fulciobeans Reviews

King Knight (2021)

Charming and wholesome

[15 July 2022]

King Knight is a film that might have a very niche audience. Being (falsely) marketed as a horror film it is perhaps better described as a surreal & quirky indie flick - somewhere between rom-com, mumblecore and horror-comedy, while being neither of those things.

But there is no need to classify this into any genre, but those expecting this to be a horror film will be disappointed. It's more fantastical than anything, telling a coming of age story for adult wizards and witches.

A very low budget film that compensates it's shortcomings with a lot of heart and fun characters.

Dashcam (I) (2021)

Who is this meant for?

[15 July 2022]

Rob Savage' second outing is not that different to his Covid - breakout hit Host. Both are found footage horror films that use modern technology to illicit an ever growing bonkers horror show.

Whereas Host worked mostly through the relatability of it's characters - especially given the current times - the same can't be said for Dashcam.

A lot has already been said about the protagonist Annie Hardy, who plays herself in this movie, spewing forth anti-vaccination, pro Trump propaganda, so much so, that it almost seems like a parody.

I personally have no problem with characters in movies voicing their political agenda (even if their views are not congruent to mine) but there has to be some sort of purpose behind it.

But never throughout the film does it seem like our protagonist's views are challenged, neither by the characters in the film, her actions or by the filmmaker himself.

Instead all the other characters (who happen to be non-white) meet their grizzly fates, whereas Annie is made out as the heroic final girl, giddily rapping along the credits, not having grown the least or learned anything in the process.

It's certainly a baffling decision made by the director, that seems to serve no other purpose than to provoke - or to propagate the filmmaker's own political beliefs.

The Sadness (2021)

Bascially what you would expect

[15 July 2022]

The Sadness as being marketed as one of the most disturbing films of the decade, compared to the likes of Salo or Irreversible.

But while those films had a reason for their depravity, the same can't be said about this film. As stated by the director himself, he got the opportunity to work on a Covid - Zombie movie and thought: "Why not make an unofficial Crossed" adaptation?

And on a technical level he achieves that well. The effects are great and the tension is well built - most admirable in it's early stages, working best in moments before society collapsed completely. The most impressive scene is easily early on in a subway scene, perfectly conveying the tension, dread and claustrophobia one might feel in a situation like this.

Besides that the plot feels more like a loose thread that connects different set pieces together. Even Crossed comics had memorable and interesting characters, this film unfortunately has neither.

Dark Glasses (2022)

Back to the roots

[15 July 2022]

The maestro is back, combining all the elements of what made his previous movies classic. But can a Dario Argento movie still be relevant in our modern times?

The answer is a maybe. Our times are rapidly changing, so much so, that a film that came out five years ago might already seem outdated in it's ideas and moral codes.

Dark Glasses is based on a script written 10 years ago, and sadly it shows. Woman are vulnerable and powerless & men are sullen and brutal. There is no deeper psychology driving the narrative. No complex hidden meaning behind the killers motivation or any meta implication of the meaning of blindness. Multi layered stories were never the strong suit of Argento - and they were never needed. One could argue that his style and unique atmosphere overshadowed any weakness the plot and acting may have had.

In a modern age where pretty much every filmmaker is drawing inspiration from (and sometimes blatantly copying) Argento's early work, ironically a modern Argento seems uninspired in comparison. We've seen it all before in recent offerings from younger directors, that are more attuned to modern sensibilities in story telling.

That isn't to say that Dark Glasses is a bad film. It works perfectly well in creating a dream like atmosphere with one of the strongest soundtracks (not from Goblin) in any Argento flick. There is gore, mayhem and heart - and what more could you ask for in a modern Argento flick.

Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes (2021)

Do they have a thousand thoughts or just one - their last?

[15 July 2022]

Whether you love the movie (like I did) or hate it (as some surely will) - one can't help but admire Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes for it's brazen attempt at narrative structure that succeeds in averting expectations again and again.

The film deals with the idea of being trapped in interesting ways.

Whereas the characters are quite literally trapped in space and time, wether in the castle as a whole, or locked into a room, the theme goes much deeper than that.

Similar to people unknowingly being stuck in a painting or in an endlessly repeating movie forced to live through their mistakes, these characters are stuck in patterns and bad relationships, hoping for their partners to change instead of taking responsibility and changing themselves by ending the relationships and thus breaking the cycle.

The director does this by exploring a relationship from different angles and realities, first offering a glimpse into the fictional creation of this relationship before diving into the meaning behind it all and how it relates to their reality. Fascinating stuff!

Casual viewers might find the story nonsensical or confusing, but those who are willing to explore it's endless puzzles will be deeply rewarded.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

An entertaining mess

[15 July 2022]

Helmed by Sam Raimi, his influences are obvious throughout (most of) the film. These are the parts that work best - eyeballs popping, ghastly witches, ghostly spectres and fun jump scares. Unfortunately the whole film feels a bit undecided in what it wants to be.

If the focus and goal had been to make a spooky Evil Dead-esque Marvel movie, this would have surely been a success.

But sadly it tries to be many things but doesn't commit to anything fully - resulting in a tonal and narrative mess. A plot that neither pushes the MCU forward in terms of story, nor does it fully embrace the horror elements to make this truly unique.

The Black Phone (2021)

A solid horror thriller

[15 July 2022]

Scott Derricksons new feature share a lot of similarities with his previous horror outing Sinister. Again we're dealing with trees, ghost children, 16mm footage and Ethan Hawke.

Where as Sinister starts really strong and kind of fizzles out at the end, The Black Phone remains strong throughout it's runtime.

A story very much in the vein of Stephen King (based on a story written by his son) - the film is well directed, well shot and very well acted. The story itself is good enough, but leaves a lot of suspension of disbelief. Still an entertaining and well made movie!

Lamb (2021)

Strange yet more boring

[29 June 2022]

I did not really know much about Lamb going in and was pretty interested in where the story was heading. The effects looked impressive and it's well acted - but by the end I was unsure what the whole point of this film really was. It's moody, sure - but there are entire subplots that have nothing to do with the overall outcome of the film.

Saint Maud (2019)

You gotta have Faith

[22 March 2022]

Rose Glass's story of decent into madness is a slow paced nightmarish journey through the mind of it's protagonist.

Great direction and a disturbing final moment make this one film that definitely sticks with you.

The House by the Cemetery (1981)

Fulci in his prime

[11 November 2020]

Rewatched this on Halloween.

While perhaps the weakest of Fulci's "Hell Trilogy", which consists of Fulci's best film The Beyond & City of the Living Dead - "Quella villa accanto al cimitero" is a masterclass in atmospheric horror & gory mayhem.

Point Break (1991)

Still holds up

[11 November 2020]

Rewatched this again after having seen it so many times upon it's initial release.

What can I say, the film still holds up with it's cool dialogue and Patrick Swayze (could have sworn it was Kurt Russell) and Keanu Reeves illegal bromance. And Gary Busey always manages to upgrade any film he's in!

Kantemir (2015)

I feel bad for Robert Englund

[11 November 2020]

I'm always up for a good gothic horror story and this film about a group of actors meeting in a secluded mansion sounded very promising.

Unfortunately the film didn't manage to leave much of a mark. It's not bad necessarily but one I will probably forget soon.

Hager (2020)

A trip to hell and back

[21 January 2020]

Besides classics like Nosferatu or Caligari, German cinema is not known for imaginative horror. Luckily this has changed over the last few years with young German filmmakers creating daring and interesting new horror flicks.

HAGER is definitely one of them. Kopacka'a debut is a creative explosion of dread inducing atmosphere with images and sounds to match. The story of cop Til Hager who is tasked with tracking down a new drug that supposedly invokes visions of hell is told in a way that makes the viewers feel as if they had just taken said drug. With each scene we're plunged deeper into the depths of hell.

While the hypnotic psychedelic visuals and abstract form of narrative will surely find its fans, it's the clever parallels to Dante's Divine Comedy that really impressed me. The film is much more than it lets on and the director clearly knows his Greek mythology.

Very happy for this addition to a (hopefully) new Era of modern European horror.