Climax

The place to discuss FrightFest 2018 - Dates this year are 23 - 27th August.
jonbly
Braaaains!
Braaaains!
Posts: 647
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2006 12:16 pm
Location: Bristol

Climax

Post by jonbly »

5/10 - arthouse nonsense. I didn't care who lived or died... and it's just as well because I couldn't tell who did - indeed, the arty upside down final shot didn't even tell me who the villain was. Maybe a script and some actors would have helped... but I'm pretty sure this plot was doomed to failure from the start.
MrsE
Twitching Corpse
Twitching Corpse
Posts: 41
Joined: Mon Jul 17, 2017 5:51 pm

Re: Climax

Post by MrsE »

I wasnt expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. Maybe I'm wrong but I thought the villain was revealed at the end via the references back to the audition/intro clips.
Seat@theBack
Twitching Corpse
Twitching Corpse
Posts: 26
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 8:43 am

Re: Climax

Post by Seat@theBack »

XAMILC

** Gigantic SPOILERS in the punch bowl ahead! **

A wild delirious ride through a throbbing, locked in, landscape
A dance studio more like an abattoir's decor for an audition
Isolation and claustrophobia in a room too ready for sacrifice
Contorted shapes and silhouettes of dancers deranged
Spiked cocktails take the young crowd into violent disorder
Lycra clad bodies twist and weave beautifully into tainted hate
Illicit sex, pack violence, self harm on the dance floor
(You better not lose control - DJ)

CLIMAX opened with dancer's auditions being watched by NOE
In his room a VHS tape pile includes SUSPIRIA and POSSESSION
One of the dancers has a grudge and is about to create chaos
End credits appear at the start and opened up in the middle
It's more like being in a club or a gig than sitting in a cinema
Dialogue is mainly improvised and violence is extreme
Actions are captured on a camcorder that spins and upends
And stays upside down
Disorientation is absolute
Some walkouts ensue
One watcher near me covers her face with her coat when the little boy trapped in a room on a really bad trip starts to scream and beat at the door
Authentically upsetting and horrifying
Sofia Boutella as Selva was captivating, endearing, tough, but NOE's camera switched loyalty along the way - always focused on those with most risk
The dancers were lithe with effortless eroticism and oozing kink - never to be forgotten
You wonder whether - had full sex ensued or actual harm begun - NOE's camera would have stopped running
You wonder - whether actual harm or sex had begun
You think - was NOE disappointed that some of the dancers DIDN'T go far enough?

The soundtrack took the place of plot and progression
NOE didn't want a film going through the traditional movie making process with contracts to be signed and regular auditions to be held
The auditions became the film
The bloody crawl through snow at the beginning wasn't planned; it looked good outside so NOE asked a dancer to go out and start crawling for home
The primary colour-lit corridors were just like the witch's warrens in Argento's SUSPIRIA on a really bad trip - remember that VHS that NOE still owns?
The dance school was SUSPIRIA grown up (a little) to a whole new level of chaos - an unofficial and more extreme remake to the one coming soon?
The wicked witch spiked the punch
Gore effects limited but a slow bleeding cut arm and face stunned - how did NOE do that?
Sex unexpectedly restrained but sexuality still oozed in pores
(She should have used the bathroom!)

First half, as panic sets in, more terrifying than the comedown
This is how it ought to feel and as the room slips towards sleep
This is not a fault
Waking up feels almost guilty: "we didn't do anything" - did we
Did - we?

This is a cinematic masterpiece in identification with terror and chaos
An antidote to LOVE
This is not cinema - this is a weapon.
Welcome to the room GASPAR
Come back to us soon
Credit to the FRIGHTFEST team for getting you here
The BFI "preview" this film in two weeks time
GASPAR chose HORROR to take the trip first
I couldn't stop grinning when I left the screening - spiked out by cinema
I was grinning so much I walked past NOE who did a double take - and smiled back
Sometimes there are no words needed
Just the pulse and thud of the baseness within us all
Exposed by this man
As we sit strapped to our seats
Beneath a cinema screen

One last thing
But in the middle section I swear I spotted a forbidden image and maybe a clue to the identity of who spiked the drink
Spoiler free moment
I won't say who did it
And if you saw it too - don't you dare!

This is not cinema.
This is a weapon.


XAMILC / FRIGHTFEST 2018
Last edited by Seat@theBack on Tue Aug 28, 2018 2:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
DavieT
Undead Horde
Undead Horde
Posts: 260
Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2007 9:32 pm

Re: Climax

Post by DavieT »

Seat@theBack wrote: Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:29 am XAMILC

A wild delirious ride through a throbbing, locked in, landscape
A dance studio more like an abattoir's decor for an audition
Isolation and claustrophobia in a room too ready for sacrifice
Contorted shapes and silhouettes of dancers deranged
Spiked cocktails take the young crowd into violent disorder
Lycra clad bodies twist and weave beautifully into tainted hate
Illicit sex, pack violence, self harm on the dance floor
(You better not lose control - DJ)

CLIMAX opened with dancer's auditions being watched by NOE
In his room a VHS tape pile includes SUSPIRIA and POSSESSION
One of the dancers has a grudge and is about to create chaos
End credits appear at the start and opened up in the middle
It's more like being in a club or a gig than sitting in a cinema
Dialogue is mainly improvised and violence is extreme
Actions are captured on a camcorder that spins and upends
And stays upside down
Disorientation is absolute
Some walkouts ensue
One watcher near me covers her face with her coat when the little boy trapped in a room on a really bad trip starts to scream and beat at the door
Authentically upsetting and horrifying
Sofia Boutella as Selva was captivating, endearing, tough, but NOE's camera switched loyalty along the way - always focused on those with most risk
The dancers were lithe with effortless eroticism and oozing kink - never to be forgotten
You wonder whether - had full sex ensued or actual harm begun - NOE's camera would have stopped running
You wonder - whether actual harm or sex had begun
You think - was NOE disappointed that some of the dancers DIDN'T go far enough?

The soundtrack took the place of plot and progression
NOE didn't want a film going through the traditional movie making process with contracts to be signed and regular auditions to be held
The auditions became the film
The bloody crawl through snow at the beginning wasn't planned; it looked good outside so NOE asked a dancer to go out and start crawling for home
The primary colour-lit corridors were just like the witch's warrens in Argento's SUSPIRIA on a really bad trip - remember that VHS that NOE still owns?
The dance school was SUSPIRIA grown up (a little) to a whole new level of chaos - an unofficial and more extreme remake to the one coming soon?
The wicked witch spiked the punch
Gore effects limited but a slow bleeding cut arm and face stunned - how did NOE do that?
Sex unexpectedly restrained but sexuality still oozed in pores
(She should have used the bathroom!)

First half, as panic sets in, more terrifying than the comedown
This is how it ought to feel and as the room slips towards sleep
This is not a fault
Waking up feels almost guilty: "we didn't do anything" - did we
Did - we?

This is a cinematic masterpiece in identification with terror and chaos
An antidote to LOVE
This is not cinema - this is a weapon.
Welcome to the room GASPAR
Come back to us soon
Credit to the FRIGHTFEST team for getting you here
The BFI "preview" this film in two weeks time
GASPAR chose HORROR to take the trip first
I couldn't stop grinning when I left the screening - spiked out by cinema
I was grinning so much I walked past NOE who did a double take - and smiled back
Sometimes there are no words needed
Just the pulse and thud of the baseness within us all
Exposed by this man
As we sit strapped to our seats
Beneath a cinema screen

One last thing
But in the middle section I swear I spotted a forbidden image and maybe a clue to the identity of who spiked the drink
Spoiler free moment
I won't say who did it
And if you saw it too - don't you dare!

This is not cinema.
This is a weapon.


XAMILC / FRIGHTFEST 2018
A classic example of how people’s views on the same movie can vary wildly - Happy you loved it but for me it was a pretentious bucket of balls 😎
leytonrocks
Walking Dead
Walking Dead
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 4:31 pm

Re: Climax

Post by leytonrocks »

You say pretentious like it's bad thing... LOLZ
Paxton
Twitching Corpse
Twitching Corpse
Posts: 24
Joined: Sat Aug 25, 2018 5:11 pm

Re: Climax

Post by Paxton »

Best film of the festival for me, by far. The only one to produce an almost physical shock moment (actually several) where a sharp intake of breath and a moment to gather myself was required. Not an easy film to watch, arguably not a film at all, certainly not a feature film, but a piece of exhilarating performance art.
Alex J
Braaaains!
Braaaains!
Posts: 702
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2008 1:30 pm
Location: The Back Of The Beyond

Re: Climax

Post by Alex J »

Unfortunately the camera work (which some viewers will love) gave me motion sickness, although thankfully not actually sick! The visuals and soundtrack do impress, but I felt shortchanged about the limited plot development and it was nowhere near as graphic, extreme or controversial as some of the director's earlier work, although there were some uncomfortable scenes and there was always that lingering threat of more to come. I'm not sure if there were meant to be any hidden meanings - there were a few scenes where I wondered if social commentary was intended, but perhaps that was just me. Someone asked about the deaths and the culprit, so from what I could see I thought
Spoiler:
the German (?) girl who danced like a hippy on her own most of the night was the culprit. The boy and his mum died,
as presumably did the unborn baby. I'm not aware of any other fatalities, even if it did look a bit grim for some of the characters at times.
7 / 10
No tears, please. It's a waste of good suffering.
scarebear
Walking Dead
Walking Dead
Posts: 82
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:00 am

Re: Climax

Post by scarebear »

Lets be honest, you know by now what you are gonna get with Gaspar Noe. His films are Marmite. Love it or Hate it. But you will need a strong stomach. Cartain scenes in his previous films like Irreversible and Enter the Void have turned by stomach and again here the scene with the young boy was very disturbing.

However, these days we get too many films that have the same premise just shot different and we complain we have seen it all before. I for one admire Noe's originality. And this is his most commerical film so far. One of the friends i made at this years frightfest had her friend get up and leave half way through as she felt sick, and i can understamd why. Noe said in his introduction that so many people hate or give bad reviews to his films, but my answer is carry on, if you dont think your going to like it, dont see it.

Personally, this is a film that demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible. The soundtrack was brillant so much so that i nearly asked my friend in front of me to get up and dance(and i know she loved it as well!) and i Loved it.
FranksWildYears
Running Zombie
Running Zombie
Posts: 134
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2012 10:45 am
Location: Scarborough

Re: Climax

Post by FranksWildYears »

scarebear wrote: Tue Aug 28, 2018 12:51 pm However, these days we get too many films that have the same premise just shot different and we complain we have seen it all before. I for one admire Noe's originality. And this is his most commerical film so far. One of the friends i made at this years frightfest had her friend get up and leave half way through as she felt sick, and i can understamd why. Noe said in his introduction that so many people hate or give bad reviews to his films, but my answer is carry on, if you dont think your going to like it, dont see it.
This is pretty much my take on it too - from my POV I suspected this would be a self indulgent wankfest so I gave it a swerve, and from the sounds of things I was right. Gasper Noé seems an engaging enough bloke but the So Shocking!!! You're Shocked, Aren't You!!! Please Be Shocked!!! stuff is tiresome and as much as I hate missing the goodbyes, having just walked out of One Cut Of The Dead I decided to quit while I was ahead.

But as above, virtually everybody else enjoyed both of the above so I'm obviously in a minority and I liked Irreversible. I'm actually keen to hear the soundtrack too from what I've read above, and even if I never see the film I'll be looking to track it down :).
scarebear
Walking Dead
Walking Dead
Posts: 82
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2014 11:00 am

Re: Climax

Post by scarebear »

FranksWildYears wrote: Tue Aug 28, 2018 12:58 pm
scarebear wrote: Tue Aug 28, 2018 12:51 pm However, these days we get too many films that have the same premise just shot different and we complain we have seen it all before. I for one admire Noe's originality. And this is his most commerical film so far. One of the friends i made at this years frightfest had her friend get up and leave half way through as she felt sick, and i can understamd why. Noe said in his introduction that so many people hate or give bad reviews to his films, but my answer is carry on, if you dont think your going to like it, dont see it.
This is pretty much my take on it too - from my POV I suspected this would be a self indulgent wankfest so I gave it a swerve, and from the sounds of things I was right. Gasper Noé seems an engaging enough bloke but the So Shocking!!! You're Shocked, Aren't You!!! Please Be Shocked!!! stuff is tiresome and as much as I hate missing the goodbyes, having just walked out of One Cut Of The Dead I decided to quit while I was ahead.

But as above, virtually everybody else enjoyed both of the above so I'm obviously in a minority and I liked Irreversible. I'm actually keen to hear the soundtrack too from what I've read above, and even if I never see the film I'll be looking to track it down :).
Try this out.

https://youtu.be/32F5ve2gljg
FranksWildYears
Running Zombie
Running Zombie
Posts: 134
Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2012 10:45 am
Location: Scarborough

Re: Climax

Post by FranksWildYears »

Thank you! I will listen when I get home rather than risk resembling the world's shittest flashmob at Kings Cross station :green:
User avatar
The Soapmaker
Undead Horde
Undead Horde
Posts: 453
Joined: Tue Aug 29, 2006 10:50 am
Location: London

Re: Climax

Post by The Soapmaker »

I usually like (if like is the right word) Gaspar Noe's films so I had some idea what to expect, at least stylistically. But I don't like to read too much in advance so all I knew was that it was largely improvised and starred 21 dancers. Dance is not close to my heart.

After 10 minutes I was thinking, OK, it's impressive... but is it going to be 90 minues of this? Then it was 20 minutes of people talking about sex. Can we have the dancing back please...?

But lo and behold, it did get more interesting and there was actually something resembling a plot. Nothing particularly shocking-for-shocking's-sake, some amazing long takes and - hurrah - it was kept to 95 minutes, not three hours. Ultimately I don't know if I actually liked it or would watch it again, but I certainly didn't dislike it.
leytonrocks
Walking Dead
Walking Dead
Posts: 95
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 4:31 pm

Re: Climax

Post by leytonrocks »

Agree ;)
scarebear wrote: Tue Aug 28, 2018 12:51 pm Lets be honest, you know by now what you are gonna get with Gaspar Noe. His films are Marmite. Love it or Hate it. But you will need a strong stomach. Cartain scenes in his previous films like Irreversible and Enter the Void have turned by stomach and again here the scene with the young boy was very disturbing.

However, these days we get too many films that have the same premise just shot different and we complain we have seen it all before. I for one admire Noe's originality. And this is his most commerical film so far. One of the friends i made at this years frightfest had her friend get up and leave half way through as she felt sick, and i can understamd why. Noe said in his introduction that so many people hate or give bad reviews to his films, but my answer is carry on, if you dont think your going to like it, dont see it.

Personally, this is a film that demands to be seen on the biggest screen possible. The soundtrack was brillant so much so that i nearly asked my friend in front of me to get up and dance(and i know she loved it as well!) and i Loved it.
gazadams
Walking Dead
Walking Dead
Posts: 91
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2008 7:53 pm

Re: Climax

Post by gazadams »

what a utter lot of Bolloc*S this film was . End credits at the beginning of the film ...Boring, about ten minutes of people being interviewed ..Boring. About another 20mins of people dancing ! Boring , then more dancing and shit music . So some people might like the dancing and music but this is supposed to be a horror fest ! OI walked out about 10 mins before the end as i couldnt take much more . What a crap film to finish the festival on and their wasnt any other alternative to see something else !
User avatar
TheDukeAbides
Braaaains!
Braaaains!
Posts: 553
Joined: Wed Aug 24, 2011 10:08 pm
Location: North West of England
Contact:

Re: Climax

Post by TheDukeAbides »

Seat@theBack wrote: Tue Aug 28, 2018 10:29 am XAMILC

...

XAMILC / FRIGHTFEST 2018
TL;DR
Post Reply