Modern Mondays: 28 Days Later (2002)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | October 26, 2009

Categories | Movie Reviews, Horror, British Cinema, Modern Mondays

I make no apology for my sincere admiration of British director Danny Boyle. Since I first sat through a late night showing of Shallow Grave back in 1994 I’ve been impressed with his frenetic and edgy directing style as well as his ability to get incredibly nuanced performances from his actors. I believe Boyle is one of our most interesting modern directors and 28 Days Later is one of his greatest achievements.

28 Days Later tells the story of young Jim (Cillian Murphy) who awakens from a long coma in an empty London hospital surrounded by a seemingly deserted city. While Jim was sleeping a powerful virus swept through the country turning its victims into murderous monsters that resemble zombies. Throughout the course of the film Jim becomes a reluctant hero who helps other survivors try to stay alive in a situation that becomes more desperate and bleak by the hour.

The film was impressively shot by cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle using digital film for most of its running time. Instead of it being a distraction, the use of digital film in 28 Days Later actually adds to the grungy feel of the urban landscape and gives the city of London an extremely menacing look. Writer Alex Garland wrote the script, which makes many references to other movies such as The Last Man On Earth (1964), The Day of the Triffids (1962), Omega Man (1971), A Clockwork Orange (1971) and George Romero’s Dead Trilogy. But in a decade that was littered with tired ‘reimaginings’ and lackluster remakes Danny Boyle was able to revitalize familiar themes and turn 28 Days Later into one of the decades most frightening, creative, entertaining and thought-provoking horror films. 28 Days Later managed to make zombies interesting again and it also made Cillian Murphy an internationally renowned star who has developed into one of our best working actors.

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Modern Mondays: Calvaire (2004)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | October 19, 2009

Categories | Movie Reviews, Horror, Modern Mondays

When I first saw Calvaire (2004) it haunted me for weeks. No matter how much I tried to forgot the film’s snow saturated landscapes, strange characters, unhinged violence and unsettling atmosphere I just couldn’t shake the movie from my memory. Images from Calvaire haunted my dreams and threatened to consume my thoughts.

This fascinating horror film was directed and co-written by Belgium born filmmaker Fabrice Du Welz and shot by the extraordinary cinematographer Benoît Debie. Together Fabrice Du Welz and Benoît Debie form part of an important group of European filmmakers who are producing some of today’s most innovative and cutting edge films. This creative group includes controversial directors Gaspar Noé and Lucile Hadzihalilovic, as well as Peter Van Hees who recently helmed Left Bank. Together these filmmakers seem to be redefining horror cinema and invoking the darkest and arguably most interesting aspects of cinema fantastique.

Calvaire brazenly borrows ideas from classic survival horror films such as Deliverance (1972), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and The Hills Have Eyes (1977). But director Fabrice Du Welz manages to infuse his film with a dark romanticism that would make Matthew “Monk” Lewis proud.

The film stars the talented French actor Laurent Lucas as a young entertainer named Marc whose van breakdowns somewhere in the Belgian countryside. Marc soon becomes an object of admiration and incomprehensible cruelty for a local innkeeper named Bartel (Jackie Berroyer).

What separates Calvaire from other films involving individuals who find themselves lost in the wilderness and preyed upon by crazed locals, is the way the film dares to play with gender roles. Calvaire smartly subverts the idea of the “final girl’ that is prevalent in many popular horror films and turns it on its head. The film is also beautifully photographed by Benoît Debie who makes the most of Belgium’s winter weather and invokes a creepy gothic ambiance that is often missing from contemporary horror movies.

Last but not least, Calvaire also boasts a brief but memorable appearance by the beautiful European horror icon and erotic actress Brigitte Lahaie who has appeared in many Jean Rollin films including The Grapes of Death (1978), Fascination (1979) and Night of the Hunted (1980) and as well as Jess Franco’s Faceless (1987) and critically acclaimed films such as Diva (1981) and Henry & June (1990).

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On DVD This Week: Left Bank!

by Kimberly Lindbergs | October 16, 2009

Categories | News, Horror, Modern Mondays

Left Bank (aka Linkeroever) has been released on DVD from IFC Films/MPI Home Video just in time for Halloween! I was thrilled to find a quote by yours truly gracing the DVD cover that lets potential viewers know that I thought Left Bank was “Just as important as LET THE RIGHT ONE” and “One of the Best Horror Films of the Past 10 Years.”

These quotes all come from my earlier review of Left Bank and I proudly stand behind both of my statements. It’s unfortunate that Left Bank didn’t get the same kind of critical attention that Let the Right One got when it was initially released in 2008, but not too surprising. Left Bank is an unusual and atypical horror movie that borrows ideas from some of horror cinema’s most esoteric films. I suspect that it will never appeal to the same wide reaching audience that appreciated Let the Right One In, but I think horror film enthusiasts with eclectic tastes will find Left Bank to be an exciting and worthwhile viewing experience. Hopefully this new DVD release will introduce the film to a much wider and more appreciative audience.

From the Left Bank DVD Description:
“In this graphically shocking and internationally acclaimed debut feature by Belgian writer/director Peter Van Hees, Eline Kuppens stars as a dedicated professional runner sidelined by an infection. But when she impulsively decides to move into her new boyfriend s high-rise apartment on the outskirts of Antwerp, she will discover that his perfect home may hold strange powers and even darker secrets: Their sexual passion becomes extreme. Her body undergoes bizarre changes. The previous tenant disappeared under mysterious circumstances. And deep within the building s dark basement lurks an ancient evil that waits to be reborn. Welcome to a neighborhood where obsession meets madness, history is written in blood, and modern horror is alive and well in a place called LEFT BANK.”

This new NTSC DVD release features a widescreen print of the film as well as English and Spanish subtitles. You can currently purchase the DVD from Amazon and it should be available for rent from Netflix as well as other DVD rental outlets.

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Modern Mondays: Before the Fall (2008)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | October 5, 2009

Categories | Movie Reviews, Science Fiction, Spanish Cinema, Thrillers, Modern Mondays

Before the Fall (aka Tres días) is a terrific Spanish thriller with an end-of-the-world setting. This thoughtful genre-mixing film takes place in a small Spanish village as the news breaks that a giant meteor has begun rapidly descending towards earth. The meteor is expected to hit the planet in just three days and scientists predict that the world will come to a sudden and violent end when it does. As these events begin to unfold director and co-writer F. Javier Gutiérrez focuses his camera on one very troubled family that is struggling to live with some deep scars caused by a traumatic encounter with a serial killer many years earlier. Unfortunately the family is forced to face their past head-on when the killer escapes from jail in the chaos following the frantic news announcement of the meteor’s decent.

In most films with a doomsday plot line the characters act as if they don’t have a past. But they’re willing to fight for a future that often seems vague and undefined. Characters might struggle with family matters before the action starts and occasionally make reference to it as the drama progresses, but once the adrenaline kicks in their personal history mysteriously seems to vanish into thin air. This lack of emotional depth and character development in many science fiction films and thrillers can be distracting and exasperating for some viewers. Before the Fall is smart enough to reject typical scenarios found in countless apocalyptic films and instead director F. Javier Gutiérrez managed to craft a taut psychological thriller that never forgets about its very human characters.

The film’s deep sense of humanity is what separates Before the Fall from countless other end-of-the-world films that have preceded it. Throughout the course of the film the flawed protagonists in Before the Fall are never allowed to forget their past and the events that have shaped them. Director F. Javier Gutiérrez knows that death is inevitable whether it comes in the form of a giant falling meteor, suicide or a serial killer so the meteor plunging towards earth in Before the Fall is only a minor distraction that never gets in the way of life’s bigger questions and conflicts. The film unapologetically allows viewers to forget about the impending disaster facing planet earth and embrace the troubled family in their very personal plight.

Besides some surprisingly creative directing choices by Gutiérrez, the film also features some wonderful performances from Víctor Clavijo as the reluctant hero of the film as well as Mariana Cordero as his mother and Eduard Fernández as the determined killer. These three characters really make up the heart, soul and mind of this unusual movie that happens to be one of my favorite films of the last decade.

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Modern Mondays: Last Life in the Universe (2003)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | September 21, 2009

Categories | Movie Reviews, Modern Mondays, Tadanobu Asano

Is it Monday already? Lately the weeks seem to fly by but I managed to pull a little something together for Modern Monday. Forgive the brevity of my blog posts lately, but house hunting continues to consume most of my free time at the moment. With that in mind I figured I’d share a little something about a film that is much more interested in images than words.

Last Life in the Universe (aka Ruang rak noi nid mahasan, 2003) is a beautiful and thoughtful meditation on life, death, alienation and reconciliation written and directed by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang with breathtaking cinematography by the impeccable Christopher Doyle. It also features an wonderfully subtle performance by one of my favorite working actors, the brilliant Tadanobu Asano.

Last Life in the Universe forgoes familiar storytelling techniques and uses it’s own surreal language to examine familiar themes in an unconventional way. This macabre and melancholy movie is touching but never sappy and it always maintains its sense of humor. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s innovative film occasionally recalls the work of filmmakers such as Louis Bunuel and even Jean Cocteau but Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s Thai background gives his film a unique perspective and tone.

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Modern Mondays: Cloverfield (2008)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | September 14, 2009

Categories | Horror, American Cinema, Modern Mondays

During the recent media barrage following the annual 9/11 anniversary, I was reminded of the Matt Reeves and J.J. Abrams’ giant monster movie Cloverfield (2008). I’ve seen Cloverfield twice since my first viewing and it remains one of my favorite horror films of the last decade.

When the movie was originally released it created a mild media controversy after many critics berated the film for being insensitive to 9/11 victims and the events that scarred a nation. People also seemed to enjoy spending a ridiculous amount of time pointing out the improbabilities of this giant monster movie as if they were critiquing a documentary. I think those kinds of criticisms of a fantasy thriller are fascinating and pointless, but they’re also a credit to the director who managed to give the film an incredibly authentic look and feel.

At the time I was bothered by a lot of the negative criticism the film was receiving and I wrote a lengthy defensive of it that you can still read here. Since the film’s initial release it has gotten more critical respect and I suspect that will only continue over time.

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Modern Mondays: Mulholland Dr. (2001)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | August 31, 2009

Categories | American Cinema, Modern Mondays

David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. has been over analyzed and written about ad nauseam since it’s 2001 debut that I’m hesitant to add to the cacophony of noise surrounding the film. But I will mention that it is one of my favorite films of the last 10 years and it’s also the movie that brought me back to Lynch since I had lost interest in his work after Wild at Heart (1990) and Twin Peaks (1990-91). For one reason or another I didn’t get around to seeing The Straight Story (1999) and Lost Highway (1997) until long after their release, but Mulholland Dr. remains one of my favorite David Lynch films along with The Elephant Man (1980) and Blue Velvet (1986).

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Modern Mondays: Innocence (2004)

by Kimberly Lindbergs | August 24, 2009

Categories | Movie Reviews, Horror, French Cinema, Modern Mondays

Part horror film, part fairytale and pure allegory. Nothing in Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s 2004 film is as it seems. Much like her artistic partner, filmmaker Gaspar Noé, Hadzihalilovic is obviously interested in making films that push past expectations and delve into the unconscious mind. Innocence isn’t simply a film about what’s on the screen. It is a film that reflects what the audience chooses to see when they watch it. The movie takes place in the dream-like surroundings of a gated school for young women where imagery is much more important than story. Characters speak very little and what they do say is often less important than what they don’t say.

Throughout Innocence Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s direction is flawless and once you’ve entered the world she’s created it’s impossible to forget it. Much like Peter Weir’s excellent 1975 film Picnic at Hanging Rock, Innocence uses the sterile and beautiful world of a girl’s boarding school as a backdrop for exploring ideas about society, power, control and gender. How we respond to these films often illustrates the way in which we see the world. But there’s no denying that Innocence is a film intended to shake up its audience and make them think. At times watching Innocence is an uncomfortable experience and it should make viewers squirm. It’s a horror film without shocks. It’s a fairytale for adults. Innocence is anything but forgettable entertainment. It will crawl under your skin and stick there.

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