FOUR FILMS - TUSK, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS, RAGNORAK, DON'T BLINK

TUSK

I'm not much of Kevin Smith fan but I really enjoyed this super ridiculous, almost whimsical horror film. On the surface it bears a faint resemblance to THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE but is a much better film -horrifying but also very funny in places. The man-walrus hybrid is one for the nightmares. Excellent performance by Michael Parks as the serial (walrus) killer and also an amusing turn by an unrecognizable Johnny Depp.

 ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS

Wild documentary about the heyday of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and their film production company Cannon.  While it's chock full of crazy anecdotes (my favorites are the ones involving Ninjas, Sylvester Stallone’s arm wrestling film OVER THE TOP, and their competing Lambada movies), in the end this is a cautionary tale about spending money you don’t have.  Effortlessly makes the case (without necessarily meaning to do so) for Cannon as a pop culture signpost.  Fast paced and easy to follow and unapologetically exploitative at times much like a Cannon film itself.

RAGNAROK

This Norwegian family friendly lake monster story takes a very long time to get going but once it does, a combination of good monster effects, thrilling chase scenes, and a great location makes it a thrilling experience.  So to rephrase, the last 40 minutes is dynamite, a lot of talking and set-up before then. 

DON’T BLINK

I’ll give this film a little credit for working its very limited conceit well – A group of friends visiting a remote lodge for the weekend find everyone has vanished and they themselves begin to disappear one by one.  I say it’s limited because there’s no monster here, no aliens, no slasher in a hockey mask.  What there is is a constant sense of dread and the usual genre features – One guy goes crazy, people don’t disappear when expected only to disappear the very next scene, a blackout, etc.  In the end, the pay-off which is non-existent does not justify the hour and a half before.  Kudos for the consistently tense mood but it’s an unrewarding disappointment at the end.