Film Reviews by TDM

Is this film a horror? A satire? Art house junk making an effort to offend?

Maybe its all three - and your time is well spent letting this sink in and rewatching it (I haven't seen this film in a decade).

Set in four colour coded sets, filled with extravagant costumes via Gautier, the four titular characters take you on a run through comedy, disgust, passion, revenge and hatred.

And yes, this is certainly a film to watch with caution, it contains much that would offend and certainly in the modern times, comes with a trigger warning for abuse.

However the leads are exceptional; pulling off scenes which on paper may sound gratuitously over the top, with expertise and empathy.

You wont look at stellar talent like Mirren and Gambon especially, in the same way again.

I can absolutely understand why this film wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea; taboo subject matter, garish and unflinching visuals filmed in a highly saturated style, perhaps over pretentious, maybe a little dated now?

However, this is a daring, controversial classic starring some of the best talent of a generation and it is worth your time to watch it if you don't mind a little strong content and enjoy being challenged by cinema.

Just perhaps not over dinner....

You'll wonder where this film is going.

It starts by setting up the plot, the vanishing, then meanders into some odd territory before bang, one of the best endings in cinema.

It is quite dated in its style (which may be off putting for some), and this was attempted to be addressed in the remake (don't go there, stay here), the acting is good enough and the story keeps enough of a pull, but...

Don't spoil this for yourself, be patient and be rewarded with a real gem of a climax.

No Hollywood soft landings here, and all the better for it.

So, this is a Nic Cage movie - and that will either appeal or not.

If it does, be reassured, he is on excellent form here.

The movie is unhinged, basically a two hour drone metal video with day glo visuals and some yes, they went there scenes, perfect for Cage to do this thing (in his pants).

There is absolutely nothing subtle about this movie at all, its loud, in your face and perfectly casts Cage who is actually excellent.

Plot, oh, its a revenge movie, but that's utterly irrelevant to your enjoyment.

Sit back, turn it up, and enjoy the mayhem.

And there is a Jane Doe in the morgue.

Simple, close, and affecting - nothing you haven`t seen before, but done well by good actors.

The ending is nice too.

This is a saturated genre, and most of them are very same old same old, but this has something slightly different to say.

The acting isn't great, and the plot is zombies take over the world (!), but still, this takes you on a different journey to a different place you expected.

Everything is good enough, but there is just enough of a novel idea, well enough executed, to elevate this above the grasping hands of the heaving masses.

I had never seen this film, and as it so often features on so many best of lists, I was very curious.

However, I was left very flat.

The film is very sixties, well enough acted for sure, but the look just shows its age now, where as other films of the period have lasted much better.

Just like many of the best horrors, this film plays in the mind, there are no shocks, jump scares, or gore splashed faces, just creeping dread.

However, I worked it out (its not that hard) and whilst the ending is neatly done, i was left wondering where the fuss was looking.

Yes, Farrow is superb, and as a portrayal of a desperate mother, overlaid by the is it or isn't it thing going on, you have a decent study on madness and or paranoia, and maybe this film is best viewed as a drama?

I wanted this film to be worth the wait, sadly it wasn't.

Lo-fi, a little abstract, and all the better for it.

This is an excellently constructed and written film, with excellent acting, that you'll wonder how you missed before.

Well worth a watch, you might very well be surprised.

Shock. Horror and Comedy, all in one film. Whatever you expect, this film will surprise you. Wonderfully acted, brilliantly conceived, - worth all the hype.