Ghostly Unrest: Audrey Rose (1977) + Bloody Flesh / Carne de tu carne (1983)

February 23, 2015 | By

So Birdman won multiple Oscars at the peer / populist awards show last night. I’ll have thoughts on the film when I post the review later this week.

Rue Morgue’s March issue should be rolling out shortly, and my reviews for The Laze’s Phantom of the Opera (One Way Static Records) and Chris Bacon’s music for the series Bates Motel (Varese Sarabande) are within its hallowed pages.

Just uploaded are reviews for a pair of supernatural thrillers, of which the first has been expanded from the prior Rue Morgue version.

AudreyRose_BRAudrey Rose (1977) is one of those movies horror fans will either find slow, overlong, and saddled with a nuanced performance by a child actress; or a forgotten gem directed by a veteran how knows where to place his scares, and how bone-chilling cold they should be.

Twilight Time’s Blu-ray sports a sharp HD transfer and an isolated music track of Michael Small’s eerie score, and the film’s arguably Robert Wise’s last good feature film before the debacle that was Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) hindered further work for a long, long time.

(STTMP was a sensation among younger fans, and although it’s become a beloved sci-fi classic, that nostalgia for the film – of which I’m guilty of possessing – doesn’t hide the fact the film wasn’t ready for release, the script was undercooked, the dialogue is awful, and William Shatner gives the worst performance of his career, aided by a curly perm and a mighty belt buckle.)

Our second thriller is a completely delightful surprise from One 7 Movies. Yes, the print source leaves much to be desired and it’s been retitled for its home video release, but apparently Carlos Mayolo’s highly political thriller has never been available in North America, at least on DVD.

BloodyFlesh1983Bloody Flesh / aka Carne de tu carne (1983), is a rare Columbian film, and the kind of arty cinema I would’ve loathed 25 years ago, but time changes tastes, and perhaps because there is a relatively linear story, there’s meat to the skeleton of this very strange, political, atmospheric work that’s stems from a director better known for short documentaries and occasional film performances.

I’ll have another set of reviews mid-week as I wrap up editing a podcast with composer Craig Safan, and I’ll have links to a blog at Big Head Amusements regarding the making of and uploading of Liquid Puppetry, a short film completed in 2014 that’s rather trippy. About a week after, I’ll also post links to a featurette regarding the specific camera used to create the weird visuals.

Cheers,

 

 

Mark R. Hasan, Editor
KQEK.com

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