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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

ICE FROM THE SUN (1999)



I have known about this flick for some time and recently decided to watch the beast. Not bad, eleven years after it came out. I wish it had been sooner.
Let's run down the flick, shall we?
It seems there was this sorcerer who decided to manufacture his own alternate reality. He used ice from the sun, hence the title, to encase his reality in six layers of unbreakable ice. This will keep him safe from the servants of Heaven and Hell, both of who want to get in there and wipe him from existence. The sorcerer has an apprentice and they extract six people at random times to torture and kill in their own reality. The bonus, for them, is that the souls of their victims are unable to leave that plane of reality so they can make them do their bidding in torturing future victims.
Anyway, this last round of victims something went wrong. The head guy decided to torment his apprentice by making one of the new victims his apprentice. The new guy was getting ready to kill the last victim when the original apprentice stepped in and blew him away allowing the victim to escape the realm.
Because of that the angels and demons are able to stop a woman who has committed suicide and send her to the alternate plane to defeat the apprentice who has slain his master.
at the same time a new batch of victims has arrived and is getting ready to be tortured.
Did you get all of that? Can you believe that someone even wrote that down let alone decided to make a Super 8mm film of it?
Sounds pretty heavy, doesn't it. Well, kind of, but it's Eric Stanze so he knows how to do what he's doing.
My favorite part of the whole thing is that it was shot on Super 8mm. It gives it such a great film look that so many new films lack. The storyline is interesting as you watch these new victims try in vain to survive. Stanze is also very good at the gore effects so true gore fans will not be disappointed.
And yes there's nudity. But this time it's different. The nudity in every instance is an integral part of the story. It wouldn't work in a clothed situation. I applaud Mr. Stanze for that one.
And then there's the number one reason to watch this flick. Sure, it might have bizarre imagery and original ideas for a horror film, but the soundtrack is amazing. Not the music that's played, but the dense layer of sound that permeates every frame of this film. And at two hours long you might think that this is a little long, but every frame is really essential to what he's trying to do here.
Watch it, you won't be sorry. I promise.
And why isn't Eric Stanze more famous by now?

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