As far as low budget films go this one is way ahead in so many ways. The main characters are all likeable and by the end have became totally infectious. It was certainly chuckle-funny for the most part and although there were few laugh out loud jokes it was such a charming watch that I did not care one bit. As far as the humour not translating goes, well I'm from England and the only references I didn't recognise were sports related, everything else pretty much landed correctly. This could so easily have been the premise for a Tucker & Dale sequel and goes quite some way towards satisfying that craving even if it's at the level of a dry run for that. An amiable and entertaining dry run.
Reviews
8 Reviews
Inbred
(2011)
Twisted, tongue in cheek gore-fest
17 October 2012
It's been over 10 years since I last saw a film by Alex Chandon "Cradle of Fear" was patchy but showed promise, I missed the next one, now we have Inbred. I am a massive horror fan and this film goes to prove that independent movies are where all the hidden gems are, this is one of the best of it's kind. It takes standard genre elements, backwards/backwoods villains, teens in peril, and mixes it up with the ritualistic behaviours of "The Wicker Man" with a little bit of "Clockwork Orange" thrown in. And then there's the gore! How many times do you put in a DVD with a misleading cover and misleading hype only to be disappointed? Well, a deceivingly low budget opening shot leads to a couple of startling special effects that actually made me sit up in my chair thinking "Oh my god that was actually stunning, you have my attention now". Inbred goes all out, using a combination of practical effects enhanced by CGI these guys have outdone pretty much anything I've seen outside of the most top budget gore films such as the Romero Zombie movies. It gave me a feeling I've not had in years where the special effects are fresh and startling and can actually be showcased. At times the rituals of the yokels get really twisted and weird and because the effects are gut wrenchingly disturbing I actually did start to feel a few twinges of dread at a couple of points at the thought of what I might be about to see, especially when they suddenly brought phallic vegetables and a horse into the equation. Hard to believe too that despite all this I found myself laughing, it has oh so black humour and bizarre over the top bumpkin caricatures. It's bonkers, shocking, nasty, and hilarious. Just bravo to everyone involved and thank you for giving fans the perfect horror treat, it's superb.
I Know You Know
(2008)
Engrossing and touching
8 June 2010
Justin Kerrigan makes a fine return to directing after many years of absence. Charlie's son discovers that his dad is involved in secret activities and that their lives may be in danger. However the stress of the situation is slowly sending Charlie into a spiral of paranoia and desperation. The whole film pretty much revolves around the loving relationship between the two and the boy's efforts to unravel the mystery on his own since he can tell no one of his dad's mission; Who is out to get them? Who are Charlie's employers? What is the secret of the creepy satellite TV company? And who is the biggest danger to Jamie, the school bully or the strange man at the bus stop who's always watching him? It's all done in a very low key way with no action but with with an ever mounting sense that something may be deeply wrong and something awful might happen. Because of that and the gripping performances I strongly cared about the characters and felt major tension in certain scenes towards the end. Touching and powerful. I can't wait to see what Justin does next he has talent and heart, welcome back Justin we missed you Bruvva!
Gone Fishing
(I) (2008)
Rare Excellence
9 April 2009
I cannot believe that so much pure excellence was crammed into less than 15 minutes of film. It's simply a masterpiece, lovingly crafted, beautifully shot, perfectly acted. I rarely gush over a film but in this case I have to. It's a touching story of an old man and his young relative reminiscing on the day of a funeral about the day in the old man's past where he took on a legendary giant pike in a nearby lake. How this is told and played out takes you on story that is filled with humour and many rich and unexpected moments. It left me with a great warm and uplifted feeling, some two hour films costing millions easily fail to do that. The art of the short film needs to be rediscovered.
Jack Holborn
(1982)
Rare gem
27 July 2004
They don't make children's series like this anymore and they might never again. It's a truly international production filmed on location in New Zealand and former Yugoslavia as a 5 hour movie split into 12 parts. There's a great plot with mystery, betrayal, mistaken identity, friendship and the odd bit of swashbuckling here and there. You see it all through the eyes of orphan Jack Holborn, nicely played by Patrick Bach as a kind-hearted boy who wins over everyone he meets with his honesty and bravery. It's not watered down like most kids series and despite the drawbacks of dubbing it still comes across as pretty real on the human level even 20 years on (recent French DVD release). The final moment never fails to bring a lump to my throat. Just terrific from start to finish.
Ju-on: The Grudge
(2002)
Scary
7 June 2004
I agree with other comments, it was confusing and I had trouble telling the female actors apart at times, they were all lovely but similar looking. Anyway, as far as the scares go, I guess it's subjective. I found about half of them didn't work on me but the ones that did....holy god, those were the best frights ever! I'm a bloke but at one point I actually moaned in uncontrollable terror and found my fist in my mouth. It's the atmosphere of creepy unknown that does it for me so yes, I loved Ringu and The Eye. I can't rate it as high as Ringu because of the jumbled plotting but because the scares that worked were SO HUGE for me, I recommend a look.
The Escape Artist
(1982)
Magic and fun
1 October 2003
It's a great kid's film, I saw it as an early teen and it really got me interested in magic. The main character gets away with so much because of his skills but it was all within the realms of plausibility if you've got a bit of bottle and enough books on magic and safe cracking etc. Griffin O'Neal is really expressive and natural in his role. Even though what he gets up to is pretty wild you believe that this kid is amazing enough to pull it off.
The Salton Sea
(2002)
Twisting and twisted
2 July 2003
Dark and quirky drug underworld film noir with some great plot twists and funny moments. Kilmer is good but even better is Vincent D'Onofrio who was almost unrecognisable (see also Men in Black and The Cell). He's always a joy to watch often playing characters who are just "Out there". Has some moments of high violence but that's just as it should be. The film itself is great but it's the performances that set this way way above it's brethren.
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