Fantastic Films festival at the Media Museum

[matgb]

I think I'm beginning to recover from the exhaustion now. Had a simply marvellous (darling) weekend, involving meeting many people, consuming much alcohol and watching many many many films. On Friday alone I was sat in various cinemas for over 8^1/2 hours. So, for those interested, a summary review of the films I watched, in order of showing.

Jennie and Mat
Photo by karohemd

Day one: Friday 13th

12.00: Brain Dead

Not, unfortunately, the Peter Jackson film that launched his career, but a completely different USian film made in 2007. It was a parody/homage to early 80s horror trash movies, bunch of fools get stuck in woods, gratuitous nudity, obligatory fundamentalist preacher shagging his secretary, lesbian seductrix and escaped cons.

Unfortunately, not even the nudity could really rescue the film from my disappointment at it not being that I was expecting, and I even if I'd known it was supposed to be a parody I don't think I would have thought it an effective one. We'd rushed and rushed to get there on time to collect our tickets and for me to get into the screening, an extra hour in bed then a nice pub lunch waiting at the station would've been much more agreeable. Ah well.

14.15: Vampire Diary

A tale of vampire lesbians set in the morden London goth scene. As I was there already and waiting for SB and friends, it was the least worst option, and besides, I'd likely recognise some of the locations or possibly someone in the background. Didn't quite expect to see darkestinsanity and monolithix front and centre in the first club scene, which appeared to be Inferno, pretty sure it was at the Ballroom anyway.

Low budget, attractive cast (the vampire lead is Anna Walton, playing a main character in Hellboy II apparently), but filmed in documentary style, a la Blair Witch, the conceit being that the main non-vamp is filming a documentary on the London goth scene concentrating on the "weekend vampire" blood fetishists and RPGers. I intensely disliked Blair Witch and am not a fan of the style, combine that with some dodgy plotting and the film is merely meh—very pretty at times, despite the low quality, and great to see locations and people I know on screen, meant I wasn't that impressed. Thus far two in a row I wasn't keen on.

16.00 Black Christmas

By this time SB and others had arrived so I was no longer alone, and we trooped in to watch Black Christmas. I'd had time to read the programme now so had a better idea what to expect—slasher movie set in a traditional US college sorority house. Good fun, not being shown because it's recent, but because it's actually quite good. Ending a bit weird, and many examples of crass stupidity throughout, but enjoyable nonetheless.

18.15: An American Werewolf in London

For some reason, and to the amazement of everyone else present, I'd not actually seen this before. Although I'd heard it was good, given horror isn't really my genre and werewolf movies have had a tendency to annoy me, I'd not actively sought it out. So, if like me you've never seen this film?
Go and watch it. Now.
Very cool, very silly and both scary and funny. Some great acting, effects that still look good today, Jenny Agutter as a nurse, a werewolf wondering around the London tube network. I loved it. Lots.

20.15: The Mist

UK premiere, it's due out 4th July. An incredibly well made movie, acting and characterisation very good, build up very tense. Despite it not being my sort of thing I did get into it, despite initial reticence as, well, Stephen King story not appealing.

It obviously grabbed the audience, there were cheers in certain key moments, and I thought the characters overall were very believable (and one was so horribly annoying from the beginning but in a way that just seemed right). SB thought the film had an anti-science message, others liked the lovecraftian nature of the monsters, and the bleakness of the ending was shocking, Not a feelgood movie, and distinctly not my sort of thing, but if you like monsters-in-the-dark stuff, or like the sort of stuff King writes, you'll probably enjoy it, but make sure you've got something to cheer yourself up with afterwards.

Aftermath

After that, we went to a local Moroccan restaurant for a meal (hint to the waiter—if you want a decent tip, try to avoid serving the chicken dish to the vegetarian and telling him it's cheese), then onto the Gasworks. I was at this stage utterly exhausted (films tend to tire me anyway, enclosed atmospheres, etc), but it was fun. We eventually rolled home in the early hours.

I'm posting this via the flickr blog this tool from karohemd's picture of yself and snapesbabe in front of pmoodie's poster art, I'll do day two and three later.

Comments

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

I like this picture too

[matgb]

I'll probably use that for a later post. Penny's just posted her review of day three anyway:
http://purple-pen.livejournal.com/274649.html

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Seed it, commented on it, :P

[matgb]

I know this. But others would be interested and I couldn't be arsed to edit it in. But I ought to have linked to Ozzy's post and seem to have forgotten as well. Ah well, another can happen.

[innerbrat]

As punishment for waiting so long to see a fantastic movie, I am sentencing you to endure the sequel.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Oooooh that's HARSH!

[matgb]

I am sure there are many many fantastic movies you have yet to see.

And the sequel may get scheduled on LoveFilm anyway, just because I can and we can drink lots first.

[whouk.livejournal.com]

Was it the Black Christmas remake then? Have you seen the original, which is better?

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

It was the original

[matgb]

Had no idea there had been a remake, hadn't heard of it at all (the not-a-horror-geek thing may need to be a bit stronger in the next post I suspect).

So yeah, it was shown because it's a classic film, and thus Not Crap unlike the first two, which were shown as reasonable recent movies, not well known classics (everyone else seemed to know of it if they hadn't seen it).

[whouk.livejournal.com]

Ah, cool. The remake's not awful, but nowhere as good. Have that and American Werewolf on our very horror-leaning DVD shelves.

Will keep an eye out for Tthe Mist...

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

(hint to the waiter—if you want a decent tip, try to avoid serving the chicken dish to the vegetarian and telling him it's cheese)

Say...what? I could see if he tried to pass it off as tofu-chicken or some sort of random foreign vegetable but cheese?

Does...not...compute...

[matgb]

It was a paneer dish, several of us had ordered them—cubes of "something" in a bowl full of sauce.

TBH, I didn't notice and it was an honest mistake, but regardless I wasn't a happy bunny.

Edit: I forgot the icon...

[missdiane.livejournal.com]

That would have to be some reeeeeally firm paneer to be able to try to pass off chicken in its place. lol

[stillcarl.livejournal.com]

'twas Bad Taste that launched Peter Jackson's career, not Brain Dead. Was better, too! Sort of...

There was the Feebles before Brain Dead too...

[matgb]

Ah, I stand corrected, I knew there were two and I've seen both but years ago, didn't know what order. Regardless, would love to see them properly.