Reviews

This movie is one of the most fascinating I've ever seen. This kind of raw injection, filmed entirely with handcameras, switching between black and white and color, no soundtrack with the latest hits in popular music, no superhuman leadcharacters, no people with inhumanly good looks etc etc goes against all what the market controlled Hollywood of today stands for.

The backstory of this movie alone raises an eyebrow or two. And the movie itself do not let you down. Three innocent students in the woods, making an innocent documentary. But the subject of the documentary seem to mind, and their terror begin. They have nowhere to go in the woods, evil is all around, and all hope begins to fade. The haunting of the little team is portrayed in an absolutely horrific way, which compared to the trend of the late 90'ies in horror is stunning. The basic idea, which is greatly inspired by Cannibal Holocaust should be mentioned.

The Blairwitch Project will undeniably become a classic in horror, nestling right beside the likes of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Suspiria, The Haunting (1963) and Last House on the Left.

When Fucking Åmål was showing in the theaters here in Sweden there was a lot of press and talk about how great this movie about teenagers in a small town was. I was quite sceptical so I didn't catch it at the cinemas, but I rented the VHS today. Well... My scepticism proved quite wrong, and I laughed more or less through the entire movie. The director and writer of this movie certainly did catch the spirit of teenage life in a small town down, more or less, to the last atom. Add to this formula, good acting and great camera work done in a semi-guerilla way, with handcameras etc.

The storyline is teenage life in a small town in Sweden, and the subplot which the movie spins around is two young girls, whom by happenstance get involved with each other. Since all the people in the movie are teenagers, lesbian love is abit strange and not exactly socially accepted. The dialogue in the movie is brilliant. This kind of teenage dialogue even surpasses the one in 'Dazed and Confused'.

Go see this movie, no matter if you live in USA, Germany or Sweden.

This movie by Jaromil Jires is one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen, add to that a very dreamy atmosphere and a very theatrical plot concerning a little girl, her brother, her grandmother and a very strange priest. The priest is a devilish vampire, plotting to steal souls and prolong his life and he traps the grandmother in his evil scheme.

I do not want to expose more of the plot, because it's all so great. Just watch it, float along with it, and be impressed by it. Still the colors, the camera work and the acting and EVERYTHING is just.... The best.

La Residencia/Finishing School is a strange tale of a school for troublesome young women. In this school they learn the arts of gardening, sowing and other skills useful to the wife at home(i believe the movie takes place in the late 19th Century). A new girl arrives, and begin to slip into the strange nightmare that the old mansion is.

This masterpiece by Serrador marks the beginning of a new era in horrormovies, the more visually orientated murder scene movies. The way Serrador did this was by using technique, and not gore. I believe the first killing in this movie is the most artistic one I've ever seen. Two camera shots has been melded together, all sound has been removed and only a sad piano is playing while it all is happening in slow-motion. And this was made in 1969. Other interesting techniques has been used as well in this movie, and it's altogether very beautiful, with excellent color usage and camera angles. The editing in this movie is undeniably the best I've seen. Several scenes are spellbinding, as they are very bizarre in nature. Good acting by all involved raises my respect for this movie even more.

The story itself is also very fascinating, as this is no ordinary school. Something is rotting beneath the surface, several inhabitants are outright evil and the plot certainly thickens as the movie moves along. This movie's most fascinating trait is that it's sofar before it's fellow horrormovies. It was the main inspiration for Argento's 'Suspiria', and it also inspired Fulci to make 'House by the Cemetary'. A strong 8/10, bordering to one of the best movies ever.

Once upon a time in the history of Horror movies, some movies were actually frightening. The 80'ies changed most of that, but some masterpieces from days long gone still remains. One of those is The Haunting (1963).

Everything in this movie has been done the way it should be done, an excellent intro with a narrator telling the somber history of Hill House complete with very artistic photography, the building phase in the movie where their arrival at Hill House is imminent, and the actual movie so to say when the House begins to breathe and live again. From there it's full of beautiful scenes and absolutely horrific moments. The four very mismatched characters in the movie do their best to withstand Hill House, and the result is in the movie.

The main character, excellently portraied by Julie Harris, suffers the most, and its upon her development in the movie where the focus is. The technique used to follow it mostly consists of us 'hearing her thoughts', as she ponders upon the mystery of Hill House.

The movie presents a big contrast to the effect seeking likes of Scream(1/2/and 3 I suspect), Urban Legend etc where no actual horror can be found. In those movies someone kills some guys, and the way to make it scary is to make it 'sudden' so you jump in your seat (at the VERY best), but The Haunting uses a lot more subtle technique... A slow, creeping atmosphere that you can almost touch, full of horror and promise of the most terrible fate imaginable, impossible sounds of no human origin comming from anywhere. Also worth mentioning is the setting of the movie, the house where the movie takes place is nothing less than fantastic, it features very heavy furnishing, gothic statues and the works. It definately makes the superb photography even more enjoyable.

I can only rate this movie 10/10, a horror classic, which is a must see for everyone, and not just horror-fans for which it must be rated see-or-die.