SCI-FI September!

[Demoncrat]

Watched Astronaut: The Last Push aka Zero Gravity (2012, Eric Hayden)

An interesting film. A privately funded expedition to look for whales on Europa runs into trouble. Would have been a shoo in for the Isolation Tuesday list, had I seen it before Friday ahem.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Sep 4th:

Prisoners of the Lost Universe (1983)



Three people are transported into a parallel universe. There they find that they must use modern technology, but medieval weapons, in order to save the citizenry from a murderous warlord.

Despite the always awesome John Saxon, this one is a bit of a car crash. It plays for cheap laughs most of the time and throws a poor script and luke-warm action into the mix too. There's a lot of 'stuff' happening, it's just said 'stuff' is a little poorly executed and the resultant film just comes across as a bit clumsy and awkward.

38/100


Black Friday (1940)



No, not another excuse to buy loads of cheap stuff that you don't actually really want, but instead a spin on the Jekyll & Hyde formula with Karloff and Lugosi. This one is pretty enjoyable with solid performances all around, although Lugosi is criminally under-used.

55/100

[Inspector Abberline]

Jason X (2001)


In the grand scheme of good film ideas,Im sure the writer Todd Farmer thought this was a beauty,Jason Voorhees in outer space,and Im sure the men in suits thought this would be the ultimate way of re-booting the slightly flagging franchise. And you can not really fault its optimism that this was some how going to relight Jason's fire after the some what lacklustre Jason Goes To Hell, (which was basically a rip off of the film The Hidden,not a bad film just poorly executed,and who could not love the Freddy glove at the end). Jason X does need a major leap of disbelieve in its story line,well no more than any of the other films in the series I suppose,Jason a super zombie is being recruited into the army by Dr. Wimmer (David Cronenberg),only Rowan (Lexa Doig) wants the mummy's boy cryogenic frozen. Of course things go wrong,people get killed and Jason and Rowan get frozen together in sickness and a machete in the guts.445 years later hey presto a landing party arrive and the two are rescued and taken aboard the rescuers spaceship and hopefully will be returned to Earth Two,not yet knowing who there special guest is. Once the novelty of the outer space setting has worn off, its just the usual over sexed teenagers getting slaughtered in various different ways scenario we have come to know and love .There are a few nice ideas thrown into the mix, like the virtual reality hologram of Crystal Lake,where Jason gets to kill some nubile campers,also the medical station that can rebuild body parts and unfortunately for the crew re-build Jason into a bigger and better Cyber Jason .Really silly and so far removed from the series that I sometimes wonder if I had actually dreamed the film,but no it does exist. Not a favourite of mine from the series,but you have to forgive it,for being such a goof-ball idea,and the fact they actually made it. And since Jason is a hockey fan, when are we gonna see Jason Vs The Mighty Ducks,Id love to see Emilio Estevez get a a good kicking from Mr Jason Voorhees.

[MacBlayne]

Originally Posted by Inspector Abberline

Jason X (2001)

"I want him... soft." - Dr. Wimmer

[trebor8273]

Star trek the motion picture.

This is a strange one sometimes it bores the pants of me and other like this time I really enjoy it. Its still painfully slowing in places but is made up for with the fantastic effects and model work and direction from Robert Wise. One of the most star trek of the movies exploring the "human condition " and more character driven than the other films. 7.5/10


Edit

Going to watch terror within later can that be counted as SciFi?

[MacBlayne]

Event Horizon

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
Written by Phillip Eisner (Rewrites by Anderson and Andrew Kevin Walker)

We all know this one. Despite its critical drubbing and box-office failure, I have always loved this film. I saw it in the cinema at the tender age of ten (our local was very lax back then) and it left me sleepless for nearly six weeks.

The setup is fantastic – a deep space rescue vessel is sent out to investigate the Event Horizon, an exploratory spaceship that has returned after being missing for seven years. What seems to a routine operation turns into a nightmare, as the rescue crew (ably played by an impressive cast that includes Sam Neill, Laurence Fishburne, and Kathleen Quinlan) are plagued by hallucinations and deep dark secrets are unravelled. Most unsettling of all is the Event Horizon’s engineer, Dr. Weir, who seems unable to want to leave the ship.

And who can blame him, as Event Horizon has some of the finest set design and cinematography ever. A macabre work of techno-Gothic, Anderson had his designers model the ship on old Catholic cathedrals, particularly the Notre Dame. Every corridor, every pillar, every room and every doorway looks innocent enough to pass as utilitarian. But, with the appropriate lighting (by the late, great Adrian Biddle), it’s enough to give Dante Alighieri pause.

It’s appropriate that Anderson would Catholicism as his inspiration as the running theme here is guilt. Whatever the Event Horizon brought back from wherever it was, it doesn’t commit any major atrocities on the crew. Instead it operates on each of the characters’ pasts and their traumas. Constantly, it taunts and reminds each of them what they have done – bringing every one of them closer to insanity.

That’s not to say that Event Horizon is a cerebral only affair. It more than delivers on the scares. Anderson clearly studied the guidebook on horror and delivers a nerve-wracking experience. The use of guttural and creaking soundscapes, coupled with the long shots and low camera angles creates an atmosphere choking with dread. Better still, is Anderson’s refusal to go for the immediate scare, preferring to drive the viewer into a state of anxiety before unleashing the cat out of the bag.

Praise goes to Anderson’s sense of pacing. He knows just when to showcase a new set or reveal another character attribute to keep the audience engaged. Right up until the final twenty minutes, Event Horizon is a finely tuned fright machine.

It’s a shame about that as it could have easily avoided. In the initial cut, the film ran for two hours and ten minutes. Anderson had hoped to shave it down to an hour and fifty minutes after getting some feedback from the Paramount Studios. Only, Paramount freaked out when they saw the workprint. Anderson’s goal of creating the ultimate adult horror may have been too successful as the studio balked at the truly distressing scenes of rape and torture (including some towards children). Anderson was unable to demand final cut as he waived it in favour of extra shooting time that cut into the editing schedule (the film’s release had already been deadlocked).

Despite making some edits, the film had disastrous test screenings. Test audiences had the same reaction as Paramount and some even walked out in protest. Paramount forced more edits before they approved it for release. Thinking his ordeal was over, Anderson had yet to deal with the MPAA. The MPAA rated the film NC-17, forcing Anderson to re-edit the film with the release date looming. When all was said and done, the film had shrunk to 95 minutes.

Sadly, Event Horizon was a colossal failure on release. Reviews were vitriolic and it only made $25 million worldwide on a budget of $60 million (not including Prints & Advertising costs). As a result, Paramount decided not to waste money on preserving the deleted scenes and this alternative cut will probably remain a mystery (although, one of the film’s producers claims to have found a master-tape of this workprint).

One wonders where Anderson would be today had Event Horizon been successful. I like the guy and his work a lot but I must be honest, his films have never really stood out enough to remain in memory (well, maybe Death Race). But, Event Horizon saw Anderson mostly left to his own devices. He demonstrated real skill behind the camera and put a lot of thought into his decisions. Also, what would it have done to the horror genre? With the exception of Silent Hill, Event Horizon is perhaps the only big-budget pure horror film out there (others like I Am Legend and Prometheus have utilised motifs from action-adventures). If the film was a hit, horror may have finally broken into the mainstream blockbuster status. Imagine the possibilities! Hell, Jason X might have got a proper budget.

Unfortunately, Event Horizon was a bomb and Anderson’s career suffered a great deal. His next effort was Soldier, which suffered from constant rewrites, reshoots and re-edits by Morgan Creek and Warner Bros. It, too, was a major critical and financial failure (one of the biggest bombs of all time, methinks).

But, for one brief moment, Anderson’s star shined brightly. He created a horror film that was as beautiful looking as it was terrifying. Hollywood’s black hole swallowed him up, but at least we got one glimpse of his talent before he disappeared beyond the event horizon.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1993)

When an abused heiress grows to giant size because of her encounter with aliens, she decides to get revenge on her cheating husband and those who did her wrong.

Shockingly i have yet to see the original 1958 film this HBO production is a remake of. However i actually quite enjoyed this. After a fairly slow opening fifty minutes which is only kept watchable by the performances of star Daryl Hannah and Daniel Baldwin hamming it up as her straying husband it all sort of clicks into gear when Hannah grows to epic proportions, well 50 ft anyway.

It's sort of endearing to watch her stomp about a model town in some sequences tearing roofs off buildings and causing general chaos in her sexy bikini / dress. Unfortunately the main problem with this film, directed by Christopher Guest (This is Spinal Tap), is there just ain't enough of it amid a script that throws in a feminist angle before cheap thrills and kitsch fun.

Still it's quite amusing, even if HBO have to throw in a few 'F' words because, well, they're HBO, and a bit of camp fun.

The UK dvd i got from Poundland has a great picture quality and cool animated menu screens.

[MacBlayne]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1993)

When an abused heiress grows to giant size because of her encounter with aliens, she decides to get revenge on her cheating husband and those who did her wrong.

Shockingly i have yet to see the original 1958 film this HBO production is a remake of. However i actually quite enjoyed this. After a fairly slow opening fifty minutes which is only kept watchable by the performances of star Daryl Hannah and Daniel Baldwin hamming it up as her straying husband it all sort of clicks into gear when Hannah grows to epic proportions, well 50 ft anyway.

It's sort of endearing to watch her stomp about a model town in some sequences tearing roofs off buildings and causing general chaos in her sexy bikini / dress. Unfortunately the main problem with this film, directed by Christopher Guest (This is Spinal Tap), is there just ain't enough of it amid a script that throws in a feminist angle before cheap thrills and kitsch fun.

Still it's quite amusing, even if HBO have to throw in a few 'F' words because, well, they're HBO, and a bit of camp fun.

The UK dvd i got from Poundland has a great picture quality and cool animated menu screens.

I was bored senseless with this one (wasn't naff looking enough to be "fun" nor was it well-produced enough to be great) but there was one quote I chuckled at.

When she tries seducing her husband at her large size, he dryly responds with "How do you figure I do that? Don a wetsuit and a lightstick?"

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MacBlayne

Event Horizon

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson

I like the majority of Anderson's films from Shopping to The Three Musketeers and everything in between.

[MacBlayne]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I like the majority of Anderson's films from Shopping to The Three Musketeers and everything in between.

Same here. I'm not too fond of AvP (might write about that one someday) but almost everything else he's done has been made with enough skill and confidence to be quite decent. Plus, he seems to be a genius at stretching a budget for all it's worth.

But, I do agree with Mark Kermode in that Anderson has proven he can do a lot better and more interesting (Resi: Extinction showed off some clever gags). He should probably start demonstrating this again.