If you find the idea of watching a movie where the camera angle doesn’t change every 3 seconds to be refreshing, then it might be worth exploring other movies that incorporate the “long take”. The extreme is where the entire movie is a single take, such as in my last post about “Silent House”... and there are others, like the acclaimed “Russian Ark”. But there are also more limited good “long take” examples, like in Alfred Hitchcock’s “rope or a more recent Dunkirk scene in “Atonement”.

WARNING - The next one does show horses being shot.

Sweeping and at times imaginative camera movement as well as intriguing and atmospheric landscapes make these rarities (especially by today’s standards), something to look into.  

And if you’re all about the atmosphere and long shots (...and long movies), be sure to check out Bela Tarr’s work (like "Werckmeister Harmonies"). 

- Josh

Maybe you've heard of a little movie called “The Usual Suspects” (1995). Chances are that if you have, you also heard about the big ol twist in it. One of my friends, quoting the famous line from the movie “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist”, got me thinking, what other great twist movies are out there?

Here are five!

1) Orphan (2009) Directed by Jaume Collet - Serra

Here’s an interesting take on the topic of anxieties around adoption that horror movies love to exploit. This one’s so bold as to tease “Something’s wrong with Esther... you’ll never guess her secret”

Esther is an orphan that is adopted by the Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) Coleman. It’s got a little “The Good son” (1993) (Macauly Culkin, Elijah wood) and “Joshua” (2007) (Sam Rockwell, Vera Farmiga (coincidence?)) going on but has enough freshness to stand up on its own as a surprisingly good watch! You may well not be able to guess the twist  in this one!

2)Primal Fear (1996) directed by Gregory Hoblit

This Twisty little movie has got some courtroom going on. It stars Richard Gere and Edward Norton. The skinny is that, lawyer: Martin Veil (Gere) picks up a high profile case involving the murder of an archbishop allegedly by an altar boy (Norton).

It’s got some stereotypes in it. Sure. But it’s also got a brilliant performance by Edward Norton who exhibits some characteristics of dissociative identity disorder (D.I.D in the past referred to as multiple identity disorder) which throws a wrench in the courtroom proceedings. This is definitely worth a watch.

3) The Prestige (2006) Directed by Christopher Nolan

Here’s an excellent movie about rivalry (and one of my personal favourites) by the director who brought us "Memento" (Also a great, great twist movie), "Batman begins", and "the dark knight". It’s got Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale who both do a wonderful job and it’s got all sort of intrigue.

It’s about fascination with magic, obsession to be the best or better and unrelenting, all consuming rivalry. The gist is that Robert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred Borden(Bale) will stop at nothing to best the other. Add to that: complicating guilt and revenge and you’ve got a great movie with all sort of twists and turns and a wild (and somewhat disturbing) ending.

4) 8mm (1999) Directed by Joel Schumacher

This one’s got Nicholas Cage going underground in the pornographic “snuff” film market to investigate the authenticity of a video recording of the death of a teenager.  

This one’s not necessarily a “you won’t see it coming” type, It’s more of twist on the genre. In particular in how it’s a commentary on evil in general. It’s got some great tension including a certain crazed tied up in a shack scene. 
 

5) Surveillance (2008) Directed by Jennifer Lynch (Yes. David Lynch’s daughter)

Without giving too much away, this one has FBI agents engage in the investigation related to a series of violent deaths. The agents, in typical FBI manner get involved behind the scenes and monitor witness/survivor testimonies. Here we see flash backs of what happened. As is the case with these thrillers, things aren’t always what they seem.

Now, this isn’t David Lynchesque, its all Jennifer, and it plays a little like a CSI episode. But it’s a little more than that. Pullman’s inhibited wildness is worth watching! It’s a onetime watch kinda thing though so don’t run out buying it (like I did...) unless it’s on the cheap. This one’s a good rental.


That's your five.

What other movies had twists that you can't get enough of, or will never forget?

So I was scanning youtube looking for some good Dumb and Dumber clips for an article when I came across a dumb and dumber /inception mash up apparently made by a gentleman named Andrew Fischer of nurv.com. It's a pretty clever little piece.

I've included the link below. click through to it, you won't regret it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLDx-BPgxxA


Now wasn't that great! Make you wanna watch dumb and dumber again? It was an excellent movie!


Harry: What's her last name? I'll look it up.
Lloyd: you know, I don't really recall. Starts with an S! Let's see. Swim? Swammi? Slippy? Slappy? Swenson? Swanson?
Harry: Maybe it's on the briefcase.
Lloyd: Oh, yeah! It's right here. *looks at manufacturers lable* Samsonite! I was way off! I knew it started with an S, though. 

soo good
 

From sophisticated and concrete to disturbing and abstract. Below are movies that I would recommend. All of which are considered to be, at least in part, horror.

1) Eyes Without a Face

Or the French “Les Yeux sans visage” represents the Horror you may have missed that is somewhat more sophisticated and concrete. It is filled with moral dilemma and questions of how far one would go for someone they love.

What is beauty? What does it mean to be disfigured? These thoughts and questions amongst others are likely to generate conversation from this movie’s followers, encouraging a meaningful afterthought not generally common to many entries in the genre.

Be warned though, the tempo is different than that of modern day horror stories and this 1960 flick is in French. That aside it’s a classic that has influenced the horror genre.

2) House on Haunted Hill

A personal favourite and a remake of the 1959 movie of the same name starring Vincent price. If you haven’t seen it already and are one for the concept of a horror story within the confines of an insane asylum then this one may be for you – there are few places scarier.

It’s fairly straight forward in premise, where a birthday practical joke gets hijacked by… well… you’ll see. You’ll be sure to get a good eye full of bizarre imagery that has some likelihood to stay with you – at least a little.

3) The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (original)

This 1974 masterpiece spawned several follow ups people are usually much better acquainted with. While the original piece is older, it’s every bit as tense –especially a certain chase scene. While what was considered to be boundary pushing content of its time will be lost on the horror hardened viewer of today, it’s still an awesome flick to be watching late at night with the lights turned out.

If you haven’t met the family or seen Leather face yet and are open to the look of an older movie, this one is a solid watch.

4) The Birds

This 1963 piece is an Alfred Hitchcock movie and an excellent one at that. The atmosphere and tension is superb. The Concept is simple but interesting and leaves much to the imagination.

As is with some of the other suggestions in this list, some might complain of the dated looks of this movie. While some may opt to wait and see if the rumoured re-make comes to be, I would urge you to at least visit with the original. The only unfortunate thing you will find is that a copy can be hard to obtain.

Watching this piece might well ignite a curiosity about Hitchcock’s work. A curiosity I might suggest to pursue. “Vertigo”, “rear window” and “north by northwest” are great movies. As well, who can forget to name “psycho”. At the very least, this gem is a great piece of work and something that might make you think differently about the title creatures... Those shifty animals.

5) The Changeling

Not the Angelina Jolie flick. This 1980 ghost story is something I don’t hear too many people talk about. Not because it wasn’t good but because many haven’t heard about it. I myself had reservations about this work but let me tell you, I was pretty impressed.

If you’re in the mood for a story with a little uneasiness up front then full on vengefulness as pay out, then this may be the ticket. Watch for when the movie gets it’s “the ring” on. There is an interesting similarity. Watch this and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

6) Repulsion

Repulsion, Roman Polanski’s first English movie and first entry into his unofficial apartment trilogy (including “Rosemary’s baby” and “the tenant”) marks the turn of this list into the area of horror that is more entangled with processes of the mind.

The Tempo of this movie is slower, easing the viewer into a psychotic break. The lead role of bewildered but blunted Carole is played wonderfully by Catherine Deneuve. Watch for the scene where she hears noises outside the barricaded doors to her room – very tense.

I’ve seen it in its beautiful black and white. While this may be an issue for some, it is definitely worth a watch.

7) A Tale of Two Sisters

Here comes some confusion... And it only just begins with this entry to the list. While a more complex story may be a put off for some, I might suggest embracing this puzzle as entertaining and rewarding to try and solve. At the very least, it’s a spooky movie and a fine piece reminiscent of J-Horror (Japanese Horror).

Fair warning: If you’re looking to watch it in English, only subtitles are available. That aside, prepare yourself for something you may have to watch over to catch all the important bits – it’s a good thing. Keep an eye out for the scene with the bloody bag. Unsettling to be sure, it does remind one of a similar bag in the Takashi Miike flick “audition” (also another good watch).

8) Jacob’s Ladder

Now here is a great piece of psychological horror. Enter the lead, Tim Robbins into a confusing and disturbing nightmare. One that has influenced the subgenre of psychological horror, in particular an exercise in the video gaming world known as silent hill. Though there have been some fascinating entries into the psychological horror type before it (arguably The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (which is probably first and foremost an important piece of German Expressionism)), this piece is outstanding in embracing its uniqueness.    This movie heralds a step into the darker and more abstract end of horror you may not have seen.
 
If you enjoy this area (“a tale of two sisters” to “Jacob’s ladder) out in the periphery of the genre than it’s likely you might also enjoy “The machinist”.   In Jacob’s ladder, watch out for the scene where he is being wheeled out on the gurney with the loose wheel... an excellent touch!

9) Eraserhead

David Lynch. While I’ve only just included this piece in my list, I would also recommend many other works of his. This includes the acclaimed “Mulholland drive”, the awesome but frustrating “lost highways”, the fascinating “blue velvet” and the great “twin peaks” series.

To be sure, David lynch has a style all of his own. Eraserhead is more in the extreme in his bizarre works. If you’re not thinking you’ll head much farther down this list then past repulsion then it’s probably a better idea that you start with “twin peaks” as a subtle introduction to lynch’s flavour. If doing it that way would be the equivalent of dipping your feet into the waters of a pool and slowly going in, then starting at Eraserhead would be the clean dive into the deep end.

If you love concrete. This piece will frustrate you. If the thought of bizarre and even disgusting imagery bothers you, then don’t bother watching this movie. That aside, if you’re into something different and want to have your mind rocked, then pop this movie in and take a look. Make sure to also subject your friends to it!

10) Begotten

This is the end of the line. Here is a flick that some would find so repulsive that they might wonder why I would even want to put it on a list for others to know about. Well here’s the reason. I watched it, not knowing what I was getting into and feel like I have to share some of the trauma.

I generally would not advise anyone to watch this movie before first having watched Eraser head (if they even dare), just to make sure they could handle the images portrayed in this movie.

That aside, this piece is more than just extremely off-putting; it’s a metaphor and a vehicle that can ignite discussion. It can be seen as artsy, some might even call it important (though you might have to research more on movie insight because I dare say its intricateness is not entirely evident on the first sit through). If anything else, you won’t be able to shake the experience for some time.

If any of the above interest you, you can click on the pictures for a link to amazon for more information.

What are other horror movies that are worth a watch that others may have missed?

Enjoy

No plans this week end? Want to curl up to a good movie but don’t know what to watch? Let me suggest something for you...

This week end, pick up: “Back to the Future”

 Haven’t seen it? Great Scott! This gem from 1985 was and still is something of a big deal. Michael J. Fox plays the lead, Marty Mcfly perfectly. Add to that a zany Christopher Lloyd performance and the technical genius of director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol) and you’ve got a spiffy and fast time traveling DeLorean type movie that’ll leave flaming wheel marks in your movie room by the flicks end.

Embark,  even if unsure into the adventure and discover as Marty does how interesting time travel can be and what implications there are for a traveller in interacting with people of the past. Ever wonder how things were well... way back when? Like maybe how dear ol mom and dad were? No? Maybe Marty neither; that is until he actually meets up with his young parents in situations that are not only funny, odd and even unsettling, but also somewhat deep and fascinating. Add to that trying to get back home all the while worrying about the fate of an old friend. It’s an excellent exercise in time travel.

Seen it before? Well, maybe it’s time you go back – back to back to the future that is! I recently saw the Trilogy on Blue ray at Wall Mart – 15$ (Canada, N.B.).It looks magnificent on the BD (that’s how I’d recommend you watch it). It’s likely too that you’ll find this at your local movie rental store. Best part is, as I mentioned, it’s a trilogy – 2 and 3 are both a great watch too.

Just remember: “Your future is whatever you make it. So make it a good one”