Experimental | Wildside Cinema

Film Review: Shinya Tsukamoto Returns with Experimental Metal Actioner ‘Tetsuo – The Bullet Man’ (2009)

Action, Asian Cinema, Experimental, J. Andersson, Japan, Sci-Fi No Responses »

Dec 162011

FINALLY! The Iron man is back! With a vengeance! And in… English? WTF? Then again, we always knew that if there was another Tetsuo movie there would be lots of WTFs. Twenty-two years after the original Tetsuo and nineteen after the sequel, Shinya Tsukamoto finally returns to the wonders of biomechanical psychopathics and more loving fusions of flesh and metal.

An American man living in Japan with his Japanese wife and their son is struck by grief when a mysterious man kills the young boy by running him over with a car. As this is a Shinya Tsukamoto movie this event triggers something in our hero, making him turn into a metal beast and he starts searching in his past to why Continue reading »

Film Review: Noé’s ‘Enter The Void’ (2009) Combines “Art House” & “Neon Underbelly”

B. Harris, Drama, Experimental, France, Thriller No Responses »

Feb 252011

DVD Artwork

Oscar, a drug-dealing ex-pat living in Tokyo with his exotic dancer sister, is set up by a disgruntled friend and chased into a bathroom stall by police. Instead of surrendering himself to authorities, he tries to buy himself time to flush his drugs down the toilet by shouting he has a gun. Taking no chances, the Tokyo PD shoots through the door of the stall and mortally wounds Oscar, leaving him to slowly bleed to death on the bathroom floor.

Now a disembodied consciousness, Oscar travels about Tokyo, looking in on his fugitive friend, his distraught sister, his past Continue reading »

Film Review: When The ‘Dym’ (2007) Clears, Only Insanity is Left

Experimental, Horror, J. Holderness, Short Films No Responses »

Jan 182011

Poster Artwork

This short film is given to us via Poland. It is silent so no need to fear subtitles folks. This film takes a young man on a journey through insanity and the language via this film is universal. Madness is portrayed from beginning to end. We don’t know why the young man is mad but we don’t need to. We know, he just is.

The images in this film are slick and modern-gothic in nature. Disturbing and wonderfully ambiguous. The viewer will relate and see the meaning of each and every shot differently. I like a film like this that makes the viewer think and to do it in eight minutes is an indicator of the talent of director Cisiecki and his crew Continue reading »

Film Review: ‘The Bunny Game’ (2010) Combines S&M/Bondage and Horror

B. Harris, Erotic, Experimental, Exploitation, Extreme No Responses »

Jan 062011

Theatrical Poster

The Bunny (Rodleen Getsic) is a drug addict and prostitute caught in an ugly cycle of abuse and self-destruction when a truck driving john, Hog (Jeff F. Renfro), enters her life and introduces her to an existence far worse. Abducted from the uncaring streets to the unforgiving desert, The Bunny is forced to endure unspeakable torment and humiliation at the hands of the Hog in preparation for something much darker.

Presented in beautiful B&W, Adam Rehmeier’s The Bunny Game features breathtaking imagery, creative editing and outrageous performances by lead actors Getsic and Renfro as The Bunny and Hog. Very few low budget endeavors that cross my desk these days look this good or feature actors so Continue reading »

Film Review: Kipp Makes ‘Contact’ (2010) with The Dark Side of Human Nature

Drama, Experimental, Horror, J. Holderness, Short Films No Responses »

Oct 012010

Poster Artwork

Contact is a beautiful study in black & white, a tale of loss and possibly even awakening. It will all depend on the viewer. This is driven by emotions with no dialogue to speak of. We start our journey here with two very sad people who have obviously suffered an unimaginable loss. The camera draws us in and every shot seems to carry the weight of the actors emotions. It’s as if the lens and the actors are as one entity filling the screen with sadness, guilt, loss and eventually healing.

Zoe Daelman Chlanda gives a startlingly brave performance. She draws us in with subtlety rather than over the top expressions. Her vulnerability is front and center. This dark artistic Continue reading »

Valhalla Rising (2009)

Action, B. Harris, Drama, Experimental, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi 2 Responses »

Jun 142010

R2 UK DVD

Forced to fight for sport, a nameless, one-eyed man attains his freedom with blood after he’s sold to another pagan clan. Accompanied by the young boy that was tasked with giving the warrior food, the pair set out on an excursion that lands them on a boat, surrounded by Christians heading to Jerusalem to defend The Holy Land. Where they actually end up though is far from holy, it could be hell itself.

Valhalla Rising is a beautiful film, it’s visually one of the most striking I’ve seen this year. Every single frame, every angle, every close-up, it’s like looking at a gorgeous oil painting. I found it nearly impossible to look away from the film as the frenetic first quarter slowly uncoils like a Continue reading »

Heartless (Theatrical – 2009)

B. Harris, Crime, Drama, Experimental, Horror, Thriller 4 Responses »

May 272010

Promo Poster

Jamie is a quiet, lonely bloke that lives with his mother in the fast decaying, crime-ridden streets of East London and works for his brother and nephew in a photography studio. Despite his desire to meet a girl and marry, most are unwilling to even look at him because of his startling appearance, marked by a massive birthmark on his face in the shape of a heart.

When a gang wearing demon masks appears at night on the streets of his neighborhood, bringing with them chaos and murder, events begin spiraling out of control forcing Jamie into a confrontation with the gang’s leader, a sinister man named Mister B. The terrifying gang leader offers the scared young man two choices, accept a gracious offer to help Jamie achieve his heart’s desire or face the wrath of the Continue reading »

Film Review: Slaughtered Vomit Dolls (Revisited – 2006)

Experimental, Extreme, Horror, J. Felton No Responses »

Dec 102009

DVD Artwork

Once in awhile I come across a movie of which I have absolutely no idea what to expect of it. Quite often the title gives you a good idea, or hearing other people’s views might prepare you. Neither are the case with Slaughtered Vomit Dolls, this is one movie that must be viewed to be believed. Even then you still might not be quite sure what you saw, such is the style and content of this movie.

More often than not a movie will have a plot that, whilst not always very good, will usually be fairly straight forward to follow. You know, the usual beginning, middle and end crap. Well, that isn’t the case here. Obviously it does have those, they just aren’t quite as cut and dry as you might be used to.

In a nutshell Slaughtered Vomit Dolls follows the story of Angela Continue reading »

Antichrist (2009)

Drama, Experimental, Horror, P. Escott, Thriller 1 Response »

Jul 272009

Theatrical Poster

A simple act of self-indulgence has shattering consequences for a middle-class couple. He (Willem Dafoe) and She (Charlotte Gainsberg) loose their young son, Nic, while they make love. While they are caught up in each other, we witness as their son climbs up onto a window ledge and walks off, falling to his death. She climaxes at the point of impact/her sons demise.

Grief stricken, She is almost on the verge of a breakdown, so He, being a psychiatrist, takes his wife on as a patient and decides to treat her himself. The two establish that She has an unexplainable fear of the Continue reading »

Able (2008)

Action, B. Harris, Crime, Drama, Experimental, Horror, Thriller, Zombies No Responses »

Mar 242009

German Promo Art

After a virus sweeps across Berlin, and before the dead begin to rise, director Marc Robert introduces us to a few people still struggling to maintain their humanity despite the debilitating effects of the virus and those that are intent on preying on paralyzed virus victims. Can one man make a difference in a dying city?

An interesting spin on the typical zombie fare, Robert’s Able offers us a glimpse into the eye of the storm, the calm before the resurrection if you will, while also throwing in a disturbing serial murderer angle. It’s all very interesting and it held my attention throughout but the film is not without its problems. I had a problem keeping track of female Continue reading »

Dumbland (2002)

Animation, Experimental No Responses »

Feb 192009

OOP DVD

Dumbland (2002)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Subversive Cinema / 2006
Directed by David Lynch
Written by David Lynch
Cast: Animated (voice of David Lynch)
Review by James Garfield

A series of eight brief anecdotes involving a stupid macho jerk and his family: The Neighbor, The Treadmill, The Doctor, A Friend Visits, Get Continue reading »

Irreversible (2002)

Drama, Experimental, Exploitation, Extreme, Thriller No Responses »

Nov 182008

DVD Release

Irreversible (2002)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Lionsgate / 2003
Directed by Gaspar Noe
Written by Gaspar Noe
Cast: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel & Jo Prestia
Review by James Garfield

We begin with a cameo from Philippe Nahon, star of director Gaspar Noe’s previous film, I Stand Alone, to declare Irreversible’s theme: “Time destroys Continue reading »