The ABC's of Death 2 (2014) Horror Anthology

ABC's of Death 2 (2014) - Mood so much of movie reviewing relies on writing a snapshot of not only the film but of the writers mood during the viewing. Should we put some information up front, today "I sat in horrible traffic so this review may reflect my frustration"? Then we each have our structural biases, I for one grew up watching monster movies and to this day I love a good monster movie. On the other hand I never relished slasher movies and prefer a good Giallo to a slasher any day of the week. Sure we often watch a film at least a couple times before writing and that must even out some of the emotional bias. At least it gives a blend of the biases from the two viewings. We can further mitigate the effects of mood by focusing on structure. Are the characters well defined? Act the acts clear and with the proper transaction? Is the acting believable? Does the music help or hinder the viewers ability to lose himself in the film? Ultimately its about how well did the picture take you into the world and hold you there while the story was being told. It means that a film, not recognized as great movie, can be an enjoyable experience that allows the viewer to forget that traffic jam and be somewhere else for a couple hours. Allows the emotional roller-coaster that is a horror movies to wash through and entertain.
   Its difficult to review anthologies without multiple watches of the film the imagery goes by fast in a lot of cases and there are so many different ideas. Sure some of the 26 pieces are memorable and others forgettable but so much depends on the mood at the time of watching that the degree can change from one viewing to the next. So thinking about my mood which was pretty good, I think it is easiest to describe which of the sections caught my attention and held it until they are done. Without first looking up who wrote and directed each section Let me give my impression of the ones I was struck by, A, G, I, K, M, O, S, V, W, X, and Y. That is half and there was some ideas in others I liked. Like T where actress @LittleMissRisk  Tristan Risk as a tentacled monster getting her revenge on the misogynistic film crew exploiting her for their own pleasure. Written and Directed by the Twisted Sisters themselves Jen and Sylvia Soska. But it was one note although a decent note. Also B where the piece did not particularly hold me but the effect of the torn apart body was really good.
 A - Amateur Directed by E.L.Katz and written by David Chirchirillo has this cool how an assassin imagines a job going to go and then the reality of how it actually goes, with a nice twist in the end.
G - Grandad Directed and Written by Jim Hosking was a creepily funny relationship between a Grandfather and his unappreciative grandson.
I - Invisible written and directed by Erik Matti I was caught by the complete sets, even though the story itself feels a bit too familiar. The lengths greed drive people. This one looked really good and the effects were great.
K- Knell Written and Directed by Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper Wonderfully effective in its mood, true horror pacing with the turn of everyone staring back from their windows wonderfully frightful. If only they had not gone for the less than effective special effect in the sky.
M - Masticate Written and directed by Robert Boocheck, although almost not on the list, the juxtaposition between the music and images on the screen really worked well.
O - Ochlocracy (Mob Rule) Written and directed by Hajime Ohata. After the walking dead take over the world there are people who did not turn who must be held responsible for there crimes. Well done and amusing.
S - Split - Written and Directed by Juan Martinez Moreno great use of technology in the story and split screen filming make for a nasty little revenge tail.
V - Vacation Directed by Jerome Sable, co-written with Nicholas Musurca was a shocking and wonderfully violent little tale of why you should choose your friends wisely.
W - Wish Directed by Stephen Kostanski and written by Jeremy Gillespie it is a fantasy piece done like a kids commercial for a action figure play set but when the playing kids are transported into the play set things suddenly don't see so childish.
X - Xylophone Written and Directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo, A baby sitter takes up music driven by a little girl who just has to keep pounding on that damn xylophone. Gruesome and effective it may be predictable but so satisfying.
Y -  Youth written and directed by Soichi Umezawa A complete story is a short is always refreshing, as well as the mix of fantasy and reality for the young woman in the story.
  Overall I think this collection is a step up from the first although both have their high points. Soresport Movies can certainly recommend this one for what it is an anthology of shorts. You know what you are getting into so have at it.

The Dead 2: India (2014) Horror Zombies

The Dead 2: India (2014) - The first film by the Ford brothers, The Dead (2010) was a solid slow zombie film about two men traveling through the zombie plague of Africa trying to get to their respective families. It was a solid effort with a great location and an unrelenting force that drove the protagonist forward beyond the normal limits of the human experience. Both movies answer the question, In the Zombie apocalypse who would you go back for? What would drive you to risk your life to possibly save someone else. In the original both main characters were driven by love of family. In the new version this is still true but in a different way. Both films take place in less developed countries, Somalia in the original and India in the new film. The stranger in a strange land premise is executed in both film and again there is a bit of uncomfortableness of the white stranger fighting off the dark hordes.
 The new film creates a stronger personal story for the main character Nick (Joseph Millson) an electrical engineer working on wind farms fifty miles outside Mumbai. As the zombie outbreak begins he, like Lt. Brian Murphy in the first  film finds himself far from civilization and surrounded by the walking dead. The disease that caused the plague in  Africa was transported to India by a bitten Indian worker who got out. and because of the billion or so people in the country and the high levels of congested living the plague spreads fast. So as Nick talks to his pregnant girlfriend Ishani (Meenu Mishra) about the chaos breaking out around her he promises to come and get her. So starts his journey through the countryside full of the dead who want to bite him. It is established in the first film that the dead are attracted to the living, somehow they sense that there are living nearby and head towards them. This creates the condition that whenever the living stop to rest that it is just a matter of time before they are surrounded. So secure lockable places although great for a temporary reprieve can become tombs if surrounded by enough zombies.
  Nick begins his journey with not enough gas to get to his destination and very little hope of finding any. Set up in the opening scenes we know the local station failed to get a delivery but they also setup the first great set piece by letting us know that there is para-sailing equipment at the station. This consists of a backpack propeller that blows air into the sail allowing the user to fly around. I have a friend who actually has a business using this technology so personally it was very cool to see in a film.  So when Nick reaches the gas station fighting off the zombies and being encircled quickly his struggle to get the gear, get on the roof and take off is an action packed tense scene. The shots and music in this film are an improvement over the first film and it really comes through during the action scenes.
Cutting from Nick to Ishani and her family as they are barricaded in their house in Mumbai and feeling hopeless. Ishani's Mother is sick after having been bitten and her father is caring for her. This situation is inevitable so not as interesting as the journey that Nick is on. There is some interesting references about how to reconcile religion at the end of the world. Ishani's father is a preacher of reincarnation and her is put in the position of having to deal with his belief system being challenged.
 Nick's journey is one on the physical plane and less the spiritaul. After his narrow escape he crashes his parachute as a device to introduce his traveling companion Javed (Anand Kishna Goyal ) who is a local child of about ten or eleven who plays the role as "the magical child". I am using this term like the more famous "magical negro" in film where they are a character that helps the protagonist on their journey offering wisdom and getting them past places where they are stuck either internally or externally. In this film Javed is a guide one who also is a window into Indian culture and mythology. Unlike the magic negro, who saves the protagonist when things look bleak the magic child at times has to be saved by the protagonist. I counted at least five times where nick needed to save the kid while they traveled together. He is also a sounding board so that Nick could fill out his motivations to the audience. The kid asks the questions and then Nick can tell us viewers why he has to get to Ishani.
  The mood feels much more threatening than the original. Where there are more people in this film there are more attacks and some wonderful practical effects around the rendering of flesh. The scenes of city chaos ups the ante over the first film so I believe this film is a step above the first film. Well structured as lovers who are separated in a global crisis who desired to be brought back together it is a worthy story of the lengths people will go through for love and family.
   There is enough different in this movie to consider it an improvement on the original but at the same time the Nick story feels very similar to the first film. The relentless searching for transportation, the lack of a safe place to stop and rest, the constant wandering zombies all are the same as in the first film. Still the interpersonal story is more developed and an improvement.  This story wanting to be complete in its storytelling goes off the rails a bit at the end of the film. The Javed storyline with his little hand made stuffed animal and how that piece is closed out is ridiculous and far fetched. The final scenes like the first film are bleak and unsatisfying. The Ford brothers Howard J Ford and Jonathan Ford apparently struggle to end a movie. Soresport Movies still recommend this film it is well done with a lot to offer the slow zombie fan but it is just and okay film missing the few elements that would raise it to great.

At The Devil's Door (2014) Horror Demon

At the Devil's Door (2014) - I have not been writing in this blog for the last couple months. Work for me is doing quality assurance at a software company and we have been going full tilt on a project. After next week that project will have launched and hopefully the 50+ hour weeks will slow down and I get start gearing up and doing more reviews.  It will be Holiday season always a tougher time to get movies in but also a fun time for seasonal horror.  Then in February attending the Boston Science Fiction Film Festival. What I am saying is although I have been negligent I do look forward to getting back on track which means watching and writing about the genres I love.
 This film being reviewed here is the stories of  the people targeted by a demon for possession. This possession includes supernatural rape, violence and unwanted pregnancy. It is structurally unusual switching and mixing the protagonist through the film until it finally settles after about the one hour mark on the character who will finish as the protagonist. Early on the story is an origin story of how the demon comes to target a young woman named  Hannah (Ashley Richards). She is a troubled teen who while on vacation meets a boy. In an period of her life where she is pushing against boundaries she is convince by the young man to go the a guy where she can sell her soul to the devil ( and get $500). The ritual of being chosen is nicely done but may not have been essential.  I think the demon would have been fine with any child bearing woman and it did not matter that later victims never made a deal with the devil. Still the "show" is essential to create mood and weight to the story. The girl is chosen and then goes down to the crossroad (any will do I think) and say her name.
  We will rejoin her later at home where she is in her room where she is trying on her new red shoes purchased with her ill gotten cash. We have the PG-13 demon rape scene which consist of her pushing her hands towards her crotch once and then being lifted in the air while struggling and screaming. When dropped hard she looks injured or dead. There is nothing exploitative about this scene, fully dressed, trying for a certain MPAA rating, the scene gives you just enough to let you know what happened without pushing moral buttons. There was a time when this scene would have included her shirt being ripped,  in close up, then her screaming face as we the audience hears more ripping sounds. The horrible sounds of her pain as she is raped, finishing with a shot of her partially exposed ass as she cries a ball. That horror being about the repulsion of the act in graphic detail. This is not that kind of film though so instead you get the idea without the exploitation.
  Inexplicably the film shifts to the story of Liegh (Catalina Sandino Moreno) introducing her as a caring older sister to Vera (Naya Rivera) and a hard working real state agent. All the necessary information is present in these scenes. A lonely woman who can't have children she crosses paths with the house that Hannah once lived in.  I use the word inexplicably in this part of the movie because either writer / director Nicholas McCarthy or editors Bill Neil and Jake York decided to cut between character building for Leigh as she meets the people selling the house, parents with a red herring troubled teen girl named Charlene, and the rest of the Hannah origin story. It is designed to bleed information out slowly about why the creepy haunting stuff is happening. It does that but the side effect is that you are never quite sure who the story is about. Thinking it is probably Leigh since we follow her around quite a bit in scary situations. Then at an hour into the story this all changes what it does is mix the first and second acts never allowing the viewer to connect with the characters. There certainly enough spooky stuff in the flashbacks to Hannah for this to be her story. In the end it may be about the demon but that is never quite developed fully. So the first hour is Hannah in the past Leigh in the present, and then there is a turn.
  Vera becomes the focus of the film as she investigates what happened to her sister. It is an awkward switch in the the first act is a shared story and then the second is the investigation and all three pieces of the tale have different leads. Vera though needs to find out what happened to Hannah and then Charlene and so it is still necessary to keep the flashback scenes part of the second act of the film. Once all the back story about Hannah is done the film sticks mostly with the Vera story through the climax. The strange structure was disruptive to the viewer never really creating someone we can cheer for. Sure there are a great deal of scary material in the flashbacks but it was not as enjoyable with out main character to cheer for. Vera at the end of the second act goes to the ghost house and becomes the next target of the demon. I am guessing that the house is the connecting point here. She has another one of those floating in the air demon rape scenes at the end of which she is thrown out a window from her fourth floor loft window. This ends the second act in such a strange way.
  The third act is Vera waking up in the hospital eight months later. The horror of knowing she is carrying a demon baby and is too late term to have an abortion she is determined to give it up for adoption. A C-Section and she is free of the thing. It can't end there though and again we shift to six years later. Vera has looked up the adopted parents of the little girl she gave birth to. Her intent is pretty obvious and the climax centers around Vera's decision about the little girl. All of this later stuff is obviously, ..full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. There can not be a recommendation for this film. I am sure some younger teenagers might just like it but for adults this is lightweight horror not compelling enough to satisfy.

Odds and Ends
- The couple times they flashed on the demon were done well enough. Once hiding in a wardrobe and then again in flashback.
- After seeing The Conjuring  and now this film is the stand alone wardrobe a  thing that will come back into fashion? It worked as a nice anchor for knowing which house the character was in, since the house sets were so bland. (except Vera's awesome loft.)
- The slightly "Rosemary's Baby" birth and climax scene are what they are  but are they original?
- A couple times there was background noise, radio or TV in both cases the commentary was about how bad the world is Raise in Poverty, the collapse of the social safety net.  The TV images about the Japanese Tsunami or the earlier one? I find it interesting this is what was there. Possibly implying that the second coming was  was on the verge of coming. Christian mythology says that an antichrist will rise before then. This could be that story like in the movie The Omen or The Seventh Sign? The opening and closing Bible verses (were they real one?) gives credence to this idea.
- When Vera woke up the police completely overlooked asking how she got thrown out a window 5 feet over her head. Later this was explained away with a reference about medication and people not believing her.
- Ashley Richard is a fine comedic actor from the teen show "Awkward" it's nice to see her try another genre. Naya Rivera is a regular on the television show "Glee". Catalina Sandino Moreno who get more lovely as older is having a fine career since her break in film role in Maria Full of Grace (2004)
- How many times have we seen a character using an insane asylum as a hiding place from some evil. So nice the trope worked in this case.

Under the Skin (2013) Sci-Fi

Under the Skin (2013) - Based on a book by Michel Faber, a surrealist novel about an alien race secretly abducting humans as a food source for their home planet. Having read it, is seems more a comment on corporate structure in modern society, as well as a rip on industrial factory farming. The beauty of the book is that while focusing through alien eyes the writer comments on very human emotions, on class-ism, sacrifice and animal cruelty.
 The book is a repetitive meditation, a routine broken up by the thoughts of the lead character Isserley and her interactions with hitchhikers and fellow aliens at the Scottish farm.. She is in the elite class of her home world, a barren planet run by corporations, where human meat called "vodsel" is a delicacy. She has sacrificed her body for the job she does. Medically modified to look human she so she can pick up hitch hikers on the roads of Scotland, she no longer fits with her people. She finds herself seeking the isolation of the road to interacting with the lower class workers in the farm. Having worked hard to learn enough about humans to do her job she feels her sacrifices have made her unique. She knows the other aliens will never understand the danger she faces or the fact that she will never fit in again. This makes her even more isolated and lonely.
  Challenging her conception of her job and the sacrifices she has made is Amis another elite and son of a corporate boss. At first she just sees him as a spoiled rich kids but eventually learns he is a principled crusader against the factory farming of humans she has worked so hard to be good at. She is threatened with the knowledge that she is not unique, that many others on her planet are willing to make the same sacrifices of body to get her position. She decides to go below the farm and see the process of turning a human into vodsel meat and is appalled at the process. She is thrown into an unstable state.
 Most of the book a meditation on routine, a bit too long and repetitive for some readers eventually moves to a climax. A final terrifying incident while working pushes Isserley past the point of return and she decides to leave the farm and drive off into the Scottish countryside. The unsatisfying end leaves the reader feeling a bit empty as far as the plot goes but with plenty to think about.
  The film with lead Scarlett Johansson as Isserley renamed in the film Laura is equally surreal in its presentation. Directed by Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast (2000), Birth (2004)) Under the Skin is a intricately shot and edited film with an alien feel and sound scape that really works well in the barren cold of Scotland. Unique multiple small camera approach to the driving scenes makes for many varying shots. Up to ten cameras filming a scene left plenty in the editing room to make the film more interesting to look at.
  The film not wanting to show the aliens, since that would be 1. Really hard to pull off well. And 2. Because it is much more alluring to have Scarlett  walk into an apartment and start taking off her clothes as she lures a man into a dark processing goo in a wonderfully shot trans dimensional portal. Johansson playing the part as awkward stranger looking for directions is very alien in her inability to chat p the strange men. Like in the book though what she does not have in conversation skills is more than made up for in physical assets. The men so interested in her body and a chance at it that they overlook the disconnected eyes and lack of facial expressions. Entranced the men walk into the black goo erections hard before they realized the deception.
  The scenes of the victims in this processing material are wonderfully artistic although I found myself wishing for the reveal of the muscled up square human of the book. A creature like a cattle cow so built up that the maximum meat was available for processing.
  The film does make an improvement on the book in that it has the main character Laura in more populated areas of Scotland and in doing that we get to see through her alien eyes the noise and confusion that is humans living together. One short  17 second shot layers images of people upon images of people while a cacophony of sounds play to show Laura's inability to process all that is around her. Throughout the film the shots are for mood and beauty and it works to make the earth seem as alien to the viewer as it is to the main character. Stunning landscapes, fog and rain on quaint villages, a roaring ocean are captivating to Laura as she prowls the road looking for victims.
  Although there are changes to the story it is still compelling if not as clear as in the book. The motorcyclist aliens that are hunting for her when she is off in the countryside are an enigma that is not completely explained. Knowing the corporate structure from the book makes it more understandable to this viewer but someone who has not read the book may take a bit more time to put the pieces together.

  Humanizing the alien as the film progresses is a strong stroke to make her sympathetic, but keeping her alien every time you think she can start seeming human is the stroke of genius.  When we get to the final  terrifying and then and sad ending the audience can completely be on Laura's side. It an interesting place to get to where we feel for Laura, after all her job is to trap and deliver us to be force fed and grown into cattle to then be slaughtered and eaten.Although not a masterpiece the film does capture much of the meditative quality of the book and when all is said and done is itself a fine surrealist exploration of humankind from an alien point of view. There is a recommendation for this film from this blog although viewers should be warned this is very much an independent film and is not quite so concerned with script structure as it is with feeling and mood.

13 Ghosts (1960) Horror Ghosts

13 Ghosts (1960) - Producer showman William Castle brings us this simple but interesting tale of a family who move into a haunted house and get more than they expected. Supernatural and human threats create an entertaining film for all ages. Castle coming off his hit "The Tingler" more noted for its audience surprise than the story,  hired writer Robb White who also wrote "The Tingler (1959) and   "House on Haunted Hill (1958)" to pen the script. Never famous as a screenwriter it should be noted that he was a prolific writer of adventure novels from the mid 1930s until the late 70s and his novel "Deathwatch (1972)" is currently being turned into a film starring Michael Douglas called "The Reach (2014)" Castle, a man who brought the theater gimmick into popularity continued that trend in this film. Using color optics to create a viewer with a red and blue screen in it he added a way for the audience to filter out the ghosts if they found them too scary. Using the simple science of 3D at the time he created a gimmick in this interactive movie. Each time a ghost comes on screen there is a warning to the audience who can look into the blue or red side of their viewers to either see the ghosts or screen them out. You have to wonder who those few viewers were who went to see this film and chose not to see the 13 ghosts of the title.
  The cast has some interesting professionals starring child actor Charles Herbert. Martin Milner a movie and  television veteran playing a bad guy which was out of character for most of his roles. Margaret Hamilton most famous for playing Miss Gulch and the Wicked Witch of the West in the classic "The Wizard of Oz (1939)" gets to play at being a witch here also. A long career of over a hundred credits and in this film 21 years after her iconic role, she is making witch jokes to a child actor in a B grade horror film. It's a strange film that way with veteran actors who could be the top of the bill being thrown into what can only be seen as a pedestrian film.  Donald Woods an actor with over 130 credits is billed fifth in this movie.
  The story is about the Zorba family a down and out family who think they have had some unfortunate luck by inheriting the house of Cyrus's uncle Dr. Plato Zorba. Little do they know the house is haunted with 12 ghosts and those ghosts can not be freed until they are joined by a thirteenth. Mixed in is the subplot of the murderous lawyer who will stop at nothing to find the hidden money in the haunted house.
  Since an original viewer is not in the vaults of Soresport Movies an old pair of 3D glasses will have to be substituted. Opening with William Castle introducing the Illusion-O we move right into the Zorba family situation. It is a sad set up with Hilda (Rosemary DeCamp) calling her husband at work to say that their furniture is being repossessed. Even sadder is young buck asking his Mother "Why do they always take our furniture?" her reply "Because your Father is a wonderful man but just forgetful." It implies that that Cyrus (Donald Woods) is just not a very focused provider. Still the family makes the best of  Buck's birthday where he wishes he had a house with furniture that nobody can take away from them. Heart breaking but there is the added feature of a strange supernatural wind and at that moment a telegram informing him of the meeting where he inherits the furnished house. Unfortunately the story is his old uncle collected ghosts and now they come with the house. Cyrus also inherits a viewer so he can see the ghosts. So with the two kids young Buck (Charles Herbert) and teen daughter Medea (Jo Morrow) the couple move right in to find that the house comes with a housekeeper Elaine Zacharides (Margaret Hamilton) and a nosy lawyer Ben Rush (Martin Milner) around we get to see the supernatural end of the story quickly become apparent.
The majority of the film is ghosts, and there are plenty to get to. It drives the question of whether or not the family should stay. A tough question for a father protecting his family. It is obvious there are ghosts and the family knows they are there. Cyrus though must decide, if he leaves the house he loses it to the State but if he stays he puts his family in danger. The eternal optimist it seems or at least a man who feels trapped by circumstances he is slow to flee. As Cyrus learns more about his uncle and his collection of ghosts it makes it more reasonable that he should run and run fast. Some of this is played for laughs and some to create tension between the family members. Little Buck seems to know a whole lot about the ghosts most of it he learned from Miss Zacharides. She is played with depth and heart by Margaret Hamilton. She introduces the idea that there may be money hidden somewhere in the house which nicely counters the fear suffered by the family. They are desperate so the two counter ideas nicely set up the plot.
  The scariest ghost that of Plato Zorba is a man in a scary mask but what a great mask, all gruesome and rotted it is one that should be brought back for Halloween. There are some nice low angle shots in the film but for the most part it is pretty standard fare. The shot from above as Buck slides down the bannister is pretty good.
  The discovery of money and Ben's interest is a real turn in the film. It makes no sense that Ben would enlist Buck is probably the most unrealistic part of the film. Buck is not so keen on telling lies for Ben and it gets him wondering whether honesty is the best policy. As the story plays out we see the scheming Ben trying to get the family to leave so he can find the hidden cash before anyone else does. The plotting is well enough done though to seemingly thwart the lawyer's plans and it all plays out is what this writer would call an expected way. When all is said and done the viewer has seen a cool little horror film from a by gone error. Not particularly frightening but still interesting enough.A recommendation is being given to this film for not only telling a cool little story but also for the nostalgia of the film.Good acting by all and a very forgiving view of the child actor gives this a mild recommendation from Soresport Movies.
 

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Accepting Submissions! Have a film you wish to submit to our judges? Then please check out our WithoutABox page. We do give like previous entrants & local films! Help Wanted! We're looking for some folks to help out. Drupal savvy, social media mavens, web searchers, marketers and more. Please contact us BostonSciFi@gmail.com 40 for 40 First 40 To Get Thon Tix for $40 We're kicking our 40th year off with a special! The first 40 folks who send us a ticket order for this year's 'Thon will get each ticket for $40, less than last year and 15% off this year's Early Bird price, which is cheaper than regular prices. Not available on the web. Web sales start this Friday. Send check, payable to: Zeotrope Media 106 Jeremy Hill Rd Pelham NH 03076. Some new wrinkles coming this year will be workshops for filmmakers, a couple of parties as well as some surprises to be announced shortly. And now is the time to start sending in suggestions. Don't just limit it to 'Thon films. If you've read about something new or even seen something, send it along. It takes longer than one would think to assimilate these babies.

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The Parasite (1997) Horror Psychic

The Parasite (1997)  This small independent film has been sitting the Soresport collections for years and it was intended to be reviewed back to back with the Parasite (1982) was reviewed but we never got to it. So here is the deal with this film, it appears to be the story of how a psychic using her strong will can project that will into others making them do as she wishes. Not everyone find this amusing particularly the people she controls so the story is one of first showing that the power is real to the audience and to the characters surrounding the psychic; then showing how powerful that control can be through the plight of the victims. Finally we watch as those affected by this power fight back to try to regain control of their lives.
  The opening is after the first victim has had enough but before our main character and second victim is enthralled. We see victim 1, Charles Sadler (David W. Akin) as he attempts to write a suicide note. We see the struggle he is having internally as his hand quivers and stops writing. We don't know what his struggle is about yet so we only see him as emotionally unstable. When he reaches for a knife and slams it through his hand we begin to believe that control of that hand was lost and his pain brings it back under his control. In a low budget film like this there are some tricks that work to avoid costly special effects while giving the impression of them. In this early scene we see Charles raise the knife poised over his disagreeable hand. Cut to the grunt and the knife blade jutting out from the bottom of the table. Then to complete the illusion his bloody hand sitting on a pool of blood on the note.

  The promise of this opening is followed with the more mundane but necessary establishing of the main character and plot. We are introduced to Professor Richard Austin (David Gaffney), scenes of establishing him as a good professor with a promising research career ay the college, a loving fiancee to the beautiful Audrey (Marissa Hall). We meet his coworker  Professor John Wilson (Robert Taminga) who is a paranormal researcher because at one time frauds could actually get jobs researching the make believe. He introduces Richard to our antagonist Helena Voyich (Julia Matias) a psychic who is pushing the notion that through her strong will she can remotely control others. We are allowed to see her establish her powers on Audrey, using her powers of suggestion to have the young woman temporarily break off her engagement to Richard. Convinced Richard and Wilson embark on immediate experiments to prove the powers Voyich has expressed can be measured and documented. Richard so impressed agrees to be the subject of the experiments.

 Soon though he is getting warning from Charles while through a sequence we see cracks forming in his life. He is being controlled by the the psychic at the expense of his relationship, job performance and his own research. This section of the film takes too long with everything that was set up in the character building in the first third of the film being meticulously pulled apart in this third of the movie. Richard misses appointments, fails to file for his grants in time, begins to have dreams about his fiance that alienate him. Maybe this would have worked better if the acting was not so unconvincing. For many of the actors this was their only film credit and the less than stellar performances make the film less believable.

  Eventually we get to the discovery and climax third of the the film. Richard realizes that he is not only the subject of Wilson's research but that Voyich has put some controls on his that he find very unacceptable. This structurally works as the casting of the attractive Marissa Hall as Audrey nicely contrasts the plain looks of Matias as Voyich. Add to it the pernounce physical impairment of the psychic and the nature of the controls with the emotional confessions of Voyich and there is a real reason for the climax. This climax leads to a twist realization in the end of the film but unfortunately the second act drags a bit too much before you get to the more exciting third act. That with the unimpressive acting and it really pulls this film away from a recommendation here at Soresport Movies.

  There was one thing that stands out to ask the writer about the script. Considering the name of the film, Parasite and a couple visually queues I wondered if this film was originally meant to be more than just a film about an unstable psychic getting her way with men. Early at the party where she is introduced she is holding a strange box of some kind. Is there a physical parasite in that box? Then when Audrey is being mesmerized Yoyich puts her fingers near Audrey's ear and there seems to be a slight blue glow. Is this the introduction of an actual parasite. One has to wonder if the original story was more about some alien organism and was later rewritten. Attempting to find an email for the writer was challenging eventually Writer Patrick Roddy was found at his LinkedIn account (at least I think it was his). It will be an odd connection request where he is asked about his first film. Either way the film works for what it is, whether you take the psychic as a literal parasite using her powers to suck physical relationships from her male victims or is there had been some sort of alien parasite in the script at one time. Either way the plain acting and mundane script do not quite give the audience enough to want to see this again. So no recommendation on this film but still it gave me something to think and write about.

Oldboy (2003) - Thriller Revenge

Oldboy (2003) - This film has been on my "I need to watch it" list for quite a long time, having heard so many wonderful, fawning, excited and opinions of wonderment about this film that it seemed for sure when the viewing finally happened only disappointment could follow.  On IMDB this film has a 8.4 user rating so to say that it has an enthusiastic following is an understatement. So when I decided to pop it in last night I was a bit weary. I started watching the film and the English dubbing was on and it was so bad that changing to Korean with English subtitles was necessary just to begin watching. Once into the film I was amazed that this film is as good as people have been bragging about. It is an amazingly twisted story that not only is well set up and filmed but also has a dynamic that raises it above other films.
  Going in this film seems like one thing but by the end has transformed into something completely different. It has a unique structure where the viewer is set up to have a set of beliefs about the main character. Set up to be the unsympathetic character Dae-su Oh (Min-sik Choi) is a bit of a shitty person, a drunk and an absentee father. We meet him in a police station after being picked up for public intoxication abusive and his behavior does not immediately make him endearing. When he is bailed out by his friend No Joo-hwan (Dae-han Ji) he is an ass. While making a drunken phone call to his daughter, No Joo-hwan takes the receiver and when he turns around his drunk friend is missing. Next we get a series of scenes that make him the sympathetic character.
  Dae-su Oh has been abducted and he is next seen in a cell begging for his release. We through a sequence of scenes watch as he is kept captive for 15 years. Through cycles of grief in his captivity, to the insanity that comes with isolation to learning his wife has been murdered he is a lost soul without answers to why this is happening to him. A television his only eye into the world outside he loses his mind. His suicide attempts make you feel for his suffering, his physical training we think he only lives to get revenge on those who did this to him, his writing in his journal about all the people he wronged does nothing to get any answers to who but shows that he is a man who learns what a bad person he is. Escape is impossible and viewers have also the knowledge that his mind is also being manipulated through hypnosis. He is regularly gassed and cared for so he is alive but captive and trained to a schedule. The one thing he does that fight this control is trying to tunnel out of his cell through a hole in the wall behind his bed. When at last he removes one brick from the outer wall of his prison, enough to stick his hand out and feel rain for the first time in 15 years, the audience expectations are he is getting close to escape. He goes to sleep as the gas fills his room this time with a smile on his face. So when he wakes on a rooftop in a new suit with all his writing and personal items intact we are all on board with him being sympathetic character. We are also surprised since the buildup was all about him finally having a chance to escape so are expectations as viewers have to re-adjust.
  The story as it unfolds is Dae-su attempting to find out who it was that imprisoned him and why. We are into his story at this point and figure all that is to come is about his revenge for his incarceration. Writer Garon Tsuchiya does an excellent job at revealing the the details across the span of the film. One piece at a time small clues from his captivity are deciphered and he learns what he needs to know. Along the way we see him find love again with a much younger women, Mi-do (Hye-jeong Kang) a chef who surprisingly finds him attractive. When he finally finds out who and why and the villain (?) of the film is revealed Woo-jin Lee (Ji-tae Yu) we the audience realize that maybe we may have been cheering for the wrong person in this film. While leading us to feel that this is a film about Dae-su's vengeance we learn really this is a film about Woo-jin's revenge. The twists and turns in the final third of this film are mind boggling, after the first viewing you can see the foreshadowing in the early part of the film but on the virgin viewing it is a wonderful set of revelations. This dichotomy of characters and the cruel turns and surprising revelations make the first viewing of this film a singular wonder.
  The tatters of the end of this story are so sad, so profoundly disturbing that this viewer was left in awe at Dae-su's final decisions. Again becoming somewhat sympathetic because of the cruel event that have occurred he makes a decision which viewers can debate for hours after viewing this film.  It is not just that though, the decisions of Woo-jin after the loss of his beloved sister Lee Soo-ah are amazing. It is his vengeance against Dae-su that is the driving force of this film. It is he that was wronged and left empty that drive the events of the film. It is such a refreshing story in that in it we get established on one person as the victim of events but then realize that we don't know shit. Ultimately we can still sypathize with Dae-su but you have to love that the story challenges the viewer to understand that his is not guilt free. Refusing to spoil any of this film is important so that all of you go watch this film as it is highly recommended by this blog.

Snowpiercer (2013) Sci-Fi

Snowpiercer (2013) - From writer / director Joon-ho Bong who is known for The Host (2006) and Mother (2009); he is a writer and director who has proved to have chops.  Watching this film at the Brattle Theater in historic Harvard Square this viewer was involved but tepid in losing himself in the film. It could be the two teen boy sitting behind me who could not help but to comment each time something stretching the bounds of logic happened on screen. It could have been the way Joon-ho Bong keeps the audience off kilter by mixing violence with bits of humor. It could have been the inevitability of the story. It gives viewers an allegory attempting a big message of class struggle with violence and humor underwhelms in the end. Snowpiercer comes four years after his last film, so plenty of time has been spent getting this film together. The futuristic fantasy of the poor rising up to fight free of their allotted station in life seems a well worn track. Working for the first time with English speaking actors, and partnering with the Harvey Weinstein Company for US distribution this was a new experience for Joon-ho Bong and he has gone out of his way in interviews to say that the cut the American audiences are seeing is the one he wants them to see.
 Ed Harris) who created a track around the world in which it takes one year to complete a loop. Seen as crazy at the time of its building this self perpetuating, self contained ecosystem would end up being the last salvation for mankind. When the nations of the world attempt to cool the atmosphere with a revolutionary chemical. A way to fight global warming not through elimination of its causes but through new science, they accidentally freeze the planet. All life becomes extinct except for the travelers on the Snowpiercer. The wealthy who could afford the ticket live in luxury in the front of the train and the last refugees of the great freeze who fought their way onto the rear live in poverty. Bashing the audience over the head with the classes could be scene as overkill or is the director just creating the contrast needed to give the audience stakes?
In a future world there exists a train Snowpiercer, the vision of Wilford (
 Starring Chris Evan as Curtis, a reluctant revolutionary with a dark past who is mentored to leadership by Gilliam (John Hurt) too old to lead himself but not too old to move a younger man forward. Living at the rear of the train, the Snowpiercer, they are the lowest of the low. A caste who survive on protein bars (What are those bars made from?) and are subjugated to humiliations by the security forces. They are told all people have their lot in life and their lot is poverty in the last couple cars of this self contained ecosystem endlessly traversing the world. They are ruthlessly dealt with if they step out of line like when their children are taken never to be seen again. They are just the people who have to rise up and overthrow the order of things. Along the way though is an amazingly violent and trippy adventure through the train. Thinking about the setup as an allegory of how the wealthiest of the world want to secure their place by perpetually keeping the rest of us down seems the obvious idea. Controlling the security forces, the media, the food and water puts the poor in a place where they feel powerless to change things. It is the need for that change in the hearts of the characters on those last cars that drive the story. The cynical twist at the end was expected considering the structure of this film but it is the journey to the front of the train where the real value of this film lies.
  It seemed that there are nods to other films in this movie. It could be that the archetype of the story brings these thoughts, but the visual similarities and class absurdity seems like more than coincidence  The class struggle has been done before and there seems to be an amazing nod to one of this writers favorite film "Brazil". Not only is the wise man Gilliam named possibly for Terry Gilliam writer/director of that film but the comical portrayal of Tilda Swinton as Mason seems to be channeling the energy of Gilliam's work. As we traverse the train through violence and mayhem we are thrown for a loop as suddenly the dirty revolutionaries come face to face with the opulence of the upper classes. Particularly noteworthy is the scene in the school car where the children of the wealthy are indoctrinated into the cult of Wilford. From the lessons to the patriotic songs lead beautifully by Teacher (Alison Pill) to the hilarious propaganda video, to the sudden stupendous turn to violence, it all seeps with the influence of Brazil.
  The juxtaposition between the scenes of violent struggle and the lavish world of the upper classes is one of the strengths of the film. Designed to have the viewer easily side with the poor and Curtis with his desire to have his revolution reach the engine car, where all other attempts have failed. It does just that with brutal opposition all the way. Complicating the picture is the need for the key master, the man who designed many of the doors and locks, Namgoong Minsoo (Kang-ho Song). He has become a drug addict and can be bribed to get the revolutionaries into each car on their way to the front. He secretly has his own agenda for himself and his companion Yona (Ah-sung Ko) that is not revealed until the climax of the film. "The Matrix" feel at times is a bit overwhelming especially when they reach the engine room and we have the all too flat Ed Harris as Wilford talking things out with Curtis. Seems just like the scene where Neo meets the Architect and is cajoled to make a deal with the devil so to speak. Sometimes the best laid plans can go wrong because of the personal desires of just one of the players. Is it a good thing or should we expect such things.
  It is a singular mission that the poor have, too reach the engine room, to change the order of things. The influence and power of the ruling class first use force and then use bribery and if that does not work will again use force is a known technique through the history of class struggle. The end of this film like Ed Harris's performance is something that I could not understand completely. Flat and affect-less it is a disappointment after sharing the struggle that came before it. The final scenes are probably the most fantastical and meaningless of the entire film. A shame to have been barreling forward, full throttle on this ride only to have it come to the screeching halt it did. Having discussed the ending with others I could not come up with what would have been a better ending, simply because the plot sort of paints itself into a corner. The last image though was pretty ridiculous and off putting. I guess that this film is a recommend. There is something interesting and inventive on the journey this film takes the viewer on. It can't be a strong recommendation with that ending but still there is some value in the trip.