siderite

I don't know what foreigners would understand from this film - there is so much lost in translation - but it's a quintessentially Romanian film. Filmed and presented deadpan, it's actually full of sarcastic wit and social satire, all while following a young female production assistant in Romania running errands and driving around. I guess you have to be in the mood to appreciate it and I am glad I was, although at times I would have just sped it up. It's low budget, but very carefully crafted.

It's also a rather experimental film, as it has random scenes from a.1982 Romanian film, also featuring a female driver, random musings and even a full scene in which nothing else is shown for minutes other than road side crosses. You've been warned.

Bottom line: innovative, a bit too stretched out, but very well done film. I am Romanian, yet I did watch it with English subtitles. I am afraid without understanding the native Romanian language for both dialog and music lyrics and the cultural context in general, you might miss quite a lot.

A lonely female child going to a small town and becoming part of the local culture and growing while being supported by supernatural friends is already a formula, one that has served Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli well. If you like this kind of thing, you will like Okko's Inn.

The problem, though, is that events don't naturally flow from one to another. It's a cute girl going through processing of personal drama, but her behavior is almost robotic. And I don't mean STTNG's "Hero Worship" type of thing, it's just that she goes through all of the actions required by the script without any internal conflict. She starts off afraid of countryside insects, but accepts ghosts immediately, for example. Maybe it was an editing problem, but I doubt it.

In order for a story to hit, things need to happen for a reason that is clear to the audience and slightly forcing to the characters. A person who just does what she was supposed to do and then the movie ends doesn't really fall into that.

Bottom line: really cute, satisfactory, but totally predictable and derivative.

Imagine Rambo, if he was an underworld messiah and he did a really bad job at it, and you get Nightbreed. The plot itself is kind of dumb, but the underlying ideas are really powerful. Add to this the incredible makeup effects and the manic '90s vibe and you get a movie that you probably won't like, but you will always remember. Also, David Cronenberg is a major character in this one.

Based on the book Cabal, by Clive Barker, the film is also written and directed by him. And it kind of shows. Even the 120 minute Director's Cut version which was only released in 2014 has some really shoddy editing with missing scenes and material, people who act inconsistently and shots that are all over the place. I would say you're better off reading the book, but again... the feel of this one is really special. The special effects are not great, but the creature designs are top notch.

To be honest, I think that a modern production with an adequate budget, a good director and a good screenwriter, would make this an amazing franchise. The creatures of the night, tribes of freaks living underground to escape the genocidal evil of man, make an incredibly compelling world. And yes, I know the hidden world trope has been done to death, but in this story it feel fresh, somehow.

This is the second time I've seen the movie. First time I've seen it when I was a kid and, even if I forgotten almost everything about it, there were still scenes that I remembered vividly. Compare that with movies from three or four years ago that I am watching and realize I've seen only when I am halfway through.

Bottom line: Clive Barker stories are fantastical and imaginative, but he is not a movie director and it shows. Studio interference probably didn't help things. Nightbreed has a unique feel that makes it a must watch, but you might not like it.