Vultural

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.

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.

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.

Palma, Clemente - Malevolent Tales

Late to the Decadent Party, and penned in a country (Peru) where the consequences could well be dire, Palma’s stories shy away from the conte cruel, and blasphemy is more a flirtation.

“The Last Faun” shows the Olympian gods displaced from the earth, with a young faun overlooked. He matures into a satyr, without any congenial nymphs. Until he spies an attractive group of novices, and he fails to grasp the difference between a nymph and a nun.

Ernesto long courted Suzón. He is melancholy, serious, while Suzón is vivacious. An ideal match. In “A Vulgar Story” hopes and aspirations are dashed, in a sordid reveal.

Do we really live? Or is life an illusion? In “The White Farm” our narrator is pledged to Cordelia, even after she is stricken with malaria. After fevered prayers, she recovers, and the pair flee to his isolated rural estate. Again, do we really live? Or is happiness itself a dream?

Fortunately, the doctor recognizes the tell-tale signs. Punctures on the neck, the ebbing of life force. His young man is troubled by “The Vampires”. His recommended prescription – get married? For many, isn’t that merely changing one vamp for another? If viewed that way, this can be comical.

“The Tragic Day” is the longest yarn, an apocalyptic doom that approaches with Halley’s Comet. You Lifeforce fanatics, please settle down. Death lies in the dust of the tail that will sweep and engulf the planet, killing all life within seconds. Humanity reacts predictably: prayer, pillage, suicide. Yet, our narrator, perhaps like others, has a survival plan. This is a gripping story, although it feels like Palma wrote himself into a corner as the ending is a brick toss.

My copy is from a new press, Strange Ports, specializing in obscure or forgotten decadence.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Crowther, Peter - Thoughtful Breaths

If Norman Rockwell had penned a gentle haunting, this could have been it.
Boswell and Irma enjoy a storybook romance, courtship, marriage. They are blessed with family and friends. Money is less plentiful.
Boswell always longs to travel. See the wide world, the glittering and the exotic.
Someday, he thinks, when he and Irma are older, have more time, more money.
Fate shuffles the deck, deals the hand.
Boswell does get to travel, after a fashion, and includes his family.
Again, this is a gentle novella, republished by PS Press.
A soft, warm light in a darkening world.

People, Places & Things - 2024 - 7/10

Emma enters rehab for alcohol and substance abuse.
In order to return to work, she needs an all-clear note.
Just a note, she does not need to bother with Group, or fill forms, or even give her real name.
“Just give me the note, OK?”
Emma, an actress, knows how to adopt personas, evade the truth.
She is, in short, a compulsive liar.
Confrontational theatre of a failed human, trying to regain equilibrium, distrusting any system.
English subs = https://subscene.cam/subscene/157581

Van Halen: 1984 Documentary - 2024 - 6/10

Lengthy, five-part fan documentary on Van Halen’s “1984” album.
The lead ups, the internal divisions, concerts, substance abuse, massive egos.
Five parts, the entirety runs about two and a half hours.
A I has been used to emulate Roth’s voice based on his writings.
I missed the earliest version of this.
Afterward, Rhino (a label that had NOTHING to do with the original incarnation of the band) put out an injunction of all music video clips and songs. Perhaps, they intend to release their own doc. It will not be this comprehensive, and it may be more sanitized. This is warts and all.
Owing to Rhino meddling, this is a frustrating watch.
Still a labor of love by Alan Berry and a must for Van Halen 1 fans.
Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtaIh3GIdQM

The Pleasure Garden - 1925 - 6/10

Having lost her letter of introduction, Jill pleads with the stage manager to give her a chance.
Chorus line girl Patsy takes her home, then gets her onstage.
Grateful, Jill? She’s now a star! Being courted by a Russian prince.
Morality tale set amidst theatrical boards.
Choices and dubious menfolk, along with a South Seas siren.
Very early Hitchcock borders on Melodrama, but the tempo perks up midway.
Plenty of tossed off sight gags that fans of this director will appreciate.

Karen Dalton: In My Own Time - 2020 - 7/10

Of all the Folkies, Karen had the worst luck, in line with her antagonism to showbiz.
Stellar documentary of her hard-scrabble Oklahoma childhood, marriage at 15, abandoning marriage #2, heading to Greenwich Village during the Bohemian Folk boom of the early 1960’s.
Her voice, depressing, distressing, mournful, laments from one song after another in this.
In spite of her obstinacy, and later substance abuse, she miraculously recorded two albums.
Two live albums were released following her early, and not surprising, death.
Dalton is essential for late, late night listening.

Vortex - 2021 - 7/10

Just before married partners Lui and Elle awake, the film shifts to split screen.
It will stay separate for the duration, observing husband and wife go about their day.
Lui is a writer / philosopher working on a book about films and dreams.
He writes, types, reads, watches old cinema.
Elle clearly suffers cognition decline, lost in her own home. Outdoors, even more muddled.
She had been a psychiatrist, still has a cabinet of prescriptions, and she is self-medicating.
A son makes suggestions, to which they are resistant.
Leave their home? All their (many) books? The neighborhood?
Lui is 80, Elle 76, and they are sleepwalking their own dream.
Powerful film, if very slow, with extremely long takes.

Shopgirls: True Stories Behind The Counter - 2024 - 6/10

From the Edwardian era to today’s “virtual shopgirl”.
Three-part series of the entry of females into the workplace.
Life in the company store / dormitory, pittance wages, breaking social taboos.

Interesting as a curio, except when one realizes there are still places where females are restricted.
Just as there are groups today, who would enforce new restrictions on females.