Madluke91 Reviews

Higanjima: Escape from Vampire Island (2009)

Fun if you don't mind all of the melodrama

[6/10 · 26 October 2010]

Doesn't it just annoy you when an at first promising film slowly slips in the wrong direction? This one starts out with a swordsman dressed up heavily in some waterproof clothes taking on an onslaught of vampires whom are wearing old fashioned Japanese attire. We then skip to Japan where we meet a group of friends. It's witty, well shot, the acting is great and there are a lot of unanswered questions; it breaks out like a good action horror movie. It also wouldn't be a stretch to say it carried shades of another well known J-horror, Battle Royale. It has that same camaraderie and wit, with subtle moments of horror, but at the same time being very down to earth. It slowly begins to slip though. The brother of the swordsman is amongst this group that we met, and they all go to find and help him. After much melodrama and annoyingly overacted teen angst, after meeting some strange women whom tells them of a situation involving vampires on her home island, it all begins to get a bit grating as we are hammered with ridiculously over the top nonsense.

It was still promising though. It was still fun. Then we get to the island. Every bit of wit and good dark horror seemed to have been swapped in favour of pure overkill in the melodrama and overkill in trying to build the characters in particular of the main vampire. It's what I call too much talk not enough action; anyone who has seen some of the modern shounen anime such as Bleach will understand. Big bad guy is insurmountable. Big bad guy has 300 attempts to wipe out our protagonists. Big bad guy spends those 300 spots fitting in his little quips, going on about something to do with why he's so special, and how he's unbeatable. Put that together with the fact that the main vampire is the most androgynous and strangely attired bad guy I've ever seen, and put together all of these overkilled overly melodramatic moments, and its momentum slowly dripped away. Still good mindless fun, but it could, and should have been more.

Ran (1985)

Crushing, yet ultimately humane and beautiful film.

[10/10 · 30 September 2010]

Ran is in my opinion Kurosawas most epic films in the mammoth scale of what it tries to tackle. All in one it is a crushing film trying to display the hopenlessness of humanity; the hypocrisy of hierarchy, the lack of morality within our societal structures, the greed and lust for power. Religion gets thrown in, and it's an anti-war film all in one. You might not take it all in, you don't need to, you take what you want from it and no more. It's impossible to sum it all up in one review, and impossible to grasp all in one viewing.

Kurosawa is most definitely a genius with a camera that's for sure, although i've heard this film described as 'clunky'. I'd definitely put it under vibrant, very colourful and the shots throughout are exquisite. Tatsuya Nakadai puts in one of the best performances of all time, and his portrayal of suffering and almost the loss of soul is impeccable, and some of the shots of him are unforgettable. The cogs are kept turning by the spontaneity of the whole thing, each step assuredly moving us one rung up the ladder, but without revealing the exact locale of the next.

The film is definitely a film of segments; we start out with the merciless lord Hidetora out boar hunting with his three sons, and two rival clan faction leaders. Hidetora is old and falls asleep after the hunt. He dreams a crushing dream - almost a prophetic dream - of himself walking aimlessly in a field with no voice able to hear him; lonely. The inevitable outcome of his ruthless life, and his bad karma perhaps, would be his own downfall. He was blind to everything around him but his own power. So although notably shook up, he hastily forgets about it.

His three sons are of very different characters, and he gives the head status of his clan to his eldest son, and thus also the land to his eldest son. The youngest son is forth rite in his words and proclaims he must be senile if he thinks power of such magnitude can be passed on so easily; without any bad feeling, even amongst brothers, and as such he is exiled. His father was so blind to all around him that he couldn't accept he could be wrong, and furthermore took it as a threat.

The second stage of the film is when the soul crushing venture really begins as the naivety of Lord Hidetoya's decisions bear fruition, war soon breaks out, and he is completely stripped bear, and the fall of himself and all around him slowly commences. It's the beginning of his humbling in position to put it lightly.

If there is one thing this film certainly is, it is anti-war. The main real focus on war is the sheer hypocrisy and irony which surrounds it. That doesn't mean to say that there aren't epic battles because there sure are, but there is something more mystical and poignant in them far beyond a grandiose scope of a battle.

Hidetoya's closest companion ends up being the fool, whom says to the mighty Lord "A bird traded it's speckled and dirty egg for that of the pristine white egg of a snake" "The white egg hatched, and the baby snake ate the bird"  Beauty definitely isn't on the outside, it's on the inside, and this is said at Hidetoya's most humbling of moments. The man once adorned in his white and golden robes, he whom thought of himself as closest to the gods, and would have ruled as a complete dictator, had a complete role reversal with a man whom was living his life out making a fool of himself for others entertainment. His outer grandiose state no longer meant anything when when removed from his pedestal.

Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors (1963)

A Russian fairy tale

[6/10 · 30 September 2010]

This is a very fun and quirky Russian children's movie done in the vain of Alice In Wondeland.

Olia, a young girl who is always losing things breaks a jar of jam, at which point a mirror begins to talk to her. She climbs inside, where she meets her reflection Ailo (The backwards spelling of her own name.)

The mirror was crooked however, and they are actually within the most crooked of all crooked mirrors.

They meet a host of characters, ranging from the Tattletales, King Tarrop (Parrot backwards, you get the point, the spellings are backwards.), Leasew the chef and many others.

There dilemma begins when Dneirf is taken to the Tower of Death for breaking a crooked mirror. Olia and Ailo set out to try and save him, meeting this bulk of interesting characters along the way.

The film is very sweet and innocent, a slight bit of Russian propaganda if you can call it that, i think of it more as a little bit of patriotism, is thrown in, but that's pushed far back. This film is more a fairytale than anything else.

I won't lie, the production isn't superb. The fantasy sets are very dated and remind me of many other very cheap 60's films, and it is very childish too. But it is very enjoyable, and that's all that matters.

If you want a little bit of harmless entertainment, or you have some young-ones you'd like to show something too, then maybe this is a good option.

Sansho the Bailiff (1954)

The saddest film in the world

[10/10 · 30 September 2010]

Sansho the Bailiff, quite simply put, is poetry on film. What we have here isn't just a collage of images, a script, some actors, whatever. What we have here is a vision and an idea. That in the hands of a master can become so much more than the sum of it's parts, and without a doubt Kenji Mizoguchi has proved he is right up there amongst the greats not only of Asian or more specifically even Japanese Cinema, such as Ozu or Kurosawa, but amongst all of cinema full stop. There is so much here that hit me deep to the core, so much that many years after watching it it still has some kind of a mysteriously profound effect upon me, and i guess that is the power art can have, the ability to in some way even affect your life. I mean, you are likely to many times in  your life watch a film, or listen to a piece of music, and think "Wow that was great." but how man time in your lifetime to you watch a film or listen to a piece of music and at the end of it feel completely stunned, and have no real words to descirbe it. It's a much rarer event, it has probably happened to me a dozen times at most, and this fits into that category, and this is one of the films which shaped my tastes in movies full stop.

Sansho the Bailiff has often been described as the saddest film in the world, and I think thats very apt. The film is coincidentally not named after what can be described as a main character but more-so named after a symbol, Sansho a character whom appears briefly here and there, but not very often, but at the same time he is at the very core of the concept of this film. He's a very odd and immediately striking looking old man whom has some high position working under some feudal lord of some sort, and he runs a slave camp. The workers are treated no better than dogs, as was the case in this period of Japan, status was everything, and Sansho ruled the roost with an iron fist. The main characters of this film are a family torn apart by this hypocritical and floored hierarchy. This family; the mother and the son and daughter, are attacked by bandits and sold off. The mother is sent off to an island to work, isolated from her children whom are sent off to the slave camp under Sansho. Why were the family out there in the first place? There father was exiled for showing sympathy to bandits and as such was exiled. He did previously to that have a high positioning too.

Throughout the film you feel the pangs of distance, the poignance of the situation, and this is no less carried along by the absolutely stunning cinematography by Mizoguchi. The film is as much about family and hope as it is about status and the time period, and how this is sustained throughout many years despite the separation.

So Sansho the Bailiff is amptly named after a character in the film which you probably only see but a few times; a character fuelled by the power and greed his position gave to him. The film is centrally focused more on the children, a son and a daughter, and how they try to handle the way they are treated, there separation from there parents and there own destinies.

The son and the daughter react very differently to the situation, one loses all sense of morality and does his best to gain position in the camp, hoping to rid himself of the squalor, the daughter never lets go of hope of once again seeing there mother.

This is one of the most important things about the film, because the film is essentially a morality tail. The sons loss of morality, eventual realisation and redemption, the consequences of his actions and the things he learns from all he went through. The main driving force of the ideals within the film are the contrasting effects the situation has upon the two children, one accepting the fate and doing there utmost to gain stature, the other not so much spitting in the face of the system so to speak, but merely going along with it in hope. We then have the eventual realisation, retribution etc etc etc.

The point is I have never seen a sadder film, or a more poignant film. Truly one of the few films which can be described as poetry on film.

Eden of the East (2009)

Quirky, mysterious, charming, and most of all exciting.

[7/10 · 1 February 2010]

Eden of the East, a backwards translation of the John Steinbeck Novel East of Eden, is a very mysterious and thrilling anime, following Takizawa and Morimi. The series starts following a series of ten missile strikes on uninhabited areas of Japan, which do not claim any victims. We then move on to three months later where we meet the two main characters of the series: Takizawa is first seen outside of the White house naked, and it becomes apparent he hasn't any memory of his past. He soon meets Morimi and they create a tight bond. Takizawa seems to be involved in an organization consisting of ten 'Selecao', each of whom are given ten billion Japanese dollars, which cannot be directly made into money, but can be used at there disposal. He is also given a phone like gadget, with which he can contact a concierge name Juiz, who in no time at all seems to be able to make any request a reality. The job of the Selecao is to 'Save the Nation', and if they cannot do so before there 10 billion budget runs out, they are killed by the 'Supporter', which is someone no-one knows the identity of. The organization however becomes more and more mysterious, as do the other 9 members.

To try and be balanced i will first try to outline what i believe isn't good about this SHORT anime. Well that is one of the points right there, it's length. Each episode runs about 23 minutes, and there are only 10 before it's all over. That means that the series is all over before you know it, and in my case i was more than ready for more. The second major problem is one which is a big let down in my own humble opinion, and that is that other than the main few characters, the other characters hardly gain any depth, and just seem like cardboard cut-outs, shipped straight out of the typical anime character guide-book. However there is much good to comment on. Firstly the anime has a lot of charm; a unique sense of humour, and great character design. The main characters are also very interesting, and are never short of an interesting situation, and aren't just cardboard cut-outs; they have a lot of depth. The plot is not only very interesting, but also very well crafted and executed, with each episode running smoothly, adding more and more to the story.

So overall the series is very good. If there was more attention to the smaller details, such as the lesser characters, and if the series was longer, the rating could be higher.

Tojenkawa (2004)

Little dialogue, but great tale.

[7/10 · 7 June 2009]

This 12 minutes short is great, i would almost classify it as horror, as it has a pretty dark atmosphere too it. A man in 1875 on his own in the wilderness, i believe Buffalo Gorge in America, with his horse, out hunting deer with his rifle, encounters some kind of strange prey, which is shown like the werewolves in Dog Soldiers, kind of invisible, which seems to move fast, and strike deadly. His horse is killed by this unseen danger. He eventually comes across a strange women in the wilderness with him. Sound is well used in this:short, with wailing sounds, and a dark tone, really creating a dark atmosphere. Well shot, and relatively well acted also.

Plague (1979)

Realistic take on an ever growing sub-genre.

[6/10 · 12 April 2009]

Plague is a movie about an outbreak on a bacteria called M4. The bacteria causes people to die in extreme pain, in body spasms. A woman who is a carrier escapes from a hospital and goes on the run, spreading the plague to people she encounters, and onto food in fast food stops etc. She has no idea however that she is a carrier, and as such may carry a cure. For those interested in science there are easily recognisable reasons for the reaction to the bacteria also; there is an exponential release in acetylcholine, increasing nerve activity yada yada yada. I don't want however to give the impression that due to this being a realistic account of a plague outbreak, that it is like sitting through a lecture. The movie plays like a made for TV entertainment flick, and if you go into expecting this you can get a lot of entertainment from it. The film towards the end begins to flag however, and possibly due to budget we seemingly get a good 2 minutes here and there where we get random shots of buildings and bacteria under the microscope. This in a way made the movie lose a bit of its momentum, but luckily only happens towards the end, and the movie does manage to hold together. The movie carries a kind of scientific message, which holds a lot of truth in todays society, where science moves further into unknown territory, and questions the consequences of such practises, to some extent if we should play god.

The acting in the movie far surpasses what it needs to be, and adds a lot to the movie. Daniel Pilon plays Dr. Bill Fuller who works on trying to make a cure to the bacteria, which actually he and his assistant were responsible for creating, the latter responsible for releasing.

For people who have seen Ed Hunt movies previously such as The Brain or Bloody Birthday, and liked them, i can guarantee you will get enjoyment out of this. It is excellent 70's trashy fun. However if you do not like late 70's cheaply made movies, and you are looking for something more along the lines of 28 Days Later, this movie may not be for you.

Bangkok Haunted (2001)

Anthologies need to be consistent.

[5/10 · 5 April 2009]

Possible minor spoilers: nothing to integral with the film.

Bangkok Hanted is a 3 part anthology of 'ghost stories' being told by a group of woman sitting down at a restaurant. After the first story we see this. The first story is about a haunted drum, and is excellent. I personally was gripped shot by shot; the camera work is top notch. On top of this, the film has a unique visual style, and almost appears like an early 90's-late 80's film. This along with the soundtrack really do create a dark atmosphere. The soundtrack actually seems to take a leaf out of Dario Argento's book, as it implements drums etc. The main good feature of the first though isn't even the horror elements; it is along with the camera work, the excellent story-telling. A story i will never forget. 9/10

The second story is where the movie stars to show its poor production. This is a story about a substance which can get a woman any man she wants. All the woman has to do is rub the substance onto the man. But it has unseen consequences and the men who have this substance rubbed onto them seem to suffer terrible deaths. This stories problem is that it is terribly SLOPPY. The story seemingly skips from shot to shot, with little cohesion, the ability to tell a story seems to have been thrown out of the window, and the camera work seems to shift into mediocrity. I'm not sure whether all of the effort was intended for the first story, but this one becomes a chore to watch. Also this story begins the progression into terrible acting, without a single good performance.

The third story is actually better than the second, but a clear mile and a half behind the first. This story follows a police detective as he tries to solve a murder case, which his boss, despite obvious contradictions, believes was suicide. At the start we see a woman hanging. The idea of suicide you would expect to be implausible as we see the woman hanging about 8 feet off of the floor. The story then follows as he goes through the unofficial police investigation, going through the very few close friends, boyfriends etc. that the woman had. The ending to this one is very unique, and you'll remember it for a long time, but unfortunately it suffers from a terrible lead actor, who seems to be void of acting capabilities. He doesn't even as much as flinch his face throughout the whole thing. This piece of storytelling is also sloppy as apparently the investigator knows the person who hung herself(?!?) and this isn't at all clearly shown at the start!

So this is what i have to say: I would have to recommend watching this; maybe rent it if possible. I say this as the first story is top notch, absolutely superb. I gave it a 9/10, and if it was a stand-a-lone film, it would have been absolutely awesome. So give it a go, and hopefully the others can at least entertain, rather than being the chores they were for me.

Outpost (2008)

The kind of film we all like in principle, but rarely make the cut.

[6/10 · 3 April 2009]

This film is about a group of mercenaries hired to escort and protect a scientist in search of 'something' unknown to the group. The film takes on a slow pace, trotting along, relying on acting and dialogue to keep it together. The actors aren't bad in this film, but i have to say i felt they were mediocre as a whole. The dialogue also throughout the movie was rather dull.

The film at times succeeds through masterful cinematography, well used CGI and lighting to create a very scary atmosphere. The film kind of reminded me of Deathwatch, a movie which i did like. So if you have seen Deathwatch, it has that mysterious, dark, twisted atmosphere, and the same premise of a group of soldiers being picked of by (supernatural?) forces. The film is throughout the most part a suspense horror. We fast realise SOMETHING is going on, but no not what it is. Then we KNOW there are ghostly figures, but through various techniques, they remain shadowy figures left to the background. I think that this kind of saves the film, that nothing is really fully revealed until the end. We don't get to see the shadowy evils until late on, and i have to say that when they are revealed it is very disappointing. They just don't live up to the fear that is created around them, and were better implemented as shadowy figures.

The group then begins to be picked off, and the story unfolds. I won't give too much away past this point of the movie, so not to give to much away.

So i recommend to fans of Deathwatch and Dog Soldiers, another film this one reminded me of.

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Ghosts or trickery?

[7/10 · 3 April 2009]

House on Haunted Hill (1959) is a classic horror movie, that is arguably the best of the haunted mansion sub-genre films. It is almost a who/what-dunnit film. It has a mysterious, macabre feel to it throughout.

The film is about a party being held at a rich couples mansion. Vincent Price, who plays the millionaire owner of the mansion, plays a rather odd, man-of-few-words character. The party entails that for whoever can stay the whole night shall win $10,000 dollars. The idea of the party is not Frederick Loren's (Price's) idea however; the idea is that of his wife. However, it is Frederick Loren who picks the participants.

It is clear from the outset that the rich couple have a strange relationship, with the wife seemingly wanting Frederick Loren dead, and Frederick Loren having a shady past, with 3 other dead wives.

The film has a very dark atmospheric feel, and uses noises to create scares; for example creaking doors and ghostly sounds. As such, we don't really see much in the area of ghosts throughout the movie, and what you have is a mystery; you don't quite know whether the mansion is haunted or not. There is also exquisite cinematography, and use of lighting all which vastly add to creating the macabre feel of this movie.

The acting in the film is a double-sided coin. Some of the performances are particularly good. I think you can possibly guess that as usual Vincent Price puts in an awesome performance. He has a looming presence, dark and mysterious, but seeming rather charming and austere at the same time. Carolyn Craig, playing the cute, naive, rather childish Nora Manning also puts in a memborable performance. She in many ways fills in the protagonist role, as you have someone you are routing for to survive.

The rest of a cast does a respectable job, but none really stand out.

The film also has a cheaply made movie feel, but utilises it very well, relying on a cleverly written story that is told at a speedy pace. The film isn't action packed, but is a twisting turning tale of murder, mystery, the supernatural and the dark side of humanity.

A must see for horror fans, film-noir fans, fans of who-dunnits and the like.

Howling V: The Rebirth (1989)

The Castle Werewolf Whodunnit.

[7/10 · 28 March 2009]

Howling V Rebirth is my personal favourite of the Howling movies, but to have to confess that i am not a huge fan of the Howling movies.

Howling Rebirth, as it says in the opening credits of the film is based on the Howling 1, 2 & 3 books. The film is based in a castle which no one has stepped foot in for 500 years, and a group of seemingly unconnected people are taken on a bus after being invited, to the castle.

The group however soon start to encounter strange things, and the film plays out like a slasher whodunit. I didn't guess rite til the end who the werewolf was, and i doubt many people will, it is very well disguised, and there are ample twists to keep you from the truth. Are all of the participants in this trip unconnected? Is there something sinister going on? These questions will run through your mind as the movie twists and turns leaving you with enough to keep you guessing.

The film is well acted, with most of the cast pulling off above average performances. This Howling is also the most Dark and Sinister of the Howling films.

So for fans of mysteries, whodunits, werewolves and slashers, i recommend this film.

Inside (2007)

Hell hath no fury like a woman ... without a child.

[8/10 · 28 March 2009]

Inside is an excellent French horror movie following in the tradition of the recent improvement of European horror cinema.

The film begins of pretty slow; at a drab pace following Sarah, acted by Alysson Paradis as a photographer, as she is pregnant, in her day-to-day life. The film starts with a car crash where there aren't any survivors. Sarah is thus mourning her lost boyfriend, and preparing for birth. On numerous occasion, with well executed CGI we get shots of the baby within the womb, and it adds to the creepiness of the film. There is little dialogue however, and the character development is therefore at a minimum. It would be fair to say that this is a fault of the movie.

However, the film kicks into full throttle and doesn't slow down, as a mysterious woman is seen outside of Sarah's house, she phones the police. The figure seen is mysterious, and a great build up on suspense ensues. The person seen almost obtains a supernatural air about herself. The director does a great job of creating a dark atmosphere, and you will scarce watch a movie as dark and gruesome as this one.

The woman gets into the house, and terrorises Sarah, and an all out massacre occurs. There aren't many any special glossing it up, and it retains a feel of realism in its images, as we see the woman pursue Sarah doing all kinda of disgusting acts.

The film has the look of a film on a budget, and i think it adds to the film. There aren't any short cuts taken, and all of the brutality is direct.

This film isn't for the faint hearted.

I recommend this film to any fans of dark horror movies, atmospheric horror movies, and movies in particular such as Evil Dead and Braindead. Think of it as like these, but without the almost silly charm, and the 21st century look.

Well worth a watch:

9/10

Dark City (1998)

The City in the sky.

[7/10 · 19 February 2009]

First of all i must warn that this review will contain spoilers, so be forewarned:

I just watched this movie, which was released in 1998 and i hadn't even heard of until now in 2009! I do believe it is fair to say that this film is under the radar for a lot of people.

I have to say this movie suits me perfectly; i often say when i am asking for recommendations that the perfect movie for me is a semi-surreal movie, kind of similar in that respect to A Clockwork Orange, and no i am not under any illusion; this is nothing like a clockwork orange, but it does have that semi-surreal feel to it. The dark figures, non-human like, the surreal, fantasy like city. When i first put the film on, i was almost watering at the mouth, the film seemed very promising from the start; the awesome soundtrack, produces the 'correct' atmosphere throughout: epic at times, eerie at others, dark at others, but always seeming not out of place. Then as the film evolves, you do get deep into the plot; it makes you think, you care about the characters, and most importantly of all, it sticks with you. If i do have any negative points it would be these. Rufus Sewell is one of my least favourite actors, and i mean out of any in the world. I have never been fond of him, and in this film also his performance for me isn't great. The overall point though is that i didn't really like the casting; there wasn't really a standout performance for me. However the film is so well directed and the idea is so unique, that i found this pushed to the back of my mind as i just sat back and enjoyed the film from beginning to end. I also was left thinking if only. If only this film had a larger budget!! This film as i have previously mentioned suits my tastes almost perfectly, and i couldn't help but to imagine what this film could have been on a larger budget. Putting this aside, the film is well made, but it does have a cheap feel/look to it. I could imagine, and did want, this to be a masterpiece, but due to its budget in my opinion, the film just lacked little bits and pieces. But stepping away from the negative, i do have to say that i thoroughly enjoyed the film, will probably watch it again, and would recommend it to anyone, not just someone looking for, like me, a film with a semi-surreal feel. If i was to compare this film to another film, i would have to say imagine The Truman Show. There are many differences, but the whole life is a lie, controlled, even made, by another is all here. Its one of those films i will say to anyone, watch it once. It might not be for everyone, but it is certainly worth watching once.