Revenge (Hevn)

Full disclosure - REVENGE is not a horror film.

When I got the screener, I THOUGHT it was a horror film, but no. I was fine with the fact, however. I don't JUST watch horror. After I figured it out, I said, "Well, I just won't put it on the blog," and continued watching. However, when I finished it, it was so damn good that I had to write about it even if it's not horror. It's a fantastic film.

Note two. It's a foreign film and I know some people are deathly afraid of subtitles and having to read, so if you are one of those folks, be warned.  Moving on.

The film is about Rebekka - a woman looking for payback. She goes after her sister's violator in Western Norway and manages to get into their family and community looking to kill the person who ruined her sister. But, as Kahn says, "Revenge is a dish best served cold."  :::grin:::   Why not really make the suffering last? She begins a campaign to ruin the person who ruined her sister's life.





I just finished watching the film and it's just fantastic. It's a character driven drama with so many sharp edges to it that it really keeps you engaged and wondering what will happen next. There are moments of dread that spike up and really added a small "thriller" element to the film that I loved. Like when you are driving along in a car and suddenly hit a dip or hill in the road that shifts you around like a roller coaster for a moment. You're left slightly shocked and you heart is beating faster...and it's fun!

Kjersti Steinsbø's screenplay (based on the story by Ingvar Ambjørnsen) is super tight and rockets along at a pace that makes it a really fun ride. I had to look up Steinsbø's other work and now I plan to seek out the other films which include a film about a son who's umbilical cord is permanently attached to his mother so they are together all the time (WTF?!) , another about a death metal band getting stuck in a Catholic school and another that needs nothing more said about it than it's title - Viking Vampires. Love it. :)

The acting is fantastic as well. Just...mind blowing. Siren Jørgensen's performance as Rebekka rolls through so many emotions throughout the film that it's mind blowing. She has her big secret about her sister, comes to kill someone, than changes her mind and works on becoming part of his inner circle - all the while plotting his demise. She becomes friends with his wife. Watches their child. All the while bouncing between blank hate and kind cheer and friendship. Wonderful.

And the supporting cast is fantastic as well. Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Trond Espen Seim, Helene Bergsholm, Maria Bock Maria Bock all come in as amazing and move through scenes solidly. There's something about the European acting style that I really enjoy. Not sure what it is. It's more...believable? I can just watch and I don't get caught up in thinking they are acting. They just...are the characters. Especially the tension between Frode Winther as Morten, the man who did the sister wrong and Siren Jørgensen as Rebekka. Jebus....tension you could cut with a knife.

And the environment is like a "COME TO NORWAY" advert. It's friggin BEAUTIFUL! I want to go now!

But...and I'll try not to lean into spoilers, though there are not many....do two wrongs of this nature make a right? Especially if she took her first course of action and just killed him. I mean, sure - he's not around to hurt anyone else, but that's against the law as well. And the tack that Rebekka takes to fix things has an edge as well. Is it fair? Does Morten make valid points about Rebekka's role in what happened as well?

It's a really intense and thought provoking film that dials in the RIGHT OR WRONG nature of peoples actions expertly. Most people in the film do or say something that you can look at and say, "Well...wait a minute. Um...that sounds right and I totally get where you are coming from, but do you see how it's also really...REALLY wrong?" I love that in a film. The blurry lines between right and wrong.

Long and the short is that I LOVED this film. I think I'll go see it again when it comes to theaters - tomorrow, August 17th 2018 across the US - so I can see the visuals again on the big screen. So beautiful.



Film fans.  Acting fans. Story fans.   You need to check out REVENGE (Hevn) at once. It's a fantastic film that needs people to see it and enjoy it. It's earned it in my book. 

Suite 313

Easy does it. Eeeeeeasy. This is not a "great" film. This film isn't going to be on many "BEST OF" lists. However...it's totally entertaining and with a 63 minute runtime...it's well worth checking out.

Basically what we have here is a first person shooter horror game brought to life. And, they actually do a pretty good job of it.

An officer is called out to answer a 911 type call. When he arrives on the scene, he can tell that things are far from ok. There are several grisly scenes laid out before him and as he tries to piece things together, he gets a call from the original 911 caller telling him that he's in danger and that he needs to listen to what she has to say very carefully.

The female caller guides him along as things become more and more grim. But...what is the true nature of Suite 313?

 The film has all the video game tropes. First person perspective. Traps. Monsters. Jump scares. I found myself giggling from time to time because it actually kinda reminded me of the old SEGA games they were knocking out with video clips playing as you played along. Like the one I loved and made it through called SEWER SHARK. Just...without the horrid compression artifacts. :::grin::::



The filmmakers also manage to avoid the horrid camera vortex found in many found footage style films. The camera sweeping around in an awful way making the viewer ill. The cam is rather steady throughout Suite 313 and I REALLY appreciated it.





The effects are rather well done overall. While the budget is rather low, the effects play out in some gory and ghastly ways.






I hope that writer/director Aaron Pederis continues making films. Maybe one with a more standard narrative the next round. I dig his style and he seems to have a real grasp on the genre.


Give it a go! Free with AMAZON PRIME as of the time of this posting.

GAME: Dead Route

DEAD ROUTE by 2 Zombie Games is a ton of fun!  It's a simple game with great graphics...and FREE!  It can be found here on iTunes, or at the Google Play store.  They have a Twitter presence as well - https://twitter.com/2zombiegames


The overall setup is simple. You're running from point A to point B. The streets are filled with zombies - more and more of them as the game goes on. You are tasked with various things along the way. Killing a certain number of zombies, getting supplies, etc. You are at a full sprint and don't stop, so you need to sidestep and leap over obstacles.  The auto aiming makes it fun.

The graphics are rather good seeing as this is a free little game. The simple nature mixed with the complexity of tasks makes it a lot of fun to play. I'll jump in, play a few levels, then jump out and it's always a fun time.

There are mapped area buttons that show the tasks and levels. A simple click sends you running down the street on that task. Shooting your way down the street and taking down zombies while hoping and snagging crates is a fun little time waster that I believe you will really enjoy.






You have the classic "grab money boxes, save up, and buy stuff at the store" deal to level up your weapons and the like. And the ever present "in game purchase" options, but I never do that. Heh. So, I figured I'd show my support for the game by putting this little review out into the universe to show them some love.

Give it a go!

A Virgin Among the Living Dead

There's gourmet chocolate. It's refined and delicious. It melts in your mouth bursting with wondrous flavor combinations and sensations. Think SUSPIRIA or BLOOD AND BLACK LACE or DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING.

Then there's A Virgin Among the Living Dead - the M&Ms brand of chocolate that's not magical or expensive, but still tastes pretty darn good and makes you happy.

A young woman's relative is ill, so she pays a visit to her estranged family at their villa in the country to see her before she passes away. She makes it just in time to say her goodbye and gets a sinister warning. "Run. Run far away!"

It took me a while, but I'm a big Jess Franco fan now. I kinda get him. He loved horror. He loved women. He loved film making. He just went up to 11 on everything. Nude women romping through horrific situations as his wild camera followed them kinetically. They are so much fun. And this "Old Dark House" style film delivers all of the above and more as the mystery unfolds. And of course, Jess is right in there as one of the family members, so that's fun too.


And the film as some fantastic, Franco dialogue as well as his wild storyline and convenient situations.

"Poor soul! Beyond words! You must get away from here. You'll fry in your own hell, believe me. Ask me no questions, just get away from here."

"Run! Get out of the valley! Can you see everything here is dead?! Get out of here!"
"Come on. You're not going to believe a crazy old man."



"Come and try it. There's nothing like the taste of blood. Try it. Try it, Christina. hahahahahahah" 

It's a warm blanket of a film that delivers up some crazy characters, giggles, lot and lots and lots of camera zooms, and....yeah...a lot of nudity.  The film does have a great, shadow filled look to it that makes me happy. Everything is lit by candles and dim, but then you'll enter a room and it's bright as day in the middle of the night! heheheh  I love it.

Seventies horror lovers need to check this one out for sure. I don't know what else to say here. Is it a good movie? Well, it's very entertaining and fun, so I'd say yes. But, it's not good in that "good" way. It's good in a "what the hell am I watching here?!" sort of way that I love. You watch things unfold and giggle as you mutter little quips and jokes as the film plays on. I dare you to give this a go!

I think I might have to snag a Franco box set. His films are so strange and interesting.

The Forest of the Lost Souls

This spoiler free review will be rather short - I don't want to give things away for this one.

First...the elephant in the room.

If you are looking for a fast paced gore fest...don't watch this one. Just move along. Nothing for you to see here. :::grin:::  This film takes it's time to tell a story and gives you visually stunning images to go along with it's deep, philosophical discussions as things build and build.

This is the first feature film for writer/director José Pedro Lopes and it's a fantastic effort bringing in three awards to date from the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Fant, Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival, and Triple Six Horror Film Festival and the awards are well deserved.


Without saying too much about plot, I'll give you a very brief overview.

The titular FOREST OF THE LOST SOULS is very similar to Japan's Aokigahara, also known as the Sea of Trees. A place to go to commit suicide - filled with bodies and sadness. Two strangers meet in the woods - both there to end their lives. The discussion that follows leads to some rather interesting happenings. I'll say no more.

The film starts out slow for sure. It lets the viewer discover things. See the surroundings. Do a bit of wondering. That wondering time is very important throughout the film. There's not a lot of clumsy exposition walking the viewer through what's going on. I LOVED that. Nothing makes me more crazy while watching a film. Especially horror.

"Hmmm....the guy in the mask - HE must be the SON of the Baron who...as we all know....had a mistress in the village. She disappeared shortly after they met. Remember?"

This film has none of that. It tells it's story and lets you figure things out. And, it gives you everything you need to do so.

As I said, the film is shot beautifully. The black and white is perfect for the subject matter. It plays off like a modern day Bergman film - moody and dark and full of things lurking in the corners. There's a richness to the visuals that I found to be very pleasing. The cinematography was stunning.

The film is a foreign language film...unless you're from Portugal, of course. However, the film isn't heavy on dialogue, so those who fear subtitles need not be too scared. It's a drama with horrific moments that hits every point it makes an effort to hit. The acting is fantastic and all the characters seem real and well rounded.

The film stars Daniela Love, Jorge Mota, Mafalda Banquart, Ligia Roque and Lilia Lopes. It is produced by Ana Almeida with production companies Anexo 82, Studio 2203, Creatura and Agenta a Norte.

I highly recommend this...I'm going to say it again... "thinking person's horror film". I believe film lovers, horror lovers, and mystery lovers will enjoy this immensely. Well worth a viddy!

Hitting theaters August 3rd, 2018

https://deadline.com/2018/06/wild-eye-releasing-sets-portuguese-horror-film-the-forest-of-the-lost-souls-as-debut-theatrical-release-1202415581/

Murder Obsession

Ok...this is not one of my favorite giallo films. Not by a long shot. It's ponderous, super slow, all over the place....but the ending is somewhat comical and amusing, so it MAY be worth a watch for some of you true genre fans.

The plot is rather straight forward. A movie star named Michael Stanford goes back to his home with some movie folks and his girlfriend to spend the weekend at the family villa. But, of course things can't just be simple, right? He doesn't want his mother to know about his girlfriend, so he has her pretend to be his assistant. Odd, right? People start dying - that's never good. And...there was something else. OH!  Michael stabbed his Father to death! That's it! :)

Some of the standout items in this fun little romp are the way Michael and his mother interact - cringe inducing for sure. He's talking to his mother and she's nearly falling out of her shirt all the time. :::cringe:::   The beautiful Laura Gemser is mesmerizing. And then there's the other star of the film - Stefano Patrizi's FUCKING MUSTACHE! HOLY COW is it distracting! heheheheh It's like that thing some folks do to look older, but in this case he just ends up looking like a five year old boy with a mustache. heheheheh

The film stumbles and limps along, but does manage to ramp things up to 11 for the thrilling climax. I had to really make an effort to push through this one, starting and stopping it a few times over the course of a month or so. However, it hit a stride at one point and I was able to make it through. And boy was I happy that I did. hehehe. What a nutty flick.

Check it.

Uh....say what?

All the Colors of the Dark (1972 aka Tutti i Colori del Buio)

And we're into another Sergio Martino classic with All the Colors of the Dark starring the :::heavy sigh and swoon:::  wondrous Edwige Fenech. So lovely. Those eyes. :::sigh:::   AHEM! Uh....

A CLASSIC....that's where I was. :)

Edwige plays Jane Harrison who has lost her unborn child after a car accident. She is having SUPER strange nightmares and is really slipping into a state of depression and madness. Her husband pushes her meds on her, but her sister Barbara (the awesome Nieves Navarro) wants her to try some less medicinal ways of dealing with her loss by talking to a Dr. and leaving the pills behind. But, who is the mysterious man (Ivan Rassimov) that is following her around town...and peeking at her? Is her neighbor really trying to be her friend...or is she involved in some other way herself?




We have a lot of Martino goodness in here as well. Handheld, kinetic camera movements and dramatic shots with great lighting make this a great giallo sampling, though it's not one to start with if you're new to the genre. It's pace and sometimes confused storyline may turn off those that are not obsessed with gialli.





This film is wacky for sure, but it has some fun moments. And...you know...I'll stare at Edwige on the screen no matter what she's up to! heheheh.  The film runs off the tracks a few times, but manages to stay on course for a fun and diabolical ending.

Well worth a viddy!