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Under the Shadow 2016
The atmosphere, scares, audio design, and SFX combine to create such an intense feeling of dread. Final act is fantastic; gave me goosebumps, heavy breathing and a real sense of terror. How the fuck can a crack in the roof, pensioners, and masking tape be this terrifying!?!? Took about 15 minutes to calm down again once the film ended.
Perfectly mixes 'real' horrors (civilian missile strikes) with supernatural elements. Well made, well acted, well paced, works on multiple levels... This is head + shoulders above the majority of lazy modern cattle prod "horror" movies.
SCORE: 8.5/10
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The Trip 2021
Laugh-out-loud funny, bloody, & farcical thriller. Tight plot, although worth noting that it might get too spicy or borderline un-PC for some. Strong lead performances from Rapace & Headhunters star Askel Hennie, and the supporting characters are all pitch perfect. The ultra dark (even by Scandi standards) tone and humour is what makes this stand out.
Between this and the phenomenal Dead Snow B-movies, director Wirkola is becoming a firm favourite.
SCORE: 8.5/10
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Black Bear 2020
There are things to admire in here; dialogue is often entertaining, it's well-shot, the lead trio are solid. What plot we do see unfold is fine, but the attempts to be meta & mind-blowing didn't work for me as its far too vague and non-committal.
Ultimately feels like a half-assed One Cut Of The Dead homage, but it gets side-tracked and crushed under the attempts to make it more "intellectual" and "thought-provoking" (which fail).
Coffee spill comedy bit was funny.
SCORE: 5/10 -
Host 2020
Unbelievably creepy. This film utilises the Zoom format & app features, with some basic (but super effective) FX.
It's all about the atmosphere; the cast sell it well, and there's a couple of particularly mad jump scares.
Really enjoyed this; final 20 mins are white-knuckle, and it reminded me a lot of the BBC's terrifying Ghostwatch special.
SCORE: 8/10
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Tokyo Story 1953
Tokyo Story: two pensioners from the country visit their children in the big smoke of Tokyo. The plot is almost non non-existent; as the plodding inconsequential family ‘drama’ (and I use that term very lightly) highlights the difference in values between the older – pre-WWII – generation and that of their children and grandchildren. To make matters even less exciting, the camerawork is dull, and for the most part, completely static – paired with plain & flat editing and direction. After…
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Berberian Sound Studio 2012
Berberian Sound Studio: A mild-mannered sound designer / foley artist is hired to work on an Italian Giallo (B-move slasher) film – and goes a bit mad in the process. The director is clearly fixated on the mechanics of period cinema: there’s a lot of shots of spinning reels, needles, gauges, readings, dials, etc. This is interesting for about 2 minutes. Then there’s the foley work where you see how everyday objects make unlikely sounds. This is interesting for about…
