What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[MrBarlow]

Cherry Falls. 2000.

Teens are the targets in the small town of Cherry Falls to a killer.

Actually stuck this on as the Mrs was wanting to watch something, from start to finish she was actually glued to the screen, it may not a big slasher movie but the acting from Brittany Murphy, Michael Biehn and Jay Mohr do make it entertaining and does have some good kill scenes and a bunch of teens trying to organise a orgy at the disapproval of their principal. There is a good twist to who the killer is and why he is targeting the teens, decent pace and enjoyable to watch.

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[MrBarlow]

The Beast Must Die. 1974.

A game hunter invites 8 people to his country house to find which one of them is a werewolf.

This seems to attract some negative reviews, too much talking and not enough killing I disagree, Hammer done Curse of the Werewolf and this is Amicus's version of a werewolf film. There is a good character build up on the guests and their backgrounds as to why they are invited. The first dinner scene when they are asked to hold a silver candle stick can have you thinking who is and then nothing, with the holding the silver bullet, you know someone is going to kick off. There is a good star cast only thing is why did Annie Ross bub over Marlene Clark?

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

The Beast Must Die. 1974.

SNAP!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Beast Must Die (1974)

"One of these eight people will turn into a werewolf. Can you guess who it is when we stop the film for the WEREWOLF BREAK? See it ... solve it ... but don't tell!"

The Beast Must Die boasts a fantastic cast including Peter Cushing, Anton Diffring, Charles Gray and Michael Gambon. It's Calvin Lockhart who steals the show though as the millionaire playboy who's gadget ridden mansion the others are all invited to. Lockhart exudes charisma and should surely have been a bigger star based on his performance here.

The films gimmick was its Werewolf Break ten minutes from the end, the film pauses and a clock appears asking the viewer if they can guess who the werewolf is as the clock counts down. Its a device which is fun but not really necessary, it does however make the fim stand out from the normal run of seventies horror films.

I liken this film to The Satanic Rites of Dracula in that it is an old style gothic horror film set in the present day with modern flourishes, in this case they are Lockharts state of the art mansion surrounded by hi-tech werewolf traps and surveillance equipment. The werewolf as depicted in this film is shown in the form of a wolf like large dog, thus dispensing with the need to have any werewolf creature effects. This angle works for me as the wolf attacks are well filmed with the dog / wolf coming across as a savage beast on the loose.

The gadgetry and surveillance systems lend the film an air of James Bond, with Anton Diffring sat in the control room co-ordinating attacks and helicopter strikes with technological precision. They also make the film more interesting and exciting and add to its whole as a diverse viewing experience.

Probably Amicus' best non-anthology film - The Indicator Blu-ray looks fantastic. It's the best looking Hi-Def transfer i've seen ao far for an Amicus release. Vault of Horror and I, Monster have been okay at best.

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

SNAP!

Great minds think alike

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

Great minds think alike

Or you and I in this case.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Savage Three (1975)

Three young colleagues at a computer analysis center become so bored with their mundane life in Turin they go on violent rampages at night.

I suppose the film is an allegory for a world where three young men so bored they become almost dehumanized in a society that cares less than they do. The three, led by Joe Dallesandro, begin by starting a riot at a football match, before stealing cars then evolving into murderous thugs akin to the band of Droogs in A Clockwork Orange (1971). It all becomes remarkably sleazy and beautifully sadistic especially when Dallesandro impales one naked girl on a fork lift truck. Even more impressive, the brutality and violence plays out to a brilliant space rock score by Franco Campanino.

Enrico Maria Salerno gives the standout performance for me as a cop demoted from the flying squad due to his unlawful way of dealing with criminals and he has some wonderfully strained meetings with Dallesandro during the course of the film.

I'd never heard of The Savage Three before acquiring Arrow's recent Years of Lead box set and although it doesn't really feel like a typical Poliziotteschi it's one that definitely stands out from the crowd due to it's brutal originality.

Note - If you change regions on your Blu-ray player to anything but (B) you'll be able to see the uncut version complete with 13 seconds of mice brutalizing one another. Otherwise the screen goes black as the soundtrack plays.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Devil's Men (1976)

I'm not going to say this is any sort of great film, it really isn't but despite it's many faults - endless shots of the barren wasteland that is the Greek countryside and little scares for a film about satanic practices - i have grown to sort of love it over the years.

Stars Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence 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. The six minutes extra that constitute the British version (It was also released in a shorter edit as Land of the Minotaur in the US) add a bit of titillation and perhaps slightly more blood as well as more scene setting. However it's the satanic rituals that kind of make the film and although they are a bit clunky but have a charm thanks to 'evil' Peter Cushing and a cool minotaur statue with blow torches stuffed down it's nostrils. The finale is quite effective though as Pleasence attempts to save Peters from the clutches of the Devils men in an hallucinogenic haze, the camera work is weird and wonderful and it's quite disorientating to watch.

The Powerhouse Blu-ray looked quite nice, especially exterior scenes, of which there are many. The soundtrack is mono and pretty powerful when the 'minotaur' roars.

[MrBarlow]

Season Of the Witch. 2011.

Knight crusaders return home after a decade of fighting, they find a plague is sweeping and asked to escort a woman who is accused of being a witch to a monastery.

I wasn't a fan of this when I first saw it due to one particular actor, but after another re-watch it's slowly warming up to me. Nic Cage and Ron Perlman play to the two nights set by Christopher Lee to take a woman Clare Foy to a monastery as they believe she is the cause of the plague.

The battle scenes at the start were decent to watch along with good cinematography that tries to capture how historians would see them, the make up effects were good for the Cardinal and how the plague is ravaging the skin and some good visual effects. Only thing that does throw me off the film is towards the finale when it goes in one direction then swings a curve ball with the monks that seems daft. it was enough to keep me quiet.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

Season Of the Witch. 2011.

Knight crusaders return home after a decade of fighting, they find a plague is sweeping and asked to escort a woman who is accused of being a witch to a monastery.

I wasn't a fan of this when I first saw it due to one particular actor

Who?

I've always enjoyed this. It's the acceptable face of CGI horror i feel and has a pretty good grimy atmos for most of the film.

One to upgrade to Blu at some point.