LAMB – Noomi Rapace in a folkloric yarn involving an ovine changeling. Before it’s horror, it’s about the act of raising a child in a world that has no representation of a family with difference at its heart. The eeriness, the weirdness, all stems from the misalignment of parental expectations with ‘reality’ (hey, doesn’t it always). It’s quiet, still, lots of mood and empty Icelandic countryside. I should point out that there is actually a monster. I really liked it.
CHOOSE OR DIE – Brit (?) flick where everyone’s pretending to be American – wait on, there’s Eddie Marsan playing an evil slacker dad – never thought I’d see it. COD is a fusion of tired post-‘Saw’ tropes and J-horror themes with a bit of Charlie Brooker thrown in (not to mention a smidge of Robert Englund). A cursed computer game is… yeah, you’ve watched it already in your heads (if you didn’t switch channels halfway through). Dumb but enjoyable, with a bit of splat.
CORPSE EATERS – Post-NOTLD grot from obscure Canadian filmmakers, CE is definitely one for the rescue list given that it’s only really viewable on YT or, for all I know, some other grey area format. It’s as basic as they come – after a leering make-out session (overseen by an owl!), pesky college studes hole up in a crypt and ‘summon’ the undead, who are well into flesh ripping. There’s some seriously unembarrassed camerawork which wanders into almost Doris Wishmanesque territory, alongside some of my usual favourites - weird electronic music, surprising gore and a disjointed tone. It’s the kind of film where a disgruntled undertaker mumbles a pissed-off voiceover full of gems like “some guy’s just come in with half his face ripped off… must have been a bear… probably deserved it.”
DOOM – As linear as it gets, this is just a stripped down ‘Alien’ clone with good optics and some names and faces. The Rock is one such name / face combination, and he turns out to be a bit of a twat. I don’t know why, but I nearly had a bladder spasm when I saw Dexter Fletcher decked out as a cyborg on wheels. Lots of screeching and flaming hot lead from an era when you couldn’t begrudge a bit of bad CGI.
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