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Sunday, November 26, 2017

Resolution (2012) - Horror, Drama

Resolution (2012) - Resolution is the story of two men, torn apart by drug use, brought together for an intervention in one friends desire to mend the damage done. A series of strange occurrences turns this drama about a broken friendship into a surreal journey of addiction, guilt, life anxiety, and forgiveness. Written by Justin Benson and directed by Benson and partner Aaron Moorhead, it is a film that leaves the viewer with some resolution but maybe also opens windows to places that are not fully explored or satisfactorily connected. A piece of film making art that in some ways is an unfinished canvass.The story is about two friends who went to high school together, Mike Danube (Peter Cilella) and  Chris Daniels (Vinny Curren) who have drifted apart in adulthood because Chris has a sustained addiction to crack cocaine. After receiving a video of Chris acting erratically and seemingly dangerously, Mike leaves his pregnant wife Jennifer to seek out Chris, following a map that Chris included with the video, a seeming cry for help. We think he is going to offer treatment but instead takes a more drastic approach. 
  Stunning his friend with a tazor Mike handcuffs him to a pipe in the rundown house and then informs him the two of them will be there for seven days, long enough for the drugs to leave his system. Naturally this does not sit well with Chris who very quickly goes through many of the stages of not only withdrawal but also grief. Chris tries many approaches to get himself freed such as Pleading, lashing out in anger, and negotiation. The guy wants to smoke crack and that is a serious addiction so really trying anything is okay. The premise of two men brought together in this situation is the physical structure of the film, it is the place this film lives but it is not the only place.
  The early movie establishes the characters well enough with Mike the calm successful one and Chris the delusional crack head. the addition of a few more characters in a couple other crackheads, and  Charles, the Native American owner of the house that Chris has been squatting in, all add some depth to the area and situation. One thing we notice early on is the lack of any interaction between Chris and anyone else alive, a directorial decision leaving open the idea that this could be a story about Mike's mental health. Sure the crack heads that come looking for a fix are there to see Chris but the directors skillfully make it that the only one we actually see Chris interact with is Mike.
  Mike also has other troubling issues that lead one to think that Mike's sanity is not necessarily as firmly packed as we originally think. First there is the initiating video the film opens with. Filmed as if someone is following Chris around it is a collection of extreme behavior and emotion that supposedly Chris sent to Mike. However, once the two men are together Chris denies creating it. Is Chris a reliable reporter? Well he is a crack head so probably not. Mike, in his wanderings around the neighborhood over the seven days at the house, starts finding strange pieces of media, an old record and a record player, a VHS tape and player, a reel of super eight movie and a projector. Each seems to be telling him a story that Chris chained to a pipe does not seem to connect to. Mike develops the idea that these finds are a story looking for an ending, and until he and his friend can give that ending the cycle of  finding will continue. When he finds media that include he and Chris, and the possible tragic ending to their situation, they look for a solution. Though this idea is never fully understood by the characters or the audience it is the driving force to the climax of the film.
  Through the increase in intensity of the story idea Mike and Chris are able to reconcile many of the issues that have not been resolved in their relationship. When the film climax is reached on the seventh day. Mike releases Chris and they are in a frenzy to find an ending that does not end badly for either of them. A surprising amount of tension is created with the side characters in this stretch. Always on the clock the film passes its timer and still has a situation where there are real stakes. The last scene is a bit disappointing, intentionally open ended and unclear it feels more like a unformed idea than an ending. It could be that the media, "We (Chris and Mike) are in the story" idea was not fleshed out clearly enough that makes the last scene lack impact. It could be that the writer, Justin Benson, and Directors, Benson and Moorhead are being obtuse.
  Ultimately I don't think they are, I try not to read about the films before watching and reviewing them so there are probably plenty of interviews I will see after this that will fill answer my questions. This is a solid film, grounded in character that explores an interesting idea. I would definitely recommend this film for anyone looking for a unique take on the horror genre.

Saturday, November 25, 2017

Psychos in Love (1987) - Horror, Comedy, Psycho

Psychos in Love (1987) - This movie starts with black and white interview footage of a serial killer Joe (Carmine Capobianco) relaying information about the women he has dated cut with scenes of the women being murdered by him. When it settles down on the fourth girl Dianne who our killer also fell for love at first sight. The deal was sealed when she expresses a hate for grapes as strong as his. After they meet we also get interviews from Dianne (Angela Nicholas) and we see she is a similar deranged killer.  She then also is seen in scenes where she murders her dates. Played for humor with light music the film does not take itself too seriously. The interview parts are like a post career retrospective and the interspersed scenes are to fill out the love story. There is also this breaking of the fourth wall where the color scenes are interrupted by Joe or Dianne noticing the camera. The film is a ridiculous comedy, crazy plot, loonie characters and gory fun. According to Wikipedia, "Carmine Capobianco said of the script, "We decided to do something that was totally off the wall, totally fun"."
 On the first date when they admit there psycho tendencies to each other their bond grows immediately strong. They almost immediately do a tandem murder well after they had sex that is. The after sex talk about what you do with the bodies after murdering them adds to the light comic approach the movie takes. Filmed exclusively with a male eye the film although about a male and female killer is all about the men. The scenes of Joe killing we see attractive women (probably too hot for the character) the camera lingers in closeup tight on the body parts sexualizing the victims. Nudity abounds in these murders while it is Dianne is sexualized in her murder scenes. She is enticing the men to let their guards down and always fatally for them. Last there are continued cutbacks to Joe's bar where he has a woman Nikki dancing bare breasted.
  Then we cut to the plumber Herman who clears a clog for a woman and then hits her over the head with a wrench. He proceeds to ripher cloths open and acts goofy in delight as he cuts her up and cooks parts of her in a pan of searing vegetables. His routine is to then dress and eat the victim as a luxury meal. So now we have three psycho killers and all appear above the law.
  Dianne has a problem with a victim where he turns the tables on her and rapes her, but with the help of a nearby rock she eventually wins the skirmish and desposes of him. Beside the Dianne one liner "That was no fun at all."  it does not seem to have a purpose.
  The plumber makes his way to Joe's bar and shows his total lack of game with the ladies. Joe on the other hand although heavy and balding seems to have no problem with the ladies at all. Yet he is in love and even is less interested in killing and more into spending time with lovely Dianne. The scenes of their lives together come with a song sung between the two main characters about the same characters "Psychos in Love" The movie never loses its sense of humor even if the humor is all one note.They don't stop trying with the jokes though and the death scene where they can't seem to kill Nikki enough leads to the two deciding to get married.
  Wow what a shit show of ridiculous bits from losing interest in killing and then having their first marital problems. They are determined to just be happy with each other and maybe not have kill kill kill. Dragging on to when they marathon the five Friday the 13th movies and all three Halloween movies. To more scenes of the bar and it makes one wonder if the ideas, although cute would ever lead to anything. I mean what happened to that plumber, doesn't he have to come back into the film. Of course it happens that they meet over a clogged sink.
  Coming to an agreement where Joe and Dianne will give the plumber is going well until he mentions eating with grape sauce. Things go south with the negotiating and we have another big gory gag. at this point this film could end because it has gone no where. Finally it ends in an argument between the couple.
  So what can you make of this film? It certainly has a personality but lacks the cohesion that shows any real plotting that matters. So in the end it is just a collection of gags based around a couple serial killers falling in love with each other. Hard to watch all the way through because the character arcs do not have enough range. I am sure I can not recommend this film even though it tries. It is cute for a bit, funny at times but ultimately does not get anywhere we hope.

Psychos in Love song