(1980)
Overall: MEH
The 1980s kicked off with a slew of horror films from the Ramsay brothers, Guest House continuing the previously established template of low-grade production values, over-acting, tons of fog, occasional ghoulish set pieces, and both unintentional and intentionally goofy atmosphere. Roaming gangs of ruffians trying to rape women must have been a persistent problem in India since every one of the Ramsay's horror films up until this point featured at least one scene where a lady is chased in broad daylight by men trying to get in her pants, only for a hero to spontaneously emerge to kick and punch them away. Said moment as well as prerequisite musical numbers pop up, none of which are necessary to a tale about a group of characters that willfully murder and bury a guy who stays at the guest house of the title in order to get their hands on his expensive ring, one of these characters severing the hand that it was on in order to pay off gambling debts. The story is too simple, (and idiotic), the tone too inconsistent, and the length too long to make it something worth recommending, but as always, sporadic enjoyment can be found for patient viewers who can lock into the Ramsay's quirky agenda.
(1981)
Overall: MEH
One of the better and certainly more consistent of the Ramsay brother's large crop of low-budget horror films, Dahshat, (Terror), is a simple and contemporary mad scientist romp that minimalizes the usual goofy detours into slapstick comedy, tedious melodrama, and mood-killing musical numbers. It still gets off to a sluggish start and is at least thirty minutes too long, but the Ramsay's keep the fog machine running day or night, throwing grave robbing into the mix from the onset, which leads to the discovery of a superhuman, blue-skinned mute in a black hood, and then Om Shivpuri conducting vague experiments on animals in a colorful and also fog-laden laboratory. This comes back to bite him in the ass when his neglected and embittered wife shoots him up with his own syndrome after one of his adulterous flings, at which point the movie shifts into a quasi-Jekyll and Hyde slasher scenario where Shiypuri turns into a beast, attacks people, and keeps trying to get a colleague of his on the phone before he kills again. The makeup effects are primitive of course, but they are also striking in the sense that variations are used, depending on what stage of transformation Shiypuri is settling into. Sometimes he looks like Hyde, sometimes a werewolf, sometimes a full blown snake man, and sometimes a combination of all three. We also get more than one spontaneous angry, torch-bearing mob scenes because what horror movie involving a monster chase can go without some of those?
(1981)
Overall: MEH
For Sannata, (Silence), Shyam and Tulsi Ramsay find a way to integrate the prerequisite Bollywood song and dance numbers into the actual narrative, concocting a story where a vengeful spirit sings a pop tune equipped with full instrumental production values whenever she means to claim another victim. Well, such as the tale goes since what is actually happening, (and what kind of framework the movie adheres to), is a slasher killer in a garish Halloween mask and black robe who goes knife-happy on people staying at an estate. In typical old dark house whodunit style, the guests and police try and figure out the culprit with ingenious tactics like simply waiting around every night to see who is killed next, and it all becomes tedious despite the Ramsay's gaining a little more stylistic confidence. The cinematography is less stagnant than usual, plus a red "Cinemagic" filter is utilized to spice up the still D-grade visuals. Fans of the filmmaking sibling's now established M.O. will be pleased though since the fog machine still gets a heavy workout, plus the performances are as far from subtle as ever, as is the goofy slapstick which comes equipped with cartoon sound effects.
No comments:
Post a Comment