Night Visions 2008. Asian and non-asian reviews mixed because you get a better image if you can read the comments in cronological order. Also, for understandable reasons (you'll see later), I'm a little tired right now and may not be able to produce my best critiques...
Friday: Warm Up Night
Doomsday (UK/USA, 2008) - 4,5/5
One thing you don’t find in Doomsday is originality. Aliens, Mad Max and Escape From New York... they’re all here in remixed form. But it’s not a problem as Marshall’s movie is every bit equal to those classics. The director has put up a Tarantino type of best of compilation, but it’s a bloody impressive post apocalypse cocktail that will drop your jaw more than once. And, despite the larger budjet, Marshall hasn’t given in to the commercialism. Doomsday is easily his most hard core movie so far, both in terms of storyline and the amount of blood, separated limbs and heads shot into pieces. The only weaknesses are the unexciting intoduction scene for the main character, and one music piece during the finale. Otherwise, fucking fantastic.
Viva Django (Italy, 1966) – 3/5
Don’t let the lead actor’s name fool you, this Terence Hill movie is no comedy but a full blooded Django flick. This time the main character is an executioner who needs help in order to take revenge, and for that purpose he’s saving death sentenced men from hanging. The storyline is bit messy, but Hill takes over Franco Nero’s role suprisingly succesfully. The soundtrack is beautiful, and the ending equals the original film. Good start for a double feature that continued with...
Sukiyaki Western Django (Japan, 2007) – 4/5
Two things; Miike’s film does not only get better by repeated viewings but also benefits greatly from being viewed back to back with a 60’s Django film, in my case Ferdinando Baldi’s Viva Django (1966). Sukiyaki Western features some irritating visual tricks and is also way too obvious in its intention to become a cult movie, but for some reason none of that hurts the film. The engrish dialogue has proven problematic to some viewers, but I didn’t really find it hard to understand at all. It certainly adds something to the film.
Saturday-Sunday: Festival Night (9 pm-->)
Dante 01 (France, 2008) – 1/5
Marc Caro is best known for his collaboration with Jean-Pierre Jeunet (including the awful fantasy pic City of Lost Childen). Now he’s gone feature length solo, and results are abysmal. His tale of outer space research facility where death sentenced criminals are being used for medical experiments is loaded with offputting visual trickery, cgi shots and mad characters. He only hits the target a few times during the whole movie. The biblical references feel embarrasing at best.
[Rec] (Spain, 2007) – 2,5/5
A news reporter and her cameraman get in the middle of a zombie epidemic in a fully handheld shot Spanish horror movie. The opening is promising and although the movie remains moderately good throughout it offers very little variety. Some characters (like the policeman who’s using more time trying make the reporters shut down their camera than helping people stay alive) and the endless yelling lessen the film’s impact impact. But, it’s a good try, and offers some of the best sudden shocks in recent memory.
À l'intérieur (France, 2007) – 3,5/5
Haute Tension 2007? Not quite, but it comes close at times. Pregnant women should generally be banned from horror movies but here the trick works. The main character, despite being only days away from giving birth to her first child, is not a completely helpless victim. Still, an unborn baby in danger is a bit of a dirty trick in any terror movie, but À l'intérieur (aka Inside) is an exceptionally nasty movie. The beginning isn’t fully convincing, but the second half is a no holds barred gore ride that certainly can’t be recommended to those with a weak stomatch. On brutality scale this is even stronger stuff than Haute Tension, and also free of major plot twists.
The Candy Snatchers (USA, 1973) – 3/5
Here’s a mean spirited grindhouse movie born somewhere far behind the concervative studio system. Three sadistic criminals kidnap a 16 year old girl in hopes of good ransom money. The girl’s father however doesn’t act as expected... The Candy Snatchers is a baffling movie. It’s cruel but often funny, both intentionally and unintenionally. Some of the contrasts are amazing. Has to be seen to be believed.
Sukiyaki Western Django (Japan, 2007) – 4/5
Again. When reserved my festical ticket I had not yet decided on seeing the film on friday (which came to happen for various reasons not directly related to the film itself) and the only alternative would’ve been The Magic Sword (USA, 1962). I’ve always found medieval knight pics boring, and I was not feeling like giving the genre a new new chance at 4:15 am. So, Sukiyaki it is, again.
Three the Hard Way (USA, 1974) – 4/5
You don’t have to be a blaxploitation expert to realize that this film - starring Jim Brown, Fred Williamson and Jim Kelly – ”just may be the most fun you can have with your clothes on...” as the 10k bullets reviewer John White put it. The entire black race is in danger when a bunch of new age Hitlers are planning to insert a deadly virus, that only affects of dark colored folks, into the New York water system. The three must go the hard way and kick, punch and explode their way through the devilish cleansing armies. Terrific cast, awesome action and stylish soundtrack. A movie to keep you awake (at 6:30 am).
Which is Stronger, Karate or the Tiger (Japan, 1976) – 2,5/5
The night, no wait, it’s bright outside already, ah whatever, closes with Kazuhiko Yamaguchi’s super rare karate actioner (sometimes incorrectly mistaken as Dragon Princess) starring Yasuaki Kurata and Toei’s greatest kick & punch villain; Masashi Ishibashi. Kurata’s fight in the tower of death is decent martial arts fun, but the cameraman is misplaced in the middle of the furious fights (half of the time the poor fella seems to dodging kicks instead of capturing the action on film). Good female characters are nowhere to be found in this pic, but at least it’s got two decent baddies; Ishibashi and, of course, the deadly tiger.
Sunday, 10:30 am: still alive, although very hungry and tired. Now looking forward to the next Nigh Visions...
