Nightcrawler (2014)

One thing that I always hear in the underground horror community is "if you want to see true horror, watch the news".  We're all people and we all have that morbid curiosity.  When ever we see a car crash on the highway, we can't help put stare and the metal carnage.  And as long as we have those thoughts, there is always going to be people to document those events.  And these people are known in the media inner circle as Nightcrawlers.  

I've grown up watching Jake Gyllenhaal evolve from film to film.  After watching "Prisoners" with Hugh Jackman, from a a couple of years ago, it is great to see Gyllenhaal doing films with a darker tone, like "Nightcrawler".  Seeing him in films like "Donnie Darko" and "Zodiac", it's always a treat to see him bring those characters to the screen.  When I saw the TV spot for "Nightcrawler", I knew this is something I can't miss.

"Nightcrawler" takes place in the city of Downtown LA.  We meet Louis Bloom (Gyllenhall), a sociopath who is trying to make a quick buck by stealing whatever he can, and then sells them off.  While driving back home, he notices a car crash in the side of the freeway.  He pulls over and we see two CHP officers trying to pull a lady out of a burning car.  As CHP are doing their job, we a see a van pull up and a camera crew pops out to film the accident.  After the rescue, Louis goes up to one of the camera crew, Joe (Bill Paxton), and asks him about the work he does.  Joe tells Louis all about nightcrawling.  "If it bleeds, it leads", this pretty much sums up about this career.  When Louis sees the money that can be made from this, he goes out and gets himself a camcorder and a police scanner.  His first night Nightcrawling was a total disaster.  Whenever he tries to record any police activity, he always gets chased off by cop.  Then finally, Louis was able to get some footage when he arrived at a crime scene, where someone got shot during a carjacking.  He was able to sell the footage to Nina (Rene Russo), who manages all footage in the late shift, for Channel 6.  Louis has now found his calling in nightcrawling.  So now he begins to start his own news video company.  He hires poor bloke by the name of Rick, to be his assistant.  Sadly, Rick has no idea what Louis is going to put him through.  And what Louis is paying him, it's totally not worth it.  Whenever there's a major incident heard on the police scanner, Louis tries to get there before Joe and his Mayhem Video crew get there first.  And whenever that happens, he takes it out on Rick.  Desperate to capture any footage or a certain shot, Louis would do anything to have the best shots and angles.  The closer he can get into the incident, the more the news stations will pay.  And because of this, Louis is able to get Nina to pay him what ever he wants for the footage.  And with all the money he's making, Louis is now able to buy better equipment and a faster car.  As each day goes by, Louis now has a better understanding of the nightcrawling and tv news business.   And then of course the way he's able to take advantage of people in desperate situations.  Like with Nina.  Louis found out about her contract with the station.  He knew that his videos were giving the station high ratings, so he was able to get certain "demands" from her for him to be exclusive to Channel 6.  Then we got Rick.  A man who has nowhere to live, only trying to make some cash.  Only for Louis to put him dangerous and immoral situations.  During the last scenes, we see what little care Louis has for human life.  That dialogue that Louis tells Rick pretty much sums up what kind of chone Louis is.  The harm that Louis is willing to put people through, just to capture a curtain shot on video is just shameful.

I would love to get in more details about the ending, but that is for you to see for yourself.  If there's a updated version of the dictionary, and you look up "sociopath", chances are you might see a picture of Louis Bloom's face.  If someone has already said this, I apologize,  But that's the best way I can describe Gyllenhaal's performance.  This movie is very dark (and not because the scenes were shot at night), and shows the ugly side of the media.  If people didn't care for such violent images while watching the news, then people like Louis Bloom wouldn't have a job.  But because ratings show that people actually tune in for those segments, then these televised carnage will be continued to be shown.  Anyhoo, the movie was great.  As much as I despise the character, I really enjoyed Gyllenhaal's performance.  The way Dan Gilroy was able to capture Los Angeles at night was fantastic.  I also enjoyed the script.  When Gyllenhaal says "what if my problem isn't that I don't understand people, but that I don't like them".  When I heard that line, I was like "holy shit!"  Just as Jerry Janda (writer/star of Painkiller) said, "The greatest performance as a sociopath ever?".  And of course Riz Ahmed.  I just felt so bad for his Rick character.  So if you enjoy Jake Gyllenhaal's more darker performance, then check out "Nightcrawler".  That ending makes it worth it, too.

Berberian Sound Studio (2012)

This movie caught my interest when I heard that it takes place during a making of a Italian giallo.  Being a fan of Dario Argento, I had to seek this out.  I do have to say that this is a strange film.  Some may not like it, others will find it interesting.  There were times where I get lost in the story, but just seeing things get crazier for the main character, just makes me want to see what happens next.

We are introduce to Gilderoy, a middle-age bloke who took a job in a Italian horror flick, working as a sound engineer.  When Gilderoy see's what film he's working on, he begins to feel uncomfortable.  Also some of the actress doing the dubs are also not big fans of the film, either.  Producer Francesco Coraggio doesn't makes things easy for his staff.  When Gilderoy tries to get his flight ticket reimbursed, Francesco always gives him excuses.  Or when a actress has a scene where she screams, he makes them do it over and over again.  By the end of the second act, things do start to get weird for Gilderoy.  First, someone tries to break into his room.  Then later someone tries to attack him in his sleep.  By the end of the film, you start to wonder what was this movie all about.

Me being a fan of Italian horror, behind the scene stuff, and sound recording, I found this movie to be interesting.  Of course I wasn't really that big on the third act.  I felt like there could have been more.  The atmosphere was great.  It gave really creepy vibe.  Very similar films by Bava and Argento. The average movie goer may not fancy this film a lot.  But if you're interested in seeing how dubbing and sound effects were done back in the days, then you might find it fascinating.  It may not be the greatest horror/psycho-thriller, but it was a decent flick.

Bajo La Sal (2008)

I really need to start checking out some thrillers from Mexico.  Especially the newer one.  Yesterday I checked out a movie called "Bajo La Sal" (Under the Salt) on Netflix.  This was directed by Mario Munoz and was released by Warner Bros. Mexico.  I have to say, it did not disappoint.

A body is found at a salt mine, which the police have linked it to one of four girls who have been missing at the town of Santa Rosa de la Sal.  Jefe Salazar brings in Comandante Truijillo to help him out with the investigation.  We also meet Victor.  A troubled youth that works at his father's mortuary.  He also creates stop-motion slasher films, which looks really cool.  After the death of his mother, Victor has been having problems at school and his father, who is also dealing with the death of his wife (Victor's mom).  While returning from school, he meets Truijillo and Salazar at the mortuary, who brought the corpse to see if they can find the identity.  Truijillo finds a tattoo, which the police might think it's someone who works at the town's brothel.  Later the body was identified by the girl's boss/pimp.  It seems that Victor is familiar with the girl as he becomes interested in the investigation.  There's also another person who is familiar with the dead girl, named Isabel, who Victor takes a fancy in.  Meanwhile, Truijillo and Salazar go to the home of the dead girl to find some clues.  Truijillo finds a book from the school library and a note.  Since then, Truijillo finds out that there is a link between the town's school and the missing girls.  The problem is that he's having trouble since the old school records were burnt during a fire.  After that, the suspense starts to get bigger as we find out the school's backstory and the interaction between Victor and Isabel.  Also when the killer is reveled 

"Bajo La Sal" is very well made with some good production, great acting, and a awesome soundtrack.  This is probably the best film to come out of Mexico.  If you're interested in watching a foreign thriller, totally check out "Bajo La Sal".  It should be streaming on Netflix.

Antibodies (2005)

I have to admit, when I read about this on Rue Morgue, it almost sound just like "Silence of the Lamb".  But being a fan of psycho-thrillers, I had to check it out.  And I have to say, it's better than I expected.

The movie is about a small town cop name Michael Martens, who lives in the country side of Germany.  The town folks caught news that police have caught killer who had murdered a little girl in their town.  So Michael is sent to the big city to interrogate serial killer Gabriel Engel, who had admitted to killing 12 boys.

Gabriel Engel is one sick individual.  Most of his victims are 13 yr old boys.  He paints portraits with his victims blood.  And in one scene, he gets turned on when talking about his killings.  He also plays mind games, which upsets the police department.

When Michael and Gabriel meet, Gabriel sets some rules for Michael if he expects him to get a answer.  Gabriel wants to know every detail about Michael's personal life.  But Michael refuses to play his game.  He asks Engel if he killed the little girl, but Engel denies it.  Gabriel then tries to give Michael some clues of who murderer was.

Back home, Michael dealing with some problems with his marriage and his son, who happens to be showing signs of a serial killer.  Michael is also haunted of the memories of when he found the dead body.  He's hoping to find some closure when he knows the killer has been captured.  He goes into Gabriel's apartment and found the underwear that belonged to the dead girl.  While the lab was looking for semen samples, Michael becomes shocked when he finds out about the result.

I really have to say that the ending was really heart-bumping.  A great performance by Andre Hennicke.  And the script by director Christian Alvert was greet, too.  Totally recommended if you're a fan of psycho-thrillers.  Believe me, this will have you glued to the screen.

Pontypool (2008)

One of the problems in today's horror genre, is that it's really hard to come with something original and horrifying (and I'm not talking about non-stop gore).  The problem with pg-13 horror is that the script is pretty terrible.  And the problem with American remakes of well-praised foreign films is that it looses it's feel.
Pontypool was really refreshing.  I about this flick on Rue Morgue Magazine and caught my interest.  This was based on a novel by Tony Burgess (who also did the script).  And was directed by Bruce McDonald, who did an amazing job with bringing that atmosphere.
The movie is about Grant Mazzy (played by Stephen McHattie), who is a radio DJ with some conservative views.  When there was reports of people attacking a hospital, Grant, his producer, Sydney and engineer, Laurel-Ann are stuck in station when a message interrupted their signal, telling the people in Pontypool to stay inside.  All of a sudden, the situation in Pontypool is making news around the World.  A reporter from BBC news calls the radio station to find out what's the situation.  Sadly, Grant and the crew don't know what's going on.  Ken, who does the traffic report, tells in details of what is happening outside.  In the end, the crew find out what they are dealing with, when the radio station is under attack.
Now this isn't a zombie movie.  It's more like, as Umberto Lenzi would say, "infected people".  Well, it's not a virus that's going around, it's more of a word that makes people go crazy.  It's really unique, which is why I found this flick interesting.  The build up is great.  In the first half, they are trying to figure out what's going on.  In the second half, that is when all hell brakes loose.  The thought of being stuck somewhere, not knowing what the hell is going on, can be frightening.  Especially when you're not out there with your love ones.
The acting is well done.  The suspense was great.  There isn't really any gore.  The closest is when one of the crew gets infected.  Pontypool is perfect movie if you want something smart and well executed.

Purchase "Pontypool" Here