The Deepest Cuts: DEADLY FRIEND (1986)

September 2, 2015 by Madelyn Sutton Posted in Retrospectives Tagged Deadly Friend, Horror, The Deepest Cuts, Wes Craven Leave a comment

The Deepest Cuts is a weekly invitation into some of the sleaziest, goriest, most under-explored corners of horror and cult film online. Every title will be streamable and totally NSFW. Whether it’s a 1960s grindhouse masterpiece, something schlocky from the 90s, or hardcore horror from around the world, these films are guaranteed to shock, disturb, tickle, or generally blow your mind.

In honor of the now-late, inarguably great Wes Craven, let’s get into one of his films that even longtime fans of Craven are often unaware of: Deadly Friend. The film is a unique mixture of after-school-special and science fiction, with a little splash of gore mixed in – a one-of-a-kind film for the true Craven connoisseur.

Wes Craven: Horror High and Low

September 1, 2015 by Madelyn Sutton Posted in Retrospectives Tagged Horror, In Memoriam, The Hills Have Eyes, The Last House on the Left, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Wes Craven Leave a comment

Wes Craven (1939-2015) was famous to horror fans and general cinephiles alike for popular, well-made horror films like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, both of which achieved broad critical and financial success. His films’ popularity can be attributed to their effective scares and original imagery, but they also often share a real depth of conceptual underpinning. Many of Cravens’ fans may not know that he held a Master’s degree in Philosophy and Writing and taught as a Humanities professor before embarking on his filmmaking career, and that this background contributed significantly to many of his films. Read More

The Deepest Cuts: DEMONS (1985)

August 26, 2015 by Madelyn Sutton Posted in Retrospectives Tagged Dario Argento, Demons, Horror, Lamberto Bava, Mario Bava, The Deepest Cuts 2 Comments

Where else should Nostradamus’ predicted “coming of the demons” begin than in a creepy old movie theater full of misogynists, racist stereotypes, a blind man, and a weirdly mysterious redhead wearing a Peter-Pan-esque dress? With this set-up, an amazing soundtrack and loads of fantastic gore, it should be obvious that Demons is a definite must-see.

The Deepest Cuts: BODY MELT (1993)

August 19, 2015 by Madelyn Sutton Posted in Retrospectives Tagged Body Melt, Horror, The Deepest Cuts Leave a comment

“The first phase is hallucinogenic… The second phase is glandular… The third phase is… ”

Body Melt is a delightful mix of fantastic gore, after-school-special aesthetics, dance music, and social critique of the bourgeois love of health and fitness crazes that could only come from 1990s Australia.

Out in Theaters: COP CAR

August 13, 2015 by Madelyn Sutton Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Cop Car, Kevin Bacon, Out in Theaters, Review 2 Comments

Succinctness in the contemporary thriller is a rare and precious virtue. In the case of Cop Car, the brute simplicity of the narrative and visuals make for a dread-filled, inexorable ride through an experience of unadulterated suspense and brutal humor.

Cop Car begins innocently (though worryingly) enough: two pre-teens cross an empty expanse somewhere flat, sun-drenched and dry; one is reciting increasingly bad swear words, which the other repeats, laying out the dynamic of their relationship that will lead, inevitably, to what comes next. They spot an apparently abandoned cop car in a lonely copse and dare each other to get closer, until they are not only sitting in the front seats but driving it – slowly at first, then egging each other on to hit the 100mph mark. The film cuts to moments before: Kevin Bacon, who we learn is the sheriff, parks the same car where they will find it, and begins a bit of “cleanup” work just outside of hearing range; when he returns, the car is gone, and so the chase begins. Read More

The Deepest Cuts: MYSTICS IN BALI (1981)

August 12, 2015 by Madelyn Sutton Posted in Retrospectives Tagged Horror, Mystics in Bali, The Deepest Cuts 1 Comment

Witchcraft, voodoo, black magic: spiritual practices which harness otherworldly powers are inherently fascinating to the outsider and have provided research material and fodder for wild and often dangerously prejudicial imaginings for centuries. Take a classic dramatic work like The Crucible or Dreyer’s Day of Wrath, in which witchcraft serves as the metaphorical fulcrum for political or moral lessons, where the existence of the supernatural is either completely discounted or irrelevant. These are important, valuable contributions to art, society, and so on. In stark contrast are just the kind of films we’re interested in, wherein the dark forces are definitely real and the only moral lesson is simple: don’t fuck with the occult. Mystics in Bali is a totally one-of-a-kind example of the latter.

Out in Theaters: ASSASSINATION

August 7, 2015 by Madelyn Sutton Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Assassination, Choi Dong-hoon, Out in Theaters, Reviews 56 Comments

Assassination came in with Korea’s second-highest box office in 2015 for a locally-produced film, preceded only by the worldwide smash, Avengers: Age of Ultron. They’re both action films featuring a large cast of talented fighters/killers, but beyond these very general similarities and their overwhelmingly positive reception in Korea, the films couldn’t be more different – especially in that you really need to see Assassination.
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Documentary Dossier: CALL ME LUCKY

August 7, 2015 by Madelyn Sutton Posted in Documentaries, Out in Theaters Tagged Barry Crimmins, Bobcat Goldthwait, Call Me Lucky, Out in Theaters, Reviews Leave a comment

The name “Barry Crimmins” may sound vaguely familiar, but there aren’t many non-comedians who know Crimmins’ story – at least not the whole story. It’s arguable that this is reason enough for the film to have been made and for as many people as possible to watch it. His is a unique story of personal discovery and public achievement that rewards as it educates, and director Bobcat Goldthwait’s love and admiration for his subject pervades the film. Read More

Talking with Harry Lloyd of BIG SIGNIFICANT THINGS

July 24, 2015 by Madelyn Sutton Posted in Interviews Tagged Big Significant Things, Bryan Reisberg, Game of Thrones, Harry Lloyd 1 Comment

Harry Lloyd has developed a fan base through a number of television roles, including a two-episode arc on Doctor Who and, more recently, as Viserys Targaryen on Game of Thrones, as well as parts on the stage and the big screen. Viewers familiar with his work may be surprised to see the English actor playing the Jersey-native protagonist of Big Significant Things, which premiered at SXSW. With its theatrical run opening this weekend, we spoke with Lloyd about independent filmmaking, the American south, and chewing tobacco. Read More

Out in Theaters: BIG SIGNIFICANT THINGS

July 24, 2015 by Madelyn Sutton Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Big Significant Things, Bryan Reisberg, Harry Lloyd, Out in Theaters, Reviews 1 Comment

Big Significant Things opens on what seems to be a big, significant thing: the “World’s Largest Cedar Bucket.” We first meet our protagonist as he gazes at the bucket with an expression of quiet awe, though already we can see a hint of desperation in the wideness of his eyes and his attempts to engage a local about the bucket’s history. Craig is a twenty-something guy in a serious relationship with Allison, who is in San Francisco picking out the home they plan to buy together; we come to find out that Craig is on his cross-country, “world’s largest”-sightings trip alone, though Allison believes he’s traveling for work. As we come to find out, he’s not just looking for the best American landmarks; he’s on a journey of last-chance freedom and self-discovery before settling down with his “perfect” girl.
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