The camera gives us, the audience, a view of the Atlantic Ocean. This scene is not particularly peaceful. The waters here don’t look beautiful. The ocean roils into muddy bubbles. An African-American father and son though play unconcerned in these not particularly calm waters. The camera then turns to a white woman named France, watching unconcerned as this happens. We don’t know it yet but … Continue reading The Films of Claire Denis: Chocolat (1988)
One of the joys of watching regional horror movies is coming across something deeply strange. Regional films tend to bring out the unhinged in a particular era of filmmakers. Maybe the film needed to meet the demands of a producer or distributor. Possibly the filmmakers tried to one up another film to get your film noticed. Being made outside of Hollywood allows folks to just … Continue reading Hooptober 2022 #30: Blood Harvest (1987)
There’s always been something… off about actor Kyle MacLachlan. On the surface, MacLachlan is a traditionally handsome actor. In his performances, he can exude deep empathy or be a total prick. However, he always comes across as one step removed from society, an otherworldly presence. One of the great missed opportunities is he never got to play Clark Kent/Superman; an otherworldly all American type. It’s … Continue reading Hooptober 2022 #29: The Hidden (1987)
Something that rarely works is the “prestige” horror film. Before elevated horror was a thing, studios occasionally tried to legitimize horror films by casting with A-list stars instead of genre stalwarts, getting well known directors, and making the films variations on classic stories. The idea being they would make the “good” horror film. These films tend to generally be period pieces with the air of … Continue reading Hooptober 2022 #26: The Bride (1985)
Being Film #23 for Hooptober 2022 Of course, every Hooptober must contain a review of a Tobe Hooper film, and Dan has maybe forced me to re-assess my negative experience with Eaten Alive based on his review. And I may still do that, but for this year’s entry I needed to return to something else, something I always liked but now armed with many more … Continue reading Hooptober 9.0 – Lifeforce (1985)
In the fine tradition of Italian knockoffs such as Starcrash and Contamination, comes Bruno Mattei’s Shocking Dark. Knockoff is generous though. An acquaintance described this film as one clearly written by a 12 year old which isn’t far off. Only if it was an ambitious 12 year old that only watched James Cameron’s pre-Abyss films. Basically, what you get is a near complete Aliens (and … Continue reading Hooptober 2022 #22: Shocking Dark (1989)
Cinema Dual (TEST SITE) 