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  #34871  
Old 28th December 2015, 12:23 PM
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Where is this available from? Its appeared on a number of best of 2015 lists. Unfortunately I didn't manage to see it at Fright Fest or any of the Halloween festivals it played at.
I think its been on demand... somewhere. Should be getting home video release some point in 2016.. I saw it at Grimmfest.

Killer shrews 2 (aka Return of the killer shrews)

Essentially a continuation of the 50's B movie where dogs in crappy costumes attack people on an island. Here one of the surviving actors from the first movie boats a crew of bitchy, self absorbed reality TV stars to the island only to discover the shrews are still alive and as mean as ever.
Think SYFY level production values and you will have a good idea what to expect. Dodgy accent, hot girls, gore and lots of CGI shrews. The shrews here look even worse than in the original, the CGI makes them look something like evil toons, there's a neat twist in the story for all five fans of the original and while the film is utter shite, it has a car crash quality to it that really makes it watch-able. It also helps that there is two other films on the German blu-ray as extras.

Millennium bug.

One of the extra films, this is actually fairly decent. It starts off as a backwoods horror as a family are captured by hillbilly maniacs intent on marrying and raping the daughter, it then morphs into a creature feature as a giant prehistoric bug errupts from the ground and begins killing!
There is absolutely nothing original in the film and the acting sucks but i actually found myself enjoying this one. It helps that most of the effects work is practical rather than CG which helps endear the film to me. Its also well paced and lacks any real dull moments. For the right price this one is well worth checking out.

Night claws.

Third film on the killer shrews disc. This one is a bigfoot movie with some added crime and action stuff thrown into the mix. Essentially a sheriff is hunting down the killers of two teenager only to discover bigfoot at large. Meanwhile some hikers run afoul of a team of mercenaries hunting down the Bigfoot.
Frank Stallone is the biggest named star in the film which should tell you all you need to know about the acting. Once again we get a lot of practical effects and some nice gore effects which help sell the film as something at least worth a watch.

The Wolfen

Albert Finney Stars in one of the blandest werewolf films ever made. Its not a bad film per se, the idea of shamanic shape changers and werewolfs living among the almost apocalyptic ruins of late 70's early 80's new york are neat ideas. The locations are suitably eerie. We get an early role for the great Tom noonan and Albert Finney is always great. However, given that this is around the same time we got The Howling and American werewolf in London it really feels like an almost-ran. That said the blu-ray release looks terrific and its not a bad film as such. Just go in with expectations lowered and you might enjoy it.

Scream & Scream again

Gordon Hessler directs this frankly odd little slice of British exploitation. It feels very much like two separate films welded together. The first is a Vampire movie set in swinging london as a young man picks up birds in clubs and drinks their blood, meanwhile in another part of Britain we get a post apocalyptic drama of a sinister government agent taking over the reins of power and coming across as another stalin. This bit isn't especially well explained. Is it the North of England that's gone totalitarian? London seems to be as normal, is it Europe? Anyway both plots join together that actually somehow works in spite of being bat-shit crazy. More so it has something to say about how everything we create seems to become a weapon.
As messed up as the film is its enjoyable enough and crazy enough to sort of work.
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  #34872  
Old 28th December 2015, 12:43 PM
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The Wolfen

Albert Finney Stars in one of the blandest werewolf films ever made. Its not a bad film per se, the idea of shamanic shape changers and werewolfs living among the almost apocalyptic ruins of late 70's early 80's new york are neat ideas. The locations are suitably eerie. We get an early role for the great Tom noonan and Albert Finney is always great. However, given that this is around the same time we got The Howling and American werewolf in London it really feels like an almost-ran. That said the blu-ray release looks terrific and its not a bad film as such. Just go in with expectations lowered and you might enjoy it.
I really like Wolfen. It's one of those i feel get's better with every viewing. I wouldn't even class it as a werewolf film to be honest, so the comparison with An American Werewolf in London is a tad unfair. It's better than The Howling any day.
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  #34873  
Old 28th December 2015, 01:17 PM
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Default Christmas Horror Marathon #21

Dracula Untold (2014)

The origin story of how a Transylvanian ruler, Vlad III, became known as Vlad the Impaler and finally Dracula.

I've read Bram Stoker's novel of Dracula countless times over the years. I was quite infatuated by it as a kid and constantly read and reread an illustrated book from M&S that i was given one Christmas Day along with a similar publication of Frankenstein. I saved this film to watch Christmas week as i really wanted to like it and felt sure i would.

Alas Dracula Untold is a CGI mess. Battle scenes are poorly edited and no excitement or tension is ever apparent. I did like Luke Evans as Vlad / Dracula. He fit the part quite well and had the look of a battle hardened leader of men rather than the smooth, sinister vampire seen in every other Dracula movie. 'Tis such a pity Evans was let down by a poor script and such an over reliance on computer effects that any acting performances soon got lost in the blur of green screen. It's also a film that lacks horror, or indeed danger of any kind. Vampire films should not be this anaemic.

Clearly Dracula Untold was seen as a way of rebooting the Dracula legend to the big screen and an attempt to create an origin story that would give Marvel and DC a run for their money. The final scene suggests any possible sequel would be set in present day London and is actually a delightful prologue and the best part of the film. It might yet happen as the film earned three times it's $70m production budget.

As it stands, Dracula Untold is a film that should get the blood pumping but instead just sucks the life out of you.
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  #34874  
Old 28th December 2015, 02:02 PM
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Percy's Progress (1974)

When the worlds water supply is contaminated and makes men impotent, Percy, the worlds first penis transplant patient, fresh from a year at sea drinking nothing but champagne, suddenly warrants the attention of the British government and every amorous young woman in the world.

This British sex comedy co-written by Harry H Corbett, who also has a major role as the Harold Wilson like British prime minister, is a bit of a riot. It's certainly funny and has many laugh out loud lines. In fact the dialogue is funnier than the situations.

The film has a cast to die for as far as British cinema is concerned. As well as Corbett we also are treated to turns from Judy Geeson, Elke Sommer, Denholm Elliott, Madeline Smith, Alan Lake, Carol Hawkins, TP McKenna, Barry Humphreys, Anthony Andrews, James Booth, Bernard Lee, Ronald Fraser, Julie Ege, Jenny Hanley and Vincent Price. Not to mention Leigh Lawson as the well endowed Percy.

Whilst the film occasionally seems to play out as a series of sketches it works and it's a joy doing a who's who? of saucy Brit cinema of the 70's.

Seriously,following this, Dracula Untold didn't stand a chance.
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  #34875  
Old 28th December 2015, 03:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs View Post
I really like Wolfen. It's one of those i feel get's better with every viewing. I wouldn't even class it as a werewolf film to be honest, so the comparison with An American Werewolf in London is a tad unfair. It's better than The Howling any day.
Well wolfen has something going for it as I keep coming back. I suppose since strictly speaking the creatures are not werewolves as such that I may have been a little unfair, though given it came out 1981, the same year as American Werwwolf and the Howling that its not coincidence this got greenlit. I personally have always found the other two films more consistently entertaining, however there's enough there in the film that keeps drawing me back.
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  #34876  
Old 28th December 2015, 04:53 PM
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Man, are those guys in The Land Time Forgot (1975) jerks or what.

3/10.
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Last edited by Buboven; 28th December 2015 at 06:01 PM.
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  #34877  
Old 28th December 2015, 05:16 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs View Post
Dracula Untold (2014)

The origin story of how a Transylvanian ruler, Vlad III, became known as Vlad the Impaler and finally Dracula.

I've read Bram Stoker's novel of Dracula countless times over the years. I was quite infatuated by it as a kid and constantly read and reread an illustrated book from M&S that i was given one Christmas Day along with a similar publication of Frankenstein. I saved this film to watch Christmas week as i really wanted to like it and felt sure i would.

Alas Dracula Untold is a CGI mess. Battle scenes are poorly edited and no excitement or tension is ever apparent. I did like Luke Evans as Vlad / Dracula. He fit the part quite well and had the look of a battle hardened leader of men rather than the smooth, sinister vampire seen in every other Dracula movie. 'Tis such a pity Evans was let down by a poor script and such an over reliance on computer effects that any acting performances soon got lost in the blur of green screen. It's also a film that lacks horror, or indeed danger of any kind. Vampire films should not be this anaemic.

Clearly Dracula Untold was seen as a way of rebooting the Dracula legend to the big screen and an attempt to create an origin story that would give Marvel and DC a run for their money. The final scene suggests any possible sequel would be set in present day London and is actually a delightful prologue and the best part of the film. It might yet happen as the film earned three times it's $70m production budget.

As it stands, Dracula Untold is a film that should get the blood pumping but instead just sucks the life out of you.
I really liked Dracula Untold, i took it more as a Fantasy, Lord of the Rings type film than any attempt at horror.
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  #34878  
Old 28th December 2015, 08:07 PM
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Default What Films Have You Seen Recently?

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1451333595.889444.jpg

My third viewing and it just gets better every time. I've not enjoyed a film so much in decades. It gets everything right that the prequels got wrong. As mentioned before fantastic practical effects, real locations no green screen crap and characters that you care for some thing that I can't say about the prequels, even main characters like obi wan, anakin and padme I just didn't care for, not here even after one movie, you care about the new characters introduced. Every scene with Han and Chewie is comic gold 10/10

Well I'm going to keep in the Star Wars mode and rewatch the original trilogy again
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Last edited by trebor8273; 28th December 2015 at 08:24 PM.
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  #34879  
Old 28th December 2015, 09:23 PM
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We've just finished (over the last 2 days) re-watching the original trilogy, albeit the "George Lucas Shits on your Childhood" editions because we watched the original versions last time.
It really doesn't matter how many times I watch them, they're still absolute classics.

I think I'd rank the new one 2nd after Empire, and that's after just one viewing (so far)
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  #34880  
Old 28th December 2015, 09:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Rik View Post
We've just finished (over the last 2 days) re-watching the original trilogy, albeit the "George Lucas Shits on your Childhood" editions because we watched the original versions last time.
It really doesn't matter how many times I watch them, they're still absolute classics.

I think I'd rank the new one 2nd after Empire, and that's after just one viewing (so far)
Even though Lucas will be getting money from the new movie, I bet their is a part of him that hates how popular it is and Abrams has done a much better Star Wars film than the man that created it!
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