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The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
The Night of the Hunter was a movie that kept me either on the edge of my seat or squeamish almost the whole time. Robert Mitchum brings a fantastic performance as the sly yet eccentric antagonist. Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, and the two children also do a great job. Sometimes the artistry or cinematography can distract from the story or the actors in a movie but it in the case of Night of the Hunter it balances all these well. I like movies that can hold me in suspense while also bringing up deeper questions. The theme of religion's role in American life and its potential to do great harm comes through without feeling preachy or going too far to make a point. It is also impressive that it remains scary 60 years later. I would recommend this to anyone who likes suspenseful movies and would put this on par with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.
Slacker (1990)
Unique Indie Movie about "Nothing"
Slacker defies categorization. IMDb lists it as Drama and Comedy because they have to put it in a genre. The camera follows one person or group until someone leaves the group thus giving the story the cue to focus on another character that enters the screen. You could say it's a movie about nothing, like how Seinfeld is a show about nothing. It's about normal life, with some of the moments having the potential to be dramatic. These moments are not shot in a dramatic way, however. If Linklater had chosen to do that there would be more emphasis given to one character over another, which the movie is intent on not doing, maintaining a steady pace of moving from one person and situation to another. There is no conflict to be resolved, another reason it makes it hard to consider it a drama. So the movie is more focused on style rather than story. Once you realize that this movie is unconventional you can enjoy it for what it is and what it won't be. As for the comedy aspect, there are moments that I laughed. I couldn't tell whether the moments were meant to be funny, though, which made them even more funny. So it was like my first watching of Napoleon Dynamite, moments I laughed but wasn't sure if they were meant to be funny because it was so weird and unlike anything else I had ever seen. I was impressed with how well they did and how much money they made with the little budget they had. They used hardly anyone with acting experience and yet they were believably real characters. If you like indie or unconventional movies, watch Slacker.
House of Wax (1953)
Good 50's Horror Movie
House of Wax is a 1953 horror movie directed by Andre De Toth and starring Vincent Price. The film's strength was in the story and the performance by Vincent Price (Professor Henry Jarrod). It is a unique and unsettling story about the owner of a wax museum that burns down and decides to commit murder as a way of rebuilding a new wax museum. Even though the movie debuted over half a century ago, there were some genuinely unnerving moments in the twisted nature of Vincent Price's character and the moments where fear of the unknown is employed.
House of Wax is a horror movie that came before the "slasher" films and does not rely of the shock of gore or violence but is more a psychological thriller. The moments where Henry is tracking down his victim definitely parallel Freddy with Nightmare on Elm Street, who also has a face scarred by burns. It was good, but not as good as other people within the same genre and decade (Hitchcock).