the_real_Doc_Justice

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.

A succession of retail-themed skits. Hit and miss. Some gags you will see coming a mile away, others will slap the back of your head.

Some actors are really good, most are very decent, some are not. Actors.

A few lines of dialogue are really witty and fun, definitely quotable, with excellent delivery. Then again, dialogue can be heavy-handed at times, both in humor and delivery, like, trying to make it funny by doing faces. But I guess that in comedy, you have to throw in some for everybody.

Even the score is uneven, from great fitting to slightly annoying (on rare occasions).

I really liked the movie anyway, and the surprisingly long running time, passed swiftly.

All characters are likeable in their own way, the amateurish feel is endearing, general tone reminded me of "The Office". Great grounds for a sitcom, by the way, in my opinion.