Hey folks, Harry here.... Ok... write down, right now. THE INVISIBLE (aka DEN OSYNLIGE) & ARAGAMI & DRIVE. If you take nothing else from this article, know that those are the three films that you should be trying to seek out. I haven't seen any of those 3. But just in the short paragraph that Nazim has provided after each title... I'm dying to see them. Plus, i've seen many of the films that follow them, and if he has these ranked above movies like CABIN FEVER and SUICIDE CLUB... Then we need to track these films down now! If you can help me see these films... Please contact me. I'm very excited to see them!
Hi Harry,
Niz here. Last time I contacted you was a few years ago to provide the first ever review of SOUTH PARK THE MOVIE. This time round I've seen a bunch of world & european premieres at the BRUSSELS INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF FANTASY FILMS. So here are my reviews of 20 films from the festival, in order from best to worst (all reviews are essentially spoiler-free).
rgs,
Niz
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1. THE INVISIBLE (Simon Sandquist & Joel Bergvall,
Sweden) aka DEN OSYNLIGE
What an incredible film. The basic premise may sound a
bit like GHOST (guy is apparently beaten to death but
is still stuck on earth as a ghost) but its the superb
performances, the expert storytelling, and the
powerful emotional pull of this cross-genre
teen-flick/detective story/supernatural thriller that
lifts it head and shoulders above any film in the last
few years. If you liked THE SIXTH SENSE, you'll
absolutely love this. An unforgettable experience.
2. ARAGAMI (Ryuhei Kitamura, Japan)
The director of VERSUS is back, and this time he gives
us an old-school samurai sword-fighting flick. ARAGAMI
was apparently made in 7 days as a challenge with a
fellow director. Its minimalistic to the extreme: 3
actors, one big room as the only location, a plot
structure as simple as it gets: dialogue - fight -
dialogue - fight - dialogue - fight. And what fights!
They're as hyper-kinetic, exciting and fun as the
dialogue is bizarre & funny. ARAGAMI is 100%
crowd-pleasing action. This one is gonna be a big
international hit.
3. DRIVE (Sabu, Japan)
Funny funny funny! If this one doesn't make you laugh
you don't have a funny bone. Three bank robbers jump
into the car of a strict by-the-book kind of guy, and
tell him to chase their colleague who is getting away
with all the cash. But his refusal to drive above the
speed limit or ignore red lights means they're soon
lost and wandering aimlessly. One ridiculous situation
after another ensues, all based around the theme of
destiny and fate. It boasts great performances from
all concerned (special mention goes to KOU SHIBASAKI,
the evil schoolgirl from BATTLE ROYALE) and is simply
a joy to watch.
4. SECOND NAME (Paco Plaza, Spain)
SECOND NAME follows the female mystery-investigation
storyline that has been used so successfully in recent
horror/suspense films like RING, THE EYE etc. This
time round our heroine investigates the suicide of her
father in strange circumstances, leading her to
uncover the secrets of her own past, and the discovery
of an ancient religion dedicated to the ritual killing
of their first-born. Despite being a Spanish
production its set in the UK and is entirely in
English. I have not read the novel but judging by the
film Ramsay Campbell has crafted a clever,
twisting-turning tale with that elusive
what-happens-next factor that will keep anyone
guessing. Direction and performances are restrained,
which thankfully suits the film (none of the gimmicks
that damaged the US remake of RING). And the bleak
ending really packs a punch. Recommended.
5. KILLING WORDS (Laura Mana, Spain) aka PALABRAS
ENCADENADAS
A psychological thriller about a mild-mannered serial
killer that is full of twists and turns, always
leaving the audience guessing, somewhat in the style
of SLEUTH. Laura Mana is a Spanish actress turned
director (this is her second film after COMPASSIONATE
SEX) with a real flair for keeping the audience
hooked. She wrings everything out of the scenario (the
killer has his victim tied to a chair in his basement,
shows her vidoes of his previous murder confessions,
and suggests poking out her eye) and gets a fantasic
central performance from Dario Grandinetti, who
reminds me of a pre-USUAL SUSPECTS Kevin Spacey.
6. SUICIDE CLUB (Sion Sono, Japan)
This year's BATTLE ROYALE? The opening is easily equal
to, if not better than, that other films famous
classroom sequence, as fifty happy, smiling
schoolgirls join hands and leap in front of a train at
a subway station. Buckets of blood fill the screen and
the audience is left shocked, giggling and nervous.
This somehow leads to a wave of copycat suicides, a
whole bunch of red herrings (including a guy
apparently impersonating Dr Frank N Furter from THE
ROCKY HORROR SHOW and a pre-teen J-pop girl band
called "Desert" or maybe "Dessert" who sing a really
infectious song called "Mail Me"), and finally some
kind of muddled message about fads in modern Japan. OK
it doesn't hang together at the end, but its the fun
of the insane events along the way that make this
stand out.
7. TATTOO (Robert Schwentke, Germany)
A SE7EN-style serial killer thriller about a
psychopath who collects tattoos. The intriguing idea
that "body-art" has a resale value and those bearing
the tattoos are worth less than the tattoos themselves
is explored very professionally in this stylish,
well-made, well-acted German thriller. There is gore,
beautiful women, and a killer twist. What more do you
want?
8. PHONE (Byung-Ki Ahn, Korea)
One of the many Asian films inspired by the success of
Hideo Nakata's RING, this one follows the standard
vengeful-ghost story template, and manages to pack in
enough chills, thrills and spills to keep everyone
happy. A woman gets a new mobile phone but starts
getting strange untraceable calls. Meanwhile, her
friend's little daughter is behaving in an odd
fashion. Is there some connection? She begins to
investigate the history of her phone, and uncovers
deep secrets from the past. The possessed little girl
is absolutely incredible - she looks really malicious
and frightening at times. The story is a little
confusing with so many flashbacks and flash-forwards,
but the big twists in the final act achieve a decent
pay-off.
9. THE UNINVITED (Rizal Mantovani & Joese Poernomo,
Indonesia) aka JELANGKUNG
A DV horror movie shot in a few days that managed to
beat TITANIC at the Indonesian box-office? Let me at
it! This is the most cheesy, ham-fisted, and
unintentionally hilarious thing I've seen since the
Philippino fantasy film THE KILLING OF SATAN. But
there are some flashes of brilliance that make you
wonder what these guys could do given a decent budget,
professional actors, and a script doctor. Some kids (a
spooky Mulder type - he even has the "I want to
believe" poster on his wall, his whining complaining
cute girlfriend, a hard-nosed military type, and a fat
comic-relief who whistles SCOOBY-DOO while peeing) go
ghost-hunting, leave a magic totem on a weird grave,
and go home, unwittingly taking monsters from
Indonesian folklore with them. Half-way through, there
is an interlude while we get a heavy 15-minute
discussion about the nature of experimentation and
philosophy ("why do you always have to bring
metaphysics into it?"). There is humour: the best joke
goes "Hey look there's an elephant. It looks like
you!" "Hey look the elephant's shitting. The shit
looks like you!". Oscar Wilde it ain't. The sub-titler
couldn't even be bothered to translate some of them
("(Local indonesian joke)"). But in its favour, the
opening is absolutely breathtaking, with its use of
smoke, colour, and a pounding rock score, the
director's music-video background is clearly visible.
And the surprise ending is pretty good. What comes in
between may be risible, but at least its not
forgettable.
10. CABIN FEVER (Eli Roth, Canada)
A homage to classic Romero, Hooper, Craven and Raimi.
A bunch of teenagers go to a cabin in the middle of
the woods (sounds familiar?), get harassed by a guy
with a flesh-eating disease, and soon start succumbing
to the symptons themselves. Throw in a bunch of
gun-toting rednecks, a sheriff more interested in
partying than law-enforcement, a mad dog, and a
kung-fu fighting arm-biting kid, and you've got CABIN
FEVER, the debut feature of Eli Roth. The kids are all
distinctly unlikable (as they should be), the disease
effects are ultra-sick (as they should be), the plot
is pretty much thrown together without any rhyme or
reason but its clear that everyone had a good time on
this production and it shows on-screen. Its not
Shakespeare, but its a great late-night-Friday
experience.
11. THE INSIDE STORY (Robert Sutherland, Australia)
This fantasy film from a first-time director appears
to have the budget of an episode of NEIGHBOURS (with
acting to match), but he does wonders with such a
small cast and limited number of locations. The
central premise (a scientist and his uncle discover a
magic book that contains everything they have ever
done) is not 100% original (its certainly been seen in
short stories and TV shows before) but it is taken in
several unexpected directions. Cleverest is the fact
that there is no way for the viewer to visually
distinguish the "real" world from the fantasy world.
The ending is a little anti-climatic but still this is
a debut with real promise.
12. SNAKE OF JUNE (Shinya Tsukamoto, Japan)
Tsukamoto is best know for TETSUO and TETSUO 2: BODY
HAMMER. If you've seen those films you'll know what to
expect in terms of style: black-and-white, wild
photography, bizarre imagery etc. What you won't
expect is the relatively accessible and easy-to-follow
storyline in the first half, as a woman discovers her
own desires through the promptings of a blackmailer.
If TETSUO was about hating your body, SNAKE OF JUNE is
about embracing it. About half-way through the focus
is switched to her husband, and here we revert to
total obscurity, in the TETSUO mould. Tsukamoto buffs
will find it all very interesting, others will be left
baffled.
13. BUBBAHOTEP (Don Coscarelli, USA)
Well, I have to say I was expecting more. Bruce
Campbell is fantastic, and giving him the chance to
portray Elvis seems like perfect casting right? Well,
he does perform well, but the surrounding film is not
as exciting or interesting as it could be. There is
too much pondering self-reflection going on, when what
the audience wants (from a film about a reincarnated
Mummy killing OAPs in a retirement home at least) is
action, comedy and gore in the style of the EVIL DEAD
films. Director Coscarelli (PHANTASM) seems to be
deliberately holding back to give Campbell a chance to
really act, but I don't think this is the right kind
of material to do that with.
14. WHEN THE BELL CHIMED 13 (Xavier Villaverde,
Spain/Portugal) aka TRECE CAMPANADAS aka 13 CHIMES
After a slow start, this tale of a young sculptor
being haunted by the malicious ghost his dead father
picks up steam and becomes a reasonably interesting
tale with nice locations to look at and a nice
satisfying conclusion. Its all a little low-key but
its worth a look. By the way Laura Mana (the direcor
of KILLING WORDS, above) has a role in this one.
15. THE MARSH (Kim Nguyen, Canada) aka LE MARAIS
Another debut director, Kim Nguyen has a real visual
flair reminiscent of Jeunet & Caro (DELICATESSEN, CITY
OF LOST CHILDREN). Story-wise its a little slow-moving
(a peasant woman disappears and the superstitious
villagers suspect the marsh-dwelling, club-footed
puppeteer and his foreign guardian of killing her),
but given a decent script this guy could be someone to
watch out for.
16. DARKNESS (Jaume Balaguero, USA)
Suffers from all the usual problems when an overseas
director who has scored a big hit (LOS SIN NOMBRE)
goes Hollywood. Its bloated, cliched, unoriginal, and
not in the least bit scary. The opening evokes H.P.
Lovecraft and Cthulhu, but it doesn't deliver on that
promise at all. Very disappointing.
17. THE SUNKEN CEMETERY (Mladen Juran, Croatia) aka
POTONULO GROBLJE
An Eastern European flick that feels more like a TV
drama than a movie. Its as slow, clumsy and boring as
you would expect from a country without a long
film-making tradition and no real budget for this type
of thing. But at least its not embarrassing to watch
like the next film on the list...
18. LABYRINTH (Miroslav Lekic, Serbia) aka LAVIRINT
Another Eastern European flick where people tak to
each other for 60 minutes, then they get put in a
labyrinth that is slowly filling with water and have
to escape. The labyrinth part had some promise, but
the insanely complex clues that are solved by the
professor and the preacher who have to escape will
leave the audience baffled. Stick with the Jennifer
Connelly film of the same name.
19. WITCHERY DEAL (Javier Ellorietta, Spain) aka PACTO
DE BRUJAS aka WITCHES PACT
Totally forgettable film about.... what was it about?
I think I slept through most of this one. All I can
remember is that the actresses are all very
attractive.
20. THREE BLIND MICE (Matthias Ledoux, France/UK/Aus)
Oh dear. What a mess! Edward Furlong must be the most unappealing, uncharismatic, unlikeable leading man EVER. If you found him annoying in TERMINATOR 2, you'll be wanting to see him end up like the victims being murdered live on their own webcam sites in THREE BLIND MICE. Meanwhile Emilia Fox tries her best to swear convincingly but you still can't imagine her using even the mildest profanities in real life. If the performances and dialogue aren't bad enough, we get a central concept that has already been done much better in last year's MY LITTLE EYE, and a plot that whizzes by at 100 miles per hour but is totally uninvolving. Not the best advertisement for UK-France co-productions. Incidentally, Dario Argento's next film is about the internet and a long-distance shooter, just like this one. Let's hope it doesn't end up like this.
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Harry here... Great job Nazim! Hope to hear from you more often! As for these, hopefully we'll get to see some of them in theaters here or near us all...