A few reviews . . (film or TV) — Page 158

The Curse Of Nostradamus - 1961 - 4/10
AKA - La Maldición de Nostradamus

Will he open the crypt? What do you think?
The descendant of a powerful necromancer arrives to punish those who had thwarted his ascent.
And to take control, eventually, of the world.
First, however, he wants the intelligentsia to recognize and acknowledge his supremacy.
Gothic sets, brooding acting by Germán Robles.
Undermined by endlessly talky script, and limited action.
Parts of a serial, reedited into a film, unsure if I shall continue.

Piranha II: Spawning - 1982 - 4/10

Piranhas. Flying piranhas, whoa no!
Biologist has altered the deadly fish so they can fly.
Setting, the touristy Caribbean, where a canister of the fish have gotten loose.
Where visitors want midnight fishing, fish savor long pork.
Cheap spinoff of the original film has nothing to do with that.
Minuscule budget, laughable fish. Too much talk, not enough mayhem.
James Cameron’s first film, boasts Lance Henriksen as the lead.

At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul - 1964 - 5/10
AKA - À Meia-Noite Levarei Sua Alma

Zé, village undertaker (who dresses like a carnival magician) knows how to mesmerize others.
So that he can injure, main, or murder them. He is, after all, superior.
Despite having a wife / girlfriend, Zé fancies friend Antonio’s fiancée, Terezinha.
Girlfriend disposed of, Antonio disposed of, Zé forces himself into Terezinha.
Throughout, the village witch warns him. As if he cares.
Melodramatic, cheap, hammy.
So bad to be most enjoyable.

The Devil’s Rain - 1975 - 5/10

“They found us!” Us being the Preston family, on the run for centuries.
They? The diabolical Corbis, leader of devil worshipers.
All are descendants of Pilgrim satanists, now in a southwest ghost town, Redstone.
Cobris and his followers want “the book”.
Wild, over-the-top flick is not overtly campy, and not exploitive enough to be drive-in.
Ernest Borgnine is the heart and soul of this, he devours the screen.
I was hoping for the same from Shatner, but he has little to do here.
A bad film that I could not resist watching.

The First Omen - 2024 - 5/10

Excessive prequel to The Omen (1976), invents Damien’s backstory, as well as the rationale for his existence.
Novitiate Margaret arrives in Rome from Pittsburgh, begins tasks in the orphanage.
Rather than being severe, many of the sisters smoke or jump on the trampoline.
One fellow novitiate, Luz, suits Margaret in “dressed up to get messed up” attire before they go clubbing.
Waking up the next morning, she realizes something ain’t right and eyes the orphanage closer.
Sure enough, closed rooms, creepy novices, a troubled girl, and a sinister trail.
Well, we knew that already.
Filmwise, characters and script are wildly over-the-top to the point of lunacy.
Countless plot holes. A big one involves Satan who shows up when invoked. Really?
Better for folks who suspect the Antichrist is already active.

Late Night Ride - 2021 - 6/10
AKA - Kai ye Che // 开夜车

Three of the four web-hosts and influencers, head down the deserted road.
Legend says, the road was constructed over an old cemetery, and is now haunted.
Can’t say the girls weren’t warned.
Three stories of death and hauntings, all on the same midnight road.
A husband whose wife perished on it, and an over-worked taxi driver.
By the conclusion, the three interlink.
Grief and ghosts.

Satan’s Rhapsody - 1917 - 6/10
AKA - Rapsodia Satanica

Merry party-goers leave Alba’s Castle of Illusions, while she, despondent, pines for her youth.
Out steps Mephisto, offering her youth and beauty, but she must not fall in love.
Of course, Alba is adored and soon has handsome admirers, including two brothers.
Slowish Silent melodrama is noteworthy for Pietro Mascagni’s only film score
Likewise the hand-coloring of Alba in fuchsia and olive green, and Mephisto is crimson.
Running less than an hour, Silent fans ought to give this a look.

Totally Killer - 2023 - 6/10

Here in Vernon, where every Halloween, people still dress up as the serial killer.
After a death, 35 years later, Jamie vows to put a stop to the murderer, now and then.
How? Her best friend is tinkering with her mother’s time machine experiment.
One strike of iron into the system panel, and Jamie is back in 1987.
Where social norms are wildly different. Woke? Political correctness? Acceptance?
Comedy flits between SciFi and Horror. Note: This is a Slasher, flat out.
Plenty of in-jokes for fans who recognize homage to two franchises.
Gleefully wicked fun. Pair with The Final Girls for your October party.

The Invisible Ray - 1936 - 6/10

Professor Rukh invents a telescope that permits him to peer deep into the universe, and into Earth’s past.
Even seeing a meteorite strike Africa millions of years ago.
He and a team journey to Africa and FIND the meteor. Hooray.
Except the rock is dangerous. Exposed, Rukh’s touch is lethal, and his mind is going.
So-so Universal SciFi / mystery marred by a lackluster script.
This re-teams Boris and Bela, although Mr Lugois is underutilized.
Nevertheless, this has genuine spooky moments and Karloff is excellent.

A Candle For The Devil - 1973 - 6/10
AKA - Una Vela Para el Diablo // It Happened At Nightmare Inn

Well, she had it coming, the tramp.
After all, our house is a respectable house.
Next day, another bus of tourists, and indecent girls, arrives.
Marta and Verónica have an inn and cafe. Both sisters are straitlaced and moralizing.
Well … Verónica does kick the sheets with a much younger man.
Needs and frustrations must be satisfied.
The DVD has two commentaries; Kim Newman seems distracted on the first.
WARNING! There are two cuts of this film. “Candle” is uncut and runs 87 minutes.
“Happened” is heavily cut and runs 67 minutes.

Lust Of The Vampire - 1957 - 6/10
AKA - I Vampiri

Not what you would anticipate.
Young women are being found in Paris drained of blood and the press dubs the killer.
As the camera tracks showgirls and college debs, you see the targets.
There is an inquiring journalist, a young duchess who flirts with him, and the besieged police.
Not to overlook the stately manor, a Gothic overload better suited to the house of Dracula.
A young Mario Bava is the DP, who makes full use of shadows, cellars, tunnels, and subliminal gems.

Despite Bava, despite the vampire, despite the gloomy trappings, this is closer to a Krimi.
And this is a lot ongoing. Mad scientist, grasping aristocrat, kidnappings, murders, even a kitten!

The Bridge Curse - 2020 - 6/10
AKA - Nü Gui Qiao // 女鬼桥

There is “found footage” (a style I detest) early, but that subsides after ten minutes.
Dual narratives. An investigative journalist examines the deaths of five students four years earlier.
Weaving the activities of those same five on the night they died during a “courage test”.
At midnight, near the bridge where many students have died, 13 steps become 14.
This is heavy on suspense and tension, with little gore.
After the midway point, the plot grows increasingly twisted, and imaginative.
Stick with this – into and past the credits!
Hey, creative opening graffiti for producers. Nice job.

Midnight Meat Train - 2008 - 6/10

Leon, city photographer, wants to be the next Weegee.
Capture the worst elements of humanity or similar city dwellers.
Linger anywhere long enough, and one might sense a pattern.
Leon realizes a serial killer haunts the subway.
One of the better adaptations of one of Clive Barker’s ofttimes unfilmable stories.
Vinnie Jones effectively used as the near-wordless, enigmatic menace.
Updated Slasher has an explanatory ending, which annoyed some viewers.

Zombie Fight Club - 2014 - 6/10
AKA - Shi Cheng // 屍城

Could be the drugs were tainted, only how would that infect Taipei so quickly?
The tactical combat unit glides upwards into the tenement.
A weaponized drug gang, a partying rapper, trio of kidnappers, birthday celebrants, various lowlifes.
Plenty of females. Must be summer as most are skimpily attired, if at all.
Then the dying starts.

Way too many side stories – except – these make for a banquet of unhappy meals.
Extraordinarily bloody and gory, this is full-on jet spray of splatter.
Deep into the film, the story shifts to an apocalyptic “after”.
Planet overrun, dwindling survivors underground, enduring arena combat.
Excessive, redundant, perhaps repellent, depending on your tolerance.

Shivers - 1975 - 6/10

“Say one of your vital organs is failing. Replace that with a genetically modified parasite to take over the function.”
Except that the parasite (which resembles a crinkled, red water weenie) has a powerful reproductive urge.
It takes over the human sex drive, and the afflicted become “again and again and again” addicts.
Early Cronenberg effort already shows his interest in sex, fluid and taboos.
The film is restrained, with adequate actors and empty locations.
Budget limitations are apparent, yet he does pull out the stops with the bubbling climax.
Some nudity, not as much as anticipated; again this is an early work.

A Chinese Ghost Story - 1987 - 7/10
AKA - Sien lui yau wan // 倩女幽魂

Bill collector / scholar is caught up in a rainstorm, where his invoices bleed.
He cannot collect, lacks funds to return home, nor can he afford a room.
Locals advise he lodge free at Lan Yeuk Temple.
Where he encounters a gorgeous female (Joey Wang).
Not knowing she is a ghost, in thrall to a powerful demon who consumes humans.
Also there is Dao monk, slinging rhymes and battling the underworld.
What follows is part ghost story, part comedy, part bittersweet romance.
The look is beautifully stylized, with an energetic, bonkers finale.
One of the countless glories of Hong Kong cinema heyday.

Parasyte: The Grey - 2024 - 7/10
AKA - 기생수: 더 그레이

Alien spores drop through our atmosphere.
Landing, sluglike entities seek human, enters, devouring brains and taking control.
Once in the new body, it’s hungry. And its preferred meal? Yeah, tastes like chicken!
Team Grey is the government agency, aware of the invasion, trying to quell.
Several narratives in this six-part K-drama.
Aliens carving territory, local cops dealing with Black Ops.
A cheap thug, an honorable cop, a girl where the possession failed.
Sidespin of the anime Parasyte Maxim (2019), itself derived from the 1989 manga.
In-between, a two-part film in 2014.
Near the end, I was highly doubtful, yet this DOES reach a conclusion.

The Ruins Of Rhia - 2047 - 6/10

It started as a midterm assignment, it started with an A I misunderstanding.
Chuck (AKA - Chucksteak), on athletic scholarship, registers for Archeology 101.
His professor tells him to locate and diagram Rhia, which the class gamers snicker at.
Completely out of his depth, Chuck asks “Madam”, his A I tutor to contact and resurrect Rayla.
“Do you mean R’lyeh?” it prompts. “Sure, Madam, whatever.”
The computer links to the university network. Powered by a small reactor in the Science Dept, it then uplinks to SpaceX, and thousands of small energy beacons focus on the South Pacific.
47°9’S 126°43’W. R’leyh.
Seas blacken, then waters grow turbulent, while Madam continues to hurl energy at an alarming rate.
Fairly good Cthulhu yarn has imaginative premise, ingenious models, and is strongly plotted until two thirds in.
Then everything ebbs. New characters appear with the Peruvian Navy (Peru provided funding).
One gathers at a certain point, backers were going, “Now what?”
Doesn’t help that two actors were murdered, one committed suicide, one was kidnapped.

Blitz Spirit - 2021 - 7/10

Historian Lucy Worsley separates myths and fables from actual events.
She relies on diaries and journals of London participants, with actors voicing their words.
Also utilized are newsreel footage and official documents.
The Government initially declared the Underground off-limits as bomb shelters.
Ongoing news was scrutinized, rewritten, censored.
The Luftwaffe initially targeted the Docks and East End, sparing the ruling class.
The lower orders recognized the timeless slight.
Timeline is brief and accurate. Declaration, Phony War, Blitz, Germany pivots toward Russia.
Worthwhile. In a vein similar to Worsley’s Suffragettes (2018).
English subs = https://subscene.cam/subtitle/3350451

Spiral - 2024 - 6/10

Morning parcel, hallway drug deal, address query, utility survey, bangers and mash supper.
Next day, repeat. Next day, repeat. Next day, repeat. Next day, repeat.
Midway, Tyzer catches on. He is caught in a mindless time loop.
Disconcerted at first, then increasingly violent.
Uncomfortable Horror short from Scotland, funny, brutal, bleak.

God Went Surfing With The Devil - 2010 - 6/10

Surfers 4 Peace want to deliver 23 surfboards into Gaza.
Owing to ongoing conflict, the border is only intermittently open.
The are endless customs forms, fees, weird concerns (Israel fears terrorists will surf into their country).
Residents of both nations are interviewed amidst rocket attacks and retaliations.
Along with a few officials from Israel and Hamas.
By design, no history is expressed or explored.
Surfers, professional, amateur, and youthful aspirants, all seem a hopeful, optimistic bunch.
Eye-opening companion to Gaza Surf Club.

Here - 2023 - 6/10

Construction worker Stefan has a mandatory 4 week vacation.
He cleans the fridge, makes soup for friends, wanders Brussels and nearby forests.
Preparing to head to eastern Europe to visit family.
ShuXiu is a botanist, specialty moss. She is also in the woods.
Measured buildup before the two meet, kindred spirits, passing ships.
Lengthy takes, allowing viewers to fill in their own conclusions.
Gorgeous photography contrasts Nature with Urban.
The narrative, however, is opaque and unresolved.
English subs = https://subscene.cam/subtitle/3350448

McCartney 3, 2,1 - 2021 - 8/10

Documentary I had resisted for a long time.
Rick Rubin interviews Paul McCartney in a studio.
Thorny topics avoided, they discuss Beatles and Wings.
Predominantly, the songs, and the art of song craft.
How compositions came about, inspirations, learning curves.
Informative, with an easy tone, as Paul, growing comfortable, shares memories.
Those who worried about any sort of one-upsmanship, fear not.
Superb, inspired presentation of how an interview should be done.

The Bells - 1926 - 6/10

Innkeeper Mathias, determined to be village burgomaster loans money, gives free drinks.
Up to his eyes in debt to Franz, who is poised to hurl Mathias and family onto the street.
Arriving during a blizzard is the stranger, wearing a thick money belt.
No one knows him, no one misses him, until the locals realize he has been murdered.
Creaky Silent benefits from Lionel Barrymore’s theatrical performance.
Also Boris Karloff as a mesmerist, appreciated by all, save the guilty.

Alien: Romulus - 2024 - 6/10

For Alien fans, this borrows from / plays homage to the whole franchise.
Including, as ever, Weyland-Yutani employees with the intelligence of sock puppets.
A large craft drifts toward a terraformed mining colony.
Overlooked by scientists & military, yet seen by young scavengers.
‘Hey, if there’s the tech gear on that, we might could escape this ole rock!”
The wayward craft turns out to be a huge research station.
And our plucky crew of scrap dealers land themselves into a dead teenager flick.
While this looks fantastic, the script is below derivative.
So much money lavished on a fan-service film. Disappointing.