"Forgotten scares" is a good documentary. It's a knowledgeable and useful tour along the various movies and movie projects (abandoned, half-finished or duly completed) dotting the Flemish horror landscape. Belgium being Belgium, this includes many a tale about lunatic ideas, certifiable auteurs, cynical businessmen and drunken artists. The viewer also gets a guided tour through the uniquely byzantine world of Belgian subsidies and grants. ("Our motto : if you think Dante's underworld was bad, try THIS hellhole.")
As a result the documentary has considerable amusement value, both of the voluntary and involuntary kind. If you happen to be a lawyer you can even indulge in some Schadenfreude : the documentary mentions three or four legal tangles which might have been avoided if the parties, or at least some of the parties, had had the foresight to consult a good lawyer or to draw up a decent contract.
However, I do not agree with one of the central premises of the documentary, to wit that most Flemings don't like the horror genre. On the contrary, I remain convinced that Flemings can, and will, appreciate a horror movie - on condition that it is well-made, interesting and atmospheric. Which is more than can be said about some of the cinematic abortions discussed, such as "The Antwerp killer", a work halfway between a movie and a prank. ("The Antwerp killer" was made by a young student, whose father - or so it is alleged - spent a considerable amount of money buying and destroying all copies.)
Anyway, horror fan or not, you get useful suggestions about movies to watch and, equally important, about movies not to watch.
I do hope that the maker of "Forgotten scares" will now turn his attention to the southern, French-speaking part of Belgium, which I'm sure will equal, if not surpass, Flanders in the weirdness department.
As a result the documentary has considerable amusement value, both of the voluntary and involuntary kind. If you happen to be a lawyer you can even indulge in some Schadenfreude : the documentary mentions three or four legal tangles which might have been avoided if the parties, or at least some of the parties, had had the foresight to consult a good lawyer or to draw up a decent contract.
However, I do not agree with one of the central premises of the documentary, to wit that most Flemings don't like the horror genre. On the contrary, I remain convinced that Flemings can, and will, appreciate a horror movie - on condition that it is well-made, interesting and atmospheric. Which is more than can be said about some of the cinematic abortions discussed, such as "The Antwerp killer", a work halfway between a movie and a prank. ("The Antwerp killer" was made by a young student, whose father - or so it is alleged - spent a considerable amount of money buying and destroying all copies.)
Anyway, horror fan or not, you get useful suggestions about movies to watch and, equally important, about movies not to watch.
I do hope that the maker of "Forgotten scares" will now turn his attention to the southern, French-speaking part of Belgium, which I'm sure will equal, if not surpass, Flanders in the weirdness department.