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Stranded (2001)
A rare SF Gem
I've owned this film on DVD for a while (purchased with some others in a sale) but not viewed it until now.
This is probably because it's obviously a stranded in space movie and there have been several of these, mostly disappointing.
Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised. This is a mature take on the genre, the characters are believable and the film doesn't fall foul of the clichés you often get in such films these days such as silly jump scares.
The pacing of the film is helped by two simultaneously evolving stories - that of the surviving crew who 'take a walk' and those who remain in the doomed spacecraft.
The visuals are impressive and the score does what it's supposed to - add atmosphere rather than becoming intrusive. The script, editing and direction are all to be complimented.
The film won the Grand Prize of the 2002 European Fantasy Film festival.
The Planets (2019)
Impressive trip though the solar system
Growing up in the 'space race' era of the '60's, my first trip through the solar system was courtesy of a book, "Johnny's book of (outer) Space" which was well illustrated but with 'artists impressions' as very little visual information was available at the time. A vivid impression of the planet Mercury made it's mark. According to the then perceived wisdom, the orbit of Mercury was such that one half always faced the Sun so was incredibly hot, while the other half was correspondingly cold. From memory, I think there was supposed to be a roughly 20 mile wide strip at the equator where some form of life could possibly exist. We now know different.
My copy of that book has long been lost and seems to have disappeared without trace, but fast forward to 1999 and the BBC produced another documentary series named 'The Planets' for which I still have the DVD's.
Although twenty years is nothing in the grand scheme of things, a lot can happen in the world of science, and the investment in probes such as Cassini and Voyager(s) are paying dividends. One of the scientists interviewed in this series said that the information supplied (by Cassini) could take 30+ years to fully analyse.
Documentary series such as this are one of the BBC's strengths, so let's hope they don't become a victim of budgetary cuts.
The series is well presented, the graphics are impressive and the soundtrack is appropriate - I just wish they would turn the volume down a notch at times.
I'm not a particular fan of CGI but this is the sort of documentary it was made for. Some people have said that there is too much reliance on CGI but consider that much of the series is about the formation of the planets and how the universe as it is today came to be (based on current knowledge). There is no way you could illustrate this without CGI unless you propose to pack Professor Cox in a Tardis with a million year time lapse camera.
When you explore areas such as astronomy and cosmology, you find that the more you know, the more there is to know. Here's to the next series of 'The Planets'.
The Darkest Hour (2011)
Better than average
I came across this film on The Horror Channel (which shows quite a lot of science fiction) earlier and didn't have any preconceptions other than a brief synopsis in a listings magazine.
The first few minutes are the weakest but once it gets into its stride, The Darkest Hour is quite enjoyable and has a few innovations (the location, the representation of the aliens and the 'Faraday Cage' means of defence) to make it stand out from the crowd.
Everything is quite well done and I found myself rooting for our 'heroes' against the unambiguously nasty aliens. All to often in modern films I find the lead characters to be so obnoxious that you can end up hoping that the 'enemy' will despatch them and do the world a favour.
The film was made in 3D. This is not necessarily an advantage if too much effort is concentrated on special effects at the expense of the story, but that hasn't happened here. Although I viewed on a 2D TV, I get the impression that TDH would be impressive on a 3D big screen.
It is strange that a seemingly uncontroversial film should invoke extreme reviews. Some have complained about everyone in Moscow speaking fluent English (or perhaps, more accurately, American). The reason for this is obvious in that subtitled films do not do well at the box office. You have to allow a certain amount of 'artistic licence' in SF, just as in the genre 99% of the rest of the universe has an air supply breathable by humans. At least one reviewer apparently marked the film down for not complying with their notion of political correctness.
Essentially, I would classify the film as an above average, fairly straightforward alien invasion thriller.
The Unspoken (2015)
For Jump Scare Addicts
In an age where we are awash with 'product', you really need something extra to make your offering stand out from the crowd.
As other reviewers have noted, 'The Unspoken' has potential, unfortunately largely unrealised. The opening and closing scenes hint at what might have been, however the bulk of the film is marred by . . . a lack of inspiration? . . . laziness? . . . maybe interference by financiers/accountants?
It's a haunted house movie - yes, another one, so you will have a good idea what to expect. For most of the time, the film follows the well worn path, complete with one dimensional characters acting out 'cut and paste' scenes. What really annoyed me was the clunking overuse of the 'jump scare' - so much so that I began to wonder is this meant to be a serious horror film or an attempt at parody? Whoever is responsible for the soundtrack needs to learn the art of subtlety - the fake scares were announced by booming sound effects leaving the viewer (listener) feeling as though they had been assaulted with a sonic cosh. Compare and contrast this with Robert Wises' classic 'The Haunting'.
Solitude (2014)
Beast of Prey aka American Beast aka Solitude
The story is non too original - back in the 1930's a plot of land in a forest is purchased and when the owners visit with the intention of carrying out scientific research they are met by a native American woman who declares the site to be a sacred place and tries to warn them off. Naturally they decline and are summarily dispatched one by one by a mysterious beast.
The first 45 minutes or so of the film recounts how a similar scenario is played out every decade or so right up to the present day.
So now it's time for our contemporary heroes to follow the well trodden path of their forebears, but this is where the film for me scores an own goal.
Up until this point the film makers had done quite a good job of creating an atmosphere of supernatural menace. The 'creature' was never seen and the victims were generally killed instantly - one of the characters in one of the flashbacks remarks how speedy and powerful it is - supernaturally so. But now, just as the native woman is delivering her spiel "you shouldn't have come here" , who ambles along but your friendly local (obviously man in a monster suit) entity.
Along the way, it is revealed that the woman conjured up the monster about 400 years ago to protect the site, which they have faithfully been patrolling ever since. Throughout the film you have been left in no doubt that by the time you catch sight of the beast, you are already dead. But now, for some inexplicable reason, the beast just stands around next to the woman, as if posing for a holiday photograph. Eventually, one of our heroes shoots it (with a gun, not a camera). 'You can't kill it' scoffs the woman, presumably because it is one of the 'undead' so in a flash of inspiration the gunfire is turned on the woman, apparently killing her (although at 400 years old presumably she was 'undead' too?) and causing the beast to dissolve into the ether.
A note about the retrospective clips - I read in a review elsewhere that the seemingly bad acting (especially in the first clip) was an attempt to capture the style of the period in question. In fact, each of the clips is quite carefully crafted to evoke the style of the time period they represent.
As I mentioned earlier, the bulk of the film is quite well done, so why oh why did they ruin it with such a ridiculous ending?
The Skull (1965)
Superior Psychological Horror
I always liked 'The Skull' and watched it many times during the '70's and '80's when it was shown on TV quite regularly. Unfortunately it's probably been around 20 years since I last saw it, until earlier this evening when it was shown on the Horror channel. It is still as brilliant as I remembered.
The base story is taken from real life - the skull of the infamous Marquis was indeed exhumed for scientific examination (phrenology - the belief that a persons character can be determined by the shape of their skull, which was popular many years ago) and subsequently lost, its whereabouts remaining unknown to this day.
The late, great Peter Cushing plays a researcher into the paranormal who becomes compelled to own the skull when it is offered to him (after convincing himself of its provenance) even though he knows it could destroy him. The Marquis may be dead, but evil lingers on in his skull.
I like the film - its overall style, direction, cinematography, everything. It is quirky, unusual, original (I wonder if the 'skull view' was the inspiration for the opening scene in John Carpenter's 'Halloween'?).
Some have criticised the films slow pacing, but I think it is appropriate for a psychological horror. It would also have been made to be viewed properly in a cinema, unlike so much formulaic straight to video stuff that is churned out today.
'The Skull' has stood the test of time for 50 years and I think it will probably do so for another 50 years.
Space: 1999: The Rules of Luton (1976)
Beware of the Berries
Others have compared this to episodes of 'Star Trek' & 'The Outer Limits', but when, shortly after arriving on planet Luton, Koenig and Maya get accused of murder for nibbling some of the abundant fruit, I was immediately reminded of the 'Lost in Space' episode 'The Great Vegetable Rebellion' .... in which the villain was a walking, talking carrot. In 'Luton' the villains appear to be some rather nasty trees on a hill, who proclaim that all visitors who break the law (ignorance is no excuse) must fight to the death in order to gain their freedom. Thus Koenig and Maya are matched against three motley aliens and this struggle takes up most of the episode. The aliens appear to be having a 'bad makeup' day and are none too bright, so the trees give them some 'superpowers' to even things up. Even so, two of them go to meet their maker along the way, more as a result of their own stupidity and clumsiness than any particular aggression from our heroes. When Koenig finds himself in a position to be able to kill his last opponent he refuses to do so and enters into a 'Captain Kirk' style speech in which he accuses the trees of staging the whole event for their own perverse pleasure. This seems to strike a chord with the other vegetation who start a 'peasants revolt' and there is much waving of grass and shaking of leaves. The trees back down remarkably easily and tell all those left alive that they are free to go. The trees are indeed fiendishly clever, as they manage to block communications with Moonbase Alpha and even make their planet appear to vanish from the Alphan scanners (thus preventing any rescue)up to this point. The basic concept of this episode is quite fascinating and we can only hope that one day it will be developed rather more intelligently. I wonder how the story would have been developed had it been included in series one of Space 1999? As it is, the episode is pretty typical of TV SF of the period - lots of plot holes and inconsistencies which are ignored for the sake of expediency. A reasonably satisfying lightweight tea-time adventure, so long as you don't look too deeply into the cracks.
The Village (2004)
Well crafted period psychological drama
Like most people I thought 'Sixth Sense' was brilliant and went along to see 'Signs' partly on the strength of it. Was I disappointed - apart from the well documented plot shortcomings the film seemed to be shot as a 50's budget flick with none of the period charm. I left the cinema thinking 'what was the point of that?' Similarly I saw 'Unbreakable' on TV and found it to be very ordinary.
'The Village' had it's premiere on BBC2 this evening. The synopsis in the Radio Times interested me but I was half expecting to be disappointed. I was actually pleasantly surprised.
A group of people disaffected with city life set up an Amish-like village in a remote spot. To prevent the younger villagers straying, they invent a legend of monsters in the surrounding woods. Legend has it that, years ago, a truce was agreed whereby the villagers didn't stray into the woods or the monsters into the village. When one of their number is seriously injured, it is decided to break the truce and venture through the woods to the nearest town in order to get medical supplies.
So, there aren't actually any monsters, but the film is shot from the perspective of villagers who think that they do exist, thus creating several very atmospheric and scary scenes.
Some people have criticised the integrity of the plot but I think it holds together and could just about be believable. You could read between the lines and draw parallels with our leaders warnings about the 'axis of evil'.
For me, this film is everything that 'Signs' wasn't - everything comes together to form a very memorable experience - cinematography, script, lighting, soundtrack, sets, acting and direction are all first class. I'm glad to say that I've been able to revise my personal opinion that MNS was a one-hit wonder.