El Hombre y el Monstruo, known to English audiences as The Man and the Monster is a great little horror flick. Raphael Baledon was responsible for a few great horror films during this period and this is one of them although the makeup used on the monster is often criticized because of a lack luster job they did on it. All I can say is, if you can get passed the corny mask it's a very well made horror movie. See the monster for what he is and get into the whole faustian story of the film. I think it's very well directed, edited and photographed. THe Man and the Monster is very brooding, serious and morbid and contains all the great elements that Mexi-horror had to offer at this period. Enrique Rambal is a joy and gives a fantastic performance as the isolated, desperate and jaded man willing to sell his soul to the devil for a shot at greatness. If you like classic horror then El Hombre y el Monstruo is a perfect film for one of those evenings when your in the mood for something different.
Reviews
3 Reviews
El hombre y el monstruo
(1959)
Get passed the strange makeup.. it's a great little horror film.
29 January 2007
Zenka onna: Koroshi-bushi
(1973)
not just another dude movie
7 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
OK, I'll admit that I'm not the biggest Japanese gangster movie fan for the same reason that I'm not the biggest mafia movie fan or the biggest skate video fan. There just aren't that many girls in it, and the one's that are tend to be arm candy or victims. Aside from seeing some cool fights and some dudes talking tough there just isn't much for the ladies in it.
Then (and this makes me feel super ashamed and stupid girl like, but deal with it) my boyfriend brought home an advance of the Pinky Violence box set, of which this movie is included. I looked at it and thought: "What in the hell is this?"
The packaging is like the trapper keeper you had in grade school. All soft and pink and folds out into about a million pieces (the final box set supposedly comes with four films, a booklet and a CD of Reiko Ike singing). It looks cool and has really well designed liner notes.
But the movies. Right. The movies.
These are supposed to be "exploitation" flicks, meaning a movie as an excuse to see some boobs and some pointless violence. Like what you see late night in the hotel room on Cinemax. But aside from having some boobs and tons of violence these movies didn't seem "exploitive" in the way that I normally think of exploitation. All the main characters are women, they're tough as hell, have cool tattoos and beat the crap (or just murder) most of the men around them. Because they're just as tough as any of the yakuza dudes they're kicking the crap out of.
And they're way, way, way smarter.
Of the four movies this one and Girl Boss Guerilla were my favorites. Both star Reiko Ike (who's on the cover of the box as well) who seems to have made a name for herself as a tough ass yakuza girl gangster movie star in the 70's.
Basically this is a revenge movie. The Yakuza has killed Reiko's father and raped her. So she goes after the Yakuza boss to get some revenge. She fails and ends up in prison where she makes some friends and after her release hooks back up with them to take another shot at the Yakuza boss who ruined her life. This time she's trying to play it smart (as opposed to running into a bar with a knife and trying to stab everyone) and is going to start a gang war that will get everyone bad killed.
The girls are super tough and super smart (and the dudes are suitably dumb and full of themselves). I was a little uncomfortable during a really long topless torture scene that has the threat of a chainsaw (but I'm kind of uncomfortable watching women get tied up and beaten in general) but the scene didn't seem forced. I mean, you know, they're the Yakuza. They're supposed to be evil and scary. So sometimes they have to wave chainsaw's around the put out cigarettes on people.
Then (and this makes me feel super ashamed and stupid girl like, but deal with it) my boyfriend brought home an advance of the Pinky Violence box set, of which this movie is included. I looked at it and thought: "What in the hell is this?"
The packaging is like the trapper keeper you had in grade school. All soft and pink and folds out into about a million pieces (the final box set supposedly comes with four films, a booklet and a CD of Reiko Ike singing). It looks cool and has really well designed liner notes.
But the movies. Right. The movies.
These are supposed to be "exploitation" flicks, meaning a movie as an excuse to see some boobs and some pointless violence. Like what you see late night in the hotel room on Cinemax. But aside from having some boobs and tons of violence these movies didn't seem "exploitive" in the way that I normally think of exploitation. All the main characters are women, they're tough as hell, have cool tattoos and beat the crap (or just murder) most of the men around them. Because they're just as tough as any of the yakuza dudes they're kicking the crap out of.
And they're way, way, way smarter.
Of the four movies this one and Girl Boss Guerilla were my favorites. Both star Reiko Ike (who's on the cover of the box as well) who seems to have made a name for herself as a tough ass yakuza girl gangster movie star in the 70's.
Basically this is a revenge movie. The Yakuza has killed Reiko's father and raped her. So she goes after the Yakuza boss to get some revenge. She fails and ends up in prison where she makes some friends and after her release hooks back up with them to take another shot at the Yakuza boss who ruined her life. This time she's trying to play it smart (as opposed to running into a bar with a knife and trying to stab everyone) and is going to start a gang war that will get everyone bad killed.
The girls are super tough and super smart (and the dudes are suitably dumb and full of themselves). I was a little uncomfortable during a really long topless torture scene that has the threat of a chainsaw (but I'm kind of uncomfortable watching women get tied up and beaten in general) but the scene didn't seem forced. I mean, you know, they're the Yakuza. They're supposed to be evil and scary. So sometimes they have to wave chainsaw's around the put out cigarettes on people.
Sukeban gerira
(1972)
tough girls with tough tattoos
7 December 2005
I'm really torn between this movie and Criminal Woman: Killing Melody, both of which are in the Pinky Violence box set. They're both really good, with the stories being similar (gangster girls go for revenge against the Yakuza who did them wrong) and they both have Miki Sugimoto and Reiko Ike. But I think this movie gets an edge, 'cause in this one the girls are part of a BIKER GANG. And the all have TATTOOS OVER THEIR LEFT BOOBS. Which is so effing cool.
Here we get Miki as the leader of a biker gang from Shinjuku who go to Kyoto and end up taking over the girl gangs there (the scene where the girls face off and do their gangster "who I am" speeches is really cool). Reiko Ike is running around as the sister of one of the local Yakuza and won't align herself with Miki and her crew but serves as kind of a "big sister"/authority figure to the girl gangs of Kyoto.
Eventually Miki and the girls get on the bad side of the local Yakuza boss and the girls hit the road to meet up with Miki's boyfriend, a boxer in training down the coast. He gets himself murdered by the Yakuza as a result and it becomes time for Miki and her crew to make up with Reiko and get down with some revenge.
What I really dig about these movies (as opposed to the "Battles Without Honor and Humanity" movies my boyfriend is always bringing home) is that the female leads have some dimension to them that you wouldn't normally expect in an "exploitation" film. I didn't really like Miki's character at first (she was bratty) but I actually felt it when her boyfriend got killed. Up till then she seemed kind of a like a one dimensional power junkie bitch with cool sunglasses, but watching her meet and fall for Michitaro Mizushimi and her grieving at his death filled her out and made her feel like an actual woman. You know, complicated and conflicted.
In fact, as an exception to "action" movies the one-dimensional characters in this film are all men. They're simply greedy or sadistic or horny. Which I'm not saying is a good thing. It's just a nice change of pace.
And did I mention the tough-ass tattoos?
Here we get Miki as the leader of a biker gang from Shinjuku who go to Kyoto and end up taking over the girl gangs there (the scene where the girls face off and do their gangster "who I am" speeches is really cool). Reiko Ike is running around as the sister of one of the local Yakuza and won't align herself with Miki and her crew but serves as kind of a "big sister"/authority figure to the girl gangs of Kyoto.
Eventually Miki and the girls get on the bad side of the local Yakuza boss and the girls hit the road to meet up with Miki's boyfriend, a boxer in training down the coast. He gets himself murdered by the Yakuza as a result and it becomes time for Miki and her crew to make up with Reiko and get down with some revenge.
What I really dig about these movies (as opposed to the "Battles Without Honor and Humanity" movies my boyfriend is always bringing home) is that the female leads have some dimension to them that you wouldn't normally expect in an "exploitation" film. I didn't really like Miki's character at first (she was bratty) but I actually felt it when her boyfriend got killed. Up till then she seemed kind of a like a one dimensional power junkie bitch with cool sunglasses, but watching her meet and fall for Michitaro Mizushimi and her grieving at his death filled her out and made her feel like an actual woman. You know, complicated and conflicted.
In fact, as an exception to "action" movies the one-dimensional characters in this film are all men. They're simply greedy or sadistic or horny. Which I'm not saying is a good thing. It's just a nice change of pace.
And did I mention the tough-ass tattoos?
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