Ukrainian Horror Essentials
Compiling a list of Ukrainian horror movies, much less essential Ukrainian horror movies, is no easy task…
FAMINE ’33
A chronicle of the Holodomor, or Artificial Famine, that afflicted Ukraine in 1932-33, engineered by Stalin to (it’s been claimed) crush Ukrainian resistance to Soviet rule
ROLLING THUNDER
One of the finest action films of ithe seventies, offering up naturalistic drama and brutal action in equal doses
CECIL B. DEMENTED
Far from John Waters’ best work, but funny and perceptive enough in its corrosive portrayal of guerilla filmmaking to warrant a qualified recommendation
A SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM
A black comedy whose effectiveness pivots on an unexpected but quite canny casting choice: Michael Caine, playing a New York businessman using highly unorthodox practices to get ahead
AKIRA
This is the 1988 cyberpunk-themed anime feature that, prior to game-changers like GHOST IN THE SHELL and PERFECT BLUE, irrevocably altered the format
WHALE MUSIC
The late John Candy was a galvanizing force behind this film, which was released in 1994 (the year of Candy’s demise)
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST at 20
Does anyone remember THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST? It’s not discussed much these days, but the film was quite the hot potato back in ’04
THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED
The most notorious “lost” film of our—if not all—time, reviewed in screenplay form
PRINCE OF DARKNESS
Some commentators would have you believe this film is one of John Carpenter’s biggest failures, while others maintain that it’s a masterwork—I say both views are wrong