Recent Viewings, Part 2

[Rev. Powell]

THE FLESH (1991): A nightclub singer meets a bombshell obsessed with tantric sex, and they retire to his beach-side cabin for months of erotic activities. Something like what would happen if Bunuel had directed an "Emmanuelle" film, this exploration of carnality (in every sense of the word) can be tedious much of the way, but by the end the seemingly random symbolism comes together more thoughtfully than expected. 2.5/5. Lead actress Francesca Dellera is quite a sight.

[lester1/2jr]

I think I made out with her at a party in the South End circa 95

[Dr. Whom]

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Nothing really makes sense in this movie, but that doesn't matter, it is loads of fun. Vincent Price is superb as a sinister version of Walt Disney. Also, don't keep vats of acid in the cellar, they're an accident waiting to happen.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Money For Nothing: A History of the Music Video" (2013)
Nothin' fancy about this made-for-TV documentary, it's essentially one long clip show, which goes all the way back to the early ancestors of music videos like the movie musicals of the '30s and '40s and the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night," to the rise of MTV when they became a legit art form in their own right. A relaxing trip down memory lane. I spent most of the slim run time pointing at the screen and saying, "Oh yeah, that was a good one, that was a cool one too, that one sucked," etc., etc.

[Rev. Powell]

SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM: TAKE 2 1/2 (2005): 35 years after SYMBISOYCHOTAXIPLASM TAKE ONE, director William Greaves reunites two of the actors to rehearse a scenario showing what happened to the characters over the decades, and again films himself filming it. As far away from a standalone sequel as possible, this is mainly a meditation on the first movie, with 30 minutes of unused footage from TAKE ONE up front. Interesting enough as a supplement, but it also highlights how much of a lightning-in-a-bottle moment the first film was---youth has faded and the magic can only be remembered, not recreated. 2.5/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM

Gesundheit! 

[FatFreddysCat]

"Pieces" (1982)
The movie with the greatest tag line ever: "YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO TO TEXAS FOR A CHAINSAW MASSACRE!"
A psycho killer is carving up Boston college co-eds with a chain saw and using their body parts to assemble a human jigsaw puzzle. Yup, that's the whole plot.
This legendary low budget Spanish/American sickie has become a cult classic thanks to its ridiculously over the top gore and its awful acting/dubbing. It's terrible, but it's also highly entertaining in an unintentionally campy sort of way.

"X-Ray" (aka "Hospital Massacre," 1982)
A strange blend of "My Bloody Valentine" and "Halloween II," starring the ridiculously gorgeous Barbi Benton. She goes to the hospital for a routine checkup on Valentine's Day, only to be stalked and terrorized by a crazed slasher who's been obsessed with her since they were children.
Plot wise, "X-Ray" is a muddled mess, but it gets by thanks to some decent gory bits and of course the MAJOR eye candy courtesy of Ms. Benton. Watchable, but not essential.

[Alex]

The White Reindeer.

A Finnish movie from 1952. Given that at this time the country was deep under 'Finlandisation', I expected this to be along the lines of Soviet movies of the era, although I'd have to say from the little I've seen of Soviet movies from the time, it really isn't. A young woman gets rather lonely as her Reindeer herding husband spends much of his time away doing his job. She visits a local wizard or shaman who makes her irresistible to men, but she becomes a shape shifter who lures men out into the wilderness to their deaths. By modern standards, there is nothing surprising plot-wise. I can't talk about the special effects because there isn't any. You do have a lot of lovely shots of the Finnish wilderness (although to be fair, it could be anywhere with a heavy snowfall. Very stark, but beautiful nonetheless). It is wonderfully shot though and blessedly free of dubbing.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies" (2003)
Documentary covering the golden age of exploitation films (the late 1930s thru the late 60s), featuring interviews with movers & shakers like Samuel Z. Arkoff (American International Pictures), director/producer Roger Corman, distributor/producer Harry Novak, Forrest J. Ackerman, Dick Miller, Doris Wishman (director of "Nude on the Moon"), and plenty of weird, hilarious clips from dozens of long-forgotten "hygiene films," "nudie cuties," "roughies," and cheap 50s monster movies. Educational and fun!

[Alex]

Edge of the Knife.

Set in the 1800s, a tribesman goes on the run when he accidentally causes the death of a friends son. Guilt and loneliness very quickly take a toll on his sanity. This goes for long stretches without any dialogue and when there is talking, it isn't in their native language. Nicely shot and a very contemplative movie. If you are looking for action and adventure, look elsewhere.

[Rev. Powell]

THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (1996): A female detective (Asia Argento) investigating a serial rapist and killer becomes his victim, while simultaneously experiencing hallucinations when she looks at works of art (the title syndrome). The good (some nifty shots, a sympathetic portrayal of rape survivors) bumps up against the bad (the superfluity of the hallucination gimmick, a too-obvious "twist" ending) in this late attempt to revive the giallo from 70s master Dario Agento. How does a man direct his own daughter's rape scene? Seems like that would be uncomfortable. 3/5.

[Alex]

THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (1996): A female detective (Asia Argento) investigating a serial rapist and killer becomes his victim, while simultaneously experiencing hallucinations when she looks at works of art (the title syndrome). The good (some nifty shots, a sympathetic portrayal of rape survivors) bumps up against the bad (the superfluity of the hallucination gimmick, a too-obvious "twist" ending) in this late attempt to revive the giallo from 70s master Dario Agento. How does a man direct his own daughter's rape scene? Seems like that would be uncomfortable. 3/5.

It has been a while since I saw it, but I think she directs her own rape scene in The Scarlet Actress.

[Rev. Powell]

THE STENDHAL SYNDROME (1996): A female detective (Asia Argento) investigating a serial rapist and killer becomes his victim, while simultaneously experiencing hallucinations when she looks at works of art (the title syndrome). The good (some nifty shots, a sympathetic portrayal of rape survivors) bumps up against the bad (the superfluity of the hallucination gimmick, a too-obvious "twist" ending) in this late attempt to revive the giallo from 70s master Dario Agento. How does a man direct his own daughter's rape scene? Seems like that would be uncomfortable. 3/5.

It has been a while since I saw it, but I think she directs her own rape scene in The Scarlet Actress.

SCARLET DIVA, but I think you're correct. She is assaulted in the scene but not raped, and it's based on her real experience with Harvey Weinstein. It's not a great movie but it's never boring!

[JuanSnz]

^ The irony is that a year later after be accused of had sex with Jimmy Bennett, he was minor in that time, she used the same arguments or methods by Harvey Weinstein and others to tried to denigrate him. Like, he blackmailed her to not make a bad publicity of her.

I feel like the kind of Father-Daughter relation that have/had Dario Argento and Asia Argento, is 2 or 3 levels less 'creepy' than Sergei Gainsbourg had with Charlotte Gainsbourg.

[indianasmith]

FRIDAY NIGHT DOUBLE FEATURE:

FEMALE WEREWOLF:  (2015) - I have nothing against art house films per se, but this was an incredibly boring, confusing, and pretentious piece of dreck!  Fewer than ten words of dialogue in the entire movie, just lots of creepy theme music.  A lesbian secretary fantasizes about sleeping with her co-worker and then turning into a werewolf.  So she invites said co-worker over, kills her, and sleeps with her corpse.  Then does it again with a streetwalker, and sleeps between the two corpses.  Or did she imagine the whole thing?  You never find out.  1/5  AVOID!

MEGA PIRHANA:  Trust the Asylum to deliver the campiest cheese-fests ever, with some of the worst CGI fish ever conceived. Bad dialogue, bad action sequences, nonsensical plot - this was a bad movie lover's bad movie!  4/5