The Sandman (1991)

4 / 5 Apr '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Paul Berry
Written by: N/A
Actors include: N/A
Genre: Horror, Animation
Length: 9 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I did not see this coming somehow...no wonder children are terrified of the Sandman! The style is Tim Burtonesque, sort of gnarled and twisted but whimsical too. It's created with stop-motion and the attention to detail is remarkable. The story is about a Mother who sends her little Boy up to bed with a flickering candle. Before long the Sandman is creeping around, but what could he want? Surprising and refreshing, not the sort of thing one should show to children at all. Very creative and creepy little delight, well worth checking out, and it was nominated for an Oscar for best short film in 1992.

Availability:  I don't think it's on DVD

Krysar (1986) aka The Pied Piper Of Hamelin

4.5 / 5 Mar '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Jirí Barta
Written by: Kamil Pixa, Viktor Dyk
Actors include: Oldrich Kaiser, Jirí Lábus, Michal Pavlícek
Genre: Horror, Animation, Fantasy
Length: 53 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Wow what a grotesquely fascinating piece of work that is insanely detailed and visually spectacular. The version I saw was in Czech with no English subs or anything so any dialog was lost on me but it didn't seem to matter. I definitely understand the story (it is an old fairy tale after all), and the actions in this speak very loudly. They style is stop motion with lots of wood and carved items but with some real animals and items and even some really cool technics with paint and animation. The tale is about a greedy little town that is infested with rats who've stolen their valuables and are generally making life miserable. The Pied Piper shows up and is more than happy to lead the rats away, but when the people of Hamlin dis him look out! It's under an hour long and it's certainly stylistically reminiscent of Jan Švankmajer. This is one of the coolest looking fairy tales I've ever seen, I'd definitely see more from Jiri Trnka and I'd suggest you check this out too (though you might want to avoid showing this to wee ones).
 
Availability:  Not available on DVD

Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders (1970) aka Valerie a Týden Divu

4 / 5 Mar '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Jaromil Jires
Written by: Vítezslav Nezval, Jaromil Jires
Actors include: Jaroslava Schallerová, Helena Anýzová, Petr Kopriva
Genre: Horror, Surrealism, Fantasy, Drama
Length: 73 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is one unusual surrealist fairy tale/nightmare that is about a thirteen year old girl named Valerie who is reaching puberty. It has something to do with vampires (who I give credit as they are actually rather creepy and Nosferatuesque), and magical earrings and maturing but it's not a clear cut storyline. It's just insanely imaginatively put together, and visually it does remind me a bit of the works of Alejandro Jodorowsky and the plot is somewhat similar in a way to The Company of Wolves. It's rather controversial as the actress playing Valerie is a very beautiful 13 year old girl and there is nudity involved here. Yes it's artful, and it's not necessarily "distasteful" but it did surprise me to be honest. This film is very dream like and it's one of those films you just have to ride out and not question in order to truly enjoy but I didn't mind. It's sort of creepily and magically captivating and it really has made me curious about other Czech films. Recommended for those looking for an entirely different film about growing up.

Availability:  On DVD

The Company Of Wolves (1984)

4.5 / 5 Apr '10
Tagline: Where fairy stories meet horror stories
Directed by: Neil Jordan
Written by: Neil Jordan, Angela Carter
Actors include: Angela Lansbury, Sarah Patterson, David Warner
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
Length: 95 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This was a very unusual werewolf film in many ways. The style in which this was filmed is astoundingly beautiful...very haunting looking sort of like something one might expect from Tim Burton. The way it was assembled makes it quite unique too, it's almost like an anthology as it has several tales within and a major tale similar to Little Red Riding Hood as the main attraction. A beautiful young girl who's sister was killed by wolves listens to tales from her Grandmother (Angela Lansbury) warning her of wolves. Of course on her way to visit her Grandma out in the woods she encounters a man who's eyebrows join in the middle (Granny warned this was the sign of the wolf) who offers to race her to the house. The entire thing has a nightmarish quality to it and the effects are surprisingly awesome, especially in the first tale Granny tells. It is very entertaining and has some undercurrents of the girl coming of age and the blood coming and therefore enticing the wolves etc but it's not really in your face about it. Very lovely and conceptually fascinating, it maybe isn't as gratifying as it could have been but I'd definitely recommend it.

Availability:  On DVD and Blu-Ray