'Irreversible' - still the best horror film of the year

[PoppaJupiter]

I still think Gaspar Noe's numbingly horrific 'Irreversible' is the best horror film released in the world this year. In fact it could even pip 'Last house on the left' and 'I spit on your grave' as one of the most disturbing yet artfully and skillfully put together cult films ever made, even Richard Kern's dated 'Fingered'.

The thing that makes 'Irreversible' stand above sicko slush like 'Guinea Pig' and Nekromantic' and other contemporary shockers is its commitment to intelligence and art, something today's instant gratification MTV-hippychildren generation of dunces could never understand.

[AmaiStina]

Originally posted by PoppaJupiter
In fact it could even pip 'Last house on the left' and 'I spit on your grave' as one of the most disturbing yet artfully and skillfully put together cult films ever made

there were only five people watching that film when i saw it when it came out. i think i was the only one who left the film with a cognitive adrenaline rush (the narrative & temporal structure of the film in conjunction with how the camera serves as an ideological tool).

Pasolini's "Salo" aka "120 Days of Sodom" and Ruggero Deodato's "Cannibal Holocaust" top my list of "ewwwww!!!!!"

the former probably more psychologically disturbing & the latter visually assaulting.

[Doug_Brunell]

I agree that this is a great movie, though it is more drama than it is horror or exploitation. I also recommend Noe's "I Stand Alone." Pretty disturbing stuff.

[Graham Rae]

This film is just sociopathic, misogynistic exploitation. Want to tell me what this added to the world with its existence? Absolutely nothing. I had no idea why a gay man would rape a woman. That's not something I've ever heard of before. And Noe is obviously a misogynistic sonofabitch. After that pregnant woman being stomach-punched until she spontaneously aborted in Seul Contre Tous and then the 9-minute anal rape scene...I don't think there's any doubt about his hatred of women.

This was a powerful film, but for all the wrong reasons. And Noe can shove it where the sun don't shine: on his compassionate side.

[Kuato]

i love it

when i saw it i was alone - in the back of the theatre..
and half the people in there walked out in the first 15 minutes.

[Resident Alien]

I almost bought this and The Beyond today, but I'm a little tight on cash, so I decided to go with the three films I mentioned in another topic.


I've never seen this, or The Beyond (although I have seen Zombie... great film), but I've heard so much that I'm quite anxious to see both.

As for ultra-sick films; Cannibal Holocaust stands as the sickest film I've yet seen. Regardless, I love it. It's such a brilliant social commentary. I mentioned it in Journalism class and my teacher decided she had to see it. No amount of assuring her that it wasn't a film she'd much like seemed to matter, and in the end she convinced me to let her borrow it. She told me she had to turn it off and that it had her in tears. But, even she admitted that it was a brilliant film.
Best things about CH in my mind:
1. The Music -- wow, one of the most emotional scores I've ever heard. So gripping.
2. "I wonder, who are the real cannibals?"
3. Village Burning -- nearly had me in tears. Such a poignant, disturbing scene.

With that aside, I really can't wait to see Irreversible. It sucks not having a job.:( I need $$$ To work as a clerk at a video store you gotta be 18... I got two more years to go, and I really don't want to work at a fast food restaurant in the mean-time.

[unlickedcub]

Yeah, this movie was powerful...

And I could film myself strangling a kitten and dumping it into the river and get the same effect.

This movie was pretentious CRAP. It had nothing to say about anything. Oh, sure it thought it did. With it's fancy pants Memento in reverse style, weird ass white lights at the end and lame ass sexual dialogue.

Caspar Noe should be ass raped himself. Then I'm sure he wouldn't have so much fun putting a scene like that on screen.

And to market this film with movie poster of Monica in a sheer nightgown with her hard nipples poking out...that's just wrong.

[Certex]

check my review of this cocksucking dogshit in the article 'Planet Wanna-be Hollywood' and you'll see that I agree with you, especially with the point you made about the fucking rape-exploiting poster.

Gaspar Noe is a cunt, and I would break his jaw.

THE END.

G,

[ghostudio]

i say crap. Noe has issues that he's exploiting to shock, that's irresponsible because it feeds the 'needs' of similarly disturbed people. someone should take his camera away and make him go sit in the corner.
when it comes to 'disturbing' i could bury him with both hands tied behind my back, but i choose not to because there's no real need for crap like that. hell, i've made people vomit just telling anecdotes from my everyday life, but i'm certainly not going to try to market it. if you need to be shaken up like that go with the real stuff like the 'Faces of Death' series or better yet, start your own 'america's funniest prison rape scenes' series, just make sure you're the one getting raped.

[Pete Vonder Haar]

if you need to be shaken up like that go with the real stuff like the 'Faces of Death' series

This is a joke, right?

[ghostudio]

Originally posted by Pete Vonder Haar
This is a joke, right? not that i find faces of death particularly disturbing, some of it is actually pretty hilarious. if that's the joke in question then disregard the following.

i love to see natural selection in effect as much as the next guy, but dipicting violence on pregnant women is wrong no matter how you justify it. not that any violence is right, but pregnant women are pretty much defensless because of their condition. that's part of the reason why there are codes about depicting violence towards children. and before you say 'religious fanatic' i own a copy of the best damn 'straight to video' movie ever; Castle Freak.

because of my childhood i seriously had to fight becoming a serial killer at the age of twelve with everything i had and that's NOT a joke. it was terrifying. it's very similar to possession, you know you're a good person inside, but at the same time there's this new, incredibly strong entity that wants you to kill. even though i stopped it, that doesn't mean it goes away. watching images that apply to my genre of (would be) killer definately awaken those thoughts and i have to fight them back. it's like that with all of us who have that potential. i have a strong will. i quit cigarettes cold turkey after 20 years, but most people aren't that strong. when that kind of violence is acted out it helps desensitize the people who have those urges and allows them release inhibitions that hold those urges back. Ted Bundy went into great length about it before his execution. while, as a writer, i can appreciate the desire to shock an audience, there's a right way and a wrong way. Noe chose the wrong way. it's irresponsible film making.

[El Duderino Diablo]

Originally posted by ghostudio
when that kind of violence is acted out it helps desensitize the people who have those urges and allows them release inhibitions that hold those urges back. Ted Bundy went into great length about it before his execution.

Ted Bundy was, like most psychopaths, a liar. And, like every convicted criminal, attempting to minimize his responsibility for his actions. Simply put he was completely full of shit.

[ghostudio]

Originally posted by The Dude
Ted Bundy was, like most psychopaths, a liar. And, like every convicted criminal, attempting to minimize his responsibility for his actions. Simply put he was completely full of shit.
yes, i know he was. i was out of time, otherwise i would have included that fact, but that said he was still right about the fact that those images help desensitize you and strengthen those urges you're fighting. i assume you read the rest of my post you so you know that i'm speaking from experience, not just out of my ass. i haven't any actions to minimalize my responsibility for so i have no reason to make this up. it took alot of years before i was sure that i was 'okay' and i'm not sure what'll happen as i age if my mind starts to slip (not that, as an old person, i'd hear about or be going to see films like that). i still stand by what i've said. believe me, i've been over it and over it in my battle to get it controlled. the threat is real and there's alot more of us out there than people think.

[El Duderino Diablo]

Um, yeah.

[Pete Vonder Haar]

not that i find faces of death particularly disturbing, some of it is actually pretty hilarious. if that's the joke in question then disregard the following.

No, I asked if you were joking because "Faces of Death" is fake, and you called it "real stuff."

[billy vidrine]

Well, I just cannot agree with the folks who hate this film because of its depiction of violence against women. In films like Argento's giallos I see much more hatred toward women than I do here. Sure there is plenty of "shock" footage (particularly in the WAY over the top Rectum scene at the beginning) in the film but I get the feeling it is there to resensitize the viewer as apposed to desensitizing the viewer. I have seen more than my fair share of gruesome, ugly movies but few hit me as hard as this one. I did not enjoy this film. I was not supposed to. It is very difficult and disturbing. What did I gather from it? Vengance is a very bad idea. Presuming to know the mind of another is folly. We all have a very nasty place inside us that we need to be aware of and keep tabs on. There are good things in life. There are bad things in life. Could these lessons have been taught in a nicer way? sure. But the impact this film delivers to a very jaded viewer cannot be denied. Was it pretentious? Yeah, it's fucking French. And sometimes I like that goofy shit. But it was also personal. What did you guys think of Requiem for a Dream? What did you think of Last House, Kill Bill, I Spit on your grave, etc. etc? This movie was no fun. Maybe that's why folks don't like it. Bad decisions made by characters that were uncomfortablely familiar. These things happen all the time. Sometimes we get lulled into thinking that they don't but they do. Exploitation? Yes. Art? Yes. More so than Kill Bill this is a tribute to/ explosion of the grindhouse genre films of the 1970s. Except they play it for keeps. And it hurts. But in my OPINION (and I respect the opinions previously stated on this thread, they are certainly valid and more than understandable) it is a worthwhile experience.

Please don't talk about how you could have turned into a serial killer, man. It is just too creepy for words.

[billy vidrine]

But Castle Freak kicks ass! It makes me sad, though...

[Pete Vonder Haar]

Was it pretentious? Yeah, it's fucking French.

Maybe it's because I just finished up a four hour drive, but that's the funniest thing I've read all week.

[Gorillaboss]

Originally posted by ghostudio
while, as a writer, i can appreciate the desire to shock an audience, there's a right way and a wrong way. Noe chose the wrong way. it's irresponsible film making.


...that I should let this lie, but my curiosity is getting the better of me.

What, pray tell, is "responsible film making."

And, as an alleged writer, can you define "responsible writing?"

While you're at it, what is "responsible art," and what responsibilities do artists have with/through their work?

(I'm anxiously awaiting a reply, because the insight of someone who namechecks both Faces of Death and Castle Freak is sure to be fascinating.)

[billy vidrine]

Whoa, Nelly!
I think the stuff regarding responsibilty in art is an interesting topic that bears further investigation through posting. But turning this into a flame war with what's his nut would kinda hinder that. Not that I think I'm in any position to tell anyone what to do...
For the record "Castle Freak" bears more name checking, in my own humble opinion, as anything from Stuart Gordon does. How's about that "King of the Ants"?

[billy vidrine]

On the subject of resposibilty in art: as a fella who likes to imagine himself an artist I DO feel responsibilty...but I'm not quite sure what that responsibilty is. I want to entertain but not make people feel stupid or cater to stupidity. But sometimes I don't want to entertain at all, I want to sic my art on you and let it shake your arm for a while, maybe leave some teeth marks. Sometimes art goes "too far" and breaks the skin. I think maybe that's what happens in films like this and "Straw Dogs". They make you mad, you want the art to be put to sleep. What if it's rabid and I'm infected? "Dangerous art"...sounds like something you would hear at a PTA meeting. We're all adults here, we're all pretty well versed in the language of film. This could be really interesting to discuss.

[ShadowInc]

IRREVERSIBLE was brutal, but in the end, it was fiction. Something like SICK was disturbing on several levels, not to mention extremely grim and depressing. It makes Nekromantic seem like a Pixar cartoon.

On another note, I remember seeing SHOCKING ASIA as a young teen and recoiling in horror as I watched real sex change operation take place. My guts felt like theywere filled with a lump of snow and my fireman almost invereted as the surgeon dropped the patients testicles in a stainless steel bowl with a sickening plop.

The horror, the horror...