Movie Review: Rage (2010)

Being fairly new to the reviewing game, I was anxious to see what would be revealed from the first ever screener I had been sent. That screener came in the form of Christopher R. Witherspoon’s Rage. Written and Directed by Witherspoon, it appears to have an impressive level of pedigree. Judging by the numerous accolades attached to this film from various festivals, Rage has definitely impressed! 

A bit of background info informed me that Witherspoon has been involved at various levels in some impressive titles including Re-Animator, a personal favourite of mine. Despite having never heard of Witherspoon or of his previous attempt in the Directors chair, 2004’s drama “Middle Man”. After reading a lot of glowing reviews for Rage, I was definitely looking forward to giving it a whirl.

Rage tells the story of a seemingly average day in the life of Dennis Twist. He is happily married and appears to have his life sorted. A loving wife, a good job and a nice house in the suburbs of Portland but it isn’t long before the cracks begin to appear. It is on a routine excursion to the city that one small act which everyone has done at least once turns his day very sour indeed. After appearing to acquire a parking space at the expense of a mysterious, leather clad, Tinted helmet wearing Biker.

Michael Myers with a Crotch Rocket is probably the best way to describe the Biker! Reminiscent of a “Slab” from Doctor Who or something from the Zovirax adverts, said Biker begins a trail of retribution fit only for someone who had committed the most heinous of crimes! His almost infuriating excessiveness is unrelenting throughout the whole film. With an almost super-human feel to him, can “The Biker” ever be stopped?!
 

What Witherspoon succeeds brilliantly in doing, is creating an extremely thrilling suspense ride perfectly complimented by a cast comprising of Rick Crawford (Dennis), Audrey Walker (Crystal) and Witherspoon himself donning the helmet to portray The Biker. Crawford’s character seems to take a nose dive towards the end, which ironically is the part of the film I wanted his adrenaline to be at peak capacity but hey ho. Walker eventually providing a very reasonable contrast to Crawford as Crystal musters up most of the bottle from the protagonists’ point of view.

As for the script, we forego most of the unrealistic absurdity that befouls so many low budget horror films. What we are given is an almost true to life account of daily conversations, albeit slightly underplayed by a few members of the cast, a slightly laboured delivery which left a lot to be desired. Sadly, or not depending on how you look at it, the realism dissipates towards the end as mindless gore prevails and we are treated to our first sight of blood! Personally, this was a welcome change of pace. Although the films' suspense was greatly enjoyed, all endings should have a bit of gore for the sake of gore! If, of course, it is tastefully done! Although it does take a great deal to shock me (Cannibal Holocaust is a good film to watch to desensitise yourself) the misses had to vacate the room for a certain bedroom scene! I will leave it at that!

Rage perfectly demonstrates what can be achieved with hard work, a carefully selected cast and a keen eye for a good shot which Witherspoon posses in spades. Some shots are so well done that you could be forgiven for assuming this was not a low budget horror flick. His attention to detail gives the overall appearance of Rage an extra professional touch and the depiction of the Biker set on the backdrop of the city makes the whole experience much more real. Not set in an abandoned hospital or in the middle of the woods somewhere, this is where people work and live but The Biker maintains his aggression with little to no regard for his own obedience of the law!

With huge influences and even a glittering reference, Steven Spielberg's Duel plays a big part in the production and direction of this film. However, it must be said that Jurassic Park is by no means a bad Spielberg film! That’s all I will say about that (You will have to watch the film to understand) but anyway, back to Rage.

 

With only a small number of shortcomings, Rage progresses extremely well, mixing in great scenery with amazing imagery. A very able cast go about their business with consummate ease and a script to match. Although The Biker’s ultimate motives seem somewhat trivial, his extreme reign of terror takes the film from sharp suspense to revenge gore without losing any of its atmosphere. If you get a chance to see this film, you should take it. Hopefully with a bit more of a push, Rage will be picked up and could find a general release sometime soon!

Year: 2010

My Rating: 8

 

Movie Review: Harpoon: Reykjavik Whale Watchinhg Massacre (2009)

This film was released in its native Iceland way back in 2009 under the title The Reykjavik Whale Watching Massacre, my copy came with the word Harpoon splashed across the cover! After a tiny bit of research, Wikipedia informed me that the original advertisements displayed the tagline, “should only be seen if you have a sense of humour”, this almost put me off wanting to watch it but; on I charged with the knowledge that Iceland must be capable of putting together a decent film, if their number one cultural export, the quirky and brilliant Björk is anything to go by, this should be very Random indeed!

The name Gunnar Hansen is proudly displayed above the title. As a result of this I was expecting good things, despite what I had read on Wiki! What I saw, other than Hansen’s lack of overall screen time was quite possibly one of the best Random Horror Films I have ever seen!

Let me begin by saying that anyone that is opposed to whaling or finds any kind of cruelty to animals offensive, should fast forward the opening credits for your own good! Having said that, if any of the above makes you queasy, you probably shouldn’t be watching any Horror film!

Right, warning out of the way... The story follows several groups of people from all cultures and creeds boarding a whale watching boat in the nippy waters of Iceland. The Poseiden, captained by Gunnar “Leatherface” Hansen picks up the group of people and heads off for open water. The groups are made up of Asians, Germans, Americans, various locals and a Frenchman. Things take a sharp turn for the worst when an intoxicated Frenchman (Slightly stereotypical) causes havoc on the deck! What results can only be described as Random! The group of tourists soon find themselves in their worst nightmare as they must battle a family of disgruntled whalers aboard their own decommissioned whaling boat!

Harpoon sails along very nicely, not falling into the same pitfalls that befoul so many of the recent efforts from the States, mainly re-makes I must add! It’s as gruesome and hardcore as a film can be while maintaining that all important enjoyment factor. Some of the torture scenes are quite close to crossing that fine line but some good tongue-in-cheek moments balance those scenes very well.

The first thing that one notices about Harpoon is the abundance of atmosphere it manages to carry. It is amazing how claustrophobic the deck of a boat can be even with all that fresh air around you, there’s still no where to go! The characterisation builds with great gusto and although our empathy for some is higher than others, there is no denying that we get to know all the characters and their own individuality. Something that is of great difficulty for most film-makers is made to look so easy by Julius Kemp and his cast of unknowns. Of the cast, a few notable remarks must be made for Terence Anderson and Pihla Viitala. Anderson plays the apparent hero, Leon while Viitala plays the unfortunate victim of most of the torture, Annette. A very unnerving and eerie moment in the film sees Annette singing the Björk song, “It’s Oh So Quiet” over the boats speaker system. As haunting as it is, it is made even more poignant by events taking place elsewhere as the rendition progresses! A very moving and victorious scene which sets the pace for the remainder of the movie!

Harpoon can find comparisons from all over the Horror world. The obvious one comes from that which gave the Icelandic Hansen his notoriety and fame, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, not only in title and star but also in atmosphere and shock value. Another, which could quite possibly be an even bigger factor to the storyline, is the influence it takes from George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. As one of the main protagonists, Leon can be directly compared to Night’s Ben in that he has whether by choice or not, become the hero and attempts to save everyone from their horrific fate!

With twists and turn at every corner and revelations throughout, Harpoon was fast becoming one of the best films I have seen in a long time. The “Horror” is perhaps not as in your face and obvious as a lot of films but as an overall project, this one definitely shines bright. Without giving too much away, the ending has so many levels, I just wasn’t expecting any of it. I will say one last thing though, the fate of one character in particular pays great homage to another classic Horror film. I will let you see for yourself!

As I said before, Harpoon was one of the best Random Horror films I have ever had the pleasure of watching. I am already looking forward to the second viewing just to make sure it wasn’t a Random dream! I would thoroughly recommend this film to any fan of the genre and anyone who is not a massive fan should watch it too. The question it raises though is, why isn’t Iceland putting out more films like this one? Here’s to hoping!

Year Released: 2009

My Rating: 8.5

Movie Review: The Task (2011)

The first thing I will say about The Task is that the DVD case is not so much misleading but it doesn’t really give you the jist of the film. I have to admit, when I picked it up to put it in the player, I was expecting a crazed killer with a clown mask. Not that I was disappointed with the actual film. In fact, I was quite impressed. For the most part, The Task plays with some very interesting concepts. So it can be more than forgiven for its vague and somewhat misleading cover.

The Task is billed as an After Dark Original (Production Company) which boasts titles like An American Haunting and Penny Dreadful among others so it is from good stock, Penny Dreadful being an original and highly enjoyable little horror film (Watch this space for review).

Well made and for the most part and well acted out. Extremely high production values and good use of effects and camera work. The script is fairly loose and doesn’t really build the level of characterisation it was aiming for but none the less an enjoyable experience. Anyone familiar with my previous posts may recall Hell Asylum. The two share a similar storyline, both pit unsuspecting contestants in a reality TV style game show with an ultimate cash prize for those able to last the night. While Hell Asylum showed great potential and was set in an abandoned insane asylum, The Task takes its story elsewhere.

The six contestants are plucked from the streets by masked men and taken bound and blindfolded to the prison. Upon arrival they are all given the low down and fed the warm up story of the sadistic and deranged ex warden who supposedly haunts the wings. Anyone not wanting to compete is told they are free to leave and all others are told to enter!

With shades of the House on Haunted Hill i.e. the venue in question is under surveillance and rigged to make the overall televisual experience more convincing. What they don’t count on is an apparent rogue extra who seems hell bent on writing his own script.

As I alluded to, the acting is not terrible. Despite being an unknown (to me) cast, they deal with the script very well. Special mention must be given to Marc Pickering who plays the “token gay guy” Randall. His performance is certainly worthy of further roles as is that of Irish born actress Antonia Campbell-Hughes who plays the seemingly fearless Angel.

The Task goes along its own task very well. With some original ideas and some great atmosphere, The Task is definitely worth a watch. The thrills may be in short supply in comparison to other Horror films of similar directions but its strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. One thing to watch out for though, is the disappearing blood. After one of the victims is cut open and blood is literally pouring out him, we expect to see a blood soaked floor but low and behold, no blood! It’s a miracle! Anyway, small things...! I am looking forward to seeing the next After Dark Original that crosses my palms!

Year Released: 2011

My rating: 6