赵英俊
发表于7分钟前
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:PANIC BEATS begins with a totally nude woman with welts on her body, running through a misty forest full of decayed skeletons. A knight on horseback is chasing her, and we soon learn that he is Alaric de Marnac (a wicked character Naschy first created for HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB), viciously killing her for her unfaithful ways. After the credits role, we are taken to the present where a descendent of Marnac named Paul (Naschy) is married to the wealthy Geneviève (Julia Saly) was has some serious heart problems. Paul decides to take her to his ancestral home in the country for some peace and quiet, but the superstitious-filled setting opens a Pandora’s Box of terrible occurrences.We soon discover that Paul is a real son-of-a-bitch who plans to scare his wife to death, planning to control her fortune and continue his secret affair with seductive bad girl Mireille (Silvia Miró), who happens to be the niece of the tarot card-reading housekeeper, Mabile (Lola Gaos). Paul’s malevolent scheme works, but he still has to worry about an additional money-hungry mistress (this guy really gets around!), the unforgiving Mabile, as well as new fianceé Mireille who might be hiding a thing or two herself. More grisly murders follow, and the ghost of Marnac returns from hell to punish the most despicable human character in the film.PANIC BEATS was also written by Naschy (under his real name Jacinto Molina) who injects the film with an old-fashioned spooky house motif, beefed up with a modern movie sense of violence and sexuality. The film offers nothing too innovative storywise, and even Naschy admits on the disc’s extras that it was partly inspired by GASLIGHT and REBECCA, but he seems to just toss in a hodgepodge of exploitation and horror ingredients, while delivering a stylish and enjoyable effort with a number of twists and some genuinely chilling moments. The camera shots and lighting are both effective, and there's even does a cool set-up (much like what Freddie Francis did in THE SKULL and THE CREEPING FLESH) where we see the point of view of Marnac through his dark helmet as he stalks his female prey. Graphically, we are exposed to everything from a plate of bloody eyeballs, to victims being beaten relentlessly with the various Medieval weapons affixed on the house’s walls (for example, someone is axed in the stomach, followed by the soaked entrails oozing out!). Naschy’s most frequent 1980s leading lady, Julia Saly, is not given much to do, but with her offbeat looks, is a nice presence nonetheless. The prominent female star here is Silvia Miró who is seen in the buff frequently, and she certainly makes for some well-appreciated Euro starlet eye candy. Naschy himself is very good in the film, putting on conniving facades, carrying a number of women on a string, being a real malicious bastard, and for the umpteenth time in his career, playing two roles in a one film.http://www.dvddrive-in.com/reviews/n-s/panicbeats8283.htm
芝加哥乐队
发表于7分钟前
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:The story appears simple on the surface, but is revealed, especially after multiple viewings, as more multi-layered and textured than Cassavetes at his best. Ostensibly it concerns a 14-year old Catholic girl, Wynne (Agutter) growing up in this post-modern wasteland, who develops a crush on her much older adoptive brother (Marshall)- a crush which perversely deepens and grows into infatuation once she starts to believe he is the local sex killer. This is in itself an idea that makes you sit up and jolt, but as the narrative develops, it continues not necessarily along a linear path but in several confusing and fascinating directions: the family's history, (detailed effectively in chilling flashback during an improvised seance) is a chequered one, and has suffered at least one major relocation and upheaval in the last ten years.At the crux, however, it's the depiction of socialal changes that make I Start Counting so fascinating and elevate its language far beyond the confines of the standard horror film. The major subtext- that teenage girls were maturing more quickly than before, and developing full sexual and romantic appetites (even if in thought rather than deed) but were not possessed of enough discretion to make the right choices- was a step forward for a genre in which its young females had previously been portrayed as bimbo victims (Cover Girl Killer and The Night Caller spring to mind), but not one that all viewers would necessarily agree with.But most striking of all, and possibly the most enduring image which the viewer will take away with them, is of the masterful symbolism with which director Greene invests every shot. Every inch of the Kinch family's world- their house, their walls, their TV, Agutters underwear, bedroom furniture and toys, Sutcliffe's clothes, Marshalls van, the local Catholic church, their town centre, their record shop) - is painted a bright, scintillating white- a white which, by inference, is slowly becoming smudged and corrupted with the dirt of the outside world. White also symbolises, of course, purity and innocence (two qualities Catholic schoolgirls are supposed to hold dear), and it is into this world of innocence that the ever-present red bus (a symbol of violation and penetration), conducted by the lecherous yet similarly juvenile Simon Ward, makes regular journeys. The allegory is further expanded in one scene where Agutter believes she sees the Christ figure in church weeping blood: by the time we acknowledge it, its gone, but the seed has already been planted. Rarely in a genre production has the use of colour and background been so important or effective in creating a uniformity of mood.I Start Counting is as near-perfect an end to a decade as one could hope for, and exactly the kind of film people should be making now- which is, of course, exactly why they never will. A genre essential.by D.R. SHIMON@lounge.moviecodec.com
石小杰
