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5th March 2022, 10:22 AM
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CALL GIRL OF CTHULHU – Somehow I don’t think HPL would’ve been amused to find the tendrils of his most eldritch creation writhing in the middle of of a sexed-up splatter comedy, but here we are. CGOC is very silly but doesn’t skimp on slime; forget any expectations you might have around encountering an atmosphere of cosmic dread and you’ll be fine with this tale of the mess a young artist gets into when he dates a hooker who is being chased by the Temple of Starry Wisdom. Aside from the constant HPL in-jokes, copious goo and over the top gore, I thought the cult leader looked a bit like Brian Ferry. SIEGE – Early eighties Canadian offering in which homophobic Nazis massacre the customers of a gay bar and then stalk the sole survivor. Trapped inside a downtown tenement, survivor and a few others prepare to fight back. Good pacing (it just gets right into the action), a gritty tone, and the fact that it at least attempts a kind of thoughtfulness that seemed beyond most mainstream genre efforts of the time are all factors in its favour (although its politics are less right-on than might appear, despite a subversive final wink). Stylistically, ‘Siege’ certainly wears its influences on its sleeve – the mark of John Carpenter can be detected in the growling synth soundtrack and all the hemmed-in, city-at-night claustrophobia. On the other hand, there’s certainly no Dean Cundy in the mix, and the villains are utter goons rather than a silent menace. I liked it, but it didn’t quite grab me, I didn’t feel the urgency that has inspired other reviewers of this well-received rediscovery. But lovers of grimy exploitation crime thrillers probably won’t go far wrong with it. TRESPASSERS – Serviceable home invasion flick begins as a nicely crafted slow burn in which tensions simmer between two couples holidaying on the edge of the Mojave. After said tensions erupt, we veer into a slightly cockeyed free-for-all which becomes almost silly in the way it contrives its turns of event eg. the lighting suddenly switches to being floridly stylised because of a crudely telegraphed ‘power outage’, murders happen in convoluted and unlikely ways etc etc… all of this feels quite deliberate, but the effect is jarring in a movie that seems to set out quite a naturalistic stall. Other than that, it delivers the usual home invasion type goods and the kind of nasty tension you’ve no doubt sat through a few times before. A similar film to ‘The Rental’. Also of interest is a turn from the great Fairuza Balk, who seems a bit elusive these days. ALIEN CONTAGION – AKA BIO-SLIME. Some people are trapped inside a tenement (again, this time by a slimy, tentacular extra-terrestrial mass). Will an exploding meth lab save the day? ‘Bio-Slime’ has the look and feel of decade old hi-def microbudget horror, with attendant slack acting and technics. Narratively, it’s hampered by the usual problems of this kind of cinema – too much talk and a lack of real tension – but makes up for this shortfall with an air of slight lunacy and some satisfyingly icky effects. We get endless shots of the alien slime oozing up and down corridors, but then also fascinating forays into its pulsating haven in the attic, plus also a dollop of gloopy eroticism with a strung-up damsel which looked like it might even threaten to go a bit tentacle-porn (but didn’t). I enjoyed it. It’s a cheap thrill, films like this come and go but I have an enormous liking for them because they take us to the heart of indie horror – this one was made by the director of ‘Blood Gnome’, so if that’s not an august lineage then I don’t know what is.  |
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5th March 2022, 12:11 PM
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I need a Call Girl of Cthulu, Frankie. One to keep an eye out for. I bought Death Ranch (and Winterskin) this week on your recommendation. A double dose of Steeds lunacy. |
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5th March 2022, 01:17 PM
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By the way, I'm not doing a massive advert for Amazon or anything with all this Prime viewing - I hate big, exploitative corporations who chew up the world and treat their employees like shite - I'm just making the most out of my prescription cos of my present relative penury and lack of access to boutique rip-off blu-rays thereof. Having said that, it didn't stop me splashing out recently on some new Vinegar Syndrome stuff in an irrational fit of FOMO... irrational, because no doubt what I was afraid of missing out on will no doubt turn out to be erm less than awe-inspiring, but let's just wait to see how they roll through a veil of mist when I have some annual leave in a few weeks and finally allow myself some booze. Anyway, enough of me and my inconsequential life. You'll have to share your thoughts on 'Death Ranch' and 'Winterskin' when able. |
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5th March 2022, 01:40 PM
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It's a shitty merry-go-round. Plan to watch Death Ranch tonight. |
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5th March 2022, 04:54 PM
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The demon approved of CGOC btw, much tittering was made, and it needs the revisit certainly. 
__________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] [B] "... the days ahead will be filled with struggle ... and coated in marzipan ... "[/B] |
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5th March 2022, 06:36 PM
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| Batman. 1943. Batman and Robin fight against Dr. Daka, a Japanese mastermind of a wartime espionage group. Made as a 15 part/chapter serial that was released as a full length feature film running at almost 4 hours, this marks the first appearance of Batman on the scree played by Lewis Wilson in his first screen debut along with Douglas Croft as Dick Grayson/Robin and William Robinson as Alfred. Every part seemes to be lasting 15-20 minutes and during WWII Batman seems to be working with the police, there is a low budget feel to it as it was made for television but the production team did try their best to do with what they had it certainly passed a good couple of hours for me and may have been the inspiration for the 1960s television series as the costumes do seem to be the same. MV5BNTIzMDI1MTk3Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwODE4NzM1MjE@._V1_.jpg
__________________ " I have seen trees that look like tortured souls" |
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6th March 2022, 08:05 AM
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Enjoy the sequel MrB, it's just as fun imho. Alison's Birthday (1981, Ian Coughlan) Aussie flick. A young girl returns home for a celebration. Neighbours this isn't though .... A few familiar faces (John Bluthal!) litter this landscape. Her partner tags along and receives ... a less friendly welcome. The reason for this may become apparent to Lovecraft fans sooner rather than later ahem. An odd wee beast. Slightly uneven pacing make this seem a tad rushed at the end, but will return to this one certainly.
__________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] [B] "... the days ahead will be filled with struggle ... and coated in marzipan ... "[/B] Last edited by Demoncrat; 6th March 2022 at 11:42 AM. |
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6th March 2022, 01:15 PM
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| Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) A grizzly skull is accidentally dug up in and early 18th century field by a local lad (Barry Andrews) It's believed to be the skull of the devil himself Behemoth, and slowly comes back to life by growing parts of itself on the local village children. Disturbing, intense, sexually charged and at times very unpleasant yet always brilliantly original, Blood on Satan's Claw is probably the finest example of folk horror there is and one of the very best British horror films produced to this day. I also watched this with the League of Gentlemen commentary track on the Screenbound Blu-ray. A film the guys clearly adore - i love their impressions of Patrick Wymark - and Mark Gatiss especially, is very knowledgeable about. |
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6th March 2022, 02:42 PM
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| Danger Diabolik. 1968. A master thief and his lover pull off a heist and are being pursued by cops and gangsters who's money they have stolen. Mario Bava swapped his horror/thriller director chair for this crime thriller, this was interesting as it seems based on a Italian comic strip and somewhat James Bond style. John Phillip Law and Marisa Mell play the couple and try to play cat and mouse with those trying to capture them but always manage to stay one step ahead. Bava's direction is always on top notch with this with great cinematography and excellent back ground score by Ennio Morricone. Done De Laurentiis who produced this gave Bava a budget of $3 million, Bava who had never really had a budget that high given to him relied on imagination than money was able to make it on the budget of $400.000, a sequel was lined up but never came to anything which was a shame as it seems to be left open. MV5BNzA1ZjRlMGYtYmM4ZS00YWVjLThhODMtMmZlZjFjYWYxOWRiXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjc1NTYyMjg@._V1_.jpg
__________________ " I have seen trees that look like tortured souls" |
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6th March 2022, 05:22 PM
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Ground Zero: The Deadly Shift. 2008. aka Polar Opposites. A doctor publishes a book on the scientific end of the world, when a underground nuclear test fails taking out part of Iran, his findings may be real. Another made for T.V. movie with some good well known actors, this is done on the very cheap CGI effects, parts of a ceiling are coming down and people are taking fairy steps to move out of the way. In every or most disaster movies there is always a bad guy, yet we never see or hear what happens to him, thanks for keeping us in the loop on that film makers. If you have this on for back ground noise you won't be missing much. MV5BMTExMDg0MTQwNjReQTJeQWpwZ15BbWU3MDkyNTI2ODM@._V1_FMjpg_UX1000_.jpg
__________________ " I have seen trees that look like tortured souls" |
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