Agnosia (2010) QuickRating: Though this Spanish supernatural thriller has a truly original premise, gorgeously authentic production design, and an exquisite cinematography, the film itself suffers form 'agnosia' - it struggles in its attempt to bring plot, acting , directing and visuals together, and as a result, its execution seems as 'blurry' as its main character's eyesight.
My Rating: 5.25/10
Spiderhole (2010) QuickRating: Often creepy and utterly claustrophobic, yet hardly scary or suspenseful, this Irish slasher boasts some eerie and chilling settings, a good twist in the end, and a couple of good death scenes, but its lack of originality, so-so direction, and stupid characters reduce the film to the 'common' level of mediocre horror film-making.
My Rating: 5.50/10
We Are What We Are
(2010)
QuickRating: Intentionally cheap-looking and lacking in production values, "We Are What We Are" is a gruesome and disturbing story about modern day cannibalism, that shocks the viewer with its uncompromising harshness and extreme violence, but as a whole, the film is not nearly as effective and frightening as it thinks it is.
My Rating: 5.50/10
La Meute a.k.a. The Pack (2010)
QuickRating: This old-school French horror flick may not have the most unique plot ever or a first-rate execution, but it's a twisted, atmospheric and bizarre experience, that compensates with buckets of gore, some truly creepy looking creatures, a couple of really good scares and plenty of murky visuals. Its oddness is its strength.
My Rating: 6.00/10
12 comments:
Great finds Nebular! I've not seen any of these films, which tells you I must immediately enhance my viewership of foreign films. It's something I continually work on, so as not too be a biased American critic.
Don't look too special.
A whole lot of average horror.
This is a fantastic category, as I love horror. The most interesting of these selections to me is La Muete. I love your "twisted, atmospheric and bizarre experience..." summation. I've got to check that out. We Are What We Are seems to have what might be an old grindhouse, exploitation feel to it. Of course, I'm not a fan of cannibalism unless it's delivered with a good dose of sick humor ala Hannibal Lecter.
Awesome quick hits!Intelligent, edgy and give a person exactly what they need to know. :)
Thanks, Matty! :) Well, that's why I decided to post all these 4 films together... because I thought very few of you have seen those. :) Foreign horror films have always been a passion of mine, as I love the fact they always differ from the American ones.
LoneIslander, well, while none of those was special, they were all very very watchable.
LOL. Alex, well-said. This was the exact thing that went through my mind while I was doing the post. :)
Ah, thank you so much, Mel. Your summation at the end of your comment put smile on my face, as this is exactly what I want to accomplish with those super-mini reviews.. to give readers exactly what they need to know :)
I expected a lot more from "we Are What We Are".. unfortunately, there was nothing 'grindhouse' about - it was about crazy modern-day cannibals living in Mexico.
Yay, I love the Quickratings! I haven't seen any of these but they all sound worth watching. I especially would like to see La Meute and We are what we are. They sound pretty intriguing. This reminds me, I still need to watch I spit on your grave. However, my brother already watched it based on your recommendation and he loved it.
I hope you enjoy Sucker Punch because I know how much you were excited for it. It was so sad for me to write a negative review. I was super excited for it as well it just turned out being something I wasn't expecting. If you are going for the visuals and action you will probably love it. Plus the girls looked amazing so there is at least that. : ) I just wish Jamie Chung and Vanessa Hudgens had more screen time. : )
Yay, I'm so happy you love my Quickratings, Nicole :) "La Meute" was kinda creepy... I just love creature features! WOW! Your brother watched it based on my recommendation? It always makes me feel so good when someone decides to give certain film a shot, because of me. You know what, 5 or 6 years ago I've worked in a video store, and many, many of my clients relied on my taste and recommendations, and they had always trusted me :)
Nicole, saw it last night and unfortunately, I liked it, didn't love it. Critics got it right this time - it just wasn't as mind-blowing as I expected it to be, excluding several absolutely stunning scenes, which I loved (the robo-samurais and the NAzi zomvies). Snyder is one of my most favorite directors, but I must say SP wasn't his best.. he crossed a line a little bit, plus he should have worked more on the story - it just wasn't well-executed. Loved the girls, all of them, though I felt the super-cute BabyDoll was the weakest of the bunch. I'll deliver my SP review tomorrow :)
agree with you on "We Are What We Are" - interesting but sadly quite disappointing.
Glad to hear that, Maynard. Unfortunately, it left bad taste in my mouth as well.
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