What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Big Bad Wolves (2013)

Glad you enjoyed this one Dem. I watched it last year and highly rated it too - it's currently ranked no. 31 in my Top 100 Films of the Decade So Far list.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

Glad you enjoyed this one Dem. I watched it last year and highly rated it too - it's currently ranked no. 31 in my Top 100 Films of the Decade So Far list.

I can understand why.

[Inspector Abberline]

Psycho II (1983)
The only thing that kind of spoils this sequel for me,was the fact they had to use the footage from the first film,im sorry but if you do not know your seeing the sequel to a bona fide classic then you should not be allowed out let alone going to watch movies.(yes i am a film snob.so sue me) This minor quibble aside the Richard Franklin sequel to Mr Hitchcock's classic slasher is a witty and well acted if belated sequel.Although you do have to wonder what brought about this resurrection of Norman Bates,was it that slasher films were big at the cinema? During those early 1980s up until Psycho 2 was released there were probably around,well a lot of slashing was done let us say. The main difference between Psycho and the abundance of masked killers that slashed and chopped there way through the 1980's was that unlike them Norman had a face,a personality and a sense of humour and not forgetting a mummified mother in the basement.While nowhere near a high body count as the other nutter's on the block,Psycho 2 sees the newly released Norman Bates being released back into society after spending 22 years in a mental hospital.The whole film only really works because Anthony Perkins is so damn good in the role,he starts off newly cured but eventually he is gradually worn down and seemingly reverts back to his old ways.Apart from a few wrinkles and probably some hair dye,Perkins at the time looks remarkably like his younger self,thin,gaunt and ever so slightly bonkers in a way that only Anthony Perkins could play it.Richard Franklin was a smart choice to direct at the time,especially considering his previous two movies were the brilliant Patrick and Hitchcock inspired Road Games.Unfortunately he did not seem to reach the directorial heights of other such Hitchcock inspired directors and for me never directed anything as good as those early films.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Quiet Ones (2014)

With some trepidation thanks to some less than enthusiastic comments on here, i decided to watch the only Hammer horror film i'd never seen.

Set in 1975, it's Loosely based on the Philip experiment, a 1972 parapsychology experiment conducted in Toronto and starring the always watchable Jared Harris, this actually started out okay as tests are carried out at an isolated mansion on Jane Harper (Nice to see Bates Motel's Olivia Cooke wandering round without the oxygen tank), a young girl who appears to be possessed.

So far so good but the film never attempts anything out of the ordinary, it remains watchable throughout but unfortunately never comes across as cutting edge, creepy or worst of all scary. I can't fault the acting, production values or anything behind the scenes, just the script, whilst interesting at times and held together by the acting i just can't overemphasize this enough, it just isn't scary or chilling nor really seem like you are watching a horror film.

It's hard to dismiss completely a film that has Slade on repeat play during the first forty minutes but in all honesty that's as memorable as The Quiet Ones gets. Still it's far more interesting than Vengeance of She (1968) and nowhere near as bad as The Woman in Black: Angel of Death (2014).

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I can't fault the acting, production values or anything behind the scenes, just the script, whilst interesting at times and held together by the acting i just can't overemphasize this enough, it just isn't scary or chilling nor really seem like you are watching a horror film.

I thought some of the CGI was a bit shit, but I pretty much agree with your analysis of this one, Dem. It's not 'bad' as such, just watchable in a forgettable sense.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

I thought some of the CGI was a bit shit, but I pretty much agree with your analysis of this one, Dem. It's not 'bad' as such, just watchable in a forgettable sense.

I don't remember any CGI.

[JamesN]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Big Bad Wolves (2013)
Highly recommended.

Thanks for reminding me that I need to revisit this one soon! A buddy bought it for me when I was out of work for a few months following an accident in 2014. He had no idea that I was dying to see it, just thought it sounded like something I would enjoy.

Loved it, but I haven't watched it since. Gotta remedy that, maybe this weekend! Great film.

[Mojo]

THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE
A mixture of Giallo, gothic horror and ghost story combine to make this a hugely enjoyable movie. It has all the twists and turns you would expect, a good cast and lots of gothic spooky atmosphere. Not to mention one of the coolest posters ever!
Together with some great extras and another stunning blu ray transfer, Arrow come up trumps again. More please!

ALIEN 2
Some astronauts land back on Earth via some very blurry stock footage and are tracked down by a group of explorers who begin to realise something else has landed instead. And so we are led on an expedition of bad dialogue, l-o-n-g tracking shots that seem to go on forever and a mostly unseen alien that somehow lands underground, takes over a bowling alley and all of 80s California in a few hours. Oh, and one of the female expedition team is telepathic.
Apart from a couple of gory effects, this is hilariously bad, but worth a watch, just to see how bad it is and to complete 88's Italian Collection, which is building into a brilliant collection of classics and oddities such as this.

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

The Quiet Ones (2014)



...and nowhere near as bad as The Woman in Black: Angel of Death (2014).

Well thats something. Angel of Death was awful. I really enjoyed the first.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by J Harker

Well thats something. Angel of Death was awful. I really enjoyed the first.

Me too!