MovieChat Forums > Diary of a Cannibal (2009) Discussion > Artistic? Or Lazy?

Artistic? Or Lazy?

posted 17 years ago by the_worlds_saddest
5 replies | jump to latest

I need help. I really do, I am about halfway through this movie, and I've been reduced to "Mystery Science 3000-ing" to myself.
Was this movie meant to be a horror? If so it has failed.
Was this movie meant to be artsy? I dunno but it just seems incredibly lazy to me. It seems about 30 minutes worth or plot related footage was shot for this movie and the rest was wasted by the single-named hack of an editor.
(Note to editor: you only get to use one name if you are any good at what you do.)
It seems as if noone involved in this movie was truly into it. Whatever lines of dialog that are spoken are terrible and delivered with all the emotion of a d-list actor at a PBS telethon.

This is one of the worst written, acted, edited, directed, and cast movie I have EVER seen.

Except for Jillian Swanson, Whew what a hottie.

Best part of the whole movie: Play a game!

Try to count how many times you can spot the crew in reflections! Mirrors, Windows, Even Noah's sunglasses!! Fun for the whole family.

Avoid at all costs. I found myself counting how many times a scene is repeated.
Ulli Lommel is like Uwe Boll, except way way WAY less fun. If you can fathom such a thing.

[–] berniegrim 17 years ago

Hahaha! Sounds like a winner. I've seen Zombie Nation, that was directed by Ulli, and thought it had to be the worst thing in the video store. This sounds like it might rival his others.

take care,
drunknbear

[–] TheGOLDENWALRUS 17 years ago

zombie nation is the worst ever.
watch for vipers and poison snakes

[–] Forzforz2-1 17 years ago

The best thing about this film is that it shows us how a movie doesn't need to follow conventions to be made. The worst thing is that it was more about the director's vision than about entertaining the masses. But in a way I am glad that the director approached this as a piece of art. It did not hit a home run by any means but it was definitely stylized and had some artistry to it.

I give it marks for effort. By looking at it, I'd say that it was shot on a Cannon XL2, or maybe an XL1, and that there were no real sets or locations save found spots in the desert or the city scape. Then the sound was probably done with a top mic or put in later like the Italians like to do it. In other words, this might have cost 15K to make not counting salaries.

I'm glad that there are films like this being made. It gives hope to the thought that we are not completely owned and run by big conglomerates and profiled by huge demographic studies. Give me a home movie every once in a while that tries to be something special. Save me from Haliburton.

[–] paultagonist 17 years ago

I'm with you forzforz, I'm all about some independent cinema, and glad that movies like this are being made.. but that doesn't mean that I have to watch them. What you lack in special effects or camera work you sould make up for with a solid plot, intruiging/original storyline, and sharp dialog.

I wish that instead of trying to be something special, it, well, was special. But as you say, at least they tried, and maybe the next movie they put together will be better for it.

The real trick to life is not to be in the know, but to be in the mystery. -Fred Wolf

[–] scottit2001 16 years ago

You know, while I was watching this, um, "movie", I actually thought that the director was trying to give it an artsy style. Problem with that, is horror can't be artsy. It just can't. Horror can be stylized, but not artsy. But since they didn't have much of a budget, and couldn't afford special effects ( I mean, COME ON! you can see the dude's leg twitching when he was supposed to have been dead for hours!) They could have at least tried on the plot and dialogue thing. They didn't. They didn't because they knew that they would make money when happless goofballs like myself rent this thing.
I'm not saying every low budget movie is bad, far from it. Most of the best movies I have ever seen have been low budget. But throw me a bone here.
Repeating the same exact footage 86 times is not artsy. Not even attempting to be artsy. It's being lazy.
Plan 9 from outter space was low budget, and, well, bad. But, Ed Wood did put his heart and soul into it. He made it very stylized. But not artsy. Ulli should take some notes from a trully successful bad director.