19 Reviews
A Dark and Scary Place
Clayton Beresford Jr., a successful young business tycoon living in the shadow of his deceased father, has a relationship with Samantha Lockwood, a woman in his employ, which progresses to the point where they want to marry. However, the tycoon has been keeping the affair secret from his domineering mother whom he knows will disapprove. So he decides to undergo a quick, private wedding ceremony and inform his mother afterward. No sooner has he achieved this than the hospital contacts him with news of a donor heart. Obliged to undergo a life-saving operation to replace his own weak heart, the young businessman finds himself awake during the operation but unable to move. Not only does he feel every cut, but he soon discovers that the people he called friends are not who he thought they were...
Awake is a conspiracy thriller which dips one toe in the realms of supernatural fantasy. Hayden Christensen (the adolescent Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels) is much more convincing here as a trusting successful businessman duped in love for a scheming gold-digger (played by Jessica Alba) and her greedy associates.
The idea of somebody waking up during surgery, unable to move or speak but subject to the feeling of every cut, is a solid and convincing premise which works very well here. I'd go so far as to say it's unnerving to watch the heart surgery scene whilst listening to his mind screaming out in agony and outrage.
The solid manner of moving the young tycoon character into the realms of fantasy is for the script to have his traumatised mind place him anywhere but in the operating theatre, thereby having him learn about the plot to see him off for his money. In this manner, his mind reflects on previous conversations and clues he should have recognised at the time.
Although predictable in places, Awake is a powerful thriller which should entertain (or at least keep interested) both mainstream and genre viewers.
Extras include Deleted Scenes; an Audio Commentary by writer/director Joby Harold; a Making of... Documentary; and a Storyboard to Film Comparison.
When classic car salesman Bill and his wife Bernadette discover a rat in their Beverley Hills swimming pool a powerful black man arrives from nowhere to fish it out for them. The couple assume he is the pool maintenance man, but instead he turns out to be a rapist and thief wanted by the police. There is no cash in the house, and it soon becomes evident that Bill has borrowed more money than the couple have. The intruder, known as Bone, gives Bill a deadline in which to drive into town, withdraw some money and get back, otherwise he will rape and kill Bernadette. Bill initially complies, but then gets side tracked by a liaison with a strange woman who was molested by an old man when she was a child and seems determined to repeat the experience. When Bill fails to show up at the allotted time both Bone and Bernadette are aggrieved for very different reasons. They decide to go after Bill, intending to cause an "accident" and claim on the insurance. But Bone hasn't counted on the ruthlessness of Bernadette...
The moment I noticed that Bone was written and directed by Larry Cohen I somehow knew exactly what to expect. I wasn't far wrong. Lots of jazzy The Streets of San Francisco type music, pretty bland characters and a plot which could easily have been played-out in half-an-hour. In fact similar scenarios have been attempted much more successfully in long-running weekly serials, because the format is far too common to be self-sustaining. So we are forced to endure the stereotypical black villain story, and are informed through dialogue that Bone acts the way he does because it is what society expects of him (what?!). Larry Cohen's It's Alive trilogy of films about cannibal babies weren't quality pieces by any stretch of the imagination, but at least they had a hook. There was mystery, there was danger and there was sympathy, all qualities missing from Bone.
On the extras, Jack H. Harris explains how he turned from film maker to producer and could not obtain enough films to please the film company. Bone arose from his liaison with Larry Cohen. The film was shown to test audiences who didn't care, so it was decided they might be more successful with predominantly black cinema goers. Wrong again. Instead of catching the blatant hints that this was a rubbish film the pair remarketed the project as a dark comedy and romance (for fear of repeating myself again... what?!). This time they were apparently more successful - which probably means one blind man turned up at the cinema looking for the bakers.
Extras include the aforementioned comments from Jack H. Harris, a Commentary by Larry Cohen, a Featurette, and Theatrical Trailers. In short, Bone will bore modern audiences to distraction. You could say it's Bone-idle (yes, I did think of that one all by myself).
A young woman is abducted, and police detective Anna Mari is forced to play a form of on-line poker against the kidnapper for the woman's life. Initially, the chief inspector had refused to involve the police in manipulative games, which culminated in the first captive being killed in front of their eyes via a video link which the experts cannot trace. But even when Anna convinces him they should play to buy more time, she knows she is no poker player. Aided by a disgraced Irish cop called John Brennan in the investigation to apprehend the killer the media has dubbed The Card Player, Anna soon realises she will need an expert player. However, somehow the killer knows that someone is playing in her stead. It isn't long before Anna becomes a target herself, and the killer isn't finished playing yet...
The Card Player is one of a number of current DVD releases of Dario Argento films from Arrow Video. Horror aficionados might know him through his older films such as Demons and Suspiria, or more recently by his contribution to the Masters of Horror anthology series. However, he has delved more deeply into police procedural murder mysteries/thrillers - a genre which he reportedly feels most comfortable with.
This is a good representation of his dramatic suspense material, with Stefania Rocca and Liam Cunningham both powerful in their central roles. The use of computer crime, although heavily on the increase, is usually in the form of embezzlement, so the idea of the computer application being the unwitting channel for crime threw me back to the excellent Lynda LaPlante scripted Killer Net, in which a CD-ROM game was being controlled by a third party. This being the case, the film would also have worked well as an episode of any number of police detective serials.
The plot motors along at a cracking pace, and the climatic scene is gripping, but I have to say it didn't take much reasoning to work out who the killer was, particularly when a time discrepancy is explained.
Any fan of Dario Argento's work should welcome this release, as it contains a double-sided sleeve, a collector's booklet, and a poster. The disc itself contains a Making of... featurette, a gallery and ten minutes of trailers for his other films.
Haxan (from 1922) is a difficult one to quantify. Intending to primarily be a documentary describing the facts and legends surrounding the interesting subject of witchcraft and Satanism, it uses sketched depictions, models, animation and specially shot fictional film footage to lecture rather than entertain viewers, and suffers from getting caught between being a public information film and a Fritz Lang-type short.
You could be forgiven for thinking that this DVD contains two features. On the menus Haxan is listed as the main film, with Witchcraft Through the Ages sitting as a special feature. In actuality, they're the same thing. Haxan is tediously long at 104 minutes. Each line of subtitles seems to remain on the screen for an age, and I came dangerously (or should that be blissfully) close to falling asleep within the first five minutes. Furthermore, the original soundtrack is curiously unrelated in style to what is happening on screen. Rather than complimenting the piece it's manically fast and grating, which is almost certainly why we're offered two alternatives scores - one being the Brontt Industries Kapital in Dolby 5.1, the other by Geoff Smith in Dolby 2.0.
Witchcraft Through the Ages is the same feature, only mercifully 28 minutes shorter because of a narration replacing the subtitles. Although this makes the experience somewhat more palatable, William S. Burroughs' tone is conducive with the Green Cross Code Man instructing us on how to negotiate a crossing of the road, or perhaps an old piece of wildlife film covering the lions of the Serengeti.
In conclusion, Haxan does have its moments. The masks and costumes and the cleverly incorporated animations are impressive. Additionally, some of the live-action antics will make some people smile; particularly the Devil's shenanigans. However, the whole is unlikely to hold the attention of mainstream or even horror viewers, perhaps only appealing to those wishing to study factual references to witchcraft.
Henry is a serial killer who moves from city to city, leaving behind a string of bodies, killed by various methods. He associates no importance to the process, although he realises it is important to keep on the move. Arriving in Chicago, he moves in with Otis, an ex-con buddy who is soon drawn into his dark world. When Otis’ s sister arrives in town looking for work, she is intrigued with Henry and, after hearing about some of his exploits, happily attaches herself to him and his sinister psyche. Henry begins to school them in his way of life, causing them to take a direction from which there is no return...
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer was filmed in 1986 but, due to its bio docudrama approach and certain scenes of violence, it wasn’t seen in its entirety until 1990. I’ve seen the edited version of this film and, to be brutally honest, in terms of the number of scenes there’s not much difference. John McNaughton was a fledgling director at the time, and undoubtedly wanted to make a big impact on the movie business - although he admits that he had no idea what constituted an unreasonably brutal scene in the eyes of the censors. The opening montage of dead bodies in various locations is one such segment which had to be removed. Now that it’s back in place, it isn’t lengthy but it does somewhat change the structure of the entire film. Rather than have Henry tell his back story to the police in a scene arrangement which starts in the middle - as with the other, frankly awful, Henry Lee Lewis semi-fictional biography - what we get here is a more palatable linear tale of how the key character brings everyone down around
him.
Henry is based on the notorious serial killer, Henry Lee Lucas. He is portrayed here as an almost totally emotionless individual, with cold inner rage and sexual frustration. Although acting performances are solid and convincing, this is not the type of film I normally enjoy. However, for anyone who loves this movie, there is a veritable plethora of extra features on this Blu-ray Special Edition. Alongside the expected Making of... documentary, there is a featurette on Henry Lee Lucas, an interview with director John McNaughton (which is so long that I fell asleep watching it), an exploration of the altered scenes, deleted scenes and outtakes with commentary, stills gallery, and original storyboards.
Zakes and on/off girlfriend Beth are driving along the M1 late at night. It's raining hard and they're both tired and irritable. When a white lorry overtakes them the back slides up and for an instant Zakes catches a glimpse of a naked woman caged and screaming inside. He calls the police on a mobile but the number plate is too dirty to be read. Satisfied that the police will investigate, Zakes pulls into a service station to put up the posters required for his job. Beth is disgusted that Zakes hasn't done more to help the captive woman, and elects to make her own way home. Zakes waits in the car for her to come to her senses, but when he spots the white lorry and a hooded figure, and finds her broken necklace, he realises with horror that Beth has been taken too. He trails the lorry, and what follows is a rollercoaster ride of terror and pain as Zakes determines to recover his girlfriend from a mysterious assailant...
I'm certain I've mentioned before how a film created by a first time writer/director can either be inspirational or insipid; delightful or disastrous. Luckily, this time around it's very much the former. The brains behind this gem is Mark Tonderai, and what's more he's British. The fact that Hush has been nominated for a British Independent Film award, may give you some insight into the standard we're talking about here. There's no doubting that, like the early scenes of Jeepers Creepers, this film owes a debt of gratitude to Duel (written by the great Richard Matheson and directed by a young Steven Spielberg), certainly with the heavy use of the lorry and the faceless driver. In fact, the hooded figure goes a long way to empowering Hush; you can almost see it becoming a franchise (yee, Gods!).
The small handful of characters are the most believable I've seen in some time. Not only do they react realistically to events, they are changed by them. At the forefront of these is Will Ash, whose portrayal of Zakes couldn't be more convincing. There's no compromising here; no making the character fit situations. Everything Zakes does throughout the film is based in truth; no more so than when he chooses not to involve himself directly until his own girlfriend is abducted. A few things in the context of the story are not explained, but that's fine, as a person in Zakes's position wouldn't necessarily learn everything that is going on. They would only be concerned with recovering their loved one. In this respect, it is a long time since a film has intelligently piled on layer upon layer of tension, so that you are literally biting your nails and sitting on the edge of your seat. It's simply wonderful when a film arrives which does this with such flair, because they are so few and far between.
Tonderai so obviously has a talented eye for good drama, suspense and action. The film is tightly edited, with good continuity. In this film he plays cleverly with our nerves. I think we should keep a close eye on his progress in the industry, because judging by Hush, he is already a force to be reckoned with.
There is a nice collection of extras too, with seven featurettes, a commentary, interviews with Mark Tonderai and William Ash, and deleted scenes. Buy it now.
John Wayne Cleaver (a nice name which suggests a sort of hero slasher!) is a 17 year old boy who helps his mother at the mortuary removing organs from bodies and replacing blood with embalming fluid. He has a somewhat unhealthy obsession with serial killers to the point he has a therapist (he even tells people that he has to be nice to them because he is actually thinking about killing them!). The town is living in fear as several people have been killed or gone missing. When John spots someone acting suspiciously on more than one occasion he surreptitiously follows the figure to a surprising revelation. But it’s one thing knowing who the killer is, it’s quite another doing something about it. Everyone treats John with distaste, mistrust or ridicule, so he is obliged to take matters into his own hands. However, the killer knows the enemy, and events lead to an astounding game of cat and mouse...
Christopher Lloyd is already a minor legend for his eccentric appearances in Taxi and Back to the Future, but the real star in this movie is Max Records. He perfectly portrays a teenager who is an aloof (but not necessarily cold) passive-aggressive with the presence of a victim unless he has something to say. Although he doesn’t bond with anyone (his family and one friend quite plainly outsiders) you can’t help siding with him... proving the acting is spot on.
There are obvious links to the excellent Donnie Darko: occasional black humour against a bleak subject matter (John uses an unwanted panda hat Christmas gift as a disguise in the latter stages), and the ‘nobody’ with sociopathic tendencies who uncovers corruption within a relatively small community whilst riding a bike! However, it’s a very different film with its own clever moments. I don’t want to give too much away, but there are plenty of surprises. I particularly like the scene wherein John follows the suspicious hooded figure as another person is apparently abducted, only to witness the revelation that the supposed victim is actually the aggressor.
John’s morbid fascination with killer and dead bodies is entirely conducive to the plot. The groundwork for the rather unusual finale is carefully laid out in plain sight, so that you can’t see the wood for the trees, so to speak.
There is nothing forced or contrived about I Am Not a Serial Killer; it flows with a real sense of professionalism. Even the kills are not the main scenes; there is no need for extreme violence and gore in a movie which so obviously feels comfortable in its own skin (which is ironic when you view the conclusion).
The film is a British/Irish co-production filmed in America. It has been almost universally acclaimed, and not without just cause. Director Billy O’Brien has done a sterling job (matched by a perfectly weighted score), and I’m certain we’ll be seeing more of Max Records (check out on the extras the test scenes filmed when he was younger).
A bank robber is the only survivor of a passenger plane crash. A casino employee tracks him down and explains how luck is a real force passed from person to person. They team up, travelling to many illicit gambling or chance games played for high stakes, such as houses, cars and even people. The casino man now possesses the means to confront his corrupt and unnaturally lucky boss; but the game is Russian Roulette, and the old man has seen many opponents die. Meanwhile, a police detective is on the trail of the bank robber, and can't avoid getting caught up in the game...
It's difficult to know exactly how to quantify this film, and I'm not certain I want to try. Words don't come easily, because there's very little to describe: no multiple layers, no diverging or converging plot-lines, no interesting characters, no action or stunts, no humour, no suspense... Need I go on? I'm afraid there's not even enough here to stimulate the most complacent and accepting viewer of weekday afternoon TV films.
Another problem is the chaotic structure. The director clearly has no feeling for how scenes should be played out. Or perhaps it was an editing fault, in which case the whole thing should have been left on the cutting room floor. It's not the language which is to blame, although it can be a little disorientating to watch a Spanish film with English subtitles, only to have some characters switch to English and back again for no discernible reason. No, the cuts are far too abrupt and frequent, jumping from scene to scene, back and forth, before any real tension or cohesion can be realised.
As for the story... I can't even say with any conviction if I've accurately described the plot with my little synopsis, because this is one of those films you watch and think to yourself "What the hell was all that about?!" Give this one a miss.
Charlie Otero was a teenage child on 15 January 1974 when he returned home from school to find that his parents and two younger family members had been viciously murdered. These were the first victims of the serial killer who would later be known as B.T.K. (Blind, Torture, Kill). Thirty years later, after many more killings during the 1970s and 1980s, a man called Dennis Rader was eventually arrested and convicted of the crimes. He is currently serving several life sentences. This is the story of how Charlie Otero, day by day, attempted to put his life back together...
I fully expected this to be a dramatisation of real life events, but discovered it to be a feature length documentary. After a description of the horrific events of that fateful day in 1974, we begin with Charlie just being released from jail after a three and a half year stretch. According to those closest to him, he was allegedly manipulated to certain actions by his ex-wife. He briefly meets a couple of old friends, before attempting to go on with his life. Charlie has been in a dark place, but he comes across as vengeful and railing at the world, which is normal in my book, considering what he has been through. They are events which will never leave him.
After years of silence, B.T.K. resurfaces, sending a number of correspondences to the police. After a time, and before Charlie Otero can exact his own justice, the perpetrator is arrested. It never fails to amaze me how almost everybody who has unsuspectingly known a serial killer states how nice or harmless they seemed. Charlie and his surviving sister attend a number of preliminary hearings, and we get a sense of just what they have suffered and endured across the years. Matters spiral further when his son is seriously injured in a traffic accident, and doctors have no idea whether or not he will pull through.
There is a sort of closure for Charlie. Rader is convicted and sentenced (although he shows no remorse), and there’s good news concerning his boy. I have no idea why this is a docu-film, as opposed to a TV documentary, but it does incorporate most key points in Charlie’s life leading up to the sentencing of his parents' murderer. The subject matter means it’s not enjoyable to watch, but it is professionally filmed and edited. You feel naturally pleased that his life is making a very positive turn.
Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) is a machine operator; just one of a bored group of men. The difference is Reznik hasn't slept for nearly a year. Racked by extreme fatigue, his body is becoming increasingly emaciated. As a consequence of this his mind plays a series of warped tricks on him, until he seriously begins to doubt reality. As a result of his negligence a fellow worker suffers an accident in which he loses an arm. Reznik is alienated from the workforce, and his guilt soon turns to paranoia. As a series of Hangman notes appear on his fridge, he discovers the two people he can still rely on are not what they seem at all. Reznik believes someone is trying to exact revenge on him for the accident, but the real truth will threaten to tip him over the edge into insanity...
This is one of those films you feel compelled to watch; once you've pressed that play button you're not going to press stop until it's over. That's testament to the film's good plotting. There are layers upon layers which reel you in and immerse you in the so-called subterfuge until you're not quite sure if The Machinist is a contemporary thriller or a Chronenberg-like fantasy. I suppose it's a bit of both, but the closest film comparison in terms of style would be Donnie Darko. Especially the final revelations, and the fact that it leaves you thinking and trying to make sense of certain aspects. I prefer that in a film; I don't particularly like neatly tied-up packages.
Christian Bale (currently finding fame in Batman Begins) is near faultless in his performance here. The lengths he went to to get into character surprised even the writer and director. Simply put, Bale just stopped eating and wasted away, risking serious health problems, until he barely existed. I'm not sure a mere movie warrants those extremes, but you've got to give the man credit, because he pulls it off with aplomb.
For me, the best scene is when he takes the little boy on the ghost train. The way Bale reacts to the increasingly depraved scenes of death and violence, trying to protect the boy, are the film's only humorous moments. But it doesn't stay that way for long. I think if I'd been taken on that ghost train at a young age I'd have had a seizure too.
Extras are: Director Interview, Commentary by Director Brad Anderson, The Making of... featurette, Trailers and 8 Deleted Scenes.
A great and original film.
Will Graham is an ex-crime scenes investigator, who retired after catching and imprisoning Dr Hannibal Lector. He was stabbed but affected by a greater extent after trying to put himself in the mind of Lector and as a result spending a short time in a mental facility. His friend and colleague, Jack Crawford, persuades him to return and head the investigation into a new serial killer, dubbed by insiders as The Tooth Fairy. After visiting the latest crime scene, Will visits Lector in jail in order to re-enter the required mindset, but Lector immediately begins to play mind games with him. When it is discovered that the killer has corresponded with Lector, Will sets up a sting with himself as the target. However, the plan goes disastrously wrong, and Will is left with only a few hours left before the next full moon killing...
I have fond memories of this film. Red Dragon, upon which this film was based, was by far the best book from Thomas Harris, no subsequent book involving these characters coming close. Similarly, this film knocks spots off those films which followed: the vastly overrated The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and the inevitable Red Dragon inferior remake. This film, looking crisp and new on Blu-ray, simply exudes style. The direction by Michael Mann, is meticulous in making everything look slightly off-kilter. In each scene he uses a piece of architecture or furniture and has it take over the shot - even filming at table height or at acute angles on the street.
Also, the book has been expertly transposed, losing none of its tautness. There’s a constant feeling of time running out, highlighted by tints of colour indicating the present feeling portrayed. The acting is pretty much spot on - particularly Brian Cox as Hannibal, and William Peterson (of CSI) as Will Graham. You genuinely want to slap the reporter, and that’s the sign of good characterisation. We are more than halfway into the film before we see anything of the lifestyle of the killer and his tentative relationship with a blind woman, which soon turns sour.
This 25th Anniversary Edition contains the Original Theatrical Cut, and the Director’s Cut. There are a couple of nice special features too: The Manhunter Look featurette, and the Inside Manhunter featurette.
A serial killer is at large in New York. His penchant is for cutting-up beautiful young women. On his trail is a police inspector who is told by a couple of phone witnesses that he speaks like a duck. Subsequent taunting phone calls received by the inspector confirm this. An intended victim survives to tell the police about a man who is missing two fingers, who accosted her on the subway, but she was actually attacked after that incident and identifies the wrong person. When the man she identified is dragged from the water, having been dead for some time, it means he couldn't have been the killer. The inspector is back to square one. Then the killer makes another attempt on the victim who survived, and the pieces begin to come together...
New York Ripper is the first of many violent horror and exploitation films to be released by Shameless Screen Entertainment. It was previously banned and the prints ordered out of the country by the BBFC. In my opinion, it seems a strange marketing strategy to attempt to capture a retail audience of perverted sex and extreme violence mongers, with descriptions like vile and shocking, and quotes such as "The sickest movie ever made!"
As with Phantom of Death, another early Shameless release, I expected to hate this film, but was rather pleasantly surprised. The only really gruesome scene is the one in which a secured victim is seen to be sliced with a razor blade from the forehead and down through one eye. All other set pieces are no worse than many other horror films, such as a Friday the 13th flick or John Carpenter's The Thing, also released in 1982. Most of the victims are quickly dispatched (at least on-screen) and the killer is not seen in the same frame until the end of the movie. Perhaps it's just me, but scenes of a straight kill are considerably less disturbing than those depicting rape or prolonged torture, and luckily they are not present in this film.
There is more of a 1970s feel at play here, with a jazzy McCloud or The Streets of San Francisco soundtrack which proves curiously innocuous during the murder scenes, when you might normally expect menacing or at least creepy music. However, the notion of the killer speaking like a duck is intriguing and proves effective, enhancing the moments when the psychopath lets go. This works well as a murder mystery, suspects mounting up along the way before being whittled down as their stories are played out. I thought the killer might be Daffy Duck or The Penguin from Batman but, all joking aside, was relieved to discover there was a valid reason for the voice which also ties-in with the motive for the killings.
The violence of the murder scenes is not what should be emphasised in the marketing blurb, because it is merely an aside to a relatively good plot-driven murder mystery. This is New York Ripper's first excursion on to DVD in the UK and, like Phantom of Death, is certainly worth a look.
Anna Manni is a detective in Rome's Anti-Rape Unit. Whilst on the hunt for a serial rapist and killer, she is given an anonymous tip-off as to his whereabouts. When she arrives to apprehend him at an art gallery the elaborate classic paintings overwhelm her and she passes-out, hitting her head on a table. When she regains consciousness her gun has gone from her bag, but she doesn't know who she is and can't recall what happened. A man offers her money for a taxi to her apartment, the key for which she finds in her bag. As she begins to recover her identity, she is attacked and raped by the same man - the person the police are searching for - using her weakness around works of art against her. The psychologist she is assigned to informs her she has Stendhal Syndrome, which causes intensive illusions in the presence of fine art. The killer begins to take an altogether unhealthy interest in Anna, finally kidnapping her and keeping her bound. However, when Anna manages to get the upper hand her police colleagues believe the killer is dead. But Anna isn't convinced...
This is another of the current DVD releases of Dario Argento films, this time starring the director's daughter Asia Argento. The recently reviewed The Card Player was originally intended as a sequel to this movie, but ultimately it took on it's own individual identity. That was to prove a blessing of sorts, as The Card Player is in my opinion a finer film - aside, perhaps, from the predictable ending.
The Stendhal Syndrome feels like an extremely long viewing experience; although the running time is 118 minutes, the structure is that of three conjoined segments, each differing only slightly from the last. Anna is effectively made a victim three times, and it makes you wonder where her colleagues are all this time. You wouldn't think they would let her out of their sight, and as a previous victim in reality she would have been removed from the case and sent far away to undergo convalescence. Still, this is based on a novel, and it's necessary to suspend a little disbelief otherwise we wouldn't have a story.
It's a reasonably good film, well acted, but the concept of entering a painting or having a dark figure emerge from one is not exploited enough for my liking. The scene in which she becomes the art she is afraid of by painting herself, becomes superfluous as the character of Anna learns nothing from the experience.
Again, the packaging is good, with a double-sided sleeve, a collector's booklet and a poster. The disc extras are limited to a theatrical trailer, and some trailers from Argento's other films.
A young policeman straight out of training school is caught at a drugs rave party. With his prospective career on the line, he finds himself being blackmailed into joining the Homicide squad. His insider knowledge is needed, but he soon finds himself well out of his depth. Somebody is killing people and removing the skin with their tattoos. He soon learns that the detective who coerced him has been looking in earnest over two years for his runaway daughter, after his wife was killed by a hit-and-run driver. The trade for classic Japanese tattoos by a talented but deceased artist hots up; some will pay millions and others will kill, but the artist's best work is on a woman still alive...
This is a German film with the option of English subtitles. Whilst I'm not a connoisseur of the German language I did listen for different emotions in the voices of the cast... and heard none. Even the movements of the actors were pretty staid, giving the impression they were simply going through the motions. The Homicide detective portrays the strong, silent approach, and the young policeman, almost the same in terms of moodiness, slouches his way through the movie tripping over clues, witnesses and informants as if this were a game of Cluedo.
Although the idea of trade in live tattoos is essentially sound, no one in the film shows any enthusiasm for the proceedings. Granted, in many American films there's lots of shouting and running around for no discernible reason, but here no one raises their voice for the entire duration and you feel like shaking some life into them.
I'm sorry, but with this being the case, why should I show any interest?
With its eclectic mix of mystery, suspense and the supernatural, Thriller regularly enthralled Saturday night television audiences when it originally broadcast between 1973 and 1976...
Thriller is an early 1970s anthology series of hour-long suspense tales. This set of four DVDs contain a total of ten stories from the first series. The concept was created by Brian Clemens, who was well-known around this time for TV scriptwriting, his credits including The Avengers. Here he writes the majority of the material and supplies ideas for those few scripted by others.
This is very much a product of its time with very formal dialogue and a static upper-middle to higher class structure. There are plenty of giant country houses or rich city businessmen. Pretty much any working class character is a menial serving his or her 'betters'. However, it is rather refreshing at times to see problems combated in a gentlemanly manner, with no unnecessary violence or cursing. It reminds you of the old Raffles series and makes you wonder if the world was ever that civilised.
There is a veritable plethora of recognisable names and faces dotted throughout the series; among them, Robert Powell, T.P. McKenna, Dennis Waterman, Peter Vaughan, John Le Mesurier, Linda Thorson, Dinsdale Landen and Maureen Lipman. Thriller is not as bad as you might expect, but by today's standards it is long and drawn-out. These average stand-alone episodes range from the mildly enticing to the plainly awful. Although there are supernatural elements to some of the stories they are kept to a bare minimum.
Lady Killer has a con man worm his way into the affections of a lonely American woman and marry her in an attempt to claim the life insurance of his first wife. Possession has a couple move into a country house and soon discover the body of the previous owner under the cellar floor boards. Someone at the Top of the Stairs is a variation on The Picture of Dorian Gray scenario (and is "Marvellous!" which is a bad in-joke). Other stories include, An Echo of Theresa, The Colour of Blood, Murder in Mind, A Place to Die, File it Under Fear, The Eyes Have It, and Spell of Evil.
One more thing: why have the 'going to adverts' titles been left in? Surely they could easily have been edited out...
Tony is a middle-aged, socially inept loner, who wanders the streets during daylight or night time hours searching for something to help fulfil his life. Secluded and inexperienced with people, he doesn't quite know what that missing ingredient is. It could be drugs, a man, a woman, or just plain company. But being a social outcast reaches new lows when a boy goes missing and the father accuses Tony of being a paedophile...
This is a low-budget movie partly funded by the National Lottery. It is filmed on location in and around a London estate and immediately identifiable tourist attraction areas such as Trafalgar Square, the Thames north side Embankment and Soho, managing in doing so to make them all seem a little seedy. I fully expected to quickly become bored with the proceedings, but conversely became curiously compelled to watch. This was in most part due to the considerable acting skills of Peter Ferdinando. The whole would be much lessened without his contribution; the character's entire demeanour and speech is spot on. He is completely devoid of emotions, no smiles or laughs, no frowns or anger. Just total detachment. I can't praise him enough.
There is a very dark and macabre humour inherent in this, which could easily be overlooked entirely by those with no sense of humour or who look on this entire venture as bad taste. In that case, I would suggest buying Disney's Bambi DVD instead. I for one appreciated the irony. When a man arrives at his flat to caution him about not having a TV licence, Tony is unfazed. That is until the man attempts to confiscate his TV, and is strangled with a wire flex for his trouble. The next thing you see is a foot in a dish as Tony begins to cut up and dispose of the body. Another priceless moment is when Tony wakes up with a man sitting up in bed next to him. Tony says good morning to him and asks if he wants a cup of tea - and you just know that he's dead.
This is the debut directorial feature from Gerard Johnson. As extras you'll find two of his short films: Mug, and an early truncated version of Tony, which nowhere near reaches the heights of the main feature. A very pleasant surprise.
A young woman attempting to pick her life up after a less than acrimonious split with her boyfriend, is looking for a new apartment. She comes across one barely finished, but in a prime location and at a very reasonable price. The owner appears to be a perfect gentleman, but appearances can be deceiving. Very soon, she begins to get the impression that something is seriously amiss - particularly when she invariably wakes up in the morning feeling tired and unwell. As if that isn’t enough, she has a number of unsettling encounters with the landlord’s sinister elderly father. To convince herself she isn’t paranoid, she has a camera system installed. But she remains in imminent peril...
As I opinioned when reviewing Let Me In, news of another outing from Hammer Films is genuinely cause for celebration. The company has a legendary reputation. The Resident has the huge added selling point of starring, alongside Hilary Swain and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, veteran actor Christopher Lee. Although Lee has been at pains to distance himself from his horror icon status over the years (for heaven sakes, WHY?), this is a coming home of sorts - and he proves quite beyond doubt, despite his advanced age, that he still packs a chilling punch.
Nevertheless, after tearing down the drapes and stripping off the wallpaper, this film is simply a stalker thriller, based in an apartment building. I have to say that this has been done a thousand times now; Pacific Heights, John Carpenter’s Someone’s Watching Me, Panic Room, and many in between. In terms of originality... well, it isn’t. However, it is competently plotted and well-structured, and even tense in all the right places. It’s just that it’s predictable and, consequently, the spark of enjoyment flickers and dies pretty early on. Simple ideas are often the best, but there is a limit.
Let’s see something more original next time, Hammer, it’s what we - and you - deserve.
A man walks into the FBI building and tells Agent Doyle that his brother is the God's Hand killer. He tells the backstory which begins with his childhood. He and his brother live alone with their father. Everything is normal until dad tells them he has been visited by an angel. Apparently, the final battle between angels and demons has begun. The demons are already here in human form, and it is the family's task to destroy them. When the angel revisits, relaying a list of names, the killing begins...
When I watched the opening shot of Agent Doyle exiting his car wearing a stereotypical mean expression, and walking through a night storm to the FBI building, I couldn't help sighing. This was going to be another one of the multitude of tired cops and robbers films that Americans insist on doing so badly. Matters didn't immediately improve when I realised a small part of the early plot was similar to a short story I had written some years ago. Thieves! Plagiarists! Where's my money?
Ahem, where was I? Oh, yes, being dreadfully wrong. Frailty (The God's Hand Killer would have been a good title) quickly lifts itself from the mire and into the elite stream. As time passes it's becoming increasingly difficult for the horror genre to reinvent itself. This film leans more towards thriller, but there's a hint of a supernatural element hanging over the events.
The entire package is extremely effective, even though one of the twists at the conclusion is blatantly predictable. The script doesn't need to be totally original, because it's so well told. However, it's the strong central characters and the actors' corresponding performances that make the tale so convincing. Bill Paxton, making his directorial debut here, plays the angel-visited dad. The two boys, who play Adam and Fenton, are even better, both displaying genuine reactions. Their expressions alone draw you into the emotional mix. One sees his dad as a murderer and longs to run away, but he won't leave his brother behind; and his brother trusts dad, having no problem (only a strange fascination) with what is going on.
Every once in a while it's nice to be pleasantly surprised, and that's precisely what happened here.
A young man travelling with a stranger pushes him in front of a vehicle and takes his identity. A few years later a murdered body turns up in Montreal, Canada. It is seriously mutilated, but a forensic reconstruction is conducted under the orders of Special Agent Illeana Scott of the FBI. Meanwhile, a woman reports seeing her dead son, and when his body is exhumed her story is substanciated. A witness to the murder has sketched the recently seen son of the woman, who it turns out had a favoured twin brother. The killer is temporarily living his victims' lives because he wants to remove himself from his earlier life - in other words, any life is better than his own. Scott gets drawn to the witness, but is he the innocent in fear of his life that he portrays?...
It's easy to dismiss this film as another in hundreds of American-style cops and robbers. Granted, it's set in Montreal, Canada, where there's a large French quarter, but you still have your mean, gun-toting detectives and a hard-nosed FBI agent, played by Angelina Tomb Raider Jolie. However, it is different in that the killer's sole motive is to live another person's life for a while, choosing somebody with as little ties as possible, discovering a bit about them before murdering them and mutilating the body so it can't be recognised.
Ethan Hawkes is solid as the villain of the piece and Jolie, who I've never really thought has had much going for her in the acting fraternity, aside from her admittedly good looks, herself puts in a good performance here - managing at relevant stages of the film to appear both tough and vulnerable.
The epilogue scene serves as the main conclusion to the film and incorporates a clever twist. However, having said everything above, Taking Lives still comes across as a low-key TV movie, far removed from blockbuster status and having a budget look representing the change from the director's supermarket food bill.
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