Welcome one and all to part 45 of my weekly blog, The 52 In 52. Each week I take a DVD or Blu Ray from my collection that has gone un watched and I not only watch it but, I review it. Last week I reviewed the surprisingly good, Puppet Master.
As always if you have any comments or feedback leave a comment in the section below or by following me on Instagram and Twitter.
This week I'm cheating a little bit. I will be reviewing Cigarette Burns and whilst technically this film was never released in cinemas and it was part of an anthology television series, Cigarette Burns is part of a series of fantastic made for TV films. If you are unaware of Masters Of Horror, the anthology series premiered in 2005 and ran for two series. The anthology features hour long films directed by horror greats such as Dario Argento, John Landis, Joe Dante, Takashi Miike and John Carpenter.
Cigarette Burns was directed by John Carpenter and written Drew McWeeny and Rebecca Swan and follows the story of down on his luck film theatre owner Kirby who is contacted by the mysterious Mr Bellinger and tasked to find a fabled banned film La Fin Absolue Du Monde, shown only once and was the cause of mass violence and hysteria. As Kirby follows leads the unravelling story becomes more and more bizarre and violent.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Cigarette Burns and I feel that the film manages to tell a story in a timely fashion without feeling rushed or bogged down with exposition. There are two main plot threads running throughout. The main story is fantastic and unfolds in a film noir like style with twists and turns from the very beginning. The secondary thread is just as good as it reveals a past that haunts Kirby and continues to do so in the present. There are a few moments I felt were a little melodramatic and unnecessary. The scene in the second act of the film that features a torture scene and scenery chewing acting, whilst necessary for the story progression is just gore for the sake of it. The third act ramps up the intensity and takes a sharp turn into the bizarre but, is done incredibly well.
The cast is sparse but, I loved that as it made the story feel claustrophobic and like Kirby was really on his own. Udo Kier is fantastic as Mr Bellinger and has the ability to terrify with one glance. Norman Reedus is brilliant as Kirby, someone who should not be the hero but, as the story unfolds I felt myself routing for more.
The musical score has all of the Carpenter hallmarks and it was no surprise to find out that it was Cody Carpenter that scored the film. The music flows through the scenes complementing them perfectly without being to distracting.
The effects work is done incredibly well throughout and is gruesome and realistic but is utilised in sometimes over the top and schlocky manner, that being said it is used in a way that doesn't seem to gratuitous or out of place.
Overall Cigarette Burns does something that many full length horror films fail to do, hold the attention of the audience by telling a concise and effective story that wraps up well without giving all of the details and information surrounding the story.
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