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Reviews
Masters of Horror: Haeckel's Tale (2006)
Great period piece with an articulate script.
Originally slated for George Romero's directorial whims--Haeckel's Tale--Based on a short story by Clive Barker--is a gruesome take revolving around necrophilia, necromancy, and of course Ernst Haeckel (Derek Cecil.)
The film journey begins by showing a man desperately in love with his deceased wife. So much so, that he pursues an old woman evidently capable of raising the dead. However, he finds that his request is not as easy as he'd hoped for and must entertain the tale of Haeckel, as orated by the old hag, before he makes a final decision about his lady six feet under.
The rationality of medicine & science drive Ernst Haeckel on his quest to prove reanimation is possible without God. That in fact, God is completely unnecessary in such matters. Needless to say, his pious peers are less than impressed when he sets a corpse on fire in his laboratory during a Dr. Frankenstein type experiment gone terribly amiss. Later on, Haeckel meets with the great necromancer: Montesquino. A sideshow act to some. Ernst thinks he's a charlatan, but is convinced otherwise via the help of his own senses and clamoring from the Wolfram's who let him stay at their house while en route to see his sick father. Which is another reason for Ernst's interest in necromancy... Not to mention his interest in Elise (Who the hell wouldn't be?) Anyhow, Elise is established as a necrophiliac who humps her dead husband in the graveyard surrounded by wandering corpses who join in on the orgy orchestrated by Montesquino. A ritual Haeckel & Mr. Wolfram will eventually partake in. After all, it's all about sex & death in the bloodied necropolis.
This is a cool film. From the excellent script, acting, costumes, photography...it's got everything you could want, really. Most of all it feels authentic. And oh yeah, the end is pretty creepy...
Mr. McNaughton, you've done well! I will definitely look into your oeuvre now, sir.
Leela Savasta! You're stunning... I want to see the remake of Black Christmas now. Heh.
L'occhio dietro la parete (1977)
Rear Window is a reference, but that's about as esteemed as this salacious "thriller" is concerned.
Made in the late 70's, midst an uninhibited generation, we get this piece of ass; err.. sleaze, replete with a disco-faux-horror soundtrack. Throw in a dash of kitsch atmospherics on a budget, a psychological framework Freud might be proud of, plenty of ogling, an incestuous plot twist, and you've got the core details that form this piece of visual excrement marauding under the Giallo banner. Actually, it's not completely terrible.
Fernando Rey plays the role of a crippled writer living with his mistress Olga (Played by Olga Bisera--Who you may know from "Women in Cell Block 7".) Together, they spy on Arturo (John Phillip Law), who rented the apartment on their estate. Using a built in spy contraption, somewhat like a telescope, Ivano persuades Olga not only to look at the man next door but to become interested in him sexually and psychologically. After all, Ivano needs inspiration for his penning and he can no longer please his lady...
Enter Ottavio. The butler of the household who maintains a fetish for Olga, young girls, and most of all: Pubic hair!
So Olga falls for the murderous--First scene calling--Pseudo intellectual man of mystery Arturo. You know, despite seeing him manhandled by another male who followed him home from a disco, heh. Romance blossoms as Ivano becomes jealous, much like in the past, as the twisting plot line reveals in the end, as relates to his paralysis and one man's familial desires. But who needs all that when the creepy butler is prowling around forcing himself onto young lasses? Needless to say, I found him to be the most disturbing/interesting character. In my universe, that counts.
Anyways, this is Petrelli's first and last film, for which i'm thankful. Thankfully he didn't feel the need to direct again after giving his audience an interesting yet failed attempt at a somewhat unique angle on the genre. An oddity it is & one not fully realized...
Hooray for sexually dysfunctional orientation and voyeuristic perversion !
Masters of Horror: Jenifer (2005)
Bellissimo!
Okay, there's this girl named Jenifer, right? Her face is hideously deformed, though she has a shapely and seductive figure. Jenifer's appearance is that of a victim. One terribly wronged by an unforgiving society that can't see past physical unpleasantries, which makes her both a target for ridicule & one for pity as well. Pity plays a huge role in this tale...
A cop by the name of Frank Spivey (Played by Steven Weber) is on patrol with his partner when he notices Jenifer being dragged away, against her will, by a man with intentions of murdering her. Seeing this, Frank does what any good cop would do, attempting to deter the assailant by saying he'll shoot if the man doesn't put his weapon down. Despite the man's pleading with Frank that he 'Doesn't know what she is", he's shot by the officer. This marks the beginning of many problems to come.
Dario Argento goes on to explore the darker side of Jenifer, even love and obsession, but not without showcasing the tenderness of a woman...She is Multidimensional. She arouses feelings in herself/others of intense hatred, bloodthirst, carnal cravings.. Of the latter two details, A family splits, and many die (Animals & Humans.)
This production does a solid job of exploring the face of ugliness and how our daily lives can change in a flash. The illogical but driving forces of emotions and the decline they can cause if they are not taken care of adequately; Not to mention the cyclic narrative structure from beginning to end, which is commonplace to our own lives.
Will Jenifer die at the hands of Frank?
Nice work Maestro. Nice.
Kichiku dai enkai (1997)
Half formed...
Ever read a novel with missing pages? Perhaps a vague abstraction confused you... Whatever the circumstances, ambiguity resides in relation to this films details and lack thereof; so, if you find yourself asking a lot of questions--especially during the opening half--then don't be surprised. Whether it was deliberately done or not is another debate, but this is a "student film" apparently.
Let's hack into the meat of the celluloid now, shall we?!?
After losing their leader (Aizawa) to jail time, A group of leftist stalwarts (whose true cause we're never quite sure of, aside from the fact they're seemingly at odds with the prevailing authoritative paradigms, and who may be displeased with the Vietnam war, as one reviewer mentioned), set forth on what becomes a violent power struggle with catastrophic and sanguinary consequences. The aftermath of the aforementioned imprisonment results in an order from Aizawa that his girlfriend is to head the group until his release. A decision that's met with some resistance, but things really turn when the head of the snake is cut off, so to speak. Witness the descent spiral into the abyss of oblivion (barring, you have the patience.)
Character-wise, a somewhat diverse ensemble, the rebels are made up of. A nerdy fellow newcomer, A strong silent type with a sword, an annoying female lead with an unsightly countenance, one underling to the incarcerated who asserts his bravado, and a few tag-alongs.
*Urgent bulletin*: The first hour is S-L-O-W. *End bulletin*.
Well, with the introductory information out of the way, you're probably wondering about the political allegory, symbolism, and profuse gore Kichiku is noted for. Fret not, for there are some impressions--a few drenched in crimson--that this reviewer would like to notify the reader about.
-The last member to join the group before its complete and utter combustion seemed to represent traditional values, to an extent. The mute observer seemingly skirting the precipice. Somewhat like he belongs to a bygone samurai age (He wields a nice blade), while those around him represent a new-world pariah mindset. One of youth & contempt for control/authority. Perhaps a product of what they hate (the latter); thus, making them mere reactionaries unsure of what they really want. Are they confused? Eh, maybe.
-A Japanese flag with a bloodstain on it, subject to 'stabbings'. I don't think I need to explain that...
-Related: Anarchists? Anti-war demonstrators? Te**o*ists? You figure it out.
-You'll be forced to reconsider the context of rifles in relation to female genitalia. Heh.
-Related: A scene in the mountains, it reminds of Scanners. What a mess of that cranium! Bloody hell! Literally!
-Lastly, We see the self destruction of powermongering and the hysteria it brings. Regardless of status or political persuasion, the cycle always ends the same way. Leftist, Reactionary, Staunch Right-Winger, it's all the same when infighting & an inherent lack of discipline clash with egodrama over that elusive thing called control. The affiliations and labels of such cabals render themselves irrelevant in the face of human savagery and animalistic thrashings.
Anyways, Kumakiri made a decent flick with both shock appeal and political leanings. Give it a look you cast iron stomachs, you.
Fame Whore (1997)
Hilarious satire
Ah, the perils and pinnacles of fame, so deserving of ridicule...
Moritsugu's Fame Whore details three intersecting stories about the lives of those who strive to be the best in their respective perspectives, which sometimes equates to having hallucinations of a giant talking dog named Mr. Peepers, deluding oneself with mirages of celebritydom, even guilt-ridden homoerotic desires... All of which mesh together quite nicely in this minimalist indie flick.
There's really not much more to say, as the characters have been covered briefly in the plot synopsis and other reviews here; though, i'd like to put in a fair word for Peter Friedrich for his role as Jody George! Jody's violent-meathead-stereotypically-arrogant-jock role as a budding tennis superstar caused many outbursts of ill-controlled cachinnation for this viewer. With such classic lines as "Jody George is gonna f**k that pu**y!", or becoming confused over his ranking in the tennis world while dealing with obnoxious media hooligans... "yeah well, i'm number 2! i mean number 1! F.U.!". Who can resist laughing at such oafish buffoonery?!?
So, if you're looking for an amusing indictment on the superficiality of fame & celebrity, then give this a look.
Batoru gâru: Tokyo crisis wars (1991)
Zombie-Sci fi-Cyber Punkish-Trash Fest!
From the mind of one "Guts & Entrails Gaira" comes this low budget zombie flick based on a meteor crash in Tokyo Bay. The aftermath of which (including a gaseous cloud & "cosmic contaminant") leads to a virus inflicted upon the dead--thus giving them new life--meaning bad news for the living, who may yet become living dead themselves...
Military takeover of the blackened city in shambles juxtaposes the few remaining radicals, wayfarers, and renegades living by the laws of nature and survival... A traveling van of misfits in particular. The mad scientist General Hugioka oversees experiments on the living to build a monster army to rule the world... Keiko & military-general-father Ita fight for justice and deliverance in a seemingly hopeless situation... Corrupt authority wishes to keep the disaster hidden, so that it may extend its deviant killings, torture, and horrific medical experiments... Can Keiko & Ita save Tokyo? The world?
Our lady, Ms. Keiko, with the help of her father's custom designed leather-clad-body-suit, tailored to her specifications--apparently also capable of bolstering feminine superhero type powers--and microchip technology used to communicated with one another--takes on the gang of walking dead corpses and evil military dictators to the death! The monster army can't stop Cutie Keiko either... And this film generally feels like a waste of time in between the laughable fight scenes, $2.00 shoot outs, bad acting, obligatory wrestling moves, but hey; it's got a nice aesthetic touch & i found it to be charming. Not to mention the denouement... Oh, the ending that's not much of an ending. *frown*
As for deeper meaning of the content at hand, there does seem to be some nationalistic, anti-torture, and politically motivated commentary on display here (see Hugioka's rambling speech near the end). And for such references, it deserves a higher mark than the average trash fare, but maybe I'm reading things into it to justify a higher rating.
In sum: If you want a fun flick similar to Romero's "Dawn of the dead" spliced with a semi-sci fi premise and cyber punkish elements, then this is for you.
P.s. "Japan can't be saved by your humanism!"
6.5/10