Dir. Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@cleric20)
“On those high levels you can eat anything you want, but you don't have anything to wait for. Your mind runs wild…”
Welcome to the future. By the way, what is your favourite food? This is one of the main questions asked when you’re assigned (or volunteer for credit) to be incarcerated in a new high-tech prison. Divided into many vertical levels – those at the top get the pick from a huge banquet of food on a levitating platform that moves slowly downwards. As the platform drops, so does the amount of food left and those in the lower levels get nothing – cannibalism is rampant.
If you imagine Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer crossed with Ben Wheatley’s High-Rise you’ll get some idea of the madness on offer here. Director Urrutia goes full ‘dystopian-nightmare’ staring into the gruesome brutal outworking of our inherent selfishness – be warned it gets very violent.
We join Goreng (Ivan Massagué), whose favourite food is snails, signs up to a term in the prison in order to be granted a qualification, he chooses to bring a book with him. His cell mate Trimagasi (Zorion Eguileor) however, brings in a knife – this might not end well for one of them.
The Platform feels very timely in our current panic buying nightmare world. If we heed the message of each of us just taking our share – then there will be enough for all. But survival is at stake here – can human greed be overcome to send a message back to those in control? This is decent sci-fi fare for those willing to test themselves.
Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:
ööö1/2
(3.5 - Future penal justice through food)
Mark of the Devil (15)
Dir. Diego Cohen
Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@cleric20)
“Did you read the incantation?”
Meet Karl (Eivaut Rischen), a man who suffered and supposedly ‘died’ after being possessed by a demon as a child – 30 years later he makes a living as a bad-ass exorcist – apparently packing some demonic superpowers to boot. In Mark of the Devil he has to team up with a junkie priest named Tomás (Eduardo Noriega) when two sisters read aloud from the Necronomicon (yep that book from The Evil Dead and H.P. Lovecraft) – and all sorts of very average devilry ensues.
There is little new in this Mexican horror – the possessed get violent, speaks in ancient tongues, cough up blood etc. It feels like there is a good movie in here trying to get out but alas it all builds up to possibly the lowest budget battle with Satanic forces ever to grace even the small screen.
Horror fans might appreciate some of the creepy cinematic elements but this is one most people can happily avoid.
Out of a potential 5 - you have to go with a Darkmatters:
ö1/2
(1.5 - Limited horror thrills)
Click this image for some great dark sci-fi reading !!
– Read what other people are saying about COMPLETE DARKNESS (here)
No comments:
Post a Comment