AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE #5: HAUNTED LIVES, 2020 – ★★★★

Probably the best one out of the numbered ‘Mystery mixtapes’ volume 5 seems to get the balance of variety pretty solid and it keeps things chugging on at a good pace. Put it this way, out of all the numbered ones. This would be the one I’d show to Intro people to the concept.

Not *quite* as solid as the latterday mixtapes, this one likely helped set the mold for later entries, and I really enjoyed it!

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/agfa-mystery-mixtape-5-haunted-lives/

by tytdreviews

AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star, 2020 – ★★★

Another day, another ‘AGFA Mystery Mixtape’ and this one’s kind of middle of the pack for me. The framing device is a condensed ‘key scene’ version of the TV movie ‘North Star’ which we dip in and out of in between a handful pf movie ‘behind the scenes’ some commercials and random TV moments.

I feel this is a step above the first 2 mixtapes as it has a lot more variety and a much more ‘self aware’ editing style, which I really enjoyed. But, I feel like it’s a bit of a step back after ‘mix tape 3’ in terms of diversity and edit speed.

It’s fine enough, good background fodder. But not quite the ‘high point’ of these mystery tapes.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/agfa-mystery-mixtape-4-follow-your-own-star/

by tytdreviews

AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE #3: SEQUELITIS, 2020 – ★★★½

Definitely a step in the right direction over the previous 2 mystery mixtapes. Volume 3 seems less oriented around the ‘behind the scenes’ of horror movies, and more interested in horror movie as a culture.

With the main framing being exerpts from the Universal horror awards (hosted by Robert Englund) we see here a much faster paced mixtape that’s more in line with the more recent offerings and showcases a much larger variety of clips ranging from old commercials, to parodies from comedy shows to even some public access materials.

I really enjoyed this one, even with it being a bit more ‘Freddy’ oriented tha I’d have liked, it’s definitely a much more solid offering and one I could absolutely see myself revisiting in future.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/agfa-mystery-mixtape-3-sequelitis/

by tytdreviews

AGFA Mystery Mixtape #2: Later in L.A., 2020 – ★★★

Volume 2 of the AGFA Mystery Mixtape series still isn’t quite where I think the series should be, but is definitely taking a step in the right direction.

Here? We have an extended interview with Tim Burton (around the time ‘Batman Returns’ was released) as the framing to once again showcase extended behind the scenes footage from movies like ‘Life Force’ and ‘The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Coming out of their shells tour’.

Once again my criticisms are more or less the same, while this is VERY Likely to be fascinating for horror/Sci fi fans or just people interested in BTS work. I found it a little sluggish and slow going. Not unenjoyable, but I think a bit more variety would have gone a LONG way.

I will say on that note, there are at least signs of this happening as volume 2 features a lot more retro commercials and random cutaway bits…its early days, but hopefully volume 3 will really begin to lean into that a bit more.

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/agfa-mystery-mixtape-2-later-in-la/

by tytdreviews