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Post by Rorschach on Jun 17, 2009 16:08:31 GMT -5
Ha, join the club guy. The worse bit may be since it's universal releasing it they may have a new set of extras warranting a new purchase. I guess you just have to laugh about this kind of crazy stuff. Oh no, I'm not really angry about the whole thing. Just highly annoyed. It seems like every time I hold out for a special edition or Region 1 release, I relent and purchase the barebones or Region 2 edition, only for the disc I was waiting for in the first place to get announced shortly thereafter. Some days, you'd swear these companies have built-in radar for these sorts of things... Tell me about it. Have you seen the number of film nowadays that have "steelbook" special editions? Most of those which are horror films, I own in the regular, plastic case format.
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Post by DSR on Jun 17, 2009 21:16:49 GMT -5
So, just yesterday I decided to finally pick up Halloween H2O on DVD, so I can rid myself of my VHS copy. Y'know, I've given the movie quite a bit of flack for being basically a generic post- Scream slasher movie, which just happens to have the Guy in the Shatner mask as the killer. But re-watching it, I don't think its quite as bad as I used to. While some of the dialogue is corny (like any time LL Cool J says something), everyone does about the best they can with it. And I really dig the moment where Jamie Lee Curtis locks herself into the school grounds to confront Michael once and for all...until the awful sequel. Anyway, I give the film 3.7 out of 5. Pretty good. It's not quite as generic as I thought, but its still got some of that post- Scream stuff that I find annoying (including a scene from Scream 2 playing on a tv). And I have to deduct some for the Creed song playing over the end credits.
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Post by GuyOfOwnage on Jun 17, 2009 21:44:51 GMT -5
So, just yesterday I decided to finally pick up Halloween H2O on DVD, so I can rid myself of my VHS copy. Y'know, I've given the movie quite a bit of flack for being basically a generic post- Scream slasher movie, which just happens to have the Guy in the Shatner mask as the killer. But re-watching it, I don't think its quite as bad as I used to. While some of the dialogue is corny (like any time LL Cool J says something), everyone does about the best they can with it. And I really dig the moment where Jamie Lee Curtis locks herself into the school grounds to confront Michael once and for all...until the awful sequel. Anyway, I give the film 3.7 out of 5. Pretty good. It's not quite as generic as I thought, but its still got some of that post- Scream stuff that I find annoying (including a scene from Scream 2 playing on a tv). And I have to deduct some for the Creed song playing over the end credits. Good call, DSR. I've never understood the amount of hate this movie receives. It's really not as bad as some people would lead you to believe. It's actually one of the better sequels in the franchise (alongside 2 and 4). I honestly think this movie should've been the last, allowing the series to go out with a shred of its dignity intact after it cleverly ignored Halloween 6. Although I hold a soft spot for Resurrection, mainly because it was the first Halloween film I ever saw, it was ultimately pointless in the grand scheme of things.
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Jun 17, 2009 22:42:20 GMT -5
Ah, yes, the late '90s and early '00s, when the soundtracks for virtually every horror and action film were filled with names like "Limp," "Buck," Zombie" and "Creed." All those words kind of melded together after a while.
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Ken Ivory
Hank Scorpio
This sorta thing IS my bag, baby.
Posts: 5,282
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Post by Ken Ivory on Jun 18, 2009 2:52:26 GMT -5
Gah! Not a big fan of 90's horror. In face I kinda fell out of love with horror as a result. They all just seemed very generic and started to blend together.
In fact my next Hall of Shame induction deals with perhaps my least favourite 90's slasher film.
Stay tuned!!!
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Post by DSR on Jun 18, 2009 2:54:20 GMT -5
I like Resurrection because a.) I'm a huge Busta Rhymes fan and b.) its a movie so awful you can't help but laugh. Although, along with my newfound appreciation for H2O comes a bit of newfound un-appreciation for how Resurrection ruined at least a perfectly good ending for the film that preceded it. Ah, yes, the late '90s and early '00s, when the soundtracks for virtually every horror and action film were filled with names like "Limp," "Buck," Zombie" and "Creed." All those words kind of melded together after a while. You forgot the words "Drowning" and "Pool." How many movies can you recall where the preview urged you to let the bodies hit the floor?
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Ken Ivory
Hank Scorpio
This sorta thing IS my bag, baby.
Posts: 5,282
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Post by Ken Ivory on Jun 18, 2009 3:25:43 GMT -5
I like Resurrection because a.) I'm a huge Busta Rhymes fan and b.) its a movie so awful you can't help but laugh. Although, along with my newfound appreciation for H2O comes a bit of newfound un-appreciation for how Resurrection ruined at least a perfectly good ending for the film that preceded it. Ah, yes, the late '90s and early '00s, when the soundtracks for virtually every horror and action film were filled with names like "Limp," "Buck," Zombie" and "Creed." All those words kind of melded together after a while. You forgot the words "Drowning" and "Pool." How many movies can you recall where the preview urged you to let the bodies hit the floor? Jason X for one.
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
Posts: 4,874
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Jun 18, 2009 10:50:59 GMT -5
Busta Rhymes is indeed the man, DSR. Since my posted video of his "Put Your Hands Where Your Eyes Can See" got completely no-sold in the last thread, might as well just keep talking about the off-topic subject with little to no repercussions - his albums "The Coming" and 'When Disaster Strikes" are masterpieces, and "Turn It Up" is perhaps the best late-'90s hip hop song EVER. Party in the loft, baby! Also, might as well throw a review up on a weekday for a change, so maybe, just MAYBE, it might not get no-sold. See, I work the graveyard shift, and the only days when I feel like writing reviews are Saturdays and Sundays; ironically, those are either (a) slow days for the forum, or (b) everyone still comes, but wants to make it at least SEEM like they have something to do on their weekends. But not me. ;D For some reason, this is kind of the "forgotten" entry in Dario Argento's Three Mothers trilogy; most people tend to go out of their way to seek out Suspiria, the 1977 masterwork that many horror scholars point to as one of the absolute high points of the genre, or the recently done Mother of Tears. I've noticed this in these very threads; we've talked about those two films, but not this one. Inferno, while definitely not a perfect film, is MUCH better than Mother of Tears, although not quite as visionary and gut-wrenchingly tense as Suspiria. Make no mistake about it; Suspiria deserves every bit of the hype that it has, and in the opinion of this reporter, when viewed (as I did for the first time) in the middle of the night with headphones shutting everything else out, there's no movie with more power to creep the holy hell out of you. As the first part of the "Mothers" trilogy, it really doesn't have much of a connection to this film; while Inferno places the events of Suspiria in the larger framework of the trilogy's storyline, it really is a standalone film. Long story short - first time viewers will have no problem picking up on Inferno if they haven't watched Suspiria. The movie begins with narration telling us the ancient story of the Three Mothers. There's the mother of sighs, who turned out to be the mysterious villain in Suspiria, the mother of tears, making her residence in Rome (and covered in the third film in the series), and the mother of darkness, with New York City as a base of operations. The narration is served up with some very cool music by Keith Emerson; while not as disquieting and disorienting as Goblin's score from Suspiria, it still really sets the mood, and sheds new light on the "what the hell is happening?" atmosphere of Suspiria while really jump-starting this flick. The narration, as it turns out, was being read by Rose Elliot (Irene Miracle), a poet living in New York City. There's another very tense scene in this opening passage as Rose suspects that her own residence is the dwelling place of one of the Mothers; she makes her way to the cellar, finds a hole filled with water, and indeed finds a whole veritable WORLD beneath her typical apartment building. Creepy stuff indeed. Rose writes a letter to her brother Mark (Leigh McCloskey), who in typical Argento form is a music student living in Rome. He reads the book during class, but is distracted by the eerie, intense gaze of a fellow student who is actually meant to be the Mother of Tears herself. This part of the film was pretty damn amazing; I really, really, REALLY wish that Mother of Tears would have been Argento's next movie. Picking up where this film leaves off with the same woman playing the titular character would have been a sight to behold. Indeed, he is so unnerved by the stare that he drops the letter, at which point his friend Sarah (Eleonora Giorgi) picks it up and begins researching these mysterious "Three Mothers" that the letter won't stop jabbering about. This leads to some real money scenes that shed some more light on the unpenetrable cloud that was Suspiria (not that there was anything wrong with the unpenetrable cloud - it was fine the way it was). After tracking down a copy of the same "Three Mothers" book that Mark's sister had been reading, Sarah is attacked by a mysterious man who bore a striking resemblance to the never-seen but always-present knife-wielding killer in Suspiria; later, Sarah and an acquaintance are brutally murdered by a gloved killer after the lights repeatedly go out. It seems that whoever threatens the Three Mothers, in any way, is warped into a kind of alternate reality, and much like anyone who dares enter the abode of Kayako Saeki, said person is f***ed. Adding support to the theory, Rose Elliot is murdered an entire continent away in a very similar fashion; her apartment building becomes a hellish nightmare world a la Silent Hill before her very eyes immediately before she is nearly decapitated with a window. The remainder of Inferno leaves us with McCloskey's character, and from here, the movie is a bit of a letdown. The first half is fantastic, but from here, it essentially turns into a Scooby Doo-style "follow the bread crumb" trail mystery, with a surprisingly ineffectual hero in Mark; here we had an opportunity for a thoroughly emotional second half of the film, with Mark Elliot as a very relatable hero tracking down the killers of his sister. The "sibling revenge" angle might be a cliched story, but it also works, and it's a story that I personally have a great deal of emotional investment in as someone who lost a sibling within the last two years. But while Mark Elliot was a fairly shallow character in Rome, he's still a fairly shallow character in New York City when he arrives at Rose's dreaded apartment building. Until the very last reel, Mark seems to be a character guided by the forces around him; it's true that this is the way the story might have been designed, as he was up against a force that is both ancient and very powerful. Nonetheless, I wanted a little more personal involvement and redemption for the character. Not to say that there aren't some standout moments in Inferno's last hour, if you don't mind waiting until the big finale to see them. There's a couple more murder scenes, and just like all Dario Argento murder scenes, they're top notch; there's the continued excellent music of Keith Emerson as Mark pieces all of the clues together to find the lair of the mother of darkness, and there's the very sinister moments just before the verbal altercation between Mark and the mother herself. One more thing about this movie's major baddie: true to Argento form, this movie succeeded in pulling the wool over my eyes in regards to who the "killer" turns out to be. I will freely admit to not seeing this movie's key swerve coming. One slight caveat with the ending, however; it's anticlimactic, but whereas the anticlimactic death of the witch in Suspiria seemed perfect, this one just doesn't sit right with me; it's probably just me, but as someone who lost a sibling, I would have preferred a little more anger and action from Mark in that final confrontation with the mother of darkness. Overall, however, Inferno has positives that outweigh the negatives. This is definitely one of the more unsung films in horror history; it received only a fraction of the wide theatrical release that Suspiria enjoyed, and thus is nowhere near as widely seen (or even known). But while not as good as its more famous forebearer, Inferno ranks as one of the better horror films of the '80s; its first act, along with much of its second, is absolute dynamite, the murder set pieces are amazing, and the soundtrack is pretty damn incredible. *** 1/2
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Welfare Willis
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Post by Welfare Willis on Jun 18, 2009 11:17:37 GMT -5
Great review TR and I couldn't agree more.
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Post by GuyOfOwnage on Jun 18, 2009 11:30:49 GMT -5
Busta Rhymes is indeed the man, DSR. Since my posted video of his "Put Your Hands Where Your Eyes Can See" got completely no-sold in the last thread, might as well just keep talking about the off-topic subject with little to no repercussions - his albums "The Coming" and 'When Disaster Strikes" are masterpieces, and "Turn It Up" is perhaps the best late-'90s hip hop song EVER. Party in the loft, baby! Also, might as well throw a review up on a weekday for a change, so maybe, just MAYBE, it might not get no-sold. See, I work the graveyard shift, and the only days when I feel like writing reviews are Saturdays and Sundays; ironically, those are either (a) slow days for the forum, or (b) everyone still comes, but wants to make it at least SEEM like they have something to do on their weekends. But not me. ;D For some reason, this is kind of the "forgotten" entry in Dario Argento's Three Mothers trilogy; most people tend to go out of their way to seek out Suspiria, the 1977 masterwork that many horror scholars point to as one of the absolute high points of the genre, or the recently done Mother of Tears. I've noticed this in these very threads; we've talked about those two films, but not this one. Inferno, while definitely not a perfect film, is MUCH better than Mother of Tears, although not quite as visionary and gut-wrenchingly tense as Suspiria. Make no mistake about it; Suspiria deserves every bit of the hype that it has, and in the opinion of this reporter, when viewed (as I did for the first time) in the middle of the night with headphones shutting everything else out, there's no movie with more power to creep the holy hell out of you. As the first part of the "Mothers" trilogy, it really doesn't have much of a connection to this film; while Inferno places the events of Suspiria in the larger framework of the trilogy's storyline, it really is a standalone film. Long story short - first time viewers will have no problem picking up on Inferno if they haven't watched Suspiria. The movie begins with narration telling us the ancient story of the Three Mothers. There's the mother of sighs, who turned out to be the mysterious villain in Suspiria, the mother of tears, making her residence in Rome (and covered in the third film in the series), and the mother of darkness, with New York City as a base of operations. The narration is served up with some very cool music by Keith Emerson; while not as disquieting and disorienting as Goblin's score from Suspiria, it still really sets the mood, and sheds new light on the "what the hell is happening?" atmosphere of Suspiria while really jump-starting this flick. The narration, as it turns out, was being read by Rose Elliot (Irene Miracle), a poet living in New York City. There's another very tense scene in this opening passage as Rose suspects that her own residence is the dwelling place of one of the Mothers; she makes her way to the cellar, finds a hole filled with water, and indeed finds a whole veritable WORLD beneath her typical apartment building. Creepy stuff indeed. Rose writes a letter to her brother Mark (Leigh McCloskey), who in typical Argento form is a music student living in Rome. He reads the book during class, but is distracted by the eerie, intense gaze of a fellow student who is actually meant to be the Mother of Tears herself. This part of the film was pretty damn amazing; I really, really, REALLY wish that Mother of Tears would have been Argento's next movie. Picking up where this film leaves off with the same woman playing the titular character would have been a sight to behold. Indeed, he is so unnerved by the stare that he drops the letter, at which point his friend Sarah (Eleonora Giorgi) picks it up and begins researching these mysterious "Three Mothers" that the letter won't stop jabbering about. This leads to some real money scenes that shed some more light on the unpenetrable cloud that was Suspiria (not that there was anything wrong with the unpenetrable cloud - it was fine the way it was). After tracking down a copy of the same "Three Mothers" book that Mark's sister had been reading, Sarah is attacked by a mysterious man who bore a striking resemblance to the never-seen but always-present knife-wielding killer in Suspiria; later, Sarah and an acquaintance are brutally murdered by a glove-wielding killer after the lights repeatedly go out. It seems that whoever threatens the Three Mothers, in any way, is warped into a kind of alternate reality, and much like anyone who dares enter the abode of Kayako Saeki, said person is f***ed. Adding support to the theory, Rose Elliot is murdered an entire continent away in a very similar fashion; her apartment building becomes a hellish nightmare world a la Silent Hill before her very eyes immediately before she is nearly decapitated with a window. The remainder of Inferno leaves us with McCloskey's character, and from here, the movie is a bit of a letdown. The first half is fantastic, but from here, it essentially turns into a Scooby Doo-style "follow the bread crumb" trail mystery, with a surprisingly ineffectual hero in Mark; here we had an opportunity for a thoroughly emotional second half of the film, with Mark Elliot as a very relatable hero tracking down the killers of his sister. The "sibling revenge" angle might be a cliched story, but it also works, and it's a story that I personally have a great deal of emotional investment in as someone who lost a sibling within the last two years. But while Mark Elliot was a fairly shallow character in Rome, he's still a fairly shallow character in New York City when he arrives at Rose's dreaded apartment building. Until the very last reel, Mark seems to be a character guided by the forces around him; it's true that this is the way the story might have been designed, as he was up against a force that is both ancient and very powerful. Nonetheless, I wanted a little more personal involvement and redemption for the character. Not to say that there aren't some standout moments in Inferno's last hour, if you don't mind waiting until the big finale to see them. There's a couple more murder scenes, and just like all Dario Argento murder scenes, they're top notch; there's the continued excellent music of Keith Emerson as Mark pieces all of the clues together to find the lair of the mother of darkness, and there's the very sinister moments just before the verbal altercation between Mark and the mother herself. One more thing about this movie's major baddie: true to Argento form, this movie succeeded in pulling the wool over my eyes in regards to who the "killer" turns out to be. I will freely admit to not seeing this movie's key swerve coming. One slight caveat with the ending, however; it's anticlimactic, but whereas the anticlimactic death of the witch in Suspiria seemed perfect, this one just doesn't sit right with me; it's probably just me, but as someone who lost a sibling, I would have preferred a little more anger and action from Mark in that final confrontation with the mother of darkness. Overall, however, Inferno has positives that outweigh the negatives. This is definitely one of the more unsung films in horror history; it received only a fraction of the wide theatrical release that Suspiria enjoyed, and thus is nowhere near as widely seen (or even known). But while not as good as its more famous forebearer, Inferno ranks as one of the better horror films of the '80s; its first act, along with much of its second, is absolute dynamite, the murder set pieces are amazing, and the soundtrack is pretty damn incredible. *** 1/2 What a coincidence...I just ordered the Three Mothers trilogy a few days ago. I haven't seen any of the three films before, mainly due to the fact that I was waiting for the soundtrack issue on the Suspiria DVD to be corrected. After years of waiting and passing on all opportunities I've had to view this hailed masterpiece, I finally gave in and bought the film. As a result, I also haven't seen Inferno or Mother of Tears. I skipped over most of your review to avoid spoilers, but I'm definitely intrigued based on what I read. I have no idea what I'll be getting into when I get around to watching these films, but my interest is undoubtedly piqued.
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Welfare Willis
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Post by Welfare Willis on Jun 18, 2009 11:38:57 GMT -5
What a coincidence...I just ordered the Three Mothers trilogy a few days. I haven't seen any of the three films before, mainly due to the fact that I was waiting for the soundtrack issue on the Suspiria DVD to be corrected. After years of waiting and passing on all opportunities I've had to view this hailed masterpiece, I finally gave in and bought the film. As a result, I also haven't seen Inferno or Mother of Tears. I skipped over most of your review to avoid spoilers, but I'm definitely intrigued based on what I read. I have no idea what I'll be getting into when I get around to watching these films, but my interest is undoubtedly piqued. What a shame then that Anchor Bay is coming out with a brand new box set of the Three Mothers trilogy. Just BSing you Guy. ;D Dimension pictures currently owns the rights to Suspiria and Mother of Tears films.
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Post by GuyOfOwnage on Jun 18, 2009 11:44:59 GMT -5
What a coincidence...I just ordered the Three Mothers trilogy a few days ago. I haven't seen any of the three films before, mainly due to the fact that I was waiting for the soundtrack issue on the Suspiria DVD to be corrected. After years of waiting and passing on all opportunities I've had to view this hailed masterpiece, I finally gave in and bought the film. As a result, I also haven't seen Inferno or Mother of Tears. I skipped over most of your review to avoid spoilers, but I'm definitely intrigued based on what I read. I have no idea what I'll be getting into when I get around to watching these films, but my interest is undoubtedly piqued. What a shame then that Anchor Bay is coming out with a brand new box set of the Three Mothers trilogy. Just BSing you Guy. ;D With my luck as of late, it would've been featured brand new, digitally restored transfers, with Suspiria's original soundtrack restored and a bevy of "never before seen" extras. You're still a bastard for doing that to me, though ;D
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Welfare Willis
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Post by Welfare Willis on Jun 18, 2009 12:04:18 GMT -5
Didn't see Andy post this: Courtsey of our friends at blu-ray.com: Well considering how TR loves this film I may give it a pick up. Now if Toei will just get off it's damn high horse and give us some blu-ray battle royale love.
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
From the eerie, eerie depths of Lake Okabena
Posts: 4,874
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Jun 18, 2009 12:34:39 GMT -5
Didn't see Andy post this: Courtsey of our friends at blu-ray.com: Well considering how TR loves this film I may give it a pick up. Now if Toei will just get off it's damn high horse and give us some blu-ray battle royale love. I've actually had THIS review sitting around on my hard drive for a while, but didn't want to post it because I figured people were sick of hearing me harp about how awesome this movie is (since I've already kind of SEMI-reviewed it in my "Top ten horror films of all time" thread, as well as all the praise I've heaped on it here). But, since I'm in a post-happy mood... People who read my reviews (all three of you) will recall that we had a conversation a few weeks back about how Hollywood horror and action movies are extremely hung up on making their villains emo and sympathetic, and simply cannot accept that some people are just EVIL anymore. And you know what? This wouldn't be a problem if the manner in which American filmmakers tried to accomplish this wasn't so damned trite and contrived, and hit you over the head with the "FEEL SORRY FOR THIS PERSON" message. Audition, a 1999 masterpiece of kickass J-horror, is a movie that pulls off a feat that hadn't been done this well since the original Psycho - even though we know that Asami Yamazaki is a monster, and we see her commit stunningly brutal acts of violence, we grow to care about and relate to the character in a genuine, real way just like we did with Norman Bates, and not in the lazy "this person is only killing assholes" way of Rob Zombie's Halloween or Marcus Nispel's Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Hey, everyone just wants to be loved, after all. The movie tells the story of Aoyoma (fantastic character actor Ryo Ishibashi), a middle-aged widower who hasn't been able to move on from his wife's death eight years ago. After much prodding from his teenage son, Aoyoma agrees to start dating again, and soon a film producer friend has come up with a plan for him - hold a phony film audition to find the "professional, artistic" girl that Aoyoma wants. Much of the film's middle chapters are made up of a courtship between Aoyoma and the girl he has chosen - a beautiful, shy, and smart ballerina named Asami (Eihi Shiina). The love story in Audition is stunningly well done, and director Takashi Miike does a fantastic job framing his two central characters and making both sympathetic. But just under the surface of the fluffy love story of Audition is a gut-wrenching sense of dread, and we are periodically given reminders that not all may be right with Asami. One scene in particular, with Asami sitting perfectly still for an undetermined amount of time alone in her apartment simply waiting for her phone to ring is profoundly disturbing. I've stated this before about other movies, but I'll say it again; some people say that this film drags a bit, but to them, I say that this is what is known as "slow burn." It seems that most horror (and action, for that matter) films now are content to give you everything without having to work for it. Audition is not a film for fans of the Eli Roth or Saw/ Hostel/torture porn school of horror. The entire film is a buildup to the final twenty minutes, which may be the single most brutal, not quite shockingly graphic, but sickening series of revelations in the annals of film. It is living proof that horror films are more vital, important pieces of literary cinema than any of the supposed "great works of art" that the Academy trots out every year. It is also a very artistic film, with excellent dichatamies, use of flashbacks, and stunning camera work. But the thing that surprised me the MOST about Audition when I first saw it is just how EMOTIONAL the movie is...particularly as it relates to the character of Asami. As stated above, a lesser film would attempt to make the character sympathetic merely by making the victim characters dislikable, and thus, the audience would be required to root for her by default. But this movie takes a much more ambitious path; it tears your heart out while churning your stomach with its incredibly harrowing final quarter. My favorite scene in the entire movie occurs just before the movie's violent climax; as Aoyoma realizes in horror what is about to happen to him, the true nature of the girl that he is in love with is portrayed to him through a cavalcade of flashbacks. This sequence begins with an incredibly stirring scene with Aoyoma and Asami sitting in a restaurant, and Asami telling Aoyoma her familial and life story. While we the audience know by this point that not all is right with this character, and this scene does not apologize for her upcoming actions, it incredibly makes us understand them...on some base level, we are all alone, just like Asami. Without exaggeration, the scene comes close to eliciting tears from yours truly every time I see it. So simply staged, yet effective! Since this movie is very widely seen and highly praised by critics and audiences alike, inevitably the topic of a possible remake comes up. Shockingly, there hasn't been much talk in Hollywood's inner circle about one; in fact, the aura about this movie seems to be built up so well that its status is very similar to the original Jaws. Audition might enjoy possible untouchable status, and I for one am very thankful for that. Not because I don't think that this story could be made entertaining again, because I actually do think that it could IF they found the right actors for the leads and didn't settle for a couple lame flavors of the month, and if the director paid just as much attention to building up the characters as building up the blood and guts. However, if this movie were remade, I wouldn't see that scenario happening; I could see a movie going the typical recent horror route of attempting to over-explain every single aspect of their Asami character's back story to the point where all of the mystique, drama, and emotion was robbed out of the situation, and I could also see a significant portion of this movie's 1+ hour build being stripped away for about five more murder scenes. Nonetheless, I PRAY that this is a movie that never has to suffer the stain of a U.S. remake, because it's PERFECT the way it is. Takashi Miike is a name that is well-known to fans of Japanese horror (and Asian cinema in general), as he has created a pretty well-known body of work over his two decades-long career. Ichi the Killer, the Dead or Alive trilogy and Gozu are all noteworthy films from Miike; nonetheless, this still stands as his masterpiece. It's a textbook example of the slow burn with excellent acting, directing and living, breathing, believable characters that pull you right into the unfolding web on the screen. And while much of Audition is made up of a very engaging love story, make no mistake; this was #11 on Bravo's 100 scariest movie moments for a reason, and when this movie's horror finally hits, it will knock the hell out of you. ****
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Post by Rorschach on Jun 18, 2009 13:23:52 GMT -5
Agree with that review 100% TR. I can only shudder to think of an American remake starring Kristen Stewart and Jason Bateman.
ERRGH. I mean, as has been proven, I think for the final time with THE UNINVITED (which was a much inferior remake of A TALE OF TWO SISTERS) some movies just do not NEED to be remade, and in fact, doing so kills any and all heart and soul the original possessed.
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Post by DSR on Jun 18, 2009 15:21:00 GMT -5
I taped Inferno when it aired on IFC one Halloween. I haven't watched it since then, though. I may have to dig that tape out and give it a re-watching.
Audition, I bought on DVD, and after watching it that first time, I was moved and shocked and really haven't felt compelled to watch it again. It's a film that feels like its punching you in the stomach as you watch it, and while I feel its important for art that gets that kind of reaction from you to exist, its obviously not a feeling I'm inclined to revisit often.
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Post by GuyOfOwnage on Jun 18, 2009 20:25:38 GMT -5
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Post by Rorschach on Jun 18, 2009 20:28:45 GMT -5
Agreed on that note, DSR. I've watched AUDITION maybe three times since I bought it. I really have to be in a special mood to put it in and go through that emotional rollercoaster all over again.
But hey...why should we spend time talking about QUALITY horror movies, when what looks to be one of the worst, cheesiest, and above all else most UNNECESSARY remakes of all time is almost upon us?
Yes, horror fans, there is a remake even more pointless than BLACK XMAS...and it goes by the name THE STEPFATHER. A remake of a movie that earned it's "so bad, it's good" stripes, THE STEPFATHER is a true head scratcher starring one of the doctors from NIP/TUCK as the titular evil stepfather. And no, that's not spoiling ANYTHING. Observe the trailer below, where literally every turn and twist is laid out in the space of under three minutes.
Now....it might just be me, but I'd rather not go to a movie where I know from the outset that the stepdad is evil, and thus have to endure the first thirty minutes of a movie where the other main characters stumble, bumble and trip all over themselves avoiding the obvious. And therein lies the problem. Those who actually enjoyed the original STEPFATHER won't want to go and see this because they KNOW how this thing goes down, and they have the original on DVD to look back on if they want to watch that particular movie so badly. Horror fans new to the series will likely laugh at how dated the formula of this movie is, and move on to more graphic, more shocking fare, like the inevitable SAW sequel that is due out.
Seriously...this one is going to be painful to sit through. The original wasn't anything special anyway, though at the time, the formula it used wasn't nearly as played out, so it had a bit of tension to it. But it's 2009, and we've had any and all manner of "evil relative" movies come out, so not only do we know this song by heart, it's one that's grown so familiar that we as horror fans change the station when it starts to play on the radio.
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Post by GuyOfOwnage on Jun 18, 2009 20:37:04 GMT -5
Agreed on that note, DSR. I've watched AUDITION maybe three times since I bought it. I really have to be in a special mood to put it in and go through that emotional rollercoaster all over again. But hey...why should we spend time talking about QUALITY horror movies, when what looks to be one of the worst, cheesiest, and above all else most UNNECESSARY remakes of all time is almost upon us? Yes, horror fans, there is a remake even more pointless than BLACK XMAS...and it goes by the name THE STEPFATHER. A remake of a movie that earned it's "so bad, it's good" stripes, THE STEPFATHER is a true head scratcher starring one of the doctors from NIP/TUCK as the titular evil stepfather. And no, that's not spoiling ANYTHING. Observe the trailer below, where literally every turn and twist is laid out in the space of under three minutes. Now....it might just be me, but I'd rather not go to a movie where I know from the outset that the stepdad is evil, and thus have to endure the first thirty minutes of a movie where the other main characters stumble, bumble and trip all over themselves avoiding the obvious. And therein lies the problem. Those who actually enjoyed the original STEPFATHER won't want to go and see this because they KNOW how this thing goes down, and they have the original on DVD to look back on if they want to watch that particular movie so badly. Horror fans new to the series will likely laugh at how dated the formula of this movie is, and move on to more graphic, more shocking fare, like the inevitable SAW sequel that is due out. Seriously...this one is going to be painful to sit through. The original wasn't anything special anyway, though at the time, the formula it used wasn't nearly as played out, so it had a bit of tension to it. But it's 2009, and we've had any and all manner of "evil relative" movies come out, so not only do we know this song by heart, it's one that's grown so familiar that we as horror fans change the station when it starts to play on the radio. Shhhh, did you hear that? Listen closer... It's the bottom of the barrel.
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Post by Rorschach on Jun 18, 2009 20:59:14 GMT -5
The bottom of the barrel, being punched right through with jackhammer force by a Hollywood not content to merely scrape at it.
YEESH. I mean, I had thought that by announcing it's latest slate of remakes, the bottom of the barrel was being scraped. Now comes this movie, and shows that they apparently hadn't hit rock bottom yet. I mean, where do they go from here? This is truly the rock bottom, end of the line, undeniable proof that the creative juices have not only stopped flowing, but the river beds they had created are as dry as the Gobi, too.
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