AUDITION (1999) Movie Review

AUDITION (1999)

Review by Tom Parnell

What draws us to horror movies? Is it the feeling of being scared while in a safe and comfortable environment? Is it the heart-racing shock of imagining what could be lurking in the shadows? Or is it a kind of perverse schadenfreude as innocent victims suffer a fate worse than death on the screen in front of us?

These may seem like quite weighty questions for a mere film review, but anybody intending to watch Japanese director Takashi Miike’s AUDITION should be prepared to find themselves pondering them.

Prolific filmmaker Miike has explored cartoonish violence in films such as ICHI THE KILLER and the DEAD OR ALIVE series, but AUDITIO is all too real, which is where perhaps the horror is created. Everything that happens in AUDITI could happen; the main character is familiar and believable, his motivation understandable and his surroundings homely and comfortable. If Miike had chosen to add a ‘based on true events’ caption at the beginning I doubt few viewers would have questioned it.

The film begins with widower Shigeharu Aoyama being encouraged by his teenage son to find love again. Shigeharu’s friend, film producer Yoshikawa, suggests they hold a fake audition for an actress to play Shigeharu’s wife in a fictional film, and from there he can woo the applicant of his choosing.

Despite opening with the death of Shigeharu’s wife the beginning of the film has quite a positive feel and could easily have gone on to be a story of unconventional romance and clichéd ‘learning to love again’. Miike is not one for clichés and this is far from where the story is headed.

What does happen is that into this seemingly innocent story an unnerving undertone is introduced, in such a subtle manner that at first the viewer would be hard pressed to say exactly what it is that is making them uncomfortable. Miike’s style is reminiscent of David Lynch’s as he slowly builds tension and makes the mundane seem somehow surreal. Our expectations are continually confounded and the sinister atmosphere increases, until the film’s dramatic, difficult and disturbing crescendo.

It is difficult to review this film entirely without giving something away, although I defy anybody to predict the ending accurately. What I will say is that AUDITION ends with one of the most difficult movie scenes I have ever had to watch and I’m still not sure how I should feel about it. What I would say is that I don't believe it is entirely gratuitous.

AUDITION is a good film and I would definitely recommend it, it is engrossing, stylish and subverts the viewer’s expectations. What I would be uncomfortable in saying is that I enjoyed it all. Nothing is more tempting than being told something may be too extreme for you to see, but if you do watch AUDITION be aware that you may very well end up seeing more than you wanted to.

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972) Movie Review

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972)

Review by Tom Parnell

Maybe it’s an indictment of the desensitizing of modern audiences, but I find that most films which were banned or heavily censored decades ago would probably attract no more than a PG-13 rating today. LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is not one of these films.

Made in 1972, it was part of the BBFC's infamous Video Nasties list. It wasn't until 2002 that this film was officially allowed to be released in the UK, and then it wasn’t until 2008 that a fully uncut version was passed by the BBFC. The film is still banned in multiple countries around the world.

If LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT had been about killer monsters or aliens I don’t think it would have had half the problems passing the censors, or half the impact on the viewer. However, the horror which director Wes Craven creates here is one that is so despairingly human that it becomes difficult to watch and for once I can understand why the BBFC might have wanted to protect certain people from seeing it.

The film tells the story of an ‘as American as apple pie’ family who live out in the sticks, and begins with their celebration of daughter Mari’s sweet seventeen. Much to the concern of her protective parents, Mari is heading out to the big city to watch a rock band with her rebellious friend Phyllis. What’s going to happen to them?

Meanwhile nearby, escaped criminals Krug Stillo and Weasel Podowski are holed up with equally disturbing partner Sadie and Krug’s junkie son Junior.

On their way to the concert our young protagonists meet Junior in a shop and are lured back to the gang’s hideout on the premise of buying some drugs. So begins a horrific ordeal, both psychological and physical, which sees the girls kidnapped and driven out into the countryside, where their torment continues.

LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT was horror big-hitter Wes Craven’s directorial debut, and even though it is of the same genre it is far from the cartoonish violence of A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET or SCREAM. The film is also arguably more intelligent than Craven’s later work, as the viewer is faced with a series of escalating nightmarish scenarios and we get a real feeling of the girls’ powerlessness in the hands of their captors.

Craven also successfully uses Junior as a vehicle for a more human, nearly sympathetic witness to the girls’ torment, building a bridge between the viewer of the film and the character and pointing out the impotence of both in their ability to change the course of events.

This is not the ludicrous and tasteless realms of more recent ‘torture porn’ horror trend, as seen in films like SAW or HOSTEL. LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT’s last act causes the viewer to turn from revulsion at the acts of the psychotic criminals to practically cheering on Mari’s middle class parents as they perpetrate similar horrors, which leaves you on very thin moral ice and is a powerful statement about the fragility of society.

LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT is a difficult film to watch, but it is also an intelligent, thought-provoking film, which makes it a rare gem in the horror genre.

SUSPIRIA (1977) Movie Review

SUSPIRIA (1977)

Review by Tom Parnell

What exactly do witches do?

If you think about it nobody has ever really explained this. From a very young age we are told there are witches, they have little pointy hats and broomsticks, throw frogs into cauldrons and cackle a lot. But nobody ever explains why they do all this. What is their goal?

Dario Argento’s cult classic SUSPIRIA poses this question in a sort of Grimm fairytale for adults (if the brothers Grimm were sponsored by an artificial blood production company). Whether the film actually answers it is another matter.

The movie begins with all-American stranger-in-a-strange-land Suzy Bannion (played by Jessica Harper) arriving in an unnamed European country where she has enrolled in a prestigious ballet school. What’s going to happen to her?

We are less than five minutes in before the tension begins to build, driven in no small part by the EXORCIST-style theme performed by the aptly named Goblin. Although Argento goes to great lengths to build suspense throughout SUSPIRIA, we are left in no doubt as to the nature of what lurks in the shadows, as the phrase “Witch” is repeatedly whispered whenever the music grows to a climax. At points this can get somewhat irritating, as there are several moments when the characters are listening for specific creepy noises around them and it becomes hard to distinguish sound effects from the relentless repeating soundtrack.

From the start the film’s set design and cinematography are stunning. Every building and room is bigger than life and decorated in a spectrum of coloors with wallpapers that appear to have been designed by an excitable descendent of William Morris. Argento continually finds unusual and exciting angles from which to frame shots, from distant headlights through a pitch-black woodland to the unusual spectacle of pouring a glass of wine practically straight down the viewer’s throat.

Where this film falls down is in the plotline and dialogue. Suzy wonders around the mysterious dance academy doe-eyed and mouth agape, while the requisite number of friends and acquaintances are knocked off in a variety of gore-soaked ways. Then suddenly and inexplicably she starts talking about witches (I can only suspect that she somehow caught a snippet of the soundtrack) and the next thing you know she’s off consulting a ‘witch expert’ who happily knows an awful lot of plot exposition.

I read afterwards that Argento had initially planned to populate the dance academy with 12-year-olds, but the studio wouldn’t let him so he kept the dialogue in protest. This would explain a lot, but if it is the case it seems a shame that he ultimately punishes the viewer for this censorship.

In all SUSPIRIA is a stylish and well-paced horror, with some truly grizzly set pieces. But if you’re wondering what motivates a witch I still can’t tell whether it’s murder or whether they’ve just got to dance!

Tom Parnell is a writer and former journalist who is eagerly awaiting the DVD release of Toy Story 3.

DEAD SNOW (2009) Movie Review

DEAD SNOW (2009)

Review by Tom Parnell

When it comes to monsters, Nazi zombies may not be a new idea, but they are up near the top of the horror food chain, along with ghost ninja pirates. It would be far too easy for a lazy director to rely on this epitome of horror squared to carry the whole film, while simply ignoring the basics of character development, or even just decent dialogue.

DEAD SNOW however, with its snappy script, great direction and post ironic nods to its predecessors, happily avoids falling into this trap. This is a highly enjoyable movie which can have you laughing and wincing in the same moment, without relying on one gimmick to keep the audience enthralled.

Norwegian director and co-writer Tommy Wirkola’s only previous feature film, KILL BULJO, is a bizarre Scandinavian parody of Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL, with murdered reindeer, racist police officers and a pastiche of the famous DELIVERANCE ‘squeal like a pig’ scene. Although it may not seem like the most natural step to go from there to a full-blown zombie horror, much of the humour is carried through into DEAD SNOW and you get the feeling that, like a smirking version of Tarantino, Wirkola is a man who likes his movies.

DEAD SNOW has many of the classic cabin horror elements; a group of youngsters heading out for a ski holiday and staying in a remote shack, something evil lurking in the woods and a mysterious stranger with a tale of horror. What it doesn’t do is treat these as anything more than the clichés we all know they are.

For one of the first times since SCREAM the main characters actually exist in a universe where horror films are available; they know the rules (there is an excellent scene involving what to do if you’re bitten by a zombie) and they aren’t about to go quietly into the night. There are plenty of laughs and nods to films such as EVIL DEAD, but I still felt myself genuinely caring about some of the characters and willing them to survive.

Wirkola does a great job of creating tension when it’s needed and going for full-on blood-spattered snow when the time comes. You may have been wondering why the fact that the walking dead are Nazis makes any difference, but the addition of SS uniforms does add a genuine extra element of sinisterism to the zombie hoard and the high quality of the zombie make-up perfectly complements this.

In all, DEAD SNOW is funny, exciting, beautifully visual and genuinely terrifying in parts and with a the tagline “Ein, Zwei, Die” who could resist?

SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN (1970) Movie Review

Scream and Scream Again (1970)

Review by Tom Parnell

A quick glance at the cast list of SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN should be enough to excite any horror fan.

Featuring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Vincent Price this 1970 film could easily have come from the Hammer stable if it wasn’t for the utterly bizarre, convoluted and ultimately confusing plot which encompasses vampire superhumans, oppressive Eastern European regimes and vats of acid.

Adapted from a Peter Saxon novel by Christopher Wicking (who years later co-wrote the David Bowie flop/cult classic ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS) SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN is a film that constantly keeps you guessing and generally proves your predictions wrong.

As the opening credits roll we are treated to a serene scene of a jogger crossing a green somewhere in suburban England. The dramatic title freeze frames the action for a moment accompanied by an upbeat David Whitaker jazz number. So far, not so sinister. What’s going to happen to him?

Not vampires, not violent dictators or rubber-masked monsters, but a sudden heart attack does for our jogger and suddenly we cut to him tucked up safe in hospital. Or is he? A nurse arrives and wordlessly attaches one of those weird suction pipes which drain your saliva to our jogger’s mouth. When she leaves he takes stock of himself. One arm. Two arms. No legs! Let the screaming begin.

Now from here most watchers would expect the rest of the film to focus on the jogger’s ongoing torment and potential escape attempts, but actually the film’s focus shifts entirely to an unnamed Eastern European country ruled by some sort of Gestapo-like organization headed by Peter Cushing. This is where things begin to get confusing.

I would like to say that I could give the plot away at this point, but having watched this film twice in quick succession I still can’t claim to fully understand it. One of the tricks which this film constantly manages to pull is, just as you start to get the hang of what’s going on and who everybody is, it suddenly changes location and story thread.

Apparently Vincent Price repeatedly said in interviews that he didn’t understand the script at all and he had no idea what he was talking about in his final, supposedly explanatory, monologue. I’m with him.

If you sit back and let the various convoluted plot points wash over you however, you are left with a highly enjoyable, stylish and sometimes genuinely innovative film. Disappointingly Peter Cushing never appears with the other two main stars, but we do get to see Peter Sallis (Clegg from LAST OF THE SUMMER WINE) meeting an unfortunate end (and not in a bathtub rolling out of control down a hill).

Bizarrely the best bit of the film has none of the top-billed stars in it, as the British police chase a (literally) blood-thirsty murderer around Betchworth Quarry and to a very surprising end.

SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN may not have gone down in history as a classic, but for its uniqueness and elaborate plot alone it is worth a watch for any horror fan.

Tom Parnell is a writer and former journalist who spends too much time sitting around at home watching Doctor Who DVDs.