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Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021)
Sadly disappointed
As far as Sion Sono's work goes, Prisoners of Ghostland, his first English language film is a disappointment that's not nearly as good or interesting as most of his other films.
The set design is good and Nicolas Cage gives it his all, despite loss of testicles. But overall this was a bit of a bland story and execution.
Caveat (2020)
Creepy and unsettling
If you can overlook the implausibility of the premise and don't question the logic of the individual characters, Caveat is a successful chamber drama with a clear focus on atmosphere.
The pacing is a bit bumpy in between and the film's stance on the paranormal is not entirely clear, but I'm happy to overlook that because I found the nightmarish pull of the story very fascinating.
Especially in a scene towards the end I really got goosebumps, which (unfortunately) is really rare for me.
The Night House (2020)
Emotional Horror worth checking out
As with "The Ritual", David Bruckner's "The Night House" plays a lot with the idea of a mixture of time and space.
The plot is simple - Beth (played by Rebecca Hall) is holed up in her lake house after her husband takes his own life under mysterious circumstances. In addition, she sees visions of her deceased husband, who supposedly tries to contact her.
As with Mike Flanagan's films, "The Night House" focuses more on drama, while the horror elements stand as a metaphor for grief and the fear of death.
Particularly impressive here is the play of perspective, with the protagonist standing in space and the arrangement of space creating the impression of an entity. The aforementioned aspect of space and time is also interesting, even if it seems more like a stylistic device than it does to really contribute to the story.
The last act was a bit far-fetched for me, and the moment the abstract gets a personification, I lost the connection a bit. But still a horror film well worth seeing!
Tlmea (2016)
Hell is round the corner
I wasn't really sure what to expect with TLMEA - the sequel to Kopacka's dreamy HADES, about a woman trapped in hell. TLMEA follows the story of Schweitzer (Chris Kotzen) - the boyfriend of HADES protagonist M. (Anna Heidegger). He's a policeman trapped in a dream during a drug raid.
As with HADES this film is very experimental in it's narrative, cutting back and forth between alternate timelines, drifting in and out of the world of nightmares. The story is told in chapters of the 9 levels of hell. The further they descend, the more eerie the drug raid gets, finally ending in a blood chilling finale.
The biggest plus point of TLMEA is undoubtedly the atmosphere, which is done to pure perfection. A sense of dread and despair, a feeling of being lost and steering to an inevitable end. The amazing camera work, lighting, editing and a hard hitting yet melodic score (provided by the band Aiko Aiko and the director himself) further help in creating a dream like atmosphere through and through.
This time around there's also dialogue (though Schweitzer, as his counterpart in HADES is unable to speak throughout the film). The acting is pretty good, most notable being H.K. DeWitt's portrayal of Nordmann - the asocial, menacing yet somehow likable partner of Schweitzer. Though only seen briefly, Iman Rezai shines as well, in his return as "Charon", the ferryman. Director Kevin Kopacka also has a pretty cool cameo as Johnny Arson, an almost "Mortal Kombat" like TV character in the universe of the film.
Overall, I enjoyed the film very much. Similar to an actual dream, it drew me in and completely immersed me in this world. It might not be for everyone, due to it's abstract nature. But if you're open to films that challenge and go beyond the generic Hollywood formula, then TLMEA is a must see!