8.5/10
活魔人 (1986) 豆瓣 维基数据 IMDb TMDB Eggplant.place
From Beyond
5.8 (26 个评分) 导演: 斯图尔特·戈登 演员: 杰弗瑞·考姆斯 / 芭芭拉·克兰普顿
其它标题: From Beyond / 지옥 인간
爱德华博士是一位有虐待癖的科学家,与其助手杰弗瑞发明了可以透视外层空间的机器。   一次实验中爱德华博士被外层空间的怪兽吃掉头颅,致使杰弗瑞被警方嫌疑,警方派出了警官肯和美丽的精神科医生芭芭拉调查。   为了澄清真相,芭芭拉要求杰弗瑞再现当时情景,杰弗瑞无奈打开机器以至使已经死亡的爱德华在外层空间以怪兽状现身,并迷上了芭芭拉医生 。此时的芭芭拉医生也难以自抑,原来此机器可刺激脑垂体使人具有超能感觉。无法自抑的芭芭拉再次启动机器,以享受这超能感觉,代价是牺牲了肯警官,并使自己与杰弗瑞一同关进了精神病院。   经历磨难的芭芭拉想毁掉机器,寻找更强超能感觉的杰弗瑞也逃出了精神病院,而此时深迷芭芭拉的爱德华博士也在外层空间启动了机器企图占有芭芭拉。
2022年3月11日 看过
2022年3月11日 评论 a review of 活魔人 - Takes the short story of the same name from one of horror's most significant authors and expands upon its basic premise to create a twisted tale of body horror and sadomasochistic sexuality that ends up carrying greater shades of Clive Barker than it does its original creator, H.P. Lovecraft. A lot of parallels can be drawn between this and Hellraiser as a man of deviant sexual tastes falls prey to beings from another dimension after establishing a connection to them and comes back a monster himself. What follows is a nightmare of grotesquely malformed beasts with a similar air of kinkiness stemming from the fetishistic use of leather and chains. The distinguishing factor being that the terror feels appropriately more alien than gothic. Like all the really good horror movies though, these characters are more at risk of succumbing to their own folly than they are the disgusting monsters that lurk outside of their natural perception and the gory fates they offer that will likely make your stomach churn. The only reason they're at danger in the first place is the protagonist's intoxication with the seductive allure of the other realm's ability to stimulate parts of the mind and awaken sensual urges. Then there's her co-lead who already knows the dangers present, yet isn't as combative as he should be to the whole process seemingly due to his attraction towards her. Watching the cast spell out their doom largely because of their lustful desires while hiding under the guise of scientific discovery infuses the madness with an understated psychosexual tinge. As interesting as all of that may sound though, it wouldn't matter if the film weren't entertaining. A slow start and the weak first half of its final act aside, things are a lot of gross-out fun and feature some excellent creature designs. It's whenever the heroes leave the single location where the machine allowing them to glimpse the "Beyond" resides that these low points occur. Luckily however, that's where the majority of it takes place. Also, despite all of my talk about the Freudian subtext, director Stuart Gordon frames the sex stuff with a kiddie pool level of depth. Apparently wanting you to enjoy it more for some surface level titillation as opposed to the underlying subtext of it. Still, regardless of the trappings stemming from his nature as a B-movie maker I'd say Gordon turned what I would, probably boldly, declare to be a severely underwhelming Lovecraft work into something worthwhile with legitimate substance you can pick up on underneath the trashier aspects. It's merging of nasty, face value thrills and unexpected connotations make it a a bit of an overlooked and underrated gem. Meaning it's worth checking out whether you enjoy the source material or not, provided you can handle how revolting the genre's content could be in the '80s when compared to today.
8.5/10
曼蒂 (2018) IMDb TMDB 维基数据 Eggplant.place 豆瓣
Mandy
5.5 (117 个评分) 导演: 帕诺斯·科斯马图斯 演员: 尼古拉斯·凯奇 / 安德丽娅·赖斯伯勒
其它标题: Mandy / 狂屠绝路(港)
影片故事发生在1983年,樵夫雷德·米勒(尼古拉斯·凯奇 饰)与老婆曼蒂(安德丽亚·瑞斯波罗格 饰)居住在深山林里的一栋木屋。老婆曼蒂被一个价值观扭曲的宗教组织“新黎明之子”(The Children of the New Dawn)看上。该组织的领头杰瑞马雅(莱纳斯·罗彻 饰)欲收纳曼蒂入会未果,就在雷德面前活活把曼蒂烧死。雷德一度精神错乱,最终踏上复仇之路。
2021年11月2日 看过
2021年11月2日 评论 a review of 曼蒂 - Nicolas Cage has found himself in a very enviable position at this point in his career where he can star in films like this, Color Out of Space , and Willy's Wonderland that feature premises just wild enough to catch the eye and allow him to give the type of bizarre, unhinged performances he's clearly such a fan of, while still having a chance at garnering some sort of following unlike the string of DTV action flicks he started making around 2014 that caused people to write him off Bruce Willis style there for a minute. Because of that, here we get to witness our National Treasure go on a hallucinogenic, Heavy Metal inspired (right down to the animated segments) warpath of revenge against a drugged-out cult and their biker gang allies who may or may not be demonic that are responsible for the death of the woman he loves. It's legitimately one of the best things he's ever done. What works about Mandy is that creator Panos Cosmatos isn't afraid to just be weird with it. Like the way he drenches everything in neon colors or has the characters engage in lengthy, pointless feeling conversations that make first-half kind of boring at points as it fails to capture the deep arthouse vibe he's trying to harness, before leaning into almost full-blown absurdity in the bloodsoaked second portion that's progressively filled with outlandish imagery that could be representing the protagonist's descent into insanity. So although it runs on the same retribution-driven narrative we've seen covered in everything from John Wick to Deadpool , the unique sense of style and grotesque sights give the movie an identity all its own. We're living in a pretty stellar time where filmmakers have evidently figured out how to make effective use of the atypical attributes of Cage's impassioned performances to deliver standout cinema without ever making fun of the actor. It does acknowledge the amusing nature of his one of kind flip outs, but also causes them to make sense in the context of the story through how they express the inner pain of his role. I'm not going to sit here and tell you this is some meaningful exploration of grief and agony as it really is little more than a trippy gorefest you shouldn't be seeking true depth from. Yet, it carries itself with at least some essence of seriousness that prevents it from turning into the ridiculous farce its lead's most meme-worthy efforts ( The Wicker Man , Vampire's Kiss , ect.) have been even at its most wild and eccentric. So if watching the dude from Con Air take on the LSD-fueled religious followers of an insecure narcissist with a homemade battle axe sounds like your idea of a good time then give this a watch as it is no joke a highlight of the man's extensive body of work.
8.5/10
Sanctimony (2000) IMDb 维基数据 TMDB
Sanctimony
导演: 乌维·鲍尔 演员: 卡斯柏·范·狄恩 / 埃里克·罗伯茨
其它标题: 레저렉션 2 / Sanctimony - Auf mörderischem Kurs
A handsome, brilliant stock trader, bored with his existence, becomes a serial killer.
2021年2月20日 看过
2021年2月20日 评论 a review of - I've heard people say this is just a lesser American Psycho rip-off. I don't know how accurate that is as I haven't seen that movie, but let me tell you why Uwe Boll's take is worth watching anyways. It has all the makings of a '80s cult classic B-movie. It's trashy, surprisingly stylish, and doesn't take itself too seriously. Right from the beginning the ridiculous techno rave music that plays over the opening credits let's you know you're in for a cheesy good time. I can't praise the movie enough for how good it looks. For once Boll's attempts to be cool actually kind of worked, as his stylistic choices imbue the film with a suitable atmosphere. His old calling card of splicing in quick cuts to split-second montages of scenes from later in the movie into areas where they don't fit the action happening onscreen at the time does rear its ugly head, but other than that this looks like the work of a competent director. Which is remarkable because it doesn't even seem like he was trying hard. Unlike Postal where as bad as the material was, he did the best work of his career behind the camera through no small effort. Another example of how when Boll wasn't focusing on his latest critical lashing or crafting a soapbox for his political and social views, he could actually make something pretty entertaining. In fact, despite running with background themes Boll would later go crazy with in projects like his Rampage trilogy (apparently on the verge of becoming a quadrilogy), Sanctimony doesn't appear to have any intentions beyond simply entertaining the audience. It's got a sense of humor and I even found myself a little invested in this tale of a crazed yuppie serial killer facing off against a job weary cop who's trying to solve the case before it's ripped out of his hands. Outside of a scene where the killer sexually abuses his girlfriend/fiance I was onboard with the action and had a ton of fun. The rating you see is definitely coming from the ol' trash-o-meter, but I've always been the kind of guy who rates based on personal enjoyment, rather than on any objective measures of quality anyways. This is for all intents and purposes a "bad" movie. But it's so bad, it's RAD! Outdated terminology that I hope conveys the kind of tone you should expect from this.
8.5/10
狂犬惊魂 (1983) 维基数据 IMDb TMDB 豆瓣
Cujo
5.1 (10 个评分) 导演: 刘易斯·蒂格 演员: 迪·沃伦斯 / Danny Pintauro
其它标题: 쿠조 / クジョー
一个名叫“Cujo”的友好的圣伯纳德合同狂犬病,并在一个美国小镇上进行恐怖统治。
2019年2月7日 看过
2019年2月7日 评论 a review of 狂犬惊魂 - I consider Cujo the novel to be one of the lesser Stephen King works and am overall just not much of a fan of it. Cujo the movie I'm quite fond off however. It trims away so much of the book's fat. Excising all the pointless subplots and superfluous padding in order to focus solely on the domestic drama and rabies-induced terror. It's a leaner, meaner, and all around better way to experience the story as a result. Improvements were even made to the ending. The characters are a little underdeveloped though. We never really get to learn who they are so it's impossible to legitimately care about them. This hurts the main plot thread involving the infidelity of Dee Wallace's character. Given that there's no exploration of why she would cheat on her husband, it and everything involving her lover Steve Kemp feels like it should have been left on the cutting room floor. As for Cujo's owners, the things going on in the Camber's household are only vaguely hinted at and will likely confuse those unfamiliar with the source material as a result. All in all, none of this is really a big deal though. This is a Stephen King flick so we're all just here for the action anyways. In that department this is easily one of the author's most effective adaptations. It's the only movie I've ever seen that even comes close to capturing the same kind of tension that can be found in Jaws . It does get a little repetitive at a certain point watching Cujo repeatedly assault a broken down car with the hopes of mutilating the protagonists inside, but it doesn't take too long for the film to switch gears and return you to that edge-of-your-seat anticipation with excursions outside of the vehicle. The St. Bernard himself is a terrifying beast whose gradual degradation is excellently telegraphed by an ever-increasing coat of muck and grime. The actual plot may be a little weak and underwritten, but the situation at the core of it all is intense. A naturalistic horror film that makes "man's best friend" more terrifying than any ghost, ghoul, or monster. Thanks to a noticeable axing of so much of the source material's more unnecessary story beats, it's also one of those rare movies that's better than the book it's based on.
8.5/10
陌生人2 (2018) 豆瓣 IMDb TMDB 维基数据
The Strangers: Prey at Night
导演: 约翰内斯·罗伯茨 演员: 克里斯蒂娜·亨德里克斯 / 拜莉·麦迪逊
其它标题: The Strangers: Prey at Night / 只杀陌生人(港/台)
阳光明媚的周末,中年男子迈克(马丁·亨德森 Martin Henderson 饰)驱车带着妻子辛蒂(克里斯蒂娜·亨德里克斯 Christina Hendricks 饰)、儿子卢克(刘易斯·普尔曼 Lewis Pullman 饰)和女儿金赛(拜莉·麦迪逊 Bailee Madison 饰)踏上漫漫旅程。他们准备前往亲戚所在的城市,将叛逆的金赛送入一间新的寄宿学校。一路上本就争吵不断,偏偏在夜深人静的时刻他们所到达的露营地又空无一人。卢克受父母之托,肩负起开导妹妹的重任。兄妹俩边散步边聊天,结果意外在某栋房子里发现了叔叔和阿姨被人残忍杀害的尸体。
略显迟钝的一家人很快发现,他们所有的联络方式均已被带着面具的神秘杀手所切断。针对陌生人的残酷杀戮,就在静寂肃杀的夜晚展开了……
2018年10月29日 看过
2018年10月29日 评论 a review of 陌生人2 - Change is the name of the game for this sequel. Prey at Night ditches it's predecessor's slower, more methodical approach in order to go all-out '80s slasher throwback on us. It's a darn good one too. While callbacks to the first film show that many of this masked, serial killing family's rituals are still very much alive, it's clear that they've been up to a lot in the 10 years since we last saw them. They've evolved. They're bolder, more experienced, and even a little sloppier as a result. One of the interesting things about the first movie was finding out that Dollface was a beginner who maybe even struggled a little with the act of taking lives. To see her now as a seasoned murderer without a single speck of hesitation or remorse is haunting. All three of them have a greater level of confidence. Gone are most of the mind games. These psychopaths are ready for the chase. The location fits their new approach well. A wide open trailer park replaces the more confined setting of the earlier remote vacation home. It's got a Camp Crystal Lake vibe (sans lake) and allows for bigger set pieces to alongside the increased amount of gore. I love how the "Strangers" are still making great use of shadows to eerily watch their prey from a distance. It was one of the defining aspects of the first film for me and it's just as creepy as ever. The soundtrack is once again a notable part of the experience. Just not as frequently as before. '80s pop replaces the country music and delivers some great moments. Kim Wilde's "Kids in America" is used to make one of my favorite openings to any movie ever. Did I mention it's gorgeous too? Johannes Roberts loves showing off each killer's creepy mask with beautiful cinematography. The colorful lights and underwater shots of the pool scene are stunning in their everyday nature. This definitely feels like a real place families would go on vacation and the movie makes every average inch of it look great. So what didn't work for me? Only two things really. The expositional family drama is rather cliché and doesn't do anything more than focus on the antagonistic side of the protagonists' relationship with one another until they reach their (final) destination. At which point the action ramps up. Nothing too bad, but kind of "eh" overall. Then there's the ending scene which I hated. I get that this is part love letter to the slasher classics from back in the day. Shoot, one of my favorite scenes is a clear homage to the ending of Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre . But right before the credits roll it kind of goes a bit too far and steps on the fact that these killers are supposed to be average people. It's part of what made the previous Strangers so special. I think watching this in close proximity with it's predecessor is the best way to do it. Doing so increased my enjoyment a lot as it provided some nice catharsis after the events of that film. You'll also get the full picture of just how strongly the antagonists have grown into their career of senseless violence. This is an almost entirely different kind of horror movie than the one it serves as a follow-up to, but the way it handles the killers makes it feel like the next logical step. The way it borrows from it's inspirations makes it more than just a good emulation, but a slasher strong enough to maybe even stand beside those greats it so clearly looks up to.
8.5/10