What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demoncrat]

Warp Speed (1981, Allan Sandler)
Send a psychic to do a man's job? Tsk tsk. Third tier scifi caper which belied it's PG rating with some above average shocks. To be fair it was dreadful tat. But I liked it more than Interstellar as at least it was exciting.

[Frankie Teardrop]

WRESTLEMANIAC – Went in without expectations, came out feeling quite chuffed – 'Wrestlemaniac' is a latter day slasher that doesn't particularly revolutionise the genre, but what it does it does well, and with a certain quirkiness. A bunch of aspiring porn makers head out into Mexico for a shoot and find an abandoned town 'haunted' by an El Santo wannabe who has a track record for removing the faces of his victims, not just their masks. 'Wrestlemaniac' doesn't take itself very seriously, and the the first thirty minutes are a thumb twiddling trawl through a set of arch one-liners. But once the horror hits, the film changes tone and becomes quite graphic and sometimes eerie. I liked it. Fave line - “They lobotomised this guy three hundred times and it didn't do shit”.

GHOULIES – I never liked 'Ghoulies' back in the days when horror gold meant a fuzzed up twentieth generation copy of 'Nekromantik'. How about now, in these far more mellow and resigned times? Well, sod it, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit the other day when I stuck it on Netflix. It's strange how movies from 'back then' seem alien now – the eighties look so gaudy and unreal. That's part of the attraction, along with the supernatural schtick and those messed up troll puppets. OK, it's anodyne compared with the stuff that was breaking ground at the time. Whereas some of the latter seems a bit lame today, films like 'Ghoulies' reveal their own charms with the passing decades creak creak.

THE BURNING – Never been a big fan of 'The Burning', but I felt a lot better about it when I saw it in hi-def recently. It's definitely a well made flick – you appreciate that kind of thing after forcing yourself through the piles of total dross I watch for a living (in my dreams). Also, despite there being a bit of a lag between the bravura opening and the first kills, it's also really well orchestrated, with lots going on character-wise for anyone who doesn't just want to watch a burned guy chop up a load of college kids. Whatever, it works, and really has that early eighties slasher vibe down pat, being quite ripe but also a bit of a downer. The first fifteen minutes are great, a melange of downbeat sleaze and shrill excess organised around that brilliant scene where the hospital porter does his carny routine, itself a miniature laying bare the dynamics of video nasty fancying. Pretty much the whole vibe of that era is there in capsule form.

[Rik]

Originally Posted by keirarts

Gerald's game



I'd always wondered how this would turn out if someone actually got it to screens. Its the sort of concept that would appeal to directors in a similar manner to Phone Booth. One character, Jessie, played by Carla Gugino is handcuffed to a bed by her husband Gerald, played by Bruce Greenwood. Its part of a kinky sex game thought up by Gerald to spice up their sex life. Unfortunately it works to well, and combined with the effects of Gerald's cock sweets he has a full blown heart attack. The rest of the film is Jessie whose inner dialogue is represented by ghost versions of herself and Gerald as she's forced to find a way out before a starving dog that's made its way in decides she's next on the menu. She's also haunted by pasty trauma and what appears to be the manifestation of death that's haunting her.

Director Mike Flanegan has a decent track record with genre pictures. I like Absentia, Oculous and Hush (more on that in a bit) and Gerald's game was no disappointment for me. Genuinely gripping from beginning to end, its a great adaptation of the book. Given that its on netflix its not going to cost anything to see it if you have the service either. Kudous to Gugino who really delivers in the central role and manages to carry the film remarkably well.

Just finished watching this, excellent film and very faithful to the book




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Make Them Die Slowly]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

WRESTLEMANIAC – Went in without expectations, came out feeling quite chuffed – 'Wrestlemaniac' is a latter day slasher that doesn't particularly revolutionise the genre, but what it does it does well, and with a certain quirkiness. A bunch of aspiring porn makers head out into Mexico for a shoot and find an abandoned town 'haunted' by an El Santo wannabe who has a track record for removing the faces of his victims, not just their masks. 'Wrestlemaniac' doesn't take itself very seriously, and the the first thirty minutes are a thumb twiddling trawl through a set of arch one-liners. But once the horror hits, the film changes tone and becomes quite graphic and sometimes eerie. I liked it. Fave line - “They lobotomised this guy three hundred times and it didn't do shit”.

GHOULIES – I never liked 'Ghoulies' back in the days when horror gold meant a fuzzed up twentieth generation copy of 'Nekromantik'. How about now, in these far more mellow and resigned times? Well, sod it, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit the other day when I stuck it on Netflix. It's strange how movies from 'back then' seem alien now – the eighties look so gaudy and unreal. That's part of the attraction, along with the supernatural schtick and those messed up troll puppets. OK, it's anodyne compared with the stuff that was breaking ground at the time. Whereas some of the latter seems a bit lame today, films like 'Ghoulies' reveal their own charms with the passing decades creak creak.

THE BURNING – Never been a big fan of 'The Burning', but I felt a lot better about it when I saw it in hi-def recently. It's definitely a well made flick – you appreciate that kind of thing after forcing yourself through the piles of total dross I watch for a living (in my dreams). Also, despite there being a bit of a lag between the bravura opening and the first kills, it's also really well orchestrated, with lots going on character-wise for anyone who doesn't just want to watch a burned guy chop up a load of college kids. Whatever, it works, and really has that early eighties slasher vibe down pat, being quite ripe but also a bit of a downer. The first fifteen minutes are great, a melange of downbeat sleaze and shrill excess organised around that brilliant scene where the hospital porter does his carny routine, itself a miniature laying bare the dynamics of video nasty fancying. Pretty much the whole vibe of that era is there in capsule form.

Ghoulies, oddly enough, out of the whole of occult cinema contains genuine magick ritual. Sadly, back in the day, the same ritual never manifest a glove puppet when I performed it.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Make Them Die Slowly

Ghoulies, oddly enough, out of the whole of occult cinema contains genuine magick ritual. Sadly, back in the day, the same ritual never manifest a glove puppet when I performed it.

I might watch Ghoulies tonight for the October Horror Marathon I haven't seen it for ages

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

WRESTLEMANIAC – Went in without expectations, came out feeling quite chuffed – 'Wrestlemaniac' is a latter day slasher that doesn't particularly revolutionise the genre, but what it does it does well, and with a certain quirkiness. A bunch of aspiring porn makers head out into Mexico for a shoot and find an abandoned town 'haunted' by an El Santo wannabe who has a track record for removing the faces of his victims, not just their masks. 'Wrestlemaniac' doesn't take itself very seriously, and the the first thirty minutes are a thumb twiddling trawl through a set of arch one-liners. But once the horror hits, the film changes tone and becomes quite graphic and sometimes eerie. I liked it. Fave line - “They lobotomised this guy three hundred times and it didn't do shit”.

Wrestlemaniac is tremendous, Frankie. Some lovely face ripping scenes. If i'd thought you'd never seen it i'd have recommended it years ago to you.

A proper supermarket special from back in the day.

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Wrestlemaniac is tremendous, Frankie. Some lovely face ripping scenes. If i'd thought you'd never seen it i'd have recommended it years ago to you.

A proper supermarket special from back in the day.

Frankie's review and your validation has encouraged me to grab a copy, Music Magpie for £1.19 I can slot this in towards the end of the month, hopefully I'll get some fun out of it.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by Justin101

Frankie's review and your validation has encouraged me to grab a copy, Music Magpie for £1.19 I can slot this in towards the end of the month, hopefully I'll get some fun out of it.

I think it's worth getting, definitely. Again, the first twenty or thirty minutes might seem a bit ho-hum, but then it gets good. Might be exaggerating this to myself retroactively, but there's a bit with a room where these torn off faces are hanging that seemed freakily effective, plus some other bits of gore. As for 'Ghoulies', it's weird how much Empire films fill me with a warm glow these days.

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

I think it's worth getting, definitely. Again, the first twenty or thirty minutes might seem a bit ho-hum, but then it gets good. Might be exaggerating this to myself retroactively, but there's a bit with a room where these torn off faces are hanging that seemed freakily effective, plus some other bits of gore. As for 'Ghoulies', it's weird how much Empire films fill me with a warm glow these days.

Noted sir. I was always a Critters man myself

[Justin101]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Noted sir. I was always a Critters man myself

I watched the first Critters again a few months back, loads of fun! The 2nd one not so much, haven't worked myself up to 3 and 4!?