What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Frankie Teardrop]

I AM A GHOST – Indie ghost flick in which an apparently housebound woman gradually discovers that she’s a spirit trapped by a pretty downer backstory. Nice build of atmosphere in the first half, lots of still shots of empty rooms with that atmospheric sense of spooky imminence about them, although it can’t quite sustain a transition to something a little more ‘jump-scarey’ later on. Good though, one of those flicks I sometimes just happen across and think mmm, why not.

THE OUTING – I remember this from the VHS era, back when it was called ‘The Lamp’. I wasn’t too keen on it then, and time hasn’t mellowed my perspective all that much (and that’s saying something, I’ll generally watch and forgive any old shite these days). Basically it’s about an archaeologist’s daughter who breaks into daddy’s museum because she’s… well, I forget, but then there’s a lamp that keeps possessing people and etc. Even the ‘period charm’ (from 1986) seems a little dreary, but it might be worth watching for the big rubber djinn effect at the end and a couple of OK ‘horror moments’.

DEADLINE – New to me this one, courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome’s superlative restoration project and Canada’s habit of injecting even cruddy genre flicks with that depresso ‘Kids Of Degrassi Street’ vibe. I jest, in part. ‘Deadline’ does have a rather serious message to relate, though I’m not convinced it’s entirely certain what that is – something between ‘horror films might be irresponsible and bad for society’ and ‘people who say things like that last statement are dickheads – wanna see some gore’? And it does come wrapped in that solemn, wintry vibe I’m familiar with from the earlier works of D Cronenberg. A writer is lambasted at his alma mater for copping out and doing exploitation movies – his wife gets into drugs and leaves him – another awful thing happens which I won’t ‘spoil’, but it happens to be fairly bleak – all the while, he has dreams / visions of scenes from his books and movies, some of which are pretty splattery for the time. A very interesting curio, evidence that little off-radar treasures still turn up and that people can be arsed to put them out.


BLOOD PARADISE – Another movie, another writer, but this time we’re talking latter day Sweden – out in the sticks to be precise, where a possibly fairly typical rural psycho runs a guest house / health resort / death trap type place. A burned-out horror author goes there; the expected happens, and yes, someone does get their finger hacked off whilst tied to a chair, but this is a curiously laid back movie with quite a ‘chilled’, languorous atmosphere. Maybe I wanted more of one or the other, but of which, I cannot say. Interesting, though.

NIGHT TIDE – This was, I think, Dennis Hopper’s first starring role. He’s cast here as a lovesick sailor who’s fallen for the charms of Mora, a seafront mermaid impersonator who might just be descended from a lost race of antiquity. The enigma of her identity, and her relationship with her creepy mentor, unravel. ‘Night Tide’, though garnished with the occult references that might be expected of director Curtis Harrington, keeps the ‘horror’ / supernatural aspect at arm’s length and delivers instead a mystery infused with the sadness of lost love and the eeriness of down at heel beachside scenes. There are maybe dabs of Val Lewton here and there, but mostly it keeps its doomed romance out of the shadows. An important film given its pedigree, of its time but it never fails to absorb and intrigue.

[trebor8273]

The lady mayor of a unknowing city passes a law so that anyone no matter weight, age , sex or IQ can join the police force, this gives the chance to a group of misfits and carey mahoney( Mr 80s Steve Guttenberg) who had the choice of this or jail. Always enjoyed these movies even if they got steadily worse as they went on. 8/10



Just like Twins this shows that Arnie has a knack for comedy, here he's a police officer whom has to go undercover as a kindergarten teacher to catch a dangerous criminal he's been after for years. 9/10


[





The guy from V is Dar a young man who was rescued as a baby when a evil cult lead by a wizard tried to kill him as he is destined to kill him. Years later his village is attacked and he is the only survivor. He sets out seeking his revenge using his ability of the beast master. A highly enjoyable piece of sword and sorcery from Don Coscarelli. 8/10



Brillant, a tv crew is giving access to the daily lives of a group of vampires or in their case nightly lives. hilariously funny and easily one the best documentary films. 10/10


Now watching red lights.

[nicholasrope]

Private Wars

Another Joseph Merhi and Richard Pepin (PM Entertainment Group) produced early 90's B-Movie Action Film in which Steve Railsback (Turkey Shoot) plays a framed Cop turned drunk Private Eye who is hired by a town who being terrorized by a street gang who work for a Property Developer who wants their land so he can build a Luxury Apartment Building. Very cheesy, Railsback is given a role in which is more Combat based (Not weapon based) and there are montages galore. These are the type of Films I like.

Stuber

Dave Bautista is a Cop who has had Eye Surgery therefore he can't see so he is driven around by a Uber Driver whilst on the hunt for a Killer who murdered his partner. Rather similar to the Film Taxi and whilst it has it's moments, I can see why Fox didn't put much promotion behind it and release it at The Cinema as a filler (Not the main Cinema release of the week)

Raw Deal

1986 Arnold Schwarzenegger Action Film in which he goes undercover to bring down a Mob Family from within at the request of a FBI Agent whose son is murdered. I think this is the Schwarzenegger 80's Film, which people forget about. I remember seeing it but couldn't tell you what happens. It's not bad but there are certainly better 80's Schwarzenegger Movies.

BTW, I love the CBS Video Cover layouts, where the logo is at the bottom of the cover.

It gives my those wonderful nostalgic feelings.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

As the end credits rolled on this John Huston directed movie it occurred to me that Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum were the only two people in this classy war time drama.

It's testament to their performances as a nun and a marine, both stranded on the same Japanese occupied island in the Pacific, that throughout the 105 minute run time we simply didn't need anyone else as anyone else would probably have been in the way and taken away from the natural way in which their characters interacted.

There are one or two great scenes of suspense dotted about as Japanese troops re-occupy the island but at the heart of Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison is a beautifully portrayed human drama which makes many subsequent 'stranded on an island' movies seem cliche and clunky.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017)

For a third film in a series and a low budget one at that i have to say i really enjoyed Jeepers Creepers 3. It's fast paced, deploys some inventive kills, has decent special effects, especially when you consider the film largely plays out in daylight so crappy FX have nowhere to hide, and the creeper is in it from the first scene.

Interestingly this third film takes place between the first two films with it's fan acknowledging ending leading into part two beautifully.

The acting isn't always convincing although i did like Stan Shaw's sheriff and Meg Foster is always a delight to watch in my opinion . The film probably lacks any convincing scares, falling into an almost action movie vibe at times, but on the whole i rather liked this. Probably helped by the fact that so many think this is bollocks so my expectation level was set at rock bottom.

[MrBarlow]

Rage of Honor. 1987.

Two DEA agents are following a tip to a drug raid and betrayed by a insider and one is killed, Tanaka vows revenge for his partner's death and follows a sadistic drug kingpin to Argentina while figuring out who was the inside man.

Sho Kosugi plays the lead role as Tanaka and shows a lot of his martial arts techniques and weapon use which he never seems to run out of in the climatic fight scenes at the end. The first part is basic cop dies, partner p£$%ed off to the max and seeks revenge with his girlfriend in tow and stops at nothing when his girlfriend and informer are taken hostage. The middle part seems to go off track then goes back on track with plenty action, gunfights and explosions for the finish. This is what the 80s childhood action films were all about.

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[MrBarlow]

The Toolbox Murders. 1978.

A lunatic in a ski mask attacks the residents of apartment complex killing them with a assortment of tools.

Even from the title you can tell how daft this film is, may seem like a cheap budget nonsense yet it's enjoyable, it may not be the best horror thriller out there on the market but still a good way to pass time. The acting may not be at it's greatest and everyone involved looks bored...except Kelly Nichols who seemed to enjoy her bath before her death. The deaths are brutal and gory and maybe filmed too quick as the suspense is built at a fast pace then the killings happen, still fun to watch.

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[MrBarlow]

Pray For Death. 1985.

A Japanese man Akira moves his family to America and plan to run a restaurant, crooked cops stow a valuable necklace there that one decides to steal, when the gangster comes to collect he goes after the old owner then goes after Akira and his family.

This was a great revenge flick, the fight scenes are decently choreographed, the film might seem outdated but it's easily forgotten that this film was made in the 80s. Sho Kosugi plays the immigrant who helps his wife find the American dream, Kane and Shane Kosugi star alongside their father, Norman Burton stars as the decent police Lieutenant who thinks he can bring down gangster Limehouse Willie played James Booth who shows his sadistic side. The film may start off a bit slow and stop and does get a lot better.

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[nicholasrope]

Kindergarten Cop

Thanks to trebor8273, I fancied watching this again and this is a real hoot, Arnold Schwarzenegger is brilliantly cast as the fish out of water tough Policeman who has to teach a Kindergarten class so he can find the ex-wife of a Drug Dealer. Pamela Reed is funny as Schwarzenegger's always eating partner (The driving scene where they are constantly stopping because she's throwing up is hilarious) and I always love it when the main villain's mother takes an active role too. Can't believe it's 30 years old this year. The original Trailer is funny too as the beginning is done in a such serious tone, that you're thinking it's his latest Action Film before the punch line of seeing a bunch of 6 year old kids.

The Devil's Honey

Lucio Fulci's take on Erotica where a woman kidnaps the Surgeon who she believes let her boyfriend die. She then proceeds to do S&M on the unwitting captive. Well this film has a novel use for a Saxophone and there are plenty of sex scenes. However the S&M torture scenes aren't as severe as you might think, there were a couple of scenes where you think you may get a bet of Fulci gore but it's a relatively bloodless film and there is only so many scenes where so see the Actress naked and having sex before you get bored of it (Yes I did say that) but it's not a bad film, it just didn't get out of 2nd gear.

Has anyone seen

Blood Tide

Arrow are due to release this next week and the synopsis makes it sound really crazy or just hyperbole?

1917

Heard a lot of good things about this one so I might impulse buy, I'm not a big War Movie fan but like Saving Private Ryan, thought Platoon was decent but found Apocalypse Now boring.

Are there plenty of battle scenes throughout or is it one of those walking and talking films with the odd battle scene occasionally?

Thank You

[nicholasrope]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

Rage of Honor. 1987.

Two DEA agents are following a tip to a drug raid and betrayed by a insider and one is killed, Tanaka vows revenge for his partner's death and follows a sadistic drug kingpin to Argentina while figuring out who was the inside man.

Sho Kosugi plays the lead role as Tanaka and shows a lot of his martial arts techniques and weapon use which he never seems to run out of in the climatic fight scenes at the end. The first part is basic cop dies, partner p£$%ed off to the max and seeks revenge with his girlfriend in tow and stops at nothing when his girlfriend and informer are taken hostage. The middle part seems to go off track then goes back on track with plenty action, gunfights and explosions for the finish. This is what the 80s childhood action films were all about.

Attachment 224559

I've got this myself but haven't watched it, might have to give it a go now.