Les Diaboliques (1955)

Synopsis 

A married woman and her husband's mistress hatch a scheme to murder him, and dispose the body so they won't get caught. The married woman begins experiencing strange visions as she swears she keeps seeing him appearing.

Thoughts

The plot is as delicious as a succulent French meal. A despicable man, Michel (Paul Meurisse), who runs a boarding school like a dictator, becomes the target of a murder plot hatched by his mistress, Nicole (Simone Signoret). The mistress is actually friends with the man's wife, Christina (Vera Clouzot), although Christina is initially hesitant to go along with the plan. Michel is abusive, intolerant, and mean. Simone is convinced he doesn't deserve to live. She eventually coaxes Christina into going through with it. Both of them deceive and kill Michel, leaving his body in a pool, thinking it will look like an accident.

But there's a problem. The corpse disappears. Police think they find it, but it turns out not to be Michel's body. Meanwhile, Christina keeps thinking she sees Michel--and others claim to have seen him around, including a child who is known to be a liar. But Christina believes him.

Christina has also hired a private investigator, Alfred (Charles Vanel), to help resolve the case. She also confesses the murder to him. But when she thinks she sees Michel's returned corpse in the bathtub they killed him in, things really get interesting.

The film is both a horror thriller and film noir. It digs deep into our darkest part of our soul to see how far we'd go to get rid of unwanted people in our lives. Of course the "perfect murder" plot is not exclusive in originality here. But that's OK--it is executed perfectly.

The best sequence, of course, is the climax where Christina discovers the body. There is no music, only the creaky noises of the house and her own footsteps are heard. It builds the suspense as we wait and see what happens...and the twists at the end are surprising and fresh.

It's also darkly humorous. There aren't big laugh out loud moments or anything cheap--but there is a quirky comic tone to the film as well as its murky dubious commentary on humankind. The film is extremely absorbing, with top notch performances by Signoret and Clouzot. As an added bonus to the atmosphere to the film, there's a line at the end that tells you not to reveal the end to anyone.

So turn off all the lights and make sure you watch this in the dead of night...so that when you get to those last few scenes...you are right there with Christina...to the twisted end.

IMDB: 8.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 8.6/10

WeFLM: 8/10

-Zack

Night Thirst (2002)

Synopsis

An anthology horror "film" featuring 4 stories including a zombie wandering around a hospital pestering med students, a voyeur's ill fated trip into a demonic forest, and a killer Santa Claus.

Thoughts

I just made this movie sound so much better than it actually is...or could ever be. Ever hear of the Polonia Brothers? Well, they made this film. Although, calling this a film is like calling peanut butter a dairy product.

These brothers have been making films since the 80's, and they're all basement bargain-bin Z-grade garbage. Sadly, one of the Polonia Brothers, John, is no longer with us. But he made a lot of contributions to his name in his short life, that's for sure. Most of these films are only available through packages that include other, probably less interesting bad horror movies. Finding them is not easy. Maybe they shouldn't be.

As stated, this is an anthology. It features 4 stories plus a few "bookends". I'll get into all of that. But first, I want to be clear about this: Night Thirst is bad. It's not bad like a bad movie is bad. It barely constitutes as bad, in fact...because bad is far too kind a word to describe it.

OK, really though--I love their movies. They are basically the latter day Ed Wood. You can tell they love making these films, as bad as they are. Did I mention how bad they were?

All right, enough. I'll get into the movie itself. It begins promisingly with some footage of a hot babe taking a shower. To prove how much of a Polonias Brothers nerd I am, I can tell you this is footage that was used in another film they had already made called Hellgate: The House That Screamed in 2001. Or maybe they shot both of those movies at the same time...who knows. 

So a creature comes in and attacks her and the credits start. And then we have our bookend character, a truck driver whose truck has stalled and he needs help. He stops by a kid's house to make a phone call to get someone out there. He convinces the kid to let him stay and he tells him a few stories. Now about these characters. The truck driver is played by Polonia favorite Jon McBride. He looks a bit like an E Street Band reject in this. The kid is played by another oft used actor named Jeff Dylan Graham who I believe is doing a Polonia impression...you'll know if you watch more of their movies.

The first story is another borrowed part of a film from a movie called Terror House. It tells the story of a woman who goes to a house in order to collect some sort of grant. While she stays there, she is drugged by some unknown monster and kept there...and really...not much else happens...but there's a lot of narration and footage of this woman wandering around a house drinking wine. 

Of course, that's just to warm things up. We're at 38 degrees here about. The next story, after some banter between the two bookend characters, is about a couple of med students that are stalked by a fresh cadaver. He's played by John Polonia. Now, this one tries to blend some humor with the horror...and since neither work...it winds up being pretty boring. Not to mention the fact that they didn't mic anybody so the girl med student's dialog is barely audible. But I believe she tries doing a Brooklyn accent of some sort.

The third story involves a guy who, for a journalism class project, decides to go out to the Black Forest, supposedly "haunted by demons". He goes there to take pictures, and doesn't realize he is being watched by the forest demons. He comes upon a ritual of sorts and is discovered, then chased back to his car and confronted with them. That sounds pretty enticing, and could be scary. But there's one fatal flaw with this one.

It's shot in broad daylight.

What kind of a spine tingling tale of terror can possibly take place on a bright Saturday morning? Unless there is some impending doom, which is never established, you spend more time wondering what you would've done on such a lovely day--surely not smoking cigarettes and taking pictures of a bland non descript forest? Haunted, by the way, by some of the worst looking creature puppets ever assembled. And while they look cheesy and cheap--they could've at least looked a bit menacing if they were...you know...SHOT IN THE DARK? 

The two bookend characters banter a little more...for some reason the "chilly night air" makes the trucker think of the Holidays. Which brings us to the story about a deadbeat dad (played by Mark Polonia) who is trying to make it with a married woman who says her husband's away (played by, I am assuming, Polonia's real life wife). His real life daughter plays his daughter...oh and this takes place on the 4th of July. Just to set the right mood.

So his daughter keeps thinking she sees Santa, while her dad reminds her that it's the middle of summer, and then continues to set up something with the married woman. The girl is pretty bummed out that her dad doesn't believe her...until she finds Santa in her house, serving the dad a little surprise present for him.

OK, it's the woman's head in a box. Then Santa kills the dad. It turns out the woman was his wife, and he found out she was cheating on him so he thought he'd make Christmas "come a little early this year".

I'll admit, that is the closest this movie comes to being clever at all. We're taken back to the two bookenders and there's a revelation...the trucker has the Night Thirst! He's a vampire! But wait, there's more!

The kid has it too! 

Then we're treated to yet some more footage from another film (this time Bad Magic, a truly awful movie, even for them). 

I'm guessing the Night Thirst is a thirst for horrible movies...and if that's the case...I am downright parched.

IMDB: 3.8/10 

Rotten Tomatoes: No Listing

WeFLM: 2/10

-Zack C.

NO TRAILER AVAILABLE

Horns (2013)

Synopsis

A young man is accused of raping and killing his girlfriend, but the events surrounding the murder are murky and mysterious. He inexplicably grows horns, which allows him to hear the worst thoughts of people who don't see the horns, helping him solve the case himself while trying to clear his name.

Thoughts

This is a very strange movie, and one that probably could have been comprehensible and still strange, were it for a stronger script. The film is based upon a book by Joe Hill (the son of Stephen King), retaining the title. It seems to mainly be about the power of persuasion through honesty, yet the irony is that our deepest and darkest secrets can only be revealed to the devil--because he's the keeper of impure thoughts and desires.

The story opens with Ig Perrish (Daniel Ratcliffe) being accused of murdering his girlfriend, Merrin (Juno Temple) after sexually assaulting her. He intends to defend himself; but no one really believes he is innocent. After a night of binge drinking, he wakes up to find horns growing out of his head. No one seems to have a reaction to the horns, and he cannot remove them. But all of the sudden, people start opening up to him and telling him their most horrible thoughts. Ig can also get closer to people's thoughts by touching them--but it does not help in his search to find Merrin's killer.

Throughout the film, there are shifts in tone that really destroy its credibility. One minute, Ig looks intense and the horns actually start to take on a presence in a fiendish way. You think maybe he's literally turning into the devil himself. However, the horns really just represent our thought process of what our darkest form is. We can only be devilish if we literally become devil-like. 

But then, some of what is revealed to him, including by his own mother, is so outrageous and awkward that it seems to try to come off as humorous. And of course, you laugh, because you can't believe what you just heard. 

It's like that old Kids Say the Darndest Things, only it's just about everybody in the film that expresses at least one inappropriate thought. They are compelled by the horns, although they don't know it. Once Ig knows this, he tries to use this to his advantage.

His brother Terry (Joe Anderson), seems to know something. His lawyer, and friend, Lee (Max Minghella) also seems to know something. But as the revelations keep coming, the film starts to take on a predictable shape and once you put it all together, there is not much on the screen that's really drawing you into the story anymore except for Ratcliffe's outstanding performance.

The film is directed by Alexander Aja, who has made some good films, and some bad ones. It seems like when he's given good source material, he has a clear cut vision and knows what to do with it. He can make a competent film. However, when the material suffers from unevenness and weak structure, he can't save it. 

Such is the case here. The script is adapted by Keith Bunin, and at times he seems to understand Joe Hill's novel and its purpose. But then it goes for comedic shock value and the credibility goes out the window. It's hard to take anyone seriously. And that kills the drama.

Even in its climax, where Ig is confronted with the truth of what happened, it all just seems messy and jumbled. Some of the film is presented in flashback--which works for the most part. But then it starts feeling very much like a TV crime show episode...and you just know what's coming at the end.

Plus, the point of the horns is never all that consistent. One minute it seems to be trying to say that they're a facade--Ig is not evil but maybe the horns bring out the evil in others. Then, they just seem to exist to pull an inappropriate thought out of someone for no apparent reason. Yes, evil hides behind things that seem holy or good, but the irony just seems to get muddled. But before the horns even grew out of his head, something evil has already happened that had nothing to do with them. 

The film's bright spots include Ratcliffe's engaging performance, and some of the humor in the beginning. When the film can't balance between whether it wants to be a dark fantasy or a horror comedy, or a thriller, is when it starts to fall apart. It's not a complete waste of time by any means. But, it does leave you wondering if this could have been a better film had it been in better hands...

...or horns.

IMDB: 6.6/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 5.2/10

WeFLM: 6/10

-Zack

Arachnophobia (1990)

Synopsis

Canaima is a quiet little town where Ross and his family have just moved to. They've arrived just in time to meet the most venomous creatures to walk on eight legs. 

Thoughts

I enjoy traveling. Seeing the sights, eating new foods, exploring culture around the world. Where do I draw the line? Coming in contact with any and all insects. Like when we visited the Virgin Islands and went on an amazing kayak tour of this beautiful secluded beach and our guide, Zulu, let us explore the deserted steam facility. It was here where I came in contact with the tarantula hawk. I watched this giant wasp hover over the ground waiting for its prey to emerge. If the tarantula hawk grows impatient, we were told it would invade the hole where the spider resides and battle. As awesome as this may sound to some, I'm not a fan of bees whatsoever, so I was ready to get back in the kayak and be on our merry way. Zulu insisted we go spider fishing. What is this, you ask? Well, you pick a piece of long grass from the ground, shove it into one of the many holes in the ground and wait for a spider, in this case, a tarantula, to grab hold thinking it's food and emerge as you pull the grass slowly out of the hole. No, no, no, NOPE! 

Arachnophobia is the scariest film of all time for anyone who is deathly afraid of spiders. What starts as an innocent voyage to the Amazon rainforest to discover new species of insects escalates to battle of human versus the deadliest spider in the world! So, a doctor, Ross, moves his family to the town of Canaima to take over a retiring doctor's practice. Deciding not to retire though puts Ross pretty much out of work with the exception of his neighbor, Margaret. Behind all the drama, the "general" spider, that unknowingly traveled back from the rainforest, has unleashed minions it had produced onto the town. These minions have a bite powerful enough to send a person into a fatal cardiac arrest. With the townspeople people falling prey to these spiders, Ross, now known to the town as Dr. Death, suspects more than just a simple heart attack. He decides to enlist the help of Dr. Atherton. When the truth is revealed, Ross must overcome his fear of spiders to protect his family and ultimately the town. 

The 90's sure did produce some great family friendly thrillers. Here, director, Frank Marshall uses John Goodman as an exterminator for comic relief. His scenes bring a sense of normalcy to all the creepiness. The film itself is good at keeping the viewer tense. The first time I saw this movie, I didn't put shoes on for at least a year. To this day I still prefer flip flops over putting my foot in that dark abyss you call shoes. Just recently watching this, a stink bug flew out of nowhere and practically gave me a heart attack. Why? I always get sucked into this movie that I fear that there are spiders everywhere plotting their attack. Arachnophobia does an amazing job of scaring the viewer, yet, it's so light hearted and family friendly that you wouldn't really expect it. 

The spiders in the film were both real and animatronic. The smaller spiders were a non venomous species from New Zealand. The general, the escape artist from the rainforest, was a tarantula. More specifically, a bird eating one. Seeing that this spider is quite venomous, all shots involving the cast used an animatronic version. The last thing this film needed was a cast member getting bitten by the real deal. The general was created by none other than famed Mythbuster, Jamie Hyneman. He did a fantastic job with it because the close up shots of its eyes are absolutely terrifying. 

This is truly a really fun movie. From start to finish, it's a great blend of comedy and thriller. There is some pretty dark humor as well, which is quite a nice touch. Sure, nothing here screams oscars, but it's still a damn good movie. If you're looking for a family friendly night of terror making your children, or yourself's dreams turn into eight legged nightmares, look no further. Arachnophobia is just what you're looking for.

IMDB: 6.3/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 6.8/10

WeFLM: 7/10

Come for the dried up corpse. Stay for the animatronic general.

-kp

White Heat (1949)

Synopsis

Cody and his gang seem to be unstoppable. That's until he decides to turn himself in, but when his mother dies, all bets are off. 

Thoughts

Gangsters, criminals, detectives, coppers, dames, broads. These "titles", although dame and broad are demeaning, are some of the main focuses for characters in film noir. Generally, the main cast of characters are complete cynics. They were about one thing and one thing only...themselves. A lone detective trying to solve the case of his career. No family. No use for a dame. Just the paper, his gun and a tumbler of bourbon. Or, nice guy turned bank robber committing armed robbery with his lady, but love is the eventual downfall. Those were different times. The 40's and 50's made their mark in the golden age with film noir. Now, of course, there's so much more that makes a film noir what it is. If you've taken a film class, or are just well versed in the genre, you're quite well aware of it all, so, I don't want to gab on about the history. Lets delve into this week's Noir November selection.

When I first came across White Heat, I was watching the 90's hip hop drama Juice. Yeah, I'll never forget the excitement in Tupac Shakur's eyes watching it while eating that 40 ounce egg scramble. The film itself caught my interest though. So, I did what any kid did when they wanted to see a movie and hadn't a dime to their name. I grabbed an adult and scurried over to my local library for some free rentals. Uur library had a treasure trove of classic movies, so, the probability of them having it was pretty high. I rushed home, well, I had my mom rush us home so I could watch it. What a film! 

White Heat starts and doesn't let up for one second. Robberies, a high speed car chase, prison escape, murder (in the back), an undercover detective and a dame to kill for. It follows Cody, a ruthless gangster who turns himself in for a shorter stint in prison. Big Ed wants Cody dead so he can take over the gang and Vera, Cody's wife. Hiring a hitman on the inside with Cody didn't pan out with Vic, better known to the agency as Hank, there to save him. Cody's set to finish his stint, but plans change when he gets word his mother died. Cody decides to make a break for it. After he settles the score with Big Ed, he's back doing what he does best. Cody gets the gang back together for the big score, unknowingly, a setup, and his final moments.

James Cagney. The name itself is legendary. Sure, he's played a lot of the same roles, but in each he's given a masterful performance. He just commands attention when he's on the screen. Even with Virginia Mayo portraying the beautiful, but treacherous, murderous Vera, Cagney is the focus of the scene. The production and acting were great for it's time. The script, as well as the directing, were also quite well done. The scene with Cody explaining why he's turning himself in is brilliant. If he would had only figure in the betrayal, deception and greed that would follow. Although this film is great on all fronts, it does have its issues. For instance, who exactly should you be rooting for? I've always found myself rooting for one side or the other when it comes to cops and robbers, but White Heat doesn't really have a clear line. With Cagney having such a demanding presence, I found myself favoring the gang, even though Cody was diagnosed with homicidal psychosis. Not really an issue at all with the film, but usually films like this choose a side within themselves. You're either hoping the cops nab the robbers or the robbers make a clean get away. If there's anything to really wonder about it would be why he never found out Vera was the one who got his mom in the back. I really enjoyed Vera's outcome though. I just wish the cop would have replied "Copper isn't cheap, dollface. Take her away boys!"

White Heat is a classic movie everyone should see. I absolutely love this movie. The classic tale of cops and robbers, the fast talking dialogue, the "top of the world" ending. It all adds up to it being a fantastic film noir. So, rent it on Amazon, dig up your old VHS copy, or set your GPS to find the nearest video store and see White Heat.

IMDB: 8.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 8.4/10

WeFLM: 9/10

Come for the deception. Stay for the betrayal. 

-kp

This Boy's Life (1993)

Synopsis

A story that recounts Tobias Wolff's years of adolescence and his abusive relationship with his stepfather Dwight.

Thoughts

Watching someone's life unfold before my very eyes is always entertaining for me. I'm not sure what it is that makes me such a sucker for these types of movies, but if it is based on someone's life, I must see it. Most statistics we hear nowadays are pulled right out of the person's ass that was kind enough to present them to us. But, I feel that most films based on someone's life is half hollywood, half truth. It's often times you read or hear people arguing over what actually happened. I know half the movie isn't true because some people's lives are just boring, so hollywood decides to spruce it up a bit. This isn't an excuse for them to do so, but would Titanic have been a box office hit if James Cameron would have just had the ship set sail and film it sinking? Unfortunately, no. 

This Boy's Life is one of the first films I remember reading the book before seeing the movie. Some people get really upset if you don't read the book before seeing the movie, but that's an argument for another day. When I was fourteen, these memoirs were quite relatable. I knew exactly what he was going through and it made it a much more personal read through. The film adaptation is why we're here though.  

This tells the story of Tobias Wolff, Toby, or Jack, as he prefers, in his adolescence. His mother takes him to Salt Lake City where she believes they'll become wealthy after finding uranium. Much to her disbelief, all she finds are terrible jobs and even worse men. How does Jack adjust to it all? He loves his mother, so he'll follow her to the end of the earth. Of course, he does run into his fair share of trouble. Shoplifting, skipping school and fighting are just some of the things he get caught up with. He meets his match when his mother meets Dwight. Jack and his mother eventually move into Dwight's place in Concrete and from there brew's a war that boils into an all out brawl between Jack and Dwight before the end. The book, however, keeps going and he tells us of his life after concrete. This is where the hollywood argument comes to play because if they were keep filming it wouldn't end on such a positive note.

The story itself, at times, quite depressing, was compelling and rewarding in the end. Well, the movie was, but I'll get to that later. The cast was fantastic. Leonardo DiCaprio's portrayal of Jack was remarkable. Sure, he may young, but his acting skills seemed as if he had been doing this for twenty years already. A natural, if you will. He does have the most annoying screech, which could have inspired the most annoying sound in the world as heard in Dumb and Dumber, but he's young. Robert De Niro isn't new to playing a character of this stature. More like melding together two characters he's previously played. You find yourself easily despising De Niro throughout the film. Caroline, Jack's mother, is played by Ellen Barkin. I think this was her best role in her career. Yeah, she's quite the actress in all of her films, but she does an incredible job as Caroline. 

I found myself annoyed at times with this movie. Why? I just wanted his mother to realize that she was selfish and practically uninvolved with her son. This caused Jack to act selfish and lash out in the ways he did. If she hadn't been that way, maybe Jack wouldn't have suffered the abuse from Dwight. The last half of the movie she literally says that she will not referee in order to make her marriage work. Are you kidding me? Your husband torments your son and you want it to work? What would have happened if she hadn't intervened in the kitchen brawl? Even though she does snap back to reality (cue "Lose Yourself"), I just always find myself quite irritated and annoyed with how far she has to go before seeing that the marriage won't work. If I remember correctly, the marriage lasted two years.

This Boy's Life is a very well made adaptation. Maybe if it was made today instead of in '93, they would have told the entire story instead of focusing solely on the Dwight encounter. Those were different times because now I think people can handle realism, so they wouldn't need a light hearted ending. Think about a film like The Bicycle Thieves. His bike is stolen, never recovered, probably lost his job, life goes on and that was that. Anyways, it's a movie not to be missed. If you enjoyed films that are similar and also star DiCaprio in the lead role, The Basketball Diaries and Catch Me If You Can, you'll enjoy This Boy's Life.

IMDB: 7.3/10

Rotten Tomatoes: 6.4/10

WeFLM: 7/10

Come for the turkey shoot. Stay for the kitchen brawl.

-kp