Four Flies on Grey Velvet – Film Review

Posted on July 28, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Dario Argento

Writer: Dario Argento

Starring: Michael Brandon, Mimsy Farmer, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Francine Racette, and Bud Spencer

Rating: ★★½

Four Flies on Grey Velvet is the third film both written and directed by Dario Argento. It was originally released in 1971. It’s also notable since for a very long time it was considered a lost film, without an official release for almost two decades. When it was finally re-released in 2009 it was even missing 40 seconds. Then in 2012, marking twenty years since the film was considered lost, the full uncut version was released on Blu-ray after the missing footage was repaired and inserted back into the film.

Roberto (Michael Brandon), a drummer in a band, is being followed by a strange man. After spotting him one evening on the way home, Roberto confronts the man and in the shuffle accidentally stabs him. Someone else witnesses the events, and starts to leave intimidating notes and photos in Roberto’s home.

The opening of the film is really excellent. It starts with Roberto and his band jamming out while the opening credits start to roll. We then get to the manslaughter scene which is really tense and a little creepy with the masked person watching and documenting everything. It keeps you guessing with who’s behind it all, and you really want to figure it out. Sadly, there’s just not enough clues throughout the film, and a lot of misdirection that feels a little tedious.

Most frustratingly the film also feels like it’s really dragged out. It runs at around a hundred minutes, but feels a lot longer than that. There are some great moments, like the dream sequences and the chase/murder of Amelia (Marisa Fabbri) in the park. She learns the identity of the masked person and tries to confront them. The tension builds and builds throughout the sequence until she’s finally caught.  

While the pace is really slow, the ending ramps everything back up. The big reveal does come a little out of left field, but it’s a great moment and snaps you back awake to pay attention. Everything then ends incredibly abruptly, with the credits rolling almost coming as a shock. The story is completely over, but it still happens very quickly.

Despite a great opening and some tense moments, sadly, Four Flies on Grey Velvet neve really gets under your skin. 

Thanks for reading! If you liked my review, please subscribe to never miss a post:

Posted in film reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Princess Mononoke – Film Review

Posted on July 27, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Writer: Hayao Miyazaki

Hayao Miyazaki’s 1997 film Princess Mononoke is widely considered to be one of the best Japanese animated films of all time. It’s a fantasy set during the Muromachi period of Japan, that’s filled with incredibly imagination and a surprising amount of gore, while also telling a story that deals with the environmental theme of conservation.

The animation is beautiful, even for a Studio Ghibli film this is stunning. Every character, every moment, looks absolutely great. It’s one of those films that completely takes you away to another world filled with wonder and amazement. Ghibli are normally excellent at creating that feeling and even though this is a lot more mature than most of their work they manage to create it masterfully.

This is a very gory film, surprisingly so when you compare it to other Miyazaki films. There are brutal fights, body parts being shot off by arrows, and animals being brutally and slowly murdered. It’s not filled with blood, and none of it is done for shock value, but it’s still dark. It’s probably better suited to a teenage audience compared to something other Ghibli films. All the way through It’s a brutal story, right from the beginning with the main character being cursed and the rest of his village considering him dead as soon as he leaves. He has to give up everything to find a way to survive, and the world is just as harsh outside the village.

The story deals with the idea of man vs. nature, with naturing fighting back as humans destroy the forest. Conservation is the main theme, with a village it’s leader looking to destroy the nearby environment which will be devastating for the animals that live there. The main character Ashitaka is stuck in the middle, wanting there to be peace in the land, but that’s not always possible when others are hellbent on war and won’t take an alternative.

Despite the bleakness of the world created, there are moments of hope, and some of the more light-hearted things you’d expect from a Ghibli film, but those take a back seat to the brutality of the world in the film. The tree elements that help guide Ashitaka through the forest the first time are cute, and friendly. They’re a stark contrast to the horrors of the rest of the world around them.

Overall Princess Mononoke is a hard hitting environmental parable. It’s message is powerful, and while it’s very similar in theme to another Ghibli film that came out three years prior, Pom Poko, it manages to explore it in a very different way. The fantasy elements may put people off, but it’s one of the more striking and unique Ghibli films all the same.

Thanks for reading, if you liked my review please subscribe to never miss a post:

Posted in film reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare – Film Review

Posted on July 26, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Rachel Talalay

Writer: Michael De Luca

Starring: Robert Englund, Lisa Zane, Shon Greenblatt, Lezlie Deane, Yaphet Kotto

Rating: ★★★

Seven years after the release of the original A Nightmare on Elm Street, the series came to a close with Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare. It was the directorial debut of Rachel Talalay who had worked previously on the series as a producer. The idea this time around was to bring more humour into the series as Talalay thought this was missing from the previous entry, while at the same time bringing the whole story to a close.

Set ten years in the future, with almost every child and teenager in Springwood now dead at Freddy’s (Robert Englund) hand. The last remaining teenager (Shon Greenblatt) is trying to leave the town, only to face Freddy in a dream and end up with a head injury that causes him to have amnesia. He’s taken to a shelter, where Maggie Burroughs (Lisa Zane) tries to uncover the mystery of who he is and takes him back to Springwood where the adults are now experiencing mass hysteria.

The film starts with the ‘primetime’ quote from Freddy Krueger written on screen. In previous entries they try, unsuccessfully, to recapture the one-liners from Dream Warrior, so this time they just go straight out and quote them. It’s not the only bit that’s recycled from an early entry, with the plan to defeat Freddy by dragging him out of the dreamworld, again. What makes this one different is the amount of time spent getting to know the main characters, as well as a new look at Freddy’s backstory. This time it’s revealed that Freddy had a child before he was murdered and part of the mystery is discovering who that child is, although it’s pretty obvious early on.

Comedy becomes the focus, instead of scares, with Freddy mimicking the wicked witch from Wizard of Oz, taking someone into a game world and using a ‘power glove’ on them. It’s a fast paced good time, and takes the comedy of the previous entries up to a new level. Some of it does come across as cheesy, but it works for the most part. It makes the film feel a lot more alive than number five did.

One of the big influences on this entry was Twin Peaks which was airing while the production was starting. The offbeat and unusual Lynchian world can be felt in Springwood, where the adults are all imagining that the children are still around them. It’s just a little more over the top than Twin Peaks was. The other influence was the cameos in Cry Baby which Talalay had worked on as a producer just beforehand. Throughout the film you can spot Johnny Depp (who made his debut in the first film) Roseanne Barr, and even Alice Cooper. It adds to the fun-time atmosphere of the film with you spotting people as the appear.  

While Freddy’s Dead isn’t the best entry to the series, it is a hell of a lot better than the previous two entries. Instead of just following the same basic plot it tries something different. The comedy doesn’t always work, and there’s not an actually scary moment to be found, but it adds to Freddy’s past and is really entertaining to watch.

Thanks for reading! If you liked my review, please subscribe to never miss a post:

Posted in film reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ponyo – Film Review

Posted on July 25, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Writer: Hayao Miyazaki

Starring (English Dub): Noah Cyrus, Frankie Jonas, Tina Fey, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Liam Neeson, Mona Marshall, Bob Bergen, Akiko Yano, Lily Tomlin, Betty White

Rating: ★★★

After the success of Howl’s Moving Castle Hayao Miyazaki wrote Ponyo to be aimed specifically at young children. It’s an almost Disneyish story about youth and love all wrapped up in a new take on the classic fairy tale The Little Mermaid.

Sōsuke is playing near the ocean one day and finds a strange fish trapped in a bottle, that he helps escape and then names Ponyo. The problem is that Ponyo’s father thinks that Sōsuke has kidnapped his daughter so takes her back. Ponyo doesn’t want to remain captive to her father anymore and using magic turns herself into a girl to go and live on the land with Sōsuke, with devastating effects.

First things first, the animation is gorgeous. It’s incredibly bright and manages to capture the beauty of the sea and nature perfectly. The sea-life swimming under the ocean is stunning to watch and as always (at least until Earwig and the Witch), Studio Ghibli make a visual feast with Ponyo. You can feel the care in every single frame. Ghibli have this strange talent of taking you away to a far away world, even if it’s not that dissimilar to our own. Their charming style is at its peak here, with masterful animation.

As it’s aimed at younger children than most of the studios output, it does feel a little simple at points. There’s some really nice moments when Sōsuke and Ponyo are riding on their boat, and the whole opening with Sōsuke going to school is great. The setting of the coastal town is more interesting than the story and just watching the characters more around and seeing more of the world is interesting. The film is filled with very imaginative moments, but watching as an adult, it doesn’t really grab you and the whole thing becomes a little tedious towards the end.  

In the English dub Liam Neeson voices Fujimoto, Ponyo’s father, who believes that his daughter has been kidnapped and sets out to find her. Neeson does like a certain type of role, doesn’t he? The rest of the English cast is great, with Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cate Balnchett, Lily Tomlin and even Betty White making appearances. It’s probably the best English cast list for a Studio Ghibli film.  

It’s a little too childish at points and does run the risk of being a little dull, but the beautiful animation and charming Ghibli style still make it enjoyable. It’s still a must watch for Ghibli fans and would be a perfect way to introduce a child into the world of Ghibli.

Thanks for reading! If you liked my review, please subscribe to never miss a post:

Posted in film reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child

Posted on July 24, 2022 by ashleymanningwriter

Director: Stephen Hopkins

Writers: John Skipp, Craig Spector, Leslie Bohem

Starring: Lisa Wilcox, Robert Englund, Kelly Jo Minter, Erika Anderson, Danny Hassel, Beatrice Boepple, Whit Hertford

Rating: ★★★

The Dream Child is the fifth instalment of the A Nightmare on Elm Street series. It follows the survivors of the fourth film, a year later. Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) is somehow back, and even the film isn’t convinced it makes sense. Alice (Lisa Wilcox) shouts to Freddy ‘You can’t come back! I locked the door on you!’ to which Freddy answers ‘But I found the Key!’, and that is pretty much how the film explains his return and then it just continues from there, dumb dialogue in the place of a cohesive story. You have to just turn your brain off while watching because it makes almost no sense. It breaks the rules set by the previous films and even if you ignore that it’s still a convoluted mess.

If you don’t focus on the plot (which to be honest is paper thin and basically re-treads Freddy’s origin story from Dream Warriors and then proceeds to Freddy killing Alice’s new group of friends after the lost lot were killed in the last film) then there’s actually a lot to really like about this film. There are some incredible effects, including a moment where someone is melded into a motorcycle piece by piece that’s looks like a scene out of Tetsuo, which co-incidentally came out a month before this film did. One of the most creative moments is when Mark (Joe Seely) is turned into a 2D comic book character and is slashed up by Freddy. The film looks great the whole way through and most of the effects stand the test of time.

The biggest crime the fifth film makes is how lazy the writing is with Freddy. It’s essentially him just running off one-liners that aren’t good, and repeating the word ‘bitch’ over and over, trying to recapture what came before. There really is barely any good Freddy moments in this one. Englund is still great, but at this point the series feels tired and there’s no original ideas. A large part of the film focuses on Freddy’s mother and his birth, which was explained in Dream Warriors, but this time we get to see it. Yay. 

All the Elm Street films are horror classics, but the fifth one is genuinely forgettable. The series took a massive nosedive after the third film with the two starring Lisa Wilcox. It’s a real shame because Alice is a great character, but these two films are pure style of substance. They’re still entertaining but nothing compared to what came before. 

Thanks for reading! If you liked my review, please subscribe to never miss a post:  

Posted in film reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment