( Psycho 2 / Richard Franklin / 1983 )
Twenty-two years after the events of the first film Norman Bates is judged sane and set free to run the Bates Motel once more. Unfortunately where Norman goes his mother cannot be far behind, but is Norman really going crazy or is there a more sinister conspiracy afoot? While this could be considered cinematic blasphemy before the credits even begin (and the film doesn't help itself by opening with a replay of the original shower scene), PSYCHO - although Hitch's finest hour - was always pulp horror at its core and this is what the sequel embraces, both in conception and execution. Franklin healthily disregards a Hitchcockian approach and as a result, although the film is clearly in debt to its predecessor (a lot of mileage - mostly comic - comes simply from the fore-knowledge that behind Bates' nervous exterior lies a killer), it is far from just being a pale imitation.
Halfway through the film the local sheriff declares that "If Norman Bates is crazy there are a whole lot of people round here running him a close second" and in doing so sums up the entire movie. Whilst there are a lot of horror films that exist within the thin line between sanity and insanity, submerging themselves in a subjective viewpoint so the audience too struggle to distinguish between reality and fantasy, few films go as all-out as PSYCHO II does. In PSYCHO II everybody is crazy and even if they're telling the truth, they're still crazy. Although Franklin and screenwriter Tom Holland (also of CHILD'S PLAY and FRIGHT NIGHT) are no Hitchcock and original author Robert Bloch, PSYCHO II's manic energy and unsettling subjectivity make it a fine sequel and a fine film in its own right.
Thursday 20 September 2012
Wednesday 19 September 2012
THE LITTLE NORSE PRINCE (I Takahata)
( Taiyou no ouji Horusu no daibouken / Hols, Prince of the Sun / Isao Takahata / 1968 )
LITTLE NORSE PRINCE, directed by Isao Takahata with Hayao Miyazaki as chief animator and made a full 16 years before NAUSICAA, is often cited as one of the first modern animes, striking a blow against the simplistic Disney-inspired fare that came before. A mythological tale of good versus evil that represents its theme both in the epic battle of the young hero Hols against the devil Grunwald, and in the personal battle of Hilda who finds herself tortured as the result of a fiendish Faustian pact. Three years in the making, PRINCE's production was plagued by strikes, a small budget, and a studio that grew increasingly hostile to the filmmakers' vision to the point when, although not entirely finished, Toei decided enough was enough and gave the film a limited cinema release of only ten days.
PRINCE wears its issues on its sleeve: a couple of the action setpieces are put together from still images, but the imagination and talent of the crew always wins out. The still images are actually large, detailed panoramas shot with a roving camera and edited quickly, which lend the sequences a level of clarity and kineticism that modern action films rarely achieve. The story, based on an old myth (actually from North Japan, it was changed to North Europe to give the film a more international flavour), is a brilliant translation of exactly what makes these old stories so special: the narrative is both slightly primitive and based partly on contrivance, but it uses its primitive nature to powerfully explore timeless ideas of human brotherhood and morality, and uses its ability to get away with what would, in more realistic films, seem like outlandish developments to let the filmmakers' imaginations fly free. Thus, we are allowed a sequence where Hols is double-crossed, the Earth opens up and he is flung into a metaphysical realm called The Endless Woods where he is trapped in a surreal nightmare created from another character's moral dilemma.
Although Takahata and Miyazaki would work on TV series together for the next decade (including the wonderful FUTURE BOY CONAN) one of cinema's great what-ifs is what would have happened if, rather than Toei stamping on them, the crew that made this film were able to immediately follow it up, instead of there being the 16 year gap between this and NAUSICAA. LITTLE NORSE PRINCE isn't just innovative and influential, it's a masterpiece that can completely stand next to Ghibli's finest.
LITTLE NORSE PRINCE, directed by Isao Takahata with Hayao Miyazaki as chief animator and made a full 16 years before NAUSICAA, is often cited as one of the first modern animes, striking a blow against the simplistic Disney-inspired fare that came before. A mythological tale of good versus evil that represents its theme both in the epic battle of the young hero Hols against the devil Grunwald, and in the personal battle of Hilda who finds herself tortured as the result of a fiendish Faustian pact. Three years in the making, PRINCE's production was plagued by strikes, a small budget, and a studio that grew increasingly hostile to the filmmakers' vision to the point when, although not entirely finished, Toei decided enough was enough and gave the film a limited cinema release of only ten days.
PRINCE wears its issues on its sleeve: a couple of the action setpieces are put together from still images, but the imagination and talent of the crew always wins out. The still images are actually large, detailed panoramas shot with a roving camera and edited quickly, which lend the sequences a level of clarity and kineticism that modern action films rarely achieve. The story, based on an old myth (actually from North Japan, it was changed to North Europe to give the film a more international flavour), is a brilliant translation of exactly what makes these old stories so special: the narrative is both slightly primitive and based partly on contrivance, but it uses its primitive nature to powerfully explore timeless ideas of human brotherhood and morality, and uses its ability to get away with what would, in more realistic films, seem like outlandish developments to let the filmmakers' imaginations fly free. Thus, we are allowed a sequence where Hols is double-crossed, the Earth opens up and he is flung into a metaphysical realm called The Endless Woods where he is trapped in a surreal nightmare created from another character's moral dilemma.
Although Takahata and Miyazaki would work on TV series together for the next decade (including the wonderful FUTURE BOY CONAN) one of cinema's great what-ifs is what would have happened if, rather than Toei stamping on them, the crew that made this film were able to immediately follow it up, instead of there being the 16 year gap between this and NAUSICAA. LITTLE NORSE PRINCE isn't just innovative and influential, it's a masterpiece that can completely stand next to Ghibli's finest.
THE CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS (W Barry)
( Wesley Barry / 1962 )
Speaking of this in terms of cinematic technique, it's awful: gorgeous Eastmancolor excepting, the film is basically a dreadfully acted stage play, all talk and no action. Quite literally, in fact: the characters barely move from their marks and the camera spends as much time as possible in the same spot (to try and hide the fact that they couldn't afford to build complete sets).
That said, it has that Ed Wood-style magic that turns ineptitude into high hilarity, and possesses one of the more intelligent (save for a couple of bizarre lapses in logic) and thoughtful scripts of science fiction cinema. Although the incongruity of a great screenplay with terrible filmmaking might be too much for some people, if you can embrace camp trash (and the idea of a "thalamic transplant") you'll be rewarded with something as good as the best of THE TWILIGHT ZONE and a much less sentimental and muddled look at what it is that makes a human human than ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
Speaking of this in terms of cinematic technique, it's awful: gorgeous Eastmancolor excepting, the film is basically a dreadfully acted stage play, all talk and no action. Quite literally, in fact: the characters barely move from their marks and the camera spends as much time as possible in the same spot (to try and hide the fact that they couldn't afford to build complete sets).
That said, it has that Ed Wood-style magic that turns ineptitude into high hilarity, and possesses one of the more intelligent (save for a couple of bizarre lapses in logic) and thoughtful scripts of science fiction cinema. Although the incongruity of a great screenplay with terrible filmmaking might be too much for some people, if you can embrace camp trash (and the idea of a "thalamic transplant") you'll be rewarded with something as good as the best of THE TWILIGHT ZONE and a much less sentimental and muddled look at what it is that makes a human human than ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
THE SADIST HAS RED TEETH (J-L VAN BELLE)
( Le sadique aux dents rouge / Jean-Louis van Belle / 1971 )
Dreadfully dreary, the premise is quite promising (mental patient thinks he's becoming a vampire, psychiatrists release him and arrange a series of events to push this belief to the limit) but the film is just a sleepwalk. It portrays his descent into madness through pathetic 'surreal' effects (negative images, superimposed insects, etc), and 'symbolic' stock footage; the film is just a tired catalog of horror tropes, stitched together in the loosest possible manner.
Dreadfully dreary, the premise is quite promising (mental patient thinks he's becoming a vampire, psychiatrists release him and arrange a series of events to push this belief to the limit) but the film is just a sleepwalk. It portrays his descent into madness through pathetic 'surreal' effects (negative images, superimposed insects, etc), and 'symbolic' stock footage; the film is just a tired catalog of horror tropes, stitched together in the loosest possible manner.
GOKE, BODY SNATCHER FROM HELL (H Sato)
( Kyuketsuki Gokemidoro / Hajime Sato / 1968 )
Although familiar in structure (strangers isolated in a wilderness, under siege from terrors unknown) this Japanese sci-fi horror, with its nifty special effects and fable-like approach, is handled with confidence and becomes an underseen gem.
Although familiar in structure (strangers isolated in a wilderness, under siege from terrors unknown) this Japanese sci-fi horror, with its nifty special effects and fable-like approach, is handled with confidence and becomes an underseen gem.
THE HORRIBLE SECRET OF DR HICHCOCK (R Freda)
( The Terror of Dr Hichcock / L'orribile segreto del Dr. Hichcock / Riccardo Freda / 1962 )
Dr Hichcock finds a second use for his pioneering drug which emulates near-death in a patient so that risky surgery can be performed more safely: necrophilic sex games. Unfortunately this proves to be less than safe for his first wife who promptly dies, and the good doctor leaves his home and his hospital. Years later he returns to his home and practice with new wife, Barbara Steele, in tow. Steele quickly realises, however, that his first wife, in spirit at least, is far from dead and buried.
The script by Ernesto Gastaldi (THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS) is obviously a loose reworking of Maurier's REBECCA and, in theory, is a fine choice of inspiration as Hitchcock's version of the tale is all but a horror film itself: a ghost story without a ghost. Riccardo Freda, a competent Italian director (I VAMPIRI), directs with a certain amount of style but the script lacks the subtle intensity of Hitchcock and - necrophilia theme aside - the film does not go far enough into horror territory to justify the adaptation.
Dr Hichcock finds a second use for his pioneering drug which emulates near-death in a patient so that risky surgery can be performed more safely: necrophilic sex games. Unfortunately this proves to be less than safe for his first wife who promptly dies, and the good doctor leaves his home and his hospital. Years later he returns to his home and practice with new wife, Barbara Steele, in tow. Steele quickly realises, however, that his first wife, in spirit at least, is far from dead and buried.
The script by Ernesto Gastaldi (THE CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS) is obviously a loose reworking of Maurier's REBECCA and, in theory, is a fine choice of inspiration as Hitchcock's version of the tale is all but a horror film itself: a ghost story without a ghost. Riccardo Freda, a competent Italian director (I VAMPIRI), directs with a certain amount of style but the script lacks the subtle intensity of Hitchcock and - necrophilia theme aside - the film does not go far enough into horror territory to justify the adaptation.
Saturday 21 January 2012
THE DESCENT (N Marshall)
( Neil Marshall / 2005 )
THE DESCENT follows an all-female group of thrill-seekers who, whilst uncovering a hitherto uncharted underground cave system, uncover an also hitherto unrecorded species of cave dwelling carnivores who appreciate our unlucky heroines in the same way students appreciate Pot Noodles. Of course, "our heroines" is slightly misleading as although Marshall does spend some time setting the women up to be likable (or at least not annoying), the moment the blind humanoid mutants turn up it becomes clear that Marshall considers his characters completely secondary to a good scare and a fountain of blood.
The film gives over much of its running time to monsterless underground caving sequences and it is a tribute to Marshall's skill as a horror director that these sequences are tense, even though the situations they find themselves in are textbook (they get lost, they get stuck, their equipment gets left behind, ad nauseum). At one point a character gets stuck squirming through a small tunnel and the camera subtly revolves on its axis, both as a metaphorical turning of the screw on the character's situation and as a means of communicating the space (or lack of) she's found herself in. It's one of many nice touches that display in a stylishly cinematic way the encroaching claustrophobia as the women's chances of surviving diminish by the minute. The thought that goes into the set up and the exploration of the space, along with the genuine disinterest in which characters live or die, means that when Marshall turns on the blood works the many, many jump scares manage to not interrupt the pervading tension. Even though overall THE DESCENT feels familiar and perhaps even a little dull because of it, Marshall's Devil is in the detail and so his cave of horrors deserves to be called one of the best sculpted mainstream horrors of recent years.
THE DESCENT follows an all-female group of thrill-seekers who, whilst uncovering a hitherto uncharted underground cave system, uncover an also hitherto unrecorded species of cave dwelling carnivores who appreciate our unlucky heroines in the same way students appreciate Pot Noodles. Of course, "our heroines" is slightly misleading as although Marshall does spend some time setting the women up to be likable (or at least not annoying), the moment the blind humanoid mutants turn up it becomes clear that Marshall considers his characters completely secondary to a good scare and a fountain of blood.
The film gives over much of its running time to monsterless underground caving sequences and it is a tribute to Marshall's skill as a horror director that these sequences are tense, even though the situations they find themselves in are textbook (they get lost, they get stuck, their equipment gets left behind, ad nauseum). At one point a character gets stuck squirming through a small tunnel and the camera subtly revolves on its axis, both as a metaphorical turning of the screw on the character's situation and as a means of communicating the space (or lack of) she's found herself in. It's one of many nice touches that display in a stylishly cinematic way the encroaching claustrophobia as the women's chances of surviving diminish by the minute. The thought that goes into the set up and the exploration of the space, along with the genuine disinterest in which characters live or die, means that when Marshall turns on the blood works the many, many jump scares manage to not interrupt the pervading tension. Even though overall THE DESCENT feels familiar and perhaps even a little dull because of it, Marshall's Devil is in the detail and so his cave of horrors deserves to be called one of the best sculpted mainstream horrors of recent years.
Friday 13 January 2012
RIKI-OH (N K Lam)
( Lin Wong / The Story of Ricky / Ngai Kai Lam / 1991 )
New prisoners being inducted to a privately-owned prison are introduced to a system which thrives on cruelty, the only way to survive is to be crueller than the next prisoner and pay frequent homage to the most fearsome prisoners and the even fiercer prison governor. This is something that new inmate, sometime super hero and all round nice guy Riki-Oh cannot abide, and he spends the entirety of this pulp thriller fighting injustice with whatever implements come to hand.
Adapted from a manga RIKI-OH is told in a live action anime style where its raison d'etre is gore, and lots of it. Riki-Oh, along with the principal villains, is imbued with a superhuman strength and resilience so, amongst other things, RIKI-OH's special effects team were required to help with a sequence where Riki disembowels another prisoner with his bare hands, who then turn the tables on Riki by pulling out his own guts and using them to strangle Riki. Although the quality and realism in gore effects has advanced considerably in the twenty-odd years since RIKI-OH was released, along with these advancements has come the tendency for a more unpleasant and nihilistic tone in horror. RIKI is as cheerful in its ultra-violence as an ITCHY & SCRATCHY cartoon and with its very pleasant hero (who only fights in self-defence, tries to save the bad guys from death, and is nice to disabled people) RIKI is not a sadistic ordeal but a good-spirited, if admittedly very very gross, joke. A masterpiece of gore (as long as you don't expect much else from it).
New prisoners being inducted to a privately-owned prison are introduced to a system which thrives on cruelty, the only way to survive is to be crueller than the next prisoner and pay frequent homage to the most fearsome prisoners and the even fiercer prison governor. This is something that new inmate, sometime super hero and all round nice guy Riki-Oh cannot abide, and he spends the entirety of this pulp thriller fighting injustice with whatever implements come to hand.
Adapted from a manga RIKI-OH is told in a live action anime style where its raison d'etre is gore, and lots of it. Riki-Oh, along with the principal villains, is imbued with a superhuman strength and resilience so, amongst other things, RIKI-OH's special effects team were required to help with a sequence where Riki disembowels another prisoner with his bare hands, who then turn the tables on Riki by pulling out his own guts and using them to strangle Riki. Although the quality and realism in gore effects has advanced considerably in the twenty-odd years since RIKI-OH was released, along with these advancements has come the tendency for a more unpleasant and nihilistic tone in horror. RIKI is as cheerful in its ultra-violence as an ITCHY & SCRATCHY cartoon and with its very pleasant hero (who only fights in self-defence, tries to save the bad guys from death, and is nice to disabled people) RIKI is not a sadistic ordeal but a good-spirited, if admittedly very very gross, joke. A masterpiece of gore (as long as you don't expect much else from it).
THE SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE (A H Jones)
( Amy Holden Jones / 1982 )
Influential feminist writer and activist Rita Mae Brown, best known for equating heterosexuality with oppression and co-authoring a series of mystery novels with her cat, wrote a screenplay called SLEEPLESS NIGHTS, about high school girls being stalked mid-sleepover by a drill-wielding maniac, satirising the stalk n slash craze in the late 70s/early 80s. Brown's precise vision for the film is not that clear as first-time director Amy Jones, best known for writing the screenplay for 'lovable' pooch movie BEETHOVEN, along with the influence of a behind the scenes team that at some point included Roger Corman, decided to retitle Brown's screenplay SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE and film it mostly straight. Thus SLUMBER PARTY's reputation as a feminist horror movie is ill deserved.
Not treating the parodic elements with any kind of conviction SLUMBER PARTY just appears kinda dumb, the only difference being that horror films which are genuinely dumb often provide funnier and more accurate (albeit inadvertant) satire than SLUMBER PARTY's confused lack of focus or drive. It's not until the climax - which features the killer wielding his drill between his legs telling his female victim "You know you want it", before the girls turn the tables on him by castrating his drill with a knife and finally killing him - that Brown's politics properly pop their head through the indifferent treatment of her material. Remove the female crew credits and SLUMBER PARTY is just another inept HALLOWEEN/BLACK CHRISTMAS cash-in.
Influential feminist writer and activist Rita Mae Brown, best known for equating heterosexuality with oppression and co-authoring a series of mystery novels with her cat, wrote a screenplay called SLEEPLESS NIGHTS, about high school girls being stalked mid-sleepover by a drill-wielding maniac, satirising the stalk n slash craze in the late 70s/early 80s. Brown's precise vision for the film is not that clear as first-time director Amy Jones, best known for writing the screenplay for 'lovable' pooch movie BEETHOVEN, along with the influence of a behind the scenes team that at some point included Roger Corman, decided to retitle Brown's screenplay SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE and film it mostly straight. Thus SLUMBER PARTY's reputation as a feminist horror movie is ill deserved.
Not treating the parodic elements with any kind of conviction SLUMBER PARTY just appears kinda dumb, the only difference being that horror films which are genuinely dumb often provide funnier and more accurate (albeit inadvertant) satire than SLUMBER PARTY's confused lack of focus or drive. It's not until the climax - which features the killer wielding his drill between his legs telling his female victim "You know you want it", before the girls turn the tables on him by castrating his drill with a knife and finally killing him - that Brown's politics properly pop their head through the indifferent treatment of her material. Remove the female crew credits and SLUMBER PARTY is just another inept HALLOWEEN/BLACK CHRISTMAS cash-in.
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