Alias (2002)

I think this movie was quite successful in its purpose. Although the movie had a slow start it certainly made up for that loss in the last 45 minutes or so. The first half hour it looked like it was going to be one of those 13 in a dozen Hollywood flicks with no own identity at all. After those 45 minutes it became apparent that this was not the case.The madness and sick twists at the end are totally unexpected as Dieter seemed such a nice guy. the scenes at the psychiatric hospital were my favorites. The ending was entertaining. I can see this kind of movie isn't everyones cup of tea but one cannot deny this movie has something to say for it. I think the overall rating of 5,9 is a tad low and I would definitely rate it a 7 (my vote is an 8 but that is because I am really into this kind of flicks).I recommend anyone to give this a try and people who like strange twists and horror / thriller / Giallo genre movies should definitely watch it.

Everyone who owns the Belgian film "De Potloodmoorden" will explain the film's presence in the collection with the excuse that the movie isn't good, but that you should own it for its novelty value. "De Potloodmoorden" is credited as the first Belgian attempt at a giallo (the Italian equivalent of a film noir, with - if possible - added gore and nudity). The only other film coming close of the giallo genre was the lackluster "The Antwerp Killer" (some gore, no nudity, no plot whatsover, no sign of anyone with the ability to act). And now in the year 2002, only thirty years after the best gialli were made, comes "Alias", a film by Jan Verheyen.Verheyen is, as mentioned elsewhere, apart from director also the host of Filmnight Special, a Friday night show for lovers of cult cinema. This, of course, shouts for a quick and cheap reference to Alex Cox, the British director who was allowed to give his opinion on movies shown in the BBC2 series Moviedrome. There is an interesting analogy here, but I will explain that later. Whereas Filmnight Special started as a cheap excuse to show some trash the channel had to buy to get blockbuster, the second and third series focused on more interesting movies and some months even had a theme: Hammer films, gore (Cannibal Holocaust, films by Peter Jackson and Lucio Fulci), cult classics, interesting failures and the Worst Films Ever (open another page to see why From Hell It Came, Trog and The Frozen Dead were aptly chosen). Only one movie could pass as a giallo: The New York Ripper. Maybe Jan Verheyen should've dedicated a month to this genre, it certainly would have made some comments friendlier.At its worst, a giallo is a boring thriller with a misogynous undertone where women get to show as many body parts as possible before having their throat slit. At its best, it's an equal to the film noir with suspence, an erotic undertone and (still) buckets of blood. "Alias" does to the giallo what "Straight To Hell" (by Alex Cox) does to the spaghetti western: it's an ode to a genre, showing not only the highlights, but also the weaknesses. Having seen a few gialli certainly helps to appreciate "Alias". It's far from perfect, occasionally too vulgar (which can be expected in a film by Verheyen) and some performances really are terribly poor (I did my best not to cheer whenever a bad actor was killed). Still, Verheyen deserves all the credit we can find for casting Hilde De Baerdemaeker, who is staggering in her debut film.In an era where too many movies are far too clean, an ode to the giallo is more than welcome. That this was made by a movie buff who knows how to direct, is a great plus. Fanatics will certainly recognize the hints at films by Mario Bava, Dario Argento and even a few less familiar names, which is also nice as the line between hommage and rip-off is very fine indeed. Verheyen managed to keep his balance and make a nice film that I gave 8/10. Which, incidently, is also the score I gave to most good gialli. Told you it was a hommage.

This film starts well in the beginning, but after 10 minutes loses focus and becomes not worth looking at. The actors try to save the movie which cannot be saved. This movie is lost money. Is it true that Belgians cannot makes thrillers?

I saw this film at a sneak conference at Kinepolis Brussels. 'De Alias' was promoted as a chiller. Well, I can tell you I didn't 'chill' for a moment. This is a boring movie plagued by a plot which is way too simple. The acting is bad, except Geert Hunaerts, Hilde Van Mieghem and Pol Goossen. The ending makes up for a lot and you can tell by looking at the final quarter of the movie that director Jan VErheyen has what it takes to direct a thriller. But in this cases, the plot and the average acting ruin the film.