Three New Reviews

Colony (Gunche) (2026) 

Runtime: 123 minutes

Directed by: Yeon Sang-ho

Starring: Gianna Jun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Kim Shin-rock, Shin Hyun-been

From: Many different South Korean companies

Train to Busan has so much good will w/ me, such cachet, I was happy to see Colony theatrically despite not enjoying either Seoul Station or Peninsula. Busan is great & the good word, re: Colony gave me the impetus for last night’s viewing after not watching any films Saturday night. It’s been too long since experiencing any Korean cinema, let alone one on the big screen.

Instead of a zombie apocalypse film, Yeon Sang-ho created an infected/virus picture. A bio-terror attack is unleashed on a skyscraper, which has both a mall (it does invoke Dawn of the Dead vibes) and a conference room where a CEO is giving a presentation on slime mold and collective intelligence. A genius madman (I do believe that there’s only a thin line between “genius” and “insanity”) is hellbent on revenge and also has a warped opinion on humanity’s future; a group of disparate characters-ranging from “woman in wheelchair” and police officer to dumb youth and a female professor-are quarantined in the building w/ that madman. 

Colony is not focused on delivering a gory bloodbath. Rather, this is an action-horror hybrid like Busan; rather, the viewer should expect our protagonists to run & hide, with occasional fighting. By this point, infected virus movies are… well, they seem to be the rage. Colony does have its flaws, some details I could nitpick, a plot that at times I was ahead of the characters & guessed what was going on.

The criticisms I have did not ruin the experience; a grand old time was still had w/ Colony. There is the drama I expect from South Korean cinema; while there’s only the brief appearance of a little girl crying, adults certainly cry and not every protagonist survives this ordeal. What made this stand out from the rest: the focus on hard science. A professor on the scene & others investigating outside the skyscraper deal with a virus that’s like a fungus. What I meant earlier by “collective intelligence” is that everyone infected has a hive mind; apt comparisons are made to ants. Furthermore, they frequently receive “upgrades” which increases their intelligence & increases the threat.

Colony thankfully worked quite well for me. For my peculiar tastes, I MUCH prefer modern horror to be fun like this rather than those dour, self-serious, pretentious, somber horror pictures that are preoccupied w/trauma & grief.

Tales from the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood (1996)

Runtime: 87 minutes

Directed by: Gilbert Adler

Starring: Dennis Miller, Erika Eleniak, Angie Everhart, Chris Sarandon, Corey Feldman

From: Universal

Yeah, everyone who said this was worse than Demon Knight… you were right. Knight was viewed earlier in the month on Shudder, before Spooky Season began for me. That-like Bordello-was viewed on Shudder. Both were only on the platform for August, necessitating me seeing this at the last minute.

Bordello had more an emphasis on comedy; that was hit-or-miss, and that’s not just my opinion of Dennis Miller or his constant quips. Some landed, while others were just irritating. No comment on Miller as a person or his political beliefs. He portrayed a gumshoe detective who was hired by a religious Erika Eleniak to find her missing brother (Corey Feldman! He was a hard-rockin’ rebel who was a jerk, meaning the role was perfect for him). Meanwhile, Chris Sarandon was a televangelist who exhibited all the negative stereotypes-or the truth about them, depending your own opinion-and I can’t even say that the OOT stage show here was unrealistic.

The film is uneven, for sure. That does not mean there wasn’t fun to be had. This is still an OOT tale involving vampires-led by a sexy bisexual Angie Everhart-causing havoc in a city, where the titular brothel is at… a mortuary. There are a few bravura moments, including one during the final act set to one of a few boomer songs that are played throughout. The cast as a whole was fine; most interesting was that one of the villains was a character w/ dwarfism—veteran actor and stuntman Phil Fondacaro-and his stature was not a plot point or even mentioned by the other characters.

Bordello is flawed; even then, a good time was still had by me. There’s enough gory moments and topless female nudity to satisfy some. The biggest surprise wasn’t the cameo from a famous actor still well-known today; it was seeing the script credited to Bob Gale & Robert Zemeckis. Turns out, they wrote this in 1973 after graduating from USC, the idea of their movie debut being sexploitation. They tried to make it w/ John Milius (!) as producer but that didn’t happen. Instead, the story was apparently greatly modified by the time this was filmed.

Sundel Bolong (1981)

Runtime: 106 minutes

Directed by: Sisworo Gautama Putra

Starring: Suzzanna, Rudy Salam, Barry Prima, Ruth Pelupessy, Marlia Hardi

From: Rapi Films

This is Indonesian horror; the presumption is that those who have a number of Letterboxd followers like I do—they also have many members from Indonesia following them. 

Sundel Bolong stars Suzzanna, the Queen of Indonesian Horror. From a reviewer that lives in the country, this tale is based on famous Javanese folklore revolving around a ghost w/ long black hair & sporting a white dress. Suzzanna’s poor Alisa is really put through the wringer. She married sailor Barry Prima-no surprise to me that later on, Barry had a martial arts scene; while he’s gone for 9 months, a particularly gross sexual assault occurred. Because she is a former prostitute, Alisa is also slut-shamed. Most people treat her horribly in the opening act; no wonder after her death, Alisa is looking for sweet, sweet revenge.

The movie had unexpected comic moments, some funnier than others. Full of gore, this was not, yet the deaths were typically satisfying. There is one bravura kill that was rather spectacular. Sundel Bolong was simply a fun time once the title ghost appeared and had fun dishing out her revenge, which usually revolved around her trolling her foe. Suzzanna was the highlight of the picture, indeed. The titular sundel bolong is a distinctive creature… not just because it’s a female ghost that was a former prostitute. The ghost also has a giant hole in its back, which exposes its inside, along w/ maggots. Unique lore, undoubtedly.

This was an interesting folk horror movie; in addition, I was happy to see another picture from a performer that was popular in Southeast Asia at the time.

 

I'll Catch Up Tomorrow

 A few movie reviews will be posted tomorrow evening.

Mutiny

Mutiny (2026)

50% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 111 reviews) 

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Jean-Francois Richet

Starring: Jason Statham, Annabelle Wallis, Roland Moller, Ramon Tikaram, Arnas Fedaravicius

From: Lionsgate

I went & saw a genre movie last night, “Jason Statham” the specific genre.

Even I can admit that there’s a wish for Statham to have higher aspirations, to appear in motion pictures that used his comedic chops more often, or to not play slightly different variations of the same character constantly. Some may wish that I should view theatrical films more original than this. At the same time, this current stretch of his career must be profitable for him; I guess he doesn’t want to… rock the boat.

The plot is quite predictable & the victims of human trafficking that he and Annabelle Wallis attempt to stop on a cargo ship from Bangkok seem to be forgotten by the movie for long stretches. This does not mean I wasn’t entertained by the familiar plot beats; you won’t see me criticize Hallmark Channel movies when there are occasions that I am OK with checking out standard programming like Mutiny which doesn’t allow itself for a lengthier review from myself. That’s even when Statham’s Cole Reed was framed for the murder of the billionaire he was guarding.

I wasn’t annoyed by Mutiny, thankfully. The bad guys were generic yet still made nice fodder & the worst SOBs were dispatched in satisfying fashion. Dudes got wrecked ™, for sure. Annabelle Wallis also had a better role than expected. Everything is competent.

French director Jean-Francois Richet made better/more interesting films than this (the Mel Gibson Blood Father, the two Mesrine movies from his native country) but if you want a decent action flick that is destined to be shown on TNT-the American cable network-in a few years and/or are a Statham stan, Mutiny could be satisfying for you despite how rote even the movie’s fans might not be able to deny.

Wild Thing

Wild Thing (1987)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Directed by: Max Reid

Starring: Robert Knepper, Kathleen Quinlan, Robert Davi, Maury Chaykin, Betty Buckley

From: Atlantic Releasing Corporation

This is an oddity I’ve seen long ago-years before Letterboxd. There are some recognizable names in the cast plus the script it from John Sayles-I’m a little surprised it’s fallen through the cracks given the writer + its availability on Prime. The fact that most of the film was long-forgotten in my mind is another reason why a viewing then reviewing seemed necessary.

Wild Thing is the name of the lead; he was a young boy of hippie parents in 1969. Both his ‘rents were murdered by lead villain Robert Davi; Wild escaped and meet mentally damaged homeless lady Betty Buckley. He learned how to live on the streets and by modern times, he’s a mythical Tarzan sort of figure attempting to protect a no-mans-land of an unnamed city against Davi and his goons. Also, Maury Chaykin portrayed a corrupt cop-insert your own comments if you wish.

The portrayal of the homeless population and those that live in a house for disadvantaged youths (Kathleen Quinlan started working there; he saved her from a sexual assault and they become pals. Her name is even Jane) borders cliche. At the same time, they weren’t demonized & it was a change of pace to see a movie centered on such individuals. Yes, there are some moments quite silly; the one detail I remembered most before last night’s revisit: Wild had a cat sidekick! He adopted a feral feline from a junkyard, you see. I forgot that at times, he acted like a cat.

The film can be nitpicked to death if you want-many of those complaints are valid. I’m not quite sure how Wild and Davi didn’t cross paths in the past almost 2 decades when they’ve resided in the same area, but… the presumption is that changes were made to the original script. How much of the edges were sanded off of what Sayles originally wrote? Regardless, it’s always nice seeing Davi as a villain and the final act is where most of the action beats are… turns out that Wild can flip around like he’s an AEW wrestler!

Wild Thing is not a must-see by any regards; nothing rises to the level of spectacular, including the few action scenes this has. The film is still watchable & might be a decent rainy-day watch for you, especially if Prison Break fans wish to view a young T-Bag (Robert Knepper) as an Urban Tarzan who engages in selective mutism. In addition, The Troggs version of Wild Thing is used… it’s a re-recording instead of the original but close enough, I guess. I wouldn’t have minded the 80’s version of the song heard in Major League… that was by the band X, NOT Joan Jett like everyone erroneously thinks.

Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King

Last night I saw this 2008 animated film (75-minutes in length) as it featured two famous names that passed away this month: 

RIP Tim Curry… and Hayden Panettiere

I’ve never watched a Scooby-Doo movie (not even the live-action films from the early 2000’s) but as a little kid did watch the cartoons. That includes the ones w/ the laugh tracks and Scrappy-Doo, regrettably. I’d shudder to think how I’d think of those cartoons as a jaded middle-aged adult. However, this featured the voice talents of two famous faces that just passed away, making it an obvious choice. I’ll say more about the dearly-departed later, but both deaths made me sad, for entirely different reasons. I’ve seen Curry in quite a few movies, but the only Panettiere watched by me period were the 4th and 6th Scream films, where she made her Kirby character memorable.

Naturally, Curry voiced the titular Goblin King, a perfect voice for that role as Shaggy & Scooby visit the underworld to stop The Amazing Krudsky (voiced by Wayne Knight), a mortal mediocre magician who stole the powers of a fairy princess, voiced by Hayden. This animated picture-set on Halloween-is full of iconography from the holiday, and Spooktober in general: ghosts, werewolves, skeletons, a graveyard, dark woods, pumpkins, witches, many different creatures, The Headless Horseman, etc. It’s a wacky story where the monsters are real, songs are sung-including Jim Belushi belting out what sounded like a rip-off of Zoot Suit Riot-and Curry was exactly what you’d want/expect as a Goblin King. I wouldn’t have minded more of him, but you can’t ever have enough of Mr. Curry.

If I saw this as a kid, I’d probably think of this as the cat’s pajamas. All those spooky elements hopefully would have delighted me to no end. As a jaded adult, of course I could nitpick how silly the movie is, or how the majority of the film is Scooby & Shaggy separated from the rest of the gang. However, this would be fine viewing for late October, especially if you’re a kid. I don’t know if this was a gateway to horror (or Spooktober or made them appreciate that time of year) for many youths but hopefully it was. 

Concerning Hayden Panettiere, the news concerning her personal struggles made me sympathetic; the role that her ex might have played in her untimely passing… that is upsetting. I’d rather think about the good stories I’ve heard about her as a human being and her on screen. Concerning Tim Curry, he’s someone who I saw in films since childhood; Clue and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York are as entertaining now as back then, due in part to Curry’s performances, whether bold or more subdued. It was nice to see him in films for the first time as an adult-including It & Congo-and in the past I’ve been happy to praise him on Letterboxd. While I don’t love Rocky Horror as much as most people, it wasn’t due to Curry or his performance.

He was a beloved figure for good reason; he was a star of stage & screen and even released a few albums. I’ll miss Tim Curry, that is for sure.

 

Rhinestone

Rhinestone (1984)

Runtime: An overlong 111 minutes

Directed by: Bob Clark

Starring: Sly Stallone, Dolly Parton (RIP), Richard Farnsworth, Tim Thomerson, Ron Leibman

From: 20^th Century Fox

RIP Dolly Parton

She is such an iconic figure-beloved by everyone-whose philanthropy should be what she’s remembered for (even more so than her legendary country music career), one of her films had to be seen ASAP. What a life she had… growing up in abject poverty in rural Tennessee, becoming a huge star, using her wealth & clout to help many that were in need like she was as a child. What a legacy she’ll leave behind.

Now, Nine to Five was viewed then reviewed May of ’24 after Dabney Coleman passed away. Rhinestone I have viewed before, albeit long before joining Letterboxd. I really didn’t like it at the time, yet it wasn’t due to Parton, her performance, or the soundtrack that she created alongside Mike Post. BTW, this required visiting the Bowels of the Internet to even find a copy.

The entire conceit doesn’t make a whole lotta sense. Ron Leibman is a truly insufferable club owner who owns Parton’s music contract; she performs there to much success yet he doesn’t try to make her a bigger success despite her obvious talent (and appearance!), instead attempting to make goofballs a star. Why?! Just because he’s like Harvey Weinstein and is mad that she won’t sleep with him? Is he mentally handicapped? This detail is irrelevant, but he has an apartment at… Trump Tower.

Sly Stallone’s NYC cab driver Nick Martinelli-on the other hand-certainly is mentally handicapped! His behavior was also insufferable; what he thought was “good” singing was “yelling at the top of his lungs & singing gibberish.” You see, if Dolly can have Sly sing a song at the Rhinestone club without the crowd booing it off the stage, she’ll be released from her onerous contract. 

The film has some moments, a few laughs, and the sight of Stallone as the Rhinestone Cowboy type… believe it or not, the plot is rather loosely based on the song. Dolly was charming despite how lousy the movie is; as intolerable as some of the main characters were, at least Tim Thomerson was amusing as a low-rent country singer in Tennessee, as was Richard Farnsworth (of The Straight Story fame) as Dolly’s father. 

I still enjoyed the country soundtrack; that genre I’m not as well-versed in but Lord is it much better than most of what passes for “country music” these days! Sly never improves at the “singing” aspect, at least in terms of voice. He at least now sings to the beat and doesn’t scream like he’s a resident at a mental health facility. However, it was absurd that the guy who sang a song called Drinkin’stein (concerning how “Budweiser created a monster”) won that crowd over. Is everyone insane, or is it I that has lost their marbles? Drinkin’stein can be found in full on YouTube, for those that enjoy novelty tunes.

Regardless, what a miserable week this has turned into, now that two beloved figures have passed away. You know which actor I’ll be viewing for tomorrow’s review. Now, I’ll close this out by sharing an anecdote made in my Urban Cowboy review. It concerns how my father saw Dolly Parton perform at a rodeo in the early 70’s, and what he noticed about her first. As she flaunted her appearance, I imagine she wouldn’t have been offended by my dad’s reaction: 

“One scene early in the movie introduced (Scott) Glenn's character; he is a convict in the Huntsville, Texas prison and he is riding a rodeo bull in the Texas Prison Rodeo. It may seem like poppycock but from the 30's until 1986, prisoners all over Texas who behaved could go to Huntsville and compete in a rodeo, held each Saturday in October. Various events were had and it was held to raise money for the prison system. My dad explained that in 1974 he and his buddies went to it one Saturday; he had already graduated from college in Illinois but he went to Houston to earn another degree. 

He had a good time; the halftime entertainment was... Dolly Parton. They always had big country stars perform there. It wasn't 1980 when she was mainstream and this movie had a scene where there was a Dolly impersonation contest; my dad doesn't listen to “country & western” so that was the first he had heard of her, let alone seen her. As she always joked about her “assets”, it's not entirely gross for me to mention that the biggest impression Parton left on dad & friends was not her music!”

The Signalman

This is an interesting 1976 TV special that was on the BBC, 37 minutes in length.

I had seen one of the BBC’s A Ghost Story for Christmas specials before, but it was before Christmas in ’24, I watched 1974’s The Treasure of Abbot Thomas. Then and now, Shudder has some. The BBC made some in the 70’s and there have been sporadic effects since 2005. An old oral tradition was to tell supernatural tales around Christmas. They started off adapting stories from English writer M.R. James but this came from none other than Charles Dickins.

IMO, ghost stories like this are as fitting for Spooky Season as they are for Christmas. Bernard Lloyd stumbles across Denholm Elliott, the titular signalman for the railway. This is back in the day of locomotives. His dwelling is in a dark valley, right in front of a spooky tunnel in the woods. The setting itself is great, augmented by the two talented actors engaged in discussion w/ each other, including Elliott’s love of the job despite the isolation & loneliness.

There is some great imagery shown in this cold, foggy setting, each breath visible in the night. The supernatural element is a spectre that Elliott has seen; each appearance foretells doom & disaster. The Signalman isn’t action-packed, full of spooks and calamity. Rather, the mood & atmosphere slowly envelops the viewer. This spectre doesn’t tell the signalman how to prevent those accidents, after all, and even Lloyd becomes haunted by those moments.

As the sound design is aces throughout & the finale is chilling to the bone, The Signalman can be viewed during any month of the year.