r-kanne Reviews

Villmark (2003)

Not blair witch copy

[13 January 2004]

Some people outside of Norway(its made there) think this is made as a copy to "Blair witch project". It is in fact a movie that does homage to the first horror film made in Norway "De dødes tjern"1957 ("lake of the dead"). Norway has lots of forests so Horror in the forest is common.

The movie starts of good with a group of young people getting a job in the woods. An older man, their employer goes with them. The first day they find a body in the lake.......

without telling to much I can say it builds up quite nicely but does not follow through. The ending is so so. Ok effort though. It is not low budget, its normal budget. In Norway we don`t waste our money on flashy CGI and effects, but use time on developing the story and characters instead.

Score 6\10

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

NO!

[2 December 2003]

This movie sets out to be realistic. If you wan`t to be realistic don`t rely on surreal trickery to get there. Most drug-scenes are bad. Badly acted out and overdone. The way it is done it should be a film about one persons struggle and not heeps of people struggling. The halusinations are bad, no one get`s these kinds of effects from taking speed(amfetamins). Not even woman wanting to loose weight. Silly film. Comedy. Ive seen real hard films before about drugs, they don`t rely on MTV-effects and CGI though. It is enough to show a good actor suffering. SCORE: 2 out of 10 for the effort

Last Cannibal World (1977)

One of Ruggero Deodatos very best gems

[23 November 2003]

I saw this one again after not seeing it for 6-7 years and I must say it`s still my number one outdoors\jungle movie. It plays out like a mix of Indiana Jones type adveture, the intrapment of "deliverance", the real violence of "Faces of death 1-4" and the make-up effects of Lucio Fulci`s films.

ITALY AND REALITY The Italians are experts in making movies without rules. I mean in Hollywood for instance thy obey different rules because they are afraid movies will not sell, or they need an R- rating. All this ruins the art in movies. If you are setting out like Deodato is in this movie to make a movie about cannibals, you need scenes of people getting eaten or killed in different ways, and of course an explenation to why. This movie contains both.

ANIMAL CRUELTY I did not enjoy the animal cruelty, but who did. Ruggero Deodato disliked these parts too. They were filmed after the movie was made by the producer and a little crew. They threw small animals like bats on to python`s and filmed the fight and then finished it of by placing terrible sound effect`s over the "action" to give it an even stranger feel.

EMOTIONAL Apart from the animal crulety though, I love the film. It is very well made. The film manages to be cruel and savage in scenes and then suddenly go over to scenes that almost made me cry. It packs lot`s of emotion and depth. And as mentioned before, is very bold in portraying the violence as harsh as in real-life. Im talking about the special-effects not the animal cruelty off course.

TRUE EVENTS The movie is based upon true event`s and this notion really add to the terror and emotional termoil I felt watching it again after so many years. I have had it on video uncut for several years, and finally I found it on DVD from Shreak-show uncut with interviews and trailers.

WHO IS IT FOR? Well it is definitly not for anyone. I see from reviews on IMDB that many people watch this movie and want it to be a Hollywood-movie or something. Almost all the complaints by critics and users are about silly things we are used to from Hollywood. This is a low-budget movie shot in the jungle of Malaysia in harsch conditions. This is what made it authentic. Some people have seen so many fake-to-reality Hollywood-films they would not know reality if it bit their behinds. I am not a fan of cannibal-movies made in Hollywood, as they tend not to be about cannibal\native-life and more about the characters who are mostly american and pretty dull. So then. If you are a big Hollywood fan and don`t like realistic and real violence right up in your face don`t see it. But if you are bored\annoyed about Hollywood always showing you some kind of romantic escapade instead of telling the story(titanic-syndrome)and can stumack the violence -see it.

Score: 10 out of 10

Blondes Have More Guns (1996)

TROMA STRIKES AGAIN, IN SWAHILI I MUST ADD!

[10/10 · 21 November 2003]

The movie starts out telling us: "This movie is altered! It is dubbed into Swahili!" (off course it is not)

Needless to say I laughed so much I almost cried seeing this scene the first time back in 1995. Well, the movie is pretty similar to "Silence of the hams"(1994). I found it almost as hilarious and strange. Both movies are made outside Hollywood, cheap and darn funny.

Some critics don`t like this movie, and they often tell us it looks to cheap or that it`s to campy. Well cheap and campy are both trademarks of Troma, and I really can not imagine a expensive Troma-movie made in Hollywood. But some critics seem to want this. Strange, since in my opinion Hollywood has not made a fun movie in 10-15 years. I mean comedy`s with CGI-effects. Made for more money then a small country uses on food for a year. That is just wrong and a good reason to stop watching the most expensive films from Hollywood and elsewhere.

Score: 9 1\2 of 10 Makes you puke of mere laughter

The Silence of the Hams (1994)

This movie is so funny I could spend my whole life watching it over and over again!

[10/10 · 21 November 2003]

Take 10 lame American movies and add a few good ones. Stir around for a while, and let some Italians figure out the rest, and you have the funniest comedy ever made.

Many people won`t like this one though. The 10 lame movies I mentioned are all big hits, and lot`s of people like them, so naturally this movie is not for everyone.

Martin Balsam makes a very funny impression playing his role from Psycho. The Italian director does a enormously funny role as Italian "Norman Bates".

Great fun.

10 out of 10 easily. probably 12 or 13 to.

Sleepless (2001)

"I kill lots of people...they will never catch me..never!!!"

[20 November 2003]

Dario Argento is really one of the best directors in the world, period! One of the main reasons are his giallo`s. "No ho sonno" or "sleepless" is his newest enstalment while we wait for "the cardplayer" coming soon.

Plot: Can`t tell you a thing. It will spoil the whole movie if I`d utter one single word.

Form: If you have`nt seen an Italian horror film or a giallo(murder\mystery)before this really is a good starter. The movie is full of "feeling" or atmosphere if you want. This is typical for many Italian movies. Especially Argento`s. He does not use as much colors in this as he did in his older work like Suspiria -77 and Inferno-80. But still manages to use 3-4 times more gel lighting effects than an average dull american movie-maker would. An average american would probably use CGI anyways and ruin the atmosphere totaly and if asked tell us about ??saving?? money. HAHA. Like hollywood ever saved any money. In Italy they still rely on the much more realistic gel lighting-effect. I also consider prostetic effects like latex, fake blood, makeup etc. looks ten times more real than any computer effect. And I have worked as a male nurse for some years and should know what Im talking about. Acting: The acting is great (some in Italian\some in English). You have to see the Italian dubbed-version in order to see the Italians act, and the English dubbed-version for the restering acting. Many critics don`t like the movie because they think it was shot in english and can`t understand why the "acting" is so bad. Others just don`t like the fact that it is dubbed.

(ITALY vs HOLLYWOOD): The movie is made in Italy. Horror-movies from Italy have a tradition of being badly dubbed. The Italians don`t like wasting money on dubbing as they find other things more important in horror-movies than the spoken word. Like Horror for example. Most Hollywood horror-flicks have missed something important here. The horror-feel. The acting is often good in horror-flicks while talking in "spooky" tones etc. But when it comes to screaming, acting genuinly afraid or acting out insanity on the other hand hollywood has a lot to learn from Italy.

Score: 10 out of 10

Castle Freak (1995 Video)

Nice, gory intense and tragic

[8/10 · 12 November 2003]

Plot: A guy is kept hidden away in a dungeon by his mother and she beats him to a bloody pulp every night. A family of three (mother, father and daughter) inherits the castle. They come to look at it and shocking acts start to unravel themselves in and around the castle..

Acting: Jeffrey Combs star as the father and plays out the role like he would Hamlet or something. He is excellent. Never dull for a second. The guy playing "the Freak" also delivers solid work in portraying the hideously deformed and tragically lonely monster as he childly limpers around the cold castle in search of someone.

Form: It is a truly frightening experience this film. It contains some of the most violent scenes in cinema. But still it manages to let the emotions be dominant in most scenes including the scenes containing hard violence. It is a deeply tragic film in many ways and Stuart Gordon(director) plays with your feelings throughout the film. Many critics and others have used this against Gordon and his movies. I don`t think that is fear at all. I mean, do we ever ask an extreme painter why he is toying with our emotions?

Who is it for?: Well, as I mentioned before this is a pretty violent piece of film. It is not for kids and not for adults who don`t feel good about seeing killings and torture up close and personal. If you are, on the other hand, a fan of movies that do contain realistic violence as well as realistic emotions, camerawork and acting see it now.

Don`t hesitate. Oh, and if you are a fan of Stuart Gordon you simply have to see it!

Grade: 8 out of 10

The Last Horror Film (1982)

Cool Joe Spinell is great as always in lovely horror flick

[12 November 2003]

Plot: Joe Spinell plays a guy who desperately wants to make a movie with his dream-girl a famous actress portrayed by Caroline Munro. His mom thinks the idea` is cuckoo but he travels to Cannes anyway to make his movie......

Form: The acting is splendid. The story has twists and hints all the way through and the ending, the finale, it`s eminent. Lovely movie by all means.

Who is it for?: Sensitive viewers should be advised, the movie is pretty harsh and contains violent images and a haunting atmosphere in the horror-filled scenes. It is not suitable for kids. Adult horror-fans with a taste for blood will probably enjoy this movie a lot.

Grade: 7 out of 10

Who Saw Her Die? (1972)

MAGNIFICENT MURDERMYSTERY

[12 November 2003]

I got to hand it to Aldo Lado. His movies never fail to amaze me. They are smacked full of emotions and surreal images and simply take my breath away.

PLOT: A girl visits her father and something terrible happens.... I really cant tell you anymore without spoiling the whole flick.

WHO IS IT FOR?: Well it`s for anyone; almost. It`s not to violent or trashy, but still it`s a pretty strong film. If you are a parent of, or know a child who has been hurt or molested in any way, this is probably not a movie for you. The images are not too strong but the context and insinuations shore are. Be warned.

GRADE: 10 out of 10

The Cannibal Man (1972)

Nice offbeat type drama

[12 November 2003]

Plot: The movies about a guy who works at a slaughterhouse and what happens to him and most of all his mind when his spouse calls it quits. Bit by bit he starts to loose it....

Form: It plays out very neatly. You have to follow the story tightly to make any sense of the whole thing. Follow closely and you get a reward at the end in the form of knowledge on the human mind.

Who is it for?: First of all this is not a movie for kids. It is a highly realistic movie with a hard story,lots of violence and gore and an adult theme. So if you are a sensitive viewer or under 17 I would not recommend it for viewing. There are a lot of non-violent films out there about similar topics. But on the other hand if you don`t have a problem with violence in films and like a touch of realism, this is really the one for you.

Grade: 10 out of 10

Psycho III (1986)

ARGENTO MEETS HITCHCOCK IN A BRILLIANT WAY

[30 October 2003]

Plot: Norman Bates(Anthony Perkins)is out from the asylum and has just opened the motel again. He is more or less sain, but is plagued by some creepy halusinations. A guitar-playing-womanizer-type ,played out to perfection by Jeff fahey, arrives and gets a job after trying to steal from Norman. Im not gonna tell you any more as I just cant understand the consept of spoiler-reviews.

Form: It is kind of a blend between the old Hitchcock-style and the somewhat newer Giallo-style of italy. It is a cool blend. There is a new twist of the showerscene which is great and original. The murders in the movie lends some of the style and grace from Italian-Masters like Dario Argento, Micheal Soavi or Lamberto Bava.

Who is it for: If you liked "Psycho", and dont have obsessive ide`s like: ALL SEQUELS SUCK, IT IS JUST A MATTER OF HOW MUCH. Lots of people have adapted this way of commenting on sequels from several highly regarded-bigtime critics. These critics dont know any more than we do(exept for some facts etc.). So please people, dont pay them to much atention.If you`ve seen "Psycho 2" and liked it much ,or just some, well then you oughta check this one out to.

Score: 6 1\2 out of 10

The Mind-Benders: LSD and the Hallucinogens (1967)

a nice short that reveals lots and leaves you thinking.

[10/10 · 24 September 2003]

The only thing I did not like about it was that it only lasts for 25 minutes. But this was also one of the films pointers. It gives a detailed(yet short)look at Albert Hoffman who created lsd, and also about his associate who discovered similar effects in mexican mushrooms(magic mushrooms I think you call it in the states). I cant recall his name. See it. i recommend it if you are into the stuff or if you are just interested.