Witching and Bitching!

Occasionally, in the dark and grisly world of horror, something catches my eye. Amid the generic nonsense, pointless remakes or unwanted sequels, something fresh and original grabs you like the boogeyman under your bed and won't let you go.

Sometimes it's a trailer, sometimes artwork, sometimes a mere concept or tagline is enough. For me, these films are often from mainland Europe. With that in mind, I present to you 'Witching and Bitching.' A film that appears to be as frantically, crazy as the title suggests.

 

The latest film from Spanish director Álex de la Iglesia, who is fast creating a reputation for himself in his homeland with his unique black comedies. If the trailer is anything to go by, this film will only serve to enhance it.

 

The trailer is one crazy image after the next, from Jesus with a shotgun to hands reaching from the toilet via flashing nuns. Delightfully madcap and deliciously shot, Las brujas de Zugarramurdi (Literally translated as 'The Witches of Zugarramurdi') tells the tale of a crew desperate man who steal 25,000 gold rings. Antonio (whose wife lets them down dramatically) and Jose, with his son in tow. When things go awry the group run make a break from the police only to run into a horde of crazed women with a taste for flesh. 

 

 

If the film is half as brilliant as the trailer suggests then it is rocketing toward the top of my "must watch" list.

Thank God for Spanish horror films. Viva Espana!

Europe vs USA - The Conclusion

Over my previous two posts I have compared the horror outputs of Europe and the USA with a view to finding which has been better for the years 2008/09. In this post I will attempt to reach the conclusion.

America made some excellent films in this time, though they are often clouded by shoddy remakes and sloppy sequels.

However, when the films were good they were very good. Some of the films stateside really were a breath of fresh air in what sometimes felt like a smothering smog of mediocrity. New writers, producers and directors proved that if they are given a chance they can create something good fun and entertaining, something you want to watch. The problem at the moment across the Atlantic is that these opportunities are often reserved for the privileged whose name will pull in the crowds, if the film itself doesn’t.

There is no question that Europe released some excellent horror films in that period and if I had looked at 2007 too then, I believe, they would have been run away winners.

Film makers have be given a little more freedom, a little more trust and my goodness the results show. Sequels and remakes are present in European cinema but they are in the minority with new, original ideas given preference.

There is no doubt, for me, that Europe is the winner of the contest. Not just because I believe their output to be better but, also because of a growing trend in American horror to remake European films.

Two of the best received films in the US were ‘Quarantine’ and ‘The Strangers’, remakes of Spanish chiller ‘Rec’ and French home invasion film ‘Them’ respectively. Although ‘The Strangers’ is very liberal in the telling of the story and moved away from the original, the premise and plot is essentially the same.

The worrying thing for Hollywood is that this trending looks set to continue with ‘Let Me In’ virtually lurking on our doorstep, it appears that Euro remakes may be the next big thing in American horror similar to the Asian influence we saw not too long ago.

America needs something new and different to get itself back on its perch in horror terms and remakes are not the way forward. They need action quickly, before the gap between themselves and Europe widens further.

Europe vs USA - Part Two

In my last post I outlined a competition between Europe and The US comparing their horror output for 2008/09.

Then we took a look at the best The USA had to offer us and in truth if you wade through the rubbish, the remake and the sequels there were many a good film to be found.

In this post we will take a look at Europe's finest during this period.

I have grown to become a big fan of European horror recently. I'm not sure at what point this new love grew but, it definitely has blossomed within me.

A lot of excellent horror came out of Europe in 2007 and the pressure must remain on the continent to keep it up and they certainly seem to have done that so far.

Excellent films spewed forth from right across the continent with an incredible diversity.

Britain gave us the gritty and all too realistic 'Eden Lake.' A tale of a young couple terrorised by violent youths give a worrying reflection of modern communities. Then from Norway came the crazy Nazi-zombie tale, 'Dead Snow.'

Del Toro pushed all the right buttons again as he helmed Spanish ghost story 'The Orphanage' and had us jumping and weeping like nobody else could whilst France did what it does best with the sometimes brutal Martyrs.

Without doubt though the stand out film came from an unlikely source in Sweden’s ‘Let the Right One In’. A dark, macabre coming-of-age tale of two teenage vampires that was as far from ‘Twilight’ as it could possibly step within the same genre.

And, that is where European horror’s strength lies, with the gloomy, sombre edge that doesn’t need to be sugar coated. It doesn’t need a optimistic finale where “all’s well that ends well” like many (though not all) American productions. There are rarely test audiences and focus groups to switch the conclusion.

There too lies the weakness. Some of Europe’s out point not only toes the line of what is acceptable but marches straight over and tramples all in its way with little to rein them in. So, whilst the best things to come out of Europe and undoubtedly excellent, the worst can often plumb the depths.

However, is it better than all that comes from the other side of the Atlantic? I’ll give my verdict in my next post.

Europe vs USA - Part One

Last week one of the world's most prestigious sporting events took place less than one hours drive from my front door. Every two years the finest golfers in Europe take on those from the US. This year Europe edged the USA in a nail biting finish but, what if it wasn't golf? What if it was a Euro-US horror challenge? I will, over the next three posts compare and contrast the horror output for both America and Europe and decide which are better at the craft.

I will take a look at a two year period and compare the output of the regions. I won't take into account 2010 because it can take some time for non-English language films to filter through, instead let's look at 2008/2009 and, in this post we will look at the output of the US in this period.

Lots of people aren't happy with Hollywood's output in the horror genre at the moment. It's not without good reason either. It's far too easier to argue the point against American horror. In recent years the US market has been over run by unoriginal ideas, overtired franchises and unwanted remakes almost to the point of saturation. ‘Halloween 2’ seemed to prove the point as a remake of an overtired franchise filled with unoriginal ideas.

However, to think this all American horror is about would be dismissive and disrespectful to those who toil for their craft to make decent original films. In fact, the US has put out some great horror in the past few years, even if most have not been promoted as much as some of the more well known bloated turkeys that the major studios have churned out.

Take, for example, ‘The Ruins’. For anybody who hasn't seen it I recommend that you do. It's smart, well paced and original, I was surprised at how few people had seen it and it is a bit of a diamond in the rough.

However, America's good horror films don't end with carnivorous, Mexican topiary. Nor is it exclusive to little known smaller productions. ‘Zombieland’ was a big budget film, backed by a major studio, starring famous actors and featuring a celebrated cameo.
Or, what about ‘Drag Me To Hell’? Sam Raimi’s tale of gypsy curses and retribution was an excellent film by a legend of the genre. It garnered some bad reviews but I have no idea why, the film was as fun and enjoyable as some of the best in recent memory.
Also add ‘Paranormal Activity’ to the pile. A film that was genuinely frightening, ‘Paranormal Activity’ will make you afraid to go to sleep and ensure you don’t enter a room with the light off. It’s truly chilling and, in my opinion, more terrifying than the father of handheld horror The Blair Witch Project.

So, although there are A LOT of bad quality rip offs coming out of the United States at the moment, there are some real gems amongst them that don’t deserve to be lumped together with hackneyed horror put out to make a quick buck or million and to live off existing names or gimmicks that an audience already feels attached to. But, are these titles too few and far between to compete with Europe?

In my next post we will look at Europe’s output.