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The Lords of Salem (2012)
Brilliant, retro, captures 40 years of avant garde horror
Anyone who doesn't get this films needs to bone up on director Ken Russell. Watch Altered States, watch Whore, watch The Devils.
Rosemary's baby also an obvious influence here.
I find House of 1000's Corpses to be a straightforward 80's slasher homage, with a comic influence.
Devil's Rejects recaptured grindhouse, kicking it up a few notches and combining it with anti-hero themes and the good old road movie.
This however, takes us back to the art horror stylings from the late 70's - early 80's... I get tastes of Jacob's Ladder surrealism and fugue states. Russells obvious religious and neon overtones, and his psychedelia and primal explorations. I even get a bit of the hags from macbeth.. beautiful.
You have 23, 32, 5-2 for some simple Robert Anton Wilson references.
An outstanding work. Most fans of recent commercial horror simply will not get this. I, however will be watching it again after rewatching all the films and directors I mention above and will surely watch it more than a few times after that.
Thale (2012)
very nice little sleeper
very nice little sleeper of a film. The actress who plays the title character is simply beautiful. It's a understated bit of cinema, with some very nice shots. Beautiful landscapes and nice camera work.
I have a big issue with people comparing this to Troll Hunter. I get that they're both from Norway and focus on Norwegian folklore. However, to say that Troll Hunter is great and this is not is like saying apples are great while pears are not. You simply cannot compare the two.
I believe that Thale had roughly one third of Troll Hunters budget, yet its very beautiful. Again, if you're looking for bombast, Troll Hunter has that... but this is a quite good film.
Hei tai yang 731 (1988)
not very effective
eh. people rate this as a very disturbing film. it's actually more humorous. the subject matter is disturbing, but the execution is so terrible it becomes a bit of a comedy. i don't want to go into spoilers, but the dubbing is bad and the performances are terrible. the special effects may have been effective when it was made, but look ridiculous now. the pressure chamber scene was the turning point for me - kinda comedic. from there on out it was just stupid. i would suggest a Serbian film, perhaps for those looking for something a bit artistic and almost disturbing. this is the Godzilla of perverse film. attack of the killer tomatoes is more disturbing. lol. still delving into perverse cinema, but this was a wrong turn into a blind alley.
Srpski film (2010)
Not as bad as its made out to be.
Having seen this film pop up on many lists of the most disturbing films of all time, I was a bit hesitant when I began watching it. I was quickly surprised by the intelligence and quality of the production on many levels. I made it through it without having the slightest urge to turn it off. Very stylish and even comedic in parts.
This movie disturbed me far less than "Requiem for a Dream"'s infamous scene, or "Hostel". Heck, the mass death at the end of "Titanic" horrified me far more.
I would compare this film to "A Clockwork Orange" (especially when you take into account the more desensitized nature of modern culture compared to when "Clockwork" was released) more than any of the torture porn horror flicks I've seen. It is a bit brutal for the easily disturbed, but the worst scenes are obviously faked anyway. The baby sequence brought to mind the infant on the ceiling scene in "Trainspotting". Obviously not real, still working slightly in a surreal way.
I admit, I'm not recommending this film to my teenagers, but I enjoyed it and would likely recommend it to friends with more advanced palates for experimental film and horror specifically.