johnrock Reviews

Mucha sangre (2002)

Has everything a good zombie flick needs

[9/10 · 19 February 2005]

This is a wonderful zombie flick that should appeal to everyone who likes zombie films with a dose of humor. Don't be bothered by the extremely poor rating. With films like these, a poor rating is actually a good rating because it means that mainstream viewers hate it. About the story: Two guys escape from prison. They hijack a hot chick and her car. Then they visit a friend, collect some guns, and go to a big gangster boss who owes them money. It turn out, however, that the gangster boss is very inhuman in the literal sense... Mucha Sange has been described as a "film that Tarantino would have made if he were Spanish and knew how to make a good zombie flick". It has everything you can ever wish for in a zombie movie: Cool characters, heavy metal music, fantastic settings, just the right dose of humor, crazy gunfights, an almost surreal chainsaw scene, a hot sex scene with a very hot chick, good actors, I could go on forever.

See this movie. You won't regret it. But don't see it with friends who are not into this kind of movies. It's clearly a zombie film made by fans for the fans.

Dagon (2001)

If you like Lovecraft and Spain you will love this film

[10/10 · 1 March 2004]

*spoilers*

The funny thing about Dagon is that it's actually not based on the story Dagon, which is very short and pretty lame, but on "The Shadow over Innsmouth", which is around 40 pages long and very exciting. I would strongly advise anybody to read "The Shadow over Innsmouth" before watching this film; you'll be able to appreciate it (the film)much more. The film takes up the essentials of the story and adds some other typical Lovecraft ingredients. It also moves the setting from the 1920s to modern day and from New England to Spain. Choosing the coast of Galicia is probably the coolest move the filmmakers made, because those little fishing villages can be creepy even in real life. The inhabitants of the village usually speak Galician, a language that most of the audience (and the main character) can't understand. Finally, the film adds some female characters (which happens rarely in Lovecraft stories). Every horror fan must love this film. It has everything a good horror film needs. A shock in the beginning (boat crash), an unsuspecting (but not silly) main character moving through a creepy environment, some absolutely disgusting monsters, a chase scene, a torture scene, and a surprising ending. Plus some "sex" scenes that are very Lovecraftesque... The special effects are a bit lame at times, but considering they were probably shot without a big budget, this can be forgiven. All in all one of the best horror movies I've ever seen. I give it 10 out of 10.

National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002)

I don't know why but I still liked it

[7/10 · 12 February 2004]

My girlfriend borrowed this one - I usually go for the action/horror/sci-fi stuff. So I prepared myself for one of those terribly boring college comedies with poorly developed characters, boring jokes, no story, and at least some pretty college kids. Which was exactly what I got. Still, for some reason I found this film rather entertaining. Maybe because of the message it delivers - gives you a good excuse to be more like Van Wilder and less like that guy from the DIK fraternity.

The Spanish Apartment (2002)

This is EXACTLY what an Erasmus semester is like!

[10/10 · 19 January 2004]

This film is about Xavier, an Erasmus exchange student from Paris who spends one year in Barcelona. During that time, under the influence of all the new impressions, he changes and grows. Upon return, he has a much clearer view on his life and finally takes it into his own hands.

This is one of the most moving films I've ever seen, and the reason is probably that I've been in a very similar situation. I'm from Germany, not from France, and for me it was Madrid, not Barcelona, but I can assure you that this film is a completely accurate depiction of what an Erasmus semester in Spain will do to you. From what I hear the story is autobiographic, and that's probably why it is so realistic.

Let me give some examples (mild SPOILER alert) - Xavier shares a flat with other students from Italy, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and England. The flat looks EXACTLY like all the Erasmus shared flats I've seen in Madrid. The main characters are nicely developed, and some funny scenes arise from the usual stereotypes. The Spanish landlord is also 100% accurate. - The story of Xavier and his girlfriend Martine, who remained in Paris, is also very typical. About 90% of all relationships break up during an Erasmus semester (or shortly thereafter). - There's a wonderful scene in which Xavier tries to convince Wendy, his flatmate from England who is kind of "uncool", to go out with all the others. He finally succeeds, and Wendy probably has the night of her life.

Another great thing in this film is that it's truly trilingual: The students in the flat speak Spanish or English, and Xavier speaks French with his mother and girlfriend. There are subtitles so that everyone can understand what's being said. I surely hope that this film never gets dubbed anywhere.

I can imagine that for non-Erasmus people this is simply an entertaining comedy, but for all my fellow Erasmus I can only say: This is YOUR film! If you haven't seen it, do so. But be prepared for some feelings of nostalgia...

10/10