Banned In The UK
Yesterday I sat down in bed and watched the latest two films to kick up a storm, concerning on screen violence, in the UK: Antichrist (2009) and Grotesque (2009). Both of these films kicked up a fuss due to graphic on screen violence, but they are extremely different films.
Grotesque (2009)
After a string of horrors movies, dubbed "torture porn", came out around 2005, such as Saw (2004) and Hostel (2005) (and a continuing slew of even lower budget sequels), became popular, smash-and-grab sub-Hollywood producers realised that fast turn over, super gory horror films could turn a huge profit, just as long as a few kinda baddies got tortured and every teen told their friends that they were pussies if they couldn't stomach it. Personally, I took some enjoyment out of Hostel, but felt Saw was just Se7en (1995) if imagine by 15 year old videogame addicts, but overall as a horror fan I looked forward to what could have been the opening of a door for lots of cool new gory horror films, not just stupid teen slashers. What subsequently ensued was not the replacement of the tiresome teen slasher but the mutation of it; into tiresome teen torture movies. YAWN.
Now, fast forward a few years and untalented film makers and producers have been trying to push each other to make gorier torture movies, which seem to have gotten less and less creative and innovative the more that these people try to be transgressive. Grotesque is the pinnacle of this idiocy.
When discovering that Grotesque had been banned by the BBFC, without a reason given, I figured I have to watch it (either that being telling of my masochistic tendencies or that I just seem to hear "that movie was fucked up and disgusting" as a challenge and not a warning). So I downloaded it, got the English fansubs and whacked it on. Here is the place I would usually try to pull out something insightful about the relevant film, but I cannot think of one saving grace for this film.
It is extremely gory, including large dashings of sexual violence and humiliation, however none of it was remotely creative, innovative or transgressive. The film holds no artistic merit. Due to a massive lack of character development, plot or even solid film making, it is extremely hard to empathise at all with anything that is happening on screen. It is true that some of the scenes did make me cringe, but that is cheap. Fear is not cheap, and fear (or for that matter any real emotional substance) is totally lacking from this film. It is also purely futile to attempt to make a film which will "top" the gore or nastiness of any previous film, because ultimately you will not be able to. Films like Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985) and Murder Set Pieces (2004) are more disgusting, while Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) and Man Bites Dog (1992) are more emotionally engaging and disturbing pieces of ART.
Now, I don't mean to sound as if I have any problems with extreme gore in films. I have seen some of the "nastiest" and "sickest" films ever made, some of which I have thoroughly enjoyed, but it is the ones that hold artistic merit and creativity which are worth watching, otherwise you may as well just be wanking over rape porn on the Internet, somewhere. Also, you shouldn't make films which make it look like men and women enjoy getting raped.
Antichrist (2009)
As mentioned earlier, I seem to have some odd attraction to films which have caused great outrage, shock or horror in audiences. In fact, I attribute this to my childhood, in which my Father represented "cool" and let me watch almost any movie I wanted and my Mother represented "stuffy" when it came to movies and music. So if my Mother told me not to watch something horrid, while my father said I should, I always went the way that would piss off my Mum. As is the way of so many of our traits as adults. Anyway, I digress; with the knowledge you now have of my movie picking criteria you can imagine how I reacted upon my Mother informing me that people had fainted during the screening of Antichrist at Canne and that I shouldn't see that "horrible" film. I watched it.
Antichrist is an artistic force which is both beautiful and terrifying to behold. Everything in this film is perfect. It is the best film of the year, and certainly in the running for greatest film of the decade.
Antichrist is the polar opposite of everything I hate about films like Grotesque. It is artistic, it is not pandering to commerce, it is superbly shot, edited, constructed, written and directed, it has incredible performances, it is emotionally satisfying and engrossing. And yes, it is violent, however it is not gratuitous or distasteful.
Antichrist has also been accused of being highly misogynistic, which can definitely be seen in the film, however I see the traits less as being representative of Women as a whole and more to do with the female characters slip into madness.
Antichrist IS art house Horror done to perfection.
If you are a fan of Horror, Cinema or just good films then please watch this movie, you will not be disappointed.
CGM
Oh, and by the by, Boiling Point has been completed. News to follow soon on release dates and screenings. Also, our first lot of stuff is up on JACK TV now, have a look at the Channel Jeff section to see our work.
Also, some perculiar young gentleman has gone off the rails HERE. It's good though.
Yesterday I sat down in bed and watched the latest two films to kick up a storm, concerning on screen violence, in the UK: Antichrist (2009) and Grotesque (2009). Both of these films kicked up a fuss due to graphic on screen violence, but they are extremely different films.
Grotesque (2009)
After a string of horrors movies, dubbed "torture porn", came out around 2005, such as Saw (2004) and Hostel (2005) (and a continuing slew of even lower budget sequels), became popular, smash-and-grab sub-Hollywood producers realised that fast turn over, super gory horror films could turn a huge profit, just as long as a few kinda baddies got tortured and every teen told their friends that they were pussies if they couldn't stomach it. Personally, I took some enjoyment out of Hostel, but felt Saw was just Se7en (1995) if imagine by 15 year old videogame addicts, but overall as a horror fan I looked forward to what could have been the opening of a door for lots of cool new gory horror films, not just stupid teen slashers. What subsequently ensued was not the replacement of the tiresome teen slasher but the mutation of it; into tiresome teen torture movies. YAWN.
Now, fast forward a few years and untalented film makers and producers have been trying to push each other to make gorier torture movies, which seem to have gotten less and less creative and innovative the more that these people try to be transgressive. Grotesque is the pinnacle of this idiocy.
When discovering that Grotesque had been banned by the BBFC, without a reason given, I figured I have to watch it (either that being telling of my masochistic tendencies or that I just seem to hear "that movie was fucked up and disgusting" as a challenge and not a warning). So I downloaded it, got the English fansubs and whacked it on. Here is the place I would usually try to pull out something insightful about the relevant film, but I cannot think of one saving grace for this film.
It is extremely gory, including large dashings of sexual violence and humiliation, however none of it was remotely creative, innovative or transgressive. The film holds no artistic merit. Due to a massive lack of character development, plot or even solid film making, it is extremely hard to empathise at all with anything that is happening on screen. It is true that some of the scenes did make me cringe, but that is cheap. Fear is not cheap, and fear (or for that matter any real emotional substance) is totally lacking from this film. It is also purely futile to attempt to make a film which will "top" the gore or nastiness of any previous film, because ultimately you will not be able to. Films like Flower of Flesh and Blood (1985) and Murder Set Pieces (2004) are more disgusting, while Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) and Man Bites Dog (1992) are more emotionally engaging and disturbing pieces of ART.
Now, I don't mean to sound as if I have any problems with extreme gore in films. I have seen some of the "nastiest" and "sickest" films ever made, some of which I have thoroughly enjoyed, but it is the ones that hold artistic merit and creativity which are worth watching, otherwise you may as well just be wanking over rape porn on the Internet, somewhere. Also, you shouldn't make films which make it look like men and women enjoy getting raped.
Antichrist (2009)
As mentioned earlier, I seem to have some odd attraction to films which have caused great outrage, shock or horror in audiences. In fact, I attribute this to my childhood, in which my Father represented "cool" and let me watch almost any movie I wanted and my Mother represented "stuffy" when it came to movies and music. So if my Mother told me not to watch something horrid, while my father said I should, I always went the way that would piss off my Mum. As is the way of so many of our traits as adults. Anyway, I digress; with the knowledge you now have of my movie picking criteria you can imagine how I reacted upon my Mother informing me that people had fainted during the screening of Antichrist at Canne and that I shouldn't see that "horrible" film. I watched it.
Antichrist is an artistic force which is both beautiful and terrifying to behold. Everything in this film is perfect. It is the best film of the year, and certainly in the running for greatest film of the decade.
Antichrist is the polar opposite of everything I hate about films like Grotesque. It is artistic, it is not pandering to commerce, it is superbly shot, edited, constructed, written and directed, it has incredible performances, it is emotionally satisfying and engrossing. And yes, it is violent, however it is not gratuitous or distasteful.
Antichrist has also been accused of being highly misogynistic, which can definitely be seen in the film, however I see the traits less as being representative of Women as a whole and more to do with the female characters slip into madness.
Antichrist IS art house Horror done to perfection.
If you are a fan of Horror, Cinema or just good films then please watch this movie, you will not be disappointed.
CGM
Oh, and by the by, Boiling Point has been completed. News to follow soon on release dates and screenings. Also, our first lot of stuff is up on JACK TV now, have a look at the Channel Jeff section to see our work.
Also, some perculiar young gentleman has gone off the rails HERE. It's good though.
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