What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[iluvdvds@Cult Labs]

Watched Fight For Your Life and The Thing With Two Heads last night - a nice little double bill!

It was the first time I saw FFYL and I thought it was brilliant! Such a great film! A mate of mine was warning me about how bad it is but I couldn't disagree with him more. Meh. Different strokes for different folks I guess. I need to buy this now!

Thing With Two Heads - seen it a couple of times before and really enjoy it. Great little grindhouse film! Although slow at first, when the police start to chase them it's a riot!

[vincenzo]

Two good films there. Fight For Your Life is long overdue a UK release.

I enjoyed Thing With Two Heads more the second time I saw it. The first time it drove me out of my skull. Both of them.

(I had to say it, simply to get a-head).......

[Gojirosan]

I'm very fond (if "fond" is the right word?!) of Fight For Your Life. It's a very good film, in my opinion. Well shot, brilliantly acted and very tense.

[iluvdvds@Cult Labs]

Indeed it's an excellent film! I wasn't expecting it to be anywhere near as good as it was. Its like a mix of I Spit On Your Grave, Last House On The Left and House On The Edge and then some (!) which just works so well.

And IMO, it is not a rascist film at all, unlike it's reputation suggests.

I'm with you Vince, this does need a UK release - I'm sure it will have no problems at the BBFC, may even pass as a 15...maybe?

Oh, and Thing With Two Heads needs a good release too!

[42ndStreetFreak]

Originally Posted by Gojirosan

Surely one of the most unfairly critcally lambasted and misunderstood films ever. It's so very under-rated by the Film Establishment that it's mystifying. I often wonder if they saw a different film!

Nope I saw the film with a
Squishy Satan in jar,
Strawberry jam-faced satan girl,
Rubbish Alice Cooper tying (and failing) to act like a brain dead tramp,
Pretentious psycho-babble tedium that reduced Satan to an algebra problem,
Obnoxious Chinese prick in a cupboard for half the film trying to be funny (because Carpenter has given up on making a serious Horror film just like nearly every other **** in the 90's)

And from here on the fall was mighty.

[pedromonkey]

i take it you didn't like then 42nd. Each to their own i guess.

[42ndStreetFreak]

Originally Posted by pedromonkey

what has happened to british cinema, We used to make some of the best horror and Sci-fi around but nowadays its all costume dramas and Romantic comedies.

Not recently.
We've had some top horror films;

"Dog Soldiers"
"The Descent"
"Shaun of the Dead"
"Doghouse"
"Deathwatch"
"Tony"
"28 Days Later"
"28 Weeks Later"
"Last Horror Fim"
"Mum and Dad"
"The Children"
"The Cottage"
"Colin"
"Small Town Folk"
"Hush"
"Creep"
"Wilderness"
"Severance"
"Triangle"


Some with overseas money for sure (but that's been like that since the 60's at least for most films, including many 'Hammer' films), but all UK productions with heavy UK talent.

Even failed things like "Kung Fu Flid" tried something different, we've had indy super violent martial arts/action films like "10 Dead Men" and Darren's "Sudden Fury" (it at least got released on DVD and reviewed globally), and "Mad MAx" style sci-fi on the big screen for the first time in 2 decades with "Doomsday".


The big problem now is that unlike then we have no indy cinema chains where homegrown product can released.
It's not like it was in the 60's/70's or even the 80's. UK genre films are being made but have to fight against cunting "Avatar" on 5 million screens (and all it's ilk) on American studio owned cinema chains (or chains beholden to American films and studios for success) to get noticed.

If not it's into the vast ocean of DVD release it goes, where you have to fight to get even noticed.

And then we still have lack of funding in general...but people are out there giving it a go in greater numbers than we have see for years.

But to be fair this past decade has been the best for British horror/genre films since the 70's.

[vincenzo]

I quite enjoyed Prince Of Darkness for the atmosphere though the film itself was a big comedown from Carpenter's earlier work.

The Descent was the only title on that list I enjoyed.

[42ndStreetFreak]

Originally Posted by vincenzo

The Descent was the only title on that list I enjoyed.

The only one? Really?!

I'm amazed mate.
But hey, opinion on a film is an opinion.
The huge upturn in horror/genre film production in the UK in the last decade is just simple fact though.

I for one am over the moon at some of the top class product we're putting out against all the odds.
Even full blown Exploitation like "Mum and Dad" or brutal vigilante flicks like "Harry Brown" that hark back in attitude and content to 70's grindhouse/drive-in films.
The kind of films not produced in this country for 30 odd years.

Fly the flag I say!

[Gojirosan]

Originally Posted by 42ndStreetFreak

"Dog Soldiers"
"The Descent"
"Shaun of the Dead"
"Doghouse"
"Deathwatch"
"Tony"
"28 Days Later"
"28 Weeks Later"
"Last Horror Fim"
"Mum and Dad"
"The Children"
"The Cottage"
"Colin"
"Small Town Folk"
"Hush"
"Creep"
"Wilderness"
"Severance"
"Triangle"

There are still many on there I have yet to see, I should get on the case!

Of the ones I have seen, I would class Triangle and The Descent as first rate - excellent films irrelevant of genre. Others are good, but not great - Creep, The Cottage, Shaun Of The Dead, Dog Soldiers. I don't rate the 28 Days Crazies-rip-off films and thought Severance was promising but utterly ruined by the infuriating presence of the perenially untalented Danny Dyer.

Though I am not a flag-flyer by nature, I am glad you made that list, it has encouraged me to chase up the rest...

...unless Danny Dyer is in them!