'The Theatre Bizarre'
(Udo Kier, Guilford Adams, Suzan Anbeh, Lindsay Goranson, et al / DVD / NR / 2012 / IMAGE Entertainment)
Overview: Down a seedy city street, a young woman is obsessed with what appears to be a long abandoned theatre. One night, she sees the front door slightly ajar and impulsively decides to sneak inside. But there in the vast, eerie auditorium, a show unlike any other unfolds before her eyes. Its host is an odd marionette-like man who will introduce her to six tales of the truly bizarre!
DVD Verdict: This movie is really a very bizarre one, even in the context of bizarre / horror movies. It is no ordinary horror however - more or less it is unusually deep trip into the darkness. Forget "positive heroes running from demons or killers". This is way way darker and definitely not suitable for typical viewer.
The first story almost seems lame but the darkness increases from the this very point on. When it reaches "Vision Stains" you may be sure you are watching something so dark it may just come from Hell itself. Yet these stories are no gore flicks, they have their wicked souls, their own twisted logic. Some of them like the "Vision Stains" are really hard to watch.
I absolutely do love "The Accident". It is basically not a horror story, but more poem or "experience". It is very slow, gentle, almost tender story about the dying and the meaning of life and death. It is absolutely mesmerizing, brilliant example of storytelling mixed with great soundtrack and the editing. It is pure 10/10 and alone makes the whole movie worth watching. It does not fit here however - it is not dark, not twisted and in some ways almost zen-like positive. It is really beautiful.
I could not recommend this movie for everyone - the only really accessible story is "The Accident" which is the weakest in the terms of gore and the most powerful in the terms of philosophy. The other stories could be way too much disturbing for ordinary viewer - not because they are full of gore, but because of twisted and elaborated evil, abuse, loss, suffering and despair depicted here. It is very powerful and dark anthology, definitely no ordinary teenager slasher movie. No fun is here, no light at the end of the tunnel. You have to have right mood to watch this anthology or you will end up really depressed. [TW] This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.