I am interested in films that provoke the mind to think. Expand if you will.

The zombie films, ‘Dawn of the dead’ and ‘Land of the dead’ have amazing filming attributes that interest me more and more each time i watch them. Movies that kinda make you want to be bitten just so you can roam the city scaring the absolute hell out of people you have never laid eyes on before. Canibalism, although doesn’t sound to appetizing…id rather a Sunday roast than a rotting arm.

I don’t care how classic, ‘Jaws’ was horrible.
Oh and so was ‘The village’….

Movies such as ‘Saw’, with the chilling tag line ‘i want to play a game’ capturing the hole essence of the film, Director James Wan plays on both traditional and common fears. Hands up if your afraid of agonizing torture, a bed of seringes or evil robot clowns with annoying laughs…i bet there’s one or two of you out there that indeed are. This film explores these qualities so far in depth that you don’t even have a moment to be relaxed or have your first handful of popcorn. Saw leaves Channel 31’s ‘Anatomy for beginners’ for dead.
After watching all 3 films personally, the line ‘he wants us to saw through our legs’ isn’t so intimidating anymore. This is a film that beats any plastic surgery operation. Its films like these that keep you thinking afterwards and checking the locks on your doors like an obsessive compulsive maniac until you finally drill into your mind that it is infact only a movie, and there is no laughing robot clown hiding in your closet.

But wait, here is the burning question. How often do we actually identify with characters in horror movies? How often do we see in the news headlines that 3 teenagers have been brutally murdered by a little girl returning from a well and coming through a TV set (‘The Ring’)? Or five innocent kids killed by a leather face monster with his trusty chainsaw? Not often (‘The Texas chainsaw massacre’). Lets not deny that these classics (’The Texas chainsaw massacre’, ‘The exorcist’ & ‘the night of the living dead’) are the quintessential classic horror movies of all time.

Its movies like this that set the standard of modern expectations of horror films. I think perhaps the difference between leaving a movie theatre with a set of dry clothes and not, relies on the realistic values of the film. This all changes when the last sentence of the credits flashes ‘based on a true story’…and determines if you spend the remainder of your evening finding the nearest Bunning’s Warehouse to put a new set of door locks on laybuy or having a quiet night in.

Horror/Thriller movies will always be my first love…i wont lie. I just think they are loosing their touch.

Its thriller’s like the ‘Butterfly Effect’ that make you think again about writing journal entries like your mother told you when you were growing up. The only downfall to this movie is the acting.. Ashton Kutcher couldn’t win an Oscar if he tied the host up backstage and threatened to televise it live on his tv show ‘Punked’. Who ever decided that a guy who plays a hippy as his natural comic to play a deeper roll is going insane. Despite these factors, the movie has a great story line. The leading roll of Even (played by ‘Kutcher’) can go back in time and rewrite history by simply reading over his old journal entries.
Director Eric Bress has done an exceptional job, and its no wonder after he co-wrote the psychological thriller ‘Final Destination 2’ that ‘The butterfly effect’ has the same underlining qualities. It comes down to the same camera shakes and the eyes rolling into the back of the head that shows that Bress has an obsession with the outcomes of fate in the human world.

Another aspect i am interested in are music video clips. If anyone enjoys a good mind blow they should check out music video clips by ‘Tool’ (’Parabola’ or ‘Anemia’),’Korn’ (’Freak on a leash’), and ‘Deathstars’ (’Blitzkrieg’). In particular, Tool, explores qualities in their clips that will attract you to their music. I no it did for me.

One believes the art of film making comes straight from the imagination. The human mind is the most powerful tool a film maker should ever desire. Take away the fancy lighting, the special effects and the overpaid actors and you are left with your thoughts, desires and infatuations. This alone should be its most powerful self-indulgence.

The mind is the artists most powerful tool.