Frank Sudol’s “Dead Fury” is inspired by classics such as “John Carpenter’s The Thing,” “Evil Dead” and most likely “Night of the Living Dead” and as such is a clear homage that notifies the audience of its intentions before the credits even roll. I’m a fan of Sudol’s “City of Rott” even in spite of the general problems it had in the final act, and he follows it up with a surreal and unusually constructed monster in the house story about four friends out on a hunting trip who find… demons? I want to say Demons who act like Zombies. Either way, “Dead Fury” is a film that’s been met with a bit of scorn from critics, but I like it.
Tag Archives: D
Disaster Movie (2008)
Dear North America,
Thank you. “Disaster Movie” barely cracked the top seven in the box office. Thank you. I Was tempted to sound like one of those newspapers by declaring “Disaster Movie” a true disaster, but such Oscar Wilde wordplay (Yes, I referenced Randall Graves) is too good for Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. These are the men who felt having a character named McLover was funny. And you proved me wrong in declaring your utter stupidity. There’s a lot to be said for morbid curiosity and you weren’t curious about “Disaster Movie” were you? No.
Death Race (2008)
The world is in shambles. The country is on the brink of depression. Millions are out of work. Violence is now considered entertainment. Convicts are now reduced to television stars for our own sick amusement. And we’re now on the brink of revolting against a corrupt disgusting government run by a madman. But enough about modern times, right now we have “Death Race”! A film that barely covers any of those issues beyond using it as a back drop for the basis of the death racing, where as Corman’s original was so ahead of its time, it perfectly encapsulates what this generation is all about and it was made in the seventies!
Dark City (1998) (Director's Cut DVD)
Let’s be honest kiddies, “Dark City” was “The Matrix” before “The Matrix” was ever in the pop culture lexicon, and Alex Proyas simply gets zero credit for ever bringing this concept to the forefront with his own Neo set amidst an unreal world where time is an illusion, and the thirties are ever lasting. One of the most underrated and under credited science fiction films of all time proved that Alex Proyas wasn’t simply a one trick pony directing “The Crow.” Filled with a beautiful view of a city on the borderline of illusion and pure nightmares, “Dark City” is a world that really may not be all that we see it for. The characters in this world are all living in a gritty, dank, and dreary series of landscapes that engulf one another in to an abyss where the puppet masters named The Strangers drift in the darkness preparing to change the landscape at a moments notice.
The Dark Knight (2008)
When I tell you that “The Dark Knight” is an incredible sequel, read the words carefully. “The Dark Knight” is Christopher Nolan’s ace film taking the throne as quite possibly one of the best superhero movies ever made. Is it a masterpiece of modern filmmaking? Not really. Is it an incredible example of comic book adaptation that transforms in to a genuinely epic story? Why certainly. Bringing about shades of “LA Confidential” with a dash of the classic mobster movies, Christopher Nolan’s follow up to “Batman Begins” is a brutal and exhausting gangster epic that brings to the forefront a slew of complex and intricate sub-plots that question how far we’re willing to go to maintain law and order, how much violence changes us, and if the peace keepers are really any different from the law breakers and murderers.
The Dark (1979)
Fortunate for me that I was born from parents who bought literally every VHS movie they could get their hands on in the heyday of the eighties. Fortunate for me that I was born from a woman who loves every horror movie ever made, and continues to love every horror movie ever made. Which is where my meeting with “The Dark” enters. Available on DVD and still pretty rare, “The Dark” is one of the most confusing hybrids of blaxploitation, science fiction, and horror I’ve ever seen with ambiguous plot devices, horrific performances, and the odd association with Dick Clark. Watching this on the same grainy discount VHS from Media Home Entertainment I first viewed it on fourteen years ago, “The Dark” has lost plenty of the oompf and suspense I remember it holding.
The Devil Inside Her (1977)
See, here is what I hate in porn: Artsy fartsy. Whenever a porno director convinces himself that he’s going to make something other than another stag movie and tries his hand at arthouse, it’s really annoying. Case in point: “The Devil Inside Her,” a mixture of Andy Warhol, Merchant-Ivory, and “The Crucible,” Zebedy Colt attempts an actual story in an hour, and fails with laughable results. To call this a pure monstrosity is an under statement, as every bit of direction and dialogue is painful, while even the hardcore porn is reduced to satire that fails to be even the slightest bit arousing.