Naked Blood (1996)

Blurring the lines of pain and pleasure

By : JWBM

"Naked Blood" in a way feels like a what-if scenario played out. It begins with its premise of a young, hopeful—though amateur—scientist that engineers a drug to make what was painful before, now feel a little too amazing. Just a pinch too much. Or a stab. You get the point. Then comes the setup of him giving it to a group of young ladies who think they're taking just an innocent contraceptive as part of a control group headed by his mother—who is also a scientist, but of the professional kind. This is low budget horror from Japan no less. There's carnage, weirdness, and some hidden symbolism thrown in for good measure. As you can imagine, this is not going to end well for anyone involved. That goes for the viewer, too. Some things you just can't unsee.

Is there such a thing as being in a state of pure elation? Pain and pleasure balance us, though steer it too much towards one or the other and a divide is broken. Too much pain and we lose our spirits; too much pleasure and we turn to simpletons who can't resist. The pacing sets up a slow escalation to create an obsessive atmosphere of eroticism, violence, and death. The film is littered with closest fetishes, not to mention odd interactions and reactions from character to character. That could also partly be the overall acting, which occasionally just gets by in a "We're just reading what's on the page and letting the story transport us from scene-to-scene" kind of way.

What the film does well is how it transitions to break down its boundaries. Bits of the story aren't always explained in depth. This just grazes the surface, which—in itself—keeps things abstract and as a surreal experience. There's also the other side of it that doesn't blink. The prosthetic effects and camera angles are full of close-up, gruesome shots and situations, where the viewpoint locks in tight and doesn't pull away till the last drop is spilled and someone is crying for more. With the home-video-like quality, it covers up some blemishes and makes them a little more realistic looking. It's creative and memorable with its gore and visuals. You'll never look at tempura, nipples, or even cactus the same again.

This begins as a tale of one young man's naive quest. As the journey is laid out, it looks like just an excuse to lure the viewer in to another exploitative dark alleyway full of dangerous characters and blood splattered walls. Though there ends up being some hidden messages written on the walls to the overall story arc that might be missed on the first viewing. I have my own theories, which can make it more of an entangling experience either way. It's not as out there as, say, "Tetsuo" as it starts out normal enough. Though by its finale, you still might keep the light on longer than normal pondering about what you just saw and how you're going to reason with it.

Rating: 7/10

Director: Hisayasu Sato
Actors: Sadao Abe, Misa Aika
Info: IMDB
Link: Youtube

The Arrival (1996)

The truth is out there but closer than we thought

Certain media has come along ranging from "The Day the Earth Stood Still" to "The X-Files" that made it possible for the kooks to buddy up with the crossed-armed cinema goers who are on the fence about intelligent lifeforms from outside of Earth. "The Arrival" is a film that appeals to a wider audience due to its continual action, along with a global message in its wake that affects us all.

Zane Zaminsky, a radio astronomer, works in a job that in real life would be about as exciting as watching cows graze to most folks. Though for cinematic effect, this paranoid chair-jockey catches on to a massive conspiracy theory that the public has not a clue. It's a good thing we have Mr. ZZ flat top to undercover the truth no matter if it might risk him his job, family or freedom. He's a big-screen archetype that's self-sacrificing in his ways and uses his convenient scientific skills to fence off bad guys that range from charismatic to cookie-cutter at every turn.

"The Arrival" on the surface is meant for basic entertainment. Apart from watching the main character figure out all his steps and moves on his own, the only time the brain starts to kick in is towards the latter part of the film with the truth coming out. Locales change and nifty devices are shown with state of the art CGI for its day. Though some of the film mechanics are dated as this is a "movie-movie": something that isn't grounded with real characters and full of events that are meant to look like trial and error but feel guided to go a certain way with the story. Its main perk is its constant traction forward, which makes it feel more like a suspense thriller than a sci-fi/action movie like "Independence Day."

Rating: 6/10

Director: David Twohy (Timescape, writer - Warlock, The Fugitive, Waterworld)
Stars: Charlie Sheen, Lindsay Crouse, Richard Schiff
Link: IMDB

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

A series of wrong places at the wrong times

The first peak I had of "From Dusk Till Dawn" was when attempting to sneak into the theater back in '96 and seeing the words "Titty Twister" on a sleazy bar front but then being kicked out right after. Soon enough a kind--or demented--neighbor leant the tape without alluding to the plot or genre. Being just excited that it was a "movie," not to mention with two guys and guns on the cover, I put it on without even reading the back and was surprised to find that not only was the beginning a cursing and violence filled crime adventure but then the latter half switches locales and turns into a kind of action/horror with monsters running amuck. My ignorance doubled when special make-up effects wizard Tom Savini--only known to myself before reading horror mags and dialing up to Internet access as that actor with the crotch gun--came to town to the local hobby shop and signed "my snot rag" (napkin) I had in my pocket--all for free! Good times.

Two men who live by their own rules make a mark on small town middle America by breaking every law in the book when they end up at a rinky-dink gas station in Texas. Fingers get itchy on their triggers and before you know it everyone's dead and a massive explosion ensues. "Low profile. Do you understand the meaning of the words "low profile"? Seth says to his brother Richie who ended up with a bullet hole through his hand. Richie (Quentin Tarantino) is the violence prone, perverted brother who constantly needs an eye looked after him. Actor George Clooney, as Seth, would get somewhat typecast after this as not the criminal, but the confident leader type that he does so well with a dead-set stare and words that command. This builds up to a kind of twisted redemption from a low life that is only out for himself--bank robber, cop killer, escaped felon--to unlikely antihero to protect his fellow man when something greater comes into the picture that jeorpardizes everybody's life.

From hotel rooms with one hostage to an RV with three more--including a former minister named Jacob (Keitel) and his two children Kate and Scott--they make it across the Mexico border and the Gecko brothers await a rendezvous with another criminal to make a score. That place is the Titty Twister: a Mexican bar that houses some of the rowdiest scumbags with neon lights and every vice offered to lure them in. Cheech Marin doubles as the boarder patrol agent and over-the-top host at the door selling prostitutes to bikers and truck drivers that layover in that seedy part of town. He puts a hand up to the Geckos and they return the favor with a beating. The brothers bring their captives inside and find strippers, loud rock 'n' roll, fist fights and hard liquor--their kind of place. Soon enough the incident outside and Richie's hand injury comes full circle to bite him where it counts when the host comes back in and the main table top dancer Satanico Pandemonium (Selma Hayek) can't help herself when it comes to the bloody wound. Within a split second all of the employees turn into something else and the patrons inside either run or fight for their lives by quickly using methods learned from other horror films. Yep, sometimes these things can be survival guides.

What's different about this picture compared to a straight horror film is that there isn't any foreshadowing. Though it's more action than horror by causing the characters to leap into making decisions on the fly, instead of slowly creeping up. Replay value is a blast, since you essentially have two differently toned movies in one with the same cast handling both sides. This is going for the full cinematic experience and escapism rather than truly making the environment authentic. Some of the mechanics are sacrificed for entertainment value over being thoroughly sound, so some things happen at opportune times, such as certain infected people turning faster than others or one monster having one ability and another doesn't. What makes that work is there is a decent amount of purposeful tongue-in-cheek humor, along with room left over for timed out suspense.

The beginning half of the film isn't all flash and fancy talk as they don't always hold back in what's said or done, whether it be racist comments to raping an innocent woman. Savini as "Sex Machine" and Williamson as "Frost" aren't the best actors but they still possess an onscreen tough look. This has some cool special makeup effects by KNB EFX Group that would later go on to do other big pictures; despite when CGI started to rear its head just after 2000 as the norm rather than utilizing it in a few areas. For instance, this uses some CG for transformations from normal to monstrous but the rest is prosthetics, giving it that unmistakable physical presence. There are facial masks, as well as full body casts. Not to mention some grisly gore, with anything from the straightforward brutal to the downright inventive. Most of the music feels more hip and flavorful than scary, apart from some choirs. Time just flies with this movie, from one captivating scene and piece of catchy dialogue to the next, it's hard to take your senses off what the next thing they have in store. It's one of those rare films that you'll wish didn't have to end.

Rating: 9/10

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Stars: George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Tom Savini
Link: IMDB


Writer's note:

This is the first time I've seen the casual walking away from an explosion in the background. Since, it's been done from here to the moon.

Ebola Syndrome (1996)

Makes "Outbreak" look like monkey business

Hong Kong, 1986: Kai (Anthony Wong) is sleeping with the boss's wife while her little girl stands out front. The boss suddenly comes home and catches them. He beats Kai, forces his wife to pee on him and then attempts to castrate the adulterer--Jerry Springer would be proud. Kai suddenly reverses the blade and kills the boss, wife and employee, while leaving the traumatized little girl soaking in gasoline when someone comes in just in the nick of time.

Johannesburg, South Africa, 1996: Kai is now working in a restaurant after fleeing China. The new boss's wife thinks he's no good but the boss says it's hard to find cheap labor, so they put up with him. Though she might just be right as he spits and ejaculates in food, as well as treats customers like they're doing him the favor of eating there. Kai carries a terrible smell around with him and can't get laid by white women nor Asian, even with cash in hand. The boss and him visit an out of reach African tribe called Zulu to secure some pigs at a cheap price and on the way back Kai decides to take advantage of a woman who just looks at first drunk. Yet, when she convulses and spits in his face he comes down with something that would play out quicker than AIDS. Kai contracts the organ-melting Ebola virus, yet with the exception of a high fever doesn't have the other symptoms as it turns out he's an incredibly rare carrier type. Soon enough things go for the sleaziest with rape, murder and then serving up the chopped up meat to patrons at the restaurant in the form of "African Buns" that look like hamburgers. After an outbreak of the Ebola virus at Kai's unsanitary hand, he heads back to Hong Kong with cash taken from the dead boss and a fresher smell. The sleaze continues when he picks up prostitutes and they contract the virus. With an outbreak on the rise, HK detectives--with the help of the little girl now grown up--start to back-track to find the man responsible for now bringing havoc to China.

There have been rapists and murderers in other films aplenty, though not many movies include the mentioned and then also have the guy feed human meat to unsuspecting humans, and then none that I know of that includes a real known virus--zombie films don't count--to spread his destructive behavior even further. It's an all time low for the human species, but an all time high for ways to single handedly reap devastation. The film has some shocks but one thing it lacks is suspense, as the camera focuses too much on Kai's character for his every move and even the element where the good guys attempt to stop him is delayed to see more carnage. Essentially what the audience gets is more of the bloody disgusting and less heroics that other films are dominant with when it comes to amoral subjects. The experience sails over the top due to the score card for the villain being nearly a shut out for the good guys.

If you're looking for sharp acting and crisp dialogue you won't find that here. The full uncut version I'm reviewing is for a Dutch DVD that includes terrible English subtitles that sometimes don't even make sense as some appear to be translated as is. Though the story isn't likely to get confusing. This has an extremely odd sense of humor at times, that ranges from somewhat light to pitch black. Wong makes some of the most ridiculous faces while doing his deplorable deeds. The events unfold more straightforward than "Untold Story." Wong plays a degenerate in both films, though he's more of just a perverted slacker than the goal-oriented, manipulative sociopath he was in "Untold Story." In both cases still a scumbag by any stretch. Though his performance in that film held more mysteriousness for what he'll do next and was more effectively creepy as such. What "Ebola Syndrome" did do better is it included a more consistent tone where the humor isn't entirely goofy to the point of distracting. This again plays on how much trust we give to people handling and serving our food to the point of making you give a few more glances at who's prepping your meal next time out. Not to mention it takes it further by making public places a hazard, where viruses and diseases are rampant and just a sneeze away from being infected and meeting a violent end.

Rating: 7/10

Director: Herman Yau (Taxi Hunter, The Untold Story)
Stars: Anthony Wong
Links: IMDB

The Dentist (1996)

You better brush 3x a day!

Dr. Alan Feinstone (Corbin Bernsen) is a dentist who's a perfectionist to the extreme as he finds fault with everything down to the finest, nitty-gritty detail. From the doc himself: "Nothing, no matter how good or how pure is free of decay. Once the decay gets started, it can only lead to rot, filth, corruption." He has a philosophy that he uses to reinforce his tainted world views. He's already riding the cusp of unreasonableness and losing all perspective, and then is completely pushed over the edge when the IRS is breathing down his neck and he sees his wife getting frisky with the pool guy. In the state of cracking up and getting delusional to everything being wrong or dirty around him, he turns to taking out his aggression on teeth: stinking, rotting, corroding teeth.

No one's safe here: from the little boy and his first dentist trip to those looking to push around the guy who controls all those potentially nasty contraptions laying around the dental office. Every worst dentistry fear and agitation is capitalized here: scrapping metal against teeth, hooks into gums, touchy-feely while under, yanking teeth without anesthesia, needles shoved into gums, a noisy drill splintering molars and not to mention the endless waits. God help this last one! The whole experience is to make one cringe and supply a state of creepiness as it also takes on the view point of the "villain," or just the antihero of breaking down barriers of modern day constructs. If you nodded to the latter, you might be as loopy and sadistic as him. Though almost everyone else around him does a did-he-just-do-that double take, but typically back down because it goes to show how much someone in a white doctor's coat and in a position of authority is trusted.

The creative teams behind "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond" take a different route with "The Dentist," as it's a horror film that dodges the jaded and supernatural and goes for the day-to-day in the suburbs just like the one you're probably living in now. The horror is often captured in broad daylight and in innocent looking rooms. Instead of having a deeply enriched story, this is more of a character study and as a result it's a little more gradually paced than other horror films, as it steadily escalates and goes for the little subtlelties that cause him to have a mental breakdown. Meanwhile two detectives are butting their nose in from investigating a dead animal at the neighbor's house where the dentist first got the taste of blood. And the people that rely on him can only make so many excuses when all the amoral dabblings start to pile up.

Corbin Bernsen plays Dr. Feinstone with such conviction and intensity that when I see him in other roles, it's hard to shake the obsessive and sadistic dentist persona he held down and made his own. The actors around him range from just getting the job done to somewhat effective, but then that's as far as the limited scope the role can take them. The cinematography can get experimental at times, adding to the film's strange atmosphere. This has a completely pitch black sense of humor, as most of the people getting it aren't exactly deserving, just incidental victims. Even after a number of viewings over the years, this still gets me yelling out loud and reeling back because when it shows the carnage it gets the loudest sound effect and sometimes the tightest shot you can imagine. This is a campy movie that manages to do a turn around from what it appears to be at first glance due to the creative but loopy effort put into it.

My very own dentist has admitted to catching this one. Not sure if he said he liked it though...

Rating: 7.5/10

Director: Brian Yuzna (Bride of Re-Animator)
Stars: Corbin Bernsen, Linda Hoffman, Ken Foree
Link: IMDB


Quotes:

Dr. Feinstone: "Decay is always busy, so we're always busy."

Dr. Feinstone: "You don't know what it's like. The discipline, the long hours, the lack of respect in a world that goes on ignoring dental hygiene."

Dr. Feinstone: "I am an instrument of perfection and hygiene--the enemy of decay and corruption...a dentist."