. I'll probably buy the stand alone Blu of The Gore Gore Girls in the next Arrow sale.

[MrBarlow]

A Ghost Waits. 2020.

A man called Jack is hired to clean out a house for new occupants and is tasked with why people keep fleeing from the house before their lease ends.

Ok let sum this one up, Total Film magazine named this the "Best Film" at the 2020 Frightfest film festival in September 2020, that year was rough for everyone and thankfully we are still here, and I watched some major shitty films during that time, this one should have been added to that list. This was obviously someone's weekend project of splicing Juno from Beetlejuice, mixed with a really bad Amityville..spin off story mixed with Jack Torrance speaking to a bar man.

Right at the start approx 30 seconds in should have been the warning of switching this off but roughed it out like the man I am and saw it right to the end, filmed in Black& White, nice homage to the original horrors we love dearly with a twist ending but still lost 75 minutes of my life.

Even though this was a Shudder exclusive, it can be easily bypassed.

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[Demoncrat]

Almost Human (Umberto Lenzi, 1974)

A work of genius. Milan embodies amorality in this fun little romp
Brushing off a recent setback, our Tomas puts together his own squad with mayhem in mind.
Henry Silva plays the cop tasked with bringing this particular cur to heel.
Need I go on?
Recofrickingmended.

[nicholasrope]

Executive Decision

When Terrorists hijack a Plane, a Commando Unit are able to board to stop them. Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, Halle Berry and David Sucet star in a still entertaining romp.

This was the 2nd 15 rated Film I saw at a Cinema (Barb Wire was the 1st, this came out a week later) and couldn't believe it when I saw the poster as these type of Films were normally 18 rated and Seagal Films were a big deal to me back then.

Bulletproof

Damon Waynes is a Undercover Cop who is shot by Adam Sandler who in turn becomes a State Witness after his boss, played by James Caan puts a Hit on him. Waynes is then tasked with bringing Sandler back to New York, whilst avoiding Hitmen. Nice and short and quite fun.

Gladiator Cop

This sounds bizarre but Lorenzo Lamas has psychic visions of Swordfights that has association with Alexander The Great, 2000 years earlier.

Apparently this contains cut scenes from another Film and as this is a type of Film I quite enjoy and seeing as I got this cheap, I have a higher tolerance and considering I wasn't expecting the greatest Film ever, I found it entertaining.