The Skin I Live In Review

The Skin I Live In - Blu Ray/DVD Combo Available Here

Pedro Almodovar put together one of the most compelling and horrific movies I’ve ever seen. I forget to talk about it, so today, we’re going to take a look back at the 2011 movie “The Skin I Live In”, as it is one of the most horror filled, psychological thrillers I’ve ever seen. It’s a very fascinating movie that moves towards horror as the story reveals. It’s perhaps the finest Spanish movie I’ve seen in a long time, and if you haven’t seen it, oh boy, you’re in for a serious trip.

The movie is simple enough. A plastic surgeon has been working towards helping create a resource for individuals that have skin disorders. He works on mice, and there’s been great results. He talks about how he has been working with live individuals, and upon doing so, he is fired. The doctor now without help is told to stop experimenting immediately, etc.

A nod to European Horror

Here's another post from a guest. I've been battling sickness, writing a lot, starting a business, and just haven't had time to watch as much horror as I'd like to. I will return to a full schedule sooner than later, but until then, check this out.  

It’s a known fact that they sure know how to make movies that make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up over there on the old continent. For all the faithful horror fans out there- just the mere mention of names as Dario Argento or Guillermo del Toro, but the last decade has witnessed a lot of involvement from part of the Scandinavian, Russian and Serbian directors who’ve managed to offer some truly amazing titles that are surely to earn a permanent place in the Horror Hall of Fame. Let’s take a quick look at some of the most memorable ones.

Sauna (2008)

A very strong title born from the collaboration of Finland and the Czech Republic. The somber and depressing movie has a solid plot with a feasible background story, which is all the more painful as it deals with the horrors of war or, more precisely, the aftermath of these horrors and the way everything good in the human nature crumbles before the atrocities we are capable of committing.

Philosophy of a Knife (2008)

Written and directed by the promising Russian talent Andrey Iskanov, the movie follows the true story of the notorious Japanese Unit 731 - known for unbelievably brutal human experiments during WW2. The atrocities carried out in the infamous unit are far too horrendous to require extra video effects, which is something the Russian director was fully aware of. His movie is but a peak into the hellish nightmare that devoured thousands of men, women, children and infants.

Semum (2008)

A surprisingly original Turkish horror, despite the fact that it exploits a theme that we’ve seen one time too many. The effects are pretty decent for this kind of budget and the plot is as simple as it is effective. Allegedly the movie is based on the real-life events of Canan Karaca. Definitely worth checking out.

Let the Right One In (2008)

The movie is actually a remake of a previous one by director Tomas Alfredson. A different and quite unorthodox story about vampires, which is as eerie as it is endearing. Every minute of the film is brilliantly steeped in the characters’ emotions and the cinematographic and music are both beautiful.

Srpski Film / A Serbian Film (2010)

In case you have missed out on this one it’s time to make up for it. Serbia has single-handedly given to the world some of the best movies in the past several years and A Serbian Film is one of them. A brutally honest, disturbingly realistic visual experience - this movie is about as snuff as it’s ever going to get. As if the topics it deals with are not atrocious enough, the camera doesn’t shy away from the violence in a way that will make you sick to your stomach.

Indie Horror Films Worth Checking Out

I'm starting to feel better, but still am not at 100%, so you'll have to deal with guest postings yet again. I'll return to the helm with all new reviews for Chemical Burn Studios work. 

Indie movies are often overlooked by fans, mainly due to the fact that their limited budget and unrecognizable actors don’t make for a very appealing advertising campaign. If you don’t frequently browse through the horror fests’ lists of indie flicks, you risk missing out on some of the best, chilling, original and disturbing titles the horror genre has ever witnessed. For those of you, who’ve only stayed up-to-date with the mainstream titles released over the past few years, we offer a list of a few brilliant indie horror films that are definitely worth checking out.

Joshua (2006)

Travis Betz is an f-ing genius for single-handedly writing and directing one of the most dark, demented and truly disturbing horror flicks of the past decade. It is truly amazing what can be done with just few mediocre visual effects and an extremely strong background story and tight plot. Betz’s efforts have been rewarded with this realistically disturbing tale of human downfall into depravity and insanity.

Splinter (2008)

A very effective Sci-Fi horror flick, which is one of those movies that actually gains from not revealing too much about the cause of events, is what you find here. The effects are decent and the gore is just the right amount to contribute to the build-up of suspension and feeling of dread throughout the movie. Director Toby Wilkins has done a marvelous job with the plot as well as with the cast.

Dead Girl (2008)

A very powerful and disturbing movie, exploring serious social issues, full of horror that should shake you is presented here. This memorable stomach turning flick deals with the most depraved choices people make when nobody is watching. The director is sparing of effects, but effectively creates a dark tale that starts off slow, but quickly builds up to a climax of absolute destruction and carnage.

Triangle (2009)

This is more of a psychological type of horror, but still it is worth mentioning, as it is quite fresh with a very unexpected turn of events. Although the movie starts out as just another slasher, pretty soon it takes a turn for the worse and the viewer is introduced to something much more sinister than just another deranged killer hunting down a group of good-looking folks.

Perkins’ 14

Perkins’ 14 is an unusually stark flick, superbly directed and filmed by Craig Singer and it’s one of the best things to come out from the After Dark Horror Fest in recent years. The unique style and engaging script only add to the movie’s effective somber atmosphere, which draws the viewer into a downfall of horror, psychological pain and brutal violence.

Clive Barker's Books of Blood Review

(Buy the Book Here)

Your old pal Sir Jorge is still sick. I haven't been able to do a whole lot of writing, so you will have to enjoy another guest blogger attempt to get you interested in horror of a different kind. Enjoy.

Clive Barker is a well-known name in the world of horror and fantasy. His biography of a director and producer holds titles such as ‘Hellraiser’ and ‘Jericho’, which are trend-setters in times, when people thought that everything has been done before. Having said this, Barker’s true talent shines most in the field of literature. Known as one of the most promising writers in the horror genre and proclaimed by none other than Stephen King as the future of the said genre, all of Barker’s books prove that he will most certainly live up to these expectations.

The first volume of the Books of Blood consists of 6 stories and 3 introductions. The first story carries the title ‘The Book of Blood’ and it unfolds the tale of how the said book came to be. The narrative is original and grim with brilliant twists and the incorporation of paranormal elements. It is interesting to point out that Barker doesn’t abide by the rules imposed on authors at the beginning of their careers for a strict word count of their works and creates every story as he sees fit. The end result is compact, concise stories that are surprisingly engaging and influential.

The second story in the book is ‘The Midnight Meat Train’, which most people will recognize as the film adaptation with Vinnie Jones and Bradley Cooper, which was actually pretty decent. The author himself has expressed his desire for the movie to become the first of a trilogy, which will shed some light on the creatures that are behind all existence and demand bloody sacrifices for it.

In ‘The Yattering and Jack’ Barker offers an interesting insight into the mishaps of an inferior daemon. Even though someone might argue that comic is not a term that ought to be used when we’re reviewing a book in the horror genre, this story has an undeniable humoristic element to it. Time and again Barker manages to offer something fresh and original, proving that he definitely doesn’t fall under any categories of the said genre.

‘Pig Blood Blues’ makes the infamous scene from Hannibal pale in comparison. Barker is truly at his best in terms of ruthlessness and brutality that makes the reader squirm with disgust. Another proof that he is willing to experiment and explore different angles and approaches of the genre, playing with and pushing the limits of sane and normal.

In ‘Sex, Death and Starshine’ the plot unfolds following the pattern of…well..sex, death and starshine. Although far from frightening, the story is quite intriguing. The dead too require a healthy dosage of entertainment and apparently they know how to get it.

‘In the Hills, the Cities’ deservedly is placed at the end of the first volume of the ‘Books of Blood’ as it is truly the best work of the author of the 6 stories. Barker’s imagination has really surpassed all limits and ventured into realms of unimaginable horror and dread.

As a whole ‘Books of Blood’ has its weak and strong points. As we mentioned before, Barker is not amongst the authors to follow predetermined patterns in their style of writing or narrative and he’s definitely not the one to spare his readers any brutality. He’s exhaustive and thorough to the point where it can get physically unsettling for the person on the other side of the book. His works are a must-read for anyone who’s looking for something different than the mainstream horror formula.

Silent Hill Revelation 3D Review

(Buy silent hill here)

From time to time, your pal Sir Jorge (me) gets sick. This week I got the flu, so in that case, I had a little help from a guest blogger. This guest blogger didn’t want to be named, just wanted a shot at posting on the old blog o rific, so without further adieu, here you go.

We dare to dream of the day that Hollywood will stop trying to make movies based on game sequels, but alas that day is yet to come…For the time being we’re forced to sit through a [yet another] mediocre and downright laughable cinematic version of one of the greatest horror game franchises that were to ever grace the face of this pitiful planet. KONAMI must really be regretting selling the rights to the franchise to an American company - now that the fellow Americans hold the legal rights to the game(s) and movie(s) all bets are off.

But onto the movie, we will see... It’s hard to write a coherent review for a movie that’s all over the place, so let’s just use the same approach to do it justice. This movie has no reason to exist. Period. After the dreaded and insufferable Silent Hill from 2006 a lot of game fans were convinced the making of films based on games had hit rock bottom and nothing worse could ever live to see daylight. Apparently scriptwriters, directors and visual artists in Hollywood mistook this for a personal challenge and thus - Revelation was born. Sometimes I think virtually every movie based on a game is doomed to failure and the guys from the East Coast seem pretty keen on proving me right (note: no, putting Angelina Jolie in the lead role does NOT a movie make or save; she’s freaking hot as hell, yes, but if I wanted to watch an hour long of a hot chick flashing her curves from every angle I’d just play me some random Sasha Grey clip).

As a religious fan of the game sequel I have to shamefully admit I was timidly hopeful for the second Silent Hill movie after having experienced one of the worst disappointments of my life sitting through the first (seriously, I wasn’t that upset when I found naked pictures and ongoing correspondence of my boyfriend with his ex, leading to an ugly break-up). Further to this the fact that it would be loosely based on the third installment of the game series, which is one of the strongest and sickest in the sequence, only added to that adorable pitter-patter of my heart and the butterfly feeling in my stomach. By the time the credits appeared on the screen I was deeply pensive about whether to pull a James Holmes on the theatre (alright, this was completely inappropriate in the light of the recent events, but you get what I am trying to say) or go home and slit my wrists with broken DVD pieces.

See? I promised you a review as coherent as the movie and so far I think I’m delivering. In all seriousness, though, the movie is all over the place - like literally. There isn’t the slightest effort from part of the script-writer to put together anything even remotely decent in terms of background story (the glue that hold together all Silent Hill-related stories no matter how irrelevant or unrelated they might seem in the beginning) and the director has only assisted with throwing in here and there random images in the spirit of the game franchise. Apart from recognizing some of the series most infamous monsters there is little that the fans will be able to relate to. As if in a meek attempt to block out these flukes, several up-and-coming and one or two famous actors have been thrown in the movie, but they’re just as out of place as everything else. Almost all of the casting of ‘Game of Thrones’ is present, which goes on to prove that when the industry has decided to promote someone, they’re going to promote the living shit out of them - even if that person can’t act to save his life (which is kind of ironic since one of the actors in question does die in the movie…and in ‘Game of Thrones’ for that matter. Wonder if it was due to bad acting). Carrie Anne Moss hasn’t acted in a scene as laughable as the infamous last dialogue with Neo from the 3rd Matrix, where he tells her she can’t die, but she argues that she can and dies, until now.

Things are not looking good in the soundtrack department either, which is baffling to say the least. With a monumentally genius composer like Akira Yamaoka, who single-handedly ensured that musically Silent Hill is just as eerie and disturbing as the story and gameplay intended it to be, the music to the movie is nothing like any of the brilliant tracks we get to experience in the games.

Without spoiling the movie for those who will bravely venture into the theatre to catch a glimpse of the abomination that it is, let me just shout out a fair warning to all faithful game fans - the notorious, but beloved Pyramid Head appears in the most unimaginably grotesque (not in a good) way - one that will leave you with nightmares for weeks to come and will possibly result in several shrink appointments.

The general atmosphere of the movie is dark and somber, albeit in a way that has little to do with the sad hopelessness that the games used to make the player care. You will find it doesn’t really matter whether the characters live or die and will fail to be thrilled by their personal tragedies, which are told in a more of a soap-opera-drama style. The safest choice you could make is to take my word that the best thing about this movie is the poster and move on with your life.

My Favorite Zombie Movie

(Buy Nightmare City Here)

Nightmare City (1980) is my favorite Zombie Movie

One of the easiest prompts you can get as a writer is simply about yourself. Any subject matter that deals with what you enjoy, love, and want to share can become the greatest piece of writing because it comes from the heart, right? Well, in a series of articles that I will be posting in the coming future, starting today, I’m going to be talking about my favorite movies in the horror genre. Today, for example, I will be talking about my favorite zombie movie. That is going to an Italian-Spanish flick that came out in 1980 known as Nightmare City.

The plot of the movie is one that is definitely note worthy. A report is at an airport awaiting a famed scientist that has been linked to a nuclear accident. When a military plane shows up, the doors open with fast running zombies and chaos starts to reign at the airport. They stab, shoot, and run with reckless abandon. Meanwhile, the reporter catches all of this and tries to warn the general public but is thwarted, and instead seeks to find his wife so that they can flee to safety while the zombie apocalypse jumps off. The twist ending is definitely one of note and will probably bring about a lot of arguments as to what really happened.

The whole movie is a great piece of European cinema, and the Italian and Spanish film making style is evident throughout. You have to give it up to them for creating a frenetically paced movie without the use of shaky cam to introduce the monsters. You feel like you’re involved in a serious apocalypse, albeit with monsters that resemble something out of the old Power Rangers television program. Sure, there are some tongue and cheek moments, the whole thing plays off like a made for television Stephen King picture, but so what?

The music is great, the acting is ok, the dubbing is fantastic, and the premise most certainly can fit into modern day worlds. You will find Nightmare City to be one great piece of zombie filmmaking and even George Romero might give it a nod or two. But that doesn’t really matter, does it? This is my favorite zombie movie, and though there are a lot of great ones out there, nothing seemed to have the impact that this one had. I saw it several times in my years, but most recently I enjoyed it with Spanish subtitles, a great one to enjoy an IPA to. If you haven’t seen this in a while, make sure that you buy Nightmare City here, and see why it’s my favorite zombie movie.