Sisters

Year: 1973
Director: Brian De Palma
Writer: Brian De Palma, Louisa Rose
Genre: Horror: Mystery, Black Comedy

Coming into Sisters I had no idea of what to expect other than, well, sisters. What I ended up seeing was a wholly enjoyably odd feature. However, try and tell me to peg exactly what about it was so good and it might be hard to say.

At the start of the film you see people competing in a simple gameshow. Two of the people featured in the game show decide to come home together and from that slightly unusual introduction things get much weirder. On the next day, the man wakes up to hear the gal from the show arguing with another woman. Although he wants to sneakily leave, the woman then finds him and begs him to stay, so he does. Unfortunately, he ends up being murdered by the creepy other girl. This kicks the whole film off.

What I enjoyed so much about the film was that it was hard to get a clear idea about what was even going on. Was the woman who witnesses the murder making this whole scene up or did it really happen? Are there really two girls or is there only one? Who is the other girl - is she the sister as the title suggests? Is it actually someone else who is pulling the strings? I loved being in a weird sense of reality and never being sure of what was what. Despite this description though, it was a fairly straightforward film. It wasn't all trippy or reality-shifting like some.

Perhaps the most unexpected thing about Sisters is how funny it is. There's no doubt that the desire when making this film was to have a lot of amusing stuff along a seriously messed up mystery. I consider it black comedy since it shouldn't really be as funny as it is that there was what was at one point called a  "racially-charged murder". Despite a lot of things that aren't at all funny about the movie the characters managed to be big jokes sometimes. I really enjoyed the dichotomy.

Sisters is a movie I'd happily recommend. After seeing it I now want to watch a lot more of Brian De Palma's work. Beyond this, I've only seen Carrie, Phantom of the Paradise, and Scarface.

Dogtooth

Year: 2009
Director: Giorgos Lanthimos
Writer: Giorgos Lanthimos, Efthymis Filippou
Genre: Black comedy

I've got to admit that Dogtooth really had me confused for a while. It wasn't hard to get into the world of the film but it was a bit hard to comprehend. It felt like the supposed hilarity of the film was passing right over my head. Usually I do well with black comedies but I was worried this might be just too far flung from my usual intake.

For a large portion of the film it was exactly that. However, in the final 3rd of the film I finally felt like I "got" the joke. I can't remember now what exactly the tipping point was but it was some scene. It switched my brain into a different mode and suddenly I couldn't stop chuckling at how ridiculous the whole thing was. I guess it took a while to grasp fully.

Anyway, once that switch occured I was much happier with the film. If I watched it again I'm sure I could see the whole thing in that new light and have much more fun. With the never-ending list of movies on my watchlist though I probably won't get to it for a while. By then I'll probably have lost that alternate mindset too!

I especially liked the end as it seemed the most hilarious and dark way to go. In games there is a phenomenon that is often called a "bad end". There probably is for movies too but I'm not as involved in the film world. Either way, a "bad end" is usually the ending you get in a game if you've made all the wrong choices (although you don't know you made them necessarily). In the film the ending was perfect. If you weren't thinking with the mindset of the movie you might not even know what it meant. I got it though, and laughed.

Curdled

Year: 1996
Director: Reb Braddock
Writer: Reb Braddock
Genre: Black Comedy

Initially a 1991 short film of the same name, Curdled is an interesting movie. It basically tells the story of a woman who is fascinated by death - in particular murder scenes. She is so invested in them that she even keeps scrapbooks with gory newspaper clippings. Her main interest in particular is the Blue Blood serial killer who is striking woman after woman in her area.

Her interest in crime scenes leads her to work for a company that cleans them up. Pretty dirty work, but she is enamored with it. In fact, she's so bubbly and talkative about it that her partner is driven up the wall by it. Still, you can't fire someone for enjoying their job so she stays on. Her life takes a turn for the exciting when she is given the chance to clean the scene of a Blue Blood murder.

I thought this was a fun movie. It's got this interesting Spanish charm about it which gives it a little bit of magical realism. It's very odd but somehow that works in the confines of the movie. Despite liking it fairly enough it doesn't really feel like a movie. It feels like only a few things happen over the span of it... like it still carries too much of the short film in it. I'm not disappointed they didn't add more to it, but it ends up feeling more like a TV show than anything else.

The movie also threw me off a bit when the girls would pause from scrubbing up blood to eat lunch with their bloodied gloves. That, or clean without any on. It was slightly jarring but overall not a big deal. It's worth a viewing and comes with a lovely soundtrack.

Parents

Year: 1989
Director: Bob Balaban
Writer: Cristopher Hawthorne
Genre: Horror: Black comedy

Parents is a very odd sort of movie. In a way, it feels like we're transported to another time period outside of our own. It's like were back to the 50s when a family was really together and strong, or at least that's what TV shows from the time period always presented. It feels "normal" but only briefly before slowly descending into a horrific realization.

I like this movie because it plays on stereotypes of the wholesome American family. You see the movie mostly from the understanding of a young boy and so his perceptions filter ours as well. There are times you don't know if he is simply a whacked out child or if there really is something wrong.

I'm not sure what I can really say without spoiling things, but it's pretty cool. It's not extravagantly produced or anything and I like that. It might be dull for some watchers, but for those who like a slow and off-kilter movie this might be for you. Meet the Hollowheads would be a good film to pair with this one.

The House of Yes

Year: 1997
Director: Mark Waters
Writer: Wendy MacLeod, Mark Waters
Genre: Drama: Black Comedy

This is one strange movie. The story makes me wonder who would have ever come up with such a thing. Basically, a brother comes home to his sister with his fiance for a nice dinner. However, the sister happens to be mentally unstable and believes herself to be Jackie Kennedy. The bringing home of the fiance makes the sister completely lose it. It's weird.

I really enjoyed the film. It was just so unusual but never felt too far gone. That is, except for one climactic scene which just struck me as tremendously crazed. I suppose in the world of the characters though it had some degree of normalcy. That's something that was especially great about the film... The actors were very immersed in their roles and those who were supposed to be accustomed to the crazy seemed to be.

The background makes this a dramatic tale but it's very much a black comedy. All that happens is incredibly dark but somehow deeply hilarious. The situation is almost entirely implausible which lends itself well to nervous laughter. The "Jackie" character is incredibly well done as well. You watch her interactions with everyone and know something has to happen and it's tantalizing to wonder about.

I wholly recommend this movie to fans of black comedy and weird cinema. It won't appeal to a lot of people, but for some (like me) it is one hell of an hour and a half.

Puppy

Year: 2005
Director: Kieran Galvin
Writer: Kieran Galvin
Genre: Drama: Black comedy

I'm not sure what it was that spurred me to watch Puppy. It was just sitting in a long line of streamable titles... Maybe it was the simple name that drew me in. Either way, it's an odd little film. The basic premise revolves around a woman who's life is falling apart at home. She's so damn unlucky and things keep piling up until she decides she can't take it anymore. Unfortunately, things become much worse when a man rescues her from a suicide attempt. The trouble with this lies with the fact that her savior believes she is his wife who had run away and may himself be dangerous.

The lead may have gotten herself out of one situation but then threw herself into a whole other can of worms. The setup got me hooked immediately because it was just so strange. I needed to see how they would work out together and how it would all end. That may also be reason enough for others to watch the film, but it won't interest everyone.

Puppy is darkly comedic. For the most part you are viewing unpleasant and maybe even scary scenes. However, the film is punctuated with pitch perfect bits of humor that made me laugh audibly. It may because of the overall tension of the film that made these small accents extra funny, but they work.

It's not a movie I would recommend but it is an interesting experience. I didn't feel my time was wasted while watching.

Make-Out With Violence

Year: 2008
Director: Deagol Brothers
Writer: Cody DeVos, Deagol Brothers
Genre: Horror: Black comedy

I like to think I'm not shallow but when it comes to movie choices I often prefer names that grab me to simple one word things like "Demons" or "Blood". However, in the case of this strangely named film I in fact pushed myself away from it. The name conjured up some sort of bikini-girl-running-from-masked-murder sameness that I've not been in the mood for for a while. Either way, out of random selection I chose to finally sit down with the movie. It was much better than I expected.

The basic premise is that there are a group of three brothers (2 older, 1 younger) and the two older ones have crushes on these two best friend girls. It's a perfectly suburban love story until one day that one the girls, Wendy, disappears. Eventually searches are called off and a funeral is held for her because she's presumed dead. A bit after that, the youngest brother runs around and discovers her body in the woods. Also, apparently she did die but she's still living. Undead, you know.

From then on it gets really interesting because the brother who adored her, Patrick, can't live without her it seems. Despite the fact that she's practically a living doll (with a taste for flesh) he takes care of her in their friend's house who is away for the summer. The other brothers are in on it too but certainly don't want to let anyone else know hat is going on.

I'm surprised by how much I liked this movie. It played out so well and I felt really sorry for Patrick's struggle. It made me put myself in his place. If somehow there were some zombie version of someone I loved deeply out there, wouldn't I want to try and keep them? Probably not, but I could see why someone would go so far. It's sadly striking and even more so since Patrick never actually dated her and just adored her so very much.

It's not just Patrick's story though as the other brothers still serve integral roles and have relationships with other characters throughout. The second older brother, Carol, in particular was an interestingly awkward guy. The youngest serves as the narrator and his stark stating of facts is humorous at times. Overall, quite the enjoyable film. If I had to pair it with something I'd say watch it alongside Zombie Honeymoon.

Mom

Year: 1991
Director: Patrick Rand
Writer: Patrick Rand
Genre: Horror: Werewolves, Black comedy

I came into watching this movie like it was going to be another Rabid Grannies. That film is basically a big gross-out horror comedy. While great fun, I didn't think the world really needed two films like that. As it turned out though, this is nothing like the aforementioned film. It is instead a sort of horror-based black comedy.

The story starts out with a nice older woman who has a room out for rent. A blind man comes by and ends up taking the room. Things were pretty much doomed from the start though as the man is a vampire and preys on the dear lady. As it turns out, she has a son who's married and has a child on the way. This son happens to deal very closely with the local police and once realizing what his mom's become must figure out how to go against the law to keep her alive. That, along with making sure she doesn't prey on him or his wife.

It's got all the makings of a more modern werewolf story which there are not enough of out there. The fact that it's someone mother though just pulls you in further. The son trying to protect her and himself is interesting to see play out. Non-horror fans in particular seem drawn to the story.

Overally, this was a big surprise of a movie to me. Never would I have expected a movie with a silly cover and a boring title would end up being one of the best films I've seen in a while. Sure, it's dated and silly at times but that doesn't hurt it. The story that is told is wholly enthralling and most everyone owes it a viewing.