23. dec. 2013

Anmeldelse: Stalled.

Årgang: 2013.
Tagline: “He's in the perfect place to be scared shitless... ”
Instruktør: Christian James.
Runtime: 84 minutter.
Medie: VOD.
Udgiver: Netflix.
Link til filmen på IMDB.
Se trailer her.
Se også: ‘Braindead’ (1992), ‘Shaun of the Dead’ (2004).

Anmeldt af Mark S. Svensson.


En pedel (Dan Palmer) befinder sig som en del af sin faste lidt atypiske rutine på dametoilettet, mens resten af arbejdspladsen holder julefrokost. Mens han er derude kommer to kvinder ind og i deres lettere beduggede tilstand begynder de at kysse på hinanden. Snart udvikler den hede udveksling af kropsvæsker sig til et decideret angreb, da den ene kvinde tager en bid af den anden. Pedellen overværer alt dette, og badeværelset fyldes snart af kødædende zombier, der hungrer efter hjerner.

Hovedrolleindehaver Dan Palmer er også manden bag manuskriptet til ‘Stalled’, som jeg med et vist forbehold vil sammenligne med den eminente ‘Shaun of the Dead’ (2004). Ikke fordi førstnævnte helt kan leve op til Frost og Peggs fremragende zombiefilmen, som formår både at spoofe og beundre zombiegenren, men fordi Palmers spil og manuskript til tider vækker mindelser om landsmændenes finurlige humor. Christian James’ anden spillefilm viger ikke bort fra at fedte sin seer ind i kaskader af blod, men ønsker samtidig også at have en smule på hjerte, og det er prisværdigt. Ikke mindst når man trækker sammenligninger til ‘Evil Aliens’, som Dan Palmer også medvirkede i, og som helt i modsætning til ‘Stalled’ har så travlt med at være fjollet, at den fuldstændig glemmer, at der er et publikum, der skal finde, hvad der foregår på skærmen, blot tilnærmelsesvist interessant. I øvrigt må man ikke glemme, at filmen jo er en julefilm! Den kan være en praktisk undskyldning for at smide zombiefilm på til juletid, hvis man har brug for sådan én. Og julen er faktisk del af plottet... på en måde.
Det er en zombie! Som er en nisse! Som er en dværg!
Der har været alenlange diskussioner om zombiers hastighed. Må de løbe? Eller er det skræmmende ved filmmonstret ikke, at det er et slentrende, sløvt væsen, der er centrum for klaustrofobiske og foruroligende filmværker? Jeg synes, at det er mere relevant at diskutere en anden hastighed, nemlig den som man vælger at fortælle zombiefortællingerne i. Med film som ‘Day of the Dead’ (2008) var der en bred vifte af problemer at tage fat i, men ikke mindst var det ødelæggende for dén film, at den var klippet i musikvideo tempo og uden fornemmelse for stil eller historiefortælling. Hvad jeg derfor syntes er på sin plads at rose ‘Stalled’ for er filmens evne til at variere tempo. Filmen foregår i meget begrænsede omgivelser gennem en stor del af dens spilletid, og det fungerer i kraft af Palmers manuskript, men i særdeleshed også grundet nogle skarpe valg fra instruktøren, der gør, at filmen kan bære både intensitet, oprigtighed og fjollet overgearet humor, der til tider kan skabe mindelser om film som Peter Jacksons ‘Braindead’ (1992).
Kø til dametoilettet...
‘Stalled’ besidder en kærlighed til sine karakterer, som tit går tabt i komedier såvel som gysere, og det er glædeligt, at det er med denne kombination af de to genre, at det samtidig lykkedes at holde fast i filmens figurer. Humoren bliver aldrig for alvor på karakterernes bekostning, men den falder til tider på den platte side, og det tynger en smule for en film, der er så afhængig af sine samtaler og pointer. Måden, som historien former sig på, bliver undertiden en smule kluntet med nogle lidt pludselige skift i dramatikken og lige så godt dette greb sine steder i filmen fungerer, lige så forfejlet fremstår det til andre tider. Det skaber en ujævnhed, som tager en smule af styrken fra ‘Stalled’. Fra filmens bedste til dens værste takter er der alligevel en ret tydelig fornemmelse af, at udgangspunktet for historien har været de personligheder, som befinder på det lille badeværelse og i stedet for at fremstå banalt eller klichépræget, fremstår det, vi undervejs lærer om hovedpersonen, som et forsøg på - atter engang - at gøre zombierne til et symbol på den omverden, som ikke har plads til udskuddene og særlingerne. 
Man forlader ikke apokalypsen uden blod på hænderne.
Christian James’ film kunne snildt have været faldet med hovedet først ned i toiletkummen, men lykkeligvis er det ikke sådan, det er gået. Dan Palmers historie og portrættering af en noget bitter mand, der ikke lige huskede at få levet op til sit potentiale, er medrivende, og undervejs sågar oprigtigt følelsesmæssigt engagerende i sine karakterøjeblikke. Havde filmen holdt tungen lige i munden og balanceret humoren en smule mere ligeligt med menneskeligheden, kunne ‘Stalled’ ligefrem have været mesterlig.

Score:

9. dec. 2013

Anmeldelse: The ABCs of Death.

Årgang: 2012. 
Tagline: “It’s not educational” 
Instruktør: Xavier Gens, Ben Wheatley, Anders Morgenthaler, Ti West, Jason Eisener m.fl.
Runtime: 123 minutter. 
Medie: DVD. 
Set på: 51” Plasma. 
Udgiver: Another World Entertainment
Link til filmen på IMDB
Se trailer her
Se også: 'Black Sabbath' (1963), 'Creepshow' (1982), 'V/H/S/2' (2013).


The ABCs of Death er venligst stillet til rådighed af Another World Entertainment.

Anmeldt af Mark S. Svensson.

I 26 kortfilm beskæftiger genreinstruktører sig med døden og en række af horrorfilmens undergenrer. Antologifilmen besidder som sådan ikke nogen rød tråd, hvis man ser bort fra en humor, som løber igennem en del af filmene.

Ant Timpson og Tim League har produceret ‘The ABCs of Death’ og samlet holdet af instruktører, som er ganske imponerende. Fra danske Anders Morgenthaler til kontroversielle Srdjan Spasojevic - manden bag ‘A Serbian Film’ (2010) - er det filmens formål at dække et bredt genremæssigt spektrum og give fans af genren en forsmag på, hvad fremtiden kan bringe. På den måde kan man, uden at tage nærværende films overordnede kvalitet med i sine overvejelser, tage hatten af for producernes evne til at grave de lidt mindre og mere skæve instruktører frem, flere af hvilke vi allerede tidligere har beskæftiget os med her på bloggen: Adam Wingards ‘A Horrible Way to Die’ (2010) fik eksempelvis en hård medfart i min egen anmeldelse herinde, mens vi var glade for Jason Eiseners ‘Hobo with a Shotgun’ (2011), som Hr. Sørensen selv fejrede tilbage i filmens udgivelsesår.
Prutteland (fra ‘F is for Fart’).
Her følger en anmeldelse af 26 film: 26 historier, der udfolder sig på deres respektive præmisser. 26 aspekter af en genre, som har plads til radikale idéer og eksperimenteren. Når det så er sagt, eksperimenterer ‘The ABCs of Death’? Kortfilmsformen giver mulighed for at prøve små idéer af i ekstreme rammer, og i film som Nacho Vigalondos ‘A is for Apocalypse’ udforskes der på kort tid en bizar og makaber lille historie, som giver et lille indblik i et univers der føles langt større. Bredt set kan man sige om filmens instruktører, at de alle har en visuel bevidsthed, der i det mindste er bemærkelsesværdig. Enkelte er mere markante end andre, som Thomas Cappelen Mallings ‘H is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion’ surrealistiske indslag, der har en naziræv i centrum eller Lee Hardcastles ‘T is for Toilet’ der er claymation og slående i sin eksplicitte splat og ubekvemme skildring af et barns mareridtsverden, der smelter sammen med dets virkelighed. Samlingens mest sprudlende visuelle stykke arbejde er Bruno Forzani & Héléne Cattets ‘O is for Orgasm’. Det lille værk er en symbolsk ladet sensuel fortælling, som ikke er nogen omfattende historie, men som med begrænsede midler visualiserer en seksuel tilfredsstillelse. Seksualitet beskæftiger flere andre af filmene sig også med i forskellige former. Ser man på ‘L is for Libido’ og ‘Y is for Youngbuck’ beskæftiger de sig begge med de mørkere sider af sex, på hver deres ubekvemme måde, mens ‘X is for XXL’ beskæftiger sig med samtidens kvindeideal.   
“Held og lykke med masturbationen kammerat!” (fra ‘L is for Libido’).
Et problem, der imidlertid løber gennem en lang række af antologiens historier, er humoren. Mens der er enkelte af indslagene, som tager sig selv alvorligt, er den langt overvejende del af filmen domineret af en eller anden grad af humor. Bundniveauet er utrolig lavt, og det er perfekt eksemplificeret i ‘F is for Fart’, som er Noboru Iguchis tilføjelse, og som er rystende plat og barnagtig i sin pruttehumor. Danske Anders Morgenthalers indslag bevæger sig i samme område, men som det er typisk for tegneren, er der en vis satire at skimte i hans lille historie, omend det ikke er nok til for alvor at gøre den til noget der kvalitets- og indholdsmæssigt hører hjemme i denne samling film. På samme vis hiver Andrew Trauckis ‘G is for Gravity’ filmen ned, fordi den, ligesom andre film i antologien, giver indtryk for en enorm ligegyldighed og et manglende engagement. Instruktørerne har fået kunstnerisk frihed i arbejdet med indholdet af deres film, og det har for nogen udmøntet sig i kvalitet, mens det for andre tydeligt har ledt til for nemme løsninger. Det eksemplificeres endvidere i ‘W is for WTF!’, som lægger ud som en leg med den kreative proces, men som hurtigt udvikler sig til noget af det mest rodede og kedsommelige, som samlingen byder på.
Frau Scheisse (fra ‘H is for Hydro-Electric Diffusion’).
Der er virkelig langt fra den ringeste af ‘The ABCs of Death’ segmenter til det bedste. Det gør den selvsagt svær at give en overordnet karakter. Derfor har jeg valgt at tage gennemsnittet af mine vurderinger af de enkelte film og give den overordnede film denne karakter. Med det sagt vil jeg våge at påstå, at der for den tålmodige seer er godbidder, der er værd at vente på i Timpson og Leagues samling af film, men der er langt mellem de uhyggelige eller virkeligt morsomme momenter.

Score:

6. dec. 2013

Horror-Unrated Retrospekt #2: Et interview med instruktør Patrik Syversen, Courtney Hope og After Dark horrorfilmen 'Prowl'.

Efter 4 år har vi valgt at lukke og slukke for Horror Unrated. Med tiden fik vi hevet en hel del spændende og dybdegående interviews i hus, fra de store kendte horror stjerner til ukendte independent filmskabere. Personligt er jeg meget stolt over den række af interviews vi endte med at få på Horror Unrated, og enkelte står stadig som nogle helt unikke. Bl.a. interviewene med instruktøren af 'Don't Go in the Woods', James Bryan og David Winters - manden bag 'The Last Horror Film', som begge velvilligt satte sig til at scanne gamle billeder filmpris-certifikater ind til os som vi kunne bruge i artiklen. Og danske Heini Grünbaum som i 1999 lavede 'Flænset', gav sig rigtig god tid til virkelig at gå i dybden med sine svar. Den dag i dag er det så vidt vi ved, stadig det eneste interview der findes med ham på internettet.
Af forskellige årsager valgte vi at lukke for Horror Unrated d. 12. november 2013, og da undertegnede tidligere har været skribent for denne fantastiske blog, Sørensen Exploitation Cinema Proudly presents, valgte jeg og bloggens ejer at flytte de mange interviews over på bloggen så de kunne få nyt liv, og forhåbentlig blive læst og nydt af nye læsere.

- Claus Reinhold.

HORROR UNRATED: Patrik and Courtney - welcome to Horror Unrated. It’s great to have you both with us and we’re going to talk about your latest movie Prowl which is part of the After Dark Originals. Patrik, let’s start with you; how did this start for you and how did you get involved in this project?

PATRIK SYVERSEN: Thanks. I got the script from my reps, and really responded to it. It was a lean and straight forward survival horror, but with a strong central character at it's core. Dobré Films took the project to After Dark Films, and then it started moving pretty quickly. Thankfully, the producers involved liked my previous film so within weeks the project was set up and good to go. I think we got word in May 2009, so casting started right away. Then we started shooting in July. Our film was the first of the bunch to be produced, so I'm really glad they're all done and good to go. I can't wait for it to come out.

HU: And you Courtney? How did you get involved in this project, was it through a regular casting process?

COURTNEY HOPE: Yes, I was brought in by Mark Teschner, who I've been in front of for General Hospital many times. He became the casting director on Prowl, read the break down and said he had to bring me in. I read the script and loved it, then met with Patrik and everything just kind of moved on from there.

HU: Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is your first horror film right? Did you have any concerns about that and was it very different from what you have previously done as an actress?

CH: Yes, this is my first horror film. I was so excited about doing a horror film. I knew it was going to be something new and different from the other projects I have worked on so I couldn't wait to get started.

HU: When I first heard of the new Patrik Syversen movie, I thought it was a vampire flick in the vein of 30 Days of Night, but I was definitely proven wrong. So in your words, what sort of film is Prowl?

PS: I like describing it as a coming of age survival horror. It's an intense, character driven horror film about running away and finding your true self through trying times. I wanted it to feel personal, yet tap into very aggressive and primal feelings. Hopefully we pulled that off, so the film works on two levels - a thrilling horror that hopefully taps into some emotional aspects as well.

HU: Courtney, you play Amber, a young girl who wants to escape her sad surroundings and therefore leave for Chicago with her friends. Can you tell us about the character - how you see her and how it was to play her?

CH: Portraying Amber was great. She’s a bit shy and very closed off. She is coming into her own as a young woman, when at the same time her whole world is kind of just falling apart right in front of her. She has a certain drive about her to change the direction that her life is taking that is very humbling. Amber is a very genuine and honest person, what you see is what you get. She isn't afraid of failure, and would do anything to protect the ones that she loves.

HU: So how was it to work with Patrik? How was he as a director and how did the two of you work and collaborate on your character?

CH: Working with Patrik was a blast. It was very interesting. He is so smart and extremely talented. He definitely has a different way of directing than I had ever experienced before. He knows what he wants and it will get done. When we got to Bulgaria, we sat down and talked about what we wanted out of the character and the film and how we were going to make that happen. We each tossed our opinions and ideas out on the table and just kind of worked from there to create what you see in the film.
PS: As the project moved pretty quickly, we had limited rehearsal time. That meant a lot in the casting process, so finding the right actress with the right tone was key. Courtney had a lot of the sensibilities and the same naive approach to things as Amber, so that really kickstarted things. Finding a personal approach is important, and Courtney was 19 at the time, and you can't fake that look in her eyes. So we talked a lot, about her and her character, and tried to find a common trust, and a way to incorporate her personal experiences into the character. For example; the film was shot in Bulgaria, and Courtney had never been out of the US, so she sort of opened her eyes to a new world throughout the shoot. We tried to shoot the film almost chronologically, so I guess she sort of grew through the process, which was important for the film. The last scene in the film was the last one we shot, and I think it shows. She's been through some heavy shit. At times I pushed her hard, and it was pretty draining during certain scenes, but it paid off. We're good friends now, but we went through lengths to push her into the emotional state she was in.

HU: Okay, so this was your first time in Europe, Courtney?

CH: Indeed it was. It was fantastic. I was sad that I didn't get to explore much around Bulgaria, since we were on such a tight shooting schedule, but from what I did see it was very eye opening. It has really beautiful scenery there with all of the rolling hills and old factories. I think it made that much more of an impact on the film and the characters, since it was so foreign to us. Especially to me being one of the only ones from America. We had ADR in London, so I stayed there for a week and explored where the rest of my cast mates were from. It was incredible, and made me want to travel a lot more.

HU: Patrik, in the first act, the film is very dedicated to the focus on Amber as a person – who she is and how her life is, and we’re also introduced to her mother etc. I mean, we really get to know her and the first act has more of a drama-feel to it – something you rarely see in horror films. Was that important to you to do this and to get more into the life of the protagonist?

PS: Yes, setting up the characters in the beginning was definitely important. The main reason I wanted to do the film was that I felt that it was a very direct coming of age story that I could relate to. Being a survival horror movie, it's intense and scary, but still I wanted it to be close to home and heartfelt. Plus, when you set up characters, you want the audience to root for them and go through the same things as they do. The better you try to set them up, the more impact the inevitable terror will have. And in the end it's all about engaging the audience on a primal level without intellectualizing or underestimating them. Hopefully we pulled it off; making the film scary and horrifying, yet keeping the audience engaged in the arc of the central character.

HU: I totally agree. You know, even though I love movies like Friday the 13th and Don’t Go in the Woods, the characters are always just there without any background story or any insight into who they are and what their dreams and goals are. They seem to serve more as disposable bodies for the killer to slash up. But in Prowl and with Amber, you went the opposite way and really gave the audience a character to identify with.

PS: As mentioned before, identifying with the character means you care when they are in peril, and that is key. It means you want them to survive, and that you're in their shoes, instead of observing. As much as I love straight forward slasher films, I feel the best horror films are those that express something, and tell a story. It doesn't have to be complex, but a good story is always about the themes and the lead characters arc. The actions in a horror film are means to expressing those themes.

HU: Courtney, I’m guessing that it was also great for you as an actress to be able to portray a well-written character and be able to act on more levels?

CH: Absolutely. It definitely gave Amber a lot more dimension and gave me a lot more to work with. She has somewhere she's trying to get to, and a true passion for why she is leaving. It lets the audience see her in a different light and as a real person, which allows them to connect with her better and truly care for her. And it definitely makes her evolution to the person she becomes in the end, that much more powerful.

HU: Yes indeed it does. When I saw Prowl, I remember thinking to myself that the acting performances, and especially the ones by Courtney and Bruce Payne, were extremely natural and realistic, and I had the same feeling back when I watched your first movie, Manhunt. Is it a gift of yours or one of your forces as a director to get these very realistic performances from the cast, or are you just lucky to get the right actors?

PS: Thank you so much! Whether I do a good job is up to others to decide, but I put a lot of effort into casting and finding actors who have the right chemistry, with both me and the other actors. I always approach a project based on themes or characters, so it's important to me to tap into that before the shoot, to make sure we're all on the same page. All fundamental questions have to be answered before you're on set, and by doing that, you have more time to talk about nuances and the details. You also get some space to play around, and that makes for some interesting interactions if the characters are clear enough. So, we talk character, find different approaches, and try to make it feel organic. I like shooting what's written first, and then stray away somewhat while still keeping the same momentum and structure of the scene. By doing that, you get organic reactions, and hopefully that pays off in the final film. I also like to tweak a bit with the dialogue to make sure it fits the actors’ mannerisms and energy.

HU: Now, we were speaking of drama just before and I noticed you also incorporate these dream-like, maybe even subconscious images several times through out the film where we see Amber running in slow motion – escaping. Again, this is a very different touch from the average horror flick. How did you come up with this, and what’s your idea and interpretation with these scenes?

PS: I wanted a recurring motif that sort of crystallized the entire film, so we did some shots of Amber literally running away. She's always on the move, always escaping. Getting back to that in certain key scenes, meant we could follow that red thread. It also gives the film a subjective approach. The film has to be Amber's story from the get go, and we tried to make her relatable and accessible.

HU: Okay, well it certainly works well. We also have to talk about these fierce and bloodthirsty creatures. How did you come up with their look and is there any deeper meaning behind the way they look and move?

PS: The creatures were initially written differently, but we had lots of restrictions in both time and budget. The film was always intended to have a realistic feel, even though it's a creature film, so we decided to go with a simple and straightforward approach. Stripped down, raw and in your face. Sharp fangs and rapid movements were key elements, so focusing on that, and making sure you hold back on how much you see them was important to make the creatures and situations seem plausible in the universe we established.

HU: So how the shoot go in Bulgaria?

PS: We shot the film in 19 days in Bulgaria, with an international crew and UK and US actors. I'm Norwegian and so is my DP, so it was a special experience. It was a pretty tight schedule, 109 pages in that short amount of time, so it was pretty harrowing at times. We shot a lot of the film in an abandoned steel factory, a lot of nights and effects and emotional scenes, so it was both draining and rewarding. Two hours of sleep at night, working on shortlists, meetings with the departments and shooting the rest of the time. It was a crazy three weeks, but it really makes you focused on what you're doing, because you have no choice, and there was no way we were going over budget. It really forces you to stay true to your intentions, yet be creative if things don't work out the way you thought. Everyone was really dedicated, and I'm really thankful for that.

CH: Yes, it was very fast paced and very long and exhausting days, but I think it worked with the film. The more tired and drained we all got, so did our characters. The places we shot in were very extreme and crazy as well. By the end of the shoot we had all night shoots, and would sleep during the day. This made it really fun for the cast and crew walking around these creepy places at night. We would play a lot of pranks on each other walking through the dark factory or across the fields at night. Getting the creatures to jump out at people and scare them, and having all the stray dogs that just run around everywhere. It was so fun.

HU: This is you first English language film. How was it to direct and communicate in another language than Norwegian?

PS: Doing a film in another language was surprisingly easy. In the end it's all about personal chemistry and communication with the actors. Casting is important, and finding a tone and sticking to that has been key. All the actors and crew have different sensibilities, no matter what language you talk, so it's all about making sure everyone is making the same movie. You sort of adapt to these feelings. Some people need one key word or just a look. Some need a more detailed breakdown of my vision. But when it all boils down to one thing, it's the universal language of emotions. And the technical stuff of course.

HU: Courtney, I’m guessing you had to tap a bit into your violent side when it came to the brutal and gory scenes, which are not for the faint of heart I might add. Were you OK with these gory and violent scenes and what’s it like to act out such extremities?

CH: Absolutely. I am not a really angry or violent person at all, so this was a stretch for me. It was great once I connected with the feeling I was trying to achieve. It was a place I rarely ever go inside of me, so once I got there, I just let it all go. It was so real to me that it became very gut- wrenching.

HU: Trust me – that shows on screen. So what are your thoughts on the film now that it’s done? And are you open to do more horror in the future?

CH: I think the film looks fantastic. I would absolutely love to do more horror films. They are just so different and require tapping into a lot of emotions that most people don't connect with everyday.

HU: What about you Patrik, I know you’re working on a couple of new films which are far from the horror genre. Does this mean you are done with making horror movies?

PS: Definitely not! I love horror, and I’d love to do more. Hopefully my next project is another horror film. In the end it's all about telling a story or conveying some sort of emotion, and after having done a comedy and a drama, I'm more than ready to make bigger and better horror films.

HU: Okay great – that was it from me. Thank you both so much for your time and the best of luck to you both with future projects.

PS: Thank you! And thanks for the kind words. It means a lot that you liked the film.

CH: Absolutely. It was great talking with you!

5. dec. 2013

Anmeldelse: John Dies At The End.

Årgang: 2013.
Tagline: Just so you know...they're sorry for anything that's about to happen.
Instruktør: Don Coscarelli.
Runtime: 99 minutter.
Medie: DVD.
Udgiver: Another World Entertainment.
Link til filmen på IMDB.
Se trailer her.
Se også: 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension' (1984), 'Naked Lunch' (1991), 'Men in Black' (1997).

John Dies At The End er venligst stillet til rådighed af Another World Entertainment.

Anmeldt af Allan Sørensen.


Et nyt stof (der på gaden er kendt som ”sojasovs”) gør det muligt for brugerne at rejse mellem forskellige dimensioner og tidsaldre. Der er bare en enkelt hage ved det: en del af brugerne er ikke mennesker. Pludselig er der en udenjordisk invasion i gang og menneskeheden har brug for en helt. Aspiranterne hedder John (Rob Mayes) og David (Chase Williamson), et par lade knægte med rod i tilværelsen. Kan disse to tabere stoppe den fremskredne apokalypse i tide, og derved redde jorden fra den visse undergang?

Lad det bare være sagt med det samme, Don Coscarelli gør det igen! Den snart 60-årige instruktør er kendt i genre-kredse for at lave vanvittige, dybt originale og seriøst syrede og skæve film, og med 'John Dies at the End' forsætter han trenden. Coscarelli har nemlig tidligere givet os syrede genre-mashups i form af lækkerbiskener som 'Phantasm' og 'Bubba Ho-Tep'. Faktisk er hans nyeste bedrift så udknaldet og flippet, at jeg måtte se den et par gange, for at samle mig om at få noget ud af filmen og få skrevet denne anmeldelse.
"Don't do drugs mkay? Drugs are bad, mkay?"
'John Dies at the End' er baseret på en bog af samme navn, skrevet af Jason Pargin, (under pseudonymet David Wong) og har du ikke læst den, så kan jeg kun anbefale dig at gøre det. Det samme kan siges om hans anden bog, som forsætter i samme stil, 'This Book Is Full of Spiders'. Det er en afsindig svær opgave Don Coscarelli har begivet sig ud på, at skulle filmatisere denne bog. For bogen er all over the place, men på den fede måde. Instruktøren gør da også alt hvad han kan for at pakke så mange af bogens monster-skæve ideer ind i sin film, og det lykkedes til dels - der er i hvert fald ikke plads til meget mere i de 99 minutter som filmen varer. 'John Dies at the End' sprudler af liv og fuldfed "ryger-filosofi", præcis som bogen, og det er tydeligt at Coscarelli selv er stor fan af Wong's værk, og 'John Dies at the End' tromler ufortrødent af sted, ned af en flerfarvet LSD-motorvej, med coke som vejstriber og joints som hjemmekrøllet autoværn.
Vores to protagonister bliver spillet af de forholdsvis ukendte drengerøve Chase Williamson og Rob Mayes og de gør det helt udmærket, uden at brillere. Mere interessant bliver det lidt længere nede på rollelisten, når navne som Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman og Daniel Roebuck dukker op i en sand rus af skæve karakterer og sjove personligheder.
"...come again?"
'John Dies at the End' er måske som du allerede har gættet, en sær størrelse og det er derfor også temmelig svært at komme rigtig ind på filmens handling og historie, uden at komme til at ødelægge for meget af oplevelsen. Men lad os sige det sådan her - har du altid, eller måske bare nogle gange, drømt om at David Lynch, Seth Rogen og Hunter S. Thompson tog en tur i høet med en syvhovedet dynamit-bong, bakkede med 400 km/t ind i et surrealistisk Salvador Dali maleri, for derefter at lande i en Spøg og Skæmt butik fra helvede - så skal du se 'John Dies at the End'. Filmen er ikke for alle og enhver - slet ikke! Men hægter man sig på rutsjebanen og går med på den vanvittige præmis, ser igennem fingre med det til tider lidt usikre skuespil og dodgy effekter, så er man altså inde for one hell of a ride. Der er ikke så meget af det der giver mening, men hvor er det dog underholdende at være publikum til.
Er det mon selveste Cthulhu der er ved at vågne til dåd?
Heldigvis (og utroligt nok) bliver tosseriet aldrig trættende eller kedeligt. Det hele er lavet med tilpas megen sort humor og glimt i øjet, til at man bare ikke kan lade være med at lade sig rive med. Og så forstår Coscarelli heldigvis at få nogle nogle tiltrængte pauser ind i filmen, som viser sig i form af nogle rigtig fine scener imellem Chase Williamson, vores ene helt David, og Paul Giamatti som journalisten Arnie Blondestone, som er interesseret i at høre de to stoners vanvittige historie om fremmede dimensioner, stoffer, monstre og aliens. Og det er du forhåbentligt også blevet - så af sted til din lokale filmpusher, din freak! Gad vide om man kan lave en mega-bong ud af udtjente DVD covers og nedslidte Special Editions?

Score:

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Der sker også masser af ting på vores facebook-side, der er værd at følge med i. Her bliver du altid holdt opdateret når der kommer nye indlæg på bloggen, du kan møde andre genre-fans og kommenterer alt det du vil på opslag og billeder. Her udkommer også indlæg og nyheder som kun er at finde derinde. Du finder siden ved at klikke her, og husk nu at trykke "Synes godt om".

4. dec. 2013

Tilbud: Jule-udsalg hos Arrow Films & Video!

Arrow Films & Video holder kæmpe jule-udsalg på en masse af deres udgivelse. Og det gælder både DVD'er og BLU-ray's. Du kan f.eks erhverve dig den nye og über-fede 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 [Blu-ray Limited Edition]' (som vi lige har haft anmeldt inde på bloggen) til sølle £14.55. Du kan også finde titler som The 'People Under the Stairs', 'Foxy Brown', 'Lady Snowblood 1&2', 'Black Sabbath' og 'The Beyond', alle på BLU-ray, til £7.99 stykket. Tilbudet udløber d.20/12 og handler du for over £50 får du gratis levering. Det er altså værd at kigge nærmere på, og det kan du gøre lige her.

Runaway Train (1985).


2. dec. 2013

Horror-Unrated Retrospekt #1: Den italienske zombie-film går igen! En snak med Marco Ristori og Luca Boni, om deres film 'Eaters'.

Efter 4 år har vi valgt at lukke og slukke for Horror Unrated. Med tiden fik vi hevet en hel del spændende og dybdegående interviews i hus, fra de store kendte horror stjerner til ukendte independent filmskabere. Personligt er jeg meget stolt over den række af interviews vi endte med at få på Horror Unrated, og enkelte står stadig som nogle helt unikke. Bl.a. interviewene med instruktøren af 'Don't Go in the Woods', James Bryan og David Winters - manden bag 'The Last Horror Film', som begge velvilligt satte sig til at scanne gamle billeder filmpris-certifikater ind til os som vi kunne bruge i artiklen. Og danske Heini Grünbaum som i 1999 lavede 'Flænset', gav sig rigtig god tid til virkelig at gå i dybden med sine svar. Den dag i dag er det så vidt vi ved, stadig det eneste interview der findes med ham på internettet.
Af forskellige årsager valgte vi at lukke for Horror Unrated d. 12. november 2013, og da undertegnede tidligere har været skribent for denne fantastiske blog, Sørensen Exploitation Cinema Proudly presents, valgte jeg og bloggens ejer at flytte de mange interviews over på bloggen så de kunne få nyt liv, og forhåbentlig blive læst og nydt af nye læsere.

- Claus Reinhold.



HORROR UNRATED: Welcome to Horror Unrated Marco and Luca. We’re here to talk about your zombie feature Eaters, so let me start out by asking; why a zombie film and how did this whole project start?

LUCA BONI: Basically we decided to make a zombie movie because we love zombies. Also, we wanted to make a very extreme movie, so the zombie genre was perfect and last but not least, it's easier to sell a zombie movie, so we put together all these things and here we are. But Eaters had a very long development. The pre-production started back in September 2009 and we spent about seven months to prepare everything such as casting, location scouting, asking for permissions, storyboarding etc. We both remember those seven months as the worst period of our careers, but now we're really proud of ourselves – the movie is made and we never gave up.

HU: That's admirable indeed. So what sort of zombie film is Eaters and what the audience can expect?

MARCO RISTORI: Eaters is basically an extremely gory comedy. Well, of course there's a lot of violence, blood, guts and monsters, buy everything is surrounded by irony. We're not serious guys so we didn't want to make a serious movie at all. Sure the story is dramatic but there are a lot of funny and gory gags as well. So if you're looking for a funny zombie movie with some good F/X, Eaters is definitely what you're looking for.

HU: Back in the 1970’s and 80s Italy was world famous for its zombie movies, but then it sort of faded out and we haven’t seen a zombie movie from Italy in many years. With Eaters, are you guys trying to change that – bringing Italy back on the zombie-map?

MR: Not at all. We really don't want to change anything. Italy had a very good horror tradition but we want to go ahead. Eaters it's not an Italian film. We only want to keep going and trying to make movies better and better. That's all.

HU: Marco, you wrote the screenplay together with Germano Tarricone, but how long did it take to write and how did the two of you work together in the writing process?

MR: We wrote the first draft back in 2007 and I think we have written almost ten drafts from 2007 to 2009. Working and writing with Germano has been great. He's a very smart guy who has a lot of good ideas. I love every single character in Eaters..I think we have great characters in the movie as Slim-Jim and Fathead or the Painter.

HU: When you’re not a famous director, I know it can be very difficult to get a film financed. So I'm wondering if it was difficult for you to find financing and to realize this film with your very limited budget?

LB: When you don't have any money, everything is difficult. Here in Italy no one wants to produce stuff like this so it's been hard as hell, especially in most of the pre-production and post-production.
The truth is, that while you're shooting you are having a great time and a lot of fun with a lot of friends. Problems arrive when you have to put together hours and hours of shot material. Problems arrive when you have to create a virtually destroyed city and you don't have a buck to do it for. The pre- and post-production has been made only by the two of us, so you can imagine how hard it's been. Despite of all these problems, we think that being director and producer at the same time is much better because you have a lot of freedom.

HU: Was Eaters the title from the beginning or was it supposed to be titled something else?

LB: Yes, Eaters was always the title. Anyway, you know it’s quite possible that some countries will change it for business reasons.

HU: Regarding the cast, did you have a regular casting or did you have specific actors in mind when you wrote the screenplay?

MR: We had the two main actors, Alex Lucchesi and Guglielmo Favilla, in mind when writing. They play Igor and Alen and those guys are simply the best, you know without them we wouldn't be here now. We've been very lucky to have them by our side. For the other characters we did regular castings. We've been very lucky to find all the right faces. In a movie like Eaters the faces are a very important thing.
HU: I’m guessing the two of you didn’t always see eye to eye on everything, so how did your collaboration on directing the movie work out?

LB: Well, actually we did. The truth is that we are like one single person. We know it may sound strange but that's the truth. In the past six years we have made 25 video clips, more than 50 documentaries and commercials as well as other stuff together, so we have learned to live and work side by side. With Eaters we have made everything from the script to the final master.

HU: How did you work with the actors - did you read and rehearse a lot or did you also improvise at some points?

MR: Both actually. For a movie like Eaters you need at least 40 days of shooting, but we shot the entire movie in only 28 days, so we had to work very fast. Many of the scenes had been rehearsed a lot in pre-production, but several others were improvised on location. Our actors were amazing and we owe them so much.

HU: Tell me all about how the shoot went?

LB: On every single day of making this movie something new happened. I remember one day where we shot something like 17 hours and on set there were only Marco and I, Alex, Guglielmo, the DOP and the boom operator. The rest of the crew was at home.
We're back at 2 a.m. and David Bracci was awake, cooking for us a great pasta carbonara. We love that man. So I can say that the shooting was damn hard, but very funny at the same time.

HU: Oh, I love pasta carbonara as well. So what was the most negative and frustrating part of the production?

LB: During the pre-production one of the most difficult moments has been when we lost one of the most important locations, only one month before shooting began, for bureaucratic reasons, so that was quite frustrating. I don't remember any specific negative problems on the set, maybe because everything was a problem basically. Jokes aside, we had a really good time on the set so we think we've been very lucky especially in having a great crew and a fantastic cast around us.

HU: I know you used the Canon EOS 7D camera which many are using now, but why did you settle on that camera?

MR: Simply because the Canon EOS 7D is a great camera and perfect for low-budget movies. The quality of the image is amazing and you can shoot in full HD at 24fps and at the same time the camera is very small so you can put it just about everywhere.

HU: I know these cameras and especially their lenses allow much better depth of field and give the images a very cinematic look. I’m guessing it was very important to you to get that film-like look?

MR: Yes absolutely, it was very important. We used a lot of different lenses, especially a great 100mm macro for the close-ups, to get the most amazing depth of field.

HU: Personally I think many low-budget filmmakers could learn from you when it comes to the technical aspects. I mean, so many of the no- and low-budget horror movies today have neither the story nor the visuals going for them. So many of them really look like crap. You know, shot handheld on small consumer cameras with auto focus, bad sound, no post-production, no colorgrading, nothing. Why do you think this is?

MR: It's hard to say. The problem with 90% of the indie flicks out there is that they look too cheap. Even if they don't look cheap, it's not enough to buy a good camera to shoot a movie. You have to know what you're doing on all fronts. One of the strengths of Eaters is the cinematography and the colorgrading. Every year hundreds of crappy low-budget movies invade the markets like AFM an EFM so if you want to stand out you have to do your absolute best. It is very important to study and learn as much as you can. Watching thousands of movies could be very helpful. Practice is absolutely the most important thing too.

HU: The zombies in the movie, what type of zombies are they – the classic slow-moving types we know from Night of The Living Dead or the fast moving ones we know from contemporary zombie flicks? And what can you tell us about the special F/X zombie make-up – what sort of look did you settle on?
LB: Our zombies run, fight and...talk! They are amazing and the prosthetic make-up is without a doubt another strength of our movie. Our special make-up crew was simply great and they have realized the most amazing zombies you've ever seen in an Italian movie. We have a good special effects too as the zombie woman corpse in the lab or the skinned body in the church. Gore fans will love this movie. First of all we wanted to have zombies and not infected people, so our zombies are decayed, rotten and very dead. The prosthetic make-up really takes a lot of time but our zombies will leave you breathless. We love that black stuff they have in their mouths and I remember that our special effects guy David Bracci was always running on the set with a glass with black honey to feed his zombies. Our favorite zombie is the fat zombie in Gyno's lab. The actor is a tiny guy and Carlo Diamantini and David took five hours to put on the full-body prosthetic.

HU: Before we call it a day, I have to ask you guys what your favorite horror films are?

MR and LB: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Day of the Dead, The Thing, The Shining, Dawn of the Dead, well all the classics basically, but we also like the new wave of horror, especially the French ones like Martyrs, Frontier(s) and Haute Tension and English movies like Doghouse and The Descent. Actually we also watch a lot of American indie flicks to learn as much as we can from our colleagues around the world.

HU: Okay guys, we have come to the end of this interview. I want to say thanks to both of you for taking the time to do this and best of luck with Eaters.

LB:  Thank you for this interview and we really hope you'll like the film. You rock!