LITTLE DEATHS - Brit horror attacked from a sexy angle. As the 'sexy' bit involves Brit-sex, well, it's all pretty saveloy. Anyway, it's an anthology, two thirds of which I liked. The first story was OK but a bit generic - middle class psychopaths humiliate a homeless woman S&M style, but it all goes wrong for Mr and Mrs Fascist Moneybags when homeless lady and band of followers turn out to be cannibal vampires or something. Then on to a piece by Andrew Parkinson. Let's just pause for a moment - I think Andrew Parkinson is great, I wish someone would give him a load of money to make freaked out psyche-horror and I wish someone would just put out 'Venus Drowning' on DVD. Here he's on top rankin' form with a tale of a mutant's huge cock jizzing out weird medication for recovering drug addicts. The problem is, the meds forge an empathic link between addict and mutant and bad things happen thereafter. It's more subdued-seeming than it sounds, but, well what can I say, it grew on me... 'Red, White and Blue' guy Simon Rumley finishes off with the threesome's best realised bit in terms of style and narrative - 'Bitch' is the tale of two kinky souls adrift in morbid London who get into weird roleplay dog-mask type situations. Ends with an act of cruel revenge. So yeah, overall, I liked it.
BEYOND REANIMATOR - Jeff Combs. What a guy. Or maybe I mean "Herb West - what a guy." Either way, both can do no wrong in my eyes. That said, I found myself consciously having to 'stick it out' with this one. I know comparisons with the still IMO zesty and audacious original are bound to be pointless, but looming precedents cast inevitable shadows. There's some pay off in the last half-hour (if you consider the sight of a rat fighting with an animated severed penis to be 'pay off', which sadly I do) and even a touch of the old delirium in places near the end, but not for me enough to redeem the film as a whole. But it is what it is - a mildly entertaining, well made B movie.
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