YES. That map was employed brilliantly, the cemetery paths forming some weird occult symbol that just looms and becomes more prominent throughout the film.
― Please Hammer Stop Hurting 'Em (Old Lunch), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 14:40 (three years ago) link
There is definitely something strange about the map, all the paths are different shapes and alignments and definitely looks like an occult symbol.
― Well *I* know who he is (aldo), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 15:20 (three years ago) link
tetsuo: the iron man is proof that cyberpunk is inherently gay
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 15:26 (three years ago) link
You say that like it's a bad thing.
― Well *I* know who he is (aldo), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 15:30 (three years ago) link
oh really? i meant to say it like it was a very very good thing
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 15:30 (three years ago) link
"i love you so much i want to absorb you into my exoskeleton" the movie
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 15:31 (three years ago) link
In which case, yes.
― Well *I* know who he is (aldo), Wednesday, 24 February 2021 16:20 (three years ago) link
Guy being attacked in the subway by increasingly crazy woman is the sexiest scene, for me anyway. Sequels aren't as good but the second one has some amazing moments. It's worth seeing everything by Tsukamoto.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Wednesday, 24 February 2021 18:49 (three years ago) link
I didn't like Tetsuo: the Iron Man, watching it was a really dysphoric experience for me
― Dan S, Thursday, 25 February 2021 03:12 (three years ago) link
as far as Cronenberg goes I thought Crash was great, it moved on from his previous films
― Dan S, Thursday, 25 February 2021 03:13 (three years ago) link
21st century for him was an evolution
Eastern Promises is my favorite film of his. want to see A History of Violence and Map to the Stars again
― Dan S, Thursday, 25 February 2021 03:18 (three years ago) link
I know two of those are post-2006
― Dan S, Thursday, 25 February 2021 03:33 (three years ago) link
Scanners was a memorable early film of his that didn't have as much of a body horror component
I mean there was the last half hour!
― Red Nerussi (Neanderthal), Thursday, 25 February 2021 03:35 (three years ago) link
haha yes
Dead Zone from 1983 seems like an outlier film for him, emotional and scary but not relying that much on special effects
― Dan S, Thursday, 25 February 2021 03:48 (three years ago) link
but Dan S, what do you make of Dead Ringers? (My favorite of the pre-2000s Cronenberg, tbh— truly disturbing film).
― it's like edging for your mind (the table is the table), Monday, 1 March 2021 14:44 (three years ago) link
that's one I haven't seen in decades. I remember liking it, will check it out!
― Dan S, Monday, 1 March 2021 15:37 (three years ago) link
I ask partly because, uh, it's pretty heavy on the body horror, but it's also pretty heavy on the Jeremy Irons, so it sort of evens out
― it's like edging for your mind (the table is the table), Monday, 1 March 2021 20:28 (three years ago) link
omfg Dead Ringers is one of the only movies i 1) couldn't finish 2) had nightmares afterthe gynecology element was a bridge too far for me and i like cronenberg in general
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Monday, 1 March 2021 22:34 (three years ago) link
Truly one of the most fucked up films I've ever seen.
― it's like edging for your mind (the table is the table), Tuesday, 2 March 2021 17:22 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCGh1ysvlQA
― xzanfar, Tuesday, 2 March 2021 23:28 (three years ago) link
https://www.discogs.com/Zden%C4%9Bk-Li%C5%A1ka-Mal%C3%A1-Mo%C5%99sk%C3%A1-V%C3%ADla-Hans-C-Andersens-The-Little-Mermaid/master/319267https://www.discogs.com/Lubo%C5%A1-Fi%C5%A1er-Valerie-A-T%C3%BDden-Div%C5%AF-Valerie-And-Her-Week-Of-Wonders/master/106836The films are very good but I consider these soundtracks essential, just amazing
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Thursday, 4 March 2021 19:55 (three years ago) link
I have the Valerie soundtrack but not the HC Andersen one
― covidsbundlertanze op. 6 (Jon not Jon), Saturday, 6 March 2021 01:42 (three years ago) link
Magical dreamy stuff and the weird bouncy drums are great
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 6 March 2021 01:51 (three years ago) link
Zeiram - Finding this came out of reading up about tokusatsu tv/films, I realized the darker edgier tokusatsu was happening roughly the same time as darker american superheroes. Guyver, new versions of Kamen Rider, Haikaider and others. Isn't Heidegger the perfect name for one of these? It's really only the violence that makes Zeiram in any way dark, two of the heroes are almost as silly as the comedic characters in Power Rangers and the only real recommendation I can give for this is the costumes and creatures, the titular monster looks amazing (especially the snake woman inside the hat/mushroom head). It's a bit of a sluggish film.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjtYWtumafc
Zeiram 2 - There's a lot of improvements, the action is quite a bit better but I still can't say it's a good film. Again, the costumes and monsters are the best thing about the film, there's much more of it (including a crowd of characters who quickly get massacred) and Katsuya Terada designed everything. The Zeiram monster has changed quite a bit and the snake woman is inside his chest now (I love her). disc features includes all the conecpt art.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me8HXfoiYco
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 8 March 2021 19:13 (three years ago) link
Was this the same property as that '90s Iria anime?
― Nhex, Monday, 8 March 2021 19:34 (three years ago) link
It is.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 8 March 2021 19:43 (three years ago) link
On reading a bit, the anime is a prequel and there is a SNES action-platormer and a PS1 beat'em-up.
The director of the films has an interesting character design CV for videogames.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keita_Amemiya
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 8 March 2021 21:41 (three years ago) link
The monsters of Kamen Rider ZO (1993) pic.twitter.com/Xmw4uooG1G— HTOP (@Htop_Gunder) March 25, 2021
Is anyone interested in the Hands Of Orlac release? I heard someone say it was a huge disappointment years ago so I've never had much interest until now.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Friday, 26 March 2021 23:06 (three years ago) link
I bought the Norman J Warren box after he died and hadn't seen Prey in years.
That's one immensely fucked up film, the alien creature plot is totally secondary to the story of Josephine's abusive relationship behaviour and how the pair of them just seem to assume Anderson is some mentally ill guy they can treat badly and he'll take it.
― Well *I* know who he is (aldo), Saturday, 3 April 2021 20:46 (three years ago) link
Currently working my way through the new William Grefé blu-ray boxed set. Seven low budget indie features made in Florida between 1966 and 1977 (not including Stanley which may be his best, nor Impulse starring William Shatner which I've not seen).
There's some horror in here (eg Death Curse of Tartu (1966)), some action thrillers, some noirish stuff, lots of hippie exploitation (the director evidently was down with the Haight-Ashbury-style hippie scene of Coconut Grove in Miami); there's also plenty of animals that attack. This is a director who's very comfortable with dangerous wildlife.
Best of all is the seedy, sordid, often fetid atmosphere that's typically present throughout Grefé's filmography.
I started with The Naked Zoo (1970) which is a potboiler about a modish young playboy type/writer having an affair with, of all people, the middle-aged Rita Hayworth. Not quite as fascinating as I remembered it from watching it in some bleary state on a late-night cable showing back in the early '90s. Pacing is poor and the plot elements don't really fit together. Fun to see Hayworth in this setting though. And still wonderful and priceless is a scene with Canned Heat performing at a hippie house party, this scene having been inserted by another director after Grefé turned in his final cut.
A genuine horror is Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976) about an antisocial shark whisperer played by Richard Jaeckel, and his misadventures with an unscrupulous bar owner in the Florida Keys. The stuntwork involving real sharks is phenomenal and truly frightening... more convincing than Jaws! The plot is generally implausible and marred by leaps of logic, but Jaeckel plays it as straight as possible (many of the other cast members are locals, per the director's usual m.o.).
Also watched The Hooked Generation (1968), an action thriller about drug running starring Jeremy Slate, with support work from Coconut Grove hipppies. Not terrible. Fun climax in a mangrove swamp that is actually a public park in Miami. For those more interested in horror, the set also includes The Sting of Death (1966), about killer jellyfish, and a Deliverance-style murderous redneck shocker called Whiskey Mountain (1977), among other goodies.
― Josefa, Sunday, 4 April 2021 17:09 (three years ago) link
One of the coolest things I ever made was this boardgame based on the world of Jean Rollin. Art by Jessica Seamans and hand-sculpted tokens by Dan Martin. pic.twitter.com/BiPcT9JQCc— Kier-La Janisse (@bigsmashkierla) March 16, 2021
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Tuesday, 13 April 2021 19:22 (three years ago) link
xpost If I have one major complaint about Arrow, it's how ridiculously limited-edition some of their stuff is. That Grefé set was released, what, a couple months ago? I've read more about it recently that piqued my interest (including your post!) but now afaict it's already out of freakin print.
― You Can't Have the Woogie Without a Little Boogie (Old Lunch), Tuesday, 13 April 2021 20:44 (three years ago) link
finally watching ravenous (1999)
this movie is WILD
― intern at pepe le pew research (Simon H.), Wednesday, 14 April 2021 00:26 (three years ago) link
That Grefé set was released, what, a couple months ago? I've read more about it recently that piqued my interest (including your post!) but now afaict it's already out of freakin print.
I saw this just before I gave the Arrow Easter sale one last look and added it to my cart on the off chance it would let me. It turned up today so there are copies in the UK at least.
― Well *I* know who he is (aldo), Tuesday, 20 April 2021 10:29 (three years ago) link
Sad to report that Grefé's Whiskey Mountain is pretty dull, despite a good cast (incl Christopher George, Roberta Collins). It was shot in North Carolina instead of Grefé's usual territory of Florida. Having poor sound does not help.
― Josefa, Tuesday, 20 April 2021 15:45 (three years ago) link
(rare) Max Schreck taking a break filming 'Nosferatu' (1922) This photo is creepier than any shot in the movie pic.twitter.com/sQ2iCiN1wj— Hammer Horror Films (@HorrorHammer1) May 1, 2021
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Tuesday, 4 May 2021 20:28 (three years ago) link
dead and buried, 1981 slow motion seaside village horror a la messiah of evil, currently available on shudder, fog in every scene, totally fucking amazing
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 17 May 2021 15:51 (three years ago) link
This has been a crown jewel in Blue Underground's catalog for so long I'm shocked I still haven't seen it. Was featured in the second installment of In Search of Darkness, though, and it looks fantastic.
― i carry the torch for disco inauthenticity (Eric H.), Monday, 17 May 2021 15:53 (three years ago) link
There's a second installment of In Search of Darkness!? I think I saw most of the first one, and it was iirc 4 1/2 hours long! And was basically just a parade of talking heads going "and then this movie came out, and it was really cool," and then moving on to the next movie.
― Josh in Chicago, Monday, 17 May 2021 16:02 (three years ago) link
Totally forgot that I bought Dead and Buried from a Blue Underground sale late last year. I should get on that.
― Slime Goobody (Old Lunch), Monday, 17 May 2021 16:22 (three years ago) link
All criticisms of In Search of Darkness are 100% correct and I also 100% don't care.
― i carry the torch for disco inauthenticity (Eric H.), Monday, 17 May 2021 16:24 (three years ago) link
xpost that was just included on Last Drive-In on Shudder
― Feta Van Cheese (Neanderthal), Monday, 17 May 2021 16:24 (three years ago) link
i've heard the second in search of darkness is an improvement on the first
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Monday, 17 May 2021 16:30 (three years ago) link
The selection of films feels more esoteric, fwiw, and there's definitely more of a laser focus on the Italio horror of the early 80s.
Also, a somewhat hilarious meta moment where the doc includes Terror in the Aisles as one of its featured movies.
― i carry the torch for disco inauthenticity (Eric H.), Monday, 17 May 2021 16:33 (three years ago) link
Dead and Buried is the other great horror film directed by Gary (Death Line) Sherman. It was actually considered a 'video nasty' in the UK on its first VHS release, probably because of the old needle to the eyeball moment.
― Ward Fowler, Monday, 17 May 2021 17:52 (three years ago) link
I've passed it up many times but I might give it a shot soon
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 17 May 2021 21:14 (three years ago) link
Fade To Black looks pretty good, anyone seen it?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5BFrJEmbak
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Saturday, 22 May 2021 18:26 (three years ago) link
i enjoyed it quite a bit
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 22 May 2021 19:06 (three years ago) link
watched the original Nosferatu this afternoon, 99 years old
― koogs, Saturday, 22 May 2021 22:52 (three years ago) link