Horror

THE PURGE: ANARCHY (2014)

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Like an eighties B movie this film posits some interesting ideas much like the first film but it would have worked better as a graphic novel rather than a film. The characters feel like they are straight out of a comic book and somehow the imagined translation onto film loses power.

It is entertaining in an eighties style with a modern slant.

The plot is simple enough, one day a year, all crime, including murder is legal. A way for the government to allow the population to purge their dark urges, so the crime rate throughout the rest of the year is kept at a minimum. James De Monaco directs the second part in this series coming off the back of the first and IMDB tells us that he is busy directing the 3rd one at the moment.

A couple, Shane and Liz, played by Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez break down on their way home, merely hours before the Purge begins.
A lone man, Sergeant, Frank Grillo (Captain America-The Winter Soldier), fills his car with guns and weapons and heads out into the night. Two sisters, Eva and Cali Sanchez, Carmen Ejogo and Zoe Soul head out into the night to try and find their father, who has ‘sold’ himself as a victim in order to provide for his daughters.

These are our protagonists and their job is to stay alive during this dangerous, deadly time.

If you’re a fan of great thrillers of the eighties, Escape From New York, The Warriors, Assault on Precinct 13, etc, you will enjoy this. It draws inspiration from a lot of these films and does it reasonably well. It is probably equally as good as The Purge and while neither of them are what anyone would call a classic, there is enough in each of them to keep the audience entertained.

The idea is prescient in this day and age, holding a mirror up to society in a sci-fi stylee.

If you’re in the mood for a thriller that requires little brain-work this is for you.

It does, however, ask questions about the state of the nation and dissatisfaction of the people who live there. It is far from mindless and is a definite step up from the usual studio fare.

Violent and suspenseful, for those who like their thrillers a little bit twisted.

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3/5

RIGOR MORTIS (2013)

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Watching the trailer for this Chinese horror film, the stand out element was the incredible imagery-a Nosferatu-like man-beast swimming in slo-mo towards the camera, the ghostly twins gliding with smoke-like tentacles surrounding them, the fight sequences. This looked like a film that had to be seen.

Rigor Mortis plays out with a sombre, slow pace so when the set pieces come along they manage to lift it but make no mistake, this is arthouse horror.

Having done a bit of research after viewing, what became evident was the amount of references to the Chinese vampire films of the 1980’s, especially Mr Vampire with which Rigor Mortis shares two lead actors.

This is a film about regret and choices, although never explicitly explaining, it is definitely heavily inferred.

Ho-Sui Chin plays a version of himself (same name) as a man who is at the end of his tether and moves into a tenement to finish off his days. There, he meets Yau (Anthony Chan), a former Vampire hunter who now owns the restaurant in the building.
Hee Ching Paw is Auntie Mui married to Uncle Tung (Richard Ng), an old couple who also live there. When Uncle Tung has an accident she seeks the help of Uncle Yin (Hoi-Pang Loi) who we discover is involved with the dark arts.

It’s clear from the off that this building has its fair share of otherworldly entities and so our story begins.

The cinematography is beautiful; all grey and blue hues and the music is suitably eerie.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t that scary, unsettling a touch maybe, but lacking in the fear department.

Again, we are in the territory of how, and if,  we empathise with the characters and although they are well fleshed out, there is still something missing.
Directed by record/film producer and Hong Kong singer Juno Mak, here he shows promise with his first film and from what I’ve read it is a film that benefits from knowledge of Chinese culture.

3/5

BUY ON BLU-RAY DVD HERE

DOWNLOAD THE FILM ON iTUNES HERE