Hostel: Part III (2011)

What. a. steaming. turd.

I admit I have a complicated appreciation for the first movie, and I actively like the second one... but this is *awful*. It loses all of the grubby, nasty, charm from its predecessors, instead subjecting us to the torture of following a group of unbearable friends for nearly FORTY MINUTES before any actual (ultimately mid) torture happens! Did someone forget this is a Hostel movie??

There were a couple of little moments I appreciated. A set-up that wasn't completely transparent, and some decent gore... but nothing that could wash its smug, bloated taste from my mouth. I hope this tanked at the box office. Whoever had the idea of inflating the Hostel universe deserves to have their pinky finger snapped.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

Sometimes I get into a headspace, and only this movie will do. 

The opening montage may rank in my top 5 favourite ever. The BALLS to have your opening shot be a clearly violently murdered woman. Cut to Henry, going about his business and appearing normal. Cut back to another dumped corpse, and on and on. The motel bathroom scene is particularly grisly (my fave, only just beating the one face down in a trash-ridden pond). I really adore this start to the story, it's so fucking BLEAK, and the reveal of the violence left in Henry's wake is all the more impactful for the slow pan outs/zoom ins, which clarify - along with the soundtrack as it plays garbled, condensed audio from the murders - maybe a little of the "how" but absolutely none of the "why". Because there is no "why". There's just Henry. 

It's a depressing-as-shit heavy hitter, and I love it, down to the intro/outro score. PLUS, I always seem to be surprised he doesn't stamp that terrier to death. Deserving of full marks.

Fuck the Bears.