Kolobos (Daniel Liatowitsch & David Todd Ocvirk, 1999)

Thanks to the horrordorable Hollie, an American who fled to Norway for the sake of love and freedom, I was reminded of Kolobos - a now shamefully forgotten reality TV/slasher/surveillance footage movie from 1999. While far from perfect it's actually a fun, edgy and gory movie that deserves some more attention. Like most of you know, I love of my found footage films - and even more I LOVE mockumentaries. One sub-genre to this is movies set in a reality TV-enviroment (you can see a list at Letterboxd I once started but then abandoned). My Little Eye was one - and it got a lot more hype than Kolobos, and during later years Wrong Turn 2, The Task and - terribly enough - Halloween: Resurrection has showed us what filmmakers can do with the concept. But I wonder if Kolobos isn't one of the more interesting in the genre...

A bunch of young, hot people, gets cast in a new reality experiment. They don't know what's gonna happen, they have actually no clue about anything! But it's the usual bunch of freaks: the wannabe-actress, the mental girl, the good-guy, the bad-boy, the wild funny girl etc. After the director, who sits outside in a van, gives them intruction their exciting reality TV life can begin... but soon one of the girls starts seeing things. It's it because of her psychological state of mind or is there really some one lurking around the house. Everything is nice and happy until one of the contestants is killed by a terrible, sadistic trap! Seconds later the house is completely sealed and a killer - and his traps - starts to stalk them through the house... 

Kolobos is during some parts terribly cheesy. The actors are mostly - I won't say bad - but very "enthusiastic". There's no subtle acting, everything just chews the scenery, down to the last tiny piece of bone from the script. I kinda buy them anyway, because they're instructed to be entertaining, and of course they want to look good and funny and colorful on TV. I personally think Kolobos was a little bit before its time. If it was made today - and wrapped up a little bit less ambiguous - it would have gotten better reviews and become a bigger success. Because there's a lot of talent behind the camera in this film!

A lot of the visual inspiration seems to have been taken from the Italian film industry. There's references to Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci - at least two of the murders are direct (and very nasty) references to the two above mentioned gentlemen, the gore is so Italian it's awesome. No offscreen kills here, I tell ya! Very creative and well-made stuff, far from the quite bloodless kills that was made popular in the nineties (but I love nineties cinema, make no mistake about that!). There's a very gory eye-poking á la Zombie Flesh Eaters and the sadistic Deep Red kill looks painful! Just the way I want it.

The ending, the finale, is the biggest problem. You can never end a movie like that - or at least be a little bit more clear about it. Somehow it reminds me of Martin Schmidt's fun Danish slasher Sidste Time, which have a similar problem - but still manages to be very entertaining. 

For good or bad, Kolobos is still worth watching and buying and renting and whatever. I'm happy it found its way to my black, cold heart. 

Comments

[Hollie]

<3

I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, it's not the greatest movie of the 90s but it's definitely a memorable one and I agree, it was ahead of it's time being from '99 and using the trap scenarios which everyone associates with Saw as the trendsetter.

I always appreciate a movie with effective gore more than one which promotes all off-screen kills, call me depraved, I don't care, just give me what I came for!

[Megatron]

"Like most of you know, I love of my found footage films - and even more I LOVE mockumentaries."

They can be fun to watch at times.

"My Little Eye was one - and it got a lot more hype than Kolobos, and during later years Wrong Turn 2, The Task and - terribly enough - Halloween: Resurrection has showed us what filmmakers can do with the concept."

I haven´t seen any of those films yet.

"Kolobos is during some parts terribly cheesy. The actors are mostly - I won't say bad - but very "enthusiastic". There's no subtle acting, everything just chews the scenery, down to the last tiny piece of bone from the script."

hahahhahahahha.......yeah but stuff like that can be so awesome!

"A lot of the visual inspiration seems to have been taken from the Italian film industry. There's references to Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci - at least two of the murders are direct (and very nasty) references to the two above mentioned gentlemen, the gore is so Italian it's awesome."

Great rolemodels when it comes to gore.

"Somehow it reminds me of Martin Schmidt's fun Danish slasher Sidste Time, which have a similar problem"

I haven´t heard of that one.....have or will you do a rveiew of this film?

"For good or bad, Kolobos is still worth watching and buying and renting and whatever. I'm happy it found its way to my black, cold heart."

I thought your heart was deep red like the colors of the flag of former soviet union?

hahahahhahha....kidding.....good review and thanks.

[Lars Jacobsson]

Saw it a couple of nights ago and enjoyed it. Not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but a fun little slasher, cheezy in a good way. I can't believe the movie was released in -99 as everybody acts and dresses like they're in MTV:s The Real world or like extras in an Alanis Morrisette video. Maybe it sat on the shelfs for a couple of years before someone picked it up? The main girl's "crazy" acting was getting really annoying near the middle of the film, but she was so damn cute I had to forgive her "enthusiastic" overacting. It also had a different kind of vibe than any other slasher I can remember, I can't really put my finger on it but something about it felt offbeat and loopy somehow. Loved the "film within the film", they really nailed the shitty homemade SOV slasher thing. Also loved the shameless copying of the Suspiria and Inferno themes. All in I would rate the movie a 5 or maybe 6 out of 10, but it feels like it could become one of those "not really great, but fun" movies that you maybe like a bit more than you should and return to now and then.