"Hellinger is a man with the black eyes on his eternal search for damned souls to take to hell with him." Hellinger! Hellinger! Hellinger!
I just want to chant it like I'm at a pro wrestling event... because this movie is pretty damned great. I'm always on the look out for "so-bad-they're-good" flicks. As I've said, I'm a huge fan of Tommy Wiseau's "best-worst movie" The Room. So when I read a review of Hellinger at chud.com - one of my top five killing time at work sites - comparing the performances in this to the performances in The Room I was determined to track it down. And when I saw the $9.99 price it was a no brainer - one highly recommended Hellraiser rip-off + one killer nun movie = one of the best purchases I've ever made. And I haven't even watched Holy Terror yet.
November 6th, 2014 - Dark Mountain (2013)
Okay, back to the found footage well. Three friends set out to make a documentary about their quest for the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine - a lost mine in the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix, AZ. They never return, but we found the footage. Here is their story.
At the very least, I learned that the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine is a real thing - it's a pretty cool story! So even their fake (and unfinished, since (*SPOILER*) they might not make it back) documentary was educational for me.
One big issue that you have to know up front is that this is a complete and utter failure as a found footage film. There are multiple camera angles, swift edits/cuts, music stings over jump scares, and a (pretty cool) soundtrack added in. It's almost like these folks' friends found their footage and decided "I really miss my friends - to mourn, I'm going to edit the events that led to their deaths and make it TOTALLY EXTREME!" So really, Dark Mountain treats the found footage aspect like much more of an aesthetic than sticking to the "rules" of the genre. But that's not what makes it a little bad - there are other things that take care of that.
At the very least, I learned that the Lost Dutchman's Gold Mine is a real thing - it's a pretty cool story! So even their fake (and unfinished, since (*SPOILER*) they might not make it back) documentary was educational for me.
One big issue that you have to know up front is that this is a complete and utter failure as a found footage film. There are multiple camera angles, swift edits/cuts, music stings over jump scares, and a (pretty cool) soundtrack added in. It's almost like these folks' friends found their footage and decided "I really miss my friends - to mourn, I'm going to edit the events that led to their deaths and make it TOTALLY EXTREME!" So really, Dark Mountain treats the found footage aspect like much more of an aesthetic than sticking to the "rules" of the genre. But that's not what makes it a little bad - there are other things that take care of that.
November 5th, 2014 - The Mummy (1932)
Ah, another Universal Monsters jam. I already wrote in my entry of The Invisible Man about the issues inherent on writing about these films from the 1930s, so I won't go into that here. Suffice to say that there's a different scale that you grade these on, you're wearing a different hat as a viewer. You feel more detached, and I think it's impossible to ignore the decades and decades between then and now. The films are not inherently better or worse, just... different. I would say that The Mummy was less of an era-shock (a term I just made up) than The Invisible Man. Looking at it with my 2014 sensibility, dealing with a creature/plot from the ancient past was a better fit with the 1930's mentality as opposed to The Invisible Man - who really is more or less from the future. (Science!) And even though I had some fears going in, it's another great entry in the Universal Monsters canon.
The movie starts with several British archeologists gloating about their latest find - the remains of the high priest Imhotep, who was mummified alive for breaking all sorts of holy ancient-Egyptian rules. He's just kind of propped up against the wall in the back... I guess they felt okay treating their priceless finds like that. Also amongst their findings is an ancient scroll that has the power to bring the dead back to life. The archeologists, being science-first folks, scoff at the idea that the scroll has any real-life power. The brashest young archeologist waits until he is alone and reads from the scroll. Our mummy begins to stir, and the young man freaks out and starts laugh/screaming, and doesn't stop. When the others come to see what the fuss is about, the mummy has vanished and the young man has gone totally mad. We later find out that he "died laughing, in a straight jacket." It's a pretty solid way to start the movie, and was already scarier than anything from The Invisible Man.
The movie starts with several British archeologists gloating about their latest find - the remains of the high priest Imhotep, who was mummified alive for breaking all sorts of holy ancient-Egyptian rules. He's just kind of propped up against the wall in the back... I guess they felt okay treating their priceless finds like that. Also amongst their findings is an ancient scroll that has the power to bring the dead back to life. The archeologists, being science-first folks, scoff at the idea that the scroll has any real-life power. The brashest young archeologist waits until he is alone and reads from the scroll. Our mummy begins to stir, and the young man freaks out and starts laugh/screaming, and doesn't stop. When the others come to see what the fuss is about, the mummy has vanished and the young man has gone totally mad. We later find out that he "died laughing, in a straight jacket." It's a pretty solid way to start the movie, and was already scarier than anything from The Invisible Man.
November 4th, 2014 - Galaxy of Terror (1981)
It's hard to overestimate the impact Alien had on the horror/sci-fi world. You can really almost divide any sort of outer-space movie into pre-and-post-Alien categories. The concepts, the production designs, the goriness - there were just a *ton* of knock-offs in the early 80's that didn't really even try to hide that they were riffing on Ridley Scott's slasher in space. Galaxy of Terror is one such "homage," and while it gets the mood and the atmosphere mostly right, ultimately it felt a little hollow to me and just wasn't very memorable.
It starts of a little confusingly - we jump straight into a super synthy pulsing score where some guy is attacked by a ghost or something? The official story is "a crew is sent to find out what happened to another ship that crashed on a distant planet" - sound familiar? But they spice it up by having a character called "the Planet Master" calling the shots - he's some sort of leader of the human race (who leads by playing an oracle-type board game) and has a glowing red aura instead of a head. He chooses a seemingly random team of military types to check out the crashed ship.
It starts of a little confusingly - we jump straight into a super synthy pulsing score where some guy is attacked by a ghost or something? The official story is "a crew is sent to find out what happened to another ship that crashed on a distant planet" - sound familiar? But they spice it up by having a character called "the Planet Master" calling the shots - he's some sort of leader of the human race (who leads by playing an oracle-type board game) and has a glowing red aura instead of a head. He chooses a seemingly random team of military types to check out the crashed ship.
November 3rd, 2014 - The Pot (2008)
Old people are scary. So is religion. That seems to be the general concept behind The Pot. Incidentally, I can't figure out why that is the title. Other than a brief reference to our main character being trapped in a pot (!) as a child, it really doesn't make a lot of sense.
The Pot is from South Korean Writer-Director Tae-gon Kim, and it's possible that there is something lost in translation, as the main arc of the story involves a non-religious family getting involved with a (potentially cultish) Christian church. My extremely rudimentary research says that Buddhism is the dominant religion in South Korea, although there is a large Christian population there as well. But obviously, with Christianity being the big boss here in the US, it will resonate differently with me.
The Pot is from South Korean Writer-Director Tae-gon Kim, and it's possible that there is something lost in translation, as the main arc of the story involves a non-religious family getting involved with a (potentially cultish) Christian church. My extremely rudimentary research says that Buddhism is the dominant religion in South Korea, although there is a large Christian population there as well. But obviously, with Christianity being the big boss here in the US, it will resonate differently with me.
November 2nd, 2014 - Willow Creek (2013)
I'm a big fan of bigfoot movies. I'm a big fan of found footage films. I've always thought Bobcat Goldthwait is an interesting filmmaker. So when I heard he was making Willow Creek - a found footage bigfoot horror movie! - I was really stoked. I've always enjoyed when established filmmakers dip their toes in the found-footage horror world (i.e. the extremely overlooked The Bay from Barry Levinson), and I assumed Goldthwait had a good reason to get into the game.
And generally speaking, he did. Willow Creek suffers from some of the typical issues with found footage films (namely treading water a bit in the first half of the film), but ultimately is successful as a horror film. (As a bigfoot film? hmmm... maybe not so much.)
And generally speaking, he did. Willow Creek suffers from some of the typical issues with found footage films (namely treading water a bit in the first half of the film), but ultimately is successful as a horror film. (As a bigfoot film? hmmm... maybe not so much.)
November 1st, 2014 - The New York Ripper (1982)
Basically everything in my life revolves around The Room. (For those of you not in the know, that is the name of writer/director/star Tommy Wiseau's 2003 cult classic film. It's in the "so-bad-it's-good" category - I think it totally transcends that simple categorization, but that's a discussion for another time.) But I really cannot watch any other movie without comparing shots/lines/characters from it to The Room. It is my curse. A Room line that wasn't spoken in The New York Ripper, but was constantly front and center in my mind was "He is a Hateful Man!" It's in regards to director Lucio Fulci, because, man - as far as sexual violence goes, this was a rough one.
I've heard a lot on DVD extras about Fulci - saying he's kind of a big asshole and that he hates women. (Although it's never the person being interviewed that voices these opinions - it's always second hand "he has a reputation for..." The person being interviewed always likes him.) It's almost like this film is some sort of response to that criticism - "oh yeah? You think I hate women? I'll show you!" This movie is just flat out mean. Think of any body part that represents women & sexuality, and chances are it is graphically mutilated in The New York Ripper. Is it supposed to be provocative? Sleazy? Perversely enjoyable? I suppose it depends what you bring to the table as a viewer.
I've heard a lot on DVD extras about Fulci - saying he's kind of a big asshole and that he hates women. (Although it's never the person being interviewed that voices these opinions - it's always second hand "he has a reputation for..." The person being interviewed always likes him.) It's almost like this film is some sort of response to that criticism - "oh yeah? You think I hate women? I'll show you!" This movie is just flat out mean. Think of any body part that represents women & sexuality, and chances are it is graphically mutilated in The New York Ripper. Is it supposed to be provocative? Sleazy? Perversely enjoyable? I suppose it depends what you bring to the table as a viewer.
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