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Reviews
It Follows (2014)
Scary and disturbing
'It follows', a Dave Mitchell feature presented at Cannes, is a truly disturbing movie that starts from a very simple premise.
Teenager Jay lives in a nameless Midwest town, and one day someone 'passes' 'it' to her. And then the following begins...
The very first scene caught me completely by surprise on how disturbing it was, and sets the bar high on this movie, showing that the director has no remorse in punching below the belt - and you will thank him for that by the time credits roll.
The movie makes an incredibly savvy use of sound, which is almost a character on its own, as well as the desolate settings shot in Detroit.
Actors give an understated performance that is even stronger, given how horrific is everything that is going on. And the followers... when I got home I had to make sure that there were at least two doors open in my room!
Make yourself a favor and go and see this, it is a fantastic summer scare.
Almost Human (2013)
Gory horror in a quiet blue collar Maine town
I watched 'Almost human' at IFC, presented by the director and most of the cast.
The movie is set at the end of the Eighties, and tells the (supposedly true story) of the abduction of two people in Maine by the aliens.
When one of them is found two years later in the woods by two hunters, it is immediately clear he is not entirely human anymore.
Despite the low budget the movie manages to accomplish a lot with little, and shows a few gems in the technical, makeup and sound mixing departments, as apparently the abducted man is in real life a professional sound mixer.
I also very much enjoyed the setting, a small Maine town out of a Stephen King book, that suddenly discovers horror and gruesome deaths.
Would You Rather (2012)
Great horror/thriller and outstanding performances
I have just watched this at a screening hosted by Fangoria at IFC in New York. Absolutely loved it. 8 people that for a reason or another all need help, they are gathered in a house for a 'game'. Who wins will get all his problems solved, but there are no free lunches in life...
I was in tension from the moment the game starts until the ending. What I loved about the movie was its visceral and raw simplicity. No need for special effects or to show anything to keep the audience on the edge of their seat.
Jeffrey Combs is great, as well as all the other actors. The soundtrack is almost basic, but so effective in creating an atmosphere of a place of pure evil that is eternal in time.
I recommend this without a doubt... Agatha Christie would be so proud.
Trolljegeren (2010)
I do not know what other reviewers have been smoking
I have watched this yesterday, and I am at a loss when I read the other reviews.
The movie was really terrible. Was that a horror movie?
I don't really want to go into the poor direction, the awful shaky camera sequences, the utter lack of any resemblance of any sort of plot, character development or likability, tension or originality. It suffices to say that they tried to explain with a straight face, through a veterinarian, that trolls explode when they are exposed to sunlight because they lack vitamin D, so they have a blood imbalance, their stomachs enlarge and... BOOM. This movie is childish rip-off of the Blair Witch Project, with a ridiculous government conspiracy theory embedded.
The only reasons why I give three stars instead of zero are: 1. Hans is a sort of Norwegian super bad-ass, only interesting character (with a great final pose) 2. Humor is not completely lost 3. Troll effects are interesting, albeit not scary at all
Two hours of my life completely wasted.
The Pillars of the Earth (2010)
Great mini-series, should have been longer
I have watched this on Netflix, and I devoured it in two days. I was a big fan of the book, and at the beginning the casting caught me by surprise for a few characters which I imagined differently (Philip in primis), the acting was really good, especially by Ian McShane's Waleran and Natalia Wörner-Ellen.
The adaptation does take some liberties vs. the canon, but the narrative flows very well and shows the multiple story arches, which are one more interesting than the other. Great costumes and settings, good use of the accents... there is so much going on for this series that I could go on for much longer.
A must-see for the readers and the non-readers alike. Ken Follett has a small cameo towards the end... a' la Harry Potter.
Stake Land (2010)
A metaphor for today's America
I have just come back from a New York screening where I have had the pleasure to watch 'Stake Land', a movie I would definitely recommend to all those who appreciate movies like 'I am Legend' or even 'Daybreakers'.
The movie shows in a very realistic and gritty way what would happen to the US if there was an outbreak of vampirism that turns people into bloodthirsty zombies. The tale is told through the eyes of Martin (Paolo), a kid who travels north with Mister (Damici), a 'quiet, strong' vampire hunter, after his family has been killed by vampires.
This coming of age journey, complete with many other subplots, is the excuse to tell the story of a country that seems to have lost its identity and its trying to mend the pieces of what it used to be.
I had the feeling that the scenes were all meaningful and the story arcs (albeit sometimes just sketched or stereotypical) all ended satisfactorily. Even the graying of the color palette was somehow compensated by the rising of the sun with comforting regularity, almost to remind that life goes on anyway. For this reason, also because of the to-the-bone dialogue, the movie is an exercise of realism.
The actors and the director were present for a Q&A. I was interesting to notice how Nick Damici (co-writer) was very similar to the character he plays, whereas Michael Cerveris is exactly the opposite.