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The House Next Door (Free subscription) | 22/11/2009
By Simon Abrams If we're to believe the military general in Red Cliff 2 who muses, “The times makes the hero,” then somebody ought to tell Magnet Releasing, the American distributors of Red Cliff (John Woo’s records-shattering period war epic set in 208 AD), that they’re the villain. Just like British distributors before them, Magnet is releasing Woo’s five...
The House Next Door (Free subscription) | 16/11/2009
By Simon Abrams Though it looks like a highly polished, quasi-avant garde bit of speculative fiction, contemporary French sci-fi flick Eden Log is really a far-flung descendant of the Heavy Metal comics of the '70s and '80s. That infamous omnibus series, which reached a peak of popularity after the theatrical release of a schlocky 1981 animated movie, trafficked (then and now) in power...
The House Next Door (Free subscription) | 13/11/2009
By Simon Abrams SPOILER WARNING IN EFFECT “You know, you don’t have to do this,” a concerned sheriff, one of a veritable parade of local police officers, tells Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) at the end of The Hitcher . By that point, after having been worked over thoroughly and completely by sadistic drifter John Ryder (Rutger Hauer, bogeyman par excellence), Halsey’s...
The House Next Door (Free subscription) | 12/11/2009
By Simon Abrams As dated as it is, The Keep (1983), Michael Mann's second theatrical release after Thief (1981), remains an intriguing mess of historical provocation. The film answers "Nazisploitation" filmmakers' favorite "What if" question—"If you could go back in time and kill the Nazis, would you?"—with a stirring "No." Set in occupied...
The House Next Door (Free subscription) | 10/11/2009
By Simon Abrams I defy anyone who still thinks the term "torture porn" makes any sense to watch writer/director Pascal Laugier's Martyrs and reconsider their position. This isn't my way of chastising people with different opinions than myself but rather my way of saying: "This film is a good example of what's wrong with the term." Martyrs takes the underlying concept...
The House Next Door (Free subscription) | 07/11/2009
By Simon Abrams SPOILER WARNING IN EFFECT Regardless of how you feel about the film itself, the sticking point for The Box —mad scientist Richard Kelly’s latest oddity—is how well it succeeds as Kelly’s version of a mainstream, commercially viable bit of speculative fiction. Southland Tales , Kelly’s unjustly maligned sophomore experiment, was both viciously...
The House Next Door (Free subscription) | 02/11/2009
By Simon Abrams As dickish as it may sound, I have to admit: "Christian horror" films are pretty fascinating in a frustrating kind of way. They wear their faiths on their sleeves, but more often than not their protagonists wind up coming to terms with their own agnosticism. God is definitely out there in both Alex Proyas' Knowing and Àlex and David Pastor's debut film,...
The House Next Door (Free subscription) | 25/10/2009
By Simon Abrams Of all the reprehensibly corralled lump of films that most know as “torture porn,” the Saw franchise is the one with the longest legs. But what was once the cause of the moral crisis de jour is now laughed at because of its success. All you need to do to get a rise out of someone is tell them that you’re watching the sixth entry in the Saw series. Stifled...
Twitch (Free subscription) | 23/10/2009
... - with panel discussions addressing the issues raised in the films. And, hey look! Our own Simon Abrams is on the Shivers panel so get out there and heckle. By which I mean, of course, ask lots and lots of intelligent questions.
