05 July 2005

Romero

Tim Cavanaugh at Reason magazine says go see Land of the Dead before it shambles away.
After several years of flashy, fast-moving, MTV-ready zombies in variable-film-stock extravaganzas like 28 Days Later and the remade Dawn of the Dead, Romero the classicist knocks all the young punks into a cocked hat. This is a straightforward Howard Hawks movie, with group dynamics, colorful sidekicks and an insider shoutout to Sergeant York, of all things.
And on the way, he links to director George A. Romero's fascinating list of 10 films he would take with him to watch down to Hell.
Repulsion (Polanski)
We're now in what is thought of as my 'zone' --- the horror film. Many wouldn't place Repulsion in this category, but I do. Is Jaws a horror film? Is The Silence of the Lambs? Yes. And they've elevated the genre. But hey, man, we're talkin' Roman here! You want scary. Take it from a scary guy. Go watch Repulsion.
Amen to that. Repulsion is like being strangled with a wadded-up copy of "The Yellow Wallpaper." Only, um, in a good way.

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