Films and Recommendations - The Horror-The Horror 25/10/2009

Melvin Junko · Post by **Melvin Junko** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 8:50 pm

Didn't know Frostbiten played at frightfest. Only been to the last 3 ones.

Might be an idea to give people an idea where to find these movies as well, no point in reccomending stuff if you can't get it anywhere.

Will post some more titles during the week.

streetrw · Post by **streetrw** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 9:56 pm

Well, this is tricky. Looking through my lists for the year so far there's been nothing to make me "giddy with excitement each time I watch it" then there's been absolutely nothing. Maybe it's just been a lousy year. There've been some good films, some very good films, but unfortunately they've been released (that's kind of how I managed to see them). Indeed many of the films named so far have actually been released - if EVIL (TO KAKO) is discounted because it has had a UK DVD release (does that count as wide?) then LAST EMBRACE surely doesn't count as it has had a cinema and VHS release in this country. So has PRIME CUT. And WHITE LIGHTNING and GATOR are both on VHS and DVD - I saw GATOR just last week. Etc etc etc. In all honesty I think the terms a little too strict here - how are we supposed to have seen them if they've never been released?

Looking through all my lists, there are a few nicely interesting pieces although doubtless they don't count as obscure enough, as I've actually been able to see them.

I don't know that they're masterpieces but I do think they are well worth seeing.

THESIS (1995, Spain) - Alejandro Amenabar's first film and it's a gleefully nasty thriler about snuff films. And as far as I know it's never been released in this country (I saw it at an NFT screening).

HARRISON BERGERON (1994, Canada) - this may have been made for cable but I really liked it; futuristic utopia run by Christopher Plummer in which all creative thought is outlawed. Memorably downbeat ending.

CRACK IN THE WORLD (1964, USA) - wonderfully colourful apocalyptic SF that I caught on BBC1 one night. (Probably doesn't count as it's in English.)

ANGST (1983, Germany) - Gerard Kargl's bleak serial killer movie which mainly takes place in an unfurnished modern house. Some nicely unpleasant moments, and a cute dachshund. (Probably doesn't qualify as there's a soundtrack CD available.)

KIREI? THE TERROR OF BEAUTY (2004, Japan) - okay, it's on DVD online rental (I don't think I've ever seen a copy on sale anywhere but then I've never really looked) but well worth a look in the deluge of indifferent Asian horror cheapies. Concerns a cosmetic surgery clinic where Bad Things Happen.

LIES (1983, USA) - one of the better examples of the twisty psychological thriller genre: actress researching role of mad woman gets trapped in the asylum for convoluted reasons; haven't seen it in 20 years or more but would like to see it again.

voor · Post by **voor** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 10:07 pm

Well as I remarked at the beginning, the terms are meant to be strict- they're meant to make you dig deeper and deeper - and there's a million ways of seeing a film other than a release - just the other month I watched Miss Leslie's Dolls which is so rare that it's considered lost at the BFI. And that's just a single example.

And EVIL TO KAKO has gotten quite a lot of mention over the past 2 or 3 years whereas I can't really recall the last time someone mentioned Last Embrace or White Lightning. To be honest the further away from the current year, the better we'll be.

Thesis unfortunately gets struck out - it's been released on Tartan and you can still buy it on Amazon but all the other titles are fine. Same for Kirei - you could order a copy or go into HMV and buy one on Terra label.

You might also be interested to know that they just finished a new version of Harrison Bergeron called 2081.

On and it counts if its' in English - it just can't be 'Titanic' or goddamn 'Saw'.

streetrw · Post by **streetrw** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 10:57 pm

voor wrote:And EVIL TO KAKO has gotten quite a lot of mention over the past 2 or 3 years whereas I can't really recall the last time someone mentioned Last Embrace or White Lightning. To be honest the further away from the current year, the better we'll be.

Has it? I have to say I'd never heard of it until LoveFilm sent it to me. On the other hand, you can get the British DVD of WHITE LIGHTNING for £3 from Amazon so that ain't acceptable either....

voor · Post by **voor** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 11:21 pm

Evil (To Kako) - number of external reviews on imdb since 2005: 23

White Lightning - number of external reviews on imdb since 1973: 5

Evil (To Kako) - number of votes since 2005: 663

White Lightning- number of votes since 1972: 978

That's 165.75 votes per year for Evil vs. 27.166666666666667 votes per year for White Lightning.

The end.

streetrw · Post by **streetrw** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 11:42 pm

Well, I'm not going to do a statistical analysis of the IMDb every time. In any case, WHITE LIGHTNING falls foul of your own 4th rule: If it stars a major, major Hollywood star DURING their glory days, don't bother. It's a Burt Reynolds movie from the 70s.

I've got loads of obscure movies on my lists that I have seen over the years and aren't currently in British distribution and in some cases never have been. I didn't list a lot of them because they're not very good: that seemed to be a far more important stipulation than how many votes they've accumulated on the IMDb. This is a recommendations thread, after all!

voor · Post by **voor** » Mon Nov 30, 2009 12:37 am

Yes but it is a recommendations thread with a purpose - read the column and then the first post again.

Otherwise we have a perfectly legit recommendations bit and do absolutely not need this one.

In the end it comes down to this - the whole aim of this exercise is to mention films we don't mention very often. Evil To Kako has been mentioned several times in the just seen thread whereas this is White Lightning's first mention around - ever.

Whether you mention those British films is entirely up to you. As I said in the original post - it's not about sheer brilliance in the end of established classics but forgotten flicks with qualities that are sometimes brilliant but get overshadowed. Of course sheer brilliance is welcome, too but this is about discovery - in the purest sense. Sometimes a film will be worth mentioning because in its 90 minute running time, there'll be one jaw-droppingly audacious and brilliant moment that you will think the whole world should see it. And sometimes a film will be flawed through and through but underneath the cracks will shine a light so very bright that you'll want to bring it out for others to experience too.

If its straight up recommendations you desire, I think one of the other threads might be more appropiate and to the point.

voor · Post by **voor** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 11:02 am

Today's recommendation from the department of 'you've seen evil dead and night of the living dead ENOUGH times, just put the tape/dvd/laserdisc back in its' case and try something bloody else' is:

The Inugami Clan:1976 - From director Kon Ichikawa comes a surprisingly old-fashioned murder mystery; The Inugmai Clan (or The Murder Of The Inugami Clan) is a Japanese who-dunnit focused on the series of murders that occur after the death of patriarch of said clan. There's a battle for the will between the different factions of the clan and the whole thing is investigated by Kosuke Kindaichi, a detective with a severe dandruff problem. What makes the film so special is the imagery: it is one of the most influential films on Japanese pop-culture and it's copied/paid homage to on a regular basis. If you have any love for modern japanese cinema and want to see where it all came from - give a shot to The Inugami Clan.

Ps. Incidentally the book is also available in English now in a beautiful translation. Do seek it out. It's available from Amazon.

Reanimator · Post by **Reanimator** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 11:44 am

Do 'The Cold Light of Day' and 'Motorama' count.

I have fond memories of both. I am sure The Cold Light of Day (Richard E Grant) was remade as The Pledge. Motorama should be a cult classic.

Grindhouse · Post by **Grindhouse** » Tue Dec 01, 2009 2:25 pm

im adding Shame to the list,this low budget oz movie was only on vhs though there might be some rips or sites with this out there.
a cracking movie that does deserve to be seen more widely than it was.

voor · Post by **voor** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 9:41 am

Toda'y movie, brought to you by the makers of 'Something New Experienced' feeling, is:

Welcome To Arrow Beach: Laurence Harvey DIRECTS and STARS in this effective shocker about a young hitchiker's encounter with a strange brother and sister. To say anymore would be injustice to the beautiful lensed, effectively bizarre and very, very grotesque tale that plays out as if it was imagined by Edgar Allen Poe.

giles edwards · Post by **giles edwards** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:19 pm

Rojo Sangre (2004): a timely entry for the legendary Paul Naschy who diesd this week. Though it’s not his last film, acts as an appropriately mischievous, rather somber swansong for a man who saw the exploitation boom come and fade away into torture porn aesthetics, aesthetics which he rails against with righteous vitriol in one less-than-subtle sequence in the film which explodes into a moment of furious, Charles Bronson-esque violence. From a script by Naschy himself, this is a pointed, rather scathing comment on how he feels about that particular sub-genre.

True it’s the kind of cheaply made effort has the modest production values of a glossy soap opera, the pacing is decidedly European (more adventurous film fans will now exactly what this means) and I’m still not entirely sure I understand the Polanski-esque ending. However, director (and Naschy’s own son) Christian Molina busts out a couple of incredible sequences during the film: an insanely cool piece of chiaroscuro animation and a bravura single shot piece of f/x trickery that if it had played at Frightfest would have the entire audience whooping in the aisles.

Also of note: the very first scene. Beautiful, sensitive, terrifically played and entirely violence-free (though it features and hilarious off-colour anecdote), for Naschy fans it’s a gem of a short all of by itself. It’s an absolutely perfect tribute to the late Spanish cinema legend.

voor · Post by **voor** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 1:23 pm

It's the weekend - let's all try something different:

The Murder That Wouldn't Die (1980): Never picked up tv pilot that is brought to life by a great plot, some great acting and some terrific caemos by two genre actors: Ken Tobey and Don Porter.

Grindhouse · Post by **Grindhouse** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:13 pm

i might just have to break out from watching Lost to give a couple of these a whirl on the old laserdisc format
Baron Blood a mario bava double disc set
Lisa And The Devil
Burn Witch Burn directed by Sidney Hayers and the screenplay written by Richard Matheson
Spirits of the Dead a poe trilogy directed by Fellini,Vadim & Malle

brad1000 · Post by **brad1000** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 9:40 pm

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075168/

anyone else seen this ?