Fantastic Fest Dispatch #1

So things have been quite busy so far. Not much time to really record detailed thoughts, but since it’s Sunday, I’ll list out a few of the movies I’ve seen earlier in the week. Tons of fun stuff going on, but quite frankly, not much time to discuss. I’ll probably have more time to cover movies next weekend (and since I’m traveling on Wednesday, probably no post then either)… Also, this is technically the first week of the 6 Weeks of Halloween Marathon. Not all of the below movies are horror and thus aren’t necessarily Halloween movies, but they’re all pretty weird and at least a few are pretty horror-focused. See also: Dispatch #2 and Dispatch #3.

• Blind – I missed the beginning of this movie by about 15 minutes, so I missed out on some of the establishing scenes. Near as I can tell, a blind former police officer becomes a witness to a crime. Naturally, this presents a bit of a problem, and the serial killer starts playing cat-and-mouse games with her. The description initially reminded me of Kaedrin fave Mute Witness, but while this film is well done and engaging, it never manages the suspense of Mute Witness. That being said, it does feature some excellent set pieces (most notably the one on the subway) and some effective relationships. Very solidly constructed thriller, but not something that will blow you away either. **1/2
• Boys on the Run – Bizarre movie about… I honestly don’t know how to describe it. It’s an exaggerated romantic comedy, in a way, but one with Japanese perverts, inopportune boners and sex workers and the like. Lots of embarrassment humor, a nice taxi driver homage, and one of the best slow-clap sequences I’ve seen in a while. I really liked the performance from the female lead’s roommate – very funny. The ending was somewhat disappointing though, making me wonder why I bothered watching it. It’s got its moments, and it did make me laugh, but I never really connected with it either. **
• The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) – Human Centipede 2 has all the disgusting, graphic scenes I was dreading in the first film. Not exactly a good thing, but it represents an interesting commentary on the fans of the original film. Devin Faraci has probably the best take on this I’ve seen so far:
  

  This time it’s meta. Martin is a bug of a man, round like a beetle with huge, bulging eyes. He’s Peter Lorre working the dead shift at a parking garage, where he spends his hours obsessing over the movie Human Centipede. Finally he begins to create the ultimate fan fiction – a human centipede of his own, except this one is 12 people long. …

  Martin is a direct parody of the fans. He’s fat and sweaty and awkward and possibly mentally disabled. He’s also a parody of how the detractors see the fans. He’s malleable and unable to tell reality from fantasy. …

  Six is attempting a level of critique that’s impressive, and the film feels like a response to every single review and editorial written about the first Centipede.

  As Devin says, it’s a big “Fuck You” movie. I don’t think I’d use the word “restraint” to describe the first film, but it actually was pretty cold and clinical and you really don’t see that much (it’s graphic, but not as much as you fear), while this sequel is dirty, grimy, and explicit. The film doesn’t hold back at all, breaking every taboo it can, and then some, leaving me wondering just what Tom Six has planned for the third (and hopefully final) film in the series. In the Q&A after the movie, Six says the third one will be “really sick”. Given how grotesque this movie is, I don’t know if I really want to take Six up on that third film. One last thing – I’m a little disappointed. I counted, and there were only, like, 40 legs on the creature that Martin creates. While a big improvement over the first movie, that’s still, like, 60 limbs short of an actual centipede. Perhaps this is what Six plans for the next film. Anyway, the film is surprisingly well directed and acted, and it does make an interesting comment on the nature of fandom and critics, but I still can’t really recommend it in any fashion. You were warned. (this one kinda defies rating, but I’ll say **)

• The Yellow Sea – Gritty Korean crime picture featuring more knife and hatchet fights than any movie I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, some of that is obscured by shaky-cam action, a trend I wish would just go away at this point. The movie tells the story of a poor cab driver in China who goes to South Korea to find his wife. She’s gone earlier to make money, but has now disappeared. In order to fund the whole venture, the cab driver must take on a job – assassinate one of the Korean crime lords. It’s probably not a spoiler to say that the cab driver is betrayed at nearly every turn. There’s a lot of resilience in the face of adversity going on here, and some nice touches in terms of the nuts and bolts of things. It’s a little long, but very complex and never boring. ***
• Retreat – Interesting and twisty single-location film. A troubled couple travels to an isolated island for quiet time, but when a bloody stranger turns up at their doorstep, things start to get weird. The twists aren’t quite mind-blowing, but they always keep things interesting. The remoteness of the cottage they’re staying at certainly increases the tension a bit, as the only person within radio distance is not answering. On the other hand, there are some stupid horror movie character moments when you want to yell at the characters for doing something so stupid. Thematically, there are some interesting reversals, but ultimately it doesn’t really gel. Well shot and well acted, it can be a bit of a downer, but it’s worth a watch if you’re into this sort of thing. **

And that covers it for now. Again, probably no entry on Wednesday. Maybe I’ll get to something on Thursday, but probably more likely to see posting resume next Sunday. There are still about 3 or 4 movies I’m really looking forward to, so let’s hope I can actually get into those shows!

Update: Dispatch #2 and Dispatch #3 have been posted.