One of the films I watched the most as a kid in the 80s was Supergirl. This obviously raised a few eyebrows at the time (ahem) but I was obsessed with this fantastic entry into the Superman franchise. It surprised me greatly to find out years later that the film was panned by some critics …
Continue reading Reading Tealeaves in Lake Tahoe- Why Supergirl (1984) is An Underrated Gem
A former concentration-camp doctor is left paralysed after a failed attempt on his own life. When a nurse is sought to assist in his day-to-day care, a young man steps forward who was one of his victims years earlier. If you need a warning as to how shocking this film is, John Waters calls In …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 54- In A Glass Cage (1986)
At the end of World War 2, the Japanese experiment on Chinese and Russian prisoners of war in Unit 731 to develop bacterial plagues. A historical film shot through the exploitation lens so graphic violence takes precedence over strict accuracy. It’s well shot, well acted and has great special effects. But with fare like this, …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 53- Man Behind The Sun (1988)
Thank God for IMDB- ‘A strange man known only as the "metal fetishist", who seems to have an insane compulsion to stick scrap metal into his body, is hit and possibly killed by a Japanese "salaryman", out for a drive with his girlfriend. The salaryman then notices that he is being slowly overtaken by some …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 49- Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
Superman III had some seriously big boots to fill. Superman: The Movie had a huge budget for its time (a cool $55 million), talented writers (including Mario Puzo) and a cast to die for (Marlon Brando, anyone?) An unknown actor, Christopher Reeve, was cast as the Man of Steel, which was a considerable risk. The …
Continue reading Computers, Comedy and Camp- Making the Case for Superman III (1983)
‘A former circus artist escapes from a mental hospital to rejoin his armless mother - the leader of a strange religious cult - and is forced to enact brutal murders in her name as he becomes "her arms".’ Talk about generic plots! This is an Alejandro Jodorowsky film, you know, the man who made El …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 43- Santa Sangre (1989)
More double-crossing now, with twins being perfectly suited for this. This David Cronenberg movie stars Jeremy Irons as twin gynaecologists with one twin, the narcissistic Elliot, seducing and then discarding some of the women who come to their practice with his more submissive and introverted twin Beverly taking over from Elliot in the relationship but …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 42- Dead Ringers (1988)
Claude Lanzmann’s nine-and-a-half-hour documentary on the Holocaust. Survivors, perpetrators and bystanders talk. The sites are shown as they are now. There is no archive footage of the camps in operation. This is the other side of Night and Fog. Resnais used the images so the atrocity could never be downplayed. Lanzmann refuses them. He makes …
‘13-year-old Christiane Felscherinow resides in Berlin with her mother. She starts abusing dangerous substances after she falls in love with Detlev, which causes her to steal from her house, sell all of her assets, and descend to abysmal levels.’ This reminds me of the darkest after-school special you'll ever see, but set in Berlin rather …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 36- Christiane F (1981)
Feature-length Studio Ghibli animated film about two orphaned siblings who struggle to survive and stay together during the final months of the Pacific War. This is more animation that's strictly not for kids. In fact, just like The Plague Dogs, this is a harrowing, haunting watch. The innocence of the children in the face of …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 33- Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
