WTF South Korea: The Circle (2003)

 After a good year sitting on my shelf, I finally watched this Film.  I found a random, mystery Film for $1 and said 'I'll watch it.'
* 1 Year Later *

So, what is The Circle?  This 2003 Film from South Korea is about a killer put on trial, but nothing is quite so simple.  The Plot involves reincarnation, lost memories and insanity.  Is the man truly insane?  Is he innocent by reason of Mental Defect?  Why didn't this Plot come up on Law & Order?

The DVD Box acted like this Film was the next Seven, so what is this?

To find out, read on...

A man is found with a dead body looking all sorts of creepy.

He admits to being the killer of 6 women in the area, but then reneges on it when he's questioned by the D.A. (Kang Soo-Youn).  

She beats him up, but then he gropes her.
I'm already confused.

The Court Appointed Lawyer begins to work for him- after he gets a headbutt from his client.

Legal Cases are weird in South Korea.

He looks up the guy's history and a woman in his life.  What's his secret?

Apparently, he's the subject/host of the reincarnation of a 1930's Painter.

That means he's...innocent?

The case plays out in Court as the D.A. also looks up his past.

She pokes holes in the defense as the Client seems too crazy for his own good.

She gets him convicted, so this 40-minute Film is over, right?

She begins to see 'ghosts' of the people in the past lives and now the Film just wants to tell the story of this murder case that happened in the 1930s.

This feels like something we'd see on Prestige TV in 2023, but this was 20 years ago.

So what is the true story involving the crime in the '30s?
What about the guy in the present (of 2003)?

To find out, watch the Film.  I can't really explain it, so...enjoy.

So, um, yeah, this is not what I was expecting- at all.  The Film is at first trying to be darkly comedic with the Cops beating up the guy.  Next, it becomes weird as they find conjoined body parts in jars- that will eventually get explained.  So far, this could pass for some sort of tonally weird Seven-style Film.

Now reincarnation comes up, is discussed in Court as a legal defense and then the Defense Case hinges upon them proving that he's really hosting a second spirt inside of his body.

What in the freaking what now?!?

To be fair, the weird David Lynch in South Korea meets David Fincher thing is not done poorly.  They tell a (strange) story pretty well.  I just couldn't follow the weird, random twists and turns of what the Film was actually trying to be about.

The whole flashback parts are really odd as we first see older people playing the survivors and then people from the Present are playing the people in the flashback.  Does having a reincarnated spirit only work if you're identical twins?  

I'm sure it's just a conceit, but it is a damn strange one!

I'll be honest- I don't know if The Circle really succeeds at what it was going for, as I'm more confused after watching it than I was from when I first read the DVD Box about a year ago.  If you're South Korean and this makes sense to you, let me know.  The Director only has this one credit AFAIK, so I'm going to guess not.

I'll leave you with this Poster that both helps explain things...and doesn't explain a damn thing.

Next up, I continue to chip away what my Review Collection.  Maybe I'll stick with a Crime Film that won't be, well, this.  Stay tuned...

Lost in Translation: Asylum (1972)

 Asylum was a fun, strange little Film.

While looking up Pictures to use, I found some alternate covers for it.

First up, Japan...

Kind of specific SPOILERS on this one, right?

Mind you, there are worse ones out there too.

Let's see what Spain did with it...

A Horror Film Poster that feels like Robert Crumb worked on it.  That or some other Artist who makes no sense.

Either way, it sure is odd, no?

Of course, I have more of these, but I'll share them later.

'Holiday' Horror: Friday the 13th The Series- 'Read My Lips'

 As another 'lucky' day is upon us, let me look at another Episode of Friday The 13th: The Series.

This one- like 1945's Dead of Night features a conflict between Ventriloquist and Dummy.

It also features an era appropriate Plot Point in...

In this Episode, a popular performer- Billy Drago- is a Ventriloquist.
He can do it without terribly offensive puppets, you say?

Oh, never mind- he just tried a rap that was like Aerosmith's, but at about half the speed.

He also has to kill people- like this random Security Guard- after being compelled to 'pay the piper' by his Dummy Oscar.

It was either kill people or tip Roddy- he chose the bad option.

He plans to marry and leave the act, which the Dummy watches.

I know that this is supposed to be scary and creepy, but it is just funny to me.

Just like in Dead of Night, he argues with the Dummy and gets bit on the hand.

I mean, is that a common Evil Dummy trope that I missed?

Things go rather poorly for Drago here as he gets into several fights with Oscar in public, culminating in a public freakout at his Wedding, which ends with him being hit by a car- non-fatally, mind you.

As such, the Ventriloquist hired to cover his spot during the honeymoon takes over at Oscar's prompting and has ZERO issue with this obviously sentient and evil wood figure!

FYI the Plot hinges on some massive timing coincidences.  The Fiancée happens to be old friends with our Heroine, and she just happens to get our Hero invited to the Bachelor Party to see things go down.

The dummy grows in power after 2 more kills by the replacement- one of a random Tough Guy in the street and one of his Business Manager.

As such, it turns more human...and kills him too...for no good reason.

Make note of his death face.

This culminates in the epic battle of John D. LeMay vs. Obvious Little Person with a knife.

Somehow, he barely pulls the Boutonniere off of it, turning it back to normal.

Why is it evil and magical?  Because it belonged to ADOLF HITLER.

Yep, just going to drop that factoid in on you like the Episode did.  Enjoy!

A decent to good Episode, albeit with some odd pacing and payoffs.

They build up the insanity of Drago and Oscar quite nicely, even if they do kind of repeat Scenes a bit to really drive the effect home.  Does he have to be mean to the Fiancée for a third time for us to get it?  Once he's out of the Story, it kind of pivots interestingly.

They don't quite explain enough in-character, so stuff like Oscar just handing a knife to the new guy and him instantly killing a guy doesn't feel earned.  The idea is that he can control you- see the irony?!?- but they don't make it quite clear enough for me.

Another note- all of the kills are done with a small pocketknife- small enough for Oscar to hold- but the first body is described as being 'chopped into 16 pieces.'  Um...how?!?

Ultimately, this one succeeds or fails based on how scary you find a small, wooden dummy- possessed by a Nazi artifact or otherwise.  Either way, it can be unsettling, until it is silly.  

Speaking of which, does everyone make the same 'death face' in this Episode?  Look at the Ventriloquist and then at this guy...

I hope nothing too crazy happened to you on this special Day.  No killer Dummies, right?  Right?!?

Tubi Thursday: Asylum (1972)

 Does this count as doing another Asylum Film?  I sure hope so!

This 1972 Film is a Horror Anthology Film, since I'm kind of on a streak with them.

A young Doctor is brought to an Asylum and told that he'll be hired...if he can prove which of the Patients is actually the Doctor who originally called him to work there.

I mean, I've had worse Job Interviews...

A woman tells the tale of 'Frozen Fear.'

In it, a man kills his rich wife after taking her down to see the new Freezer.

He chops her body up, wraps each section and waits for his lady (the Patient) to come over.

So, who's strangling him?

As it turns out, the body parts are still alive separately- something to do with voodoo and an unreliable narrator- and killed him.

They tried to kill the Patient, but she hacked at it near her face until she was found- wounded- and brought in.

In 'The Weird Tailor,' a man- Peter Cushing- hires a Tailor to make a strange garment with a very specific schedule (only after midnight).

He's super vague and sketchy, but the guy owes rent.

Things go horribly wrong, Cushing dies, and the suit is taken back to the shop.

The wife- not knowing its dark origins- puts it on the dummy in the shop, which comes to life!

In 'Lucy Comes to Stay,' a woman returns home, but her brother is convinced that she needs to be coddled based on her past experience.

When she takes the Pills she wasn't supposed to, Brit Ekland shows up and someone dies.

Robert Bloch- of Psycho fame- wrote this Film and intended for THIS to be the first Story.  Oh well.

In the final Story, he meets Byron- Herbert Lom- who wants to put his mind into a doll- as you do.

Oddly, this one just kind of stops abruptly and goes back to the Framing Device.  Confused?

To find out the strange, dark secrets (and obvious twists), stream the Film now.

An Anthology Film with varied Stories, notable Actors and weird twists tied together with a simple Framing Device.  Why couldn't Dan Curtis ever do that?  Was he just 'too cool' for it?

In any event, let's skip from mocking the dead to praising them.  Asylum has a nice variety of tales, good Acting, strange moments and a decent, if predictable Story.  I'm one of those guys who wouldn't use Time Travel to say, kill Hitler or punch Jesus.  No, I'd use it to do stuff like see this Film in 1972 and see if anyone didn't guess the twist in real time.

That's why we Science, folks!

As far as the Segments go, the first one is good, the second one is generally better (but mostly setup) and the third is alright.  It's just not, well, directly weird enough for me.  Maybe they did the right thing by making it the Third Story.

Asylum is a better than average Horror Anthology which should be expected with Bloch writing it and Roy Ward Baker- a great British Director- behind the camera.  It also beat Full Moon to the punch with killer dolls, though I don't know if anyone sells a Wind-Up Herbert Lom Doll these days...

A fun, if not amazing Anthology Film.  It's weird and wacky enough with a straight face for everyone to enjoy.

'70s Class: Dead of Night (1977)

 After 30 years and with a new Director, will this one be even better?

1977's Dead of Night is a TV Movie Directed by Dan Curtis.  All of the Segments (with one caveat) were Written by the late great Richard Matheson.  It was supposed to be a Series, I think.  There are conflicting reports on this, as Wikipedia references a 1969 Pilot Version (which I'll have to check out).  Why would there be a Pilot Version, no sale and then a TV Movie 8 years later?

To be fair, this is the same Dan Curtis who made 2 Pilots in the same Year for the same Station to hedge his bets.  One went to Series- Kolchak the Night Stalker- and the other- The Norliss Tapes- did not.  Even so, the timeline is weird and, well, I can't exactly ask Dan Curtis now, can I?

I'll tell you now that this one lacks the structure of the 1945 Film and is just a bunch of stories.  They couldn't even afford a Framing Device, apparently, as we just get a Narrator at the beginning and that's it!

Will this Trilogy of tales of Terror be as memorable as those other Trilogies of Terror by Curtis?  To find out, read on...

Our one-time Narrator explains that 'Dead of Night' is not a time or a place...well, not exactly.

It is the part of our minds that can handle the dark, scary stuff...or something.  Look- it's a good title.  Moving on...

Our Hero- Ed Begley Jr- buys and restores a very old car that was once wrecked when its Driver tries to cross in front of a train.  He takes out for a drive one night (with the shutters exposed).

He sees a similarly old car drive by and is surprised.

When more drive by, he knows that something is up!

As it turns out, the Car took him back in time to when it was wrecked in the 1920s.  The Car is stolen from him while he's gawking at people in Town.

He wakes up the next morning like nothing happened, meets a girl and later meets her grandparents.

Grandpa gives him an old Car- the same one from before.

He slowed them down briefly when they took the Car and that made them not hit the train and die, so now a whole family line exists.

Hey Narrator- you still back there?  

Anything to say?
Nope.  Awkward Cut it is then to...

A woman is convinced that a Vampire is targeting here, as she keeps waking up feeling weak, her blood missing and strange wounds on her neck.

Her Husband- the original Avenger- is a skeptic, while their Housekeeper- the big-head guy from House on Haunted Hill- is a believer.

To make a long(ish) story short, it turns out to all be a long con by the Husband.

He invites an Expert over, but drugs him that night.  He takes blood via syringe from the wife and puts some on the guy's mouth.

He drags him upstairs and puts him in a coffin for the Housekeeper to find and kill.

He monologues to, well, nobody that the man was his Wife's Lover and... that's it.  Evil wins.

One last chance?

Any Commentary on that Story?  A pun?
Anything?

A woman is done mourning the death of her Son- named Bobby, duh- and has now moved on to Black Magic.

Her entirely offscreen Husband is in the dark about this whole thing as she does the ritual...

...which works, or seems to, at least.

Bobby is really weird and suddenly turns violent.  He chases her around the House and tries to attack her!  He taunts her the whole time, to boot.

She shoots him and he falls out a window...but he won't stay down.

In the closing moments, he reveals that since she killed Bobby, he didn't want to come back, so he sent a Demon in his place!

Cut to black and... yeah, that's it.

A very random collection of Tales in search of something more.  Am I the only one who likes/needs/prefers some sort of connective thread in my Anthology Films/Shows?

The Tales here are all fine, but there's also nothing that they really have in common.  One involves a time traveling car and a closed loop Plot.  One involves a Vampire...or does it and a general bit of Gaslighting.  The final one involves a bit of accidental demon summoning- as you do.

Is there a Theme here that I missed?
This, again, could be alright if the Story is the Theme- see The Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt or Dr. Terror's House of Horrors.  Hell, even Tales That Witness Madness was connected by the Asylum.

For better or worse, this is just 3 Stories that Richard Matheson had Written (although he actually just Adapted the first one) and Dan Curtis liked.  I guess they couldn't work in any other Format and these Anthologies were still popular at the time.

I like the Stories, Actors, Writer and Director all fine, but this just needed something else.  Maybe if they did them again.  Oh right- 'Bobby' was redone in 1996 for Trilogy of Terror II...

Next time, it is back to the DVD pile to clear up some room.  Maybe something nice and foreign will do the trick.  Stay tuned...

Shudder Sunday: Japanese Evil Dead (aka Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell)

 Sometimes plans work out badly at first, but then for the better.

Delaying my look at this Film now means that I'm coinciding this with the Trailer Release of the newest Evil Dead Film.

Let's see what a bloody "rip-off" (or is it?!?) from the other side of the World looks like...

A young man agrees to go with his on-again/off-again girlfriend on a trip to visit a Haunted House.

I mean, as a guy, we've done worse, right?

Alongside a Psychic, they go into his dead Parents' House.

He's very skeptical about it all, while the Psychic is very self-serious.

The Psychic is attacked by an unseen force as ominous music tells us that something bad is going to happen.

He goes back inside alone when he recovers... 

He's possessed by the evil spirit in the House and now has gone full Deadite.

I'll be honest, I was hoping that someone would read the Japanese Necronomicon- just to see it read from right to left.

Once this happens, all hell breaks loose inside of the tiny residence.

Blood will fly.
Body parts will fly.
People will get knocked around, stabbed and bitten.

To find out how it all comes together, stream the Film now.

A fun, silly Film- it just takes a while to really get going.  The first 20-30 minutes of the Film are mostly-setup with very little big moments.  It is never boring, but it doesn't have alot of excitement.

Once the Film gets going, however, it is a pretty damn crazy.  It features pretty much all Practical Effects and Stop-Motion, since this is a low-budget Film from 1995.  Would they have used CGI?  Dunno.  I kind of doubt it though.

The Effects are both great and terrible.  They are great in the sense that they show real hard work by those involved and look ridiculous, which the Film is going for.  They are terrible in the sense that they don't look remotely realistic.

The finale has a nice hook to it that includes enough ED lines/stuff to get the idea across, but also make it its own thing.  The Plot is like 40% ED and maybe 60% Japanese Ghost stuff you'll see in stuff like The Grudge, if I'm being honest.

Will BMBBiH replace Evil Dead for you?  No.
Is it a fun bit of Pop Culture showing us how an idea can mutate into something crazy with the right people behind it?  Yes.

You keep doing you, man (even though you've only actually made one other Film since 1995) ...

If you give it a bit to set up and don't take it super-seriously, you can enjoy this one.  Plus, it is a bit shorter than most Horror these days.

Tubi Thursday: Body Count (1986)

 Let's pour one out for the late Ruggero Deodato, shall we?

Since I don't drink, however, I will just review a 1980's Slasher he Directed instead...

A bunch of random 'teens' (some might be the right age, to be fair) end up at a Campground in 1986.

It's a Horror Film, so nothing goes wrong...except the very recent murders.

Of course, we don't learn about some of those murders until later on...

The place is owned by David Hess aka the Director of that Christmas Slasher Film I just reviewed.

He doesn't seem happy to have company, since he believes that 'the Indian Shaman is back.'  He's slightly happier to see his son back home...for about a second.

He's also setting up traps in the Woods, which sure won't pay off later.

You'll never guess what happens next.

Yep, the teens all split up and start being killed.

I'm as shocked as this guy.

They don't look friendly.

They also appear to be blind, based on those eyes, so they shouldn't possibly be a threat, right?

If you started taking a shot everyone ran/backed up while screaming 'No' or 'Stop,' you'd be passed out long before he showed up though.

All of the usual stuff, like the ladies all taking turns showering and then getting into peril.

True Story- one Actress signed off after reading her death scene and verifying that she 'won't be naked the whole time.'  She was assured that she'd put her clothes back on, so she agreed to do the Film.

Welcome to the '80s, folks!

Shockingly, it all comes to a head with our Final Girl...and guy facing off with the killer in a freaky mask with a knife.

Do we also get the 'Cop explains everything at the end' cliche too?  You can do it, Charles Napier.
Yes- I think I just won Slasher Film Bingo!
(Do I need to make that a thing?)

To find out what secrets lie in this one, stream it now (since it has no physical release in America) ...

It's an odd one, since it is both pretty by-the-numbers, but also confusing at times.  Confused?

Well, for instance, we meet a happy young Couple (one of whom is named Bob) at the beginning of the Film and don't see them again until about an hour in... where the Dad (John Steiner) talks about how they were killed (which we are then shown).

We then never see Steiner again.

See what I mean?

When the Film is doing the usual Slasher stuff, it works.  It's nothing amazing, which is a shame considering all of the people involved.  It was Directed by Deodato, it was co-Written by Dardano Sacchetti (who did rewrites when Shooting went afoul due to Weather) and it features Music by Claudio Simonetti.

It's a shame that this Film isn't more than it is.  For fans of Slasher Films, it's a good, if confusing one.  For people that think they're all the same, well, this won't help matters.  It's a decent, if unimpressive culmination of things, which is a real pity.  At least I got to see allot of familiar faces, including a recurring Cast Member in Andy Sidaris' Films.

On the plus side, our old killer has a match out there just waiting to call him...

Well, it wasn't exactly the tribute I was going for.  On the plus side, they didn't kill any animals in this one.