tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-234496342024-03-19T01:48:28.274-07:00Taliesin meets the vampiresTaliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.comBlogger4333125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-72786610913134512472024-03-18T07:15:00.000-07:002024-03-18T07:22:45.225-07:00Use of Tropes: Shake Rattle & Roll Extreme<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXV1EWLBB-rMaOBNNaVGxunWUCxOwq5eEuSGkAN5xCL6frMKgg50DEZ9Kuee5yTA3QXHjhe94tFhDU2bSZfcdzh18QOM-9rINOEV7SnYV7VsIEnF2RNj1avqPCrvUxzH4wo2naSNNybjB_E0BULuc_8EeBJ0D9P0-mFM6i4krPLKvJ-eRw7U_t-w/s1440/shake%20rattle%20roll%20extreme.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXV1EWLBB-rMaOBNNaVGxunWUCxOwq5eEuSGkAN5xCL6frMKgg50DEZ9Kuee5yTA3QXHjhe94tFhDU2bSZfcdzh18QOM-9rINOEV7SnYV7VsIEnF2RNj1avqPCrvUxzH4wo2naSNNybjB_E0BULuc_8EeBJ0D9P0-mFM6i4krPLKvJ-eRw7U_t-w/s320/shake%20rattle%20roll%20extreme.jpg" width="222" /></a></div><br />It is always great to get a new entry into the long running Philippine horror anthology series, Shake Rattle & Roll. This new one from 2023 recently dropped onto UK Netflix. The first segment, Glitch, is a great demonic entry and I was also rather taken by zombie-esque final segment Rage with people turned by space parasites, and the segment carrying the fun conceit that the more violence they commit the more powerful they become.
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The segment that has led to this article is Mukbang, directed by Jerrold Tarog, which was interesting because it moves directly into the world of internet influencers. However, whilst the creatures in it are not named as such, I did get a bit of an aswang feel.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidG_jQ-ICNgpNjaIdww-STzsX9iV9PfQs4ls0ikB6OAhPY5s2SzqC089htg7tKPQDUDe9uyg2EqnyX2mPFOL929DgriD3FMjlgC8yiGJnhLJ_rhrR_RCPwo40uek2BkBv9w1zGL2TjuwXFjgYywM_VL8OVwxQSIpyuVQDCG2teFm5PLEX67SVCTA/s1280/shake%20rattle%20roll%20extreme_vee.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidG_jQ-ICNgpNjaIdww-STzsX9iV9PfQs4ls0ikB6OAhPY5s2SzqC089htg7tKPQDUDe9uyg2EqnyX2mPFOL929DgriD3FMjlgC8yiGJnhLJ_rhrR_RCPwo40uek2BkBv9w1zGL2TjuwXFjgYywM_VL8OVwxQSIpyuVQDCG2teFm5PLEX67SVCTA/w200-h113/shake%20rattle%20roll%20extreme_vee.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jane Oineza as Ms Vee</td></tr></tbody></table><br />We see a motley crew of different influencers arrive at a mansion. We have Adelle (Esnyr Ranollo) and their assistant Beyoncé (Phi Palmos), Ashley B (AC Bonifacio) and her assistant Hannah (Jana Taladro), Ms Vee (Jane Oineza), and Chef Kino Javier (Ninong Ry) and his assistant Issac (Ian Gimena). They are meeting Robin (Paul Salas) and Reye (Elle Villanueva) who have set the whole thing up to hit a million subscribers. The viewer notices that each influencer character is introduced with their followership levels. Late is Lionell (RK Bagatsing), Vee’s boyfriend and influencer in his own right. Also there is caretaker (and, we later discover, butcher) Mr Isko (Francis Mata).
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dRXjoGtrtozhyz_WpU7hL60URIlIEEBDhJrQIvlHo-Wqj7KMRUrKtEMhueTh-__ViSrce0qRELwf6sRkuB4lTwyezcBcBkVHc_6wI7EUmVrkTcVY4LbPSPzPwbe_4CpblVUYaaMNU3CViSKq_QnpUyBRgxFmt34zHwp_TVDUZrmobGTZhtiL9Q/s1280/shake%20rattle%20roll%20extreme_influencers.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dRXjoGtrtozhyz_WpU7hL60URIlIEEBDhJrQIvlHo-Wqj7KMRUrKtEMhueTh-__ViSrce0qRELwf6sRkuB4lTwyezcBcBkVHc_6wI7EUmVrkTcVY4LbPSPzPwbe_4CpblVUYaaMNU3CViSKq_QnpUyBRgxFmt34zHwp_TVDUZrmobGTZhtiL9Q/w200-h113/shake%20rattle%20roll%20extreme_influencers.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">influencers</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It is a collaboration, including a Mukbang and Mr Isko will provide the meat. Beyoncé is the first to change. We see them wandering, meeting Robin, something indistinct with glowing eyes appearing behind them and then Beyoncé acting odd in scenes thereafter. The general plot is that there are monsters in the mansion. Now aswang is a term meaning monster (and can be very generic) but aswang are mentioned once later when Adelle puts on makeup and pretends to be one.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJ2pRMoyenzbj0XscN1VolYExWgjN5NJz4IJ12Q_z1o5sKjFfQfogR1ZpSU2bfp311vDlaE0hPaCkRlb76tbLeZ3fHgVIzFXOyK5r62NI4OKzdpwrK4xDAeZqQAmk8BuHMhhbaF5Ac9VBTa3XpxYkYC1VG0tO59i5cHsjjDtDXekkcKwfZf-0Ew/s1280/shake%20rattle%20roll%20extreme_behind.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQJ2pRMoyenzbj0XscN1VolYExWgjN5NJz4IJ12Q_z1o5sKjFfQfogR1ZpSU2bfp311vDlaE0hPaCkRlb76tbLeZ3fHgVIzFXOyK5r62NI4OKzdpwrK4xDAeZqQAmk8BuHMhhbaF5Ac9VBTa3XpxYkYC1VG0tO59i5cHsjjDtDXekkcKwfZf-0Ew/w200-h113/shake%20rattle%20roll%20extreme_behind.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">what's behind Beyonce</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The monsters themselves are referred to as kindred and the plot is one of world domination. A kindred will rip the heart of a victim out and eat it, in doing so they take on their appearance. The rest of the victim is then butchered by Mr Isko who gets Chef Kino to ignorantly cook it for the Mukbang, with the villains amused that the human influencers are tricked into cannibalism. The disguised kindred needing to eat the flesh to consolidate their appearance and regain strength. The idea is to take over the influencers, gain their platform, and then start inviting followers to further events.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2anfdLsgOrvssHQPRFvXRjOAR1-Q0XV7yWSHT2Yh5q4vDmKJEziwQzmWfPktcuX3675xew34djeQRBYiRGG5ysBerwh0Zfh4XJKyYUK6lImlfQAq5iyy2BiDyES_dx4TAArb-DB1q3dPzG1RZQI3vaYnzuqkmneleTvMBBqVsuu6GCBQNJLHVig/s1280/shake%20rattle%20roll%20extreme_kindred.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2anfdLsgOrvssHQPRFvXRjOAR1-Q0XV7yWSHT2Yh5q4vDmKJEziwQzmWfPktcuX3675xew34djeQRBYiRGG5ysBerwh0Zfh4XJKyYUK6lImlfQAq5iyy2BiDyES_dx4TAArb-DB1q3dPzG1RZQI3vaYnzuqkmneleTvMBBqVsuu6GCBQNJLHVig/w200-h113/shake%20rattle%20roll%20extreme_kindred.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one of the Kindred</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It is the association with aswang (even in the generic monster sense, and we can note that the kindred are credited as monsters), the eating of the heart to gain a victim’s shape and the cannibalism that leads to this mention. This is the most comedic of the three segments and the influencers are not really drawn as pleasant. Unkind (in cases) to their assistants, cheating, more concerned with content than safety to the point of doing an advert for a sponsor whilst being attacked. The two who come off better are revealed to be villains of the piece (Robin and Reye) and, in some respects, the influencers themselves might be said to be vampires.
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6080024/?ref_=tt_mv_close">here</a>.
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-10233864622427811432024-03-16T05:06:00.000-07:002024-03-16T05:12:25.716-07:00You Shouldn't Have Let Me In – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSBbdqtQE3deoXH141Rk8RYsVu9ryP0Lbwn66P39AzlqNCOH6m0hL7r-zptl2DHhGj7CU7C_jObMu7xxVtFFsDBNwmakmuylyU6W5tmvpPcuV3TpoHS_1qp2J7yV90DoHvXNo4ixyaLHaJA_gWS2Ht87c4AFpkgJ7zCjl90q78TepxbAwjg7dzIQ/s1429/you%20shouldnt%20have%20let%20me%20in.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1429" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSBbdqtQE3deoXH141Rk8RYsVu9ryP0Lbwn66P39AzlqNCOH6m0hL7r-zptl2DHhGj7CU7C_jObMu7xxVtFFsDBNwmakmuylyU6W5tmvpPcuV3TpoHS_1qp2J7yV90DoHvXNo4ixyaLHaJA_gWS2Ht87c4AFpkgJ7zCjl90q78TepxbAwjg7dzIQ/s320/you%20shouldnt%20have%20let%20me%20in.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><br />Director: Dave Parker
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Release date: 2024
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Contains spoilers
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A Tubi original, I put this on with low expectations but it managed to be more than expected and revealed itself as a neat little vampire film with an unusual vampire type (spider based) and a neat bit of lore that was used really well. Of course, the name is a riff on the John Ajvide Lindqvist <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.co.uk/2007/09/let-right-one-in-review.html">novel</a>/filmic spin offs (where the US vehicle uses the alternative<a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2011/03/let-me-in-review.html"> Let Me In</a> rather than <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2009/03/let-right-one-in-review.html">Let the Right One In</a>) and seems to have slowly crept in as a trope, for instance being the baseline for <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2022/05/let-wrong-one-in-review.html">Let the Wrong One In</a>.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfsTWk9CslgQre8TXhL4x_rdaRlCmqcqHdqtlfvYd9npJ3Uu1c7I47GJxEv64S7SKVmbY26qL1QbR6SgVQS7NaQV9Fg_MJ7sahazRstMppWLjdU9VcT_K3pz-RwKLE6odz4pY2L1A7rUdpP-8hz_KvPWk29vOr0seKAoe9CpkFaYHzPEQdjjv0A/s1920/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_slash.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfsTWk9CslgQre8TXhL4x_rdaRlCmqcqHdqtlfvYd9npJ3Uu1c7I47GJxEv64S7SKVmbY26qL1QbR6SgVQS7NaQV9Fg_MJ7sahazRstMppWLjdU9VcT_K3pz-RwKLE6odz4pY2L1A7rUdpP-8hz_KvPWk29vOr0seKAoe9CpkFaYHzPEQdjjv0A/w200-h113/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_slash.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brianna attacked</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It starts in a club and a woman, Brianna (Giulia Nunnari), engaged in a passionate kiss with a fella (Andrea Melis). She breaks off the kiss and determines to leave, he appears to follow. Walking across a town square she is clearly drunk and gets a phone call. She denies to Jenny (Anastasiya Bogach) that she is drunk. However, her instincts do click in and she starts to think she is being followed and starts to drunkenly run. Reaching steps, she loses her heels and gets to a gate but it is padlocked. She is approached (we don’t see the person(s) in detail but perspective suggests from left and right) and a clawed hand slashes over her face.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCiA2sGCFgRISGkhuCxRxZ3Nu6tqalz82mkzSGxSHLexqjOHd5irtupKRU9gCzvQMvg9ith6lkPct39EV4JNXsVVkxDOr34mBGHA5669aJ7sI1PREW0BLZdMETdI8bDP80gGT5zU8LBDNEv5nl3XvcK4TmFzkhU_lXm7VwPx7LGUx5IqAe6AUSfA/s1920/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_train.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCiA2sGCFgRISGkhuCxRxZ3Nu6tqalz82mkzSGxSHLexqjOHd5irtupKRU9gCzvQMvg9ith6lkPct39EV4JNXsVVkxDOr34mBGHA5669aJ7sI1PREW0BLZdMETdI8bDP80gGT5zU8LBDNEv5nl3XvcK4TmFzkhU_lXm7VwPx7LGUx5IqAe6AUSfA/w200-h113/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_train.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blake and Kelsey</td></tr></tbody></table><br />A train going through Italian countryside and onboard Kelsey (Diana Gardner) is on her phone and Blake (Nathaniel Ansbach) is bored. He suggests she stops doing work as they’re on vacation – pointing out that the world won’t end if the assistant to the assistant goes offline. They are there for the hen night and then wedding of mutual friend Rochelle (Isabella Egizi). It becomes apparent that Kelsey has a hangup as groom-to-be Richard (Davide Nurra) is Kelsey’s ex, who cheated on her and then got together with Rochelle. Blake suggests she concentrates on Italian hunks, that’s what he’ll be doing.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8C7xZ7CnBfrFV5AEgx7IJLcMTGQ4lV6gKEZWrXa9cjcdnNq4WB3JeJN-knUmFr5E7MqlH1eXQB62qqJSBNHZyEnRj0wvav8MUylkbNvF1K_7EXOzXQto7wzBru7F-lJeLyABJCClAUns18hpwN40uyylhU3bsbdtUZVaK9YEcn5sB38zOp-vbnA/s1920/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_fun%20at%20the%20beach.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8C7xZ7CnBfrFV5AEgx7IJLcMTGQ4lV6gKEZWrXa9cjcdnNq4WB3JeJN-knUmFr5E7MqlH1eXQB62qqJSBNHZyEnRj0wvav8MUylkbNvF1K_7EXOzXQto7wzBru7F-lJeLyABJCClAUns18hpwN40uyylhU3bsbdtUZVaK9YEcn5sB38zOp-vbnA/w200-h113/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_fun%20at%20the%20beach.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">friends at the beach</td></tr></tbody></table><br />They have to go straight to meet Rochelle and Jenny at the beach. Rochelle is an influencer and Jenny is stage managing her wedding as an event. It is interesting that this used the influencer phenomena and I watched it just a few weeks after doing my chapter for a forthcoming book, my piece touching partly on influencers in the vampire genre (more on that when the book comes out eventually), as this uses that trend well as a plot device and key element. Things aren’t going quite to plan, Brianna has not turned up and simply texted an excuse and Kelsey is not in the choreographed beachwear expected. It is organiser Jenny who seems more Bridezilla than the bride, Rochelle just suggests not posting pictures of Kelsey whilst off-brand (she has sponsors, she’s sure her friend will understand).
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYMyz6PUk2k3mOYA-T4G0p2OS6j-LvUvQSumQ6ywjmHddlqW2NJaTD27mR0jJbLpMSaWVUopAXVmtxdOeUvdrodIW0b5SzVagOa6gVFCz98V5PgkN2M3vQwyzydO67K6iRZqGfTL8F8Qw7moW8NKEQCC6orEakA7kwjX4wY4aRqDUo8Z0GlWOZg/s1920/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_book.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyYMyz6PUk2k3mOYA-T4G0p2OS6j-LvUvQSumQ6ywjmHddlqW2NJaTD27mR0jJbLpMSaWVUopAXVmtxdOeUvdrodIW0b5SzVagOa6gVFCz98V5PgkN2M3vQwyzydO67K6iRZqGfTL8F8Qw7moW8NKEQCC6orEakA7kwjX4wY4aRqDUo8Z0GlWOZg/w200-h113/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_book.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">in the book</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Kelsey takes the opportunity to look around the town and, as she does, comes across Brianna’s shoes (not knowing they are hers, of course) and then a rose at the gate where the woman was subsequently attacked. Picking it up, she pricks her finger and when she puts it back down there is blood on the white petals. She is accosted by a woman (Laura Mura) with a photo. She works out that the woman is looking for a missing person (presumably her daughter) and she notices a red centred broach the woman wears. She then gets to a shop and, inside, sees a pendant with the same red centre. The shop owner Dario (Riccardo Angelini) explains that the centre is blood of a martyr and the legend of a hypnotic spider who used to prey on the village, which the blood is said to protect from. He gives her the necklace. Blake arrives and, after Dario is told that Blake and Kelsey are not boyfriend/girlfriend, flirting occurs with Blake, who gets Dario’s number. Dario has said Kelsey looks familiar and there is a book he has with a sepia photo that looks just like her.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAtZSAKFQsrtYSI7PDNupsgBnxh99GhospqIINrLkGGhkuKmqbSBZ8KfCZ1XStW5kCXPR2xBE1Rdhdpt7VFuoc_9iQIiRR0T0AHwfnrYwRI6ndo_UhQazrV2BKayE3Aknn9NMsiSt5OszHlWZkjj7pW_slypkK5PSHhms6GRxHJDYPDsd_AK3cA/s1920/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_victor%20and%20kelsey.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAtZSAKFQsrtYSI7PDNupsgBnxh99GhospqIINrLkGGhkuKmqbSBZ8KfCZ1XStW5kCXPR2xBE1Rdhdpt7VFuoc_9iQIiRR0T0AHwfnrYwRI6ndo_UhQazrV2BKayE3Aknn9NMsiSt5OszHlWZkjj7pW_slypkK5PSHhms6GRxHJDYPDsd_AK3cA/w200-h113/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_victor%20and%20kelsey.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Victor and Kelsey</td></tr></tbody></table><br />They get to the villa they are staying in, which has been donated for their use by Victor (Fabián Castro). There is an aside of seeing Brianna’s room festooned with cobwebs but nothing else is done with that. Kelsey wears the expected outfit but also the new pendent, which Jenny makes her remove as it doesn’t go with the look. A text from Brianna summons them to a club recommended by Victor, who is (of course) the vampire and is waiting for them. <div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKT04kPqdbhOmtj5hXhNWocmXb9hb3q6zR0vWDn1Zm7eDfTD-v9R-2zBGlRIyROaAs9ukZZq6nkNn6sXbKfOim0y3Cv4kR35wGtkwuGSDfbDNV1TuXFHJX86qfOwBzDq9tZ2HmDlnCmYSDAcISNYmZvuyIKvgyhNsyprZjDhBA-Bc5WNuVk9NcQ/s1920/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_hypno%20eyes.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaKT04kPqdbhOmtj5hXhNWocmXb9hb3q6zR0vWDn1Zm7eDfTD-v9R-2zBGlRIyROaAs9ukZZq6nkNn6sXbKfOim0y3Cv4kR35wGtkwuGSDfbDNV1TuXFHJX86qfOwBzDq9tZ2HmDlnCmYSDAcISNYmZvuyIKvgyhNsyprZjDhBA-Bc5WNuVk9NcQ/w200-h113/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_hypno%20eyes.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hypnotic eyes</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It isn’t a spoiler really to tell you that he is after Kelsey (who closely resembles his lost love) but this vampire is not depicted romantically or misunderstood, rather he manipulates, enforces his will hypnotically (and through blood, which can also cause controlled hallucinations) to force consent, is a predator and drawn evil – all of which is great. Towards the end we hear that he drew them to him, offering the free accommodation, having seen the pictures of Kelsey posted by Rochelle and that makes this spider’s web the internet as well as having physical webbing (there is also a moment where rose petals are laid out in the form of a spiderweb).
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NtakwBW8461AubRjY6fZ754RfBSYY6e1KTkWyixZiSPXoFz2Yy0BOCuRbOH_UVvl-MmBcu3zTDvg_1TMPYddaZD5Z3BMR-WSfs-5zaRzQz5pkuKznS-ZKx-uukZiPQF8K_1YAF1KDl027c9iHxQtxykf9RdR0YwPQo_fm5mVGNAKXkcLipALew/s1920/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_blake%20and%20dario.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NtakwBW8461AubRjY6fZ754RfBSYY6e1KTkWyixZiSPXoFz2Yy0BOCuRbOH_UVvl-MmBcu3zTDvg_1TMPYddaZD5Z3BMR-WSfs-5zaRzQz5pkuKznS-ZKx-uukZiPQF8K_1YAF1KDl027c9iHxQtxykf9RdR0YwPQo_fm5mVGNAKXkcLipALew/w200-h113/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_blake%20and%20dario.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blake and Dario</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Dario is the last of a line of vampire hunting knights and is searching for a vial of martyr’s blood that will damage Victor (much like holy water). The martyr blood aspect was the neat bit of lore and was used really well. Other rules are standard – lack of reflection, stake through the heart and the need for invitation. This extends to his own house as the guests have signed a rental agreement and Jenny (the signatory) is the one who must invite him. He has a couple of minions and there is a fabulous moment with one of them that I won’t spoil.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu43WoDupC3IPmZvNSdLalEdbvM4umNo_Wk3dHQS_SnzkLrXvetc-6ADZiIZ4ANYaVCLlJLhVMy51f4LHqy1yXrPFrGoALrcu26XJDiayhuTR_xsjZ3SmCQg2Xy4eh2e9w2jedfMDqoypjbI82EsaU8Yy7eXLDcsJz9vgHua_AhcwjXq162LTxBQ/s1920/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_spider%20form.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu43WoDupC3IPmZvNSdLalEdbvM4umNo_Wk3dHQS_SnzkLrXvetc-6ADZiIZ4ANYaVCLlJLhVMy51f4LHqy1yXrPFrGoALrcu26XJDiayhuTR_xsjZ3SmCQg2Xy4eh2e9w2jedfMDqoypjbI82EsaU8Yy7eXLDcsJz9vgHua_AhcwjXq162LTxBQ/w200-h113/You%20Shouldnt%20Have%20Let%20Me%20In_spider%20form.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">spider form</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The film is fairly standard plot wise, with the spider element and the martyr’s blood adding its own twist to a familiar story, but it is well done. The cinematography works and nothing looks too cheap, despite it being a budget production. The characters seemed natural, the queer elements are not forced but rather they fit organically, and the pace bobbed along without dragging. I liked the influencer (and related abuse of the influencer by the vampire) themes. Is it the greatest film – of course not. But it is certainly worth a watch.<span style="color: red;"> 6 out of 10</span>.
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31215597/">here</a>.
</div>Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-45326514888907252772024-03-14T10:03:00.000-07:002024-03-14T10:03:59.574-07:00Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger: Papa wa Kyûketsuki!? – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiA-PS8xHuEyVGIA9J8B0P3kCEEqWSldcFf_H2fVGc5749bhkKz9UNqbbJ2SiG_S7T8RDThzbVP2PlcoFsZXy16WeGlVcXaxDi5H9r95jHoMsTWYvqz7yidyBq9DGV8jqQXZ6xUbJM_EM6vZWIEcfiz4QTC11vILnWah5qaYivAK77_L1rt8EPA/s1398/Kyoryu%20Sentai%20Zyuranger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1398" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKiA-PS8xHuEyVGIA9J8B0P3kCEEqWSldcFf_H2fVGc5749bhkKz9UNqbbJ2SiG_S7T8RDThzbVP2PlcoFsZXy16WeGlVcXaxDi5H9r95jHoMsTWYvqz7yidyBq9DGV8jqQXZ6xUbJM_EM6vZWIEcfiz4QTC11vILnWah5qaYivAK77_L1rt8EPA/s320/Kyoryu%20Sentai%20Zyuranger.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><br />Director: Katsuya Watanabe
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First aired: 1992
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Contains spoilers
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Power Rangers may have been a popular franchise in the US and UK, but they were based on a Japanese series called Super Sentai, with new live action footage, including actors, cultural references and plot. This episode of the Super Sentai series Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Dinosaur Squad) saw aspects cut into a couple of the Mighty Morphin’ episodes and the vampire aspect, which had Japanese actors, was lost in that. The episode title translates to Papa's a Vampire!?
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT6b4AFfKOJkUKOjRkOGe3ya_wdJwG-6DFnTM7aaeL0hSYHYNUw_Wb98nYii_z_MJuaI9Cfx6CckXw1DIc4X1LuwC_ahTuRDifu1sCdGr7Ok3_fLbL6N-Foywtb1h7oz2ow5Zk_gjXq1lEi9b8EzJHAwpAFE8xger3WNa1yuuYb1VzQSk3m_XuZQ/s1920/Kyoryu%20Sentai%20Zyuranger_in%20foliage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT6b4AFfKOJkUKOjRkOGe3ya_wdJwG-6DFnTM7aaeL0hSYHYNUw_Wb98nYii_z_MJuaI9Cfx6CckXw1DIc4X1LuwC_ahTuRDifu1sCdGr7Ok3_fLbL6N-Foywtb1h7oz2ow5Zk_gjXq1lEi9b8EzJHAwpAFE8xger3WNa1yuuYb1VzQSk3m_XuZQ/w200-h113/Kyoryu%20Sentai%20Zyuranger_in%20foliage.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hiding in foliage</td></tr></tbody></table><br />A young girl is walking in a park when, within the foliage, we see a monster emerge named Totpat (voiced by Shinoda Kaoru). He bemoans that he has vampire blood but has never drunk human blood and goes after the girl. When he springs out on her she cries ‘Monster’ and this is heard by a young girl called Michi (Fujita Miki) who runs up, baseball bat in hand, and the monster flees.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_E3p3Rcmm447mMJod_5fzoeOym_dPQlt4AaZIj77r_YltmwUx-QyMjE7BAmZGCsnGCYYpQIGdtJOE5PB8xWVGR9QUFP2q8S_JMybRV_3fSB0gXeL1EtPIJS9PGmiiT4lHwfY139aQKlSK6Pt1lKwI-qmqEx59e-Ja174DramDDk2HFY26aXBPqA/s1920/Kyoryu%20Sentai%20Zyuranger_speaking%20to%20Dan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_E3p3Rcmm447mMJod_5fzoeOym_dPQlt4AaZIj77r_YltmwUx-QyMjE7BAmZGCsnGCYYpQIGdtJOE5PB8xWVGR9QUFP2q8S_JMybRV_3fSB0gXeL1EtPIJS9PGmiiT4lHwfY139aQKlSK6Pt1lKwI-qmqEx59e-Ja174DramDDk2HFY26aXBPqA/w200-h113/Kyoryu%20Sentai%20Zyuranger_speaking%20to%20Dan.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">prone to exaggeration</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Dan (Fujiwara Hideki), who is one of the Zyurangers, is walking along when he sees Michi chasing a policeman (Iba Takashi) with her bat, shouting that there was a monster as the policeman denies any such report. Dan asks the girl if she really has seen a monster but the policeman intervenes and says that he is Michi’s father and she is a good girl but prone to exaggeration. Dan, however, goes off with Michi believing her story.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPBvHljRyJ3Vd4EKmBKsnZuE5vAVjJXDgPaEgZia9sUHG6yb12V3y6Jm3RIgGUNLrgYKoCv8msJ9UOWRG4QIITvjAwywpsvrI8rp89J2qTkuVS4EU-k52bLR-9zH_jshF7veMbvnwR8mxP5JZSrfQw__A6a-SxgqYsMDglP_8wqhSV0ADFBQroQ/s1920/Kyoryu%20Sentai%20Zyuranger_papa%20the%20vampire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPBvHljRyJ3Vd4EKmBKsnZuE5vAVjJXDgPaEgZia9sUHG6yb12V3y6Jm3RIgGUNLrgYKoCv8msJ9UOWRG4QIITvjAwywpsvrI8rp89J2qTkuVS4EU-k52bLR-9zH_jshF7veMbvnwR8mxP5JZSrfQw__A6a-SxgqYsMDglP_8wqhSV0ADFBQroQ/w200-h113/Kyoryu%20Sentai%20Zyuranger_papa%20the%20vampire.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa's a Vampire!?</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Meanwhile, Bandora (Soga Machiko), the evil witch who is the enemy of the Zyurangers is presented with her new monster, Dora Argus (Tokumaru Kan). She sends him to Earth to harm children and to help Totpat to be able to suck as much blood as he wants. Dora Argus is made up of eyes and he lures Michi away with a floating eyeball until she is alone and isolated and confronted by a giant eye (the monster’s primary one). He pulls her into a world of hallucination. Within this world she sees a vampire sucking blood from a victim. He looks up and it is her dad.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6lvRu5t-Jx-QR5dqorSZeM6RPnCiLe-mbB_Y8ep1ooMRZOvZjTKcLltgnREzA6VjIo5HAwIdtqGOTb1MbWISahyphenhyphenD30OZ2G1yZ1wtDLwXaDJzUtZniNOQSCi-n1weHQMxGLLdiCOZCHUSmGBWIvAFUaDc4ssnkyBDeDwwKFkp8WriGqXOWfmAsw/s1920/Kyoryu%20Sentai%20Zyuranger_rangers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6lvRu5t-Jx-QR5dqorSZeM6RPnCiLe-mbB_Y8ep1ooMRZOvZjTKcLltgnREzA6VjIo5HAwIdtqGOTb1MbWISahyphenhyphenD30OZ2G1yZ1wtDLwXaDJzUtZniNOQSCi-n1weHQMxGLLdiCOZCHUSmGBWIvAFUaDc4ssnkyBDeDwwKFkp8WriGqXOWfmAsw/w200-h113/Kyoryu%20Sentai%20Zyuranger_rangers.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zyurangers</td></tr></tbody></table><br />She emerges back into the real world and walks, trance like, with Totpat ready to strike until she is nearly knocked over by Zyurangers Boi (Hashimoto Takumi) and Mei (Chiba Reiko). Michi cries that her father is a vampire. Most of the Zyurangers are sceptical, bar Dan who believes her tears. He and Michi are left as the others investigate and they are confronted by the eye, this time both of them being pulled into the other world and Dan seeing the vampire for himself. Will they get out and will Michi trust her (innocent) father again?
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2HUOKRF6FuNhpmWbzdW77fKX844hsa0IwECkWTtj94qVMIjsEyweWESjQZ_9GUKqiWx5VNZ3sAiL7IrU5lmaKW8yUzS2TXIBhzvWIN8j0ZJP_HtfmFZ6YNcYYJOflxEuQFjZj1vwNkyjnHJ4_QxNGDijgUWAQyj81g7U7Xracmh-sB5uhD7msJw/s1920/Kyoryu%20Sentai%20Zyuranger_cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2HUOKRF6FuNhpmWbzdW77fKX844hsa0IwECkWTtj94qVMIjsEyweWESjQZ_9GUKqiWx5VNZ3sAiL7IrU5lmaKW8yUzS2TXIBhzvWIN8j0ZJP_HtfmFZ6YNcYYJOflxEuQFjZj1vwNkyjnHJ4_QxNGDijgUWAQyj81g7U7Xracmh-sB5uhD7msJw/w200-h113/Kyoryu%20Sentai%20Zyuranger_cross.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">convenient cross</td></tr></tbody></table><br />There isn’t a lot of vampire lore in this, but we do get a smidge. The vampire’s cloak acts of its own volition, fighting with Dan and knocking a cross (that Michi conveniently carries) out of the young girl’s hand when she tries to ward 'her father' with it. Of course it would be a case of belief in vampires, if not for Totpat who is a vampire (though perpetually incompetent at sucking blood, it seems). The episode itself is primarily geared towards the fight between the Zyurangers and Dora Argus, and the subsequent fight between the latter in kaiju form and the mecha of the Zyurangers. The Michi story is interesting but throwaway. That said it does work, albeit that it vacillates between simplistic and overly convoluted (as a plan to suck blood). <span style="color: red;">4 out of 10</span> for the episode as a standalone.
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The episode's imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2040954/">here</a>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3l1f3Nu">The complete series on DVD @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3ZxQbfq">The complete series on DVD @ Amazon UK</a>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-46744272439681507812024-03-12T10:30:00.000-07:002024-03-12T10:36:03.496-07:00Short Film: Dracula a Silhouette Animation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKsf5Qq9QBpUkrRjY-rNgOSoggxypllx4H9IKpoDW5aw7qZdJ4BRc7JrFt_1CU03BDVMVrw-uX2_Xs5GWhHDFEycEJ0Wd4BEzhCUk60UDh3LDxwdKkuwQlKoD3Jq29EKdkEkv-JqWwCS6ae-G9_4Pgze-I_6kwkPtIJttk7CL8UYmSwMExuF0Kiw/s1920/Dracula%20a%20Silhouette%20Animation.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKsf5Qq9QBpUkrRjY-rNgOSoggxypllx4H9IKpoDW5aw7qZdJ4BRc7JrFt_1CU03BDVMVrw-uX2_Xs5GWhHDFEycEJ0Wd4BEzhCUk60UDh3LDxwdKkuwQlKoD3Jq29EKdkEkv-JqWwCS6ae-G9_4Pgze-I_6kwkPtIJttk7CL8UYmSwMExuF0Kiw/w200-h113/Dracula%20a%20Silhouette%20Animation.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />Animated and directed by John S. Carolan this is a short film version of <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2006/08/classic-literature-dracula.html">Dracula</a> that crams the story into just 6-minutes. Whilst the writing credits look both to Carolan and Bram Stoker (or Stocker as the title page suggests!), the broad chops of the story owe something to <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2018/05/classic-literature-dracula-ultimate.html">Deane and Balderston</a> respectively.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqU9e9jOqmuwJ-1rS8o5O3Ww69xp9weaWkDtxpm-GwF7VhZIJIW_MzTmwnJ0Nq4h3rtI1xx1pV27xIBsKH7KmxavUlls_OuhJRK3gNH1XKoePimGod1vJ7R5KoDqDwRBhYOx0vybEY7FP7U1SYnMJuAkOSlfO3SNTp-S2w1MnxXmbAnDFkrE3bA/s1920/Dracula%20a%20Silhouette%20Animation_attacking%20Lucy.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqU9e9jOqmuwJ-1rS8o5O3Ww69xp9weaWkDtxpm-GwF7VhZIJIW_MzTmwnJ0Nq4h3rtI1xx1pV27xIBsKH7KmxavUlls_OuhJRK3gNH1XKoePimGod1vJ7R5KoDqDwRBhYOx0vybEY7FP7U1SYnMJuAkOSlfO3SNTp-S2w1MnxXmbAnDFkrE3bA/w200-h113/Dracula%20a%20Silhouette%20Animation_attacking%20Lucy.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">attacking Lucy</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The animation is very basic, using silhouettes and intertitles as opposed to voice actors – this decision fits well with a silhouette of Dracula who owes much to the Orlock incarnation. The intertitles are very simplistically written as befits the curtailed and sparse narrative. What probably makes this for me was the use of Camille Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre, which moves the film along nicely. The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12295416/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_29">here</a>.
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="285" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dzDuIm0TmmM" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-48678806568599826042024-03-10T04:14:00.000-07:002024-03-10T04:16:49.277-07:00The Undying – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vx3TW8xuzglvYnHYFh7IBpp4D6xfazakvvmsIJM8hCpC0arU2x-ocb4jRxfi-Mf0e9H4OLVD7ed_AdDTlv5_MXF2OZmNsUqOj1WpXtyMZqoQ83A0SXBEOevELXbChTeAWa6dBbvCbvbMQOuUJEWmAACJkqyjPJLOWAgzIJAIObvr6zxuA8RuFw/s1000/undying.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="667" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vx3TW8xuzglvYnHYFh7IBpp4D6xfazakvvmsIJM8hCpC0arU2x-ocb4jRxfi-Mf0e9H4OLVD7ed_AdDTlv5_MXF2OZmNsUqOj1WpXtyMZqoQ83A0SXBEOevELXbChTeAWa6dBbvCbvbMQOuUJEWmAACJkqyjPJLOWAgzIJAIObvr6zxuA8RuFw/s320/undying.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Author: Mudrooroo
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First Published: 1998
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Contains spoilers
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<br /><span style="color: #04ff00;">The Blurb</span>:A daring and thrilling journey into a fantastical world of shamans and vampires where aboriginal Dreaming and Gothic horror are woven together to create a powerful and seamless narrative.
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I'm the stranger with strange habits which make me avoid the full light of day, enter into the warm circle of your fire and will exchange my yarn for your company...
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The stranger, George, tells a story of wonder and horror. Jangamuttuk, his father and Master of the Ghost Dreaming, is a shaman with ceremonies to send the white ghosts back to their own world. But the ghosts keep coming, settling on the land and destroying the local people. Initiated into the Dreaming, George learns the secret of transforming into his animal companion, Dingo, and discovers the thrill of the hunt. But he is not alone in his lust for blood. Amelia, the white woman, shares his appetite, feeding on humans and animals to maintain her terrible power.
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<div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #04ff00;">The Review</span>: When I came across this in the chapter <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2024/03/handbook-of-vampire-australia-and-new.html">Australia and New Zealand Vampires</a> of <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/p/database.html">Palgrave’s Handbook of the Vampires</a> I knew I wanted to read a book that drew vampires into Indigenous Australian belief and was written by an Indigenous writer. What I was not expecting, until I read the book and then researched for this review, was the controversy around Mudrooroo’s status as an Indigenous writer. Born Colin Johnson, he changed his name in 1988 but his claim to Indigenous heritage was questioned in 1996 and his sister, Betty Polglaze, had done some (incomplete from what I can tell) genealogy that traced their ancestry mainly back to European settlers, with some African American heritage. Whether his ancestry did contain Indigenous heritage, was a literary hoax or was a misplaced but sincere belief, I cannot begin to posit. He was, of course, Australian and his work deserved to be covered in the chapter I discovered it in, though mention of the controversy was something that should have been included. I will say that, as I read it, my first reaction was that its style owed much to the Beats – and, <a href="https://jpellegrino.com/teaching/mudrooroo.html">within the research</a> I did, I have picked up that his first novel was “<i>heavily influenced by the poetry of Ginsberg and the prose of Kerouac</i>”.
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For the book itself, however, it must be stated that this is the second of the Master of the Ghost Dreaming series. I read it without the benefit of that first book but was not lost in doing so. The first book was about a group of Indigenous people in Tasmania who were ruled over by a “ghost” called Fada – ghost being terminology for the white settlers, thought to be spirits or returned dead and Fada being a thinly veiled version of the historical George Augustus Robinson. Jangamuttuk finds a song that allows them to escape Fada and this volume starts with the survivors on a stolen schooner, helmed by African Wadawaka (later identified as a freed man, through Britain’s abolitionist movement, whose imposed name – John Summer – likely conflated two historic identities. Jonathan Strong and Somerset, <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/ces/5142?lang=en">2014</a>). The story is told by George, Jangamuttuk’s son and details them finding the mainland, George’s first hunt in which he tastes (wallaby) blood and gains a fever that awakens his spirit animal – the blood drinking dingo. They then, in the dreamtime, encounter a bat creature who, in a melee, manages to drink of his blood and he accidentally drinks of its. That bat is the animal form of Amelia, a blonde-haired white woman from London who happens to be a vampire.
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This vampirism is Euro-centric, with her needing to sleep on native earth, avoid sunlight and able to hypnotise victims. Sharing of blood allows her to create a servant – though George, who she later terms “her dog”, had a vampiric tendency anyway. She is, however, recognised by both George’s mother and Wadawaka (separately) as a vampire. The former calls her a blood sucker and the latter calls her a subagu (I couldn’t find an origin for the term). This euro-centric aspect is further underlined by her making a (bogus) shaman her servant and calling him Renfield (though this is devolved to Renfiel as it is the closest that he can pronounce). The book also has a werebear (of the polar variety) who is one of the colonisers.
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I found the book a strange brew of western ideas, Australian Indigenous lore (though I cannot say how authentic this was) and a brutal commentary on the colonisation of the continent. The language, as I mentioned, was reminiscent of the Beats and that drew me into the world Mudrooroo created. I have no idea if his claimed racial heritage was real or not but I certainly enjoyed this book. <span style="color: red;">7.5 out of 10</span>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/433d4tN">In Paperback @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3wEkOpU">In Paperback @ Amazon UK</a>
</div>Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-64528888685428634262024-03-08T09:00:00.000-08:002024-03-09T02:06:56.326-08:00The Temperature of Darkness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZrbdwscOKNtrV1_hYOrh7QC_XYeScAZtbnHPVhvfujFu6f_QnHGGOVrP8szLNbUJolskYOWjPP_p5J0iKP-qnGLrk5JFRyZ6ScLnRICRkonVvg8yvOYy3wDmrWLFGJ0k-CXVdDSUgTmDkQqFGUjsG-7g613XdBS4kyh0iP50h3v0Q3ivdCD6mQ/s1600/Temperature%20of%20Darkness.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZrbdwscOKNtrV1_hYOrh7QC_XYeScAZtbnHPVhvfujFu6f_QnHGGOVrP8szLNbUJolskYOWjPP_p5J0iKP-qnGLrk5JFRyZ6ScLnRICRkonVvg8yvOYy3wDmrWLFGJ0k-CXVdDSUgTmDkQqFGUjsG-7g613XdBS4kyh0iP50h3v0Q3ivdCD6mQ/s320/Temperature%20of%20Darkness.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />Director: Brett Davis
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Release date: 2013
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Contains spoilers
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This is a film that, as I write, is available to watch on <a href="https://youtu.be/eDewqkn7Yro?si=5EWJTYlJ1nn6I30B">YouTube</a> so this is less a review and more of an awareness raising article. It is based on <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2006/08/classic-literature-dracula.html">Dracula</a> and, in doing so, it carries an interesting conceit – which does take some suspension of belief, to be fair. It is also, ostensibly, a found footage style film – this doesn’t hold to scrutiny as there as some deliberate shots out with the in-film cameras, nevertheless it is mostly in that style. It is clearly a budget film and several of the players have only this in their IMDb credits, so that needs taking into account.
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It starts with a man, Singh (Rajesh Rajan), talking to camera about the footage we’re about to see and the fact that he has taken efforts to make sure his family are safe. He mentions that they did discover a new way to kill a vampire.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSjji6evy9B_sWZByRLBa2hj6978SI6o_wr_F_5b9bCoxYr8jw2qXcHkyjNJkq0UG_ewHQLklt0SJSLBUVJbmZjxEDHg2LfxKCZ09SpZ14ZamjdtiJKo86iAAZNApwFUu3hE80BtvUFin5KDqv74WOeeLuGtjP-WQrmJPZqHhtygiSMUi9N60kg/s1280/Temperature%20of%20Darkness_jonathan%20and%20mona.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSjji6evy9B_sWZByRLBa2hj6978SI6o_wr_F_5b9bCoxYr8jw2qXcHkyjNJkq0UG_ewHQLklt0SJSLBUVJbmZjxEDHg2LfxKCZ09SpZ14ZamjdtiJKo86iAAZNApwFUu3hE80BtvUFin5KDqv74WOeeLuGtjP-WQrmJPZqHhtygiSMUi9N60kg/w200-h113/Temperature%20of%20Darkness_jonathan%20and%20mona.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonathan and Mona</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Someone holding a camera asks a young woman what she is doing, she says looking at the horizon. She is Mona Morelli (Kathleen Mason) and he is Jonathan Harper (Tom Shuggars). She is in a bit of a grump and not really wanting to see the video of Jonathan’s recent business trip nor hang with his friends Quince (Dan Thorp) and Lucy (Sharanya Ravi) – the names, as you can tell are rather similar to those in Stoker. He shows them the trip, which was a flight for his realtor company to England – through London (we get some footage) and then to a village.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgKSeKjMmV87OjJrvN5OX21da-f88Pdd_Z7Hy_BlcRKD44IpnwDFSfCSdOs39QohsBBGFsT-b-VmMqv5a9H3CLGrnvfqIwf1qKaJNn6A6uMGG6EJVgtvtSoo66Qn4SALRTM80Lb-5jUtsyo1fg9dCH3WbCVSHQ9MLHrn292HRsTFKctlwOqh9Tw/s1280/Temperature%20of%20Darkness_mates.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgKSeKjMmV87OjJrvN5OX21da-f88Pdd_Z7Hy_BlcRKD44IpnwDFSfCSdOs39QohsBBGFsT-b-VmMqv5a9H3CLGrnvfqIwf1qKaJNn6A6uMGG6EJVgtvtSoo66Qn4SALRTM80Lb-5jUtsyo1fg9dCH3WbCVSHQ9MLHrn292HRsTFKctlwOqh9Tw/w200-h113/Temperature%20of%20Darkness_mates.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mates together</td></tr></tbody></table><br />In the village he meets Captain Dragar (Lawrance Binda) bringing the deeds and paperwortk for the beach house they are in. He films as he goes in but the camera is aimed at Dragar’s fingers, not at his upper torso/face. He asks to take a picture – noting here that the camera switches to him holding his camera, breaking the found footage conceit – and later, when he gets the film developed Dragar is not in one picture and fuzzy in another. Dragar, apparently, was so taken with the property that he has allowed Jonathan use of it before he arrives in America and insisted that he brings his friends – especially Mona, who was seen on Jonathan’s phone.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrjE90AFm-Vo61797DwuCkJ7GxI_4ZRmSnOokhFX8zC8xQ4q9SJ2dwwdRcQhxWThZx7OS8IQ_7bUM_YsOOe6kV291L557nvzcVXSU9W5JuV-EB7nC0PC6woRVQcFr1CLpQSfyj7g2xwzGHzBFhYCeD27icr7ZY_q6d-VRTyX7F_MZ7POQ-ivsng/s1280/Temperature%20of%20Darkness_dragar.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrjE90AFm-Vo61797DwuCkJ7GxI_4ZRmSnOokhFX8zC8xQ4q9SJ2dwwdRcQhxWThZx7OS8IQ_7bUM_YsOOe6kV291L557nvzcVXSU9W5JuV-EB7nC0PC6woRVQcFr1CLpQSfyj7g2xwzGHzBFhYCeD27icr7ZY_q6d-VRTyX7F_MZ7POQ-ivsng/w200-h113/Temperature%20of%20Darkness_dragar.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lawrance Binda as Captain Dragar</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It’s interesting that we still have an East to West journey, but rather than to England, this is from England and to the USA. We get a little time dedicated to the friends. Mona, it should be noted, has told her father (Mike McMullin) she is on a girl’s trip and he has insisted that she brings bodyguards, Jack (Brian Polensky) and Gino (Brian Polensky), who wait outside and are cool with the deceit with regarding her companions as she is nice to them. Her father is essentially a mafia boss and also makes her wear a GPS tracker. We also get a moment with a fortune-teller (Rachel Shigley) who essentially tells them all that they have no future. Eventually Dragar arrives, puts supplies in the basement but lets the guys stay on. Lucy sleepwalks and becomes withdrawn, avoiding the sun etc. There is a point made of them inviting him up to where they are staying (and confirmation that an invitation was needed later). This doesn’t sit right as he owns the property.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaj8nWA489358K8t_CpU4bw9NWoQjRIKO4Fsf3D-tHvot6anSVAVthPg6H7S-VaNrrr-stwtfhE-QHCgdLVWFAeviZPzCP6W9eTZr8Dfs2-5JbCv1JfD8YOyHKju0asCY3ryzh1jLXdP7M8rPTKF1nFSwdNzaPBemR9LYPoFRbfxstqE-d68h4Q/s1280/Temperature%20of%20Darkness_van%20singh.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtaj8nWA489358K8t_CpU4bw9NWoQjRIKO4Fsf3D-tHvot6anSVAVthPg6H7S-VaNrrr-stwtfhE-QHCgdLVWFAeviZPzCP6W9eTZr8Dfs2-5JbCv1JfD8YOyHKju0asCY3ryzh1jLXdP7M8rPTKF1nFSwdNzaPBemR9LYPoFRbfxstqE-d68h4Q/w200-h113/Temperature%20of%20Darkness_van%20singh.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rajesh Rajan as Van Singh</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Mona is approached by Singh at a gas station and blows him off at first but eventually calls him as odd things are happening. He explains that Bram Stoker was a journalist and his family have killed Dracula, under different names, multiple times – his actual name is Van Singh. Dracula/Dragar is a creature of habit and looks for patterns – hence choosing a group of friends with names close to those in the novel. Noteworthy here is Lucy’s surname is West and Quince is from Texas also. That was the conceit where my suspension of disbelief struggled, though I did like the idea that the vampire repeated his predations in a pattern and I like the fact that he was widely known due to the novel, but the chances of a group of friends fitting the pattern like that seemed far-fetched.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc8K2Qfheobkj_wLB59PoqYvk9VcExLhzKJiTBShg2UchyxCdxdVpPDLIPpJ_ZkjZVulnDbueWDLQRL9MAgMt-cgS7nNSLWKFXK3jbLp_c81gWf9xAWQl__9Hlf-1iUG9pIZsLyd3ISpv66zMaZjeLPmoWGrOqwUM4gvFCqYSFqW94O4iusgR9rA/s1280/Temperature%20of%20Darkness_vampire%20Lucy%20with%20Quice.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc8K2Qfheobkj_wLB59PoqYvk9VcExLhzKJiTBShg2UchyxCdxdVpPDLIPpJ_ZkjZVulnDbueWDLQRL9MAgMt-cgS7nNSLWKFXK3jbLp_c81gWf9xAWQl__9Hlf-1iUG9pIZsLyd3ISpv66zMaZjeLPmoWGrOqwUM4gvFCqYSFqW94O4iusgR9rA/w200-h113/Temperature%20of%20Darkness_vampire%20Lucy%20with%20Quice.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vampire Lucy and Quince</td></tr></tbody></table><br />So lore-wise we have sunlight being an issue (not from the novel, of course), wooden stakes will kill a vampire, garlic will ward him. For some reason Venus Flytraps are associated with vampires (of course a <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/nosferatu-eine-symphonie-des-grauens.html">Nosferatu</a> connection) and become perky when a vampire is around, drooping when not. The new method of killing a vampire was found accidentally – as the flash on Jonathan’s camera is automatically daylight balanced it kills vampires. This is extended to flash/torches on smart phones (though they seem to use the screen). The flash makes them fizzle out in bad cgi (daylight burns). Dragar can control minds, to make you forget he was there and make you not see him (defeated by looking through a smart phone’s video).
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There you have it, a Dracula based vampire film whose imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3431248/">here</a>.
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-41437789391220861062024-03-06T11:45:00.000-08:002024-03-06T11:45:49.684-08:00Tales to Keep You Awake: The Nightmare – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDr_ClIVr9FagLgXWhoET8cGhzsygYdpKqXtPt2Juaxv2r7agLrdf8T30Av1o-pHLrzjulXY3jfrZdbPhsPDDcXqQFUsnA0cQ7Fog7JbvBawlo6_QkCw0XynDixDUR94U623foGa3qYG10FS3DjKSAOZE8QMjPeu_IUXANoK6MUqHdZPtYCXnYOQ/s1000/tales%20to%20keep%20you%20awake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="863" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDr_ClIVr9FagLgXWhoET8cGhzsygYdpKqXtPt2Juaxv2r7agLrdf8T30Av1o-pHLrzjulXY3jfrZdbPhsPDDcXqQFUsnA0cQ7Fog7JbvBawlo6_QkCw0XynDixDUR94U623foGa3qYG10FS3DjKSAOZE8QMjPeu_IUXANoK6MUqHdZPtYCXnYOQ/s320/tales%20to%20keep%20you%20awake.jpg" width="276" /></a></div><br />Director: Narciso Ibáñez Serrador
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First aired: 1967
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Contains spoilers
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Tales to Keep You Awake (Historias para no dormir) was a thriller/horror anthology (with a touch of sci-fi) series in Spain that has rightly been called the Spanish Twilight Zone. It made episodes both from original ideas and based on classic tales (largely Ray Bradbury and Edgar Allan Poe) and cast a wide net on its ideas. Some episodes were geared towards the macabre – there is an excellent first season version of The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar – but others had a touching sentimentality – The Rocket (El cohete) being a prime and fantastically executed example.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfd5p-CeDgvh9OXgAy_ew5ofhqDVizM3-FWnsrvr5bf1QkE0vCQmh5ETeyoG5WGbX8uW75-ukbMHs1umzxRnlzZcrUTareog25QDLM56d40aIqxmYyPC73OtvCl0N-l9VCGbsma8LcDoFGT3ofcTtPCfgFcRxgHfvfhbG3BI83869hOMAlCHySgQ/s1918/Tales%20to%20Keep%20You%20Awake_bite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1918" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfd5p-CeDgvh9OXgAy_ew5ofhqDVizM3-FWnsrvr5bf1QkE0vCQmh5ETeyoG5WGbX8uW75-ukbMHs1umzxRnlzZcrUTareog25QDLM56d40aIqxmYyPC73OtvCl0N-l9VCGbsma8LcDoFGT3ofcTtPCfgFcRxgHfvfhbG3BI83869hOMAlCHySgQ/w200-h113/Tales%20to%20Keep%20You%20Awake_bite.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bite marks</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This episode was from season 2 and pulls on its full gothic sensibilities. It begins with three older women discussing the dresses and stockings that Rosa should wear. As they start it seems almost frivolous and the viewer thinks that, perhaps, Rosa is to go to a dance – until we realise that they are dressing her corpse. The main woman curses the village doctor, calling him stupid for saying she had succumbed to a peculiar weakness. She brushes Rosa’s hair and the movement reveals the punctures on her neck.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8sgPegI-W4A14YEc7q_fLIyqiPJNlr9gts9f5aYz86jS6o08p2Ez1Y5tQ1lI63DghJihtey6ZcrTF4wn2m1D_ZrjhPm90WLCN7xOaO22ualNDJdamdbgFIH5_AQ7ewUfcUYwRzuul_-EuMVLJtxs3kY-9eJFNpnFTSSDpwYSg04_Tc0OfH4Iwrg/s1918/Tales%20to%20Keep%20You%20Awake_suspect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1918" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8sgPegI-W4A14YEc7q_fLIyqiPJNlr9gts9f5aYz86jS6o08p2Ez1Y5tQ1lI63DghJihtey6ZcrTF4wn2m1D_ZrjhPm90WLCN7xOaO22ualNDJdamdbgFIH5_AQ7ewUfcUYwRzuul_-EuMVLJtxs3kY-9eJFNpnFTSSDpwYSg04_Tc0OfH4Iwrg/w200-h113/Tales%20to%20Keep%20You%20Awake_suspect.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fernando Guillén as Yolakin</td></tr></tbody></table><br />We are in the village Kisilova in the Carpathians in 1880 and the innkeeper strings garlic outside his window. Inside he sends Maria to get more bottles of Sloe Gin – it is to be a busy night. Once retrieved he sends her to bed but the girl hides and watches. The men of the village are there and they know that the vampire is the strange and reclusive stranger Yolakin (Fernando Guillén). His nocturnal habits betray him but, they muse, the doctor doesn’t believe it and if they deal with the vampire they’ll hang, despite 6 girls having died. They’ve invited the doctor to talk. He arrives but is not swayed by their arguments so they say if one more girl is harmed Yolakin will die whatever the subsequent outcome. During all this the word wurdulak is used.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFUROVnGG6jz8o_82lWj89Riv5JIamWnQQN4kIZBbeTNpzTTK2XmGQiugGkNvdwDpCtM5MlliB0cIMSSg8SclXr3kweasLGTlYYKqPENrhcnyAATp3j4pF-qeumYnpDVUBwKX1Oj33NkCK6n8GqQvywhM6XLstl6YzrOyZgI9J6WfROjWiXhkoQ/s1918/Tales%20to%20Keep%20You%20Awake_meeting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1918" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioFUROVnGG6jz8o_82lWj89Riv5JIamWnQQN4kIZBbeTNpzTTK2XmGQiugGkNvdwDpCtM5MlliB0cIMSSg8SclXr3kweasLGTlYYKqPENrhcnyAATp3j4pF-qeumYnpDVUBwKX1Oj33NkCK6n8GqQvywhM6XLstl6YzrOyZgI9J6WfROjWiXhkoQ/w200-h113/Tales%20to%20Keep%20You%20Awake_meeting.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">meeting</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Catalina (Gemma Cuervo) is being fussed by the housekeeper, who is making her wear a garland of crushed garlic and silver cross. Maria has come to visit and, once the housekeeper is called away, confides in Catalina what she eavesdropped the night before. She suggests that Catalina should warn Yolakin and it is clear that Catalina has feelings for the stranger – and she does agree to visit him. She gets to his house and is intercepted by Luis, Yolakin’s servant who is going to send her away when Yolakin appears and takes her to the library.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXWtyAipfyKLQivVtHBESLn7lQ1CBgFE2ntumZGiiVOpdDtdvh6xoJERh2PVQmMsAnU0yjWCYXZSWy-8SR7Y39ZwhOYkhmWzvQ2Y58-y-VhwTPlIpp3rwH0HWb_sfJRrugKF7hg3SwzgyhCWSUzoJbM4TC6OJAw0TdGu8DxnuXRQl1pDs_6ulCeg/s1918/Tales%20to%20Keep%20You%20Awake_catalina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1918" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXWtyAipfyKLQivVtHBESLn7lQ1CBgFE2ntumZGiiVOpdDtdvh6xoJERh2PVQmMsAnU0yjWCYXZSWy-8SR7Y39ZwhOYkhmWzvQ2Y58-y-VhwTPlIpp3rwH0HWb_sfJRrugKF7hg3SwzgyhCWSUzoJbM4TC6OJAw0TdGu8DxnuXRQl1pDs_6ulCeg/w200-h113/Tales%20to%20Keep%20You%20Awake_catalina.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gemma Cuervo as Catalina</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It transpires that the doctor and Catalina would, on occasion, dine with Yolakin and she has perceived the looks he bestowed upon her as an indication of his feelings. This is despite her frequently, over 6-months, writing to him and he not replying. She tells him that he should leave the area and take her with him – indeed she demands he go to her that very night. If he fails to do so then… she has taken a keepsake from each of the dead girls and she’ll say she found them buried near his home…
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM143SXMXfiVUqpgYHUXun5SwU4o6AbTEM4MU3j8cYfBIkNzgHURkJuqVvKmI7G4oVHV74YJAXT4QWBEereoEINPEED756YwYg8264WhGOcEx89AXvs4Gmqj5pnc8taD76TDosulqoP1CorR5TRN1ZNOZLUuRNYob_ATujXVHCClzBgxDCBHuN_Q/s1918/Tales%20to%20Keep%20You%20Awake_attacked.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1918" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM143SXMXfiVUqpgYHUXun5SwU4o6AbTEM4MU3j8cYfBIkNzgHURkJuqVvKmI7G4oVHV74YJAXT4QWBEereoEINPEED756YwYg8264WhGOcEx89AXvs4Gmqj5pnc8taD76TDosulqoP1CorR5TRN1ZNOZLUuRNYob_ATujXVHCClzBgxDCBHuN_Q/w200-h113/Tales%20to%20Keep%20You%20Awake_attacked.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">victim</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Has she convinced him or simply irritated a vampire? Is he a vampire at all, or the scapegoat for superstitious villagers, as the doctor believes? Will the villagers kill him regardless? The episode does a nice line in playing with the outcome and it is a nicely gothic and competent story (there is, perhaps, some shorthand in the telling due to the episode length but it doesn’t suffer for it). Perhaps it was the vampire-centric story that made this one of my preferred episodes but I think its worth catching. <span style="color: red;">6.5 out of 10</span>.
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The episode's imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0601981/?ref_=ttep_ep1">here</a>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3MYF1Mn">On Blu-Ray @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/40QR97Z">On Blu-Ray @ Amazon UK</a>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-81045406201389817382024-03-04T10:06:00.000-08:002024-03-04T10:11:38.116-08:00Short Film: Vampire Siblings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKlgGyXIGTehzpf44hbdcR0feubCgqMx6Tep_Bo8jy_TLbon3s2mEpHH-IHORCV3VYabQdWR-pqa1bk3SEFGycUejwFzHpSRlMR58LXEyjqQqqiCA5PVVV811esn_zkqOUzI0AtMgt5wGPmCiIeTqUi-ODfXF0r0KLdWBMl3lRJ2JCR6HrfK6AA/s3840/Vampire%20Siblings.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieKlgGyXIGTehzpf44hbdcR0feubCgqMx6Tep_Bo8jy_TLbon3s2mEpHH-IHORCV3VYabQdWR-pqa1bk3SEFGycUejwFzHpSRlMR58LXEyjqQqqiCA5PVVV811esn_zkqOUzI0AtMgt5wGPmCiIeTqUi-ODfXF0r0KLdWBMl3lRJ2JCR6HrfK6AA/w200-h113/Vampire%20Siblings.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />At just over an hour this is close to being a feature, but the Kinigra Deon created vehicle is a web serial with the first season cut into a movie (there are three more movies of seasons 2 to 4 currently available). They seem to be part of an incredibly prolific output by Kinigra Deon but do not have, at time of writing, an IMDb page that I could locate.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLeo28qbMOmu76Q0lmHEIuYv_kq6P1yBZGoRBrPmRHu-y7eXYHzYrIjCp94e7tdXXcLY5wEX578zHnmvYUanb-HcXwIdnOk9N6RDOUlxoORfNj1RQRotpv2BNOQyP13f9ewxOW8qvQwTUdTHoHTQfIVmi-Ssr2Z3MLzqqlPhEAgC9DvB65ywJEeg/s3840/Vampire%20Siblings_vegan%20blood.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLeo28qbMOmu76Q0lmHEIuYv_kq6P1yBZGoRBrPmRHu-y7eXYHzYrIjCp94e7tdXXcLY5wEX578zHnmvYUanb-HcXwIdnOk9N6RDOUlxoORfNj1RQRotpv2BNOQyP13f9ewxOW8qvQwTUdTHoHTQfIVmi-Ssr2Z3MLzqqlPhEAgC9DvB65ywJEeg/w200-h113/Vampire%20Siblings_vegan%20blood.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">vegan blood</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The film follows Seraph who is just getting home as things begin. Mom has left a note about vegan blood being left in the fridge (by vegan, non-human, veg supplement and not the blood of a vegan). It isn’t appetising by all account. We soon learn that Seraph is a hybrid, mom is a vampire and dad is a human, though her two older sisters are both vampires. They are less than impressed with the vegan option.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPocxc3fvy-bfhPNBJS4cRN5e3bmJ5oWd8cFrm_2CBGa7AjrJQmqZiS0vxbOa7rMfENc1mmyDdaeOKeyATDlOcChUHOOJ2hHmeABAepTHFo1ch5Vel3-S1RR5OC1p0pVC2a1Mw9nX6VPSIahRf23O-_AGIRNvz10inVB4byIJ8TJk0DnYcYtsKeg/s3840/Vampire%20Siblings_sisters.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPocxc3fvy-bfhPNBJS4cRN5e3bmJ5oWd8cFrm_2CBGa7AjrJQmqZiS0vxbOa7rMfENc1mmyDdaeOKeyATDlOcChUHOOJ2hHmeABAepTHFo1ch5Vel3-S1RR5OC1p0pVC2a1Mw9nX6VPSIahRf23O-_AGIRNvz10inVB4byIJ8TJk0DnYcYtsKeg/w200-h113/Vampire%20Siblings_sisters.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the sisters</td></tr></tbody></table><br />A knock on the door and the appearance of Seraph’s boyfriend Roman throws her a loop – he has flowers but she wasn’t expecting a visit (or had ever had one, one guesses). The sisters smell his warm blood and are downstairs and inviting him in, with him ignoring Seraph’s desire for him to leave. They try and feed him an elixir (to make feeding from him easier) and he eventually is about to be food when mom gets home and rescues him, wiping his memory.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3B56F6Hzl2MuM6bCbRUmcgyU9c0L-sJAznGZO_p8QYAB0vjJj7EUtTFPxssW_J9nYsiEVnJloVc6UkVUNiWbJbDvtKNErsNdK_VO25bmpWzmZQukYIFhnWy34N0K6_2fXtn4S1b2qqIHFmkJlotEVMQPsn14_VUHr0Hd-0Tgw0EWWozMUDYw4A/s3840/Vampire%20Siblings_wolf%20out.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT3B56F6Hzl2MuM6bCbRUmcgyU9c0L-sJAznGZO_p8QYAB0vjJj7EUtTFPxssW_J9nYsiEVnJloVc6UkVUNiWbJbDvtKNErsNdK_VO25bmpWzmZQukYIFhnWy34N0K6_2fXtn4S1b2qqIHFmkJlotEVMQPsn14_VUHr0Hd-0Tgw0EWWozMUDYw4A/w200-h113/Vampire%20Siblings_wolf%20out.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wolf out</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The sisters are grounded (behind a mystical barrier) and get their cousin to release them when mom goes back out (calling to the cousin by telepathy). Unfortunately Roman has turned up at the door again, wanting to celebrate his 16th birthday with Seraph, and is in danger, again, when the moon comes out and he turns into a werewolf and escapes. The film, to this point, seemed quite Young Adult sitcom but takes a turn here.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2NyiwcAEIhNRNusLFb9MIZ41M4UvlzJ7HTXE_j8ZBcmK5ZGzjsUstpdJ9lpl7vK8iUeibYTuDRVD8Ty0yzmsizHpKNYVHCrVTOvBeDAYtpUq8Qw2qXXO2LJge_h7687uQ-C9t8bcu4GCRRzorQIs0LPV3EL7QjCplPZiRrZs7Q1VeFLqguGA-w/s3840/Vampire%20Siblings_vamp%20out.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2NyiwcAEIhNRNusLFb9MIZ41M4UvlzJ7HTXE_j8ZBcmK5ZGzjsUstpdJ9lpl7vK8iUeibYTuDRVD8Ty0yzmsizHpKNYVHCrVTOvBeDAYtpUq8Qw2qXXO2LJge_h7687uQ-C9t8bcu4GCRRzorQIs0LPV3EL7QjCplPZiRrZs7Q1VeFLqguGA-w/w200-h113/Vampire%20Siblings_vamp%20out.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seraph vamps</td></tr></tbody></table><br />A world is drawn around the film of vampires and werewolves and a thinly held treaty between the races. Roman is condemned at the next full moon to become a wolf permanently, as the only way to prevent this is killing a vampire. That Roman seemed to know nothing of his nature, despite a werewolf society in the area and his mom being one was a plot point that might have been answered within the narrative. Seraph is also told, just as she starts to turn, that hybrid vampires become full vampire around 16.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QqpTomBgHjRIP65Nb8zNPoVF3r764Mb6vfwnHiTCXVJCx4sPPbQqIwew3SwplOQiER-XLA1UZXUcv32U4z3VbMyd0-1cq_kye3_HBi6Y4Q8QZQDl4_8vE7nXchzyMwp8Ek1B1CLHlhszx_x12wHukWfDMpW6PUqUSNau49cobYn_VDvAQnX3oQ/s3840/Vampire%20Siblings_mom%20and%20seraph.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2160" data-original-width="3840" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0QqpTomBgHjRIP65Nb8zNPoVF3r764Mb6vfwnHiTCXVJCx4sPPbQqIwew3SwplOQiER-XLA1UZXUcv32U4z3VbMyd0-1cq_kye3_HBi6Y4Q8QZQDl4_8vE7nXchzyMwp8Ek1B1CLHlhszx_x12wHukWfDMpW6PUqUSNau49cobYn_VDvAQnX3oQ/w200-h113/Vampire%20Siblings_mom%20and%20seraph.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">mom and Seraph</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This was really ambitious and whilst there were some strange choices (an old person, as a throwaway character, in an obvious mask rather than just getting an older actor, for instance) the less successful choices were still down to a commendable ambition and there was plenty that did work. The undertones of dealing with puberty and bullying were interesting and the full movie is available for free at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTF5k6OlBNk">YouTube</a>.
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-54640590501589201722024-03-02T10:00:00.000-08:002024-03-02T10:00:00.246-08:00Handbook of the Vampire: Australia and New Zealand Vampires<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TRUZ3d2V3KAxdIgukjtpIIn_EF64K6e9ghcoQzAfaxd4RtaNqI6CQs6VzlM5XyyBUbT1F_0L-M2AoxqJM2jX4hJARGHZewSiKTuyz2JrxN-HA7P5IP4-fiK6oUb4RJEz2EfjJXqDjR6yK4C6adO82gmxz6Pl2PrbqDRxnmgt4p2QZgYyz76QAw/s1208/handbook.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="827" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_TRUZ3d2V3KAxdIgukjtpIIn_EF64K6e9ghcoQzAfaxd4RtaNqI6CQs6VzlM5XyyBUbT1F_0L-M2AoxqJM2jX4hJARGHZewSiKTuyz2JrxN-HA7P5IP4-fiK6oUb4RJEz2EfjJXqDjR6yK4C6adO82gmxz6Pl2PrbqDRxnmgt4p2QZgYyz76QAw/s320/handbook.png" width="219" /></a></div><br />Written for <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/p/database.html">Palgrave’s Handbook of the Vampire</a> by Ashleigh Prosser and Blair Speakman their chapter page can be found <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-82301-6_47-1">here</a>. As the chapter title suggests it looks at antipodean vampires and whilst it does touch on indigenous myth, around Australia at least, it focuses on media representation of vampires both in literature and films/television.
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When it comes to Australia, I was aware of the various films it touched upon and there is a very Gothic aspect to much Australian horror focused cinema. Where my interest lay, in this chapter, was around First Nation representation in vampire media and, of course the authors touched on the series <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2022/09/firebite-season-1-review.html">Firebite</a> and its depiction of post-colonial racism still institutionalised in Australian culture. What really did interest me, however, was the literature from First Nation authors and in particular the series Master of the Ghost Dreaming by Mudrooroo. A four-part series, apparently it is books 2-3 that make up a trilogy of vampire tales that merge Dreaming and Gothic horror. Book 2 (the first vampire one) is called Undying and I immediately purchased it and will feature it on TMtV at some point in the future.
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The scope of Aotearoa New Zealand vampire media is a bit thinner but also tends to import colonial vampires into its narrative. The chapter touched on TVs It Is I, Count Homogenised and the film <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2007/05/perfect-creature-directors-cut-review.html">Perfect Creature</a> but the most impactful Aotearoa New Zealand vampire vehicle was, of course, <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/what-we-do-in-shadows-review.html">What we Do in the Shadows</a> - where the vampires are all, of course, colonisers/immigrants into a recognisable Wellington. In fact, it was its spin-off, Wellington Paranormal, that contained Māori myth and a main Māori character in the form of Sgt. Maaka (Maaka Pohatu). These vehicles are, of course, comedy and that continues a thread through Aotearoa New Zealand vampire vehicles that also includes <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2009/02/my-grandpa-is-vampire-review.html">My Grandpa is a Vampire</a>. If there was a missed opportunity here it would have been to touch on the spin-off TV <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2019/06/what-we-do-in-shadows-season-1-review.html">What we Do in the Shadows</a> - whilst that was, of course, US based it is in the same universe and, with characters from the film appearing on occasion, could have created an interesting reverse colonisation argument. Nevertheless, this was a great introduction to antipodean vampires.
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-85896733711051527672024-02-29T10:42:00.000-08:002024-02-29T10:48:45.371-08:00Creepshow: Meet the Belaskos – review <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxgk79i8rb7keXyVvPGcG04WdbTRaWv-97yC4TwTFoETShs0rWPgVF52XlVUU55E0lO5SJHhNngw1pwPZBgIodAllXe61mbUWKuImBQAvugAfahpabipGFQ1_cIsqDCenKB85aIFA7xrZHqHKBikWYSRLveWN65k9CfmgQMe0fizu8vrTBSTtwEA/s1110/creepshow%204.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1110" data-original-width="740" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxgk79i8rb7keXyVvPGcG04WdbTRaWv-97yC4TwTFoETShs0rWPgVF52XlVUU55E0lO5SJHhNngw1pwPZBgIodAllXe61mbUWKuImBQAvugAfahpabipGFQ1_cIsqDCenKB85aIFA7xrZHqHKBikWYSRLveWN65k9CfmgQMe0fizu8vrTBSTtwEA/s320/creepshow%204.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Directors: Justin G. Dyck & John Esposito <div><br /></div><div>First aired: 2023 </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Contains spoilers
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Into <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2023/12/creepshow-season-4-blu-ray-review.html">season 4 of Creepshow</a> and, honestly, I thought the season as a whole was weaker than previous ones. Nevertheless, it is still a solid piece of spooky entertainment in the Lonesome October and that’s what matters.
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In the fourth episode the first segment was our vampire part and it starts with a vampire hunter attacking a vampire woman in her coffin. </div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGsV32Tfhmro012elidL6gFIMdhuvofBtX4ro0GRocYK7ZFPa76v1M7mCga74jxMbDEBn3399QExQDKeiENFPk63iTSwb5_0ZThxO-FJv0mRy7HtuW0sgeM1bpQKl5PpCqeQiTe2wZrwHmNH7fd83jgD4zBBKqd69eIJPXJGTG49hFKblLSx3L5Q/s1280/Creepshow%20Meet%20the%20Belaskos_stake.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGsV32Tfhmro012elidL6gFIMdhuvofBtX4ro0GRocYK7ZFPa76v1M7mCga74jxMbDEBn3399QExQDKeiENFPk63iTSwb5_0ZThxO-FJv0mRy7HtuW0sgeM1bpQKl5PpCqeQiTe2wZrwHmNH7fd83jgD4zBBKqd69eIJPXJGTG49hFKblLSx3L5Q/w200-h113/Creepshow%20Meet%20the%20Belaskos_stake.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">staking</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The staking is really rather well done with the vampire haemorrhaging into the coffin, filling it with blood, which is – of course – a folkloric type of stake response. The attack is a dream and Chuck Belasko (Brendan Taylor) awakens next to his wife, Helena (Lisa Durupt) – they are in a coffin made for two. He gets up and goes to a nearby coffin containing his daughter, Anastasia (Karis Cameron), telling her to put her phone down and go to sleep.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0QJAIKRXoZWqpBglyWNzuoTA4WmcO5iMB-l8LRRZ0sBfpQ4TdHkwcWH__mkuRs90RW3ZWXwX-MtxdK_uWx1qLcRbJze1m_f0958hFQJ_X3RVr-OwiSl_rnJgOy15AvwdxPtl7o3K5orQM6YiDp70tMH5k2-G5LE7RnspLE10xq6TUxIJ8p7STg/s1280/Creepshow%20Meet%20the%20Belaskos_young%20love.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl0QJAIKRXoZWqpBglyWNzuoTA4WmcO5iMB-l8LRRZ0sBfpQ4TdHkwcWH__mkuRs90RW3ZWXwX-MtxdK_uWx1qLcRbJze1m_f0958hFQJ_X3RVr-OwiSl_rnJgOy15AvwdxPtl7o3K5orQM6YiDp70tMH5k2-G5LE7RnspLE10xq6TUxIJ8p7STg/w200-h113/Creepshow%20Meet%20the%20Belaskos_young%20love.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">young love</td></tr></tbody></table><br />They are in a moving van going to their new home and this is a world in which vampires are out of the coffin – indeed they are described as Vampire Americans. They have moved because Anastasia, or Anna, had been attacked in their old town (and bears a cross shaped scar as a reminder). The new town is meant to be tolerant but proves not so much so. Their new neighbour, Doug (Donavon Stinson), clearly doesn’t like them because they are vampires – though his son, Alex (Matthew Nelson-Mahood), seems rather taken with Anna. Equally, the local coffee shop is hiring but vampires need not apply.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjST-UF6h8AalgpkJEVBIE8USTIZPLQqucY_bqGfjg3qquFixM1kB_pBfzDHQhgrgsD3pNsLeYsPrrq6WG0iMIeKt9xbll2C20bHC2-lKykw7BLZ9Aszxpx34xRAPLYLHIQKA9wlTYZKbO1SGLjOZm_9wXU0HSdiy-hif3TKaoHElRvlarsKaX5sg/s1280/Creepshow%20Meet%20the%20Belaskos_bat%20creature.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjST-UF6h8AalgpkJEVBIE8USTIZPLQqucY_bqGfjg3qquFixM1kB_pBfzDHQhgrgsD3pNsLeYsPrrq6WG0iMIeKt9xbll2C20bHC2-lKykw7BLZ9Aszxpx34xRAPLYLHIQKA9wlTYZKbO1SGLjOZm_9wXU0HSdiy-hif3TKaoHElRvlarsKaX5sg/w200-h113/Creepshow%20Meet%20the%20Belaskos_bat%20creature.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bat creature form</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Unfortunately, Doug doesn’t take kindly to the new relationship and this leads to both a tragedy and a rather cold revenge. The vampire elements in this are fun. They can turn into bat-creatures, they burn in the sun but it is a fairly slow, painful process, and they appear as dead things on camera. This is a world with all sorts of blood supplements and there is a comment that a Belasko hasn’t bit a human for 100-years. This doesn’t necessarily bring a whole lot new to the party (though the division in America on both racial and political lines are obviously sub-texts) but it is solid vampire fun. <span style="color: red;">6 out of 10</span>.
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27649543/?ref_=ttep_ep4">here</a>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/483VzL2">On Blu-Ray @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3TbxWfr">On Blu-Ray @ Amazon UK</a>
</div>Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-76606146456056159352024-02-27T12:43:00.000-08:002024-02-27T12:43:08.604-08:00Enterfear The Next Wave – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FFDWi3wqSRUAWSp52TkWLlJkvtYNDR5_i5u8ykr_md0l4qopityGkrjOsS7m9t2zSyuYutLxs4dmbo-OC2sVDSlORaB5A3HSH9w1-b6CBXCr8zcJB7Tg_-f4bQJfoSuq84dG1s75KD6t1jcVwVYwmPMTjGImdOWr_d6wKrl65YYiXW8cDM3TYw/s1500/enterfear%20the%20next%20wave.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7FFDWi3wqSRUAWSp52TkWLlJkvtYNDR5_i5u8ykr_md0l4qopityGkrjOsS7m9t2zSyuYutLxs4dmbo-OC2sVDSlORaB5A3HSH9w1-b6CBXCr8zcJB7Tg_-f4bQJfoSuq84dG1s75KD6t1jcVwVYwmPMTjGImdOWr_d6wKrl65YYiXW8cDM3TYw/s320/enterfear%20the%20next%20wave.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Director: Tim Wall
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Release date: 2022
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Contains spoilers
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This is a sequel and, to be honest, I haven’t seen the first film but the opening of this gives a quick synopsis. A year before, a meteorite crashed near a TV broadcast tower and the radiation it gave off caused the broadcast to enter reality – in simple terms it brought forward a zombie outbreak. This was eventually quelled by Frank (Phillip Drake) and Rick (Hunter Bickham) who managed to zap the zombies with a remote and dampen the effects with a “radio virus”. The fragment was taken by the CIA.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdloqFALSdjGm-G9o1BJrk6KvbGAer7saUSGn8Q0qn7uV62i_3kGRMGFwXSs93xY7xMb6zYBs91MHOOyuYf_nRY6VRNBtJAaAqf28BOOIN7TIqlCjgg9P33MnDlO9xCnl8VNec95-hGOxooGtGYjE7VSAoN1hhA2yQjrD5LRC1OjQ7IDvQhJGhkQ/s1920/Enterfear%20The%20Next%20Wave_frank%20and%20rick.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdloqFALSdjGm-G9o1BJrk6KvbGAer7saUSGn8Q0qn7uV62i_3kGRMGFwXSs93xY7xMb6zYBs91MHOOyuYf_nRY6VRNBtJAaAqf28BOOIN7TIqlCjgg9P33MnDlO9xCnl8VNec95-hGOxooGtGYjE7VSAoN1hhA2yQjrD5LRC1OjQ7IDvQhJGhkQ/w200-h113/Enterfear%20The%20Next%20Wave_frank%20and%20rick.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frank and Rick</td></tr></tbody></table><br />One year on and Frank has a book signing, when a guy, Lucas (Ryan Reinike), comes to him with a messed-up copy of the book and wondering if the book told all or if there was facts missing. He then gets funny with Frank and declares him a fake. Lucas then meets some mobsters who he has been skimming credit cards for – though he hasn’t brought the required numbers. He’s threatened.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5L8YsRphxJtK5xR_kDceWp-Bnd1RFXpyj1PSoXD3pLNPNrA6VF0uOq1PAjlH0MEI9MQq-yfdbxO2bIKwpLP8RbwXxqI6wI3V0cxXcXUpEkif3c6oEir-Mlgp52Xb6klA_DWq12TkUyhMyMv2Fwun7DVW9MnQHRXireXGCL_Elgd62Jt_k3VApg/s1920/Enterfear%20The%20Next%20Wave_film.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5L8YsRphxJtK5xR_kDceWp-Bnd1RFXpyj1PSoXD3pLNPNrA6VF0uOq1PAjlH0MEI9MQq-yfdbxO2bIKwpLP8RbwXxqI6wI3V0cxXcXUpEkif3c6oEir-Mlgp52Xb6klA_DWq12TkUyhMyMv2Fwun7DVW9MnQHRXireXGCL_Elgd62Jt_k3VApg/w200-h113/Enterfear%20The%20Next%20Wave_film.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">film</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Lucas has kidnapped a janitor from a local lab and creates an ID so he can get in – the aim is to steal the meteorite – which he eventually does. He tries to tap into its power, when back home, but fails and puts on the video Vampirum King of the Night and promptly falls asleep. The meteorite powers back up and Vampirum is created – wanting to break the virus that’s holding back the meteorite’s power and take over the world. Vampirum possesses Lucas and they can swap between identities. The possession aspect means that the remote-control trick won’t work.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOiBbDxa4MFAs5x1fr131RsaZC6zdPddz6EPoK1WF7mq7PO2z49gu4taXXSj6LPKxudMUsegHi6zG_zxiuvsRq157WhyXmGXnqwbC5w1-6CceXYcExQ2-Bb_ICKb2myowY5bmmw336hzxf2hW8_eEt7MhI-RnAfnY1NlNAx1qLE8MkFaQXdVJ6IA/s1920/Enterfear%20The%20Next%20Wave_lucas.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOiBbDxa4MFAs5x1fr131RsaZC6zdPddz6EPoK1WF7mq7PO2z49gu4taXXSj6LPKxudMUsegHi6zG_zxiuvsRq157WhyXmGXnqwbC5w1-6CceXYcExQ2-Bb_ICKb2myowY5bmmw336hzxf2hW8_eEt7MhI-RnAfnY1NlNAx1qLE8MkFaQXdVJ6IA/w200-h113/Enterfear%20The%20Next%20Wave_lucas.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryan Reinike as Lucas</td></tr></tbody></table><br />After turning one of the mobsters into the wolf man (Chase Waters), Lucas tracks down Rick at his TV repair shop to try and find the laptop that carried the virus. Rick doesn’t have it but realises things have started again, discovers that remotes don’t work, and tries to warn the new sheriff (Jeremy London), who doesn’t listen. He then gets Frank and together they search for the original Sheriff, Clooney (Wayne Rodolfich), who (they realise) must have the laptop. It is up to the three of them, plus detective Rebecca Wilder (Faith Stanley) and officer Chang (Cuong Alex Do) to stop Lucas/Vampirum.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDIonM4gq3YwMhQlODvgxNxaWPWh86pOuRmrkhEa5T42WvATu30v5fqADdog-kCmREqYSscWrwrFmTls8wO1pVUKe3tTLdK68_dhGcCGwhFlfXlaYfRFMJCzBT5nt6YlQJJ-eYglj7RaZA46YLJdplFGwX4ksP3ngOt6ctplT7Ct5Tnr3ZOeqCQ/s1920/Enterfear%20The%20Next%20Wave_vampirum%20and%20the%20laptop.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggDIonM4gq3YwMhQlODvgxNxaWPWh86pOuRmrkhEa5T42WvATu30v5fqADdog-kCmREqYSscWrwrFmTls8wO1pVUKe3tTLdK68_dhGcCGwhFlfXlaYfRFMJCzBT5nt6YlQJJ-eYglj7RaZA46YLJdplFGwX4ksP3ngOt6ctplT7Ct5Tnr3ZOeqCQ/w200-h113/Enterfear%20The%20Next%20Wave_vampirum%20and%20the%20laptop.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vampirum gets the laptop</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This was actually quite good fun – though watching the first film would probably have been useful. I was genuinely amused and the Frank and Rick characters worked well. Vampirum was a tad rubbery to look at, but then he was the recreation of a b-movie vampire, so that actually worked, There wasn’t a huge amount of lore with this for the same reasons but it is worth watching as a B but more so as a pretty effective comedy. <span style="color: red;">5.5 out of 10</span>.
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13682026/">here</a>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/491Y6Gz">On Demand @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/42rg9mY">On Demand @ Amazon UK</a>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-75763681921321696652024-02-25T03:12:00.000-08:002024-02-25T03:16:18.529-08:00Honourable Mention: Interplanetary Revolution<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SCWlXWeeKOb3jP6nfgXXIPG6S5nCxhouIhZhhO9lFKId_HaT-orkZJEoZTfCnWUjIvp4njq4ADRSlF7zHeyR2aEHEAzQoCOuTJmQ0kK_XlOyxGfwa-cLOhHP8bYLYUtB9MZcGVi3wmJ-QlgptJzZVvFGKMhaEcczBdkl4flu6TNl0U22cuEgqg/s1362/Interplanetary%20Revolution.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SCWlXWeeKOb3jP6nfgXXIPG6S5nCxhouIhZhhO9lFKId_HaT-orkZJEoZTfCnWUjIvp4njq4ADRSlF7zHeyR2aEHEAzQoCOuTJmQ0kK_XlOyxGfwa-cLOhHP8bYLYUtB9MZcGVi3wmJ-QlgptJzZVvFGKMhaEcczBdkl4flu6TNl0U22cuEgqg/s320/Interplanetary%20Revolution.jpg" width="235" /></a></div><br />This is a just over seven-minute-long Soviet propaganda movie from 1924, with the distinction of being only the second animated film made by the Soviets and the first sci-fi. It was directed by Nikolay Khodataev, Zenon Komissarenko and Youry Merkulov. I have to thank David Annwn Jones for bringing it to my attention.
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Now, before looking at why this has got a mention, I have to just remind that Marx did use the vampire as analogous to capitalism. Indeed, most famously the line in Das Kapital, “<i>Capital is dead labour, which, vampire-like, lives only by sucking living labour, and lives the more, the more labour it sucks</i>.”
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRhP01BZRMCwbI7N8gUOt3C69h5haLeSrT3ZGXgDjcme69R9xi_45ul-DUor84UYHaFrdn7HIXr7Bt0DBicBm6B49P_4Sjp0nNKmnm9SmZC62_h7JvmZF2dMoGs1H4qJl7l0Ae75ONjvPeJrDFwu-VsqDYlfNiDbn8_hLWh-yxdv5Ohh4dal4RZQ/s640/Interplanetary%20Revolution_sucking%20blood.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRhP01BZRMCwbI7N8gUOt3C69h5haLeSrT3ZGXgDjcme69R9xi_45ul-DUor84UYHaFrdn7HIXr7Bt0DBicBm6B49P_4Sjp0nNKmnm9SmZC62_h7JvmZF2dMoGs1H4qJl7l0Ae75ONjvPeJrDFwu-VsqDYlfNiDbn8_hLWh-yxdv5Ohh4dal4RZQ/w200-h150/Interplanetary%20Revolution_sucking%20blood.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sucking the lifeblood of the worker</td></tr></tbody></table><br />So, to the mention. The cartoon suggests that (in the near future of 1929) men will have colonised Mars and that the evil capitalists will be sucking the lifeblood of the enslaved workers there until Comrade Cominternov saves the day by going there and sparking revolution. The cartoon shows two capitalists becoming gorged upon sucked blood. We can also see that one has a swastika on his brow – showing a Soviet conflation of fascism and capitalism (the swastika was adopted by the Nazis in 1920 but also by other far right nationalistic organisations of the time). It’s this scene that gets the cartoon its mention, but take away the Soviet propaganda aspect and think about (a hundred years later) whether there are today capitalist demagogues who have eyes set to Mars (or space generally) and play to the worst of the right-wing popularist tropes, whilst treating their workers as disposable means to capital…
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0230521/?ref_=tt_mv_close">here</a>.
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I have embedded probably the best resolution I can find on YouTube but there are versions with English subs added that can be found through a quick google. <br />
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="285" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iIGsi6RbWpc?si=2fRTTc07PpLTDLhf" title="YouTube video player" width="400"></iframe>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-49187824404632940712024-02-23T10:00:00.000-08:002024-02-23T10:00:00.131-08:00Handbook of the Vampire: Introduction to the Handbook of the Vampire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPnO2jT2Ju-q-uBbnKP5Bkd4ddXUXxg3KSFcpSiU3TrD5lLRcS1xJ-2GAn9cVtsvBBT9MBdmgzVsGQJ7-QGK3bsEIx5RT3mQiVzWHXT7pPyKpm0ZOkwFMXS78GjC0d2GP9aiIjJg1237CardrMlOOmUwFNgq0aTO-BIcMowgk5zVNHKtH9gcFmg/s1208/handbook.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1208" data-original-width="827" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEPnO2jT2Ju-q-uBbnKP5Bkd4ddXUXxg3KSFcpSiU3TrD5lLRcS1xJ-2GAn9cVtsvBBT9MBdmgzVsGQJ7-QGK3bsEIx5RT3mQiVzWHXT7pPyKpm0ZOkwFMXS78GjC0d2GP9aiIjJg1237CardrMlOOmUwFNgq0aTO-BIcMowgk5zVNHKtH9gcFmg/s320/handbook.png" width="219" /></a></div><br />This is my First post looking in an in-depth way at Palgrave’s Handbook of the Vampire, a monumental reference work that has an introduction and 97 chapters concerning all aspects of vampire study. It is published as an e-book with the chapters available through institutional logins and being published as a two-volume hardcopy. I am lucky enough to have provided two chapters for the handbook (which I won’t be writing blog posts on but you can find links to the Handbook pages for each chapter I provided on the <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/p/database.html">Handbook Page</a> I have set up).
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This first post concerns <a href="https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-82301-6_97-2">the Introduction</a>, written by editor <a href="https://simonjbacon.wordpress.com/">Simon Bacon</a>. Of course, the chapter is an editorial, it outlines the scope of the project and what the reader can hope to find within. He suggests that “<i>So much more research and study are required to understand and recognise the full implications of what we are saying when we say ‘VAMPIRE.’</i>”. This is fitting coming from Simon – he and I indulge in frequent correspondence and have collaborated a few times, but his output into the arena of vampire study is vast (as both editor and author) but his definition of vampire is wide also and it is this width that allowed him to catch a vast net to snare the cornucopia of treasures within the Handbook.
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I also have to give a moment of thanks for the fact that one of my entries for the Handbook was actually cited within the introduction.
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As I continue to look at the Handbook, I will point out interesting ideas, new sources of vampire media and even where I disagree with a proposition within a chapter. This project, to map each chapter, over time, here at TMtV will undoubtedly take a long time. I will read the chapters over time and then have to write the article and schedule it for posting, of course, but it is a journey I think will be worth taking.
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-25735637782220448082024-02-21T09:58:00.000-08:002024-02-24T06:14:24.658-08:00Dragged Beneath the Shadows – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkvPKcVuId5i6JIiypJSCeeZX1cfYyQaIVB5a8ApkInok9ZAW7f9H3uWnSHSLXindLcpvj76gZLqgwkkbzvAqCvZKE0M5rOAQO1BvUY1U8IaThqK5B7Kt8jD0keLAnFb1H0eiw6cMrWrrUG2XhIXoefVV3ooQ9LwyCRvOG4CpIMdPkdTRuFkVpA/s1500/dragged%20beneath%20the%20shadows.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBkvPKcVuId5i6JIiypJSCeeZX1cfYyQaIVB5a8ApkInok9ZAW7f9H3uWnSHSLXindLcpvj76gZLqgwkkbzvAqCvZKE0M5rOAQO1BvUY1U8IaThqK5B7Kt8jD0keLAnFb1H0eiw6cMrWrrUG2XhIXoefVV3ooQ9LwyCRvOG4CpIMdPkdTRuFkVpA/s320/dragged%20beneath%20the%20shadows.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />Directors: Jasper de Bruin, Xavier Hamel & Dustin Curtis Murphy (segments)
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Release date: 2023
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Contains spoilers
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Creating an anthology film by tying shorts together is very much a thing at the moment and they often vary in quality. The shorts in this case, one of which I have previously looked at in its own right, vary on story quality but are all good quality shoots.
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The film has six shorts in all and three of them are vampire shorts. I do have to give a shout out to the first short, however, which is a witch orientated one, simply because it was so well done. Shot by Sofìa Carrillo in Black and White it is called the Wandering Witch. A lovely sequence is included where two witches in the film both transform into cats as they prowl and fight in that form and as humans but with fangs.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cCH0eTj0hkSP0Myc8CBR1V_eHcmD74zWMICYhVx_ccHMOrJJRHJSO_OQ22DvlryMN3YoTEYoR_Wt0x-l9deQ8aYqO0Fr_VCiDKGxFvJglC3v0gD-bKEiFh3RMGNEURePdpSFhsu6x-q20e6DEnvW5_4OhWh00mFPds2CE1YfbsqBgJ6AWlXdiQ/s1920/Dragged%20Beneath%20the%20Shadows_hunger.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cCH0eTj0hkSP0Myc8CBR1V_eHcmD74zWMICYhVx_ccHMOrJJRHJSO_OQ22DvlryMN3YoTEYoR_Wt0x-l9deQ8aYqO0Fr_VCiDKGxFvJglC3v0gD-bKEiFh3RMGNEURePdpSFhsu6x-q20e6DEnvW5_4OhWh00mFPds2CE1YfbsqBgJ6AWlXdiQ/w200-h113/Dragged%20Beneath%20the%20Shadows_hunger.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Hunger</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The first vampire segment is the Jasper de Bruin directed short <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2022/09/short-film-nightingale.html">Nightingale</a>, which still holds its own as a short and, indeed, I think was ultimately the most satisfying of the three vampire shorts. The next was called Forever & Ever and was directed by Xavier Hamel. It is narrated by Kate, a girl at high school who becomes invisible to all until Vicky sees her. When we first see them together they are led under a <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2006/03/hunger-review.html">The Hunger</a> poster. Vicky takes Kate to the prom and there is homophobic murmuring and Vicky dances with one of the mean girls but, when she lures Kate into a room, she reveals her vampire nature, turns her and a massacre ensues. The short was very short, quite classy in its cinematography though it showed very little and the story was absolutely basic.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDSK6ZKKaPGngyaKO0Trf2blANsaVVVURCuTcupaWOOftdE7Ta5jC8uTx3rurk5s7wCW3hkfTXuAzTFCJ0FAZPhz6nA9augtImdE3a-RRb0Muc_vNR_-X7xjNe4NfkbL2xsmk5AaOrjd7QXnmHF4UVCF7mCRr9vS0Dxx1yGIr6lL9Groi26v-yA/s1920/Dragged%20Beneath%20the%20Shadows_survive.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMDSK6ZKKaPGngyaKO0Trf2blANsaVVVURCuTcupaWOOftdE7Ta5jC8uTx3rurk5s7wCW3hkfTXuAzTFCJ0FAZPhz6nA9augtImdE3a-RRb0Muc_vNR_-X7xjNe4NfkbL2xsmk5AaOrjd7QXnmHF4UVCF7mCRr9vS0Dxx1yGIr6lL9Groi26v-yA/w200-h113/Dragged%20Beneath%20the%20Shadows_survive.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">survivor</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The final vampire segment was Dustin Curtis Murphy’s The Last Confession in which a priest visits Franz, a dying man who had been a guard at a concentration camp. He is unrepentant but tells the priest that he did one selfless act, taking a girl who somehow survived the gas chamber and hiding her from the Nazis. Of course there is a reason she survived the industrialised slaughter and she has been in touch with him recently… This one worked well, mentioning her nature is a spoiler (but when the vampirism is the twist its hard not to spoil) and the thought that a selfless act amongst all the evil was an evil act in and of itself was interesting.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lb7TdiZWtUAa2MvGIZK7Cp__7XAh_lgaPGaNg4WttPIw92PWBUv05BgOE3pq6jsMCRd65I-HCz9b6U7dh2zAFFT6NzAePXXPd-cKDToF_KYMmRI5Qf5ASXY7QSi8ZElxarwv03nN42eRQzJ6uQeq8iTl-XIIpO4QRr35CoMFDaVnlTDleJKQig/s1920/Dragged%20Beneath%20the%20Shadows_bitten.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lb7TdiZWtUAa2MvGIZK7Cp__7XAh_lgaPGaNg4WttPIw92PWBUv05BgOE3pq6jsMCRd65I-HCz9b6U7dh2zAFFT6NzAePXXPd-cKDToF_KYMmRI5Qf5ASXY7QSi8ZElxarwv03nN42eRQzJ6uQeq8iTl-XIIpO4QRr35CoMFDaVnlTDleJKQig/w200-h113/Dragged%20Beneath%20the%20Shadows_bitten.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bitten</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The collection is worthwhile and it’s nice to see vampires taking centre stage. In fact, the short Family History by Mark J. Parker could also be argued to have a vampiric aspect also but with three of the films being traditionally vampire stories I haven’t covered that one off. The scores for these are for the vampire segments and Nightingale strengthens this to a solid <span style="color: red;">6 out of 10</span>.
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28067867/">here</a>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3PtrFd5">On Demand @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/46h1zQy">On Demand @ Amazon UK</a>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-13855539146634871502024-02-19T09:12:00.000-08:002024-02-19T09:12:53.183-08:00Vampire Stories: Bluttanz – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrKd5fMPejOArEXa5q0_UeMJ9zm3XKCnMQ2PS2RroasGaa14XwMMg3Rw1NhnoVBphK3WaKOkFqHezpxR4qidUV0fZY-EaOggDpz5_emn34lVSLDa2cuUa5nrO9OufEmRiZwXiQ4Jm2ufSX-BogKhStZ2Buwc3GQNuicpkP1XtbI3dNtilNJz8kw/s1375/Vampire%20Stories%20Bluttanz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1375" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrKd5fMPejOArEXa5q0_UeMJ9zm3XKCnMQ2PS2RroasGaa14XwMMg3Rw1NhnoVBphK3WaKOkFqHezpxR4qidUV0fZY-EaOggDpz5_emn34lVSLDa2cuUa5nrO9OufEmRiZwXiQ4Jm2ufSX-BogKhStZ2Buwc3GQNuicpkP1XtbI3dNtilNJz8kw/s320/Vampire%20Stories%20Bluttanz.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br />Director: Max Schaller
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Release date: 2023
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Contains spoilers
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A German film, which started filming pre-pandemic, IMDb suggests that filming was completed over the pandemic and this might explain the sparseness of scenes as the film felt quite empty of extras (bar a dance recital audience). This, of course, may also have been deliberate but the entire film felt a little empty.
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It starts with a pair of cops, the older Richard Hess (Klaus Schweinzer) with his rookie partner Jan Marcus (Randy Bernd), who are investigating the death of Belgian pianist Haral Koffier, who has suffered fractures and bites. There was very little blood, but his intact wallet suggests robbery was not the motive. He was attached to a particular Ballet House but they are soon ordered off the case as the forensics suggests an animal attack.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0vuTJ6bv7eNeUrvVrPTkANjbu_3oIWqX31OD72MQPFTjI6s8-Q7plG5bVYDIayNg1HyNwcgYPb0cZajB_Y10tgWzVYv29iNmkiXfjKXpO9x8T5S7_0HaTd_03xgU361PP7u2KcG_nHwiz1XOhntOAJu3gLFrX0pTetDI7rfQNWtO8v25FS9LVw/s1920/Vampire%20Stories%20Bluttanz_blamstaed.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1920" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0vuTJ6bv7eNeUrvVrPTkANjbu_3oIWqX31OD72MQPFTjI6s8-Q7plG5bVYDIayNg1HyNwcgYPb0cZajB_Y10tgWzVYv29iNmkiXfjKXpO9x8T5S7_0HaTd_03xgU361PP7u2KcG_nHwiz1XOhntOAJu3gLFrX0pTetDI7rfQNWtO8v25FS9LVw/w200-h91/Vampire%20Stories%20Bluttanz_blamstaed.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael Diekers as Blomstaed </td></tr></tbody></table><br />The replacement for Koffier is Valentin Blomstaed (Michael Diekers). He meets the director of the House who tells him that the House have employed Vivienne Denieu (Agnes Pock), the granddaughter of a famous ballet teacher, to perform the “Blood Dance”. Written by Jean-Andre Bordeaux (Matthias Sommeregger), it is a piece for a single dancer to perform to piano and is deemed nigh on impossible – later we hear that 30 directors have tried to stage it in the past and the staging has failed, leading to their unemployment.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfOv1P1ugt0iOoumTb1LWGPXrazK-HCSvQWcqDOM5_un82RkMpVYgBVAv6Y1QCEXlXwgVnLat_WeMKMfx7iVNyZdjYU4xJs976MbXPoOxX2VSeaVj53CPXJlmj0C5tPuxAUI2qleFQpnSVdE3-yj_wnsrUWCGOSuRU13uRwNWaRScMApV7VK2xQ/s1920/Vampire%20Stories%20Bluttanz_denieu.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1920" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfOv1P1ugt0iOoumTb1LWGPXrazK-HCSvQWcqDOM5_un82RkMpVYgBVAv6Y1QCEXlXwgVnLat_WeMKMfx7iVNyZdjYU4xJs976MbXPoOxX2VSeaVj53CPXJlmj0C5tPuxAUI2qleFQpnSVdE3-yj_wnsrUWCGOSuRU13uRwNWaRScMApV7VK2xQ/w200-h91/Vampire%20Stories%20Bluttanz_denieu.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Agnes Pock as Denieu</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Denieu has concessions such as being able to practice exclusively at night – much to the chagrin of lead teacher Olga Vadimovich (Sabine Schink), who was a student of Denieu’s grandmother and thought her a bully. Vadimovich actually doesn’t think Denieu is up to the dance, and we see her fall whilst rehearsing. Blomstaed hasn’t practiced the “living” music and Denieu is not sure of his abilities. Suddenly, however, the music comes naturally to him and the two start to fall for each other. I have to say that neither the music nor the dance (when we see part of it) seemed anything special – how one might give such an illusion on film is quite the question, however.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK8hyphenhyphenrqFjxXZXvjzgVkcoKr1Xr6kAkhrjVXPuRz1SUCkNAzhiAGUfTmDpqR_DhKOFIYiv4BTkSJb68TIfKt7NG3IN67O9vWr56chpLOoWuLyYS2nwvs5tGOKBh4bTpoQeKWwYNHmbOBRVH4HZw5ygULyUZasl-XZxQYb4H2cQFkYZri5wEI7OD3A/s1920/Vampire%20Stories%20Bluttanz_jan.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1920" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK8hyphenhyphenrqFjxXZXvjzgVkcoKr1Xr6kAkhrjVXPuRz1SUCkNAzhiAGUfTmDpqR_DhKOFIYiv4BTkSJb68TIfKt7NG3IN67O9vWr56chpLOoWuLyYS2nwvs5tGOKBh4bTpoQeKWwYNHmbOBRVH4HZw5ygULyUZasl-XZxQYb4H2cQFkYZri5wEI7OD3A/w200-h91/Vampire%20Stories%20Bluttanz_jan.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Randy Bernd as Jan</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Anton Bowicz (Sidd Hartha) contacts the cops about the killing. He is an academic, who has written books on “night eaters” – what we might crudely (as he puts it) call vampires. He is convinced that Koffier was killed by a vampire and, after Jan reads one of his books, is able to convince the rookie cop. He also convinces him that it is Denieu (who was, of course, the grandmother). They eventually hatch a plot to kidnap her after the performance and kill her.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZYunGUpO3iDJcT02EZQglaP7BzRbxIHDP7AEMqcg89ZMyqho-WiNNl4RruMzBMMy-JSB6U1Qa1b92eNUxVb7SOZpkfMm4POCWz5wKIpoSnI7OAfc8TLe6N06HMSMzLdHlqmALG8vGaVn5v9GA9QeF7F9U4kzKceSi-rzp1R6c6QqSoDLWbOf6A/s1920/Vampire%20Stories%20Bluttanz_eyes%20and%20fangs.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1920" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZYunGUpO3iDJcT02EZQglaP7BzRbxIHDP7AEMqcg89ZMyqho-WiNNl4RruMzBMMy-JSB6U1Qa1b92eNUxVb7SOZpkfMm4POCWz5wKIpoSnI7OAfc8TLe6N06HMSMzLdHlqmALG8vGaVn5v9GA9QeF7F9U4kzKceSi-rzp1R6c6QqSoDLWbOf6A/w200-h91/Vampire%20Stories%20Bluttanz_eyes%20and%20fangs.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">vampiric eyes and fangs</td></tr></tbody></table><br />We do see, in flashback, Denieu married to Bordeaux, who wrote the piece for her. She, however, was suffering from polio and, to cure her, he arranges for a vampire to turn her, with a price of him giving his life (essentially the vampire drains him). It isn’t much of a backstory, we have no real motivation (that I could discern) for the vampire doing this and a whole question around why she was still struggling to perform the dance if she had three generations to practice it (presumably it had been written to her skill level by her husband).
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHBwE0QX3RwHCIXiQhcBKeQaFuejY5p9yl1cAPQQ_ixuVOMZQzusoR4LCjJtOmT7lp5mIehr8vOuT6dxiZEqt_lCkujSnM4QukbUPCiLRkDeBGe9OPQnORQkdrLutxTmq8IztIlewLLAROJRJsy4itlOfxEr4vB8G7iu4dP99ewSImlDMabrRPow/s1920/Vampire%20Stories%20Bluttanz_attack.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="872" data-original-width="1920" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHBwE0QX3RwHCIXiQhcBKeQaFuejY5p9yl1cAPQQ_ixuVOMZQzusoR4LCjJtOmT7lp5mIehr8vOuT6dxiZEqt_lCkujSnM4QukbUPCiLRkDeBGe9OPQnORQkdrLutxTmq8IztIlewLLAROJRJsy4itlOfxEr4vB8G7iu4dP99ewSImlDMabrRPow/w200-h91/Vampire%20Stories%20Bluttanz_attack.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">attack</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I hate to say it, but I struggled with this. The film absolutely failed to keep my attention and so I struggled to watch it. The premise could have led to a vampire version of Suspiria but, instead it just bobbed along at a dreadfully slow pace. I didn’t buy either artist as the top tier performer they were drawn as, probably not helped by not really seeing or hearing anything that felt particularly complex (this is me speaking as a bit of a heathen, however, and I am quite prepared to hear how difficult the piano – replaced for a synth in the recital – and dance was). Not for me, I’m afraid –<span style="color: red;"> 3 out of 10</span>.
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21354038/?ref_=tt_mv_close">here</a>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/4aE04xX">On Demand @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3H29dmf">On Demand @ Amazon UK</a> Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-5028325681320598412024-02-17T05:19:00.000-08:002024-02-17T05:19:17.066-08:00Honourable Mention: Hansel, Gretel, and the Sensual Witch<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGLdyYivYwL8f4lsbANr0ckROGkO3VjgV-89n-nHxmv4Xbe9FGCSHOF0os8lOLgtT2GnqOm9xlTFpoORVr6rLRruKRgDQnhnOOF-qE7YKY8i-w6O3QPVIXGLDrTvtn-jqsGrHbC1RExTogUN8t8ZhnXbn8PK9WStMSTzpJLhOMd5Xqw27Fv2p6w/s1600/hansel%20gretel%20and%20the%20sensual%20witch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpGLdyYivYwL8f4lsbANr0ckROGkO3VjgV-89n-nHxmv4Xbe9FGCSHOF0os8lOLgtT2GnqOm9xlTFpoORVr6rLRruKRgDQnhnOOF-qE7YKY8i-w6O3QPVIXGLDrTvtn-jqsGrHbC1RExTogUN8t8ZhnXbn8PK9WStMSTzpJLhOMd5Xqw27Fv2p6w/s320/hansel%20gretel%20and%20the%20sensual%20witch.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />This is the dubbed, cut down version of a film also known as Hänsel und Gretel Verliefen Sich im Wald (Hansel and Gretel Got Lost in the Forest) and The Naked Wytche. It was released in 1970, directed by Franz Josef Gottlieb and can’t really be called anything more than a sexploitation film – it doesn’t really manage to qualify as a bedroom farce.
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It tells the story of Hänsel (Dagobert Walter) and Gretel (Francy Fair) a young couple who have been together nine weeks. She loves him, wants to marry him and is not ready to rush into sexual activity. For his part he is pressuring her quite badly.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzF21hGldarVT1xnWfUO1vNhpMEQpTJWdleou_WT8_G98EZWx6sK9jQ65hHJ2LGvv8ZEv63UNdGCxOiE3QN4oOENkeQ6lqI_YAfrd4VO6g24BIi0xM6A_KYfiUNTxQzkY67DbYvPk_PvhJZspsanf4_dhEsgtm_AyokczEuM0B9B5h3bn_tGyzQ/s1920/Hansel,%20Gretel,%20and%20the%20Sensual_fangs%20Witch.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzF21hGldarVT1xnWfUO1vNhpMEQpTJWdleou_WT8_G98EZWx6sK9jQ65hHJ2LGvv8ZEv63UNdGCxOiE3QN4oOENkeQ6lqI_YAfrd4VO6g24BIi0xM6A_KYfiUNTxQzkY67DbYvPk_PvhJZspsanf4_dhEsgtm_AyokczEuM0B9B5h3bn_tGyzQ/w200-h113/Hansel,%20Gretel,%20and%20the%20Sensual_fangs%20Witch.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Countess with fangs</td></tr></tbody></table><br />They are on a day out and relations cool after her refusing his advances. As they drive through a forest they find a tree across the road, wander into the woods, eat and then meet (before pitching to camp) the Countess (Barbara Scott). The Countess offers them a place to stay and they accept. Gretel options to sleep separately in one of the fairytale named rooms (the room is actually called Gretel). Hänsel is still determined to sow his oats but is rebuffed when trying to climb through her window.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU33GR7qHLN5-xBxvNRFyyVwr97fi1LfmMFIFfjkjyJXm31HfwqTdO0x5w6XxvfEVSurToOXOCT5AI4hhbnNQm4CimoRA92Gw1bFk-PKm0G0apX_tkPxiU4Sy_VGnWuFE81Gq1RWPllWLFWseq80OdENSsKbK6nsC3DutAHi-iPb_sG_a2VTZ5Cw/s1920/Hansel,%20Gretel,%20and%20the%20Sensual%20Witch_drawn.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU33GR7qHLN5-xBxvNRFyyVwr97fi1LfmMFIFfjkjyJXm31HfwqTdO0x5w6XxvfEVSurToOXOCT5AI4hhbnNQm4CimoRA92Gw1bFk-PKm0G0apX_tkPxiU4Sy_VGnWuFE81Gq1RWPllWLFWseq80OdENSsKbK6nsC3DutAHi-iPb_sG_a2VTZ5Cw/w200-h113/Hansel,%20Gretel,%20and%20the%20Sensual%20Witch_drawn.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">looking drawn or dead</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Countess is the witch, and in this a witch is a sexually experienced woman who tries to lure of another woman’s man. She sets her sights on Hänsel and he is not that difficult to seduce. The scenes are tame (they might be cut, having not seen the original German release) but there is a lot of nudity. But why the mention? It is a fleeting visitation, Hänsel is having a psychedelic (and possibly hallucinogenic) dream and partway through he sees the Countess (who has not yet seduced him) bare fangs. This, of course, connects the vampiric imagery with the Vamp. Later on, some dark makeup makes her look drawn or dead. And that is all… it is free to watch on (UK) Prime but it really isn’t worth the effort.
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0136166/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3">here</a>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3v5xKnO">On Demand @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3Rzq1pM">On Demand @ Amazon UK</a>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-88171866410329889712024-02-15T09:48:00.000-08:002024-02-15T22:02:35.472-08:00Blood Machines – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGsqBt01Nr1e89HTwpz6qTeINzzl-I3ikj2yE2i12Bq_Wqx50tbu36c4gGn4UYXnL2B7hWmRpSqpOIlZCLiIbEK7MRmMtirtsfIgtcna9gUMG7lwJhlVx04TiXOOj3ae-AnNosfQb5b6AaZYzlbuQZNe5vQrFRHF80TQ7Gj67RnVclybDeSD4NlQ/s1500/blood%20machines.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="984" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGsqBt01Nr1e89HTwpz6qTeINzzl-I3ikj2yE2i12Bq_Wqx50tbu36c4gGn4UYXnL2B7hWmRpSqpOIlZCLiIbEK7MRmMtirtsfIgtcna9gUMG7lwJhlVx04TiXOOj3ae-AnNosfQb5b6AaZYzlbuQZNe5vQrFRHF80TQ7Gj67RnVclybDeSD4NlQ/s320/blood%20machines.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br />Author: J.K. Gravier
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First Published: 2021
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Contains spoilers
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Blurb</span>: Allison Drew is a smart and ambitious government agent whose career is stagnating. Then she is surprisingly assigned a high-profile case that could get her attention. But she isn’t prepared for the web of intrigue and corruption that confronts her when she tries to disentangle a wide-spread string of crimes involving too much murder and more than a little blood. As her investigation hits dead ends and questions proliferate, Allie is forced to face the possibility that the organization to which she has pledged herself may have a secret agenda. To survive, she needs to question everything she believes and revisit some demons of her own.
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If you just want a good procedural, thriller or horror story, this novel is that. But if you're also dissatisfied with how bureaucracy works, feel undermined by increasingly illogical administration and are frustrated with your place in North America’s late-capitalist economy, you might identify with the challenges Allie faces as she tries to just do her job.
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The review</span>: This is a neat little thriller with a touch of the detective noir to it. This is a world where vampires exist – but they are not supernatural. Preferring the term sanguinarianism to vampirism, they suffer from a genetic condition that causes a chronic allergy to carbohydrates and sunlight (the latter identified as erythropoietic protoporphyria) but also the advantage of living longer (by about twenty years) and showing less aging than someone without the condition. It is genetic, through familial lines, but not from the actual vampire, as they are infertile also. What the author creates is a group of people who were often kept out of school (for obvious reasons of sunlight exposure primarily) and were a lower social class generally. There has been an attempt to integrate into society through the federal government, though some – often referred to as Primitives or Draculas – believe that there is a supernatural element to human blood (most modern vampires subsist on animal blood, especially lamb, and meats primarily) and live to stereotypes and there is a danger that they might forcibly drain a person.
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To this end there is the VBI – the Vampire Bureau of Investigation – which is aligned to and under the remit of the FBI. Allison Drew is an investigator and is sent to Detroit when a blood den, where daylighters – as none vampires are referred to – have been murdered for their blood. The local police accidentally found it and three bodies, but VBI forensics have ascertained (from blood residue) that up to 10 may have been murdered there. But her superior thinks that there may be a corrupt element in the field office and that tracking data (from an experimental chipping system for paroled vampires called Domesday) has been compromised. The novel follows her investigation and the twists and turns of internal – and possibly deadly – politics.
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I really enjoyed this. The move into a realm of living vampires with a genetic condition was a nice way of framing the lore for a change and the writing was crisp and kept you moving along with the story. I do also want to mention the proofing as I noticed nothing in the way of proofing errors that so often creep into independently published novels, kudos for that. One thing I really liked was a moment that showed the impact of intersectionality, with African American vampires and the double disadvantage they face. Drew was a great character – not drawn as too overly impressive, her investigation skills might be designated as solid (and at times brutal, sun torture is a standard VBI tactic), her dialogue was engaging and the author avoided stereotypes that might accompany a female lead character in some prose. Overall, this one is recommended with the caveat that it is not, and never pretends to be, supernatural, and it is a thriller and not a horror. <span style="color: red;">8 out of 10</span>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3HWc5lk">In Paperback @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3upwT1z">In Paperback @ Amazon UK</a>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-15415795010420357022024-02-13T08:38:00.000-08:002024-02-13T08:38:00.134-08:00Fear PHarm – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-P8cfitWj9mImkODFJzl2oGB1dh0nrvzYbWqjE7JGRjEfiso2hvDza7g09bzjRq60994nS38sfAEmQQrK5RjkEKs_2B6Y_q1D0UNGVac363G534K5a59_CZsqFNN6gDmyJ27CDNZLg9E4pdmmpkSDik0KDzAeca4FZglmKdJZbbBoFDDy3P9P_w/s1396/fear%20pharm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1396" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-P8cfitWj9mImkODFJzl2oGB1dh0nrvzYbWqjE7JGRjEfiso2hvDza7g09bzjRq60994nS38sfAEmQQrK5RjkEKs_2B6Y_q1D0UNGVac363G534K5a59_CZsqFNN6gDmyJ27CDNZLg9E4pdmmpkSDik0KDzAeca4FZglmKdJZbbBoFDDy3P9P_w/s320/fear%20pharm.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><br />Director: Dante Yore
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Release date: 2020
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Contains spoilers
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This really shouldn’t be anything more than a slasher flick, with a family of killers (many wearing masks) and yet it put a twist into it that put the film on my vampire radar. How so? We will get to that (it is at the end of the film but it doesn’t spoil the film by revealing the concept).
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The film starts with a naked woman, covered in blood, running around a corn maze at night. She gets out of the maze and a group of masked assailants follow, led by an unmasked woman, Gemma (played younger by Jenna Burd and older by Aimee Stolte, <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2020/06/verotika-review.html">Verotika</a>), and facing a woman. She runs, knocks the woman down and kills her (she hits her head on something). Ultimately she is killed in turn by Gemma and a machete.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbwjrDUf7DpBdnRhbhIwhOH8AIXzyHXQiWyDdkimxef9b4kNixJ05wVAOK9Nybvd8j-jVEP2whYRCs1Z41E5PRpf5T18nTky6kWU9-G-ve8yog_Qztjc7Z0BvzoXgFLkI2FNBzYDj5spRaJdiC0ugMLP_miALM_MVDvm0tCRBwPuTY4NylyFnHbA/s818/Fear%20Pharm_friends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="818" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbwjrDUf7DpBdnRhbhIwhOH8AIXzyHXQiWyDdkimxef9b4kNixJ05wVAOK9Nybvd8j-jVEP2whYRCs1Z41E5PRpf5T18nTky6kWU9-G-ve8yog_Qztjc7Z0BvzoXgFLkI2FNBzYDj5spRaJdiC0ugMLP_miALM_MVDvm0tCRBwPuTY4NylyFnHbA/w200-h124/Fear%20Pharm_friends.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gang at the corn maze</td></tr></tbody></table><br />15-years later. Brandon (Houston Stevenson) is sexting his girlfriend Wendy (Emily Sweet), who happens to be hiding under his bed and wearing the cheerleader outfit that he really wanted her to model. They are about to get it on when his mom (Jenn Tripp) walks in and their friends, brother and sister Rustin (Chris Leary) and Melanie (Tiana Tuttle), follow in. Trying to work out what to do with their day, Wendy suggests a haunted corn maze. Rustin says no, it was the scene of satanic murder 15-years before (this leads to a wonderment as to how the family got away with murder, since apparently the police were involved?) Eventually they decide to go.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7okfDG3eQ9Wotq9-zahJOu-ysHyHIr2bGdJurPXQ96t5c6Ifm2Virsi_9Hrl0iIu7gcAwk5Sobx3MR1UV_fr_xk2_EIsJUPXgfzMWmnJ5pCuA3K3mPaPtgfJ-V6_NfintOfbjxr8w9b8-Eh5Aj7brI9y_qOstr6kq8NzWZBoBVSCmqCEo2SoSlw/s818/Fear%20Pharm_herschell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="818" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7okfDG3eQ9Wotq9-zahJOu-ysHyHIr2bGdJurPXQ96t5c6Ifm2Virsi_9Hrl0iIu7gcAwk5Sobx3MR1UV_fr_xk2_EIsJUPXgfzMWmnJ5pCuA3K3mPaPtgfJ-V6_NfintOfbjxr8w9b8-Eh5Aj7brI9y_qOstr6kq8NzWZBoBVSCmqCEo2SoSlw/w200-h124/Fear%20Pharm_herschell.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Littlefield as Herschell</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The film is self-aware. There is a comment about not having exposition on the journey, for instance and the maze insists on mobile phones being handed in before entry. They get to the maze and a mark put on when paying and scanned on maze entry sets a scanner off for one of them. This indicates that one of them is the 10,000th visitor. Owner Herschell (John Littlefield) turns up and invites them to the VIP maze, where they can win $5000 if they solve it quickly enough (the prize actually jumps to $10k whilst they talk if they solve it even quicker). They are taken off into the maze and, clearly, will be hunted – Herschell is the family patriarch.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8JXtDNyH5DT7fqC_TCKGuTEd_eXgyLLq4mdLjps0ga26Ji_Z7KKP3iMW3cA8u61I0QpF68Y0jsNT-FQNDDakGVVC92P8bBoxKXa1guUdCgbSb5dMyLgramDWopub7f0WLAWuy-c5k2rhwDmp01iKxJbdUr-dxVy5dy39j1ZB6tbMGsOJlOFgxQ/s1918/Fear%20Pharm_gemma%20and%20brother.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1918" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8JXtDNyH5DT7fqC_TCKGuTEd_eXgyLLq4mdLjps0ga26Ji_Z7KKP3iMW3cA8u61I0QpF68Y0jsNT-FQNDDakGVVC92P8bBoxKXa1guUdCgbSb5dMyLgramDWopub7f0WLAWuy-c5k2rhwDmp01iKxJbdUr-dxVy5dy39j1ZB6tbMGsOJlOFgxQ/w200-h113/Fear%20Pharm_gemma%20and%20brother.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gemma with brother</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The trope of splitting up is deftly done. There are five separate maze paths and, by splitting up (not taking the middle path at Herschell’s suggestion) they have more chance of winning the money. After a bit of lame haunt moments (with staff not part of the family) they are attacked and taken in (preferably alive and intact – though this is clearly not the case with one of the friends). Why? Here is our vampiric bit and, to be fair, some strange pseudoscience. Apparently, the woman killed at the head of the film by the naked victim was the clan mother and a geneticist. She discovered a new gene that has been appearing only over the last 30-years.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcqBGxoB_I0NycI7AwtBtnd-nzmUH_LKPqydd4OCmsAhTGUbjT3iwLwwt72NXVXb8eQvN1r4XAR3RgJQGHHTR4r5DQTwtxwbeFTT58qO1KTahpKCKW0QfCRTeNwjP4BK0snKjAz6BMaeUnF5fMyJVnXyhzOPCqsdQIfPD_0Q2q3GUL7ZtKnp2Rg/s818/Fear%20Pharm_skin%20missing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="818" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTcqBGxoB_I0NycI7AwtBtnd-nzmUH_LKPqydd4OCmsAhTGUbjT3iwLwwt72NXVXb8eQvN1r4XAR3RgJQGHHTR4r5DQTwtxwbeFTT58qO1KTahpKCKW0QfCRTeNwjP4BK0snKjAz6BMaeUnF5fMyJVnXyhzOPCqsdQIfPD_0Q2q3GUL7ZtKnp2Rg/w200-h124/Fear%20Pharm_skin%20missing.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">harvesting skin</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This gene is in the skin and so the victims are wanted for skin harvesting, which is then treated, turned to liquid and made into a face-cream that literally halts aging. So, it is science creating a fountain of youth through the death of someone. One of the friends is a predicted super-host (the real reason for the mark on the hands). That person needs to be kept alive to work out why the skin has so much of the gene. If they die the skin fights to stay alive, using osmosis of anything in the environment that it can (which will spoil any experimental results) and can stay alive weeks after death. Gemma is now the scientist and they have only just managed to replicate mum’s results it seems. The beauty cream aspect and experimentation is somehow undermined by the farm location (despite a brief shot of some lab-coated persons). It does offer a vampire as capitalist aspect (which is foreshadowed/underscored by the kids claiming to be children of Republicans and “<i>all about the Benjamins</i>”) that is expanded on in film 2.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnsoo-dzJ3G5MdJghBHthwraLcXtyIKe_By9dWp8N6cg-beXCh1sQpMpsxGaGLvCHslS0-lQ4mVxfDqUDRLh1l2Vq-J8fVuTurMUgxh3EUKgZTtkEMEG1FPLt2u-HtTXz-FACKScodB0hmw7L-BmCpLUw5gCcTcNdHyNOImABIP8aZsguohJihQ/s818/Fear%20Pharm_killer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="818" height="124" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCnsoo-dzJ3G5MdJghBHthwraLcXtyIKe_By9dWp8N6cg-beXCh1sQpMpsxGaGLvCHslS0-lQ4mVxfDqUDRLh1l2Vq-J8fVuTurMUgxh3EUKgZTtkEMEG1FPLt2u-HtTXz-FACKScodB0hmw7L-BmCpLUw5gCcTcNdHyNOImABIP8aZsguohJihQ/w200-h124/Fear%20Pharm_killer.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">masked killer</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The whole set-up seems really convoluted (there must be an easier way of getting victims) and the science utterly pseudo but it was something different to the norm for a slasher. The film is fairly short, the characters absolutely stereotypes (and knowingly so), there are some nicely sassy lines (cf. Gemma remonstrating with one of her masked brothers at him calling someone a lesbian because she is deemed a strong woman). It is pretty nicely filmed too. It won’t set the world on fire but there is a vampiric science here.<span style="color: red;"> 4 out of 10</span>.
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9191844/?ref_=tt_mv_close">here</a>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/4anOiHM">On Demand @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3RtXAcC">On DVD @ Amazon UK</a>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-91498477088845360092024-02-11T08:21:00.000-08:002024-02-11T08:21:46.972-08:00Blood Lust – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU70VVcefNLoZx2xy56EXT-JOK36XJp6RxsP5KkN6JMYFWmFJDedqpyVne8IQiYjyYG-PawVSVEUxKpCR-N1guP5hDA8oaP8csE7LDR4aSJZ8uJ8T0Qvc1vGJSCwes5gKDcRkUdn9xU0G0Pww6qrSghGd_7xWeTfa3I3Ric2yhvUblNpVbB9po7w/s630/Blood%20Lust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="473" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU70VVcefNLoZx2xy56EXT-JOK36XJp6RxsP5KkN6JMYFWmFJDedqpyVne8IQiYjyYG-PawVSVEUxKpCR-N1guP5hDA8oaP8csE7LDR4aSJZ8uJ8T0Qvc1vGJSCwes5gKDcRkUdn9xU0G0Pww6qrSghGd_7xWeTfa3I3Ric2yhvUblNpVbB9po7w/s320/Blood%20Lust.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />Director: Christopher McCleod
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Release date: 2023
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Contains spoilers
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I have used the title of this as listed on Amazon Prime Video, but the IMDb page names the film Blood Thirst and the actual title screen does the same. Obviously, both titles are ones that have been used in the vampire genre before. The spelling of the director's surname is from IMDb, the actual film credit lists the director as Christopher McLeod.
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This is a fairly short (71 mins) feature that was actually rather engaging. I thought it needed extra – length for character building mostly – and it had its flaws but did quite well for a budget piece.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSF2oVAZ5AcsalYOhvZCMM0nFQTPGErMxTNMSidejfclVpgklSclrp5KYJg-TeQXuQJjwZ5YPAFl1TOeUQzuALfD54r-eb8M6ipv5M1kEqWma0Bf_EKTPSOlWcEFxpC1j5wZBaQh3ZciuBfyXxjNzoIbuGbkjLqBsStVmozaouirS2PAsJQF9g-Q/s1920/blood%20lust_baring%20fangs.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSF2oVAZ5AcsalYOhvZCMM0nFQTPGErMxTNMSidejfclVpgklSclrp5KYJg-TeQXuQJjwZ5YPAFl1TOeUQzuALfD54r-eb8M6ipv5M1kEqWma0Bf_EKTPSOlWcEFxpC1j5wZBaQh3ZciuBfyXxjNzoIbuGbkjLqBsStVmozaouirS2PAsJQF9g-Q/w200-h113/blood%20lust_baring%20fangs.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">baring fangs</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It starts with a cityscape and then, in a parking lot, we see a car on its own in the centre of the lot. Approaching it is a woman in scrubs, Vanessa (Lindsey Mitchell). As she gets there a couple of guys start hassling her but they have picked on the wrong woman. She fights them off, hissing and baring fangs. She breaks the neck of one and feeds on the other and then, calmly, gets trash bags out of her car. We see her drive away and fly tip the bags, then go to a garage, wash blood off her car and, when driving home, lick blood from her hand (that was a detail I disliked, given she had just washed the car with a high-power water hose and, even if it hadn’t washed away, it would have dried. It felt like a short hand moment but one we didn’t actually need).
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAsGbvOZDxotI0RJR1CNb4DOPn7fm-n8zI2-XjgddNoXuTnmMPbZPCn-9ZPUcSqTVn9e_BjoFZOeaF6wA7GBAROPUoGeUwLLCPFLPdk5ek0tlVHhQ3ckRVIvwQHgZ156pffNv18Z970hBPkDRhWQsUI2_ebHhwGH8k8qeYcRsog79qKGkfIjSiw/s1920/blood%20lust_with%20layla.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXAsGbvOZDxotI0RJR1CNb4DOPn7fm-n8zI2-XjgddNoXuTnmMPbZPCn-9ZPUcSqTVn9e_BjoFZOeaF6wA7GBAROPUoGeUwLLCPFLPdk5ek0tlVHhQ3ckRVIvwQHgZ156pffNv18Z970hBPkDRhWQsUI2_ebHhwGH8k8qeYcRsog79qKGkfIjSiw/w200-h113/blood%20lust_with%20layla.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanessa and Layla</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The film cuts back in 1968 and a car picks up a hitchhiker (who clearly is Vanessa). The driver is Layla (Dorothy Hadley Joly), who tries to engage the young woman in conversation and then gives her an apple. We then see Vanessa asleep in the car and Layla attacking her and feeding. I did like the way that Layla is drawn as a 60s housewife in style, rather than being given a more genre stereotypical look and I liked how the style persisted into the present when we see her in the primary timeline. Cut to the present and another person, Bento (Sky Crystal), ditches trash bags in the same spot that Vanessa used. Vanessa gets home, her neighbour, Walker (Tim Michael Schmidt), sees her get home and notices the blood on her scrubs. He is a cop and seems worse for wear but gets a call and heads out.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZY86pJ6Qm_m31PnOa0bjhqHvN7lkaodESqI-ijEqmdVde9mEOAklie4OdtuUAdScXxgxvpk5F6Lz5Vz7zZSyYpBb4jLnFoHFuTdYSr0fwlZwygPuAZzMdAVcQo_iDuZUepuItuwibJpS53iWP5Hlu7_NBESpuBKD5gIX1tlyal61_I4FYNiCZsw/s1920/blood%20lust_bento.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZY86pJ6Qm_m31PnOa0bjhqHvN7lkaodESqI-ijEqmdVde9mEOAklie4OdtuUAdScXxgxvpk5F6Lz5Vz7zZSyYpBb4jLnFoHFuTdYSr0fwlZwygPuAZzMdAVcQo_iDuZUepuItuwibJpS53iWP5Hlu7_NBESpuBKD5gIX1tlyal61_I4FYNiCZsw/w200-h113/blood%20lust_bento.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sky Crystal as Bento</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Back to 1969 and Vanessa and Layla pick up a hitchhiker and Vanessa feeds on him. Layla congratulates her and mentions the next time (I did wonder at the intervening time and what had gone on between the end of 1968 and 1969). Vanessa denies there will be a next time, calls the vampirism a curse and Layla determines to abandon the ungrateful vampire. In the present, Bento carves at a teeth mould, whilst someone screams in the background. The cops are at the fly tipping spot and have decided there are at least three dismembered bodies. Walker arrives and he and his detective colleague spot Bento driving away, he has been sat watching, but put him down as a lookie-loo.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPdLXn_JltHqXhyphenhyphen7xzHnlNBlYRso-DAN6FKlfPkX3wtR4Sxjg0YXOmxgHr3jRP-xh494fmIx_kHkm_8HqP3EHfsUraDxo6vieia3EgqZFuL0vHQ22aOrVnTrGDCJZX32jfKhLa84H1OrvzvTs0erq0z-pAaU2ZdZH_qCfXAkX_Vvle-NXbyyVmw/s1920/blood%20lust_walker.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPdLXn_JltHqXhyphenhyphen7xzHnlNBlYRso-DAN6FKlfPkX3wtR4Sxjg0YXOmxgHr3jRP-xh494fmIx_kHkm_8HqP3EHfsUraDxo6vieia3EgqZFuL0vHQ22aOrVnTrGDCJZX32jfKhLa84H1OrvzvTs0erq0z-pAaU2ZdZH_qCfXAkX_Vvle-NXbyyVmw/w200-h113/blood%20lust_walker.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim Michael Schmidt as Walker</td></tr></tbody></table><br />So, Vanessa works in a blood bank and gets herself blood from there. Walker visits her concerned because he saw the blood on her scrubs and is told that the blood came from a bag that exploded. She later visits him with wine. Bento works in a comic book store, opportunistically takes victims and whilst he mentions an iron deficiency does admit he simply likes the taste of blood. Coincidence has him follow Vanessa and then become very interested when she tries to scare him off by baring fangs. They all converge in the middle, as it were.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7aMX_RTweJFiG4MH0tIgd3Lnx04SOmNIFPckMWQK5iPFAolj3W-E4tYCrHgn2v825nktCe2DHBivybdnLoKEF_Ab5Pn8zindop8mKvUxvxcihzyQAOTS8943HpwOt7F1T10Nk5gpO6exWd2jIf_iUz_De_7U0G951zZTvmT-N7tP3qup4aenrg/s1920/blood%20lust_victim.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh7aMX_RTweJFiG4MH0tIgd3Lnx04SOmNIFPckMWQK5iPFAolj3W-E4tYCrHgn2v825nktCe2DHBivybdnLoKEF_Ab5Pn8zindop8mKvUxvxcihzyQAOTS8943HpwOt7F1T10Nk5gpO6exWd2jIf_iUz_De_7U0G951zZTvmT-N7tP3qup4aenrg/w200-h113/blood%20lust_victim.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">victim of a serial killer</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The issue I had was mostly around the scripting. There were loose moments with chronology (such as Bento seen at home and then the next minute watching the crime scene – whilst it is time feasible, there is some strengthening of the relay of the passage of time needed). There was also a need, for me, to spend longer exploring the characters and the film felt like it was too short to allow proper character study. A moment when Vanessa’s first victim returns – as a memory or ghost – was not exploited as well as it might have been. On the other hand, I was engaged by the film, I found Lindsey Mitchell’s performance believable and appealing. I don’t know if it was the mannerisms or simply the look with the moustache but I could almost see Bento being played by Elijah Wood. Sky Crystal did well with what was there but the character needed expanding on and he needed more to do with the character and dialogue such as him being referred to as a ‘big one’ when he seemed slight in stature didn’t help. Nevertheless, as mentioned, I was engaged and I thought the photography was particularly good for a budget indie.<span style="color: red;"> 5.5 out of 10</span>.
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28718653/?ref_=tt_mv_close">here</a>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/4bviame">On Demand @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3SuoHF4">On Demand @ Amazon UK</a>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-56862726840322524502024-02-10T02:50:00.000-08:002024-02-10T02:50:09.946-08:00Short Film: Junji Ito Collection: Fashion Model<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWYkDMbpYQP1lLJacrONoUwcVpCiN8S5xf7lCItWRd3GfBYgwkXcj9I77KJVXbzR8LVdjI6LGKqBsBFkCdc8L6-aLPhUza365oigMTNJzghFUdzzjGnGD_s8kA_zphRk0B2d_CxWUvOj-erUzk-FtrNmqZ4gS5hDFlA97jPYXFsGs-2hBdr8OGg/s1000/fashion%20model.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="713" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihWYkDMbpYQP1lLJacrONoUwcVpCiN8S5xf7lCItWRd3GfBYgwkXcj9I77KJVXbzR8LVdjI6LGKqBsBFkCdc8L6-aLPhUza365oigMTNJzghFUdzzjGnGD_s8kA_zphRk0B2d_CxWUvOj-erUzk-FtrNmqZ4gS5hDFlA97jPYXFsGs-2hBdr8OGg/s320/fashion%20model.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><br />From the Junji Ito Collection comes this short anime recreation of the manga <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2023/10/interesting-short-fashion-model.html">Fashion Model</a>, being one of two segments in the episode. The episode first aired in 2018.
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The story starts with Iwasaki having a premonition that something bad is going to happen. He goes to a café and is flicking through a magazine when he spots a model within the pages (Miss Fuchi, though he does not know her name at this point). In contrast to the pretty, young starlets otherwise featured, the model has a singular look (one might say almost Addamsesque). Her image disturbs him so much that she invades his dreams and he is so pre-occupied he almost fails to write the screenplay that he and his student filmmaking buddies need.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2goOCwlu8XCKehY6j6WwyxiVKmVcK66oiOqdN4cadjU1B3ickh22gtiww6XD_6ETpz9WgOb1oKiPNECO5cbRDpnCzLH2kZxPI24B9WeoVTva32K3V3haybFCB7uuqSSPYf8v-T5CR4FgV2g0OcgCzsOO1dYli5KI2c_2R_KLO8CJatO4Jjl6fg/s1918/Fashion%20Model_Magazine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1918" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv2goOCwlu8XCKehY6j6WwyxiVKmVcK66oiOqdN4cadjU1B3ickh22gtiww6XD_6ETpz9WgOb1oKiPNECO5cbRDpnCzLH2kZxPI24B9WeoVTva32K3V3haybFCB7uuqSSPYf8v-T5CR4FgV2g0OcgCzsOO1dYli5KI2c_2R_KLO8CJatO4Jjl6fg/w200-h113/Fashion%20Model_Magazine.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">in the magazine</td></tr></tbody></table><br />As it is, he manages to start to forget her image, writes the script and the film wins a competition. With that success they are going to make a second film and decide to audition non-school actresses. Iwasaki’s sense of dread returns and, after identifying Tamae Mori as their likely lead, they open another application and it is Miss Fuchi. Despite Iwasaki’s sense of foreboding the others decide to hire her, as well as Tamae Mori, because Miss Fuchi is a professional model and so might raise the film’s profile.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDL-G6hRl9vjMkhGIw69BWikm0mtuFqk3eCu5sDsYr3WLfHGIM7MooJ5jLvoLFhWFMnafTHLPlvvvlZwjckALLnatAkO1yWGSZ52iD2pCf6rHtLBXO2IF1zoDPJf916VtqWkBmSFVY48-ZI82JKPD_fBllfypoiX9ixjXkQNRejgnE5GaVFGP1Xg/s1918/Fashion%20Model_bloody.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1918" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDL-G6hRl9vjMkhGIw69BWikm0mtuFqk3eCu5sDsYr3WLfHGIM7MooJ5jLvoLFhWFMnafTHLPlvvvlZwjckALLnatAkO1yWGSZ52iD2pCf6rHtLBXO2IF1zoDPJf916VtqWkBmSFVY48-ZI82JKPD_fBllfypoiX9ixjXkQNRejgnE5GaVFGP1Xg/w200-h113/Fashion%20Model_bloody.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss Fuchi</td></tr></tbody></table><br />They meet their stars; Miss Fuchi is hugely tall, monstrous in feature and, given the sense of unease that accompanies her (for Iwasaki, at least) I think we could describe her as unhomely, in a Freudian sense, her career anomalous (and Junji Ito was clearly commenting on a monstrousness at the heart of the fashion industry, made manifest). As they drive to location she laughs, revealing a maw of wicked looking fangs. When the crew concentrate their attentions on the pretty lead, she deals with her in a particularly cannibalistic way (assuming Miss Fuchi is human).
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12FmCvd9Lnj6gD3hvItTscnR939yDY8kVrNDPrsdffqUL91PREHf03oB7jx1U7VEPpP3CBTY-guclHtt00cIanBU1zGW-3l4r2Fr0dNEcG6TSdicn1scudOSuBmnFopxwHX3LkTJuLTjpP7219jB-NMEaRUbvWDs80lycGUyuxAoI1Kf3jfypHQ/s1918/Fashion%20Model_bite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1078" data-original-width="1918" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12FmCvd9Lnj6gD3hvItTscnR939yDY8kVrNDPrsdffqUL91PREHf03oB7jx1U7VEPpP3CBTY-guclHtt00cIanBU1zGW-3l4r2Fr0dNEcG6TSdicn1scudOSuBmnFopxwHX3LkTJuLTjpP7219jB-NMEaRUbvWDs80lycGUyuxAoI1Kf3jfypHQ/w200-h113/Fashion%20Model_bite.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">her bite</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This brings the Fuchi story to life, in colour, animated and with voice acting. The collection as a whole is definitely worthwhile, especially if you love Junji Ito’s work. The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7862744/">here</a>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3Fe1IrN"> On Blu-Ray @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/45tkB4v">On Blu-Ray @ Amazon UK</a>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-143467756140103182024-02-08T10:41:00.000-08:002024-02-08T10:41:56.915-08:00Honourable Mention: Van Helsing (2023)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyd-cNUTWBKb5x-Rk7nHZ_6DdG-RqqVNGcL9Vv7YZsmwa91Ey8L6RAAivvJTB_QBPAf9oqR820OsNBV9MsOdvdvlSpoIJ0MxZzx-dboFFG0xSrkJxQIzNUd7zRJ5VxaN-YHil4BeBZL8aTWASLJEc2Xh_UV5OZICkmCHzkNuF8L4hm_fM09k7IUw/s1333/van%20helsing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyd-cNUTWBKb5x-Rk7nHZ_6DdG-RqqVNGcL9Vv7YZsmwa91Ey8L6RAAivvJTB_QBPAf9oqR820OsNBV9MsOdvdvlSpoIJ0MxZzx-dboFFG0xSrkJxQIzNUd7zRJ5VxaN-YHil4BeBZL8aTWASLJEc2Xh_UV5OZICkmCHzkNuF8L4hm_fM09k7IUw/s320/van%20helsing.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />This is a computer-generated animation that starts with a battle on the moon. But… You said it’s called Van Helsing. And that it is… Jack Van Helsing (Ernesto Galan), whose grandfather was THE Van Helsing. So, we get a vampire mentioned in passing, saying how his grandfather destroyed the fiend, and an image of it. Plus an image of Vlad Ţepeş because… yup, Dracula was Ţepeş in this never returned to backstory.
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Essentially it looks at the end of the world, and has a preachy bit about devastating wars ignored because we’re all looking at phone screens (I very much doubt we’d ignore warfare on the doorstep, even if we ignore warfare in other countries often). Then it became nuclear.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dZHZiq7bY4lIygBGMrcrlDBVTxDdfyp3Z9SkY1XEVZGQA5l_VMXYDwr9bIAdrnod0E_toL3hLMtjlj_l9pQn7zFMjWk6WFHvIXnQSbjAXQFdby-bii0Y4v8sUVGWeXl_QBvIXa69LPrM9b10c7R6udvojpCUpf6s3Q-RWAWQGdA4gHh6916epw/s1920/Van%20Helsing_vamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dZHZiq7bY4lIygBGMrcrlDBVTxDdfyp3Z9SkY1XEVZGQA5l_VMXYDwr9bIAdrnod0E_toL3hLMtjlj_l9pQn7zFMjWk6WFHvIXnQSbjAXQFdby-bii0Y4v8sUVGWeXl_QBvIXa69LPrM9b10c7R6udvojpCUpf6s3Q-RWAWQGdA4gHh6916epw/w200-h113/Van%20Helsing_vamp.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">vampire was mentioned in passing</td></tr></tbody></table><br />We get some survivors – Jack appears in a hazmat at first and manages to get those survivors killed, then he gets to the moon (by stealing a space shuttle) and teams up with a colony there lead by Lilith (Jennifer Fourteen) – who is Lilith in name only. They then get killed, though he survives again. The transitions from a contemporary world destroyed by nukes, a moon base and then space-faring people and space warfare are jarring.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvXZtPmJDTtoAYQ2H9IWeEUORb1VsoFWLwRmpotYKRPnNCdp9p3KP1jboNmeLcsAzjSMykbV8PMbsA5seeg4aqFkAvMyLjMfd39Xyw9aCw_L578R4-9X-3Z9Js4GueiOZrSiBJYlN6Icc8MBhwJbMJ2CWdXJelm_ARRNxtwcoyFn5txd6yOeWZQ/s1920/Van%20Helsing_jack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyvXZtPmJDTtoAYQ2H9IWeEUORb1VsoFWLwRmpotYKRPnNCdp9p3KP1jboNmeLcsAzjSMykbV8PMbsA5seeg4aqFkAvMyLjMfd39Xyw9aCw_L578R4-9X-3Z9Js4GueiOZrSiBJYlN6Icc8MBhwJbMJ2CWdXJelm_ARRNxtwcoyFn5txd6yOeWZQ/w200-h113/Van%20Helsing_jack.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jack Van Helsing</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Of the enemies, one is a zombie (for that read more like a ghoul from the Fallout series) who stole a space shuttle! Yes, NASA just leaves those things hanging around with the keys in the ignition (so to speak)… Anyway he becomes a galactic despot and the moon base was destroyed by Xterminator (Edson Camacho) – an anti-human AI driven robot… kill all humans… Who gets a galactic taskforce… His faction also create a rebuilt, cyborg (with the memories of the human, but with loyalty to the AI) Lilith. Not much happens with that storyline as Jack goes to meet her on the recovering Earth, in the strangely still functional Hong Kong…
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlmN_sTRd_35dYSICSeqUTRxGI_jkaYRs7iYDq5z16UXXO99yYyIDo4IJDrj9_dQsNvVoUuA85c9CtsYIQXjGSjI5id6VepqFpgLivtRQ8TLrgJvWGoVtvXmKJfHE7QulMFuAZI7c0AxMEJAVVteo-gJWR7W1SkCL3ae2pqzFvQQmUdAwVfbNfPw/s1920/Van%20Helsing_bat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlmN_sTRd_35dYSICSeqUTRxGI_jkaYRs7iYDq5z16UXXO99yYyIDo4IJDrj9_dQsNvVoUuA85c9CtsYIQXjGSjI5id6VepqFpgLivtRQ8TLrgJvWGoVtvXmKJfHE7QulMFuAZI7c0AxMEJAVVteo-gJWR7W1SkCL3ae2pqzFvQQmUdAwVfbNfPw/w200-h113/Van%20Helsing_bat.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a bat creature</td></tr></tbody></table><br />If it sounds a mess… well it is, as is the animation. Some looks detailed, other bits look terribly untextured. I’m not sure how it was built (and doing a budget driven cgi is brave) but it doesn’t look consistent. The voice acting style is melodrama 101. The storyline just seems to stitch ideas together with no thought as to the logical viability. You never see Jack’s face (though you do see Abraham) rather he is behind gas masks or helmets. Not great but genre connected (oh and a big bat creature at the very end).
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27713536/?ref_=tt_mv_close">here</a>.
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-48556697036521833622024-02-06T10:03:00.000-08:002024-02-06T10:03:31.738-08:00Vampus Horror Tales – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCf0BEaRv3Qqm6eTLxb8xXr5UWNtbD07VQLSE7emkPtRnSg90K6kPJrmq49_RWO3RSqFpkpJ15x23J2R_IWACqJ4IC76BUdepbCEcv6ObwYdY959i9BWM_aQZ9H2Kr9HaiDYm94eu1MGDE0qmHx3tRaF7k-fYRRUFBqR94dvRRxpMZyePPMZPOPg/s1520/vampus%20horror%20tales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1520" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCf0BEaRv3Qqm6eTLxb8xXr5UWNtbD07VQLSE7emkPtRnSg90K6kPJrmq49_RWO3RSqFpkpJ15x23J2R_IWACqJ4IC76BUdepbCEcv6ObwYdY959i9BWM_aQZ9H2Kr9HaiDYm94eu1MGDE0qmHx3tRaF7k-fYRRUFBqR94dvRRxpMZyePPMZPOPg/s320/vampus%20horror%20tales.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br />Director: Piter Moreira (segment)
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Release date: 2020
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Contains spoilers
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This is a Spanish portmanteau film, with the wraparound featuring the Gravedigger/robber Vampus (Saturnino García) aka Mr. Fettes, a name he doesn’t wish to be known by. He buries them by day and unearths them at night – to feed to his ghoulish pet Tobi (Alberto Rivas). He also feeds Tobi fresh meat from victims who happen along to the cemetery.
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The whole film is shot in black and white but each segment showcases a new director. The vampire segment is entitled Lineage.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDvpjafnTWYVQGsOkUzJ1o0jtvHSNMoZ_8zbJ8xNm-h961EAZRsDUWLUlfCwXggYrcKHy4TjBqjSrYbN4rCriJX69Ur9BA4-0_uAi6FqCjsdbYOrKFKZEqc7t3bqtaWIHK9Oz0Fjk8iNzzN_X6BSgpg40AhRs90ovluJ8iiOEoB5bqD2G5vxW6w/s1920/Vampus%20Horror%20Tales_hot%20dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDvpjafnTWYVQGsOkUzJ1o0jtvHSNMoZ_8zbJ8xNm-h961EAZRsDUWLUlfCwXggYrcKHy4TjBqjSrYbN4rCriJX69Ur9BA4-0_uAi6FqCjsdbYOrKFKZEqc7t3bqtaWIHK9Oz0Fjk8iNzzN_X6BSgpg40AhRs90ovluJ8iiOEoB5bqD2G5vxW6w/w200-h113/Vampus%20Horror%20Tales_hot%20dog.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">blame the hot dogs</td></tr></tbody></table><br />A man, Marco (Federico Repetto), who wears hazard clothing drives with his wife, Cami (Vicky Jorge) as the radio speaks of handing infected over and the sacrifices that must be made. If it feels familiar then it is, being that viral outbreak film that owes its lineage to <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2006/03/classic-literature-i-am-legend.html">I Am Legend</a> and, in this case, it becomes apparent that the film is indeed focused on a vampire apocalypse. The radio mentioned tainted meat in a hotdog and later we see a newspaper that says much the same – this is a nod to the wraparound, where at the end Vampus starts making money on the side selling hotdogs made from flesh he has gathered.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Trq5fjHE133Mk5F8Vs0tH4U7tRKmH9dxKBJQqMWs-LtpGC8S0EDHTwo4jXjHimSoHLAjChdbf6K-sQ0wfo3cushClxdb1rEpnP8wIZXjv-R7S40_zP86Vl0aDkiEhbOq6DGH_l0zk3WmOU_b9W0Xe-fV2nY79a9nLZhGQ1ot4iIZqr7ld-BWmQ/s1920/Vampus%20Horror%20Tales_stake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Trq5fjHE133Mk5F8Vs0tH4U7tRKmH9dxKBJQqMWs-LtpGC8S0EDHTwo4jXjHimSoHLAjChdbf6K-sQ0wfo3cushClxdb1rEpnP8wIZXjv-R7S40_zP86Vl0aDkiEhbOq6DGH_l0zk3WmOU_b9W0Xe-fV2nY79a9nLZhGQ1ot4iIZqr7ld-BWmQ/w200-h113/Vampus%20Horror%20Tales_stake.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">stake</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Marco gets to an abandoned house in the country and carries Cami in but the virus has developed in her and she turns on him. He gets out and she licks blood that has smeared onto a refrigerator as he sits in front of the door, she is trapped behind, holding a stake. If we needed more indicators of the vampiric nature of the virus we get it when we see that she burns in sunlight, turns the fridge on its side and uses it as a light tight coffin, develops small fangs and only calms when fed.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQnturgRLdjYT4B9YrBAz_27i2Mz2Ga9l-PBvEDV0HgNnMxXBMa2IWTkoKytPqxI1B_-sUtlfM0m_wjKv2aKa2rcDdHeGh35I_yh7JM2gi8x-bjiszifdMNkxylFinlGVE6njSw_cq52K-kh7EgYvMgwrw67aS-3snLXj1oYseZv_vvOHSAbgcQ/s1920/Vampus%20Horror%20Tales_cami.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQnturgRLdjYT4B9YrBAz_27i2Mz2Ga9l-PBvEDV0HgNnMxXBMa2IWTkoKytPqxI1B_-sUtlfM0m_wjKv2aKa2rcDdHeGh35I_yh7JM2gi8x-bjiszifdMNkxylFinlGVE6njSw_cq52K-kh7EgYvMgwrw67aS-3snLXj1oYseZv_vvOHSAbgcQ/w200-h113/Vampus%20Horror%20Tales_cami.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vicky Jorge as Cami</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The film follows the couple as he looks to keep her fed and preserve the woman he loves… And, as a segment, it's alright. The black and white is effective and the photography nice and there is some nice vampire imagery but the story denouement is obvious and it doesn’t do anything we haven’t seen before in countless vampire/zombie apocalypse films. Not that every film needs to have original aspects to be good but this barely fleshes out the characters and is pretty average in its storytelling. For the segment, <span style="color: red;">4 out of 10</span>.
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12454740/">here</a>.
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-60433025342343178202024-02-04T06:48:00.000-08:002024-02-04T06:55:34.360-08:00The Last Voyage of the Demeter – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMJDfPRFS-pPr4DlK7k6QFpOSfTwLCsfZLDO4Gst-dAWYhC5EUBGK18U-Kr6CEeiF7S8ID3OSDC14TGvbzMFwKdOoOgaG9XE_YICjRnOHXG8kVQp0u3US1twyYZKvgqeTIU0aWhYnVeCB6qzk0MvfZYK8Goat7iDmCbY7xZnHZWxnDI5RWS-Llg/s1481/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSMJDfPRFS-pPr4DlK7k6QFpOSfTwLCsfZLDO4Gst-dAWYhC5EUBGK18U-Kr6CEeiF7S8ID3OSDC14TGvbzMFwKdOoOgaG9XE_YICjRnOHXG8kVQp0u3US1twyYZKvgqeTIU0aWhYnVeCB6qzk0MvfZYK8Goat7iDmCbY7xZnHZWxnDI5RWS-Llg/s320/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Director: André Øvredal
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Release date: 2023
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Contains spoilers
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Let us get the *stuff* out of the way first shall we. First were the attacks on this film, pre-release, with accusations of “woke gone mad”. This slice of toxic fandom was because the film – based on the Demeter section of the <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2006/08/classic-literature-dracula.html">novel Dracula</a> – happened to cast a black actor, a female actor and a child actor in the film. But, the toxic fan moans, they're not in the book. So what? The relationship of Dracula and Mina in <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2006/05/bram-stokers-dracula-1992-review.html">Dracula 1992</a> wasn’t in the book, in fact there isn’t a single film of Dracula that doesn’t deviate one way or another from the book.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiokvotASsY197bU9oSaHek3pOdOxPOGnOL0QQGIvn3GEY_T40uaHcRyRAiVYyfEGZWUUIyUikPHYnY8l7Sa_BdRQ2mjLT6irErnN4QHN3UkVQFFU5BDng1rkIXRVFY5Evo9kjIbB7GGc_PhVQutXGXAabAYCvvl_Uk10R0AYIUGMkMnlm2bIt8UA/s1920/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter_clemens.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1920" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiokvotASsY197bU9oSaHek3pOdOxPOGnOL0QQGIvn3GEY_T40uaHcRyRAiVYyfEGZWUUIyUikPHYnY8l7Sa_BdRQ2mjLT6irErnN4QHN3UkVQFFU5BDng1rkIXRVFY5Evo9kjIbB7GGc_PhVQutXGXAabAYCvvl_Uk10R0AYIUGMkMnlm2bIt8UA/w200-h84/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter_clemens.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corey Hawkins as Clemens</td></tr></tbody></table><br />So, the female character, Anna (Aisling Franciosi), was a snack Dracula (Javier Botet, <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2019/01/the-mummy-review.html">The Mummy</a>) had in one of the crates – this seems reasonable. The child, Toby (Woody Norman), is the orphaned grandson of Captain Eliot (Liam Cunningham) and looks after the livestock needed for the voyage – again reasonable. Finally, the main character of Clemens (Corey Hawkins), who is taken on as a general hand and doctor – well, firstly Stoker never mentions the skin colour of the crew, secondly. though not numerous. there were black physicians educated in British universities in the 19th century and last... if you have an issue due to his ethnicity then (and I say this sincerely) the problem is with you and not the casting. Especially as it is Corey Hawkins's performance that carried the film.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmm2-Wsw_x3naPYd1B2-tnIRxInuSkd4tvSqZnvbx1i0CW8dcVWoPU_AM41njzSu2c1RECU3AxjW1C60kiyaXaUbAy39Gic6eqEwjiWtqSdLONU8pHrwNc3E398tRhOJF7iOSmxAyMwZTwZ6xULhFHsHANBFU1Z5kVu1jlBRePLYvhF6_LCrDB6Q/s1920/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter_bat%20form.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1920" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmm2-Wsw_x3naPYd1B2-tnIRxInuSkd4tvSqZnvbx1i0CW8dcVWoPU_AM41njzSu2c1RECU3AxjW1C60kiyaXaUbAy39Gic6eqEwjiWtqSdLONU8pHrwNc3E398tRhOJF7iOSmxAyMwZTwZ6xULhFHsHANBFU1Z5kVu1jlBRePLYvhF6_LCrDB6Q/w200-h84/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter_bat%20form.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bat form</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Next to the complaint that I read about Dracula being monstrous. Yes, he does take on "man bat" form at one point – something done in other renderings and, notably, in the 92 Dracula. His main form is more Orlock, indeed the character is credited as “Dracula/Nosferatu”. Stoker’s Count was not the later handsome Count, his physiognomy based in large part on the descriptions in Baring-Gould’s The Book of Were-Wolves, and <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/nosferatu-eine-symphonie-des-grauens.html">Nosferatu – Eine Symphonie des Grauens</a> is still one of the best vampire movies made. Dracula, in the book, doesn’t spend the voyage making conversation with the crew (and that has already been done in <a href="https://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2020/01/dracula-2020-review.html">Dracula 2020</a>), rather he hides within his earth and then feeds at night.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXrxWDq-TylrKkqytbym0rlJsK9gIf2oHfJB7QXXS0aK9c9y6jzwPNBv9aRXOC2va96uLtM1DFTudkuU7qnasuZBNczKfBWTi8gMI11Qde06jLLEfsUBf-lBX5o-b4fZuS_mmrz4N15FHe38JctQuD2vQPoXdeZn5l3waODtlULKGbY6QRZQ4JA/s1920/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter_anna.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1920" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTXrxWDq-TylrKkqytbym0rlJsK9gIf2oHfJB7QXXS0aK9c9y6jzwPNBv9aRXOC2va96uLtM1DFTudkuU7qnasuZBNczKfBWTi8gMI11Qde06jLLEfsUBf-lBX5o-b4fZuS_mmrz4N15FHe38JctQuD2vQPoXdeZn5l3waODtlULKGbY6QRZQ4JA/w200-h84/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter_anna.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aisling Franciosi as Anna</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Finally, there is the fact that this has flopped. It really doesn’t deserve to have flopped but there are reasons. One might be the fact that the Dracula name wasn’t attached to the title and there may have been fewer sales as a result. Then was the fact that whilst it was released in 2,715 US cinemas (less than half of the cinemas in the US), its distribution was not successful at all in other parts of the world – the distribution company for the UK and some other European companies, for instance, went bust and thus the film wasn’t actually released in many countries. Of course, a Halloween release, rather than August might have been a better fit too. I say all this because the film is really very good. It looks fab and has a nice horror tension through it – because it is a horror film, that is clear throughout. The fact that, at time of writing, it has failed to emerge on physical format (bar in the US and a less than legitimate Malaysian release, as far as I know) or hit international streaming feels like the producers staking the film through the heart.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6zXbXGd9b_XVgWnbFXzC3gDEYL5C5TrevvMYpnOq9z7_NlJkWlhyplrL9pVwKUs4phdTcGtx24FOfpm78H0k-Ph01SQOpORNhFFZUOjXKZ64SgdLAW9hNKfdPbw2_d_BCw0iWoMvaGTW3tnpULXN0MQ3LxyDTqPCnxF1SgMCcWm9sJzfaFQpng/s1920/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter_figurehead.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1920" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6zXbXGd9b_XVgWnbFXzC3gDEYL5C5TrevvMYpnOq9z7_NlJkWlhyplrL9pVwKUs4phdTcGtx24FOfpm78H0k-Ph01SQOpORNhFFZUOjXKZ64SgdLAW9hNKfdPbw2_d_BCw0iWoMvaGTW3tnpULXN0MQ3LxyDTqPCnxF1SgMCcWm9sJzfaFQpng/w200-h84/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter_figurehead.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Demeter</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The film itself is fairly simple in plot, as you would imagine – the Demeter is chartered to take boxes (of earth) to England. Clemens, trying to find passage home, attempts to get onto the crew and fails but, after a hired sailor realises there is the dragon symbol on the crates and manages to drop one quayside (and nearly kills Toby, who is saved by Clemens), the Doctor takes the hand’s place. Once at sea they soon discover Anna – Clemens giving her transfusions seemed a leap, given the time period but the script makes it clear that they don’t always work and no one knows why (it was before blood typing).
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlxj-CqSOVgusQ_rARkeNeuCaxxDCqwBpvWMHh_TKL96wtKf_p9ujuIYM4ILHXtbuNgztV4OPW-AeCO-IWXqg54u9JpC4Bwo1FTx8pmkCCyPZteMTp12Ua3kZ3JKDREN64q7eum769YObzPoDjhj70MtNhfzHMPHUGIRaB9Pxl-lApeZ2_rDmHxA/s1920/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter_fire.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1920" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlxj-CqSOVgusQ_rARkeNeuCaxxDCqwBpvWMHh_TKL96wtKf_p9ujuIYM4ILHXtbuNgztV4OPW-AeCO-IWXqg54u9JpC4Bwo1FTx8pmkCCyPZteMTp12Ua3kZ3JKDREN64q7eum769YObzPoDjhj70MtNhfzHMPHUGIRaB9Pxl-lApeZ2_rDmHxA/w200-h84/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter_fire.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sunlight immolation</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The livestock are slaughtered first and then Dracula works his way through the crew. A bite turns, but not, it seems, into a full vampire, but more a clouded-eyed thrall of the master vampire. Dracula can certainly, as per the book, cause fog to surround the ship and control the weather generally. A violent fiery reaction to sunlight was not, of course, part of the book but was introduced into the megatext via Nosferatu. Dracula smashes through the hold grate but also seems able to pass into areas without disturbing the door. He starts the film looking weak, after all he is moving because of scarcity of food, and yet still capable of bursts of speed.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvF0z9hwxUgLI94YuSMba-cKIk-eTQDuIGAL8stQac5OCjnIVqMDDOb0mHHVQtiu7jVEiVZQrNqcYr5JeFBI1XABq09GuPVWo2EvT4U2Oa71VQSCpai8A-eELqhIWmhBTMVbZw5scBNKDgx3pIPFCD914ZMzr-aaMMidEraQ8I9KWqUxYSzjbJ_g/s1920/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter_dracula.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1920" height="84" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvF0z9hwxUgLI94YuSMba-cKIk-eTQDuIGAL8stQac5OCjnIVqMDDOb0mHHVQtiu7jVEiVZQrNqcYr5JeFBI1XABq09GuPVWo2EvT4U2Oa71VQSCpai8A-eELqhIWmhBTMVbZw5scBNKDgx3pIPFCD914ZMzr-aaMMidEraQ8I9KWqUxYSzjbJ_g/w200-h84/Last%20Voyage%20of%20the%20Demeter_dracula.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Javier Botet as Dracula</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I mentioned Corey Hawkins’ performance and he really is the glue of the story, though the full ensemble cast do a great job. There is great photography and the ship looks fabulous. The best part of this, however, is the decision to make it a horror film, a cold and monstrous vampire pitted against a baffled crew who must decide how to survive and, later, how they can ensure he does not reach English shores. I really enjoyed this and think it deserves a strong <span style="color: red;">8 out of 10</span>.<br />
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1001520/">here</a>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/3wc4XOT">On Blu-Ray @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/49jxq3z">On Blu-Ray @ Amazon UK</a>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-60465423787881865372024-02-02T09:00:00.000-08:002024-02-02T09:00:00.139-08:00Short: You Only Die Once<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7eGzIi8-W_fdVaXrmDGddptEMkstX7RwJhugJ3Qd3HqjDZ-s4fKVJnk62pDmRRyACBkthSIJhDFGgxDBMbTt7PD8l_dRn3-75dGMC_bsnfH74TXpkGyabY71OAO3ch1zeLVQIMOLBjwfGnZxGYGJn1Rta3dNSqq71DHcz_k4WkS6ezDwj13pggw/s1481/you%20only%20die%20once.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7eGzIi8-W_fdVaXrmDGddptEMkstX7RwJhugJ3Qd3HqjDZ-s4fKVJnk62pDmRRyACBkthSIJhDFGgxDBMbTt7PD8l_dRn3-75dGMC_bsnfH74TXpkGyabY71OAO3ch1zeLVQIMOLBjwfGnZxGYGJn1Rta3dNSqq71DHcz_k4WkS6ezDwj13pggw/s320/you%20only%20die%20once.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br />Released in 2016 and directed by Amanda Revsin, this short movie came in at just under 30-minutes and was undoubtedly an ode to <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2008/06/buffy-vampire-slayer-seasons-1-7-review.html">Buffy the Vampire Slayer</a> with a group of female supernatural-threat hunters and quips aplenty. And that is no bad thing when it works well. In the short run we get a little sense of the characters, enough to piece together the interplay, and the whole cast excel in selling the concept.
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It starts with Linda (Teegan Leah Curitz) knocking on an apartment door. The door swings open and she enters, asking where the S.O.B. is and appears unphased when it shuts behind her. She enters a living room, reaches to a blanket on the couch and finds a woman (Janet Kim).
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqDFzkT9NP1-VP0QGSxUzT4mKxjWVjlMA3WmvjD7Fsxztu8rQPJvyi9yjN3etverZ2Vm7jliVhd6AchmHrCD7abJYvWFEIYlK28oneKHCCitGsWoWm18Gp4ZjhyphenhyphenGwM1qCdBBqR9K6zAC7Q5YQK2ITTIY6Y3filXUEcd_lX29YHy4sowcZsSf_ww/s1280/You%20Only%20Die%20Once_behind%20you.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjqDFzkT9NP1-VP0QGSxUzT4mKxjWVjlMA3WmvjD7Fsxztu8rQPJvyi9yjN3etverZ2Vm7jliVhd6AchmHrCD7abJYvWFEIYlK28oneKHCCitGsWoWm18Gp4ZjhyphenhyphenGwM1qCdBBqR9K6zAC7Q5YQK2ITTIY6Y3filXUEcd_lX29YHy4sowcZsSf_ww/w200-h113/You%20Only%20Die%20Once_behind%20you.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">he's behind you</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Her suspicions apparently confirmed, they are exceeded when a second woman (Lianna Nielsen) walks in. We can tell they look somewhat vampy, confirmed when boyfriend Lee (John DeSilvestri) appears behind Linda, with fangs on show and speaking in a faux-Lugosi accent (later he is described as speaking like he is <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2007/01/honourable-mentions-count-von-count.html">Count von Count’s</a> BAE). As for the two vampire women, Linda describes them as mail order, iron deficient whores. A quick punch (perhaps with cross) and lifting of the cross and she’s out of there. Lee tells the other they will wait for the girls and then they’ll eat.
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuslqVGOYgedLf3r5H0NYvtpZBnVxKGqiY30eeQZCd27VSjtYbXkJpRuz7I7Xyn63Sw8UkIuqsTLcGHH6-OR9VnTnp9dGTZ6fQI5qrIa6qCkDVrzWONVZD5yWzQp_inx5cxCqC5zbJHYPvj9PEXQ1159cGDcQEqRYZoVnUYaNa1so8PGxIm7Sl4A/s1280/You%20Only%20Die%20Once_female%20vamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuslqVGOYgedLf3r5H0NYvtpZBnVxKGqiY30eeQZCd27VSjtYbXkJpRuz7I7Xyn63Sw8UkIuqsTLcGHH6-OR9VnTnp9dGTZ6fQI5qrIa6qCkDVrzWONVZD5yWzQp_inx5cxCqC5zbJHYPvj9PEXQ1159cGDcQEqRYZoVnUYaNa1so8PGxIm7Sl4A/w200-h113/You%20Only%20Die%20Once_female%20vamp.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">female vampire</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Linda returns with Cecilia (Amanda Revsin) and Jamie (Jen Keefe), and we start to get a measure of the characters as Cecilia and Linda bicker in the hallway. Cecilia wants to be sure Lee has turned, after all Linda had them hunt an ex, who she was convinced was a shapeshifter when he was not. Anyway, they do get in to confront Lee, who Cecilia stakes whilst Linda is mid-quip. They leave the apartment after that, the cracks on the relationship showing (and with a need to return and get the vampire women) but to stake a vampire you really have to hit the heart…
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBT_1_oHT3kRky6rWxye1r1Xu20a15fiAT6fZIo7IcqPx2HhS9B0q7I9pEmkOhOAEfvxOBr_IEYUhNuK6wQ9YMSGf4JhutyUp2eTcI1TtzVzOS7CCBudSbyAQViUTVeXOQB_HeNBi0efW52h10NpK01IxcpwS9SlKvwQZYcDQumPHcQvBWUvjKg/s1280/You%20Only%20Die%20Once_the%20girls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="113" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBT_1_oHT3kRky6rWxye1r1Xu20a15fiAT6fZIo7IcqPx2HhS9B0q7I9pEmkOhOAEfvxOBr_IEYUhNuK6wQ9YMSGf4JhutyUp2eTcI1TtzVzOS7CCBudSbyAQViUTVeXOQB_HeNBi0efW52h10NpK01IxcpwS9SlKvwQZYcDQumPHcQvBWUvjKg/w200-h113/You%20Only%20Die%20Once_the%20girls.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the hunters</td></tr></tbody></table><br />As I say, we get enough to get a measure of the characters, though it is definitely Cecilia and Linda who are front and centre. The short bobs along at a great pace, and the quips and pop culture references come thick and fast (the comparison of the 50 Shades of Gray plot with <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2006/08/classic-literature-dracula.html">Dracula</a> particularly amused). The vampires have the normal weaknesses – sunlight, correctly inserted stakes, crosses and garlic. This short span off into a web series and I will look at that at some point too.
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The imdb page is <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5726910/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_4_act">here</a>.
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Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23449634.post-46073844694994307162024-01-31T09:52:00.000-08:002024-01-31T09:57:52.347-08:00Oscar Wilde and the Vampire Murders – review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwqUIXnt8-_ZKFqLSmYlF8k1WEdYlYvIz8sanym2HCCR7lH8aWLPaorFAIEMyxGUkU9SgaKykNUrM4EBXOJl-o1saVtnh0psonHz32S2dKrkMEwm5WcYGwNIXzbRjAPF32JEfGFp5_6DVPCUGYvTGFetRvIqQdUm3kNbMHw2ggfSyAu3869-PKw/s1000/Oscar%20Wilde%20and%20the%20Vampire%20Murders.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="655" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSwqUIXnt8-_ZKFqLSmYlF8k1WEdYlYvIz8sanym2HCCR7lH8aWLPaorFAIEMyxGUkU9SgaKykNUrM4EBXOJl-o1saVtnh0psonHz32S2dKrkMEwm5WcYGwNIXzbRjAPF32JEfGFp5_6DVPCUGYvTGFetRvIqQdUm3kNbMHw2ggfSyAu3869-PKw/s320/Oscar%20Wilde%20and%20the%20Vampire%20Murders.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br />Author: Gyles Brandreth
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First published: 2011
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Contains spoilers
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The blurb</span>: Oscar Wilde and the Vampire Murders opens in 1890, at a glamorous party hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Albemarle. All of London’s high society—including the Prince of Wales—are in attendance at what promises to be the event of the season. Yet Oscar Wilde is more interested in another party guest, Rex LaSalle, a young actor who claims to be a vampire.
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But the entertaining evening ends in tragedy when the duchess is found murdered—with two tiny puncture marks on her throat. Desperate to avoid scandal and panic, the Prince asks Oscar and his friend Arthur Conan Doyle to investigate the crime. What they discover threatens to destroy the very heart of the royal family. Told through diary entries, newspaper clippings, telegrams, and letters, Oscar Wilde and the Vampire Murders is a richly atmospheric mystery that is sure to captivate and entertain.
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The review</span>: Gyles Brandreth was, as far as I knew years ago, a rather posh, very literate and somewhat amusing TV face but then I discovered he was a Tory and, worse, became a Tory MP and he really fell from my radar as anything other than a Tory and therefore to be ignored in my polite society. However, I saw this book (part of a series he has written of Oscar Wilde mysteries) and a combination of Wilde and vampires, well it had to be read and whilst I still find the man’s politics despicable, I can’t fault this as a piece of entertaining, well-written literature.
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The book is epistolary and pulled together by Wilde’s “Doctor Watson” Robert Sherard. There is a “vampire style” murder and Wilde, Conan Doyle and Sherard are told to investigate by the Prince of Wales, who wishes to avoid scandal and thus keep it out of the hands of Scotland Yard. Wilde is our principle and, whilst the young actor Rex LaSalle seems to the reader a prime suspect, he also seems to not have had opportunity. This is despite his insistence that he is a vampire.
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The majority of characters are historic personages and we do occasionally meet Bram Stoker – consulted as a vampire expert (he is researching still for <a href="http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2006/08/classic-literature-dracula.html">Dracula</a>) who does actually take them to a “vampire club” – a night-time gathering of thrill seekers, poets and debutants in a graveyard, officiated by an actual priest, where they do use a white virgin stallion and virgin lad to try and detect a vampire grave (to no avail). Things heat up when a second victim is found, in the proximity of the Prince of Wales once more, as he entertains at the theatre.
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There are odd bits that are slightly out – the word undead is used pretty openly and though whilst the timeframe was in proximity to Stoker, as far as we know it only became commonly used for vampires once he used the word in Dracula. Porphyria is also mentioned as “<i>the disease of vampires</i>” but, of course, there was no known connecting of the disease and vampirism until fancifully connected in the twentieth century, using film tropes not folklore, and popularised by Dr David Dolphin. Quibbles aside (more due to these details being out with the otherwise historical setting) the writing is excellent, the pace bounces along and Wilde in particular is drawn so very well, as is Conan Doyle. Of course, within a real world setting this is a mortal murderer not a supernatural creature. <span style="color: red;">8 out of 10</span>.
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<a href="https://amzn.to/4244xWP">In Hardback @ Amazon US</a>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/4aY941d">In Hardback @ Amazon UK</a>
Taliesin_ttlghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10105263634442191232noreply@blogger.com0