Didn't find this funny or endearing in the slightest. Maybe it has something to do with seeing it for the first time at the age of 28 rather than annually through childhood as many Americans seem to.
Interesting combination of werewolf horror and police procedural. More slow-paced and idea-driven than I was expecting, but it does have some memorable scenes. Strange that this film, The Howling, and American Werewolf in London all came out within 4 months of each other in 1981. It must have seemed like there was a sudden glut of werewolf films.
The last few scenes are stunning. Great mix of the horrific and the beautiful throughout the film, reflecting the plight of the girl at the heart of this story. The only thing that lets this film down are the two cops at the end who act in a bafflingly incompetent way.
Quite creepy, well directed and well acted, but the movie had to become very convoluted to make the plot work, so the ending fell flat for me. Definitely worth watching once.
The youtube video below has music by Moby added over the top, so if you want to experience the short as Brakhage intended, turn the sound off when you watch. Or you can leave the sound on, and have something to alleviate the boredom of the 2 minutes of frames of crushed flowers.
Another of Stan Brakhage's experimental shorts. Just random jagged blobs of colour appearing on a black background for 2 minutes. Personally I thought those 2 minutes were a waste of my time.
Pretty bad movie, though there are some effective sequences. Why did they think that the relationship between the stunningly beautiful Caroline Munro and the fat, ugly, sweaty, mumbling, mother-fixated maniac would be in any way believable?
Ultra-generic "quest" plot, but script and acting allow the movie to remain moderately entertaining. The main reason to watch this movie is its look and design, which capture the 80s videogame aesthetic well.
Far too long and boring. Holding a shot while nothing happens is the equivalent of silence in music - it can add huge emphasis and tension to a scene, but keep using it and it becomes unbearably dull. Other commenters go on about the beauty of the cinematography but I honestly wasn't impressed - a lot of the scenes are rather uninspired shots of Janos wandering through the village, and as he only has 39 shots to set up in the whole movie, Tarr can afford to take his time over some of them. The action scene in the hospital and the slow scene after where everybody walks away are probably the only two out of the 39 shots that genuinely deserved the length they were drawn out to.
Also I found Janos incredibly irritating with his constant blank stare and mouth hanging open.
Very powerful horror film with a huge amount of tension, especially in the first half. There is a bit of a sag in the final third when some horror film cliches make their appearance, but the finale is genuinely shocking and unexpected. As seen from comments below, a lot of people hate it and I can see why. This film WILL have a very strong effect on you, even if you're used to horror, but it's definitely something I'm glad I experienced.
Despite being a good film it's still a disappointment given it's ranked in the top 250 at the time I watched it. The choreography in the fight scenes is some of the best I've seen, but they're too few and the story inbetween is hackneyed and unoriginal.
Terrible screenplay, filled with cliches, annoying characters, uninteresting direction, no tension, and entirely predictable. No idea what this is doing in even being in the top 500 horror. At least it's short.
As the other commenters have said, not as good as the first. Main weakness is the story starts getting silly with the introduction of Lisbeth's bizarre family. Has some good moments of Lisbeth kicking ass and is fun to watch if you've seen the first film.
A real disappointment from people whose work together I usually admire. Dave McKean's inexperience with directing really shows, and the fantasy world comes across as uninteresting and flat. Meanwhile Neil Gaiman phones in the most boring iteration yet of his "child discovers a magical world" story. Watch Coraline instead.
Wonderful movie with one of the best scripts ever. It gets a lot of stick for winning the Academy Award over Saving Private Ryan from geeks who believe war movies always trump romantic comedies, but IMO Shakespeare in Love is easily the better film.
One of the best serial killer biopics ever made. It's astonishing that this doesn't at the moment feature on any lists on this site, especially as there's a list made up of 500 horror films filled with all sorts of rubbish.
Comments 476 - 500 of 501
Movie comment on It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
ChrisReynolds
Didn't find this funny or endearing in the slightest. Maybe it has something to do with seeing it for the first time at the age of 28 rather than annually through childhood as many Americans seem to.Movie comment on Wolfen
ChrisReynolds
Interesting combination of werewolf horror and police procedural. More slow-paced and idea-driven than I was expecting, but it does have some memorable scenes. Strange that this film, The Howling, and American Werewolf in London all came out within 4 months of each other in 1981. It must have seemed like there was a sudden glut of werewolf films.Movie comment on Les yeux sans visage
ChrisReynolds
The last few scenes are stunning. Great mix of the horrific and the beautiful throughout the film, reflecting the plight of the girl at the heart of this story. The only thing that lets this film down are the two cops at the end who act in a bafflingly incompetent way.Movie comment on Angel Heart
ChrisReynolds
Quite creepy, well directed and well acted, but the movie had to become very convoluted to make the plot work, so the ending fell flat for me. Definitely worth watching once.Movie comment on The Garden of Earthly Delights
ChrisReynolds
The youtube video below has music by Moby added over the top, so if you want to experience the short as Brakhage intended, turn the sound off when you watch. Or you can leave the sound on, and have something to alleviate the boredom of the 2 minutes of frames of crushed flowers.Movie comment on The Dark Tower
ChrisReynolds
Another of Stan Brakhage's experimental shorts. Just random jagged blobs of colour appearing on a black background for 2 minutes. Personally I thought those 2 minutes were a waste of my time.Movie comment on The Lair of the White Worm
ChrisReynolds
Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi fight snake vampires! OTT and great fun.Movie comment on Maniac
ChrisReynolds
Pretty bad movie, though there are some effective sequences. Why did they think that the relationship between the stunningly beautiful Caroline Munro and the fat, ugly, sweaty, mumbling, mother-fixated maniac would be in any way believable?Movie comment on Out of the Inkwell
ChrisReynolds
Quite a fun short, but let down by the decision to overdub the janitor with the most offensive accent possible.Movie comment on Tron
ChrisReynolds
Ultra-generic "quest" plot, but script and acting allow the movie to remain moderately entertaining. The main reason to watch this movie is its look and design, which capture the 80s videogame aesthetic well.Movie comment on One Day in September
ChrisReynolds
Great and haunting documentary.Movie comment on Werckmeister harmóniák
ChrisReynolds
Far too long and boring. Holding a shot while nothing happens is the equivalent of silence in music - it can add huge emphasis and tension to a scene, but keep using it and it becomes unbearably dull. Other commenters go on about the beauty of the cinematography but I honestly wasn't impressed - a lot of the scenes are rather uninspired shots of Janos wandering through the village, and as he only has 39 shots to set up in the whole movie, Tarr can afford to take his time over some of them. The action scene in the hospital and the slow scene after where everybody walks away are probably the only two out of the 39 shots that genuinely deserved the length they were drawn out to.Also I found Janos incredibly irritating with his constant blank stare and mouth hanging open.
Movie comment on American Teen
ChrisReynolds
Quite entertaining but blatantly staged.Movie comment on À l'intérieur
ChrisReynolds
Very powerful horror film with a huge amount of tension, especially in the first half. There is a bit of a sag in the final third when some horror film cliches make their appearance, but the finale is genuinely shocking and unexpected. As seen from comments below, a lot of people hate it and I can see why. This film WILL have a very strong effect on you, even if you're used to horror, but it's definitely something I'm glad I experienced.Movie comment on Ip Man
ChrisReynolds
Despite being a good film it's still a disappointment given it's ranked in the top 250 at the time I watched it. The choreography in the fight scenes is some of the best I've seen, but they're too few and the story inbetween is hackneyed and unoriginal.Movie comment on Wrong Turn
ChrisReynolds
Terrible screenplay, filled with cliches, annoying characters, uninteresting direction, no tension, and entirely predictable. No idea what this is doing in even being in the top 500 horror. At least it's short.Movie comment on Flickan som lekte med elden
ChrisReynolds
As the other commenters have said, not as good as the first. Main weakness is the story starts getting silly with the introduction of Lisbeth's bizarre family. Has some good moments of Lisbeth kicking ass and is fun to watch if you've seen the first film.Movie comment on Mirrormask
ChrisReynolds
A real disappointment from people whose work together I usually admire. Dave McKean's inexperience with directing really shows, and the fantasy world comes across as uninteresting and flat. Meanwhile Neil Gaiman phones in the most boring iteration yet of his "child discovers a magical world" story. Watch Coraline instead.Movie comment on Batman: The Movie
ChrisReynolds
Bat-shark-repellent!Movie comment on Shakespeare in Love
ChrisReynolds
Wonderful movie with one of the best scripts ever. It gets a lot of stick for winning the Academy Award over Saving Private Ryan from geeks who believe war movies always trump romantic comedies, but IMO Shakespeare in Love is easily the better film.Movie comment on Robot Monster
ChrisReynolds
We Ro-Mans obtain our strength from the planet Ro-Man, relayed from individual energizers.Movie comment on Curse of the Voodoo
ChrisReynolds
Incredibly boringMovie comment on Leprechaun
ChrisReynolds
Fiddle-dee-dee, where's me gold?Movie comment on 10 Rillington Place
ChrisReynolds
One of the best serial killer biopics ever made. It's astonishing that this doesn't at the moment feature on any lists on this site, especially as there's a list made up of 500 horror films filled with all sorts of rubbish.Movie comment on The Last King of Scotland
ChrisReynolds
Really good movie. Like other commenters, I'm surprised it's not on any lists.Showing items 476 – 500 of 501