The House of the Devil

The House of the Devil

2009

Directed by Ti West

I really wanted to enjoy this film more that I did. I really loved the 80s feel to the film. The font of the opening credits... the freeze frames... 80s fashion and hair. What I was disappointed by was the narrative. I felt that the film was too obvious... it was too similar to many other film about cults that kidnap young women. The film had a slow eerie quality to it, but this was undermined by the cliched plot.

Rustin Allison

Back after a long time!

I've been a bit neglectful of this blog. I need to get back into the habit of writing again! It will pretty much be the same format as before - reviews of film, plays, and musicals... and other things that strike my fancy!

Rustin Allison

Chess Photos

Chess

Rugby Theatre

Directed by John Smith

27 Nov. - 5 Dec. 2009

The Wicker Man

The Wicker Man

1973

Directed by Robin Hardy

What a film! The Wicker Man is a British horror film that has quite a cult following. I knew practically nothing about the film before watching it. I don't even want to write too much about the film, because I think going into it totally new really added to the experience of watching it. 

The film is not technically the best film. Dubbing is very obvious at times and some of the acting is a bit questionable. The strange thing is that even though there are obvious mistakes, these mistakes add to the uncomfortableness of the film. The film itself is about a very religious police detective investigating the disappearance of a young girl on a Scottish island where the inhabitants all worship a pagan religion. The detective wants to fulfill his search, but at the same time does not want to associate with these people. He constantly has a felling of unease and discomfort.

Rustin Allison

Wall-E

Wall-E

2008

Directed by Andrew Stanton

The films of Pixar continue to amaze me. For a while, I thought the films were falling into a familiar pattern. Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc, and Finding Nemo all seemed to have similar story lines to me... finding someone who was lost. These films were very enjoyable, but to me it felt like Pixar was following a simple formula for each of their films. Ratatouille was the first Pixar film that, to me, really broke this mold. That was a great film, and Wall-E in comparison is an outstanding film.

Wall-E is such a great mixture of comedy and melancholy. Wall-E himself is a sweet, funny, and sad looking character. His eyes are so full of expression that the viewer almost automatically connects with him and his plight. One of the great things about this film, is that most of the film is without dialogue and emotions have to be conveyed through body language. The animators did a spectacular job of this, and this visual language is one of the reasons that this is such a strong film. 

The film presents a very pessimistic view of humanity and the future. Earth has become so polluted that humans have to evacuate the planet. Robots have been trusted to clean up the earth, but the planet may never recover. This is one element that adds to the melancholy of the film. Wall-E is alone and lonely, but it is the fault of the human race that causes him to be put in this situation.  Humans are depicted later on in the film as inactive blobs who have become so complacent in their lives that they have forgotten what it is like to be human.  The film does end on an optimistic note... but an incredible amount of hard work is necessary in order to maintain this happy ending.

Rustin Allison

Dawn of the Dead

Dawn of the Dead

2004

Directed by Zack Snyder

I wanted to watch this film for two reasons. The first is for Sarah Polley who has always been one of my favorite actresses. The second is because it is the first feature film by Zack Snyder (he also directed 300 and Watchmen). I enjoyed parts of this film, but it didn't seem to flow as well as I would have liked. The opening scenes were brilliantly edited together. The rest of the film just seemed to be a let from the engaging opening. Some of the plot points were a little too predictable, but I did enjoy the small group of characters that have to work together to survive in the shopping mall.

Rustin Allison

Bug

Bug

2006

Directed by William Friedkin

A disturbing film with equally disturbing performances. This film follows a woman who allows a man into her motel and he drags her into insanity. Ashley Judd gives a very powerful performance in this film... a mixture of loneliness that descends into madness. The film itself is very claustrophobic and takes place pretty much just in the room of the motel. This is not an ordinary horror film, and there is quite a bit of discussion between characters which allows a lot fo room for character development. The film is not jump out of your seat scary.... but very disturbing and creepy.

Rustin Allison

"Masters of Horror" - The Black Cat

"Masters of Horror"

The Black Cat

2007

Directed by Stuart Gordon

This is the first thing that I have ever seen directed by Stuart Gordon. I know that he has a reputation for over the top gore, and this episode of "Masters of Horror" certainly delivers on that. I chose to watch this episode mainly for the fact that it was an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe short story, one of my favorite authors. It is actually a really good episode that combines the original short story with bit so of Poe's life. The narrative also follows the original short story very closely and Poe is portrayed as a man torn between providing for his wife and succumbing to his inner demons.

Rustin Allison

Freddy vs. Jason

Freddy vs. Jason

2003

Directed by Ronny Yu

I was not impressed by this film. I was hoping for more of a witty take-off on the two franchises, but it ended up just being a mediocre horror film. It was nice to see Robert Englund back in form as Freddy Krueger, but that is about all this film has to recommend for it.

Rustin Allison

Sukiyaki Western Django

Sukiyaki Western Django

2007

Directed by Takashi Miike

This is a very stylish film that is a mixture of Japanese samurai and western film genres. Miike pulls this off very successfully. The mixture of swords and guns looks spectacular and there are some great fight scenes that involve them both. The colors of the film are very saturated and alternate between the contrasts of deep red and bright whites. I did enjoy the film. Miike always presents the unexpected and this film was not a disappointment.

Rustin Allison

It Felt Like a Kiss

It Felt Like a Kiss

5 July, 2009

Manchester International Festival

Directed by Felix Barrett

Film by Adam Curtis

Created by Punchdrunk, Felix Barrett, and Adam Curtis

How do I go about even describing this production. The centerpiece of this experience is a documentary by Adam Curtis. The documentary combines pop music, footage from the late 50s and early 60s, and films from that period as well. The documentary is attempt to show how the American Dream began unraveling during this time period. 

This film is the keystone for the rest of the production. The show itself is a promenade performance, and it sprawled over five floors in an office building in Manchester. Groups of 10 were filtered in to experience a haunting view of the unraveling of the American Dream. Spectators are given free reign to investigate an American family's home and the secrets that hide under its perfect surface. There are only mannequins present which gave me a static and somber feeling. In a way voyeuristic, but it also gave the feeling of being watched. Themes of surveillance and conspiracy begin to bleed through. This family is under investigation by the CIA. The American home blends into offices which then blend into movie sets. There are many cameras around. 

The film is shown in a high school prom. Scenes from the film directly relate to some of the scenes that have just been experienced. There is a great mixture of film, theatre, and real life. Some of the documentary scenes have been recreated in the rooms that the spectator has just walked.

The final part of the show involves psychological testing and experiments. It also has to do with how much freedom and person has, and how much independence they feel they have in their life. This section takes on the genre of a horror film, and the spectator completely moves from spectator to performer. 

One other aspect of this show that I found really interesting is that little relationships were developed with the people in my group. Although I ended up experiencing the last section with a slightly different group of people, there was still some dependence on each other. Some people moved forward with courage, some wanted to remain behind with fear. A section of the show involves following a series of messages. A girl who was with us did not want us to follow the messages. After following one herself, and being scared by the result she became very nervous. She pleaded with me not to follow one of the last messages. After our descent into the horror film genre where we moved from spectators to performers, she exited the show. The rest of the group was stripped away in one of the more brilliant aspects of the show. In a disorientating warehouse of sounds, lights, and metal cages my group went from 8 to 4 to 2. I attempted to follow my friend but my way was obstructed. I no longer had any choice, I was no longer independent. I had to follow path that I could not choose to its inevitable end.

Rustin Allison

Dead Space: Downfall

Dead Space: Downfall

2008

Directed by Chuck Patton

This will be the last short post. I just had too many films backing up on me and too little time at the moment to catch up! I do want to keep my New Year's resolution and write about every film that I have seen this year, so even though they may be short -- I'm still writing!

I enjoyed the video game quite a bit. It had a great way of building dread and suspense in a very claustrophobic atmosphere. I can't quite say the same for this film. The film is worth watching for a bit of back story leading up to the events in the video game, but this information can be gathered from the game anyway. The film didn't really create any sense of dread or horror, and the characters weren't fleshed out enough to care about.

Rustin Allison

Little Women

Little Women

1994

Directed by Gillian Armstrong

It was hard to watch this film and not compare it to the production of the play that I performed in recently. It was actually nice to see the scenes in the film because they reminded me so much of the play. I did enjoy the film, but I felt there wasn't enough heart in it. The sisters didn't seem as close as they should.

Rustin Allison

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms

1953

Directed by Eugene Lourie

There are some great classic city destruction scenes in this film, and this film is obviously the inspiration for future giant monster films. The monster is animated by Ray Harryhausen. The scenes that feature the monster are where the film really comes to life.

Rustin Allison

Balls of Fury

Balls of Fury

2007

Directed by Robert Ben Garant

I went into this film with low expectations, and it was still worse than I expected. It did have some funny moments, but most of the humor just fell flat. This is surprising since it is created by the writers of Reno 911!, one of my favorite television shows.

Rustin Allison

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

2008

Directed by Andrew Adamson

These next few posts are going to be very short, as I have fallen a bit behind and I need to catch up!

This is a much darker film than The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. It is an enjoyable film, but much like its successor, it has many shortcomings. Some of the lines are pretty horrible and some of the scenes are way too long.

Rustin Allison

Pom Poko

Pom Poko

1994

Directed by Isao Takahata

This is a Studio Ghibli film from the the mid 1990s. The story follows a colony of tanuki that live in a forest that is about to be turned into a suburb and how they try defend their natural habitat.

Tanuki are actually creatures that are similar to raccoons, but there is also mythology that surrounds them. Tanuki have the ability to shape-shift and the tanuki in this film use this ability in their efforts to thwart the deconstruction of the forest.

One of the aspects of this film that I really enjoyed was the amount of references to Japanese mythology... not just the stories surrounding the Tanuki. In the above photo some of the tanuki have turned into dharma. Dharma are little sculptures that have no eyes. An eye is painted on to symbolize a goal or a wish, and when the goal or wish takes place the other eye is painted. The film is full of these little details... some I was able to pick up on and others that I am sure went completely over my head. 

One scene that is really spectacular is when the tanuki join forces to make a parade of the spirit world through the city and scare the humans. I was able to spot some oni and the god of wind and the god of thunder.

Rustin Allison

Oklahoma! Pictures

Oklahoma!

Directed by Helen Dulcamara

Rugby Theatre

5 - 13 June 2009

Rustin Allison

Splinter

Splinter

2008

Directed by Toby Wilkins

This is a great little horror film. It is one that I had heard about when it was released... but again it was missed at the theater. 

The best aspect of this film is that it has such a small cast. The film focuses on four characters and their attempt to overcome a parasite that slowly infects its victims from the inside out. The victim then seeks out other possible hosts for the virus. By just focusing on four characters and having them stranded at a gas station, the film is very successful at creating a suspenseful feel.

Because of the small cast, the characters are a bit more fleshed than in normal horror films. I really enjoyed the fact that the male hero is a bit inept and has to really strive to overcome his shortcomings to survive the horrible situation that he and his girlfriend have to face.

The special effects in this film are very good for a low budget film. The creature effects are especially creepy with disjointed human appendages making it very difficult to look at the infected victims.

Rustin Allison

Drag Me To Hell

Drag Me To Hell

2009

Directed by Sam Raimi

I thought this was a fun and funny horror flick. The story follows a bank loan officer who is pressured to refuse a credit extension to an old woman. The old woman ends up cursing Christine and Christine is stalked by an evil spirit with the intent of dragging her to hell. A straight-forward story-line, but it is one that Raimi has quite a bit of fun with at the same time. 

One of the things that I enjoy about Sam Raimi's style is that he can make something horrific and hilarious at the same time. There is a scene early on in the film where Christine and the old gypsy woman are fighting in her car. Christine manages to push Mrs. Ganush out of the car and has the door locked. Mrs. Ganush disappears and Christine pushes her head against the window to try to see where the old lady has gone. I'll post the clip below to better illustrate this part of the film. 

Drag Me To Hell is filled with these great fright-filled gags and it made the whole film a fun one to watch. The plot may be a bit predictable at times, but the humor and frights are so clever they more than make up for this little short-coming.

Rustin Allison