(1971)
Dir - Jean Brismée
Overall: GOOD
Slow in parts and if you are watching the English dubbed version, be prepared of course to unintentionally chuckle at how awful the dialog comes off, but the Belgium/Italian co-production The Devil's Nightmare, (The Devil's Longest Night, The Terrifying Night of the Demon, and The Devil Walks at Midnight), gets by just enough on its spooky atmosphere and fun, be it simple premise. All of the avenues that the plot takes are pretty standard and foreseeable as the characters are more caricatures than anything, each meeting their doom while somewhat representing one of the seven deadly sins, which is highly convenient for the evil forces that are after them. Yet director Jean Brismée does a mostly fine job of staging everything in a memorable way, whether it is uncomfortable closeups of gluttony, brutal murders by way of medieval torture devices, random lesbians for some reason, and subtle, creepy make-up design. Most of the performances come off either too stiff or silly, but Daniel Emilfork and Erika Blanc still manage to be appropriately ghoulish in their respected, sinister roles. The musical score for once is actually rather strong as well, probably because it is from the hilariously named Alessandro Alessandroni, the man behind the iconic, "Man with No Name" trilogy soundtrack.
(1976)
Dir - Krsto Papić
Overall: GOOD
One of the few, (only?), Croatian horror films out there, Izbavitelj, (The Rat Savior), was based off of Russian author Alexander Grin’s 1920’s novel Pacolovac, which translates to "The Ratcatcher". Made on a very modest budget and shot in the country's capital of Zareb, it plays out as a creepy fairytale with excellent similarities to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Society, or any other "what is this large group of people up to?" type fare. The movie is not particularly shocking or even that violent while being less of a mystery in general and more of a moody, politically-conscious, extreme fantasy where the social commentary can likewise remind one of George Orwell's 1984 amongst other things. The Rat Savior is also pretty void of humor and not at any point does it treat itself in any kind of tongue in cheek way. This is a plus and a testament to Krsto Papić's wise direction which builds up a level of dread while still successfully glossing over many details, briskly moving the film along, (it is less than a hour and a half), letting the minimalist make-up effects never come off as silly, and not letting any hammy performances get in the way.
(1979)
Dir - Rod Hardy
Overall: MEH
One of the stranger vampire films to come out of the 1970s, (saying something), Rod Hardy's full-length debut Thirst is an interesting, partially successful combination of Soylent Green and any film where the main protagonist cannot seem to wake up from their nightmare nor be able to tell whether they are tripping balls or not. The set-up is certainly interesting and carries the movie through most of its deficiencies. These would be the score by Brian May, (no not THAT Brian May), which rarely shuts up long enough to not tell us when something evil is going on. Also, the kind of underwritten plot leaves out too many details for its own good. Ambiguity can very often times be a plus in horror films, but Thirst does not necessarily give off the aura of mystery that it needs in order to complement the lack of answers that we are given. It just seems kind of "buh?" instead. The ending in particular is structured like it is supposed to be a twist, but there is a lingering feeling that several things may not have been conveyed like they were supposed to, making the wrap-up unsatisfying. Some of the performances are rather eerie and Australian soap opera star Chantal Contouri is excellent as the tormented lead with a diabolical lineage, but it is still a shame that the movie comes so close to pulling off its wacky premise only to fall just shy of such an accomplishment.
No comments:
Post a Comment