What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Rik]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Great review! Great double bill also

Cheers, given up on Contamination, too tired tonight so I'm gonna give it a watch tomorrow before I venture out for lessons

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Rik

Cheers, given up on Contamination, too tired tonight so I'm gonna give it a watch tomorrow before I venture out for lessons

What i read is

Given up on Contamination as it bored the f**k out of me!

[trebor8273]

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

If I had knowing that I would of had a double bill of my own tonight but its to late now I might watch alien and galaxy of terror tomorrow

[bleakshaun]

Watched Aenigma last night.
film begins with a prank gone wrong, character lies comatose in hospital, begins to wreak revenge on those that did her wrong with help of mother, possesses new girl, continues to murder classmates.
Some great set pieces throughout film, like the death by snails and also the painting that loses an arm and bleeds. for me not Fulcis best work, but still a great effort.
7/10

[Frankie Teardrop]

BIOHAZARD – A military investigation into Angelique Pettyjohn's psychic powers brings back a homicidal mutant who looks like a kid in a monster costume (cos that's basically what it is). 'Biohazard' is the kind of cheapskate production that sets out to ask the question “what can I do with my kid, his monster costume, a load of fake guns and Aldo Ray?” before providing the answer we all saw coming, which has to do with people wandering around a lot, talking and occasionally being killed. Weirdly enough, I have a lot of time for 'Biohazard' and its ilk. There's something infectious about it that's difficult to pinpoint. This 'something' might well boil down to the sheer will to make cinema no matter what the conditions, no matter how cheap or how essentially pointless. You don't really get that kind of thing nowadays – throwing your relatives in front of a HD camera doesn't count in the same way, and besides, the tone of things was different back then, being goofy as well as serious rather than just cynically knowing. The era of Fred Olen Ray flicks feels strangely and sadly distant somehow. Anyway, I liked 'Biohazard' and maybe you will too.

TIME WALKER – Intriguing little number from the early eighties seems to want to work that whole 'mummy on the loose' thing in with the slasher format. It goes one step further with a baffling ET inspired climax that might warm your heart a bit if you're not the kind of jaded freak who spends most of their time watching rubbish exploitation films from years ago (not just me, then). 'Time Walker' is set on a campus where some kind of archaeological experiment results in a mummy rising from its sarcophagus to pursue those who have nicked some scared jewels. The mummy is also an alien with flesh rotting mould-related powers, and kind of glides along instead of lurching. 'Time Walker' has a lot of interesting weirdness going for it in the ideas department, but unfortunately smothers it in hugely pedestrian filmmaking and stylistic dullness – cinematic competence (but no more) always comes as a slight disappointment with films like this. So, could've done with being a bit more gonzo, but still I was entertained.

DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE - Sleazy slasheresque scuzz from the late seventies / early eighties, DATP probably finds its nearest kin in 'Maniac', that quintessential downer from roughly the same period. Basically, a body building photographer hates women and goes around strangling them with their breasts out – a detective teams up with a radio psychologist to track him down. The scenes with central weirdo Nicholas Worth and his babbling, foam-mouthed performance are similar in tone to the Joe Spinell vintage, and are really the high points of a film which loses a bit too much ground to dull police procedural. Despite the presence of such distractions, the murkiness at DATP's core is fairly pungent, and makes it feel a lot more graphic then it actually is – there aren't even that many kills, and, before I stuck it in the machine the other day, I remembered it as being a lot more icky on the sexual violence front than it actually is. I guess it's all about atmosphere, and, by way of example, the excellent synth soundtrack pushes quite an alienated mood in places.

[Cinematic Shocks]

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

As it was Alien day yesterday, and I didn’t get around to watching any of the films, I thought I’d rank the franchise in reply to this post:

Alien <> Aliens
Alien 3 (more so the Assembly Cut)
Prometheus
Alien: Resurrection
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
AVP: Alien vs. Predator

[bleakshaun]

Originally Posted by Cinematic Shocks

As it was Alien day yesterday, and I didn’t get around to watching any of the films, I thought I’d rank the franchise in reply to this post:

Alien <> Aliens
Alien 3 (more so the Assembly Cut)
Prometheus
Alien: Resurrection
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
AVP: Alien vs. Predator

agree with this, although i would put avp higher than requiem

[Cinematic Shocks]

Originally Posted by bleakshaun

agree with this, although i would put avp higher than requiem

I think most would. Both are crap, but Requiem just edges it for me, because it has this cheesy monster B movie creature feature thing going for it, and it’s pretty mean spirited.

[sjconstable]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Who Saw Her Die was only the second gialli i ever bought

Ahem, it was the second giallo you ever bought, not the second gialli!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by sjconstable

Ahem, it was the second giallo you ever bought, not the second gialli!

I used a plural as there were four films in the set.