A film producer survives a car crash but then finds that he was left aroused by the whole experience. He seeks others who are also turned on by these events. Back in 1996, the controversy surrounding this film made headlines in the UK, with calls to ban it before its release (the spirit of Mary …
A sullen teenager, Tom, is upset about his family's move from London to rural Devon. But then a dark family secret is revealed, changing everything. The War Zone is actor Tim Roth’s directorial debut, and he does a great job directing it. The fact that he chose a story involving such a thorny issue as …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 38- The War Zone (1999)
Precocious NYC youths act with a sense of impunity, as if there were no consequences for their actions. But when Jennie finds out Telly has passed HIV on to her, she tries to stop him before he does it again. This is like an after-school special on steroids. It’s grimy, documentary-like and features the kind …
LT (Harvey Keitel) is a corrupt New York cop who is addicted to drugs and gambling. He tries to redeem himself whilst investigating the r*pe of a nun. I remember going to see this with a friend on its original release. Except that the friend in question was a born-again Christian. It was quite the …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 30- Bad Lieutenant (1992)
Kerry, on the surface, appears to be a normal, happy 10-year-old girl. But it's shown that her home life is massively dysfunctional with her parents having an extremely volatile relationship. Even more shocking than that is that they are abusing her. On studying the films on Taste of Cinema’s Shocking Films list, I was waiting …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 27- No Child of Mine (1997)
In a working-class London neighbourhood, Janet, a widow, has welcomed relatives into her home. In addition to her elderly mother, Kath and her son, Billy, Janet lives with her daughter, Valerie and Valerie's abusive, alcoholic husband, Ray. This mix proves explosive. I thought my family was dysfunctional. Nil By Mouth is brutal, violent and utterly …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 25- Nil By Mouth (1997)
The Heke family are Maori and live in modern-day Auckland, New Zealand. The family is led by the violent, fiercely patriarchal Jake. I first saw Once Were Warriors when I was living in Australia and it really opened my eyes! It unflinchingly deals with such weighty topics as domestic violence, dole culture, child abuse, alcoholism …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 24- Once Were Warriors (1994)
How the hell do I describe this film? Someone who looks like Leatherface stabs themself to death in the Evil Dead cabin. After this, we witness the birth of Mother Earth and the Son of Earth who then ‘journey across a dying world’ apparently. This scungy, lo-fi work by E. Elias Merhige features unknown actors …
In 1950s rural Idaho, eight-year-old Seth Dove lives at a lonely gas station with his brittle mother and withdrawn father. After a vile prank on the English widow next door, Dolphin Blue, he decides she is a vampire. Children start to vanish. Then his brother Cameron comes home from the Pacific, where he worked on …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 18- The Reflecting Skin (1990)
From IMDB- ‘A jazz musician who suspects his wife of infidelity gets framed for her murder. However, after he is sent to prison, he changes his identity and leads a new life as a car mechanic.’ This is a David Lynch movie and so expect the unexpected. Sometimes even trying to write a synopsis for …
Continue reading Shocking Cinema- Day 5- Lost Highway (1997)
