What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[JoshuaKaitlyn]

Death Drives Through (1935) Had an hour to kill and as Network arguably had the best of the Black Friday deals, of which I took advantage of I decided to put one of their 'Ealing Rarities' discs in, Volume 3 actually. This Edward L. Cahn directed picture tells the tale of a poor racing car mechanic who has a revolutionary design that will increase the speed of his car. But he aint poor for long as he hooks up with the daughter of a motor racing tycoon. Together with his 'comedic' (aren't they all?), sidekick, Nigger, (No really and it gets worse later), he builds his dream car but the death of another driver causes him to walk away. But when its discovered that his rival has stolen the plans to the design and sold them a frantic search is underway to find him.
The film is short at an hour long and isn't going to become anyones favourite, it suffers from continuity errors, boom and camera shadows and some unfortunate dialogue that may upset more modern day audiences, in one scene the unfortunatly named Nigger is told to run! "Run Nigger, Run!" I sat there laughing my non-PC arse off!

Death Drives Through.jpg

[iank]

A Christmas Horror Story. Santa turns action hero when a virus turn his elves into demonic little zombies; three teenagers break into their school basement on Christmas Eve - the site of a gruesome double murder exactly one year before - only to find they can't leave; a family incur the wrath of the anti-Santa, Krampus; and a couple lose their little boy in an icy forest but find him and bring him home again - or have they let a cuckoo into their nest? William Shatner adds some appreciated oldskool class (the cast is otherwise completely unknown to me) as a radio DJ trying to maintain Christmas cheer as his small town begins falling apart around him in this mildly diverting festive-themed modern horror anthology. Not bad; the Santa and changeling stories were the best.

[Make Them Die Slowly]

The Signal.

Pretty good sci-fi indie, that twists and turns keeping the viewer guessing as to what will happen next as three friends accidentally end up in Area 51. Worth a look if you see it cheap or have Netflix.

[keirarts]

Took a break from Japanese cinema to watch Jessica Jones (terrific show) also got time to check these out...

Bone Tomahawk

Two drifters Purvis & Buddy, played by David Arquette & Sid Haig are busy slitting throats of a gang they bushwhacked when they here riders. Heading into the hills for safety they discover a strange ritualistic burial site adorned with human remains. Buddy is quickly dispatched by mysterious savages and Purvis legs it to the nearest town. In town he's arrested by Sheriff Franklin Hunt, played to grizzled perfection by Kurt Russell who seems to be channelling his interpretation of Wyatt Earp and a warm-up for hateful 8. He calls for local medic Samantha O'Dwyer to assist when the drifter is injured, he husband Arthur is convalescing from a broken leg. It seems that Purvis has led the savages back to town and they quickly capture him, Mrs O'Dwyer and several other townsfolk. The sheriff quickly rounds up a posse, a local Indian guide warns him that the savages are 'troglodytes' cave dwelling inbreds and cannibals shunned by the other tribes and that pursuing them means heading into great danger. Disregarding this the Sheriff heads off with Chicory, played by the always brilliant Richard Jenkins, John Brooder, played in a career best role by Matthew Fox. Arthur intent on rescuing his wife insists on coming along in spite of his broken leg. The group head off into the deadly wilderness on a rescue mission that not all of them might return from.
The horror western is an underused sub-genre that has not been explored nearly enough on film. Here the film really explores the merits of using it as a setting. The vast, unexplored wilderness of the old west is the perfect setting to locate various horrors. Here the wilderness itself is as dangerous as the cannibals that the group are looking for. Sudden violent death is omnipresent and an attitude that today might seem Psychopathically dangerous in the modern era is a vital survival mechanism in the lawless wilderness. The film takes its time building up to the real horrors and feels like a cross between The searchers & The hills have eyes It's not excessively violent throughout, however when it comes the brutality is genuinely nasty. The bulk of the film time is the journey into darkness as we learn more about the men who have set out, including revaltions about John Brooder that suggest he has a history as vicious as the cannibals the group seek and Fox, an actor i've been a little harsh on in the past, mainly because of the naff TV series LOST is excellent in the role. In fact the film has got really lucky with its cast and this adds to the charm. Patrick Wilsons struggle through the wilderness with his broken leg is almost agonising at points and really made me wince.
Overall highly recommended.

[keirarts]

Blood rage

It's weird when you watch a film and quickly realise "I've f*****g seen this!" however its great when you realise that the film was one you actually enjoyed. Blood rage isn't a great film, its rather stilted and has some dreadful acting, however its chock full of sleazy charm and gore. The plot of twins, one good, one bad could have been exploited more and delivered better but the film is entertaining enough for gore hounds and slasher movie aficionado's and never outstays its welcome.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Deadly Manor (1990)

As this was directed by José Ramón Larraz, the director of the classic 70's erotic gore fest Vampyres i had high hopes for Deadly Manor.

Alas it didn't take long to see my hopes dashed. The film had the look and feel of a tv movie. The film's plot is standard stuff - a group of teens pick up a hitch hiker then take refuge in an old mansion when a storm develops. So far so good. There's a fair bit of getting to know every one and wandering around the dark house and woods which goes on, and on, and on, and on, before you know it nearly an hour has passed and nothing whatsoever has happened.

It really was tedious, not helped by the fact everything was shrouded in darkness to the point of not actually being able to make out who was who at times. The final third turns into a half hearted slasher movie with gore i think, it wasn't easy to make out in the gloom.

Disappointing to say the least.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret

This is actually the film which caused my boyfriend to become a vegetarian, while I have declined to change my eating habits that radically because unless everyone does it it's not going to have an effect and let's be honest it's not going to happen in our generation... I have started eating less meat and less dairy than I used to.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Justin101

This is actually the film which caused my boyfriend to become a vegetarian, while I have declined to change my eating habits that radically because unless everyone does it it's not going to have an effect and let's be honest it's not going to happen in our generation... I have started eating less meat and less dairy than I used to.

I can't remember if it is mentioned in the film, but we (as a population) generally consume much more meat and dairy than we did a generation ago. Because of intensive farming, animals have become much bigger much quicker, and meat is cheaper, so buying a sandwich with lots of different meat from Subway is something that would be unheard of 20 years ago. Going back a little further, most families bought meat on Sundays and made it last the week, but that is no longer the case.

I don't think the message is that everyone needs to become a vegan (I am), but drastically cutting down the amount of meat and dairy humans consume would, cumulatively, have a large impact on the environmental damage caused in order to produce the food.

This interview made me think about milk in a way I hadn't previously considered before:

[Justin101]

I've just been to the cinema to watch a rarely seen 1968 documentary about a New York Drag Queen Pageant filmed in 1967 and featuring personalities you just don't get to see these days. It was funny and it was touching and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It's not available for home video anymore, I think it was last seen in VHS so I'm glad I went out and watched something that I wouldn't normally get to see!

‎The Queen (1968) directed by Frank Simon • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

This interview made me think about milk in a way I hadn't previously considered before:

It does make me double think the whole dairy products aspect of my diet but milk is so ingrained into the modern diet I wouldn't even know how to begin to remove it.

I have reduced my 2 Latte's a day to maybe 3 a week.