District 13: Ultimatum

I’m a firm believer that you should not go watching sequels before you have seen the first movie, sadly this was not an option available to me when I watched District 13: Ultimatum (Banlieue 13 – Ultimatum). Luckily for me the movie was so cleverly pieced together that if you had not caught the first its not going to be an issue, no catching up on story, no hidden riddles; Ultimatum sits happily as a stand alone movie.

Rather like Escape From New York, District 13 places the people nobody wants to know or hear about behind a wall were they can’t be a hindrance to normal everyday people. This Paris suburb is home to various races, and clans who all operate their own individual crime waves. When a corrupt government agency plans a despicable act in order to gain wealth and rid Paris of its little problem its down to cop Damien (Cyril Raffaelli) and District 13 freedom fighter Leito (David Belle) to gather the evidence and fight for the people of District 13 before the government raise it to the ground.

D13: Ultimatum mixes the action movie with the wonder of Parkour, creating an enticing visual spectacle that continuously finds you asking, “How the hell did they do that?” The fight scenes and stunts are quite simply some of the best I have seen, working against an alien Parisian background, the film takes what could be viewed as a potentially normal looking action movie to a whole different level. The action is incredibly well choreographed whether jumping from roof to roof, to fighting with an almost priceless Van Gogh painting which turns from being unpleasant looking work of art to the ultimate weapon.

Story wise it’s simplistic story telling, which to someone who does not speak French is possibly not a bad thing. This is not a criticism of the movie but plain straightforward good sense. Thrillers, comedies, and horror movies all work very well in another language with onscreen subtitles, but an action movie does not always have the same effect; lines are often spouted out in quick succession in action movies not always allowing you to enjoy the visual spectacle unfolding on screen. D13 allows you to enjoy the action without bogging you down with unnecessary dialogue. Thankfully the DVD takes care of those that do not like their movies in a pure form, and has a dubbed English version, this allows the movie to be enjoyed by the biggest possible audience, an option not so commonly used now days.

There is a lot of humour in the movie, a little cheesy in places but in a cheeky fashion. Director Patrick Alessandrin (and of course screenwriter Luc Besson) seem keen to show their comic side, when you first meet Damien he is disguised (fairly badly) as a geisha girl, while his head is clearly masculine a lot of time is spent focussing on his waxed feminine flesh; it’s a prime example of one of those situations that is so wrong, but incredibly amusing.

The performances are good David Belle, and Cyril Raffaelli both prove you can be physically well trained and deliver a convincing acting performance. Supporting performers such as Elodie Yung who plays the movies action woman add real sparkle, while MC Jean Gab’1 who plays gang boss Molko offers a real feeling of menace and fairness

You could say the French movie industry is a little overlooked, and to be fair the French are not known for their action movies, however D13: Ultimatum is a rare exception to the rule. It’s easily as addictive as Luc Besson’s Nikita, not quite so deep but incredibly compelling to watch. The inclusion of Parkour means that with the original movie an obvious exception there is nothing that quite looks like this, it’s an instant, identifiable, unique looking movie that while not gaining Blockbuster status will ultimately enjoy a somewhat cult following. One thing is for sure, having seen this I immediately hopped online to order the original movie, and I’m sure countless others will to; for fans of the original this will be the must have purchase of the year. D13 is one of the most interesting action movies of the year, its just a shame that it never got a little more limelight while not being completely perfect it’s a most enjoyable way to spend 90 minutes.

Special Features:-

A 26 minute documentary looks at the creation of the movie, pulling in cast and crew to talk about incidents and their personal take on the movie.

A series of extended and deleted scenes are included, most of which are fight scenes.

There is music video from French rapper Alonzo that combines the movies main musical score with the performers own style, with some interesting cross language dialogue.

Finally there is a teaser and theatrical trailer to promote the movie.

Language options are French and English.

District 13: Ultimatum is released in the UK on DVD by Momentum on the 26^th of October

Zombies - Wicked Little Things

Released in the United States as Wicked Little Things, Zombies as it’s known on UK shores wowed audiences at the now popular After Dark Horrorfest, a weekend long American festival of 8 alternative horror movies. Despite the fact that it had such acclaim, it’s taken two years (having appeared at the 2006 Horrorfest) until the UK and Europe get to enjoy the movie. Directed by J.S. Cardone whose previous directorial works included the video nasty The Slayer (1982) and the gritty thriller A Row Of Crows, while his written work features in the movies Prom Night, The Covenant, The Forsaken and the upcoming remake of the 1986 classic The Stepfather.

 

After the death of a much loved father and husband Karen Tunny (Lori Heuring) and her two daughters Sarah (Scout Taylor Compton) and Emma are forced due to financial pressures to flee the city and settle in the woods of a small Pennsylvania community in a house Karen’s husband owned.  The house a traditional dwelling used by miners back at the turn of the 20^th century is in much need of repair, but offers solace for Karen; while Sarah takes a dim view of things, and Emma embraces the move. For young Emma a sweet 8 year old it offers a chance of new friendship in the form of Mary who to everyone else is just an imaginary friend. It seems however that Addytown’s newest arrivals have either caused or arrived at the time of a great awakening, things are about to become dramatically more chilling.

 

I first saw Wicked Little Things as it was then known about 16 months ago, and to be perfectly honest with you I got half way through and could not be bothered to proceed on, to me it was like every other low budget horror movie of the time and I was stacked under a heavy workload. Unbeknown to me was that at that very moment I lost interest and turned off the stories tone changed and effectively was only just the beginning. For an avid horror fan like me this was the place to begin a grizzly death of some animal stock takes the movie back to the sort of shock! Horror! We witnessed at the start of the 1980’s when so many movies were edited or outlawed all together.

 

While I won’t pretend that Zombies is the best horror offering I have seen this year I will say it has some great echoes in horror movie past that will undoubtedly appeal to casual and hardcore horror movie fans. While others have compared the movie to The Omen, a similarity I cannot see I’m reminded most of John Carpenters 1978 movie The Fog, there is a great scene where a group of teenagers are desperately trying to escape a group of killer zombie children in a car that’s back wheels are stuck in mud. The ambience of this moment are literally plucked from The Fog, but with one exception, the scene goes further and almost allows you to ask the question, what if Jamie Lee Curtis had not got that car started? What follows is probably one of the most harrowing scenes I have seen in an American horror movie for some time.

 

Ben Cross an actor best known from Chariots Of Fire and the BBC drama The Citadel plays a creepy hillside soothsayer for want of a better choice of words. The character of Hanks not only knows what to do, he knows what is going to happen, and while at first alienating the Tunny family with his creepy choice of wording and his spreading of blood to ward off evil; soon becomes the key to their survival, if of course they have any chance. Cross who is always around working, but never in anything most of us would probably watch does a sterling job as the movies oddball character. Although the movies villain role is taken by Martin McDougall as William Carlton, descendant of the Carlton mine and all that rests on the surrounding area.

 

Of our main cast Lori Heuring is pretty much a tool (no disrespect) of the movie, not essentially a needed part, the piece is lead by Scout Taylor Compton (An American Crime, Halloween) who as the teenage character of the movie most of the horror is endured through her eyes. Compton delivers a competent performance as the usual dysfunctional type character of the movie. Chloe Moretz (who back in 2006 was at the start of her career but is now pretty much an excepted part of Hollywood furniture) is the most watchable character, however because of child acting laws is dramatically underused in order to get the movie completed within a target time, overall a tragic mistake that may if it has not already cost the movie points in horror movie history offerings.

 

What was most enjoyable about the movie was the dark offing of children as the terrible force of the movies, now just Zombies these were the children of the mine nearly 100 years prior who feel not only wronged by events, but cursed in there vicious need to engage in the consumption of human flesh. These kids whom of course look sweet without the makeup are pretty darn scary, with their over emphasised teeth and their terrible lack of compassion, are genuinely creepy and with their bloody massacre at the mid section of the movie you are left with no doubt that these creatures are best not reckoned with.

 

Zombies is a movie you really need to stick with, and as I said earlier its first 30 minutes or so are hardly going to endear you to the piece. But if you have the patience a small pot of gold lies at the end of this rainbow, and judging by horror releases over the last two months this isthe best choice of salvation.

 

Released in the UK on the Momentum pictures label on the 21^st of July, the movie has a short featurette as a special feature called Wicked Little Zombies, this feature shows you a glimpse behind the scenes and discusses the immense pressure of filming a movie with children, especially ones that have enough experience but are still young enough to pull off the terrifying performances effectively. Zombies is released with an RRP of £15.99.

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