Reviews

From ScoreTheFilm's movie blog...

NOTE: Anything considered a spoiler in this review is a soft one. This is a picture that needs to be seen and I'd hate to ruin it for anyone.

The entire cast and crew are to be congratulated for making such a beautiful film filled with love and quality at every turn. Writer/director Mark Raso has crafted an unconventional love story that shouldn't offend anyone if you give yourself to the picture and to the characters. What's most striking is that it never once feels disingenuous; it holds true to itself until the very end. No spoilers here, but the ending does not compromise anything that was so carefully and quietly set up in the previous hour and a half.

The two leads, Gethin Anthony and Frederikke Dahl Hansen, are fantastic. They really sell it and Hansen, in particular, is a wonder to watch. Her subtle performance goes that extra mile so naturally that it's nearly shocking this is only her third feature film. Keep an eye on her career. She's got moxie! I don't know moxie is but whatever it is, she's definitely got it. But seriously, I think I could have fallen in love with Effy, too, only it would be even more gross for someone three times her age, much less twice. Effy is a fun and endearing character that makes it all too easy for William to find himself falling for such a free spirit. Anthony has the unenviable role of starting out a picture as a right angry a$$hole (to his best friend and everyone else) and gradually transforming into a warm and caring man. Between his performance and Raso's script and direction, he pulls it off.

Copenhagen is a beautiful city and Alan Poon's camera captures it with such detail, admiration and allure that it's practically an invitation to be a part of it. This is his first narrative feature film as cinematographer. The young talent associated with this picture is staggering and most impressive. Hell, it's Raso's first feature film as well. His choices in music for the picture, from the Danish songs to Agatha Kaspar's score (her first feature, too!), only add to the magic of the film. The song that Effy sings at the karaoke bar is mesmerizing and it feels like the grounding moment that solidifies the bond she now has with William. It's a powerful scene.

Ultimately, the maturity of Raso and his co-conspirators in art and beauty boils down to a pivotal scene near the close of the film. The choice Raso makes with these two characters hinges on making or breaking the film and he does exactly what was needed to stay true to their story. I kept waiting for the ball to drop, not for my lack of knowledge about these film makers but because so often there's something that will take you out of a picture that has worked so hard to keep your attention. It might not ruin it but it dilutes what was carefully constructed. COPENHAGEN doesn't compromise itself with convention or societal acceptance. The relationship William and Effy have is told with such grace that it pulls you in, making you care deeply for them, wanting it to somehow work out but knowing that it shouldn't. The moment they kiss for the first time (don't worry, it's nicely done) took me back 30 years to when I had those 'first' moments, moments I haven't felt in a very long time. That's how much I was drawn into this picture. How it plays out (the film and not my teenage love life) and how it concludes is a journey you need to take. Keep this on your radar. Hopefully it will be available to the public by the end of this year.

Despite it's lackluster production values and the fact that the copy I watched was a crappy pan & scan copy, I really enjoyed it.

THIS IS NOT A REMAKE OF WESTWORLD as some have suggested. Westworld dealt with a theme park robot that went loopy and tried to kill people. WTBC is about a scientific experiment that places innocent victims in a virtual reality to test their skills. If anything WTBC is closer to The Prisoner episode, "Living In Harmony" as Bishop-11 mentioned, than anything else.

Palance is a lot of fun, as usual, and HE'S having fun without over-doing it as he sometimes did in the 70s (plus he's not drunk). The rest of the cast does a fine job as well. For the most part I'm satisfied with the plot details that were given but I would have liked a little bit more. For example, in the beginning the "experiment subjects" have cards in their pockets labeling them murderers and how many people they killed. Now, unless those cards are only there to give the subjects a tiny bit of info as to who they are and maybe why they are there, I'd like to know more about their purpose. However, I really like that the film makers don't hold your hand and spoon feed you the information, allowing you to think for yourself. I guess I can't have my cake and eat it, too.

Roy Budd turns in a good score, too, except I can do without the musical saw that showed up from time to time. It's threatening where it needs to be and there are times where the film could have used more music instead of some scenes sitting there flat without any at all.

I've been going through a 70's Sci-Fi kick recently, searching out films I hadn't seen before. This one was a pleasant surprise. Yeah, it has pacing issues but it's got a great concept and it's a film that really relies on the story, not the effects. And that's a nice change of pace compared to what we've been given for the past 20 years.

I did not see the first one. I typically avoid stupid, bone-head movies like it. When I heard decent things about this one and that it also had Henry Rollins in it I figured what the hell.

For what this film is I can deal with the set-up, as contrived as it is. As far as I could tell there were only two real actors in this thing; Rollins and Wayne Robson (Old Timer). I can't believe I'm actually saying this.

The dialogue was hideous. It's littered with cliché after cliché. Good thing it was also littered with corpses.

And what the hell is up with the "halloween hillbillies"? It's as if the film makers said, "Hey! What if Chunk from The Goonies had kids and then they knocked around and had more kids?" It would have been more effective if they looked more realistic and less cartoony.

I have to give credit for the director, Joe Lynch, who pretty much saved this movie. I'm impressed as much was accomplished with a budget of only 4 mil.

One bright side - only two survivors. Most of the characters and all of the contestants were annoying. I was really hoping they would all die. What a nice bonus that would have been. Oh, well. Them's tha breaks, I guess.

This is dreadful, folks. I can't add much to what other reviewers have said. There is WAY too much narration in this film. If you need to narrate 60% of your film then you need a serious re-write of the script. The film opens with a 9-minute history of witches documentary-style (the only thing good about it are the paintings used). Then the story begins. I kept wondering why it was called THE NAKED WITCH when I've seen the witch but I haven't seen her naked (except for some black bars covering her naughty bits) until the 44 minute mark - just about 15 minutes before the movie ends! And what do you get? She baths in a pond (ala a nudist video scene where she just frolics in the water) while The Student watches in amazement for about 5 minutes. I guess they figured they had to justify the "naked" part of the title. It was laughable, really.

The opening music was stolen from Bernard Herrmann's score to THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL. Sadly, that lasted about 3 minutes and then for the rest of film we get nothing but a poorly-improvised organ score. Oh science, it's awful. All the mind-altering substances known to man couldn't set that straight.

This is bad all the way around. I watched Something Weird Video's print. I did listen to one of the two commentaries which was somewhat interesting hearing what the producer's role was and the struggles he had to overcome. Pretty funny at times. Certainly more interesting than the film. The double feature DVD also has CRYPT OF DARK SECRETS (1976) which is surprisingly good. You also get the usual boatload of extras including several shorts and probably a dozen trailers (most with a New Orleans theme). The disc is worth picking up just for the extras.

I was taken aback by quite a few things. The photography, especially the bayou shots, is very good; surprisingly good for a no-budget film like this. I kept thinking how even more beautiful several shots would have been in widescreen. The music in many places was also surprisingly good. It's not often that low-budget movies have anything going on that's decent with the music but this one does and there are several moments where it's very effective in building atmosphere.

Maureen Ridley, who plays the witch, is absolutely stunning. She reminds me of Laura Gemser (of the Emanuelle films). Her contribution alone adds a few stars to the rating for me. HUBBA HUBBA! WOW!

Now for the ugly. The writing/acting is hideous. There are a few actors that looked like they had the potential to do better if only they had better lines to deliver (like Herbert Jahncke). The rest couldn't deliver a line with a packing slip. This is supposed to take place in southern Louisiana yet no one (but one - and he tried but it was awful) had a Louisiana accent! And I'm sure some of these people were from there. I wasn't buyin' it.

Overall, the film was very entertaining on a "so bad it's good" level and the fact that Maureen Ridley dances al fresco a few times. With good photography, music and eye candy it gives you more than you'd expect.

The print, from Something Weird Video, is exceptionally good for a film such as this. It's on a double bill DVD with THE NAKED WITCH (which has two commentaries). The extras are several shorts and probably a dozen trailers (many of which are New Orleans themed) which are worth buying the disc for alone. For low budget/bad movie lovers this one is an unexpected find.

The first thing you're drawn to is the camera work. It looks and feels like a movie that is well beyond its low budget. Very nice. Then there's the lead actor, Canon. He does a very good job and I was stunned to see he didn't do much more. Too bad.

The opening 15 minutes or so are great but it's after the incident at the hotel with the two criminals it starts to go downhill. It's not because of the story either. It's the REALLY drawn-out scenes of little dialogue which involve Canon or others "waiting" to act. At first I kind of dug it because it seemed to give the film more of a realistic feel. But there came a point where this was happening more and more to the point of feeling like nothing more than filler. The editing could have been much tighter and would have greatly benefited the film.

But the biggest beef I have I guess is the inconsistency with the two leads' characters. Their actions, at times, seemed to turn on a dime with no justification. I could see how it was possible for each of them to end up the way they did but the journey we're shown doesn't do that effectively.

As has been posted before the two criminals in the hotel early on are not explained. I was willing to overlook this until the old man that lets Canon & Rivers into his home suddenly went apeshirt and tried to kill them. At that point the fault has to be placed on Friedel for not giving us even a hint as to the reasons these people were doing what they were doing. I don't mind filling in the blanks sometimes with my imagination but on a project like this I shouldn't have to invent back stories for half the cast.

It's worth a curious look for the camera work and for Canon's performance and also to imagine what this film could have been.

And for my 2 cents about the ending...it could have either been:

1) They were both killed by the gunmen (not likely, although the chapter name is Dance of Death) because the couple didn't seem to care about anything but each other since they're in love or 2) They gave up the car keys to the gunmen not caring about the money since they are now in love. Their love and the future they have together is much more important to them than the money (most likely to be the reason). Not wanting to lose that, I'm sure they gladly gave up the car and the money.

As mentioned in another post it's the second half of a double feature from Something Weird Vido with some great trailers as extras. The first film of the double feature is HITCH HIKE TO HELL and that's a complete gas to watch from start to finish. FUN!