Rick's Flicks Picks on AWN: Horror

A SERBIAN FILM (2011) (**1/2)

rdemott2 — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:03:42 -0700

Is this the most disturbing film ever made? Many have said so. A great deal depends on what you bring to it. A fan of extreme cinema might find it less provocative than say someone who sticks to PG inspirational films. It contains graphic depictions of rape, necrophilia and pedophilia. Many of the concepts are some of the vilest ideas I've ever seen in any film. It stands in infamy with the likes of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST and SALO. But is it simply exploitation or something more?

Blu-ray: A SERBIAN FILM (2011)

rdemott2 — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:01:55 -0700

Invincible Pictures isn't a top distributor, but one wouldn't know that from the picture quality of this release. As ugly as the subject matter of the film is, the AVC encoded 1080p transfer is not ugly at all. The flawless RED camera cinematography is captured with striking clarity. Details pop to the point of giving the picture increased depth. Desaturation of color is intentional to go along with the grim subject matter. So when it gets bloody the crimson reds are striking.

DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK (2011) (**1/2)

rdemott2 — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:48:41 -0700

This remake of a 1973 TV movie has all the classic haunted house qualities. Gothic location. Creaking doors. Dark halls. Secret rooms. Ominous help. Benevolent creatures living aside a family. By putting the youngest of the family at the center of the story, the film develops an inherent tension. The issue is how long can you buy this little girl in peril?

ATTACK THE BLOCK (2011) (****)

rdemott2 — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:09:32 -0700

Joe Cornish's film begins with a group of teens, predominately black, mugging a white woman. Then they witness something fall from the sky and when they go to investigate are attacked by a horrible alien creature. In a lesser film like this one, those black kids would be dead before the title card popped up. But that's not what happens in Cornish's spitfire horror sci-fi comedy. You know right from the start that this film is working on a different level.

SPLICE (2010) (**)

rdemott2 — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:44:52 -0700

This horror film is about scientists who take risks, much like its director Vincenzo Natali does with the story. The problem is these are bad scientists. I mean that in what they do and how they do it. They fool around with experiments they shouldn't… or should they. The film likes to put out these kinds of ideas, but isn't really interested in developing them. It's interested in getting to its Freudian nightmare of an ending.