i am listening to Goblin "oblio" as i write this, take from the original Dawn of the Dead Soundtrack. Goblin also did the music for Dario Argento movies among others. They are meant to be be some kind of Italian punk band, but much of their music music is beautiful in all it electro glory. Especially the one I am listening to now.
So extreme films. usually not nearly as gory as your average Hollywood actioner, but undeniably more disturbing. I haven't seen too many myself. Most produced out of Japan and suchlike. Any American equivalents tend to be Hostel or Saw types which are vacuous excuses for tortures devoid of meaning or cinematic relevance, which makes you wonder about how mentally sick the makers are themselves
These are some of the the extreme films I have seen, which are innovative, exciting and actually films:
ICHI THE KILLER
From the man who went on to make "Audition" and "Gozu", comes a film whose frenetic opening sequence already gives us some impression that this director has style, verve and energy. That the energy is directed into putting together so of the most insane images on film is not expected but executed so well is form as well as special effects that it is hard not to be compelled. The film concerns a really nice lad Ichi. A sensitive, vulnerable chap, he is brainwashed and shamed to the point of psychotic anger by his scruffy gangster guardian/uncle into going around disposing of enemies. Ichi dressed like a superhero equipped with martial art move and razor sharp add ons to his shoes, not only disposes of his uncle's? enemies but completely dessimates, disembowels and turns humans into piles of guts.
Ichi becomes something of a legend amongst the rivaling gangs, especially to the uber efficient and uber sado-masochistic right hand man of the opposing boss who develops a fascination with the elusive Ichi. Now this guy is not insane, just really into harming others as well as himself. A charismatic, fearful, brutally efficient livewire, he blows cigarette smoke out of two self inflicted slits in his cheek, goads people to beat him to a pulp, cuts his own tongue off, swallows a mans fist and rips off its flesh leaving just the skeletal hand, and engages in torture whilst making tempura.
This was the first movie to excite me stylistic in a long time. Brilliant shots, editing, beautiful set ups. The movie doesn't take itself too seriously, and has a retains sense of humour throughout, even though some of the more brutal scenes do undoubtedly shock. In fact some of the film is so barmy, its downright hilarious.
However, we do feel for Ichi, the central character, who is in so much psychological turmoil at what his is doing quite against his wishes, but forced to do so nonetheless. He often is crying as he slices and dices up gang members, and pleads with his uncle to stop making him do this. He is a shy, inept and sad. The ending for all its craziness packs in an emotional kick.
LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT
Wes Craven has done some good stuff- Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream...And a lot of rubbish I'm sure by titles alone. This however one of his first films will stick with me forever. I rented it thinking it was the 'Hills Have Eyes'. So for the first hour I was expecting mutants to come out and cause appropriate havoc. But they didn't.
The first portion we are lulled into an almost family movie type atmosphere with an innocent daughter making preparations to go off with her slightly more mischievous friend to a rock concert. its all quite wholesome. Then they try and score some pot and end up being kidnapped by a bunch of escaped convicts.
The rest of the film is about how low humanity can go. These convicts are psychopaths and the torture and beyond they dish out to the girls is so disturbing because the torturers' personalities have been so well developed through the film. All that remains is just the why? Not like in torture in yes again, Hostel or Saw today where you don't really see the psychos, so are kept at a distance from that which is more disturbing that the violence itself. The why? behind it. And as opposed to a shitty childhood etc.. these killers are given rounded features, but yet engage in the activities they do as we watch them descend further into the dark than they intended themselves. As Wes Craven says in the extras, at one particular climatic act or depravity the killer descend to, there was complete silence on set. He says he knew they had gone to a place so dark in humanity on film that he would never go to or want to again.
CANNIBAL FEROX
With the spate of found footage horror movies out now, one must pay homage to the original movie of that genre. This movie is about a team of documentary makers who go to the Amazon to film local tribes. they end up upsetting some cannibals they are filming and well, you can imagine the rest. Well I don't know if you can.
It was so extreme the filmmakers were arrested on release, and it was banned in many many countries. I can't imagine finding an original cut anywhere. Anyways this film, or the hype that goes with it has scared me so much i can't bring myself to watch it for my own wellbeing. I am so intrigued by it, but am so worried simultaneously about being overwhelmed or indeed underwhelmed by something that is supposed to represent the most extreme in cinema. I think I'll let it lie on a dusty pedestal for a bit longer until curiousity gets the better of me.