Valhalla Rising (2009)

Action, B. Harris, Drama, Experimental, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi 4 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 »

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Posted by Brian Harris at 12:36 am Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , ,

Heartless (Theatrical – 2009)

B. Harris, Crime, Drama, Experimental, Horror, Thriller, UK 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 »

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Posted by Brian Harris at 2:14 pm Tagged with: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Antichrist (Theatrical)

B. Harris, Drama, Experimental, Horror, Thriller No Responses »
Dec 152009

Theatrical Poster

After the tragic accidental death of their young child, a couple face intense feelings of guilt and grief. Finding his wife unable to recover emotionally, the husband takes her to a cabin in the woods for some intensive therapy but a strange set of circumstances lead him to believe something darker may be at work.

Lars von Trier is a filmmaking genius, he’s also a wee bit insane. His well publicized phobias are a thing of public record and there’s no doubt he has a few more lurking about that nobody knows of. This seems to be the basis of some of the criticisms surrounding von Trier’s Antichrist, he must fear women to have made such a genderphobic horror Continue reading »

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Posted by Brian Harris at 8:19 am Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

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 »

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Posted by Brian Harris at 8:53 pm Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Late Bloomer (Osoi hito – 2004)

Asian Cinema, B. Harris, Experimental, Horror, Japan No Responses »
Apr 162009

Late Bloomer (Osoi hito – 2004)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Tidepoint / 2009
Directed by Gô Shibata
Written by Gô Shibata
Cast: Masakiyo Sumida, Ariko Arita, Toshihisa Fukunaga, Naozô Hotta
Review by Brian Harris

When the handicapped Sumida falls for his household assistant and his affection isn’t returned but rather turned in the direction of his best friend, Sumida spirals into insanity and goes on whirlwind of violent, bloody killing spree.

Late Bloomer is a rather hard film to describe, when asked I might say that it’s more of an arthouse horror film; an experimental project that really delves into the all too real pain and loneliness involved with being mentally and physically handicapped. I could probably also tell you that the DV imagery is edgy, the score is unsettling and the lead character Sumida is both endearing and absolutely terrifying. I could probably say all that…but I wouldn’t be doing the film justice. It’s an oddball low budget slasher film that shuns cliché and traditional slasher conventions and attempts to do something that simply hasn’t be done.

Obviously Late Bloomer isn’t going to be for everybody, it sort of reminded me of Steve Ballot’s seriously disturbing Bride of Frank, Patrick Roddy’s Mercy and perhaps even shades of Crispin Glover’s little seen film What Is It?; in other words it’s disturbing, disorienting and downright uncomfortable to watch.

When I first started watching Late Bloomer with friends, pretty much everybody (except me) lost interest and wandered away from the TV. I, on the other hand, stayed to finish the film and was richly rewarded with a seriously screwed-up work of insanity. This is arthouse horror, it won’t appeal to viewers looking for flashy big budget gore glammer and, truth be told, some of you may even end up with grand mal seizures, in the end though I do believe it’s worth checking out at least once.

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Posted by wildsidecinema at 12:57 pm

Able (2008)

Action, B. Harris, Crime, Drama, Experimental, Germany, 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 »

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Posted by Brian Harris at 10:08 pm Tagged with: , , , ,

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 »

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Posted by wildsidecinema at 4:16 pm

Irreversible (2002)

Drama, Experimental, Exploitation, Extreme, France, Thriller 2 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 »

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Entrails of a Beautiful Woman (Bijo no harawata - 1986)

Erotic, Experimental, Extreme, Fantasy, Horror, J. Felton, Japan, Sci-Fi No Responses »
Oct 102008

U.S. DVD Release

The one thing I hoped about this movie was very simple, please let it be better than Entrails of a Virgin. That shouldn’t be too difficult though, being as though that movie was just terrible. Just as well I am a lucky fucker then, as Entrails of a Beautiful Woman was better, but only just. This time around there is a slightly more coherent plotline, the three year old has been dragged away from the editing room and the running time doesn’t feel quite so stretched.

What story there is revolves around a young female psychologist (actually a hypnotherapist) that plots revenge against a Yakuza boss and his cronies. The gangsters are into the habit of drugging up young women, raping Continue reading »

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Posted by Jude Felton at 3:18 pm Tagged with: , , , ,

Home Sick (2007)

B. Harris, Experimental, Horror 2 Responses »
Sep 162008

Home Sick (2007)
R0 / NTSC DVD
Synapse Films / 2008
Directed by Adam Wingard
Written by E.L. Katz
Cast: Bill Moseley, Tom Towles, Tiffany Shepis
Review by Brian Harris

A small town party is officially crashed when a psycho toting a suitcase full of razors forces each partygoer to name somebody they hate. Unwilling to take the razor wielding freak seriously, one friend names everybody in the room in an attempt to hurry the situation along. Unbeknownst to all of them, dark forces are at work and a supernatural killer is unleashed upon each person named. Can the group find a way to defend themselves before the psycho comes a’callin’?

Trust me when I say that the above synopsis may sound decent on paper but it didn’t even come close to working in the actual film; not a lick of this film made any sense. Outside of the fabulous gore and Tiffany Shepis’s amazing semi-naked body, this was a big steaming pile of “WTF?!!”

Some may watch this and enjoy the nightmarish quality and “unsettling” atmosphere but I found the whole damn thing to be weird for the sake of being weird. It was as if the director wanted to make a slasher film that broke with convention but forgot his core audience. I mean what the hell was with all of the dark circles under everybody’s eyes in this film? Was there a deep meaning I missed? Why did all of the characters react so nonchalantly when confronted with mutilated corpses? Why exactly did Tiff Shepis’ character roll about in her onscreen mother’s blood?

Wait, try this one on for size, why in hell did the killer go from a Giallo-style killer dressed in black gloves and a mask to a long-haired, flesh eating, sharp-toothed monster?

Home Sick may please fans of experimental horror (read: weird for the sake of being weird) but I found it tedious, nonsensical and just plain boring. All of the actors did their best I suppose but does it really matter whether the actors put forth 100% when the script doesn’t pass muster? Even if the script was better and the concept wasn’t so damn odd, not one single character was likable anyhow. Well, that’s not quite true, Bill Moseley was quite fun, Tom Towles was bonkers and Tiffany Shepis was outrageously over-the-top and sexy as hell.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to make of this film because it just refused to make a ton of sense or offer me anything solid to really enjoy. As I said above, the gore was impressive and Tiff’s tits are super classy but by the time the final credits scrolled all I could do was shake my head and say, “WTF?”

I don’t plan to watch this again but that doesn’t mean slasher film aficionados shouldn’t give this a shot. Maybe I was expecting too much or didn’t understand the subtext, if there was any present, but I just didn’t enjoy this film. Coffee house trolls will rejoice over this film.

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Posted by wildsidecinema at 10:45 pm
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