VIOLET CITY is an indie science fiction movie shot in the UK. It features various genre tropes including airships and demons and sees a bunch of characters battling for survival in a futuristic city. The problem with this indie, as with so many, is the lack of budget to do any of it convincingly. The animated visuals are very weak and a blur of random CGI which is visually unappealing. The story is badly put together and all over the place and difficult to make sense of. There are no attempts at characterisation either. Overall, I found this goofy and too much of a copy of the likes of SIN CITY to work.
3 Reviews
Unique micro budget fantasy
mccdjack28 April 2016
Warning: Spoilers
An ambitious micro-budget fantasy that mixes the comic book noir styling of Sin City with the darker fairytale qualities of German Expressionist cinema to tell a multi-stranded story with playful references to classic weird fiction like Poe, Lovecraft, Moorcock and Peake. It's shot entirely on green screen with primitive SFX and occasional use of inter-titles. Definitely not for the Michael Bay enthusiasts out there. But it has a unique camp, steam-punky charm all of its own. Think Guy Maddin but with a more conventional plot.
In the pre-title opening sequence an airship's silhouette glides across the face of a full moon above a drunk peering down through a window in the hull of his boat to take us back to events which will inform the on-going story concerning violet eyes, energy parasites and a death cult bent on bringing about the end of the world. The backgrounds seem to be collaged from cities and landscapes from all over the globe but are given a coherent black & white look through copious use of light and shadow. I recognized the canals of Venice, the Giant's Causeway and Liverpool's famous Liver Buildings. Give it a watch if you like weird fiction & films with a surreal quality.
In the pre-title opening sequence an airship's silhouette glides across the face of a full moon above a drunk peering down through a window in the hull of his boat to take us back to events which will inform the on-going story concerning violet eyes, energy parasites and a death cult bent on bringing about the end of the world. The backgrounds seem to be collaged from cities and landscapes from all over the globe but are given a coherent black & white look through copious use of light and shadow. I recognized the canals of Venice, the Giant's Causeway and Liverpool's famous Liver Buildings. Give it a watch if you like weird fiction & films with a surreal quality.
A visual masterpiece
lorenzo_alejandro17 August 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Violet City perfectly marries the aesthetics of Sin City, the nightmares of Tim Burton and influences of German Expressionism. It is truly a visual masterpiece that takes you out of your world and into a dark fantasy. There are meat eating plants, airships, gangs, cults, energy parasites... so many unique and interesting things going on. I highly recommend this to fans of the unique and artistic.
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