What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Watched The Wraith (1986, Mike Marvin)
Woooh mama, they sure don't make 'em like this any more. Ostensibly High Plains Drifter crossed with Tuff Turf, this sees old tiger blood and Audrey horn. Damn I've run out of....

Time. ahem. One of the more witless films I've watched recently...the "villain" resembles the singer from any AOR band from that period...the laughable "sex scene" is just that...always remembered the VHS cover, but never took it out at the time. Thank Cthulhu I didn't haha.

Yoko Tani double bill!!
Invasion (1966, Alan Bridges)
Inspired by Dem's recent review, I dug out me Network dvd. Still one of my favourite films from this year, sweaty Brits slog it out with an alien menace in a film that doesn't have either Cushing or Lee in it haha ahem. YT turns up as the leader of said horde () but it isn't much of a part...unlike....

The Partner (1963, Gerard Glaister)
Shenanigans at a film studio? A very urbane detective tries to sort out an unusual mess involving a director, an accountant, a leading lady (YT) and some money. The epitome of the word potboiler, this moves along at a mid pace towards the quite flat denoument. One of the Edgar Wallace films, quite nice to see Merton Park being used as a set this time.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Killers (2014)

Indonesian / Japanese thriller which i just didn't get on with. The plot about two killers who connect over the internet felt like a lecture on the WWW and how what we see affects us.

Despite some nasty violence the film had a slow start and never engaged me and i ended up feeling rather bored as it's 133 minutes ticked away in what seemed like days.

It gets a score of 6.5 on IMDB so i might be the odd one out here.

[sjconstable]

Arrival (2016) - 8.5/10

A cerebral sci-fi with fantastic visuals and keeps you on the edge of your seat as you discover about the visitors along with the protagonists. It also made me tear up a bit at the end so that's always a good thing! I think Blade Runner 2049 is in safe hands.

[Frankie Teardrop]

SLUGS: THE MOVIE – Juan Piquer Simon and Shaun Hutson – what a meeting of minds. Actually, in all seriousness, 'Slugs' is one of the films I turn to when I think I've run out of horror juice as it never fails to leave me feeling warm and a bit sticky (erm, a bit like a hot slug maybe). Can't say that it renews my faith in the art of cinema or humankind in general, but for a movie about flesh eating slugs it does surprisingly well. I guess, if memory serves, the Hutson original would've been too sleazy and gory to transcribe literally, so JPS tones it down a bit. But 'Slugs' could hardly be described as genteel, and manages to pack in a few highlights of gratuitous blood 'n' guts which, given the nature of those involved, tend towards the ludicrous – that old guy who cuts his hand off before his greenhouse explodes, for example. 'Ludicrous' is pretty much the operative word throughout though, and this is summed up and demonstrated beyond doubt by a sequence where the sewage engineer hero (!) strikes a contemplative pose and has a flashback made up of shots of slugs being really bad. The movie has a hyperreal tone which combines eighties yuckiness with surprising and completely arbitrary stabs at looking a bit fifties / sixties, which just adds to the disjointedness of it all. It might be total rubbish based on a book full of bollocks, but 'Slugs' is a masterpiece of low brow hysteria whichever way you look at it.

MORITURIS LEGIONS OF THE DEAD – Neo-Italian horror schtick about a bunch of young adults being murdered by some undead centurions. That pretty much nails it for those of you hoping for 'Crime and Punishment' or something, so anyone who felt 'Slugs' was too culturally refined will probably have a good time with this. Or maybe not, depending on individual sensibilities, as 'Morituris' is by turns a bit boring, a bit vile and then finally a bit “sort of classic Italian horror but somehow a little underwhelming” (soz about the quotes, couldn't pack that last concept into a single word, although there might be one in Italian). The boring bit comes from the talky build up, the vile bit is catered for by the rapey mid section and the stab at classic Italo horror is there at the end when the dead rise and go all Sergio Stivaletti on the assess of the not very wholesome kids. Kudos, in a way, to the makers for trying to combine vicious 'Last House on the Edge of the Park' type exploitation with the lumbering zombie stuff, but it only intermittently gels. Not that I have a problem with films that aren't very smoothly put together, and there are certainly moments here and there (one review I read of it compared it to the film on in the cinema in 'Demons', and I kind of thought 'yes, that's true'). Not a particularly likeable film, but worth a shot and will possibly be up your alley if some shady stuff goes on there

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Dictator (2012)

If like me you think Sacha Baron Cohen's previous two films, 2006's Borat and 2009's Bruno are the funniest comedies released this century then you are sure to enjoy The Dictator.

Where Baron Cohen almost reinvented movie comedy with his aggressive clowning in mock documentary format on those two films, in The Dictator he opts out of this approach and goes down the character fiction format of debut feature Ali G Indahouse (2002) which in my opinion didn't work anywhere near as well.

Here Cohen plays Arab tyrant Admiral General Haffaz Aladeen of Wadiya who goes to New York to defend his country's nuclear weapons program from UN investigation. However following a coup he is forced to join up with Zoey (Anna Faris), a human rights activist who offers him a job at her socially progressive, alternative lifestyle co-op in a bid to get his country back.

The jokes come thick and fast and are as non politically correct as anything in Borat, even sharing in that films anti-Semitism and sexist view points. Whilst the film is constantly amusing there are few actual laugh out loud moments but those that work really do cause a riot. For the most part this is fairly standard gross out comedy which is beginning to feel formulaic but because of Baron Cohen's comedy timing it still works well which hopefully doesn't really come over as a contradiction.

On the whole The Dictator is an hour and a half of non-PC comedy which i've enjoyed the two times i've watched it.

[Frankie Teardrop]

THE GREASY STRANGLER – Anyone familiar with my write ups will be aware that I devote a good portion of them to moaning about horror comedy, specifically the broad, splat-stick type that I can't stand. So I was a bit cautious with 'The Greasy Strangler', because in essence it pretty much sounded like the sort of film I might end up having a massive whinge about. But, ultimately, there were just too many notices going “wtf....?” for me to justify a dismissal unseen, so here goes nothing. Actually, what can I say - “The Greasy Strangler”, it's pretty amazing really. It's probably true that it's less like one of those dumb-ass horror comedies I hate so much and more like a... well, I struggle for words, but more like a Troma film being rammed by Robert Crumb in some creepo sex booth whilst John Waters looks on licking his lips, the whole thing having been witnessed by some smart latter day indie types who then reconstitute the original trauma and repackage it as an off-mainstream arthouse thing just about palatable to the modern viewer. Whilst 'The Greasy Strangler' might sneer at the notion of anything as pedestrian as a plot, it's basically about a middle aged loser and his dad who like to hang out together in speedos, said dad being an entity with a huge tapered cock and a grease fetish. Unique and erm... 'vivid', I guess is the word. Pretty much a must see for anyone interested in how bent out of shape cinema can get and yet seemingly be at home on the shelves of HMV.

HELLMASTER – From the depths of my DVD pile came this bit of nineties obscuro trash, a ridiculous little number that I hadn't seen for years. 'Hellmaster' – what's it about? Well, I can't tell you really. It's pretty confusing. There's John Saxon, and he's this malevolent scientist guy who developed some kind of brain serum years ago that killed a load of students, then turned some tramps into wise cracking killer mutants. David Emge is also in there, a reporter hot on the tail of all this weird stuff because something happened to his wife, maybe. The action takes place at 'The Kant Institute For the Gifted' or similar, and by 'action', I mean that there's a lot of people doing my favourite horror movie thing and just talking quite a lot, then walking up and down corridors. The basic point about 'Hellmaster' is, on one level it can't be anything other than boring, but at the same time it's just too weird to throw away. There are many unanswered questions. Why is all the lighting done Argento style? I realise it zhuzh's up that corridor issue, but... And why is The Stooges' Ron Asheton dressed as a killer nun? I guess he makes about as much sense as that Freddy Krueger look a like who keeps popping up, then suddenly doesn't seem to matter any more. What is the significance of the important looking black spiral that decorates a wall behind John Saxon during one of his bombastic “I'm evil, me” type speeches? We're never told. Ultimately, virtually every scene lulls you like cough syrup settling on your chest, then jolts you awake again with a “huh”? 'Hellmaster' is cock eyed and ham fisted, like a second hand car dealer's dream of what might happen if he or she made one of those vhs rental type flicks those kids go on about. Actually, that's not entirely true, there is a fannishness about it and an attempt to inject some ideas, some vision, all of which came out wonky but strangely enticing. It's not as psychotronic or as genuinely unhinged as bad filmmaking can get, nor does it even approach anyone's idea of a good genre movie, but 'Hellmaster' feels somehow like it has its own unique identity, derived, but not reducible to, those worn eighties and nineties horror tropes. I don't know how much viewers reared on 'quality horror' will get out of this drecky shadow from the past, but it seems important to watch films like 'Hellmaster' now and again just to be reminded that people used to pick up movie cameras and do this kind of thing. Plus, it has John Saxon in it.

[Cinematic Shocks]

What Have You Done to Solange? (1972)

**** out of *****

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

HELLMASTER – From the depths of my DVD pile came this bit of nineties obscuro trash, a ridiculous little number that I hadn't seen for years. 'Hellmaster' – what's it about? Well, I can't tell you really. It's pretty confusing. There's John Saxon, and he's this malevolent scientist guy who developed some kind of brain serum years ago that killed a load of students, then turned some tramps into wise cracking killer mutants. David Emge is also in there, a reporter hot on the tail of all this weird stuff because something happened to his wife, maybe. The action takes place at 'The Kant Institute For the Gifted' or similar, and by 'action', I mean that there's a lot of people doing my favourite horror movie thing and just talking quite a lot, then walking up and down corridors. The basic point about 'Hellmaster' is, on one level it can't be anything other than boring, but at the same time it's just too weird to throw away. There are many unanswered questions. Why is all the lighting done Argento style? I realise it zhuzh's up that corridor issue, but... And why is The Stooges' Ron Asheton dressed as a killer nun? I guess he makes about as much sense as that Freddy Krueger look a like who keeps popping up, then suddenly doesn't seem to matter any more. What is the significance of the important looking black spiral that decorates a wall behind John Saxon during one of his bombastic “I'm evil, me” type speeches? We're never told. Ultimately, virtually every scene lulls you like cough syrup settling on your chest, then jolts you awake again with a “huh”? 'Hellmaster' is cock eyed and ham fisted, like a second hand car dealer's dream of what might happen if he or she made one of those vhs rental type flicks those kids go on about. Actually, that's not entirely true, there is a fannishness about it and an attempt to inject some ideas, some vision, all of which came out wonky but strangely enticing. It's not as psychotronic or as genuinely unhinged as bad filmmaking can get, nor does it even approach anyone's idea of a good genre movie, but 'Hellmaster' feels somehow like it has its own unique identity, derived, but not reducible to, those worn eighties and nineties horror tropes. I don't know how much viewers reared on 'quality horror' will get out of this drecky shadow from the past, but it seems important to watch films like 'Hellmaster' now and again just to be reminded that people used to pick up movie cameras and do this kind of thing. Plus, it has John Saxon in it.

Read this people. This is poetry for the 21st century disguised as a horror film review.

I'm thinking of compiling Frankie's reviews into one thread and closing the rest of the forum down.

Please keep em' coming sir, for we really are not worthy.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Jane Got a Gun (2016)

Natalie Portman both produces and stars in this western which albeit had a troubled production especially in the casting department with both Michael Fassbender and Bradley Cooper pulling out due to other commitments.

The film about a woman and her daughter living on a homestead when her husband (Noah Emmerich) turns up one day riddled with bullets and barely alive enough to tell her 'The Bishop boys are coming'. A gang of vicious criminals, led by John Bishop, (Ewan McGregor) that her husband used to ride with. Getting help from a former lover (Joel Edgerton), Jane buys guns in preparation for her showdown with the Bishops.

As far as westerns go Jane Got a Gun is nothing new. Tales like this have been coming out of Hollywood since the late thirties. Natalie Portman again proves she's a decent actress following her wooden persona in the Star Wars prequels. Fellow Star Wars star McGregor doesn't fair as well though, both looking and acting like a poor mans Val Kilmer in the brilliant Tombstone (1993). What slowed it down was the sheer number of flashbacks tracing back to Jane's involvement with the Bishop gang, whilst it was a story needing telling it felt like it was holding back the main event too much. Westerns can generally get away with a simple 'He murdered my husband' line or two and the back story is taken care of. The action is realistic and violent, bullets make a mess and punches hurt but other than this and a few swear words this isn't too far removed from a fifties western adventure.

The film looks terrific. The cinematography is gorgeous especially outdoors. Making full use of the New Mexico locations and bringing simple shots, such as Jane walking into town, an air of vast scale and scope making the mundane appear quite breath taking as well as a well handled final shootout which had me gripped. The soundtrack from the always memorable Lisa Gerrard really adds flavour to the action as well.

Jane Got a Gun isn't the best modern day telling of a western, Bone Tomahawk and Sweet Water were far superior for example, but it's another in a long line of releases that suggest the western movie is very much alive and kicking.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Howl (2015)

The last train out of London on a stormy night suddenly screeches to a halt passing through a forest apparently because it hit something on the line. When the driver goes missing, the passengers and two remaining train employees realize that something is lurking in the woods and is hunting them down.

'The greatest werewolf film since American Werewolf in London' screams a sound bite from a web site that doesn't exist. It isn't, not by a long way, but it is rather tasty all the same. If John Carpenter made a werewolf film then it might play something along the lines of this siege movie, albeit with better music.

This British werewolf film is a slick creature feature with some excellent prosthetic FX work. Whilst the creatures, yes i said it as plural, look fantastic they don't sport the typical werewolf, at least not the fully transformed savage wolf, look, but they are extremely effective be it lurking in the shadow of the woods or in full on monster attacks.

Howl isn't just about the creatures though. A decent cast for this sort of thing including Shauna Macdonald (The Descent ), Ed Speleers (Downton Abbey), Rosie Day (Terrific in The Seasoning House) and Sean Pertwee (Practically everything) ensure that the script is handled well and characterization is always at the fore. In fact in comparison to most horror productions the writing is excellent. Day, so obnoxious to begin with shows her true self as a scared young girl the minute diversity strikes and you really feel for her plight, and it's the same for many of the protagonists, as the viewer watches how the passengers react to their predicament rather than just being werewolf fodder.

Howl is Paul Hyett's second directorial effort. His first was the already mentioned The Seasoning House which was terrific. He seems to be a director who can produce the goods be it believable characters, an atmosphere thick with dread or good old fashioned scares, and i look forward to what comes next.

Thanks to Keirarts who did a short review of it last year for the recommendation.