I’ve recently been to see the Banksy film “exit through the Giftshop”- what a great film . It is ostensibly a documentary about enigmatic Street artist Banksy but its true subject is the guy who set out to film Banksy and became the star of the show in the process. Thierry is a crazy Frenchman who has spent the last 20 years following graffiti artists with a camera and whose ultimate dream was to meet the illusive Banksy. This film is a fascinating insight into the Street art culture and makes a poignant comment about the modern art world. I’m not sure how much of the film is real or staged – and I have my doubts as to whether the hooded figure is infact the real Banksy. But if it is him , not only is he an amazing artist, he’s also a pretty funny guy. Banksy says of the film “this is a film about one man who set out to film the unfilmable… and failed.”
Psychological horror is a big interest of mine, I get my kicks from watching movies and playing videogames about Horror; in fact I recently found some time to buzz my way through a PS2 classic I picked up a while ago; a cult classic called Project Zero II. It’s a mind-bender of a game that works on so many levels because the message of spirits, kinship, promise, betrayal and sacrifice is so powerful.
Good horror movies such as Shutter, and the Orphanage also tend to carry a fable-like quality to them. They drum up the level of suspense and mentally invade your comfort zone. I don’t know what makes a great horror movie but I do know that the art of misdirection is a big plus in my books. The ‘knocking noise’ in the Orphanage and the ‘neck pain’ in Shutter are seeded at the start of the movie and called back to for the big reveal.
Ali Cook 