The lone directorial opus of long time stuntman and uncredited walk on player George Robotham, also his only foray into writing and production, Dark Echo is one of those films generally interesting less for what it does but how it does it. The plot is simple but alluring stuff, a picturesque lakeside town is menaced by a bedraggled ghoul, the rather awesomely named Captain Gohr (that's Captain Manfred Gohr!) who has returned after a hundred years to kill the descendants of those who blamed him for a tragic boat wreck. After several deaths, a suave psychic is brought in to investigate, and investigate he does. This is almost all that happens. Where much European horror of the time would have ladled on gore and nudity into a leery gaze at the fractured and secretive realm of small town living, perhaps taking pot shots at war, religion, capitalism or the nuclear family, this opts for an approach rather like that of a 50's monster film. Mature, imaginatively open people pursue a mysterious beast that is known to the audience from the outset, there's a progression of scares into a big shock that establishes the climax, young hedonists are around to drum up the teens who neck at the drive in crowd but ultimately prove their real worth. The monster signifies itself alone (there's a message about vanity but it's hardly sophisticated or insightful), the dangers are simple and direct, no status quo is overthrown. Even the aspects that do seem up to date (nudity from the aforementioned hedonistic youths, the stand out gore gag) don't stick out but appear simply as part of a refined template. It even stays true to the notable flaw of older films with an ending that is somewhat pat and predictable after what has come before, although the revelation of Gohr as a rather good menacingly decrepit and ghastly being impresses more than expected.
The main difference is that the svelte, usually under 80 minute run times of older fare were no longer so popular, so Dark Echo gives us plenty of filler, what might have been passably exciting at 75 minutes is more of a charming amble at 91. There's a distinct travelogue vibe as our hero is first seen skiing, then is roused from his poolside relaxation, gets to hang out at a local bar where he teaches the keep how to mix a martini, sees local spots of interest and generally lightly takes in the colour without getting too stressed out about the mounting body count. Some may be put off by all this but it actually makes for a rather nice atmosphere, what with a castle, church and its yard with curious triangle headed graves, an ossuary and generally pleasing architecture and furnishings. Plus the cast is generally attractive and charismatic (especially Karin Dor) and there's a pretty spiffing elderly witch with a pet raven. It overall comes across as a curious, eager but inexperienced and stumbling thing, succeeding more often than not but less through skill than commitment. If this were gorier it could have been pretty great instead of an obscurity that only had like, three home video releases before resurfacing in the internet era, but it does alright for what it is. Not something to pursue unless you have to then, but for those who do it ain't too shabby.
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
Monday, 9 September 2013
Dr Hackenstein (1988) Richard Clark
With the exception of the more offbeat, tasteless and splattery, I'm not a great fan of horror comedy. Sure, the two are just opposite ends of the same snake, they should work so well together, but somehow I find much horror comedy has the two ends going in opposite directions instead of feeding off of each other. So I wasn't exactly well primed to watch Dr. Hackenstein but I settled down to it all the same. Mostly for the name. Just can't resist a name like Dr. Hackenstein. And really, neither can you. Most of you aren't even reading this right now because you just opened another tab to go load the movie up on Youtube. I could spend the rest of this review besmirching your saintly mothers and virtuous maiden aunts and you'd be none the wiser. I won't though because I'm a mature adult, ass dick titty poop.
Anyhoo, this isn't much to write home about. A couple of hot bitch sisters, their annoying ass whiny creepo little brother and cute nice girl cousin crash their car and wind up at the house of the titular doc. He just so happens to need a sets of limbs, as his wife has been reduced to a severed head and is none too pleased about the state of affairs, communicating through telepathy. Fun fact, severed heads are capable of developing awesome telepathic and telekinetic powers, as their functions are unimpeded by the needs of the body. Unfortunately they still need the whole support structure of heart and lungs so few remain alive long enough to develop such powers. But back to the film. From the outset, this is remarkably sane and competent for something distributed by Troma. The story, the structure, the humour, all very conventional, the acting mostly restrained, production values fair and direction and editing all up to snuff by "normal" standards. This is good in some ways, giving the film an innately easy watchability. But without any intrinsic weirdness to go on the requirements are a good deal higher for the rest of the film to impress.
There's some good stuff here, but not enough and some judicious pruning would have helped to make it stand out more. The title role is charmingly essayed by one David Muir, with the right weird enthusiasm and undercurrent of menace. He seems like he probobly had the chops to be a fair b horror player but his only other role outside of television was in Neon Maniacs (which I've not seen). The three girls are attractive and likeable enough to watch, with the lead played by Stacy Travis, who went on to star in Richard Stanley's classic Hardware. There are a couple of kooky old graverobbers played by Anne and Logan Ramsey, they bring the frankly dim material alive by playing it like second nature and seeming to have a good time, the same goes for a short appearance from Phylis Diller as an irascible biddy. The house in which most of the film takes place is a sturdily imposing place, and the laboratory well kitted out with pipes, bottles, tubing and frothing colourful fluids. There's brief nudity (including corpse boobs, nobody doesn't like corpse boobs) and what effects shots are there (too few really) are actually pretty well handled. And there's an interesting if not especially original detour into dark poignancy in the climax. But at the same time there's too much walking, driving, sitting and staring. Lots of dead space and not really the good kind. And some mostly unfunny deaf mute housekeeper humour. The sort of thing that's only funny when pushed to ludicrous extremes, which here it is not. So I guess this is kinda dull in spells. Not quite enough to get truly tedious, but definitely dull. Still, you could do a hell of a lot worse on a slow evening. Watch if you must, I guess.
Anyhoo, this isn't much to write home about. A couple of hot bitch sisters, their annoying ass whiny creepo little brother and cute nice girl cousin crash their car and wind up at the house of the titular doc. He just so happens to need a sets of limbs, as his wife has been reduced to a severed head and is none too pleased about the state of affairs, communicating through telepathy. Fun fact, severed heads are capable of developing awesome telepathic and telekinetic powers, as their functions are unimpeded by the needs of the body. Unfortunately they still need the whole support structure of heart and lungs so few remain alive long enough to develop such powers. But back to the film. From the outset, this is remarkably sane and competent for something distributed by Troma. The story, the structure, the humour, all very conventional, the acting mostly restrained, production values fair and direction and editing all up to snuff by "normal" standards. This is good in some ways, giving the film an innately easy watchability. But without any intrinsic weirdness to go on the requirements are a good deal higher for the rest of the film to impress.
There's some good stuff here, but not enough and some judicious pruning would have helped to make it stand out more. The title role is charmingly essayed by one David Muir, with the right weird enthusiasm and undercurrent of menace. He seems like he probobly had the chops to be a fair b horror player but his only other role outside of television was in Neon Maniacs (which I've not seen). The three girls are attractive and likeable enough to watch, with the lead played by Stacy Travis, who went on to star in Richard Stanley's classic Hardware. There are a couple of kooky old graverobbers played by Anne and Logan Ramsey, they bring the frankly dim material alive by playing it like second nature and seeming to have a good time, the same goes for a short appearance from Phylis Diller as an irascible biddy. The house in which most of the film takes place is a sturdily imposing place, and the laboratory well kitted out with pipes, bottles, tubing and frothing colourful fluids. There's brief nudity (including corpse boobs, nobody doesn't like corpse boobs) and what effects shots are there (too few really) are actually pretty well handled. And there's an interesting if not especially original detour into dark poignancy in the climax. But at the same time there's too much walking, driving, sitting and staring. Lots of dead space and not really the good kind. And some mostly unfunny deaf mute housekeeper humour. The sort of thing that's only funny when pushed to ludicrous extremes, which here it is not. So I guess this is kinda dull in spells. Not quite enough to get truly tedious, but definitely dull. Still, you could do a hell of a lot worse on a slow evening. Watch if you must, I guess.
Leptirica (1973) Djordje Kadijevic
I'm most fond of delving into the output of countries less well represented in the international community of fear, I find sometimes a most pleasant dislocation even before approaching the nuts and bolts of story and scares. But alas, sometimes I find myself caught out as a less than ideal audience, or even just straight up disappointed. Such is the case here, with apparently Yugoslavia's first ever horror film. Leptirica to be fair starts rather well, an old miller sleeps for the night as the wheels turn, but soon eyes rise from the dark. Long, hairy fingers, fearsome fangs, attack and bloodied neck in flour. It's a fine scene in the vampire as monstrosity tradition, and an ideal set up. Who will step up to the job, face the beast and provide a small village with their vital flour? Why, it's the sort of endeavour that could make a hero of a poor young man and win him the dainty hand of the local rich man's daughter!
Things do not go as you might expect. While some kudos are I suppose merited for a film avoiding the traditional structure of such a tale, Leptirica fails to replace it with something more interesting. There's a first night for young hero, Strahinja, who survives the ghoul and is hailed by the villagers, but rather than continue his job and thus have the film space out portions of fear, most time is spent with the local council, a gathering of witless capering drunks whose behaviour does little to compel or amuse. So the plot moves too slowly for a film of a mere 63 minutes, and there's unfortunate near dead time. Strahinja remains a colorless, vaguely unlikeable figure throughout, and the human antagonist, rich man Zivan, is similarly uninspiring. The only tension really comes from daughter Radojka, an ethereal lady of long fair hair and subtle but definite air of the sensually ominous, her presence captivates, her scenes drawing the interest through to the end. The end returns to the promise of the opening, a mad whirling and fairly unsettling affair, the lack of explanation leaves things a little open to interpretation but the visceral effects satisfy. Too little too late though.
This did fulfil my basic desire to spend time in a place almost entirely unknown to me, but without much in the way of an effective horror experience I can't say as it was all that good of a time. I suspect older Serbs and those in general more familiar with the source literature and culture may still be impressed by this, but I am not they. Still worth investigating for horror historians and perhaps for those that just plain like to watch obscurities, but expectations are best kept low and the latter group should probably just skip to director Djordje Kadijevic's later, superior and more obscure piece Sveto Mesto. Toodles!
Things do not go as you might expect. While some kudos are I suppose merited for a film avoiding the traditional structure of such a tale, Leptirica fails to replace it with something more interesting. There's a first night for young hero, Strahinja, who survives the ghoul and is hailed by the villagers, but rather than continue his job and thus have the film space out portions of fear, most time is spent with the local council, a gathering of witless capering drunks whose behaviour does little to compel or amuse. So the plot moves too slowly for a film of a mere 63 minutes, and there's unfortunate near dead time. Strahinja remains a colorless, vaguely unlikeable figure throughout, and the human antagonist, rich man Zivan, is similarly uninspiring. The only tension really comes from daughter Radojka, an ethereal lady of long fair hair and subtle but definite air of the sensually ominous, her presence captivates, her scenes drawing the interest through to the end. The end returns to the promise of the opening, a mad whirling and fairly unsettling affair, the lack of explanation leaves things a little open to interpretation but the visceral effects satisfy. Too little too late though.
This did fulfil my basic desire to spend time in a place almost entirely unknown to me, but without much in the way of an effective horror experience I can't say as it was all that good of a time. I suspect older Serbs and those in general more familiar with the source literature and culture may still be impressed by this, but I am not they. Still worth investigating for horror historians and perhaps for those that just plain like to watch obscurities, but expectations are best kept low and the latter group should probably just skip to director Djordje Kadijevic's later, superior and more obscure piece Sveto Mesto. Toodles!
Tuesday, 20 August 2013
The Newlydeads (1987) Joseph Merhi
One way I almost always know a film will be a good time is by an opening driving sequence. From Manos to The Shining and all sorts in between, opening driving sequences are sure signs of quality entertainment. The Newlydeads opens promisingly with road, rain, radio, vamp red nails on steering wheel, otherwise unseen driver. Then the driver arrives at a lodge and swiftly succumbs to the advances of the sleazy manager. But wait a second, this is no lady! Scuffle scuffle, bish bash bosh and a corkscrew to the bonce. Cut to 15 years later.
The essential set up screams out for a good cheesy slasher (murderous zombie drag queen is a hell of a hook), but the execution is confused at best. A small array of doltish death fodder is roughly established, often with hooks for us to want to see them die like pickled prick of a preacher, charmingly deaf elderly couple and such, but outside of one classically styled double murder there's actually little in the expected line and a good handful of the cast have little to no bearing on the plot despite their screen time. Jackie, for that is the name of our mouldering evil-doer seems at first to want to ruin her killer's business and marriage by popping up at inopportune moments and offing his guests, but then it seems that she actually wants him. I'm sure it's not entirely unknown for a head stabbing to light the torch d'amour, but in this case I'm just going to go with it not making sense. It's also unclear whether Jackie is supposed to be more of a visceral undead slayer or powerful supernatural being, both possibilities being touched on. Then there's an action that by any logical plot progression would be climactic but instead takes place with relatively little fanfare some half hour before the end, and a death which should be pivotal or at the very least emotional but is only noticed after the fact, and then immediately glossed over. And naturally, the ending is abrupt, bizarre, inappropriate and lacking in actual closure.
As you might have guessed, this one is pretty much garbage. But it's the good kind of garbage, fast paced, lively and reasonably short with the end credits coming in around 76 minutes. There's a spot of nudity, a bit of gore, the zombie makeup is suitably grody as far as paste and paint jobs go, the final block is good fun and the whole is consistently stupid while just about keeping the right side of obnoxious. Worth a watch if you're a fiend like me with low low standards. Maybe.
The essential set up screams out for a good cheesy slasher (murderous zombie drag queen is a hell of a hook), but the execution is confused at best. A small array of doltish death fodder is roughly established, often with hooks for us to want to see them die like pickled prick of a preacher, charmingly deaf elderly couple and such, but outside of one classically styled double murder there's actually little in the expected line and a good handful of the cast have little to no bearing on the plot despite their screen time. Jackie, for that is the name of our mouldering evil-doer seems at first to want to ruin her killer's business and marriage by popping up at inopportune moments and offing his guests, but then it seems that she actually wants him. I'm sure it's not entirely unknown for a head stabbing to light the torch d'amour, but in this case I'm just going to go with it not making sense. It's also unclear whether Jackie is supposed to be more of a visceral undead slayer or powerful supernatural being, both possibilities being touched on. Then there's an action that by any logical plot progression would be climactic but instead takes place with relatively little fanfare some half hour before the end, and a death which should be pivotal or at the very least emotional but is only noticed after the fact, and then immediately glossed over. And naturally, the ending is abrupt, bizarre, inappropriate and lacking in actual closure.
As you might have guessed, this one is pretty much garbage. But it's the good kind of garbage, fast paced, lively and reasonably short with the end credits coming in around 76 minutes. There's a spot of nudity, a bit of gore, the zombie makeup is suitably grody as far as paste and paint jobs go, the final block is good fun and the whole is consistently stupid while just about keeping the right side of obnoxious. Worth a watch if you're a fiend like me with low low standards. Maybe.
Freeway Maniac (1989) Paul Winters
Ah late 80's slashers, the glorious bottomless pit of inanity, where the serious is often hilarious and the humorous tortuous. Where sincerity is an accomplishment in itself and actual accomplishment is strictly a fringe benefit. The broad streak of what appears to be intentional comedy in Freeway Maniac should be its downfall, but its hard to dislike such an ungainly shambles of a thing, powered with distinct idiot verve.
Things get off to a double classic start. First a short few moments of anonymous driving footage. Who is in the car? Who knows? Where is it going? See above. I'm not sure it ever even turns up again actually. But since much of the film is about driving lets just call it atmospheric foreshadowing. Then things switch to crudely enthusiastic kitchen sex, interrupted by stalker POV shots and stabbing. No impact shots, just the blade going up and down and getting a bit of red on it. The man of the scene seems to quite clearly have been stabbed in the back, yet he falls over clutching his stomach and his back is entirely unharmed. Good times...
Expected things follow. Stabby child has grown up to be a savage hulking lunatic named Arthur. Breaks out of an asylum through the miracle of astoundingly lax security measures, leaves a trail of corpses. Meanwhile pretty young model/actress Linda is having a bad day. Her partner is a cheat, her car breaks down and she gets menaced by gas station sleazoids. Fortunately Arthur turns up to deliver from peril. Unfortunately he also wants to deliver her from life (or something) since she apparently resembles his dear mama. He gets sent back to the funny farm, and expected things happen again. And half the movie is yet to come....
To be honest there really isn't too much good here. Arthur is an imposing specimen and he kills loads of people (also at one point he eats a snake and howls like a coyote, that was fun), but since there's no real gore, only a little blood and barely even any impact shots, only a handful are especially effective. Being a big guy and prone to fighting and bludgeoning rather than hacking and stabbing, there's a somewhat pleasing rough and tumble brio to Arthur's attacks, but the choreography is pretty amateurish. The film seems to vaguely posit him as anti hero tireless overcoming obstacles in his quest, but forgets to make him very funny or interesting. Only the briefest of nudity, no suspense and worst of all perhaps, the execution is mostly low level incompetence rather than joyous insanity. But it bustles along nicely. I was rarely bored, there's an ever faintly glowing core of offbeat energy. I even laughed out loud a few times. I've not gone too much into the films specific good bits because if you're like me and you just have to watch films like this, the good bits are better left as a surprise. But I definitely thought there were a few good bits. Actually, I think I can probably mention that Robby Krieger was responsible for the soundtrack and that it kinda rocks. So there's that. Anyways, you probably shouldn't bother with this one unless you feel like you have to, but if you do have to it won't have you breaking out the eye chisel or anything. Watchable crap/score.
Things get off to a double classic start. First a short few moments of anonymous driving footage. Who is in the car? Who knows? Where is it going? See above. I'm not sure it ever even turns up again actually. But since much of the film is about driving lets just call it atmospheric foreshadowing. Then things switch to crudely enthusiastic kitchen sex, interrupted by stalker POV shots and stabbing. No impact shots, just the blade going up and down and getting a bit of red on it. The man of the scene seems to quite clearly have been stabbed in the back, yet he falls over clutching his stomach and his back is entirely unharmed. Good times...
Expected things follow. Stabby child has grown up to be a savage hulking lunatic named Arthur. Breaks out of an asylum through the miracle of astoundingly lax security measures, leaves a trail of corpses. Meanwhile pretty young model/actress Linda is having a bad day. Her partner is a cheat, her car breaks down and she gets menaced by gas station sleazoids. Fortunately Arthur turns up to deliver from peril. Unfortunately he also wants to deliver her from life (or something) since she apparently resembles his dear mama. He gets sent back to the funny farm, and expected things happen again. And half the movie is yet to come....
To be honest there really isn't too much good here. Arthur is an imposing specimen and he kills loads of people (also at one point he eats a snake and howls like a coyote, that was fun), but since there's no real gore, only a little blood and barely even any impact shots, only a handful are especially effective. Being a big guy and prone to fighting and bludgeoning rather than hacking and stabbing, there's a somewhat pleasing rough and tumble brio to Arthur's attacks, but the choreography is pretty amateurish. The film seems to vaguely posit him as anti hero tireless overcoming obstacles in his quest, but forgets to make him very funny or interesting. Only the briefest of nudity, no suspense and worst of all perhaps, the execution is mostly low level incompetence rather than joyous insanity. But it bustles along nicely. I was rarely bored, there's an ever faintly glowing core of offbeat energy. I even laughed out loud a few times. I've not gone too much into the films specific good bits because if you're like me and you just have to watch films like this, the good bits are better left as a surprise. But I definitely thought there were a few good bits. Actually, I think I can probably mention that Robby Krieger was responsible for the soundtrack and that it kinda rocks. So there's that. Anyways, you probably shouldn't bother with this one unless you feel like you have to, but if you do have to it won't have you breaking out the eye chisel or anything. Watchable crap/score.
Sunday, 19 May 2013
The Territory (1981) Raoul Ruiz
A small group of wanderers find themselves lost in wilderness, and as time draws on become increasingly, violently unbound from the conventions and sanities of everyday society. It's a classic stock narrative of horror and prosaic drama alike, something that by now holds only a little interest. Happily The Territory is less concerned with grubby inhumanity nor grim adversity that drives it, but headspace. The action of mind, how it churns in isolation and the quirks and follies that spring, this is the concern, while the events may have parallels in reportage and history, may be considered a microcosm of societies at large, the concern is focused on the small.
So we see the urge to collect, to classify. Lists, numbers, repetition, order, theory and prediction. This urge, these expressions and their opposition, the playful, the absurd, the truly questioning that seeks beyond. Not unfamiliar stuff, but the loose, weird approach works very well. The notion of wilderness itself is important, compare with other films of like interest. Mind portrayed as virtually limitless wilderness, ever shifting and dotted with the inexplicable, captures something both more hopeful and more daunting than the similar horror of dark houses or sprawling hotels with characters digging in. Under roof one might be trapped but can still adjust, can make ones cosy nook, in wilderness one might ever roam, have ever the possibility of escape but never quite be safe. The execution is top notch, vivid photography and lighting bringing many pleasures. Red-orange sky like something apocalyptic, a coat of wintry snow, camera pulling slowly out into water, reflection of land giving way to clear and a few dead animals floating. A quite remarkable sequence as one man strides straight and boldly to find a way out, only for the very image to shift and blur out of focus into mocking unreality. And more of course, more weirdness and some violence besides.
There are a few of the flaws one almost expects from such a work, it is unfortunate to note. Moments of stiff acting and stilted dialogue, characters that maintain a sort of intellectual distance from the viewer where at times they should simply grip, some mis-calculations, abrupt ending. While it does work as a genre film it is art film at heart and at some points it is hard not to wish for a gnarlier punch. But whatever it's still pretty great, and if you've gotten here without skipping to the end you might like it as well. So, you know, go watch...
So we see the urge to collect, to classify. Lists, numbers, repetition, order, theory and prediction. This urge, these expressions and their opposition, the playful, the absurd, the truly questioning that seeks beyond. Not unfamiliar stuff, but the loose, weird approach works very well. The notion of wilderness itself is important, compare with other films of like interest. Mind portrayed as virtually limitless wilderness, ever shifting and dotted with the inexplicable, captures something both more hopeful and more daunting than the similar horror of dark houses or sprawling hotels with characters digging in. Under roof one might be trapped but can still adjust, can make ones cosy nook, in wilderness one might ever roam, have ever the possibility of escape but never quite be safe. The execution is top notch, vivid photography and lighting bringing many pleasures. Red-orange sky like something apocalyptic, a coat of wintry snow, camera pulling slowly out into water, reflection of land giving way to clear and a few dead animals floating. A quite remarkable sequence as one man strides straight and boldly to find a way out, only for the very image to shift and blur out of focus into mocking unreality. And more of course, more weirdness and some violence besides.
There are a few of the flaws one almost expects from such a work, it is unfortunate to note. Moments of stiff acting and stilted dialogue, characters that maintain a sort of intellectual distance from the viewer where at times they should simply grip, some mis-calculations, abrupt ending. While it does work as a genre film it is art film at heart and at some points it is hard not to wish for a gnarlier punch. But whatever it's still pretty great, and if you've gotten here without skipping to the end you might like it as well. So, you know, go watch...
The Woman With Red Hair (1979) Tatsumi Kumashiro
Bound in the conventions of a Nikkatsu picture but straining with a little art and fire to grasp something beyond, firmer and more meaningful, The Woman With Red Hair manages to be a quite reasonable watch while not altogether an especially compelling one. It begins striking, the fine titular female walking lone down the highway, shortly before a couple of thuggish labourers Kozo and Takao rape their bosses daughter under a pier. Driving home the woman with red hair hitches a ride, later entering a relationship with Kozo. Takao meanwhile grapples with the aftermath of his earlier relations, the possibility that he may now be a father. As with his earlier film Black Rose Ascension, director Tatsumi Kumashiro shows a talent for marginal society. Tough, crude men toiling to no discernable great end and hoping only for the prospect of more work, unable to relate to others in any other than brutal terms, oppressed without mercy by rain. They are trapped in their world, escape is futile, and the woman with red hair finds the same, she has sought to escape some kind of abusive partner, shadows of drug addiction, yet finds the same recurs.
This should be a powerful, emotive tale of rough passions boiling in claustrophobia, spitting and streaming over into savagery, but while the intense atmosphere is quite well sustained it does little to escalate and so becomes more wearying than gripping. There's a lot of sex, suitably joyless with breasts shots enough and skillfully shot to avoid the need for optical blurring, it no doubt suggests a certain intentional sobriety of approach while fulfilling the needs of the studio. But after a while the scenes exhaust what they have to say about the couple, and after that exhaust their own lack of meaning. The same is true for the dialogue, its banality stales not long after its purpose is clear. And worse, when events finally descend we get kid gloves rather than furious pummeling.
Still the cast at least draw things out nicely. gorgeous genre regular Junko Miyashita handles the title role, high strung and burning, yearning, hungry yet sad within. Frequently shrill yet she works rather well, for the character is without artifice, her fires are from her alone. Renjo Ishibashi is equally good as Kozo, in a somewhat more difficult role, his character truly isn't very likeable and yet he suggests with skill his irresistible drives and conflicting internal shifts. Kai Ato supports nicely albeit with considerably less screen time and hence reduced impact as Takao, something of a mirror image to Kozo, while the rest are decent enough.
In all, this is somewhat interesting but a little difficult to really recommend outside of serious genre enthusiasts and those with a deeper knowledge of Japanese culture and society. Without full on sleazy kicks or deep insights it's a smart but slight affair that rather tails off, by no means a "bad" film but not something impressive or all that memorable. Not one to get excited about hunting down then.
This should be a powerful, emotive tale of rough passions boiling in claustrophobia, spitting and streaming over into savagery, but while the intense atmosphere is quite well sustained it does little to escalate and so becomes more wearying than gripping. There's a lot of sex, suitably joyless with breasts shots enough and skillfully shot to avoid the need for optical blurring, it no doubt suggests a certain intentional sobriety of approach while fulfilling the needs of the studio. But after a while the scenes exhaust what they have to say about the couple, and after that exhaust their own lack of meaning. The same is true for the dialogue, its banality stales not long after its purpose is clear. And worse, when events finally descend we get kid gloves rather than furious pummeling.
Still the cast at least draw things out nicely. gorgeous genre regular Junko Miyashita handles the title role, high strung and burning, yearning, hungry yet sad within. Frequently shrill yet she works rather well, for the character is without artifice, her fires are from her alone. Renjo Ishibashi is equally good as Kozo, in a somewhat more difficult role, his character truly isn't very likeable and yet he suggests with skill his irresistible drives and conflicting internal shifts. Kai Ato supports nicely albeit with considerably less screen time and hence reduced impact as Takao, something of a mirror image to Kozo, while the rest are decent enough.
In all, this is somewhat interesting but a little difficult to really recommend outside of serious genre enthusiasts and those with a deeper knowledge of Japanese culture and society. Without full on sleazy kicks or deep insights it's a smart but slight affair that rather tails off, by no means a "bad" film but not something impressive or all that memorable. Not one to get excited about hunting down then.
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