I like to take chances on movies. I like to track down little known or under-seen films, hoping to stumble across something special. Sometimes gems are found, sometimes they are not. Let me tell you about one of each.
The Untamed (2016):
Alejandra is alone. Though married with two children, her children give her no release from her loneliness, neither does her marriage. She doesn’t realize how alone until she meets Veronica, a young nurse who wants to show her something that lives in an old cabin in the woods.
I write a lot of reviews with the words “this won’t be for everyone”. This one is definitely no exception. The Untamed mixes familial drama, commentary on sexuality, and Lovecraftian alien sex (yes, you read that right) to deliver an interesting meditation on the power of lust and how the urge to satiate those desires can both liberate and destroy the ones that seek it and those they love.
If graphic sexuality is not your bag, you’d probably want to steer clear, but if that sort of thing doesn’t bother you, then The Untamed delivers some interesting morsels to chew on.
Grade: B+
Kolobos (1999):
I would’ve had a better idea of what I was in for if I had watched the trailer first. If I had, I would have been treated to a wonderfully '90s voice-over delivering with deadly seriousness the tagline: “When you’re dead…no one can hear you scream”. I just…I don’t know, guys.
To be fair, if I had caught this on cable late at night back when it first came out in 1999, I would probably would have some misplaced nostalgia for the movie. It has some interesting ideas at play with a combination reality television and the SAW franchise, it unfortunately can’t build those stray ideas into something more compelling.
Essentially, five young people respond to an ad to star in a reality show to be filmed in a remote house. Once there, they found out that not everything is as it seems and they begin getting picked off one by one.
The practical gore effects are okay for the low budget nature of the film and there is some tension in some sequences, unfortunately the dialogue and acting make this a rather rough watch. And by the time the movie reveals all its secrets, one wonders why they might have bothered at all.
There is some low budget charm here and this might play better with a group of friends and large amount of booze, but it didn’t quite work for me.
If you like the idea of the premise, check out 2002’s My Little Eye for a better take (and a very early role for Mr. Bradley Cooper)
Grade: D
The Untamed (2016):
Alejandra is alone. Though married with two children, her children give her no release from her loneliness, neither does her marriage. She doesn’t realize how alone until she meets Veronica, a young nurse who wants to show her something that lives in an old cabin in the woods.
I write a lot of reviews with the words “this won’t be for everyone”. This one is definitely no exception. The Untamed mixes familial drama, commentary on sexuality, and Lovecraftian alien sex (yes, you read that right) to deliver an interesting meditation on the power of lust and how the urge to satiate those desires can both liberate and destroy the ones that seek it and those they love.
If graphic sexuality is not your bag, you’d probably want to steer clear, but if that sort of thing doesn’t bother you, then The Untamed delivers some interesting morsels to chew on.
Grade: B+
Kolobos (1999):
I would’ve had a better idea of what I was in for if I had watched the trailer first. If I had, I would have been treated to a wonderfully '90s voice-over delivering with deadly seriousness the tagline: “When you’re dead…no one can hear you scream”. I just…I don’t know, guys.
To be fair, if I had caught this on cable late at night back when it first came out in 1999, I would probably would have some misplaced nostalgia for the movie. It has some interesting ideas at play with a combination reality television and the SAW franchise, it unfortunately can’t build those stray ideas into something more compelling.
Essentially, five young people respond to an ad to star in a reality show to be filmed in a remote house. Once there, they found out that not everything is as it seems and they begin getting picked off one by one.
The practical gore effects are okay for the low budget nature of the film and there is some tension in some sequences, unfortunately the dialogue and acting make this a rather rough watch. And by the time the movie reveals all its secrets, one wonders why they might have bothered at all.
There is some low budget charm here and this might play better with a group of friends and large amount of booze, but it didn’t quite work for me.
If you like the idea of the premise, check out 2002’s My Little Eye for a better take (and a very early role for Mr. Bradley Cooper)
Grade: D
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