A few reviews

[Zaharoff]

The Sadistic Baron von Klaus - 1962 - Spain

The Sadistic Baron von Klaus - 1962 - 5/10
AKA - Le Sadique Baron von Klaus

Every few generations, the village is plagued by the curse upon the von Klaus family.
Mind you, the curse is inflicted upon attractive females of the village.
Despite a Gothic look and atmosphere of menace, the plot meanders.
A few characters look mildly suspicious, yet the whole thing is a muddle.
Early Franco attempt should have been better, a misfire.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3370436

 

[Zaharoff]

Fatal Crossing - 2023 - Norway

Fatal Crossing - 2023 - 6/10
AKA - Pigerne fra Englandsbåden

Disgraced following a sex scandal, journalist Nora is placed on leave.
She returns to her childhood home, where she is not exactly flavor of the month.
Nora is unpleasant and meddlesome.
To keep occupied, she starts digging into a decades old abduction of two girls.
(Thought: no way police would cooperate of allow the access she has.)
Midway, the narrative pivots, new characters arrive. Trying to juice interest.
Arresting premise, moody Scandinavian Noir, desperately needs an editor.
Striving for tension, scenes are lingered over much too long.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Waves Of Madness - 2024 - USA

The Waves Of Madness - 2024 - 6/10

Agent Legrasse is sent coordinates of an imperiled ship, Elders of the Seas.
Uncanny events were reported before communication went silent.
Once onboard the apparently abandoned vessel, Legrasse encounters a lost female.
Part assistant, part companion.
Straight off, from the coordinates, I knew recognized the South Pacific. R’lyeh.
Minuscule budget, creatively managed. Black and white, plenty of fog, sparing effects.
Fans of HPLHS films should enjoy, although dialogue veers into camp at times.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3370430

 

[Zaharoff]

Outlaw Gangster VIP - 1968 - Japan

Outlaw Gangster VIP - 1968 - 6/10
AKA - Burai Yori Daikanbu

After three years in prison, Goro returns to his yakuza family.
The family is weaker than before, an upstart clan with less honor is carving territory.
Goro is inclined to quietly exit, but there are obligations.
Plus, there is a dewy-eyed female who has attached herself to him.
Overly familiar gangster story benefits from solid performances and expert cinematography.

 

[Zaharoff]

Urchin - 2025 - UK

Urchin - 2025 - 7/10

Mike sleeps rough and scrounges drugs as he can.
After incarceration for robbery, he begins to claw his way back to redemption.
A social worker, a temp residence, employment, coworkers who like him.
In his background vision, however, lurks a siren, playing violin.
The old life, the perfumed existence of nothingness.
Possibly better for those who have been on the streets, been poor, desperate.

 

[Zaharoff]

Killer Shark - 2021 - China

Killer Shark - 2021 - 5/10
AKA - 夺命巨鲨

Happy-go-lucky shark has plenty to feel cheerful about.
The Pacific teems with screaming, squealing, tasty humans.
Once it starts chomping, it can’t stop at just one. Or two, or four.
Six affluent (or wannabee affluent) youths crash their yacht and are stranded.
One bleeds heavily, attracting the voracious predator.
Borrows from The Reef, although most know this going in.
Laughably bad subtitles. Meals are whiny beyond belief – root for the shark!

 

[Zaharoff]

Eraserhead - 1977 - USA

Eraserhead - 1977 - 7/10

I first screened this in 1977 as a midnight flick.
Henry’s love life is the stuff of nightmare.
A girlfriend who swiftly gets pregnant, births a monstrosity, then flees.
His apartment, merely a chamber in Hell.
Again and again, I feel like all of this is internal.
That Henry is either mad, or withdrawn into himself to the point of shutdown.
Mind you, there are dozens of theories / explanations / arguments for this film (horror, experimental, surreal).
Hopelessly funny at times.

 

[Zaharoff]

Naked Killer - 1992 - Hong Kong

Naked Killer - 1992 - 6/10
AKA - Chik Loh Goh Yeung // 赤裸羔羊

Kitty is a punisher, exacting revenge on men who brutalize women.
Where it hurts, between the man‘s legs.
With a cop investigating her, she enmeshes him in her vigilante world.
There is a mentor and partner, later a lesbian duo of assassins.
Easily enough for three films, tossed together like a salad.
Fast-paced Cat III film is prime Hong Kong, more fun should one be addled.

 

[Robin Davies]

Eraserhead - 1977 - USA

Eraserhead - 1977 - 7/10

I first screened this in 1977 as a midnight flick.
Henry’s love life is the stuff of nightmare.
A girlfriend who swiftly gets pregnant, births a monstrosity, then flees.
His apartment, merely a chamber in Hell.
Again and again, I feel like all of this is internal.
That Henry is either mad, or withdrawn into himself to the point of shutdown.
Mind you, there are dozens of theories / explanations / arguments for this film (horror, experimental, surreal).
Hopelessly funny at times.

Only 7/10 for this masterpiece???

 

[Zaharoff]

Only 7/10 for this masterpiece???

Admittedly, I have always been fairly tight with scores.
My favorite Lynch remains Mulholland Drive.
There is also the pilot for that film.

 

[Zaharoff]

Suspicion - 1941 - USA

Suspicion - 1941 - 6/10

Lina is swept off her feet by Johnnie, very flashy playboy.
Johnnie is a bon vivant, a friendly rake, and, as Lina learns after an impulsive marriage, penniless.
Cary Grant the beguiling confidence man, whom Hitchcock wisely keeps ambiguous.
A quiet thriller throughout, teasing audiences with preconceptions of Grant during this era.
Joan Fontaine matches him with a brittle performance.
Unsure how bygone snap marriage films are perceived by modern, commitment phobic audiences.

 

[Zaharoff]

Jason Rising: Friday 13th Fan Film - 2021 - USA

Jason Rising: Friday 13th Fan Film - 2021 - 6/10

Three female convicts murder the guard and flee into the woods.
And into Camp Crystal Lake.
Reason? “No one would be crazy enough to follow us here.”
Except for two federal agents and two local sheriffs.
Effective homage is fairly paced, wisely shot at night, has solid acting.
Wicked in-jokes to other infamous monsters.

 

[Robin Davies]

Admittedly, I have always been fairly tight with scores.
My favorite Lynch remains Mulholland Drive.
There is also the pilot for that film.

Both Eraserhead and Mulholland Drive are solid tens for me. In fact the latter is the only film in Sight and Sound's top ten which is also in my personal top ten:

The Greatest Films of All Time

In 1952, the Sight and Sound team had the novel idea of asking critics to name the greatest films of all time. The tradition became decennial, increasing in size and prestige as the decades passed. The Sight and Sound poll is now a major bellwether of critical opinion on cinema and this...

www.bfi.org.uk

 

[Zaharoff]

The Bat Whispers - 1930 - USA

The Bat Whispers - 1930 - 5/10

Upper story apartment, police protection, ha!
City criminal “The Bat” predicts the robbery, then carries it out.
Makings of a mastermind vs. law-and-order suddenly shifts locations to a remote country mansion.
And becomes a bipolar old dark house mystery.
Straight off, the look of this is outstanding, and the manor must be the size of a shopping mall.
There are enough goings-on to make one’s head spin.
Comic relief servants are silly and stupid.
Based on a Mary Roberts Rinehart novel, and yes, this film influenced Bob Kane.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Supergrass - 1985 - UK

The Supergrass - 1985 - 6/10

Big talking Dennis is overheard by coppers and locked up.
A prehistoric computer spits data that he has criminal connections.
He has none, but can certainly spin lies and fables.
Two minders in tow, they are seaside bound.
Where, as one might guess, there is actual criminality.
A goofy comedy, noteworthy for a curious cast.

 

[Zaharoff]

Anna Karenina - 1977 - UK

Anna Karenina - 1977 - 7/10

Lavish (in its day) adaptation of Tolstoy’s doomed heroine.
Anna, in a loveless marriage to an older man, a count, meets the dashing Vronsky.
Sparks ignite, and they attempt to deny the physical attraction. As if.
Lust, betrayal, romance, Fate, with a capital F.
Nicola Pagett and Stuart Wilson share electric chemistry.
At ten episodes, this breathes and goes deeply into the novel.
Gorgeous originally, this now appears a trifle faded.

 

[Zaharoff]

Best In Show - 2000 - USA

Best In Show - 2000 - 7/10

Dog lovers, here’s a woofer for you!
Cutthroat competition, onstage and backstage, amidst the dog show.
Parodied are the human / canine interaction and adoration.
Funny, and nails types I encountered during a pet store gig.
(Note: I’m a cat person. With dogs I roll my eyes.)
Well-thought out situations throughout, making this, for me, on par with Guffman.

 

[Zaharoff]

Battle Royale II: Requiem - 2003 - Japan

Battle Royale II: Requiem - 2003 - 5/10
AKA - Batoru Rowaiaru Tsū Rekuiemu // バトル・ロワイアルII

Why, why, why?
Why did they make this? Why did I originally buy this? Why did I rewatch?
Survivors of the first film are now terrorists.
The fascist government reacts by kidnapping more teens and sending them to a remote island.
Opening salvo explodes onscreen, yet exposes an inherent flaw.
There are … were … plenty of “contestants” and most are massacred at this time.
Combatants who survive are dull and unsympathetic.
Moreover, the film is preachy, action-oriented yes, but laden with messages.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Vicious Dead - 2014 - UK

The Vicious Dead - 2014 - 5/10

Busted. Computer “ace” Chase has been caught peeping.
Inside a secret laboratory where experiments are ongoing.
Recall “Alien Autopsy” and you’re halfway there.
Henchmen locate Chase within minutes, just before zombie apocalypse.
Too many ideas, not enough running time.
Lengthy credits of outtakes.

 

[Zaharoff]

The Director’s Cut - 2024 - USA

The Director’s Cut - 2024 - 5/10

You see correct. Terrence runs an indie video rental shop (and sells water!).
One of his regulars, who was once a scriptwriter, gives him a very rare copy of The Midnight Mangler.
The “director’s cut”, with six extra kills, edited out by Hollywood.
Watching, Terrence realizes the kills match a local serial killer – precisely.
What to do? How about, talk with a girly friend and two fanboys for over an hour?
This one talks itself to the grave. For those who long for “My Dinner With Michael Myers”.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3370437