Kill List- Ben Wheatley

Kill List is a difficult film to categorize into a genre, as it has a myriad of elements from horror, drama and action, but overall I would categorize it as a very intense psychological horror movie. It follows an assassin turned family man by the name of Jay, who is pressured into taking a new assignment by his friend and cohort, Gal. As the nature of the task slowly unfolds throughout the movie, Jay becomes increasingly submerged into a trail of violence and confusion which lead up to a very memorable climax.
Does this sound familiar? Well, that's because it is, but it's a bit deceiving. Beyond the somewhat mundane premise, Kill List sets itself apart from the others quite easily. Wheatley maintains a very glum overtone where all of the relationships within the characters feel unsteady and ready to unravel at any moment. Kill List holds a calculated atmosphere that leaves you feeling uneasy from beginning to end as it slowly reveals details leading to some surprising conclusions. It's home to unexpected twists and turns, clever foreshadowing and bouts intense violence. I don't want to give away too much of this film as I think it's best served without much knowledge about it beforehand, but this is definitely one of the most surprisingly well-done films I've seen all year. Highly recommended.

4.5/5

Cody DeLarge

Livide- Alexandre Bustillo/Julien Maury

   
     I have been waiting for this longer than Monica Bellucci was waiting for the rape to end in Irreversible. Inside gutted me and I have been patiently waiting for a follow up from these madman of France. Well it is here and it is about as different as James Earl Jones and the other James Earl.
     The plot is basically like City Slickers two except instead of looking for Curly's gold they are looking for a dance teacher's(who happens to be in a coma)treasure.  Lucy tells here degenerate boyfriend about the treasure and he and his friend convince her to take them there. They break in and shit gets real.
     Livide is shot with the precision that it would of taken Lee Harvey Oswald to hit Kennedy from the observatory if that was the case.  That is for another time though. What I am saying is this is beautiful. Not surprising after seeing Inside. Every scene is a painting that was given more love that Van Gogh's prostitute. The acting is excellent across the board with Chloé Coulloud as Lucy being the standout.  She sells every scene with her eye.  The music is perfectly executed and the effects while not as bloody and grotesque as you might expect from this duo are fantastic and effective and have plenty of gross out value.
     Livide is a perfect follow up. It is nothing like Inside and that is a good thing. Inside is one of my favorite films of the last decade but if they had just tried to rehash it they would have to change their names to Zombie or Roth. They have made a fantastical supernatural film with nods to Halloween three and an overall tone that owes itself to another French god, Jean Rollin.

4/5

Tromeric

Trollhunter- André Øvredal

     TRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!! 
     Found footage movies have been pretty fucking over saturated since Paranormal Activity. Most of the time they are a one time watch.  Cannibal Holocaust is the best found footage movie and is missing the credit it is due. Blair Witch gets it all. The first time I saw Blair Witch it scared the shit out of me. Now it is kinda lame.  The August Underground movies are the new classic found footage movies in my opinion. This is all pointless drunken back story.
     Trollhunter is kind of a slow start.  I get kind of bored with the shaky video footage bullshit. I can ignore all that because these  trolls are so fucking rad. Its like Fraggle Rock if they ate more bitches and hated Jesus Freaks.  Love it.
     Norway has sweet Black Metal and Santa story's . Now they can add awesome Troll movie to their list. Way to go Norway.

3.5/5

Tromeric

30 Day Horror Challenge day 18

     Foreign horror. Wow this does not really narrow down much for me.  I have been watching horror films since I was dick high, and I mean John Holmes dick so pretty god damn young.  I had to start venturing into foreign horror just to find new things and have found many films over the years I love.  Japan has some amazing films, dating back to the 70's with Hausu and into the more modern years with Takashi Miike taking off in the late ninety's when he brought us Audition which is one of my favorite films of all time, not to mention Visitor Q, Ichi the Killer, Happiness of the Katakuris and countless more.  There of course are the Japanese ghost films which were amazing in the beginning but they beat over the head like the guys in three guys one hammer.  Then more modern day they have pumped out some pretty memorable mutant splatter films with the likes of Tokyo Gore Police and Machine Girl.  You of course can't forget about Italy with Argento, Bava, and Fulci among a group of other filmmakers that changed horror. Canada brought us Subconscious Cruelty while the french brought some fresh titles starting with the Gasper Noe films to Haute Tension to the more modern day Martyrs and Inside.  Let the Right One in has instantly become one of my favorites while Korea brought us Chan Wook-Park and I Saw the Devil.  That brings us to Serbia.  They brought us Life and Death of a Porno Gang and.....

      A Serbian Film will be remembered from her to eternity mostly for once scene but there is a lot more going on in this.  It is a test to embrace this film and most people that even have the courage to watch it once will never return to it. I have watched it numerous times now and while a lot of its appeal is the shock there is definitely something more going on here. The acting is fucking brilliant and it is a beautifully shot film. The music is just wow and it sticks with you.  Very few films have hit me the way this one did and for that I have to acknowledge it.


Tromeric