That’s right, this week you get a double dose of podcasts from us here at Where the Long Tail Ends. James and I have been mentioning for sometime that we wanted to watch and review the 70’s throwback horror film The House of the Devil, but do to our busy schedules we never had the chance to get together. But finally, finally, we were able to get enough free time to sit down and have an in depth and spoiler filled discussion about this interesting film.
Also, big thanks to Craig Varian of 400 Lonely Things (whom I interviewed at this year’s Flyway Film Festival) who was nice enough to give me a copy of his latest album Tonight of the Living Dead, an album composed entirely from the soundtrack to the the landmark horror film Night of the Living Dead. And since The House of the Devil uses an interesting technique involving clips of Night of the Living Dead to help show the passage of time in the film, it seemed only fitting to use one of the songs from Tonight of the Living Dead to close out the show. I can’t speak highly enough about the album, so be sure to check out the 400 Lonely Things website and get yourself a copy of it for yourself.
It seems as if the moratorium on good movies might finally be ending. This week has multiple movies being released both in mainstream theaters and arthouses that might actually be worth seeing. Sure, none of them will be great, but the fact that their is an actual selection of semi-decent movies is a big step up from the trickle of quality films we have had to deal with so far this year. And as an added bonus the DVD releases are quite good themselves.
As far as the multiplexes go the buzz on the street is all about Jason Segel’s penis. Me? I’ve had my fill of gratuitous male nudity, but what I haven’t had my fill of is Jackie Chan and Jet Li. But as much as I want to see the two of them in a movie together The Forbidden Kingdom isn’t my pick for this week. Neither is Audrey Tatou’s newest film, the French farce Priceless. My choice this week is a movie I have already seen, and while not a great movie, I still think it is a movie worth taking the time to go see. That movie is Morgan Spurlock’s new documentary Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?
As for DVD releases the big name this week is Cloverfield, but the two movies I am recommending are two of my favorite films from last year. The first is the Spanish horror film The Orphanage. Produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by Juan Antonio Bayona it is a slow moving tale high on atmospherics and low on jump scares. If you go into this movie expecting a lot of shocks, scares, and gore you will be very disappointed as The Orphanage takes its sweet time telling its unsettingly creepy tale of a mother who has lost her son.
The other film is one I can’t recommend enough, even though it is bound to bore a good portion of those who watch it, is Daft Punk’s Electroma. Foregoing their own music in favor of those who influenced them, Daft Punk’s Electroma is a film that uses extended shots, bizarre imagery, and a complete lack of dialogue to tell the tale of two robots who are desperately searching for their own humanity. It is an outstanding film, though definitely one you should watch first before you buy it.
Certain films excel as midnight movies. 80’s comedies are typical staples, as is anything filmed in 3-D. I myself tend to lean towards cheesy action and kung fu movies, as well as the occasional splatter film. But recently more and more studios are taking an interesting approach to midnight films, as they are now releasing smaller “cult” films or productions they would have otherwise shelved in some warehouse, allowing them at least one moment of opening night glory in the belief that a limited release in multiple markets might create enough buzz to drive DVD sales of what otherwise would have been a direct to video product.
In the past two years Firecracker, Feast, Evil Aliens, and Dynamite Warrior all were theatrically released as midnight movies. Even the much maligned Fox film Idiocracy, which was quickly pulled after a dubious limited release, was touring the midnight circuit a mere month later. All this made me quite excited when I heard about Daft Punk’s Electroma. A film festival favorite for the past year, it is receiving a limited distribution as a midnight movie before getting a wide DVD release later this year. (more…)
That’s right, this week you get a double dose of podcasts from us here at Where the Long Tail Ends. James and I have been mentioning for sometime that we wanted to watch and review the 70’s throwback horror film The House of the Devil, but do to our busy schedules we never had the chance to get together. But finally, finally, we were able to get enough free time to sit down and have an in depth and spoiler filled discussion about this interesting film. 
Certain films excel as midnight movies. 80’s comedies are typical staples, as is anything filmed in 3-D. I myself tend to lean towards cheesy action and kung fu movies, as well as the occasional splatter film. But recently more and more studios are taking an interesting approach to midnight films, as they are now releasing smaller “cult” films or productions they would have otherwise shelved in some warehouse, allowing them at least one moment of opening night glory in the belief that a limited release in multiple markets might create enough buzz to drive DVD sales of what otherwise would have been a direct to video product.
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