The Cremator (1969) aka Spalovac mrtvol

2.5 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Juraj Herz
Written by: Ladislav Fuks
Actors include: Rudolf Hrusínský, Vlasta Chramostová, Jana Stehnová
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Length: 95 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I guess this one just wasn't for me...over my head or too artsy or whatever you want to say. I did think the black comedy element was rather amusing, it did give me a few giggles. I can also recognize that it is a rather disturbing portrait really, a Cremator who absolutely loves his job wayyy too much. He also gets in with the wrong crowd and he begins to be obsessed with ridding the world of the Jews. Only trouble his, his family are part Jewish (you see where this is going) and as his dementia grows well let's just say the movie gets crazier. It's extremely dark, the artsy way it's shot seems to be a little too much for me, I found it nearly schizophrenic in places and hard to pay attention too. Unnecessarily obtuse I guess, but I'm sure that is just me as so many love this film. It's depraved sure, but not in a way I find very effective, watch it if you are curious because well I'm in the minority.

Availability:  On DVD

Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969)

2.5 / 5 July '10
Tagline: What made you leave him, Cathy ... was it the way he made love, or why?
Directed by: Mark Robson
Written by: Larry Cohen
Actors include: Carol White, Paul Burke, Mala Powers
Genre: Thriller
Length: 108 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I was really looking forward to this as some talented filmmakers and so forth were at the helm here. The film is very nicely shot in San Francisco and I truly thought the concept was a good one. The story is about a young woman called Cathy who meets a young man, realizes he's mentally disturbed about the same time she finds out she's pregnant. She decides to have an abortion and tells the nutty father about it (big mistake!). Anyhow flash forward to later when she's met a new feller married and now with a baby and this is where the majority of the film takes place. The nutty fella turns up in her new life posing as a photographer and playing games with her. He wants to punish her and get revenge for the abortion but can she and her child be saved? What made this movie so awful was the actress playing Cathy, irritating, bitchy and whiny as heck, it's hard to feel bad for someone you hate. In fact there really wasn't much of anyone to try to root for in this, everyone was unlikable! The terrible theme song kept reoccurring (one of the worst I've heard yet), and most of the film dragged and dragged and was rather predictable. It's also the handling of the story was so overwrought and obnoxious it was difficult to even sit through. It's a shame because I feel this could have been something special if quite a few things changed.

Availability:  Not on DVD