First off, I absolutely LOVED this movie. It starts off with two Allied soldiers attempting to sneak onto a Nazi-occupied island off the British coast in order to sabotage the gun battery. I'm not perfect at identifying English-language accents among each other, but the main character of the two was identfied as a New Zelander and I presume the other was as well. By the way, the title of this film describes the island on which the story takes place, not to a style of music.
I could tell from the first scene with the pacing and the interaction between the characters that the story was sharp. Tension was bulit very effectively with no need for the various tricks you'll see Hollywood employ to get a moviegoer's attention. Partway through the story, it shifts to a more occult/supernatural horror story and this is very effectively done as well, but it didn't wow me as much as the beginning. Don't take this to mean that the latter part was not good, just that the first part let me know how good this movie was going to be. Character was built,
background was indicated and all without a voicover or corny diaologue to spoon-feed you too much. The special effects for the demon woman were simple but good, and I liked the attention to detail in the severed wing-stumps on her back (implying that she is a fallen angel rather than a pit-spawn, for those who care). The makeup was just good. The location was secluded, making it much like the "closed-room movies" that I like so much (emphasis on story rather than on special effects). The woman who played the demon and the human-glamour that she wore was gorgeous (I particularly loved her mouth; the shape and movement of it implies a dignity and elegance with her beauty).
The German soldier that the New Zelander met looked very German, and I particularly liked that the interaction between the soliders avoided a philosophical discussion about what the Nazi regime was doing in occupied Europe. Most of the German soliders were simply patriotic grunts following orders, much like the Allied soldiers, and as unaware of the attrocities beign comitted in the camps as the rest of the non-local world was... plus it was not as necessary for the plot of this story. They had more imediate problems with the flesh-eating demon nearby. Similar to the early scenes in Hellboy and Constantine (referenced in so often that I suspect there must be some truth to it), the German soldier indicates that it was Hitler's interest in the occult that lead to this demonic incident.
If you like the show Supernatural (I've recently been watching it so I'm on the kick), you'll love this (it lacks the occasional humor, but has the occult angle). If you liked Hellboy or Constantine, or even some war movies for the begining scene in this film, you'll like this one. For me it's a solid 5 stars.
I could tell from the first scene with the pacing and the interaction between the characters that the story was sharp. Tension was bulit very effectively with no need for the various tricks you'll see Hollywood employ to get a moviegoer's attention. Partway through the story, it shifts to a more occult/supernatural horror story and this is very effectively done as well, but it didn't wow me as much as the beginning. Don't take this to mean that the latter part was not good, just that the first part let me know how good this movie was going to be. Character was built,
background was indicated and all without a voicover or corny diaologue to spoon-feed you too much. The special effects for the demon woman were simple but good, and I liked the attention to detail in the severed wing-stumps on her back (implying that she is a fallen angel rather than a pit-spawn, for those who care). The makeup was just good. The location was secluded, making it much like the "closed-room movies" that I like so much (emphasis on story rather than on special effects). The woman who played the demon and the human-glamour that she wore was gorgeous (I particularly loved her mouth; the shape and movement of it implies a dignity and elegance with her beauty).
The German soldier that the New Zelander met looked very German, and I particularly liked that the interaction between the soliders avoided a philosophical discussion about what the Nazi regime was doing in occupied Europe. Most of the German soliders were simply patriotic grunts following orders, much like the Allied soldiers, and as unaware of the attrocities beign comitted in the camps as the rest of the non-local world was... plus it was not as necessary for the plot of this story. They had more imediate problems with the flesh-eating demon nearby. Similar to the early scenes in Hellboy and Constantine (referenced in so often that I suspect there must be some truth to it), the German soldier indicates that it was Hitler's interest in the occult that lead to this demonic incident.
If you like the show Supernatural (I've recently been watching it so I'm on the kick), you'll love this (it lacks the occasional humor, but has the occult angle). If you liked Hellboy or Constantine, or even some war movies for the begining scene in this film, you'll like this one. For me it's a solid 5 stars.
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