Mentioned on "Top 10 Most Disturbing..." Comments

Truly a bizarre and disgusting unique vision. It passes pretty much as three different film shorts that have a "matter and continuity" motif, e.g. the variable flesh focus with the next of kin. The first story is alarming, shocking, and perverse; the second, sickening and morbid; the third, dark and unexpected. All are well made, with excellent make up, special effects, camera work, and acting.

This film draws a lot of unneeded controversy because of a four minute scene. Why don't people mention the creepy hillbilly atmosphere that precedes it, or the adventurous suspense that follows? Anyhow, it's a worthwhile film that probably wouldn't be able to be filmed today in the English language. It's got an elementary focus on urban vs. rural dynamics, but the character development amuses. I'm sure it was more terrifying to audiences when it was first released.

I agree with one of the critics in saying that the initial premise kicks off with an originality and audience victimization that whichever path the film follows, even if it's generic based, it succeeds. Whether the film had proceeded past its halfway mark with consecutive uniqueness or not, I would've liked it and its outcome, so there's my bias. It's not to say the film should be perceived as disposable German "Hollywood" material; quite the contrary because the concept is bitching and I generally felt for each developed character when they were in peril.

The guy that made Bad Boy Bubby makes another psychological disturber, this time about gender inequality within marriage. From the thoroughly ominous opening I was hooked, but how the video tape sessions carry on might uninterest some impatient viewers. The first half of the film is pretty feminist, while the second teeters between misogyny and male blaming. As such, it became kind of an unwanted resolution to have, but perhaps for the best, so as to criticize both traditional marital roles. It's very well directed, scripted and acted (Even by the kids).

This story didn't really work as a film. It's yet another instance where reading about the infamous case in a newspaper, online, etc., will evoke the same feeling that you get after seeing the outstretched film, and in my experience, the film does a terrible job of eliciting any emotional reactions and character sympathizing or scorning. Perhaps because the perspective of the film switched to and fro victims and serial killer, and so you omnisciently view stupid people trusting a pudgy creeper with their open legs. I appreciate the documentary-style retelling as well as the acting talent, but maybe subjective demonizing of serial killers would've worked to this film's advantage.

The biting fetish (Ever had the urge to bite your lover?) seen as a disease that to the viewer is cannibalism. Like a French Cronenberg movie but with a really slow pace and a seemingly low budget. For most of the duration the story's plot appeared confusing, but once the stories converged it was understandable. The concept wasn't given its due but the rare moments of sexual gore are explicit, kinky and grosstastic.

If you want to educate or inspire a group of racists to alter their viewpoint the politically correct way, you show them Martin Luther King's speech. If you want to do it the politically incorrect way, you show them this film. It's a vigorous shock to the core of racial tension between whites and blacks and an unforgettable history lesson that'll make you recoil, vomit and gasp. It's another one of those weird low sound quality Italian titled films (But it's in English - WTF), so it sounds dubbed with outrageously racist casual dialogue, but what it's willing to show you in terms of using its extras as disposables more than makes up for this.

Quite the gory, nasty film when allowed. By far one of the best openings in horror cinema. The smoothness and pace of the film plummet thereafter, however. The obvious budget restraint cuts upon a lot, so there's limited actors and limited overall quality. If you've the patience to sit through sympathy-for-the-hostage and if low budget doesn't get to you, you'll appreciate the commendable make-up and par acting.

Second Kiyoshi Kurosawa film I will never comprehend. (Cure was the first.) I'm rating what I experienced because rating a film's content which I know next to nothing about seems unfair. And yet, some people mention the existentialist concentration of Kairo and I think, "I picked up on that, but my mind tossed it away as something so poor and unrespectable when compared to the film's hype". Really, why categorize a gloomy, sloth-paced drama under the guise of a horror? You're just going to piss off a lot of horror proponents and your dull little message that you're trying to communicate is going to be flushed away. If horror films were ammunition (This film, again, isn't a horror film, but the analogy is fun) then Kurosawa's films would be the strongest friggen sedatives known to mankind.

Deceivingly simple at first, and later it morphs into some strange ethereal gore fest. Every genre it featured in every plot turn - sci fi, romance, drama, exploitation - was formatted oddly. And I don't just mean the low budget - there's something peculiar about the feel of the film that makes you watch it. Don't expect all subplots to resolve themselves entirely, but do expect progressive surrealism and budget worthy gross out mutilation. I'm not sure if 70 percent of this is worth watching, or eighty. We'll just say somewhere in between.

Much like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, it's a film whose unique narrative concept you eventually get used to, and you eventually realize it benefits the film greatly. An obvious war, military, and parental brainwashing critique centered on a likable main character embodying naivety, innocence and misfortune. Using the ill luck that war injuries can inflict, it can pull at your heart strings, it can anger you, and leave you rethinking your position on militarism. Sad fucking film. See it.

I'll say this is simple ostensible family matters with understated taboo trespasses. This taboo, nowadays, is one of the few that is ubiquitous and universally unaccepted, so thumbs up on handling the material this realistically. Strong performances, disturbing material (Both implied and upfront), and dismal.

First note that this film is based on a 1971 event which revealed disturbing truths about the human race. The film neglects to inform this, and I think it reduces the relevance. It's a fascinating thought experiment, and clearly the transfer to film works quite well, mixing romance and dramatic, thrilling threads effortlessly. You see just how far typified people of society work to defend their positions under microcosmic conditions, and observe how time and claustrophobia affect the people nearest to the protagonist. It's engaging watching the ethics of dominant and submissive roles evolve into their animalistic states.

Mother's Day is, I think, my second Troma film, and more and more am I realizing that Troma is about independce and sleaze. It concentrates on one concept and hops to the next one as if with a mind of its own. The opening, for example, is a jolting start to a real fucked up story, but then, it's about the firendship of women, but no, it's next about an irritating deranged family of kidnappers, etc. It was like channel surfing for me, but what's good is that only one portion dragged on - the rest were acceptable. As is usual, laughable props, and atrocious acting are present as the Troma trademarks of priceless cheapness. I wonder if this is perchance a partial inspiration to the Descent. Oh, and if you don't like Troma and what it stands for, this film is getting a high caliber remake, or so it seems, so you can view this movie with decent production.

Trashy, hollow, and watchable is what I will expect from pre-Mysterious Skin movies by Araki. This film is never offensive nor vulgar, however, but it might take some aback with the homo undertones. But it's a hetero film, remember. Badly directed and acted, utilizing some horrendous dialogue to serve as connective tissue between the sex and violence. I didn't like the menage a trois the first time around (Band of Outsiders), but in the Doom Generation it's less annoying.

It's been years since I saw Jackass and its sequel, so, those need a re-watch after seeing this "European" version, because I thought Dirty Sanchez was equally vile, repugnant, and amazing. You have this crew that pits against each other, in a variety of modes. And the film's plot is set to the seven deadly sins, where each chapter focuses on one deadly sin enacted in an obscene manner. Naturally a lot of havoc breaks out, but compared to Jackass I think it's mild in just a few areas, due to budget. The stunts and gags are seemingly scripted by the performers themselves, so there's a personal sense of creativity to the sexuality, violence, humiliation and debauchery. Don't think it can't shock or take you to the same level of disgust as with Jackass, though.

Damn good film about camaraderie, loyalty to one's way of life, comeuppance, and the uselessness of division among assimilating cultures. It's on the Kurdish and Turkish disputes, but still retains relevance for any two distinct cultures. The protagonist and his daily adversity is all too harsh, topped with the supervision of a minor who's been exposed to the same raw climate. Once the eye-for-an-eye theme picks up some momentum, it's a dangerous foregone conclusion.

The dog character is anthropomorphized with human sentience and cognitive internal monologuing but I had trouble relating so, and extracting the film's significance - might have to see it again. What I got was that humans are one beast away from unleashing the inevitable violent alter ego, but anyway, it's a refreshing film considering the hoopla normally expected from animals within films such as Beethoven, Air Bud and all that other crap. Unadulterated human-animal relationships pervade this film, but I can't say it leaves much of an impression even though it tried to.

Probably a love-it-or-hate-it type. And I don't think the concept would have been executable in any other fashion; low-budget and indie had to take root in order to give the film its sarcastic vibe. The concept of kill or be killed works as a critique on reality television and society's apathy and moral destruction in exchange for entertainment. Characters from all walks of life fill the roles, so there is a certain empowering in the plot rarely found in cinema concerning types of killing / murdering. Enjoyable and quirky.

Festen is an overrated family farce filmed in the style that the "Dogme" clowns always film in: handycam realism centered on dramas where the actors act too well for the film. The "Dogme" movement is a holier-than-thou stain on cinema, and this film is the initiator, but some productions are good. A lot of the "Dogme" films have a similar underlying theme sometimes, and its most basic form is present in this film. The problem I have with this film specifically is that the characters are asses. The several families are always quarrelling either verbally, physically, or they're planning to provoke some quarrelling. The only "innocent" character that we get to like is racially discriminated against, rendering whatever interest you had with the families to nil. It's hard to care about how family members tear each other apart when you don't like them in the first place, so it goes without saying that a lot of what Festen features is a near waste. I did expect a lot better in terms of writing, but it's not completely bad for what it's worth. The characters, however unlikable they are, have depth.

Stuart Gordon's novice films focus on incredible special effects, but certain departments lack the equal talent, such as writing and general directing. In From Beyond and Re-Animator, I think Gordon gets by with camp and humor, and you're likely to excuse the flaws if you like the science fiction approach. From Beyond is relatively short, but with the adequate ingredients to an OK production. Gross, bloody monsters enable fun to be had. The kills are just as gruesome, though on a small scale when taking the horror criterion into account, and Combs plays his screwball character to a T.

Sorry for not boarding the bandwagon, and ignoring the herd mentality, but Uwe Boll is not the kind of "worst ever" director that his infamy suggests, as exemplified by this film (The first film of his that I've seen). Maybe his other films are trash, but this film wasn't. He's a horror director with a real savage style, but the manner in which he films a lot of horror directors haven't a clue on how to imitate, much less spawn themselves. I'm talking about simply being able to scare the viewer. Seed begins with a real disturbing, ominous sequence of manslaughter in the dark, with brutal unexpected killings that make your security with the government diminish and increases your fear of serial killers. The ominous vibe doesn't let up until about forty five minutes after, which should be considered a real feat. Unfortunately, the last half hour becomes a confused way to reach the climax, and in some ways, end the film, because it's on a different track from what was presented in the start. The ultra violent slaughtering of the person in the chair was out of place, and the CGI crap. It's a shame too because the savage, realistic, how-did-they-pull-that-off murder scenes in this film are mean spirited, yes, but they're from the eyes of witnesses and not the serial killer. It's sure to shock many viewers, but even though it has a basic serial killer plot, it's just not.that.friggen.bad!

I've not liked Harvey Keitel's roles and in this film he plays his most unlikeable one as a despicable anti-hero whose moronic actions cause you to perceive his misery. The corrupt-cop premise I have no problems with; that would have been an okay film from the direction in which Bad Lieutenant took. But it diverges from that and I just can't bear being witness to gambling addictions. It's too irrational and blood-boiling. Maybe the dwindling character is what gives the finale its power, but with Keitel moping around and ultimately dooming himself in the most asinine of ways greatly dissociates myself from the picture.

It had a killer premise when it started, in focusing on different notorious homicides from around the world (That would have been a better film), but it then quickly shifts to by-the-numbers anti-American criticism involving morbidly obese fetishizing. The two male leads came up with the premise but only one can act. Uninspired and tame; worthy of expanding.

Slaughtered Vomit Dolls is a fucking disgusting pukefest with senseless excretions and nudity (and some OTT gore). I don't think it qualifies as a film; more a homemade compiling of abominable footage that naturally makes humans reach for the sick bag. There is really no plot, and no way to determine one since the communication relies on characters speaking in badly manipulated audio, and stories that overlap in a badly edited fashion. There's a lot of female objectification, an obvious excuse for the director to spawn this film (Part 1 of a trilogy), and uncomfortable close-ups of the women. They barf by sticking their hand in their throats, no doubt following orders of the director, and the camera follows every aftermath of the blown chunks. When it gets to the redhead guy, who projectile vomits into a cup, then swallows, then vomits, then swallows, etc., you won't be able to stomach anymore. Amidst all of the vomit, there are two graphic gore scenes, one where one of the females gets her eyes stabbed out for several minutes, and another one where a guy has his head popped open, and is thrown up on. In the gore arena, these scenes indicate some horror talent, without its excesses.

Does one make a film about coughing, or yawning, so as to get its viewers to naturally mimic the actions? If not, then why make a film about vomiting?

Despite everything, I think it's interminably hilarious that someone would film it, and I can't say I didn't expect seeing this garbage from that sexy movie cover, and the suggestive title. Funny controversy, bad film!

The best Troma film I've seen yet. If there's a purpose behind the intentional piss-poor acting, the absurd plots, and the sleaze that Troma films regularly storm up, it's this film. It's damn hilarious when it wants to be, fully aware of its sarcastic and exaggerated attitude towards the comic book-adapting genre. That's in its set up. Following the toxic avenger point, there's the exploitative violence you'd expect. I think I can probably rewatch it based on how thoroughly campy and humorous it is.

Convoluted and unpredictable for a Fulci film, based on what I've seen from him. With the same mediocre quality in the actors, and the friggen pointless dubbing. It was too inane and badly directed, or maybe I was in a bad mood. You have to really get accustomed to this cheap, cheap, filming style before considering it a horror attempt. In fact, the erotic plot thread was better filmed than the suspenseful and horror ones, thanks partially to the irritating presence of the Donald Duck voice as the murderer. Is the bad quality and experience intentional?

An arresting, moody, contemplative tragedy, which centers on the loss of a small isolated community in flashbacks and in the present. With the acting you'd expect from any serious drama, and laid out so as to keep the viewer intrigued. I don't buy the philosophy it cheaply addresses, and instead took to a rational standpoint, equivalent to the lawyer who sways from exploiter to sympathizer. So the last action which the film rests on made the kid out to be a prideful cunt. Otherwise, a good hour and fifty minutes of that drama that critics and movie watchers alike can agree on being excellent.

Bizarre italian film told in non-linear narrative, touching upon matters of Italian political fascism and enshrouded in a World War II Holocaust dilemma. The doofus lead character has diverse scenarios involving his sex life, and desire to continue in one piece. The plot and character have a lot of similarity to La Vita e Bella but this film reaches an audience with a more European rather than Hollywood taste in comedy and drama.

I read the synopsis wrong, thinking the characters would literally eat themselves cannibal-style, but instead it's about an annual morbid pigout between four forty-somethings. Exciting - I know. So I unfairly pitted it against a false image, but the film is still terribly sterile on its own. With the characters as lard factories, I would expect the binge-eating premise to escalate out of its repetitiveness, as well as its sexual content, which is pathetic and underwhelming for a European film. Marcello Mastroianni is an official douche bag for choosing to be in damn stupid movies only. If you can pick up what the purpose of this film was, more to you, because it's lacking in events, emotion and any style worthy of discussing.

This is mostly an emotional argument towards this dilemma (Or, at least it's viewed as one). And I feel it's invalid since there are a cornucopia of logical reasons for what Kieslowski is trying to convey. Still, it beats Lars von Trier's overrated version.

The politically minded segments are all right, but the romantce plot gets in the way and becomes tiring. Neither are what I would expect from Peter Weir, from what I've seen from him. The actors provide the best attribute, notably Linda Hunt's, and with the exception of Weaver's whose accent needed further practice. Character-driven.

Keywords: low-budget, scatterbrained, campy. With that perspective, Zombie Holocaust is impossible not to like. The plot surpasses that of other zombie films marketed at the same time this was released, covering cannibalism from an anthropological view point, ritualized violence, and devised zombies. The blood and gore tries to be as authentic looking as possible, the dialogue and acting are so cheesy and bad (that it's good?), and although it's composed of similar bits of several films past, it's more than the sum of its parts.

Rough and hard to swallow, but does it represent the status of current New Zealand Maori cultures and their wedlock? Of the two Kiwi dramas I've seen (Whale Rider and Once Were Warriors) there is a deeply rooted misogynistic atmosphere with ass-backwards father figures. It's almost like a calling out for help to end the conservative attitudes. In Once Were Warriors, the problems in the family are as bad as they get, without exaggerating. You genuinely feel that you're involved with the lot and that you're inflicted by their woes, which appear in the blink of an eye and impact with wave after wave of undetected brutality. Great acting and pretty engrossing for the most part, but probably not for a select number of people as it brings up unpleasant familial tensions quite frequently. Cool soundtrack.

Infantile and non-professional. I take it it was made for TV; it'd be sad if it wasn't. The film intersperses three facets about "the Manson family" (really?), one part reenacting Manson and his clan of hippie murderers (this is the main focus), another one seemingly showcasing interviews of the Manson clan, and the last one a completely fictionalized story. Again, the editing, acting, and directing are really poor for what this film was aiming for, which is serious treatment on this whole Manson phenomena which, the film states, tainted the late-60s and early-70s periods of sexual liberty and pacifism in the US. It takes about an hour until the infamous acts take place, and the acts themselves expose the budget the film was limited to. Prior to that, the plot feels dead, centering solely on the relationships that Manson rounded up. I don't know how much of the reenactment is accurate. "Based on a true story" is claimed. Ultimately, a let down, knowing the subject matter could've been frightening and invasive (The film attempts to evoke these feelings, but fails by means of its unintentional comic relief, plus the budget limitation).

It's a very common plot, with common plot points found in the horror genre, but it doesn't deter from the fun! Mostly about twenty-somethings unknowingly being led to their backwoods terror - you know the drill, mais en français. Good acting and directing all around, but Vincent Cassel steals the show with his creep humor and villainous undercurrent. The most interesting and original concepts about the Satan mythology are saved for last and are underutilized (You could make a separate film out of it). Unoriginal for the most part, beginning with sexually active nobodies who later turn into oblivious prey, and it ends predictably, but it's good in the eyes of French horror completists. Also, where the hell was Monica Bellucci? Was she even present? I think I need a new eye-glass prescription if so...

The war-film genre is yet to be explored by my part, and I'd seen The Year of Living Dangerously (A similarly-commenced film) no less than a week prior, so the first hour of this movie was goddamn boring and deja vu. When its traits became discernable, The Killing Fields launched into a Hollywood category and not a half hour goes by without manipulative music. The characters are full fleshed, the war-victim violence is plenty real and spontaneous, and the message is typical, but who doesn't like John Lennon and his posthumous lectures.

If you like French romance, this film won't disappoint, despite the sense of lacking closure towards the end. I'm a sucker for virtually anything French, so I expect many won't be as attracted to the plot since it can kind of meander with positive emotions. A personal account told and shown at extreme age differences, one stage at the age of sexual awakening, and another at the height of sexuality and consummated love (The target women, interestingly, are at opposite ends in age). It was mistakenly mentioned as disturbing on a website, but it's the exact opposite: warm, feel-good, cozy, too-good-to-be-true, and serene (And sometimes sexually provocative). The characters are good people all around and there's just no way one can dislike them, especially knowing one of them personally as a curious youth. One of its flaws, which also makes the climax predictable, is the continuous tone of a romantic utopia. Similar events, with a similar spirit, prevent a sense of an escalating plot, and it makes the ending abrupt with a sense of unquenched thirst, so to speak.

Yet another prison movie with the same set up, you might think, but it's more than that, as a lot of the territory it traverses is still relevant. Not surprising, considering its true-story account. The subject is unrelentingly stark and manages to remain engrossing. Every emotion the main character feels brought about by the injustice, cruelty, and backwardness is easily felt and the despair and frustration are great at criticizing or at least questioning multiculturalism in the postmodern era as well as the unfair punishment and restriction concerning relatively harmless drugs. It's quite good at expressing the negative facets related to physically abusive systems, and xenophobia, as it's a worst-case scenario, and in effect, the script is diverse and takes you on one hell of a Turkish roller coaster ride. The Turkish culture was impossible not to generalize and condemn in an important one-sided perspective as emotionally charged as Midnight Express.

Peter Greenaway's flavorful, macabre, resonant style is amazingly pronounced in A Zed and Two Noughts, a film whose uncanny and eccentric wit completely mesmerizes. The soundtrack and score continually charge scenes with a grand ecstatic feeling of grandiose and they're complemented by picture perfect photography that I imagine would look and sound stunning at the big screen. The characters, irregular, raunchy, and absorbing, are played by an excellent cast, possibly even better than The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover's. The zoology as a means to analyze death is endlessly fascinating, as a bio geek, and the animals filmed, dead and alive, give the film a colorful authenticity. I feel as though the film presented Earth and its inhabitants and the inhabitants' abilities. The grand scopes Greenaway captures visually and in concept give his films that microcosmic feel, where a world is captured within a film. Well written, acted, directed; poetic, operatic, and intriguing.

Bertolucci has, from what I've seen, overflowed his films with dry politics, so I expected this film to fail epically. Curiously, it was good and that's because it's more a character trajectory instead of a political lesson (Though it's not politically exepmpt either). If the first or so hour immerses you then the rest of the film will pass by easily, and what's not to like from the all star cast, the deluxe camera field scopes, the trailing of adjacent family lines during both world wars, the tug of war betwen pesants and upper class? There's also a sensation of frank reality filmed on screen which pops up every so often - you'll be wondering how a scene was filmed, or how Bertolucci got away with filming it. This is where its European vibe originates, in my opinion; however, it would've been finer had it been in Italian, and not in broken Italian-imitating English. It completely sabotages either language, dissolves the mood the film builds up, and grates your nerves, although this broken Italian-imitating English, together with the dramatic acting, add somewhat to the suspension of belief. So, it's a matter of can't film with it; can't film without it, though it's still irksome. For its message of equality between social classes, it's over obvious and clumsy, but for an epic directorial effort, it's successful. Its family-tree depiciton serves as a great ethnographic tool, even if fictional.

Misanthropists, I stand corrected with this film. An environmentalist propaganda film big on lecturing and informing, and structured like an essay, but it's for a good cause I suppose. It completely denounces human activities and their disregard for the ecosystem and animal life. In the similar spirit to PETA films, showing the worst case scenarios on animal maltreatment, killing, and such, the images are raw, stomach churning, and suicide inducing. The film frequently brings up the term "speciesism", discrimination based on species, as an indictment on the human race and its careless, polluting actions which have long been considered normal. Preachy and disturbing, it babbled on about mankind's errors, but never discussed solutions or ways one could make a difference, so it's like a bearer with a note addressing problems on end, and by the end of the film, you feel like contributing to a cause. Vegan in nature, and with some footage that has swirled on the internet about man's dominion over animals. The narrating and arguments are entirely one sided, and I would've preferred a balanced presentation as the images speak for themselves, but there's still a valid point to be found.

Seeing this film was basically the first time I was exposed to the complete Ed Gein hullabaloo, so I don't know how much of the biopic is accurate. I'd read a bit and heard a bit, and based on that, this film waters down the graphic material to a basic adaptation and generic character study. Ed Gein is portrayed as a reserved, disturbed individual whose religious beliefs, childhood experiences, and loss of family dress up his insanity for homicide and dismemberment fixations. It's neither fully gory nor frightening, but slightly disturbing seeing Gein corner his closest friends into death. Supposedly the case inspired Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre film, and other horror classics, and honestly, you would expect the source to kick your ass with repulsing, sick horror. Maybe this account simply wanted to inform, as the lead performance captures the outcast symptoms, but it's much too tame to recommend. Personally it was entertaining from a psychological standpoint, and the low budget and basic premise was passable, but the film can be easily rectified and the Ed Gein case could have a more intimidating and interesting film.

Doomsday movie about nuclear politics and war. It's very similar to the BBC nuclear holocaust movie Threads, in attempting to induce end-of-the-world panic, but neither are fully effective; Threads sweeps on by too quickly, while The Day After is a one-note film. For what it's worth, The Day After did provoke some genuine scares and terror, depicting a nasty cancerous vision of a radioactive aftermath, but it's a one trick pony, only skilled in showing off local destruction. There's no characterization, no thought put into the plot, and all because - as it reveals at the end - it is a plea for governments to think twice before clicking that "Annihilate" button. The film is still stuck in the 80s and it is slow to start since you have all of this military clandestine lexicon in its first act. Good for what it is, a made-for-TV disaster flick, but bad for its hype.

Damn. I really thought I was going to like this since it's Korine work, and it has "weirdness" written all over it, but I expect the Dogme stupidity limited what he had to say and what he envisioned. None of the main characters convince me in their acting skills, the technique in filming is shoddy, and the concept is dull. It walks a fine line between independent filming and homemade video. The family plot was supposed to be in relation to the schizo character, but the film could've stood without Julien, meaning, there was no connection between the protagonist and his family. Korine's taste for the offbeat - random scenes of nontraditional subject matters - is plastic, whereas in Gummo there was something to be felt with the random, dark humor.

Fuckin A. Disturbing and uncomfortable to the m-fucking max! I had to laugh off most of the scenes so that i couldn't psychologically face what I was witnessing. But brilliantly executed. A rare specimen and the rarest of film opportunities: depicting pedophilia in the modern era, gimmick-free. Where films such as Hapiness can only apply dark comedy to the issue so as to safeguard viewers, The Woodsman bears the subject to a character study. I don't think a male would've been able to direct a film of this taboo shattering magnitude without being accused of the taboo, so with a woman director, I think you have more access to an unbiased vision. It's true that the audience is forced to side with the main character at some points, but I think it's the unintentional product of trying to inform people of what a pedophile experiences

I asked the public once on Yahoo Answers if pedophiles should be disposed of, and about half of the surveyed responded with "Yes!" knee-jerk responses instead of a rational solution:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100420163522AA3LqNZ

So, the uneducated, popular thought has it that we should execute before trying an ethical, rational solution like chemical castration (Is this ethical? Haven't researched it yet).

The pedophilia taboo is an endlessly complex and controversial subject which I've read little about, but still packs a disturbing wallop. I could not believe this film was in the English language, and especially could not believe Hollywood faces would make an appearance. It makes the psychological study all the more unsettling.

Kevin Bacon gives a great performance too, risking his freakin career here with the talent he boasts. Stay away from my kids, Kevin Bacon!

This film is a disturbing drama about infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. It is very hard to watch in some places because you see life through the eyes of Dahmer, and Dahmer's vision is particularly unforgiving yet masked by goodness. (Short spoiler) The way he picks out his victims and roofies them is shocking and the first time I've seen it as a common occurrence in a film (Spoiler ends). Knowing how similar the film is to the Dahmer case is genuinely chilling. It never goes overboard with blood and guts, nor cannibalism nor necrophilia, as a direct-to-screen adaptation would've resulted, and I think this keeps the film cinematic and more drama- than horror-oriented (Either scenario I would've probably lauded if it was filmed right). Even though the subject matter doesn't cover the most sickening facts about the Dahmer case (I would expect this of a documentary instead), the tone in this film is the same as what you will feel when you read even one paragraph on Dahmer online. The script hops about Dahmer's serial killing stages, leaving no dull moment, and I am convinced Jeremy Renner can play any role he's given, unafraid. Definitely not a film for everyone (anyone, really), as every topic it covers is generally a taboo.

Larry Clark is some kind of pedophile director. I kept thinking critics were namecalling because of the hard hitting truth that his films depict - about sexually corrupted youths plaguing current society - but Wassup Rockers has Larry Clark admitting, "I clearly *am* a pedophile, boys and girls. I like indiscriminately filming close ups of underage whites and Latinos alike, because their lovemaking is gold in a city where social classes are racially distinct." Either that, or he does not know how to explain himself adequately (As demonstrated with the scene where a white cop pulls the racial card too frequently, this scene arguing that governmental whites are racist and discriminatory). Compared to Clark's other films where the NC-17 sexual explicitness provides a purpose, the sexuality in this film is mild but still creepy. The non professional main-character cast are the worst ones I've seen in a film; they look at the camera, they speak in monotone, they provide camp to the extreme. The conversations they have with each other seem unscripted but they are a chore to sit through and they hold the film back. Past the half point, it's an adventurous skateboard ride uphill, then downhill, and the encounters with the cameo appearances are funny. It's a nearly pointless film, if not for the second half which rescues it.

When liberals go bad. This is the funniest shit I've seen since Being John Malkovich (I saw that three years ago). The black comedy is black like coagulated blood, and even though its one-concept premise repeats itself, you'll not be satisfied with the second or third or fourth servings - you'll crave for more. I expect to have liked it as much as I did because of the heated political issues which are tossed about. It is very well written, including a lot of rich irony in the plot, and quick witted and funny believable dialogue. The film, even fifteen years old, could have been made today and still remained fresh, as its themes of dissent, murder, and authoritarianism are timeless.

It manages to give you a sickly feeling by its downtrodden characters. Exhausting.

The unrepentant child labor and flawless collective acting from the child participants make for a startling opening and attention getter. While viewing the children going through the harsh border crossing scenes, you begin to wonder what sort of psychological effects reenacting would be caused upon the children, if any, simply by participating in this production. Once the drama equilibrates, you realize there's no end to the poverty, and the problematic decisions that children are faced with. It's mainly young'uns versus a cold reality. Featuring oftentimes breathtaking scenery.

Overly simplified, but for an unknown reason, excusable and amusing. Abel Ferrara as the main character driven to random homicide. Most of the film is actually Ferrara and two female companions stationed in an apartment with boredom, artist's block, and a lethargic feel. I guess we're supposed to feel the difficulty an artist puts himself through in New York. The murder element is just a side thing, but the blood is red, something which many big-name horror directors from the same era can never comprehend as essential to murders in films. Also, the side plot isn't given its due, but in a film with higher production values and better quality and talent, the concept would've appeared out of place and silly. The Catholic themes, and obsession with handheld murder weapons as a theme are something which Ferrara would later revisit with many films.

The horror-comedy b movie (Hey, it's got the b-movie hallmark anyway) is so goddamn bad that at some points it's good for a sitback. In other words, it's so bad that it's good. Sort of. The script is messy with convenient, contrived moments, and random cuts to different scenes. Clint Howard plays a creepy persona well with his ugly duckling visage, but acts not too well and speaks with constipated looks. The children actors, main characters all, are given more believable dialogue than the adults in the film, and their perspective on the serial killer theme are what keep the film going. Beware, for there are cheesy lines and crap suspense. The horror energy in the climax is constricted by the lack of talent behind the camera, and the serial killer plot would've been disturbing if the droning music was taken out altogether. The gore is OK, but it's random and cannot be taken seriously because of the poor film.

Apparently this is unreleased on DVD as of yet, so the version I saw had awful sound editing and quality. Nevertheless, the photography of coastal scenery is thankfully intact. A very 70s feel in this odd drama, suffering from bad pacing and awkward softcore sex scenes. The themes of this film are still relevent though, in terms of generational gaps between defiant adolescents and adults. The one in this particular film, about precocious puberty enabling moral nihilism, is quite heavy and similar to The Lord of the Flies, except this film is more disturbing with its implications. This plot is cross cut by a romantic one where characters in need of a stationary figure fill each other's voids. And together, it makes the resolution a real shock. A film that stays with you when you finish it, and whose actors act well, but whose pacing can kill the film.

Filled to the brim with an odd mix of disturbing drama and near surreal events, much too mature for a child to face, but it's all within the perspective of a child! Rest assured, the kid protagonist doesn't annoy and can actually act his parts, as well as the other child participants. From exploding frogs to aborted fetuses used as a child's talkative companion, to teenage pedophiles on the prowl, this is pretty much the atypical farm storyline, but an honest, adult sense of realism stays on the flip side of things so as to not make things appear too absurd.

It's unexpectedly more comical than disturbing. At least, the necrophile scenes are, filmed with a romantic edge that cancels out any gross factor you may have accumulated. There's still the matter of other forms of aberrant sexual perversions that will surely induce a wince, plus a symbolic attachment of the obsession of death, which is expressed rather amateurishly. Not at all intended to shock or repulse, I thought, but to share the twisted polygamy of an uncommon couple (As the title implies), although it's fixed more on the male perspective. Compared to Lucker, a slasher film with the necrophile angle intended to shock, this film is almost poetic in its own unique artistic vision. Darkly photographed, low key, and the primitive cinematic offering on this subject.

When the Wind Blows is the best "doomsday" movie I've seen. Granted I haven't seen many, but I reckon very few of these scare-tactic movies can be as subtle as this.

See animation with the imagination of the likes of Miyazaki, but without an evironmentalist lecture. Surreal, wonky, on-the-go, and elliptic, Cat Soup is a brilliant half hour of mind-bending curiosities in the perspective of a dimension-hopping feline duo. Trippy anime that warrants a feature length version.

That was ugly. Violent, oppressive, torturous, Barda puts you through Turkish hell by comforting you with amiable main characters and a benign opening (Eventually into near annoyance of the characters), only to make a sharp turn into rape, beatings, humiliation, and the degradation of the self and the ones you hold dear. Court case proceedings are mixed in with the brutality, letting you in on the result of the violence, but even so it's tough to sit through mental and physical pillaging, and the situation itself, not to mention the repetitiveness of it all (to add impact and mutual sensory perception?). I'm guessing laws in Turkey need some a-fixin' if the ending in this movie is preachy, but on the positive, it condemns outdated morals.

Crude, immoral, exploitative. This film is heavily controversial worldwide and is / was involved in many lawsuits due to its filming of violence among bums, among other things. To me it's no different to a Jackass and UFC combo... with bums, but to society at large it'll be gateways to vandalism, bum abuse, and violence, as it glorifies them. Watching it feels morbid, as if you deserve jail time, and I haven't felt that way from a film since Men Behind the Sun. You have to choose between ignoring / censoring / condemning it for its potentially dangerous content, or laughing along, practically debasing yourself lower than the homeless in society. Random fights with teenagers, gangs, racial clashes are edited in, and together it's an uneasy experience, nonetheless a unique one because of how illegal it is.

I don't know whether this film is anti-woman or anti-man (Or anti-feminist or counterculturalist); either case could be debated. 99% of the film is a sex romp with sexuality so liberal that the lesbian scenes were initially cut out when it was released. It runs like a European softcore "chick flick" but it was interesting seeing Italian women parading around town with a sexual power able to manipulate people with. The soundtrack (With a decade defining song sung by Gloria Guida, one of the actresses playing a main character) is catchy and the mood so free, careless and hedonistic that the resolution (Also initially cut out) turns the tables and makes you contemplate the gender roles in the film.

Not Wiseman's best... at all. This is pretty disappointing actually, seeing how his films typically go above and beyond, and still have the ability to educate, enlighten or shock the audience with first person accounts despite their age. Not so in Titicut Follies, no doubt his most well known piece. I think the film's hype and fame has much to do with its failure to meet expectations. Firstly, its popularity has caused vomit bags on every film website to spoil the content, and secondly, a lot can be inferred from the movie cover, spoiler-free summary, and infamy. And additionally, this subject, despite still being cringe worthy and depressing, has been overdone and over analyzed in modern day psychiatry, leaving an obsolete film like this (Perhaps the kick starter for the mental hospital evalutations) in the dust. So, while it's a controversial subject, one that's hard to look at, the expose format makes for mostly an uninteresting peer into the worldview at the time.

As perfect as films come, for the sexploitation junkie and fan of the disturbing and extraordinary. Even if distasteful to some, there is a feeling of balance in this film where all of the subjects it criss crosses are accounted for in order to deliver the goods. The film makes it easy for the viewer to sympathize with the main character given her circumstances and it's what enables fascination with the character evolution. The rawness of the sex I believe fits well with the intent of the rest of the film (Displaying unadulterated unfortunate events; why trivialize sex trafficking, ever?) but the low budget in other scenes lessens the cohesiveness and it's what makes the sex seem out of place. It's great to see a violent female figurehead in this movie era kicking ass the way modern day female characters can hold their own, and the climax is just a series of stunning poetic images filmed courageously.

As perfect as films come, for the sexploitation junkie and fan of the disturbing and extraordinary. Even if distasteful to some, there is a feeling of balance in this film where all of the subjects it criss crosses are accounted for in order to deliver the goods. The film makes it easy for the viewer to sympathize with the main character given her circumstances and it's what enables fascination with the character evolution. The rawness of the sex I believe fits well with the intent of the rest of the film (Displaying unadulterated unfortunate events; why trivialize sex trafficking, ever?) but the low budget in other scenes lessens the cohesiveness and it's what makes the sex seem out of place. It's great to see a violent female figurehead in this movie era kicking ass the way modern day female characters can hold their own, and the climax is just a series of stunning poetic images filmed courageously.

What a psycho director. See this.

Vastly understated gritty prison drama which displays horrid details of humankind via an unjust and irrational prison system. Slow and gradually eerie, but with many missed opportunities.

Where can I find this? Seems out of print on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray

Where can I find this without the Polish voice over? Seems out of print on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray

Where can I find this? Seems out of print on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray. And I missed the fucking tour by a couple of days. http://www.crispinglover.com/index.html