CineSavant Column
Hello!
Charlie Largent’s review today for Horrors of the Black Museum strikes a personal chord. I saw the show as a little kid — probably just 7 or 8 years old — and it was one of the few pictures that freaked me out. Like, I had no idea such things even existed, and watching old Michael Gough foaming at the mouth in sadistic delight was even more gross. Well, that’s what happens to sheltered 1950s kids.
I wrote up my experience in 2017 for a special CineSavant Halloween articles: Hypnotic Chill! Monster Thrill! Charlie Largent and should do that again, just describe our experiences at horror films — or any old films — that were too much for us as tots, or a little older. I thought I had a hard shell, but as an adult realize that just about everything affected me too much. Did adult fans appreciate Horrors of the Black Museum more, as a shock show that finally delivered the gory goods?
Straight cinema sadism never appealed — I wanted more reason to be frightened, than just seeing people tortured. I’m not sure if I’m consistent in my reactions — of the ‘Anglo-Amalgamated Trilogy,’ both Peeping Tom and Circus of Horrors remain big personal favorites, and the artless Horrors of the Black Museum much less so.
We also want to link to John McElwee’s very good 2019 Greenbriar Picture Shows article, which describes the distribution / exhibition of Black Museum back in the day, in the context of American-International in general. It’s in the second part, Round Two For Jim-Sam but you might want to first read John’s Part One, American-International This Week. Thanks John.
Like millions of others caught by the Pandemic, our home viewing habits have shifted a bit to TV streaming, so far on Netflix and Amazon Prime. We’ve watched a number of subtitled series because foreign language is a big topic in our house. Plenty of Spanish- & French-language entertainment on those platforms far exceed what’s available on American networks.
We realize that statement is almost a given; it’s just important to set a base line. We have a recommendation to offer, a show already three years old.
After suffering through umpteen god-awful Fast and Furious pictures, and the ‘stylish’ stuff that passes for action filmmaking here (you don’t need my sour words about modern ‘action’ cutting), I was knocked out by a pair of terrific Netflix movies going by the title Lost Bullet, aka Balle perdue.
It’s a crime tale about a guy who supercharges cars, goes to jail but is furloughed to help a special police pursuit unit with its interceptor vehicles. The spare storyline makes me feel like I’m watching something halfway between today’s televised highway pursuits, and the outrageous comic strip violence of Mad Max Fury Road. No dystopian society is on view, just crazy fights and incredibly intense highway pursuits and attendant mayhem. The ostensible hero Lino (Alban Lenoir) is the most determined cuss we’ve ever seen. His dogged progress is exhiliaratingly exciting.
We can get very picky about action direction and cutting, but this stuff appealed 100%. Dialogue / psychological content are minimized but not ignored, with the concentration of both films instead being breakneck action. The action choreography is so good, Lino’s ability to fight six cops at once — and prevail — convinces even when we know it’s far, far into overkill territory. We assume that some CGI manipulation must be happening but the illusion of absolute realism and breakneck danger is never broken. The action on the road has more vehicular splatter than George Miller, with more cars wrecked than John Landis. Again, it’s all made exceptional by the direction and cutting, which is beyond compare.
Guns are present but not a primary focus, which is a BIG plus. The shows are lean and mean, and really fun. Look em up: Lost Bullet and Lost Bullet 2.
All this will surely be old news to some readers — I’m probably three years behind the wave, but it feels good to recommend this. So far I’ve seen NOTHING in this year’s theatrical output that raised my spirits or my blood pressure. Now I’ll get back to reviewing old movies.
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson