I have watched many, many films over the course of my life, from nearly every conceivable nation, decade and across several genres. To this day, I have not seen a film as polarizing as Satan’s Brew (German: Satansbraten). I was left baffled, puzzled at what this film was. I had only one emotion after seeing…
Category: dark comedy
Dogtooth (2009)
It takes quite a bit for a film to scare me. Once you have seen (or rather, survived) some of the most brutal horror movies ever made, very little can be done in the way of outright terrifying you. It is then a truly bizarre feeling when you are left horrified by a film that…
Fargo (1996)
“Aw jeez, this is a great film, yah” is exactly how I’d expect the characters in Fargo to react to the film centred on them. I have seen this film a few times over the years, and I revisited it recently as a response to my adoration of the TV show that bears the same…
Trainspotting (1996)
It took me way too long to see this film. Trainspotting is naturally the kind of film I’d love – a social dark comedy about the degradation of society, with quirky characters, brutal violence and an Iggy Pop-infused soundtrack. I don’t have an answer as to why I waited until only now to sit and…
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005)
I am fascinated by various film movements, and one movement I have been very interested in exploring is the Romanian New Wave, which started around the early 2000s and developed quite a reputation for being pitch black comedies defined for their audacity and social messages. Romania is a country that went through quite a lot…
Holy Motors (2012)
When it comes to Holy Motors, I can confidently make two statements: I have no idea what I watched, and I absolutely loved it. In an age of hyperactive attention to coherence and plot development, a film like Holy Motors, which is completely and utterly off-the-wall insane and complex, is a breath of much needed…
I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)
Netflix has given a home to content – whether it is television shows, stand-up comedy specials or films – that would otherwise not be given a second look by many studios. Even if studios like Sony Pictures Classic and A24 are giving some really offbeat and original films a chance, Netflix has given some of…
The Greasy Strangler (2016)
The problem with being a cinephile who likes to make new discoveries is that sometimes you encounter a film that leaves you utterly confused as to what you just watched. I am not talking about the grandiose and philosophical masterpieces cinema has harboured in the past, such as The Tree of Life and Inception. I…
Wild at Heart (1990)
There aren’t any words in any language that can describe how much I love David Lynch. I quite simply adore him – I think he is perhaps the greatest living filmmaker, and one that I unflinchingly worship as a visionary. I cut my hair to look like his. I dress in the same way as…
Shallow Grave (1994)
I’m not entirely sure what to think of Danny Boyle’s debut film Shallow Grave. It just so happens that this came out just a year after arguably my favorite film of all time, Naked, which shared much with Shallow Grave in its bleak and often terrifying look at society in the United Kingdom in the…
The Postmodern Pelican 