allpavel
Joined Feb 2009
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The Last Days is a Spanish sci-fi thriller directed by David and Àlex Pastor. A mysterious epidemic of agoraphobia has spread across the planet. Survivors hide underground or inside buildings. An epidemic caught the office worker Mark (Quim Gutiérrez) at work. His wife remained at home. He cannot go out into the street. Therefore, in order to return to his wife, Mark begins a journey through underground communications.
Filming took place in Barcelona. The budget was 5.5 million euros. This is the brothers' second full-length film. Their first film ('Carries') was devoted to the problem of infection with an unknown virus. In The Last Days, they preferred not to disclose the causes of the disease, but periodically hinting at the infectious component. Thus, the emphasis was shifted from the deep working-out of the surrounding world to personal relationships between the main characters. The complete evolution of these relationships is shown. In the beginning - the boss and subordinate, in the end - friends sacrificing themselves. For audiences who want to see primarily post-apocalyptic drama, this shift in focus can be confusing. After all, if you start thinking about the world in which the events take place, then you understand how poorly it is worked out. The second half of the film begins to wear a purely melodramatic shade and you completely forget from the atmosphere of the epidemic. Only a few scenes remind of her.
Wonderful actors have been selected for the leading roles. They coped with the roles perfectly. They were able to convey the relationship well.
In general, the film came out well. But due to its genre-blurring, it is very difficult to select the target audience. Fans of the genres of post-apocalypses, drama, and melodrama will find something of their own. None of them will be satisfied.
The Bay is a pseudo-documentary about the events taking place in the town of Claridge on the shores of Chesapeake Bay, where an epidemic occurred on July 4 - the mutated parasites Cymothoa exigua moved from fish to eating human flesh. Years after the tragedy, documentary filmmakers are trying to put together all available material about the terrible incident. The film's budget was $2 million.
The filmmakers decided to show some originality within the genre and collected filming not only from a couple of cameras, but from many. Reporter's camera, police car camera, teenager's mobile phone, street surveillance, and others. At the same time, the hand of the master is felt - the director is Barry Levinson ("Rain Man"). The film turned out to be interesting and exciting. Everything is edited like a real documentary. The events are shown by footage of the journalists filming the report, and footages of the police, doctors, ordinary residents of the city. Despite the use of different camera techniques and different characters, you do not lose the essence of what is happening. On the contrary. All attention is drawn to the events on the screen.
The cast also deserves praise. They play very naturally. There is simply no one to find fault with. There are no famous actors in the caste, but they are not needed either. The whole atmosphere of chaos, fear, and panic is conveyed wonderfully. Aside from the person on whose behalf the narration follows (Kether Donohue as Donna Thompson), there are no central characters. They are all just parts of the big picture.
"The Bay" became a good horror film about an environmental disaster. One of the best representatives of the genre in 2012.
The Hallow is a full-length debut of director Corin Hardy. He debuted at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. The plot tells about London conservationist Adam (Joseph Mawle) and his wife Clare (Bojana Novakovic) moved with their son to a remote house surrounded by an Irish forest.
The film begins with a wonderful atmosphere of the Irish forest, cloudy weather, fogs, dullness. Suspense is growing with every frame. With a modest budget, the ambiance is created by pale colors and dialogues. This is the most successful part of the film. But then the forest creatures enter the scene. They are the combination of practical effects and CGI. There are representatives with successful computer graphics in the cohort of low-budget films, but low-budget films and graphics are not compatible. This film is another confirmation of this. With the appearance of poorly drawn creatures on the screen, all the gloomy atmosphere, so well created in the first part, disappears in an instant.
An indisputable advantage is the acting. They very well conveyed the emotions of parents fighting for the life of their child. The gloomy atmosphere is replaced by a completely standard action game with a fight in the house and forest. In the end, the plot twist reawakens interest and the final impression is benevolent.
Fans of this genre should watch this horror film. You won't regret it if you do.