The U.S. moniker refers to the film’s plot point of the “Sylvian fissure” of the human brain: Apply electricity to it, and the subject hallucinates astral projections and out-of-body experiences. This, posits mad-scientist female Dr. Hattori (Nagisa Katahira), opens up a whole realm of spiritual evolution. To study her theories, she has a team member […]
horror
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Night School
Remembered all these years for introducing us to Aussie actress Rachel Ward (“Against All Odds”), the horror film is finally available on DVD, courtesy of Warner Archive. She’s one of many pretty people in danger of losing her head at the titular institution — not figuratively due to a punishing course load, but literally due […]
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Vlog
Yet another faux found-footage flick, “Vlog” chronicles the events in the weeks leading up to the 2008 murder of the cute, busty and sexually promiscuous webcam addict and vlogger Brooke Marks (played by Brooke Marks; my quick research reveals she’s a real-life, NSFW web model who, it should be noted, is very much alive). Roughly […]
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Killer Party
Why? I don’t know, but my good graces were won over in an instant. As ’80s as ’80s can be — big ‘n’ frizzy hair, mismatched socks, paper clips as earrings — the movie centers on three girls pledging a sorority the same time a murderer stalks the campus. (Since when does Greek initiation take […]
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Black Zoo
But Michael’s “children” are in danger — or is that endangered? — when greedy, swingin’ businessman Jerry Stengel (Jerome Cowan, “The Maltese Falcon”) keen on visiting a particular “striptease parlor” wants to take the land on which the zoo sits so he can rezone it as a residential district. Michael refuses to sign the contract, so […]
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Born of Earth
This means he has to:• Spout supposedly dramatic and/or serious lines like “Eggs? They weren’t eggs, you son of a bitch. They were my family!”• Convince his estranged sister-in-law (Jennifer Kincer, “Trust”) to let him take her and her punky, rebellious daughter (Shannon Zeller, “Seraphim Falls”) to the county fair. • Eventually fight the flesh-eating […]
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Scream 4
In the decade that has passed since the previous entry, the landscape has changed greatly for horror films. Gone are the sly, self-aware semi-parodies that the original “Scream” birthed; in vogue is the so-called “torture porn” of the “Saw” series. In its opening scenes, “Scream 4” uses this to its advantage, poking fun at the […]
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The Others
Nicole Kidman, an actress I usually find unappealing, greatly impresses as a single mother living with her two photosensitive children in an old, dark house at the close of World War II. Soon after the arrival of a new house staff, her kids begin to speak of ghostly “others” in the abode (where shadows are […]
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The Blood Trilogy
Together, “Blood Feast,” “Two Thousand Maniacs!” and “Color Me Blood Red” comprise the quasi-inept but highly influential “Blood Trilogy,” among the first gore films ever made. Prepare yourself for some shots being too dark, some not even in focus, some so long that they include mistakes, and many, of course, containing some of the bloodiest […]
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Torso
First of all, once the disc loaded, it offered the choice between the uncensored English version or the Italian-language director’s cut, both making their home-vid debut. I chose the latter. Then it offered the choice of watching it introduced by Eli Roth. “Hell, yes,” I said to absolutely no one, and was greeted with a […]