My Week in Movies: October 20 - 26
Oct. 27th, 2019 02:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jetpack_monkeyThis week's theme was Foreign Horror. It didn't go off as well as I thought it would because as it turns out, I sold off or gave away huge chunks of my foreign horror collection a few years back. Oops. The week ended up being very heavy on Italy and Barbara Steele movies.
Films I've seen before are in italics.
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933, Germany)
A Tale of Two Sisters (2003, South Korea)
Black Sunday (1960, Italy)
The Long Hair of Death (1965, Italy)
An Angel for Satan (1966, Italy)
Count Dracula (1970, Spain / West Germany / Italy / Liechtenstein / UK)
House (1977, Japan)
Embodiment of Evil (2008, Brazil)
Black Christmas (1974, not part of the theme) w/sol_se
Deep Red (1975, Italy)
I also watched about half of a Japanese movie called Ugetsu before realizing that it was A. not horror and B. not my thing.
I'd put off watching A Tale of Two Sisters because I theorized (correctly) that it would scare the crap out of me and that I'd have trouble with the dark for a bit. Luckily, it was only one night of uncertain terror, but frankly that's plenty. It's very good. I called what was happening, then uncalled it, then called it again. The film kept me guessing.
While watching Black Sunday, it occurred to me that despite the fact that I've seen the film several times, I had a hell of a time recalling what happened in its back half. Turns out that it's because the film doesn't hold up that well. It's very spooky and gothic, but it's not one of Mario Bava's better films.
I had a Barbara Steele double feature DVD with The Long Hair of Death and An Angel for Satan. Both were convoluted in their own special ways. One featured a ridiculous murder plot that became more ridiculous with each passing minute. The other had a twist at the end that rendered the whole film fairly meaningless.
For being low budget and directed by Jesus Franco (a man better known for his abundance of work rather than his abundance of talent), Count Dracula is a reasonably faithful adaptation of Stoker's book with a solid lead performance by Christopher Lee. They make some weird choices and some of the shot framing highlights the low budget rather than hides it, but ultimately I enjoyed it.
House is another classic that I found somewhat disappointing upon my return to it. It's still bats**t crazy and a film experimentalist's dream, but a lot of the novelty wears off in repeat viewings. I sometimes just wanted them to get on with it.
I love Black Christmas and it still holds up. It definitely terrified the crap out of sol_se.
This week's theme is Whatever the Hell I Want. Any and all horror is valid, as long as I do at least one a day through the 31st).
Films I've seen before are in italics.
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933, Germany)
A Tale of Two Sisters (2003, South Korea)
Black Sunday (1960, Italy)
The Long Hair of Death (1965, Italy)
An Angel for Satan (1966, Italy)
Count Dracula (1970, Spain / West Germany / Italy / Liechtenstein / UK)
House (1977, Japan)
Embodiment of Evil (2008, Brazil)
Black Christmas (1974, not part of the theme) w/
sol_se Deep Red (1975, Italy)
I also watched about half of a Japanese movie called Ugetsu before realizing that it was A. not horror and B. not my thing.
I'd put off watching A Tale of Two Sisters because I theorized (correctly) that it would scare the crap out of me and that I'd have trouble with the dark for a bit. Luckily, it was only one night of uncertain terror, but frankly that's plenty. It's very good. I called what was happening, then uncalled it, then called it again. The film kept me guessing.
While watching Black Sunday, it occurred to me that despite the fact that I've seen the film several times, I had a hell of a time recalling what happened in its back half. Turns out that it's because the film doesn't hold up that well. It's very spooky and gothic, but it's not one of Mario Bava's better films.
I had a Barbara Steele double feature DVD with The Long Hair of Death and An Angel for Satan. Both were convoluted in their own special ways. One featured a ridiculous murder plot that became more ridiculous with each passing minute. The other had a twist at the end that rendered the whole film fairly meaningless.
For being low budget and directed by Jesus Franco (a man better known for his abundance of work rather than his abundance of talent), Count Dracula is a reasonably faithful adaptation of Stoker's book with a solid lead performance by Christopher Lee. They make some weird choices and some of the shot framing highlights the low budget rather than hides it, but ultimately I enjoyed it.
House is another classic that I found somewhat disappointing upon my return to it. It's still bats**t crazy and a film experimentalist's dream, but a lot of the novelty wears off in repeat viewings. I sometimes just wanted them to get on with it.
I love Black Christmas and it still holds up. It definitely terrified the crap out of sol_se.
This week's theme is Whatever the Hell I Want. Any and all horror is valid, as long as I do at least one a day through the 31st).
