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Masters of Horror: Sounds Like (2006)
An interesting episode
Sound. Thats the key subject of this episode. A lot of different sound techniques are used throughout to enhance and show the aural assault the protagonist is subjected to on a daily basis.
He has ultra-sensitive hearing with such little things like knitting or kids skipping enhanced to a deafening level. Something is eating away at him and much like in The Machinist it starts to effect his everyday life.
Thankfully Anderson does not ape his previous classic (too soon to call it a classic?) and the story wanders a different path. Wandering is the only fault with the episode though, spending too much time showing different sounds driving Chris Bauer's character mad rather than progressing the story. Still a similar dark atmosphere is created throughout and carries through to the last shot of the movie.
Worth watching.
Masters of Horror: Pro-Life (2006)
Good old fashioned horror
Its best not to know anything at all about horror before you see it, but this is great so watch it and stop reading now!
Anyway...
Saw this at the Horrorthon in Dublin on the big screen and it is great to see John producing solid scares after the bad run of form lately. Well only Ghosts of Mars really!
Pro-life is decent horror with a nice build-up of suspense towards the inevitable pay-off. Ron Perlman's Dwayne is similar to Bill Paxton's character in Frailty - he is doing god's bidding and therefore this justifies the act no matter how horrible it is (and it does get pretty horrible, though I'm sure god never told him to give the doctor a taste of his own medicine) plus he has a gang of boys (his sons) who do his bidding.
The episode starts off fairly predictably with the standard shot seen a gazillion times before of a girl running through the woods, then cut to car driving through forest, then back to girl, car, bam! Collision. But thankfully thats about it for conventional horror, though once again comparisons with Rio Bravo can be drawn with the siege on the clinic. I liked this better than Cigarrette Burns which I felt was a full-length feature shoe-horned into the 1 hour running time of the series but in this episode the pacing is just right. Kudos must also go to Cody Carpenter who takes after his old man in the music stakes at the start, sounding a lot like Halloween, but is very effective at creating the dark and foreboding atmosphere through sound that the best horror needs to succeed.
Overall a very accomplished piece that shouldn't disappoint Carpenter fans and casual observers too.
Masters of Horror: The Damned Thing (2006)
Astonishingly good
This is a masterful effort that really got under my skin and left me shaking long after the film ended. Tobe Hooper thoroughly lives up to the Masters of Horror title delivering a terrifying tale of a dark force (as best can be described) corrupting a small town. Some say its a curse passed down from generation to generation through the family of our protagonist Flanery (who is excellent here), all we really know is that it causes people to go insane.
This film really scared the bejaysus out of me. The atmosphere was perfect, dark and foreboding after 2 initial minutes of happy families. Throughout this brief happiness a storm rages outside and the camera doesn't let the viewer settle. Not through quick edits (thankfully), but through its circling of the dinner table, as though we are the force, savouring the calm inside before chaos erupts. There is a terrific sense of doom throughout aided by an excellent script:
Doc: "Should I be scared?" Sheriff: "No, no need to be scared. That only makes it worse."
As always any script can sound like cack or Shakespeare depending on its delivery and Sean Patrick Flanery nails it, adding weight to the lines and an imposing physical presence when required. See this and decide if it is the most terrifying horror film you'll ever see (as I believe) or just a tasty 1 hour horror snack.
The Faeries of Blackheath Woods (2006)
Great little flick!
Saw this opening the Horrorthon in Dublin (before The Host) and it got the festival off to a good start. Sure its a short yeah, but it packs a mean punch, surprisingly good acting, excellent cinematography of the woods and a nice sick pay off at the end.
Its a tight little flick with good use of lighting, notably the transition in tone around halfway through when the true motives of The Faeries is hinted at. The vicousness of the creatures was well implemented with a nice lead-up to it as well before they attack.
The effects of The Faeries themselves was most impressive and can be seen in great detail thanks to the parting shot at the end. The main thing that impressed me the most about this film was the professional look and feel of it. I hadn't heard of the director before, nor seen his previous work, but I'd be interested to see what the future holds for this young Irish talent. Worth checking out if possible!