Foreign horror and other favorities.

[rpgspree]

Aside from the occasional gem, I feel that American horror has gotten stale, so I've been going more international in hopes of finding something original. I honestly wasn't expecting much when I set on this quest. Though some foreign flicks were just as disappointing, many others were a pleasant surprise. In fact, more than a few classic Japanese horror films had Hollywood remakes. Some better, some worse.

My recommendations come with a few caveats. First is subtitles. Unless you have a decent grasp of the original language, you're going to be stuck reading all of the dialog. In my experience, horror films rarely get dubs. Frankly, the voice-over performances usually are so dreadful that you'd want to switch to subtitles anyway. Horror films fortunately aren't as overly conversational as dramas. That said, the readability varies wildly depending on the pacing of the text. Ideally, the length of the text should be consistent with a timing that flows with the conversations and scenes, leaving the text up long enough to read it before jumping to the next line. Some poorly subtitled films wildly range from short snips to large blocks of text. Even worse, some leave the subtitles up for about the same length of time regardless of how long the text is. Even after watching dozens of subtitled films, I still have problems with those that were poorly done. Although you can pause during dialog heavy scenes to catch up, it does get annoying after awhile.

The second is cultural symbolism. That's always going to be an issue with foreign films in general. While that doesn't necessarily prevent the films from being enjoyable or understandable, there's things that will leave you wondering if you missed something. I've especially found this to be a problem with Asian horror. Well directed films tend to bridge that gap by presenting the relevant information visually and through dialog in a way that's (mostly) comprehensible to foreign audiences. Other directors apparently get lost in being culturally "clever", leaving a film that's clear as mud to outsiders, or they just suck at their job.

Lastly is budgets. Foreign films generally don't have Hollywood blockbuster budgets. While that has an overall affect on production quality, I find that many other factors such as writing and directing have more impact on the whether a film is enjoyable. Personally, it's less about how grandiose the budget is than how well it's spent. In the last decade, as technology has gotten more affordable, I've noticed a considerable improvement in production quality in foreign and indie films. This has given thrifty producers far more options to bring their creations to life. As Hollywood gets lost in blotted-budget reboots, others are stepping up their game.

[Old Dwarf]

I have found that a good Horror read is miles ahead of a movie. Looking at scene of Horror just doesn't compare
with reading a passage & letting your mind form its own picture.

Subtitles are lame they totally kill any suspension of belief in any film especially Horror flicks.Voice Overs can be massively
funny for a couple of minutes but obviously kill any Horror element.

Inspite of the above I have enjoyed several TV series with a Horror theme. A movie may have better special effects but
a TV series allows character development over the episodes.

OD

PS I wish Goodcop2000 our movie man were here to join the discussion.

[rpgspree]

I think it depends on the author or director. Some succeed at leveraging the strengths of their medium better than others. Whether I prefer a series over a movie depends on my personal time and how well the writers manage theirs. Two series that bombed for me in part due to glacial pacing were The Haunting of Hill House and Dark. OTOH The Expanse started off slow, yet the characters and plot were interesting enough to keep my interest till the plot picked up pace halfway through the first season.

As for subtitles, it's definitely not for everyone. For a long time I wasn't a fan of foreign films at all, but I got so bored with Hollywood horror that I was willing to sit through them to see something new. Now, I don't mind subs as long as the performances are decent and they're paced properly. Otherwise, they definitely can kill the suspense.

Yeah, GC seems to have been quite the aficionado. I'll have to go through his catalog of reviews for some recommendations.

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For some reason the forum keeps condensing my other reply with the one before it. :/

[Old Dwarf]

(07-07-2021 01:25 PM)rpgspree Wrote:  

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For some reason the forum keeps condensing my other reply with the one before it. :/

Weird I just read your review of the Japanese film set in a Train, then I wandered off
came back for another read & the whole review was gone leaving just parts
of the post???

OD

[rpgspree]

(07-07-2021 01:51 PM)Old Dwarf Wrote:  

(07-07-2021 01:25 PM)rpgspree Wrote:  

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For some reason the forum keeps condensing my other reply with the one before it. :/

Weird I just read your review of the Japanese film set in a Train, then I wandered off
came back for another read & the whole review was gone leaving just parts
of the post???

OD

My review was supposed to be a separate post, but for some reason the site kept inserting it into my previous one. I ended up removing the review and trying another post, but got the same problem. In my 25 years online, I've never had that problem with any other forum. Oh well... I copied my review. I'll try reposting it later.

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OK, this should be post #6.

[rpgspree]

I'll kick things off with one of my more recent foreign favorites from Korea, Train to Busan.

It's a solid production with an interesting cast of characters, a bit of humor, and running plot threads that actually payoff by the end. Busan sets off with a slow start as it establishes the various groups of passengers, but it quickly picks up steam once the outbreak hits the station and forces the remaining survivors to seek the last train to the port city of Busan. While most of the film is confined to the corridors of a commuter train, the trains occupationally get stuck at a station where the heroes have to find their way through the hordes to another train. Though the repetition of the scenes might seem to constrain the plot, the writers manage to find many different scenarios that challenge the travelers' and the viewers' nerves. Most of the heroes fall at one point or another, so it's never guarantied who will make it to the next car.

As for the heroes, the actors do a decent job portraying the stock stereotypes, but each of the characters and performances notably change throughout the film. While Busan is certainly not a comedy, the occasional situational humor helps to break the tension. Most of it is carried by a single character, a lanky baseball player, that pulls it off well.

The production is polished and professional, with some big budget scenes and effects. A good level of attention was paid to the zombies, which is saying a lot considering the number of them in the film. Just when you think they couldn't top the undead body count, they do again and again. I had no idea Korea was making productions this big.

Overall Train to Busan ranks as one of the better films I've seen in awhile. I mentioned it in passing to a friend who doesn't care for zombie films and even he enjoyed it.

While it does have a sequel, Peninsula, I don't particularly recommend it. It's merely...OK. It's not a bad film, it just felt that after the international success of Busan the producers were too self-conscious and tried too hard to make a more "Hollywood" film. Peninsula felt sort of like the original Mad Max with zombies, overproduced and cheesy. The situations in Busan at least had a sense of believability, where as Peninsula doesn't even try to be believable. For example, a hero's car seems to be completely indestructible, until it just suddenly isn't--entirely at the writer's whim. Then add the over the top melodrama at the end that Korea is probably more known for... Yeah, unless you're dead set on seeing the overarching plot through to the very end, you can safely pass on Peninsula and be content with the solid ending of Busan.

[samuraitrev]

I can second that Train To Busan is a fantastic film. I watched it after a heads up on here.

I have been watching subtitled films for many years as I have a huge martial arts film collection. As you said, the quality does vary. Whenever I get the chance, I always opt for subtitles over dubbing. The original acting always has much more feeling involved.

Check out Reality Z. A Brazilian horror series based on the awesome UK series Dead Set. La Horde is also worth a watch.

Without a doubt, my favourite zombie film of all time is Return of the Living Dead.