HCF Review - The Pacific

FIRES ON THE PLAIN (2014)

Welcome to the inferno. And welcome back Tsukamoto fans. Some might say there’s no such thing as a true anti-war film. After all, something is always lost when real life events are changed from a journal to a movie for our trivial entertainment. But the director and actor certainly gives it his best shot here, no pun intended. His films are hardly entertaining in the conventional sense to begin with, so him adapting a historical account is certainly an intriguing prospect. It was originally intended to be an expensive affair, rather than the independent feature which was produced. So it’s also interesting to see what was done with the lower budget. Which is of course nothing new for the film-maker and his company Kaiju Theatre. Let’s peer into the fog and see what horrors lie in wait.

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HCF Review - The Tomb

HAZE (2005)

The visceral nightmare that is Haze has limited appeal, but then again it’s only a limited running time. It’s a brisk forty-eight minute venture into the abyss that anyone can enjoy, surely? Even in this so-called ‘Long Version’ it’s a perfectly formed piece of extreme cinema. It sticks around to offer a few existential questions and zips away with few, if any, answers. Third Window Films offer it as part of a bundle, in which you can also enjoy two of the director’s other films. The zany but heartfelt sci-fi short Adventure of Denchu-Kozo, and the cold and bleak samurai drama Killing. For those looking for a few nightmares and dreamscapes beyond Tetsuo The Ironman, it’s a set worth having. But I digress, let’s take a look into the shadowy claustrophobia that the subject at hand has to offer.

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Scorecard

MAY

Film of the Month: Sexy Beast ☆☆☆☆

Horror Bites - The Bloodthirsty Trilogy

THE EVIL OF DRACULA (1974)

So we reach the third and final chapter in The Bloodthirsty Trilogy. At this stage it's foolish to expect Vlad to show up of course, but there are various other new inclusions to discuss. It's a darker and more sombre affair for one thing. Well, beyond some of the silly Amicus style music effects that play every so often. It's an apt title in other ways, as the events of the story are pretty darn evil as things unfold. A lot of things are repeated too of course, whether they're old clichés or simply images from the previous movie. Shin Kishida is the vampire again, which means that the first film in this series is the odd one out. Or maybe it just means the writers were lacking new ideas. Perhaps they just wanted a popular returning actor. But the rest of the tale isn't so much of a carbon copy.

Horror Bites - The Bloodthirsty Trilogy

LAKE OF DRACULA (1971)

Dracula returns in the second instalment of the Bloodthirsty Trilogy. Well, in spirit anyway since he never shows up. Again. If anything Legacy of Dracula would have been the more appropriate title this time around. In terms of content its influences sit somewhere between the original story and the 1958 Christopher Lee version. It's another remix of old and new images. It's far more stylish and colourful than the previous entry in this brief series. Does that make it the superior film? Well it depends on what you're after, as both have their flaws. The presentation is more interesting, but it lacks any real characterisation. It's flashier but less theme driven, so your mileage may vary.