Let’s be honest…

When I picked the 45 various sub-genres, common tropes, and prolific stars/directors that would serve as the themes that our contributors would be picking from for this year’s Halloween Horrors series, I knew that there were 2 primary goals that must be achieved. First and foremost , I wanted to make sure that each of these “themes” offered a fairly wide selection of films to choose from. For the most part, I do think I succeeded there, although Kaiju may have been limiting for some folks. Second, and just as important to probably myself alone, I wanted a selection of themes that I thought might force contributors to choose films from different eras.

When it came to choosing the fake “titles” that would mask these various themes from my contributors, my sole aim (as previously mentioned) was to dissuade some of our regular series contributors from picking certain themes and to make them watch something they might not have otherwise considered. In regard to today’s contributor, truth be told, I feel like I succeeded in that goal… but only because another contributor beat him to the punch! A victory is a victory, no matter how it comes.

A longtime pal and contributor to the Halloween Horrors series since its inception, Paul Ashford joins us today for a look at what is probably the most disturbing film in this year’s line-up. While I do admit that I did not see this being Paul’s film of choice for one second, I am quite pleased to see him pick something so unexpected. That said, I’m even more pleased that he didn’t go through on his original (not exactly serious) idea of reviewing one of Charlie Band “Noir” re-issues. Whether in color or black & white, no one should be forced to watch or read about 2005’s Doll Graveyard. 

“The Absence… of Colour”

 

Well, this is a bit different… if you’ve read my reviews before, you’ll know I’m a big fan of 80’s Little Rubber Monster movies, Empire Studios, John Buechler, and all that good stuff…

So, naturally, when Dustin announced this year’s Halloween Horrors themes, I immediately chose “I’m with the Band” knowing full well I’d be able to choose myself a Charlie Band movie and easily come up with the words and wax lyrical about anything he has his name attached too.

However, fate had a different turn for me… that theme was already taken, so I went down the randomizer route…. And ended up having to choose a black and white movie. After a little thought, there was one I came up with that has always stuck in my mind since I first saw it, and not necessarily for good reasons.

Man Bites Dog is a Belgian French-language film from 1992, and is essentially a documentary style film where a small film crew follow a serial killer as he does his bidding around the streets of Belgium. Think Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer filmed on a camcorder and you might get the idea.

It’s an incredibly realistic film, and it could also be labelled as an early example of a found footage movie… bear in mind, that this was filmed six years before we saw the likes of The Blair Witch Project.

The gritty realism and dark, dark humour really makes this film stand out from the crowd. You are immediately thrown into the world of serial killer Benoit from the very first frame as he grabs a woman on a train and strangles her to death. We are then treated to a scene of him explaining how to effectively wrap the bodies and make sure they sink into lakes when he disposes of them, comparing the differences in ballast needed for adults, children, midgets and the elderly. It’s the juxtaposition of grizzly murders interspersed with dark comedy relief like this that really puts you, as the viewer, on the edge… I found myself questioning whether I should be laughing or completely horrified throughout this film.

As the film progresses the film crew start to get themselves involved more and more with Benoit’s killing spree, from helping him dispose of bodies, to using their spotlights to search for victims trying to escape. They find themselves drawn into his world, and even go as far as to celebrate with him after several gruesome kills by drinking together or going out for a meal.

You soon start to realise that the film crew themselves are becoming so willingly complicit to assist with the murders that maybe they are just as evil and deranged as Benoit, or is it that they are afraid to not help him, as they fear they could quite easily be his next victims?

The main character, Benoit, is played brilliantly by Benoit Poelvoorde, and it’s his chillingly realistic portrayal that really gives this film its horrifying dark tone. He puts genuine fear into those around him, and this is seen in one particular scene where he is celebrating with his friends after being released from the hospital, where it proves that no one is safe, not even those close to him. I don’t want to spoil it, but this made for particularly uncomfortable viewing as you see the uncertainty and fear in the eyes of everyone else sat around the table with him.

Speaking of it’s horrifying dark tone, there is one well documented scene in this film that really pushes the limit of going too far, and it is as shocking and disturbing as anything you are likely to see on film. There is a very good reason this was given the NC-17 rating in the USA, and supposedly caused a near riot by an outraged audience when it screened at Cannes.

Somehow, the film was passed uncut in the UK, which is shocking considering the heavy handiness of the BBFC at the time, and this is how I got to view it myself on Video in the mid-to-late 1990’s…. And it is a film that I have certainly never forgotten, and one that I had chosen not to watch again for such a long time….

But here I am, writing some words on it some 30 years later from my own first viewing… Why you might ask? Because I can say it is most definitely the one black and white movie that really stuck in the back of my mind for all this time.

 Is it a horror movie? Most definitely. Is it suitable for Halloween viewing? Only if you are in the state of mind for something truly shocking and disturbing. Finally, would I recommend this movie? That’s a tough one… Normally I’d say yes, as it’s such a well made, brilliantly acted, and disturbing film. However, that one scene I mentioned earlier did take it just a little too far for me, to the point of feeling unnecessary.

I will leave that for you to decide if you do give this a viewing over Halloween… You just can’t say you weren’t warned!

Imprint Films recently released a limited-edition Blu Ray, if you do decide to track it down. Otherwise, it is currently available to watch via YouTube at the time of this writing, if you want a “free” option.

“Thank you” yet again to Dustin at Horror and Sons for allowing me to write some words for the site. I genuinely look forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with… and it’s a great way to help celebrate this spooky time of year.

Happy Halloween!

Paul Ashford is the creator and curator of the popular Facebook page Little Rubber Monsters, as well as the admin of the Ghoulies Movies Facebook page. He is also one of the co-hosts of Celluloid Psychosis of the Project Louder podcast network.