We take a look at two films, nearly 50 years apart — one heavily influenced what came after and the other is a product of what came before.
Lady Snowblood
EPISODE SUMMARY
This week, we are covering a genre we have never done before. The pinky violence movies of Japan are hard to define, but an easy way to describe them is exploitation movies filled with sex and violence. We settled on one of the most influential of all time. We also cover a recent homage to 1980s slashers.
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The Super Bowl is over and done with, so you know what that means. Trailers!!! This year’s batch had some good ones, but we were disappointed on a number of levels. From our fear of QR codes to trailers basically being a clip show, we have a lot of concerns. We also discuss the prospect of a three-hour John Wick movie and our guesses about who Ghostface will be.
After that bit of business, we get into our feature presentation.
You do not have to watch Lady Snowblood for too long before seeing its influence on Quentin Tarantino. There are many shots from Kill Bill that are shot-for-shot homages to the 1973 film. Aside from casting a long shadow, it is also incredibly stylish and filled with a surprising amount of nuance and characterization.
It is not just for the cinematography and awesome lead character it is remembered, however. The film is incredibly violent and will surprise audiences with just how graphic the brutality can get.
TRIGGER WARNING: Lady Snowblood contains scenes of sexual violence.
After looking back at an influential genre film, we fast-forward to a recently released indie horror film for our New Movie Spotlight.
Because of our age, the 1980s is the Golden Age of Horror to us. For better or worse, this means we will be drawn to 80s-inspired horror movies.
Set in 1987, She Came from the Woods is about a group of camp counselors who decide to have a ritual as a joke one night. You can guess what happens next.
We discuss the thin line between being an homage, a spoof, and just being derivative. She Came from the Woods does a great job of using 80s horror cliches mixed with modern storytelling, but there was one thing it completely whiffed on.
B-horror can get away with a lot, but did this film go too far?
Watch Lady Snowblood on HBO Max, or rent it on VOD. She Came from the Woods was released in U.S. theaters on February 10th. Its VOD release date has yet to be announced.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Last week, we reviewed a polarizing recent release and talked about one of the most maligned movies of 2022 to ask, “Was it really that bad?”
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