Wiedergaenger Reviews

Housebound (2014)

Kiwi horror, anybody?

[8/10 · 5 November 2014]

First of all: yes, there may be one or two twists too many in this New Zealand horror film. And the story, though entertaining, isn't the newest one around also.

It's the film's style, its way of narrating that raises it considerably above your average haunted house flick -- that, and its bone-dry humour. The intro scene is already a prime example (very mild spoiler ahead): In what could be straight from a British or Scandinavian crime thriller we see two juveniles try to crack an ATM. But the grisly cold atmosphere stands in sharp contrast to the hilarious way they are botching the job in.

Much of the film's underlying fun and self-irony come from the discrepancy between its serious tone and the characters' antics. The "heroine" is wonderfully bitchy, and last but not least there's a decent amount of gore, too.

8/10 for this little gem from the other side of the world

Cold Blooded (2012)

Unpretentious and uncompromising

[7/10 · 30 September 2013]

"Cold Blooded" is one neat little film -- unpretentious, uncompromising, fast-paced without being hasted. It is low-budget, yet that fact only shows in the efficient use of actors, places and scenes. Speaking of actors: Zoie Palmer (who looks a wee bit like Kira Knightly) and Ryan Robbins give a great performance. Palmer's character Frances is believably determined without drifting into super cop clichés. Plus, most of the film she is seen with weirdly sexy blood splatters across her face (sorry, I can't help it). Robbins is realistic in his role as the not-so-bad guy.

Sure, there are some flaws, even one or two face-palm moments (MILD SPOILER: the officer at the very end, who let a badly injured person that is supposedly under shock wander off on her own END MILD SPOILER), yet the rest of the script is strong enough to make up for those.

Faces in the Crowd (2011)

Interesting ideas vs. generic elements

[7/10 · 3 August 2013]

"Faces in the Crowd" is a watchable, partly enjoyable thriller/serial killer film, starring a nerdily cute and youthful-looking Milla Jovovich (who's one of my all-time crushes, I've got to admit it). Her character, Anna, gets attacked by a serial killer known as Tearjerk Jack. She survives, yet loses the ability to recognise faces -- so far a nice variant of the classic "amnesia" and "blind witness" themes. I actually had come in contact with people suffering from prosopagnosia, so when this topic emerged in the film, I became intrigued (I hadn't known the film was about, but had chosen it just due to its cast). It was also refreshing to see Ms Jovovich in the role of a vulnerable character. Don't get me wrong: I always enjoyed (and always will enjoy) seeing Milla kick arse.

Sadly, some generic and even kitschy plot elements have found their way into the script. (SPOILERS) We've got the woman who walks home (alone and at night, mind you) and of course takes a 90% rape chance short cut at the first opportunity. We've got the lone cop who protects the sole witness by driving her to his picturesque home town. And we see said hunted witness leaving a hideout because her boyfriend sent her a text message.

Furthermore, the acting is sometimes a bit on the odd side, yet not as bad as it is stated to be in some posts around here. On the upside, the main character's face blindness allows some interesting aspects and twists. The effect of the changing faces is creepy (achieved by different actors playing the same character) and can keep a viewer off balance.

So if you are looking for something in the neighbourhood of "Blink" or "Los Ojos de Julia", or if you like Milla Jovovich, give this one a try.

6.5/10 (7/10 including the Milla bonus)

The A-Team (2010)

Too few creative ideas to rescue this mess

[4/10 · 30 July 2013]

I already had a bad feeling when reading the word "remake", yet was somewhat calmed by the cast. I consider Liam Neeson a good actor, and Bradley Cooper seemed to be the perfect choice to play Face. And last but not least, I've got a thing for Jessica Biel.

The basic storyline is more or less consistent with the TV show: We witness the original framing of the A-Team and the four's struggle to wash their names clean. But from here, things went south. Hannibal's plans, after all a key element, are laughable throughout, yet lack any imagination (SPOILER: Face sticks himself to a lorry with a huge magnet, B.A. blows one of the escort vehicle up with his motorbike, Hannibal joints them via a steel cable). I am not asking for realism in an A-Team flick, but I am asking for creativity. This film delivers none of them. Don't get me wrong: There are some hilarious ideas, like (SPOILER) Face remodelling his prison cell or (to a lesser degree) the flying tank scene. But that is not enough to carry the film for two hours.

We get the stereotypical Hollywood blend: Ms Biel as Colonel Decker substitute is not "really" evil and was of course one of Face's former love interests. The presentation of foreign countries is, euphemistically spoken, quirky. Showing an aerial view of Cologne Cathedral and stating the city around it to be Frankfurt am Main is like placing the Statue of Liberty in the L.A. docks. Said cathedral is the landmark of Cologne, world cultural heritage and the largest Gothic church in the world. How can anybody screw that up?! (SPOILER) Then there is the irritating thing with the stolen Hercules plane, the two drones and -- later -- the gunship attacking the hideout. We saw how quickly the Mexican general was shot down when entering US air space at the beginning. But a huge cargo plane with no clearance to start and with two Reapers at its tail can fly over the densely populated area around Mannheim without being bothered by the Luftwaffe? The sky would be filled with German planes within minutes like they were re-enacting the Battle of Britain! Oh, and the drones can't be called back by the control centre -- I see. There are other details, for example some confusions about the German federal police and so one -- just look them up in the Goofs section.

During the showdown the film fully turns into a mindless mess. (SPOILER) Hit by a rocket, a huge container ship gets list within seconds and explodes all over the place, remote-controlled BMW come out of containers, then some more explosions. Finally a twist that isn't one. Good work.

So, is there anything positive about this flick? Not much, I fear. As said, it has its moments, it has a cameo of the original Face. Murdock's antics and the comments of Sosa's two sidekicks are fairly entertaining. And we learn that you cannot stop a starting Hercules with a car, but trying so in a Mercedes G-Class will let you survive it at least.

4/10, and I'm being generous here.

Lifeforce (1985)

The Space Vampire flick to end all Space Vampire flicks

[17 July 2013]

After 166 people having reviewed this work before me, one could ask why I, too, would write a review on "Lifeforce"? Because I am still not convinced that somebody who hasn't watched this film can grasp the dimensions of its lunacy. It was called exploitative, glorious, bizarre, morbid, epic, a mess and a curiosity by my previous speakers. Well, that's a start to describe its genially hilarious awfulness. This is perhaps the one Space Vampire flick to end all Space Vampire flicks. Like Uwe Boll on LSD.

(For the records: I watched the 116 minutes long Director's Cut in the undubbed UK version.)

Just in case you haven't noticed already (spoilers henceforth):

Space vampires invade London to suck the life energy out of humans, which is then sent to the vampires' 150-miles-spaceship to be collected by an "absolutely enormous" umbrella-like contraption.

And just in case you didn't hear of this, either:

The lead vampiress is naked throughout almost the whole film, and I mean naked. Not just a nip slip here and a bare bum there. We are talking full nudity during scenes of several minutes of length. Yet these scenes never lose decency thanks to the serene, often enigmatically menacing aura actress Mathilda May is giving her character. Her acting, although very reduced, is still superior to that of most of her colleagues. It should be mentioned that Patrick Stewart has an appearance, too (and will presumably never hear the end of it).

The story is incoherent, to say the least, partly because of questionable editing choices due to time problems, partly because of the script itself. I haven't read the novel yet, but it was mentioned in other reviews that there are only some basic connections between book and script. Hilarious scenes are piled upon hilarious scenes, and the dialogues reach up to heights as "Don't worry, a naked woman is not going to get out of this complex". Even the special effects are good in a bad way. For example, the animatronics are awesomely made, but unlike in "The Thing", they downright scream "animatronic".

Don't get me wrong now: There are some interestingly new approaches to the vampire theme, the score is magnificent, and several scenes sport flawless surrealism. And behind the funny blue lightshow lies the allegory to venereal diseases -- mind you, the HI-virus was discovered only a few years earlier. Having written all this, I'm not even sure what rating to give. If you don't like over-the-top acting and effects, end-of-the-world scenarios, explosions, vampire-crewed spaceships, zombies or boobs, just don't watch this film. For all others, "Lifeforce" will be like the birthday party you always wanted when your puberty was kicking in.

SAGA - Curse of the Shadow (2013)

"They cursed the wrong Elf."

[8/10 · 3 July 2013]

I visit IMDb for several years, but this is the first film I really feel the urge to comment on around here. I stumbled about "Dragon Lore/Curse of the Shadow/The Shadow Cabal" by pure chance (I think it was the lead Elf's iconic mask that initially caught my attention).

The story itself isn't something to write home about, but isn't inferior to the stuff one gets served in most of the shiny Hollywood productions either. A High Elven bounty hunter, a human cleric/paladin and an Orc war chief team up -- more or less reluctantly -- to defeat the malevolent Order of the Shadow, which disciples plan to summon and materialise their demon master, the death god Goth Azul. Nothing new here.

No, the strong points of "The Shadow Cabal" (I'll stick with this title) lie within other fields.

In some parts the film is wonderfully trashy, but more than once we are granted well done sceneries, e.g. the vision sequences or the Orc's boating trip. It is also the Orc that is the trio's most entertaining one, thanks to the actor's solid performance. The Elf, Nemyt, is established as a likable "bad girl", albeit with an irritating habit for spitting (and sexy "Underworld" contact lenses). She has got an impudent attitude, indulges in animalistic hissings at times, but turns out to be loyal to the good side. Last but not least, she is pleasant to behold. Which leaves us with the paladin: He stays slightly anaemic, partly because he hasn't got as many strong scenes as the other two lead characters.

Digital effects are scarce, yet (or therefore) the final boss is rather impressive for an indie film. Furthermore, there is many a scene that sports a downright surreal atmosphere (for example the happenings at the Bleeding Stone). The locations are generally well chosen, but the footages of the Grand Canyon and other recognisable sites work against the immersion into a fantasy world. Make-up and props look good, often really good. However, the main Orc needs a nose job -- right now he reminds me of the Grinch. The fighting scenes are mostly solid and never overdone. To top it off, there are a lot of lovely details, such as Nemyt's aforementioned mask.

Unbiased, this film would get a seven. But the indie bonus makes it an eight out of ten, hands down.