Goldbeater

If you’re mentally unstable and you wake up one morning with the urge to kill a random prostitute, you’d better first make sure she’s not even more unstable than you! The theme developed by Rjú Murakami will greatly remind his older piece, Audition, which has a lot in common with this film. Piercing, however, is really slow paced and the only thing that happens is what you suspect from the very beginning, which is that the prostitute murder will end up being trickier than initially planned. The plot has no start or finish, and the promising theme is therefore totally buried in the screenwriter’s inability to breathe life into the story. And when you finally have the impression that the film is taking off, it ends. Too bad the title sequence style is deceiving us with its grindhouse butchery style, which is definitely not what Piercing is. [Sitges 2018]

An interesting comedy experiment within the film narrative. Initially, the creators test the audience to see how far they can endure a boring and crappy amateur zombie flick. Then, as a reward, they gradually uncover the background that explains why the beginning was so excessively – and voluntarily – bad. Finally, in the last third, there’s a crazy and hilarious sequence of events that makes all the previous plotline completely relevant. One Cut of the Dead is no film jewel, but as a low-budget comedy with an interesting formal concept, it must be valued and appreciated. And I really enjoyed it. [Sitges 2018]

In its principle, it’s a space version of the classic flick The Defiant Ones, where two completely different people are forced to work together in order to survive in a hostile environment. Prospect, however, has enchanting visuals. The outdoor settings for the cosmic virgin ancient forest are fabulous, the interiors of the spaceship look like they were frozen from the seventies, which reinforces the feeling that something could go wrong very easily. Sophie Thatcher and Pedro Pascal satisfyingly drive the film forward and, despite a somewhat slack pace, there’s no time to get bored. I wish the experience was a bit more intense, but I’ll add one star to my ranking for the oppressive atmosphere, original design and musical motif. [Sitges 2018]

Together with the debuting screenwriter Jay Zaretsky, routine-minded director Michael Caton-Jones brings an ordinary (love) story about a solitary tired hitman who expects a better end-of-life than yet another murder order. Asher doesn’t innovate much more than other films, but Ron Perlman’s cool performance and some funny dialogues here and there push it above average level. A crime drama that doesn’t impress nor hurt. [Sitges 2018]

Gareth Evans partly returns to the theme that made him shine with his part in the horror anthology V/H/S/2. Funnily overplaying, Dan Stevens arrives on an island ruled by a sect of dangerous fanatics whose leader is the eccentric Michael Sheen. The hero’s goal there is to find his kidnapped sister. However, things are considerably worse than what he had expected and most of the islanders are facing a catastrophic fate. Although Apostle is more than two hours long, it gets into a brisk pace right from the first minutes, then, without fiddling around, throws us into a thrilling life ’n’ death game. Unfortunately, it doesn’t spare us from some cliché towards the end, where the main villain has to explain all the motives that led him to his crimes. Nevertheless, the flick nicely entertains and its fiery finale is totally worth seeing. What’s more, Apostle boasts an incredible stage set and all outdoor scenes look truly magnificent. Gareth Evans achieved great heights, and I’m definitely not going to miss his next piece of filmmaking. [Sitges 2018]

Cameraman Mukdeeprom does wonders; each one of his zoom-ins and accelerated close-ups has a chillingly aggressive impact and helps build up a foreboding feeling (in tandem with outstanding music). However, I have to mention the really chaotic editing, which is noticeable from the very first scene and is quite annoying (the director’s favourite editor Walter Fasano collaborated with Dario Argento on his awful flick Mother of Tears, so there’s that). Nevertheless, on the script side of things, Luca Guadagnino and David Kajganich try to expand the original film’s mythology to the historical-political context – which is, however, to the detriment of the horror atmosphere and tension. Baader-Meinhof, holocaust, Theresienstadt… Is it really what we needed and wanted to see about in the new Suspiria? Nearly the whole storyline around Dr. Klemperer – which eats up half of the total length – seemed overly artificial and superfluous. Not to mention that the doctor character implementation is incredibly kitsch and distracting for the viewer. On the other hand, I’m pleased with Tilda Swinton’s performance – she really grabs the whole film for herself. I’m quite confused with this flick’s approach as it was, to me, less interesting and surprising that what I had wished and expected. Maybe a second viewing in the future would prove more satisfying, but for now, I’m disappointed. [Sitges 2018]

If you’re not familiar with the original, this film will just look like garabge to you. For the connoisseurs of the original flick out there, The Wicker Man is a downright insult to the original and an absurd prank which must have been a flop already on paper. Neil LaBute is a terrible screenwriter and a poor director. His actor leadership is horrible. Yet, mostly for those reasons, this film slowly becomes, for some people, a kind of weird guilty pleasure. Today, the interaction between Nicolas Cage and the digital bees is stuff of legend (notice that there’s a version from which this top scene was unfortunately cut out). After all, this frantic Cage performance is the only thing to be excited about in The Wicker Man. And the fact someone was willing to play a cameo in this mess is really out of my understanding.

First of all, I would recommend not to find out anything in advance about this film, since it’s far better enjoyed without knowing the plot and with an open mind. It really made me hold my breath at times. Entertaining and bizarre, this thriller compares, formally speaking, to Scorsese’s After Hours; at the same time, it’s a very frantic, suspenseful and – obviously – chilling story full of surprises. A buried piece of filmmaking that would definitely deserve more attention and dusting, amongst others at connoisseur film festivals.

A psychological war film. Ten years later, Andrzej Zulawski made a somewhat more popular thriller, Possession, which placed quite high demands on the viewer. You can expect the same from The Third Part of the Night; this flick is not easy to grasp or understand clearly. One thing I’d like to mention is the outstanding music by Andrzej Korzynski, which beautifully depicts the atmosphere.

Before I dive into the review, let me tell you that if you see the trailer in advance, you already know 80% of the film, including the final scene. This is the exact reason why I barely watch any trailer, but what can you do when they throw it at your face prior to another flick in the cinema? The creators of such teasers just deserve to be lynched. Now (besides the really bad editing), the film itself disappointed me by being a total self-serving visual show. The straightforward plot is actually so conditioned by the search for an attractive appearance that some sub-scenes, for that reason, are pretty meaningless and their only goal is to enable the director to showcase a gorgeous shot (the burning tree). Then, there are scenes which don’t make sense either, but, this time, serve as crutches to push the story further – for example, one of the masculine characters has the urge to inspect his broken nose in the mirror, but rather than simply use one of the rear-view mirrors of his vehicle, he chooses to get a little make-up pocket mirror in the trunk, unwittingly unveiling his location to the revengeful heroine by the mirror’s reflection. Trivial pickiness, you say? Personally, it got me thinking. If those illogical details were part of the main character’s drug-induced hallucinations, it would be a different matter and there for a reason, but, unfortunately, it’s all over the film. I understand Revenge wasn’t meant to be a sophisticated flick, but when the whole thing relies so glaringly on those dozy crutches, then nothing can save the day – not even the interesting visuals or the electronic music.