This week's viewings:

Xtro (1983)

Started 2019 off in style with the gloopy slice of extra-terrestrial insanity that is Xtro. I hadn't watched this one in a few years and enjoyed revisiting it. Despite the effects work not being the best the industry had to offer at the time, they have a esoteric charm which has always resonated with me, and makes it stand out from other ET horrors from the '80s.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/ce77e021...uo1_r1_500.gif

75/100


Berserk! (1967)

Okay murder mystery / drama with almost giallo-style trappings as the performers of a travelling circus are being killed off one by one. Joan Crawford plays the ringmaster who flips from being morbidly pleased that the killings are drawing in the punters to despairing at all the carnage occurring around her. It's a little silly and suffers from a little too much circus footage being shoe-horned into the running time, but for the most part is luridly entertaining enough to overcome its shortcomings.

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62/100


The Killing of A Sacred Deer (2017)

Tense and engrossing psychological thriller about a young boy who tears apart the idyll of a perfect family due to an event from the past coming back to haunt them. Well performed by all involved, and I dodn't want to go into too much detail in respect to the story for fear of spoilers, but if you enjoy thrillers in the vein of Funny Games and Stoker, then I'd recommend checking this one out. My favourite new discovery of the year so far.

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84/100


Monkey Shines (1988)

I remember snippets of this one from when I caught it a good few years ago, but my memory was hazy going in. I remember not thinking too much of it at the time but wanted to give it a re-appraisal. Overall, I enjoyed it more than than I thought I would based on aforementioned hazy memories. There are quite a few unlikable characters here, but the majority get their comeuppance via Ella the monkey, who is incidentally the stand-out character by far.

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64/100


The Blood Spattered Bride (1972)

Another re-watch, and a euro-chiller I really like. I first caught it on Blue Underground's DVD as the 'b-side' so to speak of Daughters of Darkness, and preferred it to Daughters overall. Mondo Macabro have since given it the luscious HD treatment and it was this I sampled this time around. It is a nice combination of the gothic and the lurid with plenty of shocks, surrealism, intrigue and eroticism that tickles my senses just right. Highly recommended for fans of euro-horror no matter how casual.

https://66.media.tumblr.com/8f9d6731...x8mmo1_400.gif

74/100


Escape from New York (1981)

Carpenter's sci-fi / post apocalyptic classic. Whilst I've never been a massive fan of this as I know some folks are, it's still an enjoyable ride with a great score, plenty of action and some stand-out performances. Plissken is a great character and is the definitive anti-hero.

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73/100

There have been some genuinely excellent British horror films, J.

Nos mentioned one or two which i agree with - The Girl with all the Gifts, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, The Ritual (which you've seen) The Borderlands.

Then there's, off the top of my head

The Awakening (2011),
The Seasoning House (2012)
Inbred (2011)
Howl (2015)
A Lonely Place to Die (2011)
Berberian Sound Studio (2012)
Penetration Angst (2003)
The Dead (2011)
Nina Forever (2015)
Freehold (2017)
Outcast (2009)
Devil's Playground (2009)
The Devil's Business (2010)
Isolation (2005)

I saw this for the first time on Friday night. I think i liked it better than you as i'd have given it at least 70/100.

As you say Ella the Capuchin monkey was terrific. Half of the time i really wanted one of my own due to the things it did, so sweet. That gif was a lovely didn't see it coming jump scare as well.

On the whole it reminded me a bit of watered down Link, but it wasn't just as good.

I'll also have to give these a try ,Berberian sound studio is really good I enjoyed that in many ways been while since seen it tho.

Comedies are very subjective, i tend to like blacker stuff, although i have watched a lot of stuff like Anchorman/Step brothers/School of rock/Tenacious D with my daughter, which i tend to enjoy when i'm watching them but afterwards am never bothered enough to pick them up on dvd etc.
Also some i find really enjoyable if i'm in the right mood like Napoleon Dynamite, but other times can't be arsed.

Here are some since 2000 that i really like.:pop2:

Shaun of the dead
Hot Fuzz
The worlds end
What we do in the shadows
Black dynamite
In Bruges
Sightseers
Submarine
Scott Pilgrim vs the world

I look forward to reading your thoughts on this one. I think I was perhaps comparing it to Link a bit too, which is another reason why my rating was a little low.

There are loads of other British horrors i really like which may be more subjective.

Byzantium
Stonehearst Asylum
Cherry Tree
The Rezort
Soulmate
Wilderness
Mindflesh
Crow
Broken

Yeah, comedy is really subjective. There are some on nos42's that I love (What We Do in the Shadows, Sightseers, Submarine) and others I don't rate much at all (Shaun of the Dead, Black Dynamite, Scott Pilgrim).

For what it's worth, some of my favourite comedies made since 2000 are:

Big Bad Wolves (2013)
Cheap Thrills (2014)
Dogtooth (2009)
Ex Drummer (2007)
Father's Day (2011)
Filth (2014)
Four Lions (2010)
The Last Circus (2010)
The Lobster (2015)
Murder Party (2007)
Reality (2015)
Sightseers (2012)
Submarine (2010)
Super (2011)
Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil (2010)
The Voices (2015)
What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
Wild Tales (2014)
Wrong (2012)
Wrong Cops (2013)

As you may be able to tell, my tastes in 'comedy' tend to sit more towards the dark end of the spectrum.

You're not f*cking kidding! :lol:

Big Bad Wolves and Dogtooth? Did you forget The Life and Death of a Porno Gang?

I did actually - thanks for the reminder, Dem. :D

One or two mentioned I'm not overly keen on. Some I've never heard off or seen so can't give any comment but will look into some of these .

I'm surprised that nobody mentioned Kill List at all [emoji54]

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Well speaking personally, i thought films like that and The Woman in Black, Dog Soldiers etal were a bit, well, obvious.

Fair enough, just was quite surprised really.

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:behindsofa:
Watched the Bros documentary. Jawdropping. A must
The Dead Ringers of music docs :nod: Now take it away from me. :laugh:

I'm curious it has to be said, but I'm waiting until it's on Netflix/Prime because I'm not buying the damn thing :lol:

I was never a fan, but I did have a Grolsch bottle top on my shoes in the late 80's :lol:

Thanks for that Dem. There's a few there I've seen. The Awakening for instance is brilliant but it doesn't pop into my head as recent being it's 8 years old. Howl is also great. Autopsy of Jane Doe is really good but I'm particularly surprised that's British. One of those you've mentioned is from 2003. When i think recent Brit horror films I tend to think the past 2 or 3 years maybe

A Quiet Place 2018.

Surviving a apocalyptic war against monsters that are blind but have sensitive hearing a family try to find shelter without making any noise and speak only using sign language.

This movie I wasn't going to watch as it didn't seem to appear to be brilliant, a workmate told me it was scary as f@#k (anything scares him) and my dad told me it's the best.

There is some blink and miss info on how the creatures arrived via newspaper articles shown in some scenes, very little dialogue is said to the nature of the movie, the sign language is shown in subtitle which if you watch you need no distractions. John Krasinski does a good job of starring and directing this as the father and Emily Blunt as the mother. The creatures themselves are brilliantly designed and creepy added in with some tense moments. IMO this wasn't the greatest horror, ok it's new but there was a few plot holes and why was there a old guy in the Woods? Maybe the planned 2020 sequel will give out more info on the back story of the creatures. 5-6 out of 10.

You're welcome, J.

Have you actually seen Penetration Angst or the 2005 one Isolation?

A mate came round with it :pound: ... it's quite Strindberg in places ;) .... the footage from the time is ... interesting :lol:. Never again though :laugh:

Re: recentish Brit horror.

The Borderlands
White Settlers :lol:

Both spring to mind. For wildly different reasons mind you. Interesting week.
I've seen Manhattan Baby described as dull and Kill List described as obvious. Sure, I saw that ending coming a mile off .... whatever. :laugh:

Yakuza Apocalypse
Miike vampire flick. Tis rather violent. :nod:

Still don't understand the whole frog thing in Yakuza Apocalypse.

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Bird on a Wire. Really mediocre Mel Gibson/Goldie Hawn vehicle from the early 90s. Like, really mediocre. And Hawn is annoying as ^*$^. :whip:

Happy Death Day. Mildly amusing if slight throwback to the late 90s teen horror flicks.

:laugh: The best thing is just to accept it I find. Zen cinema ;). Hail!! :lol::hail:

Tried watching the Bernard Rose/Tony Todd commentary on candyman, it's very......odd, trippy, so switching to Jones/Newman commentary.

Is Clive's voice too much then?? ;):laugh:

Obvious as in an obvious choice for British horror that most on here will have seen at least once. Not obvious in it's story telling. Stop skim reading posts. :lol:

Just watched Sicario 2: Soldado (2018).

A sequel better than the original. Gripping stuff.

:behindsofa:
Yes, it just dawned on me that's what you meant. Onwards!! :lol:

Ahem..

Happy New Year, Colin Burstead

Well it aint Festen :laugh:
Nice to see Doon in there (was Julia Deakin busy?? ;))
Certainly the slightest of his films ... but rewatch as always obviously :laugh:;)

Duel To The Death 1983.

Every 10 years a great swordsman from China and Japan face each other in duel of honor, this time round there is a plot to rig the duel now the two enemies uncover the plot and decide whether to fight or not.

This is one of those cheesey type martial arts movies that does a lot of high flying with strings attached movies with the bad dubbing and some comedy added with bendy katana swords and plenty tomato sauce for blood. The acting is good as well as the sword fights are good choreographed. It's good for a watch for fans of this type of movies 6 out of 10

No mate I haven't so thanks for the recommendations. When i think of the past two or three years I can't think of much. The Ritual was the only distinctly British one that came to mind. And while i liked it I'll be honest I didn't think it was a patch on Ghost Stories.

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I'll give it another go sooner rather than later and see if my thinking changes.

Personal Shopper (2016)

Kristen Stewart plays a young woman who is a personal shopper for a celebrity she barely sees, picking up hugely expensive clothes for said star to wear for charity events and gala dinners. Stewart also professes to be a medium and wants to talk to her now dead brother following a pact she made with him prior to death that whichever of them died first would come back and contact the other from the after-life.

Not the most conventional supernatural horror story i'll grant you but it's certainly interesting especially as it goes behind the often closed doors of someone who works for celebrities. Tension builds slowly but the film hinges on a great performance by Stewart as events gradually fray her nerves. The film dares to defy genre conventions and i don't recall any of the usual jump scare techniques so often employed by Hollywood thrillers, just an atmosphere that gradually intensifies, culminating in some original ghostly manifestations.

The director Olivier Assayas does a great job, especially with some elongated sequences of texting, somehow allowing reams of tension to build rather than making the viewer nod off.

The end result is a film that's mysterious, ever so slightly arty-farty and very compelling.

I'll catch up on a few of the recommendations. Can get a copy of Isolation from Amazon for under 2 quid and it does sound promising.

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Good choice, J. :clap:

The Doll of Satan.

Elizabeth(Erna Schurer) is a young girl who has just inherited her uncles castle after the reading of his will. and after arriving there with her fiance and meeting the strange occupants she begins to experience strange erotic dreams were she is tortured in a medievil dungeon.

Not a bad effort, and quite stylish and atmospheric in the old castle. the story is a bit average though and rather slow. and although there is a black gloved killer on the rampage, the film is actually rather tame and bloodless.
Erna Schurer is very nice on the eye though. an actress who has a look of a young Catherine Denerve who is actually rather good in the lead role.

An okay watch. a film for undemanding giallo fans. 71 out of 100.

Watched the Japanese MARTIN blu ray yesterday.
Easily the best looking I've seen it.

Noted R!! :pop2:


Assassination Nation

Witch hunting 2.0
4 high school friends enter the void when a hacker runs amok in their community. Recommended?

The Equalizer 2018.

Robert McCall is enjoying the quiet life as a uber driver, when his friend is killed he is drawn back to his past.

This was a decent Sequel, not as fast paced as the first movie and can drag on in places, but the action fighting sequences are good, Denzel portrayal is same as the first movie troubled young person and trying to keep them on the straight path and hiding his past that slowly resurfaces, blended with a good background score mixed in. 7 out of 10.