I finally found some free time late on Halloween night, enough to get in one more flick for Horrothon 2012. I didn't have anything in mind though, but I wanted it to be a statement film. This is that statement.
The statement is that Landshark is a long way from the Orson Welles heavy thons of yesteryear. And wow is this a long way from Touch of Evil.
For those who don't remember when this grossness swept through Horrorthon a few years ago (Catfreek, JPX, and 50p all reviewed it), the plot starts out pretty standard. Two American girls traveling through Europe have car trouble, which OF COURSE leads to them being stitched mouth-to-anus with another Japanese tourist guy.
Most awkward red carpet photo ever.
I was reminded a bit of Funny Games during this one--I think the Euros like a sadistic kind of nihilism, and it's pretty unsettling in a way that American movies often aren't. Maybe it's that actual nihilism did have some popular appeal on the eastern part of the continent for a while, but damn, they sell it well. Not that this guy is technically a nihilist--he clearly has a vision--but I feel like movie itself is almost a nihilistic exploration of the-fuck-with-everything.
The doc here is an absolute loon--our first shot of him is fingering a photo of the canine-centipede he'd already made and loved. The depiction of his madness is scarily accurate too--he has that sort of asocial cluelessness and lack of interest/care in what other people are saying or doing that one can imagine a true sociopath having. Indeed, one of his early statements, a total non sequitur, is "I hate people."
Anyway, I enjoyed this a good deal. And best of all, it got me to look back on some of those old reviews, which were an absolute hoot. The last 2 paragraphs of 50ps review are fantastic. I'd also totally forgotten JPX's screencap of the "greatest game ever." Awesome.
Btw, google "Human Centipede Halloween Costume" for some folks who go there.
0 comments:
Post a Comment