FILM GUTTER – TOP 5 OF 2020

I’d often do a top ten here, but it’s been a slightly truncated year – my initial intention was to round off the series this year, but with lockdown kicking in here in the UK and other places around the world we had something of a ‘quarantine revival’! With that said, the few months break from the series earlier this year has proved really restorative, and the aim right now is to push the series on into 2021 with the usual weekly review on a Thursday.

So, without any further ado, here are the top 5 movies watched and reviewed for Film Gutter this year!

5) DIS (Dir. Adrian Corona, 2018)
RATED – 8/10

Sometimes when you give a rating you slightly come to regret it, because your views on films can – and probably should – change over time. While this would strictly on ratings be seventh on the list for 2020, of all this year’s movies Dis is the one that has probably stayed with me the most. Adrian Corona’s movie is a fascinating creation, slight and deft but with surprising layers and definitely leaving many questions for the viewer to pick out after the closing credits. It’s a relatively short watch, but was certainly a rewarding one, and an experience I intend to repeat.

4) VIBROBOY (Dir. Jan Kounen, 1994)
RATED – 9.5/10

I’ve always been a fan of a short film, and Jan Kounen’s Vibroboy is just a gloriously manic ball of energy that rolls along for 28 of the strangest and loudest minutes of your life. The performances are great, the idea is bonkers and the whole thing is delivered with such enthusiasm and panache I find it impossible not to warm to it. Just great, bizarre entertainment. It might well be in the ‘not for everyone’ camp, but this one was certainly for me. It was super, super close between the top four, because there were three movies I rated 9.5 this year! Which leads us to…

3) TETSUO: THE IRON MAN (Dir. Shin’ya Tsukamoto, 1989)
RATED – 9.5/10

There remain a few gaps in my cult cinema knowledge, and this wild Japanese offering was among them – but what an experience. This black and white nightmare is a dark tale of augmentation and mechanisation, pretty much unlike anything I’d ever seen before. The effects still look surprisingly great given this one is now 30 years old, and the whole thing still feels super-fresh. Even more amazing is the slim budget this was delivered on – well deserving of its place as a serious underground favourite.

2) BUTT BOY (Dir. Tyler Cornack, 2019)
RATED – 9.5/10

The most recent offering on the list, and still available on a number of streaming platforms right now – and well worth your time and rental money. This strange tale of an ordinary Joe who has the capacity to insert anything into his butt, and the broken detective chasing him, is just a remarkable effort. It’s funny, it’s dark, it’s entertaining and it keeps you guessing constantly throughout. There are some fantastic acting performances also, which definitely elevates this one to another level. It’s a withering look at regular American life wrapped up in an utterly insane concept, and I loved every minute.

1) MARQUIS (Dir. Henri Xhonneux, 1989)
RATED – 10/10

How had I never seen – or even heard – of this movie before? This French/Belgian production was put together by acclaimed children’s TV director (!!) Henri Xhonneux, who produced something rather different with this extravagant take on the Marquis de Sade. The fact that the characters are all presented as puppetry-style animals, and de Sade’s penis is a talking puppet in and of itself, makes this a unique offering. It’s just one to sit back with your jaw on the floor and witness – totally weird, darkly hilarious and really utterly mind-blowing. I struggle to think of a film I’ve enjoyed more in all the years of Film Gutter to date.