Zeder. 1983.

A young journalist Stefano buys a old used typewriter, he finds some text on it about a man called Poalo Zeder who done work in the 1950s and bringing the dead back to life and discovers a group of scientists who are putting the theory to the test.

This is a film that may not be for everyone, it is a bit of a slow pace movie but that may be down to Pupi Avati's intentions of creating a dark toned atmosphere of a film rather than go with the full blown zombie genre we love to watch. With the 88 film release they have cleaned it up a bit and decent picture quality release but they still never managed to fix the dubbing, to be honest i'm sure we have all seen films with worse dubbing.

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The Hunt. Wealthy liberal elites kidnap ordinary people (who've been mean to them on social media) and hunt them for sport in this wickedly funny satirical comedy horror from 2020. Fast-paced, funny and gory, and the satire is undeniably amusing. This was a good time! :nod:

The Great Wall (2016)

An entertaining popcorn munching blockbuster. The 100 min running time meant it never dragged but the downside was there wasn't much in the way of characterization other than for Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal's mercenary's.

The film looked terrific throughout with innovative action sequences (The use of Chinese lanterns in the finale was class) courtesy of director Zhang Yimou's and worthy of his excellent Chinese films Hero and House of Flying Daggers as were drumming sequences when soldiers were called to arms during an epic opening battle on the wall.

Interestingly it was co-written by The Last Samurai's director and writer Edward Zwick. Whilst The Great Wall has similarities with that film - Westerner integrates into Asian society to combat outside threat - it's nowhere near as good but remains very watchable all the same.

A no-brainer purchase from Poundland on Blu-ray last year to upgrade my dvd

Fury (2014)

Excellent portrayal of a grizzled American tank crew as it forces it's way through Germany towards Berlin. Brad Pitt and Logan Lerman give fine portrayals as a battle weary sergeant and wet behind the ears rookie tank gunner.

A film that doesn't glamorize the Second World War, David Ayers movie is a near damning indictment of both sides and as much an anti-war movie as eighties Vietnam films like Platoon.

Although there is plenty of gripping well shot action - the showdown with the Tiger is a particular highlight - much of the film is a character study of the tank crew who more often than not come across as wholly unlikable characters and it's only towards the end that their true camaraderie shows.

I've always liked this and was delighted to pick it up for a couple of quid on Blu-ray earlier this week.

Miami Blues (1990, George Armitage)

Picked this as I couldn't quite get my hands on Remo ahem. Fred Ward plays an unlucky detective (one of his few lead roles ...), I read the novel for this years before during a "hard boiled" phase I went through and thought "they filmed that??" as the protagonist isn't exactly a role model :lol::nod:
Revisiting this, I noticed this time that the film is quite blackly toned (Ward and his partner cracking funnies over a dead body etc)

So it'll be Remo and probably Southern Comfort tonight as I was thinking about revisiting that one anyway ....

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

Often cited as the weakest entry in the Friday the 13th series sadly due to cuts by the American censors the MPAA who proved just as adept at slashing as the zombie like Jason Vorhees.

So much is missing from the murder scenes it makes the film a bit of a travesty. Heads being crushed by Jason's hands to the size of a tennis ball, the slimy Dr. Crews mangled to death with a Brush Cutter... the cuts ruin every kill much to the films detriment. (I'm sure a couple of them could be restored enough from the rough cuts to actually be put back into the film without too much variation in quality).

Lazily this is seen as Jason vs Carrie as the hockey masked killer fights a new opponent. This time a psychokinetic teenage girl. But i've always thought it works quite well, with Lar Park Lincoln proving a strong female lead not only in her struggle with Vorhees but also the unscrupulous Dr. Crews (Terry Kiser) out to manipulate Lincoln for his own ends which is actually the best sub plot in the entire franchise.

So whilst Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood is a lesser entry it's unfair to blame the film makers for something out of their control. Documentaries on the Blu-ray itself and also on the Crystal Lake Memories set show just how much was cut from the film and how it affected the general flow of what is a very decent entry.

THE DEVIL’S MEN – Seventies trash sees Pleasance on a Greek island, battling a Minotaur cult. In the past, I allowed others to convince me that ‘The Devil’s Men’ was a load of toss, so I always avoided it. Turns out they were wrong, and so was I. TDM is not as lip-smackingly pulpy (nor as bonkers) as something like ‘Psychomania’, but its tendency to derail into scenes of people wandering around and investigating is offset by a few cards up its sleeve. The menacingly droney score by Brian Eno lends the film an almost undeserved feeling of otherworldliness and is pretty much the best thing about it. Other stuff isn’t quite so sublime, but delivers the schlocky goods; the nicely arranged tableaus involving cultists and sacrifice, and the Whovian silliness of that talking, fire-snorting papier mache Minotaur statue monster or whatever it is. Obviously there’s also the attraction of seeing Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasance under the same roof. Quite enjoyable, making the blu-ray probably worth a punt for those interested.

TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE – Paired with ‘Nothing Underneath’ on the recent VS release, and I think this is probably the better half. It ticks more of my boxes anyway – gratuitous, music video-esque stylisation, overbearing eighties fashion, visual classiness surrendering to badfilm crassness. Like the other film, it’s set in Rome’s fashion / music community, where models are being iced by a Giallo-type with an over-elaborate weapon. It outstays its welcome when it gets bogged down in ‘the investigation’, but mostly pretty good IMO.

THE SEED – Three women hang out in a big house with a swimming pool. Somewhere along the line a weird alien crops up along with a slew of body-horror, a lot of it pregnancy-related, and the tone ratchets into hysteria. I thought ‘The Seed’ might be a bit cute in its attempts to pit casual sass with revolting goo, but eventually its incessant strangeness wore me down and won me over. It’s freaky. So – a hit.

THE DARK – This is a pretty good film. It’s about an odd, corpse-like girl who strikes up a partnership with a child who seems to have been kidnapped and indoctrinated by an escaped con. Themes of abuse and co-dependency are handled thoughtfully, and hang like a fog around the more trad genre elements of pretty in-your-face gore and a wonderful woodland atmosphere. A petty gripe, but maybe they could’ve tried again with that title.

HELLBENDER – From family-sized film industry The Adams’s comes ‘Hellbender’, about a witchy mother / daughter duo who spend their time rocking out goth-metal style at their woodland retreat. Drama, along with a bit of splat and black magic, ensues when daughter makes a break for independence. Very good I thought, and in some ways it reminded me of those slightly arty seventies horror flicks like ‘Dark August’, where a surface uneventfulness gives way to an atmosphere that builds through the lingering unease of long, still shots. Recommended.

This sounds good. Is it new?

I bought the Arrow blu of The Deeper You Dig and The Hatred in the recent sale as i'd heard good things about the lo-fi movie making institution that is The Adams Family although as yet i've seen neither.

It is their latest yes, currently a 'Shudder' exclusive but a lot of those have been released on discs later down the line. Been meaning to watch this one for a few months now.

Thanks. Have you seen the two i bought recently?

I haven't no, I remember the release coming out and kind of not paying attention, but after Hellbender came out the buzz picked up for those previous films too. I think that the Arrow sale is still on at HMV so I'm curious enough to try them out.

It's a limited edition so may well retain it's value or better in the months to come.

Seeing as TDYD is partly about attempting to bury a body in the frozen woods it doesn't seem the right time of year for me to watch it at the moment. :lol:

'The Deeper You Dig' is pretty good, especially if you like a long, drawn out atmosphere. 'Hellbender' tops it in some ways but has a similar sort of atmos / style, through throws in more weird visuals.

Excellent. A beautifully created atmosphere can sustain a whole low budget movie for me.

Nice shots of snowy woodland and derelict houses do it for me. It might be quite a personal thing though, I can imagine a fair few wondering "has this film started yet?"

Have you come across The Village in the Woods on your travels, Frankie?

There's atmos in spades in that created by the largest use of smoke machines since City of the Dead in 1960.

I was gonna watch that at some point but let it slip... will have to track it down and give it a go. Bit of mist and I'm sold.

Haha! A bit of mist. It's a pea souper from first to last. I kid you not. You'll be in your element.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3-MMNUlM6o

Tommy Jarvis tries to get closure from Jason by trying too burn his body but just ends up resurrecting him and he once again goes on another killing spree of those filthy dirty teens .

Some nice kills even if some seem too be cut but it's no as bad as new blood. Enjoyed this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRCSLhYz9CA

As already been mentioned it's is basically Jason Vs Carrie, despite the jarring cuts of the kills another I really enjoyed. It's the only time we see anything close to fear from Jason when he is being attacked with psychic powers.

Watching

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cYqOo2fOZE

Followed by

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-_G5JD8E1c

Which leaves Jason X for tomorrow then will probably start the nightmare on elm Street films and end with Freddy Vs Jason.

Aside from the Ward films, I've watched this Ron Marchini SF caper called Omega Cop (1990, Paul Kyriazi).
Our boy is sent off by Adam West (in snooze mode) to set things right in this poapoc romp. He loses his hat then really gets pissed off.
Seriously.
If you know of the Ron, settle in with a goblet of your favourite brine and if you're not, aren't you still watching In Like Flint like I told you last time? :rolleyes::laugh:
I digress.
I look forward to the otherside, which is a thing called New York Cop (1993).

Cruel Jaws. 1995.

A shark terrorises a beach in Florida.

Bruno Mattei does it again, another knock-off from a classic film only this time the shark can change into a dolphin and does go for some cheap visual effects. I'm guessing he tried to get Hulk Hogan to star and when he couldn't he created his own version of The Hulkster. As daft and corny this film is I gotta say it's a lot better than Jaws: The Revenge.

Attachment 240188

Tremors. 1990.

A small Nevada town called perfection comes under attack from giant underground creatures.

This probably would have sounded good in someone's head yet this was given a small budget and became a firm favourite to us. Handymen Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward team up with seismologist Finn Carter to figure out where these creatures come from and how to kill them. Michael Gross and Reba MacEntire play the gun tooting couple who have the small arsenal in their basement that comes in handy. A mix of Science-fiction, horror and comedy that makes a perfect viewing anytime.

Attachment 240189

Tremors 2: Aftershocks. 1996.

Earl Bassett who became a celebrity now totally washed up is hired by a oil company in Mexico to help deal with a creature problem.

Fred Ward returns in this sequel with 'new guy' Grady Hoover played by Chris Gartin who seems to be a fan of Val and Earl and their Graboid find in Perfection. Helen Shaver plays geologist Kate who tries to find out the origin of the creatures. Michael Gross returns as war gun obsessed Burt who thinks he has enough ammo but things do n't go well when the creatures change. More Action, More Science-Fiction and certainly more comedy with this sequel.

Attachment 240190

Finally saw The Batman. Jesus Christ, what a bloody letdown after all of the positive praise (IGN even called it a 'masterpiece'). Left me wishing that I'd rewatched one of the films from Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Best I can say about it is that I'm glad that I saw it for myself. Quite often boring and too long, there's zero chemistry with Catwoman, the promised great detective work really isn't there and also, I have to remark upon a pretty bad performance from an unmasked Riddler (when he's no longer wearing his gimp mask). Film score - a grudging 5.5 out of 10. Caveat emptor.

Urban Legends: Bloody Mary (2005)

The third installment in the Urban Legend film series to date,. that is let down by it's budgetary restraints meaning it lacks the cinematic style and look of the previous two entries.

Probably because i've just bought this on Blu-ray as part of the 88 Films Urban Legend box set i was determined to enjoy it and thankfully did more than on my previous dvd outings.

The story is about a high school girl who inadvertantly releases a long dead spirit of the urban legend Bloody Mary (Candyman was based on this same urban legend so you'll know the ins and outs) as one by one her friends start to die. Nothing really new but it's fairly fun all the same but the finale is predictable from the first few scenes - I think because i guessed who was the main protagonist was very quickly the first time i watched it back in the mid 00's it disappointed and remains kind of disappointing.

However there's one pretty spectacular death scene involving spiders and a broken mirror that's the highlight of the film and is great fun. Sadly high definition doesn't help said scene as it brings out the CGI in more detail and looks really fake in regards to the spiders otherwise it's a nice homage to clasic death scenes from the Argento and Fulci canons.

Robocop. 1987.

Just watched the 4K UHD, sound was just perfect, picture quality was great except at the first media break seemed a bit fuzzy and colour tone out of proportion, no further complaints from me about this.

Attachment 240223

Sure it was the same reviewer who shit all over the Snyder cut of justice league giving it a 4/10 and calling over long and boring.

Don't Go Into The House. 1979.

A disturbed young factory worker kidnaps women and burns them with a flamethrower in a fire proof room he has built in his house.

Welcome to a house that seems to belong to a Norman Bates wannabe and his mother except Donny here uses a flamethrower instead of a knife to kill his female victims. The recent Arrow Blu-Ray version of this film is the best quality I have seen. I will admit the acting has it's moments of being good and bad but everyone does try their best to make it interesting, just happy to watch the extended cut.

Attachment 240227

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5fc43O3ynE

Jason is resurrected once again , this time he targets a group of teens on a boat celebrating graduation, after number of kills the survivors end up in New York but Jason is still after them , what was up with the boat , it was like the TARDIS bigger on the inside, my least favourite of the zombie Jason's , the timeline seemed off the girl was way too young do have to have young Jason attack her in the lake.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-_G5JD8E1c

The film opens with Jason being ambushed and blown up by the FBI which doesn't make sense after the end of the last movie but logic has little do with these movies.

Gone now is the lore of Jason being a wolverine / Zombie type creature here he is now some sort of demon possession thing that was brought into the world by what is definitely the necronomican and can swap body's but they start to fall apart so he needs to possess a realtive to come back.

Probably one of the must gory of the films and has too be one of my favourites , we have that finial scene that took years for something to happen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka8QJjfpw1w

Like the last this takes place as if the last one never happend , Jason is being studied by david cronenberg put escapes and goes on killing spree and gets cryogenically frozen and just like Buck Rogers ends up 500 years in the future and goes on a killing spree of the crew of the spaceship that picked him and along the way gets upgrade. Some good kills another I really enjoy even if the special effects are a bit poo. Maybe it should of been called Jason Vorhees in the 25th century also a little strange that Erin Gray was in the last one.

Now watching
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuYoEtEI_go&t=10s

I think Snyder's Justice League is much better than this new effort. Don't think I'll look at IGN film reviews any more. I'm sure they also awarded 4/10 to the new Fantastic Beasts entry and I also far preferred that to the new Batman film.

It's like the gaurdian fjust don't trust either of them for reviews .

Casino. 1995.

Robert De Niro plays the executive for a casino in Las Vegas Sam 'Ace' Rothstein while Joe Pesci plays the mob enforcer Nicky who wants to work in the area and Sharon Stone as the socialite who marries into the casino business and causes problems.

Martin Scorsese always knows how to make a classic film, mixed with Drama, thriller and action, watched the 4K UHD that was just pure bliss but had to turn down the volume when Nicky and Dominic meet their demise, never cringed at that but today that was painful to hear a baseball bat meeting bones and skull.

Attachment 240235

Phenomena. 1985.

Jennifer heads to Switzerland to attend a boarding school and meets Doctor MacGregor who's assistant was recently killed. With aid of insects which Jennifer can control go in search of the killer.

One of Mr Argento's finest films, with the opening shot of the Swiss country side and hills and great opening score by Simon Boswell just adds to the chill of the start of the film. Jennifer Connelly and Donald Pleasance make a great crime duo, Daria Nicolodi plays a school teacher who ends up loosing her head thanks to a chimpanzee.

If anyone is thinking of buying the 4K UHD boxset it's worth it, Italian Version is in English but some parts are in Italian so be aware of that little issue but doesn't happen often.

Attachment 240238

Have a good night all i'm off to my :coffin:

Fear Dot Com. 2002.

A New York Detective teams up with a Health Inspector and try to find out why people are dying within 48 hours after logging on to a online site.

This one has seem to grown on me a lot, I will admit it's no masterpiece by William Malone and seems to copy or borrow some elements from The Ring except the female lead is not a journalist but a health inspector. Stephen Dorff and Natascha McElhorne plays the leads who are investigating a mysterious death that could be linked to a missing girl. Stephen Rea plays the mad man in this, his acting skills are good but could have been touched up a bit more to be a serial killer, it does help to pass time.

Attachment 240240

Paranormal Activity: Next Of Kin (2021, William Eubank)

Having given up on these after the 5th one, this one fell in my lap so gave it a punt.
A young woman desires to learn about her heritage, which seems to be Amish going by the community they encounter. So far, so good, right? :pound:
It takes an age to get going and the ending made me wish this had been a different film, or at least the film had a different focal point as I was quite taken with what transpires. It's nothing like Witness ... in case you wondered :nod::laugh:
Ahem.

Attachment 240242 Attachment 240243
DAREDEVIL DIRECTORS CUT (2003) ELEKTRA DIRECTORS CUT (2005)

A step back in time to to two Marvel movies that seem mostly forgotten now with the MCU movies taken over. People seem to forget that these movies along with movies like BLADE, GHOST RIDER, THE PUNISHER etc..
were the start of the franchise.. and X-MEN.
Both DAREDEVIL and ELEKTRA in thier directors cut editions are far better than their theatrical cut versions. DAREDEVIL being a big 30mins extra, removing scenes from the theatrical cut and adding extra scenes to give more scope to the movie. ELEKTRA has only about 3mins extra but the inserted moments add a bit more to her character.
Good to watch again and I enjoyed both movies as it has been many years since I last watched these.

The Night of the Generals (1967)

Part giallo style murder mystery part adaptation of the events of Operation Valkyrie. This star studded mystery is an original war drama set in Poland and Paris. The bulk of the film concentrates on sadistic German General Tanz, played by a brilliant Peter O' Toole, a general who simply destroys whole neighbourhoods of Warsaw with his Panzer division when the resistance takes a pot shot at him on a city tour. He's one of three generals who can't reveal their whereabouts when a general was identified, or at least his trouser legs were when a prostitute was brutally murdered. Omar Sharif's Major Grau investigates the murder as the girl was a German spy and vital to stopping the Polish resistance.

The Night of the Generals is a different sort of war film. There's no action barring Tanz's destruction of a Polish street. All the way through it has a vibe of decadence similar in ways to Cabaret (1972) and i'm sure it influenced the Eurocine films of the late 70's such as Fraulein Devil and Special Train for Hitler. It's this decadence, the feeling that the Germans can get away with anything that dominates the film making the whole thing quite seedy. O'Toole's seemingly detached from reality performance just adds to the grime.

The film has a terrific cast. Along with the aforementioned O'Toole and Sharif there's Tom Courtenay, Charles Gray, Donald Pleasence, Christopher Plummer, Gordon Jackson, and Joanna Pettet among a cast of familiar faces from British film. As the plot unfolds and it transpires that two of the generals are involved in Valkyrie - the plot to kill Hitler as the Allies moved into Germany - then this takes centre stage over the giallo procedural aspects of tracking down the killer.

At two hours eighteen minutes the film is a touch too long, but on the whole The Night of the Generals is a nice blend of genres and an excellent piece of cinema.

The Eureka Blu-ray boasts a cracking picture.

Give me these two, especially the superb Daredevil - Bullseye in the bar -wow! "Top O' the Morning to Ya" - One of my favourite scenes in a superhero film- over the majority of Marvel and DC films from the last fifteen years.

Green Room. 2015.

A punk band playing at a gig witness a killing by a bunch of Neo-Nazi's and become the next target, and a night of survival ensues.

This one I have been holding off to watch as some Neo-Nazi films can be upsetting and disturbing, this certainly delivers a few good punches in it and can be gripping and cringe worthy.

It's interesting to see Sir Patrick Stewart take on a different role and become a leader of a group of skin heads and holds nothing back to being a calm talkative person with a hidden agenda. Anton Yelchin plays a band member who tries to help his friends survive the brutality that dished out.

This does have a slow start but writer and director Jeremy Saulnier certainly follows the rule of the innocent must suffer, there is violence from half way through and tense moments right up to the end but this was certainly enjoyable to watch.

Attachment 240245

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xzwt7do8Mpk

It might not be quite as shocking and disturbing as it once was , but it's still a classic horror that gave birth to one of the icons of horror. A classic.

Now watching a homoerotic masterpiece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv4AFuOY9y4

Which will be followed by the greatest homoerotic masterpiece in preparation for it's sequel. Which probably won't be homoerotic.


[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv3ag0qcDpI