Recently I started a thread asking for recommendations for Netflix viewing in the horror/thriller/suspense genres. Some really good suggestions came out of that, and I thought I might share some other gems that I happened to stumble across in my quest. Some spoilers may follow, I’ll try to keep them to a minimum.
Christmas Evil: based on the description of the movie and the similarity of title to the seminal slasher movie Black Christmas, I fully expected this to be a relatively formulaic and derivative slasher movie. Instead there is a thoughtful and harrowing depiction of the lead character’s madness and it’s hard not to sympathize with him. Unlike the omnipotent slashers like Michael Meyers and Jason Vorhees of later slasher films, this guy is just a very, very, disturbed human being trying to do what he really believes to be right (in his own twisted way). Really caught me by surprise.
The Night of the Hunter: Now this one was actually recommended to me in the other thread but for some reason it took me a while to get around to it. Robert Mitchum; creepy as hell! The biggest surprise in this one for me, however, was how freaking amazingly talented Lillian Gish was. I had watched a few silent films that she was in, but until I watched this film, I had no idea what a gifted actress she was. She has all of something like twenty minutes’ screen time at the end of the movie, yet she dominates the screen so much that her character is easily as memorable as Mitchum’s “preacher”.
Chained Heat 2: OK, so I’m probably gonna catch some flak for this one. But as I was watching this film, up until the ridiculous free-for-all gun battle finale, the first 3/4 of this movie is, IMHO, a better suspense/horror movie than Hostel 2. Watch them back-to-back and see if you don’t agree. Even the much-maligned Bridgette Neilsen puts in a pretty good performance and I can only lament that the aforementioned gun battle is in the movie; it’s kind of like how * The People Under the Stairs* has some great horrific moments but also has some of the most cheeseball 80s comic relief slapped into the viewer’s face at the worst times.
The Man From Earth: The description on Netflix gives away a plot point but it’s actually revealed early in the movie anyway, so here goes: what if, somehow, a Cro-Magnon had survived for over 14,000 years, learning and adapting to changing times as he went on, yet never aging and healing rapidly, he has decided it’s time to move on before people start asking questions. He decides to confess his situation to his current circle of friends, all university professors, and there is always the lingering question; is he for real? Is he mad? Is he playing a joke on them, since all of the information he presents could be learned from books anyway? The movie takes place in practically one room in a cabin and consists almost entirely of people talking to each other, so if you’re looking for action or suspense, you’ll be disappointed.
The Stendhal Syndrome: Now, funny thing is, I am actually a fan of most of Dario Argento’s films, but sometimes, especially with the giallo films, it’s easy to have too much of a good thing. So I put off watching this movie for a pretty long time. After watching it, I have to say it’s one of my favorite, maybe the favorite Argento film I’ve seen. The casting of his daughter Asia in the lead role was controversial for reasons that will become apparent to anyone who watches the film, but she really pulled off the performance like a true pro. And MAN, she can scream bloody freakin’ murder.
So how about it; any movies take you by surprise by how good they are?