[Make Them Die Slowly]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

BLACK DEVIL DOLL FROM HELL - The word 'genius' was invented to sum up this bizarre camcorder oddity from 1984 which features an uptight christian being 'liberated' by a doll with demonic powers and a rapey attitude. Manages to offend on just about every level, from the consumer tech aesthetic to the image of a pious lady enjoying being violated by a jive talkin' mannequin... why cinema at large felt there was anywhere left to go after this one is beyond me. For all its taboo trashing glory, I prefer the director's follow up, 'Tales from the Quadead Zone', which is somehow even weirder. Both have been rescued from massively over-expensive VHS collector oblivion by Massacre Video.

WEASELS RIP MY FLESH - More no-fi shot-in-your-living room fun with a camera, this time in super-eight. 'Weasels Rip My Flesh' is an homage to Corman era sci-fi monster horror with HG Lewis gore trimmings. It really works when it looks like a Blue Peter montage of abstract universe creation, and works less when it turns into some late adolescents in a room pretending to be men with beards explaining a science fiction type scenario. But then, after the saggy exegesis bit it thankfully reverts to type with freaky monsters beating the shit out of each other and ripping people's arms off. Definitely worth having for its good points, as are all N Schiff's films. I wonder what happened to 'Vermillion Eyes', love to see that one.

JOHN DIES AT THE END - Multiverse reality slipstream stuff from 'Phantasm' guy. I've got to say I was a little disappointed by this after getting my hopes up - I don't know how, but I was expecting it to be even freakier! It is pretty freaky though, and kind of bludgeons its weirdness home to the point of being a bit boring. I stopped trying to follow it after a while and just let it all wash over me, and then had a slightly better time with it. Left me feeling similar to the way I did after I watched 'Detention' ie "I really want to feel bothered enough to watch that again and like it a bit more".

CABIN FEVER 2 - The disreputable sequel to the over-rated 'Cabin Fever'. I don't like 'Cabin Fever' at all, and in fact it's one of the few films I've actually physically thrown away after seeing once and throwing a shoe at my TV. 'Cabin Fever 2' seemed really different, and although I don't go for comedy horror usually, for some reason I liked it. It's a good mixture of 'gross out' teen high school comedy and repulsive gore - maybe it was the jarring combination which somehow made it work. Despite all the hi-jinks, it also has quite a nasty, misanthropic undertone. Well worth a peek for fellow 'Cabin Fever' detesters (I have a feeling I'm not the only one).

HELLRAISER 3 - Had that slightly too slick but somehow still clunky 'nineties' horror look and feel from the word go. Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes not. In the context of the Hellraiser stuff, probably its not such a good thing. But I ended up enjoying 'Hellraiser 3', which I hadn't seen before I put it on the other day. I think it's because the director just throws in a load of random and often quite slimy weirdness and gore. It's not very well co-ordinated, but it works well enough to be entertaining. Some aspects ie Pinhead's Krugerisms still really grate, but, in the end, even if it's not dead twisted and dark like the original was meant to be, it still manages to be fun when it gets going.

I really enjoyed "Weasels", have you seen the Schiff short on the "The Erotic Films of Peter de Rome" collection? It's a nice little 10 minute film from 2008.

Speaking of de Rome has anyone seen his "The Destroying Angel"? It's meant to be an epic, gay porn, psychedelic mess about sex, alter egos, magic mushrooms and Edgar Allen Poe. Sounds like a winner to me.