Decemberdike#5
 

When a Stranger Calls (1979)

Following twenty minutes of claustrophobic tension as a babysitter alone in a dark house is terrorized by crank calls from a maniac lurking in a room upstairs the film becomes interminably dull as the madman escapes years later only to terrorize the same woman again. Except this only happens in the final reel.

The rest of the film stalls terribly and is only watchable thanks to the reliable Charles Durning and Tony Beckley as the 'stranger'.

I actually preferred the 2006 remake to this as it keeps the action confined to the house and basically drags the original's opening act out into an 80 min movie which is flawed but more thrilling than this.

If anyone really wants to see Beckley go proper psycho in a terrific slasher, Robert Hartford-Davis' 1971 film The Fiend is the one to see.

Decemberdike #6
 

The Atomic Submarine (1959)

A reasonably suspenseful sc-fi B-picture featuring a memorable cast of familiar faces such as Dick Foran, Tom Conway and Arthur Franz.

Director Spencer G Bennet sustains a tense atmosphere throughout as the nuclear powered submarine and it's crew search the waters around the North Pole for an underwater UFO and it's iconic single eyed occupant.

At a mere seventy minutes this never outstays it's welcome and was an enjoyable watch.

Ah, Beware My Brethren .... where's that at now .....

The Untouchables (1987)

Brian De Palma's absolutely stunning take on the old tv show which made a star out of Kevin Costner as Eliot Ness, a family man treasury agent given the task of ridding prohibition era Chicago of bootlegging, in particular one Al Capone.

The dialogue courtesy of David Mamet crackles and Ennio Morricone's score is outstanding. Although Costner is the 'hero' of the piece the rest of the cast are probably even more memorable - Andy Garcia's young sharp shooter, Charles Martin Smith's ill fated tax agent, Billy Drago's hitman Frank Nitti, an on edge Robert De Niro as Capone and of course Sean Connery's Oscar winning turn as a veteran beat cop who shows Costner the ropes and teaches him 'the Chicago way'.

De Palma gives the film some outstanding directing flair showcasing some bloody set pieces, most notably the climax at the railway station which says a huge 'hello' to Battleship Potemkin's steps sequence, but you won't care because De Palma will have you gripped with tension as it happens. There is of course a brilliantly sustained tracking shot which gives one sequence a near horror movie feel to it.

I must have seen The Untouchables ten times over the years and it remains just as it's always been - cool as f*ck!

Cannibal Campout (1988, Tom Fisher, Jon McBride)

More SOV. Quel bastard surprise :laugh:

4 clods traipse gaily off to their doom. Quite a bleak wee thing really. The villians performances tend to waiver on the comedic, but the tone isn't Carry On Killing by any means.
Ahem.

The next one appears to be a charming Elizabethan set comedy of manners called .......... Killiing Spree :rolleyes::lol:

Entrapment (1999)

A fun if dated crime caper that makes full use of it's Malaysian location - the spectacular Petronas Towers - in a satisfying occasionally breathtaking finale even though the whole thing defies plausibility. not to mention the age gap between the two stars of this romantic heist movie. I suppose when you consider it's Sean Connery (a tender 68 when filming) and the other star is Catherine Zeta Jones it may not be too implausible.

That said, for all it's improbabilities the sight of Zeta Jones maneuvering her body round a complex security system has become somewhat iconic in the years since.

I'd completely forgotten this old favourite was set at Christmas and New Year. Another one for the list.

I've only seen Entrapment once and thought it was enjoyable, well constructed, and engaging. That was many years ago so it would be interesting to buy a cheap copy from Music Magpie or charity shop and see if it's as much fun as I remember.

Killing Spree (1987, Tim Ritter)

Not actually SOV (16 mm??), this tale of torment and titilation is another oddity from the arse end of genre cinema. A working stiff begins to suspect his wife. Whilst the lead's performance reminded me more of a Kenny Everett character than a real human being, this was a lot of fun imho.

Splatter Farm (1987)

Two twins go and visit an aunt. Her handyman ... has a sideline. It's not hairdressing, I will say that. Reasonably grotty SOV. The leads reminded me of Mark Borchardt slightly. Hmmm.



The Flower Tapes

FF. When a whiny millenial starts a "video journal" of his "journey" after a break up, I was just about to put it off. The hook was nothing out of the ordinary for fans of this genre, and the pay off underwhelming. Tenet tonight methinks .... :lol:

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PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES (TERROR IN SPACE) (1965)

Mario Bava sci-fi horror in which two spacecraft crash on a planet after receiving a distress signal. The crews find themselves possessed by an alien race which live in the revived corpses of buried crew members.
Good movie which pitched several ideas to 1979's ALIEN.
The ending is a cracker on first viewing.