THE NIGHT FLIER - I saw 'The Night Flier' mentioned in someone's post recently (thanks, Trebor), and realised I'd never actually watched it myself. It's a low budget Stephen King adaption which is never going to top 'The Shawshank Redemption' in the eyes of many, but then the eyes of many aren't always glued to hours of mid nineties direct to video bilge and lovin' it (or trying to). So I thought 'The Night Flier' was pretty good. It carries itself for the most part on the back of some flat but vaguely ominous nineties-type vibes and, more to the point, bitter and twisted Miguel Ferrer. Ferrer. He's such a weasel generally. Here, he's in great form as a misanthropic journalist on the tail of a vampiric airplane pilot (...) making house calls throughout rural North America and leaving carnage in his wake. Despite a cadet journo's attempts to break his wall of ice, Ferrer really is a bit of a t*at, and I thought it was actually quite a brave move on the part of the filmmakers to make him the protagonist - he's just awful to everyone he meets. A joy to behold. Besides this, 'The Night Flier', which was made in 1997 but feels about five years older, has some OK gore, lean pace, a high-concept vampire with a moderately groovy plane and a descent-into-lunacy kind of ending which wears its cynical sneer with pride. Slightly neglected these days, but definitely worth a look.

SHOCKER - Like everyone else, I prefer the grit of his seventies output to virtually anything he did afterwards, but 'Shocker' isn't one of Craven's worst. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. It helps that, after a while, it gets completely senseless. It actually feels like a scrambled rip-off of 'A Nightmare On Elm Street', complete with a wise-cracking undead serial killer... of course, I say 'feels like', but scrambled rip-off is exactly what it is. This time, the bad dude can 'transmit' himself via a wave of electricity from person to person, allowing him to take temporary possession of bodies for murderous ends. This quality enables him to become part of a series of TV broadcasts during the film's madcap finale, which really does jettison any sense of there being any kind of reality beyond late eighties inane video lunacy. Prior to then, there is much lop-sidedness to enjoy, including a possessed seven year old riding a dumpster truck going "f*ck you, I'm gonna kill ya" (or something). A midsection sag hinders but does not ruin proceedings. There are so many holes, so many lapses of logic, such an endless sky of narrative perplexity, but, if you're at all like me and just want to feel vaguely titillated by some bad eighties fx and scenes of people dying, will you care?

BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR - I seem to be hitting on Yuzna more and more these days. It's actually quite common for me to start and end a review saying something like "I think Brian Yuzna is a bit rubbish...etc...etc... so what I'm basically saying is, (insert title) is quite good, really". To be a little clearer, I guess I find him aesthetically a bit flat and pre-empt a fairly joyless experience, only to be won round (sometimes) by some interesting content or haywire quality. For example, I hold him responsible for a certifiable classic of shithouse cinema, 'Faust', and even that one with the cybernetic dog wasn't too much of a waste of time in the end. Anyway, 'Beyond Re-Animator', second sequel to the over-rated 'Re-Animator', is pretty good. It stays its course as a lukewarm but serviceable B-movie for the greater part of its run time, only to wrong-foot the viewer and crescendo to an apex of madness during its final thirty minutes. By 'madness', I actually mean slightly over the top comedy horror of course. What there is of it is enjoyable - flying torsos, exploding torsos, severed heads laughing dementedly, severed penis nuzzled by rat affectionately. Before all that stuff are occasionally inspired scenes such as the one where the prison warden has his ear bitten off, then inexplicably forces a female journalist to get down on all fours and bark like a dog. Why didn't he cry a bit and try to find a bandage like anyone else? The best thing about it is genre stalwart and firm fave of mine Jeff Combs, although he seems a little stiff here and lacking the patent Herb West sneering bravado that makes the first two duds worth sitting through. I could picture him in a bleak Dennis Nilsen biopic, but I suspect that probably wouldn't be Yuzna's thing.

I watched the science-fiction/horror Coherence (2013) on Halloween. An interesting concept delivered quite impressively with decent acting. But , man what a mind**** it is towards the end. 8/10.

Yesterday I watched Vittorio De Sica's Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (1963) due to a recommendation from work. Not the kind of thing I usually watch but that made the three comedic but very human stories that comprise it all the more interesting, engaging and genuine. 8/10.

Also watched the classic original NOES last night. Damn I forgot how good this film is, hadn't seen it for a while. Still like People Under The Stairs better but this is an extremely close second and in my view much superior to Scream. 9/10.

The thing from another world

A classic and despite its age its still decidedly creepy and atmospheric. a favourite of 50s sci fi along with the likes of day the earth stood still, this island earth and forbidden planet.

sadly overlooked by some because of Carpenters remake. 10/10


watching hound of the baskervilles (Rathbone version) perfect Sunday afternoon viewing

As I was still in Edinburgh I popped along to the Fright Fest Halloween all nighter. Was not well attended, around 25 people, which bodes poorly for a return next year :(.

Of the films my highlight was The Editor from Astron-6. Like their earlier films, Fathers Day and Manborg, their wonderfully irreverent deconstruction of another genre, this time Giallo, works extremely well. Highly recommended.

ABC's of Death 2 has received good reviews elsewhere. In comparison to the first film it is less patchy, with a more consistent quality, but while it avoids the misfires of volume 1 it also misses some of the first films moments of genius. Having said that I did nod off between r and u - particularly annoying as I missed the Soska twins Torture porn segment.

Pact 2 was a distinctly average mainstream horror about which I have nothing bad, nor good, to say.

Last Shift suffers a bit from the comparison with Assault on Precinct 13, but having seen the film the comparison isn't really appropriate as it shares nothing in common except being located in a closed police station. I found it a reasonably good haunting with maniacal religious overtones and look forward to a second viewing.

I skipped Captain Kronos in favour of a shower and an hour in bed before I had to catch my flight home.

Overall it's a shame the numbers were so low, as this was probably the strongest line-up in the last 3 or 4 years.

Some good uns in the past fortnight

The Trial - hallucinatory doesn't do this justice, a visionary tour de force from Orson Welles. I lost the narrative thread an hour in but then I alawys do with Kafka. Really brilliant haunting soundtrack - I'm already itching for a repeat viewing.

Mildred Pierce - often described as 'a woman's picture'- which is patronising bullshit, this is a typical flashback noir which just happens to have a female protagonist - the iconic, hyperreal Joan Crawford. A great picture.

Johnny Guitar - Revelation! The last thing I expect to be thinking about watching a 50s Western is Kwaidan and Mario Bava, but that's what the lurid technicolor visuals are like. The whole thing is pretty indescribable but, in my book, unmissable. Blu Ray a must here - I picked mine up in Spain for 5 euros - looks great. A blast of a movie, pitched at somewhere around hysterical.

Cloak and Dagger - of the 3 Fritz Langs in my collection - visionary sci-fi/fantasy genius, Film Noir stylist and War time programmer, no prizes for guessing which I like least. This movie ticks the gung ho and romantic boxes but you can tell the mans heart isn't in it. Bog standard.

The Servant - Loved the first hour with Bogarde channeling absolute fury through polite deference. Things go awry however and the movie dates inexorably with the introduction of 60s free love/anti establishment tropes - however the visual eye and performances ensure you're still glued.

White Heat - stating the obvious award 2014 here - Cagney kills it. The undercover cop/heist thriller cliches are blown away by JCs psychopathic mummy's boy performance. Also, the ending is famous for a reason - it's perfect.

For the first time ever I watched The Incredible Melting Man last night. The plot was as thick as a poppadom and the acting was some of the worst I have seen in a while, but I really enjoyed it. The Incredible Dripping Man was great, so was the interview with Rick Baker about his part in the Fx in the extras. One minute he is rampaging across the countryside pulling off heads oblivious to the consequences , as he oozes a trail of slime in his wake, the next he is in stealth mode outside a house, in the bushes like a pervy peeping tom waiting for his moment to pounce. The quality of this Arrow release was good. The Fx were excellent for the day on a budget, I loved waiting to see on the next close up, what going to drop off him next. The eye bit was classic, one minute you sit down have 5 and catch your breath, the next your eye falls out, brilliant stuff.

As my missus says me on a regular basis, as she did last night when she came into the room with 30 minutes go ' how can you watch this? It's awful acting, it must of cost £100 to make! There's no plot!'.... Etc etc the answer is, I don't know, she is Right!...but I do, I love this crap, it makes smile for reasons I don't fully understand, and don't want to, on the basis of that I highly recommend The Incredible Melting,Dripping,Oozing,gloomy Man.

I didn't enjoy it very much because it's been done before in films like Primer, Timecrimes, Cube 2, Triangle, etc.

Afflicted (2013)

Two best friends see their trip of a lifetime take a dark turn when one of them is struck by a mysterious affliction. Now, in a foreign land, they race to uncover the source before it consumes him completely.

A low budget but well made shaky cam movie. Taking in several worldwide locations, the film isn't anywhere near as vomit inducing as the majority of efforts in this time worn genre, as the photographer (one of the two friends) has all the equipment, skill and filming knowledge to ensure an enjoyable watching experience as he's filming the trip for a Travel Channel style web site.

An interesting take on the vampire mythos. It's not often movies take a wholly fresh perspective on the subject, particularly in low budget film making, but directors / stars Derek Lee and Cliff Prowse manage it admirably. Both are likable people and ensure you care about the characters and their journey, in both worldwide and nightmarish senses.

Entertaining, thought provoking and occasionally very bloody, Afflicted is recommended viewing.

"Death has come to your little town sherrif, you can either ignore it or help me stop him"

Doctor Loomis - Halloween (1978)