This series has the unsettling strangeness of The Wicker Man (1973), the cold intellect and social awareness of George Orwell's 1984 and the campyness of early Bond movies. It feels like something Rod Serling could have written at his peak, but tempered with typical British dry humour. Despite the clear influence from The Twilight Zone, it ends up feeling unique. So many shows carries a clear inspiration from, or pays direct homage to The Prisoner. It's one of those shows that stays relevant decades after it's first run, thanks to it's solid storytelling, deep philosophical underpinnings and atmosphere.
Reviews
4 Reviews
The River
(2012)
It is over when you see the car
7 May 2020
Most reviews of this show is from around 2012, and people compare it to Lost. I must say, after watching the complete first (and only season) that it's a fitting comparison, but also for all the wrong reasons. It pops up on multiple "underrated horror show" lists, so I figured I should review it (trying to keep it spoiler free).
The beginning is rather rushed, but sets an interesting tone and introduce a promising consept. After a while the characters develops. This is also when it starts getting interesting.
Then the story falls flat on it's face, with a twist that completely ruins it for me. The eerie and claustrophobic atmosphere dissapear. The "found footage" angle is stretched too far (using "found footage" that has only a vague connection to the TV-show theeme). One might argue that the show even switches genre, sacrifising the exploration and superatural for something completely different. Uptil that point it's a flawed, but promising show. I recommend it for the solid middle episodes, and some might even like the direction it takes. But personally I can't say that I'm dissapointed that it ended when it did.
Army of Darkness
(1992)
"Hail to the king baby!!!!"
22 February 2008
Many people have tried to make crazy horror-comedies, and many has failed. But those who have succeeded, has really made a tasty goulash of horror and humor. Two other good examples I can think of is Peter Jackson's cult movie "Braindead" and the modern British cult-classic "Shaun of the Dead." But still, my favorite remains "The Evil Dead trilogy", and especially "The Army Of Darkness."
The movies takes place shortly after the second movie ends. It opens with a small flashback to the moments when Ash has been forced to cut off his possessed hand, and replacing it with a chainsaw. He then escapes through a time vortex he summoned with the aid of the Necronomicon (the book of the dead) which all the movies plots are based upon. The book, covered in human skin, and written in human blood contains a direct gateway two the underworld and in the wrong hands it may provoke the end of the world. In the first movies Ash has his hands full trying to fight off his friends which all are turned in to horrible demons. In the third movie Ash find that in the past people are living in constant fear of the living dead who roams the land. It's time to fight back. Good ting he brought his chainsaw and boom-stick (a twin-barrel shotgun which can fire a surprisingly high numbers of shots in a row.)
This is the final movie in the "Evil Dead" trilogy," and the movies goofiness and crazy-humor is accelerating from the original and comes to it's climax the third movie. The Army of Darkness is like the first two "Evil Dead movies" hovering gracefully in the strange spot between a "low budget horror turkey" and a well directed epic tale of bravery and bone-chilling terror. It's a movie poorly made in many ways. The "sceleton army" looks like a bunch of those plastic skeletons your biology teacher used to drag out from a closet, and the voice overs is sometimes done with a goofy German accent. There's one thing that saves Army of Darkness from being ridiculous, and that is that it's fully aware of it's own flaws. Sam Raimi is by my opinion a genius, and manage to turn the sometimes terrible special effects into a vital part of the movies humor. It's not a bad, it's just not taking itself very seriously! This movie is far from a "low budget turkey." It's got a great plot, a great cast (wonderfull overacting by Bruce Campbell) and it got some really god laughs.
It exist two versions of this movie. The original theater version and the directors-cut. The main difference is the endings. One containing the well known catchphrase "Hail to the king, baby!" and a sort-of happy ending to the trilogy. The other version a much darker anticlimax which leaves everything in a worse condition than when the trilogy started. I recommend seeing both :)
The movies takes place shortly after the second movie ends. It opens with a small flashback to the moments when Ash has been forced to cut off his possessed hand, and replacing it with a chainsaw. He then escapes through a time vortex he summoned with the aid of the Necronomicon (the book of the dead) which all the movies plots are based upon. The book, covered in human skin, and written in human blood contains a direct gateway two the underworld and in the wrong hands it may provoke the end of the world. In the first movies Ash has his hands full trying to fight off his friends which all are turned in to horrible demons. In the third movie Ash find that in the past people are living in constant fear of the living dead who roams the land. It's time to fight back. Good ting he brought his chainsaw and boom-stick (a twin-barrel shotgun which can fire a surprisingly high numbers of shots in a row.)
This is the final movie in the "Evil Dead" trilogy," and the movies goofiness and crazy-humor is accelerating from the original and comes to it's climax the third movie. The Army of Darkness is like the first two "Evil Dead movies" hovering gracefully in the strange spot between a "low budget horror turkey" and a well directed epic tale of bravery and bone-chilling terror. It's a movie poorly made in many ways. The "sceleton army" looks like a bunch of those plastic skeletons your biology teacher used to drag out from a closet, and the voice overs is sometimes done with a goofy German accent. There's one thing that saves Army of Darkness from being ridiculous, and that is that it's fully aware of it's own flaws. Sam Raimi is by my opinion a genius, and manage to turn the sometimes terrible special effects into a vital part of the movies humor. It's not a bad, it's just not taking itself very seriously! This movie is far from a "low budget turkey." It's got a great plot, a great cast (wonderfull overacting by Bruce Campbell) and it got some really god laughs.
It exist two versions of this movie. The original theater version and the directors-cut. The main difference is the endings. One containing the well known catchphrase "Hail to the king, baby!" and a sort-of happy ending to the trilogy. The other version a much darker anticlimax which leaves everything in a worse condition than when the trilogy started. I recommend seeing both :)
Svidd neger
(2003)
A dark crazy-comedy about the life at the Norwegian countryside.
21 February 2008
It's funny because it's true... or is it? I've grown up near the countryside of western Norway and know people here quite well. I've never been up north tho, but If the countryside in the northern part of Norway has any likeness to the places I have been this movie is not just fiction, It's partly documentary. This movie capture in a very absurd, original and hilarious way how weird a small community may become If it's left alone, hidden from the eyes of the world.
Even thou the movie has been blamed for racism because of the title there is really no racism in this movie other than between the different characters in the story. The title "Svidd Neger" (Englis: Burned Negro) is a mystery to me cause it's clearly narrowing down the movie's appeal. This is not a movie containing any racist propaganda, but rather parodying the narrow-minded expectation some people have of how a black man should be, and the impression many Norwegians have of the Sami-people. Remember, the cast and crew who made this film is multicultural themselves.
The story circles around tree main stories, which all are revealed to us piece by piece. The first character we really get to know is Ante, a young boy who struggle with his identity. He was raised to believe he's of the Norwegian native people (the Sami) thou, he can't overlook his dark skin and curly black hair. He lives with his adoptive mother and his older, and extremely sexually frustrated brother Peder. At the other side of a swampy hill lives the young woman Anna with her alcoholic father. Watching it all is Normann. A young man of a Sami-family who has decided to leave the traditional life of his people, and try to become as Norwegian as possible.
They all live their simple lives not knowing about the families living at the other side of the muddy hill. By a mere coincidence the two families get aware of each others existence, wish consequences get beyond everybody's imagination. And when the young Sami man Normann appears the things quickly gets out of control...
First off all. This movie is mad, stark raving mad. The movie is clearly inspired by a wave of Finnish movies from the 60'ies-70'ies which basically where dramas about small communities, wasted youth, drinking and murder. These were sent at prime-time Norwegian television, probably causing severe trauma at kids of that generation forcing them to make movies like this as a sort of therapy. And thank god for that! The movie also parodies the myths circulating in Norway about the people living far north in our country. Where the extreme stereotype is swearing, a heavy drinker and prefer resolve things with violence.
The movie also got a great soundtrack by the Norwegian band "Ulver" which underline the mood of the film, making it darker, funnier and even more psychedelic.
Showing such a totally indifference with such simple things as time, realism and common sense this is by my opinion one of the best dark comedies I've seen. Why? Because it manage to capture human nature, but at the same time removing all the basic rules of how a movie should be and all "unesseseary realism". Add a dose of violence, nudity, horror, and heavy drinking and you're getting close but not quite. I can guarantee that someone will with no doubt find this movie to be the worst, most pointless and disgusting movie they've seen. But at least it got a reaction beyond plane boredom. And one thing can I guarantee. Eighter you love it or you hate it. There is no in-between.
Even thou the movie has been blamed for racism because of the title there is really no racism in this movie other than between the different characters in the story. The title "Svidd Neger" (Englis: Burned Negro) is a mystery to me cause it's clearly narrowing down the movie's appeal. This is not a movie containing any racist propaganda, but rather parodying the narrow-minded expectation some people have of how a black man should be, and the impression many Norwegians have of the Sami-people. Remember, the cast and crew who made this film is multicultural themselves.
The story circles around tree main stories, which all are revealed to us piece by piece. The first character we really get to know is Ante, a young boy who struggle with his identity. He was raised to believe he's of the Norwegian native people (the Sami) thou, he can't overlook his dark skin and curly black hair. He lives with his adoptive mother and his older, and extremely sexually frustrated brother Peder. At the other side of a swampy hill lives the young woman Anna with her alcoholic father. Watching it all is Normann. A young man of a Sami-family who has decided to leave the traditional life of his people, and try to become as Norwegian as possible.
They all live their simple lives not knowing about the families living at the other side of the muddy hill. By a mere coincidence the two families get aware of each others existence, wish consequences get beyond everybody's imagination. And when the young Sami man Normann appears the things quickly gets out of control...
First off all. This movie is mad, stark raving mad. The movie is clearly inspired by a wave of Finnish movies from the 60'ies-70'ies which basically where dramas about small communities, wasted youth, drinking and murder. These were sent at prime-time Norwegian television, probably causing severe trauma at kids of that generation forcing them to make movies like this as a sort of therapy. And thank god for that! The movie also parodies the myths circulating in Norway about the people living far north in our country. Where the extreme stereotype is swearing, a heavy drinker and prefer resolve things with violence.
The movie also got a great soundtrack by the Norwegian band "Ulver" which underline the mood of the film, making it darker, funnier and even more psychedelic.
Showing such a totally indifference with such simple things as time, realism and common sense this is by my opinion one of the best dark comedies I've seen. Why? Because it manage to capture human nature, but at the same time removing all the basic rules of how a movie should be and all "unesseseary realism". Add a dose of violence, nudity, horror, and heavy drinking and you're getting close but not quite. I can guarantee that someone will with no doubt find this movie to be the worst, most pointless and disgusting movie they've seen. But at least it got a reaction beyond plane boredom. And one thing can I guarantee. Eighter you love it or you hate it. There is no in-between.
Tell Your Friends