Der Todesking

Jörg Buttgereit’s Der Todesking is the German director’s most ambitious film. It has no plot or central characters. Der Todesking is a compilation of suicide scenarios taking place during seven different days of the week. Buttgereit was especially thoughtful when creating this masterwork of macabre. He brings real horror to the screen.

I look at Der Todesking as the repressed psyche of a post World War II German. The first thing the average American thinks when they hear the words “German” or “Germany” is Nazi. American public schools and hateful media sources scream anti-German propaganda endlessly. They preach of “tolerance” yet single out groups as “evil” and “unprogressive.” These propaganda institutions look at different people as collectives. They promote “individualism” yet practice collectivist thought.

German victims of Bolshevism

Der Todesking can be looked at as all the built up guilt and blame placed on Germans generations after World War II atrocities took place. No one ever speaks of the 2 million ethnic Germans murdered throughout Eastern Europe by Stalin and his Bolshevik thugs, America and England’s (England was the first to start this, not Germany) terror bombing of German cities with intent of killing women and children (Dresden for example), Dwight D. Eisenhower’s killing of up to 1.7 million German POWS in Death Camps, and countless other atrocities. Contemporary academia and historians can only see in black and white. No one was able to stop Jörg Buttgereit from making a joke about these historical perversions.

On the Tuesday segment of Der Todesking a German rents a Nazi exploitation VHS tape obviously modeled after Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS. The video features a SS women (women weren’t even allowed to become “official” SS) cutting off the penis of a man (played by Buttgereit). This scene makes a mockery of the childish obsession with fairy tales surrounding concentration camp events. Tales of human soap, skin lamps, and other ridiculous propaganda have been long discredited. Steven Spielberg would put a price on Buttgereit’s head if he saw Der Todesking.

The Tuesday segment is the only slightly comedic part of Der Todesking. The other segments focus on real pain and suffering. The Thursday segment shows various shots on a German motorway bridge. Throughout this segment various names are superimposed of people who committed suicide by jumping off this bridge. All people listed were from actual suicides.


The most disturbing suicide comes on the final segment Sunday. A young man laying on a mattress is losing his mind. He is crying and screaming while repeatedly banging his head against a wall (quite pathetically). The man looks like he could have been found in a concentration camp. This scene is both the most brutal and effective. Buttgereit utilizes some of his signature camera techniques creating a distorted perspective forcing the spectator to become part of the deranged fun.


Throughout Der Todesking a body decomposes as the film progresses from day to day. The body starts naked and fresh. Effective stop motion animation shows the body being eaten by maggots and eventually turning to a mess of bones. Jörg Buttgereit’s films have always had believable dead bodies and artistic special effects. I get annoyed when I hear people obsessing over cokeheads like Tom Savini. His special effects could have been created by anyone. They lack any sort of artistry. His remake of Night of the Living Dead was a mockery of the original and a confirmation to his lack of creative capabilities. Gregory Nicotero is a much better mainstream horror special effects man.

Jörg Buttgereit is not a director that is accessible to the average horror fan. I can assume that most Rob Zombie fans would become hopelessly bored by Buttgereit’s small film lexicon. Zombie is a director focused on being reflexive of horror film history. He is a postmodernist and lacks any type of originality. Buttgereit is an auteur director that has established his own one man film movement. Buttgereit’s films invoke emotions and beauty that are wasted on those that prefer cheap thrills (which I enjoy in their own right). All aspiring filmmakers should forget George A. Romero and study Jörg Buttgereit. The horror genre needs more artists and less artisans.

-Ty E

National Lampoon's Last Resort

The two Coreys star in National Lampoon’s Last Resort. This straight to VHS trash classic is virtually unknown to most movie fans (and for good reason). This was also one of the last films in which Feldman and Haim collaborated with each other. Corey Haim’s brain doesn’t seem as fried in Last Resort as it tragically is now.

At least ¼ of Last Resort is spent making the audience aware that they are watching a movie. This reflexive tool gets old fast. Last Resort also takes a neo vaudevillian approach in tribute to Feldman and Haim’s comedic pioneering ancestors. I got the feeling the Last Resort was like Forbidden Zone for special ed. Middle school kids.

Soul Mates

The cartoon like quality of the film invites the viewers to just have fun. At not point does Las Resort take itself seriously. The villains of the film constantly change wardrobe and voices. Pirates and Hitler go great together. Corey Feldman also appears briefly at the end in his Michael Jackson costume. He has a true love for the king on pop.


A bickering elderly Jewish couple also appear in the film. They haven’t had sex in over thirty years. Unfortunately their abstinence ends at the conclusion of Last Resort. A Texan couple appears dumb and excited (for MOVIES!) in contrast to the Jewish couple. Every wack job attends Last Resort.

The most interesting aspect of Last Resort is the film’s set design. Purposely contrived and exaggerated, I found myself enjoying the look of Last Resort. The film also had similar cardboard cutout look to Richard Elfman’s Forbidden Zone. Last Resort borders on the silly and the surreal. I remember watching the film in elementary school and thinking it was fucked. It sure beats a film like Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (an all time low for humanity).

-Ty E

Meatball Machine

Meatball Machine is exactly what you would expect from a title like this. It is slimy, has lots of red meat, and pockets of vibrant gore plastered all over it. Director Yudai Yamaguchi is also the noted director of the shit fest Death Trance, which just like Meatball Machine, had an amazing premise but failed to deliver what it promised. You may recognize this name when i mention his upcoming film "The Machine Girl" Another film that promises a lot but knowing this director, it might not be worthy of all this e-buzz.


It takes a plot about the loner child who is in "love" with someone he has never met in his life. After his co-workers begin to attack her, he decides to stand up for her. After promptly getting his ass kicked, he retreats to a movie theater to watch a porn film. In his seat, a hermaphrodite begins to hit on him and he leaves. She/He walks outside and promptly kicks his ass too. That is when he finds a metal spider-like thing. From here is where the plot kicks into it's adrenaline fueled gore-spree.


It takes the budding romance story, holds it up, then unleashes a flaming punch in the face; temporarily disabling it. Throughout the story, it declines like a real relationship. At first, you are incredibly heartfelt and care too much but when it gets too repetitive you slowly back away allowing fate to take its course. This part i respected. Even the blood & guts was incredibly abundant. Meatball Machine is the equivalent of a cross-breeding of three specimens; Tetsuo: The Iron Man, American Gladiators, and Dead Alive.

Much of the praise should be for the prosthetics. Wires, tubes, alien organisms, and spores decorate the invaded human bodies like moss on a rock. These alien creatures when symbiosed with human flesh look like an extremely disturbing, yet fucked up Power Ranger villain. Taking it's visual and fleshy influences from the likes of The Matrix and Star Trek, we meets several characters who are sympathetic to the cause of the "Necrobourgs"

The film rushes through it's runtime and tries to present so much visual flair that in the end just seems like a TV dinner that exploded in the microwave. While this isn't a perfect film, i will admit it is a damn fun time. Meatball Machine is the definitive splatterpunk film of this generation.

-Maq

GEN-018

WARNING: IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED AND PRONE TO SICKNESS, DO NOT PROCEED

(The Fish That Has Is Crunched And The Wound Is Received)

Chances are, if you have read Soiled Sinema before, you have come across a review to a particularly nasty piece of film called MASD-004. That being of the scatography collection, It might be the most uncivil cinematic trial anyone has ever been faced with. Well, turns out there are more in this bizarre series of the J-AV's. Expanding from MASD to GEN. MASD seems to be body fluids and GEN seems to extend into...slimy...amphibians and fish.

Yes, that is right. Fish-rape-porn. What makes this more disgusting than MASD-004 is the entire feel. Sure, feces covering a crying womans face is disgusting, but getting sodomized by slimy fishermen with even slimier fish just hits it home with me. I could actually smell the disgusting sea smell when i watched this and it refused to leave me. So, the film opens up with a pretty Japanese woman getting molested by two oil-covered fishermen. Like any porn, it starts out with foreplay, then they pull out two fish and begin to stuff her mouth with them.

At this time, she has about 4-5 medium sized fish in her mouth. The fishermen cut one open, spilling its blood, oils, and intestines all over her breasts and procede to use a large trout to perform fellatio on himself. Then he brings the girl into it. While she is getting mouthraped? (Roleplay mind you) the other fisherman taunts her with fish, cutting off littles pieces and shoving them in her mouth. The end result of the first scene is her covered in sperm, vomit, fish, and oil. The next scene thankfully happens to be the last, but in that regard, tens times more violent and putrid than the last.

The woman is lying on the floor naked playing with little fish, biting their heads off and squishing them beneath her toes. She grabs a handful of fish and begins to fill her mouth with them yet again, only this time savagely devouring and spewing these raw fish back onto herself. The fishermen come back and in the last 20 minutes, manage to throughly ruin my life by injecting a large quantity of milky residue and fish eggs into her anus, and performing bird-like acts feeding chewed up fish to her while fucking her propped on a swing. GEN-018 is without a doubt, the sickest film i have ever seen. To call it porn, it must have some attraction. GEN-018 does not.

A beautiful piece of irony. I google GEN-018, i get fish porn. I google GEN-017, i get the bible.

Official Website: WARNING GENKI

-Maq

Perfect Red

Making a good short film isn't necessarily a difficult chore, but an original idea that is unlike anything, that is where the challenge resides. PERFECT RED is an above-average short film about a tortured artist (Go figure) who is having a mental block finishing her painting.

Along come a group of criminals who break into her house and become pawns of the "twist" ending. Being a 13 minute long short doesn't guarantee any depth to the film, but it generates as much as it needs. The entire film runs along the twist ending, sort of like the love-hate film Haute Tension. Perfect Red goes without saying that it is an interesting twist to a certain genre which i cannot name, otherwise i would ruin the film for you.

It features some interesting effects and some mundane "girl talk" but if given the chance, it's hard to look at a film of such a low running time with scornful eyes. Just to mention, the soundtrack was great and very effective. The only thing that could have strengthened this short would be some much-needed length and more depth.

-Maq

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Stars War IV: A New Hope is a film school jerk off fest. George Lucas obviously took all he learned at film school and put it all together in a “futuristic” way. Essentially Star Wars is just another Samurai or Western. Just add the sci-fi setting.

John Ford was a huge influence on the film. The scene where Luke’s Aunt and Uncle are found dead was taken from The Searchers. Kurosawa was another big influence as Star Wars is a loose remake of Hidden Fortress. Droid C-3PO was taken from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. Leni Riefenstahl’s third reich art masterpiece Triumph of the Will also influenced Star Wars (especially during the end heroic award scene).

The “rebel alliance” seem to be modeled after Bolshevik revolutionaries (who were the most evil people in history). I am not surprise that an Antichrist like George Lucas would show props to mass murderers. The “Galactic Empire” is supposed to be modeled after EVIL NAZI BUTCHERS!!!! Lucas wasn't try to hide this when he decided to name the imperial soldiers “storm troopers.” The soldiers (and Darth Vader) also share similar helmets to that worn by German in World War I and II.

I like to interpret Darth Vader as Adolf Hitler. Adolf was a Jew that decided it was a time for a change just as Vader went from “good” to “evil.” English hammer film actor Peter Cushing (who played a Nazi in Zombie classic Shock Waves) plays Grand Moff Tarkin who looks like he was modeled after Nazi Minister of Propaganda Josef Goebbels. Tarkin and Goebbels were both very charming characters.

Josef Goebbels

Grand Moff Tarkin

George Lucas updated Star Wars with new and "improved" special effects. Like Steven Spielberg, Lucas seems to have the mind of a child. His obsession with candy polished special effects makes me sick. Lucas’s net worth is estimated at $3.6 Billion. Hopefully he will take the money (as it keeps growing) and build his own spaceship which might tragically crash in Uranus.

Portrait of an Artist

P.S: Mark Hamill is a little turd.

-Ty E

Savage Vengeance

Exploitation is the art of exploiting something. Common sense, right? Many classic exploitation films have paved the way for bigger and better things, slowly nulling away at the censors and the MPAA so the rating systems aren't as harsh. Back in the 70's, if a film like Hostel were to come out, hysteria would ensue. I thank films like I Spit on Your Grave, Ms. 45, and Cannibal Holocaust. Not Savage Vengeance.

Savage Vengeance (AKA I Will Dance on Your Grave) is a loose sequel of sorts, to the Meir Zarchi film I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, also starring Camille Keaton, only credited as Vickie Kehl. I guess even she knew what she had gotten herself into. These films are a marvel due to the explicit matter at stake and the exposure of extreme sexual deviance and violence.

We have none of this throughout the film except for the non-climactic ending. A decent chainsaw-to-head scene is all we are treated to for bearing this horrid picture. Normally i tend to stay away from storyline events in hopes of you witnessing the film for yourself, but in order to spare you readers, i will discuss the beginning. We have the dashing Mrs. Keaton parking her car in an abandoned wooded glen. She goes near a waterfall, lays on a rock, reads a magazine, and falls asleep.

We then see another car pull up. OH NO! The evil white men are here with their leather jackets and 80's hair. They know she is there for some odd reason, and sneak up on her in a scene reminiscent to children's board game "Don't Wake Daddy!". After the guys hold her down and rape her full clothed?!, they run away leaving her scarred for 4 years until she gets raped again.

That's right. She gets raped with clothes fully intact. Even Torched did the revenge scenes amazingly better. The acting is among some of the most heinous acting ever committed to film. Low budget is not an excuse for low quality. This might be one of the worst films i have ever seen. Need i mention the directors incompetence to spell the title from during the opening credits?

-Maq

Friend

During my descent into my favoritism of Korean films, it is obvious they have a knack for cinematography and amazing character development. It's a matter of fact, not opinion. If you don't believe me, you can just check out The Host, Memories of Murder, Save the Green Planet!, or Tae Guk Gi! My personal favorite Korean film is also my favorite gangster film.

FRIEND shows the upcoming of life-long friends from the roots of many various families. Some stay straight, some go crooked, and some become sociopaths. The film opens up similarly to City Of God with godly cinematography and also takes the reigns of being a self-autobiographical film of a rough childhood with bold decisions thrusted at our youth at a tender age.

Friend is a peg holding the gangster film bar up waiting for films to spread the weight. The only one even worth mentioning in this review would be The Departed. With the word's of Coffin Joe echoing in my mind "There's the most perfect creation of nature: children! Pity that they grow up to become idiots. In search of nothing. Lost in a Labyrinth of egoism... and dominated by a non-existent force: the faith in the immortality of the spirit.", Friend has new meaning.


The situations these perfect creations face of that of unspeakable atrocities. Classroom violence, gang wars, rivaling schools, disastrous love, and having nonsupporting parents are only a few of the obstacles this group of four friends face. Each of the four main leads brings a distinguished charisma to their roles. Emotions ranging from goofy, yet hiding his sorrow,to the "bad ass" troublemaker who is victim to his own persecutions. These are just a few of the quirks of these personalities.

Friend on the entertainment level is monstrous. It also features one of the most epic fight scenes ever. This one doesn't use slow-motion digitally captured effects, just a couple teenage gangsters against an entire school. Friend is a film to redefine film. That is me putting it simply. You must do everything in your power to view this film. At all costs.

-Maq

Wall Street

Oliver Stone loves communism, money, and agitating. All three things seem to go together hand in hand (revolutions cost money and Wall Street bankers have always funded them). Stone’s father was a stockbroker on wall street and that’s what influenced him to direct the film Wall Street. The film illustrates a realistic look at the international free market and the goons that are parasites of it. Wall Street is based on the real life insider trading criminal Ivan Boesky (in the film he is named Gordon Gekko).

Gordon Gekko is a monetary obsessed sociopath bent on acquiring as much as possible. He is a quick talker and constantly conspiring. He loves to leave the working man jobless as he collects a couple extra dollars for his efforts. Gekko hasn’t done a days work in his entire life. He is more interesting in living off others by buying and selling. Gekko sums up his outlook on life with the following quote: "Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms, greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind."


I honestly believe that Oliver Stone has a deep and passionate respect for Gordon Gekko. Stone hides his true respect by making the films protagonist Bud Fox a “good” guy at the end of Wall Street. Mr. Stone doesn’t want to incriminate himself too much. Oliver Stone is a firm believer in GREED IS GOOD!

Gordon Gekko shows his hatred for white Europeans with the following quote: That's the thing about WASPs, they love animals, can't stand people." I respect his honesty. Oliver Stone is also a hater of Western civilization. Stone and his surly heroes are about as deranged as scumbag Abbie Hoffman at his hippie propagandist peak. It is a shame that Stone didn’t direct the shitfest Steal This Movie.


Wall Street is one of Stone’s best films. He allows the masses to get at peak at their money masters. Wall Street would have made a great Nazi propaganda film if it had only been made 50 years before. Emil Jannings could have played Gordon Gekko. Janning’s performance in F.W. Murnau’s German expressionist masterpiece The Last Laugh confirms this.

Oliver Stone could be considered an auteur of sorts. He has his own over stylized style and signature traits (lying about history, cocaine induced editing, etc). Apparently Stone likes to get stoned as his arrest history shows. Maybe he’ll direct a film on the Sassoon family and their opium wars. I am sure he idolizes them too.

-Ty E

The Bet

Going into The Bet, i didn't know what to expect. I was thinking of something along the lines of a avid gambler gets chased by a bunch of mafia guys looking to lop off some fingers, but what i got was a film that started off enigmatic and slowly metamorphosed into something abstract and beautiful.

This poster horrifies me.

To explain the plot would only to limit the overall effect of the film. All i can say, is it is about a game between two people; the stakes being your life. When it started out i was confused, also annoyed. Not annoyed because of the directing, sound, or cinematography. I just wanted to know exactly what was going on. Things that we cannot understand are always the most sought after pieces of information. Cryptzoology is proof of this.


The Bet unfolds like a magnificent eclipse of the cinematic kind. Wonderful and abrasive, Director Michael Dunn ensures that you will be entertained and be thinking in a wider manner. If you are looking for a headscrew of a short film, look no further. The Bet does in its under 20 minute runtime, what "art-house" film makers have been trying to do for decades. The film is an entirely open film, perfect for discussion and analysis.


To call The Bet "Lynchian" would be like supporting Post-Modernism and if this true, then the world might be dead. While the film has the atmospheric tone to it and the imagery to kick, this doesn't show it's influences easily. Perhaps on another layer. The Bet is a great short if i have ever seen one, and i will surely be looking forward to Michael Dunn's future projects. Hopefully he keeps his inspirations in place and doesn't become another Mathieu Kassovitz.

-Maq

The Street Fighter

In most of my articles or reviews of film, i search out some intelligent core of a film; perhaps a personal trait to the director, perhaps even the coming of a new auteur. In this review, i will completely disregard that, because there is none of these available. However, we do have Sonny Chiba kicking so much ass, that in order to span this epic series, would take 2 sequels in order to properly dose you with the right amount of bloodshed and action.


Terry Tsurugi is a martial arts mercenary who gets hired by the mafia to kidnap the only heir to an oil tycoon, a pretty lady. The mafia didn't like Terry's price so they did the only imaginable thing, to try and kill him, but oh no no! You can't kill Sonny Chiba! They find this outthe hard way as he takes on the entire mafia to get her back. Just to outline how badass Tsurugi is, i will highlight this one particular scene. Boy can't pay Terry, doesn't have enough money. Terry throws boy out window. Sells sister for prostitution to pay him back. Nuff' Said.

The design of this film is to take the "oh-so-bad" mafia, and show them getting destroyed by a one man army, much like what the Rambo sequels were designed for. It's films like these that make you stand up against innumerable odds for thoughts of a better future. Despite being a film that has no real motivation, the film is also quite racist in a scene. The only black person in the film is a drooling about-to-be rapist, that is before Terry castrates him with his bare hands.


That scene adds to the previous rating of "X" which it received in the USA. Street Fighter is a multi-talented film. It takes some awesome kung-fu scenes, adds Chiba's berserk facial expressions, throws in some flashback footage of his father being murdered, and tries to implement the fact that he is a superhuman due to his half-breeding of Chinese and Japanese.

The Street Fighter is a kung-fu classic that has stood the test of time. Quentin Tarantino actually uses this film as an influence, which is a blasphemy to say the least. I always said to leave the classics alone, but did this stop him from using Hatori Hanzo in Kill Bill or remaking Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!? I think not.

-Maq

Brokeback Mountain

Brokeback Mountain may be Hollywood’s greatest assault against rural America. Turning the manly cowboy gay is the ultimate blasphemy against redneck masculinity. Hollywood was more subtle about this in 1969 with the release of Midnight Cowboy. Now Hollywood has the audacity to show Donnie Darko getting sodomized in a shitty tent.

Taiwanese director Ang Lee lends his aesthetic talents to Brokeback Mountain. Having chosen Lee as the director was another good “move” by Hollywood to legitimize the diversity of the film. I couldn’t even pay attention to five minutes of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Brokeback Mountain is driven by it’s gayness. Otherwise the film would be considered a fairly boring love story.


After watching the film, one question remains: Were the cowboys really gay? Of course they threw darts back and forth but they enjoyed some ladies. Jack Twist was obviously really gay as he was the receiver. Ennis del Mar had himself a couple of ladies. Throughout Brokeback Mountain he was fighting his gayness. I don’t think he won. Both of the cowboys were really bisexual.

The truth is Brokeback Mountain is one of the better Hollywood movies to out in the past couple of years. The piece of trash Crash beat Brokeback Mountain for Best Picture at the 78th Academy Awards. Both films are cultural Marxist propaganda set on social deconstruction of America (which for the most part has already been achieved). Brokeback Mountain at least was a decent film. Crash was just another lame and unrealistic look at “multicultural” America. Director Paul Haggis is in dire need of having someone excrement on the top of his shiny evil head.


I decided to rewatch Brokeback Mountain after the recent death of Heath Ledger. I wonder if he will be immortalized like James Dean. It makes me wonder if Hollywood kills it’s stars to guarantee never ending franchises. I know Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, and James Dean have made them a hefty sum. Soon you will see gay cowboy Heath Ledger action figures. What else would you expect from Hollywood?

-Ty E

Black Cobra

From Director Stelvio Massi comes an Italian action film with a title hellbent on getting some of the fame directed towards Stallone's Cobra. It's nice to see an action film starring a black man who isn't thrown in for comedic value. It is also nice that the man is Fred Williamson. Throughout action film history, heroic blacks were mostly known to grace blaxploitation films, rarely a more accessible series. Black Cobra is of this sort, placing a tough womanizing cop who is in charge of protecting a photographer who witnessed a murder. The key is that she took a picture of the villain.

Let me start off by saying that this antagonist role is gut-bustingly hilarious. He is the leader of a crazy gang of motorcyclists trying to mix the genres of Bikesploitation and Blaxploitation. Whenever he has a evil plan, the camera pans into his shaded face, cracking a crooked grin with a perfect view of his gold tooth. This alone makes it worth the sad price of $1 at your local Wal-Mart.


After witnessing the film, I immediately questioned whether or not I enjoyed Black Cobra. After thinking about the horrible one-liners, Williamson's passive sternness, and the armies of bumbling cops in this film, I realized how much fun I had with this film. If you look at Black Cobra from a cinephile perspective, you might be disgusted, but damn if this movie isn't funny as hell. Fred Williamson is one of the greatest actors out there, ranging from playing a good role as Boss Nigger to playing a comical cop with a cigar in Black Cobra.

Black Cobra is one of those Italian-looking action films that exploded from the 70s. While a cynic might spite the film for it's non-serious view of cinematography, It can't be that bad due to the immense replay value that will have you hitting the play button over and over again. Due to the below cheap price for this collection, Black Cobra is a must for any action fans, and even blaxploitation. Black Cobra is a genre-twist for the most, plus we get to see The Hammer woo some white ladies in a different scenario.

-mAQ

The Silence of the Lambs

I have very fond memories of watching The Silence of the Lambs at the ripe age of 5 years old. I remember watching Buffalo Bob covered in make-up and dancing with his “weewee” between his legs. This very memorable scene (with the haunting song “Goodbye Horses” by Q Lazarus) scared and perplexed the shit out of me. My Mom assured me that the “man” had his penis hidden between his legs.

Now I am in my early twenties and The Silence of the Lambs still entertains me. The film brought the serial killer to the mainstream. Director Jonathan Demme had for the most part only worked in the comedy genre. Demme’s niche from comedy even surfaces in The Silence of the Lambs (whether it was intentional or not). The cinematic crafting of the film demonstrates Demme’s knack for detail and perfection. I generally don’t like films that are too contrived (as for the most part they are soulless). The Silence of the Lambs is a notable exception.


The Silence of the lambs is no doubt a feminist film. I often loathe estrogen driven films. They are generally poor films that hide their sloppiness behind a “good” and “empowering” message. The Silence of the Lambs shows the strength of a female (played by Jodie Foster) through her progressive drive, intellect, and powerful self-reliance. There is no preachy message to “enlighten” misogynist souls.

Anthony Hopkins is superb as Hannibal Lector of course. He is quite the loveable guy with a type of charisma that can't be bought at an evangelical church. I wouldn’t mind having dinner with Hannibal as long as I get to cook. We could dine over a discussion of other man eaters such as Jeffrey Dahmer, Ed Gein, and the more recent Armin Meiwes.

The Silence of the Lambs is Jonathan Demme’s greatest achievement. I also have to say the same about Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. Although it’s not Jörg Buttgereit’s Schramm, it holds it's place in serial killer cinema history. Being the only horror film to win the Academy award for best picture, The Silence of the Lambs has somewhat subverted the mainstream. Much props to hack Jonathan Demme.

-Ty E

Sukiyaki Western Django

Takashi Miike is critically acclaimed for an estimation of about 5 films. Little does anyone realize, that he has directed about 70 films that don’t matter, each getting shittier than the last. Sukiyaki Western Django is his remake of classic spaghetti western film DJANGO. Someone who is known to have no style to his films should never remake a film such as DJANGO.


This film has a wayward plot concerning two rebel factions in a town searching for a treasure while wearing ridiculous outfits, muttering broken “engrish”. A lone gunman mercenary battles gang member after gang member to no end while frilly swordfighters complain about the fear of death. This remake was made for English audiences in Japan, which can lead to complications. Such as the all Japanese cast speaking horrible English.

I found it silly to make a film designed for the lack of subtitles, when you need subtitles to even grasp what they are saying. The beginning opens up with Quentin Tarantino sitting on a log in picturesque background (literally painted for the hyper stylized look). He is surrounded by men and begins to tell a classic tale of the two warring gangs in a horrible accent. It is obvious that Tarantino had a small say in what he says due to the horrible pretentiousness reeking off the script.


Japanese films lately have become too full of themselves. They prance around quoting Shakespeare, acting cool with piercings. Due to the Americanization of the film, a villain dubs himself “Henry”. It’s hard to not laugh when the similar scene from Kung-Pow comes to mind. One pivotal character is a woman who has lost love due to the reds. We then see a scene where she gets fucked staring at her dead husbands body and watching her son cry over it. She now chain-smokes and bar-dances to gloriously capture the agony of her soul.

Sukiyaki Western Django is a film that is a bold disgrace to both the art of the Samurai and the essence that westerns carry. After this film, Miike should be exiled into Japan, for it is clear that the influence of Tarantino has ruined his already lacking style.

-Maq

Puppet Master

Puppet Master is a very important film for me. For one, it has captured my heart since childhood, always being readily available at our local video store, and for two, it terrified the shit out of me as a child. At an extremely young age, I recall walking into a pitch-black room only to witness Tunneler drilling through a woman’s head.

Full Moon’s project that launched their entire company concerns a group of psychics staying at the Bodega Bay Inn due to recent activity. They then stumble up 5 devilish dolls that are guarding the secret of life. This plot works for many reasons. It takes the normal killer doll technique and throws away the huge back story of possession and focuses more on the fact that “oh shit these dolls are about to kill me” rather than “I wonder where these things come from”, but just in case, both are included.

Each puppet has it’s own very iconic traits. We have the skull-faced Blade, who with his fedora, blade and hook, and his bullet eyes, creates a very stylish terror in it’s own right. Pinhead, whose tiny head and huge arms recall back to Tod Browning’s Freaks. Mrs. Leech who vomits leeches onto any rival. Might not seem too freaky, but be warned if you don’t like creepy crawlies. Jester, the “leader” of the pack, who is merciless and cruel. Let’s not forget Tunneler, the vicious vindicator who drills all competition.


Using little squeaks in a first person puppet scene heightens the sense of the Napoleon syndromed dolls. The film would not be complete without Richard Band’s masterful soundtrack. The main theme alone carries throughout the entire series, complementing even the horrible films. The fact that all these dolls were once Nazi’s adds a certain charm to the mix.

Puppet Master is the only low-budget classic horror film that has actually given me something. I return, it has spawned numerous action figure lines, comics, shirts, and many, many sequels. This with a couple others are the only few contenders in the “good” killer inanimate object genre. David Allen does the special effects for this film. Stop motion is fluid and features many amazing scenes. I guess they couldn’t afford him anymore due to the lack of effort in the sequels. Andre Toulon has a family of tiny terrors. Personally, I care for each puppet, as they have a soul on screen.

You want rape? How about suicide? What about ex-Nazi killer puppets? This film has everything and should be examined as not a schlock-fest, but as an important stepping-stone in horror cinema. Full Moon paved the way for independent companies EDIT: to be successful. Too Full Moon hasn’t made a good film in decades.

-Maq

Socket

Socket is one of the few original sci-fi ideas lately. Director Sean Abley tapped in real nice with the regulars on his brave new outing. With his inspirations and influences in tow, he sets out to create a gay sci-fi film actually worth mentioning.

Brilliant Surgeon Bill Matthews gets struck by lightning and ends up his hospital, currently recovering. His young intern nurse hands him a card for "people like us". When he is at home, he is attracted to static from the TV, goes on an energy high, cleaning his entire home. With this event, he decides to check the meeting out, which leads to a group of people who love absorbing voltage to go club-hopping and making out with each other.

The basic storyline has recurring elements of the films about drug addiction and the seedy side of ecstasy, which has it's fun times, but is too overdone. Socket doesn't add any new emotions to the character's addiction. Many influences can be traced so deeply, that the film loses many of it's originality points. The secret cult theme can be lead to Cronenberg's Crash and even the ridiculous surgery (body horror themes) can be lead back to Cronenberg as well. I even sense a slight ode to Electric Dragon 80,000v.

Socket is a marvel of a gay film for the simple fact that it doesn't revel in the fact that it is a gay film. Most gay/lesbian films focus less on the story and more on the accept of them in our society, as sort of a "look at me" scream. You barely notice that the film is gay-themed and serves as a testament that there is a market in gay films.

Aside from being a breath of fresh air, Socket is a film that can hold it's own throughout the onslaught of sci-fi films to come. With recurring themes of body horror, dark perversions, and looking for the ultimate high, Socket is a science fiction film to reckon with.

-Maq

Interview with Giuseppe Andrews

Most people know Giuseppe Andrews as one of the stoner Kiss fans in Detroit Rock City and his kid role in Independence Day. It's a shame considering Andrews is one of the most original auteur filmmakers out there. He shoots his films on a Sony camcorder and for the most part has them set in his trailer park. Hollywood beware!

SS: So Giuseppe, What made you decide to be a filmmaker? Has it always been an ambition you have had?

GA: I've been chosen by the cosmos.

SS: What camera are you currently shooting on? What do you like about?

GA: the same camera ive shot with for 10 years, it's sony, i don't know the model. i like that it films an image with sound.

SS: I have noticed you are a fan of the late German New Wave auteur Rainer Werner Fassbinder. As directors, both of you have the ability turn the most limited of sets (the trailer) into extraordinary scenes of drama. What attracted you to Fassbinder? Does his filmmaking influence yours?

GA: His style and his ideas and yes.

SS: The trailer park is a place not often seen in Hollywood films but more representative of American than say New York City. What compels you to shoot in the trailer park? Do you think the average American has a sort of fear of the Trailer Park?

GA: The cosmos chose it. I do make films in other places, but I shoot alot in the trailer park because i live there and im reclusive.

SS: In your films, you have some of the most interesting characters/real people (Bill Nowlin, Tyree, Walt Dongo, Vietnam Ron, etc.). Did you know any of them personally before they became your stars?

GA: yes, all of them.

SS: What other directors (if any) have inspired you or have had an influence on your filmmaking? What are some of your favorite films and/or directors?

GA: here are the films i own:
50 movie pack of western classics
the singing dectective
pennies from heaven
lamb of god - live
steven allen davis - live
the ed wood collection
zontar
the first films of samuel fuller
el topo
the fassbinder collection 2
berlin alexander platz
the giant claw
play time
rififi
townes van zandt documentary
inland empire
the african queen
mister hulot's holiday
film noir box set
I have had thousands of films in my trailer, but these are the only ones that remain


SS: I have noticed that you have been doing acting for some horror films lately. Are you a fan of the genre and if so, what are some of your favorite films and filmmakers?

GA: i like night of the living dead

SS: You have some interesting tattoos. I especially like the war tattoo and noticed that start Bill Nowlin has a similar tattoo. Is there a story behind that?

GA: i got it right after i made my first movie, touch me in the morning, to remind myself that i was entering a war against the old establishment of cinema. as years went by, it's meaning changed to symbolize war against other things such as addicition and demons. now, it just makes me smile for pure punk value.


SS: You are also a musician. What inspires you to play music? Do you have any type of process you go through when creating music?

GA: i can only answer this question like this: walks, talks.

SS: Troma has released a couple of your films. A while back they were supposed to release a box set of your films. What happened with that? Are you a Troma fan?

GA: I think they're having distributing and financial problems.
no.

SS: Do you have any advice for aspiring filmmakers?

GA: "be prepared to bleed" -joni mitchell

SS: What can we expect from Giuseppe Andrews in the future?

GA: alot of films and alot of music. and one big-ass novel.


Check out Giuseppe Andrews site