(2001)
Dir - Claire Denis
Overall: MEH
Looking at Claire Denis' Trouble Every Day strictly as a horror movie would be a mistake. That said, watching through the eyes of one accustomed to the beats and rhythms of the horror film will wield more rewards than the movie probably deserves. That is to say that Denis is most assuredly not concerned with crafting this in any kind of user-friendly way, least of all in a manner that horror fans coming in would feel right at home with. Though this approach is refreshing on principal alone, it does not come off successfully as an actual movie. Stylistic facets such as minimal dialog, a disjointed narrative, somewhat claustrophobic camera work, and long sequences played out simply under mournful music all unfortunately contribute to making the utter vagueness of the plot far too aggravating. The characters are depicted so distant not only from each other, but also from the viewer so that you cannot get any barrings on what anybody is motivated in doing or why. So the utter brutality of much of the visuals is in a way rather wasted since it is impossible to have any investment as to what is going on. Whatever Denis is up to gets increasingly lost and this is a shame since it could have come close to having an acceptable amount of ambiguity to pay off.
(2006)
Dir - György Pálfi
Overall: WOOF
Nnnnnnnnnope. Whatever the hell the point was to this film, it is so astronomically disgusting and unpleasant to watch that the most brilliant metaphorical exploration you could have on paper does not stand a chance of coming through all the mess. For his second full-length, György Pálfi is handed a generous budget and would have achieved something very interesting instead of strikingly grotesque in all the absolute wrong ways. It is difficult to articulate how truly gross this movie is. Repulsive images of the human body both nude and clothed, seminal fluid, vomit, and even a random closeup of shit coming out of a bird's ass are all here. Broken up into segments, each one finds an entire new way to be repugnant. From a guy who cums so hard while dreaming about a kid that it shoots into outer-space, lubes up a hole in a wood shack to stick his dark grey dick through, and then fucks the chopped up remains of a pig, to a competitive eating sequence, and then wrapping up with a guy who surgically removes all of his body parts while he argues with his nauseatingly obese father, it is unwatchable every second of the way. If anyone out there actually enjoys watching a movie like this, seek help immediately.
(2007)
Dir - Blutch/Charles Burns/Marie Cailou/Pierre di Sciullo/Lorenzo Mattotti/Richard McGuire
Overall: GREAT
A combination of French, Italian, and American comic book artists and graphic illustrators join forces in Fear(s) of the Dark, easily one of the best anthology horror outings in recent times. Darkness itself and hidden, unseen, ominous presences lurking about make up movie's central themes and the film works stylistically nearly above anything else. The simple, black and white traditional and computer animation are unique to each artist and jointly create a unified atmosphere that is appropriately stark and eerie. The stories themselves are all rather excellent, with maybe only the two linking segments involving a disembodied female voice rattling off random anxieties and a sinister old man unleashing his ravenous dogs on passers-by being the only ones coming off comparatively less compelling. The other four main narratives though are each strong enough to base a full-length movie on, with some familiar, almost classic horror set ups wielding interesting and very creepy results. This is the type that emphasizes a slow, spooky mood over anything else and it is quite a joy to see such an approach so lovingly and meticulously accomplished.
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