Initially, I was going to review only one film for today's blog, until I realized just how short it was. A quick look through the new arrivals in the instant queue thankfully helped though, so today we get a double dose of reviews. And what luck, they're both foreign films!
First up is Un Chien Andalou, which translates to "An Andalusian Dog." It's a 1929 short film from director Luis Bunuel, who, over the years, would go on to win multiple Academy Awards in the category of "Best Foreign Film." He co-wrote the film with notable artist and all around weird guy Salvador Dali. Truth be told, I'm not quite sure I could describe the plot to you, but I can describe it as a strange mix of disturbing and fascinating sequences, including a now legendary scene with a woman's eyeball being slit open with a razor. There are lots of bits of symbolism that might take a bit to sink in upon further viewings, which I could recommend you do over time. The soundtrack to this, as short as it may be, is also very addicting in a disturbing sort of way. Overall, a bizarre short that may not make that much sense upon first glance, but it's worth watching nonetheless.
Now, let's fast forward 80+ years later and take a look at Hisss.
A man dying of brain cancer decides upon a last ditch effort in hopes of a cure. He plans to obtain the "Nagmani," something which can grant immortality so long as you get it from the snake god herself, Nagin. Genius that he is, he kidnaps Nagin's lover and hopes that it will lure her to him, so he may take it by force. Nagin soon shapeshifts into a beautiful woman and takes to the city in search of her mate, unintentionally aided by a police chief and his partner.
Hisss is the third full length film from director Jennifer Lynch, who previously directed the 1993 drama Boxing Helena. She's also the offspring of David Lynch, though looking at her previous works, one could make the argument that talent doesn't run in the family. This film's a bit of a mess, though I will say it wasn't nearly as terrible as some of the other films I've endured myself to watch. The makeup for Nagin, played decently well by former model Mallika Sherawat, is pretty good by Bollywood standards and her transformation scene from snake to woman is, dare I say, kind of cool looking. It also doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous to boot, looking like a more natural version of Kim Kardashian without the cartoonishly gigantic ass.
That might be where the praise ends though. The rest of the film is just plain bad, playing like a mixture of a bad Bollywood thriller, a crappy made-for-TV SyFy film, and an erotic horror. The acting from the rest of the cast is either static or just plain horrendous (I'm looking at you Jeff Doucette). It didn't help that most of the cast are playing barely there characters. Heck, I don't think I could name any of the characters' names without checking IMDB again. This also could be the first film where I've seen them play an advisory warning BEFORE the film begins, telling the audience that none of these people are real, none of the snakes in here are real, and the ones harmed are fake. I know it's a culture thing, but I just have to wonder if they really needed to keep that in the U.S. cut (I really am an ignorant American apparently). Speaking of the snakes, the CG in this is bad enough to make Asylum films look good in comparison. The film also alternates between the cast speaking Hindi and English, and it just feels odd, like they're not quite sure which audience they're trying to appeal to.
Overall, I can't really recommend this one. It wasn't offensively terrible, but there's just no payoff or even real reason to sit down and watch it. Well, perhaps if you had friends and drinks present. But even then, Hisss Ssstinksss.
Tomorrow, I'm hoping John Carpenter can redeem himself after the schlockfest that was VOTD with IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS.
No comments:
Post a Comment