Alex Klotz Reviews

Leonor (1975)

Slow moving romantic horror story

[6/10 · 19 May 2004]

Don't expect 70s Eurohorror in the vein of Jess Franco and the like, and don't expect anything ingenious like the efforts of the director's father. It's a loose adaptation of motives by early romanticist Ludwig Tieck, and since there was no vampirism in literature back then, THERE ARE NO VAMPIRES IN THIS MOVIE EITHER! Just Liv Ullman coming back from the dead after 10 years and strangling children. Great locations, good acting, but neither a convincing drama nor a satisfying horror film. But I've seen much worse than that and young Ornella Muti's a treat. And I like the fact that some screenwriters of the seventies got back to classic seldom filmed literature (like Ado Kyrou did in the far superior 'Le Moine') instead of copying plotlines, themes and motives that have been used a thousand times before.

Kaibyô Otama-ga-ike (1960)

Not one of the best Japanese ghost movies, but worth a look

[8/10 · 27 January 2004]

Although somewhat inferior to Nobuo Nakagawa's black and white version of a similar story, Borei Kaibyo Yashiki, this movie makes extensive use of its color footage, especially when showing the apparitions in a ghostly green light or the pond from the title tinted red. The furry cat-ghost-woman DOES look a bit ridiculous, as do some rather cheapish superimposed images, but the marvelous cinematography and the effective score still work pretty well to create a very creepy atmosphere. All in all, another example to make you wish more of these classic Japanese ghost chillers will be released for today's western audiences.

Yomigaeri (2002)

Very nice story, but a bit too sentimental

[7/10 · 25 November 2003]

This is actually a very nice movie with good actors, a very imaginative plot and some great cinematography. But the extremely melodramatic music made some scenes almost impossible for me to take them serious, although this definitely is a serious movie about love and death. A bit more humor would have helped to increase the overall impression, though.

Red Sun (1970)

ODD is the word for it

[9/10 · 15 November 2003]

This movie is very funny indeed. Maybe it's an attempt at film noir with feministic background that has gone terribly wrong. Maybe the comic elements have been intended. Maybe it's a political statement with nods to Godard. The plot depicts a group of young woman that decide to kill their boyfriends if they insist on a relationship lasting longer than five days. Actually it's pretty entertaining, although all characters are talking and acting in a VERY weird way, resulting in some german reference books calling it a science fiction-movie set in the future, although there are no hints in the plot that justify such an assumption. Anyway, the guy who wrote the dialogue MUST have been on drugs: "If the condition to change society is a change of the weather, then we have to change the weather. This is not impossible." You get the idea, although this may have been a very bad translation.

Evil of Dracula (1974)

Terrible dubbing, but very interesting

[9/10 · 25 June 2003]

The last part of Yamamoto's Vampire Trilogy has been described as the worst, but it's still very entertaining. The main problem is that it obviously tries to copy the Hammer Vampire movies, and the man with the cape always looks a little bit out of place. Otherwise, most 'scary moments' are carried out in the `Kaidan Eiga'- fashion with slow camera movements and impressive lighting. Here, and in some beautiful long shots, it shows that some skill was involved, and that the movie could have become a minor classic if it had stuck to the Japanese tradition of the Horror Film. The sound track sounds too European, too and the dubbing is a total nightmare, but I think, a subtitled version recently got released in the U.K. Recommended viewing for fans of offbeat seventies horror.

Tuno negro (2001)

Just slightly above average, but worth a look for the horror fan

[7/10 · 19 March 2003]

Like `El arte de Morir', this is a Spanish example of the teen slasher pic, that has some original ideas, but isn't as good as the efforts of other Spanish directors in horror film making, like Amenabar's `Tesis', de la Iglesia's `Dia de la bestia' or del Toro's marvelous `Devil's Backbone'. Still it is a lot better than the boring and predictable `I know what you did last summer', which had nothing, absolutely nothing new or inventive to it. The story tells of a secret society of serenade singers, and, guess what, lots of students are being killed. One of the highlights of `Tuno Negro' is the impressive setting at the university of Salamanca, a location that gives the film a slightly Gothic touch. Then there's the female lead: an interesting divergence from the usually dull well-behaved heroines in Slasher flicks; I liked Silke's acting a lot, although the version I've seen has been dubbed into German; can't say nothing about her original way of speaking that got criticized below. This is certainly not a masterpiece, but it's quite entertaining; I've seen much worse than that.

The Saragossa Manuscript (1965)

Unusual, imaginative classic of fantastic cinema

[10/10 · 19 March 2003]

Although I usually try to avoid very long movies, I was glad I took the time to watch this one. Based on Jan Potocki's marvelous, somewhat `enlightened Gothic novel', this is another congenial literary adaptation of Director Wojciech Has; it's a shame this is the only one of his movies easily available. The film tells of a young soldier traveling through Spain and meeting a lot of strange characters that all have their own stories to relate. Of course, the series of interlocked stories-within-stories may appear complicated, but there is always the opportunity to just lean back and enjoy the story being told right now; or to look at the diagram in the great DVD Edition to make things clear. And surely there doesn't seem to be a central thread if you don't watch the end of the movie. (How useful would a review of, say `The usual Suspects' be, if you didn't watch the ending?) And, by the way, there are a lot more stories and framing devices in the novel… It's no wonder that (Danger! Pretentious name-dropping ahead) this is one of Luis Bunuel's favorite movies, the structure of some of his later films, especially `The Milky Way' and `The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie' bear a lot of resemblance. And there's a scene in `Monty Python's Life of Brian', in which the Pasheko – Character reappears. (It's too close to be a coincidence.) To cut a long story short: If you prefer films with a straight forward narration; this one's obviously not for you. But if you're open minded and like to see a highly original, imaginative epic, try it.

Das weite Land (1960 TV Movie)

If you can't stand Austrian dialect, read the book.

[7/10 · 19 March 2002]

I've never been that much a fan of the theater, but Schnitzler's "Das weite Land" struck me immensely. So I've had my trouble with this adaptation, which, without any doubt is very well done and probably would have been appreciated by Schnitzler himself, but I've had big troubles taking it serious, because the dialogue always sounds a bit funny to me in this dialect. Actually, it's a comedy - in the Schnitzler sort of way, which means all the acting persons are playing roles in their real life - but for me the overall impact of the play is displayed better in a down-to-earth language than in a quaint dialect.

St. Petri Schnee (1991)

The movie's OK, but it doesn't match the novel.

[7/10 · 19 March 2002]

You have to be quite grateful if filmmakers choose interesting literary sources, like the novels of Leo Perutz, instead of doing half-heartedly remakes or rip-offs of stuff you've seen a thousand times before. This movie is actually quite well made and better than average, but it loses the overall ambiguity of the novel, not only by concentrating on the love story contained within. But if you don't have any chance to get an english translation of the book - the story is absolutely marvellous and predates the paranoid masterpieces of Philip K. Dick.

L'amour maudit de Leisenbohg (1991 TV Movie)

It's hard to get to the very soul of Schnitzler...

[7/10 · 19 March 2002]

Like the most recent example of bringing Arthur Schnitzler to the screen, "Eyes wide shut" this movie suffers from the fact that the sort of imaginations that run through your mind while reading a Schnitzler story cannot be put adequately into a movie, even not in an x-rated one. See, even Max Ophuels' version of "Reigen" caused a scandal, although he didn't show or imply anything. The naughtiness of Schnitzler's work lies in the fact that mankind is utterly confronted with his most dark, most hidden desires. But before starting a lecture, I should get to the movie.

The story tells of a wealthy gentleman being hopelessly in love with an opera singer. Finally, he achieves her affection, but finds out that he has got a horrible price to pay. I think it's quite well done, the acting is excellent, so are the sets and even the newly made up stuff like the seance or the literally "blue-eyed" Siegfried-Character match with the original idea, although the latter is a figure that only makes sense after the third reich - but Schnitzler's story was already written in 1903. The best part of the movie is that it maintains the ambiguity of the literary source, becoming a more "fantastic" movie than most of the other entries in the genre.

Viy (1967)

An excellent forgotten fantasy piece

[10/10 · 19 March 2002]

Although the film starts off a bit in the fairy tale fashion, the film doesn't lack anything a great sixties horror movie, be it from Italy, England or the U.S. should have. I think it's wonderful that a Russian gem like this got re-released in the US, so that I could see it in Germany. If this movie had been distributed better, I think it would turn up in every horror movie history besides the works of Bava (yes, MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO was based on the same story...although the Russian version sticks a lot more to Gogol) and the Hammer and Roger Corman Productions. If you're a fan of atmospheric sixties horror, you definitely should see this one, if only for the unforgettable climax.

The Dunwich Horror (1970)

A very individual but great attempt at Lovecraft Horror.

[10/10 · 22 February 2002]

OK, I haven't read all the comments yet but I was kinda disturbed of the low rating this movie got. I think it's one of the best Lovecraft Adaptations ever made. Yeah, "Re-Animator" was much more fun, but it didn't stick to the misanthropic atmosphere old HPL used to build. "The Dunwich Horror" is much more disturbing, although it bears all characteristics of a seventies movie like the soundtrack and the clothing, but it still works. Yeah, it's a B-Movie, but It's very well made, from the great title sequence to the vague depiction of the "Monster". I don't think any subsequent movie got closer to the insinuating style of that fascinating weirdo called H. P. Lovecraft.

Quatermass and the Pit (1958–1959)

Science-Fiction at its most intelligent, yet giving lots of thrills.

[10/10 · 22 February 2002]

I'm actually more a fan of horror movies, but besides "Invasion of the Body Snatchers", this is one of the movies that scared me intensely. There's no trace of the Manichaism of latter popular horror movies, it is made perfectly clear that evil lies in the human conscience and doesn't dissolve from some foreign being or "just plain evil". Nigel Kneale, the writer of this story, is a master in combining traditional horror tales with contemporary scientific explanations. The long TV-Version is quite suspenseful and I didn't notice that three hours passed by. In the later remake they let out the bits concerning the spaceship might by a German bomb, which was a reasonable decision.

Non-Stop (1996)

When everything turns out wrong, you got to run.

[10/10 · 12 February 2002]

This is one of the movies that get better every time you see them. It's packed with so many original and unconventional ideas that you always find a new detail. As in Sabu's subsequent movies (I didn't see "Unlucky monkey" yet, but the other ones are as great) failure, chance and humanism play great roles. The cutting and Montage is inventive and artistic, without the movie being an "art" picture, but a highly entertaining one. When comparing it to "Run, Lola, Run" you have to keep in mind that "Dangan Ranna" was made some years before and was shown on German TV as early as 1997...so it's more probable that it served as inspiration for Tom Tykwer's movie, and not the other way around. Complementary to the other reviews I have to add that I like the acting and the ending very much. This movie is a lot of fun in many ways, and it manages to deliver a message without being annoying or pretentious.

The Dress (1996)

Bunuel meets Woody Allen meets i don't know...

[10/10 · 8 February 2002]

This is, as another comment already stated, a truly original movie. It's an episode movie, but not Boccaccio-style, tale by tale, the tales are developing from each other, and some characters keep reappearing. There are at least three reasons to love this movie: The performance of the director himself as the psychopathic ticket collector; the short segment showing musical indifferencies between dutch construction workers and Indian immigrants, and the timeless sequence that just hints at a very weird sexual orientation of a designer. This scene reminded me a lot of Bunuel's anarchism, see, i didn't just include his name above to be pretentious. The movie manages to be very funny at times, but some scenes do leave a bad taste in your mouth, without being sentimental or pathetic at any time. I've seen this movie three times now, and not just because i had some pretty bad experiences with ticket collectors and bus drivers too. If you get the chance to see it- Don't miss it.

La fée sanguinaire (1969)

Exploitative Underground Short

[8/10 · 12 November 2001]

This is a very strange and bizarre mixture; as if Hershell Gordon Lewis had directed a leftist student picture. The outline of the story is so exaggerated that you can't take the gruesome gore effects serious. It's a movie made by students that obviously had their fun making it, and wanted to try how many provocative images would fit into 25 Minutes. If you don't reject scenes of graphic violence you might have your fun with this very black comedy, that someone with no sense of humor could interpret as an allegory on capitalism and feminism.

The Mummy Returns (2001)

Some impressive special effects, but a very superficial movie.

[3/10 · 10 November 2001]

Whereas "The Mummy" was a likeable approach to popcorn cinema, the sequel lacks of any sort of characterization. There are some impressive Effects, like the flashbacks to ancient Egypt or the animated pygmies borrowed from "Jason and the Argonauts", but the plot and the characters are simplified in a way that they should offend any viewer that exceeds the age of ten years. Although the script offers chances of ambiguity, it destroys them immediately by a childish black and white philosophy. Regarding its costs, some of the effects aren't very convincing - like the scorpion king, who looks like a character from a video game - Ray Harryhausen made stuff like that more chilling forty years ago. Although "The Mummy" didn't reach its predecessors directed by Karl Freund and Terence Fisher, i though it was kinda fun. But the sequel is a sad example of producers smothering the audience with special effects so that they won't recognize the actual stupidity of the picture.

The Sandglass (1973)

Bizarre and haunting

[10/10 · 9 October 2001]

Based on a story collection of the same name by Bruno Schulz, who was shot by the Gestapo in 1942, this movie is one of the rare cases of a congenial adaptation of modern fantastic literature. It's a demanding movie and it is impossible to extract something like a plot line. There are various changes in between time and space, but once you get involved with the narrative, they seem perfectly logical. Also, there are many highly impressive sequences and settings - i have read somewhere (i can't give no reference right now, sorry) that it was the most expensive movie ever made in Poland, and maybe it still is. It certainly is one of the best. And, by the way, there is one scene with a room stuffed full of mannequins that looks like an inspiration to a similar sequence in Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner", which is a great movie of its kind, but was made some years later and did much better at the box office.

First Spaceship on Venus (1960)

Unique and entertaining science fiction from behind the "iron curtain"

[9/10 · 9 October 2001]

What makes this movie a fun experience to watch is the way it differs from American science fiction movies of the period. The special effects resemble "Angry Red Planet" and similar pictures, and maybe there is too much dialogue and philosophy involved to persuade contemporary viewers, but that's why Lem's book don't sell as well as for example those of Douglas Adams, although both share the same kind of anarchist humor. In one detail, the movie is quite ahead of it's time: The crew of the spaceship is derived from every continent of the world - Hollywood didn't care much about black or Asian astronauts back then.

The Blood Spattered Bride (1972)

An unique erotic vampire movie with some surprises.

[9/10 · 5 October 2001]

The movie isn't a very close version of Sheridan Le Fanu's masterful novel "Carmilla" and it has got nothing to do with Matthew G. Lewis as far as i can tell; maybe someone thought of the "Bleeding nun" segment in his novel "The Monk"; but that's an entirely different story. It is a very slow movie for today's standards, but this makes the innovative imagery even more shocking and surprising. Last but not least, most of the movie's credit must go to the performance of the lovely leading ladies.

The Wicker Man (1973)

Even in a cut version this is one of the most fantastic films ever made.

[10/10 · 4 October 2001]

I've first seen this movie when i was about twelve years old as it ran on Dutch TV. Because my English wasn't very well back then (it's still far from perfect, excuse me), I couldn't understand much of the dialogue, let alone the dutch subtitles. But i was instantly hooked. There are so many powerful and unique images in the movie, like the may day celebrations or the marvelous ending scene that make it worthwhile to watch. It also creates, with the help of creative photography, highly professional acting and an excellent musical score, a slightly disturbing atmosphere of the unreal that most horror movies (especially those of a more recent vintage) fail to achieve. It's been one of my favorite movies for almost twenty years; and it will probably remain there in my Top 5 list for a long time.