B Movie - Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954) Film Review

Fig. 2/ Poster

Creature from the Black Lagoon is an old 1954 horror movie directed by Jack Arnold.  He is one of the leading film-makers in the 1950’s.he has directed famous thriller movies like, It Came from Outer Space (1953) and. Tarantula (1955). This film is about a group of scientists in a jungle in search of an undiscovered animal, after finding its residuals in a jungle.

The purpose of this particular review is to analyse elements of the films and discuss what actually makes this to be a B-Movie and positive key points that makes the film still be prominent. This film was supposedly filmed in 3D and the director used the polarized light method. The whole story is about an underwater monster killing everyone who is trying catch him and disturbing his natural habitat and of course falling in love with a girl. The monster is none other than a man in a suit and holding his breath under water for 4 min. Nothing is really horrific about it except the monster suit itself. Another thing that seems to be quite irritating would be the part when the music plays repeatedly when the monster appears. This film does have certain flaws here and there but that makes it a B-Movie, which also includes poor acting.

Fig. 2 ( Sea Monster)

However, contrarily the film is has done amazingly in many other ways. We are dealing with a Fish man in this film and something that hasn’t been discovered by anyone. A great place to shoot this film would be a jungle and there is nothing better than the Amazon. The environment educes this kind of feeling of going back in time and attempting to see the world before humanity set foot. 

Another aspect that seems to be enlightening is the underwater sequences; they are shot beautifully. The creature being able to explore and able to hide behind sea plants when intruders and only attack them after it feels confident enough.

Overall, it is a great film that has caught many audience attention and still stands to be one of the greatest B-Movies made in history.

Illustration List

Arnold, J (1954) Figure 1. Poster http://images.moviepostershop.com/creature-from-the-black-lagoon-movie-poster-1954-1010141460.jpg

(Accessed on: 02.01.2017)

Arnold, J (1954) Figure 2. Sea Monster 

http://www.asset1.net/tv/pictures/movie/creature-from-the-black-lagoon-1954/creature-from-the-black-lagoon-DI.jpg

(Accessed on: 02.01.2017

Exploitation Cinema - Mad Max Fury Road (2015) Film Review

Fig. 1 Movie Poster

Fury Road is part of the Mad Max series and presents itself in this fantastic feature. Set in a post-apocalyptic environment where the earth has turned to ''dust'' as it were, we meet Max who is a character with clear inner-struggles that is constantly hovering the line between sanity and utter madness. Miller presents the world with cars and other means of transportation to be worshipped and human life to have no value. There is disease, poverty and water supplies are kept private as a means to control the population.

Although the title may suggest that Max is the main character, however the alpha in this film are the females. Namingly a woman called Furiosa, and as Robbie Collin writes, ''Furiosa is one of the toughest, most resilient action heroes in years, with a metal prosthetic arm that hints at past trauma and a steely gaze that sees more on the way. Like Sigourney Weaver's Ripley in the Alien films, the character is informed by her sex but not defined by it, and Theron superbly embodies her stoicism, nerve and resolve.'' (R. Collin. 2015). She is clearly one not to mess with and along with her we have the wives of Immortal Joe. Beautiful women and the perfect symbol of purity and beauty. These females are what start this who chase-orientated movie. As they don't appreciate being used as cattle for Immortal Joe's needs. They want to escape and Furisoa takes them away in a giant war-rig. (see Fig.2)

Fig. 2 

A beautiful piece of machinery that houses gallons of water and ''mothers-milk''. The idea is that Furisoa takes them to a pass and trades a pod of petrol for safe passage, but as they escape they procure and entourage of vehicles from the three factions - the bullet farm, the men from Gas town alongside Immortal Joe from the citadel.

Aside from the mass chase theme and the dust, dirt and explosions the plot is simply structured and without really understanding the rest of the series you don't really get to lost. It's a brilliant example of well placed camera work, great CGI and great acting all round. I witness this with a silver sprayed smile.

Image List:

Miller, G (2015) Figure 1. Mad Max Fury Road Poster. http://www.opoderosoresumao.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/10320615_1420333831604515_2358485737340164025_n_by_punmagneto-d8osh18.jpg.

Miller, G (2015) Figure 2. Mad Max War Rig http://madmax.wikia.com/wiki/File:Fury_Road_WarRig_001.jpg

Comedy - Shaun Of The Dead (2004) Film Review

Fig. 1. Shaun of the Dead poster.

Shaun of the Dead (2004) is a comedy, horror film directed by Edgar Wright, who has directed other great comedy’s such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Hot Fuss and The Worlds End. The film is almost a parody of the zombie genre and it gains its laughs from the use of violence, some jokes that it sets up early on and the simple minded characters.

The story is about the very average guy Shaun (Simon Pegg) and his failure of a life, it starts off with Shaun having a terrible day in which everything goes wrong, he attempts to turn his life around and win back his now ex-girlfriend, but unfortunately for him the day he attempts to change is the day a zombie apocalypse breaks out. Shaun however sees this as a chance to prove to everyone he can be useful, he just has to survive and of course win his ex-girlfriend back.

It could be argued that Shaun of the Dead is essentially a slapstick comedy as a lot of the laughs come from inflicting pain on the zombies or each other, the gag in which Shaun attempts to jump over a fence and it falls over is repeated in other films that Wright directed and has become an expected joke that gets funnier every time. In Shaun of the Dead it comes at a moment in which Shaun is attempting to appear strong and in control, which makes the gag that much funnier.

Fig. 2. Couch Scene

The film is also a great parody of the zombie genre and in fact our culture in general, it starts off by showing everyone looking and walking like zombies although the apocalypse hasn’t started yet. It shows people walking around staring at their phones and dragging their feet, ironically this means that when the apocalypse actually happens it’s hard to tell that zombies are actually among them, which is funny to observe. This means that when Shaun and Ed first see a zombie in their garden they assume that she’s just drunk, by accident Shaun causes her to fall and impale herself on a parasol base, when she gets back up they then realise she is a zombie. A funny scene follows in which they attempt to kill two zombies by throwing vinyl records at them, as Ed pulls them out and throws them Shaun complains that some of this collection is rare. So as two zombies slowly approach them with the intention to eat them, they search through the collection looking for vinyl’s that aren’t that valuable.

Another great scene is when they attempt to get into the Winchester pub for safety, they are surrounded by zombies and they are pretending to be zombies to not cause any suspicion. Ed’s phone rings and he casually tells the group he needs two seconds and answers the phone, discussing with someone that was looking to buy some weed. Obviously this alerts all the zombies that they are in fact human and that they should be devouring them, the stupidity draws out a chuckle as most of the things Ed does are idiotic.

To conclude Shaun of the Dead is a film that draws most of its human from violence like slapstick comedy, it is ultimately a parody of zombie films and attempts to make the genre into a funny experience instead of the usual scary, hiding behind a blanket kind of experience. The gags that continue throughout other films almost feel rewarding every time you see them as you are in on the joke and it aids in finding them that much funnier. The laughs also come from how mundane they make zombie fighting appear, as they always have something more important to be discussing like getting back together or which vinyl can be thrown.

Illustration List:

Figure 1: Shaun of the Dead Theatrical Release Poster, At https://i.yomyomf.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Shaun-of-the-Dead-poster.jpg Accessed on 2.01.2017

Figure 2: Shaun and Ed, At http://s169.photobucket.com/user/ppcccaps/media/shaunofthedead4.jpg.html Accessed on 2.01.2017

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