Tzameti (13)

Language: French                                                 Year: 2006

With a remake of this film due soon and the lead being played by Jason Statham, I figured it was my duty to direct people to the fantastic French original. 

The premise of this film is quite simple. After young man Sébastien (Georges Babluani) sees an opportunity to make money, he follows instructions meant for someone else, not knowing where it will lead and finds himself part of a murderous game of Russian Roulette. From here on in, the film plays out like a treatise on tension, properly gripping and genuinely unnerving.

Babluani does tension like Hitchcock does suspense, filming in Monochrome for added uneasiness and littering the film with macabre characters that look like they wouldn't be out of place in a Hammer production.

The film is directed with precision by newcomer Géla Babluani who also happens to be the son of a legendary Georgian filmmaker and based on this effort, he has inherited his fathers skills.

A Bittersweet Life

Language: Korean                                             Year: 2005

Asian extreme cinema is a personal favourite and a real indulgence for me. There are many films from this genre that I would have happily championed but this is one that really stood out for me.

Kim Sun-woo is the manager of a hotel owned by Kang, not only Sun-woo's boss but also a well connected gangster. Sun-woo has the absolute trust of his boss, and when he is asked to follow his bosses girlfriend for him, he does so without question. After making a surprising decision, seriously upsetting his boss, Sun-woo is mercilessly persued by just about every henchman going, resulting in some inredible fight scenes; often brutal but superbly executed.

Lee Byung-hun is a huge standout as Sun-woo, giving heart to his role and making the character seemingly grounded, even through the violence.

Written and directed by Ji-woon Kim, his previous venture being K-horror 'A tale of two sisters' gives you some idea of the extreme violence on show. This is a superb movie, often graphic in the violence it depicts but wildly entertaining.

The Orphanage

Language: Spanish                                              Year: 2007

The Spanish do 'horror' very well, particularly under the direction of Guillermo Del Toro. Juan Antonio Bayona enlists suport from Del Toro as producer on his directorial debut 'The Orphanage'.

This film neatly tells the story of Laura (brilliantly played by Belén Rueda) who buys an orphanage she lived in as a child, and attempts to fix it up and open it once again. As the story unfolds we discover that unfortunatley for her and her family, there would appear to be others in the house who may cause her a few problems. 

The film builds tension slowly and effectively with excellent character development and some terrifying scenes; in particular when a psychic is asked to investigate the house and we follow her encounters through night vision.

Unlike many horror's, this film has a very rich story. It has the ability to combine proper scares with real emotion and has characters you actually care about.

This is a film that is genuinely scary but also perfectly realised. Not one for the faint hearted but if you can brave it, you will be heavily rewarded.