Der Wixxer

"Der Wixxer" (2004, Tobi Baumann, Rat Pak Filmproduktion) is a German parody film based on elements of the Edgar Wallace crime films of the 1960s.

Set in London (although mostly filmed in the Czech Republic), we follow alcoholic chain-smoking Chief Inspector Even Longer (Oliver Kalkofe) and his new partner Inspector Very Long (Bastian Pastewka) who are on the case to uncover the identity of skull-masked crime lord, Der Wixxer (a corruption of the German slang for 'wanker'), who is both responsible for the murder of Even Longer's previous partner, Inspector Rather Short (Thomas Heinze) and hellbent on taking over the rule of London's crime syndicate.

With a tone of humour somewhat between a "Carry On..." movie and "Young Frankenstein", the film is entertaining but full of eyeroll moments. We have a castle which is 'the last remaining black and white castle in England', a servant called Hatler (I'll let you guess where that joke goes), a couple of dance numbers, a lot visual and verbal puns, a catalogue of humorous villains and a lot of purposefully stilted acting. A few jokes don't quite land (the racist flower seller we could have done without), but overall Der Wixxer delivers exactly what it says it will and does so with humour and a knowing wink.

As a student of the German language this film really appealed to me and I was pleased to be able to pick up on the jokes and plot (however ridiculous) pretty easily. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to get a hold of a DVD with the English subtitles for this film which does limit the audience a little.

Definitely worth checking out if you have the means. A film that deserves a wider audience.

[Image: Rat Pak Filmproduktion]

Hani

Deliver Us From Evil

"Deliver Us From Evil" (2014, Scott Derrickson, Screen Gems, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, LStar Capital) is a possession/crime movie.


Based on the book by Ralph Sarchie himself, the film follows NYC cop, Ralph Sarchie (Eric Bana), as he joins forces with a young, troubled priest (Edgar Ramirez) on a quest to exorcise a group of ex-marines inflicted with a violent demonic entity.


While not quite matching up in quality or content to the likes of "Se7en", the film delivers a familiar crime plot with some nicely achieved horror elements. Sarchie and his partner, Butler (Joel McHale), come across as violent and flawed characters (what with their apparent thirst for a fight, even if they do only want to fight abusers and murderers). Sarchie is also portrayed as a disinterested family man and a man doubting his faith. So when he is called upon to battle the supernatural threat he seizes his opportunity to jump back onto the faith train and save the day.


The horror aspects are okay. We've got possessed people chucking babies into ravines, bricking people up into walls and doing a bit of parkour, all with an obsession with The Doors. Not to mention some fun scenes in the zoo where our protagonist finds himself a little too close for comfort with some of the residents and, of course, his daughter's haunted-ass owl toy. It sounds silly, and it is, but it's also incidentally humorous which I didn't hate. And the makeup/effects are good.


The film's message is a little sledgehammer-y, sloppy and ineffective. But I'm not a religious person so maybe it's just me. There's also some muddiness on whether Sarchie is the good guy or not. Bana's accent isn't stellar either, but if you can look past the film's flaws it is overall entertaining enough to spend a bit of time on. Even if it's mostly for this sodding owl...

[Image: Screen Gems, et al]

Hani

3 From Hell

"3 From Hell" (2019, Rob Zombie, Lionsgate, Saban Films, Spookshow International Films) is the second sequel to Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses" (2003) and follows the 2005 sequel "The Devil's Rejects".

Following on from the events of Rejects, we learn that our three antagonists, Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), Baby Firefly (Sheri Moon Zombie) and Otis Firefly (Bill Moseley) have survived the police shootout and are now being tried for their crimes. But Otis manages a breakout, with the help of his half-brother, Foxy (Richard Brake), and attempts to spring Baby so that they can continue their murderous ways...

I am quite fond of "House of 1000 Corpses". "The Devil's Rejects" took the characters in a slightly different direction, tried to make them more real and had a different style, and although I prefer the first film, it seemed like a fitting end to the villainous Firefly family. Especially that surprisingly elegant final scene. The concept of a third film seemed therefore a little odd, especially considering that it would undo the finality of its predecessor. Although  I went in as open minded as I could be, I'm afraid for me this film did not hit the mark.

The overall feel of the film is similar in tone to Rejects with a grimy 70's aesthetic. The scenes with Baby in prison are interesting and lean heavily into the exploitation grindhouse film feel which I liked. However, the scenes felt overly long and in jumping from style to style the film feels a little rudderless with the expected hostage situation playing out like they're already bored. The banter between our murderous maniacs feels a bit tiresome and less fluid than it did in the previous films.

Baby's high-pitched maniacal flower-child act feels more wearing this time around without having so many other familiar characters for her to bounce off of. There's a few scenes where it's hinted at something sadder and more poignant but overall she feels more two dimensional than she could have been. Otis is still giving his speeches, showing no mercy and seems mostly unchanged, and for the short scene with Sid Haig we get a good level of nostalgia for Spaulding and it's easily one of the best scenes in the film.

Foxy can't help but feel tacked on as a character, and I wonder why they couldn't just rename the film. It's not Brake's doing and he does give a few needed elements of humour to punctuate between Baby's mania and Otis' self-righteousness, but the character can't help but feel a little jarring and out of the loop.

Overall, I found the film to be a little boring and felt it lunged from one scene to another in a disjointed manner. It relies a little too much on nostalgia but didn't, at least for me, feel like it was aimed at fans of the original two films and was a less fitting ending than the Firefly's deserved. A strange ride, but unlikely to be one I'd go on again.

[Image: Lionsgate]

Hani

V/H/S

"V/H/S" (2012, Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, Radio Silence, Bloody Disgusting, The Collective, Magnet Releasing) is a horror anthology done in the found footage style.

I was excited for this film after reading the blurb:

A group of violent hoodlums and criminals are offered the chance to make some extra cash if they can find a specific video tape containing a rare piece of found footage from an abandoned house. However, they get there to find that a corpse is sitting in the house in front of several old TV sets and there are hundreds of VHS tapes. We join them as they go through each tape, finding stranger and stranger footage as they go.

I'm a huge fan of horror anthologies and I thought that this enveloping plot sounded really creative. And it is. However my main criticism is that because the enveloping story is also done in found footage style, the whole film feels very jumpy and can be quite taxing to watch and follow.

There are five shorts in the film, not including the narrative tale about the video tape.

Amateur Night (directed by David Bruckner)
This short is about a group of guys out on a night out who have fitted a pair of thick rimmed spectacles with a camera and plan to take home some drunken females in order to film the resulting shenanigans. Unfortunately for them, they weren't too picky about which drunken females they have selected.

A very rapey tale that's premise is terrifying in a very real way. The short is well put together, is easy to follow as we see what our glasses toting would-be 'lover' sees, and the acting is good, especially that of Hannah Fierman (who plays Lily) and it's nicely gory.

My main issue with the story is that it just wasn't scary! It was obvious where the plot was heading, and if I'm honest, I was glad to see all those gits get ripped apart.


Second Honeymoon (directed by Ti West)
A married couple on their 'second honeymoon' receive a strange prediction from a theme park fortune telling attraction (similar to the movie 'Big') and who then are stalked in their motel room.

Slow burning and quite tense, the gore is kept at a minimum. There is also a twist, which I admittedly was not expecting, but I wasn't really scared.

Tuesday the 17th (directed by Glenn McQuaid)
A group of kids go for a camping trip at the lake (see what they did with the title, yet?). But, as they are settling down for a fun drunken night, it becomes apparent that their friend Wendy (Norma C. Quinones) has an ulterior motive for inviting everyone up there, and it might all be a trap!

Just a bit of fun with some dodgy camera effects and a well-trodden, recognisable setting.

The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger (Directed by Joe Swanberg)
This one seems like a haunted house short of the same ilk as "Paranormal Activity", but it has a twist.

This one was the only short in this colletion that was actually verging on scary. I love a good ghosty jump scare, but I found the twist took away from what was a nice, traditional spooky short. Although, I did enjoy the extra twist which gave a new sick dimension to the James character.

10/31/98 (Directed by Radio Silence) 
A group of young people in fancy dress are heading to a Halloween party at a friend's house. They take a wrong turn without knowing it, and wind up in the wrong house only to find out that this house is haunted and, once inside, the spirits might not want them to leave.

Not the best haunted house short out there, the script seemed confused as to whether it was an all-out haunting or Poltergeist activity... But the bit with the car was pretty good!

...

For me, I was a bit disappointed after all of the hype! I would say that "V/H/S" was a 'hit and miss', but it was more like a 'hit and some misses'. I really should learn to avoid the hype and go in open minded...

A difficult one to fully judge as each horror segment has its own strengths and weaknesses, but on the whole I wasn't so enthralled with the full product.

[Image: Magnet Releasing]

 

Hani

The Raid

"The Raid" aka "The Raid: Redemption" (2011, Gareth Evans, PT. Merantau Films, XYZ Films, Celluloid Nightmares, Sony Picture Classics, Stage 6 Films) is an Indonesian martial arts film that will have you squirming in your seat!

I went in thinking this film would not get a mention on this blog since it's not really horror, but I after seeing it... well...

A group of special forces cops go in to the run-down apartment block owned by a notorious crime lord to flush him out and shut down his operation. Unfortunately for them, not only is the gang aware of their presence, but every terrified tenant in the place is willing to murder a cop to get free accommodation for life.

Brutal, fast and full of action that keeps you riveted rather than becoming dull, The Raid is a roller-coaster ride of violence and expert choreography. A very impressive film that is unapologetic about its brutal fight scenes and OTT kills. Excellent fun but far from taxing on the brain in terms of plot.

[Image: Merantau Films]

Hani