Are we really only 4 days into October? It feels like more. And this was a tough day for me. I have probably 40 plus movies that start with D. And so many good ones, also some really bad ones. But to do this I need to choose. So without further ado, here are my choices.
There’s no way around it. War by definition is horror.
And WWI with trench warfare and chemical weapons is the modern epitome of that.
The story starts with a British group of soldiers preparing to run from one trench to another. A hopeless effort as they are mowed down by German troops. When gas is dispersed though, things get weird.
The gas turns to fog and night turns to day. The war around them goes quiet and they seem to be alone. 9 soldiers in the middle of a war. They come upon a trench and enter it with the intent of holing up and waiting for reinforcements to find them.
What they find in the trench is a different sort of horror. The earth itself and the barbwire defenses fight against them. They turn on each other. Nothing is as it seems in this trench as they are in some form of limbo. Unsure what to do and relying on their base instincts. For most soldiers though, those instincts come from a place where killing is the first thought. Only a 16 year old who lied to join the war chooses to react from compassion. And that saves him.
This movie I hadn’t watched it a long time. Had loaned it to someone and never got it back, so sought it out and bought it again. But the new copy waited patiently to be seen. And while it is absolutely worth watching, I would give it a 7 now. Not as amazing as I remembered, but still really good. And Andy Serkis is in it playing an absolutely psychotic soldier.
It’s a horror film. So I wanted to see it. But it also had Noel Clarke in it, and I really enjoyed him in Doctor Who. So I wanted to watch him in something outside of Doctor Who.
And the best comparison to this movie is Shaun of the Dead. Do we need setup for this movie? Not really. But ok. A bunch of guys go on a guy weekend to try and cheer up a buddy who is having girl problems. The town they get to is oddly quiet. And the women here seem to have some sort of anti male cannibalistic infection. Zombies. Lets call them zombies. They aren’t, but they aren’t anything else really. So zombies. But only girl zombies? Yeah.
It’s a light crazy romp, much like Shaun of the Dead was. But it certainly doesn’t have as good of a story as that. But really, what zombie movie has a good story? None of them really. It’s a basic idea. What makes a zombie story good is the characters. Period. And how much do we like them. And how do they handle things.
So watch this movie, but don’t expect to see Citizen Kane here. Just turn off the brain and have fun with this. It’s a zombie movie, even if it isn’t exactly.
For story, this is a 5, but for fun I think it is more like an 8. And if you take an average of those scores, it yields an 8. Because it’s fun. And fun is good.
And just like that we come to the subtitled entry for today. A movie I’ve been wanting to rewatch for a long time. I’ll be honest, I bought it (way back when) purely because of the cover. That two pupil eye is wildly creepy. And it has David Morse in it. Always liked him and we don’t see him enough. Also Tony Leung who is good as well, not discounting him in any way.
This movie is a murder mystery with supernatural overtones. People are randomly dying with weird circumstances. A man in his office at work drowns in freezing water while sitting at his desk. And he is just the first of several unusual deaths. When they realize these are connected, they seek to bring an expert from the FBI in to help. Enter David Morse.
There is a procedural element to this as the deaths are examined and attempts are made to try and figure it out. Even though the police don’t like the American interference, he makes progress where they couldn’t. And it leads to a temple inside an office building. With an extremely brutal battle. Gore and violence abound in this moment.
This is horror. And a murder mystery of sorts. There is more I would like to say, but I won’t. Because some things shouldn’t be spoiled. I will say that if you are going to watch only one of these three movies, it should be this one. Then go watch the other two. I did it for you!
This one is easy for me. 10 stars. Such a good movie.
Cthulhuville 