I enjoyed both parts of the remake. Had a feeling you would find the second half far too cgi heavy though Dem. You were right in your review of Part 1 though, nothing is really added that the older TV movies didn't accomplish.

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Short Sharp Shocks (2020)

The Sex Victims (1973)

Oddball film about a truck driver who spends the entire thing pursuing a naked woman on horseback through the woods.

This would have been okay as an extra on The Orchard End Murder disc for example but as an actual selling point to this collection? not really. For something that almost hits the forty minute mark there really isn't a lot going on here. I mean. Once you've seen one naked girl on horseback you've seen em' all.

Gran Torino (2008)

Clint Eastwood plays a war veteran who finds his Detroit neighbourhood seemingly overrun by immigrants and gangs. As much in conflict with his family as he is the neighbours, Eastwood gives an excellent performance as the grizzled racist veteran who slowly befriends South East Asian refugees now living on his street whilst trying to defend his property and prized 71' Ford Gran Torino from local thugs.

This feels like a sister film to Unforgiven with his Walt Kowalski a modern day William Munny, but whilst this is clearly a study on racial tolerance and redemption there's plenty of drama and humour along the way to make this thoroughly entertaining.

The Sound of Music (1965)

Directed by the great Robert Wise (The Haunting, The Body Snatcher, Star Trek the Motion Picture) this is one of the classic crowd pleasers that seems to woo every generation with it's repertoire of songs that are all - each and every one of them - so well known.

It looks ****ing gorgeous on Blu-ray, in particular that opening panoramic sweep across the Austrian mountains and the songs have never sounded better.

I've seen it a couple of times in full across the years but experiencing it on Blu-ray made the film a whole new magical experience. The three hours went in no time at all.

The Unholy. 2021.

A disgraced journalist Gerry Fenn visits a New England town to investigate cattle mutilations stumbles across a deaf mute girl Alice who can now speak and believes the Virgin Mary is speaking to her and can heal the wounded. Soon she has made news headlines, Fenn believes it's something more darker that is talking to Alice.

I have read all of James Herbert books from The Rats right through to Ash and they all seem to be dark, Shrine was a bit more dark gothic type and very suspenseful. This had it all towards the end with one or two predictable jump scares that you see coming a mile away, the acting is decent from Jeffrey dean Morgan as the journalist looking for a new story, William Sadler as the town's local priest and uncle to Alice.

It was a somewhat decent attempt to bring James Herbert's demonic story to film but it just seemed to miss hitting the nerve for a ghost movie, as it does start off well then slowly goes all over the place. I would say get it but on the other hand wait for the price to drop before rushing out to buy it, the book is worth a read.

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Is it safe to say you're happy with upgrading to high-definition and you're a Blu-ray convert?

Do you understand why we spent so long trying to convince you to buy Blu-ray player and start buying the high-definition releases for films?

Definitely. However i think the new QLED tv has helped as well.

If it has 4K upscaling built in, it'll make standard Blu-ray look even better than a 1080p TV screen would.

It's 4K all QLED is.... unless they are 8K.

How the devil do I start a new thread? Been ages since I've done it and I can even work out how on tapatoss.

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As you were having difficulties with your phone, I've done it on my computer
https://www.cult-labs.com/forums/gen...ns-thread.html

For future reference, going to the top of the forum category (General Film Discussions, for example) shows a button saying 'Create Thread'.

Think I've cracked it now Nos. Feel free to transfer my post and picture across.

Jurassic Park (1993)

Still a terrific movie with a second hour which is a brilliant piece of sustained tension from Steven Spielberg.

The DTS seven channel sound mix took this film to another level entirely.

Short Sharp Shocks (2020)

The Lake (1978)

This was more like it. A beautifully filmed supernatural tale about a pair of young lovers who picnic by a lake which unfortunately for them shares it's horrific secrets.

The best looking film in the set. This was genuinely good.

There's also a twenty minute interview with star Julie Peasgood. Such a wonderfully enthusiastic lady. She talks lovingly of The Lake and also of House of the Long Shadows in which she co-starred with Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and John Carradine. If Fabulous Films don't have her all over the special features on their upcoming Blu-ray then they are missing out big time.

I did watch The Errand (1980) The final film on the disc from David McGillvray which was so instantly forgettable i can't actually remember it. Whilst a forty minute interview with the man himself was more memorable and entertaining even though i rarely agree with what he he has to say.

All in all Short Sharp Shocks was pretty poor. There's only really The Lake i could envisage returning to.

Wild (2014)

Reese Witherspoon stars in a chronicle of one woman's 1,100-mile solo hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, undertaken as a way to recover from a recent personal tragedy.

Wild feels like Easy Rider for the hiking generation and in a way it is. Except in Wild, Witherspoon is leaving a life of sadness, death, heroin and dangerous sex and seeking redemption from herself along the way. Witherspoon gives a terrific, soul baring performance in a film that captures the emotional anguish and pleasures of one woman as she attempts to heal herself.

Wild takes Witherspoon i imagine out of her comfort zone of bubbly lovable characters, in fact for so much of the time she's quite unlikable but we do get inside her head and slowly begin to warm to her especially seeing how out of her depth she is in the remote wilderness.

Beautifully photographed the film captured the loneliness of the great outdoors and the anxiety that hits you when you meet someone - at one point when she meets a hillbilly type farmer in his pick up who offers her a hot meal and a shower she says 'I was scared of you, i thought you were going to kill me', to which he replies kindly 'I know you did'.

I have to say i really enjoyed Wild all over again on this rewatch, after finding the Blu-ray in Poundland, well, it was a no brainer really.

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

Well it was Friday the 13th of August. What was i supposed to watch?

Generally thought of as one of the poorer films in the series but i've always quite liked this fifth entry about a copycat Jason Vorhees killer who is at least given a motive and reason to go on a killing spree (Kind of).

There are several good murder set pieces and they come along nice and frequent. Where it falters a little is there's nobody to really get behind until the closing stages. The character we are following Tommy Jarvis barely speaks and is totally unlikable and Melanie Kinnaman only really becomes the 'final girl' in the last reels. but despite this A New Beginning is a solid entry in the series.

Siege (1983, Paul Donovan/ Maura O'Connell)

Dug out the vhs since it's been reissued finally ahem.
On the night the local police start a strike, a gay bar is targeted by vigilantes.
Hadn't watched this for long enough, and the print's a bit faded now, but it still held my attention (possibly due the fact that one of the thugs resembles Seth Rogan if you squint :lol:)
Ahem. Recommended.

SPARE PARTS – Some Riot Grrl-esque punksters are abducted and welded to bits of Meccano in ‘Spare Parts’, a gladiatorial horror flick set in a brutal shanty town. The frequent flashes of gore struggle to offset the sense that ‘Spare Parts’, after it settles into a rhythm of fight-scene / build up / escape plan / repeat etc, is all a bit one-note. Still, in a way it’s a nice updating of a sort-of WIP scenario. Worth a shot if you like contemporary feminist action horror with splattery combat involving big metal pincers.

SCARY MOVIE – This odd little labour of love follows a nervous guy, who happens to look a bit like Ian Curtis dressed for Sunday School, as he frets about various issues near or within a Halloween funhouse. Meanwhile, item – a dangerous madman has escaped en route from a carceral facility. What will happen? Maybe not quite what you expect. ‘Scary Movie’ is a sort-of ironic take on the whole slasher cliché, and spends most of its run-time wrong footing the audience one way or another. It drifts along, lazily taking in a succession of great Halloween costumes and pageantry, not really focussing on much beyond nervous guy and the local punks who stand around waiting for the carnival to happen. The Butthole Surfers play on the radio more than once before Roky Erickson pops up as the end credits roll. It’s very dreamy and just kind of floats by, not really caring whether it makes sense or not. I really enjoyed it, a 16mm backyard flick hewn from the same dark matter as Horror, but not quite of it.

HONEYDEW – Takes the standard backwoods horror route, then stylises it to oblivion. At some points, I was thinking that Peter Greenaway would appreciate the level of artifice on display, but the overall vibe is Lynchian – odd characters, weird mannerisms, dreamy nebulousness vying with the grotesque. Either you’re with that kind of thing or not, and I’ll say straight up that if you’re not, then you’ll probably find ‘Honeydew’ tedious to the point of aggravation, because the main draw here is sheer atmosphere, and a pretty curdled one at that. ‘Plot’ is as alluded to above – city types stranded off the highway out in the sticks happen across hostile locals, then a friendly farmstead… friendly in a TCM vein, ha ha. Lina Dunham pops up, oddly enough, just as things get sicker and sicker. Countless rural American horrors are referenced, but I do wonder whether the makers saw and took note of that tawdry bit of Brit-grot from back in the noughties, ‘Mum and Dad’? That’s kind of where we’re headed. Anyway, recommended if it sounds like your bag.

As always :hail::hail::hail:

All duly noted FT!!! :pop2::nod:

Lords of Chaos (2018)

An account of the start of the Norwegian black metal music scene through the perspective of Mayhem co-founder Euronymous.

Director Jonas Akerlund gave the film the tagline of 'About truth and lies' so the bulk of the film may be true other parts less so. None of the characters come across as particularly sympathetic and although it's all based on Euronymous' viewpoint he hardly comes across as the hero of the piece. Rival Varg Vikernes is just plain nasty. At one point he's asked by a journo interviewing him in his home how he can be a Satanist, a Pagan and a Nazi at the same time to which he has no answer but it sums him up perfectly. He also calls the likes of Morbid Angel and the Swedish death metal scene poseurs.

Whilst some of the film could be seen as a black metal version of Empire Records or Clerks for example other parts are truly horrific with very strong gore. The suicide of Dead is extremely graphic and i actually winced whilst watching it whilst a couple of murders are depicted in startling realism with the kills far more horrific than any slasher film.

The infamous church burnings are shown in all their fiery glory. In fact one of them is filmed in an almost poetic dreamlike way by Akerlund.

Unfortunately the film doesn't really depict the actual black metal scene in Norway at the time. It really is only Mayhem's influence that we see. It should be mentioned that there is a lot of black metal music played throughout the film - Mayhem, Tormentor, Bathory, there's also the likes of Sodom, Celtic Frost, Dead Can Dance, Cathedral, Carcass and Sigur Ros, but for me the two best songs in the whole film come from Accept (Fast as a Shark) and Dio's Stand Up and Shout. I was also fascinated by Euronymous' record store and often paused the Blu-ray so i could check out the record covers on display such as Motorhead, King Diamond, Metallica and weirdly Motley Crue.

Although the film is certainly of serious tone there's a wicked streak of black (metal) humour running throughout kind of summed up by a final narration from Euronymous following his death. As mellow music from Sigur Ros wafts through the speakers Euronymous finishes with a narration -

" No! F*ck, stop the sentimental shit! Stop! There's nothing sad about my death or my life. I'm Euronymous, founder of Mayhem, the most infamous Black Metal band in the world. I had my own record store. I had my own record label. I created a whole new musical genre: True Norwegian Black Metal! And I created Mayhem. What the f*ck have you done lately? Poser"

I don't think this film will be for all. Most will hate the music for a start and a fair few will be put off by the nastiness on show, some will also think it factually bollocks, but for anyone interested in the metal music scene this is required viewing.

I'd recommend the (Finnish?) flick Heavy Trip for a double bill with LOC, if only for it's more light-hearted nature ahem, balance etc ....

It's not entirely accurate, no. Mate was horrified at the Faust scene. It's not Glitter certainly :laugh:

I may have to finally watch this.

Spiral: From The Book Of Saw. 2021.

Detective Zeke Banks is teamed with rookie Detective Schenk to investigate a death of a homeless person and soon they think it's linked to the Jigsaw killings.

I don't mean to be a typecast but seeing Chris Rock in comedy then going to horror I was waiting for him to come out with some funny dialogue even though he does make a good point about Forest Gump. With Samuel L Jackson he managed to make it look like a serious horror movie that doesn't go off the rails. The twist in the story was played out well even though there are suttle hints that do make it a bit predictable on who killer is. The traps are done decently but after the first kill it does loose it's edge with the gore, may not be the best entry but a lot better than Jigsaw 2017 IMHO.

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Run Hide Fight

A Teenage Girl attempts to save her Classmates when her School is taken over by Live Streaming School Shooters. Whilst it's not a Die Hard type Movie, it was thrilling and very entertaining. I was happy that I came across it yesterday.

Spiral

A Saw spin Off which sees Chris Rock as a Detective out to find a Jigsaw copycat. The initial reviews made this to be really inferior so my expectations were lower going in but I rather enjoyed it. I chuckled when Chris Rock made a New Jack City reference. Also it was a little jarring when listening to a Jigsaw Audio Tape that it wasn't Tobin Bell's voice.

Naked Gun 2 1/2: Smell Of Fear

Slapstick fun which sees the bumbling Police Squad Detectives try to thwart a kidnapping orchestrated by a Nuclear Power company owner. Really enjoyable Comedy which you can't take your eyes off in case you miss something and it shows that this type of Comedy can be done really well.

Unleashed

Jet Li is used as a Heavy for Gangster, Bob Hoskins but after he is able to get away, he is taken in by Morgan Freeman but he is recaptured by Hoskins's Gang. Really entertaining Film, nice Fight scenes (Which includes a Scott Adkins early role) and Hoskins is really good.

Cat Women On The Moon

Revisiting this old chestnut. Some fun to be had with the stiff as a board dialogue etc. The crew find out more than they expect when they land on a mission. :nod:, but they don't drag it out to 150 minutes ahem. :lol:

I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu (2019)

Legitimate sequel to the 1978 'classic' from the same director and also the same star Camille Keaton.

To say Deja Vu was a mess is a bit of an understatement. For a start it's a bum numbing two hours twenty five minutes. Yes two hours twenty five minutes of terrible over acting from so-called hillbilly types shouting and screaming at each other, each one more hysterical and eye-rollingly over the top than the other. It soon wears very thin.

Might as well mention Camille Keaton here as well. To put it bluntly, she's f*cking dreadful. Her decapitation didn't come soon enough for my liking.

Thankfully the film's real star Jamie Bernadette is slightly better at the acting lark than Keaton and it's her that suffers the rape ordeal and extracts revenge throughout the film. The rape scenes aren't as strong as the original film nor as lengthy (Unless the UK dvd is cut - which is a scary thought as that would mean the uncut version was even longer than 145 mins). In fact the revenge scenes aren't as strong either although you might wince as Bernadette thrusts a broken bottle into one hillbilly's bollocks as she gives him a hand job.

Where the film does deserve credit is in it's depiction of the backwoods protagonists lead by Maria Olsen as their equally deranged mother, Becky. Becky runs a small town gas station, rides a gleaming quad bike and lives with her kin in a swish cabin in the woods. Not some shit hole from Wrong Turn or House of 1000 Corpses. It's a home with a stocked fridge, house plants, nice furniture, 4x4 outside just as anyone would want. It's a simple touch but refreshingly different for this type of movie.

Just when you think the film is finished the clock shows twenty minutes still to play out and the script brings in more protagonists and further twists that hark back to events from the 1978 original.

All in all Deja Vu. was a messy mixed bag with an appalling first half and a more watchable second but at two hours twenty five minutes it's way, way too long.

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A group of carnies driving across country in a camper have their trip is cut short when they come across a very strange road block made up of twisted scarecrows. While trying to clear the road they are kidnapped and forced to play a game called 31. Its Halloween night and the contestants in this game must survive the night on order to escape.

When i first heard about 31 i was so excited as a massive Rob Zombie fan i couldn't wait a film filled with crazed characters on a murderous rampage and a nazi midgey how could i not be excited but could it live up to my expectations ? In a word NO.

Its not that 31 is a bad film but it feels like its missing something. There are so many great characters but i wasnt happy with how easily the victims get past each stage of the game as i said the characters themselves are great midget nazi chainsaw wielding clowns two sex slaves but for all the promise they just came across a little soft and not as menacing as i had hoped for. One character i really had a problem with was Doom Head he was billed as their go to guy to get the job done the most evil most twisted member that ensured no one survived but in reality he spends too much time trying to be philosophical and deep instead of just chopping people up and his little speaches was actually boring and dragged out.

I loved the atmosphere and the whole look that instantly says this is a Rob Zombie film plus as always he just knows how to pick the perfect music for every single scene fantastic. Yes it sounds like im really down on this film but my expectations are very high with my favourite directors so i pick at things a little more. 31 is still an enjoyable film but there are some really missed opportunities here.

To sum it up 31 is a halloween themed Running Man but no where near as good. This is the one Rob Zombie film i wouldn't revisit as often as the rest.

6/10

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Horticulturist Earl Stone put everything into his business nothing mattered more to him than his flowers and the praise of his fellow horticulturists. As the years past business got harder and harder and Earl had to shut down his business. All he has left his is grand daughter who is the only one left in his family that will even talk to him. At an engagement party held by his grand daughter Earl is approached by one of her friends who offers Earl a job driving for the cartel transporting drugs and firearms. The more runs he does the bigger the cargo and the bigger the pay but Earl is a simple man and uses his new found wealth to improve his community help is family and retire his old truck. With his money worries a thing of the past Earl must now face is past mistakes and try reconnect with his ex wife and family before time runs out.

The Mule is a beautiful film filled with humour suspense and some very touching scenes that honestly gave me a lump in my throat. As i said in the Clint thread the other night Clint is still the boss he is amazing his humour is spot on and always works he is cool as f*** in every moment just breezing through the scenes with so much presence he still oozes charisma and at 91 still showing actors of today how it should be done.

I love that Clint is still directing and acting but it kills me that he is getting so old i grew up with his films as a constant part of my life. But saying that it fills my heart with so much joy that his man is 91 and still kicking everyones ass.

Bring on Cry Macho

9/10

Saint Maud

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I must be going nuts as I swear somebody reviewed this the other day but can't find it.
Anyway bought something and got a free trial of Amazon Prime.
Liked the look of this anyway and as it was free bunged it on pronto.

I really liked it, it's more of a psychological study than an outright Horror, but definitely creeps into that territory with many unnerving scenes, but I could see many mainstream Horror fans being disappointed as it's not yer usual gore and jump scares offering.

Instead it follows Maud who is obviously not playing with a full deck from the off, she seems good intentioned but lives a solitary life, where lacking meaning she turns to god for solace and then things slowly spiral out of control.
She is obviously suffering from some kind of mental disorder which manifests in hallucinations and fits, meanwhile she is nursing a dying woman and feels as though she has found an outlet and cause to put her faith to good use.

The performances are all really good and i was gripped as the story unfolded, the soundtrack has a nice uneasy vibe that at moments reminded me of the one from Under the Skin (2013).

Recommended 8/10:pop2:

It was me that reviewed it glad you liked it i was really surprised by it.

John Wick 3

These are starting to get a bit daft now, the series has come quite a way from the first film. I feel that some of the fights are played for laughs or comedic effect now. Give the audience what they want kind of thing. There is also so much CGI blood that it's like watching an episode of The Walking Dead :lol:

I did still enjoy this one though, John on the run from every assassin in the network, I especially enjoyed his escape on horseback through the streets of New York at the start. The whole film looks amazing (apart from the CGI blood) and highly stylised and I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Anyone know when part 4 is dropping?

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e4/49...431130190e.gif

Still not seen any of them :behindsofa:

I liked the first one. Lost me after that.

I think you'll like them, they have 80s action film sensibilities but modern film aesthetics! Also ultraviolent!

We started the first one and my girlfriends said they kill his dog and it was turned off i never went back for some reason :lol:

The dog killing is literally the whole reason he does what he does! Don't F--- with a man's best friend!

Leave the duck alone!

I have to watch it soon. Think they are on Netflix ?

The Ghoul. 1933.

Professor Harry Moriant is dying of a mysterious illness, after obtaining a jewel his wishes is to be buried with it. When his grave is disturbed and the jewel stolen, he rises from the dead in search of it.

Horror maestro Boris Korloff does it again in a somewhat nod to The Mummy movie except without a fez, It has the hallmarks of a dark house movies, who dunnit and why, who is the creepy person roaming around that everyone sees and some witty humour. This was one of those movies that was classed as lost and never to be seen again, thankfully it was found and restored, the acting is superb from all and great cinematography that is still appreciated and great monstrous make up. Highly Recommended.

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Im a big fan of this so much atmosphere with the heavy fog and all the sets giving that creepy vibe.

I was bored by the first film.

Is it a case of too much action like The Raid 2 i got bored too because it was just non stop action with not much else going on. Or maybe its just not interesting.

Yes, The Raid 2 was boring as well.

I love action films it's what i was brought up on. The likes of Commando, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Cliffhanger.

John Wick wasn't in the least bit entertaining. The script never once grabbed me nor thrilled me. Simply shooting for shooting's sake. Go rewatch Shoot em' Up instead. Much more fun.

For The Record. The Raid, the first one, is excellent.

I felt the same with the first Raid film and i totally get what your saying all the classic and even not so classic action films have progression a good story and when the action happens it has more impact and its more enjoyable . Again agree 100% on shoot em up hilariously entertaining.