After reviewing Matthew Saliba's Vampyros Lesbos, I have decided two things; one is that Montreal is THE place for underground cinema. Be it the Fantasia Film Festival, Karim Hussain, or Matthew Saliba, Montreal is thriving with independent genre talent. The second thing is that I was wrong about first impressions, still image giallo look fantastic; Epically when they're done by Saliba.
FILM- She Was Asking for It begins with a man (Saliba) assembling a diabolical attache, consisting of knives, sex toys, and a very shiny meat cleaver. Through flashbacks it is reveled that while he was at a bar, a woman set her sights on him. She brings him back to her house, where her girlfriend bludgeons him with a lead pipe. Soon, he is put through a sadomasochistic odyssey of abuse, bondage and rape. However, somehow he escapes, and begins his quest for revenge. That's about the time we find out just what those items will be used for...
This film is very reminiscent of "Boy Meets Girl", and follows a similar plot. Also, this is probably one of, if not the only reverse rape- revenge flick out there. Their is SO much red and blue, and when the man begins his quest for revenge it looks exactly like something from Deep Red or Blood and Black Lace. The still image technique works amazingly well, and really shows that there's more than one way to a a giallo right. I'll admit I was skeptical about this one, because a main reason I love giallo is the cleaver shots of the killer stalking their victims. The effect looks amazingly well in still image; the colors, angles, and the pictures of the man stalking his previous attackers look like they were pulled out of the Giallo Scrapbook. 9/10
PICTURE/ AUDIO- The picture in this short are great, but compared to Vampyros Lesbos, they're kinda lacking. That is because of the use of many portrait stills, as opposed to landscape stills. The portrait shots have a habit of shrinking, and not filling the frame half as well as the landscape ones. However, this flaw is easily patched by the quality of the images used. The reds and blues are some of the best I have seen since "Suspiria", and make this short stand out as one of Matthew Saliba's best. 9/10. The audio is again music from contemporary bands, such as Rammstein and Marilyn Manson. This works just as well on this short as it did with Vampyros Lesbos, if not better. The audio on this short is brilliant. 10/10.
EXTRAS- Again released on DVD- r by Matthew Saliba, I expected no extras whatsoever. This short does, however, come with artwork, and a custom menu. much more than I expected, but not a detailed as Vampyros Lesbos. 2/10.
To order, contact Matthew Saliba directly.
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