troma_freek

So, I've seen the new Suspiria, at last. Basically I thought it was ok. It's well shot and most of the actors were quite good. Although I did have a little difficulty with the psychologist, he seemed something of a caricature and I found the voice distracting. The film is in serious need of editing, it was painfully slow in places and quite boring. The original had more horrific deaths although the dancing death was very clever. It also didn't have the same dream qualities of the original. Although I loved the camerawork I didn't like the blurred slow motion. I found the entire ending weak. Should it have had such an extreme carnage scene or been more subtle ...... I think the latter. The ending crescendo was botched with that music and voice over. I liked the backdrop of Berlin but I couldn't quite work out the importance of the dwelling on terrorism of that time.BTW I thought Yorke's score and songs was an inspired choice. Not a terrible film, but it does not hold a candle to Argento's candy colored Technicolor masterpiece.

I liked James Bickert's absurd Dear God No, it was an original and highly effective homage to seventies exploitation cinema. I expected more of the same and therefore had high hopes for Frankenstein Created Bikers. Sadly the magic of Dead God No is nowhere to be found. The film starts on a strong note with a group of teenagers going to a lake only to end up being murdered by Bigfoot. Soon after Biker gang the Impalers show up and capture Bigfoot and bring him to a mad scientist. It's all downhill from here on and I was honestly glad when it was finally over. This would have made a great grindhouse faux trailer, but does not hold up over it's 125 minutes over-bloated running time. There's some great moments (but they are few and far between) and plenty of gore and nudity. Praise also has to go Tristan Risk (American Mary), who steals the show in every scene. Ellie Church is also always great to watch. I love that they shot the film on 35mm. The biggest problem with Frankenstein Created Bikers are really the disjointed, incoherent script and the awful dialogues. The editing is also at fault with no real continuity.

Industrial Animals is a British no budget mockumentary directed by Sam Mason-Bell (who also plays one of the main characters). Two filmmakers have taken it upon themselves to make a documentary about a prostitute. What starts out with a series of professional questions soon turns into 3 days of sex and full on humiliation involving spanking and water-sports. The prostitute seems unfazed at first but soon turns the tables on the masochistic director on the second day. The director plays along "for the good of the film". I'm generally not a big fan of found-footage sub-genre or mockumentaries but I did enjoy Industrial Animals for what it was. There are some daring scenes and it get's rather dark and disturbing. A pleasant surprise.