the_real_Doc_Justice

Unnecessarily long, complicated (what is the point of all these steps for the use of the substance?), messy, and not bringing much to the divided identity genre.

First things first, I hated the director's first movie, "Revenge". A stupid movie, from someone who doesn't understand a thing about "rape and revenge" exploitation. Idiotic, boring characters and situations, unrealistic and unbelievable, in every way; pretentious and uninspired cinematography (a worm in an apple? When did that come up as clever in a script? Such atrocities abound) - "Revenge" went largely unnoticed in France.

Yet for some reason, "Revenge", that turkey that would not only make "I Spit On Your Grave" look like "The Godfather", but also make its 2010 remake look like "The Godfather II", for some reason it was praised by critics in the US.

And as a result, millions of dollars have been thrown at its director, with Demi Moore on top, to make this. Why has it been successful? I have no idea. Probably because it attracted moviegoers with no clue about genre movies, and confuse misdirected pretention with art. The same kind who crowned "Funny Games" as a masterpiece.

What annoyed me most in the substance? Where do I start.

A) cluelessness. What makes the script such a mess, is, I think, because the people who wrote it must have discovered what divided identity fiction means, and implies, as they were writing it. Probably amazed at their own cleverness. On the same theme, you can find much more refined, mature, deep, engaging, developed reflection, in the first half hour of the pilot of "Severance".

B) T&A. A woman wrote and directed the movie? That allows for acres of female nudity as far as the eye can see. Oh but it's not raunchy depravity trying to appeal to the public's most basic instincts, no, quite the opposite, it's the philosophical expression of a (female) artist trying to evoke the struggle and strengths and weaknesses of the bla bla bla as you can see in the trailers.

C) inept script. In so many ways, in the script for sure, with soap opera drama stuffed in, and heavy handed narrative to try and make the plot standing up. It gets worse that that : near the end, they just give up, and start explaining the action. All across the screen. Printed all across the screen, in all-caps Impact 153pt font. An embarrassment.

D) inept direction, and production. This really shines out in the grand ending scene. The skills required to put together that kind of grand guignol, theatral scene clearly exceeds the abilities of almost everyone involved. You can actually see the waste of money flowing off the screen, unsuccessfully trying to save the train wreck. Watch the ending of "Smile 2" instead : very much the same premise, but done way more efficiently, for a fraction of the budget. And you will have seen an entertaining movie.

The good points : Demi Moore's excellent work, and convincing, elaborated organic body horror. The score didn't annoy me so I guess it was good.

Why not cashing on the Indiana Jones craze of the eighties, while sprinkling some horror on it? Ensured of getting an R rating after what Temple Of Doom got away with.

Throughout the movie, super-moussed Bill Pullman carries his wise-yet-playful sideways stance any direction he looks, with the charisma of a baby carrot.

Also carried along is costar/sidekick Cathy Tyson, patiently enduring endless pages of script for her romantic involvement to happen, hanging on a few one liners, all of them hammily written, staged, filmed and delivered. Luckily for her she get to rest at her trailer after a while, to get later slapped in and off the screen.

Some moments of genuine tension occur. A couple aren't featured in the trailer :

• at the 44th minute, you can actually see Pullman run a hand through his hair. Thankfully, it falls right back into place with no apparent damage done to it.

• 77th minute, as he gets off a plane, strong gushes of wind cause slabs of Pullman's hair to be displaced. For a short amount of time.

• first minute, Pullman gets upstaged by the plush toy he wrestles, A*P*E style.

Seems like the movie aims at some documentary value, and tries to depict/reenact some voodoo rituals with some level of accuracy. See if I care.

Troma Films' "Zombie Island Massacre" does likewise, with entertaining results.

Read some reviews on RT.

Negative ones mentioned :

• sub-par acting
• mementum lost halfway through
• messy, aimless plot
• light characterization, leading role in particular
• unjustified gruesomeness

None, none of these points was relevant for me. Quite the opposite.

I have a light stomach for body horror, though I've seen a bunch of that. I don't like when it's overdone, badly done, overlong, complacent, unjustified, or self satisfied. Even sometimes, all of the above (think "The Substance" . Gosh I hate that movie.) Not the case here, for me.

I liked the pacing of the movie. Didn't mind the fact that characters were lightly sketched. They're supposed to be caricatures. Also, it gives way to personal interpretation.

I see this movie as a clever mix of Occidental, college kids horror, with their cardboard stereotypes, and oriental-style, more cryptic horror.

By the way, I found that the cultural clash aspect of the story was more intersting than the physical beauty issues, on which most people seem to focus on.

An unpretentious, sturdy, lovingly crafted horror movie, well worth a watch.

Enjoyed the score, too.