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Film: The Ugliest Woman In The World
Release date: 26th September 2005
Certificate: 15
Running time: 108 mins
Director: Miguel Bardem
Starring: Elia Galera, Roberto Álvarez, Javivi, Héctor Alterio, Alberto San Juan
Genre: Comedy/Crime/Sci-Fi
Studio: Nucleus
Format: DVD
Country: Spain
The Ugliest Woman In The World slipped under the radar on its release in 1999. Unlike other genre films that have found an audience in the West, such as Let The Right One In or The Brotherhood Of The Wolf, The Ugliest Woman In The World failed to grab any attention. With its blend of Gilliam-esque whimsy and Cronenberg body horror, the film deserves more attention than it received.
Set in 2011, twelve years in the future at the time of release, the film follows Lt. Arribas as he investigates the brutal murder of an elderly woman on New Year’s Eve. Helping him with his investigation is Paleyo, a tormented detective who has fallen for a woman who used to be a man, and his team of detectives, each one more shallow than the next.
The trail leads them to Lola Otero, once a darling of the Spanish media due to her relationship with a high profile male celebrity. She disappeared soon after the death of her lover. As Lt. Arribas looks into the case in more detail, he discovers a history of abuse and torment directed at Lola. All a result of her being the ugliest baby ever born. Developing sympathy for the woman, Lt. Arribas and his team must stop Lola before she takes her revenge at the Miss Spain beauty pageant…
The Ugliest Woman In The World shares a lot with The Brotherhood Of The Wolf. Both combine genres in a unique and fresh way with varying levels of success. Shifting between science fiction, black comedy, tragic drama and body horror, the film is sometimes uneven but always enjoyable.
The film focuses on Lt. Arribas and Lola Otero. Lt. Arribas, portrayed with efficiency by veteran Spanish actor Roberto Alvarez, is an extremely sad and mournful character. The scenes where he returns to his lonely apartment and removes the various body parts hiding his physical deformities are especially effective at showing the character’s mental state. The way in which he sighs with disdain at his colleagues’ attitudes and behaviours distances this character from the standard American stereotype of the homicide detective.
Opposite Lt. Arribas is Lola Otero, the titular ‘ugliest woman in the world’. The film goes into much more detail about the traumas and abuse she suffered as a child. Although we do feel some sympathy for her, the performance of Elia Galera as the adult Lola comes across as much colder and slightly nullifies the effectiveness of the flashbacks to the abuse she suffered.
Special mention must go to Paleyo and the other homicide detectives who provide most of the comedy and relief throughout the film. The scene where they discuss the intricacies of scoring the attractiveness of the women in the beauty pageant is especially funny, as is the use of the more rotund detective as a battering ram.
The aesthetics of the film are similar to Terry Gilliam’s more subtle films. The future is portrayed as being not too dissimilar to the present, just with slight alterations. A neat visual gag at the start of the film shows a futuristic space station only to reveal it as a film playing on television. The science fiction elements are subtle and realistic. The central conceit of the injection that transforms Lola into a beautiful woman is shown sparingly, making the reveal at the end of the film much more shocking. When Lola reverts to her natural state in the final act is a triumph of grotesque CGI and make up effects. The title of the film is in no way misleading.
Tonally, the film’s changes can be sometimes off putting. As with the recent popular films from South Korean cinema, The Ugliest Woman In The World is happy to move from one tone to another within the space of a transition. This is particularly jarring after a traumatic flashback of Lola being abused as a teenage girl is immediately followed by a comedic scene of Paleyo being teased about his new relationship. The film is also very critical of the superficial nature of society and celebrity, not showing any nuance in how the beautiful people are universally ugly on the inside. With more subtlety, the film could have had a message that seemed less black-and-white. The final act of the film is also a bit of an anti-climax, as Lola’s plot to attack the beauty pageant seems to lack the logic or efficiency of her previous crimes.
The Ugliest Woman In The World is an extremely enjoyable film. Although uneven tonally in places, and with a message that lacks subtlety, the film provides a fresh take on the serial killer genre. The way it combines genres so effortlessly gives the film freshness in its style and approach. Released at the height of the Seven copycats in American cinema, The Ugliest Woman In The World would have been a welcome reprieve from the oppressively grim and ugly serial killer films released around the same time. JDW
Film: Cannibal Girls
Release date: 14th February 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 80 mins
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Ronald Ulrich, Randall Carpenter, Bonnie Neilson
Genre: Comedy/Horror
Studio: Nucleus
Format: DVD
Country: Canada
This is an English-Language release.
With the long rumoured Ghostbusters III finally officially confirmed, Canadian director Ivan Reitman will be revisiting one of his early successes. But long before he joined forces with Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Slimer et al, he was responsible for sleazy 1972 B-movie Cannibal Girls. Is it a film which has stood the test of time in the same way as Ghostbusters? And will he ever make a sequel?
The plot follows goofy Cliff (a very youthful Eugene Levy) and his girlfriend Gloria (Andrea Martin) as their car breaks down in a hick town in the middle of nowhere. Stranded until the vehicle is fixed, they are forced to crash at a local motel where the elderly female owner tells them the tale of a three young women who terrorised the town by taking young men to their home to cannibalise them.
In the interim, the girls’ home has become a restaurant – and despite their misgivings, Cliff and Gloria decide to go and eat there. Unsurprisingly, they’re the only patrons, as the strange proprietor, Reverend Alex St John (Ronald Ulrich), tells them more lurid tales and three beautiful waitresses serve their dinner. Having enjoyed their meal, and with the night drawing in, the young couple decide to stay the night.
In the middle of the night, St John enters their room and Cliff is tied to the bed as Gloria is implored to kill her boyfriend with a knife. She escapes and flags down a passing car – which is handily driven by the local doctor. Having been sedated, she awakens back in her room with Cliff. Was her nightmare night just a bad dream?
Cannibal Girls begins worryingly. Unless it’s directed by Mike Leigh, any film which proudly announces that the dialogue has been developed by the cast ought to set alarm bells ringing. And in this instance, it’s an entirely appropriate response. Further concerns are raised when captions announce that scenes of horror will be preceded by an alarm so that audience members can close their eyes to the grisly action. It’s clearly intended as a humorous conceit. Except it’s not at all funny.
The sound is generally poor throughout. Awful post-production effects have been added which sound only vaguely as they ought to – the sounds of axes thumping into human flesh sound more like someone dropping bags of sugar, and corpses hit the floor far too long after being felled. The dubbing is badly out of synch for much of the film.
The plot is similarly shambolic. Driven by the terrible dialogue, it seems confused and unfocused. The story of the cannibalistic trio takes far too long to unfold – it’s not at all necessary for the film to take so long establishing such a flimsy idea. It’s also quite misleading as it feels like it’s set to be the main strand of the story until it suddenly stops - a real dead-end.
The rest of the plot is predictably predictable. Dream sequences that may or may not be real, broken cars leading to characters being stranded, a policeman who may not be all he seems, a population who may be in on it, and a charismatic svengali who appears to be pulling the strings. It’s obviously a B-movie, and nobody would expect it to be plotted like Inception, but it still seems like very lazy film-making to rely on such obvious clichés.
The only character worthy of the name is Reverend St John. He’s a mysterious creation with more than a hint of vampire about him, a penchant for Shakespeare, and a harem of girls in thrall to him. He’s a preposterously over the top creation, but an entertaining one – and is played with camp relish by Ulrich. The other characters are half-drawn at best. The men look like they’ve kidnapped from 1970s football pitches – all massive moustaches and bubble perms. Levy’s appearance is impressive – his fur coat gives him a particularly pimpy air. Although he’s not nearly as furry as the bizarrely hairy upper arms of one of the incidental male characters. The womenfolk of the town barely feature unless they’re baring their breasts.
Usually a film like this can be slightly redeemed by a couple of good set-pieces or a smattering of decent jokes. Sadly, there are none to be seen. Thankfully Cannibal Girls is mercifully short. Yet despite clocking in at just 84 minutes, it still badly outstays its welcome with scenes dragging on and on forever. A more judicious editor might be able to make a fifteen minute short which was just about watchable. As it is, the whole affair is badly bloated.
There’s little of interest for anyone here except Reitman or Levy completists. The plot is full of gaping holes; the acting is shoddy, and the production values pitiful. Although everyone has to start somewhere, it’s difficult to believe that the man at the helm would later produce and direct classics like Ghostbusters. But having said that, he did also make Kindergarten Cop. RW
This is an English-language release.
1970s cult comedy horror from director Ivan Reitman and starring Eugene Levy.
Young couple Clifford (Levy) and Gloria (Andrea Martin) stay at a bed and breakfast on a romantic getaway, only to discover that its owners are three women who enjoy eating human flesh.
Will Clifford and Gloria survive their holiday?
Film: Cannibal Girls
Release date: 14th February 2011
Certificate: 15
Running time: 80 mins
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Ronald Ulrich, Randall Carpenter, Bonnie Neilson
Genre: Comedy/Horror
Studio: Nucleus
Format: DVD
Country: Canada
