(2001)
Dir - Stuart Gordon
Overall: MEH
It is somewhat difficult to make a truly bad H.P. Lovecraft inspired movie, but sadly Stuart Gordon nearly pulled off such a tricky task. Not only is Dagon disappointing as a hodgepodge adaptation from arguably the greatest horror author in history, but from the director who brought us such other Lovecraft-based, amusing, well made horror gems such as Re-Animator and From Beyond, it is disheartening that this entry here is so disastrous. An English-speaking Spanish production, Dagon suffers from too many things. The performances are dreadful and Ezra Godden besides being a poor man's Jeffery Combs, is a terrible, obnoxious protagonist who spends most of his time screaming "what the hell is going on?" and talking about possibilities to himself when he is not making stupid one-liners or inexplicably surviving a three-story jump through a glass window and then down a long flight of concrete stairs. The screenplay is full of forced, un-funny humor and cliche-ridden plot holes and though Gordon utilizes some efficient practical effects and atmospheric sets, the CGI could be some of the worst in any theatrically released movie. The gore is extreme, there is plenty of nudity, and creepy townsfolk galore, but everything else going on is just catastrophic.
(2008)
Dir - Fabrice du Welz
Overall: GOOD
Fabrice du Welz's follow up to Calvaire is infinitely better in nearly every possible sense. Vinyan takes a dark, incredibly haunting trek through comparatively uncharted terrain for horror type films, being the desolate, mostly uncharted jungle around Thailand. The setting is strong enough, but so is the motivation in getting us there. Whereas Calvaire did not seem to be about anything at all, Vinyan has a pretty crystal clear agenda and the film really spends its entire running time very patiently exploring it. Along with screenwriters Olly Blackburn and David Greig, du Welz never detour into unnecessary turf, even when at times it would appear otherwise. This is because the atmosphere is so methodically kept-up that you barely notice how very little happens from a plot perspective, yet how much we really witness. The final act is noticeably similar to Apocalypse Now, probably intentionally since why would you not go the route of one of cinema's all time masterpieces? There is an overdose of mood more than anything else and the lack of blatant brutality until it is absolutely necessary gives the film a mesmerizing quality that is almost disturbingly comforting. It may be a bit too slow for some tastes and barely qualify as a horror film, but neither of these things make it any less effective.
(2009)
Dir - Hélène Cattet/Bruno Forzani
Overall: MEH
Husband and wife filmmaking duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's first full-length Amer begins very interestingly as a blatant, Argento-styled giallo throwback where the influence is assuredly unmistakable. Everything from the music, opening title sequence, color scheme, and flashy editing screams the Italian Hitchcock. Yet within ten or maybe fifteen minutes, the exaggerated style already starts to get tedious. Then once it becomes clear that the movie is going to stick to its avant-garde guns for the entire duration, it is almost impossible to find it alluring enough. Amer is essentially far, far too much of a good thing. It is not just that the plot is completely non-existent in exchange for its deliberately surreal tone. Because the film never lets up for a second to actually breathe in any kind of even borderline coherent manner, it becomes very boring far too quickly and stays that way for way too long whereas it could have been stimulating in its oddness. Good luck being anything but not only utterly lost as to what is supposed to be happening, but also even caring for a single solitary second about what is supposed to be happening. It is simply inevitable to totally tune-out and best case scenario, you may just be impressed by the fancy camera work.
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