I’ve been on a bit of a Terrance Stamp kick as of late. I’ve been a fan of him for sometime, probably ever since his General Zod showed me the sublimely manicured face of evil all the way back in Superman II, but much of his early work I simply had never gotten around to watching. But after James and I took the time to watch The Mind of Mr Soames for one of our High and Low (Brow) podcasts (Episode 4 – Comas), I decided that perhaps it was finally time to devote some real effort into watching some of his earlier films, which brings me to The Collector, a film that only recently graced my radar after I found out that a very loose remake was being released in theatres last year.
Now, it isn’t often that you see films co-opted, manipulated and outright subjugated to the whims of modern remakes. Wait, let me rephrase that. Alright, so it is common. But in the case of The Collector it has been a very unique form of modern bastardization. You see the title was taken and the idea of collecting people was used (or mis-used as the case may be) and that was the end of it. Complex characters were abandoned for one dimensional stock. The creepy, slow burning plot was replaced with the now standard mess that highlights gore and ignores everything else. It is a thin thread that ties the modern “remake” to the original. Which, honestly, is a good thing.
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.
Over the past few years I’ve become quite the fan of Ozploitation films, and I’ve quite enjoyed the recent resurgence of Australian genre filmmaking. One of my more recent finds was the flawwed, yet still enjoyable, Australian zombie film Undead. And while it was a decent enough independent horror comedy, I must say I found it a bit surprising that the director’s of that film, The Spierig Brothers, were able to secure over $20 million to film their next project. The Australian vampire film Daybreakers.
I’m a bit at a loss on just what kind of film this will be, as the trailers seem to be pushing a glossy action pic, but judging by Undead I wouldn’t be surprised if Daybreakers ends up being a relatively decent budget schlock film. Complete with ridiculous effects, gaping plot holes and over zealous acting. Willem Dafoe is in it after all. And if its a good one, man do I hope it makes it to the multiplex.
As the latest Twilight fan-fic opens nationwide, it seems only fitting that I finally get around to writing something about a South Korean vampire film I watched a few weeks ago at The Uptown Theatre. Now most people know director Park Chan-wook for his Vengeance trilogy (Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance) or possibly for his segment from the horror film Three Extremes making him one of the better known foreign language film makers in the US. So when I heard he’d be making a vampire film, I was excited at the possibilities, but I got something I never expected.
Thirst follows the story of a priest who undergoes an experimental treatment, during the course of which a blood transfusion transforms him into a vampire. Soon he discovers that if he doesn’t feed, that his disease will return, thus he must soon abandon his morality in order to survive. But that is scarcely his furthest fall.
You see, our priest has a secret, he’s in love with his friend’s wife. And his hunger isn’t simply for blood, but for other things just as carnal. Thus, our intrepid hero must slowly abandon his faith in order to satiate his growing desires. And that’s when Thirst truly blossoms into a modern masterpiece of film making.
While Thirst is a morality play to be sure, and it is full of horror elements, at its heart it is a romance, though a very twisted and dysfunctional one to be sure. As our priest falls deeper in love with the woman of his desires, he makes a rather foolish step that propels the two of them into an unending struggle for dominance of their lives, their relationship and of their hunger.
Following in the footsteps of last year’s outstanding vampire film Let the Right One In, Thirst creates complex and realistic characters that are thrust into worlds they can scarcely imagine let alone control, try as they might. These are people with faults and flaws, and simply craving the taste of blood won’t change that, but it just might amplify their flaws. Thirst simply isn’t just the best vampire movie of the year, its one of the year’s best movies, period.
No not the new American horror remake, but rather I will be watching the original 1965 film starring Terence Stamp as a butterfly collector whose hobby takes a sinister twist when he decides to “collect” a beautiful woman for his collection.
I’ve been on a bit of a Terrance Stamp kick as of late. I’ve been a fan of him for sometime, probably ever since his General Zod showed me the sublimely manicured face of evil all the way back in Superman II, but much of his early work I simply had never gotten around to watching. But after James and I took the time to watch The Mind of Mr Soames for one of our High and Low (Brow) podcasts (Episode 4 – Comas), I decided that perhaps it was finally time to devote some real effort into watching some of his earlier films, which brings me to The Collector, a film that only recently graced my radar after I found out that a very loose remake was being released in theatres last year.
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