Rape/Revenge flick review: MR RAPE'S FIRST DATE - 2013

Mr. Rape´s First Date

Director: Nik Box

2013

Horror/Short

Set in the future. The world has become a different place to live in. Censorship has taken such a leap forward that all entertainment is now forbidden. Crime rates have dropped and education has increased for 99 % of the population. However, the remaining 1 % lives like outcasts. One day Mr. Rape finds an old 14” monitor and immediately starts to hear voices from it, telling him what to do.

Before we get into the political aspects of this, speaking of the censorship going too far, I’d like to ask you a question. How do you keep your audience interested during a somewhat dull introduction to the future world? You can just state the facts and hope that the audience won’t become bored. The answer is of course by showing a woman’s tits and some pubic hair alternating from hip to hip. If you can alternate the grainy black and white imagery into negative colors once in a while to you make sure your audience is interested.

I figure there’s a political statement to be said here. Stay the fuck away from censoring everything; let the people decide for themselves what’s good or bad for them. Less government involvement and more individual thinking is the way it should be. Is the TV really to blame for all the things that has gone bad to the world? Nik Box seems to make a point of this! Maybe the education rates have gone up in the future where the flick is set but it seems to be a damn boring world. Maybe the boredom creates the violence rather than the old saying – violence creates violence. It’s an attractive idea nevertheless.

The film is made in grainy black and white and it has a silent movie feel to it. I don’t think it’s some kind of hommage to the old movies but it looks very good. I really like the voyeuristic feel to some of the scenes. At first when Mr. Rape sneaks around it’s obvious but even later we get the feeling that we – the audience, are the true voyeurs!

There is sex and there is violence in the flick, it’s even quite disturbing. But it’s never a pornographic film. Sure, we get to see some tits but that’s all. We get to figure the rest out for ourselves. I really like the music choice for the rape scenes. I realize that it’s not for everyone with loud punk rock music put it gets your attention and it certainly makes you wake up when something happens.

I think this is an interesting little piece, and I think there is something to be told. Some of the scenes are a complete mystery to me as far as metaphors goes, some are spot on. I have no idea if my interpretation of this is intended but I hope so, it brings some much more to the movie that just a straight forward shocking movie. Oh! And yes, there is a revenge involved!

6/10

You can get it here: http://www.deadgoodfilmslike.co.uk/

Sci-Fi (ish) Flick Review: Way Down in Chinatown - 2013

Way Down in Chinatown

Director: Eric Michael Kockmer

2013

Sci-Fi

To be honest with you I can’t really say what this flick is about. And I’ve seen it twice already! The main characters seem to be a play writer and his wife. At first they appear to be setting up a show but I don’t think they’ll ever get to it. The audition a bunch of people but that’s it! They get disturbed by something; I think it may be Armageddon actually. There are a lot of very odd characters but I don’t know what their purpose is or if they’re a metaphor for something. They seem to talk with each other as they were from another dimension or another world or something, I don’t know. They might as well be doomsday angels. Not that they look like angels though. Everything seems to spiral down into total decadence! I kind of reminds me of the feel in Dark City, strange characters running around with all the truths but hiding it from the masses!

The makeup is splendid! It looks just like it’s made as homage to the early German expressionism, i.e. Fritz Lang and Robert Weine. It’s not as stylish as Tim Burtons might have done it (nor as expensive) but the dark shadows under the eyes and so on are very entertaining for me! Then add the fact that it’s filmed in black and white and you realize of course that it’s a very artistic film after all. And as such the storyline might not be as important. I’m fully content with it being “weird”.

When I watched the opening credits there was one name that made me keeping attention. Most of the names are mere strangers to me but I know Lisa Loring! I mean, I don’t know her but I most certainly know who she is! I paid close attention to see if I could actually recognize little Wednesday Addams from the original Addams Family series. I mean, how old was she there? Five? I had to rewind the film and cheat a bit, luckily the credits roll in order of appearance, to recognize her but when I finally laid my eyes on her knowing it was her I could see some resemblance!

But once again, what is this movie about? Is it really about the end of the world? Could it be that this couple has marital problems? Are they dying? I really like the possibilities even if I can’t really figure them out!

So, we have the strangeness. We have fantastic makeup; together with the black and white that makes it a bit noir-ish. And we have… the acting! It may not be a realistic movie, far from it, but there’s a charisma among the actors that makes them interesting. Even the really small parts actually. For me it looks sort of like it was a theatre play and not a movie. I think this is quite deliberate as the main characters are in that business. I’m not totally overwhelmed by the editing but if the impression of a play, rather than film, is intended it’s very successful. Otherwise there’s too many fade outs for my liking. It has a bit too much scene for scene feeling to it and lacks the natural flow of a general movie.

6/10

Finnish Horror Flick Review: BEHIND THE CROSS - 2012

Behind the Cross

Director: Tomi Kerminen

2012

Horror/Art-House/Short

The plot or storyline are really too hard to put down in words so I won’t even try to capture it in a few sentences. Instead I’ll incorporate as much as I can in the text below. I don’t think there’s one straight storyline that’s told here though and I think the viewer brings lots of him- or herself into it. If you really want this to be about a straight forward serial killer I guess it could be. On the other hand you can probably interpret some childhood issues into it (as I did) and most definite there’s religious aspects here. That’s probably the hardest bit to comprehend for a straight forward viewer – religion and violence. For someone like me (and probably most of those who’ll read this, who have seen countless violent and controversial flicks, it’s not a big deal. I rather like when the two subjects are connected with each other like in an oxymoron. What’s really going on behind the cross?

These days there’s been so many shocking news about the Catholic Church, pedophilia and stuff that there’s really a need for something like this to come and question it all. I guess this film takes it a bit further than a mainstream film would do but I say it’s necessary! I don’t think it necessarily had to be so hard to understand but on the other hand, flicks that don’t give you an easy answer right away are almost always preferable over those who do!

The technical aspects here are very good! During the opening and closing sequences it’s almost like a music video being played. It does not hurt to be a fan of brutal metal either I guess. There aren’t so much of the in the movies though, which is more art-house and experimental. I love the concept! The only downside of it for me was the acting which doesn’t hold up to the high standards of the “behind the camera” stuff. I realize that it’s must be hard to write, direct, produce and act in the movie of course. You just can’t be as talented in all areas; sometimes it might be better to choose what your best at! But on the other hand, most of the small parts – girls in captivity and stuff like that, are really good and convincing!

I don’t know what to tell you more. I found it quite good as a whole and I’d gladly recommend it to anyone who can take the religion/violence combination. And as an extra teaser I’ll give one scene away (sort of). You have to be pretty desperate to jerk off during grabbing a mannequin’s breasts…

8/10