(1990)
Dir - Christopher Schlingensief
Overall: MEH
The phrase "trying too hard" can be accurately applied to Christopher Schlingensief's wackadoo The German Chainsaw Massacre, (Blackest Heart). It is a movie that is at once a parody of Tobe Hooper's seminal The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and also some sort of politically-conscious, absurdist metaphor for Germany's reunification period where prejudice feelings about East and West Germans towards each other is exaggerated to comically violent heights. To get anywhere resembling being entertained while watching it, one has to fully accept the lunacy present and turn off all rational comfort zones. At just over an hour long, the film manages to bulldoze you with screaming followed by more screaming and no less than every single character running around like a maniac and screaming some more. There are no good guys; just a bunch of deranged people yammering on, (and screaming), about Germany this or Germany that while liquefying peoples heads, raping them, or talking in a silly voice to a skeleton they think is real. Plus other stuff. It still manages to be occasionally amusing to those who can stomach such relentless nonsense, (and screaming), but it is certainly a bit much in any event.
(1992)
Dir - Albert S. Mkrtchyan
Overall: GOOD
What benefits Albert S. Mkrtchyan's supernatural oddity Prikosnoveniye, (The Contact), the most is its placid tone. It is clearly produced on a near invisible budget and stretches out a few scenes unnecessarily to fill the time, but Mkrtchyan appears skilled enough to make the strange tale of vengeful spirits abide by its own rules and remain consciously ambiguous enough to be rather spooky. The nihilistic, suicide-encouraging, ghostly forces at work are a curious bunch and in the usual horror movie fashion, their powers are random depending on how scary a particular scene is supposed to be. They can manipulate real life events and even possess people, but they still need to convince their victims to off themselves and at the same time have to open windows to leave a room. Some of this works on probably intentional, fairytale logic, such as their stronger influence over children and the fact that the main protagonist's catchphrase seems to be all that is required to set off the haunting shenanigans once more. The intriguing premise carries a lot of weight on its own though, which is helped by fine performances and an appropriate, moody score. It is certainly not an uplifting experience by any stretch, but more a cold, dour, and slightly uncomfortable one that is successfully done in a minimalist fashion.
(1997)
Dir - Vincenzo Natali
Overall: MEH
The debut from Detroit-born filmmaker Vincenzo Natali, Cube was based off of his own short Elevated, itself inspired by the 1961 Twilight Zone episode "Five Characters in Search of an Exit". The premise here is rock solid; several strangers trapped in a maze who have to utilize whatever wits they have to escape before they go crazy, starve, and/or turn against each other. Made on a measly three-hundred and fifty thousand dollar budget, Natali makes remarkable use of it with different colored lights to decorate his sole set. The dated though sparsely used digital effects make it as optically fancy as any heavily financed film of its day. While it does not resemble a B-movie in look and Natali excellently stages a number of very tense scenes to go along with his highly intriguing scenario, Cube sadly comes apart do to some overtly campy performances and embarrassing dialog. While David Hewlett mostly keeps it together as the cynical loner type, everyone else either chews their scenery like a ravenous lion or displays acting chops on par with a high school drama play. Many of the conclusions the characters come to, (and all of them concerning their own trauma-fueled bickering), seem laughably random, demoting any character development to be found. It is good in bits and one can certainly see the appeal, but fairly, one has to admit some consistent flaws are present all the same.
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