10/23
Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll, The (aka House of Psychotic Women) (1974) (1st viewing) d. Aured, Carlos (Spain) 89 min.
Mysterious drifter Paul Naschy is hired on as groundskeeper for a trio of weird sisters (repressed spinster Diana Lorys with a malformed arm, floozy nymphomaniac Eva Leon, and paraplegic Maria Perschy confined to a wheelchair), as well as sexy nurse Ines Morales. Bodies soon start piling up, and the script (by Naschy and frequent collaborator Aured) does a splendid job of keeping viewers guessing as to who the murderer might be. Very entertaining Spanish giallo.
Tokyo Gore Police (2008) (1st viewing) d. Nishimura, Yoshihiro (Japan) 110 min. A futuristic Tokyo is beset by a genetically enhanced group of criminals (known as “engineers”), forcing the local constabularies to take unusual measures, led by Audition’s Eihi Shiina. The titular extravagant splatter is to be expected f/x man turned writer/director Nishimura, but the entertainment factor is dependent upon one’s ability to swallow the serious approach taken towards the cartoonish eviscerations and creature effects – for my money, it all needed to be a bit more fun.
10/24
Taxidermia (2006) (1st viewing) d. Palfi, Gyorgy (Hungary) 91 min. Not a whole lot of conventional “horror” here, but it’s still a fascinating cinematic voyage through a twisted family tree, one that begins with a grubbing harelipped soldier on through his illegitimate speed eating offspring and finally to the third generation’s wormy taxidermist (the goriest of the three sequences). Extremely well shot and performed, and might appeal to the adventurous art house crowd than your standard horrorhound.
Tony (2009) (1st viewing) d. Johnson, Gerard (UK) 76 min.
A meek and quiet misfit (Peter Ferdinando) makes his home in a tired London suburb, occasionally seeking out the company of others in encounters that always end in bloodshed. Comparisons to Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer are not unwarranted although Ferdinando does not seem to relish his crimes in the same fashion. A bit slow and repetitive, but the brief running time helps.
Naked You Die (aka The Young, the Evil and the Savage) (1968) (1st viewing) d. Margheriti, Antonio (Italy) 98 min.
Engaging little giallo set at a girls school, where strangulations are occurring via gloved black hands at an alarming rate. There’s no shortage of suspects, be it strapping Phys. Ed teacher John Hawkwood, sweaty groundsman Luciano Pigozzi, hunky flirt Mark Damon, or is it one of the comely female students? No nudity per se, but plenty of flesh on display as the girls change in and out of nightgowns on a regular basis. Reportedly shorn of 15 minutes and retitled to run as a double bill alongside Vincent Price's Conqueror Worm (aka Witchfinder General). I will say that this is one of the least successful dubbing jobs I've seen - I'm still not entirely sure whether the actors were speaking Italian or English, because the sounds rarely synched up with the lip movements. (The DarkSky DVD offered only an Italian audio track with English subtitles.)
Total Movies: 73
First Time Views: 73
Money Raised for Friends of Children: $748.98
I remember "Tokyo Gore Police" being much hyped upon its release. My feelings were basically the same as yours, and I found myself prefering the other film by the same crew: "Machine Girl". Now THAT's a fun gore flick. Check it if you haven't seen it yet.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you, J-Lu. And if you haven't seen Noboru Iguchi's DEAD SUSHI and/or ZOMBIE ASS, those definitely fit the bill as well. I also liked Nishimura's FRANKENSTEIN GIRL VS. VAMPIRE GIRL, as it seemed to be in on its own joke.
DeleteI'll look into those. By the way, never thanked you for the rec on the Pure Terror pack of 50 flicks. It absolutely rocks.
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