/slash 2017 – Day 5: Cult of Chucky

Posted on September 28, 2017 by cornholio1980

Cult of Chucky
USA 2017
Written by Don Mancini
Directed by Don Mancini
Watched on 25.09.2017

Confession time: Prior to this screening, I have never seen a Chucky-film in my entire life. It didn’t do it on purpose, it just never happened, and in recent years when I started to catch up on some classic horror franchises (like “Halloween”, “Friday the 13th” and the “Nightmare”-series), other ones just seemed more important (and urgent) to me. However, since I really liked “Cult of Chucky”, it probably won’t be long until I finally catch up on the films that came before. Now, I’m fairly certain that long-time fans of the franchise are going to enjoy this even more than I did. Personally, it seemed to work well enough on its own, and I never felt lost, but obviously without knowing the backstory there’s certainly some things that I missed out on. Which didn’t bug me, but I also don’t rule out that with said foreknowledge, I would have liked (and rated) it even higher. What I liked were the jokes and the nice, brutal and occasionally original kills. When it comes to slasher or splatter movies, I either want them serious and clearly on the side of the supposed victims (“Halloween”), or with their tongue firmly in their cheek (“Friday the 13th – Part 6”, which is probably my favorite of the entire series). “Cult of Chucky” actually kinda does both, since even we’re occasionally supposed to cheer on Chucky, Nica clearly is the protagonist we’re supposed to root for. I liked the setting in the psychiatric ward, the humor, the one-liners, the cool practical effects with which they realized Chucky, and the ending. I also was, once again, taken aback to see how much Fiona Dourif resembles her father (she seems less like and offspring and more like a gender-swapped clone). Granted, the movie was more entertaining than thrilling, and definitely more comedy than horror. Also, not every gag hit home. And once again, it might just have been a tad too long. Overall, though, I had fun with it.
7/10

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/slash 2017 – Day 4: The Mole Song – Hong Kong Capriccio

Posted on September 28, 2017 by cornholio1980

The Mole Song – Hong Kong Capriccio
Japan 2016
Written by Kankurô Kudô, based on the manga by Noboru Takahashi
Directed by Takashi Miike
Watched on 24.09.2017

Placing a 128-hour-film (and thus the longest of the bunch) as the final of five movies on this day’s program probably wasn’t the wisest choice, and I was worried that I’d have trouble staying awake. And while I still maintain that the slot was a little unfortunate, the movie turned out to be entertaining enough prove my fears to be unfounded. While overall, “Blade of the Immortal” remains my favorite from the 3-Miike-punch at this year’s /slash filmfestival, and even though I was surprised to find out that this actually was a sequel (to a film that I haven’t seen), I had a pretty good time with “Hong Kong Capriccio”. Granted, once again, the movie definitely was too long for its own good. I also had the feeling that it wouldn’t have hurt to have seen the first film before, since even though they recap it, it seems to be a direct continuation. I also wasn’t that taken with the main character, and wish that they wouldn’t have made him that much of a doofus. And the “twist” was painfully obvious; right from the start, I knew where this was going. However, I liked the craziness of the movie (even though it falls short of the “Hentai Kamen”-films in that regard), it (like pretty much every Miike-movie) was well shot and offered a couple of nice visuals, and some of the characters were quite memorable (which is especially true of the henchwoman). There are also many funny moments and a couple of crazy, original ideas. Overall, “Hong Kong Capriccio” was quite entertaining – however I definitely recommend watching the first one prior to this.
6/10

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/slash 2017 – Day 4: It Stains the Sands Red

Posted on September 27, 2017 by cornholio1980

It Stains the Sands Red
USA 2016
Written by Stuart Ortiz & Colin Minihan
Directed by Colin Minihan
Watched on 24.09.2017

I had high hopes for this one, since the concept – a woman fleeing through the desert, pursued by a lone zombie (“The woman in red fled across the desert, and the zombie followed”, if you will) sounded really promising. Oh, all the things they could have done with this setup! The woman, desperately walking through the desert, followed by an unrelenting pursuer who needs neither water nor rest. All the truly terrifying moments they could have gotten out of that! Instead, Colin Minihan and his co-author Stuart Ortiz took an entirely different direction, which only partly convinced me. The idea of the zombie being a therapist-substitute to whom Molly can voice her innermost thoughts to isn’t an entirely uninteresting one. As is the bonding that takes place through this process, on her side. However, once they suggest that the zombie shared similar feelings, the movie started to go downhill for me. Also, they ultimately went completely overboard, with her actually protecting “Smalls” from the soldiers, trying to drag him along et cetera. That simply was too much, and by that point, she didn’t seem “just” desperate, but rather really stupid to me. The movie isn’t helped by the fact that it simply doesn’t know when it would have been best to stop. I’d argue that her driving off would have been the perfect way to end the movie. Instead, we get an epilogue that a) felt very arbitrary and unnecessary and b) culminates into an open ending anyway. Seriously, if they wanted to keep things open, they just should have faded out 10 minutes earlier. And overall, while parts of the movie were entertaining, I never felt any real tension. Yes, the scenes in the desert were well shot and quite impressive, I liked the basic setup, and Britanny Allen’s performance is top-notch. Overall, though, this unfortunately was a major disappointment.
4/10

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/slash 2017 – Day 4: Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl

Posted on September 27, 2017 by cornholio1980

Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl
USA 2016
Written by A.D. Calvo
Directed by A.D. Calvo
Watched on 24.09.2017

“Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl” would already be sobering enough if it would be someone’s feature film debut, but taking into account that writer and director A.D. Calvo has already a couple of movies under his belt, the final result is actually quite devastating. “Sweet, Sweet Lonely Girl” is one of those films which seem to have been made by people who have never done a horror film before, and – most of all – for people who have never seen one in their entire life. Because it’s sooooo generic, run-of-the-mill and unimaginative, that for someone who has already seen a couple of horror films (let alone the hundreds that I’ve watched by now) it’s totally unpredictable, and also completely unremarkable. Seriously, there is absolutely nothing here that you haven’t seen before. The setup, the story, the characters, the scares, the “twist”… there’s nothing new here, nothing that would make this even remotely special and/or worthwhile. It’s full of clichés, but offers no tension at all. The characters are one-dimensional and completely uninteresting (and also mostly unlikeable) paperboard-cutouts, the two main characters reminded me a lot of “Jennifer’s body” (the blond shy, innocent virgin and the dark-haired vamp), there’s some completely arbitrary and gratuitous half-nudity (I mean, of course, we all clean our bathrooms half-naked!), and even the inclusion of a gay (or at least bi) protagonist felt calculated (and random). The only saving grace of the movie is its short runtime – but that doesn’t make it any less pointless.
3/10

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/slash 2017 – Day 4: Dave Made A Maze

Posted on September 26, 2017 by cornholio1980

Dave Made A Maze
USA 2017
Written by Steven Sears & Bill Watterson
Directed by Bill Watterson
Watched on 24.09.2017

“Dave Made A Maze” was one of the biggest surprises and discoveries of the festival (so far) for me. While the concept sounded nice, I really didn’t know what to make of it beforehand, but it turned out to be a great, highly entertaining and truly original film that I enjoyed very much. I already loved the setup, of Dave building this maze that’s waaaaay bigger on the inside, but that – literally – was just the beginning. I really loved the art direction with all those cardboard-rooms, which also very highly distinctive and varied rooms. I especially liked the one with the forced perspective, but there were many brilliant, funny and original ideas. It was also great how they handled the (potential) splatter in a G-rated manner. Also, the story isn’t just entertaining, but also offers some food for thought. The way Dave gets caught in his own creation – and is ultimately the key to his own salvation – is a great metaphor not just for creating art, but rather every kind of obsession (or addiction). Bill Watterson (who, at the Q&A which followed the screening, proved to be a really nice, funny and entertaining guy; gosh, it’s great to like the movie of a charming and likeable director for once!) does a great job directing the picture (and in his feature film debut, at that), I liked the cast, the acting is good – but ultimately, as said before, its biggest strength definitely is the art direction (which, in a just universe, would get an Academy Award nomination). The only thing that bugged me a little bit were a couple of unfinished storylines (a couple of characters, like the hobo in the apartment or the flemish tourists, simply vanish from one scene to the next). Apart from that, it was – wait for it – a-maze-ing!
8/10

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/slash 2017 – Day 4: This Giant Papier-Mâché Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy

Posted on September 26, 2017 by cornholio1980

This Giant Papier-Mâché Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy
USA 2016
Written by Andrew Beszant & Christian Nicolson
Directed by Christian Nicolson
Watched on 24.09.2017

More than anything else, I’m a fan of Science Fiction, be it the new stuff or the classics. Thus, as SF-nerd, “This Giant Papier Mache Boulder Is Actually Really Heavy” was just my cup of tea. Now, obviously, the concept is a rip-off of “Galaxy Quest” (which in itself was the Sci-Fi-equivalent of “Three Amigos!”), just this time, it’s not the stars, but the fans, who get sucked into a SF-B-movie, but for me, that worked really well.

I especially liked the black-and-white-portion. The set of the ship was absolutely awesome, taking recognizable real-world things and putting them there as part of some sort of futuristic device (just as the films and TV-shows of the 50s and 60s often did, out of necessity – just like the makers of this homage), and with lots of funny details in the background (advice: take note of what’s happening in the small windows of the spaceship). It combines elements from all different kinds of movies and TV-shows of that period, as well as the 60s, 70s and early 80s. For instance, the main bad guy clearly is a riff on Emperor Ming from “Flash Gordon”, but that really is just one tiny example (I really don’t want to give too much away). I also really liked the space scenes, which again were very old-fashioned, with models on a string. All of that made the movie incredibly charming. Next to the first half hour or so, my favorite part of the movie was the “Arena”-homage, which was absolutely awesome. Granted, not every gag hits home. Also, one thing that didn’t really work for me was the way some of them, after being transferred into this b-movie, start becoming the characters they inhibit. I think I would have preferred if they would have just stayed themselves, using their knowledge of the SF-genre to get out of tricky situations, et cetera. It also would have been nice if the biggest nerd would have turned out to be the big hero, at least in this scenario. Also, the characters were all rather one-dimensional and not particularly interesting. And, like so many movies at this year’s festival, it’s a tad too long. You could have easily cut 15 minutes without losing anything essential. Then again, whenever I thought that the movie started to drag (which happened more frequently with increasing runtime), the next random weird shit (including a Benny Hill-reference), which made me laugh or at least smile, was just around the corner. Thus overall, despite its weaknesses, I mostly had a blast.
7/10

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/slash 2017 – Day 3: Verónica

Posted on September 25, 2017 by cornholio1980

Verónica
Spain 2017
Written by Fernando Navarro & Paco Plaza
Directed by Paco Plaza
Watched on 23.09.2017

“Verónica” offers very typical horror-fare, but since it’s well made and also quite elegant and charming, I have a hard time being too angry with it. It almost seemed like a spanish “Conjuring”-movie to me, with its very similar setup (e.g. claiming to be based on true events, and during the credits even showing real crime scene pictures), but also the way the scary moments are staged. Thus, fans of that particular horror franchise should feel right at home here. It’s very competently shot by Paco Plaza (of “[Rec]”-fame), has a stunning lead actress in Sandra Escacena, and a couple of really well staged and pretty scary scenes, without having to rely on cheap jump scares with the volume turned up to acute hearing loss-levels. Granted, I would have liked if they’d have kept the question of what really happened here more open. There would be a nice interpretation of Veró dealing with paranoid schizophrenia that unfortunately, due to the filmmakers shoving the fact that something actually supernatural happened down our throats, never really registers. It’s too obvious that, even if Plaza and Navarro shouldn’t believe in a supernatural explanation themselves, they definitely want to sell it to their audience. Personally, I would have preferred it if I’d have been allowed to make up my own mind. Which is a flaw (and another similarity) that it shares with the aforementioned “Conjuring”-films. Overall, while “Verónica” definitely is nothing special, it at least is very effective in what it wants to be – and that definitely counts for much.
7/10

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/slash 2017 – Day 3: The Tingler

Posted on September 25, 2017 by cornholio1980

The Tingler
USA 1959
Written by Robb White
Directed by William Castle
Watched on 23.09.2017

For their special screening of “The Tingler” (one of the three films out of the program which were chosen by John Waters), the /slash-crew really went all the way. They recreated the experience as it was intended by William Castle, not only using the “percepto”-device in selected rows, but also having a shill who started to scream during the screening, which made them halt the movie and bring in a couple of doctors to get her out. Which really made this one of the best and most special and memorable /slash-screenings that I’ve ever attended. Awesome! However, I also liked the movie itself, even if it’s rather dated. I mean, yes, obviously, the entire idea of the tingler was ludicrous, and completely bonkers – but in such a charming way that I simply couldn’t fault the movie for it. It definitely helps that I have a soft spot for black and white-films, and old (practical) effects, thus I also really liked all the scenes with the tingler itself (which looked remarkably like the Ceti Alpha-eels from “Star Trek II”; seems they were quite inspired by “The Tingler”), even though you could see the strings on which it was propelled forward. The few scenes with color in an otherwise black and white picture (like red blood) were awesome, too. I’m also a huge fan of Vincent Price, and as usual, found him absolutely awesome in this. I also really enjoyed the highly dysfunctional relationships of both married couples; especially Warren and Martha had a couple of great scenes and lines. The writing in general was pretty good. And there were many funny moments, many of them intentionally, some of them unintentionally – but, again, the movie was much too charming to hold that against it. Overall, I had a great time with “The Tingler”, and found it to be very entertaining.
8/10 for the film, 10/10 for the /slash-experience.

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/slash 2017 – Day 3: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable – Chapter 1

Posted on September 24, 2017 by cornholio1980

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable – Chapter 1
Japan 2017
Written by Itaru Era, based on the manga by Hirohiko Araki
Directed by Takashi Miike
Watched on 23.09.2017

“Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure” once again suffers from the seeming inability of eastern cinema to chew out a movie that’s considerably shorter than two hours. As a 90-minute-feature, it could have been quite entertaining, but as it stands, it’s simply far far far far far far far far far far far far far far far far far far far far far far far far far too long. It starts off well enough. I liked the idea of those “Stands”, the introduction of the characters (with Koichi’s crush on Jojo so obvious that it’s not really subtext anymore, but rather text), and like all Miike-movies, it’s really well shot. For a while, it’s quite entertaining, and offers a couple of funny moments. For about an hour, while not exactly spectacular, it was nice enough. However, as soon as they reach the mansion, the movie started to drag considerably. Even then, it offered up a couple of cool ideas and funny moments (the toy soldiers, the egg), but everything is so drawn out that I was looking for the fast forward-button so that it would move along with regular speed. Every scene is far too long, every dialogue plagued with (seemingly dramatic) pauses, and it completely drains the movie from every bit of tension and entertainment value. It also has too many endings – an impression that, granted, is at least partly due to the fact that by that time in the film, I just wanted it to be over. Which is a shame, because it really had the potential to be a worthwhile (and pleasantly different) take on the superhero genre. But unfortunately, the second part of the movie mostly ruined it for me. Before the screening, we were told that while the movie has a runtime of 120 minutes, someone on the internet meant that it felt more like 20 minutes. In that case, those probably were the longest twenty minutes of my life.
4/10

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/slash 2017 – Day 3: My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea

Posted on September 24, 2017 by cornholio1980

Mayhem
USA 2016
Written by Dash Shaw
Directed by Dash Shaw
Watched on 23.09.2017

I’m afraid this animated feature wasn’t really my cup of tea. The story was rather unimaginative and uninteresting, the inherent social criticism too on the nose, and the characters very one-dimensional and not particularly interesting and/or likeable. Mostly though, I didn’t care for the animation style all that much. Even in scenes where nothing was going on, it was very fidgety, with the constantly shifting lines. Furthermore, the longer the movie went the more abstract it got, until it reached a point where it was nigh impossible for me to discern what is supposed to go on. Thus, it unfortunately started to get tiresome rather quickly. Now, the voice cast – obviously – is awesome; not just top-class, but also doing a great job depicting their characters. And there were a couple of nice gags and funny lines throughout the movie which burst through my boredom at least occasionally. Mostly, though, I found “My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea” to be rather tiresome, despite its short running time. The fact that I reached the movie theater rather rested (it was the first screening of the day, after all), and afterwards would have been ready to crawl back to bed, speaks volumes. Then again, maybe the animation style will speak more to you than it did to me. Thus, it’s probably best to give the trailer a try, and see for yourself. But for me, in this case, the trip to the theatre wasn’t really worth it.
3/10

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