krachtm
Joined Nov 2006
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krachtm's rating
After trolling tourists curious about legends of a vampire, locals learn that it may be true.
Finally, someone decided to take a stab at doing a horror movie with a somewhat different monster. Here, we get a local Irish legend that the locals claim influenced Bram Stoker. Stoker himself wasn't very talkative about his influences, so who knows.
European legends are fun, and it's kind of sad that horror movies have gotten stuck in this rut of reusing the same exact monsters in almost movie. Here, we go back a bit further than Stoker, eschewing the modern trappings, such as sunlight killing vampires.
The characters are genre savvy, but it doesn't really help them. They struggle to learn the rules, and their attempts to kill the vampire are funny. The more dramatic elements are pulled off with some competence, too, though I think you'd be better off thinking of this as a comedy. Serious scenes don't last long and are usually swept away with a gag.
The gore and special effects are fine. One interesting feature of this vampire is that he causes nearby people to bleed uncontrollably. It's a kind of icky effect, and there's some gore, but it tends to be used sparingly.
If there's one thing that annoyed me, it was the sound quality. Normally, I don't spend much time thinking about this at all, but the dialogue was hard enough to understand by itself. Eventually, I turned on subtitles. Despite my annoyance, I almost had to laugh when the subtitles said "mumbles indistinctly". It made me wonder if anyone outside of Ireland is even meant to understand some of the mumbled dialogue.
Overall, it was pretty entertaining, and I appreciated the attempt to give us something less cliched, even if it's basically still a vampire. If you're in the mood for a black comedy, check it out.
Finally, someone decided to take a stab at doing a horror movie with a somewhat different monster. Here, we get a local Irish legend that the locals claim influenced Bram Stoker. Stoker himself wasn't very talkative about his influences, so who knows.
European legends are fun, and it's kind of sad that horror movies have gotten stuck in this rut of reusing the same exact monsters in almost movie. Here, we go back a bit further than Stoker, eschewing the modern trappings, such as sunlight killing vampires.
The characters are genre savvy, but it doesn't really help them. They struggle to learn the rules, and their attempts to kill the vampire are funny. The more dramatic elements are pulled off with some competence, too, though I think you'd be better off thinking of this as a comedy. Serious scenes don't last long and are usually swept away with a gag.
The gore and special effects are fine. One interesting feature of this vampire is that he causes nearby people to bleed uncontrollably. It's a kind of icky effect, and there's some gore, but it tends to be used sparingly.
If there's one thing that annoyed me, it was the sound quality. Normally, I don't spend much time thinking about this at all, but the dialogue was hard enough to understand by itself. Eventually, I turned on subtitles. Despite my annoyance, I almost had to laugh when the subtitles said "mumbles indistinctly". It made me wonder if anyone outside of Ireland is even meant to understand some of the mumbled dialogue.
Overall, it was pretty entertaining, and I appreciated the attempt to give us something less cliched, even if it's basically still a vampire. If you're in the mood for a black comedy, check it out.
A cop charged with population control in an immortal dystopia wonders if he's doing the right thing.
The art is really beautiful in this episode. After a couple disappointing episodes, this was a killer, hard-hitting science fiction story. It's got a message that's a bit different than most of the other episodes, leaning more toward a pro-life, bioconservative stance.
This isn't exactly uncommon in science fiction, and most stories about immortality have to at least cover some of the basics of these arguments. It's pretty obvious that if the population keeps growing without end, there are going to be problems. Utopian science fiction would lead to star travel and the wonders of transhumanism, but here we get a more pessimistic, dystopian take.
It's pretty surprising and impressive that the writers and animators were able to fit what feels like a complete story in such a short time frame. It doesn't feel rushed, nor do you feel like you're missing chunks of the middle, where all the characterization happens. At the same time, it's hard not to want a full-length adaptation.
There are strong Blade Runner influences here, and the noir detective is just about perfect. He's got that grizzled "I'm just one job away from leaving all this crap behind" look that tells you everything you need to know in just a few visuals. The softer parts avoid being too light and cutesy, and the grimdark elements don't overpower anything.
Overall, an amazing episode, even if I'm not sure I agree unreservedly with the message. However, it gives you something to think about and maybe debate, too. Highly recommended for anyone who's in the mood for some dark, dystopian noir.
The art is really beautiful in this episode. After a couple disappointing episodes, this was a killer, hard-hitting science fiction story. It's got a message that's a bit different than most of the other episodes, leaning more toward a pro-life, bioconservative stance.
This isn't exactly uncommon in science fiction, and most stories about immortality have to at least cover some of the basics of these arguments. It's pretty obvious that if the population keeps growing without end, there are going to be problems. Utopian science fiction would lead to star travel and the wonders of transhumanism, but here we get a more pessimistic, dystopian take.
It's pretty surprising and impressive that the writers and animators were able to fit what feels like a complete story in such a short time frame. It doesn't feel rushed, nor do you feel like you're missing chunks of the middle, where all the characterization happens. At the same time, it's hard not to want a full-length adaptation.
There are strong Blade Runner influences here, and the noir detective is just about perfect. He's got that grizzled "I'm just one job away from leaving all this crap behind" look that tells you everything you need to know in just a few visuals. The softer parts avoid being too light and cutesy, and the grimdark elements don't overpower anything.
Overall, an amazing episode, even if I'm not sure I agree unreservedly with the message. However, it gives you something to think about and maybe debate, too. Highly recommended for anyone who's in the mood for some dark, dystopian noir.
Robots go amok. Humans fight back against berserk Roomba vacuum cleaners, and hilarity ensues.
This is another Scalzi episode, which are the worst of the series in my opinion. The art style is alright -- a bit on the goofy side. Some of the humor is briefly amusing, too. Again, it tends toward the goofy side. Vacuum cleaners chasing people around their house and that sort of thing.
The story is kind of like someone took a Douglas Adams story, stripped out all the funny stuff, and just left the absurd premise. I guess it might charitably be considered minimalist.
I hope the fourth season doesn't have more filler-like Scalzi episodes. The animation was fine, though.
This is another Scalzi episode, which are the worst of the series in my opinion. The art style is alright -- a bit on the goofy side. Some of the humor is briefly amusing, too. Again, it tends toward the goofy side. Vacuum cleaners chasing people around their house and that sort of thing.
The story is kind of like someone took a Douglas Adams story, stripped out all the funny stuff, and just left the absurd premise. I guess it might charitably be considered minimalist.
I hope the fourth season doesn't have more filler-like Scalzi episodes. The animation was fine, though.