* SPOILERS*
This is a movie I hadn't heard anything about before today, so I pressed play with absolutely no knowledge of what awaited me whatsoever.
What can I say? I was all ready to slate this movie due to its appalling lack of plot, flimsy character building and seemingly spliced together scenes, but on thinking about it outside of the box and outside of my own personal viewing preference, I can't be as critical as I would perhaps like to be.
To give some idea of what we're talking about here, Murder Set Pieces is a story of a german photographer living in Las Vegas who has a penchant for raping, torturing and murdering beautiful young women. The movie mainly documents him picking up the women and their eventual demise.
The photographer is portrayed as an incredibly sadistic, immoral individual who it seems is driven to do what he does. It doesn't even seem that he gets much enjoyment from his actions, but rather it's just normality for him. We are given a tiny piece of background information on him in that his grandfather was an associate of Hitler and fought in WW2. He has various Nazi paraphernalia around his appartment and seems to believe the germans were the good guys in the war. This is as much information as we are given about why he is how he is or what drives him. The movie just seems to be one long blood bath with occasional naked women thrown in.
A store robbery is played out in the movie which seems to have absolutely no relevance whatsoever. 1 woman is left alive, which I thought may tie in later, but it is never visited again, making me wonder what the point was... It is slightly humorous which is saying something in the midst of this movie, a little light relief is sorely needed. This scene shows us that he is willing to kill anyone for pretty much no reason, again adding to my notion that he doesn't do what he does for kicks or fun, but simply because he wants to.
There is also the murder of a child in the movie, which is definately a taboo, but thankfully this isn't strung out and no torture or abuse scene is included here. I think I'd have been reaching for the remote if much dwelling was done. Again, I wasn't sure of the relevance of this scene, apart from to make him even more repugnant.....
Now that the negatives are over, I will say the effects in this movie are excellent. The blood is one of the most realistic I've seen and the murder scenes look exactly like you would imagine them to be in reality. There is no theatrics, no case of overkill (no pun intended). This does honestly feel like you're watching these horrible scenes for real. Specifically one scene in a bath with a young woman who is almost drowned and then has her throat cut comes to mind. I would imagine the violent dunking she undergoes left quite a mark with her. I know I cringed watching it, not because I was enthralled with the story (because there isn't one!), but because I felt for the poor actress playing the role.
I will say all the deaths, rapes and tortures in this movie are horrible. They are remarkably well put together and believable, I will give the movie makers that much. However the one scene which disturbed me the most about this movie was a scene including a young toddler. The Photographer lifts him from his cot with his hands covered in blood and holds him up to examine him. Inwardly my heart was thumping... as a mother of a 2 year old, I can't bear to see anything happen to a child in a movie, but with the way this movie was going, I didn't even want to think where we could be going with this one. Thankfully he doesn't harm the baby and we see him toddle down a corrider crying, covered in blood to his dead mother, where he puts his head on her chest. The scene is heartbreaking. I found it very difficult to deal with, both from an emotional viewpoint of being a mother, but mainly as this child was clearly very upset and distraught and was of much too young an age to be 'acting'. He was flailing around and pulling away from the actor, clearly wanting to get away from him, clearly frightened and crying hysterically for real. I didn't find it appropriate that they put such a young child through this experience for entertainment purposes. Ok, so it's a movie, it isn't real, but the fear coming from that poor child was definately real!
After watching several deaths and rapes, I just felt like this was a movie for gorehounds who don't care for a story at all. It did however occur to me, that this lack of plot, storyline or explanation is quite possibly due to wanting to place us inside the head of the killer. This guy didn't give anything much thought and killed for killings sake. The movie definately succeeded in giving us an insight into the mind of such a person and it most definately isn't somewhere I liked visiting.
So in retrospect, can I slate the movie because it doesn't fit a certain stereotype and it wasn't necessarilly my type of thing? Most probably not.
Oh I neglected to say, the soundtrack is excellent. Its very industrial/rocky and I found myself wondering what the tracks were all the way through as I loved them.
I will end by saying, I didn't enjoy this movie. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone I know to watch for enjoyment purposes, but I will say, I think it achieves what it sets out to and it does contain some of the most realistic murders I have personally ever seen. Most people would do well to avoid this one, but I can't give it an 'Avoid' tag, as certain aspects of the movie were very well done and it will surely appeal to some people.
Showing posts with label Chainsaw. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chainsaw. Show all posts
Saturday, 6 July 2013
Saturday, 25 May 2013
Army of Darkness - Will's Review.
Army of Darkness used to be one of my favorite films; in fact, I believe I saw it before I saw the original Evil Dead movies, and was initially disappointed by them in comparison.
That said, it was the mid 90's, and I was in my mid teens; With it's ramped up action and comedy, I think that teenage boys are exactly the target audience for the 3rd Evil Dead movie... How will it fare up now, while trying to look at it through adult eyes?
Actually, pretty well!
I can't be certain that some of my fondness isn't a hang-over from earlier viewings, but I like to think that I would still have enjoyed this if watching it for the first time last night.
As much as I love it though, it's best seen as an Evil Dead spin-off, rather than a true sequel; The slapstick is turned all the way up to 11 this time, way beyond Evil Dead 2, Ash has had a personality transplant, and is now a ballsy one-liner-cracking ladies man, and the horror is non-existent... Its the kind of movie my parents would have let me watch as a kid in between Hammer films.
Transported to England in the middle ages, Ash is tasked with retrieving the Necronomicon that the locals may free the land of "deities" (who may or may not be the Candarian Demons of the first two movies), the book will also allow the town wiseman to send him home. Of course all doesn't quite go smoothly, and instead Ash frees the evil fully, allowing it to amass an army of the dead, and potentially take over the world.
Although it does have a cohesive plot, at times it still feels more like a series of sketches (at least until the deadite army is risen in full force), as ash bumble from one misadventure to the next... he's attack by a miniature army of Ash-Clones, splits into two and fight himself, gets stretched cartoon-style and so fourth. He also seems immune to serious damage; at one point his face gets melted to a hotplate (to the extent that he needs to scrape himself free with a spatula) causing one cheek to be slightly reddened for a short time!
There are two endings, depending which version you see; an upbeat one, and a downer that sees Ash screwed in a whole different way. Army Of Darkness 2 is currently in development, and will apparently kick off from the downer ending.
I'll recommend this one; but as a fun action Comedy, not as a sequel to the Evil Dead movies.
That said, it was the mid 90's, and I was in my mid teens; With it's ramped up action and comedy, I think that teenage boys are exactly the target audience for the 3rd Evil Dead movie... How will it fare up now, while trying to look at it through adult eyes?
Actually, pretty well!
I can't be certain that some of my fondness isn't a hang-over from earlier viewings, but I like to think that I would still have enjoyed this if watching it for the first time last night.
As much as I love it though, it's best seen as an Evil Dead spin-off, rather than a true sequel; The slapstick is turned all the way up to 11 this time, way beyond Evil Dead 2, Ash has had a personality transplant, and is now a ballsy one-liner-cracking ladies man, and the horror is non-existent... Its the kind of movie my parents would have let me watch as a kid in between Hammer films.
Transported to England in the middle ages, Ash is tasked with retrieving the Necronomicon that the locals may free the land of "deities" (who may or may not be the Candarian Demons of the first two movies), the book will also allow the town wiseman to send him home. Of course all doesn't quite go smoothly, and instead Ash frees the evil fully, allowing it to amass an army of the dead, and potentially take over the world.
Although it does have a cohesive plot, at times it still feels more like a series of sketches (at least until the deadite army is risen in full force), as ash bumble from one misadventure to the next... he's attack by a miniature army of Ash-Clones, splits into two and fight himself, gets stretched cartoon-style and so fourth. He also seems immune to serious damage; at one point his face gets melted to a hotplate (to the extent that he needs to scrape himself free with a spatula) causing one cheek to be slightly reddened for a short time!
There are two endings, depending which version you see; an upbeat one, and a downer that sees Ash screwed in a whole different way. Army Of Darkness 2 is currently in development, and will apparently kick off from the downer ending.
I'll recommend this one; but as a fun action Comedy, not as a sequel to the Evil Dead movies.
Army Of Darkness - Lisa's Review
*** SPOILERS ***
If I were to review this movie as a sequel to Evil Dead 1 & 2, then it probably wouldn't fare too well with matters such as consistency. I had never seen Evil Dead 1 nor 2 until recently, but I remember watching 'Army of Darkness' many years ago and enjoying it then. Such is the level of fog in my brain, I remember absolutely nothing about the movie apart from the fact I liked it, so I sat down again this evening to re-watch.
I was glad not to be disappointed and found that I still enjoyed the movie. For me, if taken as a standalone movie it is excellent, but you have to leave most of whats gone in the first 2 movies behind when you watch this one as the contradictions are endless. Ash's character (although still played by Bruce Campbell) has completely changed, although IMO most definately for the better. Where we start the movie with Bruce in the middle ages does not tally with the situation we left him in at the end of the second movie. Although he was sent back to this time, we left him hailed as a hero by villagers for slaying a demon. Army of Darkness has him pulled through a time portal and kidnapped by Lord Arthur, suspected of working alongside Duke Henry, who he is at war with.
We see Ash thrown into a pit to his assumed death, but he manages to fight his way out and even kills a Deadite who crawls out of the pit after him. Hey Presto, he is celebrated as a hero. The movie follows his search for the Necronomicon again as this is the only way he can get back to his own time. Obviously all hell breaks loose (quite literally) mostly down to Ash's inaptitude. When he forgets a magic phrase which should enable him to retrieve the book safely he has to battle with a host of evil he unwittingly releases.
What I loved about this movie is how much the humor is ramped up. You can't look at it as a horror at all. I loved the one liners and tongue in cheek jokes. You could be forgiven for thinking you were watching 'The Holy Grail' in places during sets in the village. Its just good all round entertainment. Although it was probably not intended, it reminds me of something you could sit down with your family and a couple of older kids and watch on a bank holiday. An early but more amusing 'Mummy' movie for example.
There is Ray Harryhausen style effects in spades again with skeleton soldiers and a scene where Ash is cloned and spends a brief amount of time as one half of a conjoined twin. The lack of effort in places though was hilarious - i'm thinking of a scene where a skeleton attempts to punch Ash in the face as an example.. it looks like someone just flung the skeletal arm in the right general direction and it just flails about.
Its most definately a 'punch the air' movie with lots of excuses for 'yays' and celebrations. It has lots of laughs and a fantastic script. In my humble opinion it is far superior to the other 2 movies, at least I enjoyed it tenfold in comparison. If you're a fan of an awesome movie quote, you'll probably get all the one's you want in this movie.
What is somewhat disappointing is the ending to the US version. This version see's Ash take a potion to sleep and wake up in his own time. He does so and he is shown working at a supermarket and boasting to women about how he could have been a king. A creature inexplicably appears and he kills it... THE END.
The UK version however has Ash oversleep and wake up Post Apocalypse, which is just fantastic and surely is how the movie should have ended. Apparently though they wanted a 'positive' ending for Ash's character for the american audience, even though Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi preferred the oversleeping storyline.
That aside a most definate thumbs up from me and this one gets the 'recommended' tag slapped on its backside!
If I were to review this movie as a sequel to Evil Dead 1 & 2, then it probably wouldn't fare too well with matters such as consistency. I had never seen Evil Dead 1 nor 2 until recently, but I remember watching 'Army of Darkness' many years ago and enjoying it then. Such is the level of fog in my brain, I remember absolutely nothing about the movie apart from the fact I liked it, so I sat down again this evening to re-watch.
I was glad not to be disappointed and found that I still enjoyed the movie. For me, if taken as a standalone movie it is excellent, but you have to leave most of whats gone in the first 2 movies behind when you watch this one as the contradictions are endless. Ash's character (although still played by Bruce Campbell) has completely changed, although IMO most definately for the better. Where we start the movie with Bruce in the middle ages does not tally with the situation we left him in at the end of the second movie. Although he was sent back to this time, we left him hailed as a hero by villagers for slaying a demon. Army of Darkness has him pulled through a time portal and kidnapped by Lord Arthur, suspected of working alongside Duke Henry, who he is at war with.
We see Ash thrown into a pit to his assumed death, but he manages to fight his way out and even kills a Deadite who crawls out of the pit after him. Hey Presto, he is celebrated as a hero. The movie follows his search for the Necronomicon again as this is the only way he can get back to his own time. Obviously all hell breaks loose (quite literally) mostly down to Ash's inaptitude. When he forgets a magic phrase which should enable him to retrieve the book safely he has to battle with a host of evil he unwittingly releases.
What I loved about this movie is how much the humor is ramped up. You can't look at it as a horror at all. I loved the one liners and tongue in cheek jokes. You could be forgiven for thinking you were watching 'The Holy Grail' in places during sets in the village. Its just good all round entertainment. Although it was probably not intended, it reminds me of something you could sit down with your family and a couple of older kids and watch on a bank holiday. An early but more amusing 'Mummy' movie for example.
There is Ray Harryhausen style effects in spades again with skeleton soldiers and a scene where Ash is cloned and spends a brief amount of time as one half of a conjoined twin. The lack of effort in places though was hilarious - i'm thinking of a scene where a skeleton attempts to punch Ash in the face as an example.. it looks like someone just flung the skeletal arm in the right general direction and it just flails about.
Its most definately a 'punch the air' movie with lots of excuses for 'yays' and celebrations. It has lots of laughs and a fantastic script. In my humble opinion it is far superior to the other 2 movies, at least I enjoyed it tenfold in comparison. If you're a fan of an awesome movie quote, you'll probably get all the one's you want in this movie.
What is somewhat disappointing is the ending to the US version. This version see's Ash take a potion to sleep and wake up in his own time. He does so and he is shown working at a supermarket and boasting to women about how he could have been a king. A creature inexplicably appears and he kills it... THE END.
The UK version however has Ash oversleep and wake up Post Apocalypse, which is just fantastic and surely is how the movie should have ended. Apparently though they wanted a 'positive' ending for Ash's character for the american audience, even though Bruce Campbell and Sam Raimi preferred the oversleeping storyline.
That aside a most definate thumbs up from me and this one gets the 'recommended' tag slapped on its backside!
Saturday, 19 January 2013
Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III - Lisa's Review
*** SPOILERS ***
In much the same way as the second installment in our 'Texas Chainsaw' series was much removed from the original, this movie is even more removed.
The only original characters we seem to have are Leatherface himself and the notion of 'Grandpa' who is a mummified corpse who sits at the dinner table, but is inexplicably fed blood by his 'family'. Do they think he's alive???
This movie predominantly follows the characters Michelle & Ryan as they travel across country (passing through Texas) to deliver a car to Michelles dad. As they travel, they pass through a police checkpoint where a mass grave has been found containing bodies in various states of decay. To us the viewer, this obviously makes it clear to us that we are nearing Leatherface territory.
They decide to stop at a secluded petrol station (appropriately called 'Last Chance') where they meet a rather nasty, slack jawed idiot (Alfredo)with creepiness and perversion hanging out of him! Things do seem to be getting a bit sinister when a handsome stranger comes to their aid in the form of Tex (Viggo Mortensen... ey up!!). He helps them avoid a potentially disasterous outcome, even though they refuse to give him a lift to where he's going. As they leave, Alfredo shoots through their back window and is seen to shoot at Tex. Michelle and Ryan think he's possibly killed him... (I noted they didn't go back to help him though!)
As they drive, they decide to take a route recommended by Tex and it all falls to sh*t from there-on-in. They are ran off the road by a truck driver who throws what looks like a dead wolf at their windscreen. (that reminds me... there is a link to the first movie with another armadillo... roadkill sadly... sorry, I deviate) They get a flat tyre and as Ryan attempts to change it, you can imagine what happens.... yup Leatherface makes his appearance!
What follows is stereotypical slasher movie stuff (with remarkably little gore again). We have the introduction of another character in the form of a survivalist, Benny who ends up off the road when Ryan jumps into the road at a rather inappropriate moment looking for help. As suspected, Ryan eventually meets an end. Michelle is obviously going to be our heroine. A rather hardy lass who escaped Leatherfaces clutches is introduced and is hiding in the forest. She is the sister of a girl we saw murdered and have her face made into a mask at the start of the movie. She surprisingly meets a very quick and easy death.
Without describing the rest of the movie scene by scene, we find out that Alfredo, Tex and the guy who ran them off the road (Tinker) are all part of a 'family' with Leatherface, Mamma and a cute little blonde haired girl (who is a little sh*t.. she is introduced when she stabs Michelle). We also have the corpse of Granpa sitting at a table. There is no creepy scene like we had in the first movie. If anything, the whole thing is a bit comedic. Mamma is a character I would have liked to have seen more of. She had a voicebox which she has to touch to attain a robotic voice. I would have also liked to have seen more development of Leatherfaces character. There is obviously a lot more to him than this movie shows, a little digging would have been good. Everything just seemed too 'surface'.
We have a very quick crescendo and ending, which is completely unbelievable and anti-climatic. Benny, who we are convinced has died while battling Leatherface in a lake and falling on his new 'pimped' chainsaw, makes a reappearance, almost gets killed again and survives. Michelle obviously survives to drive off into the sunset after caving in Leatherfaces skull in the same lake and shooting Alfredo (who was trying to kill Benny) with a shotgun.
What can I say? I didn't dislike this movie at all. It was an ok way to spend a couple of hours. It was easy to watch. The acting was good. I didn't say 'Oh ffs' even once! I would recommend it to someone wanting a straightforward slasher type movie, but someone who maybe didn't want too much blood. I however would have liked a little more delving inside the characters, especially Leatherface.
However this movie has to be taken as a completely seperate movie to the original.
In much the same way as the second installment in our 'Texas Chainsaw' series was much removed from the original, this movie is even more removed.
The only original characters we seem to have are Leatherface himself and the notion of 'Grandpa' who is a mummified corpse who sits at the dinner table, but is inexplicably fed blood by his 'family'. Do they think he's alive???
This movie predominantly follows the characters Michelle & Ryan as they travel across country (passing through Texas) to deliver a car to Michelles dad. As they travel, they pass through a police checkpoint where a mass grave has been found containing bodies in various states of decay. To us the viewer, this obviously makes it clear to us that we are nearing Leatherface territory.
They decide to stop at a secluded petrol station (appropriately called 'Last Chance') where they meet a rather nasty, slack jawed idiot (Alfredo)with creepiness and perversion hanging out of him! Things do seem to be getting a bit sinister when a handsome stranger comes to their aid in the form of Tex (Viggo Mortensen... ey up!!). He helps them avoid a potentially disasterous outcome, even though they refuse to give him a lift to where he's going. As they leave, Alfredo shoots through their back window and is seen to shoot at Tex. Michelle and Ryan think he's possibly killed him... (I noted they didn't go back to help him though!)
As they drive, they decide to take a route recommended by Tex and it all falls to sh*t from there-on-in. They are ran off the road by a truck driver who throws what looks like a dead wolf at their windscreen. (that reminds me... there is a link to the first movie with another armadillo... roadkill sadly... sorry, I deviate) They get a flat tyre and as Ryan attempts to change it, you can imagine what happens.... yup Leatherface makes his appearance!
What follows is stereotypical slasher movie stuff (with remarkably little gore again). We have the introduction of another character in the form of a survivalist, Benny who ends up off the road when Ryan jumps into the road at a rather inappropriate moment looking for help. As suspected, Ryan eventually meets an end. Michelle is obviously going to be our heroine. A rather hardy lass who escaped Leatherfaces clutches is introduced and is hiding in the forest. She is the sister of a girl we saw murdered and have her face made into a mask at the start of the movie. She surprisingly meets a very quick and easy death.
Without describing the rest of the movie scene by scene, we find out that Alfredo, Tex and the guy who ran them off the road (Tinker) are all part of a 'family' with Leatherface, Mamma and a cute little blonde haired girl (who is a little sh*t.. she is introduced when she stabs Michelle). We also have the corpse of Granpa sitting at a table. There is no creepy scene like we had in the first movie. If anything, the whole thing is a bit comedic. Mamma is a character I would have liked to have seen more of. She had a voicebox which she has to touch to attain a robotic voice. I would have also liked to have seen more development of Leatherfaces character. There is obviously a lot more to him than this movie shows, a little digging would have been good. Everything just seemed too 'surface'.
We have a very quick crescendo and ending, which is completely unbelievable and anti-climatic. Benny, who we are convinced has died while battling Leatherface in a lake and falling on his new 'pimped' chainsaw, makes a reappearance, almost gets killed again and survives. Michelle obviously survives to drive off into the sunset after caving in Leatherfaces skull in the same lake and shooting Alfredo (who was trying to kill Benny) with a shotgun.
What can I say? I didn't dislike this movie at all. It was an ok way to spend a couple of hours. It was easy to watch. The acting was good. I didn't say 'Oh ffs' even once! I would recommend it to someone wanting a straightforward slasher type movie, but someone who maybe didn't want too much blood. I however would have liked a little more delving inside the characters, especially Leatherface.
However this movie has to be taken as a completely seperate movie to the original.
Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III - Will's Review
And so, the law of diminishing returns rings true...
Only the first film is mentioned in the opening crawl (ignoring the 2nd), and Leatherface is the ONLY returning Sawyer, transplanted inexplicably into a new family! (well, a grandpa is in it now, it may be the same one, but he's dead either way).
This time out (as hinted in the title) the goal is clearly to take Letherface to franchise, and pretty much abandon the TCM legacy.
And it fails.. miserably.
With the new family, this could also be seen as a reboot to the franchise; in fact, opening crawls asside, both is entry and the 2nd could be seen as completely unrelated movies, which each have a take on the character of Leatherface, but don't take place in the same fictional universe.
One thing I loved in the first movie (but it was underplayed and a lot of people miss it) is that Leatherface has a verity of masks, which he wears to suit his mood. A the beginning of the film he wears the mask most of us know from merchandising; the "killing mask", and a butchers apron. Later we (briefly) see him in the kitchen, wearing a light blue ladies apron, and an "old lady" mask (with blue rinse); Finally, from dinner onward Bubba puts on his best black suit, and a "pretty" mask (Which is to say it has make-up on and a ladies wig).
To me, if Leatherface is to be expanded upon and taken to franchise, this is the direction to go - almost like a morbid Worzel Gummidge with grotesque skin masks rather than turnip heads! Alas, like the previous entry, this movie features only a "killing mask" (although, admittedly, its a great one).
This time around the man behind the mask is R.A.Mihailoff; who, to his credit, is quite possibly the best thing in the movie, getting just the right balance between retarded and imposing; you wouldn't want to be chased by this dude, with or without his chainsaw! That said, a lot of the time I was put in mind of Kane Hodder (Jason, Friday the 13th parts 6 through 10)* so maybe it's my fondness for that series coming through.
As I've hinted a couple of times already, this entry in the TCM legacy is not a movie I could recommend Nor is it so mind-numbingly awful that I'd tell you to avoid it either... but there are definitely slashers I'd watch before this one.
*I've just read around and it turns out that's because Hodder was the stunt man on this, and pretty much every time the chainsaw is running it IS him.
Only the first film is mentioned in the opening crawl (ignoring the 2nd), and Leatherface is the ONLY returning Sawyer, transplanted inexplicably into a new family! (well, a grandpa is in it now, it may be the same one, but he's dead either way).
This time out (as hinted in the title) the goal is clearly to take Letherface to franchise, and pretty much abandon the TCM legacy.
And it fails.. miserably.
With the new family, this could also be seen as a reboot to the franchise; in fact, opening crawls asside, both is entry and the 2nd could be seen as completely unrelated movies, which each have a take on the character of Leatherface, but don't take place in the same fictional universe.
One thing I loved in the first movie (but it was underplayed and a lot of people miss it) is that Leatherface has a verity of masks, which he wears to suit his mood. A the beginning of the film he wears the mask most of us know from merchandising; the "killing mask", and a butchers apron. Later we (briefly) see him in the kitchen, wearing a light blue ladies apron, and an "old lady" mask (with blue rinse); Finally, from dinner onward Bubba puts on his best black suit, and a "pretty" mask (Which is to say it has make-up on and a ladies wig).
To me, if Leatherface is to be expanded upon and taken to franchise, this is the direction to go - almost like a morbid Worzel Gummidge with grotesque skin masks rather than turnip heads! Alas, like the previous entry, this movie features only a "killing mask" (although, admittedly, its a great one).
This time around the man behind the mask is R.A.Mihailoff; who, to his credit, is quite possibly the best thing in the movie, getting just the right balance between retarded and imposing; you wouldn't want to be chased by this dude, with or without his chainsaw! That said, a lot of the time I was put in mind of Kane Hodder (Jason, Friday the 13th parts 6 through 10)* so maybe it's my fondness for that series coming through.
As I've hinted a couple of times already, this entry in the TCM legacy is not a movie I could recommend Nor is it so mind-numbingly awful that I'd tell you to avoid it either... but there are definitely slashers I'd watch before this one.
*I've just read around and it turns out that's because Hodder was the stunt man on this, and pretty much every time the chainsaw is running it IS him.
Saturday, 12 January 2013
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 - Will's Review
*** Contains spoilers for the first "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" ***
Tobe Hooper returns to pull directorial duties; making the massive shift in tone from the original all the more baffling.
This time the terror element is toned down, while the dark comedy element is ramped way up; not that dark humor was absent from the original, but it was a lot more subtle; also the blood is upped this time (hardly surprising as the always reliable Tom Savini has been brought in for makeup effects) .
More serious than the change in tone, is the change in characterization which plagues the film; once it's in full swing, Bill Johnson is superb as Letherface, although his earlier scenes show an enjoyment to the killing and teasing of his victims which was not present, likewise Jim Siedow returning as Drayton (simply 'the cook' in part 1) now revels in the violence that he previously couldn't bear to be around; it's worth noting however, that in both cases the script, rather than the actor, is at fault.
New to the Sawyer Clan, is genera stalwart Bill Mosley, as Nam Vet 'Crop-top' - an obvious stand in for the hitch-hiker (who also returns (in prop form), as 'nubbins' a corpse that Crop-top carries around with him*)
Finally, Grandpa returns; although he is once again hidden until a dinner scene, which plays far too much like a bad do-over of the one in the first. Of all the scenes to remake in the sequel, why pick the one that has already been done so perfectly?
On the side of good (cannon fodder aside) we have only 2 character of note; local DJ 'Stretch' (Caroline Williams doing her best Laurie Metcalf impression) and 'Lefty' (Dennis Hopper), a Texas ranger, uncle of the victims from the first movie, and only man in law-endorsement who believed in the cannibal family. I have to mention at this point, that seeing Dennis Hopper shopping for filing chainsaws is a thing of beauty.
On the subject of Lefty's ties to the original; Franklyn's skeleton makes an appearance, which is just silly; not only is it still in-tact an in it's chair (surely it would have been broken down for meat), but it's also in the Sawyers new digs (they have moved several times between movies, and currently live in an abandoned theme park) implying that the family take their victims remains with them when they move.
I really do enjoy this movie, probably more than it actually deserves; but as fun as it is, its still a shame to see Leatherface and the Sawyer family reduced to a clan of post-Freddy hero killers... That said, there isn't really much sequel potential if everything had remained unchanged.
Works well as a fun horror movie, but not necessarily as a sequel to TCM...
*untill this viewing, I'd always assumed that Crop-top was the Hitchhiker; the plate being a 'repair' from his meeting with the truck in part one. Watching the two in close succession, I notice that hitch hiker's death in part one was pretty final, and he shares a facial birthmark with Nubbins the corpse.
Tobe Hooper returns to pull directorial duties; making the massive shift in tone from the original all the more baffling.
This time the terror element is toned down, while the dark comedy element is ramped way up; not that dark humor was absent from the original, but it was a lot more subtle; also the blood is upped this time (hardly surprising as the always reliable Tom Savini has been brought in for makeup effects) .
More serious than the change in tone, is the change in characterization which plagues the film; once it's in full swing, Bill Johnson is superb as Letherface, although his earlier scenes show an enjoyment to the killing and teasing of his victims which was not present, likewise Jim Siedow returning as Drayton (simply 'the cook' in part 1) now revels in the violence that he previously couldn't bear to be around; it's worth noting however, that in both cases the script, rather than the actor, is at fault.
New to the Sawyer Clan, is genera stalwart Bill Mosley, as Nam Vet 'Crop-top' - an obvious stand in for the hitch-hiker (who also returns (in prop form), as 'nubbins' a corpse that Crop-top carries around with him*)
Finally, Grandpa returns; although he is once again hidden until a dinner scene, which plays far too much like a bad do-over of the one in the first. Of all the scenes to remake in the sequel, why pick the one that has already been done so perfectly?
On the side of good (cannon fodder aside) we have only 2 character of note; local DJ 'Stretch' (Caroline Williams doing her best Laurie Metcalf impression) and 'Lefty' (Dennis Hopper), a Texas ranger, uncle of the victims from the first movie, and only man in law-endorsement who believed in the cannibal family. I have to mention at this point, that seeing Dennis Hopper shopping for filing chainsaws is a thing of beauty.
On the subject of Lefty's ties to the original; Franklyn's skeleton makes an appearance, which is just silly; not only is it still in-tact an in it's chair (surely it would have been broken down for meat), but it's also in the Sawyers new digs (they have moved several times between movies, and currently live in an abandoned theme park) implying that the family take their victims remains with them when they move.
I really do enjoy this movie, probably more than it actually deserves; but as fun as it is, its still a shame to see Leatherface and the Sawyer family reduced to a clan of post-Freddy hero killers... That said, there isn't really much sequel potential if everything had remained unchanged.
Works well as a fun horror movie, but not necessarily as a sequel to TCM...
*untill this viewing, I'd always assumed that Crop-top was the Hitchhiker; the plate being a 'repair' from his meeting with the truck in part one. Watching the two in close succession, I notice that hitch hiker's death in part one was pretty final, and he shares a facial birthmark with Nubbins the corpse.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 - Lisa's review
As I started with this weeks movie, I knew I had seen it before, but oddly I remembered absolutely nothing about it whatsoever. Probably not the most promising start.
So with TCM being one of my favourite movies, the sequel had a lot to live up to. Did it? Sadly not on any level. Where do I start?
My favourite aspect of the original movie was the mood, the cinematography, the eeriness. These were all missing in the sequel. In fact taking the characters aside, you would be pushed to realise these 2 movies had anything to do with each other. Where the first movie had aspects of black comedy, which has its place in horror movies when executed well, this movie was just ridiculous. It was over the top, silly, mad and attention seeking.
Oddly I didn't dislike the movie. I think if watched alone with no expectations and no reference whatsoever to the first movie, its a fun little watch. I liked the madness about it, the general freakiness, but I so miss the intensity of the original. Maybe Tobe Hooper realised he couldn't improve upon perfection so took an entirely different slant? I just wish he'd left it alone!
One thing I didn't like about TCM2 was the rehashing of iconic scenes from the original movie, mainly the dinner scene from the first movie involving grandpa. He makes a return in this movie to pretty much do exactly the same thing! I'm like "what the hell are you doing?"... its as if, they know it went down well first time around so they thought they'd put the same scene in again? BIG mistake. It turned an almost parody like movie into a wannabe movie or a weaker sibling. Surely Mr Hooper had some more sick gems in this head of his?
Another thing which I found extremely irritating is the constant chainsaw wielding done by Leatherface, again overkill of the famous scene at the end of the first movie. This time though he does a stupid little shuffle dance when he raises the chainsaw aloft. Wtf is going on with that?
There are some genuinely funny moments in this movie (a chainsaw up the bum for one) and some genuinely yuck moments (the delayed reaction to having a slice of your head removed) but all in, I was just disappointed with this movie.
As a stand-alone movie, its an ok popcorn movie to watch with friends, but if there is any comparison to be made to the original, forget it. This one fails spectacularly. With that in mind, I can neither recommend or advise to avoid. It just makes me wish the might Texas Chainsaw Massacre was left well alone.
Saturday, 5 January 2013
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre - Will's Review
What can I even begin to say about TCM that hasn't already been said?
Unoriginal though this sentiment may be; the first thing I'm going to say is 'if you haven't seen Texas Chain Saw; go watch it'. Although that seems a little redundant; if you like horror movies enough to have found yourself on the corner of the interwebs where people watch one every week, then you have almost certainly seen this one a couple of times already!
Unoriginal though this sentiment may be; the first thing I'm going to say is 'if you haven't seen Texas Chain Saw; go watch it'. Although that seems a little redundant; if you like horror movies enough to have found yourself on the corner of the interwebs where people watch one every week, then you have almost certainly seen this one a couple of times already!
With that in mind, I'm not going to be especially mindful of spoilers from here on in.
The thing I think most people find so surprising about this movie is the lack of blood.
The only blood-drawing scenes are 2 smallish knife cuts (one to a hand, one an arm) a pricked finger, and an accidental 3" cut to Leatherface's leg... Only the latter would require stitches!
The second thing that surprises people is that it takes more than one viewing to even realise how little blood there is; the movie is such an assault on the senses that a first viewing is likely to leave you too overloaded to notice specifics. The soundscape especially seems to have been (and I'm sure; was) especially made to fill you with fear, and knock you mentally off balance.
After a nerve jangling opening, the movie quickly settles down into a quite road trip; the visit from a demented hitch-hiker acts as groundwork for what is to follow, but still the tone quietens down as out cast (surprisingly, to a modern audience) arrive at their intended destination.
This quietness though, is what gives the films 3rd act it's power; from the second we enter the Sawer's home, the nerve jangling goes up to 11, and doesn't let up for the rest if the movie.
Really the only problem I have with this film is Grandpa... Until he turns up, the film is squarely in 'it could happen' territory; and suddenly showing a... Whatever grandpa is (a zombie?) really bugs me.
But then without Sawer Snr, we'd miss one of the most horrifying scenes ever commuted to film; The hitchhiker, assisting grandpa in an attempted slaughter of our final girl; it's so drawn out that it's not easy to watch, and by the time she finally loses it and goes hysterical, we completely understand!
It's hard to believe that this was brought to us by the same Tobe Hooper who would go on to bring us "The Mangler" and the "Toolbox Murders" remake...
The thing I think most people find so surprising about this movie is the lack of blood.
The only blood-drawing scenes are 2 smallish knife cuts (one to a hand, one an arm) a pricked finger, and an accidental 3" cut to Leatherface's leg... Only the latter would require stitches!
The second thing that surprises people is that it takes more than one viewing to even realise how little blood there is; the movie is such an assault on the senses that a first viewing is likely to leave you too overloaded to notice specifics. The soundscape especially seems to have been (and I'm sure; was) especially made to fill you with fear, and knock you mentally off balance.
After a nerve jangling opening, the movie quickly settles down into a quite road trip; the visit from a demented hitch-hiker acts as groundwork for what is to follow, but still the tone quietens down as out cast (surprisingly, to a modern audience) arrive at their intended destination.
This quietness though, is what gives the films 3rd act it's power; from the second we enter the Sawer's home, the nerve jangling goes up to 11, and doesn't let up for the rest if the movie.
Really the only problem I have with this film is Grandpa... Until he turns up, the film is squarely in 'it could happen' territory; and suddenly showing a... Whatever grandpa is (a zombie?) really bugs me.
But then without Sawer Snr, we'd miss one of the most horrifying scenes ever commuted to film; The hitchhiker, assisting grandpa in an attempted slaughter of our final girl; it's so drawn out that it's not easy to watch, and by the time she finally loses it and goes hysterical, we completely understand!
It's hard to believe that this was brought to us by the same Tobe Hooper who would go on to bring us "The Mangler" and the "Toolbox Murders" remake...
Fun Facts:
- The Roadkill armadillo from near the beginning of the film did not appear in the script; the crew just found it on location.
- Letherface's self-inflicted chainsaw wound did not use a stuntman, and was achieved by placing a metal plate, and then a steak, on actor Gunnar Hansen's leg under his trousers. Hansen sustained a burn to his leg because of the friction between the chainsaw and the plate.
Texas Chain Saw Massacre - Lisa's Review
*** SPOILERS ***
This week I had the priviledge of watching one of my favourite horrors - Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Bit of an odd way I first saw this one. I never fancied it as I've never been a 'Slasher/Gore Fest' fan... that's not to say I don't like a bit of gore, I just like a story with my gore... something to make me think. I came home one night quite late, switched on the TV and this one was on. I was completely transfixed and unable to take my eyes off it. When it finished, I got my hands on a copy so I could watch it in its entirety.
So we've established I love it. Why should you watch it? This movie is gorey in places, yes, but not anywhere near as much as you'd expect. It has an uncomfortable, eerie feel all the way through.
Without going into too much detail, a group of young friends (Sally, Franklin, Pam, Jerry and Kirk)are travelling to visit Sally & Franklins grandfather as there have been reports of vandalism. During this process, they pick up a derranged hitchhiker who they manage to force out of their van after he slashes Franklin (who happens to be in a wheelchair) and himself. This is merely an introduction though, as he appears later with greater relevance.
They then stop at a petrol station, but find the pumps empty. They head onwards towards Sally & Franklins grandfathers home. Pam and Kirk are out together when they stumble upon a house where they mean to ask about where to get petrol. We have the old chestnut of the door being open but no-one answering. Why oh why do people always go inside?
When Kirk enters, he is intrigued by a red door with animal skulls on it, so he walks into the hallway calling out for any occupants. The star of our movie 'Leatherface' appears and prompty smacks him around the head with a mallet. This is one of the things I love about this movie. There is no messing about, people are dispatched with quickly and efficiently when he wants to. The way he moves abruptly and purposefully is in itself terrifying. We concentrate here on Kirks spasming body as he dies, there is no real gore worth talking about. We then see one of my favourite things in the movie for the first time.. Leatherface slams shut the steel front to the door. I don't know why, but that gives me chills. The character is the perfect villain. He makes your skin crawl. How he moves, how he looks, how he sounds.
When Pam enters the house, I have a cringefest. She see's the macabre surroundings, including furntiure made from human bones. Oddly she seems freaked out by a large chicken in a small cage. She decides to leave and runs for the hall. Leatherface appears again and grabs her as she just manages to exit the back door. He carries her back into the room he took Kirks body before impaling her very matter-of-factly on a meathook - Genius! You see the hooks, you know they'll come in somewhere, but you don't expect it to be so quick and done in such a way that its almost not even thought about. The direction is fantastic. We don't concentrate on the entry of the hook into Pams back, but instead on her fear, her reaction, the surroundings - like the bucket beneath her to collect her blood. A corpse lies in front of her on a table and Leatherface powers up his chainsaw and sets to dismembering it in front of her. I'm assuming this is Kirk.
Jerry later goes to look for his friends and finds the house. He discovers Pam in a freezer, but Leatherface comes upon him and kills him with the same mallet that befell Kirk. He pushes Pam back into the freezer.
The last of our set of friends Sally and Franklin (brother and sister) set out looking for the others. Leatherface comes across them and kills Franklin with his chainsaw. Sally manages to get away and runs into the house. She soon realises all is not well with some sinister discoveries and escapes from Leatherface by jumping out of an upstairs window. She runs to the petrol station from earlier seeking help, but the owner ties her up and takes her back to the house. The hitchhiker also makes another appearance. It turns out, he is Leatherfaces brother!
What follows is probably one of the most famous scenes in the movie and probably the oddest, horrifying scene I have ever seen. Everything is f*cked up! Sally is sitting around a table with these warped people, who she knows is going to kill her. The surroundings are horrid! There even seems to be a lamp made of the skin from a persons head above the table. An old man referred to as 'Grandpa' is brought down and the others hold Sallys head over a bucket as he tries to kill her by hitting her head with a hammer. he is too old and too weak so keeps missing or striking her with half blows. This would be much more terrifying than being bludgeoned to death, this slow torture. HORRIBLE!
In a complete turnaround, Sally manages to escape. The hitchhiker is killed by a truck which hits him as he chases her. We end the movie with Sally in the back of the pick-up truck covered in blood screaming as Leatherface is yelling in the road swinging his chainsaw above his head. This scene later became the infamous movie cover. Awesomeness!! I LOVE this movie!
Big Fat Recommends going on this one.
This week I had the priviledge of watching one of my favourite horrors - Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Bit of an odd way I first saw this one. I never fancied it as I've never been a 'Slasher/Gore Fest' fan... that's not to say I don't like a bit of gore, I just like a story with my gore... something to make me think. I came home one night quite late, switched on the TV and this one was on. I was completely transfixed and unable to take my eyes off it. When it finished, I got my hands on a copy so I could watch it in its entirety.
So we've established I love it. Why should you watch it? This movie is gorey in places, yes, but not anywhere near as much as you'd expect. It has an uncomfortable, eerie feel all the way through.
Without going into too much detail, a group of young friends (Sally, Franklin, Pam, Jerry and Kirk)are travelling to visit Sally & Franklins grandfather as there have been reports of vandalism. During this process, they pick up a derranged hitchhiker who they manage to force out of their van after he slashes Franklin (who happens to be in a wheelchair) and himself. This is merely an introduction though, as he appears later with greater relevance.
They then stop at a petrol station, but find the pumps empty. They head onwards towards Sally & Franklins grandfathers home. Pam and Kirk are out together when they stumble upon a house where they mean to ask about where to get petrol. We have the old chestnut of the door being open but no-one answering. Why oh why do people always go inside?
When Kirk enters, he is intrigued by a red door with animal skulls on it, so he walks into the hallway calling out for any occupants. The star of our movie 'Leatherface' appears and prompty smacks him around the head with a mallet. This is one of the things I love about this movie. There is no messing about, people are dispatched with quickly and efficiently when he wants to. The way he moves abruptly and purposefully is in itself terrifying. We concentrate here on Kirks spasming body as he dies, there is no real gore worth talking about. We then see one of my favourite things in the movie for the first time.. Leatherface slams shut the steel front to the door. I don't know why, but that gives me chills. The character is the perfect villain. He makes your skin crawl. How he moves, how he looks, how he sounds.
When Pam enters the house, I have a cringefest. She see's the macabre surroundings, including furntiure made from human bones. Oddly she seems freaked out by a large chicken in a small cage. She decides to leave and runs for the hall. Leatherface appears again and grabs her as she just manages to exit the back door. He carries her back into the room he took Kirks body before impaling her very matter-of-factly on a meathook - Genius! You see the hooks, you know they'll come in somewhere, but you don't expect it to be so quick and done in such a way that its almost not even thought about. The direction is fantastic. We don't concentrate on the entry of the hook into Pams back, but instead on her fear, her reaction, the surroundings - like the bucket beneath her to collect her blood. A corpse lies in front of her on a table and Leatherface powers up his chainsaw and sets to dismembering it in front of her. I'm assuming this is Kirk.
Jerry later goes to look for his friends and finds the house. He discovers Pam in a freezer, but Leatherface comes upon him and kills him with the same mallet that befell Kirk. He pushes Pam back into the freezer.
The last of our set of friends Sally and Franklin (brother and sister) set out looking for the others. Leatherface comes across them and kills Franklin with his chainsaw. Sally manages to get away and runs into the house. She soon realises all is not well with some sinister discoveries and escapes from Leatherface by jumping out of an upstairs window. She runs to the petrol station from earlier seeking help, but the owner ties her up and takes her back to the house. The hitchhiker also makes another appearance. It turns out, he is Leatherfaces brother!
What follows is probably one of the most famous scenes in the movie and probably the oddest, horrifying scene I have ever seen. Everything is f*cked up! Sally is sitting around a table with these warped people, who she knows is going to kill her. The surroundings are horrid! There even seems to be a lamp made of the skin from a persons head above the table. An old man referred to as 'Grandpa' is brought down and the others hold Sallys head over a bucket as he tries to kill her by hitting her head with a hammer. he is too old and too weak so keeps missing or striking her with half blows. This would be much more terrifying than being bludgeoned to death, this slow torture. HORRIBLE!
In a complete turnaround, Sally manages to escape. The hitchhiker is killed by a truck which hits him as he chases her. We end the movie with Sally in the back of the pick-up truck covered in blood screaming as Leatherface is yelling in the road swinging his chainsaw above his head. This scene later became the infamous movie cover. Awesomeness!! I LOVE this movie!
Big Fat Recommends going on this one.
Saturday, 3 November 2012
HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: Evil Dead : The Musical - Will's Review
PLEASE NOTE: This review is based on a screener copy made at the "Just for Laughs" festival a few years ago. This has never been released to the public, and the only legitimate way to see this musical is to go see it live.
Saturday, 12 May 2012
Last House on the Left - Will's Review
Another of the "big ones" this week; As David Heiss plays a rapacious scumbag (a character type he will revisit) under the first-time direction of Wes Craven, and we are told (for the first time) to keep repeating; It's only a Movie... Only a movie... Only a movie.
First up; props to Hess, who plays an utterly convincing scumbag, but a very different one to House on the Edge of The Park's Alex - that one actor could play 2 such seemingly similar characters so differently is a great testament to the man as an actor.
Plot wise this falls somewhere in between the 2 Rape-Revenge movies we have already seen, showing us the stalk and attack (and eventual murder) of the victims, as per I Spit on your Grave, but once the attackers find their way (unwittingly) to the home of one of the victims' families, it is they who seek out the revenge, as in The House on the Edge of the Park.
This time around however, far from being an Edge of the Park style stitch-up, our gang realizes who's home they are in before the girls' parents even realize that anything has happened to her; sadly however, this isn't used in the plot in any real way.
Another moment that goes unused is a brilliantly acted moment where the gang show some silent regret for their actions - disappointingly, this regret is never shown nor mentioned again.
I had mixed feelings about the younger member of the gang, and by extension the fact that he was killed. The lad did deliver the girls to the gang (and with a fair idea as to why they were wanted), but he did it in exchange for a fix - his father (The gang leader) had, we learn, deliberately got his son addicted to heroin from a young age as a method of controlling him.
The parents' revenge, when it does come, is too fast and easy for my tastes, leaving it somewhat unfulfilling. It is possible that this somewhat anti-climactic feel is deliberate; it is made clear at the end of the film that the parents' loss is in no way listened by the revenge, but no matter how clever this may have been from an audience empathy point of view, it doesn't make for a great ending, dramatically speaking.
All in all, not terrible, but not a home run, I still prefer its similarly cast ripoff. (At least that means I'm likely to disagree with Lisa this week)
Body Count: 6
Boob Count: 2 Pairs
Animal Body Count: 0
Most Memorable Death: Ouch - Less teeth please!
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
First up; props to Hess, who plays an utterly convincing scumbag, but a very different one to House on the Edge of The Park's Alex - that one actor could play 2 such seemingly similar characters so differently is a great testament to the man as an actor.
Plot wise this falls somewhere in between the 2 Rape-Revenge movies we have already seen, showing us the stalk and attack (and eventual murder) of the victims, as per I Spit on your Grave, but once the attackers find their way (unwittingly) to the home of one of the victims' families, it is they who seek out the revenge, as in The House on the Edge of the Park.
This time around however, far from being an Edge of the Park style stitch-up, our gang realizes who's home they are in before the girls' parents even realize that anything has happened to her; sadly however, this isn't used in the plot in any real way.
Another moment that goes unused is a brilliantly acted moment where the gang show some silent regret for their actions - disappointingly, this regret is never shown nor mentioned again.
I had mixed feelings about the younger member of the gang, and by extension the fact that he was killed. The lad did deliver the girls to the gang (and with a fair idea as to why they were wanted), but he did it in exchange for a fix - his father (The gang leader) had, we learn, deliberately got his son addicted to heroin from a young age as a method of controlling him.
The parents' revenge, when it does come, is too fast and easy for my tastes, leaving it somewhat unfulfilling. It is possible that this somewhat anti-climactic feel is deliberate; it is made clear at the end of the film that the parents' loss is in no way listened by the revenge, but no matter how clever this may have been from an audience empathy point of view, it doesn't make for a great ending, dramatically speaking.
All in all, not terrible, but not a home run, I still prefer its similarly cast ripoff. (At least that means I'm likely to disagree with Lisa this week)
Body Count: 6
Boob Count: 2 Pairs
Animal Body Count: 0
Most Memorable Death: Ouch - Less teeth please!
Please use the comments bellow only to comment on this post - to write your own review, please comment on the main post for this movie.
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