THE GINGERDEAD MAN – Charles Band got a lot of mileage out of little things with scary voices. In this case, the voice in question belongs to Gary Busey, here doing a Dourif as the spirit of a murderer who decides to possess and inhabit the body of, not a doll, but some baked goods. An intrinsic fairy-tale quality makes a lot of room for flat dramatics and lame goofiness – this has all the major characteristics of its species, mid-nineties comedy horror dross. Still, it takes me back. I liked the constant wonky camera angles. And Gary Busey’s voice tells a rat to f@ck off – there’s got to be something in that I suppose.

THE ALCHEMIST – Charles Band’s obscure effort from 1983. Robert McGinty is some guy who never ages because of a magician’s curse; Lucinda Dooling is some gal in a car who has trippy visuals about reincarnation. It’s slow but cumulatively odd, with windswept highways and woodland cabins lending atmospheric weight to one of those storylines that you feel was scrawled by someone with a hangover on the first day of shooting. It even seems to tip over into Phantasm territory near the end, when goblins emerge from an interdimensional portal. An acquired taste, but what taste worth having isn’t? I’d love to see an upgrade I could pop in my blu ray player, but maybe there’s a reason you can’t get it in a good format.

THE LURKING FEAR – You don’t really look for the essence of Lovecraft in a mid-nineties Full Moon production. This offering shoehorns the Martense saga into roughly eighty minutes of dithering in a church with an exploding graveyard at the end. Along the way, we witness several badly choreographed shoot-outs whilst Jeffrey Combs stands around looking like he needs a shave and a haircut but would make do with a stiff brandy. There was something I liked about the visual styling, which sort-of melds cheapo Noirish tropes with a bit of candlelit gothic. The rubber ghouls and the smidge of gore they contribute are OK.

Hmm. I think a rewatch is required, probably in January after Christmas and my Now trial month has finished.

Decemberdike # 9
 

Deadly Manor (1990)

The first time i saw this was on a dvd and it looked shocking. The image was washed out, the sound wasn't great either, and the film itself, well seemed piss poor to be honest. All in all a terrible experience.

When Arrow released it on Blu-ray it piqued my interest as i may have found the audio visual experience impaired my judgment on the film itself.

Sadly not. Whilst the Arrow Blu-ray looked and sounded great, the film was remained piss poor. It's basically a slasher film about a group of young people who take refuge in an abandoned mansion one cold night and get picked off by a killer.

What really goes against it, aside from f*ck all happening other than inane chatter for the first hour of this ninety minute film, is the kills. The majority of them are either off screen or bloodless.

When it comes to slasher films it's the blood letting that's the selling point surely, especially in these low budget affairs, either that or the chilling atmosphere, i dunno there really isn't any great atmosphere either other than the elusive one that only Frankie T experiences after his sixth glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.

And yet the most disappointing thing is that this is clearly the worst thing that director José Ramón Larraz has put his name to. He proved he could make a fun slasher with Edge of the Axe from just two years earlier and yet this is so below average at best.

Decemberdike #10
 

Winterskin (2018)

More micro budgeted horror from British auteur Charlie Steads, in which a man is accidentally shot whilst hunting in the woods and ends up at the cabin of lonely Agnes...

What comes next is akin to a mash up of Stephen King's Misery and Hellraiser all taking place in a Gothic snowy cabin in the woods. Once the set up happens in the first fifteen minutes it does come across as dialogue heavy, some of it quite clunky, well either the dialogue is or the acting from Rowena Bentley as Agnes, take your pick.

However it's not really dialogue and acting where Steads generally wins out it's how he uses his tiny allowance which is mere pocket money in contrast to the majority of films. The effects are generally quite impressive, especially those of the 'skinless' and the aforementioned snowy setting is excellent even if the largely orange hues of the colouring give the film a warm feel when it perhaps might have been better with colder blue lighting.

Overall Winterskin is another decent effort from Steads. Someone whose creativity always leaves his budget far behind. If you got any enjoyment from his 2020 films A Werewolf in England or Death Ranch then i'd say give this a go. You'll probably quite like it.

Noted D!!


Synchronic (Benson/ Moorehead)

Finally perused this one.
Liked it until yer protagonist just does something very wrong, and I lost interest in the outcome. Up til that point twas their usual slightly ponderous "strangeness". Shame.

Point Blank (1967)

Lee Marvin stars as Walker, a man left for dead when his partners rip him off of $93,000 during a drop off on Alcatraz. When he recovers he sets off to Los Angeles to get back his money.

British director John Boorman's Neo-Noir crime classic. There's so much that's outstanding about this film from Marvin's ultra cool performance to the excellent cinematography. It's stylish and brutal and gets better with repeat viewings as there's so many nuances to take in for one sitting.

Look out for Sid Haig as a security guard. He actually talks about a clown.

The Premium Collection Blu-ray looks superb with the many outdoor sequences having real depth to them.

:)

Boorman did what he wanted.

Decemberdike # 11
 

A Quiet Place to Kill (Paranoia) (1970)

A fairly lackluster Giallo from the normally reliable Umberto Lenzi which sees Carroll Baker's racing driver invited by her ex-husband's (Jean Sorel) new wife to stay with them at their Majorcan home. Once there the two women plot to kill Sorel and inherit his fortune.

If you basically borrow the story from Clouzot's Diabolique then you'd better come up with something decent and sadly this isn't. It's quite dull for the most part and then decides to turn complex albeit not in a surprising way and ends up with a rather frantic and overly dramatic finale.

Carroll Baker is always good and never shy even aged forty whilst Sorel has been better, and Anna Proclemer as Sorel's current wife is under used. Lenzi's camerawork is stylish as are the locations and the soundtrack. Yet A Quiet Place to Kill is unfortunately instantly forgettable.

The Blu-ray from 88 Films looks the business.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022, Eric Appel)

This was fun now. The bloke that played Harry Potter continues in his lifelong quest to convince us he is an actor. Various sorts pop up pretending to be real people (Emo Phillips!!) which just adds to the fun. The saga of one man and his accordion. See him struggle through adversity with (someone else's) song on his lips. Recommended.

I watched this last night, a parody story of a parody singer a good bunch of laughs

Indeedy. A revisit will be sooner than laterer ahem.

Gonna be the same with me and get the Mrs to watch it

Fall. 2022.

Two friends who are experienced climbers decide to climb a 2000 foot tall radio tower, when the ladder collapses they try everything to stay alive and find out how to get help.

A few years back there was a trend on YouTube people scaling buildings, walking on the edge of a roof or a thin pole, either they were total daredevils and idiots or just want more hits for their videos, this is a bit like that but also getting your groove back into something you enjoy. This can be quite tense and yeah I was on the edge of my seat, the acting between the two main stars is good and if heights isn't your thing then best avoid this film.

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It did make me feel giddy this one, not the worst film but I don’t think I’d watch it again.

My neighbour recommended it for me to watch as he was feeling sick and dizzy that he couldn't finish it

I hated those bloody vultures too haha

Decemberdike # 12
 

I Bought a Vampire Motorcycle (1990)

How the hell have i not seen this before?

Neil Morrissey buys a motorbike which appears to have a life of it's own, especially at night where it goes out on bloody killing sprees.

A film with pretty much everything. It's like a crazed biker's version of The Evil Dead in tone. Pretty much everything is thrown at the screen as the bike decapitates folk, drains their blood using pipes and grows it's own horns and axle blades in true chariot racing style. We also get C3PO actor Anthony Daniels as an exorcism performing biker priest, a garlic chewing Michael Elphick not to mention western style bar room brawls and casual sexism galore. All that's missing really is a Motorhead soundtrack.

The effects are cheap and cheerful and the riderless bike on the attack is a pretty bizarre thing to take in. I'm sure the film makers must have seen 1973's Psychomania and thought to themselves "How can we make this really f*cking crazy?"

Watch with your sense of humour levels set to eleven and it's a great splatter comedy.

All that and i forgot to mention Burt Kwouk as Chinese takeaway owner Fu King and Morrisey's discussion with a talking turd in a pub toilet.

Watched via the extras laden Screenbound Blu-ray which looks great even though it's 1080I:50

I remember that from when I was a kid. :hohoho:

Virtuosity

Russell Crowe is a Virtual Reality Killer who is made up with the personalities of several Serial Killers who ends up getting put into a body and goes on a rampage. Denzel Washington is a former Policeman, who murdered one of Crowe's personalities is released from Prison to stop him. William Forsyth, William Ficthner, Kelly Lynch and a 9 year old Kaley Cuoco Co-Star.

I remember picking this up in a January Sales from HMV in 97, for 7.99 on VHS (Bargin back then) it's not the greatest Film but it's definitely watchable.

Cannibal Holocaust

This is the 88 Film's Blu-Ray release and considering I've seen the Film multiple times, I was interested in the Audio Commentary from Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman.

They basically gave an overview of the Film, it's many controversies and the Cannibal Genre along with notes about the Cast and Crew. I was hoping that they would have gone into greater detail into the Film's major talking points but do bring up some great points as well.

They did go over the Animal stuff (Had to look away during but could hear the sound from the Film) and I'm glad they mentioned and called out that The Long Road To Hell scene could have been faked. It's something that got lost in the shuffle amongst it's many other talking points.

The picture looked in pristine condition and looked amazing, not gone through the other features other than watching The Trailers but it does look like 88 Films have hit another one out of the park.

That's some double bill n. Kudos!!


Smile (2022, Parker Finn)

The first thing I thought was "she was in Neighbours".
I digress.
The Hilary Swank you get off Wish. Best set up / pay off that I've seen in a good while. Great end title song. More showy than It Follows I felt.
Hmmmm.

Decemberdike # 13
 

Night Tide (1961)

Dennis Hopper stars as a GI who meets a young woman named Mora on Santa Monica pier who works as a mermaid in a pier sideshow attraction and is homed by her adopted Godfather Captain Murdock. Murdock tells Hopper he thinks Mora is dangerous and killed her last two boyfriends...

Curtis Harrington's debut film clearly draws inspiration from Jacques Tourneur's Cat People (1942) in the way it's ambiguous regarding the nature of the main female protagonist. Unlike Cat People, Harrington filmed his movie in the bright Californian sunshine which removes much of the horror film trappings and places the film solely in the realms of the fantastic although it is fairly atmospheric and has hints of both Lovecraft (A wonderful dreamlike sequence) and Poe (Annabel Lee).

I've always liked the idea of mermaids and sirens - both so underused in horror films - so i rather enjoyed this.

Indicator's lovely Nicolas Winding Refn overseen 4K restoration is a joy to the eyes.

Decemberdike # 14
 

The Appointment (1981)

You know when you watch something and it seems brilliant but the reasons and explanations for it are frustratingly out of reach as in you just can't quite grasp what exactly is going on. That is how i felt with The Appointment.

The opening is quite something else almost making you think you'll be watching a similar movie to 1971's Assault. However that really isn't the case.

For the next hour the film veers off into what is basically a family drama with Edward Woodward's husband having to disappoint wife Jane Merrow and daughter Samantha Weysome in telling them he won't be able to attend his daughters concert recital as he has to go away on business for a couple of days which he cannot avoid.

This is quite slow and seemingly at odds with the opening sequence until the dreams begin kicking in for each family member, dreams which become ever more vivid. Meanwhile there's the constant ambiguity that there could be some sort of malevolent presence lurking outside the house and seemingly controlling Rottweiler type dogs which stalk the streets.

This could only ever be a British film. It doesn't thrust us into a whirlpool of weirdness it slowly tempts us in toe by toe until it's impossible to escape and before we know it we can't keep our head above water. The sense of terrible foreboding kicks off during the first dream sequence and the eeriness becomes ever stronger as it leads up to a truly mind blowing finale on a road in Snowdonia. That's not hyperbole. It is genuinely mind blowingly intense and a stunningly filmed achievement.

Despite several kind of get outs along the way i'm guessing director Lindsay Vickers is telling us that we simply cannot control our destiny however it may seem.

C.O.R.N. (2021, Robin Christian)

When a flat tyre halts their journey, a family finds that the locals are into some weird kicks and then some.
An odd wee beast. Flatly filmed with a few interesting editing choices, but it held my attention.

Decemberdike # 15
 

Moon in Scorpio (1987)

A sort of psycho killer whodunnit (If i'm being kind) about three couples including Britt Ekland and John Phillip Law, who go on a pacific voyage on a yacht. However one of the six is a murderer.

One of those films that's probably described as a bit of a mess really. From watching last night via the nice looking 88 Films Blu-ray it would appear that the opening and closing scenes in a hospital were tacked on as was Eckland's narration which soon begins to grate. There are clumsy attempts to implicate the men as possible killers thanks to daft flashbacks to their time in Vietnam, however these flashbacks don't really go anywhere and seem to basically be there to add to the running time. There's a memorable sequence in which Law wrestles with a half rotted corpse in a swimming pool but again this doesn't really bring anything to the rest of the film.

Eckland seems uncomfortable throughout and the direction is perfunctory although there are some well shot scenes outside on the yacht and the kills and suitably bloody.

Although i quite enjoyed myself watching this it's not a good film and i was on more than one occasion thinking it was a poor man's Waves of Lust (1975).

Awesome poster art mind you.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Best of Both Worlds (1990)

Movie version of the classic two parter that ended season 3 and began season 4 of The Next Generation. Watched via the Amazon exclusive Blu-ray - Picard The Movie and Tv Collection.

The Enterprise must battle the Borg who are intent on conquering Earth aided by a captured and assimilated Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart).

A precursor to the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact, this is an excellent film / double episode in it's own right and rightly regarded as some of the finest tv Trek ever made.

The Blu-ray image quality is outstanding. In particular the FX shots and model work whilst the 7:1 soundtrack is beautifully immersive. Even in the quiet moments there's the distinctive hum of the Enterprise engines and computer banks which put you in the middle of the ship's bridge.

I bought this set for the four Next Gen films and the two tv movies were a bonus. With the tv stuff looking and sounding so good i look forward to experiencing the feature films in all their glory.

I can highly recommend the Next Generation box set if you don’t already have it, head and shoulders above the DVDs. Paramount really did a great job remastering the show.

No, TNG is the only one i don't have on dvd as i thought it seemed like it had dated badly... Not this film anyway, looks great.

There's also another two parter / film in the set called Chain of Command which i've never seen. I'll see what i think about that then maybe save up for TNG on Blu.

I bought Voyager three years ago this month and still haven't started on it. :xmasnuts:

TRANCERS – Picked up a sort-of old fave and realised I’d inadvertently hit on a Christmas movie. Twenty-third century gumshoe Jack Deth slips ‘down the line’ to mid-eighties LA, where a sinister bad guy is messing with the future. A nice, solid B with all the era-specific turkey and trimmings, including a constant neon and palm trees vibe. One slight bit of trivia of interest only to me is that I always think ‘Trancers’ features a cameo from The Exploited as the band in the punk club, but when I watch it I realise it’s someone else. Being wrong sucks. Anyway, the ending feels rushed and a bit fumbled but doesn’t really make this anything other than an enjoyable romp.

THE MEATEATER – Every shoe salesman must dream of opening their own movie theatre – but not one that comes with its very own ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ clone, right? A cheapo indie from the late seventies that’s bad in a way you couldn’t carry off nowadays. If you dig that kind of thing, there’s plenty to like; inky shadow vibes, baffling edits and odd camera moves all have their magic. You could also overlook the flat acting and constantly bungled scenes in favour of quirks such as the avalanche of references to meat snacks (don’t expect cannibalism, this one’s in it for the hot dogs) and the fact that the cinema only ever plays a documentary about animals shagging and eating each other to a tranced-out audience who giggle like they’re in someone’s dream. It must all be a metaphor for… something. When the meat eater appears, he looks distressingly like Jimmy Saville! ‘Off’ enough to invite but not weird enough to excite; the creaky regionalism charms on a level with, say, something like ‘Toxic Zombies’, but doesn’t quite reach the sinister strangeness of Don Dohler’s similarly semi-competent ‘The Fiend’.

HIGH DESERT KILL – Some guys are on a desert hunting trip to commemorate their dearly departed best mate. After a while their macho antics start getting weird and a bit dangerous; an alien presence might be involved. ‘High Desert Kill’ is actually a late eighties TV movie that cribs from era mainstays in ways that are awkward and quite interesting. ‘Predator’ as a metaphor for grief? It just doesn’t happen. I guess the desert setting lays on a bit of atmosphere, and there are some nicely eerie stretches, particularly when they all start going a bit mad. A few lulls, although the TV flatness was less in evidence than expected, and in looks and tone it reminded me of a direct-to-video work from around the time more than anything else. Enjoyable. Chuck Connors always gets a thumbs up from me.

I had no idea Trancers was set at Christmas, Frankie.

Another one for the Your Christmas Movies thread. (Next year)

There's a nice bit with a crazed Santa in a shoot-out.

I really don't remember any of it other than i didn't think much of the sequels. :o

Decemberdike # 16
 

Satanic Panic (2019)

A really enjoyable horror(Black) comedy romp about a pizza delivery girl who ends up at a wealthy mansion who unfortunately for her are a coven of Satan worshipers (Led by the excellent Rebecca Romijn) on the look out for a female virgin to offer to Baphomet as that have just lost theirs.

A hell of a lot of fun, although not remotely scary or tense in any way. Some of director Chelsea Stardust's imagery is phenomenal such as the satanists themselves with their blood red gowns which are brilliantly striking against the twinkly lit backdrops of the mansion.

The humour is very much of a female centric nature - I guess it would be when all but the short lived Jerry O' Connell and Jeff Daniel Phillips are female - but the dialogue is largely excellent with Romijn sparring with fellow worshiper Arden Myrin a highlight. In her debut role Hayley Griffith as the pizza girl was terrific with so many catty put downs sent in her direction.

The gore on show is great even if parts of the film are a bit uneven and there's no way the demon stalking the crowd at the end was Baphomet either.

I'm pleased i got round to watching this as cousin Jim* and i had a pretty good time with it all told.

*Perhaps watching this with Auntie H2O wouldn't have been just as much fun.

L
O
V
E

HDK btw. Kudos as always sir. REWATCH.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

An ambitious take on Alan Moore's Victorian fantasy which brings literary heroes and villains from the period together to save the world from a megalomaniac and his small army.

We have Sean Connery as Allan Quatermain, Stuart Townsend as Dorian Gray, Peta Wilson as Mina Harker, Jason Flemying as Henry Jekyll / Edward Hyde, Nasseeriddin Shah as Captain Nemo, Tony Curran as the Invisible Man and Shane West as the American agent Tom Sawyer. Anyone familiar with literature of the period should be able to work out who Richard Roxburgh's main villain 'M' is.

Although one or two of the special effects are a bit ropey the whole thing is a fantastic concept mixing Victoriana with Steam Punk and for me it really works. It's fast paced, littered with clever and witty dialogue and on the whole is quite a spectacle, especially Nemo's huge submarine Nautilus in Venice.

Roots Of Evil (1979, Christian Anders)

A hoot. When an uptight short arse heroin dealer wants you to move out so he can move in, what's a man to do but start kicking folk left, right and centre?
There's just something not quite right with this one (TF). Yes, the stilted dialogue and ropey action scenes are in place natch. It's the lead, he personifies vapid. Lawdy. Great ending though. :rolleyes:


Attachment 243922

Decemberdike # 17
 

Death Screams (1982)

"The last scream you hear...Is your own" goes the tag line for this regional slasher.

Too f*cking right! I was screaming out of boredom.

The first seventy minutes of this 89 minute film play out as a look at life in regional America as we are treated to life at school, life at the coffee shop and life at the carnival and it's tedious as hell. When we get some slashing during the final ten minutes it all feels so rushed and cheap and worst of all relatively blood free.

I usually try an enjoy low budget regional horror, both old and new, if i can but this was simply too much.

To sit through this again i'd need my uncle Jack, cousins Jim and Johnny and probably even old Captain Morgan from down the docks by my side.

Ninja Powerforce (1986, Joseph Lai)

Reuniting with an old love whilst investigating ne'r do wells?
I feel I have to watch this one again. I paid attention, but twas the overriding feeling that I was watching three movies stitched together that was strong with this one. Harrison clean shaven and all!! Lawdy. The kicking was quite brutal this time all told. Lawdy.


Attachment 243928

Assault. A schoolgirl is raped by an unknown attacker, putting the local community on high alert. When the next attack occurs, it's murder - but this time there's a witness in the form of the girl's teacher, who volunteers herself as bait to catch the killer. Frank Finlay stars in this early 70s British thriller that has elements of the Italian giallo genre to it and a fine supporting cast including Tony Beckley and Anthony Ainley! (Honestly when the cast came up I saw Beckley's name and immediatley thought "it's him!" :xmascan: ) But they point the finger at him so early and so strongly I knew it wasn't going to be. :santanukem: Pretty good.

Underground Wife (1982, Yu-Lung hsu)

This is getting a blu ray? GIES.
Crazed Indo rape revenger.
The print I perused was shall we say, Escher like in presentation, the 4:3 crop adding to the general mayhem in fact.
Recofrickingcockadoodiemended.
Ahem.
A maiden becomes entangled with rum sorts. Her journey to self discovery is a bumpy ride.

Avatar:Way of the water.

well lets get the only positive out of the way, it looks amazing and should be seen on the biggest screen possible but thats its only good point, it shallow as a tide pool with a boring cringe story that puts the BBC shame with its agenda and unlikable characters