Getting ready for the upcoming (and supposedly final) Saw film, I was finally able to watch 2009's Saw VI. This is the only Saw film that I didn't get a chance to see in the theater and it is also the lowest grossing of all the Saw films. It also happens to be one of the best in the series.
To set the record straight, I think the Saw films are silly and filled with some bad acting and annoying editing tricks that can cause epilepsy. However, as the series went along I noticed the films seemed to have gotten better and I got sucked into the story and characters. What I also like is that all the films link together and are legit sequels and not a sequel by name only. So yeah I like the Saw films but I know they aren't works of art. I wouldn't even recommend this series to people since these films are like eating apple pie with melted cheese on the top. It's an aquired taste.
Saw VI picks up right after the fifth film ended and Det. Hoffman is still the mastermind behind the killings. At Jigsaw's request via his will, Hoffman is given instruction to kidnap certain people that Jigsaw would like to be forced to play a game with. He selects a man who works for a health insurance agency who denied Jigsaw insurance when he was diagnosed with cancer. While this story is going on, we also see Hoffman trying desperately not to be caught by his fellow officers. Both stories work well and of course there are flashbacks and references to numerous Saw films that surprisngly work well and fit perfectly into the timeline of this series.
For gorehounds, I am happy to report that Saw VI doesn't skimp on the grue. Bodies explode, people get burned, limbs are cut off, people are stabbed or shot, and one character gets acid poured inside him. All done with...drum roll....ACTUAL PRACTICAL EFFECTS! That's right, the CGI that started to get used in parts IV and V are gone and some really nasty gore effects are on display here.
While I still think Saw III is the best in the series, VI is up there as one of the best entries. I look forward to Saw 3-D.
Man of a Thousand Faces
The great Lon Chaney from London After Midnight
Oct 17, 2010
Oct 16, 2010
October 16th - TWICE TOLD TALES (1963)
Ahh, I have returned to the anthology film. It's still one of my favorite types of movies and Vincent Price was in many back in the 1960's. He and Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were in numerous horror anthology films. Most would be based on either Edger Allen Poe or H.P. Lovecraft stories. This time I have watched Twice Told Tales based on the works by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
There are three short tales of suspense and mystery. The first is "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" about two old friends who dabble in the black arts to regain their youth. The second is "Rappacini's Daughter" about a mad scientist who has conducted an evil experiment on his own daughter. The last one is "House of the Seven Gables" about a family curse.
The problem with this film is that the first two stories are pretty bland. Think of the weakest episodes of Twilight Zone or Amazing Stories and that is what you get with the first two stories. The first one is especially boring which makes little sense to me since you would want a more action oriented tale to suck the viewer in. The second tale is more predictable, thus making the film dull. It doesn't help that the acting by the main hero downright sucks in this. The last story is by far the best but only because it is more of a horror story set in a haunted house. Price is especially good here playing a villian.
I didn't dislike the film but I wouldn't really recommend it either. The trailer to the movie shows almost the entire film and it's best parts. Maybe watch that instead.
There are three short tales of suspense and mystery. The first is "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" about two old friends who dabble in the black arts to regain their youth. The second is "Rappacini's Daughter" about a mad scientist who has conducted an evil experiment on his own daughter. The last one is "House of the Seven Gables" about a family curse.
The problem with this film is that the first two stories are pretty bland. Think of the weakest episodes of Twilight Zone or Amazing Stories and that is what you get with the first two stories. The first one is especially boring which makes little sense to me since you would want a more action oriented tale to suck the viewer in. The second tale is more predictable, thus making the film dull. It doesn't help that the acting by the main hero downright sucks in this. The last story is by far the best but only because it is more of a horror story set in a haunted house. Price is especially good here playing a villian.
I didn't dislike the film but I wouldn't really recommend it either. The trailer to the movie shows almost the entire film and it's best parts. Maybe watch that instead.
Oct 15, 2010
October 15th - THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (2009)
It's one thing to make a really sick and controversal film. It's another thing to make a boring, sick controversal film. The Human Centipede falls in the later.
When two American female travellers in Germany blow a tire in a storm, they take refuge at a surgeons house for shelter. Little do they know, they are about to be put into a bizarre and gross experiment and turned into a human centipede. I won't go into detail in how the doctor does it but the concept is kind of fascinating and very gross and unintentionally funny. However it is executed poorly.
The film just drags on and on and gets boring real quick. The acting by the two women is downright terrible and their dialogue almost looks made up on the spot. Although the doctor (who looks like Lance Henriksen) is played well by Dieter Laser, we really don't know much about him and why he's doing this. What makes the film even more dull is that writer/producer/director Tom Six doesn't really have much to say other than, "Hey wouldn't it be gross if these three people were combined together?" My friend Nick nailed it I think when he said that Six is a good producer but bad director. His writing and directing is just down right bland and amaturish.
I guess The Human Centipede is worth checking out if you want to be grossed out but even for die hard horror fans like myself that has seen films like Nekromantik or the Guinea Pig movies, the film is kind of tame. I wasn't disturbed or horrified watching this one, I was fighting to stay awake.
When two American female travellers in Germany blow a tire in a storm, they take refuge at a surgeons house for shelter. Little do they know, they are about to be put into a bizarre and gross experiment and turned into a human centipede. I won't go into detail in how the doctor does it but the concept is kind of fascinating and very gross and unintentionally funny. However it is executed poorly.
The film just drags on and on and gets boring real quick. The acting by the two women is downright terrible and their dialogue almost looks made up on the spot. Although the doctor (who looks like Lance Henriksen) is played well by Dieter Laser, we really don't know much about him and why he's doing this. What makes the film even more dull is that writer/producer/director Tom Six doesn't really have much to say other than, "Hey wouldn't it be gross if these three people were combined together?" My friend Nick nailed it I think when he said that Six is a good producer but bad director. His writing and directing is just down right bland and amaturish.
I guess The Human Centipede is worth checking out if you want to be grossed out but even for die hard horror fans like myself that has seen films like Nekromantik or the Guinea Pig movies, the film is kind of tame. I wasn't disturbed or horrified watching this one, I was fighting to stay awake.
Oct 14, 2010
October 14th - CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED (1964)
Being a huge fan of the original Village of the Damned, I was excited to finally see this sequel. I have owned the DVD for years now and wasn't sure what was holding me back from seeing it. Although it is worth a look, Children seems to be lacking something and is a subpar sequel.
Maybe it's because this really isn't a sequel but more of a re-telling. A bunch of intelligent children from around the world are gathered in London by scientists and psychologists for study. But soon they all escape from their embassy's and gather in an abandoned church to be with one another and stay safe. When the military is brought in, the children put their powers of mind control to use.
I really enjoyed the opening as the main child Paul is introduced. He is a quiet and yet intelligent kid and when his mother is confronted about her son, she later cries and screams at Paul saying how much she hates him and what he's done to her. This is a really tense and almost disturbing scene, thus never showing or telling us what he did to his mother. But as the film goes along, the kids are soon portrayed as victims and the film gets bogged down with political undetones, throwing away the good old fashion suspense and horror that we got from the original film. Don't bore me with messages and politics! Keep that shit out of my horror movies.
For some reason, the sequel abandons the idea of the kids growing at a rabid state and that they all have white hair. Aside form their glowing eyes, no mention at all of the original film or how these kids came about (especially since they all got blown up at the end of the original).
But I will say the direction is well done and the film isn't bad by any means. It is just kind of plain and the horror is watered down this time around. When asked why the children are here, they answer, "We don't know." That was a good sign that this film didn't know either what it wanted to be.
Maybe it's because this really isn't a sequel but more of a re-telling. A bunch of intelligent children from around the world are gathered in London by scientists and psychologists for study. But soon they all escape from their embassy's and gather in an abandoned church to be with one another and stay safe. When the military is brought in, the children put their powers of mind control to use.
I really enjoyed the opening as the main child Paul is introduced. He is a quiet and yet intelligent kid and when his mother is confronted about her son, she later cries and screams at Paul saying how much she hates him and what he's done to her. This is a really tense and almost disturbing scene, thus never showing or telling us what he did to his mother. But as the film goes along, the kids are soon portrayed as victims and the film gets bogged down with political undetones, throwing away the good old fashion suspense and horror that we got from the original film. Don't bore me with messages and politics! Keep that shit out of my horror movies.
For some reason, the sequel abandons the idea of the kids growing at a rabid state and that they all have white hair. Aside form their glowing eyes, no mention at all of the original film or how these kids came about (especially since they all got blown up at the end of the original).
But I will say the direction is well done and the film isn't bad by any means. It is just kind of plain and the horror is watered down this time around. When asked why the children are here, they answer, "We don't know." That was a good sign that this film didn't know either what it wanted to be.
Oct 13, 2010
October 13th - SUCK (2010)
Perfect title.
After a struggling rock band's (I use "rock" loosly since the music this band makes is that modern new rock that is made for pussies and homos) manger leaves them, the female of the band decides to not stay with her bandmates but chooses to stay the night with a stranger. Well, this stranger turns out to be a rock n roll vampire! Before you can say "cool style man" the entire band has been transformed into a new cool rock band that can float while playing. They just have a problem with killing a few people along the way to their next gig.
Yeah, the film is as bad as it sounds. Why did I bother? There are numerous cameos by actually good musicians such as Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins and one of my personal favorites Alice Cooper. Even Malcolm McDowell has a smaller role as Eddie Van Helsing, a vampire killer who has his own personal vendetta with the vampires. None of these celebrities is worth sitting through this 90 minute horror/comedy. This is just painful to watch.
The "comedy" is down right bad and cheesy. Nothing is funny and I can almost hear the non existent laugh track pause when certain characters speak. The main vampire looks like a black haired Carrot Top and he occasionally busts into a few songs out of nowhere, when he's not walking in slow motion of course. I guess they were trying to pad out the running time. I would have shut this off or fast forward the film if it wasn't for this blog. I will admit, I couldn't take the musical numbers after awhile and slammed my finger on that FF button every time music started to kick in. One thing I hate is a bad horror film. But what I hate even more are horror/comedy/musicals. Adding those three genres together is like adding mustard to your steak.
Chalk it up to just another shitty vampire film. I need to watch Martin or Near Dark to remember a time when vampire movies were decent.
After a struggling rock band's (I use "rock" loosly since the music this band makes is that modern new rock that is made for pussies and homos) manger leaves them, the female of the band decides to not stay with her bandmates but chooses to stay the night with a stranger. Well, this stranger turns out to be a rock n roll vampire! Before you can say "cool style man" the entire band has been transformed into a new cool rock band that can float while playing. They just have a problem with killing a few people along the way to their next gig.
Yeah, the film is as bad as it sounds. Why did I bother? There are numerous cameos by actually good musicians such as Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins and one of my personal favorites Alice Cooper. Even Malcolm McDowell has a smaller role as Eddie Van Helsing, a vampire killer who has his own personal vendetta with the vampires. None of these celebrities is worth sitting through this 90 minute horror/comedy. This is just painful to watch.
The "comedy" is down right bad and cheesy. Nothing is funny and I can almost hear the non existent laugh track pause when certain characters speak. The main vampire looks like a black haired Carrot Top and he occasionally busts into a few songs out of nowhere, when he's not walking in slow motion of course. I guess they were trying to pad out the running time. I would have shut this off or fast forward the film if it wasn't for this blog. I will admit, I couldn't take the musical numbers after awhile and slammed my finger on that FF button every time music started to kick in. One thing I hate is a bad horror film. But what I hate even more are horror/comedy/musicals. Adding those three genres together is like adding mustard to your steak.
Chalk it up to just another shitty vampire film. I need to watch Martin or Near Dark to remember a time when vampire movies were decent.
Oct 12, 2010
October 12th - TO THE DEVIL...A DAUGHTER (1976)
One of Hammer's last films, I am sad to say that they went out with a whimper. To the Devil...a Daughter is a mess and was just trying to be another Exorcist/The Omen clone. Too bad too because it started off promising.
The first half of the film isn't bad and held my interest. A satanic priest (Christopher Lee) is going to use a nun (Nastassja Kinski) in some sick satanic pact with the devil but her father blackmails the priest and is trying to save his daughter. He enlists an American author (Richard Widmark, who looks embarrased being in this) who has written books on satanism to help him protect his daughter.
What I enjoyed about the first half was that the film plays out like a mystery. Sure, it borrows a little from Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist but the film doesn't tell you exactly what is going on and you start to piece together what is happening. Ah! A thinking person's horror film! This I like and the slow pacing doesn't bother me and it's always great to see actors I like in an interesting but yet vauge story.
Then suddenly, the film falls apart completely. With bizarre flashbacks and scenes of orgies and some bloody baby monster which may be the worst puppet I have ever seen in a film, the To the Devil... a Daughter turns laughably bad and just down right cheap. The suspense and mystery gets completely wiped out and confusion and boredom take over. When we finally get the climax, it literally makes no sense at all and ends abruptly. Apparently, the original ending was scrapped and the writers were asked to end the film this way. Christopher Lee was furious, the author to the novel this was based on was also furious and Richard Widmark walked off set numerous times because of issues with the production. I don't think the original ending could have saved the film since it started to go downhill at the 1 hour mark. Shame too since the first half was promising.
And for those that did see this, that was not Christopher Lee nude. To you the viewer...a stunt double.
The first half of the film isn't bad and held my interest. A satanic priest (Christopher Lee) is going to use a nun (Nastassja Kinski) in some sick satanic pact with the devil but her father blackmails the priest and is trying to save his daughter. He enlists an American author (Richard Widmark, who looks embarrased being in this) who has written books on satanism to help him protect his daughter.
What I enjoyed about the first half was that the film plays out like a mystery. Sure, it borrows a little from Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist but the film doesn't tell you exactly what is going on and you start to piece together what is happening. Ah! A thinking person's horror film! This I like and the slow pacing doesn't bother me and it's always great to see actors I like in an interesting but yet vauge story.
Then suddenly, the film falls apart completely. With bizarre flashbacks and scenes of orgies and some bloody baby monster which may be the worst puppet I have ever seen in a film, the To the Devil... a Daughter turns laughably bad and just down right cheap. The suspense and mystery gets completely wiped out and confusion and boredom take over. When we finally get the climax, it literally makes no sense at all and ends abruptly. Apparently, the original ending was scrapped and the writers were asked to end the film this way. Christopher Lee was furious, the author to the novel this was based on was also furious and Richard Widmark walked off set numerous times because of issues with the production. I don't think the original ending could have saved the film since it started to go downhill at the 1 hour mark. Shame too since the first half was promising.
And for those that did see this, that was not Christopher Lee nude. To you the viewer...a stunt double.
October 11th - COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (1970)
I apologize for this being late as the wife and I spent the night in Niagara Falls for a mini vacation. I did however bring my portable DVD player up with me and I continued my streak of watching a horror film every day. I brought with me the DVD of Count Yorga, Vampire and I am happy to say it was a good choice.
A bunch of young friends get mixed up with a count who happens to be a vampire. When he bites one of them, the friends get a doctor who believes in vampires to help defeat the count. Very basic plot which is more or less a re-telling of the Dracula story. But the film works thanks to its creepy atmosphere and for me, it's 70's setting. Why are 70's movies more scary than any other films? Maybe it is just me but those films have always been scarier than anything made before or after. There is a scene in a van where Count Yorga attacks a couple outside his castle. You've seen this kind of scene before in other films where it's either a serial killer or monster but the direction, music, writing all work so much better here that it is frightening. What really works the most is actor Robert Quary as Count Yorga. He is charming and yet menacing and has a certain ego where he knows he can kick your ass and there is nothing you can do about it. Even with the white make up and cheap fangs, he was kind of creepy.
What I also like about the film is there are touches of humor that work well. Nothing over the top or silly but little bits here and there that made me think of An American Werewolf in London.
At a tight 93 minutes, this film goes by fast. I found the film really well done even for its low budget. Count Yorga, Vampire would make for a good rainy Saturday afternoon movie or a decent Halloween selection. The film is followed by a sequel and I can't wait to see it.
A bunch of young friends get mixed up with a count who happens to be a vampire. When he bites one of them, the friends get a doctor who believes in vampires to help defeat the count. Very basic plot which is more or less a re-telling of the Dracula story. But the film works thanks to its creepy atmosphere and for me, it's 70's setting. Why are 70's movies more scary than any other films? Maybe it is just me but those films have always been scarier than anything made before or after. There is a scene in a van where Count Yorga attacks a couple outside his castle. You've seen this kind of scene before in other films where it's either a serial killer or monster but the direction, music, writing all work so much better here that it is frightening. What really works the most is actor Robert Quary as Count Yorga. He is charming and yet menacing and has a certain ego where he knows he can kick your ass and there is nothing you can do about it. Even with the white make up and cheap fangs, he was kind of creepy.
What I also like about the film is there are touches of humor that work well. Nothing over the top or silly but little bits here and there that made me think of An American Werewolf in London.
At a tight 93 minutes, this film goes by fast. I found the film really well done even for its low budget. Count Yorga, Vampire would make for a good rainy Saturday afternoon movie or a decent Halloween selection. The film is followed by a sequel and I can't wait to see it.
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