Monday, September 24, 2012

Frightfest 2012 Day 3: 25.8.2012

Eurocrime! directed by Mile Malloy is an interesting documentary exposition of the crime movies that provided a violent follow-up to the Spaghetti Western genre in Italy. With a number of interviews from the leading actors such as Franca Nero and Henry Silva with extracts from many of the films and intelligent use of posters, this was a fascinating slice of relatively unknown film history. Annoyingly put together at times, this did not detract from the light shed on the processes used which were much different from those used elsewhere. Kill Zombie directed by Martin Smits and Erwin van den Eshof was a delight. Four friends and a female cop emerge from the police station to discover the city has been ravaged by a zombie outbreak caused by a Russian space station crashing into the top of atall building where one of the works. Receiving a cry for help from the sexy secretary he was expecting to bed, they set off the rescue her, their journey across the city being fill with fights with the undead. Reaching the building they climb up to rescue the girl to find she had called everyone she knew and is now rewarding the first to reach her as only she knows how. Further mayhem follows with the female cop forming an attachment for the now disillusioned friend. Great fun, well done. Paura directed by the Manetti Brothers is a 3D shocker. A garage mechanic overheards a very wealthy customer telling the garage owner that he will be away for the weekend so he decides to break in with his mates to have a party there. They do and make merry with the place while waiting for the evening but... the house owner's car breaks down and he returns! The three hide and one discovers a naked girl chained up in the cellar while doing so but gets away with one of his friends but they decide they must go back for the other one. Eventually, the elderly owner kills two of them while the third releases the girl but is himself captured. She then kills her captor and finally her would be rescuer before running off naked down the road as the friends of the dead men arrive to party. Gory and reasonably done. Another Manetti brothers film followed, The Arrival of Wang. A girl interpreting Chinese films is hired for a one day assignment and is taken blindfolded to a hidden location where she starts to interpret the interrogation of Mr Wang though she cannot see him. She finds the methods used objectionable and refuses to continue without seeing Mr Wang who turns out to be an alien who eventually manipulates her into setting him free for her to discover that she has unwittingly aided the invasion of earth. Quite jolly in a weird sort of way. The final film we saw was also Italian, Tulpa directd by Federico Zampaglione. A driven female professional relaxes at Club Tulpa where the philosophy of freedom through promiscuity is practised. Those with whom she couples start getting murdered and, fearful that she would jeopardise her day job, she tries to find the killer herself. The film suffered from what was either inane dubbing or a poor script which tickled the audience's fancy; this spoilt an interesting film with an unexpected but credible denouement. I would like to see this undubbed.

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