Apparently Karma has decreed that I shall watch only films that are bat**** insane.
Karma has done worse things to me…
…in which any synopsis I could offer would suggest that I had suffered a nervous breakdown while playing Mad Libs…
.
Liz Kingsley is the insane genius behind And You Call Yourself a Scientist!
#1 by Ken on June 18, 2016 - 9:57 pm
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I like that… arthropod in the upper-left of the poster. Appears to be stag beetle mandibles and body, mosquito legs and wings, what look like spider eyes, and a bee sting coming out of the mouth. Annabelle was busy, wasn’t she?
#2 by lyzard on June 18, 2016 - 10:16 pm
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😀
Yes, she was—and we don’t see enough of it. This is what’s frustrating about this film and its lack of focus: Annabelle is just a subplot. If the film had been about her it would have been the greatest thing ever, but as it stands the insect revolt doesn’t even need her contribution.
#3 by supersonic man on June 20, 2016 - 10:33 am
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You said something about a hive mind. Could they have intended that Annabelle was under the control of the bugs she was experimenting on?
Of course, if she were a proper mad scientist, she may have only needed a suggestion.
#4 by lyzard on June 24, 2016 - 8:26 pm
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No, there’s no suggestion of that at all. Annabelle and the insects are working quite independently of one another, which is one of the many, many odd things about this film.
#5 by Blake on June 19, 2016 - 12:09 pm
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Excellent choice for a review, Lyz! This is one of those movies that showed up in the catalog for Video Daikaiju, but for years nobody knew much at all about the movie itself. Glad to see it given the AYCYAS treatment. Cheerio!
#6 by lyzard on June 19, 2016 - 11:10 pm
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Thanks, Blake!
Of course, most of the credit belongs to the wonderful people at Criterion / Eclipse for putting out the Shochiku box set.
(Which was a shock in more ways than one since I had not at that point heard that Genocide was an alternative title for War Of The Insects, and didn’t immediately realise that the film I’d been hunting for years was finally available…)
#7 by goddessoftransitory on June 20, 2016 - 2:40 am
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Cinematic Titanic did Genocide/War of the Insects! I think copies of the live show are available on Amazon.
#8 by lyzard on June 20, 2016 - 3:13 am
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Yes, I became aware of that as I was working on the review, but this is definitely the kind of film that you want to see unadulterated first.
#9 by The Rev. on June 22, 2016 - 1:48 am
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Thanks to Appolonia…er, goddessoftransitory for the heads-up on CT’s version being on Amazon now; and to Lyz for the tip to see it in its original format first.
Right after I find the time to watch Halloween III.
Which technically should wait until after Exorcist III.
Which reminds me I still haven’t seen Exorcist II.
While at the same time I’m finding out there are penanggalan movies I didn’t know existed, and resolving to get brushed up on Filipino exploitation movies, thanks to discussions over at Jabootu.
And remembering I have giant monster movies I just received, that I actually haven’t seen before, which really takes precedence on everything else because giant monsters.
Which reminds me I still haven’t gotten through the Daimajin trilogy.
I need a week free of all responsibilities whatsoever.
And a hug.
#10 by lyzard on June 24, 2016 - 8:20 pm
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Yeah. You know that tight panicky feeling in your chest right now? Multiply that by about twenty and that’s how I felt every day over the previous eighteen months.
Which is a way of saying that despite your shameful confession, I’m not even going to “Tsk!” you…
#11 by The Rev. on June 26, 2016 - 12:57 am
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Considering I expected a “Tsk!” and maybe a “Feh!” too, I’m quite relieved.
Although if you felt that way (or worse) for a year and a half, then you need the hug more than I do, hon.
And did I make any headway today? No, of course not. (I need to just not turn on the Roku tomorrow.) Although I did finally see The Sadist, which will never let me look at Arch Hall, Jr. the same way again. The night is still young, though, so I’m thinking a giant monster movie before bed.
#12 by Jason Farrell on June 20, 2016 - 5:20 pm
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“This psychedelic sequence is the visual highlight of War Of The Insects, with Nagumo’s distorted face blended with swirling overlays of butterflies, in a riot of colour and abstract imagery.”
“There’s no bee here. I promise you, there’s no bee here. “
#13 by lyzard on June 24, 2016 - 8:22 pm
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…except those ones acting as stands-ins for what I’m reliably informed were Japanese giant hornets (insects already so scary, one wonders why Annabelle bothered…)
#14 by David Lee Ingersoll on June 24, 2016 - 8:08 am
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“I just want to breed vast numbers of insects that drive people mad.”
Makes sense to me.
#15 by lyzard on June 24, 2016 - 8:14 pm
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[Kent Brockman] “So isn’t that what we’re all saying in our own lives? ‘I just want to breed vast numbers of insects that drive people mad.’ I know that’s what I’ve been saying…” [/Kent Brockman]