Satan's Slave. 1976.

A young woman staying at her Uncle's country house finds out she is to be sacraficed in order to bring back a deceased relative.

I gotta say this first, this film has the lamest car crash scene I have seen in a British film, are we to believe a car can be dented that badly by a tree driving at at least 15mph :lol: I'm pretty sure the car was dented before it struck the inmovable object.

We got Michael Gough as the eccentric family doctor who wants the control over a decendant who was a powerful witch and needs a female family member and chooses his niece. Aside from the up close female nudity and the young man with the scissors, the actors do try and create a tense atmosphere with director Norman J. Warren but at times the acting can be wooden yet this was a decent 70s occult film.

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Deadstream. 2022.

A disgraced YouTuber and live streamer tries to win bacl his followers by spending a night in a haunted house.

Another found footage that almost rips off The Evil Dead but with one main cast member and one co star who pops up every so often (Not saying how). The writers and main star did a decent job in creating the back story to the haunted house. The make up could have been a bit more realistic or were they trying to make a homage film to the cheesy 80s film era. I'm not saying this film is good but it's not shit either.

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Family Of Cops. 1995.

A policeman's daughter is accused of murder and he steps in to investigate it and crossing the line of duty and family.

After Death Wish V which isn't great and not terrible Charles Bronson went from theatrical release films to made for tv movies. I think we have had our fair share of tv movies with some good and some not so good but this was a decent film. Daniel Baldwin and Sebastian Spence plays the sons who joined the police, Barbara Williams as the Public Defender and Angela Featherstone as the faraway child who ends up in the slammer. Bronson at 73 when this film was made shows he can still be a lead actor and mentor to others and still able to swing his arm for a good punch.

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Llamageddon (2015, Howie Dewin)

A hoot. When a group of friends gather for a shindig, they foolishly ignore the llama grazing in next doors field .... :lol:
Very silly, and it knows it. Compared to this, Body Melt is high art :nod:
Low budget caper. Forced to house sit, two siblings find out what each other is made of cough when the chips are down. The cheese factor is high here.



M3GAN (2022, Gerald Johnstone)

Another hoot. The sister from Get Out has some more family troubles. Her reaction does not reflect well on the tech community :nod::laugh:
Really enjoyed this one. Sod the trailer, just sit back and bask in this mish mash of various bits of genre cinema given a glossy sheen by todays FX.
Recommended. :nod::pop2:

The Horror Of Frankenstein. 1970.

I have never been a fan of Frankenstein movies except for Boris Karloff and Young Fronkensteen, but I am a fan of Ralph Bates and this was a bit of a campy edition to the Hammer franchise and loosely remake of the previous Peter Cushing version of the Mary Shelley Novel.

Bates is the young wannabe smart sarcastic medical student who decides to try and re-animate dead tissue to life with a mad concoction of lab equipment with fellow student Graham James as his assistant who we see as Igor. Dennis Price pops up with Joan Rice playing homage to Burke and Hare graverobbing duo. Kate O'Mara pops up and nearly pops out of her dress as the near loyal housekeeper and always nice to see her bend over frontwards. And we got the Green Cross Code man David Prowse as the result of the creation of sewn body parts together monster.

This does have its atmospheric moments, great set designs of the gothic castle and the constructed attic space for the laboratory and grounds for the forest area that gives it the gloomy night look for a good killing ground for the monster. I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I would.

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Monster Man. 2003.

A mix combination of Duel, Jeepers Creepers, and possibly Raod Kill all on a very cheap budget, two guys one trying to do a "Graduate" and stop the wedding of his intended with his mate, are terrorised on a open empty road by a monster truck and decide to pick up a hitchhiker and get her involved in the chase.

I'm gonna be honest but I found this more hilarious than horror, writer/director Michael Davis does deliver on the gore fest and the monster man himself had a botched up face job repair and done decently thanks to the make up people. It may not be for everyone but certainly a good popcorn flick.

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Revisited Stonehenge Apocalypse (2010, Paul Ziller)

When a black cab draws up with one of the protagonists in it, you know you aren't in Kansas anymore :lol:
Remarkably straight laced performances mean this does not descend the depths of some second tier flicks, but it's still fairly bonkers.
A fringe "researcher" and officialdom clash when it seems that the titular stone circle is going to be responsible for the end of times .... sooner rather than laterer :nod:
Because of playing it straight, it does have flat patches, but it's not here long enough to cause rigor mortis.

Get Carter. 1971.

One of Michael Caine's best performances as the gangster returning home to get the truth about his brother's death in a car crash. I can honestly say hand on heart now that this is the first time watching it from start to finish in peace and quiet and not have the Mrs asking me daft questions. The BFI done a decent job with the picture quality but sound is a bit iffy at the start being low but does get better.

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Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Although not quite as good as the first film Joe Dante's sequel in which Gizmo ends up in the Clamp Center, a state-of-the-art high rise building in Manhattan owned by John Glover's eccentric billionaire, is still so much fun.

Less of a horror movie and more a slapstick filled ride this is a lot less dark than Dante's original film, it does however maintain the movie buff in jokes and references that gave Gremlins an added layer of charm.

Faster paced and extremely witty - even Christopher Lee as the chief scientist for the Clamp organisation joins in with some funny lines but is sadly otherwise wasted - Gremlins 2 remains a hugely engaging 100+ plus minutes.

Race For The Yankee Zephyr (1981, David Hemmings)

Ken Wahl and a few other familiar faces fight for attention with some lovely scenery in this tale of luck and helicopters :nod:
The "vintage" footage at the start gives us a decent idea which trope we'll be mining here. I enjoyed this romp tbh, the antagonist has fun and the location makes for a different backdrop.



Tangerine (2015, Sean Baker)

Two friends reconnect after one returns from a short spell inside. When one of them accidentally lets a secret slip, this triggers a series of events which was interesting to see. Violently different from the other two of his that I've seen, apparently he shot it with an adapted iPhone? Anyway, twas a bittersweet wee thing and if you like that kind of thing then Recommended. If not, here's LA Bounty :pound:
Ahem.

Above Suspicion. 1995.

A policeman paralyzed in the line of duty, depressed with his situation plans the perfect death scenario with his wife and brother, both unaware of his true intentions.

Christopher Reeve plays top detective Dempsey Cain who's wife Kim Cattrall is having a fling with Dempsey's brother Edward Kerr and plans to come out of his depression state with a fool proof plan. Joe Mantegna plays the policeman who does his own investigation after a crime and believes the innocent party aren't so innocent. This was a nice slick thriller that comes with a twist and then handed another twist and tense moments during the court scene. The acting is brilliant right from the start to the end credits and has a great steady pace.

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BECKY – Young brat has a bit of an attitude, though no-one expects her to be the next Rambo till she starts romping around the woods, offing escaped cons – quite resourcefully in the case of her ‘metal ruler through neck’ gag, a masterpiece of outdoorsy improvisation. The cons are Nazis and generally despicable in other ways, just in case we weren’t sure of who we were meant to be booing / cheering. I thought it was pretty fun. There was a bit where it seemed to wander a little, but all in all scores a good few points for somehow managing to seem fresh-faced and breezy whilst being intoxicatingly violent and a bit cynical.

LORDS OF SALEM – I’ve often thought of LOS as R Zombie’s strongest work. Revisiting it I’m not so sure, but I think it’s his most interesting in many ways. The vibe of subdued menace he seems to be courting – shadowy lighting, long perspectives down mildewy corridors, washed-up people living washed-out lives – partially manifests, but he lacks the subtlety to really bring it off, there’s too much that is still quite tropey. On the other hand, there are so many mad little bits, especially towards the end, with its Ken Russell inspired extravaganza of wanking, Francis Bacon-esque demon bishops etc etc. Maybe he’s at his best with vivid grotesquery, but ‘Lords Of Salem’ shows he can (sort of) do both.

CAVEAT – Guy meets an underworld acquaintance and takes a job. It’s a bit weird though – go to a house on an island in the middle of nowhere and babysit someone’s psychotic daughter whilst tethered to a harness on the end of a chain. I think I’d want to see the contract first. ‘Caveat’ is an exercise in sustained atmosphere that for the most part works. The two leads are good, but in a sense the main ‘star’ is its setting, a big rotting house that is the last word in shadowy decrepitude. As well as sickly lighting and endless corridors there are lots of little hooks, like the hostile-looking rabbit toy that rattles away on a drum whenever anything supernatural might be happening. It doesn’t quite add up (at all, actually), but I generally take feeling and style over sense, and in that respect ‘Caveat’ is a moody success.

Tales That Witness Madness. 1973.

A psychiatrist introduces a colleague to four patients and tells him the stories on how they got admitted.

Mr Tiger.
A young boy caught in the middle of bickering parents creates a imaginary friend who may not be imaginary at all.

Penny-Farthing.
A antique dealer inherits a bike that has the capability to travel back in time and has a haunted picture of the previous owner.

Mel.
While out jogging, a man brings in a tree stump to his house and wants it as decor but his wife becomes jealous with the time he is spending with the tree.

Luau.
A novelist staying at his publicist house prepares a Luau but has other plans to hold the party.

Before becoming another psychiatrist and screaming he shot someone six times, Donald Pleasance plays the lead doctor along with colleague Jack Hawkins who is introduced to some patients. As always there is a interesting twist to the segments then comes another twist to the main story. Freddie Francis did try his best with the plot and some decent acting but at times it feels like writer Jennifer Jayne was lacking in create suspense especially in the last segment. This will be re-watched.

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The Banshees of Inishiren. Martin McDonaugh. 2022

An odd one this. Something, I'm not sure what intrigued me yesterday. Sat round feeling sorry for myself while recovering from a godawful gutbug I found myself reading up on this on IMDB. Next thing I'd found out it was available on Disney plus and off we go.
Now I've yet to see director Martin McDonagh's acclaimed first feature film, In Bruges, I will address that in due course. Banshees is an oddity of a film, all it took was the basic synopsis to grab me I suppose. Two lifelong best friends, PÃ*draic and Colm, live on the remote island of Inishiren off the West Coast of Ireland in the 1920s. One day Colm out of nowhere, and with initially no explanation, tells PÃ*draic he doesn't want to be his friend anymore. More, he doesn't want PÃ*draic to even speak to him anymore. The problem being this is a small one pub island with an isolated extremely insular although not necasserily close-knit community.
I'm not sure what McDonaghs film is. Other than the blackest of comedy. It's in some ways takes the frame of a thriller as PÃ*draics initially innocent, sweet, and understandably hurt reaction means he endeavours against his best mates wishes to repair whatever has caused the rift, in doing so only driving the wedge further in and taking us into the realms of psychological horror, while the film is admittedly never blatantly horror. The setting, a beautiful rugged island stunningly photographed is absolutely dripping in atmosphere, it absorbed me in another world. As we delve further into the two men's psyche we start to understand perhaps their true character and dare I say a glimpse of all humans under certain circumstances. The isolation of the island making everything more focused and present, impossible to ignore.
I'm rambling. The two friends, PÃ*draic and Colm are brilliantly realised by Colin Farrel and Brendan Gleeson respectively. I'm not normally a fan of Farrel, I don't massively dislike his work, I just find it largely meh. Here he excels. Gleeson is always worth the money and plays this to perfection. A thoroughly miserable bastard who's aspirations of something better and bigger only see him becoming something smaller and lesser.
The characters motivations are I suppose a little unclear, Colm at least, and this could be seen as a flaw. The ending itself also left me wanting a little more, though i think thats the point. Anyway I very much enjoyed The Banshees of Inishiren and I have my take on what's going on, while I've no wish to spoil anything and don't feel the film can be discussed too much without doing so. Special mention must be given to supporting players Kerry Condon and especially Barry Keoghan as respectively PÃ*draics sister Siobhan, the only character with the guts to actually do something about her life instead of just moaning and Dominic the perceived village idiot who also has his share of darkness going on and is probably the character most deserving something better.
The Banshees of Inishiren, I highly recommend this sad, tragic but darkly and very funny tale which for me at least borders on a more subtle type of horror. Though please don't go in expecting any of the above [emoji23]

Nice write up, JHarker.

Banshees is a film that intrigues. The general premise doesn't really appeal - the two friends falling out - but still it intrigues.

I love McDonagh's In Bruges. For me along with Shoot 'em Up (2007) it was one of the most entertaining films of the 00's. However Seven Psychopaths which came out a few years later i thought was, for want of a better word, rubbish.

Seven Psychopaths is the only one of Martin McDonaghs films I'd seen previously. It was ok but felt like wannabe Tarantino with the whole film sort of hung on the scene of Christopher Walken refusing to put his hands up at gunpoint. At least that's all I can remember among all the inane dialogue.
It left me with no interest whatsoever in ever revisiting it. In Bruges on the other hand I now want to watch.
And no, the idea of two friends falling out in and of itself is neither here nor there. Its the abruptness and the setting that intensifies the scenario, along with the brilliant performances of the four main cast, it's very much a mood piece as well I found. I think you'll like it Dem. While I've yet to see In Bruges, Banshees couldn't be further away from Seven Psychopaths.

You've sold it to me.

I'll add it to the never ending Blu-ray wants list.

I'll pick it up myself in due course when the price comes down, which it will soon enough.

Night Wolf. 2010


Sarah returns to her family home, what should be a happy reunion with her siblings turns into a night of survival.

We got Gemma Atkinson from Hollyoaks, foul mouthed Tom felton from Harry Potter, Gabriel Thomas from My Family and Simon MacCorkindale in his role. There was no high hopes for this being a great horror, the characters are not very likeable although the actors go with what they have been given. The creature effects is low budget and some form of hybrid mutation that's completely bald, where it falls flat at the end with no real explanation but you do guess who it is. Maybe a re-watch will happen.

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(Aka 13 hours)

Seen this on dvd three or four times now and it doesn't get any better but i still watch it. I know that really doesn't make sense. Haha!!

Nothing wrong with a little guilty pleasure in a bad film :lol:

It's not a guilty pleasure. I forget what happens basically so fancy giving it a rewatch. It's only when half way through do i think "Oh, yeah, it's this one where they hide in the attic all the time"

Warning Sign. 1985.

In a small town, a bio tech company dealing in agricultural research suffers a internal leak. A security guard and a doctor try to survive being locked in and fend of those that are infected.

A man made bio-hazard liquid in a sealed test tube is broken, something that was done in Resident Evil except in this it doesnt turn people in to zombies but makes them homicidal, a bit like the crazies. This does have a feel of a tv movie mode about it but this was certainly good, Kathleen Quinlan plays the security guard who follows the standard protocol, Sam Waterson as the local town Sheriff, Jeffrey DeMunn as the outside drunk scientist, G.W. Bailey as the calmer scientist and Yaphett Kotto as the government agent. The acting is quite decent with plenty of good built up tense moments along the way.

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JHarker's review was very good and I think The Banshees of Inisherin is a brilliant tragicomedy more than a black comedy – it's not the same tone as in Bruges.

I think the simple premise belies a deeper, intelligent, allegorical film about the Irish Civil War – there are several scenes with someone looking from the coast to the mainland and commenting on the ongoing violence there.

I could be completely wrong in my interpretation, but it works for me until I watch it a second time.

I think its a film open to interpretation at least that's what im going with [emoji23]. The Irish Civil War going on just across on the mainland is an obvious potential choice for the metaphorical source. It just felt a bit simple for me, although i think the nature of futility is definitely a theme. Its interesting, I found, that a war is taking place so close to them, yet has no bearing whatsoever on the their mundane day to day lives. It may as well be the other side of the world. It says something about the way this planet works that now in 2023 a war the other side of the world has an impact on us here in the UK.

The Body Beneath (1970, Andy Milligan)

Meet the Fords. They are rather keen on keeping it "in house" so to speak ahem. When two distant relatives come into their orbit, let the party commence ...
Yes, this is the one with the purple bints :nod::lol::pop2:
Hammer it ain't. When he decamped to the UK for ... reasons .... he seemed to find kindred souls aplenty. Our main antagonists are a mixed bunch with the weirdest sniff of Scooby Doo around the manor. I may have been drunk.



Ambulance (2022, Michael Bay)

Hackneyed premise given a breath of life for the modern age (ie lots of drones :lol:)
Reasonably entertaining nonsense from you know who.
Meet Will. He's having a bad day and a suggestion by his step brother doesn't turn out well ahem. The woke is plastered on with a trowel btw.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the majority of it .... :nod::behindsofa:

I too liked this. It's perhaps 20 mins too long but hugely entertaining and i like the fact Bay got the cast to do a lot of their own stunts as they made it gorilla style.

Anyone ever consider reviewing a film halfway through because despite all optimism, you're pretty sure the rest of it won't make any difference?

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The Return of the Living Dead (1985)

I think fun and entertaining are two of the main words that should be used to describe The Return of the Living Dead. It's also an inventive zombie film with nods to Romero's classic Night of the Living Dead from Alien screenwriter Dan O'Bannon.

A film that almost spoofs the genre without sacrificing the shock value. It's superior black comedy which borders on the hysterical at times and for every laugh out loud moment "Send more paramedics" "Send more cops" there's the equal in gut wrenching terror.

It was a joy to finally see this on Blu-ray last night and the 5:1 soundtrack was a blast with all the weird sounds and great music from the likes of T.S.O.L., The Cramps, The Damned and 45 Grave with their brilliant song Party Time which kick starts the zombie bash.

As far as 80's horror goes i don't think this is anywhere near the best of the decade but it is one of the most (in)famous and also one of the most fun.

Now you need to watch the 5hrs+ of extras on the disc :lol:

I watched both this and part 2 back to back a couple of months back, love them both.

I was never as keen on Part 2. The comedy totally took over if i recall correctly and i didn't rate it. I have only seen it the one time back on vhs though.

It definitely got that late 80s vibe to it, not a proper horror but with the tropes of a horror film. It’s got kids as main characters too and I know how much you hate that!

*Shudders*

Prince Of Darkness. 1987


John Carpenter delivers the atmosphere, tension and suspense with the fear factor in this and combining science and religion together. Made before The Church, a place of worship is supposed to be a safe sanctuary, here he is able to turn it around and make it a place of evil dwelling with outsiders that look like they are suffering schizophrenia.

Donald Pleasance delivers everything from being petrified with the first sight of the mysterious container then believing the dark green form is evil and how to try and stop it. Victor Wong is the chief scientist who doesn't believe in matters that science has already proven and nothing else to prove until he is face to face with something he can't answer.

Right from the start to a elderly priest and could have been confessing his sins, did he die naturally or was the secret he was about to confess kill him...who knows. There is a brilliant but slow character build up of the students and what their study/PhD degrees are. Carpenter returned to the independent circuit with this and certainly knew how to create horror and shows Robert Grasmere falling to bits.

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Salvage. 2009.

A small budget independent British film using the set of a old soap becomes a hunting ground and a battle field between a specials ops team, local residents and a unknown creature. This is one of those small idea movies that you don't need any big acting names or a whole bunch of actors running about, the director managed to set up a good tense and suspenseful atmosphere.

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Just a typical day in Liverpool isn't it?

You will need to ask Justin about that :lol:

Monster a-Go Go. Bill Rebane. 1965.

Well what do I do with this? This apparently has a rep for being one of the worst movies ever. I actually didn't think it that awful, while it really really isn't good either. Basically a space capsule crash lands back on earth and the astronaut on board disappears. Cue attacks by a strange radioactive 10ft tall giant ugly fella. Now while not massively inventive, its not a bad premise, certainly one that has worked well elsewhere. The basic problem seems to be the simple lack of any real excitement or mystery or...well anything. Here's what I think happened. One night old Bill, Bill Rebane that is, already a man with cinematic aspirations, wandered into his local fleapit just off main street Wisconsin. The film showing was Val Guests brilliant The Quatermass Experiment. A groundbreaking sci-fi shocker from Hammer films. Rebane was inspired. The rest is history as they say.
Except...that fateful night in the late 1950s. Rebane hadn't wandered into that local movie house entirely sober. In fact he'd happened to have previously imbibed about 9 cans of Kestrel Super. He went on to cobble together this film based on the vaguest recollections he could muster and simply fill it out with people speaking. Speaking anything. Get an actress to scream occasionally and film a reasonably tall ugly bloke from below in order to enhance the appearance of height and Bob's your uncle.
I've seen bad films. I like bad films of the so good they're bad variety. Monster a-Go Go isn't that. It's just dull, and pointless. The one and only plus point I'd give it is the sudden, abrupt and actually intriguing ending. Says something that the best bit of the film is a mystery never answered because the film decided to end first.
Not recommended. Although I'd love to hear anyone else's thoughts.

Haha! I laughed out loud when i read this line.

Brilliant.

.................................................. ................

I can't see me ever seeing it i'm afraid, J.

I had my fingers burnt too much by that HG Lewis box set to buy Weird Wisconsin or that other similar set of William Grefe titles.

Tell you what, if the rest of the set don't improve off to CEX it will be going. I don't mind giving it a chance by watching but its nothing to hold on to.

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