Monthly Archives: October 2014

Horns (2014) Review

Posted on by
Reply

horns-horror-and-humor

Alexander Aja, Joe Hill, and Keith Bunin pulled together to create a Gothic romance called Horns. Iggy, played by Daniel Radcliffe, is accused of murdering his childhood sweetheart and future fiancée, Merrin who is played by Juno Temple. One of the unique parts of this story is Iggy is developing devil horns which entices people to ask Iggy if they can act out their darkest desires. Although this ability creates some great laugh out loud moments, the story largely focuses on the mystery of who killed Merrin. The story follows a duel narrative structure. One takes place in the present and follows Iggy uncovering clues. Solving the murder will help prove Iggy’s innocence and create an opportunity for him to enact his revenge. As Iggy follows the trail of breadcrumbs we discover nobody believes Iggy is innocent. The horns, bringing out the worst in people, forces Iggy into many awkward confrontations, especially amongst his immediate family and friends. The second narrative interweaves in and out of the present. Although it’s a tonal shift from the present day, it’s justified because it focuses on the blossoming romance between Iggy and Merrin. The greatest part about Horns is how each flashback will give more information which will completely change the context of both the present and past. This Memento-esque style enhances the rewatchability. When it comes to directing, this is Alexander Aja’s best yet. Every shot and frame was beautiful. The camera work kept the viewer interested in every aspect of the action. Each scene was well paced and wouldn’t linger too long. Daniel Radcliffe’s performance ran the gamut and was believable every step of the way. Watching Radcliffe’s transformation from lover to devil felt genuine and enhanced the tragic tone of the story. Overall, this was a captivating story which showed what it would take to awaken the devil hidden inside all of us. However, the narrative never gets weighted down by becoming too lovesick or preachy. The pacing flows smoothly and naturally. This gothic horror also showcases Aja and Radcliffe’s range of talent as well as new comers Hill and Bunin’s ability to craft a fresh take on a familiar tale of tragic romance.

Found (2012)

Posted on by
Reply

Found-Marty-Gagged

Found began circulating the festivals in 2012, but it wasn’t until 2014 the October People decided it was time to unleash this brutal film upon the public. The film is an extreme horror adaptation of Todd Rigney’s book. It has the minimal set design and lighting of a low budget movie, but it’s able to still deliver the excess of blood and extreme carnal violence.
The story begins with a coming of age protagonist explaining his older brother is a serial killer. However, the story pulls back from the horror and the first half of the movie is about a boy being bullied while living in a suburban and abusive household. Despite the setup, one should not be fooled into thinking this is a tale about brotherly bonds. Instead, the simple theme of the movie is about oppressing others through physical violence. This is evident when the father abuses the boys, the racial hate crimes, and the extreme forms of rape. Why not? This theme offers an ample opportunity for the filmmakers to give us many sickening scenes of death.
Regardless of its low budget and student film quality, there are two scenes which were combined to create the most disturbing aspect of the film. While the young brother is having a sleepover, the two boys decided to raid the older brother’s room for horror movies. The one they prophetically choose is Headless. In a movie within a movie style, this is where the audience will see the most gruesome scenes of death and torture. Headless offers no plot. It’s just a compilation snuff film made by the killer. The camera never shies away or pulls back from the brutality. Instead, the filmmakers let our eyes soak in every last drop of sadistic brutality.
The movie’s end progresses towards an Oedipus Rex confrontation between the older brother and the parents. However, this time we watch this from the perspective of the little brother who is gaged and bound to his bed. Although the depiction of violence is mostly auditory, the screams, blood gurgles, and heavy thumping combined with what we saw in Headless forces the audience’s mind to imagine and thereby enact the scenes themselves. That, combined with the last shot of the little brother gets the movie to creep under your skin long past when the credits stop rolling.

Panels Pixels Frames 10/8

Posted on by
Reply

Panels Pixels Frames.

This week, we talk about Left Behind, Mother’s Day, Alien, Paranormal Activity, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Stitches, House of the Devil, Shadow of Mordor, Ghostbusters 3, Twin Peaks, Flash, and more!

Hellraiser (1987) Review

Posted on by
1

hellraiser2

In the fall of 1987 Clive Barker reshaped the erotic horror genre with his sadomasochistic Hellraiser. Unlike the previous decades Hammer Films, Barker used eroticism to flesh out the duality between pleasure and pain. Although each scene built upon the character’s sexuality, they were overshadowed by the painful depictions of gore and torture. Although Clive Barker uses a lot of religious symbolism, much of the story as well as editing focuses on the dichotomy between pleasure and pain. Furthermore, as the story progresses, the iconic Hellraiser puzzle box becomes synonymous with Pandora’s box, the box which contains all the evils and forbidden desires of the world. The tragic personification of this is embodied by Clare Higgin’s character Julia. We learn Julia had fallen in love with the seductive evil brother in law Frank. Some time later, she is confronted again by Frank, explaining to her, she must help him in order to save his life. Keep in mind she is being told this by a Frank who is now little more than a sticky body consisting of little more than bloody tendons and bone, and saving him involves her seducing men and killing them so Frank may feast on their body. Consequently, we watch Julia’s state of mind slip into a constant state of anxiety and fear. In addition, we see her personality go from being timid towards blood and violence to deriving pleasure from them. As she becomes more of a succubus, Julia pulls further away from her own sense of humanity and autonomy. Meanwhile, the story also follows Kirsty, whose sexuality and adulthood is being awakened. This is depicted by her finally moving out of her father’s house, drinking alcohol, and making love to a boy before she confronts her stepmother. Kirsty’s Elektra complex leads to her stealing the puzzle box and being told by her doctor to open it. As she playfully opens the box, we see a curious cliché montage of flowers blooming. This symbolism suggests Kirsty has bloomed into adulthood and literally only hell follows. Although the underworld of Hellraiser and Kirsty will be explored more in the future installments, Julia’s tragic path was perhaps the most focused and seductive aspects of the original. Barker’s Hellraiser use of symbolism, extreme violence, sensuality, helped illustrate a fresh take on a female’s path towards the Original Sin. This combined with Christopher Young’s score and the production created a timeless erotic horror.

The Quiet Earth (1985) Review

Posted on by
Reply

SaturnRising

In the fall of 1985 New Zealand released The Quiet Earth. Another entry in the last man on earth genre created by Sam Pillsbury and Geoff Murphy. Similar to the Zombie genre, this post apocalyptic genre emerged from the nuclear fever of the Cold War. However, instead of focusing on the social dynamics of the survivors, this genre focuses on what one would do after being left behind.

Bruno Lawrence plays our protagonist Zac Hobson, a scientist who is partially responsible for the disappearance of Earth’s population. The reason behind why there are survivors is an interesting similarity towards the Zombie genre. Everyone who had died during the time of the extinction event somehow came back to life. Rather by suicide, murder, or accident each character we meet is in fact the walking dead. Instead of stumbling around looking for flesh, the characters are learning to cope with their isolation and to discover what happened to the planet and if they can stop the effect.

The_Quiet_Earth_23

The first act of the movie involves Zac learning to cope being the last man on earth. His isolation begins to take it’s toll on his sanity and leads to some of the most memorable parts of the movie. Bruno Lawrence’s performance makes each scene stick and keeps us captivated despite the lack of dialog and narrative purpose. Act II and III introduces us to two new characters. This writers decide to flesh these acts out with a free love subplot. The free spirited protagonist Joanne consistently bouncing back and forth between the Zac the intellectual and Api the alpha male fighter. This subplot seems to only serve to strengthen our bond and to pose another question polyandry versus monogamy. As we approach the last scenes of the movie, the movie becomes increasingly nihilistic. The last shot becomes one of the most iconic and surreal endings which hasn’t been felt again until perhaps Melancholia.

Despite the awkward pacing and obligatory romance, The Quiet Earth is a cult classic because of some of the twists and themes it explores in the last man on earth genre. It subverts the common idea of the walking dead. More importantly, it explores a cosmic apocalypse and not only does it question the role of a scientist in their society, but also it ponders what their relationship is with the universe.

We Are What We Are (2013) Review

Posted on by
Reply

we-are-what-we-are

In We Are What We Are, Jim Mickle and Nick Damici gave us an atmospheric and terrifying entry in the family horror genre. In the beginning, not only does the rainstorm slowly uncover the Parker’s secret, but also it compliments the film’s washed out colors and bleak and somber tone. Each scene is discomforting quiet because there’s a minimal amount of dialog and sometimes a few haunting piano pieces. Instead, the actors often have to rely on body language to display their increasing anxiety. When the story arrives at the final confrontation between Michael Parks and Bill Sage’s characters, the combination of Jim Mickle’s camera work, and Parks and Sage’s body language and dialog a delicious and menacing scene worth repeat viewings.

Although this film retains several mysteries, overall it isn’t a typical who-done-it. Instead, the story allows us to slowly follow a trail of bread crumbs to uncover the family’s secret. The first few scenes drop enough hints for us to understand we’re on a bloody path; however, we have yet to discover how depraved the family is. Unlike other family horrors such as Devil’s Rejects, Texas Chainsaw, Spider Baby and so on, this story keeps turning on our expectations. Rather than following the same tropes and formulas we’ve watched in the past, each scene is weighted down by the character’s moral dilemmas. Each character has depth and honesty and they aren’t one note psychopaths one would typically expect.

Because of the pacing and style, it’s hard to talk about the story beyond the surface level. Each significant plot reveal only adds that much more to the experience and horror of this film. If one squints hard enough they may view this as a commentary on religiosity. However, like a great record, it’s better to just put this one without preconceived expectations and watch how beautifully the pacing, the acting, and story twist together one of 2013’s finest horror movies.

PPF 10/1 | Panels Pixels Frames

Posted on by
Reply

PPF 10/1 | Panels Pixels Frames.

In our first week of horror month, we talk about Tusk, Eden Lake, In Fear, Sacrament, the Guest, Gotham, How To Get Away With Murder, Sleepy Hollow, Equalizer, Destiny, Nicholas Cage, and more!