Wednesday, September 19, 2007
GENRE-XPLOSION: SWEDISH PORNO REVENGE!
Genre-xplosion is a short, spoiler free introduction to some of the strange and obscure movies and comics that I enjoy. Some of them are brilliant masterpieces... some of them aren't. All of them are entertaining.
THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE (1974)
Swedish Porno Revenge
Directed- Bo Arne Vibenius
Written- Bo Arne Vibenius
STYLE: ****
SUBSTANCE: ****
BLOOD/GORE: ****
NUDITY: ****
Scale built on quantity, not quality.
SET-UP:
As a young girl Frigga (Christina Lindberg) is molested in a park by an older man with a mouth full of chewing tobacco (I thought it was blood at first). This traumatizes her to such a degree that she stops speaking. 15 years later, she is kidnapped from her parent's farm, hooked on heroin and forced into a prostitution ring by a pimp named Tony (Heinz Hopf). Pushed to her limits, Frigga begins training herself in guns, karate and stunt car driving in preparation for the day she fights back.
SEX AND VIOLENCE:
This movie contains pornographic levels of sex. No orifice or member is left unfilmed and the heroine is constantly in a state of undress. There's also lot of slo-mo blood in this flick and if you are not a fan of eyeball trauma stay far, far away from this one.
THOUGHTS:
I usually don't like movies that feature rape as a major plot point. When it is treated with respect, it's too uncomfortable a subject for me to sit through and when it is used in B-movies, it is all too often used as an excuse for a violent sex scene or voyeurism. Sadly, this movie falls more into the latter category, but it rides a very fine line. The sex scenes in this movie are the most graphic scenes I have ever seen in a movie with an actual plot line. In fact, this movie might even be classified as a porn flick by some (it's definitely pornographic), the only difference is the scenes in Thriller were not shot in an overly sexualized way. The music is intense and offsetting, the camera shots are way too close and unflattering and Frigga does not fight back nor does she enjoy the act either, causing the viewer to sympathize and want the scene to end, much in the same way Frigga does. Whether or not this was the director's intention, these graphic scenes (which are rumored to have been added later to get the movie shown in U.S. porn theaters) really helped to bring home how terrible Frigga's circumstances were, which was difficult since she didn't speak.
Don't get me wrong though, this movie is still an exploitation flick, but it is filmed in such a minimalistic way that everything has a very stark realism to it. There was very little music and the whole movie has a very, very slow pace. Even the fight scenes and death scenes are slowed down to an almost intolerable rate, which I found very intriguing.
Thriller is a strange, stylistic movie that turned a lot of mainstream motion picture conventions on their ear. In fact, Frigga's eye-patch sporting character is rumored to be the inspiration for Elle Driver in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill movies. If this sounds like your type of movie, I suggest you check it out.
THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE (1974)
Swedish Porno Revenge
Directed- Bo Arne Vibenius
Written- Bo Arne Vibenius
STYLE: ****
SUBSTANCE: ****
BLOOD/GORE: ****
NUDITY: ****
Scale built on quantity, not quality.
SET-UP:
As a young girl Frigga (Christina Lindberg) is molested in a park by an older man with a mouth full of chewing tobacco (I thought it was blood at first). This traumatizes her to such a degree that she stops speaking. 15 years later, she is kidnapped from her parent's farm, hooked on heroin and forced into a prostitution ring by a pimp named Tony (Heinz Hopf). Pushed to her limits, Frigga begins training herself in guns, karate and stunt car driving in preparation for the day she fights back.
SEX AND VIOLENCE:
This movie contains pornographic levels of sex. No orifice or member is left unfilmed and the heroine is constantly in a state of undress. There's also lot of slo-mo blood in this flick and if you are not a fan of eyeball trauma stay far, far away from this one.
THOUGHTS:
I usually don't like movies that feature rape as a major plot point. When it is treated with respect, it's too uncomfortable a subject for me to sit through and when it is used in B-movies, it is all too often used as an excuse for a violent sex scene or voyeurism. Sadly, this movie falls more into the latter category, but it rides a very fine line. The sex scenes in this movie are the most graphic scenes I have ever seen in a movie with an actual plot line. In fact, this movie might even be classified as a porn flick by some (it's definitely pornographic), the only difference is the scenes in Thriller were not shot in an overly sexualized way. The music is intense and offsetting, the camera shots are way too close and unflattering and Frigga does not fight back nor does she enjoy the act either, causing the viewer to sympathize and want the scene to end, much in the same way Frigga does. Whether or not this was the director's intention, these graphic scenes (which are rumored to have been added later to get the movie shown in U.S. porn theaters) really helped to bring home how terrible Frigga's circumstances were, which was difficult since she didn't speak.
Don't get me wrong though, this movie is still an exploitation flick, but it is filmed in such a minimalistic way that everything has a very stark realism to it. There was very little music and the whole movie has a very, very slow pace. Even the fight scenes and death scenes are slowed down to an almost intolerable rate, which I found very intriguing.
Thriller is a strange, stylistic movie that turned a lot of mainstream motion picture conventions on their ear. In fact, Frigga's eye-patch sporting character is rumored to be the inspiration for Elle Driver in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill movies. If this sounds like your type of movie, I suggest you check it out.
Labels: genre-xplosion
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
WHO YOU GONNA CALL?
These are some pages I did when 88mph Studios was looking for someone to take over the Ghostbusters comic. Being my favorite movie EVER, I had to give it a shot.The look of Venkman was based on the previous artists cartoonier style and character designs.
I thought if I came closer to what they had already green-lit I would stand a better chance of being hired.
Alas, that did not happen.
The series came out a few years ago and was awesome... I would have still loved to have draw it though.
Friday, September 14, 2007
RENT-A-COMIC
I often daydream about different ways to get comics into more people's hands.
One of my ideas was to open a Blockbuster type of store that rented out graphic novels so that people wouldn't have to buy blindly and could experiment with unfamiliar or even less flashy titles.
Lo and behold someone is already doing it... on the web even.
Bookswim is a Netflix-style website that rents books through the mail instead of DVD's. It's pretty interesting and they even carry some graphic novels.
I'm curious how well it works.
One of my ideas was to open a Blockbuster type of store that rented out graphic novels so that people wouldn't have to buy blindly and could experiment with unfamiliar or even less flashy titles.
Lo and behold someone is already doing it... on the web even.
Bookswim is a Netflix-style website that rents books through the mail instead of DVD's. It's pretty interesting and they even carry some graphic novels.
I'm curious how well it works.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
GENRE-XPLOSION: CREEPY NUNS AND WATER DEMONS
Genre-xplosion is a short, spoiler free introduction to some of the strange and obscure movies and comics that I enjoy. Some of them are brilliant masterpieces... some of them aren't. All of them are entertaining.
DEAD WATERS (1994)
Creepy Nuns and Water Demons
Directed- Mariano Baino
Written- Mariano Baino, Andy Bark
STYLE: ****
SUBSTANCE: ****
BLOOD/GORE: ****
NUDITY: ****
Scale built on quantity, not quality.
SET-UP:
While on his deathbed, Elizabeth's (Louise Salter) father informs her that she was born in a convent on a small, secluded Ukrainian island that he's been making secret payments to for the last 20 years. He makes her promise never to visit the island and to keep the payments up after his death. She agrees, but somehow talks her friend Teresa (Anna Rose Phipps) into investigating the island for her instead. Frustrated with her lack of updates, Elizabeth decides to join Teresa on the island to finally figure out where she came from and why she can't remember the first seven years of her life.
SEX AND VIOLENCE:
There's a good amount of blood and guts here for fans of that and one short topless scene, but it is all story driven. This movie is about the heebie jeebies and not something you should watch drunk with your buddies. In fact make sure you are well rested when you pop this one in, because the constant rain, dreamy score and lack of dialogue will make you sleepy for sure.
THOUGHTS:
I watched this movie as a U.S. released DVD titled "Dead Waters" it has since been re-released in the States as "Dark Waters". I don't know how different these two DVD's are, but I just wanted everyone to know they are the same movie.... not to be confused with "Dark Water" starring Jennifer Connelly. That's something completely different.
Dead Waters is a very dark and creepy movie... this one is all about the atmosphere. Most of the flick either takes place on the rocky, barren beaches of the island which are strangely littered with dead fish or inside the candle-lit, musty catacombs of the old church. The whole thing has a dirty, grimy feel to it that will take you a long while to shake off. Upon a first viewing, you'd never know you were watching a movie made in the mid-nineties. It feels much more like a 70 style Italian horror flick, complete with overdubbed sound effects, neat lighting and a haunting organ score. That being said, Dark Waters is a hard movie to figure out. There's very little dialogue, (besides two voice overs and some grunts and groans, there is absolutely no talking in the first 18 minutes.) and much of the dialog that is present is garbled or has such an accent to it, it is hard to make out. Hopefully this is fixed in the Dark Water DVD as I had to watch Dead Water three times to figure out exactly what was going on. Thankfully, with every viewing, I grew to like the movie more and more. Dead Waters is filled to the brim with scary old ladies, creepy postmen/morticians, insane fisherman, old blind nuns that mutter to interpreters and horribly, horribly creepy dream sequences making this movie one to remember. If this sounds like your type of movie, I suggest you check it out.
DEAD WATERS (1994)
Creepy Nuns and Water Demons
Directed- Mariano Baino
Written- Mariano Baino, Andy Bark
STYLE: ****
SUBSTANCE: ****
BLOOD/GORE: ****
NUDITY: ****
Scale built on quantity, not quality.
SET-UP:
While on his deathbed, Elizabeth's (Louise Salter) father informs her that she was born in a convent on a small, secluded Ukrainian island that he's been making secret payments to for the last 20 years. He makes her promise never to visit the island and to keep the payments up after his death. She agrees, but somehow talks her friend Teresa (Anna Rose Phipps) into investigating the island for her instead. Frustrated with her lack of updates, Elizabeth decides to join Teresa on the island to finally figure out where she came from and why she can't remember the first seven years of her life.
SEX AND VIOLENCE:
There's a good amount of blood and guts here for fans of that and one short topless scene, but it is all story driven. This movie is about the heebie jeebies and not something you should watch drunk with your buddies. In fact make sure you are well rested when you pop this one in, because the constant rain, dreamy score and lack of dialogue will make you sleepy for sure.
THOUGHTS:
I watched this movie as a U.S. released DVD titled "Dead Waters" it has since been re-released in the States as "Dark Waters". I don't know how different these two DVD's are, but I just wanted everyone to know they are the same movie.... not to be confused with "Dark Water" starring Jennifer Connelly. That's something completely different.
Dead Waters is a very dark and creepy movie... this one is all about the atmosphere. Most of the flick either takes place on the rocky, barren beaches of the island which are strangely littered with dead fish or inside the candle-lit, musty catacombs of the old church. The whole thing has a dirty, grimy feel to it that will take you a long while to shake off. Upon a first viewing, you'd never know you were watching a movie made in the mid-nineties. It feels much more like a 70 style Italian horror flick, complete with overdubbed sound effects, neat lighting and a haunting organ score. That being said, Dark Waters is a hard movie to figure out. There's very little dialogue, (besides two voice overs and some grunts and groans, there is absolutely no talking in the first 18 minutes.) and much of the dialog that is present is garbled or has such an accent to it, it is hard to make out. Hopefully this is fixed in the Dark Water DVD as I had to watch Dead Water three times to figure out exactly what was going on. Thankfully, with every viewing, I grew to like the movie more and more. Dead Waters is filled to the brim with scary old ladies, creepy postmen/morticians, insane fisherman, old blind nuns that mutter to interpreters and horribly, horribly creepy dream sequences making this movie one to remember. If this sounds like your type of movie, I suggest you check it out.
Labels: genre-xplosion
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
NAKED DEMON LADY
Been real busy wrapping up my Knucklejelly proposal so I'm posting an older drawing of a demon lady. I drew this in 2004 while watching John Carpenter's "Prince of Darkness"
Good times.
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