The Samurai

Taking place over the Bank Holiday weekend, 21st - 25th August 2014
Post Reply
User avatar
morralex
Running Zombie
Running Zombie
Posts: 224
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:48 am
Contact:

The Samurai

Post by morralex »

What did everyone think of this? I can see it dividing opinion but personally I thought it was incredible and a highlight of the festival. A great end to a bit of a duff day (Among the Living and Home were both quite flat and I walked out of Open Windows). :D
User avatar
Stephen with ph
Running Zombie
Running Zombie
Posts: 111
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2008 6:48 pm
Location: The garden of England

Re: The Samurai

Post by Stephen with ph »

With hindsight, I'm relieved that it wasn't in 3D :eek:
bernal316
Walking Dead
Walking Dead
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 11:01 pm

Re: The Samurai

Post by bernal316 »

absolutely fucking insane!!!
The more i think about it the more i enjoyed it!
SilverGunnar Hansen
Twitching Corpse
Twitching Corpse
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Feb 26, 2011 4:04 am

Re: The Samurai

Post by SilverGunnar Hansen »

Wankfest. Should have followed through a bit more on some of its imagery / metaphorical nonsense. Some of it was just laughable (the dance). Looked nice and had an intriguing premise but trans killers are just lazy and borderline offensive now, there's been far better queer-friendly horror lately (Stranger By The Lake especially).
Scrofulous Peasant
Twitching Corpse
Twitching Corpse
Posts: 21
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2014 11:57 am

Re: The Samurai

Post by Scrofulous Peasant »

Probably the worst thing I saw at the festival. Amounted to absolutely nothing. 3 / 10
User avatar
The Soapmaker
Undead Horde
Undead Horde
Posts: 453
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:50 am
Location: London

Re: The Samurai

Post by The Soapmaker »

I didn't enjoy it at all... but I was being thick (or half asleep, to be honest) and not understanding what the hell was going on. As soon as someone said "alter ego" I realised how idiotic I'd been and that it all (sort of) made sense.

I don't think it was a very skilfully made film, but it was thought-provoking. I'd watch it again.
The Aylmer
Running Zombie
Running Zombie
Posts: 199
Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 4:49 pm
Location: Farnham

Re: The Samurai

Post by The Aylmer »

I thought it was the best looking film of the festival with excellent cinematography throughout. That said I did think the various metaphors for the cop's suppressed sexual feelings were overly forced. I think a subtler approach would have worked better. I mean, the poor sod has got a small handgun which he doesn't even bring out with him on patrol. And when he does he can't bring himself to use it. Meanwhile the Samurai has got a great big weapon which he confidently waves about all over the place. Plus he's in a dress. It doesn't get much more blatant (I was going to add it didn't need to be rammed down our throats so forcibly but... erm... right, I'm shutting up now). Thought it was a much better film than Company of Wolves though, which people kept bringing up by way of comparison. But then I was never a fan of that either thanks to the same style of blatant symbolism. The Samurai isn't perfect (the start of that dance routine looked like it had stepped out of the first Inbetweeners movie!) but it was certainly something different and the final shot had a poetic fairy tale quality to it that reminded me a bit of the snow globe ending in Dellamorte Dellamore. 7/10 here.
powerpopkid
Twitching Corpse
Twitching Corpse
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun Oct 28, 2012 3:53 pm

Re: The Samurai

Post by powerpopkid »

This one sucked.
ChrisReynolds
Undead Horde
Undead Horde
Posts: 281
Joined: Mon Sep 03, 2012 11:01 pm

Re: The Samurai

Post by ChrisReynolds »

This is tied with Housebound as my favourite film of the festival. It's got excellent cinematography and a fascinating story. It reminded me of last year's Stranger by the Lake in that it figurates homosexual desire as a muderer seducing the protagonist, but here it's more about repressed desire and persecution than lust and risk. A really fascinating and thoughtful film filled with excellent surreal touches. This is definitely a marmite film, but I think it's going to go down very well with the art-house crowd. 7/10
User avatar
zappa fan
Frightfest Hardcore
Frightfest Hardcore
Posts: 1257
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 3:21 pm
Location: Sunny Caerphilly (133.4 Miles West of Fright Fest)
Contact:

Re: The Samurai

Post by zappa fan »

Currently on revry.
LAST FILM- Turistas 2006
"It's always funny until someone gets hurt. Then it's just hilarious." - Bill Hicks

twitter @nottsey
Letterboxd nottsey
Instagram nottsey
Post Reply