Black Past (1989) Review

IMDB Review: Black Past (1989)

This is low budget shot on video German splatter, starring the writer/director/special effect guy, Olaf Ittenbach.

No small amount of this movie originated in The Evil Dead, but rather than look at The Black Past like a typical narrative movie, I'd suggest approaching it like a Halloween haunted house with gory set pieces and an intensely nasty depiction of hell.

Unlike most of his later movies, which push toward bigger ideas (and don't work as well), this is a simple piece that builds to intensely gory happenings. It is a bit too slow and the performances aren't there at all, but when things get surreal and vicious, the experience is a vibrant and charged gore cornucopia that will leave a lasting impression. You'll need to forgive a lot in this film, but like the very different movies of Werner Herzog and John Waters and H.G. Lewis and Harmony Korine, Black Past is an experience and a spectacle more than it is a traditional narrative film and those looking for a dungeon of gore, where "Hell = Creative Torture" may forgive Ittenbach's shortcomings as a traditional filmmaker...something that is less forgivable when he attempts to make traditional films (albeit ones crammed with gore).

((I found Premutos a bit dull after a while, and House of Blood and the Haunting of Rebecca Verlaine, sporadically engaging.))

Ittenbach's other recommendable movie, The Burning Moon, is similarly strong-- and expands upon the man's visual conception of "Hell = Creative Torture," though it is also a bit more bloated. And Brian Paulin's Fetus and Bone Sickness explore this dungeon and are better in most regards.

20 Million Miles to Earth (1957) Review

IMDB Review: 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)

I adore stop motion animation, monsters especially, and Ray Harryhausen is the unparalleled master of the armature realm and has a very rich legacy. (O'Brien --his mentor-- and Phil Tippet and the Brothers Quay are other masterful luminaries in this field.) Sadly, none of the movies in which Harryhausen's lovingly crafted effects appear are anywhere near as good as the stop motion creations contained within them...but 20 Million Miles to Earth is a piece that meets the monster more than halfway and is my favorite by far.

The story is not overcomplicated, as is the case with the muddled mythologies cut and pasted throughout Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans and (his second best feature) The 7th Voyage of Sinbad. This is a simple creature on the loose sci-fi-tinged monster movie-- one with a better than average script and superb stop motion beast.

Although this contains a little less stop motion than do the sword and sandal epics, the quality control in 20 Million Miles to Earth seems better, and the black and white image also helps blend the armature and living image more convincingly. Several sequences featuring the Ymir are harrowing, especially considering the date of this movie. This beast is aggressive and wonderfully designed.

Every time this rolls around in a revival house, I see and enjoy it.

(I saw a 35mm print of the movie at Film Forum, N.Y. and a 35mm print at the Museum of Modern Art)

Gutterballs (2008) Review

IMDB Review: Gutterballs (2008)

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The spoiler is very minor-- I discuss an early scene in detail and other stuff in a very vague manner.

Gutterballs is an odd and unsettling movie, especially in the uncut edition that I saw.

Like Irreversible, Gutterballs subverts expectations by giving you a much worse version of what it advertises...a very, very unpleasant and nasty rape sequence that left me unsettled for the remainder of the viewing experience and not ever able to engage at the level of "enjoying" the piece. I believe this is by design and not actually a flaw. Unlike Irreversible, the shot selection of the heinous act alternates between empathizing with the victim (unflattering close ups of the bad guys) and exploitation of the victim (overhead shots of the victim as an object), which gives the movie an odious taint. Again, this seems by design.

After this very unpleasant sequence, the movies depicts loads of mean, dumb and hateful teens, all of whom give over the top performances, though not all of these performances are bad. Several of these histrionic performances are in keeping with the hateful tone of the movie, especially the main bad guys, who were like amped-up versions of the bullies in "History of Violence." They are not at all realistic, yet in this stylized world they are believably malefic. This is one of the reasons the rape sequence is so unsettling-- I completely believe that these guys are capable of doing this even if everything is pushed into cursing caricature.

It's surprising to me how often people refer to this movie as "fun." Although it has a retro slasher facade, the heart of this movie is mean hate and covered with thorns.

If the humor was ever funny in Gutterballs (I laughed more watching August Underground) or if any of the characters were likable, Gutterballs would have been an emotionally richer experience, and a better movie, rather than a monotonously mean one. If the revenge element were logically motivated throughout the piece, I might have engaged at that level of feeling some satisfaction/gratification with the crimes when they are committed, but that is not the path Ryan Nicholson hews with his machete.

As is, Gutterballs is suxxxesful as a piece of hateful exploitation, showcasing some expert gore, but is a monochromatic viewing experience

Fetus (2008) Review

IMDB Review: Fetus (2008)

I've now seen several gory horror movies by Brian Paulin, two of which I enjoy as much as vintage Lucio Fulci, Inside and even more than Olaf Ittenbach's best pieces (his nasty shot on video gore chambers, Black Past and The Burning Moon, rather than his ambitious, but often dull "big" movies).

I hope Mr. Paulin gets his due.

Certainly, the viewer needs to accept certain things that come with a micro budget labor of love like Fetus and undoubtedly some viewers want quickly-edited bloody action movies (28 Days Later and The Descent) rather than atmospheric isolated horror, which is my preference (eg. Rosemary's Baby, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scarecrows, City of the Living Dead, Inside, Profondo Rosso, The Shout, Lost Highway). I imagine that if this piece (and Bone Sickness) were shot on film in the seventies and rediscovered now, they would be ubiquitously categorized as "essential cult." 

((I don't have a problem with shot on video stuff (which this is), especially when the compositions and lightning are as thoughtful as they are here and i believe there is a some benefit to the extra visual information you get at 29.97 fps, a different level of reality, even if the image isn't quite as pretty. It's not better than film, but different with it's own quality.))

When comparing Fetus to Paulin's seemingly best known work, Bone Sickness, Fetus is altogether better realized-- the compositions, lighting, acting and effects are of a higher caliber-- but Fetus is less ambitious in terms of its scope. So Fetus is more professional and less flawed than Bone Sickness, but it does not reach as high or sustain its crescendo for nearly as long. I also appreciate the fact that Fetus is done in a completely serious way, rather than the jokey splatter of Jackson or Evil Dead II or Shaun of the Dead kind of stuff.

The music is strong, and in an older Giallo style, which helps the vibe. There are certainly some moments that confused me-- audio & effects ideas that didn't fully translate-- but this movie and Bone Sickness are the best shot on video horror movies I've seen, and they overachieve in so many departments (inventiveness, craziness, atmosphere, gore, etc.) that all the flaws are easily forgiven.

If you liked Ittenbach's Black Past & The Burning Moon, I recommend Fetus, which is a comparable chamber of gore, though Fetus is better written and photographed and is aided by a very good score. I look forward to more work by this driven and talented guy.

Bone Sickness (2004) Review

IMDB Review: Bone Sickness (2004) 

"Bone Sickness" is an unbelievably resourceful shot on video splatter movie. about half of its running time dedicated to gory happenings, though several of the atmospheric chiller scenes work quite well (especially the pool sequence).

thankfully, this movie is NOT at all ironic in its approach, but an earnest indie horror movie--- one that is a total 100% pleasure to watch. it just glows with a bright love of the genre (creepy and fun splatter). if you accept its flaws (eg. all of the adults/married people look about 21 years old, the sound, some weak performances and occasional 180 rule flubs)--- it is a very charming and engrossing 7 out of 10.

and it has EXCELLENT music.

as with much of this stuff, the writer director is a special effects guy, first and foremost, like timo rose & olaf ittenbach over in Germany. "bone sickness" compares in a lot of ways to "darkness (the vampire version)," which is similarly gory and inspired, though "darkness" is not nearly as good and has little in the way of atmosphere.

creepy, resourceful and inventive, "bone sickness" is a celebration of horror and indie film fire. if you can accept (or embrace) its DIY flaws, it smolders and shambles like fulci in a manhole with perhaps some hints of bizarro literature as well (carlton mellick III).

BRAVO.