Viewings: June 2025

Tesis, a dark, low budget, Spanish thriller from the '90s, and Danny Boyle's divisive, coming-of-Rage sequel 28 Years Later were the standouts amongst the first viewings this month. Otherwise, it's mostly been an underwhelming affair; in particular, older films I was eager to see (e.g. Privilege).

The absolute best films were rewatches: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Dark City and 28 Days Later were all in a higher league compared to everything else.

Finally catalogued all my film reviews into one place. Link in the side bar.

 

Film:

Behind the Mask (John Francis Dillon, 1932)*

Black Moon (Roy William Neill, 1934)*

Horrors of Spider Island (Fritz Böttger, 1960)

The Silent Star (Kurt Maetzvig, 1960)*

Privilege (Peter Watkins, 1967)*

Signals: A Space Adventure (Gottfried Kolditz, 1970)*

Taste the Blood of Dracula (Peter Sasdy, 1970)

Violent City (Sergio Sollima, 1970)

Eolomea (Herrmann Zschoche, 1972)*

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (Joseph Sargent, 1974)

In the Dust of the Stars (Gottfried Kolditz, 1976)*

Outland (Peter Hyams, 1981)

Delicatessen (Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1991)*

Jade (Director's Cut (William Friedkin, 1995)*

Tesis (Alejandro Amenábar, 1996)*

Dark City (Director's Cut) (Alex Proyas, 1998) 

28 Days Later (Danny Boyle, 2002)

28 Years Later (Danny Boyle, 2025)*

Ash (Flying Lotus, 2025)*

Clown in a Cornfield (Eli Craig, 2025)*

Final Destination: Bloodlines (Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein, 2025)*

The Shrouds (David Cronenberg, 2024/2025)*

Sinners (Ryan Coogler, 2025)*

 

Television:

Doctor Who - 'Battlefield' (Michael Kerrigan, 1989)

Doctor Who - 'Survival' (Alan Wareing, 1989) 

MobLand - Season One (Various, 2025)* 

 

*First time viewings.

 

Dada Debaser Notes:

• To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jaws this month and pay respect to the legendary film composer Lalo Scifrin, who passed away a few days ago, here's his version of the well known theme.
• Did a review of the recent Doctor Who series before it potentially enters the wilderness years again.
• Loved Peter Watkins's mock documentaries The War Game (1966) and Punishment Park (1971). Privilege is set in an authoritarian Britain where Paul Jones, of the group Manfred Man, has messianic powers over the population. This benefits his handlers, the church and the Labour and Conservative coalition which runs the country. It's nowhere near as fun as its audacious premise sounds, and by the end, I was relieved it was over. Doe-eyed Jean Shrimpton plays the love interest that predictably turns Jones's character against the establishment.
• Once you get through the first two Guy Ritchie gangster fairytale episodes of MobLand, the series becomes even more ridiculous. Tom Hardy single handedly wiping out an entire warehouse full of villains like he's John Rambo, is one example. Still not quite as over-the-top as Gangs of London, however.
• Watched a bunch of socialist, sci-fi films from East Germany this month. The adventure driven The Silent Star was the only interesting stand-out from what was otherwise a soporific selection amongst Masters of Cinema's Strange New World's: Science Fiction at DEFA box set.
• Apart from Linda Fiorentino getting naked, the best thing about William Friedkin's giallo/erotic thriller, Jade, is its unintentional comedy. Had to remind myself I wasn't watching one of the Naked Gun movies at times; particularly during a ridiculous car chase. 
• David Cronenberg's most personal film since The Brood is surprisingly funny for what's essentially meant to be a paranoid, conspiracy thriller. Vincent Cassell, uncannily looking like the director, plays the tech guru struggling to move on after the loss of his wife. Taking his date to a restaurant adjacent to his wife's grave, doesn't exactly help matters, nor does watching her rot on his iPhone app. Too many convoluted side plots and loose ends are unnecessary distractions from The Shroud's commentary on our personal privacies being invaded, make this a mixed bag.
• Terrible VFX, idiotic characters and awful acting don't stop Final Destination: Bloodlines being a half-decent time waster. Tony Todd's ad-libbing made for a moving performance in his final ever scene.
• Loved the Blues music, the Southern Gothic milieu and Coogler's unique spin on vampire lore in Sinners. The rest; not so much. Better off watching the two films which possibly inspired it  — House Party and From Dusk Till Dawn. Miles Caton, Delroy Lindo and Jack O'Connell were good in their respective roles, regardless.
• Speaking of the latter, never did I imagine a cult inspired by one of the most monstrous British celebrities would ever crop up in a post-apocalyptic setting: