The Lucid Nightmare: spanish

Showing posts with label spanish. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

VIDEO REVIEW: The Mistresses of Dr. Jekyll

VIDEO REVIEW: The Awful Dr. Orlof

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

VIDEO REVIEW: Return of the Evil Dead

Friday, January 29, 2016

VIDEO REVIEW: The Last Man On Earth

Thursday, January 28, 2016

VIDEO REVIEW: Night Of The Devils

Thursday, October 29, 2015

VIDEO REVIEW: Tombs Of The Blind Dead

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Monday, August 27, 2012

Juan of the Dead
Director: Alejandro Brugues
Year 2011

Juan of the Dead is a fantastically entertaining Cuban zombie film that has more than enough character and charisma to satisfy even the most jaded of genre viewers. With a fresh location, unique style, and an interesting cultural twist, the movie saturates its audience in a world that has rarely been showcased in its native land, let alone in a horror/comedy hybrid form. The end result is an outstanding tongue and cheek zombie flick that oozes with personality and pays enough homages to the originators and prolific filmmakers of the genre to garner it a respectable place among its flesh-eating predecessors. Juan of the Dead is truly a gem of a movie, so let’s get this review train rolling and introduce the new badass of horror cinema, Juan!

The film follows a man by the name of Juan, a despicable and opportunistic slacker who slowly comes to realize that his hometown of Havana is being taken over by a zombie uprising. Taking every opportunity that he can in benefiting from this new world order, Juan enlists a motley crew of neighbors to form a “for hire” zombie killing squad, one that advertises that they will kill infected loved ones for you, but for a price. As business begins to boom, the crew quickly comes to realize that in a world where everything has turned to shit, nothing goes exactly as planned. Job after job, the group finds out that even though they are good at taking out zombies, they seem to have a serious problem in keeping their employers alive long enough to be paid. With the numbers of walking corpses steadily rising within the city limits and the sightings of survivors dwindling with each passing day, Juan and company must make a brash decision. Should they stay in a country that is in their blood even though it is now overrun with hordes of undead, or should they make for the ocean and chance the world outside? Juan of the Dead is profoundly riveting and substantially ridiculous, making for an interesting balance that entertains with exceptional quality. Go Juan, Go!

Alexis Diaz de Villegas plays the titular character of Juan, the wily zombie killer who has a soft spot for conning people, saving children, and hooking up with loose women. Juan is unlike any character that has been depicted on the screen, because even though he is presented as the stereotypical slacker with no direction in life, he still manages to come up with some rather elaborate schemes and a plethora of inventive plans in order to bring in the green and live out a fulfilled life in his mind. Alexis does a great job with the character as he makes this despicable human being into a sympathetic and heartfelt lead. His charisma is also noteworthy, because it is not of the stereotypical ilk that we’re used to. Instead, Alexis allows the quirky tendencies of his character to define his charismatic nature. In replace of the cocky sure-headed and attractive hero, we get a man who is simply a survivor. He is neither swashbuckling nor notable in appearance, but rather down trotted, odd, and highly natural in his presentation. The humble representation by Alexis allows for both Juan and Cuba to really shine, making for an intimate portrayal of one man struggling to find his place within a country that he both clashes with but inherently is apart of and deep down loves despite its flaws and problems.

The rest of the cast is filled out by an outrageous ensemble of obscure characters that really inject a healthy dose of life into the proceedings. Jorge Molina takes on the role of Juan’s best friend Lazaro, an equally despicable miscreant who wears his pervert heart on his sleeve. The relationship that he and Juan share is rather heartwarming, though highly dysfunctional, and the concept of them being partners through thick and thin is highly effective through all the wacky adventures they get themselves in. Andrea Duro and Andros Perugorria take on the roles of Juan and Lazaro’s children, Camila being Juan’s only daughter and Vladi California being Lazaro’s only son. The chemistry that Andrea and Andros have with their parents and each other is another heartwarming aspect of the film. Though Andrea is estranged from her father, she still has a soft spot for his antics and mischievous scheming, while California on the other hand looks to follow in his father’s footsteps just more smoothly. Both actors do a superb job with their characters, giving an extra layer to the film’s narrative that really keeps the larger than life aspects of the movie in check and grounded.

Lastly another set of key players within this wacky group of zombie fighters is La China and El Primo, performed by Jazz Vila and Eliecer Ramirez. La China’s character is the local drag queen who doesn’t take shit from anybody while El Primo is the meat-head muscle of their duo. The dynamics between the two characters are ridiculously entertaining; with the highlight being that El Primo must be blindfolded during most of the zombie killing because he faints at the slightest sight of blood. All in all, the entire cast does an amazing job with the individual nuances of their characters and the interactions between the diverse cast is priceless and full of outstanding moments.

Aside from the actors bringing the film to life, Juan of the Dead is also vividly depicted by the visual splendor of the city of Havana and the Cuban landscape, which are both idyllic in their beautiful coastal vistas and devastating their raw and decaying urban environments. The film also takes a great deal of pride in showcasing the good and bad of the region, while at the same time allowing the personality of the countries people and heritage to engross the film’s narrative in a seamless progression that exudes a unique atmosphere for this cinematic gem. The humble locales and the variety of its denizens brings a fresh take on the genre, one that gives the story told within this movie a pulse and life of its own. It’s both unsettling and fascinating to be able to somewhat explore the nooks and crannies of this secluded nation amidst a fictional zombie apocalypse, and the metaphorical parallels that the filmmakers have set up with the advent of fusing societal collapse with the state of the country is genuinely felt and wholly appreciated by this cinema fan.

Of course it’s not just all impressive scope and artistic merit with this film. There is also a heavy dose of fun to be had in the form of outstanding comedic moments, throngs of walking ravenous corpses, and a slew of imaginative ways to kill these undead bastards. The tongue and cheek nature of this film thrives during these instances, where we really get to see how the zombie killers do their massacring. Each member of the team has their unique way of dealing out death, and each is as impressively outrageous as the next. My favorite weapon of choice has to be Juan’s oversized boat oar which seems to fit his personality to perfection. When it comes to actually displaying these bloody kills, the film doesn’t shy away from the goriness of the moment but relishes in them, often in absurd and entertaining ways. The name of the game in this movie is fun, and that’s what you get with the overwhelming combination of creative kills, inspired weapons, a gung-ho cast, and a rather impressive array of zombie effects for the size of the production’s budget. For being something of a first for Cuban genre cinema, Juan of the Dead really packs a punch and delivers the goods.

Juan of the Dead goes above and beyond the call of duty for a low budget production, as it brings a great deal of heart into its character driven story. Not only that, but the filmmakers were obviously quite confident in the obscure energy of its cast of characters, seeing as they are the lifeblood that keeps this narrative steaming along at a tremendous pace. Alexis Diaz de Villegas turns out a life-changing performance as Juan, while the rest of the cast gives it their all in making this post-apocalyptic world as alive and outrageous as humanly possible. Every interaction that the cast shares with each other is bursting with energy and busting at the seams with an unexpected flair that just jolts the narrative like a defibrillator to the heart.

Juxtaposed against the wacky nature of the film is the somber presentation of a society which has begun to decay from the inside out as its citizens quickly succumb to devouring each other within its fallen state. The added depth to which Alejandro Brugues decides to tell his zombie tale harkens back to the originator of the thinking man’s zombie film George A. Romero and his metaphorical laced series of dead-centric films. Brugues takes this concept and rolls with it, adding his own flavor and comedic sensibility which morphs this formula into a stylistic beast that has so much to say and says it magnificently. As for the visuals of this low budget wonder, they are outstandingly conceptualized and highly satisfying as they depict the ethereal atmosphere of Havana against the blood drenched savagery of each and every zombie kill. If you’re looking for a zombie movie that spices up the tried and true zombie formula, while emphatically making a name for itself within the genre, then look no further because Juan of the Dead is your man. This movie is…..

Who you gonna call? Zombie Busters!

Check out these cool cats.

Well this is awkward.

Back you demon! BACK!

Dude... What the shit?!?! America sucks!

Despite all his rage Juan is still just a rat in a cage.

In the words of Army of Darkness' skeleton soldier, "Let's get the hell out of here!"

It's like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean, but creepier.

Juan's about to knock this dude's head clear off.

California, you're just too cool for school.

It's just another one of those lazy days..... lazy zombie days.

How come everyone else got cool new clothes, but I'm stuck in this shitty wife beater?

Well that's one hell of a gaggle of zombies.

Awwwww!

The cricket game quickly went to shit.

Who wants to do some extreme row boating?!?!?! With nunchucks?!?!?!

Where we're going we don't need roads.

Weeeeeeee!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

REVIEW: Hell of the Living Dead

Hell of the Living Dead
Director: Bruno Mattei
Year 1980

Hell of the Living Dead, AKA Virus, is an Italian zombie film that puts the splat in splatter. Lensed by the trash cinema icon Bruno Mattei, the movie showcases an extreme amount of grit and grim that really captures the grotesque nature of the genre. With its strange cast of characters and its penchant for spilling blood, Hell of the Living Dead is a gory outing that is sure to capture the attention of any lover of Italian horror and anyone who appreciates a good zombie yarn. This movie is Euro-trash cinema at its finest.

The film follows an elite group of commandos and a news reporter couple as they deal with the recent uprising of a zombie apocalypse. Lost in the jungles of New Guinea and surrounded by hundreds of flesh-eating monsters, the motley crew of survivors must make it back to civilization without being eaten first, but with the numbers of the undead increasing, it becomes perfectly clear that most of them, if any, will not make it out alive. With an overabundance of gore and a strong atmosphere of sleaze, Hell of the Living Dead is a zombie apocalypse flick that truly makes you want to take a shower after viewing. Let’s get this disgusting review over with and bring on the walking corpses.

Margit Evelyn Newton stars as Lia Rousseau a news-reporter who has just had the biggest story in the history of mankind land right in her lap, the only problem is that the story just might be the death of her. The character of Lia is a tricky one, because she bounces back and forth between the empowered female figure of the film to being reduced to nothing more than eye candy and stereotypical damsel in distress material. Margit does a good job with both aspects of the role, making for a heroine that is both inspiring and embarrassing. In retrospect, the embarrassing portions of the film aren’t as much of a negative as you might think because after all this is an Italian 80’s splatter film so the silly segments that have our lead actress being forced to strip down to her birthday suit, paint her body in strange and convenient symbols, and go native in order to infiltrate a local tribe, isn’t as shocking as it might be in any other genre or in any other time period of filmmaking. The sleaze factor of the film is inevitable, especially if you’re dealing with Bruno Mattei, and Margit does a great job with the different scenarios that she is given and she’s a trooper for going through some of this wacky and zany ass shit, with a straight face.

The rest of the news team consists of actor Gabriel Renom, AKA The Mustache, as Pierre the faithful cameraman and boyfriend of Lia. Gabriel does an acceptable job with the role, but to tell you the truth I don’t really remember much that he did in the film other than look fabulous with that badass mustache. That’s good enough for me! As for the cast of commandos, Jose Gras as Lt. Mike London leads the team, while Franco Garofalo as Zantoro and Josep Lluis Fonoll as Osborne take up the roles of the funny ones of the crew, leaving Selan Karay as Vincent to round out the team. Each of the team members bring a certain individual aspect to their combined unit, but the most outstanding and memorable of the bunch is Franco Garofalo as Zantoro. The man is a nut-job as he plays a crazy person for a good majority of the film. One of the most entertaining aspects of the movie was to see what insane off the wall thing he was going to do next. All in all, the entire cast of characters do an amazing job in bringing a bit of life to the proceedings from the rather straight forward portrayals to the bombastic and out of control ones.

Even though this is a low budget Italian zombie film, which is not as accomplished and respectable as George Romero’s efforts or as haunting as Lucio Fulci’s Zombie, Hell of the Living Dead still manages to bring some memorable moments to the forefront while delivering an atmosphere that is often at times disturbing. The budget constraints and rundown locations that director Bruno Mattei chose to film in, does wonders for the overall look and feel of the production. Things just seem creepy, in that off putting and unusual sort of way and you can’t help but feel a certain sensation of disgust over all that is happening on screen. From the ramshackled and abandoned houses, to the desolate jungle settings, to the empty and cold location of the industrial power plant, things just seem a little off in this zombie world and it’s not because the dead are starting to rise and devour the living. There is an untraceable atmosphere to Hell of the Living Dead that you really can’t place your finger on, but it works wonders on delivery a mysterious quality to the production.

With the ground work set in presenting a strangely obscure setting for the zombie apocalypse, Bruno Mattei then lets the blood fly with a number of engaging and disturbing zombie stand offs where the entire cast must take on throng after throng of undead foes, which slowly begin to whittle down the numbers of their ranks. The effects work in these blood inducing moments are respectable in that low budget sort of way, and the simplicity of their designs actually add to the morbid nature of the world that is created for within the movie. There is nothing too over the top or gut-wrenching in the film, just a steady stream of horrific moments that signify the severity of the situation for all that are trying to survive. We do get a number of zombie munching goodness, but nothing as graphic as we have seen in Romero’s series of films. Still this movie manages to thrive on its low budget nature as an air of disgust permeates the entire feel of the production, making for a zombie movie that is quite literally decaying and decrepit. Sounds like a great recipe for a horrifically good time. Count me in!

Hell of the Living Dead is a sensationally grim and foreboding zombie film that relies on its humble origins and unsettling nature to set the stage for its mournful tale. With a cast of interesting actors and an added bit of sleaze and madcap fun, the film creates an exceptionally entertaining yarn that fulfills a very niche group for movie fans that will just eat this kind of morbid shit up. Margit Evelyn Newton and Franco Garofalo especially make some rather memorable performances as Margit shows a double-edged portrayal of a femme fatale that sometimes dips into exploitation fare while Franco basically gives us a psychopathic hero to root for.

Aside from the cast’s contributions to the film, the overall look of the movie is decrepit to say the least, focusing much of its time within rundown shanties, abandoned homes, and isolated factories. The obscure locations are a godsend to the production, allowing the film to thrive in the inhospitable locales and absorb the dying nature of it all. With the atmosphere established by these unique surroundings, it allows the filmmakers to ease up a bit on the graphic nature of the zombies, while at the same time giving us a respectable amount of gut-munching and flesh-ripping to please our gore loving appetites. With this all said, Hell of the Living Dead isn’t the best example of the genre, but it does manage to etch out a little memorable pocket of the zombie world for itself, and the foreboding atmosphere of the movie is quite intoxicating and devilishly entertaining. If you’re looking for a Euro-trash fix that has plenty of zombies and a respectable amount of sleaze and despair, then look no further than this bad boy. Hell of the Living Dead is…..