Tagarchief: FilmDungeon

Dungeon Classics #19: Desperado

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Desperado (1995, USA | Mexico)

Director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida
Running Time: 104 mins.

He not only plays, he can shoot too… Antonio Banderas is the mariachi turned gunslinger in this sequel to Texan filmmaker Robert Rodriquez’s 1992 debut El Mariachi. Rather than the 7.000 dollars he had for his debut film, he now had 7 million bucks and spent the money well on some serious acting talent and loads of shootouts and explosions. Banderas is full of rage and passion as the tortured Mariachi; there is so much fire in his performance. And he has great chemistry with Hayek’s touching bookstore owner Carolina. Rodriquez also added some comedic talent to the supporting cast, like Steve Buscemi who’s unforgettable in the movie’s perfect opening scene. Rodriquez completed his ‘Mexico’ trilogy in 2003 with Once Upon a Time in Mexico, but this one is the most fun. A year later, Rodriquez and many cast members (Cheech Marin, Salma Hayek, Quentin Tarantino and Danny Trejo) came together again for From Dusk Till Dawn.

 

 

 

Dungeon Classics #18: Meet the Feebles

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Meet the Feebles (1989, New Zealand)

Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Danny Mulheron, Donna Akersten, Stuart Devenie
Running Time: 97 mins.

Before he got into serious filmmaking with Heavenly Creatures and The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson was just having fun in New Zealand. His second feature film after Bad Taste is this weird puppet movie which is filled with sex, violence, dark twisted humor and thick Kiwi accents. The Feebles is a variety show starring the hysteric Heidi the Hippo. Behind the scenes, dark things are going on. Bletch the Walrus, who runs the show, is also an exploitative gangster dealing drugs and cheating on his girlfriend Heidi. Trevor the Rat is shooting puppet porn in the basement and attempts to drug and rape one of the dancers (a dog). And a paparazzi fly is constantly hanging out in the toilet eating shit and making up lies about the cast members. As can be expected from Jackson at this point in his career; there are plenty of body fluids flying around. Obviously it’s not for all tastes, but if you are curious about the legendary director’s early stuff, look no further.

Dungeon Classics #17: Love and a .45

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

FilmDungeon’s Chief Editor JK sorts through the Dungeon’s DVD-collection to look for old cult favorites….

Love and a .45 (1994, USA)

Director: C.M. Talkington
Cast: Gil Bellows, Renée Zellweger, Rory Cochrane
Running Time: 101 mins.

This little known nugget is written and directed by C.M. Talkington, who did little else in his career. A shame really, because this movie is very enjoyable. It reminds me a lot of True Romance which was released a year earlier. The story is about two lovers played by Gil Bellows and Renée Zellweger who are leading a happy life in a trailer home. Watty Watts (Bellows) robs convenience stores for a living. This goes well until his crazy partner Billy Mack Black (Rory Cochrane) kills a girl during a heist. After killing two rangers in self defense, the couple takes off to Mexico pursued by the psychopathic Billy Mack and two other homicidal maniacs who Watty Watts borrowed money from. It’s a wild ride full of humor, violence and great music. Look out for the terrific Jeffrey Combs in a non-horror role and Peter Fonda as a hippie.

Scanners

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld

Director: David Cronenberg
Written by: David Cronenberg
Cast: Stephen Lack, Jennifer O’Neill, Patrick McGoohan, Michael Ironside

Year / Country: 1981, Canada
Running Time: 103 mins.

Master of body horror David Cronenberg, moves into the mental domain with this masterful movie. Scanners are telepathic humans who pick up every thought in their surroundings and can ‘scan’ other people.

The drifter Cameron Vale (Stephen Lack) is a scanner who isn’t aware of his condition. He is a victim of it. But under the guidance of scientist Dr. Paul Ruth (Patrick McGoohan) – head of the scanner programme of security company ConSec – he learns to use his gift.

ConSec, like the United States army has done, uses these ‘telepathic curiosities’ to gather information on potential enemies. It goes wrong however, when the psychopathic super-scanner Darryl Revok (a superb Michael Ironside) starts an underground movement of scanners. And they murder anybody who won’t join them on their mission to conquer the world…

Ruth enlists the yet unaffiliated Vale to help him stop the telepathic maniac Revok. Together with Kim Obrist (Jennifer O’Neill), ‘good’ scanner Vale meets on his journey, he goes after Revok and a clash of powerful minds ensues.

Scanners shows once again why Cronenberg is one of the most skillful directors working in this genre. The way he is able to convey a sense of unease and danger with little means is remarkable. And Scanners – which allegedly had a troublesome production history – belongs to his finest works. With brilliant sound design and an extremely memorable ending.

Rating:

Biography: David Cronenberg (1943, Toronto), also known as the King of Venereal Horror or the Baron of Blood, grew up in Toronto. His father was a journalist and his mother a piano player. Cronenberg graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in literature after switching from the science department. He then turned to filmmaking and reached a cult status with a few early horror features including Shivers and Rabid. He rapidly became a very popular genre filmmaker and eventually a true auteur, making profound statements on modern humanity and ever-changing society.

Filmography (a selection): Transfer (1966, short) / Stereo (1969) / Shivers (1975) / Rabid (1977) / Fast Company (1979) / The Brood (1979) / Scanners (1981) / The Dead Zone (1983) / The Fly (1986) / Dead Ringers (1988) / Naked Lunch (1991) / Crash (1996) / eXistenZ (1999) / Spider (2002) / A History of Violence (2005) / Eastern Promises (2007) / A Dangerous Method (2011) / Cosmopolis (2012), Crimes of the Future (2022)