Author: Damien Riley

Roger Ebert wrote in his review that most viewers would find this film unwatchable. I agree with him. I hung in there to the end. It’s pure chaos until the most graphic rape scene I’ve ever seen. Is that the best place to find clarity?

Irreversible (2002)
Irréversible (original title)
Not Rated | 1h 37min | Crime, Drama, Mystery | 22 May 2002 (France)

Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in the underpass.
Director: Gaspar Noé
Writer: Gaspar Noé
Stars: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel

Gaspar Noé, our director here, has done something cool with the film structure. Everything else about the film feels like torture. I won’t tell you the sordid details, those who are curious will find the film and check it out. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Besides the gut wrenching rape scene, there is an equally disturbing segment in a gay bar of a man bludgeoning another mans face to a pulp. It looks so lifelike I am curious how they did it. In a twisted sense, it is a sort of accomplishment. The director shows you scenes in reverse order. In other words, if someone dies, you will see them later. It’s a bit confusing but some people who like figuring out puzzles may life the effect. For me, this film left me empty. I didn’t think it was a marvel of a film as some critics say. I don’t think you should see it since there are at least 2 things you cannot unsee. It is clever in technique and structure but that’s not enough for why I go to the movies. 4/10.

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Watching Leatherface run after a victim is like American Pie for horror lovers. He’s a truly chilling character concept that I am glad we didn’t have to say goodbye to after the first movie. This movie is a lot more campy than the first one but it still has a charm all its own that works to entertain and scare the viewer.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)
Unrated | 1h 41min | Comedy, Horror | 22 August 1986 (USA)

A radio host is victimized by the cannibal family as a former Texas Marshall hunts them.
Director: Tobe Hooper
Writers: L.M. Kit Carson, Tobe Hooper (film “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”)
Stars: Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams, Jim Siedow

The director Tobe Hooper has lightened up a lot and become and movie rock star since the first film. I’ll never forget seeing his “Funhouse” as a kid in the 70’s and not being able to sleep for weeks afterward. This one is more fun than scare but some of the old conventions are still there like whacking the girl over the head and feeding the blood to grandpa. Tobe Hooper is a legend, he brought evil to the daily papers and made it seem like it dwelled among us.

Dennis Hopper is in this and he really brings the camp to a high point with his “holster chainsaws.” There’s a pretty young lady Caroline Williams who shines on-screen and the brother of Leatherface with a visible plate in his head. The whole thing is wacky but it works as a horror movie. I was a little disappointed the way they portrayed Leatherface as a buffoon in love. Did they think he’d never had a woman try to woo him before? Dennis Hopper, the girl, and the overall lunatic comedy of the thing made it well worth my time. I give it an 8/10..

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I first watched this film because I considered it to be a “weird” film, and I was doing a series on those. After watching, I don’t think it’s necessarily in that category. It is complex and the plot contains a total of 9 stories but there isn’t anything weird about it per se. I found it to be quite inspiring. Unfortunately, it is far too long at 3 hours and I think the message could have been sent in a lot less time. There is a lot there worth seeing though.

Cloud Atlas (2012)
R | 2h 52min | Action, Drama, Mystery | 26 October 2012 (USA)

Cloud Atlas is a movie starring Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, and Hugh Grant. An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.
Directors: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski | 1 more credit »
Writers: David Mitchell (novel), Lana Wachowski (written for the screen by) | 3 more credits »
Stars: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant

The directors here are the Wachowski brothers, from “the Matrix” and Tom Tykwer who I have not heard of but it appears he makes German films. Their influence is what you’d expect: sci-fi, flying camera angles, and most of all: fantasy imagery.

People smarter and more into this than me have already weighed in on the internet. A simple title search will give you plenty f details about the film. I myself was not that into it at 3 hours. I found it hard to stay focused and the payoff for me was only slightly worth the time spent. If you want a visual landscape to sink into and relax, this one could fill the bill. As your standard beginning middle end 90-100 minute movie, I think it fails. Then again, I don’t think it’s trying to be standard. I kind of think it would have been better if it did.

“We are all connected” is the main idea. Breaking out of man made conventions is the secondary one. Then there is a journey into reincarnation which I found interesting. Unfortunately, that is never really developed to where the many incarnations of actors are explained. It’s a trip and a great visual fest to trip out on. AND, it has a good message. I think everyone should see it once. I think I would enjoy it more a second time, but I just don’t want to spend 3 hours on that enough. 7/10.

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Like Traci Lords in Excision, here we have another ex porn star Marilyn Chambers playing a role in a horror film. She does a great job. She’s calm until the disease kicks in and then she’s, well she’s almost like “Rabid.” As a beautiful woman, men are always forcing herself on her which gives her the chance to infect many of them, they must feel very sorry when they get the virus.

Rabid (1977)
R | 1h 31min | Horror, Sci-Fi | 8 April 1977 (USA)

A young woman develops a taste for human blood after undergoing experimental plastic surgery, and her victims turn into rabid, blood-thirsty zombies who proceed to infect others, which turns into a city-wide epidemic.
Director: David Cronenberg
Writer: David Cronenberg
Stars: Marilyn Chambers, Frank Moore, Joe Silver

This is classified on a few services as “body horror.” In truth, there are only a few scenes that could merit such a label The director David Cronenberg gives us a lot of flesh on the gurney and peel some back while chopping or otherwise getting more of it off the victims. I liked the film but to risk stating a critic cliché, it watched like some kind of soft porn film on Cinemax. They could have done a lot more with it if we knew more about the virus. There’s a lot of unexplained stuff here. I can say it was a fun watch and it was fun watching the misogynistic doctors and assorted males get bitten. 7/10.

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