dogstar666 Reviews

Halloween Kills (2021)

HALLOWEEN KILLS John Carpenter

[1/10 · 15 October 2021]

HALLOWEEN KILLS John Carpenter and pisses on his grave!

Unbelievable atrocity, unparalelled in the history of slasher.

Incompetent mixtrure of SCARY MOVIE and FIDAY THE 13TH, PART 8.

Utter waste of time and money - SKIP IT!

Zone of the Dead (2009)

disappointing

[3/10 · 4 September 2009]

This is a cheap, poor, unoriginal direct-to-DVD ultra-low budgeter that will satisfy only the most undemanding. If you liked the ugly, careless Italian zombie flicks from the early 1980s made by Claudio Fragasso and Bruno Mattei, this is a perfect match to that kind of dated, barely competent attempt at exploitation. It is not entirely without its saving graces: Ken Foree is as good as the silly, uninventive script and laughable dialogues allow; make-up efx are solid, but barely visibly because of the overuse of shaky-cam which spoils every action scene. Photography is dark, grainy and shaky, and the Tarzan-English spoken by the Serbian actors can be compared to the Engrish found in Miike's SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO. Solid potentials are largely wasted in this silly little flick.

Strangler vs. Strangler (1984)

A horror-comedy classic!

[9/10 · 7 February 2008]

Strangler's handling of deadpan, grotesque cruelty and black humour is somewhat similar to the mixture Alex de la Iglesia would perfect in his movies a decade later. The tonal shifts from horror to humour and back again are done well, with only an occasional unevenness, but the film's artificiality (voiceover narration, intertitles, grotesque exaggeration, etc.) may alienate some viewers. Sijan is to be commended for his courage in parodying a genre that has never been too popular with Serbian moviegoers in the first place. Strangler's thematic and stylistic subversiveness was part of the fresh air in Serbian cinema at the time, inspired by the New Wave movement: a wide front of artists and critics based around Belgrade's Student Cultural Center, involved in alternative rock'n'roll, literature, arts and the movies.

The picture was shown at the San Francisco International Film Festival in the mid-'80s, and I was surprised to meet an American poet there who could recite memorable lines from Strangler a full twenty years later (some of them in Serbian!). It is a testament to this film's lasting power which, unfortunately, remains limited only to Serbian filmgoers since an English-dubbed DVD is still nowhere in sight.

Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Unnecessary

[5/10 · 20 March 2004]

Pointless.

Senseless.

Unnecessary.

Is it boring? Hm, not really. Is it fun? Phihh, not really. It's passable zombie mayhem, better than RESIDENT EVIL [though that's not saying much] but it's insultingly shallow, & refuses to deal with ANY of the possible implications of its apocalyptic plot [not only in terms of ideas, since this is not *that* kind of film, but also in terms of plot points, characters, attitude or anything].

It's too shy & restrained even to be sick in the vein of Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake= they're playing everything for SAFE here, & manage to remain lame even with a couple of nice flesh-rending & chainsaw-wielding scenes. Even in this regard the new DAWN doesn't offer any inventiveness: we've seen all of these many times before, & it's only the production values of the make-up effects that make this worth your while.

It's a product of its times, & sad times indeed these are if this kind of zombie film is to 'represent' them.

Watchable it is. Worth watching? Barely.

3-

Secret Window (2004)

done masterfully every step of the way

[8/10 · 15 March 2004]

I knew it had to happen some day, et voila, here it is - the 1st David Koepp film that I have no complaints about whatsoever.

SECRET WINDOW is a perfect 'little' thriller, well crafted, well mounted, done masterfully every step of the way. It basically has everything that a good thriller needs, & does everything with no misstep. This is one of the more pleasurable rides I had in cinema this year, & I still have a grin on my face from the pleasure it gave me.

It's funny, it's witty, it's clever, it has some inventive shots , it has a beautiful Philip Glass score [subdued for his standards, but perfect for the context]... AND! AND- it has excellent acting from EVERYONE involved down to the last minor character & extra in the back.

I've said this many times, & I'll say it again: Johnny Depp is a GOD! He elevates every film he's in, & he basically carries this one. Pure genius; so effortless, so natural, so funny, so... human. Respect!

I won't talk about the rest of the cast, cause they're all perfect= Turturro especially. Damn scary!

All in all, though there's nothing revolutionary here, & though some may say it's a 'by the book' job, all I'll say is: it is done by a GOOD book. And by that I do not mean King's novelette [haven't read, but am intrigued now] = I mean: the book "How to Make a Thriller That Works & Puts a Grin on Your Face".

This is the kind of stuff that usually gets strong *** from me, but since Depp takes it to a level that no other actor could, I'll rate it **** [4].

Forbidden Games (1952)

wonderful!

[10/10 · 1 December 2003]

Never has the world of adults seemed so utterly stupid, brutal and senseless than through the eyes of two innocent children who have to deal with pain, loss, death and war. And yet, the film is gentle, subtle, inobtrusive in its portrayal of the grown-up's follies, and refreshingly unsentimental about presenting the pain and beauty of childhood.

A masterpiece.

Few other titles come to mind in which child actors have so much to bear, and they manage it effortlessly & unforgettably.

[The only thing that bothers me is the too convincing 'acting' of the dead /?/ dog...]

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

far better than it had any right to be

[8/10 · 10 October 2003]

I'll try to be brief & exact in the reasons that made watching the new TCM the greatest horror-movie going theatrical experience that I had in the last couple of years:

1.You'll be scared watching this in the cinema, and the bigger the crowd - the better! The amount of suspense in this movie sometimes reaches almost unpleasant levels. It also boasts the greatest number of effective jolts that I remember ever having seen.

2.Gore! You won't believe how gory & disturbing this film is! Forget that no-guts CABIN FEVER splatter-wannabe: this is the stuff the gorehounds' dreams are made of. Nispel uses gore wisely, never exaggerating, never showing too much & making it into a comedy or ridicule - the gore in TCM only adds to the terror, making the chainsaw threat real, tangible.

3.The new, upgraded Leatherface just rules! He is unstoppable killing machine, bigger, meaner & FASTER than good old Gunnar, and this time he is devoid of all the grotesquerie and pathos and silliness of the original Leatherface, which is good for producing terror, but on the other hand, it makes his character shallow & simple, almost like a Jason with a chainsaw.

4.R. Lee Ermey is unbearably unpleasant & scary in this= one of the greatest sicko characters to ever appear in a horror movie: I can already see him enter the Fangoria Hall of Fame is he already there?] & probably winning the award for the best male supporting role in the Chainsaw awards. Pure genius.

5.Jessica Biel is the epitome of 'hot'! She's also a decent actress, & the rest of the actors also do an unexpectedly good job. No complaints in that department.

Here are also some reasons why I think this movie is, in spite of its qualities, still far away from the genius of Hooper's original:

1.It is devoid of the all-pervading sense of apocalypse & doom that graced the TCM '74. All the psychological nuances, sociological implications, ideological, sexual & other tensions are also gone, for the sake of making the new version pure rollercoaster joyride through Hell with no subtext at all. It is also mostly devoid of Hooper's sense of black humor & wit [nothing here comes close to the 'Look what your brother did to the door!' moments].

2.One of my biggest complaints about the new TCM is that they never provide any background for the family: actually, I assume they are a family, but we never ever learn what their relations are = for all we're told or allowed to see, they may be just a community of psychos living together. The two women and a child are unnecessary additions that serve no purpose in the film. On the other hand, providing an 'explanation' for Leatherface's masks, and showing his face, was completely pointless and even stupid.

3.Nispel's video-clip background creeps in unnecessary additions, like the haze in the middle of a sunny August day, just so as to make rays of the sun through the trees look 'more beautiful'. He does the same in the night shots, with pointless mist that hangs around the house: it's a silly cliché, just like the rain that comes later in the night. These kinds of visuals do nothing to enhance the movie - they do the contrary.

4.The final half hour is well directed, it is suspenseful, it has great scary moments & unexpected twists, but is cliched nevertheless. And the ending. It just doesn't have the punch, the culmination of nihilism & apocalypse that Hooper had been masterfully building throughout his film. The silly epilogue is both implausible and cliched.

Anyway, if you are willing to settle for a great, entertaining horror-ride that is far better than it had any right to be & far more shocking & gruesome than anyone could expect, then you know what to do when the movie opens. Hardcore R rated horror needs all the support it can get.

The new TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE delivers! It is everything that HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES & CABIN FEVER wanted to be, but weren't. This is the real meat, the real blood, the real terror, & the most fun you're likely to have watching any horror in the cinemas this year.

Dust Devil (1992)

HAUNTING

[9/10 · 5 September 2003]

If there ever was a film which deserved to be called HAUNTING - it's this one. Excellent music, wonderful dream-like atmosphere, masochistically-grim mood verging on nihilism, mystical overtones, a sympathetic supernatural yet human 'villain'... it's just wonderful. Disturbing gore, genuinely creepy scenes, the setting unlike anything you've ever seen before- this is one of the unsung, unknown masterpieces of the '90-ies (thinking/feeling man's)horror film at its best.

Maratonci trce pocasni krug (1982)

pure genius!

[10/10 · 1 September 2003]

Few Serbian films stand up to the standards expected from the Western cinema, but this one cannot be overpraised: everything that's already been said here is true, and then some! A masterpiece in the purest sense of the word.

If re-watchability of a film is one of its major qualities, than this film beats any other that I know of: you can watch it dozens and dozens of time without ever getting bored - it's so funny& profound at the same time.

If you're a Serb, than you certainly already know this film by heart: if you are not, and are intrigued by this praise= by all means try to find it. I hope there is a good translation of its dialogue somewhere, because a lot depends on a quality rendition of the nuances of the actors' words.