plato's cave seventy four (being a film journal) horror

10.28.2018
George A. Romero - Dawn of the Dead - 1978

An old classic Zombie film from Romero. Not as good as his first one but has some pretty good action in it. Music by The Goblins and Dario Argento.

Philip Ridley - The Reflecting Skin - 1990

Very low key vampire film. Not the best but a good performance by Viggo Mortensen and photography by Mike Leigh's heavy dp Dick Pope.

10.29.2018
John Carpenter - The Fog - 1980

When Halloween approaches, one must get the Carpenter films going. Beautiful film, I have wandered the area of Inverness, Bolinas and Point Reyes quite a bit and recognize many spots in this film. God's country.

10.30.2018
Sam Raimi - Evil Dead II - 1987

Had only seen parts of this a long time ago. Crazy film, I love the camera freely floating through the forest. Impressive Mr. Raimi did this, makes many of the 80s horror films seem amateur.

10.31.2018
John Carpenter - The Thing - 1982

My favorite horror film for Halloween. I include the image above as the power of the hand-held shot here is so shocking every viewing, the eeriness of it is off-putting in a subtle way, and a tiny hint of the business forthcoming. Shocking and complete fuckery.

plato's cave seventy three (being a film journal) horror

10.22.2018
Steven Spielberg - Jaws - 1975

Saw this film a few times on TV when I was 3 feet tall. A real shocker then and now, so well put together of a film. Visually stunning and some crazy shit happening. Loved every second of it.

11.23.2018
Paul Verhoeven - Starship Troopers - 1997
Giant bugs. Strange film, didn't like it much.

Sara Colangelo - The Kindergarten Teacher - 2018
Might as well be an horror film. Dumb film.

Peter Hyams - Relic - 1997
Not a great film but always a pleasure to watch Tom Sizemore and James Whitmore.

11.24.2018
George A. Romero - Day of the Dead - 1985
Not one of Romero's best, more for the die hard zombie aficionado. This coming week I plan to watch Dawn of the Dead which I remember liking much more.

Jeff Nichols - Take Shelter - 2011

Not completely a horror film but it was on Shudder. Second time seeing this, starts pretty slow but once it gets going it is a powerful film. I wish in a way that it kept going another 2 hours post apocalyptic storm as it starts getting really exciting and you want to see Shannon's visions become reality.

10.25.2018
Philip Kaufman - Invasion of the Body Snatchers - 1978

I use to eat 4-5 times a year at this great restaurant in San Francisco, and almost every time would see Philip Kaufman eating and drinking there, he must really love the place as I did. Never said anything to him but I do really love his films. This is a near perfect horror film, one of the best and doesn't get much better. Also strange because working near the financial district of the city, with all the automatons there, this film seems like a documentary (cinéma vérité horror). My experience with the good old "don't call it Frisco" was pretty much non existent. As soon as I moved there (1997) it was quickly becoming a yuppy haven. The mayor at the time Willie Brown said if you didn't make 50k a year you had no right to live there. Shit, I was making like $10 an hour and going to school. Seeing films shot in SF brings back great memories though, of how lovely visually the city regardless of the young tech anti-Christs that have taken it over. This film surely feeds into this concept.

Roman Polanski - Rosemary's Baby - 1968

Two of the best horror films in a row. Never gets old even after 2 dozen or more viewings. Cassavetes is such a slimy prick in the film, just a joy to watch. Seeing it again after Hereditary really makes me rethink that film, by Devil it really copied the hell out of Rosemary's Baby.

10.26.2018
Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz - Goodnight Mommy - 2014

I couldn't get into this film. If it had been a little more unique or interesting in how it was made I could have gotten past the gore of it but it just had that ubiquitous post-L'Argent contemporary European style that I personally get tired of seeing.  The style can work well at times like with Haneke and Dardenne. Maybe a reader has a better understanding of this? The influence of Tarkovsky and Bresson is maybe too strong in films from over yonder. The near sterile long take actually has become sterile in so many of these films, people love it though.

11.27.2018
Luca Guadagnino - Suspiria - 2018

This film was almost wonderful. I was completely taken in by the charms of the direction, the acting, the music and especially the atmosphere. Guadagnino has a beautifully unique vision which is so notable partly because of the intelligent way he references the history of cinema. As an example, the trademark zoom of 60s cinema here is transformed into a more than homage artifact, becoming something of a voyeuristic character moving around the action and observing in a way the viewer cannot. Quite unlike Tarantino who uses the zoom in a jokey way that at most gets a laugh.

If the majority of this film was at a level of sophistication of say 11, there are two sections that are hovering around 4 or 5. Number one is the first scene with Dr. Josef Klemperer and Patricia; the editing progressed in a pointlessly rapid manner that just thoroughly lacked poetry and good taste. Second was the last section of the film with the Bitch's Brew sequence which indeed has some lovely bits but is mostly absurd, trashy and poorly directed, choreographed and edited. The song by Thom Yorke (which is quite good) unfortunately gives a music video quality. The partially glimpsed devil and exploding heads add some proper fuckery, but the poorly choreographed dancers that fall short of an other-worldly mayhem stand out, and the Helena Markos character is just so darn corny.

This would be one of those great current films with at least the latter sequence heavily modified, and I would argue the initial one re-edited, but it was still a pretty great film. The Thom Yorke music with the dancing sequences was really like drinking some Lagavulin, quite heavenly.

Jim Jarmusch - Only Lovers Left Alive - 2013

Second time seeing this. Really brilliant take on the modern day vampire film. Jeffrey Wright in another comic Jarmusch role (the other being Broken Flowers). Our hero's life rotates around vintage guitars and amps, old records and old Jags; car and guitar. Pictured above is a lovely mid 1960s Fender Jaguar and interesting to note the Marshall amp with the 2 lls taken off. Also interesting to note our hero is not a trem man. Good stuff that makes this world worth the effort. Our hero's walls are adorned with some heavy figures, from J.S. Bach to Rodney Dangerfield, he has good eclectic taste.

plato's cave seventy two (being a film journal) horror

For the most part I am going to watch horror films the rest of the month. I come to horror not as an enthusiast but more as a film lover just wanting to see another great film regardless of genre. Because of this, there is less patience for certain horror films which are arguably just important within the genre. Interested very much in viewers coming to horror for non-traditional reasons. Any hint of kitsch or horror-humor and this viewer tends to tune out. B grade is cool as long as the film has heaviness (Bucket of Blood for example is endlessly watchable). Gore if excessive is another turn-it-off for this viewer, although if done in a subtle and poetic method gore can be exceedingly lovely. Some of my favorite films are horror films, like The Exorcist, and most of John Carpenter's films especially The Thing. Other classics like Cat People, The Shining, The Innocents,  Don't Look Now, and Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre.

10.10.2018
George A. Romero - Night of the Living Dead - 1968

I have seen this wonderful documentary a few times, vérité to the extreme. Of course as I learned in film school; vérité is never really vérité because the camera, editing, music and direction transform the truth into fiction. This film is a lovely example of fiction becoming truth via the director's methods. One of my favorite horror films. It is always interesting to see Romero show up as an actor. Here he plays a Washington Reporter. In Martin he is Father Howard, biker in Santa Claus Suit in Dawn of the Dead, Zombie with Scarf in Day of the Dead, FBI agent in Memphis in The Silence of the Lambs, and some others I haven't seen.

Wes Craven - The Last House on the Left - 1972

Second time seeing this, although the first time was over 20 years ago. It surely has a good look, but a little too B-grade for this viewer. The sadism mixed with humor really makes it a bit of a joke, which I guess is why people like it?  The B really works well with a director like Ed Woods, not as much here for this viewer but I am sure I am in the minority.

11.11.2018
Steve Buscemi - Trees Lounge - 1996

Non horror film. Fourth or fifth time seeing this film. Perfect, and one hell of a cast! Buscemi is one of the great 90s/2000s American directors: Trees Lounge, The Sopranos episodes, Lonesome Jim and Animal Factory.

11.12.2018
Robert Aldrich - The Longest Yard - 1974

Non horror film. Feel ashamed I never saw this great film which came out the same year I entered the world. Killer Burt Reynolds film.

11.13.2018
Jennifer Kent - The Babadook - 2014

Second time seeing this classic of contemporary horror. Same as the first time, I couldn't tell if I liked the film. The kid and mom are just a tad annoying, but it is well done and pretty intense and scary. Definitely a film that leaves an impression.

11.15.2018
Armand Weston - The Nesting - 1981 & Joe Dante - The Howling - 1981

Attempting to watch some horror films I have never seen. I started both of these because I recognized the names but turned them both off after a bit. Couldn't get into them.

11.16.2018
Yi'nan Diao - Black Coal, Thin Ice - 2014

Not totally a horror film, fits a bit into the serial killer genre. There are some moments of horrific intensity, but beyond that it is almost like a Beckett meets Tsai Ming-liang film. Drunken and depressed, our hero navigates a Beckett-like existence, with his general atmosphere of absurdity being more what I followed than the plot. I really loved this film and look forward to a second viewing. My pretty wife recommended it to me and she always steers me right.

11.17.2018
Dario Argento - Suspiria - 1977

I saw this film freshman year college and then maybe a few years later. Never loved it, nor the Italian horror films in general. Picked up the soundtrack a bit later and listened the hell out of it, so good. My wife had not seen this, and we have both been wanting to see the remake so we gave it a go in preparation.  There are definitely some moments that make it a film worth watching but the kitsch excessiveness of it just puts this viewer off. Like a big fancy cake that is made of non organic products and you just feel kind of sick after. It is funny but a video Demdike Stare made puts all the aesthetics of these films into a 6 minute version of somewhat off-putting trend induced hysteria..... with women endlessly walking down hallways in a way that is reminiscent of something like a low fidelity Chanel commercial.

11.18.2018
Alfred Hitchcock - The Man Who Knew Too Much - 1956
Lesser classic from Hitchcock revolving around the idea of the man who waits through an entire symphony to climactically crash the symbols. Second time.

10.20.2018
Herk Harvey - Carnival of Souls - 1962
Classic horror film. Beautiful stuff with some strange business afoot. Second time, great film.

10.21.2018
John McNaughton - Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer - 1986

Second time seeing Henry. Love this film, so raw and disturbing, has a great quality in terms of the acting, visuals and sound. Grainy as hell. Some kind of intense atmosphere that really fits with the fucked up business happening in the film. Michael Rooker is about as creepy as possible here, but also at times moral and almost kind here and there, great actor to be able to pull this off with simple gestures and non traditional actorshippe. Fitting in with another obsession on this blog - there is an abundance of urban photography; Chicago at night which just looks great, sinister yet beautiful. This is one of the best 80s films, rare quality for the year. First image above "Entertainment Nightly" is from Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. The pre-Lebowski quote above is good stuff.

Werner Herzog - Nosferatu the Vampyre - 1979

A few times seeing this classic. Just one hell of a horror film with an amazing soundtrack by Popol Vuh.

plato's cave seven (being a film journal)

sidney j. furie - the entity - 1982

recent films over the last couple of weeks

tom mccarthy - spotlight - 2015

fourth time watching this film. obviously really like it. one of those films that is made in a way that holds up to many viewings. mccarthy is great in the wire - the breeding ground for so many mf actors you see in contemporary film and television (omar....). the cast certainly has a feeling for actorshippe.

martin scorsese - shutter island - 2010

mentioned earlier on this blog for being a great primer on 20th century classical music. i have yet to see the silence. appears to be another great film from mr scorsese. haven't like much else since goodfellas from 1990. going to film school in the 90s, i remember hearing the grad students constantly obsessing over scorsese's work. i always liked hearing that talk.

shane black - the nice guys - 2016

this really wasn't a great film but it was entertaining. the daughter played by angourie rice stood out.

nicolas winding refn - the neon demon - 2016

jesus this was possibly one of the worst films i have seen in a while. i really like drive and vahalla rising, but this was utter fashionista nonsense. moments of superficiality in his other films (like the music in drive which is the soundtrack to every melon farmer bar in los angeles) is greatly exaggerated in this work.

alan j. pakula - all the president's men - 1976.

one of the first films i saw after moving to new york was pakula's klute in 35mm. had seen a few times and really loved it. hand not seen all the president's men a few for a long while.... great film! really appropriate with what is happening in the world right now.

jean-marc vallée - demolition - 2015

not without interest this film. just watched the once but had moments in it. chris cooper is always someone to watch and he was a great cinematic shitbird here.

david o russell - joy - 2015

i think mr. o russell is a director worth watching, and miss lawrence fine at actorshippe, but this film did not really do anything for me nor his other recent films. but quite possibly it is worth watching.

sidney j. furie - the entity - 1982

watched this for the second time. it is one of those films that despite the imperfections is really stunning. hard to put a finger on it. i have been wanting to gather a list of early 80s films that are in-between the wonderful chaos of the 70s and the brutally boring of the 80s. 1980, 1981, 1982 and maybe 1983 seem to have this oddness that is present and makes the viewing of these films extremely uncomfortable. another film that really works in this ways is jerzy skolimowski's moonlighting film from 1982. there is a slight return to films like this now i believe, with films like 2014's nightcrawler. more on this at a later point. my desire to track down horror films devoid of kitsch and gore brought me to this odd film. more on that later as well.