Review: Human Lanterns

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

Human Lanterns (aka Ren pi deng long; Human Skin Lanterns)
Directed by Sun Chung
Shaw Brothers; Celestial Pictures; 88 Films; 88Asia Collection; MVD Entertainment
99 minutes, 1982 / 2022
www.MVDEntertainment.com

Back in the mid-1970s through the 1980s, if you were not there, it is hard to describe the effect and influence of the Shaw Brothers kung fu films, especially the ones taking place in some mystical time, long, long ago, when warriors with long hair could fly through the air, elderly people were the best fighters, and moustaches indicated evil.

Bruce Lee has survived the ages as far as legacy goes, but back then, it was the Shaw Brothers releases that were nearly omnipresent. There were theaters that dedicated themselves to showing them (such as one at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge), and a local New York station played their films every weekend at pre-set times.

But what I think helped popularize them were the sheer wackiness of the story mixed with a lot of martial arts action. Most were the equivalent of Roger Corman releases: you really needed to let go of any pretense towards art, and just enjoy the over acting and high drama for what it was: sheer entertainment. I have never seen this particular film before, so I am looking forward to it…

Tony Liu

The main theme of the story here, which is the complete and uncut version, is social jealousy in the feudal period of Phoenix Town. The main protagonist is wealthy warrior with classic Spock-like eyebrows, Lung Shu-Ai (Tony Liu), who is in rivalry with the local mustachioed Third Master T’an-Fu (Kuan Tai Chen). T’an provokes him by choosing Lung’s favorite prostitute, Yen Chu (Linda Chu) as his own concubine at a big feast, therefore causing Lung to lose face. To be fair, Lung is not a nice guy, who is consumed by competitiveness.

To retaliate, Lung decides to use the upcoming Lantern Festival contest (for best lantern, natch; remember the film’s title) by getting a skilled lantern maker, Chao Ch’un-Fang (Lieh Lo), who was Lung’s previous rival for Lung’s present wife, Lady Chin (Ni Tien), to create a masterpiece for him.

Then, again considering the title, there is a horror aspect to the story, represented by some dude in a mixed monkey/skull mask and costume who wants to destroy Lung. He kidnaps a woman and brings her to his underground lair, reminiscent of The Phantom of the Opera. There he very graphically does a Buffalo Bill/Leatherface on her. There is a reason the original name of the film was Human SKIN Lanterns. I don’t believe I’m giving anything away. I figured out almost instantly who was, as Lux Interior of the Cramps sang, “What’s behind the mask.” Actually, it’s given away pretty early, but I will not be the one to do it.

Kuan Tai Chen

Add an assassin into the mix to increase the action in the form of bearded Kuei Szu-Yi (Meng Lo, He does a lot of the fighting in the picture, which has its fair amount of martial arts, and yet less than usual for a Shaw Brothers release, though it certainly picks up by the third act. What is there, however, is imaginative, uses many different tools such as arm knives and fans, and there is a lot of wire work as they fly through the air with the greatest of ease. Meanwhile, the police, led by Sergeant P’an (Chien Sun), is trying to stop the jealousy-fueled violence and figure out why people are going missing.

Of course, the film is in Mandarin, with English subtitles. One thing that is not included in this package is the English dubbed version. Shaw Brothers films often used the same voice actors over and over, so they became easily recognizable by sound, if not by name. For me, it was one of the hallmarks of a Shaw Brothers release, but I can forgive them. I would have watched the film in the original Mandarin, and then again with the English dub, but that didn’t happen this time. Not a complaint, just an observation.

Lieh Lo and Hsiu-Chun Lin

Okay, let’s talk about some of the extraordinary Extras that are included with the new Blu-ray, both the physical and the digital. I’ll start with the latter. To begin, there is a full-length commentary by Kenneth Brorsson and Phil Gillion of the On Fire Network podcast. Both men are heavily accented (Swedish and British, respectively), and it was a bit of a strain to make out what they were saying, but it was worth the focus. At least until I gave up about halfway through.

Next is the featurette “A Shaw Story: An Interview with Susan Shaw” (14 min.), filmed in 2005. In this, the actor, who had a small role in the film, tells of her tumultuous career before Human Lanterns thanks to international politics, what it was like to work with the director and her opinion of the film, and her career after. She kept my attention. The next featurette is for one of the bigger stars of the film, “The Beauty and the Beasts: An Interview with Linda Chu” (14 min.). Chu talks about how she became involved with the Shaw Brothers films and her career there, and especially on her opinion about nudity. Again, it’s a good interview, but she does come off a bit vain here and there. Part of the charm, I guess. Both interviews are in Chinese with subtitles.

The last featurette is “Lau Wing: The Ambiguous Hero” (51 min.) And who is Lau Wing? That is the real name of this film’s star, Tony Liu. He goes into great detail about the art of acting, and his place in that, all while chewing gum. Of course, he discusses the film and the director, but he was working three films at the same time, and he admits his memory is hazy. It’s his relationship with actors and the studios that make this the most interesting. Lastly on the digital end is the Trailer, that the film is in HD (1080p), and the English subtitles have been retranslated.

On the physical side, there is a nice slipcover with new artwork by Robert O’Brien, a double-sided case cover with the original poster, a two-sided folded paper poster insert included with the clamshell, and lastly a lush, multi-page booklet with text and photos.

The trailer’s quality makes the viewer appreciate just how gorgeous this release looks now, with vibrant colors, incredible cinematography by An-Sung Tsao, and sharp editing. The sets by Ching-Shen Chen are shown in great and sharp detail. All of this brings up the value of the release that was most likely missing from the earlier VHS copies.

While the fighting throughout most of the film often feels like under-played and Kung fu-interruptus, the final battle royale certainly makes up for it. It is beautifully staged and includes everyone of importance that’s left alive at this point. It alone makes the rest of it worth the wait, but I should add that the whole story is pretty intense and enjoyable. My old pal, Mariah Aguier (2005), who was an infamous person on the New York punk scene in the 1970s and also a martial arts film aficionado, would have probably loved this (or already did). Now, so do I.

IMDB Listing HERE 

Review: Premutos: The Fallen Angel (2-Disc Extended Director’s Cut)

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

Premutos: The Fallen Angel (aka Premutos: Der gefallene Engel)
Directed by Olaf Ittenbach
IMAS Filmproducktion; Unearthed Classics; MVD Entertainment
106 minutes, 1997 / 2022
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.MVDentertainment.com

As I said when I reviewed the only other film by Bavarian writer/director Olaf Ittenback that I have seen in its entirety, No Reason (2010), his films are basically bat-shit crazy, and I wanted to see this one because of that, rather than in spite of it. This is the “Director’s Cut” of the film, which is longer and has never before been released in North America. More bizarre for the buck.

For this story, the basis of which is told in narrative form over the credits and lots of bloody violence throughout history shown, the titular Premutos is a fallen angel older than Lucifer, who had power over the dead, with instructions on how to raise the deceased. One man in 1943 uses it to try and revive his dead wife and others who become flesh-gobbling zombies, while villagers with torches search for the madman. This is all presented in a 20-minute prologue before our actual story starts. There is already more blood and gore than most slasher films put together.

Ella Wellmann, André Stryi

The protagonist to start, in the modern era, is ne’er-do-well man-child Matthias (the director, Ittenback), who lives with his S&M-interested sister, Rosina (Heike Münstermann) his mom Inge (Ingrid Fischer), and his military-obsessed, Nazi-era-loving father, Walter (Christopher Stacey, who is arguably too young for the role, but what the Hölle). The latter, while digging up his garden for a plant, finds the hidden potion for raising Premutos. Meanwhile, Matthias is having flashbacks to previous lives during the Plague-ridden 13th Century and in Russia for the Battle for Stalingrad during World War II, among other periods, where he was reincarnated as the son of the titular Fallen Angel, each time meeting a bloody and painful end.

Coming to visit for Walter’s birthday party is Matthias’ sister Tanja (Ella Wellmann), who has been away in China, and has been mooning over a lost love, Hugo (André Stryi), now married to spoiled, comic relief Edith (Anke Fabré). They also show up at Walter’s party. Meanwhile, Matthias has some of that Premutos potion spilled on his…sensitive area, so you know that’s not going to be good for the people at the party, but most likely joyous for the viewer.

Olaf Ittenbach

As Matthias transforms into…well, is it the son of Premutos or Premutos himself? – it could be both; given how much Christian myth is also in the story, since Jeebus and “his father” are different but one in the same according to some versions of the Biblical story – he becomes increasingly violent and ugly (reminding me a bit of Rawhead Rex with less of a make-up budget), and the dead rise up from the mortuary to attack the living, including in pub (where someone is wearing a Ramones shirt with the circle design created by Arturo Vega, d. 2013) and, ‘natch, Walter’s party. As a side note, when the zombies attack, there is a sole Black guest, the amusingly named Christian (Fidelis Atuma), who makes me think of Night of the Living Dead (1968)

There is an enormous cast here, and the director has certainly stretched his budget to the max, with weaponry, explosions, a tank(!), and just gallons upon gallons of fake blood, relying heavily on practical SFX. Peter Jackson would, indeed, be proud. The zombies look cool, and on occasion, so does Premutos/son. What was free and well spread was the sharp sense of humor

Christopher Stacey

There is a lot of Christian symbolism, including a back-story scene of Jeebus and the crucifixion/resurrection (thanks to the “potion” administered by Mary). No one in the film seems overly religious, but that doesn’t keep it from getting knee-deep in the imagery. Even without the religious iconography, the style of the film reminds me quite a bit of Michael Armstrong’s classic Mark of the Devil (1970). But there is also a strong influence by the Italian giallo films of Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci, especially The Beyond (1981), with some George A. Romero thrown in for good measure.

There are some fun extras on this Special Edition, including a “Making of Premutos” featurette (50 min.; available in English and German, and also filmed in 1997). There are lots of interviews with the core cast, and especially the director, discussing the motivation of the characters, the philosophy of gore and free speech without getting preachy, and a large focus on the practical SFX, both the good and bad of it, and discussion about the wintery shooting in Prague. The English dubbed version seems to not translate everything, but the gist is easily gotten and it is worth the watch, even at this length.

“Olaf Ittenbach, ‘The Early Years’” (13 min.), is essentially a “Making Of” of Ittenbach’s earliest films, including Deadly Night (Todliche Nacht) from when he was still a teen, and he was still learning and experimenting. With interview commentary by the director, we see scenes that describe what he is discussing; the main focus is on developing his skills as an SFX artist. If these gore effects interest you, this is both a good primer, and it is interesting to see the limitations of the technology at the time compared to now.

There is also the original cut of the film from its initial release available in both German and an English dub international release. Honestly, I did not watch this, but did see the Director’s Cut in its entirely. There are also some Unearthed trailers, including of this one, and a “Photo Gallery.” Also included is a second CD disc of the film’s soundtrack, which is fun.

This certainly was an insane ride, from the beginning right through to the ironic ending. It was more coherent than I was expecting, I’m happy to say, and it certainly lived up to its reputation. It may be aging like wine over time, because it is so worth the experience.

IMBD Listing HERE 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                  

Horror Shorts Reviews: May 2022

Horror Shorts Reviews for May 2022

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

Filmmakers, please note: usually, I do not review films (unless requested) that appear on sites like Alter and Screamfest, because they have a known platform, which is great, while I would rather focus on films with no sponsored online affiliations. These films are not in ranked order, but rather alphabetically listed by first letter.

 

Don’t Hide
Directed by Dillon Vibbart
Ninja Brothers
12:30 minutes, 2022
www.dillonvibbart.com
There is a lot to recommend about this short, even with its overt Christian overtones. Chloe (Ashton Solecki) is in the middle of a crisis of unknown origin, but enough to have a trio helping her with an intervention (Caitlin Duffy, Omar Cook, Matt Kohler). Their purpose is to keep a demon (Terrence Wentz) at bay, and to give Chloe the possible skills to face it. The demon looks particularly cool in a The Evil Dead (1981) way, and what it represents is pretty obvious from the beginning, yet this is very watchable. Despite the drawbacks (religious overtones and easy to guess where it is going), I just sighed at them and it still kept my attention until the very end. It is smartly written generally, and looks well put together. Definitely a watcher.
Full film HERE 

 

Found Footage Dracula
Directed by Hunter Farris
Bueller Studios
25:24 minutes, 2022
It’s an interesting thought. The director has stated that the original novel was a collection of letters, newspaper articles, etc., and therefore was a presentation of evidence, or a 19th Century found footage novel. So why not update the story and make it a modern found footage (FF) tale? To give you an example, rather than Jonathan Harker (Mitch Tyler) employing a horse and carriage to Castle Dracula, instead he takes an Uber. This is threadbare to the original novel, of course, considering the length and budget, but we have the main characters, including Lucy Westenra (Brookelin Backus), Mina Murray (Yvonne Bass), Doctor John Seward (director Farris) who runs the asylum, and Renfield (RJ Hall) as his chief patient. Of course, the Count himself is never seen because he casts no reflection and cannot be filmed. There is a lot of yelling in fear here, and I found it quite amusing (though not funny, I am glad to say). This is as indie as one can get, with a bunch of friends getting together and doing it on TikTok. I’m quite proud of the troupe, actually: they took a premise, executed it, and did a relatively decent job of it. The short is available in a computer-able version and one that can be watched on the phone. I am hoping that this leads to a full length attempt next. Or perhaps, an adaptation of another classic, like maybe Found Footage Frankenstein.
Full film HERE 

 

Host
Directed by Pat Baker
Postmortem Films; HarLau Productions
24:13 minutes, 2022
A young, yet struggling couple take some time off to a vacation house that’s more of a mansion (the Stoneleigh Estate in Martinsville, VA), with little around them. Annie (Josie Juliette Wert) is lonely and wants some attention from Jeff (JD Starnes), a workaholic, who has trouble leaving his job behind even with a sex scene (a longer short gives more time for stuff like that). Meanwhile, she is seeing visions from the past of previous residents from the 19th Century of an angry and brutal man, Jacob (Zach Ball) and his abused wife, Sara (Bethany Paulsen). Sort of like the television show “Ghosts,” but not a comedy; she can see them, though, but they don’t acknowledge her. Of course, Jeff doubts what Annie sees in demeaning ways. He may not be as physically brutal as Jacob, but he is verbally unsupportive and condescending. She is trying, and he is, too, but at, like, 50 percent. There is a mix of surprises and expectations in this lush tale, beautifully directed and shot. It’s long enough to give some form of exposition of the two main characters’ personalities, and yet short enough not to drag the story along. For a third short film by the director and producer of seven, it is a solid piece of work.
Full film HERE 

 

The Room Upstairs
Directed by Jacob Arbittier
Burnt Mill Road
4:27 minutes, 2020
Extremely prolific of late, this is one of Arbittier’s earlier films, and it is simple and to the point. A mother and daughter are trapped in a house with… well, the poster says it. It’s a bit of a nail biter, though it does not go into detail about how their sitch came about. The music is really creepy and effective at helping build the tension, and the ending is actually a surprise. Simple, short and to the point, and excellent.
Full film HERE 

 

Run
Directed by Alex Magaña
ACMofficial
3:18 minutes, 2022?
http://bit.ly/ACMofficial_Horror_Shorts
As Marshall McLuhan once said (among others), first you use technology, and then technology uses you (e.g., cell phones). For this film, it is FitnessTracker, the fictional equivalent of a Fitbit, that helps organize an exercise plan. However, thanks to a bug, it causes the uses to exercise to death. That is the problem facing the main character (Michael Glauser), as the device on his wrist takes control. And because of his relationship with his girlfriend (Esther Lane Montes), being that he’s the toxic masculinity type, this makes this a really sharp comedy that deals with both the human and tech. Wonder if this device is made by Skynet? Oh, and check out one of the director’s earlier films, which is one of my favorites, “Smiling Woman.”
Full film HERE 

 

Whitetail
Directed by Josh Minyard
Sunhouse Entertainment
15:51 minutes, 2020
www.facebook.com/whitetailshort/?modal=admin_todo_tour
This short is multi-award winning, and it is easy to see why. Beautiful cinematography, well-paced, and well-packed with tension. The very end is a bit obvious, but works incredibly. A young couple on the verge of engagement, Robbie (Derek Evans) and Alex (Tara Parker) are on a hunting trip. It’s not clear if this is for food, or pleasure (personally, I have no problem with the former, uncomfortable with the latter). He goes off to a hunter’s blind in the woods, and she to the spare and isolated cabin. But in a Most Dangerous Game, things do not exactly go as planned. My question is the motive for the action, which is: is it a comment on the first or the second reason for hunting? It probably doesn’t matter, because it is the sheer tension of the actions that occur in the story that make this watchable. One could call the ending ironic.
Full film HERE 

Review: Ditched

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

Ditched
Directed by Christopher Donaldson
Shadowbrook Pictures; Epic Pictures; Dread; MVD Entertainment
86 minutes, 2021 / 2022
www.facebook.com/ditchedmovie
www.MVDentertainment.com

Being under siege is an indirect subcategory genre, with the likes as varied as Assault on Precinct 13 (1976; apparently, according to the director, this film gets mentioned a lot in reference to this one) or even The Hills Have Eyes (1977; 2006). A small group is beset upon by people or things unknown, and need to violently fight back in kind, equaling the battlefield, bringing their own humanity into question. As one character says, “So whatever happens next, know this, whatever you have to do tonight, no matter how horrible, it’s for (your daughter).

For this film, in the middle a foggy night (‘natch), both an ambulance carrying a couple of criminals for a prison transfer and a cop car with another convict crash when their tires simultaneously blow. This happens even before the film begins, whose story starts moments after the crash (good budget saver!). They are in a ravine (hence the film’s title) in the woods north of Edmonton, Alberta. If you know the Province, there are some fun town namedrops, such as Lethbridge.

Lee Lopez, Marika Sila

Our main characters are broken into two groups at this point. The protagonist is paramedic Melina (Inuit actor Marika Sila), her cowardly co-paramedic Aiden (Lee Lopez), injured driver Jake (Declan O’Reilly), and surviving prattling criminal Derek Franson (Kris Loranger), who were in the ambulance. For the cop car participants, there are officers Richard Revesz (J. Lindsey Robinson) and Kerr (Lara Taillon), and convict Sideburns (Reamonn Joshee).

Slowly and very suspensefully, someone or something is picking them off. And it’s here it really gets interesting. It is already intense, but it kicks up quite a few notches from the second act onward, and rarely lets go.

The third group that starts off mysteriously, led by Caine (Mackenzie Gray), is more than they seem, pitting the first two groups against the third. You know it is not going to end well for most of them. The rules float back and forth, over who is the good guys and who are not.

This is a hard movie to review, because there is so much I want to say, and so much of it would give too much away. Speaking of which, I recommend not watching the trailer, which I have included, because it gives away way too much of the story. I am glad I went into this blind.

Sila, Declan O'Reilly

What makes this movie, for me, is how at the start of the second act, as reasons become clearer, it also muddies it up by turning the story on its head and giving it a whole different perspective while not losing its vision. The director nicely sets up two distinct camps and lets the viewer decide whose side they are on, and it is not always an easy choice. Some, like Franson and Sideburns are obvious choices, but everyone else are up for grabs.

The lighting of the film is standard primary colors, mostly red and blue with some green/yellow, but that makes sense as the ambulance and police car barlights are the main source of illumination in the dark and foggy ravine. The editing is swift without giving one whiplash, and then there is the gore, and lots of it. It looks really well made and, on occasion, looks nearly surgical, but oft-times it’s just the right amount for a gorehound (though not for a blood-phobic or newbie viewer). And all of the SFX are practical; I did not catch any digital effects (other than gunshots).

The extras include two versions of the trailer, the Official one (which gives away too much, as I stated), and the other is the Production version. There are also Dread Trailers for the films Val and Bad Candy, both of which I reviewed recently on this blog.

There is also a second version of the film called “Original Cut of Movie”; I was a bit peeved at that because I certainly am not going to watch them both right now, and I’m not sure what the differences are between them; some information on that would have been nice. Then there is the Director’s Commentary that is really worth the listen. Without getting too deep to the point of being academic, Donaldson discusses horror film philosophy, anecdotes about the making of the film, and dealing with extreme low budgets that compare vision with practicality (“It’s like trying to create the Mona Lisa with crayons”). He is engaging without just raving on.

While this is story-based, it is also filled to the brim with action that is nicely dispersed throughout the film, gaining speed and traction as the story plays on. This is the director’s first feature after a few episodes in a television series and a short, but it shows so much promise.

IMBD Listing HERE 

 

Review: The Razing

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

The Razing
Directed by J. Arcane and Paul Erskine
Pacific Future Films
109 minutes, 2022

When I get together with a bunch of friends that I haven’t seen in a long time, even if we didn’t necessarily leave on the best of terms, it almost always turns into a night of joy, and maybe a titch of resentment here and there, but we tend to work it out, even if we agree never to talk again. But in the cinematic world, that only works out in the Hallmark type films, and usually involves either Thanksgiving or especially Christmas, but never in genre films. And this belongs to the latter. It’s in the title, which means “the complete tearing down.” Heck, the film’s tag line is ”burn, baby, burn.” Before I even start, the description reminds me a bit of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966).

For Cory’s birthday dinner, there are four old friends plus the guest of one of them, so two women and four men. There is animosity and tension present right from the start; no waiting around, no pretending, the story just dives right in and takes the viewer with them.

I love it when a title can be taken in different contexts. The obvious one is that these people don’t like each other, and are willing to verbally tear each other down. Jealousy, lust, and power all factor into not only the old “friends,” but even the new arrivals. But this group is sort of like Prospero in Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Masque of the Red Death,” as there is something possibly evil happening beyond the walls, that is making people violent, such as in the likes of The Crazies (1973; 2010). But this can also be seen as a metaphor for other pandemics (COVID, anyone?), with some at the table not even believing it’s a real thing as people are murdering others beyond the viewer’s scope of the film. In fact, except for one scene, the entire film takes place in the spacious apartment.

The main characters are an unlikeable crew in their thirties who have carried around their overstuffed baggage since they were college age. The main troupe is bearded and bespecled Cory (Jack Wooten), who is as verbally abusive as his wealthy father (Kent Allen); his spouse is Ellen (Laura Sampson Hemingway), who everyone seems to desire; then there is Ray (Logan Paul Prince), who looks a bit like a jock and has the hots for Ellen (or “El”, as she’s often called), even though he brought along a guest in the form of Claire (Mia Heavner); then there’s Lincoln (Nicholas Tene), who, as a child, was raised by a then college student and then badly drunk “mom” (Kim Allison Hèbert). Lincoln’s friend when he was younger, Josh (Jay Torres), did not fare well with this group; hopefully, Claire will do better.

What both holds the collective together and tears them apart is a combination of drugs in the form of pills, and an event that we see in great detail in the past when they were young, told in extensive flashbacks in the same apartment.

The question the film leaves the viewer with is: what is truth. How many of the events depicted are “real” and how many are hallucinations by the many, many, pills of various colors that are ingested in the 109 minutes of the film? Are the supernatural elements real, or are they mind games played by chemical infusions?

In many ways this can be considered an art film, or even fall under the Transgressive Cinema label. Angles are off-putting, with a tendency to extreme close-ups (not always in focus), pointed at an upward angle, or hand-held and swirling a bit. Visually, the screen often looks dark, like it’s in power-saver mode and with a yellowish filter, with occasional effective use of split screens, and the vocals appear to be flat and dubbed in; there is no depth so everyone seems to be at the same distance even if they are at the opposite sides of the room. Even the orchestral soundtrack, written by co-director J. Arcane, is moody, spiky and dissonant, which actually works well for the piece, though it’s a bit more upfront than needs to be, so it occasionally is distracting to the talking, and dialogue is key in this film.

Being filmed during the time of COVID, it is interesting to see how everything on-screen is designed and the large apartment space is used in the shots, with fish-lenses used to disrupt the visual space and keeping people looking closer than they actually are. That is not to say there isn’t any touching, because there is, but it’s minimal, albeit intense.

Along with the visuals, philosophically the film delves into society, class relations, and the possibility of redemption, as well as a bit of insanity. When does one’s life become too much? At nearly two hours, it feels a bit long, honestly, and it tries hard to be meaningful. Perhaps a second viewing at some point will bring home some of the points I may have missed. It’s a very lulling film that is certainly consistent with its own “feel,” sound, and intensity.

This is the first release for Pacific Future Films, and it’s a good freshman step in the right direction. I’m really curious to see where they go from here.

IMBD Listing HERE 

Vimeo trailer HERE 

Review: 2LDK

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

2LDK
Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi
DUEL Film Partners; Micott; Times In; Office Crescendo; Unearthed Films; MVD Entertainment
70 minutes, 2003 / 2022
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.MVDentertainment.com  

I am pretty sure when you see the title of this Japan-made release, you might be scratching your head, unless you are into real estate. It is shorthand for 2 Bedrooms, Living room, Dining room, Kitchen. And that is where the story takes place, in a Tokyo condominium. But this Blu-ray is on the Unearthed Films label, so you know things are going to get complicated and bloody within those four walls.

Eiko Kolke, Maho Nonami

Living within those rooms are two ambitious actors: there is Nozomi (Eiko Kolke) who has a history in local theater, commercials and print modeling, and redheaded Rana (Maho Nonami), a film buff who likes expensive things, and is on the verge of a breakdown. The chief contention, for the purposes of this, is that they are both up for the same part in something called “Yakuza Wives.”

Smartly presented, we see the two women’s relationships on various levels.  First, there is the almost passive aggressive quality as they are polite to each other with little, subtle digs. But here’s where it gets interesting: we also hear their inner thoughts, and neither one of them has anything nice to say about the other. They are petty and determined, and anger is simmering as both are convinced that they are the ones who will get the part.

Yet, there is another contention between the two, and that is vying for the attention of the same man, Takuya Ezaki (Daisuke Kizaki; who does all the phone voices), who is only heard on voicemail. All the onscreen time is with just the duo of Nozomi and Rana.

Things begin to ramp up pretty early as pettiness and jealousy seep ever deeper into the psyche of the two women, as well as a dose of vanity. While Nozomi is a bit of a control freak along the lines of Felix Unger (she initials all the food, both her’s and Rana’s), and Rana is a touch schizophrenic, hearing voices and seeing horrible visions of a past event. The internal rancor that we hear in their inner monologue slowly but surely start to come out in the verbal, building the tension further. And the viewer just knows it can only get worse.

And it does. Taking place all in one night, things escalate to the extreme, with household objects being used to do damage to each other, including decorative swords called Jyuttes, a fire extinguisher, a mini-chainsaw, electrocution, and lots of fisticuffs, among others.

The level of violence goes a bit beyond reality, but is mostly relentless (with some lulls for psychotic conversations or primal screams). Both are surprising in the levels to which they will go to punish the other. Of course, this makes it all the more fun for the viewer. Neither of these women are likeable though both are beautiful, at least at the start. The O. Henry-eque ending is completely fitting for the film.

The film is well shot, employing wise moves to both keep it claustrophobic and seeming like they are as far apart as their personalities. There is even a scene where our two pro-ant-agonists are sitting at a table, and as Rana talks (and Nozomi think-comments), the camera circularly swirls around the table, a style used by Tarantino a few years later in Deathproof in 2007.

Both actors in the film are well seasoned, both before and after this film. They worked extensively in cinema, but mostly appeared – often as regulars – in numerous Japanese television mini-series over the years.  This shows in their performances here, which relies a lot on the range of keeping everything inside to exploding on the outside.

There are a ton of extras on this Blu-ray, though I’m not sure how many are new and which are older. For example, there is a full-length commentary by the two actors that was recorded two years after the filming, so that would be about 2005. It is in Japanese with subtitles. It is amusing that they both snuck out from the same film shoot to come record this commentary. The two women don’t get very deep, but what is interesting is their discussions of the likeability (or lack thereof) of their characters, and almost blow-by-blow of what was happening to them as actors playing those characters as it appears on the screen. They talk about how hard a particular move was, what the cameraman was doing, their level of the flu they had caught, etc.

“The Making of 2LDK” chronicles the 8-day shoot, which was done chronologically. This is a featurette handled professionally to be used for publicity, not just cobbled-together scenes. It is shown day-by-day, and includes interviews, behind the camera scenes of table readings and the like, and is interesting throughout. For the “Duel Production Briefing” is a video of the director talking to his production crew. For festivals, there is a “Video Message for Theatre Audiences,” “Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival Interviews,” and the “Screening at Kudan Kaikan Interviews.”

Along with a “Photo Gallery,” there is a collection of Unearthed Film trailers, including this one, and four other international releases, such as Evil Dead Trap and A Serbian Film. 

While a pretty simple storyline, the film is also a complex mixture of the physical and psychological, both focusing on Rana and Nozomi together, and individually. Rather than two trains passing in the night, they are on a single track, barreling full speed to a head-on collision. And the result is both disturbing and bloody. Right the way it should be, after all.

IMBD Listing HERE   

 

 

Review: You Are Not My Mother

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

You Are Not My Mother
Directed by Kate Dolan
Bankside Films; Fantastic Films; Screen Ireland; Magnolia Pictures; Magnet Releasing
93 minutes, 2022
http://www.magnetreleasing.com/youarenotmymother/

There is an actual psychiatric disorder, Capgras Syndrome, where people believe their loved ones have been replaced by duplicates for various reasons. Actor Tony Rosato (“SCTV,” “SNL”; d. 2017) was perfectly normal in the day-to-day, but was committed to a hospital because if he came into contact with any of his family, he became violent because he believed they were replicants.

Dublin (Ireland) high school art student Char (Hazel Doupe, who has amazing and penetrating blue eyes), like any other kid her age, is under a lot of pressure: she’s being bullied by a bunch of kids in and out of school, and in her own home, her mom, Angela (Carolyn Bracken) has been acting absent and now has made that physical by disappearing, uncle Aaron (Paul Reid) is trying to stay calm about the chaos going on around the family, and grandmother Rita (Ingrid Craigie) is a bit of a mystery, as the very chilling prologue shows us.

Hazel Doupe

The second act opens with the mom’s return, which I’m not giving anything away if you read the title. She’s different though, sometimes normal and affectionate, others stoic, sitting in a chair silently; and then there are the hyper-aggressive moments. Char begins to wonder if, well, again, the name of the film. At this point, there is definitely a Hereditary (2018) vibe going on, especially after the prologue, though whether that is accurate by the end or not I probably won’t say in the review. There are also a couple of bits strewn throughout that reminds me of the original version of The Wicker Man (1973). Even the parents of her bully classmates, the latter of which is Suzzanne (Jordanne Jones), who lives next door, warns her to stay away from Char and her kith and kin.

There are so many ways this can go, but the supernatural seems like the most – er – natural given the storyline, the circumstances and hints, such as a pagan cross on the wall. Then there is the image on the film’s poster, which gives away a bit too much, and yet is just right for drawing an audience. I’m not quite sure how much of this tale is original, or based on Irish legends (perhaps the Banshee?). Still, once it picks up the pace, that seems less important than what is happening on the screen.

The film starts off with a very, very slow burn, but introduces the characters nicely. It really starts to pick up once mummy dearest comes home, thanks to her erratic and sometimes violent behavior. It is also a film that is strongly female-based, and in fact, Aaron is the only consistent male character throughout. But this is not a “men-bad-women-good” film, as there are both positive and negative female characters, such as lead bully, Kelly (Katie White), and Aaron is not a masculinist meathead. That was quite refreshing. To be honest, there were a couple of comeuppances I was looking forward to that never came, which for me was the film’s weakest point, but between mummy and daughter, there was a few pretty novel ideas thrown in that are noteworthy, but I will keep my lips sealed to keep the spoiler alert triggers down to a minimum.

Carolyn Bracken

This could be considered a Halloween-themed film, as it takes place in the weeks before the holiday, which of course is another clue of the film’s possible direction. Here it is in May, and it really does seem like a good/necessary time to be looking towards what I am assuming is an important holiday to whomever is reading this review.

This isn’t a gore-fest, but it has its violent moments that work really well in its more subtle form. Nothing is needed to be proven, as this is heavily character- and story-driven. The SFX looks great, when it is flashed, so pay attention!

Much of the cast is quite young, but holds their own with the more seasoned older actors. While Doupe shines in this, it is Bracken who steals the scenes as a mom on the verge of …

The film is dark and shadowy, even the outside shots, thanks to it always being overcast (well, it is Ireland). Very well shot by cinematographer Narayan Van Maele, it is moody, brooding, and yes, mysterious.

After years of shorts and music videos, this is director and writer Kate Dolan‘s feature debut. Her pacing could be picked up a bit, but generally this is a very fine film, and a welcome addition to the genre.

IMBD Listing HERE