My review of the recent Belgian shocker, Left Bank, is now up over at Lovelock&load!

Go get reading and tell us what you thought of the movie!

Thirst (Bakjwi - 2009)
Focus Features

The vampire genre, as we all know, has arisen from its coffin once again – thanks, some may say, to a Mormon. Though I don’t see Twilight as the saviour of the genre, I like to think Alan Ball and his excellent adaptation of Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire series, True Blood, is the saving grace behind the re-birth. It’s the anti-Twilight in everyway, and everything vampirism should be; dark, brooding, dangerous and sexual –...

Terror Express (La Regazza del Vagone Letto - 1979)
Camera Obscura

Terror Express is a late-comer to the rape/revenge genre that was launched by Wes Craven’s sadistic Last House on the Left, but it’s also one of the sleaziest, scrap that, possibly the sleaziest; though that really isn’t that shocking when you realise it’s from the same mind that conjured up such classy titles as Porno Holocaust and Erotic Nights of the Living Dead - Luigi Montefiori (A.K.A George Eastman)....

Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
Arrow Video

The Slasher genre is no stranger to controversy, but there was one film that went a little too far with its seasonal slaughter – 1984s Silent Night, Deadly Night. Halloween had been done, Valentine’s Day had been done, Birthdays had been done, hell Christmas had already been done, repeatedly, but people didn’t seem to pay much mind to Black Christmas or Christmas Evil. Silent Night, Deadly Night however, struck a chord with...

Tormented (2009)
Pathé

Justine is the head girl of her school, and as part of the role she is called to give a speech at the funeral of fellow student Darren Mullet; who has recently committed suicide. Jason, Darren’s only friend, is outraged as Justine didn’t actually know him and has an outburst during the ceremony and is violently tossed out by the schools PE teacher. After the ceremony the ‘it’ kids decide to throw a party, Alexis has a crush on Justine and decides...

Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Fox Atomic

Megan Fox, or to be more specific Megan Fox’s derrière, is the only logical reason I can find to explain the success of Michael Bay’s Transformer franchise, it sure as shit wasn’t the clever plotting, witty dialogue and mesmerising performances that launched those movies to box-office glory; surely? Then we have Juno, a small Indie movie that contains witty dialogue and mesmerising performances, it lacked Megan Fox’s derrière but...

Grace (2009)
Anchor Bay/Starz

Michael and Madeline Matheson are happily married and trying for a baby. Live is good and plans are coming to fruition, when doctors announce that Madeline is pregnant the couple are ecstatic. Michael’s wealthy family hold a meal for the parents-to-be, it’s evident that his dominant mother, Vivian, is bitter at Madeline and is envious at her forthcoming motherhood. The evening ends in a fight, but worse is yet to come; on the way home the couple...

Let the Right One In (2008)
Momentum

Stockholm, 1982. Oskar, a bullied twelve-year-old, dreams of getting revenge on the classmates who terrorise him. One night he meets his new neighbour, Eli, outside their apartment block. She’s his age, more or less, and a friendship blossoms as they continue to meet up on the jungle gym at night. With the arrival of Eli and her guardian, Håkan, comes news of a death in a near-by suburb, the boy was found hanging upside down from a tree,...

Antichrist (2009)
Artificial Eye

A simple act of self-indulgence has shattering consequences for a middle-class couple. He (Willem Dafoe) and She (Charlotte Gainsberg) loose their young son, Nic, while they make love. While they are caught up in each other, we witness as their son climbs up onto a window ledge and walks off, falling to his death. She climaxes at the point of impact/her sons demise.

Grief stricken, She is almost on the verge of a breakdown, so...

To Be Twenty is a cautionary tale of two young, liberated, free-spirited women who spend their days looking for somewhere to crash, someone to **** and to generally act like spoilt little brats, until a run-in with a group of thugs turns this apparent light hearted tale into a nasty slice of Euro-slime – if you watch the Italian cut of the movie, that is. If you watch the American cut it’s a fun, care-free sex comedy! How can one film vary so dramatically?

The Italian cut is...

Why do the media (and the public) love tragedy? Nothing gets the papers selling, or the viewing figures soaring, like a good ol’ siege! How about a healthy dose of genocide? Or maybe a mother who decided to murder her own children? Or the disgruntled employee who decided that enough was enough and takes his friend, AK-47, to the office one day? Each story is guaranteed to sell, sell, sell. Whatever happened to the good old days of covering cat shows and water skiing squirrels?

Johnnie...

80’s Hong Kong cinema holds a very special place in my heart. If it weren’t for this little Island my love for Asian cinema would likely be non-existent today. Back in ‘the day’ of my sweet, sweet childhood (early 90’s, which probably isn’t most peoples ‘day’ to be fair), discovering the joys of Way of the Dragon and Dragons Forever are truly some of the highlights of my younger days. Then came John Woo and the heroic bloodshed scene, I remember being blown away by Bullet in the...