2.02.2007

Film Journal 2/2

It's no secret that I've been bitten by the horror bug (it's probably one crazy-looking badass bug- Edgar Allen Poe's short story The Gold Bug pops to mind), over the past several years I have been watching plenty of horror movies, to the point that it kinda scares me sometimes.

But I see some truly amazing film making in horror movies. Perhaps because inherently, horror movies have rather lack-luster plots they must make up for it with truly stunning cinematography. One writer/director currently working in the horror genre is French filmmaker Alexandre Aja, whose visual sensibilities blow Eli Roth out of the water any day of the week.Last year Aja's Haute Tension was a visual triumph. Every frame drips with style and atmosphere. And while some of the violence will certainly turn some viewers away (the R-rated version released in American theaters was cut down by several minutes from the original), the real merit of this film is not the gore, but the guts of Aja's unflinching cinematography: no crappy hand-held shots, as is the convention, but solidly composed
filmic portraits.

As I said this film is not necessarily for everyone, but those with the stomach for this kind of thing will be treated to a horror film with more (though fewer spilled brians) than your run-of-the-mill Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

1 comment:

Mermaid said...

That is a beautiful still, I'll go rent it soon.