What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Who Saw Her Die (1972)

George Lazenby plays a Venice sculptor whose life is turned upside down when his daughter is murdered. With the police unable to find any clues, Lazenby attempts to find the killer himself.

Who Saw Her Die was only the second gialli i ever bought as part of a four film Anchor Bay set way back in 2002. (The Pyjama Girl Case was the first via a Redemption vhs). Over the years i've seen it several times and it still stands up as one of my all time favourites.

As it's set in Venice it's often compared to Roeg's classic Don't Look Now (1973), but if you are reading carefully you'll already have noticed which film should be compared to which. The Venice we see on screen isn't the popular tourist destination, it's an eerie and atmospheric city, one of shadows and ghosts and complements the action beautifully.

It's a film that deals with the killing of a child in a sensitive manner, director Aldo Lado doesn't assault us with gore and sex. There is sex but it's not for titillation, more a way to deal with loss and grief between two estranged parents sadly reunited in the worst of circumstances. You know the more i think about said sex scene the more i think Roeg swiped it from Who Saw Her Die, the way it's intercut with the two reflecting on events is surely more than mere coincidence. George Lazenby, some three years after his stint as James Bond shows his acting chops with a terrific performance, in fact with his long hair, moustache and frankly craggy face he looks no more the suave secret agent than i do. He's ably supported by the gorgeous Anita Strindberg and a scene stealing cameo from former Bond villain (Thunderball) Adolfo Celi.

Although the film lacks the lurid excesses of many gialli, Lado keeps the pace ticking over nicely, keeping the viewer involved and gripped, as does Ennio Morricone's superb score which is in turns memorable and ever so disturbing with it's child choir to the fore.

Who Saw Her Die is a classy, stylish giallo and one i highly recommend.

[Demoncrat]

Quando Alice Ruppe Lo Specchio (aka? Touch Of Death, 1988, LF)

May contain some SPOILERS ...will contain SPOILERS...didn't in fact contain SPOILERS .....







Step right up for the Lester Parson Diet & Date Plan folks!
Guaranteed to lose pounds (of sanity ... if indeed such a thing could be quantified ...)

Best seen as a pitch black farce than the sort of Henry style slaughterhouse it appears to be on the surface, this torrid flick sets out its stall right away allowing you to swim unfettered in the sewer of Parson's universe. The ST aids this by being totally billy bonkers ...electronic wooshing ...viennese waltzes ...muzak ahem

Plus the Italian language track on me EC dvd is juust outa sync ... which sort of adds to the atmosphere of the piece for me
9/10.
Remember I said I liked Demonia when reading this (7/10 )

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Who Saw Her Die (1972)

George Lazenby plays a Venice sculptor whose life is turned upside down when his daughter is murdered. With the police unable to find any clues, Lazenby attempts to find the killer himself.

Who Saw Her Die was only the second gialli i ever bought as part of a four film Anchor Bay set way back in 2002. (The Pyjama Girl Case was the first via a Redemption vhs). Over the years i've seen it several times and it still stands up as one of my all time favourites.

As it's set in Venice it's often compared to Roeg's classic Don't Look Now (1973), but if you are reading carefully you'll already have noticed which film should be compared to which. The Venice we see on screen isn't the popular tourist destination, it's an eerie and atmospheric city, one of shadows and ghosts and complements the action beautifully.

It's a film that deals with the killing of a child in a sensitive manner, director Aldo Lado doesn't assault us with gore and sex. There is sex but it's not for titillation, more a way to deal with loss and grief between two estranged parents sadly reunited in the worst of circumstances. You know the more i think about said sex scene the more i think Roeg swiped it from Who Saw Her Die, the way it's intercut with the two reflecting on events is surely more than mere coincidence. George Lazenby, some three years after his stint as James Bond shows his acting chops with a terrific performance, in fact with his long hair, moustache and frankly craggy face he looks no more the suave secret agent than i do. He's ably supported by the gorgeous Anita Strindberg and a scene stealing cameo from former Bond villain (Thunderball) Adolfo Celi.

Although the film lacks the lurid excesses of many gialli, Lado keeps the pace ticking over nicely, keeping the viewer involved and gripped, as does Ennio Morricone's superb score which is in turns memorable and ever so disturbing with it's child choir to the fore.

Who Saw Her Die is a classy, stylish giallo and one i highly recommend.

Great review D!! Must revisit it seems ...

[trebor8273]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Thank you so much for your input.

he's right though!

[gag]

Dog pound

A 2010 remake of Scum, its got the action violence etc but doesn't quite have the oomph to pack the punch of scum, but still a recommended watch, a few small minor changes but still keeps all the main elements in

[Demoncrat]

Rosso Sangue aka Absurd (1981, Peter Newton )
Devoid of tension, it just seems to sit there waiting for you to admit defeat. Can't wait to have that riff belting out of my crappy tv either.
Ahem. Coherence be damned ... I didn't truly believe in relativity until I became a D'amato fan. Am glad to see this is still the case with this old warhorse
Time slows ... to ....a .... crawl whilst perusing this; and nae in any nice hazy Clifford Browny kindy fashion either. More like the time spent waiting for an invasive medical procedure ... and just as numbing as the anaesthetic. Highly Recommended.
Ahem.

TOD PS Al Cliver plays a yuppie bookie btw!!

[Rik]

Alien (2003 Director's Cut)

Seeing as it's Alien Day today, I thought I'd give this Sci-fi/Horror classic a watch.
We've all seen it before, so I don't need to explain the plot

I've seen this film (the theatrical version, not the director's cut) countless times before on all formats, and despite this it still makes me jump on occasion and the overall sense of dread and terror, brilliantly directed by Ridley Scott, still makes this film an enjoyable experience to watch every time.
Kudos must go to the amazing design work of H R Giger, his creations are the real star here, along with the claustrophobic atmosphere created by Scott and cinematographer Derek Vanlint.

Hopefully the upcoming Alien: Covenant can capture some of this when it arrives next month.
I should point out that I'm a fan of all films in the series (just the Alien series, not including AvP) and quite enjoyed Prometheus, but I did feel it was missing something that made Alien so great. I also used to rank Aliens higher than this, but I think after this evenings viewing, I may have swayed my feeling back to Alien


Now it's time for the Italian rip off that is Contamination

[Cinematic Shocks]

The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)

***1/2 out of *****

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Rik

Alien (2003 Director's Cut)

Seeing as it's Alien Day today, I thought I'd give this Sci-fi/Horror classic a watch.
We've all seen it before, so I don't need to explain the plot

I've seen this film (the theatrical version, not the director's cut) countless times before on all formats, and despite this it still makes me jump on occasion and the overall sense of dread and terror, brilliantly directed by Ridley Scott, still makes this film an enjoyable experience to watch every time.
Kudos must go to the amazing design work of H R Giger, his creations are the real star here, along with the claustrophobic atmosphere created by Scott and cinematographer Derek Vanlint.

Hopefully the upcoming Alien: Covenant can capture some of this when it arrives next month.
I should point out that I'm a fan of all films in the series (just the Alien series, not including AvP) and quite enjoyed Prometheus, but I did feel it was missing something that made Alien so great. I also used to rank Aliens higher than this, but I think after this evenings viewing, I may have swayed my feeling back to Alien


Now it's time for the Italian rip off that is Contamination

Great review! Great double bill also

[Demoncrat]

House Of Bones (2009, Jeffrey Lando)
Haunted house/reality show film that made me think fondly of Book Of Shadows
Would probably have worked better as an FF feature ...?
Ahem. At least the psychic was Charisma Carpenter