darrbarker Reviews

The Abandoned (2006)

Fantastic horror film

[9/10 · 4 August 2010]

Nacho Cerda's 7th feature film is a riveting study in atmospheric fear with more originality than most horror films today. Brother and sister return to the family home forty years later, in a remote, far flung corner of Russia. Weird things happen, and they encounter dead versions of themselves. I'm not exactly sure why, but the brother gains some level of insight into why this is happening, and he updates his sister, and us viewers, that "when you see yourself, its time to die". So, half a lifetime after they escaped the mysterious family home, have they now returned to meet their fate ? I won't spoil the outcome, but I have posted this IMDb review because I thoroughly recommend The Abandoned as worth watching. The quality is excellent across the board, and it was clearly a labour of love by the director. The director of photography deserves an award, as does the editor and the special effects team. It has the creepiest "lone person checking out a spooky house, in the dark, with just a torch" scene I think I've ever seen, and that's just in the first 15 minutes. The two lead actors, Anastasia Hille and Karel Roden give extremely convincing performances.

Its hard to think of a Western equivalent, although the recent British horror, Triangle, treads the same path in terms of people haunting themselves and recurring moments of time being played over and over, but with varying outcomes. The setting is sort of like Evil Dead's log cabin in the woods, albeit in remote Russia. With the greatest of respect to Sam Raimi, the production values of The Abandoned are in a higher league, and this is played straight, rather than for laughs, with qualities reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick. Its a world away from good looking teens in peril, and is all the better for it – a thinking person's horror film. Its more circumspect and cerebral than the kind of horror film where a murderous stalker is the justification for everything that transpires, plotwise.

Highly recommended folks.

Case 39 (2009)

Effective chiller, should have been released before The Orphan

[6/10 · 25 March 2010]

Expectations play a big part in how we react to films, if this had been hyped to kingdom come I might have found it disappointing, but I saw it with low expectations after reading some so-so reviews, and found it enjoyable and effective.

Probably not quite as good as The Orphan, but not leagues below it either. Case 39 works as an enjoyable chiller, and I especially liked how early the script begins to reveal the secrets behind Lilith - with the Orphan, such reveals came very late in the film. Here, its about 25 mins in, and the film is all the better for it.

Zellweger is brilliant as a social worker who takes the child under her wing. There is a lot of rehashed, bog standard horror genre tricks on show here, such as a swarm of wasps, evil "hounds of Satan" taken from The Omen, etc.

There is one stand out scene - where Brad Cooper interviews the girl one on one. The way she twists the mundane conversation into something alarming and frightening is a real highlight. Cooper doesn't last much longer, in fact its just a cameo role but this scene was fantastic and sent a chill down my spine.

I don't want to give away the ending but I would recommend this to horror fans. Its enjoyable and well made.

Dead Man Running (2009)

Poor

[3/10 · 19 November 2009]

This is very poor indeed. I read that two premiership footballers had gone fifty fifty on the budget of £2.5m pounds. None of that ends up on the screen, and perhaps there is a perverse sense of justice, for want of a better word – presumably everyone involved in this production took their lead from the two financiers, by putting themselves on massive salaries. How else can you explain where the money went ?! Over ten years ago, with Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels, Guy Ritchie did this kind of film so much better, on a fraction of the budget.

Danny Dyer's declining career takes another dive her – they've cast him as the comedy sidekick, but failed to give him any material to work with. Hassan, in his first lead role, is one of the film's few bright points but he struggles to stand out. It is frustrating to see talented British actors like Brenda Blethyn and Phil Davis appear in this kind of product. American rapper 50 Cent is as bad as other reviews have pointed out. The plot is very Guy Ritchie-esquire, but fails on just about every level and tedium kicks in at the half way point. The action is poorly staged. An underground bare knuckle fight scene is edited so badly its laughable. A hulking bodybuilder with no dialogue, save for a few grunts, takes on Hassan in a hastily arranged punch up which has zero choreography. It typifies the mentality of whoever made this dross – the guy has an imposing physique and looks great when he makes his entrance, but as soon as the "fight" starts, it descends into the realms of American wrestling, and is about as convincing. Hassan does his best, but its bad.

An interview with Rio Ferdinand in the national press, in the build up to this film's UK release, revealed that he'd not actually read the script before investing his half of the budget. Its an incredible attitude to take to producing a film, but one that appears to have caught on – the only thought that appears to have gone into the bare knuckle punch up is to bring in a massive body builder.

Later, there is a "chase" when a police motorcyclist persues Hassan and Dyer, driving a stolen black cab, through woodland. For no apparent reason, either within the scene or by what we see on the screen, the copper simply steers his motorcycle into a ditch, bringing an end to the chase before anything had happened. Several people in the cinema (and there were only several people in the cinema) grumbled at this – presumably the editor did the best he could, but why stage a chase if you can't pull it off ? It looks like there's half the scene missing.

All in all this was a very poor effort. I wouldn't bet against all concerned going onto bigger and better things, and it would be interesting to see what Hassan can do with better material. Its one of those films that drags even though its not overly long, and one that you can cut a good trailer for, and create an appealing poster for, but I found it very disappointing in just about every department.

Rough Around the Edges (2009)

Worth seeing for the male stripper alone. Very funny film.

[8/10 · 2 November 2009]

"Rough Around The Edges" is one of those low budget kitchen sink comedies, revealing the simmering underbelly of the working class. There isn't one leading character or villain, but a group of them. The line between who is decent, and who is anything but decent, is blurred. The film frequently switches into faux documentary mode.

It has clearly been shot on digital video, with basic production values and locations, and there's not much to write home about in terms of wonderful camera work. Its strengths are its story telling, a diverse cast, and the humour, and to the film's credit I was totally transfixed for the duration. It doesn't need special effects or a love interest (plenty of "lust" interests), and there is an authenticity to the story lines that compliments the documentary style.

So what's it about ? There's a number of plots that keep the ensemble cast, and viewer, busy. The characters all have clearly defined goals, most of which are dubious, and the film follows each strand as they culminate on a weekend. Students, a toilet salesman, some taxi drivers, an appallingly unfit (morally not physically) single mother, and most effectively of all, a male stripper called Jeff – the best character in the film in my opinion.

In the film's first scene, stood naked in front of the bathroom mirror, plotting revenge on somebody who's cheated him at poker, Jeff lays down his marker – vain, confident, prejudiced and brazen. No ambiguity at all about this fella, he just doesn't give a stuff. The role has been well cast – the actor's physical suitability for the part of a male stripper is as obvious as his dancing/performance skills. There are two stripper routines in "Rough Around The Edges" and both appear to have been shot in authentic locations with real life audiences.

Jeff is a womanising layabout who enjoys a self-created comfort zone - claiming the dole, picking up "cash only" work when he can, enjoying casual flings, and shirking any kind of responsibility for his actions.

The talented actor plays him with relish, showing brilliant comic timing, and I followed his exploits through the film with delight. In one scene, his mates bring round a dead body that they've having to dispose of, on the quiet. Jeff's best lines of the film come in this scene. The corpse is laid on the living room floor, and they're all stood over it, debating their next move. Jeff will only help them get rid of the body if they agree to a game of poker, which he aims to rig, so he can get his revenge as referred to in the film's opening scene; his sole motivation for helping to dispose of the corpse is the fear of the poker game being cancelled. "That WOULD be an emergency" he quips, delivering one of the film's best lines.

Being a self centred vagabond who spends the entire film rubbing everyones noise in it, Jeff must naturally get his comeuppance at the film's climax. The manner in which this is done is laugh out loud funny and original and I salute the actor for his bravery in taking the scene to the limit.

The film's humour is blunt, crude and coarse. There is strong language throughout, and some nudity. On reflection I am full of good words for this movie, and I recommend it if you want something non-commercial, raw and authentic. It is not flawless but it is very funny.

Saw VI (2009)

Franchise on the decline....

[5/10 · 25 October 2009]

As a fan of the series, I felt compelled to turn up for the latest instalment. This weekend, "Paranormal Activity" has beaten it to the number one spot, and maybe the bubble has finally burst. Saw VI is just downright silly, yet enjoyable enough if you don't think too hard about it. The new villain, a working police officer, somehow finds the time – and resources – to construct massive torture labyrinths. I liked the line of thinking behind the selection of victims in this film, there seemed to be much more consideration and back story. On the other hand, the impenetrable chamber they are trapped in, and the lengths to which the new villain goes to, to snare and set up each victim, is so implausible and contrived, as to be laughable. It just isn't realistic anymore. Well, alright, it was never realistic, but as we come to the sixth film, all pretence has gone. For the film to be scary, there should be some element of realism, as was the case in the first couple of films. Now, the new "jigsaw" is somehow able to build these inescapable dungeons, and plant his victims in it, while holding down a full time police officer's job, who's main case seems to be investigating his own crimes ! Maybe the Saw series jumped the shark in film 4, once Tobin Bell's character had died. Anyway, good things about Saw VI – some inventive torture devices, some gruesome deaths, and generally solid action and effects. The negatives ? Too many flashbacks, a main storyline that is too implausible, and confusing subplots involving Jigsaw's widow, and a former female helper. Just how many people has Tobin Bell's character got running around slaughtering each other ?! Lionsgate will flog the series to death and fair enough, this is a commercial world we live in, but the end is clearly in sight. Saw 7 is going to be 3D, a gimmick which might help revive the franchises' flagging momentum, and while I sort of admire Lionsgate for their sheer tenacity in keeping the series going year after year, the demise is inevitable and perhaps the film maker's failure to take things in another direction (prequels maybe?) is partly to blame. Each new instalment seems to be cluttered with more back story and flashbacks, as they seek to justify the new developments with a plausibility that, this far into the series, has long since gone down the pan. Enjoyable enough, compared to most horror films released these days, but the Saw series has seen better days.

Surrogates (2009)

Imaginative, thought provoking, should have been a bigger hit

[7/10 · 25 October 2009]

An intelligent, though provoking slice of sci fi that, if I Robot didn't exist, would be quite original. Nothing in Surrogates matches up to I Robot – neither the FX, script, cast or locations, though it remains an interesting and watchable film. I was amazed to see James Cromwell turn up in this film, he played a very similar character in I Robot. Guess it was a good paycheck. Bruce Willis is excellent as always, I think the film's marketing poorly presents him with excessive make up and that ridiculous wig, which almost put me off seeing this film. I'm glad I did, and when I realised that its a robot surrogate of Willis, I wondered why the marketing didn't make it clearer. Anyway, I digress. Willis has a crime to investigate, and the path leads him into the darker side of the whole surrogates industry, which hinges upon the spotless reputation for reliability – no harm can come to a human who employs a surrogate in their day to day life. Bruce discovers murders which suggest otherwise, and naturally there is a big conspiracy to ensure this information doesn't see the light of day. Willis is an everyman kind of guy, who longs for real people, not least his wife. I found the back story to his marriage, and only child, to be a masterstroke by the script writer(s). It really does anchor the story well, and makes you root for the guy. Surrogates didn't do very well at the box office, and apart from Die Hard 4 Willis hasn't had a big commercial hit for a long time, but there is nothing wrong with this film and maybe ten years ago, it would have been massive. That's not to say the film is dated. It should find a wider audience on DVD, and deservedly so.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

Visually stunning, but nothing more

[4/10 · 25 October 2009]

If you're impressed with Gillam's colourful imagination, and his ability to splash it across a two hour movie, then you'll love this. If you regard it as a poor substitute for a compelling story, as I did, then by the half way stage you'll be looking at your watch. This film has everything in it except a decent story. It is indulgent nonsense. I have sympathy with the director, and admire him for completing the film regardless, but for pete's sake, where is the story ? It starts off interestingly, and then meanders off at a tangent, never to return. I haven't a clue what happens to the main characters. Nor do I care. It is hard to fault the set design, effects, costumes and overall production values, and the acting on show is of a high quality, but as I write this review I just wonder what the point of it all was, except to showcase, for the umpteenth time, what a vivid, wild, unrestrained imagination Terry Gilliam has. Much has been made of the mid-production casting of Jude Law, Jonny Depp and Colin Farrell, but such was my boredom, I found myself appreciating some smaller cameos; in one scene Mark Benton appears briefly, reminding me that there is more entertainment in his building society adds, than there is in this film. Next to Benton was Simon Day, in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance – the legendary Fast Show comic. What I wouldn't have given for Day's inspired creation, Dave Angel, to make an appearance in this dreary film. I would only give this film a four out of ten. I have no desire to see it again, and I'm afraid I can't recommend it.

Triangle (2009)

Surprisingly good thriller !

[16 October 2009]

I like Chris Smith's work, and the genres he works in. Severance was very entertaining, but this looked like a much bigger film, from the outset. Having now seen it, I have to say the biggest change/advance is in his own writing - this is a script to be proud of, his writing has taken a quantum leap forward. Okay, the characters aren't very well developed (one or two have zero to do except wander around and get attacked), but the storyline Chris has created makes for a very compelling film which really does move through the gears, after the first half hour which is pretty average, although once you've seen the film in its entirety, you can see why the film sets out in first gear.

The audience I saw this with really got a buzz from the unconventional storytelling. The lead actors did a good job, especially the leading lady. Some of the CGI is a bit dodgy on the big screen, but I expect the budget wasn't massive for this. I think people may either love this film or hate it, as it does have the same characters going around and around in the same locations, over and over again. Please don't let that put you off, Chris Smith has done something very fresh (I won't say original, but its different from the usual genre output these days) and its a film likely to make an impression and be remembered. In the fullness of time I can see people in the pub referring to this film, as an example of a never ending nightmare.

Well done Chris Smith !