What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

It's been years since I've seen any of the Phantasm films (the ones in the Anchor Bay boxset, anyway), something which really needs remedying. However, I have a huge 'to watch' pile, so they are either going to sit at the back of the watchlist forever, I'm going to have to find the motivation to push them to the front of the queue. I think Frankie's review may be the required nudge.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by nosferatu42

Cherry Tree

Attachment 193850

This came up on the Horror channel and thought i'd give it a watch because the adverts for it made it seem intriguing.

Well we have a story about a teenage school girl who lives with her father, when dad develops Leukemia and becomes ill she is obviously worried for him and her future.
As luck would have it there's a coven of witches who meet under a Cherry tree who tell the girl that they can cure her father, only downside is she has to become pregnant and give it up to the witches for their dark purposes.

I found this reasonably well acted and the photography was good, there is an 80's horror vibe to it i thought, with some gore and boobs and some effective scenes of prosthetic style effects and faces being ripped of that all reminded me of Hellraiser type stuff.

The witches coven seems to have a fixation with centipedes and there are a lot of scenes of these creatures crawling about and burrowing into skin which are quite unsettling.Also for some reason the coven likes wearing old sacks over their heads in a 'Batman begins' Scarecrow style.

So i quite enjoyed this up to a point and would certainly watch it again sometime, but it was let down by a script that seemed a bit scattershot, and not enough characterisation to make you really feel for the characters, also the ending seemed a bit rushed and underwhelming.

But i would definitely say it is better than a lot of the tat that turns up on the horror channel and the head witch is quite sexy too.

A watchable 6.5/10

I really liked this (seem to recall b_e also rated it well) as it was different to the norm when it comes to 00's horror.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

The Windmill Massacre.

Avoid this witless garbage. The first kill sets you up for some fun ... but then the makers obviously used up their originality with that.
I'm very tempted to say Shuttle was betterer.
(it isn't )
Il stick with Bathory's Massacre methinks ...

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I was impressed with it and agree with Frankie Teardrop's review from a few pages ago but, as with almost every film, see how it won't be everyone's cup of tea.

Originally Posted by Rik

I thought it was average at best, nothing special and easily forgettable, different strokes and all that

I too thought it average on first viewing, Rik. However second time around i really enjoyed it. I even started one of those specialist film pages for it.

The Windmill Massacre

[nosferatu42]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

I really liked this (seem to recall b_e also rated it well) as it was different to the norm when it comes to 00's horror.

That's why i did like it, i kept umming and ahhing to give it a 7/10 because it was above average for me, but the flaws slightly ruined it.
Actually i think i might edit the score, trouble is i always seem to give high scores (7 and above), but thinking about it i've probably given worse films 7/10.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Devil's Men (1976)

Having only ever seen the film in it's truncated US PG version as Land of the Minotaur i was both intrigued and apprehensive of the original UK version.

Well, it seems an added six minutes of footage doesn't really make this a good film. It just makes it longer to endure. Peter Cushing (here in a villainous role) and Donald Pleasance do their best with a fairly turgid script and in all truth make the film worth watching. Yet The Devil's Men is so problematic. It's dullness personified for much of it's run time with endless shots of the barren wasteland that is the Greek countryside and little scares for a film about satanic practices. It's a film with a decent idea at it's heart - sacrifices to the legendary minotaur - but hasn't much of a clue of what to do with it.

Having said that the film certainly has plus points - the aforementioned Cushing and Pleasance are always worth a watch as is the lovely Luan Peters. There are one or two creepy sequences involving Peters being stalked by hooded cult members and of course i'm a sucker for satanic rituals as well. But what of the additional 6 minutes i hear you ask? There are additional New York based scenes with nudity and more gore and nudity scattered throughout. That was all i really noticed. The sacrifice scenes are clunky but have a charm thanks to 'evil' Peter Cushing and a cool minotaur statue with blow torches stuffed down it's nostrils.

Watch this in a double bill with the equally stodgy Greek set Incense for the Damned (1970) and it'll put you off both British horror and Greek holidays for the forseeable future. The Devil's Men isn't a film i can recommend but i'm sure it's one i'll return to time and again - Why? Well i cannot say, merely that it's just one of those films. I've seen the US PG Crown Int version several times over the years so an uncut UK version is a more than welcome addition to my British film collection.

[SilverSurfer]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

The Devil's Men (1976)



Having said that the film certainly has plus points - the aforementioned Cushing and Pleasance are always worth a watch as is the lovely Luan Peters.

Pleasance does have some truly awful lines in this movie (and I am pretty sure between takes he must have said "Why am I reading such crap")

Luan does make up for it.

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Watch this in a double bill with the equally stodgy Greek set Incense for the Damned (1970) I've seen the US PG Crown Int version several times over the years so an uncut UK version is a more than welcome addition to my British film collection.

Was the version you just saw include the orgy scene within the movie (as screenedd way back by the BBC) or as an extra?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by SilverSurfer

Pleasance does have some truly awful lines in this movie (and I am pretty sure between takes he must have said "Why am I reading such crap")

Luan does make up for it.



Was the version you just saw include the orgy scene within the movie (as screenedd way back by the BBC) or as an extra?

As an extra unfortunately.

I've got the UK Prism release. To be honest i've no inclination to want to buy an uncut version.

[SymbioticFunction]

Watched Damiano Damiani's Nobody's The Greatest from 1975 (aka A Genius, Two Partners and a Dupe/Idiot). Very enjoyable comedy western with good performances from the four leads - Terence Hill, Robert Charlebois, Patrick McGoohan, and Miou-Miou. Famous for having the opening sequence directed by Sergio Leone and for having a particularly beautiful Morricone score. Is a great movie, film score - 7.5/10.

Whilst certainly not as good as the previous Sergio Leone produced Terence Hill film (My Name Is Nobody), it is still lots of fun. Viewing was via a German Universum Film blu-ray which looks truly great for around 75% of the running time but rather primitive for the remainder. This is not a fault. Some film negative was stolen and offered for unpaid ransom. The film used previously rejected footage to fill in the gaps.

Nobody's The Greatest will very probably never look better, highly recommended blu-ray purchase.

[SilverSurfer]

Zoe Saldana plays Cataleya, a young woman who has grown up to be an assassin after witnessing the murder of her parents as a child. Turning herself into a professional killer and working for her uncle, she remains focused on her ultimate goal: to hunt down and get revenge on the mobster responsible for her parents' deaths.

Loved it and comes highly recommended.

[Demoncrat]

Bad Moms.
I like to laugh and this is making me laugh.
Mila Kunis is fed up with being 'the perfect mother'. As mainstream comedies go, this is okay. Christina Applegate plays the nemesis.