Some fantastic Daniel Björk horror book covers

I love these with my whole heart! hehehehe.  Fantastic work by Daniel Björk

Bad Apples

<< no spoilers >>

Now remember, I have a strict "IF YOU DON'T HAVE SOMETHING NICE TO SAY, DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL" policy, but this film needs to be talked about because there is good stuff within it. I don't want it to come off as mean, bashing, or hurtful. If I didn't enjoy the film, I wouldn't write about it.


Ok....this is what I think happened with BAD APPLES.

Honestly, I think they found these awesome masks. They put them on in a store - hell, maybe they even made them from scratch - and said, "MAN! These are creepy masks, right?! We have to use them for a movie!"

Bryan Coyne (writer / Director) went off and wrote the film at once, thrilled by the masks and how creepy they were. However, once he started filming, he really didn't have enough script to fill out the runtime. So, he started patching things up a bit to make things work and got the film made.

That being said, I wasn't bummed that I spent time watching it. The masks are really off-putting and the way they are used in the film is fantastic.





The acting is good overall. All the leads are solid and things don't seem like a low budget production. Brea Grant is fab, Graham Skipper is his charming and funny self, and Alycia Lourim and Heather Vaughn were GREAT as the sisters. ( Though, part of me was hoping the TWISTED TWINS would have been the reveal! heehe )





The thing that hit me was the fact that there were SO MANY OTHER THINGS that could have been put in here from a plot perspective. It made me a little sad, really. The opening was ripe for a really wild and interesting yarn. Something - maybe with supernatural overtones - that could have been revealed early in the third act and carried through to the conclusion. A modern folk tale sort of situation. A new Halloween tale to be told down through generations. Or, maybe just a really "BAD APPLE" tale of two sisters that were just doomed from birth to be bad. I'd take that, too. I think that's in here for sure.

"Better Play on Halloween or the Sisters Will Get Ya!"

Something.

But, it ramps to a shuddering conclusion, presents something that had real potential, but even that is let loose for an ending that just re-tells what we saw in the beginning. Honestly, I didn't understand that. Like I said, it really did make me a little sad. heheheh 

But wait! Don't write this off. This is a good film! 

The film is good. It's solid film making. The sound was a bit dodgy in parts, but it really held my attention. I just wish Mr. Coyne asked someone ( maybe even me! ) what could be added to the story to seal the deal. It wouldn't take more cash, just a few more script revs.

ANYWAY....I wasn't asked.   :)

BAD APPLES is a fun watch. It's a worthwhile watch. I think that horror fans will enjoy the ride and the creep factor of the masks and the acting behind them. GINGER SNAPS-like in many ways from a nutty sister perspective.

Well worth a viddy. Let me know if you agree with my assessment!

Bad Apples is released on VOD through Uncork’d Entertainment on February 6, 2018.

Savageland

HOLY COW! I loved this film! 

SAVAGELAND is a riveting and completely engaging "mocumentary" about the lone survivor of a small town attack by unseen forces. He shot a roll of film with many disturbing shots of multiple attackers, but was still tried for the murders.

What really happened?



This film was a masterwork of both writing and acting. Like LAKE MUNGO, this film is presented in documentary style and interviews are held with the people involved in the investigation - both within legal realm and the news and reporting realms. The actors playing the parts sell it all without question and the writing is rock solid.

And the images that were caught on film are horrific and creepy as hell! heheheh  I love them!

 Bad acting and crap writing can kill a film like this in a heartbeat, but the writer/director team up of Phil Guidry, Simon Herbert, and David Whelan was pure perfection! Things were tight, believeable, and took a few turns that I was not expecting, but loved when I saw them.

No, there are no masked, ax swinging madmen in here or smashed in jump scares. This is a creepy tale that takes it's time telling a story and brings it all home with some nightmare fuel stills that are fantastic. A must watch for lovers of a good, creeptastic, dark story. 

Currently available on AMAZON PRIME. 

Who Saw Her Die?

 
Who Saw Her Die? (Chi l'ha vista morire?)  is a very sad little mystery. Very sad, indeed.

From IMDB:
A young girl is brutally murdered somewhere in France. Sometime later, the same thing happens to the daughter of a well-known sculptor. This time the parents (the sculptor and his wife) start investigating, and soon find they are in way over their head. Meanwhile, the body-count keeps rising as the killer now starts butchering all those who find out too much...

Who Saw Her Die? is a dark giallo with some fantastic twists and turns.  Aldo Lado's Direction is fantastic - dynamic and artful and when it's paired with a solid story and some fine acting, it creates a film that whips along at a grand pace and keeps you guessing till the very end. There are some shots in the film that are rather haunting. Yes, there are some Wait - WHAT?! moments, but no more than most gialli. :::grin::

George Lazenby (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) is Franco Serpieri, the well-known sculptor. While it's odd to hear an American accent instead of The Queen's English, he turns in a grand performance as the Father turned Investigator in the twisty little murder mystery. The striking Anita Strindberg (Your Vice is a Locked Room) plays his wife and also nails the "grieving Mother" role extremely well. She's on the edge as her husband plunges them both further and further into the investigation of their daughter's murder. We see them pull further and further apart and it adds to the overall heartbreak.

And...we have more slightly creepy child Nicoletta Elmi as Franco's slain daughter. :::shiver:::  :)

Characters swoop in and out of the story as we try and figure out who might have been involved in not only this latest murder, but the murder we see earlier.  People hint at shady goings on on one side while another group tries to distance themselves from the matter which adds to the WHO DONE IT? feel.  And when the film ends, all the pieces fit into place expertly.



As gialli go, this film is very high on my BEST OF list and is well worth a viddy! Check it!

Eyes Without a Face (1960) (Les yeux sans visage)

I managed to make it out to see the wondrous French film Eyes Without a Face at a 9:15pm showing at the New Parkway Theater in Oakland (More on that later) and I was very happy that I did. I've seen the film before, but seeing it on the big screen was a real treat and well worth being a little tired the next day! Looking back on it, the film really isn't solely a horror film. I see it as more of a sad drama with some horrific elements.


We have Docteur Génessier who is trying to make things right after causing a terrible accident that's disfigured his daughter, Christiane, leaving her with a disturbing, mangled face. With the help of his assistant Louise, the doctor kidnaps young women and removes their faces to transplant onto his daughter using a technique he's trying to perfect. Grim, indeed, for it seems like every attempt goes wrong, but the doctor's guilt drives him on.

The film is shot beautifully and the scenes take on various feelings from beautiful to nightmarish. And the sadness of the film weighs on you - almost physically. The doctor is awful - killing women to fix his daughter, but you understand what's driving him . His assistant does what he says without much thought about it because she longs to help him any way she can.

 

And poor Christiane is the saddest of all. She watches as these horrible things are done to other women to help her and has to watch as the efforts fail over time. Her new face fails and withers away forcing her back into the mask to cover her ruined visage - an expressionless, sad face with eyes that stare out at her small world sadly. And more sadness is added when she slips away to calls her fiancé so she can hear his voice again knowing that he thinks she's dead.


Georges Franju's direction paired with the fairy tale soundtrack of Maurice Jarre tops things of wonderfully. The music is slightly off and creates a dreamy, nightmare landscape when paired with beautiful shots of Christiane gliding around the house in her long coat and sad mask. And of course, Eugen Schüfftan's cinematography was at play here as well.

I can see this being a Criterion purchase in the future. I really love the film. If you have not seen it, check it out when you're in the mood for an atmospheric, sad, dark fairy tale. 


ABOUT THE NEW PARKWAY THEATER:

I forgot how much I love the New Parkway Theater. They had shut down at one point and I was so sad. The theater was filled with sofas, comfy chairs, and a general eclectic mix of places to sit. Paired with their pizza, beer, and fresh popcorn, it was a GREAT night out. When they reopened in a new location, I kept thinking it was far away and didn't really think about it much. When I went last night, I realized that it was only 11 short minutes away and it still had the great mix of seating, the food and beer, and the FANTASTIC popcorn - served in a real bowl, not a paper one. The theater prides itself on cutting back on waste this way, being one of the "greenest" theaters in the Bay Area, And being able to have at home comfort sitting on a sofa, but still having the giant screen to view the film is a winning combination!