Out of most of the new Horror/Thriller movies that are presented to us these days, it seems there are few that I truly anticipate, being extremely fussy when it comes to music and film it’s just the way I feel, however, due to what I had read about Lars Von Trier’s ‘Antichrist’, it most certainly had me interested, and keen for a watch to say the least. There was many a discussion on forums and magazines about it being quite a disturbing film, with scenes that were nothing short of repulsive, and at times, uncomfortable to watch. Maybe it was the cliché ‘being talked up to much’, and that I had greater expectations that failed to deliver that damaged it for me, but I really didn’t see what was suppose to be so disturbing about this film, or maybe I have a higher tolerance than most.

It was one of those scenarios where I waited and waited for these so called ‘shocking’ scenes to appear and make me squirm in my seat, and then thought to myself, “Is that it?” Hey, sure it has its moments, and particular scenes, that for the average person could be quite unsightly, and possibly scenes they could easily not want to view. But my honest opinion is there is far more shocking films out there that would probably never even get a mention, not alone a second look.

There are a few boundaries that are crossed for a modern day film that will screen on Australian cinema screens this month, areas not really ventured into that much with the likes of box office R18+ films. One of which is a sexual penetration scene at the opening prologue of the film, of Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg having intercourse in the shower, and another being Charlotte Gainsbourg snipping off her clitoris with a pair of scissors whilst in a moment in ‘Eden’ later in the film. Now, some may say “And cutting off a clitoris with a pair of scissors isn’t shocking?” Yes it is, but I didn’t find the way that it was filmed and portrayed really all that shocking at all, it was quickly shot, minimal use of agony, and over before you could say ‘snip’. The penetration scene was nothing either, shot in slow motion to ‘Rinaldo, lascia ch’io pianga’ Composed by Georg Friedrich Händel & Performed by Tuva Semmingsen and Barokksolisteneis made it far from shocking. It was a masterpiece of film, creative, poetic, and total art in motion. I found the overall prologue amazing, and was sure I was in for a beauty with this film; however, my feelings were to soon take a steady down turn.

The entire film in my eyes was one big ‘artistic expression’, if you’re really looking for any sort of easy to follow story line, or confident plot out of this film, your barking up the wrong tree. It is a psychological journey into the unknown, you make of it what you want to, and then you come out of it with your own perception on what the film meant. This is fine by me, I love films like this, but not when I have to keep looking at the minutes on the DVD player to see when the film is actually going to get me the slightest bit interested. Opening prologue, breath taking! Truly a remarkable piece of cinema, deep, intense, and had me thinking “This film is going to be what everyone said, I can’t wait to get into it.” However, the next 50 minutes would probably be one of the most boring 50 minutes of movie history for me, but that’s just my opinion.

It was quite vacant and dark, very little dialogue, but unlike ‘No country for old men’ it seemed to drag out, and didn’t seem to capture my interest the same way. There is minimal use of camera angles and effects, but the slow motion approach was used pretty frequently throughout the film, which did at least give it a little bit of break up. I really did love the sounds in this film though, quite erry, good use of deep base, aswell as the animal visions in certain parts of the movie, and whether they are all an illusion? or what message they are really suppose to portray? These were high on my ‘likes’ list.

I watched Antichrist twice in 2 days to see if I had any different thoughts the second time around, but unfortunately, I didn’t. I wouldn’t say I disliked the film, but it certainly wouldn’t be one I would rush out to buy, or one that I could really enjoy 4 to 5 times over. I think everyone needs to make up their own minds, and recommend seeing it just for the prologue, which without a doubt was the highlight of the film for me. Keep an open mind, and give this one a watch, it may just make you think about certain things in life in a slightly different way, which could never be a bad thing.

Written by ‘Von Gore’ © Copyright 2009 Fright Sniper Entertainment, All Rights Reserved.

A taut, yet slow moving thriller, this film is Xavier Gens most recent effort after his mainstream breakthrough, Hitman. Set in the not too distant future in France, the streets are overrun with violence. A group of small-time crooks use the riots to setup a heist; but when things go sour; the gang splits up and arranges to meet up at a seedy hotel on the French border. Unknown to the crooks is that the hotel is run by a bunch of neo-Nazi cannibals who have an agenda of their own involving torture, mutilation, murder and making new additions to the “family”.

An acceptable companion to the recent wave of French horror movies, Frontier(s) is more so a thriller than a horror movie, it just happens to feature some brutally violent scenes. As the group of crooks settles into the hotel, the sense of dread is always looming, with a couple of honey traps used as bait to lure the two male leads to their fate, we begin to realise the family’s motives. The female gang member, who we know from the opening credits, is with child, becomes the focus of attention for the duration of the movie; the other guys unfortunately cop the brunt of the family’s nastiness.

Torture seems to be the popular theme for recent horror movies, with some succeeding, Captivity & Martyrs, and some failing miserably, Hostel 2, Saw franchise, thus falling into the “gorno” category. Sure there are some savage scenes, with the bolt-cutters to Achilles tendons and a guy stuck in a compression chamber a standout, however it does take about half an hour for the blood to spill. For the rest of the film things play out smooth enough, but the main let down is the musical score, coming across a bit heavy handed in some scenes and not really suiting the pace of the film. Some great gore scenes and well some well shot chases, as well as a claustrophobic tunnel scene, but as I said earlier this is more so a thriller than a horror movie.

As the body count rises and the satisfactory finale peaks, I wonder if it was really worth purchasing.  Some high points and some low points, mainly the clunky musical score, and the unnecessary reliance on everything to be shot in the dark, Xavier Gens is definitely a stylish director, as anyone who has seen Hitman will know, he has an eye for tricky aerial camera work, but his execution of some scenes is a bit clumsy. So maybe horror isn’t his thing, but this is a good enough way to pass time on a Sunday afternoon.

Available now from: jbhifionline.com.au

Written by ‘Los Skullptor’ © Copyright 2009 Fright Sniper Entertainment, All Rights Reserved.

Norway. Home to black metal, the most extreme form of underground music on the planet and birthplace to some of the most creative minds of recent times, be it music, literature or the arts. So it’s about time they took a stab at the horror genre, and they should be commended on their effort. Everything about this film has cult written all over it, I mean honestly, who can resist a zombie Third Reich? This film created quite a stir at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, earning rave reviews for first time director Tommy Wirkola and his band of merry men. I’m sure we’ll be hearing more of this guy in years to come.

Opening with a painfully catchy orchestral piece by Edvard Grieg, you’d think you were watching a Tim Burton film. But it does not take long for this films true colours to show. A genre film at heart, we get the usual setup: a band of friends off trekking through the mountains for a weekend retreat at an isolated cabin (Cabin Fever anyone?) Each of the lead actors fill their roles satisfyingly enough, with some very sharp dialogue that manages to drop reference to the classic Sam Raimi films of the 80’s, as well as poke fun at Mr. Schwarzenegger. Cue the late night door knock and a visit by an old man with a creepy story to tell. It’s like an old pirate story about stolen treasure with the pirates in this case, being Nazi soldiers on the run, who after the war fled to the hills with their stolen bounty. Things unfold at a brisk pace with some very cool original music by some unknown metal bands as well as a solid orchestral score which gives atmosphere to the more jumpy moments.

The gore isn’t over the top like recent fare such as The Hills Have Eyes, Wrong Turn & Saw franchises, but still manages to be suitably nasty, with a variety of weapons used as tools of destruction, much like the games Dead Rising & left 4 Dead, and there are some well thought out action set pieces ably back by great makeup effects that don’t rely too heavily on cgi. The film is very well shot, with some fantastic cinematic shots of the beautiful Norwegian countryside and not to mention a downright dirty sex scene, credit also has to be given to the sound mix, with every gust of wind, creaking floor board and zombie groan heard perfectly if your lounge room is equipped for Dolby audio.

It’s not the most original film you’ll watch, but as far as the zombie genre goes, it’s a breath of fresh air from the straight to dvd nonsense we’re subjected to each month (yes Lionsgate, I’m talking to you!) This film should find its way to our stores soon enough, so if you fancy a Friday night movie to kickback and crack a few beers to, this will be sure to suffice, just make sure your  common sense is elsewhere at the time.

Written by ‘Los Skullptor’ © Copyright 2009 Fright Sniper Entertainment, All Rights Reserved.

With so much negative feedback flying around the internet on Rob Zombie’s new instalment to the Halloween franchise I just couldn’t wait any longer to get my hands on a copy and see what this ‘hateful’ fuss was all about. Long before Rob Zombie ever decided to grace our horror film credits with titles such as ‘Director’ he was known for something else, something that first drew me in as a dedicated Rob Zombie fan, a musician. From the minute I heard White Zombie I knew that I had found my new favourite metal band. Sure I still listened to many other metal bands, of many genres, but White Zombie was a fascination, easily the most seen band merchandise in my bedroom between the years 1994-1998. Posters, Patches, Calendars, Shirts, Flags, if White Zombie produced it, I wanted it.

Rob’s approach to artwork, lyrics and fashion was a style that I just instantly connected with. Hotrods and clowns, whores and monsters, it was like Robert Williams painted a vinyl record, set it on fire, and through it on a turn table. So to hear so many bad reviews on H2 after liking the first one, and having it been directed by someone that I hold so high, meant that it was something that really needed to be cleared up, and decided on by myself.

One thing that instantly stood out for me from the start of H2 was use of sound and overall sound editing, I thought it was exceptional, and right up my alley as far as the type of horror sounds that appeal to me. Some very late 70’s horror sound influences, uneasy tones, long low key base notes etc. I liked the use of sound, and give it top ratings in this department.

I feel Rob captured the feeling of ‘Terror’ very well, but personally think he may have just slightly over done it with the screaming stab scenes. I know there are plenty of horror fans out there that will say “It’s a bloody slasher film, what does this idiot expect”, but that’s just my opinion. I thought it may have just lost a little bit of its edge through me becoming somewhat visually immune, but hey, I’m not complaining. Other than that it was a 90 minute thrusting stab fest, which I totally enjoyed. If you’re looking for a film to redefine the term ‘slasher’, this could possibly be it.

A lot of critics were ranting and raving about Rob’s use of dreamlike states for Michael, and how they thought it totally sucked, and that he shouldn’t have done it. Michael is in and out of dream like states throughout the entire film, as to is Laurie Strode (Michael’s sister) who finds herself still having nightmares about Michael almost 12 months on. Michael tends to have visions of himself as a child, or see and talk to a ghost of his deceased mother dressed in a white robe guarded by a white horse. Many thought Rob made a complete mess of it by doing this, but I think it was just an expression of his own creativity, I can’t say that I loved it, but then again, I can’t say I really hated it all that much either. I found myself reasonably muted on the matter, and left it as a decision he made as a director. Some may hate it, some may love it, and I guess that’s up to the individual to decide.

I really felt there was a lot of White Zombie/Rob Zombie video clip influences throughout it also, those who aren’t familiar with their clips would not have picked up on it, but fans of either band would never have mistaken it. Overall costume and set design was also good, as was use of lighting and camera effects, nothing over the top, but visually stimulating none the less. Storyline direction lacked a little, and could have left itself open to various other alternatives, but once again, that is the choice of the director, and therefore, we can only have our opinion.

I didn’t think it was anywhere near as bad as everyone made it out to be, maybe not as good as the first, but still quite solid for a modern day horror film. It was still dark, and still very Rob Zombie, so if you like his films you will no doubt find it appealing. Rob says that he is finished with the Halloween films, but I think the ending has left itself open to a new concept if his mind was to ever change on the matter, who knows.

Overall I found it a worthy watch, and another essential edition to the home DVD collection. Release dates for Australia are yet to be announced, but will be posted as soon as they become available.

Written by ‘Von Gore’ © Copyright 2009 Fright Sniper Entertainment, All Rights Reserved.

Well, I’m going to start by saying this will not be compared to Wes Craven’s original 1972 cult classic in any way, as so many remake reviews these days seem to be based around how crap the new version is and how the old version is still the best. Sure this has been the case with a lot of remakes, but I am wanting to now personally review all remakes on a fresh pallet, and review the film on how it stands alone, and not how it shapes up to its predecessor.

The film begins with two police detectives transporting a convicted felon named Krug Garret Dillahunt in the back of an unmarked squad car when it is rammed by a large pick up truck being driven by Krug’s girlfriend Sadie Riki Lindhome and brother Francis Aaron Paul in order to free Krug and allow this brutal reign of terror to commence.

With no knowledge of what danger awaits them mother Emma Collingwood Monica Potter, father John Collingwood Tony Goldwyn and daughter Mari Collingwood Sara Paxton set out in the family SUV to a secluded holiday cabin in the woods, which happens to be the last house on the left of a dead end dirt road, situated on a lake in the woods. A general settle into the cabin commences, with a brief reflection on the families recent loss, son and brother Ben Collingwood.

Shortly after daughter Mari takes the car to go visit her store clerk friend Paige Martha MacIsaac when they both introduce themselves to a customer in the store by the name of Justin, Spencer Treat Clark. In return for some cigarettes (which Justin is unable to purchase unless Paige allows) Justin promises to take the girls back to his unit where he will give them some A-grade marijuana for their troubles, and so, the girls agree.

All is well back at the unit, getting stoned, general flirting, talking etc until the gathering is interrupted by none other than Krug, Sadie and Francis, which happen to be Justin’s Father, Father’s girlfriend and Uncle. I am going to leave it here as to what is to unfold, but let me assure you, this is no cheesy Hollywood rubbish that will make you say “Oh Christ, that is just so damn stupid.”

The film is always on edge, I never found myself bored due to excellent use of sound and presenting real life scenarios that could quite easily happen instead of this coming back again and again crap that you see in so many other horror/thriller films. It has quite a dark feel to it for a Hollywood production, yet very clear with good use of lighting and camera angles. As far as gore goes, some very realistic death and sexual abuse scenes that (as stated before) could very easily be taken across into real life situations, which to me, made this movie stand out over a lot of others, due to the whole ‘Once your down, you stay down’ aspect, and the director’s Dennis Iliadis choice to show pretty much everything as it could truly unfold. The rape scene is quite intense for a modern day Thriller out of the states, and suspect it’s pretty much the reason it went straight to DVD here in Australia.

I’m going to put this down as one of the better remakes from this wave of classic remakes that have presented themselves to us over the last decade or so. A little bit of a sudden ending that could have had a little more to offer I think, but none the less, a satisfying remake in my eyes. I liked it actually, it used a lot of 80’s style suspense techniques to keep you on edge without the whole cliché build up to a loud noise to make you jump. I definitely advise giving this one a watch folks, if not a purchase, and will say with confidence, that if you at least don’t happen to like it, you could surely not hate it.

Written by ‘Von Gore’ © Copyright 2009 Fright Sniper Entertainment, All Rights Reserved.

Available now from: jbhifionline.com.au

Many years ago, a Director named Sam Raimi made a film called Evil Dead. Graphic, funny, over the top and scary for it’s time. But over the years Sam moved away from the horror genre and directed films like Darkman, The Gift and the Spider Man trilogy, in between adding his name as ‘Executive Producer’ to truly awful films like ‘Boogyman’, ‘30 Days of Night’ & ‘The Grudge’. So imagine my surprise when I heard that he was actually directing a horror movie again. Now I quite like horror movies, but it seems these days it’s all about who can churn out the most gore and still get an R18+ rating. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of brilliant horror movies that up the ante when it comes to gore, but gore and violence doesn’t necessarily make a great movie.

The last movie I watched that I can say creeped me out was Ringu, and I saw that on VHS when it first came out in 1999, before America decided to remake/ruin it. Over the last few years the only genuinely enjoyable horror movies to me seem to be coming out of Asia, in particular Japan & Thailand. Directors that have an idea as to what makes up a movie as a whole, rather than go for over the top violence and old cliche of long, drawn out silences, then a loud noise to make you jump.

Drag Me To Hell is a breath of fresh air for the horror genre. In the opening sequence the plot is introduced in a chilling manner, Gypsy curses, yep, the Lamia. A demonic force that tortures you for 3 days before coming to take your soul. It opens the film perfectly, and the goose bumps go all the way through the opening credits, which any Evil Dead fan will recognise as vintage Raimi. Christine has a fairly nice life until she denies an elderly woman an extension on her mortgage, this old woman is quite possibly the most hideous looking woman since Liza Minnelli. What shortly follows is some genuinely scary moments, as well as tongue in cheek humor (classic Rami) and from here on in, it’s scares piled upon scares.

Raimi doesn’t rely on gore at all in this flick, in fact its not even violent. He builds suspense with a tight musical score, and in your face absurdity, that will make you laugh and scared at the same time. High pitched violins carry your nerves then throw them in the air, this is another thing I loved. The sound effects are fantastic, and in cinema quality surround sound, truly adds to the suspense. Tension building and atmospheric strings and music are put to amazing use. The two guys next to me I spied covering their ears quite frequently. The story is solid. It is an original film with an original story. It isn’t plagiarized or a cheap money making remake from Asia. As I said before, the film is classic Raimi and there are lots of references to other films by him. It’s good to know that super massive Hollywood blockbusters haven’t diluted his great direction and how he used to make films all those years ago. He keeps a good balance of humor and serious scenes by using humor when necessary and never ruining the atmosphere. Alison Lohman also puts in a great performance as the poor recipient of the Lamia. Throw all this in with a neat shock ending you have the best horror film I’ve seen at the cinema in a long time! Bring on The Evil Dead in 2010!

Written by ‘Los Skullptor’ © Copyright 2009 Fright Sniper Entertainment, All Rights Reserved.

French horror has been pushing the boundaries for some time now. High Tension (2003), Sheitan (2006) or Inside (2007), and newest in line is Martyrs (2008), hyped up to take it all a little further. And it did just that! It’s just that it doesn’t belong in the same list as the films mentioned before. Martyrs goes above and beyond. In terms of storyline, the less you know about Martyrs the better, because it unravels in a way that keeps the guessing game going til the final curtain. What’s worth knowing is that after being tortured, Lucie escapes and takes up refuge in a children’s home where she befriends another troubled girl, Anna, who Lucie relies on for protection.

Those expecting another fun, bloody, gory, insane horror flick (Hostel 2, The Hills Have Eyes 2, and Wrong Turn 2) can just give up, because Martyrs isn’t like that. It’s more like a hammer to the head! The first half of the film keeps balancing on borderline horror, keeping its crude and dark exterior, but never crossing any boundaries. A Grudge-like ghost is added to the film, but (Director) Pascal Laugier stays close to the drama and never allows the film to become a mere horror flick. Things take a turn for the worse around halfway through, where the torture theme of the film is given even more power as Anna, Lucie’s guardian, discovers the truth about the torture/kidnap story of the past.

From that moment on, the film becomes really uncomfortable to watch and crosses over to the realm of Gaspar Noe’s Irreversible. We are witness of cold and painful torture scenes, driven to very unpleasant extremes nearing the end. The film follows the methods of the people who torture, which are based on repetition and endurance, making it all the harder to sit through.

Visually, the film is well shot, bleak and dark, adding a unclean feeling to what we are witnessing. The make-up deserves praise, same as the leading ladies who play their parts with conviction and depth. Don’t watch Martyrs to get a little horror kick, or to indulge in silly gore fests. This film will not deliver the fun thrills of regular horror movies, on the contrary. It’s a bleak, depressive but all the more impressive look in the darker depths of the human condition, it will leave you cringing in your seat and it will make you want to look away. And it does so without ever numbing you down. Refrain from taking toilet breaks and ride this bad boy from start to finish, it’s unlikely you’ll want to watch it again anytime soon!

Written by ‘Los Skullptor’ © Copyright 2009 Fright Sniper Entertainment, All Rights Reserved.