UNK SEZ: Welcome to a new episode of Stream Warriors based on the novel Push by Sapphire! Today is special in that we have a super guest host in kinderpal Andre Dumas of the venerable HORROR DIGEST. Andre has three great picks for you today all currently available on Netflix streaming. Read what Andre says because she knows what she's talking about and then do what she says and watch those movies! After you've watched the movies freak Andre out by following her back to her cottage in the woods HERE!
EYES WIDE SHUT
I first saw EYES WIDE SHUT on HBO when I was a wee one, and was blown away by A. how many boobs and how much sex was happening and B. how boring it was. Of course later in my life, when I became all smart and stuff, I discovered that Eyes Wide Shut is one hell of a movie. It follows the married life of Dr. Bill Harford and his wife who battle with temptation and jealousy issues. That is a very broad summation but perhaps the less you know the better. A lot of people seem to give Eyes Wide Shut a hard time and I'm not entirely sure why (okay, it might have something to do with Tom Cruise). It's one of the most intelligent and thought provoking films I have ever come across and every time I watch it, I find new and exciting things to marvel over. If you've seen it before but wasn't a fan, or if you've never seen it, do yourself a favor and check this out immediately. Read more HERE!
SHEITAN
When talking about French cinema, two things are certain: 1. Vincent Cassel will be in every movie you see and 2. All French horror films are the best. Although not everyone loves SHEITAN as much as the other French powerhouses, I found a lot to get excited about. Taking place on Christmas Eve , the film follows a very unruly group of young people. They wind up at the farm house of Vincent Cassel who plays Joseph, also known as the craziest bastard you will ever see. What follows is a very strange, slow build up to a highly grotesque and upsetting ending. Do NOT eat soup at the end of this movie, you will regret it. The film has some extremely creepy, disturbing and hilarious moments and you may or may not see Vincent Cassel in a wig. Also you'll never look at girls petting dogs in the same away ever again. Read more HERE!
ENTER THE VOID
Gaspar Noe gained notoriety for IRREVERSIBLE back in 2002 which featured a very long and difficult to watch rape sequence. ENTER THE VOID will gain similar notoriety because it puts the viewer inside of a vagina. In all seriousness, ENTER THE VOID is one of the best movie watching experiences of my life. It follows the brief life of a drug addict up until he dies—but then we still follow him. Using mind boggling camera techniques, color sequences and music—Gaspar Noe creates an out of body experience for the viewer. It runs long at 2 and a half hours, but the film seems to almost trap you in it. I recommend watching it in a dark and quiet room with the sound turned all the way up. You won't believe how insanely cool, horrifying and mind blowing it is. I guarantee you will not be able to stop thinking about it. Read more HERE!
Thanks again Andre, I whole hearted agree with all three of these recommendations!
To tell ya the truth there is something about Eyes Wide Shut that gives me real creeps. When Kidman is talking about her dream it freaks me out a bit.
I will watch Cassel in anything. Have you ever seen Crimson Rivers? That's a pretty cool thriller.
ENTER THE VOID is incredible and such a profound experience. I hear there are even longer versions and I'd be up for that too. That chandelier store scene is too beautiful to exist on this planet. It's also sad and creepy too.
Yikes, I just realized that when Nicole Kidman has that bad dream in Eyes Wide Shut that she probably spends time at the hotel in Enter The Void….yikes.
Excellent picks and thanks for agreeing to wear that fire chief hat for the photo shoot!
Weird coincidences abound, a real plate of shrimp. We were just talkin' Kubrick last night at work, which led to Eyes Wide Shut and then I was skipping merrily through the blogwoods and found the candy cottage that is Horror Digest's Masks we wear post (magical, that) and here it is again wearing grandma's jammies. All roads lead to Netflix. BigLove to Andre & her mooshes, and unk & auntie for building this kindercastle we all love.
And Thank you Unk! Eyes Wide Shut is incredibly creepy. The part that always gets me is the cult and that damn piano music.
You are right about Nicole Kidman spending some time at that hotel probably with 3 or 4 sailors and several…SEVERAL "hot spots" or possible places to enter as a wandering spirit.
Thanks Arthur! Moosh is my sister's cat whose real name is April but Moosh seems much more fitting. This is my cat Monkey who volunteers at the fire department now and again. : )
That's a sack full of quality picks!
I'm happy to see Sheitan is on streaming… loved that movie… hilariously creepy.
Embarrassed to say that my Tom Cruise allergy has kept me from seeing Eyes Wide Shut all these years.
Knobgobbler,
I have always felt nothing but disdain for Cruise even as far back as TAPS. I am able to watch EYES WIDE SHUT by telling myself that Kubrick is actually making fun of him for the entire film which I truly believe is the case.
What's great about Eyes Wide Shut is the ridiculous, almost comically absurd misadventure Cruise gets caught up in, all because his wife admitted having a FANTASY about cheating on him, which she never actually acted on…
SHIETAN is a real gem, Vincent Cassel is amazing, and the French hip-hop song and video that keeps making appearances (by French artists "La Caution", operating under a pseudonym) is the catchiest cult dance song I've heard since the party music from Ms. 45….
ENTER THE VOID is an amusement park simulator ride for adults. Its like Star Tours dropped acid and started whipping donuts in the streets of Tokyo.
I had the exact same experience with EYES WIDE SHUT. Saw it when I was a teenager, expecting it to be amazing after all the controversy and hoopla surrounding its release; instead, I was bored senseless. Years later, after my tastes had matured and I wasn't such a young punk, I caught it again and discovered a creepy, slow-burning, all around unsettling film. And, lo and behold, I thought Tom Cruise was great…go figure!
Unfortunately, I've yet to see any of the trio of films in discussion here. Something that I'll definitely have to remedy in the case of all three.
I attempted to watch Kubrick's film several years back when it first showed up on the premium channels following it's theatrical run & never made it much past the first 30 minutes or so.
I too, fall into the category of film fans who can barely stomach Tom Cruise. And I've had this aversion to his work since the days of TAPS, TOP GUN & RISKY BUSINESS.
Hell, of his entire filmography, there are only three films that I bear to watch that he's in & only one of them to I like enough to own on DVD. That being WAR OF THE WORLDS.
That's why I'm hoping against hope that the rumors & speculation of him getting the lead in del Toro's adaption of IN THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS are false.
Oh, it'll undoubtably be still be fantastic if he does wind up in it, but I'd much rather he not.