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Invitation to Hell, a review by addicted2dvd

Title: Invitation to Hell
Year: 1982
Director: Michael J. Murphy
Rating: R
Length: 41 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: DTS: 5.1
Subtitles:

Stars:
Becky Simpson
Joseph Sheahan
Colin Efford
Steven Longhurst
Russell Hall
Catherine Rolands

Plot:
A young girl attends her high school reunion in an isolated country house. Soon it is discovered that there is an evil force lurking about that wants to take her as a prisoner for a virgin sacrifice to quench their internal lustings. Alone and powerless against her tormentor, in a struggle to survive, she stumbles across the secret to this evil force. Is it too late to use it and escape her Invitation to Hell?

Extras:
Scene Access

My Thoughts:
I thought I would start this weekend with a horror movie. From the very beginning I had trouble getting into this movie. Both the audio and video left a lot to be desired. It was like watching an old video tape version on a bad tape that was used a dozen times before. Making it right hard to watch and understand. Also at 41 minutes... extremely short for a movie. Between the quality and the length it was pretty difficult to follow. Though I liked the idea of the story... it should have been given more time to explain the story better.... and much more care of film was needed. Though the quality did improve some off and on through the movie... it really is in bad shape.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Unwatched DVDs on December 31st, 2010)

Na Cidade Vazia, a review by Danae Cassandra

Where We Are: Angola
wikipedia



Na Cidade Vazia (Hollow City)Overview:
One of the few films to have been made in Angola since it was torn apart by civil war, this eye-opening drama is set in Luanda, the capital of Angola, in the aftermath of the war. N'dala is a war orphan who escapes from his caretakers, hoping to find his way back to the village where he grew up. Wandering the streets of Luanda, he meets an array of characters, all the while pursued by a missionary nun across the bewildering and dangerous city.

My Thoughts:
This was a very poignant film.  N'dala hopes to return to his village to see his family again - to see them in the sky, where the Sister has told him they are, though he believes they are only in the sky over his own village.  N'dala is naive, trusting, and lonely and his interactions with the people he meets show some of the best, and some of the worst, parts of human nature.  Hollow City is a good, simple story, but it's also likely a metaphor for the situation in Angola after their civil war, with N'dala confused and frightened, seeking a return to a life that is destroyed.  The film is also a subtle critique of colonialism, and a stronger critique of westernized society over the traditional ways of life.  The old fisherman is the one who shows N'dala the best way of living, the way that reminds him most of the home he has lost, but just as he decides to grasp at this and perhaps make a home with the fisherman, he is caught up with the westernized hoodlums who have also shown him some kindness but seek to use him for their own ends with the result being only tragedy.  It's not a complete indictment of non-Angolans, as the nun is portrayed very positively.  Both she and the fisherman only want to help N'dala, but the point is that the fisherman's traditional way of life is the better for him because it is his culture, it is familiar and does not frighten or confuse him.  Wonderful no-budget film, but very sad, recommended for fans of foreign films and drama particularly.

Bechdel Test:  Fail

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Around the World in 86 Movies on April 5th, 2013)

, a review by

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