HCF Review - Tsukamoto June

VITAL (2004)

Welcome to the autopsy slab, and welcome back Tsukamoto fans. In what seems like a stylistic companion piece to Gemini, this is another tale of medical practices and doomed romances. However, while that was a story of two-faced schemes and double standards, this is more about grief and obsession. It’s also yet another film about amnesia which might not seem compelling, but there are other aspects to consider. Is there life after loss? Is someone really dead if their loved ones refuse to let go, in a physical sense? The murky images and smoky incinerator chimneys in the opening suggest this isn’t going to be a sentimental exploration of such things. There’s a lot going on in a movie full of dreams and memories, even if it’s not as potent as the title suggests.

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Horror Bites - The Electrically Transmitted Man

SECRET OF THE TELEGIAN (1960)

Time for another part of Toho's so called 'mutants' series which also contains The H-Man and The Human Vapor. Both were directed by Ishiro Honda but when he was unavailable the task fell to Jun Fukuda, prior to his work on the later Showa period Godzillas. At first this seems to be the reason for the drop in quality, which was noticeable in that period of the franchise, but in reality the script here just isn't that interesting. It also doesn't have the effects spectacle or the melodrama of those others films respectively. Still, as another excuse for a crime thriller in which science fiction plays a part in the mystery it's worth examining. Just don't expect anything too compelling this time around. 

Horror Bites - Primal Rage

MURDERS IN THE ZOO (1933)

In terms of pre-Code films from the Golden Age of horror there are usually less shocks than contemporary censors would have you believe. But still there are always a few surprises when it comes to simple and occasionally brutal thrillers of the time. There are also far too many comedy scenes in some of them as I will examine here. Perhaps even in its shortened version (in a film that is barely over an hour long already) there were too many grisly moments for the 1930s audience. I would have thought the resulting tonal whiplash was more frightening that anything that goes in this kind of picture, but that's just the way it seems to have gone, and the movie is less than classic as a result.

HCF Review - The Warlords

FURIOSA: A MAD MAX SAGA (2024)

Time for a prequel, and everything which that idea entails, in George Miller’s return to the wasteland after nine years. Are these characters worth revisiting? Is the world they inhabit enriched or shrunken by taking the story in this direction? These are the questions posed by his decision move backwards and focus on ideas and details that could have been left as foot notes or single lines of dialogue. Mad Max: Fury Road was of course very spare in terms of plot and told a story through visual detail and action set pieces. It was also an example of a film that didn’t necessarily need to exist after spending decades in development hell. So once again it’s time to wander into the irradiated ruins of the old world and see if it’s a road trip worth taking.

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HCF Review - Graveyard Shift

MALUM (2023)

While horror movie remakes are a dime a dozen it’s more unusual for a film-maker to revisit their own work. It could be argued, somewhat unsuccessfully, that Evil Dead II is an example of this phenomenon. The budget is higher, the scope is wider, the violence is gorier, and certain scenes are recreated. At a first glance this appears to be fair comparison since Anthony DiBlasi’s Last Shift (as reviewed by HCF’s own Bat here) has this same basic premise as this new version. However, this time around the haunted police station hazmat crew have been swapped out for something less cohesive. It might be best described as Assault on Precinct 13 meets Hereditary, but I’m afraid that would be grossly overselling the whole thing. Instead this is mostly an example of why less is more when it comes to both demonic cults and problem parents.

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