What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Lighthouse (1999)



The survivors of a prison boat shipwreck think they are saved when they find a small island lighthouse off the Cornish coast. However when they discover a psychotic killer who beheads his victims also got off the stricken boat they are in for a night of terror.



Shot totally at night Lighthouse is really nothing you won't have seen before in films like 1972's Tower of Evil, however it is thoroughly enjoyable and really rather gripping.



There's a nice fog shrouded atmosphere and it's performed by a good cast including James Purefoy, Paul Brooke, Don Warrington, the very creepy Christopher Adamson and the unknown to me but very good Rachel Shelley who as a prison doctor has to put up with a lot of shit.



Simon Hunter's direction is accomplished and there are three terrific suspense sequences among the arterial splatter which had me on the edge of my seat.



Lighthouse is a fine British slasher that has sadly been neglected in the twenty years since it's dvd release and is crying out for HD treatment.

I haven't see this in years Dem. Not since it came out on vhs. In fact I'd forgotten its existence. You've intrigued me to track a copy down.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by J Harker

I haven't see this in years Dem. Not since it came out on vhs. In fact I'd forgotten its existence. You've intrigued me to track a copy down.

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It'll probably cost you a quid from Cex.

No, just looked. £1.50. Not sure where in Wales you live. They have a copy in Cardiff St David's. One of only five in the whole UK of Cex's apparently.

Maybe Music Magpie is your best bet or an Amazon or Ebay seller.

[MrBarlow]

Deep Blue Sea 3. 2020.

This one carries on just after where the second film ends, there is no under the sea facility so this went in a different direction with marine biologist researching how climate change can effect the sea life including blood thirsty Bull Sharks. This is by no means better than the first but certainly better than two, my only gripes with this that the acting wasn't that spectacular and can be wooden and there is a bit too much talking but there is some good effects on the kills when they happen.

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[iank]

Violent Night. A disillusioned Santa Claus goes all Bruce Willis on the asses of some violent criminals who attack a rich family on Christmas Eve while he's bringing some presents. This 2022 comic action Xmas flick has its moments but is way too long and ultimately pretty mediocre and forgettable.

[J Harker]

Originally Posted by iank

Violent Night. A disillusioned Santa Claus goes all Bruce Willis on the asses of some violent criminals who attack a rich family on Christmas Eve while he's bringing some presents. This 2022 comic action Xmas flick has its moments but is way too long and ultimately pretty mediocre and forgettable.

Well that's a great shame to read. I'm really looking forward to seeing this.

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[Frankie Teardrop]

VICIOUS FUN – Horror dweeb Evan Marsh ends up gate-crashing a very niche support group; will stabby Amber Goldfarb turn out to be friend or foe? VF is another contemporary flick in love with the eighties (it’s even set in 1983, one year short of that most eighties of years, 1984). It goes for the ‘neon and synth’ look paraded by many of its ilk, but unlike all those movies that follow in the footsteps of Winding Refn’s parody of Mann, it tones down the AV tropes and actually looks a bit like something that might’ve been shot around the time. Enjoyable enough, but I would’ve liked to have seen a meaner, snarlier, more serious take on the whole ‘gang of killers’ thing, because it does flag at times and isn’t all that funny. Worth a go, though.

APARTMENT 1BR – Or ‘1BR’ as it’s known in the states. A nice little find on Prime, 1BR brings home dark truths about flat hunting in LA. Most apartment house horror goes for the theme of isolation, but 1BR is quite interesting in that it’s all about the madness of groupthink and neighbours who are all too keen to welcome you into their little fascist Babylon. I really enjoyed it, it’s very lean, has good momentum, and there’s a level of nastiness although it’s not a splatter flick by any stretch. Its beats are familiar but well-played, and it’s not trying to pull off a big aesthetic ‘wow’ although a subtle stylisation captures the feel of a sunny, airy nightmare. It reminded me, a little, of the kind of social horror flick someone like Larry Cohen might’ve done in the seventies and eighties, there’s that kind of snarkiness and paranoia about authority and conformity. Well worth a punt imo.

THE LAIR – Another Shudder. This one’s by the director of ‘Dog Soldiers’ (everyone’s fave apart from mine, apparently) and the ‘The Descent’ (still very good after all these years). Since both of those tend to be venerated I have a feeling that many will go into ‘The Lair’ with quite high expectations, which isn’t a good idea as it’s not on a level with either. It is, however, a serviceable monster shoot-‘em up with a nice amount of splatter and the kind of attitude that’s just pure B-movie pulp (comes through most clearly in the performances, which are quite amusing). Oh, and we get to find out the truth behind the Soviet-Afghan conflict, so who can say that shite horror sci-fi schlock always skimps when it comes the socio-political nitty gritty? I didn’t expect the real reason for all that war an shit to be about experiments on aliens, though. Worth a shot if you’re up for a bit of bang bang splat, but please leave your contempt for flagrant historical revisionism at the door.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

THE LAIR – Another Shudder. This one’s by the director of ‘Dog Soldiers’ (everyone’s fave apart from mine, apparently) and the ‘The Descent’ (still very good after all these years). Since both of those tend to be venerated I have a feeling that many will go into ‘The Lair’ with quite high expectations, which isn’t a good idea as it’s not on a level with either. It is, however, a serviceable monster shoot-‘em up with a nice amount of splatter and the kind of attitude that’s just pure B-movie pulp (comes through most clearly in the performances, which are quite amusing). Oh, and we get to find out the truth behind the Soviet-Afghan conflict, so who can say that shite horror sci-fi schlock always skimps when it comes the socio-political nitty gritty? I didn’t expect the real reason for all that war an shit to be about experiments on aliens, though. Worth a shot if you’re up for a bit of bang bang splat, but please leave your contempt for flagrant historical revisionism at the door.

Another new Marshall one i saw several months back called The Reckoning was certainly a step down from his earlier directing efforts. After the failure of Hellboy it doesn't seem like he's getting the budgets anymore. I still enjoyed it though.

[MrBarlow]

Hulk. 2003.

Ang Lee's take on the Marvel character of the scientist who you don't want to upset. Eric Bana plays the scientist Bruce Banner who is exposed to gamma radiation and turns green and grows when angered. Jennifer Connolly plays the co worker and somewhat old love interest and Josh Lucas as the NSA agent who's face you want to punch, in the tv series Mr McGee was the guy you really wanted to hit now it's Talbot.

This is a different take from the tv series I'm sure we have all seen but it was interesting how it all started and what the gamma exposure woke up the dorment cells in the human body of Banner. Aside from having a good star cast with Sam Elliott and Nick Nolte popping up as the old enemies, the effects and CGI are not the best combination for this feature with a mix of making it look like a comic, I still laughed at Talbot's death

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[MrBarlow]

Eliminators. 2016.

Nice little B movie action film with Scott Adkins as a widower and single parent who kills 3 home invaders and news about this makes him a target for James Cosmo and sends Wade Barrett after him in a game of cat and mouse. The acting is decent yet Wade should stick to wrestling, but manages to pull off a decent fight towards the end in a barn. This was a enjoyable Saturday night action flick.

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[J Harker]

The Devil Commands. Edward Dmytryk. 1941.

More Karloff. The fourth of Columbia Pictures barmy boffin series. This time Boris plays Dr.Julian Blair, a kindly somewhat absent minded doc who is researching human brainwaves. When tragedy strikes the good doctor becomes obsessed with attempting to breach the barrier between life and death.
Sadly this was a disappointing effort, even Karloff seems to struggle to do much with this, he seemed bored. I'm not sure if perhaps the producers also felt the cycle was wearing thin but everything but the kitchen sink seems to get thrown at the screen in this one. The mad scientist, the laboratory, an Ygor character in the form of Ralph Penny's brain-damaged brute Karl, the gothic clifftop mansion, perpetual downpours, pitchfork waving villagers. Yet none of it really came together I felt. A shame, Karloff is still good, or at least does nothing wrong. His character becomes more despondent and defeated as the film goes along and it felt like Karloff was feeling that way himself. Maybe it's just what I got from this one though.
Far from a bad film, simply sub-par for the great man.
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