What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Make Them Die Slowly]

Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter.

This is a much more satisfying attempt by Hammer to capture the mood of the arse end of the sixties and early seventies than Dracula AD72.

Whilst set in the past, the clothing, hair cuts and references to Oriental herbs and culture give the film a very contemporary feel to the more rich kid hippies of the time. I might be over reading it but I saw parallels with the Vietnam War too!

The final fight scene is fantastic as is the scene when Kronos experiments with ways of killing his friend, now a vampire.

I am glad this never developed into the series that it was originally intended to start as that would have diluted the uniqueness of this fun and interesting attempt by Hammer to do something beyond its cloaks, blood and boobs style of the time.

[Make Them Die Slowly]

The Island of Dr. Moreau.

Michael York is washed up on a jungle isle where Burt Lancaster is busy turning animals into men with the aim of one day eliminating heredity illness from the world.

This an enjoyable romp with York and Lancaster contrasting well as the moral centre to the story. The animal men make up is excellent and the story unfolds at a steady pace. However the ending is amazing in its madness as animal men fight real lions, tigers, boars, leopards, bears and panthers whilst everything burns to the ground!

Zombie Holocaust and to a lesser degree Zombie Flesh Eaters both tip their hat to this film or at least rip parts of it off!

[Demoncrat]

Watched The Dead 2 (2014, Ford Bros) finally!
Sadly not a patch on the first film, possibly due to Joseph Millson? (Lead actor)
I felt they could have made more use of the scenery, as in the first, but it all seemed a bit one dimensional.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Watched The Dead 2 (2014, Ford Bros) finally!
Sadly not a patch on the first film, possibly due to Joseph Millson? (Lead actor)
I felt they could have made more use of the scenery, as in the first, but it all seemed a bit one dimensional.

A shame. I quite enjoyed the first film and was mildly anticipating the sequel.

[SShaw]

I was in Hamburg this evening to catch the opening film of fantasy film fest Hamburg, Kill Your Friends. It is an outrageous black comedy. It's being compared to American Psyco and Filth, personally the tone reminds me much more of Chris Malrys Double Entry. Quite brilliant. Go and see it. go and see it now, or in November when it hits UK cinemas.

[Make Them Die Slowly]

To the Devil a Daughter.

Over the years I have come to like and respect this film more and more.

Whilst the ending will always be poor, it contains some great set pieces and visually interesting set ups, aided by a great cast with Lee on particular fine form. My favourite scenes are of Elliott sat in an armchair within a protective magic circle looking genuinely lost and terrified.

The thriller structure also works well with the more horror/occult aspects of the story fitting in well, without stretching the boundaries of the viewer's belief.

A flawed attempt at something different by Hammer that turned out in retrospect to be too little too late.

[keirarts]

Nightmare city

Essentially one of the most action packed 'zombie' films out there, (technically they're radiation vampires) Hugo Stiglitz plays a Journalist who is at the airport when a mysterious plane lands and out of it pours countless infected all using knives and guns to kill and drink the blood of whoever they see. Pretty soon the chaos heads out into the city and Hugo must find his wife and get out of town. While Nightmare city is a silly film in many ways, director Lenzi really knows how to deliver the goods and the film is one long relentless action piece that barely takes room to breath and provide exposition. Almost every other scene is carnage including numerous scenes of blood drinking and the curios habit of the infected of removing the tops of female victims. As a result, the film has a real fan following and is one of the most entertaining of Lenzi's films. Personally I even prefer it to Cannibal Ferox.
Arrow have done a great job here, as has been mentioned elsewhere, there is irreversible damage to the negative that is apparent in some scenes, however this version of the film (there is one that is less damaged and less detailed) is the way to go and the film still looks terrific

[Justin101]

I've not seen the extent of the damage in motion just on screen shots but it possibly adds to the grindhouse feel of it.

I remember seeing Dawn of the Dead a few years back in the theatrical cut, it was a very well worn print which had clearly been doing the rounds for years, it popped, it jumped, it slipped down during playback. It added to the event, everyone was laughing and cheering and having a few beers.

However I have read that this makes the screen flash a bit during the first reel so it might not be as 'fun' to watch as general print damage from over playing.

[mr 420]

The Warrior Against The Blind Swordsman. Wow!, simply Wow! The bat shit bonkers follow up to The Warrior AKA Jaka Sembung. See a man throw a woman so hard against a wall that she explodes in a fireball! This would make a great double bill with the even more demented Furious (1984 Simon Rhee). Seek them out, you'll be glad that you did.

Edit: I've just noticed that the trailer for Furious is up on YouTube and even that is a head-f@&k! Perhaps someone would be kind enough to post it up here? I've never been able to work out how you get the links on my iPhone.

[Make Them Die Slowly]

Housebound.

Kylie, a terminal f#ck up and rather old juvenile delinquent, is tagged and forced to live with her mum following the failed robbery of an ATM. Once there, things start to go bump in the night...

This is a very entertaining little film driven by character and humour as its plot twists and turns before its satisfying, bloody ending. Very funny in places, it brings nothing new to the horror genre but does bring a sense of fun lacking in most recent offering. Recommended.