Die Welle – 2008 – Can history repeat itself?

I was trying to do a video review of this for my youtube channel but soon realized that I couldn’t. I couldn’t get my thoughts about it into words that wat without stuttering way too much. I’m that excited to express my opinions about this flick.

First of all I must say that it’s brave for a German movie to take on such subjects that the film revolves around. I’m not sure that Nazism or Hitler is actually mentioned but there are obvious parallels to such a fascist society. The question about if we are so enlightened today with knowledge of the past that we couldn’t fall in that trap again is the most central one. That is even spoken out in plain text in the movie.

But let’s start from the beginning. Rainer Wegner is a popular teacher in school. By the students that is. He’s quite unorthodox and that makes his colleagues suspicions about his methods. But he’s popular by the students and that is a quality more teachers should have in my opinion. Theme week is coming up and Reiner plans of taking on the subject anarchy. He’s really excited about it and equally disappointed when he realizes that this subject has already been taken by another teacher. Unwillingly he is forced to choose autocracy instead. At first he isn’t very interested but once the question about whether this kind of society could emerge again he takes a different approach.

From this point on he conducts an experiment. What would happen if he could fulfill all re requirements for it to work? He needs to prove to his students as to himself that people need to think about their actions and choices in life. Is it possible to manipulate the students into autocracy?

Together with his students he starts to map out what key elements that needs to be fulfilled in such a society. Among other things a strong leader is needed. Also some kind of unifying for the “people”; discontent is agreed on. And that is a strong base to build a group willing to do most anything for a change. To argue that the end justifies the means to such a group will not be hard. They also conclude that they need a common dress code, some kind of uniform. That this doesn’t have to be a military uniform is quickly debated and each and every one gets out getting a white shirt. This and a few other fundamental characteristics is enough for things to start escalating. When a salute and a name for the group – The Wave – is created we take another step further.

In my mind there is also another thing that needs to be fulfilled. That is weak individuals that in being part of a great whole in order to feel strong and even invincible; weak individuals that can blame the entire group for each and every decision that might be too close to home; each and every decision that might be too hard to make on their own. They find the strength in numbers.

The transgression of the experiment goes fast. Mind you, there’s only one theme week and by the end of this week a really strong willed organization has been created. Few of the initial students realize the potential danger of the situation but there are individuals that are very uncomfortable with the concept to say the least. They protest by not participating in the uniform dress code and starts to develop their own counter movement with flyers to inform the masses of the dangerous situation.

Even the conductor of the experiment gets drawn into it and starts to change his personality. Maybe not to the extent of his students but he is changing. No doubt about that. He is also approached by the opposition that things are about to go out of proportion and that he’s losing control of the situation. He needs to fix what has gone wrong.

In my opinion this is a pretty frightening movie. It is very realistic and there’s no doubt in my mind that such a society could be created if a strong leader was manipulative enough. In fact, I think it’s about to happen in several parts of the world already. We may not see Nazism as we once did, the swastika may not be present but if we start to lose our grip it doesn’t matter what symbol that is used. Totalitarian leaders seem to be found in the west and east alike. When people start to oppress other people we have failed.

I found this flick to be very watchable. It made me feel real fear which is an uncommon feeling coming from a movie these days. I think it’s nicely played and wonderfully written. I wish more movies would explore these themes of the darkest parts of human history.

8/10

This just in: I just realized that this is in fact a remake of an earlier short movie. Now I need to get my hands on that as well…

Sleaze Flick Review: Amateur Porn Star Killer 2 - 2008

Amatuer Porn Star Killer 2

Director: Shane Ryan

2008

Horror

I figure that if you have any interest in this movie you have already seen the first in the trilogy. I find it unnecessary to write down a synopsis in bold letter as I usually do since it’s really more of the same thing. Brandon picks up girls, fucks and kills them.

There are two version of the film on this DVD release. There is the movie version and the snuff version. They are similar of course but also quite different. The snuff version is more to the point without a lot of the stuff going on around the movie version. Personally I like the snuff version better, it’s somewhat rougher and also what the killer really intended. The victims’ pain and humiliation comes through better!

But both versions are very hard to watch, not because of the theme – which is truly a horrible one, but because of the way the story is told. Out of order and with a very shaky hand hold camera. There is lots of nudity – both male and female. It’s one of the things that the film benefits from; it makes it a little more realistic to be sure! But for the most part I’m sorry to say that it’s quite dull. I’d rather see the first film than this at any time but I’m still looking forward for the final part which I will review soon!

Extreme Flick Week: The Gateway Meat - 2008

The Gateway Meat

Director: Ron DeCaro

2008

Extreme

Set in present time, society is getting stale when everyone revolves to using I phones and stuff and going with the flow rather than to actually think by themselves. The President of the United States I shot and in the aftermath a family of Satanists takes this as a sign for attempting to open a doorway to hell.

Some of these extreme flicks are a bit hard to comprehend. I mean, I would never had figured the above out if it hasn’t been written in the beginning of the film. There’s a lot of violence but I couldn’t have figured out the Satanist part. I’m also lost when it comes to how the doorway to hell should be opened. But on the other hand, there would be no chance in hell that I’d figure out Begotten either…

The strong part of the movie isn’t necessarily the violence – at least not by itself. But there is the contrast of the kid, a girl maybe four or five years old, and the over-the-top violence that really makes me uncomfortable when I watch. The scenes are mixed and it goes from ultraviolent to beautiful and innocent in a heartbeat. There are beautiful sequences of flowers and butterflies and suddenly gross footage of a decomposing corpse which is very unsettling. It’s done a few times and succeeds in shocking effect ever time too!

It’s hard to evaluate the acting, what should be the comparison point? It’s not anything that would get any award but on the other hand it’s a bit better than most of the low budget splatter films I’ve seen. And there’s not much humor either (luckily). Many of the scenes are very original and there seems to be a lot of thought out in the filth. There isn’t so much nudity but it makes up for that with the gore. It’s really well done and there at few if any scenes where someone chews on intestines’, it’s a matter of opinion really (no it’s not a cannibalistic flick).

It’s a gross movie and as I said before I was very uncomfortable at times. Still it’s a very slow paced story that I don’t really get. There are odd characters which are very entertaining and if you exclude the Satanist part it’s so much more entertaining! Look at the gore, the violence and the portrayal of the characters and you might find it really entertaining!

5/10

Review: Alive or Dead – 2008

The film starts out quite different to what I’m used to; a woman driving a car and having phone sex by cell phone at the same time. She soon reaches an open area though and she stops playing with herself when she finds a bus with the words “Help me” written in blood. She does not seem to scare easily and explores the area and eventually gets trapped in the bus together with a redneck and a captured and chained girl.

Sounds interesting don’t you think? That’s what I thought but I never got the hang of it. The bus driver takes the bus into a dessert castle or something like that and nothing is what it seems to be anymore. I don’t know who’s the victim or the perpetrator. Well, most of it makes sense in the end but it’s not very clear. I feel like it’s a bit sloppy script where there are twists and turns just for the hell of it. There’s no real logic to what happens and why.

There are som nice acting and gore though. I don’t mean to say that’s it’s a real gore- or splatter film, but there are blood and it looks pretty decent! In the end this doesn’t carry the movie as a whole though. It gets quite boring and hard to understand. I can live with that if there’s a point made out of making it hard to understand but here I feel like its just plain bad storytelling.

4/10

Review: Video Geisteskrank - 2008

As soon as Ronny Carlsson has made a new film I know I just have to have it as soon as possible. I like the innovative ideas and the ambition this you Swedish filmmaker! So when he released Video Geisteskrank on VHS I knew that I needed it! The general interest of this release (on the ancient format) was very low but I’m very proud over my limited numbered copy “1”. The film itself is also available on the anthology-DVD Experimental Films Through the Lens of a Shitty Camcorder (which I believe has been sold out!).

But regardless of the availability of the film I’m very impressed by the director’s competence when it comes to creating spellbinding sound/image combinations. All the music and sounds in the movie are just perfect to the graphic imagery. The style of the film seems to be inspired from the silent movie era and it’s just superb. I get the feeling that Ronny’s had a lot of fun making this and I really think that rubs off on the viewer. Apart from the silent films there’s obviously also inspiration from the infamous August Underground movies and there are bits and pieces here and there that manifests this quite clearly I think.

But if I’ll be completely honest with you I think this is more interesting than it´s more known inspirational sources! There’s a lot of suspense and horror when the films main character put starts to violate an innocent woman. The story is very simple but yet kind of genius. The main character (portrayed but Ronny himself) has this list where he needs to checks out one thing at the time, sort of a bucket list. First thing out is something “innocent” like killing a hitchhiker, after that he aims to vomit on two girls, which finally leads up to where the movie takes place – violating the innocent woman…

The killers mask, because the killer is mask, is another stroke of genius! It´s a pig head which might not be the most common mask in the business. It looks very original and horrifying, even real and that’s something I for one don’t take for granted when it comes to movies like this!

8/10

Review - Gutterballs - 2008

Gutterballs
Regi: Ryan Nicholson
2008
Horror

Two gangs are rivals to each other and they meet at the local bowling alley. One thing leads to another and after a while one of the guys – Steve, has had it. He’s been humiliated for the last time and wants revenge real soon! When one of the girls in the other gang forgets her purse is he there waiting for her with some of his friends. It’s dark and they attack the girl with everything they’ve got. They brutally rape her and the rest of the movie, the main story begins. Someone is killing the bowlers one by one in bloody and perverted ways.

My only earlier encounter with Ryan Nicholson is Live Feed, a movie that had a fantastic cover that attracted me to it like few other films have.Unfortunate it was a real disaster. This movie is available with a very pleasing image on the cover too. A parody of Maniac, there is even a paraphrase of the tagline I Warned You Not to Bowl Tonight. On this release we are spared that kind of humour though, thankfully!

The actors are all quite bad but that’s something you’ll have to take when it comes to movies like this one. The main and most important thing is that the murder scenes are innovative and entertaining, and they are most of the time. I wouldn’t say that the murderous ways are a surprise all the time but since Ryan Nicholson doesn’t seem to be afraid to show genitals, real or fake, there is a lot of perverted ways someone can die in. There is obviously some sex in the movie, not any really pornographic scenes but a bit more than you might be used to from the typical slasher.

I think the murderer looks pretty cool even if the first appearance has kind of a comical effect. I really understand that the characters get killed in this movie by the way. They are so annoying that I couldn’t stand them for very long either. That guy, Steve… I wouldn’t last many minutes if I was in the same room as him, such a self centred asshole, a real loser. He complains about everything and many of the other characters do too. You can’t wait for them to die one by one!

The ending sequence feels pretty forced but you have to see this for what it is. It’s a kind of slasher and all the characters shouldn’t me likeable. But on the other hand, it doesn’t get very exciting if you can’t feel sorry for them either. But I don’t really think that Ryan Nicholson means to make this movie exciting or thrilling, it doesn’t really have that style. I think it’s made for pure entertainment and what more can you ask for than a bowling pin rape? Well, the revenge obviously!

Review: ICE - 2008

ICE

Director: Makoto Kobayashi

2008

Animated

In another world, or our world but another dimension, or even another time, there are only women. The last man died 2012 and all reproducing of mankind were halted. However, experiments are being made to reproduce children in an artificial way with a substance called ICE. There are several severe side effects to the method, such as the creation of great monsters in the process and the rulers may not disclose all of the information to the people. What are becoming of the world? Is this the end?

I have not had much experience with this kind of adult animated films. Well, it's not an adult film in that sense but there are a few scenes where lesbianism is insinuated. It would be hard not to, since the entire male population is gone. Also, the movie starts with a girl in a thong and since I had no idea what this movie was about I kind of expected it to be semi pornographic. It’s not though, and you’ll have to do with a few naked breasts and they aren’t that plentiful!

I think the tagline Yesterday, Today and No Future, captures the true spirit of the movie perfectly but I did not realize it until I finished watching it. The story is told in three parts – with a prolog and an epilog but don’t jump to conclusions, there’s not one episode for each time segment. Instead the story is told by telling the background first, then the meaning of it all and finally the bottom line. I thought it was very confusing and I had a hard time following it at times. There’s not a very obvious storyline and several plots are weaved together. There’s fantasy, war, treason, science fiction, monsters and an evil queen – or is she?

All evil are manmade, and I really mean man made. The women who survived the male population cannot resort to the kind of violence that the males did before they perished, without being cursed. Guns are evil but swords are not! I can’t really figure this out but there may be some Japanese cultural differences that make sense. But even if all things are not a clash of the cultures; from a western point of view it’s hard to comprehend the story. With that I mean that Asian films in general are more difficult to comprehend than western flicks, at least they are for me. They tend to have more depth I think. That is at least true for me when it comes to Japanese movies, as Japan has a traditional movie industry not influences so much by Hollywood.

This is a picture where the whole is actually more potent than the parts. The fact is usually the opposite but here the different stories make a great conclusion without that the parts are that entertaining. I had a difficult time focusing at times but when the movie ends there’s a lot to think about. The Past, The Present and No Future becomes the real riddle to solve and it’s not that easy to do! There you have the real strength of the movie and it’s something I didn’t expect from an animated movie. There’s a serious and important message to be found!

Images: © 2008 E.Net Frontier / Eleven Arts © 2011 Cine du Monde (UK Licence)

Review: Thicker Than Water - 2008

Thicker Than Water

Aka: Thicker Than Water: The vampire Diaries Part 1

Director: Phil Messerer

2008

Comedy/Horror

The Baxter family lives in a typical suburb. The mother (Jojo Hristova) is somewhat religious and the siblings – Lara (Ailis Cahill) and Helen (Devon Bailey) doesn’t get along. To be frank, Lara hates her sister and tries to destroy her with evil and supernatural powers by having séances at a shrine in her room. There is also a son in the family, he hides gay pornography under his bed and likes to do different scientific experiments. When dad has left the family after a thirty year old marriage and when Lara’s evil séances finally are successful, Helen wake up with blood coming out through her nose, she soon bleeds to death. The Brother, who examines the blood, finds a new strand of virus and claims that Helen needs fresh blood in order to survive. Lara totally turns and starts to love her sister after she seems to have died and then returned to the realm of the living. She gives good advice and since she’s Goth she knows a lot about vampyrism.

I had no expectations what so ever when I first saw this movie, at least not any positive ones. Nor had I any knowledge about what kind of movie it really was more than it was obviously a vampire flick. Unfortunately there is, just like zombie flicks, lots and lots of them. Too many amateurish filmmakers begin with these, maybe for the opportunity to add lots and lots of blood in them. Well, blood in movies is not necessarily a bad thing and there’s surely room for it in these kinds of movies.

It’s obvious very early in the movie that some kind of Mayan mythology will be an important part of the movie. I have no idea if this is real in anyway or if it’s invented myths for the movie. But is either case I find it very realistic and believable and that’s what it takes to make it interesting for me. The angle from which the film is shot is a bit odd as they often are in movies shoestring budget and with artistic ambitions. I can’t really make up my mind right away if I think it’s amateurish or artistic though. It doesn’t take much time however, to figure out that this is a very satirical movie and if you’re out to get a pure horror film you should look elsewhere.

There’s a mix of religious values and those about the all American dream. Is blood really thicker than water? Can you do about just anything for those who are, in truth, dear to you? Is this to go against God’s will? Are there thought out plans from a higher power for man to follow?

There’s some stunning work done by the makeup department which really impresses me! It’s not just blood and blood again and the effects has carefully though out. There’s obviously a lot of work involved here. Camera angles, as I mentioned before, works really well and the imagery reminds me of some of the silent greats. There's a tasteful piano soundtrack in the background (which also emphasis the silent movie theme). I really like the main ideas around the movie and it also works really well actor wise. Especially if you keep in mind that it’s satire you’re looking at. I’m really impressed by Jojo Hristova as the worn out mother!

This is supposedly the first part in a coming trilogy and I have to admit that I’m looking forward to the future parts! It will be very interesting to se what Phil Messerer can accomplish in the years to come and I’m convinced that he will continue to put his personal touch on whatever he does in the future!