What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[keirarts]

Body beneath

Andy Milligan directed uk based horror set around highgate cemetary and hampstead heath. A young couple run into a cult of vampires. If your at all familiar with Milligan's work then you should no what to expect, some choppy editing, Am dram acting ect ect. However I still find his work hypnotically appealing and here the photography is actually pretty decent, the locations good and some of the performances hold up. The restoration work is marvellous and as a bonus feature on Milligans social realist picture Nightbirds its a welcome addition. If your going to give his stuff a try it might be worth starting here.

King of the B movies

A documentary on cult underground film maker Bill zeebub that meanders off into lots of behind the scenes footage of naked women. This is not unwelcome and its a pretty funny and affectionate look at his work. Best of all the disc came with his early film Stereotypes don't just disappear into thin airchucked on for free.
Be warned, his stuff is liable to offend. Certainly he deals with thorny subjects head on, including racism, sexism, rape, murder ect ect. Mind you, baring in mind this is the guy who made Jesus christ serial rapist its pretty clear what your getting. I personally think he's pretty good, I don't always agree with his perspective but his approach to dealing with social problems by delivering them on screen uncensored shows the absurdity of the things he's mocking. He also places himself in the center of the action and makes himself a figure of fun as well.

San Babila ore 20: Un Delitto inutile

another find from Camera Obscura, this one is a neo-realist drama fused with Poliziotteschi dealing with neo nazi thugs on the streets of Milan and their conflicts with Marxists. It's a bit more high brow than a lot of Italian Expolitation pictures and seems to be a quite serious approach to the troubles experienced in Italy during this period. It does still have some nasty moments mixed in, including some pretty rough treatment of a female character that serves to show the impotence and agression of these upper middle class fascists. Certainly worth a look.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Yet another 'gialli' double:

Hand of the Assassin (El rostro del asesino) (1967)



A mildly interesting single location (in this case a storm-beaten spa hotel) Spanish mystery-thriller revolving around a group of the hotel's guests and a suitcase full of money.



62/100


Interrabang (1969)



A steadily paced, dialogue heavy, but at the same time strange, sexy, and mildly dreamy Italian giallo based on an isolated island revolving around a trio of models, their fashion photographer, and a mysterious stranger. Definitely recommended to those who like their gialli a little more unusual but who also can imbibe a melancholy vibe which runs through the sexually charged eroticism.



71/100

[iank]

Saw Kingdom of the Spiders last night. The mighty William Shatner is a local vet in a small country town who finds himself - and everyone else- having a very bad day when an army of killer spiders, whose normal food source has been killed off by pesticides, decide en masse to give human flesh a go! This late 70s B movie horror flick was actually much better than I expected and really great fun from start to finish, with the Shat on fine form and oodles of skin-crawling moments with apparently thousands of (REAL!) tarantulas crawling all over the place (including all over the Shat in one scene! EWWW!). Loved it!

[Make Them Die Slowly]

NIGHT HUNTER

Don 'The Dragon' Wilson is vampire hunter in this fun '90s action/horror flick full of high kicks and messy squib blasts from a shotgun. I especially liked the incongruous soundtrack of flamenco guitar that completely distracts from the action scenes not that you can visually follow them anyway as the camera gets a bad case of the dt's as soon as Don makes a fist.

GRID RUNNERS

More Don, in this one he has to chase down a martial arts master, a female sex slave and a whip cracking dominatrix who have escaped from a virtual reality game into the real world! Need I say more...

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Make Them Die Slowly

NIGHT HUNTER

Don 'The Dragon' Wilson is vampire hunter in this fun '90s action/horror flick full of high kicks and messy squib blasts from a shotgun. I especially liked the incongruous soundtrack of flamenco guitar that completely distracts from the action scenes not that you can visually follow them anyway as the camera gets a bad case of the dt's as soon as Don makes a fist.

GRID RUNNERS

More Don, in this one he has to chase down a martial arts master, a female sex slave and a whip cracking dominatrix who have escaped from a virtual reality game into the real world! Need I say more...

Ah, Grid Runners, also starring Athena Massey. Hubba hubba!

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

The Final Girls (2015)



Palatable, although at times a tad trying comedy horror that riffs on the F13th franchise and which revolves around a group of teens who get 'trapped' inside a film called Camp Bloodbath at a local retro screening when a fire breaks out.



60/100

[SShaw]

I have managed very few visits to the cinema so far this year. While I was in Washington I did take the opportunity to see The Big Short (which takes an irreverent look at how the masters of the universe shat all over us and caused the global financial meltdown) and 13 Hours, which foregoes any subtle political analysis and instead presents the tragic events as a boys own action story - but what did you expect from Michael Bay - I liked it.

Last night I took the chance to see Tarantino's The Hateful Eight. Which again demonstrates Tarantino's inability to move on. He employs all his usual tricks to, more or less, good effect. There is a lot to enjoy, but I left the cinema feeling a bit disappointed. Having said that, if my meeting in Hamburg tomorrow finishes early enough I will catch a second helping, this time with the "roadshow" version.

Tonight I have tickets for The Revenant of which I have high hopes even if it does star pretty boy decaprio.

I should also mention that my copy of the rather wonderful childrens film Jellyfish Eyes arrived. I am surprised it is in the Criterion collection, but you won't hear me complaining.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

The Final Girls (2015)



Palatable, although at times a tad trying comedy horror that riffs on the F13th franchise and which revolves around a group of teens who get 'trapped' inside a film called Camp Bloodbath at a local retro screening when a fire breaks out.



60/100

I have this in my wishlist. A 6/10 from you is quite solid.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Terminator Genisys

I meant to write something about this yesterday, but events being what they were, I either didn't have time, or just plain forgot. In any case, several months ago, each time I watched the trailer at the cinema, a feeling of dread and bewilderment swept over me. As such, I approached the film (on Blu-ray Disc) with some trepidation, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.

There is something very odd about the movie because it is both a reboot and a remake (similar, in some respects, to Star Wars: The Force Awakens), featuring footage from the 1984 film, but then introducing elements from a different dimension, with a different fate awaiting the T-800 on its arrival in LA in 1984.

In essence, the film is no different to the other Terminator ones, featuring John Connor, Kyle Reese, Sarah Connor, Judgement Day, Skynet, and time travel to prevent future war. However, in this film, Sarah Connor already has a protective 'Terminator' cyborg, named Pops, because he's been with her since she was nine years old. She also has a time machine intending to travel to 1997, when Skynet becomes aware. However, when Kyle arrives, he realises he has changed the timespace continuum and, because of some visions he had when travelling, convinces her to change her plans and travel to 2017 when, instead of Skynet, the technological threat is the titular Genisys.

As you might have guessed from the above paragraph, the film is unnecessarily convoluted, incredibly muddy, and lacking in the precise storytelling, originality, and sense of prescience which made Cameron's first two films such groundbreaking pieces of sci-fi-action cinema. It doesn't help that Jai Courtney is such a forgettable presence, Emilia Clarke seems lost playing the lead role in a 'big' film (Linda Hamilton she is not), and Jason Clarke looks ill fitting as John Connor.

Furthermore, during the period between 1984 and 2017, 'Pops' develops wrinkles and his hair changes from black to grey. I know cyborgs are covered in living tissue, but making the victim to the ageing process seemed weird and unnecessary. I hope it didn't make enough money to justify another instalment (hinted at in a brief post-credits scene) as it seems this was made for money rather than any artistic ambition. If there is a sequel, I sincerely hope it's better than Terminator Genisys – such a feat wouldn't be difficult.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I have this in my wishlist. A 6/10 from you is quite solid.

I did quite enjoy it despite the flaws (at least what I perceive to be flaws!). It was a different and rather refreshing spin on the tried and tested slasher formula.