What Have You Done To Solange?

"Not after what happened to Solange...."

What Have You Done To Solange? is a hard watch for sure, but it's a grand giallo and one that holds up over time. The subject matter is rough, so be warned. However, it's a fun mystery with some fantastic character development and beautiful cinematography with a haunting score by Ennio Morricone. 

Fabio Testi plays Enrico 'Henry' Rosseni - a teacher at a girls school. The dashing Rosseni is having an affair with one of the girls and is with her when she sees a knife flash in the woods. The gruff Rosseni is annoyed with Elizabeth (Cristina Galbó) for stopping their make out session over a silly delusion, however her vision of the knife proves to be a reality that Rosseni becomes helplessly involved in as the mystery unravels around him. 

We have another relationship playing out in the film in a similar way to WHO SAW HER DIE? as Rosseni's wife Herta comes to grips with the fact that her husband is cheating and pulling further and further way from her every day. And of course we have an inspector looking into the case. :)

The acting is top notch in the film and the pace keeps things moving along nicely. Relationships seem real and play out in very interesting ways as it becomes very obvious that there's something deeper going on at the school. 

Massimo Dallamano's Direction holds attention and his cinematographer background shows. Joe D'Amato is the cinematographer (and a CID officer in the movie!) and you can see where his style is starting to really come through in this, his 10th cinematography credit out of a WHOOPING 167! 

 

Like I said earlier, the graphic nature of the kills is pretty awful, but the way it's played out is extremely tasteful. Well, as tasteful as it can be. And the overall tone of the film isn't exploitative, which helps a lot. We get a mystery that's solid with people undergoing many changes as the film rolls on. There are some smart and subtle changes as well, like the character of Herta shown and tight hair bunned and cold in the beginning of the film and softening a bit as she and Henry start to work out their marital issues. 

Now, the film isn't perfect. We still have a few moments where you question why Inspector Barth is working with Rosseni so closely - especially since he's a suspect at one point. And there is a moment of exposition towards the end that was a tad sloppy to say the least. ("Let me explain exactly why the killer has done what they've done. Where's that PowerPoint I created a moment ago...." )  hehehe   However, the story is well worth some of the more minor quibbles and it's still one of my favorite mystery gialli and well worth a viddy! 

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!

The Case of the Bloody Iris

"Wait till I try to make it with you and you find out what a bastard I am." 

While this is not high on my gialli list, it's still a fun watch...mostly because I'm in love with Edwige Fenech! hehehehe

The film is a bit sloppy and slow, but there are scenes that resonate for sure. Classic giallo tropes abound in this clunky, awkward mystery.

Basically, two models move into an apartment where a woman was murdered. The murderer - a classic black hat, black coat, mask and tan rubber glove wearing maniac - is still prowling around the apartment and our models are stalked and frightened...for a long time. Like....a long time. :)

We have a ton of people roaming around the screen as well.

Edwige Fenech....the damsel. :::purr::::   Who always seems to be getting her clothes off...or ripped off.

Wacky roommate whose kinda like Goldie Hawn who just LOVES joking around - even about the former tenant who died in their apartment.  #TooSoon

Weak at the sight of blood architect who's taken an interest in the girls. 

The grumpy, pissed off Commissioner who's just pissed off about everything.

The gay Woody Allen photographer who has taken photos of the two models...and the girl who was killed in the apartment. 

Shitty old lady neighbor. 

Over the top jealous ex-husband. An obvious nutter.

 Lecherous lesbian neighbor and her grumpy Father.  

And the murderer with a cool black hat and mask. 

 

The story stumbles around and people show up dead and you just start ticking off boxes until you find out who the murderer is, but it's still a fun ride all the same. The soundtrack and the way the film is shot does keep things moving along while watching. It's kinda like watching a carousel go around and around with people being interviewed, questioned, walking, watching OTHER people, visiting, chasing, eating.... and a really awkward lovemaking scene which goes on WAY too long that has one of the best one liners attached to it.

 

 "It's Forenzi, Boss. Those two are really going at it. Don't be surprised if instead of a corpse we have a birth on our hands." 

Give it a viddy, but know that it's all over the place in a wondrous way.   It has a charm and heart to it that makes it a fun watch.

The Tall Man

I saw the cover at for this film and kept scrolling through the Netflix list passing it by with a smirk. Jessica Biel looking all worried. Figure behind her. I thought it was going to be another UNBORN disaster and didn't even want to fast forward through it to see the inevitable bad 3D scares it was going to have.

The MONDO MOVIE boys set me straight, however, saying that the film not only had substance, but wasn't going to be what I thought. Not at all. (Mondo Movie #116 https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mondo-movie-116-biel-end-all/id117517270?i=123780898 SPOILERS! )

This film was a lot of fun and had a lot of substance to it. One can not go too far into it without giving things away. Suffice it to say that Biel plays a doctor (nurse, really) in a small, dying town. The mine has closed and the residents sit and wait for their lives to pass. It's a sad state of being where hope is just gone. To make things worse, there is something taking the children of the town. The Tall Man.

Still not sold? What if I were to tell you that this was directed by Pascal Laugier? You know, the Director of MARTYRS.  Oh, NOW I have your attention? :)  Now, I'll give you a heads up there - this isn't MARTYRS 2 and things never really reach Martyrs levels of...F'd-Up-Ness, for lack of a better term. But, you can see the style in there. The attention to detail. The focus on the scene and what's important within that scene. There are no wasted moves there and I appreciate it! And, the man knows how to write. This film has a strong story that really gripped me and shook me up a little. Another film that found me talking to the screen saying, "Wait...WHAT?!"

This is a smart and interesting thriller. One you will most likely enjoy. If you seek it out, let me know what you think! 

Stake Land

I finally saw 2010's Stake Land and thought to myself, "Man! WHY did I wait so long to see this movie?!" It was great. Really, that's the review in a nutshell - GREAT!

The "real world" vampire film tells the story of Martin, a teen whose whole family is wiped out during the vampocalypes. He's saved by the vampire hunter "Mister" and is trained in the art of vampire killing. A road movie and buddy movie set in a world where the vampire virus has taken control. Sure, that's bad, but the backlash of religious cult leaders like Jebedia Loven may be even worse.








Connor Paolo (Martin), Michael Cerveris (Loven) and Nick Damici (Mister) do some great work in this film. Kelly "Comback" McGillis graces the screen with her presence and it's a sight to behold. She is grand and I'm glad she's doing more genre stuff - she's good at it. And, Danielle Harris has managed to wriggle her cute little self back into my good graces. :::grin:::  After hearing an interview, I was a little bothered by her. It's irrational, of course, but....   So, I saw her and narrowed my eyes waiting to be really bothered. But, it turns out that she did a great job as well and I didn't find her annoying in the slightest. I'll have to revisit some of her other works now that the spell is broken.

I like Jim Mickle as a Director as well. MULLBERY STREET was a lot of fun as well and it's fun to see the progression of his work and art.

The film hits a level that I really love - the "real world" level I spoke about above. It's the same thing that 30 Days of Night did. No, I'm not going to rant about sparklepires or things of that nature. I was going to mention the real world horror styles that make things a little more interesting. It's something people can relate to. What if scenarios that look realistic and not filmic. 28 Days Later instead of Zombieland. Colin instead of Dawn of the Dead. Of course, it's not to say that the film-style versions of these films are not good. They just look more like films and have scenes that are more film style that something you may see in the real world. I loved the approach Stake Land took, showing the vampires as diseased and animalistic with a drive to devour. Fun stuff.

If you have not already seen Stake Land, jump on it. It's rather fantastic. I wish more films like this had a broader release on more screens. Available on Netflix streaming at the time of this posting.

The Brood

NOTE: Do yourself a favor if you are interested in this film, but no nothing about it - avoid a Google image search for it. There are major spoilers that pop up. 

Well, The Brood didn't wow me like Shivers and Rabid did.

A man comes to grips with his failing marriage as his wife works with a psychotherapist (Oliver Reed) to overcome deep emotional scars. Their child sees the mother one weekends, but otherwise, the wife is under strict seclusion as she works with her doctor.  So, if that's the case, who's killing people she gets angry with during therapy and what is the true "Shape of Rage"?

As Rabid and Shivers seem to deal with themes like sexuality, science gone wrong and sexually transmitted diseases, The Brood seems to deal with the dangers of therapy and the trauma divorce has one the family unit - especially the children involved. I'm just happy my divorce wasn't as traumatic as the relationship in this film is!

Oliver Reed is grand, as usual, as he chews the scenery and delivers his lines under his sleepy eyelids and Shakespearean cadence.  :::grin:::  So much fun to see him in these therapy sessions. Art "The Jaw" Hindle does well with his role as the Father trying to hold everything together, juggling being a single father, keeping his construction company going and dealing with his wife. And, I have to say that I COULD NOT STAND Samantha Eggar as the wife with baggage, drama and a mild bout of insanity. Not to mention other items that make her very unappealing. Her acting is great, mind you - that's not the issue I had. I think it just hit a bit too close to home for me personally, which I took as a sign that the film managed to hit that particular nail on the head. It seems very real.

While I enjoyed the film, it's pace and story didn't really do it for me. It has a sort of
set 'em up and knock 'em down" quality that didn't sit well with me. Eggar goes through her sessions and Reed makes her angry about someone, then that person is attacked by something really nasty and they are dispatched violently. After a while, there wasn't anything super new about the situation. I was just waiting for things to happen. This was partially because it was a slightly simpler film and I remembered most of the main points from seeing it years ago.

And the main plot point of the story wasn't as interesting to me. I think that that was due to it being more psychology based and "magical" rather than the science based (yes, albeit fantasy science! :) ) plot lines of Rabid and Shivers. I find it amazing that these films from the 70s (Brood - 1979) still kick the arses of many films made today. This is largely due to the talents of Cronenberg, obviously. It's fun to watch a Director's work like I've been doing - movie to movie in the order in which they were made.  You start seeing common themes and Director styles from film to film.

THE BROOD is still fun and interesting and very Cronenberg and I still say that it's well worth watching.

Check it.

Women in Horror Month

Well, we suck. We admit it.

February was WOMEN IN HORROR MONTH. Not "hot chicks in bikinis and hot pants getting killed in films" month, but women directing and writing - steering the bus, not sitting in the back of it. (Not to take away from the skills involved in wearing a bikini and running away from a killer, but...)

So, since we dropped the ball in February, we're going to extend WOMEN IN HORROR MONTH into March! We have some great places for you to dig in and explore.

Now, it was pointed out in a FANTASTIC podcast interview with Heidi Honeycutt on the RUE MORGUE PODCAST that many people can't even name a female director in the horror genre. I know I can't, but I can name several male directors. Why is that? It was also pointed out that people still line up for old, Italian (Dario Argento) director's autographs (...even though his last films have been HORRID!), yet they may not line up for female directors who have made great films in the past year. Why is that?

Check out the Heidi Honeycutt interview - it's grand and very informative.
http://rue-morgue.com/2012/02/rue-morgue-podcast-heidi-honeycutt/


Her main site is awesome, too: http://www.planetfury.com/


She's putting on the VISCERA FILM FESTIVAL again this year. PACKED with awesome showings from some great directors...who happen to be female.

VISCERA FILM FESTIVAL
http://www.viscerafilmfestival.com/














And lastly (for now) here is a great starter list for you to check out some of the coolness coming from female directors right now. Check it!

HORROR SHOW: Women Horror Directors to Watch
http://bitchmagazine.org/post/horror-show-women-horror-directors-to-watch

Well, that's a great start. Now, I feel like it's a great thing to have a Women in Horror Month, but it would be even BETTER if it were just the norm to celebrate any director - male of female - all year round. Until we get to that point, let's all make sure that there is no glass ceiling for women -  directing  horror or whatever they are doing for a living. Period.

The Dead

If you're anything like me, you're kinda done with zombies.

I was a HUGE zombie fan, too. The greats like the "Living Dead" biggies (Night, Dawn and Day), the Italian splatter of ZOMBI ("We are going to eat you!") and the goodness of the RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD were firmly locked as faves. But the recent waves of zombie hordes have muddied the waters greatly. The likes of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, ZOMBIELAND and THE HORDE are getting lost in the much and mire of complete crap like the DAY OF THE DEAD remake - resplendent in it's under-scripting and over-bullshite 3D and leaping dead.

Well, THE DEAD (2010) marks the return to old zombie form and was WELL worth a viewing! And...there's no mention of zombies in the title. Thank you for that.

We have a classic set up here, but with a small twist that takes us in new and interesting directions. Zombies. They're here. We're trying to get away. But, we're in Africa complete with wide expanses of nothing for miles and miles. Our two heroes are both trying to get somewhere - one to a U.S. military base so he can get home and another to an African base so he can find his son. The pairing is fantastic and very "old school". Differences are set aside to reach a new set of very important goals.

The zombies themselves were a throw back to the 1979 Lucio Fulci style of ZOMBI zombies. Extremely slow moving and driven. They shuffle along at an extremely slow pace. This makes things a bit easier, but also is a perfect device for ramping up tension. There are scenes where we see several zombies off in the distance while someone is trying to complete a task. They shuffle closer...and closer...and closer and, while the danger isn't immediate, it creates a lovely sense of urgency. I found myself stomping my feet at times wishing the heroes would hurry up and get the HELL out. And, if a zombie mob does happen to slip up to you, classic zombie mob rules apply. They are slow, but a group up close and personal is deadly.

Dread and doom, heat and time and personal drive are played out really well.  The characters of Lt. Brian Murphy and Sgt. Daniel Dembele are well rounded and believable. I'd even say that non-horror lovers (that can take some scares and gore) would enjoy this film. It has a strong story and a lot of well rounded character development.

Check it!

Spiral

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491162/

Ok...I'm going to say it.

“Modern day Norman Bates-like nutter” movie.

Joel Moore plays the disturbed Mason. He has some real issues. Nuff said.
Adam Green has a certain flair for the...well...frucked up! He knows how to make horror. He know how to shoot it and Joel Moore knows how to help write and direct as well. The film has a somewhat low budget feel, but was fun and creepy to watch. One of those films that you giggle at because it's smart.

No, there are no traps.
No torture.
No wicked villains with master plans or scary foreigners out to get ya.

These people are people you work with. People you know. (Hell, YOU may even BE one of them yourself!) That's what brings the horror home.
Check this film out. You'll dig it, I think.
For added fun: Watch it on a first date!