Mad Max Fury Road - Exploitation:
Fury Rad is heavy handed with its use of violence, crime and nudity, making it an example of a mainstream exploitation film. Fury road takes advantage of car culture and biker culture through chase scenes, filled with excessive crashes, explosions and fantastical modifications e.g. human fuel. These scenes are set within natural disaster; the world has been destroyed. Crime is evident in Fury Road's story which follows Furiosa as she helps a group of wives escape their captive, Joe. This theme of enslavement sits alongside rape, murder, drugs and gang activity as the story progresses. Nudity is present throughout the film as Joe's escapee wives are barely clothed. The audience is introduced to the women as they splash themselves with water, making themselves even more exposed. The wives wear white and appear cleaner that the other characters, suggesting maidenhood and purity which emphasises sexual appeal.
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| Mad Mad: Fury Road - Gang culture. |
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| Mad Mad: Fury Road - Nudity and Sex Appeal. |
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| Mad Mad: Fury Road - Violence. |
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| Mad Mad: Fury Road - Car and Bike Culture. |
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| Mad Mad: Fury Road - Does the film harness and exaggerate teenager culture? |
B Movie Review - The Giant Claw:
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| The Giant Claw - 1957 |
A 1957 low budget film that follows the discovery of a supersonic bird that terrorizes everything in its path. The film heavily exploits plot points from the 1933 King Kong; a giant bird sits atop a skyscraper in New York, attacking planes. The Giant Claw is extremely formulaic with its narrative, yet it's bad pacing makes boring plot developments something of a surprise. The film is extremely digestible and one dimensional from its use of bland characters that lack personality or origin stories. It's suspicious marketing posters depict the film as an equivalent to King Kong with its use of dramatic illustrations that show a metropolis being rampaged my a mysterious monster. The films marketing deliberately creates hype by comparing itself to the 1933 King Kong, but turns out to be a poor copy that somehow looks far older. The films poor quality is emphasised by its use of a narrator, a storytelling cheat.
Five Redeeming Qualities:
- Acting: Sally, the heroine, is the strongest actor in the film and almost convincing enough to make me believe that the clay model pigeon was real. She keeps the film afloat with her flamboyant facial expressions.
- Film Noir: The cinematographer understood the mechanics of black and white film; composition seemed well planned and costume grey tones never clashed with setting grey tones. Moreover, the giant bird contrasted with the sky, and the creature was very visible during its screen time.
- Plot: Despite being questionably paced, the story is easy to follow and relatively enjoyable. The main character, Mitch, faces trials and tribulations, eventually making a milk bottle contraption that somehow kills the big bird and saves the day. Mitch uses his mathematical abilities to find a solution.
- Imaginative: Although the film was supposed to be a serious horror, it's remembered as a joke; not just for the terrible effects, but for the fake science written into its story. The idea of a giant bird with an invisible forcefield from outer space is definitely imaginative, these quirks make the film a fun, childish and laughable watch.
- Costume: Luckily, character clothing isn't as bad as the makeshift sets.
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