The STARSTORE Blog...

ROGER CORMAN: KING OF THE B'S...

Today sees the UK release of Death Race, a high octane thriller starring Jason Statham with an approximate budget of $18 million - a veritable fortune when you consider that the film on which it's based, Death Race 2000, was made for a mere $300,000. Anyone who has seen any of the publicity for the remake may well be aware of the man that links both versions - producer Roger Corman. Corman is legendary for producing literally hundreds of low budget exploitation films, and for fostering the talents of future luminaries such as Martin Scorcese, Dennis Hopper and Joe Dante. This legacy somewhat overshadows his achievements as a director - the 400 films he has produced actually make the total of 55 he directed seem somewhat modest - but among these films are some of the most inventive and imaginative pieces of American cinema ever produced.

Corman's beginnings were inauspicious, a somewhat conservative grad student with a love of English literature, his first film as producer was a micro-budget sci-fi named "Monster from the Ocean Floor", a film Corman was inspired to make after reading about a new type of mini-submarine in a scientific journal. Corman persuaded the company behind it to fund the film in return for product placement; the submarine would eventually be used to destroy the titular monster. This would set the pattern for most of Corman's career as a producer and director, both in terms of business savvy, and in his relentless opportunism. An abandoned set, an unwanted monster costume, a Russian sci-fi film to be re-cut - all provided cheap and effective ways to produce a film. Corman's working methods are now notorious, stories abound about his cheapness and his ingenuity in working around budget limitations. When one director complained that he didn't have enough alley to shoot a chase sequence, Corman simply instructed him to move the bins around and then reshoot as if it was a different section. His most infamous film is probably The Little Shop of Horrors which Corman directed on a bet after learning that a friend of his had some unused space available for a couple of days. Corman wagered that he could shoot an entire film in two days and one night, and promptly had a screenwriter rewrite the story from his previous film, A Bucket fo Blood, to feature a man-eating plant, a plant-eating, and a masochistic dental patient: Jack Nicholson in an early performance. Corman won the bet and the film became a cult classic, eventually spawning a remake and a successful Broadway musical.

This is perhaps the most surprising thing about his films. Despite their cheapness, and the hurried nature in which he shot them, many of Corman's films are startling in the amount of emotional impact they carry with them. But then, it is perhaps because of these factors that they are as effective as they are. The limited budget meant Corman had to be inventive in order to tell the (often massively ambitious) stories that he wanted to. The pace of the production ensured that the actors were kept constantly on their toes, and their performances feel fresh and immediate; witness Susan Cabot's heartbreaking portrayal of a women destroyed by her desire to remain young in The Wasp Woman (1960), or see perennial Corman bit-part actor Dick Miller give James Dean a run for his money in his angsty portrayal of 'the little guy' in Rock All Night (1957). Corman was always seeking to out-do himself, and it is remarkable how he managed to change with the times as his career progressed. Once sci-fi was waning in popularity in the 60s, Corman won mass critical acclaim for a cycle of lavish Edgar Allen Poe adaptations starring Vincent Price. Long before the Hollywood renaissance of the 70s, Corman was one of the few American directors able to speak to the disillusioned baby boomer generation with films such as The Wild Angels (1966 - a sort of prototype Easy Rider) and The Trip (1967). And when blaxploitation films become popular in the mid-70s, you can bet that Corman was there to take advantage of it.

Corman's legacy is considerable. As a director he was a relentless innovator and Hollywood maverick that put the studios to shame when it came to having his finger on the pulse of the nation's imagination, and to making the absolute most of his budget. As a producer he has been responsible for many hundreds of films, and has helped mentor and shape the careers of many of the directors who went on to define American cinema. But for my money, it was in the late 50s wave of exploitation and sci-fi flicks that the most stimulating Corman experiences are to be found. Loyalty to the great man dictates that I will see Death Race at the cinema, but with an inflated budget and a 5 month shoot, it's unlikely that it will ever have the excitement and immediacy of a Corman film in his heyday.

Movie review: BLOODRAYNE

Jeez, Ben Kingsley and Michael Madsen must have really needed the money. I’d heard much about this trainwreck of a movie and wanted to put myself through it in the hope of finding some brainless entertainment. Actually, the film is indeed entertaining in a Xena/Hercules ‘ignore-the-fact-they’re-all-speaking-with-modern-American-accents’ way. The plot? Something about vampires. Does it matter? The only reason people wanted to see this film was to see the action scenes. Based on the popular video game of the same name, ‘Bloodrayne’ stars former Terminatrix Kristanna Loken as the titular human/vampire hybrid, Rayne. She handles the part well, and actually gives the character some depth beyond just kicking people’s asses and ripping out throats.

 

Checking out the DVD, I was expecting the worst, and while this can definitely be classified as a Very Bad Film, it must also be said that it does entertain. Not always for the right reasons, but it entertains nonetheless. The budget has evidently been stretched a bit on the cast alone, which also includes Michelle Rodriguez in the absolute standout performance of the film- she’s the most convincing out of everyone onscreen.

 

Director Uwe Boll, a name synonymous with cheap action flicks like this, isn’t dreadful, but it doesn’t really end up looking like a film. The extras, the sets and the cinematography tend to give the film the look of a TV movie, or a couple of episodes of Mortal Kombat: Conquest stapled together. The script could be so, so much better, but it is made worse by most pf the cast performing on autopilot. Thankfully, Rodriguez and Loken both seem to be getting into their parts and having some fun with them. The battle sequences may be cheesy in the extreme, but they are most certainly fun.

 

Having never played the games I can’t comment on how close the film resembles them, but does it really matter? This is a brainless piece of beer-and-snacks entertainment that knows exactly how to please its target audience via eyecandy with swords. Granted, it bombed big time when it came out, but it seems to have found something of a cult following on DVD, if only for Michael Madsen’s comedy mullet wig that really does captivate the viewer.

Proof that the film had to be SORT OF successful comes with its inevitable sequel (Bloodrayne II: Deliverance), featuring a different lead actress as Rayne and a much smaller scale story, this time set in the Wild West (along with a vampiric Billy The Kid!). The sequel was made ages ago and has sat on the shelf for a good year before getting a straight-to-DVD release. I hope that one is just as dumb and just as fun. Bloodrayne is a spectacular misfire that, if you turn your IQ down a bit for its duration, is a great way so spend an evening. Pizza anyone?

5.5/10

Film review: THE STRANGERS

This film has been causing something of a stir in the US and thus I thought I should check it out and see what the fuss is about. What’s so scary about it? Probably the fact it was based on true events, or the fact that everything that happens onscreen is so plausible. Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman star as the unlucky couple stalked by three psychopaths in a remote house, and while they don’t have a perfect onscreen chemistry, they pull of the roles of a terrified and desperate couple very well.

After the briefest of setups, literally somewhere in the ten minute range, we’re thrown headfirst into a lesson in tension. That is what The Strangers comes across as more than anything- an exercise in pushing the audience’s buttons and seeing how far they can be pushed before screaming. That isn’t an exaggeration- people in the audience were screaming at points. After the opening scenes, the film plays almost in real time, which puts you right in the moment with the two leads as they fight for their lives against the trio of masked killers.

One way that this film succeeds is in its structure. While there are several scare moments that you can see coming a mile off (thanks to musical cues, pacing and lingering shots that are the staple of slasher films), there are also several that you don’t expect at all. The claustrophobic atmosphere of the increasingly dangerous house setting is very nicely handled, relying heavily on some sterling cinematography in which hooded lunatics are glimpsed out of focus in the distant background while the leads search the place for intruders.

There’s a moment where you really, really feel for the characters when their attempts to defend themselves go horribly wrong. You half expect everything to turn into a standard pick-off-the-bad-guys romp, but no, things just get worse for them instead of better. Much worse. The script and direction of Bryan Bertino are both rather subdued for a film like this, with flavours of Hitchcock adding to the already tense mix. The Strangers is a film that succeeds in scaring the hell out of people without resorting to CG, big action scenes or improbable situations. The scares are in what you don’t see, and what you glimpse, and the killers lurking in the dark.

It carries the feeling of a film made in another time, when directors teased and tortured the audience instead of explaining every last thing. The Strangers comes across as a mash-up of Wes craven’s early work along with Hitchcock, Tobe Hooper and John Carpenter. It isn’t a reinvention of the genre, more a nod to the classics, and a reminder that there is much to fear when your turn your back. Excellent. 

9/10