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17 Jun 2008
FFW films I saw
17 Jun 2008 09:14 pmBlack Christmas
Students in a sorority house receive "heavy breathing" phone calls and then the killing starts. The cops are clueless and remain so until the end when it's too late. It's not graphic at all (neither in terms of gore/slasher elements or nudity, of which there is none). It's a precursor to the likes of Halloween and Friday 13th and it's quite enjoyable. The acting isn't too bad for a low-budget Canadian film, either. Interestingly, most of the actors of the major characters are still going so the film seems to have been a bit of a springboard for them.
An American Werewolf in London
I don't think this needs any introduction. It was the first time I'd seen this on the big screen and it was awesome. The transformation sequence can still hold its own after 27 years and is so much more realistic than any CGI. I don't really like the final werewolf but the transformation is awesome. It's also very funny and Jenny Agutter (who played Nurse Alex) was at the event for a 40 minute interview on Saturday.
The Mist
Based on the Stephen King novella of the same name (the biggest story in Skeleton Crew). It's quite faithful to the story (as far as I can remember, it having been at least 20 years since I read it), except for the ending (which was endorsed by King). It's photographed nicely (lots of shallow DOF work that really helped the character interaction). I really liked the film (except for the slightly dodgy CGI tentacles) but others had various issues with it. I don't think that there's a "only the faithful won't be eaten" message because that isn't in the book and it's not Stephen King's thing, either.
...And Now the Screaming Starts!
From finishing the evening with a modern film, we started the next morning with an Amicus classic from the early 70s. Very enjoyable and cheesy with heaving bosoms, murdering dodgy rubber hands, portraits of evil ancestors that go "deng", shoddy makeup and really bad fake blood but that's the charm of this kind of film from that time. The story is a family curse which is eventually investigated and uncovered by Peter Cushing's Dr Pope.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Dr. Phibes Rises Again in a double bill
The main reason for me watching these was that I'd never seen them in English and only on TV. The first one is just a classic and wonderful. It's hammy and cheesy but works and Vulnavia is gorgeous.
The second one in a row was just a bit too much and going from dreary Hammer era style it moved on to mid-seventies plush which didn't quite fit with the theme.
The House that DrippedBloodMagenta
(so called because of the degraded colour of the print) An anthology about a house whose tenants all go wrong in a way. A writer's character comes to life, two men find a woman they used to know at a waxworks museum, a father is afraid of his little daughter and a horror actor finds the genuine item. A little bit of personal trivia: My grandmother on my father's side was a born Hartmann. ;o)
The Thing in 70mm
Again no introduction for this Carpenter classic is needed. It was the first time I saw it on the big screen and in 70mm and it blew me away. All the versions I'd seen previously must have been hacked to bits because I don't remember that many graphic monster/gore scenes. Fantastic!
The Most Dangerous Game
Sunday morning saw the oldest film in my list. After a shipwreck a big game hunter and his female companion escape to a lone island where an eccentric Russian lives. Picking up the shipwrecked seems to be a bit of pasttime for him as another couple is already there. The gracious host soon transforms and becomes the hunter and the two protagonists have until dawn to escape from the island...
Shorts
A rather random collection from the very short and random (How to Pick Up Girls and Film Eight) via a boring bit in space a Polish artsy thing, a superb film about a killer visiting a shrink as he wants to get rid of his conscience, a rather good CG film called The Ark to another random one of a guy waking up in the middle of the road and finally a new take on Hänsel and Gretel (I loved this and Sweet Tooth is a much better title) and a variation on a werewolf/infection monster thing. The latter two were worth watching these alone.
Blood on Satan's Claw
Another British classic from the early 70s and a story of witchhunt. I'm glad this was a new/restored print as it's rather wonderfully photographed and very atmospheric. Both the writer and director were guests who joined in a "screentalk" with one of the organisers talking about the making of the film and a bit of their work since then. Very interesting.
Daughters of Darkness
Another film that caused mixed reactions. A different take on the vampire film from 1970 with two women in the villains' roles. Allegedly praised as the best European film (shot in Belgium) at the time, it was quite a bit rubbish. Lots of nudity and cheese, gratuitous violence and bad acting, random ex police inspectors on bicycles, "artsy" moments and a transsexual mother (in law). Well, it whiled away the time.
Horror Express
The festival couldn't have ended on a higher note, I think. Some of the smelliest cheese ever produced starring both Cristopher(sic) Lee and Peter Cushing who delivers the awesome line of "Monster? We're British!". A very enjoyable yarn. So much better on the big screen, too, despite or even because of the bad print, I remember seeing it on TV a few years ago, late on Friday night on the Beeb.
Oh, this was supposed to be Hell's Ground, a Pakistani zombie film but the print hadn't made it in time so Tony Earnshaw pulled this one out from the Museum archive. Best decision ever.
A rather fine festival of mostly classic Brit Horror. I'll be going back next year. Let's see what their selection will be then. We're hoping for some more SciFi.
Students in a sorority house receive "heavy breathing" phone calls and then the killing starts. The cops are clueless and remain so until the end when it's too late. It's not graphic at all (neither in terms of gore/slasher elements or nudity, of which there is none). It's a precursor to the likes of Halloween and Friday 13th and it's quite enjoyable. The acting isn't too bad for a low-budget Canadian film, either. Interestingly, most of the actors of the major characters are still going so the film seems to have been a bit of a springboard for them.
An American Werewolf in London
I don't think this needs any introduction. It was the first time I'd seen this on the big screen and it was awesome. The transformation sequence can still hold its own after 27 years and is so much more realistic than any CGI. I don't really like the final werewolf but the transformation is awesome. It's also very funny and Jenny Agutter (who played Nurse Alex) was at the event for a 40 minute interview on Saturday.
The Mist
Based on the Stephen King novella of the same name (the biggest story in Skeleton Crew). It's quite faithful to the story (as far as I can remember, it having been at least 20 years since I read it), except for the ending (which was endorsed by King). It's photographed nicely (lots of shallow DOF work that really helped the character interaction). I really liked the film (except for the slightly dodgy CGI tentacles) but others had various issues with it. I don't think that there's a "only the faithful won't be eaten" message because that isn't in the book and it's not Stephen King's thing, either.
...And Now the Screaming Starts!
From finishing the evening with a modern film, we started the next morning with an Amicus classic from the early 70s. Very enjoyable and cheesy with heaving bosoms, murdering dodgy rubber hands, portraits of evil ancestors that go "deng", shoddy makeup and really bad fake blood but that's the charm of this kind of film from that time. The story is a family curse which is eventually investigated and uncovered by Peter Cushing's Dr Pope.
The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Dr. Phibes Rises Again in a double bill
The main reason for me watching these was that I'd never seen them in English and only on TV. The first one is just a classic and wonderful. It's hammy and cheesy but works and Vulnavia is gorgeous.
The second one in a row was just a bit too much and going from dreary Hammer era style it moved on to mid-seventies plush which didn't quite fit with the theme.
The House that Dripped
(so called because of the degraded colour of the print) An anthology about a house whose tenants all go wrong in a way. A writer's character comes to life, two men find a woman they used to know at a waxworks museum, a father is afraid of his little daughter and a horror actor finds the genuine item. A little bit of personal trivia: My grandmother on my father's side was a born Hartmann. ;o)
The Thing in 70mm
Again no introduction for this Carpenter classic is needed. It was the first time I saw it on the big screen and in 70mm and it blew me away. All the versions I'd seen previously must have been hacked to bits because I don't remember that many graphic monster/gore scenes. Fantastic!
The Most Dangerous Game
Sunday morning saw the oldest film in my list. After a shipwreck a big game hunter and his female companion escape to a lone island where an eccentric Russian lives. Picking up the shipwrecked seems to be a bit of pasttime for him as another couple is already there. The gracious host soon transforms and becomes the hunter and the two protagonists have until dawn to escape from the island...
Shorts
A rather random collection from the very short and random (How to Pick Up Girls and Film Eight) via a boring bit in space a Polish artsy thing, a superb film about a killer visiting a shrink as he wants to get rid of his conscience, a rather good CG film called The Ark to another random one of a guy waking up in the middle of the road and finally a new take on Hänsel and Gretel (I loved this and Sweet Tooth is a much better title) and a variation on a werewolf/infection monster thing. The latter two were worth watching these alone.
Blood on Satan's Claw
Another British classic from the early 70s and a story of witchhunt. I'm glad this was a new/restored print as it's rather wonderfully photographed and very atmospheric. Both the writer and director were guests who joined in a "screentalk" with one of the organisers talking about the making of the film and a bit of their work since then. Very interesting.
Daughters of Darkness
Another film that caused mixed reactions. A different take on the vampire film from 1970 with two women in the villains' roles. Allegedly praised as the best European film (shot in Belgium) at the time, it was quite a bit rubbish. Lots of nudity and cheese, gratuitous violence and bad acting, random ex police inspectors on bicycles, "artsy" moments and a transsexual mother (in law). Well, it whiled away the time.
Horror Express
The festival couldn't have ended on a higher note, I think. Some of the smelliest cheese ever produced starring both Cristopher(sic) Lee and Peter Cushing who delivers the awesome line of "Monster? We're British!". A very enjoyable yarn. So much better on the big screen, too, despite or even because of the bad print, I remember seeing it on TV a few years ago, late on Friday night on the Beeb.
Oh, this was supposed to be Hell's Ground, a Pakistani zombie film but the print hadn't made it in time so Tony Earnshaw pulled this one out from the Museum archive. Best decision ever.
A rather fine festival of mostly classic Brit Horror. I'll be going back next year. Let's see what their selection will be then. We're hoping for some more SciFi.
I would try anything at least once
17 Jun 2008 09:49 pmbut I don't think I would touch Casu marzu. Cheese crawling with live maggots goes a little bit far for my taste.