Dead Snow: a mishmash of previous zombie movie plot twist and character stereotypes
Tommy Wirkola, “Dead Snow” (2009) For laughs, gore and stunning mountain scenery you can’t go past zombie comedy flick “Dead Snow” but there isn’t much else…
Horror
Eraserhead: fascinating and hilarious dark horror film about social and religious pressures on struggling families
David Lynch, “Eraserhead” (1977) Five years in the making from 1971 to 1976, “Eraserhead” was David Lynch’s full-length directing debut feature. Based on his experiences in…
Frostbiten: comedy/horror vampire story lacking in teeth
Anders Banke, “Frostbiten” (2006) ‘Tis a Swedish vampire movie that begins with a shot of the night sky against which light snow is seen falling softly…
Corruption, authoritarianism, oppression of women and intolerance are a hidden presence in “Häxan: Witchcraft through the Ages”
Benjamin Christensen, “Häxan: Witchcraft through the Ages” (1922) Intended as a study on how superstition and lack of knowledge about mental illness could have led to…
French and French-language Films
Eyes without a Face: mad-scientist horror genre gets serious treatment with issues of control and identity
Georges Franju, “Eyes without a Face” / “Les yeux sans visage” (1959) Lean and elegant in narrative style, this film treats a pulpy mad-scientist horror story in…
Little Shop of Horrors: dark horror and farce in trashy 1960 cheapie
Roger Corman, “Little Shop of Horrors” (1960) Here’s a cute comedy horror piece made on the cheap in just two days in 1960 that speaks to…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Heavenly Creatures: a rich and dark dramatisation of a real-life matricide
Peter Jackson, “Heavenly Creatures” (1994) Having made his reputation as purveyor of gory splatter horror comedy flicks to amuse teenagers and kidults, New Zealand director Peter…
French and French-language Films
Les Diaboliques aka The Devils: psychological horror film thin on plot but thick with suspense and twisted endings
Henri-Georges Clouzot, “Les Diaboliques” aka “The Devils” (1955) At first “Les Diaboliques” doesn’t seem anything like director Henri-Georges Clouzot’s previous film “Wages of Fear”: one is…
French and French-language Films
Delicatessen: amusing dystopian black comedy that overdoes the oddball edge and comes out looking twee
Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, “Delicatessen” (1991) How to describe this droll French movie that tackles cannibalism in a light-hearted manner? It’s at once a dystopian…
Spider Forest: amusing psych horror / art-house drama that maps an amnesiac mind’s networks
Song Ilgon, “Spider Forest” (2004) Amusing if eccentric film that straddles a grey zone between art-house drama and psychological horror thriller, “Spider Forest” carries themes about…