Review: The Conspiracy (2012)

Is it possible a sinister secret society exists to create significant historical events resulting in the manipulation of politics, economics, and even the everyday lives of ordinary citizens? The Conspiracy posits that certain global members of the wealthy elite plot to mold the world in their image. To uncover the truth, two documentary filmmakers investigate the claims of a conspiracy theorist with jarring results.

The Conspiracy is a nifty little “docu-thriller” that takes the “found footage” genre to a new level. When Terrance (the conspiracy theorist who shouts out his beliefs on street corners) vanishes without a trace, the filmmakers start to wonder if his theories contain more validity than insanity and take up his crusade. What follows is a tense exercise in examining whether or not there is indeed a link between seemingly random events and, as the filmmakers get closer to the truth, if uncovering the reality is worth it.

I really enjoyed The Conspiracy, not only because the subject matter was rooted in actual historical events, but also because director Christopher MacBride and actors Aaron Poole and James Gilbert committed to making the film look like an actual documentary throughout.

While The Conspiracy isn’t your typical horror film, it does contain elements of the genre, particularly near the finale. However, that shouldn’t dissuade you in any way from seeing this well crafted movie because the horror lies in the fact that there might be forces lurking beneath everyday life seeking to do us harm.

And there isn’t a thing we can do about it.

The Conspiracy is available on Netflix but you can also pick up a copy on DVD and BluRay.

The Conspiracy grade: B+

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Review: Black Sabbath (1963)

I knew little about this film going in, save for the fact that it was an Italian anthology film starring Boris Karloff and directed by Mario Bava. I almost wish I could go back to the time when that’s all I knew about Black Sabbath.

Anyway, here’s the trailer.

Many horror fans are of the opinion that Black Sabbath be held in high regard as a horror classic. I am not one of those fans.

Now, I suppose I should start by offering the disclaimer that I apparently saw the “American” version of the film on Netflix with some scenes and even entire storylines (at least in one segment) pared down so as not to offend audiences in the United States. However, I highly doubt seeing a different version would have significantly altered my opinion of the film.

Black Sabbath is divided into three stories–“The Drop of Water”, “The Telephone” and “The Wurdulak”–which are linked together by introductions courtesy of horror legend Boris Karloff (Frankenstein, The Mummy).

“The Drop of Water” concerns a nurse who is summoned to the house of a psychic to prepare her for burial after a rather eerie death. After the nurse steals a ring from the woman’s finger, she returns home and is plagued by strange sounds, including an ominous dripping coming from several rooms in the house. In the end, that’s the least of her problems as the owner may want the ring back. “The Drop of Water” is easily the creepiest of the three segments thanks to the increasing tension and terrifying makeup on the psychic.

Whereas the first segment is worth watching, the version of “The Telephone” fails miserably and is a total misfire. A woman receives ominous phone calls from a man she once put in prison. Then again, the man may be dead. Who knows because “The Telephone” attempts to add a supernatural element to a tale that really doesn’t need one (and apparently didn’t have one in the Italian version) and thereby makes it an incomprehensible mess.

“The Wurdulak” sees Karloff pulling double duty as he not only intros the segment, but also appears as the father of a family living in the countryside who, after leaving to pursue the mythical wurdulak (a creature who feeds primarily off of the blood of loved ones), returns as one of the creatures. A great performance by Karloff and some really nice cinematography saves “The Wurdulak” from being a complete waste of time, but not by much.

I guess I’m not easily swayed by films that are labeled genius just because they were different than the norm at the time of release. I’ve always found most of the French “new wave” films like Last Year at Marienbad and Jules and Jim excessively dull and a lot of the Italian horror films hailed as “masterpieces” are no different. To be fair, I also hated American movies like The Big Lebowski as well as some Wes Anderson films so my dislikes aren’t relegated simply to foreign films.

If you want to see Karloff in a role similar to the one he played in Black Sabbath, check out the old Thriller series he hosted prior to the film. Even its worst story is far and away better than anything you’ll find in this turkey.

Black Sabbath grade: D