[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Tales That Witness Madness (1973)

British anthology film from Freddie Francis in the style of but not from Amicus. Quite often these portmanteau films are hit and miss and Tales That Witness Madness is no exception. Opening story Mr Tiger is fun and the third story Mel, with Michael Jayston and Joan Collins, one i remember from years ago, the best of the four. Final tale Luau starring Kim Novak and a nude Mary Tamm isn't bad but suffers from being too long at half an hour. The other tale and the wrap around story with Donald Pleasence and Jack Hawkins are instantly forgettable.

Collins and Jayston are good, Novak looks lost and the film misses a contribution from the great Peter Cushing even though Francis adds a few gory and horrific flourishes to proceedings.

Holy Motors (2012)

Plotless, self indulgent, French arthouse bollocks with one or two visually interesting sequences. Full of ideas but ultimately meaningless.

The Ghost Train (1941)

Written by Arnold Ridley, best known as Private Godfrey in Dad's Army, The Ghost Train comes across as less a ghost story and more a comedy vehicle in which the likable Arthur Askey does his routine seemingly irritating everyone at the lonely old railway station as they await morning, but entertaining me with his antics.

There's idle chatter of a ghost train throughout but it's not until the final 10 minutes when the film takes a turn into ghostly horror territory that any sort of tension ensues.