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Movie Recommendation of the Week
17 years ago
Some wonderful artists well worth your time:
Mulberry Street
Every year, the somewhat new Horrorfest film festival rolls around to theaters around the country. It's a collection of smaller budgeted (not quite indie, not quite studio backed, not quite direct-to-DVD) horror movies (usually 8), and while about half of the playlist is easy enough to write off as nothing special, there's always a couple that manage to be some damn good films.
This is not only one of those damn good films, it's one of the better horror movies of the last few years. Taking place in New York City over the course of about a day, a strange virus is beginning to spread. Legions of rats are breaking through the walls of the subway stations and other underground areas, and their bites cause a strange infection. After a while, the infection turns the person into some kind of strange rat creature, with sensitivity to sound and light and a craving for flesh. Soon the entire island is put into quarantine, and the infected and uninfected are left on the island to try and survive.
The bulk of all that, though, is mostly in the background, shown through various newsclips and the occasional gathering in the streets. The story focuses on a small group of people, all living together in an apartment building (and recently evicted), and how they try to make it through the night.
I'll admit, the premise and story sounds more than a little cliched. And it is. But the film realizes this; the overall movie is essentially an homage to Night of the Living Dead, and it does it well.
For starters, the script and acting are as solid as ever. These are ordinary people, ones that are easy to identify with and who make decisions that anyone would make. The collection in the apartment is a motley bunch; among others, there's an ex-boxer who's awaiting the return of his daughter from Iraq, his homosexual next door neighbor friend (who may have deeper feelings for him), a mother and her slightly sullen son, and two elderly men who live with each other and depend on each other. They're all nice folk, and you really want them all to make it (and feel terrible when one of them doesn't). The script is a strong one, and it flows very well throughout the entire piece (the ending may leave some a little miffed, but I think it works very well).
The effects and camera work has taken some criticism (the latter half of the movie has a lot of the handheld, shaky cam stuff. Not in any POV way, but more like, say, what was in The Bourne Ultimatum, just with a cheaper camera), though in the film's defense, it was shot on a very slim cost. The film has a budget of about $60,000; to put that in perspective, that's about a day's worth of filming for Iron Man. Thus, they couldn't afford anything fancy. But they work wonders with what they have, and leave plenty to your imagination (which, as I've always contended, can make things a lot scarier than anything they could've shown you).
Overall it's a great little movie, with some genuinely creepy scares, great characters, and a beautiful feel to it. Definitely one to check out.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHEU22Sq4pg
Every year, the somewhat new Horrorfest film festival rolls around to theaters around the country. It's a collection of smaller budgeted (not quite indie, not quite studio backed, not quite direct-to-DVD) horror movies (usually 8), and while about half of the playlist is easy enough to write off as nothing special, there's always a couple that manage to be some damn good films.
This is not only one of those damn good films, it's one of the better horror movies of the last few years. Taking place in New York City over the course of about a day, a strange virus is beginning to spread. Legions of rats are breaking through the walls of the subway stations and other underground areas, and their bites cause a strange infection. After a while, the infection turns the person into some kind of strange rat creature, with sensitivity to sound and light and a craving for flesh. Soon the entire island is put into quarantine, and the infected and uninfected are left on the island to try and survive.
The bulk of all that, though, is mostly in the background, shown through various newsclips and the occasional gathering in the streets. The story focuses on a small group of people, all living together in an apartment building (and recently evicted), and how they try to make it through the night.
I'll admit, the premise and story sounds more than a little cliched. And it is. But the film realizes this; the overall movie is essentially an homage to Night of the Living Dead, and it does it well.
For starters, the script and acting are as solid as ever. These are ordinary people, ones that are easy to identify with and who make decisions that anyone would make. The collection in the apartment is a motley bunch; among others, there's an ex-boxer who's awaiting the return of his daughter from Iraq, his homosexual next door neighbor friend (who may have deeper feelings for him), a mother and her slightly sullen son, and two elderly men who live with each other and depend on each other. They're all nice folk, and you really want them all to make it (and feel terrible when one of them doesn't). The script is a strong one, and it flows very well throughout the entire piece (the ending may leave some a little miffed, but I think it works very well).
The effects and camera work has taken some criticism (the latter half of the movie has a lot of the handheld, shaky cam stuff. Not in any POV way, but more like, say, what was in The Bourne Ultimatum, just with a cheaper camera), though in the film's defense, it was shot on a very slim cost. The film has a budget of about $60,000; to put that in perspective, that's about a day's worth of filming for Iron Man. Thus, they couldn't afford anything fancy. But they work wonders with what they have, and leave plenty to your imagination (which, as I've always contended, can make things a lot scarier than anything they could've shown you).
Overall it's a great little movie, with some genuinely creepy scares, great characters, and a beautiful feel to it. Definitely one to check out.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHEU22Sq4pg
*adds to 'must see' list*