Sayonara Cinema

Today I claim a small victory for myself as I am now officially a writer for one of my favorite sites, Gorezone.net! Gorezone is a great one stop shop to get all sorts of daily horror news tidbits, with proper source notation for further information.

SODOM THE KILLER (2004) Three hundred years ago, Sodomu fell from the grace of God when he mistakenly kills two innocent girls after his bride-to-be dies on their wedding night. Sodomu’s descendant Sodom becomes cursed by Sodomu’s sins on his wedding night, becoming blind in the process and developing a insane bloodlust. He sets out to bring chaos and anarchy to Japan, as he brings about economic turmoil with his henchmen, and then focuses his energy on the citizens themselves, when he uses a scientist’s experiments to take over the nervous system with an injection. Meanwhile, obsessed cop Therese, whose ancestor is none other than one of Sodomu’s victims, is on Sodom’s trail and will stop at nothing to end his murderous reign.

Hiroshi Takahashi, best known to horror audiences for his screenplays for the three Japanese RINGU films, makes his directorial debut with this ludicrously low-budget film whose shoe-string effects are only matched by the over-the-top acting. In an attempt to break out of his horror label, Hiroshi Takahashi eschews any sort of genre label with this picture as he wildly mixes horror, low-brow comedy, parody, and a V-Cinema ethos into a horribly strange yet oddly tasty stew. [Read The Full Review At Gorezone]

SEX AND FURY (1973)  It is the turn of the twentieth century. Legendary gambler and master thief Ocho (Reiko Ike) has been wandering and hunting for the unknown killers of her detective father for twenty years now. When a request by a dying card dealer brings her back to Tokyo, she finds herself partnering with Shinosuke, a leftist anarchist who has been fighting against a powerful right wing group with yakuza origins. As Ocho watched her father die as a child, he gave her a clue to the identities of the killer - a deer, a boar, and a butterfly. When Shinosuke reveals that one of the political leaders, a lecherous man with a fetish for virgins, has a deer tattooed on his back, Ocho is certain that this is one of the men she is searching for. But these yakuza politicians have several cards up their sleeve. One of which is several British agents, including the beautiful Christina (Christina Lindberg of THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE) who secretly has ties to Shinosuke.  The other is a much more personal connection to Ocho than she could realize!

Click on Reiko Ike below to read the full review on Movies At Midnight!

Has there been a void in your life since 12/31/1995? If so, then you need to pay particular attention to my newest review at Geeks Of Doom. This may be the best comic I’ve read since reviewing for them…

Webcomics. You know ‘em, you love ‘em, you read ‘em when you should be working on some menial spreadsheet in your cubicle. Most out there are worth browsing through a few of the strips, maybe getting a chuckle or two, and moving on without bothering to bookmark. However, there are a few out there worth bookmarking, following, bugging your friends to read, and cursing the gods that the creators don’t publish on a daily rather than a weekly basis. One of these is a new comic that has been slowly growing since the beginning of this year, Boxcar Astronaut.
Boxcar Astronaut is a weekly, four-panel black and white strip that follows the backyard adventures of Ben, a young sprout who is never without his trusty space helmet. Along for the fun is his trusty dog Diogee, his best friend Devin, and recent acquisition Robot, a real robot from outer space that has become stranded on Earth. [Read The Rest Of The Review]

Cujou.com is a new online magazine where I’ll sporadically be reviewing more artsy and indie-natured films. Stay tuned for my look at FLOURISH and A SCANNER DARKLY. For now my debut exclusive review and a few reposts are currently available.

LUSTRE (2005) After forty years of being a loan shark and collecting gambling debts, Hugo (Victor Argo) has become a worn out shell of human. He spends his days wondering the streets of New York, lamenting about the old days, and how the city is losing its defining characteristics and wondering where all the “real” New Yorkers disappeared to. When he is not collecting, he spends his free time sitting at the bedside of his comatose daughter, a victim of a drug overdose.

When Hugo begins to hear voices in the sky, he at first chalks it up to exhaustion. But when he begins to see things as well - a businessman carrying a cross, the Virgin Mary in his spilled coffee - he fears that he is going insane…

[Read The Rest Of The Review]

Looking for some cool independent comics to discover while figuring out which movie to watch next? Check out these recent reviews from those ne’er-do-wells Geeks Of Doom!

Spectrum #1
Pulling from a huge assortment of comic book influences and reality-grounded sci-fi riffs, Spectrum creates a blend that will draw in both superhero fans and enthusiasts of character-based revenge tales.

Xombie: Reanimated #3
It is the year 2052. Humanity has been reduced to a small huddling mass hiding in enclaves with machines that disguise their scent. One of these survivors is Zoe, a girl once thought lost who returns to her camp with a most unlikely protector — a sentient zombie named Dirge.

The Chair #1
An innocent man on death row is about to learn the true meaning of Hell on Earth in this intriguing first issue.

Henry and Butcher #1
Sets up what should turn out to be a hard-boiled mystery, with plenty of face-pounding and arm-breaking violence.

Abigail & Rox One-Shot
This fairy tale story has a great blend of original and familiar characters that appeal to people of all ages.

DELINQUENT GIRL BOSS:
WORTHLESS TO CONFESS (1971)

When Rika is finally released from reform school, she tracks down Midori’s home to visit the girl she shared a room with. She learns that Midori and her father are on the outs, and Midori’s father offers Rika a room and a job. Rika gladly accepts, as she has nowhere else to go in Shinjuku. Rika soon learns that Midori’s boyfriend is using his control over her to pay off his gambling debts using her father’s money. Rika also discovers the rest of her “street sisters” are trying to scrape by with whatever jobs they can find - and in Shinjuku that means working in hostess bars as paid dates for male clients. The local yakuza are also after the garage that Rika now works in, and when they turn to treachery that can no longer be tolerated, Rika and her gang once again reunite for a midnight strike of vengeance!

In the late sixties and early seventies, Japan’s main production studios began pushing the limits of acceptable cinema and filled the screens with tales of the yakuza, period samurai films, and what became known as “pinky violence”, an exploitative blend of softcore sex and sensational violence which often employed girl gangs and women in prison as the main protagonist. These film often featured a dizzy array of lowbrow comedy, gratuitous nudity, over-the-top bloodshed, morals, and redemptions, cutting back and forth in an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink style that would pogo from one extreme to the other. The soundtracks frequently featured hyper-jazzy pop songs with opening and closing soulful ballads that would reflect on the themes of the movie. These were usually sang by the main actor or actress of the movie.

Now, WORTHLESS TO CONFESS, the fourth and final film in the DELINQUENT GIRL BOSS series (don’t worry, they’re by sequels by theme and for marketing, and do not need to be seen in order) is one of the more lighthearted in the pinky violence sub-genre. It is an good stepping stone to reach some of the more mean spirited and extreme films in the genre and get a taste for the themes that are prevalent throughout many of the movies. The film is slightly comic book-esque in its style, and many of the scenes are played for their comedic nature. The main themes deal with trying to find a home and being accepted, and the heartbreaking reality that whenever something good happens or happiness is found, something much worse is going to happen. The screen is filled with the archetypes that are often found in these films - from the main girl gangs that find unity in their orphan status to dimwits for comedy relief, reformed yakuza who are the most dangerous of all to sly and cowardly bosses who trick others to do the dirty work

What WORTHLESS TO CONFESS lacks that many others pinky violence films have an abundance of is action scenes. Instead, the first seventy-five minutes are filled with a multitude of subplots and exposition scenes that hurtle the film to its violent crescendo of a finale. The finale here is worth the admission alone, and while the lead up is worth paying attention to, it is the ending that will stay in your mind. Here, Rika and her four gang members dress in matching orange red dusters and walk side by side through the neon filled alleyways to the yakuza club, with a Japanese-influence western instrumental playing beneath. It is a incredible build-up that leads you to believe that the yakuza don’t stand a chance. Once the battle begins, in which everyone fights with swords on the main dance floor of the club amidst a florescent colored decour, anything goes. Director Kazuhiko Yamaguchi unleashes himself from the film’s earlier restraint as he lets the blood spray, the camera go frantic, and a quick yet highly-imaginative shot of the boss’s demise which is worthy of Seijun Suzuki.

For a taste of cinema that has not quite found the grasp it should have on fans of seventies crime action and exploitation, WORTHLESS TO CONFESS is an appetizer before the main course. While it does have a few “uncomfortable” moments that are par for course in the genre, the film never stoops to depraved gratuitousness found in many of the others. Recently a host of pinky violence flicks have found their way to domestic DVD releases making this previously hard to access genre much easier to find. Why not take a chance

The following additional titles should be within easy rental or purchasing grasp, and are the “main course” with the full-blown exploitation for those that enjoy the likes of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE, or the period revenge film LADY SNOWBLOOD:

Girl Boss Guerilla
Terrifying Girls’ High School: Lynch Law Classroom
Criminal Woman: Killing Melody
Sex and Fury (Christina Lindberg, of THRILLER, has vicious co-starring role)
Female Yakuza Tale (sequel to Sex and Fury)
Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41

GINGER SNAPS (2000) Sisters and best friends Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald are inseparable teens who share everything together, and never far from each others side. When the two decide to kidnap a fellow student’s dog for attacking Brigitte, Ginger is attacked by a snarling monster in the woods. Was it just a big dog, or was it the small town’s fabled beast, who kills and eats dogs? The next day, Ginger’s graphic wounds from the attack begin to rapidly heal, and Ginger starts to feel an primal change within her. She also finally gets her period, three years later than she should have. While Ginger’s changing attitudes begin to drive the two sisters apart, Brigitte begins to suspect that Ginger was attacked by a werewolf. Ginger’s physical changes, from thick coarse hair and a small tail protruding from her back, solidify her fears. She turns to the local drug dealer and horticulturist for advise on a possible cure. Ginger’s changes appear to be from a biological virus, and if it is a disease, then there must be a cure. The only question is whether an antidote can be found before Ginger completely snaps.

Horror, and to a slightly lesser degree sci-fi, has always had the benefit to its writers to mean something else, or to be seen as an allegory to a more serious or dangerous topic to discuss. The classic monsters of early horror cinema hid frail human emotions. Communist undertones were rampant in the 1950’s, under the guise of cheap b-horror schlock. The sub-genre “body horror” was perfected by David Cronenberg and Shinya Tsukamoto to talk about contagious disease and the natural human breakdown. Sometimes these topics can be overlooked, or not even noticed, by those that are just looking to be entertained or get a cheap scare. Sometimes they are seen Sometimes however, the “real” topic of the film is so obvious that it almost becomes silly to hide it within horror. Such is the tragic story about Ginger, written by Karen Walton and directed by John Fawcett.

Werewolves have always had the distinction of being a cover to talk about involuntary physical and mental changes or to serve as a juxtaposition to a spreading disease via blood. From THE WOLFMAN to AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, the main protagonists become lycanthropes against their will, and must deal with their permanent curse. Such is the case in GINGER SNAPS, were Ginger’s affliction is merely a red herring for puberty and all the unbalanced hormones that come with it. For Ginger, the slowly gestating lycanthrope virus is just the same as her newfound primal desires for boys and her period - she can not control her desires, and is willing to do anything to make it stop. Karen Walton’s script, which is laden with the terrors of womanhood, gives a feminine injected boost to a genre that seems to be aimed at 18-34 year old males. For the men in this film, their horror comes from their inability to dominate and control a woman either through verbal putdowns or archaic parenting, in the face of her female ferocity.

This is not to say that the film skimps on the actual werewolf story. It is quite the opposite in fact. Walton’s biological take on the subject is well thought out, and it takes the entire film for Ginger to finally succumb to the virus. In between, make-up and creature effects designer Paul Jones (who previously worked with effects on NIGHT BREED and the HELLRAISER series) slowly transforms actress Katharine Isabelle into an animalistic version of herself. The changes are very subtle, and his dedication to physical make up and latex, play integrally into the believability of Ginger’s transformation. And when Ginger finally makes the full transformation, it is a violent and painful turn, recalling the transformation in AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON. The final creature, which again is a physical effect brought to life by an actor and animatronics, is a unique creature. And thanks to Jones’ build up earlier on, one can easily make the connection, especially in the eyes of the creature, that this was once Ginger.

Under Fawcett’s direction, the film gets a standard horror atmosphere as he brings his characters through dimly lit woods and drenching school hallways and the sisters’ room with shadows, though there is nothing mind blowing in his approach to his suspense set-ups. During the attack sequences, the camera keeps with the characters witnessing the attack, or are hiding during the attack, rather than showing what is actually happening. Fawcett gives just enough of a glimpse to let the viewer fill in what is happening. Though this may have been done due to the budget constraints, Fawcett makes it work. What he doesn’t skimp on is the aftermath, showing multiple half eaten dogs and the invariable dark-laced humor that follows during clean up, or Ginger’s shredded victim when she has to protect her secret.

Upon its release in the US in early 2001, it was completely ignored as a theatrical release (IMDB states it was shown on *one* screen) and then unceremoniously dumped on DVD in 2003 in a full-screen only version. Fortunately for those with a little hunting power, in Canada (the Canadian government funded this film as part of their film program) there is an incredible DVD release. It is a shame too, because this film deserves a much wider audience than it has received. Two decent sequels rounded out the Ginger “trilogy” in 2004.

SOUNDLESS (2004) Viktor is a perfectionist hitman, who is on his current job. After killing his target, he sees a young woman sleeping in the target’s bed. Viktor becomes instantly smitten with her, and uses his skills as an assassin to watch and learn about her. When the young woman tries to kill herself, he saves her from drowning. Viktor and the woman, Nina, begin to see each other, and though Viktor believes he has found a way to win his soul back, and find happiness in retirement with her, he is hesitant to divulge too much. Meanwhile, an obsessive and expert profiler named Lang has been assigned to track down Viktor, and as Viktor’s last target was an undercover officer, Lang becomes increasingly bent on discovering his identity.

From THIS GUN FOR HIRE to LE SAMOURAI, from THE KILLER to LEON, and even GROSSE POINTE BLANK, women offer a way for professional killers to find redemption for their criminal action, and that by saving their new found “love”, they can in essence save themselves. German director Mennan Yapo, who came up with the story for SOUNDLESS, continues that thematic arc here, with assistance from the team behind THE PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR to give the story a soft and personal edge.

Yapo who makes his feature-length directorial debut here, opts not for wild shoot ‘em up set pieces here, but instead a precise and calculating patience on both the parts of Viktor and Lang. He takes a slow and detailed look at the methods and time devoted to both Viktor’s accumulation of information on his targets, and then waiting for that perfect and clean shot. Lang spends just as much time using his expertise to whittle down a list of potential killers that Viktor could be, before choosing the only man who could possibly be the man he is looking for, and concentrating solely on that individual. It is these laborious scenes that provide a key look at the make up of each man. Such scenes would most likely become cutting room fodder in an American version, but here they are the engaging scenes that make the film so interesting.

Joachim Krol, who takes on the role of Viktor, has just the right screen presence for this non-descript assassin. Krol, who normally is cast as next door neighbor types or in comedy, uses these roles to his advantage. He does not operate like your typical Hollywood assassin. He blends right into the crowd, moving steadily, confidently, and silently, much like Jef Costello. Nadja Uhl, who plays Nina, while quite beautiful, does not seem unapproachable or even unreal. Yapo goes to great lengths to make sure she seems like a real person, fragile and unsure of herself. It is this vulnerability that allows her character to remain grounded in reality. And though there are several key plot devices to move along their relationship, Viktor and Nina never seem forced in their growing connection. They are merely two people unsure if they can love, or even deserve to be loved.

During few tense action sequences, Yapo keeps the film at mid-tempo, and firmly based in a proper and procedure following reality. This is perfectly exemplified in the final showdown, as the cool as ice SEK (German SWAT) stick to trained tactics to keep control of the situation, and never reduce themselves to cannon fodder.

Yapo and company have set up an introspective tale of an assassin on the verge of retirement and a cop out to catch him. And though Viktor may be the protagonist of the tale, as we follow around, but Lang easily avoids the pitfalls of the classic antagonists. He is just doing his job, with no secret ties to Viktor or grudges to settle or personal vendetta to get him. He is simply a cop, and a very good one at that, doing his job. And that is what makes this film work in the way that Yapo wants it to - these are just characters doing their job. No more, and no less.

FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! (1965)

A trio of ultra-busty vixens have taken a trip into the desert, each behind the wheel of a screaming-fast hot rod for a little adventure and excitement. There, they come across an amateur driver doing time trials. Lead pussycat Varla challenges him to a race. When the racer accuses Varla of cheating, she simply beats him to death. The three women then drug the racer’s girlfriend, and head off to an isolated farm to lie low, and hopefully discover the whereabouts a hidden cache of money belonging to the old man who lives there. Though old, this wretched cod shows that he is the embodiment of misogyny. But his two sons, one a hulking and silent muscle-bound brute and the other a sly-talking weakling, will become the targets of the sexually-charged and strong-willed women. These men have never met the likes of Varla, Haji and Billie, and it is quite unlikely they’ll ever meet anyone like them again!

Director Russ Meyer, whose obsession with huge-breasted women helped to carve a niche for himself in cinema that will last an eternity, is a reigning king of trash movies and this has become his cherry example of all that is excellent in a Meyer picture. Beyond his cartoonish approach to violence and his obvious respect for the power that women’s will and sexuality have over men is his brilliant use of photography. Meyer was a WWII combat cameraman and professional photographer before turning to movies, and his sheer mastery of black and white images is phenomenal. Even forty years later, FASTER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! still contains some of the best uses of the film stock since its release, and a well preserved print or restored home release will prove to be a testament to his focus, clarity, and ability to suggest fluid motion with very little actual movement. It is not with a hint of glee that camerawork worthy of study and praise is found in a film that champions bad taste and carnal excitement.And who is to be thanks for this carnal excitement? It is the three antagonist heroes Varla, Haji, and Billie. Meyer brought in Tura Satana (whose poster image has become synonymous with the movie itself) to lead his gang as Varla. She is by far the most vicious of the three, whose violent instincts are the only thing more tough than her sexual innuendos. Single-named Haji stars as Rosie, a curious blend of Italian and Mexican eroticism, and supplies a hidden lesbian undertone for the film with her loyalty to Varla. Haji would go on to become a regular in Meye’s future pictures. Lori Williams comes in as Billie, a happy-go-lucky buxom blonde that comes as close to a real life “Barbie” as the screen has ever seen. Together these three women become a trifecta of danger that no man can hope to withstand.

Meyer’s sets up against them a polar opposite trifecta of male incompetence in the family that the three women hole up with. There is The Old Man, a wheelchair bound (read as the “power” of the penis has been taken away) woman-hater who must use snarling words and violence to try and recoup is power. The Vegetable, a blonde-haired muscular brute with absolutely no brains to speak of, who only has his good looks and impossible strength to defend himself from the wills of his newly arrived female oppressors. And finally there is Kirk, who believes he can reason with the women, unaware they are playing him like a harp. Each of these three men become a living part of the male id, and each are created as being much less than women. And that is the draw to Meyer. Despite the on-the-surface sensationalizing of the female form, Meyer is a feminist, and even more so believes that they are the superior of the sexes. Meyer has been quoted as saying “the girls kick the hell out of the guys.”

Much to the surprise of those who see FASTER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! for the first time, the film contains no nudity. The closest Meyer gets is a shot of Williams’ back when she is showering. Though this was done to avoid being hit by the censors at the time, it also alludes to the fact that sometimes less is more. This also applies to the actual on screen violence that is shown, and goes back to Meyer’s ability as a cameraman and director. He is able to suggest much more than is actually seen, and allows the human mind to fill in the blanks.Upon its initial release, the film did only moderate business and faded out just as quickly. Meyer became widely known with the release of VIXEN in 1968, teamed up with Roger Ebert in seventies on three screenplays (Ebert’s only official screenwriting credits) that Meyer would also direct. FASTER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! (The title being a reference to speed, sex, and violence) would go on to become a cult film in revival theatres and art houses, and gained further reach when John Waters wrote that it was “…the best movie ever made. It is possibly better than any film that will be made in the future”. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen, but so far he is pretty damn close.

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN (1973) An impoverished thief, who is brought to a city to work briefly for a circus, is seen as a Christ figure by those around him. And due to his physical similarities to Jesus, he is taken in and used as a model for paper mache models of a crucified Jesus by a local merchant selling Christian knick-knacks. But this thief rejects this image, and in his escape, he comes across The Alchemist. This alchemist cleanses the thief, and then shows him his powers over the elements by literally turning excrement into gold.

With the Thief firmly under the Alchemist’s tutelage and indoctrinated into several rites, the Alchemist tells the Thief of his plan to bring together seven other disciples, and together they will search for the mystical Holy Mountain, where nine immortals live. Once the Alchemist brings together the other seven - each of which represent a planet and have a hold over different aspects of life such as consumerism, politics, and artistry - they perform a ceremony to destroy their devotion to wealth, body, and self. Once free of these trappings, they group begins their journey toward Lotus Island, where the mountain top they seek is on.

If EL TOPO, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s previous film, is a search for spirituality and God, then THE HOLY MOUNTAIN is the destruction of the Christ figure and a questioning of master and pupil, and of the faith that the “unenlightened” put into the teachings of the “enlightened”. As with EL TOPO, which this can almost be seen as a companion piece as the two are almost always linked during discussion and on recommendation lists, THE HOLY MOUNTAIN is filled with intense imagery that is meant to stimulate a raw emotional response. Unlike EL TOPO however, almost all that we are shown here is meant to be in real life, as opposed to dream or hallucination, and thus becomes even more shocking. When a group of followers marches down the street early on in the film each holding a skinned and gutted dog crucified on a stick, that is really happening, meaning that in Jodorowsky’s take on this world, an actual religious sect felt compelled to do this.

Jodorowsky places himself in the role of The Alchemist, which leads to an allegory that not only is the character of The Alchemist leading his disciples, but that Jodorowsky as the director is leading us the viewer on the same journey - he asks us to place our trust in him to lead us to through the movie and onward to a finale that will reveal to us a satisfying conclusion. His character is shrouded completely in either black or white during the film, and as such is he becomes an absolute. Should the disciples not follow precisely what is told and asked of them, they will fail.

Each of The Alchemist’s disciples represent an overseer of sorts of portions of our life, and are those that the commoners place absolute trust in to make decisions that will affect their daily lives. Fon, who is the representative of Venus ironically played by a man, is the head of a cosmetic and fashion empire. Isla, who represents Mars and is a woman, creates military weapons and even has a line of psychedelic guns and grenades for the protesting youth. Klen, who represents Jupiter, runs an art factory, who mechanically designs a new art fad every season. Sel, that of Saturn, makes predictions of wars to come, and creates children’s toys that will create a hatred for their future enemies when they are grown soldiers. A treasurer, a captain of police who collects the testicles of those under his command, and an architect who creates freedom by taking away housing, round out those that the Alchemist has chosen. By choosing representatives of these professions, Jodorowsky creates a hierarchy of disciple and master, of leader and follower.

As with EL TOPO, THE HOLY MOUNTAIN requires that it viewers actively watch the movie, and make connections to their own lives and feelings on religion, teachings, and what they believe to interpret what Jodorowsky is trying to say. He starts the film with a series of images of eyes, as if foreshadowing that sight above all else will be the key to understanding the film. Jodorowsky makes the impression that one should not believe what they are told to be true just because someone says so, but to seek out the truth, to witness it with your own eyes and senses, to make your decisions from there, and to discover that those masters with power over us only have it as long as we give it to them.

Jodorowsky once again fills his screen with images of brutal violence, shocking sexuality, dead and dying animals, and the dualities that beauty and ugliness hold. It is a film not for the faint of heart or undaring, and he makes no apologies for what he is trying to convey. THE HOLY MOUNTAIN is a journey to the secret of immortality. And in the final scene, Jodorowsky himself provides just that, at the risk of all that you hold true to cinema.