Well, I had an interesting trip down the rabbit hole over the past few days. HA!
I saw an image on Instagram that gave me the creeps in a great way.....
I posted it to the Facebook group and circled back around to give credit to the artist - a must when you can, I feel. I went to his site - - and saw that he is a man of many talents. Super creative soul. I was hankering for a horror short and fired up his short THE GOOD SAMARITANS.
It was really solid and had some groovy effects work in it. Unlike some other shorts I've seen in the past, the storytelling is tight and lean, moving rapidly and not overstaying it's welcome. It lingers in one area and doesn't bite off....heh....more than it can chew or overstretch what they are able to take on in the time and budget allowed.
I followed the road along to his Vimeo page and saw that he had done another short I featured here a while back called BLIGHT which I've reposted and raved about many times in many spaces in the past. It's friggin fantastic and an amazing effort with cool effects and solid acting. Man...beyond cool on the effects - downright stellar!
Next up was THE MAYFLOWER which was another "one room show" , but this time the setting was space in this sci fi horror tale. I dug it as well. It could have slipped into the "seen it before" category, but it really brought some exciting and new ideas to the table the made this a solid and original tale.
Dropping back another year in history, I checked out FOOL'S ERRAND and was happy that Chris was still solid in 2017! heh. Again, his writing is what really sells me on his shorts. What could have been another in a series of killer mummy shorts and films has a bit of a twist that takes this short up several notches and separates it from the rest.
And last on the FEATURED LIST but far from least is his first short FLESH ART. Again, a solid little tale that doesn't overstay its welcome with some grand gore and zombie/infected effects work. It's not trying to be more than it is and manages to bring a lot of cool storytelling into the mix without leaving the cozy confines of the set. While it may not reach as far as some of his other work, it doesn't really NEED to to be a pleasing little horror tale.
Now...I did catch a more recent offering called BLACK ICE that - while cool and very watchable - just didn't have the same magic for me, but even that short was amazing and really well done. The story itself just didn't ring the same way with me personally, and that's perfectly fine and reasonable. :)
Now...I mentioned earlier that he was a "creative soul" and it's time to cover some of his other talents.
His concept work - amazing. He's done concept work for DOCTOR WHO, WATCHMEN (TV series), RED DWARF, THE OUTPOST, PEAKY BLINDERS, and more!
Solid 3D work as well. I believe a lot of the sets and places in his shorts may be 3D, so this skill is most likely super important as well.
And....a feature is what is really needed here. Even if it's an anthology feature of short films tied together with a through-line story. His writing is so good. I'd love to see what he could do with more time and cash seeing that he's knocking it out of the park with the shorts he's done so far.
But, maybe that's not even on his radar and short tales is what he enjoys and wants to continue making. If that is the case, I hope that there are more avenues for short features where his work can be seen.
LOVING the work of Stefan Koidl!!! Amazing artistic skills aside, his creation of really wild and creepy images is magical and chill inspiring.
He has a very interesting style as well. He plays with perspective and focal depth in his art that really helps sell the scene. The worlds he spins into life are all at once beautiful and horrible. Check him out on the links above and show this amazing artist some love!
Just imagine driving and running into this scene!!!! Holy crap!!
Agent Tony passed this gent over to me recently and I LOVE his work.
Uno Moralez was born in Bashkortostan; a republic in the Russian Federation. His work as this crazy, creepy quality that I adore. The distinctive look and feel reminds me a bit of David Lynch's work, but the style is utterly unique.
I got word that there was a chance to see and review this film and jumped at the chance. I had reviewed a previous production by these folks called THE BIG BAD and had enjoyed it, so I was excited to see their new offering. And - spoiler - I loved it.
The Moose Head Over The Mantel review comes with a main caveat: This isn't your standard horror film. It's not a simple watch that you half pay attention to while gulping down handfuls of popcorn. There are some complex goings on here that require thought. If you're wanting horror bashes like HATCHET or THE CONJURING, leave this one alone - you probably won't be happy.
However, if you like fine acting and an excellent story presented in an absolutely interesting way, proceed!
Now, let's start with their awesome tagline: One family. One hundred years. Countless victims. Love it. We have it all right there.
The Moose Head Over The Mantel tells the story of the Hoffhienze Family. A family with a past filled with tragic stories. As 1983's Lillian Hoffhienze-Bachman, her husband Jay, and their son move into the family home, the onionskin-like layers of family history unfold. We have six stories that go all the way back to 1881, all seen by the titular...moose head over the mantel.
I loved the concept. It's a fun and entertaining way to present things. While the gimmick of the moose head isn't 100% (We see several angles of the room, but I let it go after the first few minutes) the story is super solid and the use of the head as a central hub was very cool. People see the huge thing and all have questions about it. And, it seems to move as well. That combined with some very cool sound designs and music queues keep the flow and pace of all the stories super fluid and kinetic.
We jump around in time between 1983, 1966, 1945, 1922, 1904, and 1881 seeing how generations of Hoffhienze seem to be the center of horrors of various sorts - "a bloodline wrought with abuse, dysfunction and violence." As things move on, you see the patterns and understand that the family is doomed to be in this violent cycle.
All the stories are strong here, which can sometimes be an issue in multi-story line films. I've seen anthologies where you love one of the four stories and that's a sad thing, indeed. I found something special in each one of the tales and thought that the way they were presented was exceptional. It was like watching a fluid play that worked like a top notch time piece. The gears of the story spun along and you saw various time periods whirl before you, but I never felt lost or confused. I believe this is due to the strong writing style of Jessi Gotta who also played Lillian Hoffhienze-Bachma. She knows how to write characters you actually care about and are interested in. Combine that with and additional five, solid Directors that have a background in producing and performing live theater and you have gold.
Directors: Rebecca Comtois ... (segment "1966") Bryan Enk ... (segment "1983") Jessi Gotta ... (segment "1945") Matthew Gray ... (segment "1904") Shannon K. Hall ... (segment "1922") Jane Rose ... (segment "1881")
Now, this is a slow burn of a film. No MTV like cuts or music videos here. You need to think about it like we're setting in for an atmosphere filled, gothic tale. Spooky tales told around the fireplace. Maybe a moose head peering down at you eerily in the firelight. :::grin::: Old tales of the past. Creepy tales spawned by real life stories. Yet another interesting layer the film.
Statement: The Hoffhienze family story is influenced and inspired by the notorious
lives of H.H. Holmes, The Bender Family, Lizzie Borden, Carl Panzram and
The Fox Sisters, as well as the Spiritualism movement of the late 19th
and early 20th centuries and the rise of psychiatric pharmacology in the
1970s and ‘80s.
I highly recommend The Moose Head Over The Mantel. It's not just a film. It's an experience. An immersion into a series of spaces and time periods that adds a new and vibrant energy into a genre that can really use it!
The Stendhal Syndrome is not one of Argento's stronger movies, but it's a movie that is packed with interesting parts. I believe that may be the best way to approach this film - viewing it as a film of parts and halves.
According to the WIKI: Stendhal syndrome, Stendhal's syndrome, hyperkulturemia, or Florence syndrome is a psychosomatic disorder that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to an experience of great personal significance, particularly viewing art.
The spoiler free review is simple.
Dario's daughter, Asia Argento, plays Det. Anna Manni. When we meet her, she's rather frantically exploring a museum and we're not sure what she's doing there. She strolls through, viewing the paintings and artworks with a sort of crazy desperation. She collapses after seeing artwork come to overwhelming life before her. As she starts to come to her senses, we find out that she's a detective on the trail of a serial rapist/murderer. Unfortunately, it seems she's the object of his obsessions - a pet project. She catches up with him, but he gets the upper hand and has his way with her violently. And so begins their odd, destructive, violent, and horrifying relationship.
I won't say much more to avoid spoilers.
Hitchcock had to be the influence for this film - there is a Hitchcock vibe throughout the film in the introduction of characters, pace, lighting and framing, and plot development. It's very interesting to compare this to something like Vertigo which is another film of halves. There are Brian De Palma aspects to the film as well, especially in the lighting and the use of shadows. Of course, Dario Argento is no stranger to fantastic lighting - I would never say that he was just copying other directors. Not at all.
The Stendhal effects in the film are rather wild. Artwork slowly slips into life with sounds and vibrancy, then eventually Det. Manni actually interacts with the artwork and is able to move inside the art itself. There are some stunning scenes in this film.
Asia is adorable as always and manages to stretch a bit as an actress here. She really gives her all and runs a full range of emotion from whimpering, helpless damsel to aggressive wildcat. I thought she did a grand job working with the acting tools at her disposal.
Thomas Kretschmann plays a wondrous horror as the rapist. He went on to play Dracula in Argento's Dracula 3D...which I actually kinda liked, though everyone HATED it! hehehe My expectations were subterranean. He's a monster in Stendhal as well - an evil creature. Marco Leonardi is also in this, though his acting and the role is a major step down from CINEMA PARADISO, I have to say.
Now, I watched this as part of my GIALLO OCTOBER fest - now to be referred to as...wait for it....
GIALLOCTOBER FEST 2016! :)
However, this really doesn't fit into my definition of classic giallo or even horror to be honest. More like "giallo light"or classic thriller. However there are still giallo-like elements at play here. And, the film is very heavy on some major dramatic elements as well.
The subject matter is rough, for sure. Very hard to watch. Brutal acts of violent rape are portrayed, albeit as tastefully as they could possibly be. I'm not even sure there is any nudity in the film. There are several non-sexual acts of violence as well, but unlike other Argento films like DEEP RED, they are not overplayed and could possibly be counted on one hand, really. Another interesting aspect of the film.
The film is long. Too long. It could have easily told the same story with a tight 90 to 100 minute running time. At roughly 2 hours in length, it's easily split into two stories. However, the time isn't completely wasted. Argento looked like he was trying to create something beyond what he had before artistically and it shows. It's visually interesting throughout and packed with visual and audio style choices that add to the overall "edge of sanity"feel of the film.
It was obvious to me that Dario Argento was trying to make a statement with the film. The last few scenes of the film really hit home for me and helped to erase any lingering feelings of the film's running time being too long or the story being thin in parts out of my mind - it's a powerful wrap up for a story that was surprisingly deep and effective.
Other Argento films should be watched before this, but The Stendhal Syndrome should definitely be part of any Argento fan's viewing list. Check it!
