"Dracula's Daughter"

You know the film has problems when Dracula suddenly turns into Richard Nixon!
I kid you not...At the start the close-up of the dead Dracula in the coffin (with no Lugosi to use) was obviously some guy in a bad plastic mask that some blind creature thought looked like Lugosi. But no, it's the spitting image of Nixon!
Go look...Go on...See? Yeah!
NIXON!
Not a good start.

Thankfully things improve with the introduction of Drac's Daughter (not literally we assume unless Drac did the dirty) who is actually a haunted individual who is desperately trying to get rid (!??) of the Vampyric curse she is under.
A nice stately turn by the striking Gloria Holden.

Otto Kruger as the friend of, the now arrested for murder, Van Helsing (nice touch!) is another plus.
At least when he spars with his female assistant. Their scenes play like something from a 40's comedy thriller.
He's less impressive as a hero though and when not bouncing off his assistant.

Some good scenes here of course, especially the startlingly erotic seduction scene when Drac's Daughter invites a young woman to her house to be painted.
This is surprisingly explicit in its allusions to lesbianism and it works wonderfully...and the lack of fangs (I assume for censorship reasons) means the sexual aspect is actually increased as the bite looks more like a kiss.

But sadly the film is hampered by lack of real incident. It sort of just hangs around for a while not doing much and repeating similar scenes until all of a sudden we move all the leads from London to Transylvania so suddenly and quick that it seems "Star Trek" transporters have already been invented.

The finale is also a damp splat of nothingness as all is suddenly wrapped up out of nowhere (film running out guys?) with an act that is never even explained as purposeful or accident despite being the big ending to it all.

Great in parts, weak as hell in others...so we only scrape into average overall here.
Certainly not a patch on the Lugosi film.




"Pontypool"

Meh...
Always liked Stephen McHattie since he went nuts in the sadly neglected "Death Valley" and he is very good at times here but the film has no idea what it wants to be.
Is it serious? Is it funny? And if so what kind of funny? Bleak funny? Comic funny?
This film has no idea.

The screenplay has an utterly absurd main idea that even in the 'suspend belief' world of Zombie films (though why this is being touted as a Zombie film anyway is a mystery to me) pushes the boundaries of supernatural and barking mad science to breaking point.
But that's okay...I can live with that. It's a unique idea even if they had to go so far out they ended up in Pluto to make it a unique idea.
It's a plot that opens up many interesting ideas too.

But the tone is all wrong.
Deadly serious things are happening (even right there in front of them to someone they know) and yet the actor's reactions and some of the dialogue plays it all up as a joke...But nothing remotely funny is actually happening.
The comedy (and yet not...exactly!) Doctor is the silly schizophrenic cherry on top.

And don't do a scene where a young girl is kicked to death in a sequence again not played for laughs in the build-up...and make it look like the 'snooker cue/Queen song' scene from "Shaun of the Dead"!
"Shaun" could do this as it had set the agenda already that it was a comedy, even if a black one with a sometimes serious dramatic edge.
"Pontypool" has not (even with the schizo comedy, and yet not, reactions and attitudes of the actors) built up a comic foundation at all to treat the scene this way so what should be a deeply affecting and effective moment of tragic violence is reduced to an emotional void that neither works as comedy or the harrowing event it should have been. It plays more like a deleted scene.

And as for the final two scenes.
Some good ideas here, but they are reduced to a (Intentionally funny? Maybe, and yet other times obviously not) deeply annoying verbal barrage (that we think is going to move the plot on but ultimately does not) which also renders what should be an emotional part of the film into a rather embarrassing bit of over-acting as actors, director and writer all try to make some kind of sensible narrative use out of their initial unique, but completely unmanageable, basic idea as endlessly shouted words are used as the irritating replacement for firearms as the weapon of choice to save the day is not a machine gun...but wildly overwrought dialogue and acting it seems.

So we have some good ideas, an at least unique set-up, some unexpected and effective creep moments to enjoy here.
But the unfocused execution utterly lets the film down and the finale is such a deafening white noise of babbled dialogue and overacting that "Pontypool" ends up just being a tiring and annoying joke at the audiences expense.

Children Of The Living Dead

Awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful, awful.

Awful.

What, even Tom Savini's Rambo impression at the beginning? ;)

Yesterday I watched on Blu-Ray.....

GOODFELLAS-A film I never tire of watching.

PAYBACK-The BR features both the Dir cut and theatrical cuts....both are entirely different films...:confused:

SHAUN OF THE DEAD-Still hilarious,no matter how many viewings....:lol:

AMERICAN GOTHIC-Solid little maniacs in the woods film.

Quite under-rated, I'd say. A fave of mine.

Better than Diary but not as good as Land. It has a completely different feel to it, I can't explain it. It might be the slapstick humourous zombie kills or...... oh I don't know it was just different. Check it out though :nod:

As for Cat O'Nine Tails, I'll check in my local poundland (which is where I got a copy a month or so ago) and I'll see if they have copies still. If they have would you like me to get one? The picture quality is great, was really impressed :biggrin:

Just seen The Final.
Its about these outcast kids that get bullied and create a party and get revenge on the bullies.
I kinda understood how they felt, so know what they been through and that made me have a emotional connection with the movie.
Not very often that you get that with a horror title.
Its one of this years After Dark Horror titles, and surprisingly I thought it was really good.
Had its bad points but overall its a awesome lil movie with solid acting and a good story.
Not gory at all so would have been a lil better with more gore.
8/10 overall
recommended to everyone on here!!!

Payback is a fantastic film and i hear The directors cut is even better, apparently it drops Kris Kristofferson.

Just bought American Gothic, looks cool. I like a bit of rod steiger, The illustrated man is a Good steiger film too.

Ick. I have to say I disliked "American Gothic" a great deal.

How did director John "Twins of Evil" Hough sink to this dull, ponderous, by the numbers fluff?

Low gore, rushed deaths and ending, tired direction, overly slow build-up and annoying acting (Michael J. Pollard is only slightly less awful than he was in "Sleepaway Camp 3").
Sorry guys I though it a passionless splodge. :ohwell:

watched The Road last night, absolutely brilliant, possibly my fav film of last year. Bleak, Harsh and totally not Mad Max.
You guys need to check this out when it's released in may.