J*A*S*M

A film that has diametrically different ratings on Filmbooster and IMDB, and that in foreign horror websites appears at the top of the ratings for 2000, while here almost nobody has paid attention to it. The truth, as usual, lies somewhere between both extremes. Even if it doesn’t seem so at first, May is a pretty difficult film to grasp. The biggest mistake is to expect teenage horror, in which case you’ll never get it. No, this is a psychological drama with many allegorical elements and an abstract plot, and that’s why the performances don’t need to be great (except May’s), nor does the behaviour of the other characters need to be logical. Or put another way, the negative aspects of this film aren’t actually so, they are subjective negative perceptions of neutral phenomena – or if they see it, they see it and if they don’t, you’ll never explain it to them.

Awful actors, terrible direction and a grandiosely stupid script. And yet, in spite of how bad it is in every aspect, Kolobos is surprisingly watchable.

The first half of the film gave the impression that I was watching the best ghost story ever. There isn’t any long and tedious introduction, the first encounter with the ghost happens already in the fifth minute and it’s not a cup being moved a little or the lights going off, but a proper clash, the kind you don’t see in other films until a few minutes before the end credits. You can almost cut through the atmosphere and though the score was bit irritating at first, I got used to it and I must say it’s very effective. In the second half, however, things become unnecessarily repetitive, the manifestations of the entity are shown with not very well made light effects and the initial thrill fades a little, but it’s still brilliant horror.

Damn, Clint, you shouldn’t have done this! Invictus gave me the impression that after his brilliant, distinctive and politically incorrect Gran Torino was ignored by the Academy, the director got mad and went for the polar opposite: a glossy, pathetic and bland drama. It might succeed at the Oscars, but it will disappoint fans. Everybody smiles and hugs each other, Mandela either waves his hand at the masses or shares morsels of wisdom. An incredibly predictable, uninteresting and forgettable movie. Just like last year I hoped Gran Torino would get an Oscar, this year I hope this cynical movie will end in the dustbin of history. Three stars for those things that are well made, but thumbs down otherwise.

A good C-movie is better than a bad B-movie. Dagon has a lot to reproach, but I had some really good fun, I just loved the unsettling atmosphere of the cursed fishing village and the mutated folk. The special effects are awful, but the make-up is very good, so good and realistic, actually, that it was unpleasant at times, because I hate seeing any kind of human body anomalies. Gordon’s love for the genre can be seen miles away.

This is how you mercilessly kill an attractive premise. This film goes from nowhere to nowhere, is incredibly boring and feels very far-fetched. Awful disappointment. Playing paintball: 10/10, watching Paintball 4/10.

In the Balkans, don’t leave the marked paths, and never go into closed trails! Excellent survival film that in the middle turns into hixploitation and really manages to hold your attention. It didn’t disappoint.

Solid average. It could be at least 15 minutes shorter; the beginning is a bit too lengthy, otherwise, I’m satisfied. There are moments that feel dumb in a cute way and others that are quite scary (the tunnels), basically, a classic monster B-movie. Also, films that take place in beautiful locations always get a little love from me, so 3+

Massive surprise! I’ve never been able to get around Murnau’s classic and Coppola’s Dracula pissed me off, but Herzog’s version has an incredibly beautiful atmosphere that I savoured every second. In the first half, in particular, I was completely thrilled, I loved the gloomy mountain landscape and the old castle. By the way, this is the only horror film besides Hostel where I recognised the shooting location, Pernštejn castle in this case.

An intentionally controversial thriller. Do I mind? Not at all. Bale is fantastically convincing in the role of the psychotic financier Bat(e)man and so is the portrayal of that high society world. Of course, I’ve no idea how realistic it is, but I know that I don’t have even the slightest desire to live it first hand.