Time for another ultra curveball, after almost 9,100 posts think this is the first time leading off a post with a woman not from Japan or Korea!!!! Which makes sense as this Blog was begun for my love of Japanese movies and soon added dramas in. Then also added in were posts for gravure models and J-Pop Idols, soon after started doing posts for Korean actresses and dramas so what a monster of a Blog this has become! This is post #2 for my October movie watches and as the title says ghastly and haunting films are the theme, of course it being Halloween soon am binging on horror flicks. Will have one more post coming up this month for films, think for today will briefly look at seven movies. Am doing something different and it can only be done for these kinds of posts. To save some time after I finish one movie and before viewing the next will talk about my latest watch, then move on to the next. It can be time consuming looking up info and getting trailers for 5-7 films at once so hoping this will make things slightly easier.
**** This is a special post as it'll feature films from five countries!!!! So you could call it the 'Nao International Film Festival' and should I trademark NIFF?! EDIT 1: Began writing this on October 10th and it's now the seventeenth, have added one new movie in a day. Which means it's becoming longish but have kept each segment at only two paragraphs which makes this post an easy read and also a very informative/interesting one. EDIT 2: It's now the 19th, did say part two would be published on the 20th but doing it now so I don't add in another movie or two as this post is long enough. Though Horror is the theme of the month there is a variety in the films that I viewed and actually Horror is a bit of a broad genre.
Their lives were thrown for such a loop when Ginger got bitten by that wolf who died minutes later when it was run over by a van. But that didn't cure Ginger of the bite's after effects as she slowly began to grown fangs and a tail(!) plus her personality changed from being so withdrawn to being a vamp! Soon Ginger affected someone else with her curse and Bridgett was working hard on finding a cure which she did but was it in time to save Ginger or herself? Of course so much more happened in the film but sure you catch the drift of what the story was about, if you're a fan of werewolves and some over the top gore this film is for you! It also helps that Katherine Isabelle playing Ginger did master the role of being a Vamp though Emily Perkins as Bridgett was my favorite. A lot of the action was set at a high school and if you also enjoy cat fights(not the animals!) there are some scenes of that. I have watched this film at least a dozen times and it's truly a must watch, doing these series of posts has helped me out immensely as some of these films I hadn't seen for a year or at times five years! The trailer below is a solid intro with many action scenes, there's too many of them to count in the movie!
The first film in the trilogy was set in modern times, when it was released the year was 2000. Movie #2 was set a few months later but am not going to discuss that film today as my second movie for this post was the third of the trilogy, "Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning". To say this is one of my all time favorite movies would be such an understatement, have given many High Recommendations before but none higher than for this classic horror movie! Which once again starred Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle as Bridgett and Ginger Fitzgerald but that's where the similarities with the first two movies end! Those first two films were set in present day, right around the year 2000. This last film of the trilogy was a prequel and set in the year.... 1815, so have never figured out whether the first two films were a continuation of Bridgett and Ginger's ancestors or whether this was a stand alone film? Probably doesn't matter and do recommend checking out reviews for it as many are like me and consider this to be one of the best horror films ever.
In 1815 Bridgett and Ginger were wandering across the northern Canada to Hudson Bay, according to them their parents had been killed but by who.... them???? The pair were saved in the wilderness by a Cree Indian and brought to Fort Bailey, not a fort for fighting but was the HQ for a trading company. But the fort is heavily guarded for the area has become surrounded by werewolves, over half of the fort is dead from their bites! Soon after arriving Ginger was bit by the commander's young son who had turned into a half creature, half human being! That's just a brief explanation of what took place and as I said this film gets my highest recommendation to date, what a shame it ended at three movies. Guess they weren't immensely popular but they do have a huge cult following plus this DVD was so jammed with special features, the 94 minute movie turns into 140 with all of the features. So if you haven't rushed to the store yet to grab this do so now(!), the video below isn't a true trailer but one packed with scenes from the movie. Which I forgot to mention is so loaded with action, especially the final thirty minutes that had so much gore and I thought the werewolves looked better than most others you see in movies.
Did mention above and on previous posts that I have such a large collection of DVD's, about 75% are from Japan, 10% from Korea and the others from America, Canada, UK, Thailand, etc. What's happened is that I've forgotten what movies I have and for too many it's been eons since I viewed them, So these last two months have been so pleasurable with this movie marathon which is now up to seven weeks. Most of what I have is organized so it's not like a movie is at the bottom of a pile but there's still so many that get overlooked. Such as this film which is a Korean one from 2005 and it's not to be confused with an American film that came out the same year with the same title(!), this one was released first. "Red Eye" is the title and probably bought it around 2010, I viewed it four times and thought it was a decent movie though no classic. So last night viewed this for the first time in almost thirteen years so it was like watching it again for the first time. The reviews for this movie aren't too positive but to me this was an enjoyable watch and the last 30-35 minutes were full of so much gore and action!
Korean movies have gory and intense scenes but not as many as American films which is why often these get negative reviews. If you go in thinking that a movie such as this one will have a lot of suspense and eeriness then it's be a film you would enjoy. Very briefly Red Eye refers to an overnight train leaving Seoul at midnight for Yeosu, it's the last trip ever for this route. Sixteen years ago there had been an accident on this route that killed 250 passengers and seems many of the ghosts came back for this final trip!!!! The beginning was kind of slow but after the half hour mark the action picked up and the final thirty minutes will leave you breathless! The ending was a tad confusing but after a few watches you'd be able to understand most things. So while I won't give this a high recommendation like the above movie this is worth seeing and especially if you're a fan of Korean movies. I really like their horror movies but haven't seen enough of them, perhaps 35-40 which is a lot but actually just a fraction of them.
Fourth movie, third country for the first ever 'NIFF'.... Nao's International Film Festival but should have added in an H for Horror! In the part for "Ginger Snaps Back" said I would give it my highest ever recommendation, this movie is not far behind that classic! This should be the oldest film for today, it's an Italian flick released in 1963 titled "Black Sabbath", the metal band did admit to naming themselves after this movie! Above is the DVD I have which is packed with special features, in Italy the film's title was "The Three Faces of Evil" and you will notice it's the European version. That's the one to get as it's slightly longer than the American version plus the subs are accurate as the dubbed version with them speaking English isn't quite accurate. The movie is 95 minutes long and has three segments, the first is 27 minutes, the final one 25 minutes and the middle segment forty minutes with the intro and outro being three minutes of narration from the star. It's okay that the middle story was much longer as it was the best of the three, wonder how it would have been as a ninety minute movie? Even though he's been dead for 56 years sure most of you have heard of Boris Karloff, he starred in that second segment and did the narration for the intro/outro. It was odd seeing Boris speaking Italian but from what I've heard the English dubbing didn't follow the script so grab this version and I'm so used to reading subtitles.
The first of the three stories was called "Telephone" and for the most part it only had two characters until the end when the a third appeared but that was it. Michele Mercier in the top screenshot played Rosy who was getting threatening calls at night and thought they were from her ex-pimp who she helped send away to prison. But actually it was her friend Mary in the third screenshot who was faking his voice but the real pimp(Frank) had escaped from prison and was this a suspenseful 27 minutes. The last two pics are from the third segment titled "The Drop of Water", it was set in London during the 1910's. An HHA named Helen had stolen a cursed ring from a dead home patient and who ever wears that ring will feel it's wraith! Lastly the second story was titled "Wurdulak" and that was set in Serbia, sometime in the 1800's. Wurdulak is similar to a Zombie or Vampire as it is a creature yet still a human. Boris as Gorca was turned into one of these creatures, one by one he killed his family and this segment ranks right up there in my book as far as scariest movies go! Boris was eighty at the time it was filmed in 1962 but it didn't come out until a year later, at the time he was still extremely popular. Of course many have seen him in the Frankenstein movies but he's been in so many other horror films and I need to check more of those out.
Now up to five films for four countries and wonder what this post will look like? The morning after watching my nightly movie come here for five minutes to add in this segment along with some pics and a trailer. This has worked out well adding in one segment a day and for future posts will keep the routine. In the first October post for horror flicks was talking about how I bought "The Conjuring" boxset of seven movies, had viewed five and talked about two of them. For an American movie thought I would finish off the the sixth or even both films but let me wait until the third movie post for October and think I made a wise decision. Ten years ago bought the above DVD "Cabin Fever" used for $5 and watched it a few days after. I thought it was a terrific yet overly gory film but it was the only time I had ever seen it and why was that? Well, of course being addicted to Japanese movies and dramas is the main reason and glad for these two movie months as I've been able to dust off some old DVD's. I recalled so little about the movie so it felt like I was watching it again for the first time, did discover this is the first of four movies in this franchise and should I check those others out? The special features were solid and one really stood out to me which were three shortish anime clips. Which featured the world's most popular rock band Rotten Fruit, the shorts lasted for a little over twelve minutes. This story about such an obnoxious band isn't for most people and can see how some may be turned off by it. But not me and wish the outrageous story was longer than twelve minutes.... EDIT: Just checked and there were eight episodes created in 2000, the DVD has episode's one, five and seven so will be hunting down the others though not sure where to look.... yet.
Even though most horror movies follow certain storylines and cliches we fans of the genre are used to those and when they're successful they are to the Nth degree. Very simply a group of five college students were on a break from school and rented out a cabin in the woods for a week, three men and two females. It wasn't one of those 'Hillbilly Horror Movies' though it had a few characters close to being in that class. One of the five had shot a man named Henry who was contaminated with some sort of disease, his dog also had it. Slowly but surely four of the students ended up getting bitten or inhaling the toxic fumes/blood and they all died in a brutal manner. Plus so didn't at least five men who lived in this remote village and not sure if I've ever seen more barbarous ways of dying, I'm not a fan of over the top gore but because the story was decent it suited the movie. So in the end run I did enjoy the movie, it was nice seeing Cerina Vincent below doff her clothes at least four times but even if she didn't it still would have been a fine yet savage movie! Sure a few reading this have seen the film and I prefer the low budget or unknown kinds of horror films, you won't see me talk about Jason or Freddy in these posts. Nor of "Ju-on" or "Ringu" but of course those are much watch movies! For the final two movies for this post will be turning to ones from Japan and there will be more from that country in the third movie post for this month. Not positive but may do something different for this post's final feature(did!) which is to watch a horror anime I've never seen but have had for a while, want to shake things up a bit.
Down to the final two movies of the post, didn't list everyone I viewed as I skipped a short film from Japan and perhaps another. To end off have a pair from Japan and this make it five countries, as I'm writing this up not sure what will end the post. I do enjoy animes but have seen very few of them the last couple of years and thought about viewing a horror anime series. Have four which I have never viewed and thanks to this series about movies will soon make it only three that haven't been viewed. Three are thirteen episodes series while one is 26, if I watch two of the shorter ones which should only take five days can bring my need-to-watch list down to a pair! This is a film I had never seen up until last night but will view it again as it was a very interesting movie though not quite a horror flick. "Death at an Old Mansion" is the title and it was released in 1975, it had some scenes which would fit into a horror movie but it was more of a mystery story but at least a very solid one. It was based on a novel written by Seishi Yokomizo titled "The Honjin Murders" and came out in 1946 but the story was set in 1937, in this movie the time was present day. On a side note what piqued my interest quite a bit was the Koto musical instrument which was a key part of the story. I'm a rock and roll type of guy but to me that sound is unlike any other and I could listen to that for hours on end, you will see it in the trailer below.
Most fans of Japanese detective novels, movies and dramas have heard the name of Kosuke Kindachi, this character is the Japanese equivalent of Sherlock Holmes but not worldwide known as the British detective is. This was the first film to feature the private detective Kindachi, in this movie he was 33 in age though in some dramas is around the age of twenty. The setting was an old mansion set in a rural village far from Tokyo, the year was 1948 and the oldest son of the mansion's owner who was a widow had just got married that night. However the unlucky couple never made it to the next day as both had been brutally slayed that night by a fiend using a sword. However the sword was outside their room which was set apart from the mansion, all the doors and windows were sealed so how did this killer enter, stab the couple and then leave without a trace? It's more commonly known as a Locked Room Case and that did stump the police. But the uncle of the now dead bride was a friend of Kindachi and asked him to assist the local authorities on the case which he did and of course the case was solved but it did take a while. An ingenious plan had been thought up by the killer and it may have worked except for one thing that could not have been prevented. It was late April and of all things it had snowed overnight, the killer went through with his plan but the snow meant a few unknown(at the time) clues were left and only Kindachi discovered them! No true horror movie but one with plenty of intrigue and suspense, I enjoyed it quite a bit and surprisingly there was a trailer for this fifty year old movie.
Am writing these first few sentences up early as I still have four more episodes to go in this series, will give the details about it and any opinions after finishing it. But this anime is the first one I've ever discussed even briefly here and will do at least one more for the October's third movie post but will bring up something entirely different which is.... what makes a Horror movie a Horror one? There's no 100% accurate definition to that, it's like trying to describe what exactly makes a song a Punk one? This series wasn't horror as far as gore, violence and blood spurting goes but a genre which I think is even more scary or disturbing are Psychological Thrillers. I think those kinds of films are so eerie and suspenseful and often they are referred to as Horror films. So I consider this to be a horror series, when you think back on the old classics such as "Frankenstein, Dracula or The Mummy" are those really frightening? Not to me they aren't but all are creepy and eerie which makes them must watch horror flicks and think I prefer those kinds to ones that have an overabundance of violence. In a funny mini story I bought DVD one of this series about ten years ago but was never able to find the other two volumes at the store. So must have watched volume one ten times which had four episodes and I was so hooked yet never was able to find the other nine episodes until recently so this was the first time I've viewed the entire series which aired 27 years ago! Have a mini trailer for the TV series after the pics which is dubbed in English and usually don't have those kinds but thought it'd help you understand the show a bit, of course I viewed the Japanese language version.
One paragraph isn't enough to describe what took place in this thirteen episode series that ran for about 300 minutes titled "Serial Experiments Lain". The story revolved around a fourteen year old slightly withdrawn girl named Lain who lives with her cold two parents and older sister. When the series began we witnessed a girl in Lain's class named Chisa jump off a roof in Shibuya, in such a disturbing event a few days later Lain and many of her classmates received an e-mail from the dead Chisa! That drew Lain deeper into the world of The Wired which was a form of the Internet but much darker and it's an experiment being done to see if humans really need their bodies to exist! As it turned out the center of these experiments was innocent Lain who had two forms, one in real life and the other in The Wired. What this series came down to was that Lain became the only person who could save future humans from only being part of The Wired and in the final two confusing episodes Lain did so but in the process had to delete everyone's memories. In doing so it meant that Lain may have never existed and no one could ever recall such a person, this is an anime that needs to be viewed 2-3 times to understand everything. In the end run I enjoyed this immensely and though the story is about fourteen year old Lain the anime was made for adults, it really is impossible to explain the story in one paragraph. That wraps up this movie post and this wasn't a true horror movie but was a combination horror/sci-fi/cyperpunk story and to me it fit the theme for October. Have done six of these movie posts since the beginning of September and think this was the best to date, know it was the longest. Published this a day early and will have one more un-ghoulish post for October movies on the 30th.
No comments:
Post a Comment