[JonE(vil)]

Beshenstvo. (Rabies.) 2023. Russia.
8/10
The film that sets up a simple idea of a father, whose taking his son to a isolated hut to detox him off heroin and doesn't add any nonsense.
The two main characters get some development, while the others are essential in other ways to the plot. The tension ramps up fast when its discovered there is a rabies among the wild animals in the area.
They are cgi, but seen in violent short bursts.

[JonE(vil)]

The Damned. 2024.
5/10
A ship wrecks on rocks and a legend takes hold of the residents of a small fishing village.
Psychological horror with a 90 min run time. The film gets off to quick start and ensures a creeping level of dread. A small cast and setting make for a claustrophobic feel. The film uses edits and sound to amp up the tension, but it kinda failed after a while and to keep my interest.

[JonE(vil)]

Only the river flows. 2023. China.
6/10
A cop investigates a murder in rural China.
Convincingly set in the 90's with even a graded down look to the film itself, it follows a Captain who leads a team assigned to the murder of an old woman. When a suspect is identified and caught, he presses on with the investigation.
It shows a low income, but sustainable way of life. The plot itself a standard slow burn crime drama. The third act where there should be major twist, shows the captain getting burned out. This keeps it steady and allows things to appear to be related but aren't. Not typical of western films, but showcases a art house feel, as he tries to piece things together that wont fit.

[JonE(vil)]

The Debut. 1977.
6/10
Old man, young girl.
A young girl (14) with a rebellious spirit gets involved with a older man (41). The relationship is hinted at by her to a select few others, and kept secret by him. Typical drama style with some boundary pushing elements. The sideways glances from others project a slight tension, but the plot sets up the fact early on that he will have to leave eventually.

[JonE(vil)]

The hunting party. 1971
8/10
A rich blokes wife is kidnapped by the leader of a outlaw gang. He in turn with some of friends hunt them down using powerful rifles.
Starring Gene Hackman and Oliver Reed as the rich and bad guys, it a steady paced violent western, that goes from revenge to vengeance. Interesting in the way that characters react to constant death. At the start, its thought of as a natural reaction. When the numbers start to dwindle, the characters take on a more 'human' feel and there are questions on both sides.

[JonE(vil)]

Gorky park. 1983
4/10
Three bodies are found in Gorky park, Moscow.
With a range of british and american actors portraying russians, it has William Hurt as the central officer investigating the case. The plot itself doesn't really shine thru in any aspect. It's interesting as it involves two 'Americans' but using those actors to portray russians, in a time when the soviet union was very real, makes the whole thing kinda farcical. Well filmed, its watchable but with a run time of over two hours, it just plods along without any sort of confronting tension that would make for a decent crime thriller.

[JonE(vil)]

Santosh. India 2024
6/10
A young girl is found dead, a rookie cop is guided by a older officer while investigating the murder.
The crime itself is really only a subplot in the film. It takes a wider view of the police and how society view them. There is a clear point that the older woman has worked her up the ranks, and clearly wants to better rights for her gender, but the path laid before of torture to get information and corruption is still rife. A slow drama that shows somewhat simply, the different lifestyles and limitations imposed on people living in different areas. It ends with the older woman under investigation, and the younger going home.

[JonE(vil)]

Knock on wood. 1981. France.
5/10
A rich business mans daughter, who is accident prone, goes missing. He enlists a private detective and another bloke who is also cursed with bad luck to find her.
Interesting plot that has a constant series of wacky little things happening. It moves along nicely, but after a while there isn't much development, as things keep 'going wrong'. The two leads have appeared in other movies together in the similar roles, but this one is slightly weaker.

[JonE(vil)]

Stoker. 2013. (rewatch)
10/10
Directed by Park Chan Wook, the plot is kinda simple, man comes to live with his dead brothers wife and daughter. People go missing which unlocks dark desires in the girl.
The acting is kind of wooden, but compliments the visual element of how scenes are staged and transitions of them. There is no real tension but a quiet foreboding as it progresses.

[JonE(vil)]

Kaytn. 2007 Poland.
7/10
WW2 massacre of polish soldiers by russians, blamed on germans.
It follows a certain number of characters, with the main focus being the wives. Steady pace with some actual footage and the suppression of documents/information relating to the killings, in line with Soviet control at the time. With a two hour run time, it slows a bit after the first hour, but doesn't get boring. Bookends the initial transport with killing at the end.