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AddisonDe
Reviews
Black Christmas (2006)
It's now even worse than the test cut!
How can the screw up such a simple premise? I saw this months ago at a test screening...it was a joke then- a real mess of a movie. Thinly plotted and confusing at the same time. But I heard about re-shoots...so there was hope.
Now, it's even worse. No plot holes fixed...just more added! Clunky flashbacks that after a while stop being justifiably told to us. With a new "lunatic asylum sequence" and Dr. Giggles-esq "hospital finale" the movie now seems endless.
I'm dumbfounded as to why Dimension even spent any more money trying to "fix" it the way they did. Andrea Martin is literally sorting presents under a tree for the first 30 mins of the movie. Awkwardly staged and boring. At least 2 of the actresses look enough alike to get them mixed up every time we see them.
Do the filmmakers have contempt for this type of genre? think about it. If a director is making a movie that he wouldn't pay 10 bucks to see, then we've got a problem.
Penny Dreadful (2005)
Best in Showcase
Scary and fun movie. And very smart film-making that transcends the conventions of the haunted house genre.
"Penny Dreadful" was hands down the best film in the "Screamfest L.A." lineup that I caught in October. The film, about an attractive couple inheriting a haunted house, is well written and directed, and the twist ending, for once, actually seems to make total sense.
The cast is great, especially the one and only Betsy Palmer in a fun role where she's (wisely) allowed to steal the scenes right from under her younger co-stars feet. The atumnal New York City locations are a real plus. The ending is surprisingly gory and very violent, considering how subdued the rest of the film is.
If you can't catch this at a festival, try tracking down a DVD. I understand that Fangoria TV has picked up the film for Broadcast and it is getting put on 2 or 3 different DVD compilations. Would make a great remake for a feature.
Darkness (2002)
the shining darkness no more "spooky crayon" drawings!
the shining darkness! I think this is what happens when a filmmaker's favorite movie is THE SHINING. There isn't one original or scary moment in the picture.
The interiors of the house are so over stylized and artificial...it's obvious we're on a sound stage. Whats' the point of making a haunted house picture when it's not even believable that we're in a real house? It's not beautifully photographed...it's "over photographed" The music is the usual clichéd loud bursts of music and sound FX that puncture the silence. It never works though....another desperate attempt to generate fear/ The film school level "jacob's ladder type flash cuts of arty images and compositions just remind you of better films... Long and dull, we even have the bad guy tie up the girl and explain the plot. We even have the child's "spooky crayon drawings." Lena olin looks sh'e got a tension headache through the whole movie.
Gee, why isn't his getting a theatrical release??
Tomorrow's Bacon (2001)
Something Different
A cool little film noir with striking ambinec and mood. The ending had me totally surprised and made me want to see the whole movie all over again. I loved the music and the use of 50's songs. It's like a David Lynch movie in some way