Customer Reviews

Singapore Sling

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a very black comedy. It is a Greek film but most of the dialogue is actually in English. Only the voiceover narration is in Greek. It was shot in 1990 by Greek director Nikos Nikolaidis and stars Panayiotis Thanassoulis as the detective and narrator, with Michelle Valley and Meredyth Herold as the psychotic mother and daughter. This incestuous pair of lesbians (technically bisexual) live in an isolated mansion playing bondage and sadomasochistic games with each other and with various "lucky" visitors who pass their way and who unfortunately all end up buried in the backyard. The film is not at all as dark and forbidding as it may sound. It unfolds in a very tongue-in-cheek manner. It is not a horror movie as such. Neither is it a thriller. It is a weird amalgam of film noir, comedy, bondage film, surrealistic art film and absurdist cinema. It received decidedly mixed reviews, some viewers liking its boldness and novelty, others lambasting it as utter trash. Personally I found it quite intoxicating and will vouchsafe its place as a cult classic.

Nikos Nikolaidis is obviously a fan of film noir and of Otto Preminger's 1944 classic, "Laura," in particular. He borrows heavily from it, everything from the feel of the film, to the storyline, to the photography, to the music. The film opens with David Raksin's instantly recognisable theme from "Laura" which over the years has become synonymous with the noir genre. The music recurs constantly throughout. There is even a vocal version sung by Julie London midway through. The missing woman the detective is searching for is also called Laura. There is a portrait of the daughter in the mansion, very much like the portrait of Laura in Preminger's film. For those unfamiliar with "Laura," Preminger's classic tells of how a police detective falls in love with the portrait of a woman whose death he is investigating. He finds out that she isn't actually dead. There follows the suspicion that she may have murdered the woman found in her room. That original plot forms the backstory to Nikolaidis' bizarre and totally off-tangent "tribute" to the earlier work. The events here, if we are to believe the psychotic mother, take place several years after the events of the original film and its presumed happy-ever-after ending. This is what a sequel to Laura might be like in a parallel universe with a director and storyteller high on acid.

A knowledge of Preminger's "Laura" would be of benefit in appreciating this movie but it is not a must. On the other hand, fans of the earlier film will almost certainly not look kindly on Nikolaidis' creation. In fact I see this film having very limited appeal in mainstream America or elsewhere for that matter.

The film is beautifully shot, one of the most visually arresting B&W films to be made in a long while. Sets are gorgeous despite its low budget origins. The women are dressed to evoke an early-20th-century, silent-film-era look. It is all very beautifully done. And that puts it in stark contrast to the activities that take place in this demented household. There is the standard bondage fare, gagging, leather bindings and a threatened whipping on a St. Andrew's Cross, all quite erotic if you like that kind of stuff, but in between is more disgusting, some would say revolting fare that is explicitly captured on camera. The women have a fetish for vomiting. They derive sexual pleasure from vomiting on their victims. The mother also enjoys urinating on her victims. You are treated to close ups of the disgusting mess made when masturbating with soft, squishy fruit. There is a scene near the beginning where our psychotic duo happily place the entrails of their victim into glass bowls on their dinner table. You can clearly make out coils of intestines, lobes of a liver and a still beating heart. This is about the time you realise that you're not in Kansas anymore. And that this is no Hollywood movie. The final death scene, carried out with the aid of a huge knife-dildo, is raptly choreographed to the swelling strains of the famous variation from Rachmaninov's Paganini Rhapsody. This is a movie I guarantee you'll never forget. Audiences either love it or hate it. There are no in-betweens.

Synapse has unfortunately not managed to obtain the original negatives to this film. The print comes with the English subtitles for the Greek passages permanently burnt in. Because of the less than ideal, overly-contrasted, burnt-in subtitles, Synapse has provided an optional set of English subtitles placed in dark grey blocks which can be superimposed over the originals. Not ideal and not recommended because they block out quite a bit of the picture. Overall the picture quality on this DVD is actually very good. For the first three-quarters of the film, the picture is quite immaculate. Exquisite in fact. The gorgeous black and white photography is beautifully transferred. It's only in the last quarter where there is an inordinate amount of dirt and various print defects, like circular imprints as well as several instances of missing frames with resultant skips and jumps onscreen. But these aren't all that distracting. Viewers with sensitive constitutions may want to stay away. Viewers with "good taste" should also be warned to stay clear. But if you're up for outlandish perversions, off-the-wall mayhem, all stitched together with a touch of class, this will fit the bill.

This is one incredible movie. It is so far beyond a boundary-pushing, transgressive movie experience it is hard to compare it to anything you may have seen. But truly it is a work of International film art, you just have to be able to get past the challenging content. No question it is beautifully filmed, and the set dec is phenomenal. The actors are totally committed and the story structure is very layered and intricate. The theme is death and killing, and the filmmaker builds dread and mistrust and doom into the scenee as the movie moves toward its final conclusion. This is something you will need to see more than once, and it is probably better appreciated once you are used to its extremities.

SINGAPORE SLING is one of those films that you are either going to love or hate. I, for one, loved it. I'm a huge fan of film noir, so this film's style was right up my alley to begin with. However, there's a lot more to appreciate than just style. For starters, each of the characters have their own interesting and memorable little quirks and they show right away. The way in which the characters are developed is interesting in itself. They each take turns, basically, narrating the film, yet they each do it in very different ways. This only adds more clarity to these characters and allowed me to see the situation of the film from a very open perspective. As a result, the audience may feel like they are forced to be openminded about the shocking acts that they see in the film. However, I appreciated what the filmmaker was doing. Normally this kind of story needs to be approached in a straightforward way in order for the viewer to be able to take it seriously, but the film works on it's own twisted logic and manages to develop and commingle with it's own style so that it doesn't have to be taken seriously. Obviously, the people who do take the film seriously will be in for one hell of an emotional roller coaster ride. Otherwise, the film just kind of develops it's own world and then allows it's characters and the situations to unfold in their own twisted ways. I liked this approach to the material. It's the same kind of approach that the film FIGHT CLUB uses, only here we get some semi-strict themes to contend with. The film goes on a bit too long and begins to lose steam at the end, but in general the film is a classic and I can easily see it becoming a cult classic if it finds it's right audience.

It was once said that the whole of a movie should not be in so much whether you like or disliked a movie, but rather, did it leave a lasting impression upon you? Taking that idea into account, I would have to say that "Singapore Sling" is without a doubt an indelible addition to the film noir genre, albeit the bizarro kind. As one of the reviewers has mentioned before, this movie shouldn't be taken seriously. You should come into this one with an open mind and you'll be rewarded with a beautifully photographed film noir filled with black humor. "Singapore Sling" is like the demented cousin of "Laura", "Sunset Boulevard" and "Grey Gardens". It's your basic detective story but with torture, bizarre erotica, and outstanding overacting. Just make sure the parents are asleep and that you've got the right kind of friend in tow when watching it.

Sing Sling is a black and white shocker made in 1990 that has just the right amount of sex, sleaze, torture, murder, S&M, shock value, and gore for my taste. If there were ever a movie that could be the most disgusting thing you've ever seen while still keeping it beatiful and artistic, Sing Sling would be it. It's a beatifully filmed and wonderfully acted film that pull's no punches in regards to offensive content (just the way I like it) and is only recomended to people wih strong stomach's and taste for the artistic.

If you ever wanted to see a girl vomit on a dude while having sex, make love to peice fruit, or get stabbed in the crotch, then this is the movie for you.

Warhol meets Waters with some "Thundercrack!" mixed in to the batch. This movie almost defies description. It is credited as being a modern remake of the classic "Laura" in some cases, but it is only so in the VERY general sense (although, if you have seen the original, some of the material is more witty). It would be like watching Warhol's "Heat" without having seen "Sunset Blvd,". The cinematography is excellent (not always a good thing considering some scenes...lol), and it is a ture original.
Having said all that, this movie is for the hardcore cult fanatic and not for the general public. Having said that, I recommended it to a family I know who is into the more off-beat, but even with grown kids, recommended that the parents watch it first to determine if their grown kids should watch it (at least with them as a family).
There is definitely talent in this movie, but as I said, it's not for everyone. Be prepared for some graffic and gross scenes.

On a rain swept night, in the garden of a lavish villa, two women -- "Mother" (Michele Valley) and "Daughter" (Meredyth Herold) bury the not-yet-dead body of their chauffeur. In a nearby car, a nameless man (Panos Thanassoulis) nurses a gunshot wound. Daughter waxes nostalgic about the time when "Father" would kill all the servants, leaving Mother and her to merely bury them in the garden. The man intrudes into the bizarre household and the two women subject them to their own brand of hospitality. In this case, it's not a case of what happens next, but rather a case of what doesn't happen next! The threesome engage in a lengthy series of revolting acts culled from the Marquis De Sade Cookbook, which include vomit, golden showers, sodomy, transvestism, incest, torture, electroshock and yes, murder, all of it in gorgeous black-and-white photography to the strains of Julie London and Rachmaninov.

Ever since a friend loaned me a tenth-generation bootleg of this film on VHS ten long years ago, my love affair with this sugary piece of perversity remains unabated. Singapore Sling continues to break my heart in sixteen places in between bouts of raucous laughter and peeking behind my fingers. A true cult film, audiences have either walked out en masse or return again and again to the auditorium for repeat screenings.

A catalog of depravity and artful indulgence, Singapore Sling has no real plot. The audience is left to surmise that "Daughter" is not really "Mother's" daughter (they're far too close in age) and in one instance, we're left to wonder if "Mother" is indeed a female. The male interloper, later dubbed "Singapore Sling" by his captors, is unlucky enough to have wound up on the doorstop of this house of horrors. Mute, and only speaking in voiceover, we learn that he is forever chasing lost causes with female names, the latest being Laura (in a nod to the 1944 Otto Preminger masterpiece). Was Laura in fact a former part of this ongoing sadomasochistic play party who was later murdered? The film never tells us.

Singapore Sling will always hold a special place in my heart as I was the creator of the Unofficial Singapore Sling Web page back in the mid 1990s. Working closely with director Nikos Nikolaidis, I was given tons of rare stills, press books and errata about the film. It was through Nikolaidis incredible generosity as he encouraged me in my baby steps in cyberspace that I learned just how important the Internet would become in my own special line of cinematic research. Nikolaidis is best known as a director of TV commercials in his native Greece, although he directs feature films from time to time. Shot in 30 days on a shoestring budget, Singapore Sling would shock and delight audiences throughout the world, its most notorious exposure being its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

The key to the film's success lies in its two female leads, Michele Valley and Meredith Herold. As the whispery and melodramatic Mother, Valley had worked with Nikolaidis numerous times on previous features. It is Herold as Daughter -- a pixie-ish, adorable creature who maintains an unspoiled innocence through the film's countless scenes of sex and brutal violence who truly carries the show. According to Nikolaidis, Herold committed to work on the film while working on commercials with him. Once the film was completed, she was courted and then married by a rich movie buff -- and never acted again! "She still waits in the rain for Singapore Sling," Nikolaidis would sigh.

That the film is finally on DVD is cause for rejoicing. After suffering from bootlegs of dubious quality and even the legitimate Greek video release, one can now count every bead on every lampshade. Relying heaving on a claustrophobic atmosphere of antique-strewn interiors, viewers can now finally enjoy the elaborate set design that was once concealed in bitmapped shadows.

The only reservation this reviewer has with this release is the paltry extras included. The film is in anamorphic widescreen (1.66:11), and the animated main menu intended to mimic a battered silent film is delightful to look at. The film is broken up into 16 generous chapters. As for Special Features -- there is a photo gallery of only 10 paltry images, all done in sepia! However -- one can stand up and cheer for the inclusion of the film's trailer which is in pristine, excellent shape. In a voice approximating 60 Minutes' commentary Andy Rooney, "Don't you just hate it when you get a pricey restoration of a film on DVD and you get the trailer all worn and beaten, seemingly taped off a 25-year-old TV broadcast?"

The one other revelation the DVD release affords us are new subtitles. While filmed in the English language, there are moments of Greek (in voiceover courtesy of Singapore Sling). Due to the film's subtitles being permanently burned into all existing prints, Don May and the fine folks at Synapse have included huge, easy-to-read subtitles of accurate English translations. These subtitles are an option to viewers -- and in an instance of going above and beyond the call of duty -- the French phrases uttered by Mother in moments of homicidal abandon ("I want proof! Proof!" "On a long path, I saw a little rabbit, running, I want to catch it with my hands, but, he was too far, too far."). This is indeed a first for all English speaking fans of this film.

A final sobriquet is in order for the uninitiated who don't know if this film will be to their liking. Like the cocktail for which it is named, Singapore Sling is a tasty libation made of three different types of gin that can render the victim immobile. Those who wish to partake of this film's many powerful pleasures should best have a taste for gin.

I have now watched the immortal(????????)SINGAPORE SLING!
I love Horror movies,so much so I comb every store that
sells them here in BLISTERING HOT LAS VEGAS. I was starving
for something in horror I had not seen.So I looked at my FAV.
place-AMAZON I scrolled down movies and low and behold I see
SINGAPORE SLING,and not only that but all these rave reviews!
So I took a chance and bought it before viewing(Amazon readers
I cannot stress enough how irresponsible that is)The movie
was at only one store out of 14 I shop at(that alone should
have told me something)but hey? All these RAVE reviews from
AMAZONERS could not be wrong? OR COULD THEY! Well I have now
seen SING 6 times(which to it's credit I am not saying it's
horrible for I would not keep trying with it)but all the
reviews of OUTSTANDING-BREATHTAKING,and ONE OF A KIND???
I am just lost.First the good points,so I don't come off
like a JERK!The director has talent,no debate there.The
3 actors are just that..Actors and not nobody's who came
off the street.The cinamatography was very,very good.
So you see I am trying with this but what I don't like
(well besides shelling out $23.95)is I am having a hard
time following this story,and have now watched it 6 times
hell! It's playing now while I type this.The acting from
the women (who are very attractive mind you) is sometimes
dare I say it,DARE!DARE! Over acting abit with the blink/blink
of the eyes and the finger over the mouth miming the sshhh!
motion(a lil overdone you can't say it's not or you have not
watched this movie)the young daughter especially narrating
to us can sometimes be annoying.So anyway I just wanted to
put this review in for someone who has not seen this to
read a review that does not give this 5 stars(5 stars???)
but only 2(1.5 to be honest)In a nutshell this is what you are
getting.A gorgeous black & white movie of a story of a mother
and daughter who take in this stranger to have sex,vomit and
S&M with on every level,and yes there is a plot twist for
you detective fans.So if you love David Lynch ERASERHEAD
and David Cronenburg's Naked Lunch,Terry Gilliam's Tideland
than this is your cup of coffee. For me I am to simple I
guess for this movie is on my shelf right between Silence
of the lambs and Candyman(I do my films by year)and this
movie looks very out of place.I don't know? Maybe it's me
but "WHEW" I can remember COUNTLESS of times looking at my
ceiling taking a deep breath and saying "LET'S GO!" 20min
into this after the 6th viewing.Snore-aping Sling!