Primordial Fear: Antichrist

ANTICHRIST: 2009: HORROR:  To say that this movie was a depraved look into the mind of director Lars von Trier is an understatement.  After watching it, I was pretty disturbed by the subject matter and the overall impact.  Horror movies are one thing, but this movie is seriously on another level.  It will grab the deepest, darkest, most evil part of your psyche and shake it until it admits defeat.


Be scared, very scared.

The way in which Antichrist scares you is not in the typical horror movie fashion.  This movie goes into uncharted territory, exploring every nook and cranny until you are left exhausted and pretty much psychologically shattered.  Not only is the movie extremely graphic both sexually and with respect to gore, it also develops the horror in such a way that it seems impossible to ignore.  It just has that type of an impact.

 
I don't think I've seen a movie like this in awhile.

Don't get me wrong, the movie was filmed exceedingly well with careful deliberation and attention to detail.  It just goes into a place that most movies will not go to.  Perhaps they don't go there because they don't know exactly where it is. 


Antichrist is disturbing in every sense of the word.

The story involves a couple who lose a child while they are having sex.  The mother of the child played by Charlotte Gainsbourg is grief stricken and is at odds with her husband, William Defoe over how to deal with the grief.  Since he is a therapist, he tries to use his techniques to help her through the stages of grief.  Ever didactic in his approach, he infuriates his wife although she is careful not to show too much emotions right away.  That will come later.


The chemistry between the two was intense.

After traveling to a secluded cabin, "He" played by Defoe tries everything he can to cure his wife.  She starts to improve but then loses it completely.  Little by little, you get to see just how depraved she is and even start to find out startling developments regarding the child and his accident.  Soon after, all hell breaks loose and Antichrist begins the descent into the most unholy of places ever depicted in a movie in awhile.  Antichrist then becomes an exercise in depravity.


After taking a serious departure from reality, the wife becomes a grotesque monster.

There were no zombies, or vampires, or supernatural elements at play here.  That is what made the movie so disturbing.  It is totally conceivable that this could happen and I'm sure that the director knew this reality and focused all of his efforts on this life a magnifying glass focuses a sunbeam.  It became almost unbearable. Being a fan of horror movies, I kept watching.  Part of me wanted to satisfy my curiosity and see if the movie would explain it was all a dream, or "I didn't mean that, ha ha ha joke's on you", but it never did.  It just left me dangling there out of breath.  When the wife chases after the husband, mangled and bleeding to death, her screams of "You Bastard, Where are you?" echoed in the movie and probably will echo in my dreams.  It was very disconcerting.


Watch his movie at your own risk.

The whole movie just leads up to the final chapter where the wife tortures the husband in a most graphic and terrifying way.  I have never seen anything like this before and I've seen all the Saw movies and most other extremely graphic movies. That one scene makes all the scenes in Hostel trivial.  Coupling graphic sex with violence and sheer depravity, Lars absolutely nails linking them together to create a movie that will not let go of your psyche.  I like having nightmares, but I'm a little concerned to see what kind I get tonight.  One of the reasons why the torture scene was so effective was that Lars simply displays the scene without any fanfare.  It's almost nonchalant.  


The whole movie is a sort of nightmare sequence.

Well, if you want to see how far this Danish director goes, watch this movie.  It's definitely one of a kind.  Melding symbolism and extremely eerie music into a landscape of horror, Lars delivers this disturbing piece of media.  I would just make sure that you are in a good place and in a good mood, because if you go into this movie bringing in some baggage or bad emotions, Antichrist will probably put you over the edge:  83%

The Madness of Antichrist


She's waiting for you, don't disappoint her..

Absentia: Subtleties of Horror

ABSENTIA:  2011:  Horror:  Sometimes a movie comes along that challenges the way you look at a genre.  With all the gratuitous violence and blood in some of the horror movies you see today, it's refreshing to come across a movie that uses subtle changes in lighting, music, and mood to initiate the conditions that lead to fear. Absentia succeeds in this respect and strays away from the common elements of horror to serve up a stylish and innovative movie.


Absentia uses mood and lighting to great effect.

Instead of making you fear what you see, Absentia truly makes you fear what you don't see, but anticipate.  This makes the movie more involving and immediately puts you in the cross hairs of it's intentional fear driving techniques.  It has been said that if you take music out of most of the horror movies, many of the scares will not work.  In essence, music and special effects are key ingredients that constitute a successful scare in a movie.  This is especially true in Absentia.  The music sets the mood and creates a tense and heavy atmosphere.


From the beginning of the movie, things are dark and stay that way.

The characters in the movie are unknown which gives you the sense that you are part of the events unfolding and not a viewer watching the movie.  This is emphasized by the use of strategically timed first person perspective camera angles.  There is very little back drop in the movie but you know that a pregnant woman has lost her husband to unknown events and she has to declare him dead by absentia.  There is a tunnel near by that seems to draw the attention of the camera in many shots, so you get the feeling that this will have much of the driving force in the plot.  


T'he camera seems to focus on the tunnel in many shots early on.

You don't have to wait long for the first scare, which was a very effective one.  I was startled and caught off guard.  The way that the husband's ghost just appears in front of the camera was abrupt and sudden enough to give me a shock.  It was one of those scares that you have a feeling is coming, but don't know exactly when. This is one of the consistent techniques that permeates the movie. Characterized by a slow, deliberate buildup, the scares then take a sharp, sudden twist accented by music and special effects.  After the scare, you realize that you were only scared of a shadow, or a slight movement of light.  It is very subtle.  That's what makes the scares in Absentia unique.  Instead of being a brutal blood fest, Absentia takes a more cerebral approach to fear.  


Often the elements that are used in the scares are off to the side of the camera.

The pace of the movie keeps you involved and there isn't really a portion that is boring.  Mike Flanagan uses enough scares scattered throughout the movie to build anticipation for the ending.  3 or 4 of these were excellent.  While there is some gore in the movie, it's really not emphasized until the end, which makes the movie more believable.  Again, it's the subtlety that makes the movie work, so it wouldn't make sense to start throwing around decapitated heads and corpses right away.  


While there is some blood, it's kept to a minimum until the end.

Apparently, this movie was almost entirely funded by a Kickstarter compaign, which is surprising.  I watched the movie without knowing this and didn't get the impression at any moment that it was constrained by money in anyway.  Hard to believe that this movie was made by just $70,000.  Let this be a lesson Hollywood. It's possible to make a decent film without exorbitant amounts of money.


How much did it cost to make this movie??

Back to the characters in the movie. The main character Tricia is a little annoying and serves as main focal point in the movie, while her sister, Callie, gives the movie it's impetus or drive.  They both seem to bounce off each other which creates some inherent conflict and disharmony in the movie that lends to the movie's uneasy mood. Again, subtle but intentional.  The viewer is left to side with either one, but not both.  This is also a great technique because it essentially allows you to pick a side and see if you are "right" in the end.  


Although they are sisters, Tricia and Callie are polar opposites.

Without Callie, the movie wouldn't go anywhere because it is during her daily morning jogs that she gets involved with the tunnel and it's many odd inhabitants and features.  She is initially hesitant to go in, then gets scared of it, and finally is terrified of it but knows it holds the key to the terror that starts unfolding around her and Tricia.  I won't give up too much more of the plot, because it unfolds nicely and wraps up with a huge ending that leaves you puzzled.  


Weird things happen in the tunnel as Callie finds out.


Clever use of darkness in Absentia.

As the movie progresses, you find out more and more about what is going on in the lives of Tricia and Callie, but there seem to be two sides or perspectives.  One is to simply believe what is logical and the other is to believe the supernatural explanation.  Then there's a completely different explanation that comes into play near the ending of the movie. What you are left with is a menagerie of plot twists which give different endings.  In this way, you have to decide what the ending is, furthering your involvement in the movie while making you feel like a participant, not a viewer.  


By the end, the viewer is likely to have their own idea of what truly happens.

If you're looking for a new twist on a horror movie that uses some very effective techniques and delivers some great scares, Absentia delivers.  It's ending will also leave you wanting more and just might make you want to watch it again..81%


Hey, where's the rest of the review?  That's it?

Horror Double Feature: Devils Pass and Wake Wood

DEVILS PASS: 2013: HORROR:  Sticking to my steady diet of horror movies every night since October 1st, I've been trying to find some obscure ones to recommend.  It's been somewhat difficult but I dug into Netflix and kept cuing up different types of horror movies and came across two which were interesting.  The first is Devils Pass, directed by Renny Harlin, who also directed Die Hard 2.


Line 'em up and let's get to some horror..

It takes on a psuedo documentary style in which the characters are trying to uncover the mystery of the disappearance of scientists in the Dyatlov Pass incident, which is a true story about an expedition that turned into a catastrophe.  As the movie progresses, the viewer gets to see the action both in third person and as first person.  In some ways this gives the movie more of a direct impact.  This style, while nothing new, presented some excellent effects during the end of the movie.


Sure, they look happy now, but guess how many are still alive at the end.

The character development was acceptable, letting you know just what you need to know about the characters in order to actually care when they go through the terror that awaits them.  One of the positive aspects of Devil's Pass is that it doesn't waste any time getting the players to Russia where the action takes place.  Since the location of the incident is high in the mountains, they are forced to hike up on foot.  The scenery was excellent at this point and there are many great shots. As soon as they start, things go awry.


Up they go, but will they come down?

Ignoring all the warnings of various locals on their way to the mountain region, the college students start to realize that perhaps they made a mistake after their first night of camping.  They find a huge foot mark that seems inhuman.  While I was watching this, I thought this part was a little cliche, but as the movie progresses, it becomes an important plot development.  


After the first night, things start to go wrong for the students.

Since they are filming a documentary, the shift becomes largely first person now, with one of the main characters, JP, doing the filming. At first, it was a little abrupt switching between third person to first, but it became smoother.  The second day proves worse for the expedition, because unexpected phenomena manifests making their GPS, compasses, and other instruments fail. In addition, there is radiation on the mountain. 


Their equipment starts to malfunction when they arrive at Devils Pass.

After the second night, an avalanche kills one of the students and injures another one.  It appeared like it was intentionally done by others trying to keep the students away, but away from what?  It turns out that there is a bunker hidden at the site.  At this point, this is all I want to say about the actual movie, because it has some unexpected plot twists and the ending is pretty good.  This is where the movie really gets it teeth though, so it's worth mentioning what impressed me.


They find a bunker and are forced to go inside.

The part in the bunker was intense.  It starts out completely dark and they are locked in from the outside by the military who was trying to kill them outside.  Now, all the filming is done in first person, which make the scenes even more creepy.  The lights start to go on but often blink on and off, creating more tension.  As they go deeper, they start to realize that they aren't alone in there.  


The scenes in the bunker were well done.

This was the high point in the movie and I dare say one of the better uses of light/ darkness with aspects of being chased and claustrophobia that I have seen in awhile.  The director took advantage of the first person perspective here.  Once the creatures come out, the movie takes on its true horror element with bravado. The creature looked gruesome and had some interesting abilities.


The creatures looked gruesome and their abilities were a nice touch.

At this point, the director gives us an interesting explanation governing the demise of the scientists in the Dyotlov Pass incident because the students discover some items hidden away in the lab. While it was very far fetched, it made for an unforeseen twist in the movie.  It also set the stage for a great ending.  


As they start to find out what happened, they start to die.

Since the whole point of the movie is trying to understand what happened to the lost scientists, I won't give anymore of the plot away.  While this movie didn't blow me away, I can recommend it, since the ending was so compelling and it was based on actual events:  63%


WAKE WOOD: 2011: HORROR:  Once I started watching Wake Wood, I immediately thought that it was very similar to Pet Semetary.  In many ways, I wondered if it was a complete copy of the movie or if it was different enough to stand on its own.


Wake Wood was similar to Pet Semetary

Ignoring the similarities though, I tried to watch the movie on its own merits but kept wondering just how far this apparent plagiarism was going to go.  Although the director David Keaton presents a good movie with some great special effects and camera shots, did he think that no one was going to notice this?   


The scenery in Wake Wood set the stage.

One of the things that stands out immediately in watching this movie is the scenery.  Keaton has a keen eye for setting the stage for a suspenseful, scary movie.  A couple lose their daughter and they tempt fate by delving into a pagan ritual to bring her back.  But is she going to be the same? Ok, at this point, I have to ask, isn't this the EXACT plot of Pet Semetary?  



After losing their daughter they want to bring her back to life..

The movie takes a bit of a different turn here, instead of having to bury the girl in a grave, they have to use a fresh corpse and artifacts of the actual body of the deceased child.  The parents dig up the girl's grave in the rain and take off one of her fingers.  I will note that the ritual portion of the movie demonstrated an over the top element of gore that will be displayed later in the movie as well.  It was gruesome.  


A pagan ritual brings the girl back to life.

The little girl does indeed return, for only three days, and after that she is to return to the grave.  The only issue is that there were some elements that the parents didn't disclose about the girl that cause dire consequences for the parents and the inhabitants of the small town in Ireland called Wake Wood.  Once an innocent looking girl who seemed like she couldn't hurt anyone, the young girl becomes a killing machine.  


Sure, she looks innocent now, but what will happen after she returns for the dead?

The killing during the last stages of the movie were over the top with gratuitous gore and displayed a complete lack of abandon. Keaton went off the deep ending with some of the deaths, especially the one of the woman who initially warns the family about the ritual.  


The little girl gets some new found strength when she returns from the dead.

Looking through some of the reviews of this movie, no one seems to acknowledge the similarities between this and Pet Semetary, released in 1989. Both movies involve parents who lose a child and decide to bring it back and the child tries to kill them.  Period. What also surprised me is that overall, the movie was well received with some above average ratings.  Again, this is due to Keaton's excellent direction, but I still can't get over the fact that it was too similar to King's novel and the movie on which it was based:  61%


Pet Semetary was much better anyway...

Zombie Sex Fiends? YEP..It's Shivers

SHIVERS:  1975:  Horror:  The movie Shivers isn't exactly your average zombie movie.  It's not your average movie, period. Initially named, Orgy of the Blood Parasites, and They Came from Within, it was directed by the one and only director who brought us The Fly and Scanners.  For those of you who have never seen The Fly, I definitely recommend it as a great sci-fi movie.  I was actually going to see it last night and review it, but I decided to try something new that I hadn't seen.  


The Fly had some great make up and special effects.

Shivers is definitely something I have never seen or even heard of until I looked up the works of David Cronenberg.  I'm running low on horror movies, since I saw and reviewed many I wanted to see last year.  I could have just reviewed all the Saw movies but I wanted to challenge myself and the viewers as well. Up came this obscure movie that wasn't really that obscure after all.  It won some awards and had mixed reviews, but it was out there.  And out there it was..


Released in 1975, Shivers was influenced and influenced various movies.

Since it was created in the mid 70s, it's has some great old school style directing and camera shots, not to mention glimpses of the crazy and wacky style of architecture and interior decorating that was common in its day.  But this isn't a blog about that.  


Sitting down to have a nice 70s breakfast..

Everyone is going crazy for zombies and in general things that walk after they're dead, and this movie gives you that..in a way.  In some ways it gives you more...so much MORE~!


They may look like zombies, but they are different, very different.

Instead of wanting to eat your brains, these zombies want to give you brains..Literally.  Instead of craving flesh to eat to satisfy some primordial urge, these infected humans want sex and lots of it. Take a moment to digest that.  Seriously, I definitely had to.  When I read the premise of the movie, I thought it was a joke...not so!


Does she turn into a sex crazed zombie?  Hope so..

I'll save you the long drawn out explanation of the movie and give you the basics.  I do recommend this movie, but it's really slow in the beginning and doesn't pack the initial punch of many of the horror movies you'll see these days.  Again, it was made in a different time.  Also, the blood in some scenes looks absolutely horrible.  Aside from these few issues, the overall theme of the movie kept me watching it.  I fell asleep since it was almost 2am, and first thing I did when I woke up was want to finish it.  


Shivers will definitely make an impact.

The interesting thing about this movie was that since it was made during the 70s, scenes involving nudity, and they were many, seemed to take a very artistic approach in the beginning, and then dive into scenes of unadulterated wickedness and debauchery.  The inhabitants of an isolated community fall victim to a parasite that was created by a crazy scientist who wanted mankind to find it's most primitive and instinctive emotions and drive, primarily it's sex drive.  


There were many very nicely shot scenes in this movie.
Very 70s...this one reminded me of The Shining..

There is no doubt in my mind that Cronenberg saw Dawn of the Dead and Night of the Living Dead. What prominent director of that time didn't?  His infected humans behave like the zombies of the aforementioned movies up until the point where they want to give cunnilingus and other sexual acts.  This movie isn't X rated, but it gets pretty close sometimes.  You never get to see the really interesting body parts, but there is some frontal female nudity...*laughs..some


The infected humans only want one thing..and it's sex!

I realize that I'm not really reviewing this movie, I'm focused on the premise.  I'm laughing right now as I write this.  The movie gets sort of scary, but not without losing it's amusing overall tone. That has to be the way you look at this movie. 

Don't get me wrong there is some pretty decent gore in this movie, but it's not anything close to Night of the Living Dead.  That being said, you can make a definite case that Aliens stole the idea of a creature coming out of a chest cavity, from Shivers.  Yes, I just said that.  Look for yourself..


Parasite coming out of the stomach.  Shivers 1975


Alien coming out of stomach scene, Aliens 1979.

Draw your own conclusions on this one.  I understand that there is an assumption to be made that the director of Aliens saw Shivers and in fact was so blown away by it to copy.  

All hell breaks loose in this condominium and since it's isolated and on an island, it goes on unchecked for quite some time.  Plenty of opportunities for wild pool parties and sex fill romps in hallways.


The pool scene was pretty entertaining.


Fun filled zombie sex in the hallways!  Nice..

Overall, the movie has the opportunity to get tawdry and does a few times, but isn't too bad.  It definitely deserves its R rating, but doesn't cross the line.  Getting to see Lyn Lowry was absolutely worth it.  I didn't know about her before, but I do now.  What an actress.  The music was decent and had some nice analogue sounds from the 70s.  I also liked the ending.  

I recommend this movie, but watch it with an open mind:  69%


If you see this guy, run...