Maximilian Erlenwein’s “The Dive” is probably one of the most stressful movies of the year. In a time where deep dive survival movies have practically become their own sub-genre, “The Dive” is one of the better of the ilk to come along in a while. Erlenwein’s movie is a simple and straight forward survival thriller, but it’s one that depends a lot on triggering the audience’s personal phobias. Anyone with thalassophobia, claustrophobia, or taphophobia will find “The Dive” to be an endurance test of the highest order, and that’s why it works so well.
Tag Archives: Drama
Dark Windows (2023)
It’s surprising how out of left field Alex Herron’s “Dark Windows” has come, as it’s a movie that sneaks up on you but leaves you exhausted by the time the credits roll. “Dark Windows” is one of the best horror movies of 2023 but it’s also one of the most depressing movies I’ve seen in years. It’s a movie that pulls no punches and will leave you wrecked with despair and thinking about what you’ve just seen for a while. I was very certain that I knew what was going on during “Dark Windows,” but then writer Wolf Kraft subverted all of my expectations and really sent a cold chill up my back.
Fallen Drive (2023)
“Fallen Drive” opens up with a silent scene of what looks like a human body wrapped up in garbage bags and duct tape. From there what unfolds is what can best be described as an episode of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” as directed by Neil Labute. Co-Directors and Writers Nick Cassidy and David Rice deliver what is a powder keg of a thriller that revolves around the concept that high school truly never does end. From the jumping point, “Fallen Drive” is teeming with so much tension that it’s literally seeping from every scene.
In the Realm of the Senses (Ai no korîda) (1976) [LA&M Film Fetish Forum]
Banned in many countries thanks to its immensely explicit depictions of sex and sexual acts, Nagisa Ōshima’s “In the Realm of the Senses” is an immense movie, and one that straddles the line between erotica and thriller. Although “In the Realm of the Senses” revels in the eroticism of sexuality and sex, it also delves deep in to the darkness of sexual obsession, control, and the appetite for sex (all of the sex scenes are un-simulated) that can consume our lives. I’ve never actually seen director and writer Nagisa Ōshima’s film before, so viewing it now was quite the surprise. The director fancies themselves in exploring the acts of sex along with the behavior between its core characters that result in lust that inevitably becomes deadly.
As Long as We Both Shall Live (aka My Happy Marriage) (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
A young woman who has been abused her whole life at home is sent off to marry an army commander in a world where people have different supernatural powers.
The Abandoned (Cha wu ci xin) (2022) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
Wu Jie is struggling with grief and life’s pressures. As she is about to end it all, a murder victim catches her attention, and the investigation brings her back into focus as more bodies are found and the investigation gets more complicated.
Emptiness (2023) [Fantasia Film Festival 2023]
A woman whose husband has disappeared is stuck in a house with two other women, one helpful, the other not so much.