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In the last few years films from Far East Asian countries, especially Japan and Korea, have set the standards for horror movies – a fact substantiated by the number of American remakes they inspire. A Tale of Two Sisters, which can essentially be clubbed as psychological horror, is decidedly a part of that trend. Directed by Kim Jee-Woon, one of the most exciting Korean filmmakers of today, and inspired by an ancient folklore, the movie is not so much about supernatural elements as it is about exploration such themes as familial dysfunction, memory, loss and mental disintegration. The most noteworthy aspect about the movie is that the eerie and spooky moments it comprises of have been very well complemented by its melancholic tone and lush visuals. The plot begins with two closely-knit sisters arriving at an isolated house, located at the middle of nowhere, to stay with their father and step-mother. Not only would be criminal of me to reveal any more of the plot, it would also be exceedingly difficult for me to do so given its byzantine nature. The third act might seem too mind-bending for some and the climax especially cryptic and ambiguous – but in my opinion they added to the very essence of the film as this was anyway never planned to be an open-and-shut kind of work. The acting in this haunting mood-piece is also really good and engaging.
Director: Kim Jee-Woon
Genre: Horror/Psychological Horror/Family Drama
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea
George Romero is considered the father of zombie flicks courtesy his iconic debut film Night of the Living Dead in particular and his “Living Dead” series in general. But, as happens in such case, the other works of such filmmakers tend to get lost – case in point, his pseudo-vampire film Martin. The shoddy look of this ultra-low-budget film and its moments of grisly violence might be off-putting to some, more so given its subject matter; but one shouldn’t be misled as this remains an interesting, intriguing and intelligent reworking of the vampire sub-genre. It’s protagonist is a shy and quiet young guy – the eponymous Martin. However, contrary to his demeanour, and as pointed out in the chilling opening sequence, he has a bizarre fetish for blood, maybe even necrophilia. Consequently one would imagine he’s a vampire. However, unlike those belonging to that mythical clan, he doesn’t satisfy any of the criteria that have come to define vampires, viz. being afraid of the cross, avoiding sunlight, possessing super-human strength, etc. That said, his uncle, in whose house (located in a dilapidated small town) he takes lodging, refuses to believe in Martin’s logic that there’s no such thing as “magic”, and this ultimately leads to a shocking finale. The movie is completely bereft of any stylization or artificially infused thrill-quotient; its matter of fact tone, leisurely pace and seedy picturisation are hence responsible for its nightmarish and haunting qualities.
Director: George A. Romero
Genre: Horror/Drama/Psychological Drama
Language: English
Country: US
Let the Right One In wasn’t just one of the best movies of the last decade, it would also rank among the finest horror/vampire films ever made. Fortunately, despite the kind of dismay and anger that was generated when it was learnt that it was soon to be remade (as usual) in the US, for once cinephiles weren’t disappointed by the American version… on the contrary, most, including me, would even agree that, remake or not, Let Me In is a damn good film. Set during an especially harsh winter in a small town in New Mexico, during the Ronald Reagan-era US, this immensely moody film, like its predecessor, is about the unlikely friendship that develops between a frail and lonely 12-year old boy who’s severely bullied at school, and a mysterious, fragile girl (apparently of the same age) who’s moved in next door with an older man. However, as those who haven’t watched the Swedish original would soon come to know, she is a blood-sucking and ageless vampire who can take to the streets only at night-time. The superbly paced film boasts of incredible performances by the two young actors. And, the brilliant cinematography, along with the bass-heavy score, managed to create an amazing atmosphere that is at once oppressive, bleak and melancholic. It lacks the subtlety, ambiguity and poeticism of the original; this one is perhaps the more brutal, chilling and decidedly less revisionist of the two.
Director: Matt Reeves
Genre: Horror/Psychological Drama
Language: English
Country: US
For horror and B-film aficionados, A Nightmare on Elm Street remains a cultural cornerstone, and ranks as an influential and much-imitated film of this genre alongside the likes of Evil Dead and Night of the Living Dead. Fred Krueger, who remains a classic film monster, was first introduced in this low-budget film. The teenagers residing in a small American town seems to be having violent nightmares, and before long they seem to be put to bizarre deaths while they are asleep. Nancy, who too is having those nightmares, finds out that the mystery behind these seemingly inexplicable occurrences lies in an event involving, among others, her mother, that took place years back. Thus, what ensures is a game of cat and mouse between the young girl and the grotesque and disfigured man stalking her in her dreams. The film is not very scary per se, but Wes Craven, who gained both fame and notoriety for directing this cult film, infused enough ingenuity and intelligence in the plot as well as his storytelling to keep the viewers both interested and second-guessing as to what will happen next. It also brought considerable fame to Heather Langenkamp who played the spunky young girl who took on Freddy in her nightmares. Interestingly Johnny Depp made his acting debut in this movie.
Director: Wes Craven
Genre: Horror/B-Film/Teen Movie
Language: English
Country: US
Sam Raimi’s iconic Evil Dead 2 is quite the opposite of his equally iconic debut film The Evil Dead. Though touted as a horror film, it is difficult to be fully considered as one by lovers of this genre as it borders more on the parody front, and has equal doses of over-the-top gore and black humour, unlike the earlier film that was far more genuinely spooky. This cartoonish quasi-sequel saw the return of Ash to the haunted cabin by the woods with his girlfriend. But soon enough she turns into a dancing headless corpse, while he has to fend a new fiend in the form of his hand which gets a mind of its own upon being bitten by her decapitated head. Meanwhile the daughter of the archeologist, who had discovered the “book of the dead” and whose recorded chants had set the evil spirits free, arrives, and must now stop the ghouls once and for all along with the chain-saw wielding Ash, i.e. when Ash isn’t possessed himself. Diabolically funny, unapologetically over-the-top (though with the gore-quotient exponentially clamped down vis-à-vis the first part), and relentlessly fast-paced, this zany roller-coaster of a ride has continued to hold a cult status among B-film aficionados. And the comic talent of Bruce Campbell is on unbridled and uninhibited display here.
Director: Sam Raimi
Genre: Horror/Comedy/Zombie Film/B-Film
Language: English
Country: US
Though I’m not particularly fond of zombie flicks and gore fests, one can’t help but give The Evil Dead its due. One of those rare B-films that even mainstream audiences have watched, the infamous Sam Raimi debut feature remains a cult classic like few others and a landmark film of the 80’s. It begins with a low tracking shot that instantly sets the tone for the movie in terms of spatial disorientation and paranoia. And soon enough we are apprised of its plot that have become a cliché in American horror films – a group of young friends making a stopover at a cabin in the woods that can’t be anything but haunted by ghouls and evil spirits. The film and its sequel turned Bruce Campbell, in the iconic role of Ash, into a legend among B-film enthusiasts. However, what the film lacks in depth or weight, it more than makes up for that with its frenetic pacing, moments of genuine suspense and nightmarish atmosphere. And given its low-budget, the film is a testimony as to optimizing one’s resources through creativity. And as for preserving the spirit of its notorious genre goes, the film abounds in classic bad acting, cheesy plot developments and gleefully outlandish display of blood, gore and other not-so-precious bodily fluids. Yet, despite its schlocky and disreputable splatter film sensibilities, there’s no doubting the fact that Raimi must have had one hell of a fun time in conjuring this “Ultimate Experience in Grueling Terror”.
Director: Sam Raimi
Genre: Horror/Zombie Film/B-Film
Language: English
Country: US
We see a human for the first time nearly 20 minutes into the movie, and hear human voice another 5 minutes later; further, the last 25-odd minutes are again devoid of any dialogues – now that’s the kind of audacity few filmmakers apart from Stanley Kubrick could have displayed. A visual feast like few others, and comprising of some of the most groundbreaking, if understated, special effects for its times, the pristine white, claustrophobic and disorienting interiors of the spaceship must have been the inspiration behind Ridley Scott’s Alien a decade later. Yet, all its technical brilliance apart, the movie is ultimately an intellectually challenging, visceral, ominous, unsettling and poetic meditation on the very framework used to create the film – technology, culminating in a climax that is as mind-bending as it is surreal. By brilliantly juxtaposing the eerie silence of outer space with beautiful Classical-based soundtrack, the movie has at its core a mysterious black monolithic slab with the ability to emit powerful radiations and supposedly placed by an intelligent life form, that propels and becomes a contemporary to man’s evolution from a primeval ape to ones capable of advanced space exploration. Ironically, the film caused “cultural shock” and “social disorientation” when released at the height of the space-race between the US and the erstwhile USSR, the very thing that the scientists try to protect civilians from in the film.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Genre: Sci-Fi/Horror/Fantasy/Avante-Garde
Language: English
Country: US
Though Alien 3 starts off from where Aliens ended, it is quite obvious right from the first frame that David Fincher, who helmed this film – his feature film debut, wanted to take the project in a different direction altogether, instead of blindly imitating the previous two films of the franchise or trying to feed on their successes. That certainly rubbed a lot of fans in the wrong places, and understandably so, because the Fincher version is dark, depressing and moody, and thus turned out to be a revisionist Alien film, if I’m allowed to say so. Set in a dank, dreary and dingy all-male prison in a god-forsaken planet where Ellen Ripley has crash landed, and filled with convicts with violent pasts who have now taken to religion, the film opted for a gloomy tone instead of visceral thrills. And in a bizarre sense of irony, the vicious alien here is a four-legged canine creature. In a plot twist, Ripley has ended up having alien blood in her body, thus making her impervious to the lethal hunter – that, and her wits (because there aren’t any weapons in the prison) are what she uses to get even with her new-formed kin. The movie is slow, nihilistic and emotionally cold, and could have done with a tighter plot; nonetheless, it also forms an impressive indication of things to come from the talented former music video director.
Director: David Fincher
Genre: Science-Fiction/Thriller/Action/Horror/Prison Thriller/Creature Film
Language: English
Country: US
With Alien, the then largely unknown Ridley Scott took the slasher genre of science-fiction horror to the level of high art and mainstream acceptance, as it went on to become a groundbreaking genre classic with philosophical overtones, spawning numerous imitators but few equals. Aboard Nostromo, a humongous spaceship, the motley crew stumbles upon a near-indestructible and vicious alien life form at a distant planet – a creature that has acid for blood and feeds on humans with chilling efficiency. Set mostly inside the pristine white spaceship, paranoia and terror is created as much by the serpentine saliva-dripping alien, as by the claustrophobic, byzantine interiors, pacing that is at odds with genre norms, visceral thrills, relentlessly bleak cinematography and long moments of screeching silence; the film’s tagline, “In space, no one can hear you scream”, perfectly encapsulated its dark and sombre tone. The movie catapulted Sigourney Weaver, in the iconic role of the beautiful yet tough Ellen Ripley – a role she would reprise three more times, and which also formed the archetype for Linda Hamilton in the Terminator series, to superstardom. And the horrific and suggestive scene where the baby alien violently bursts out of John Hurt’s chest is part of cinematic folklore alongside the likes of the shower scene in Psycho.
Director: Ridley Scott
Genre: Science-Fiction/Horror/Creature Film
Language: English
Country: US
Spider, unlike his earlier films, might not be bordering on the bizarre or grotesque, but it is in line with Canadian horror maestro David Cronenberg’s latent obsession with delving into the darkest of corners of the human mind. Adapted by Patrick McGrath from his own novel, Spider is a chilling and compelling account of a boy-man with a severely damaged mind, forever haunted by the dark memories of a horrible deed from his past. Released after spending twenty years in a mental asylum and allowed to take residence in a halfway house, Spider, as he roams the bleak and dreary landscapes of London, initially appears to be a man who has changed for the better, despite his many idiosyncrasies. However, we are gradually apprised of the fact that his mental decay has crossed the point of no return, and as he gets more and more enmeshed into the grimy details of his life in a dysfunctional blue-collar family, his fragile mind gets ever more close to getting irreparably and violently shattered. Ralph Fiennes has turned in a devastating, brooding, disquieting and ultimately triumphant performance as the quietly paranoid and forever muttering Spider, living an existence that is so isolated and volatile that most viewers might find the movie a difficult watch. The immaculately paced and nightmarish film also boasts of superb performances by the luscious Miranda Richardson as three distinctly different characters and Gabriel Byrne as Spider’s brutish father.
Director: David Cronenberg
Genre: Drama/Psychological Drama/Psychological Horror
Language: English
Country: UK/Canada
Trouble Every Day, directed by the darling of arthouse circles, Claire Denis, left me largely untroubled despite its overtly provocative content. A pervert might find the movie something of a sinful delight, while a puritan would term it disgusting and tasteless; my views about this French film are rather ambiguous – visually beautiful on one hand, yet frustratingly indecipherable on the other. Set in Paris, we are introduced to a lanky, mysterious guy, on honeymoon with his beautiful, vulnerable wife. However their seemingly romantic trysts mask a dark secret – the kind which involves a lot of blood and a trail of dead bodies. This stylized and forbidden tale of cannibalism (yes, you read that right) has, even if one finds it difficult to believe, a certain sensuality and poeticism about it that would appeal to the senses despite the graphic content, thanks to Denis’ sense of aesthetics and her experimental, meditative take on the age-old tale of vampires. However, the disjointed script, the strange flashbacks which are plain irritating, and some average performances in front of the camera make this movie appear more of a deliberate snub to the conservatives than an attempt to deconstruct the zombie genre, though the truth might very well be the other way round.
Director: Claire Denis
Genre: Horror/Vampire Movie/Experimental
Language: French
Country: France
