Aye, as do I. They're a different beast to Carpenter's film, swapping tension for violence, but they're never dull and actually quite stylish at times. I think Zombie's first film struggles when it becomes more of a straight remake, but for a lot of it's runtime it's an interesting little film.

Excellent reviews, keirarts. I really don't like Rob Zombie's Halloween films because, unlike John Carpenter's film, he spends more time making Michael Myers interesting than developing the characters of anyone he kills.

The best slasher films have either fully developed or complete mystery killers and people who are well-rounded so, when they die, it actually means something to the viewer – in the case of Zombie's Halloween films this isn't the case.

Escape From New York hasn't aged very well, has it? It's delirious, high octane, insanely fun and entertaining. But by god it doesn't half look shitter than I remembered!:lol:

Thanks for the feedback y'all. I should clarify that I don't think Rob Zombies Halloween's are perfect remakes as they don't surpass the originals. I do think they are better films than some give them credit for. Part 2 and his subsequent film lords of Salem manage to dig up some genuinely great, surreal imagery that really appeals to me.

Like others I really enjoyed Zombies, Halloween films and they are a lot better than most of the sequels. I might even watch the first one after I finish sleepy hollow

The scary thing for me is i hated Zombie's Halloween II both times i've viewed it but Keirarts makes me want to give it another go.

Just got back from the cinema after seeing Jodorowsky's Dune. I really enjoyed it, I can tell as much because upon getting home all I want to do is find out more about it!

After a quick intro to Jodo, as he likes to be called we find out, it launches headlong into the historical pre-production of Dune. How he came up with his dream-team crew and how he wrote the screenplay and fully storyboarded all 90 scenes!

His enthusiasm is contagious and everyone involved seems to be just as enthusiastic. Interviews with Giger, Giraud and his producer Seydoux are all in depth and interesting.

It's a shame it never got made, but it's a good excuse to go back to his canon of work and re-watch El Topo, Holy Mountain and Santa Sangre.

Has anyone seen Dance of Reality?

Same here. It's also rare to find a film where Malcolm McDowell is not worth watching, so there's always that.

Ace Ventura - Pet Detective. Stupid but fun.

I was back in London over the weekend for Frightfest's Halloween event. Moving from the traditional all-nighter format to an all day event had the advantage that I didn't sleep through any of the films this year.

Lazer Team was a dumb but fun super-hero (?) action film in which a group of 4 losers accidentally shoot down a U.F.O., steal an alien super-hero suit and become the Earths champions in a fight for the future of the planet. Great fun and a good warm up for the day.

Next we had an extended introduction from an ordained minister and horror fan on the subject of exorcism followed by The Vatican Tapes, which is best described as inoffensive.

The Unspoken was much better, a young girl is employed as a nanny in a haunted/malevolent house. I wasn't impressed by the ending and saw the punchline of the final visual gag coming. But it was pretty effective with a few jump in your seat moments.

I skipped Momentum, I saw it back in August and wasn't overly impressed. This gave me time to go and eat a proper meal at Lima Floral which I heartily recommend.

Returning to the films next up was the world premiere of Belly of the Bulldog which plays a lot like A Field in England, but with tanks and aliens. My favourite film of the day, I can't wait for the opportunity to see this one again.

The final film of the day was I spit on your grave 3, which takes the whole rape-revenge to the next logical step. There were some pretty graphic, leg crossing, scenes. I liked it.

So again no really bad films, but nothing outstanding either.

Just one festival left this year December's White Nights in Berlin. Announced films include Baskin, Bone Tomahawk, Evolution and February - so its shaping up well.

Grudge Match (2013)

Two retired boxers with a serious grudge against each other are coerced into a rematch some thirty years on.

What could have been a quite daft pitch is given a bit of gravitas by sticking boxing movie legends Stallone and De Niro in the ring together. There's a lot of fun to be had here with fine verbal sparring between the two prior to the final bout in the ring where they start knocking shit out of each other for real. Alan Arkin and Kevin Hart bring laughs to proceedings as Stallone's trainer and the fight promoter and a sub plot involving Kim Basinger and De Niro's estranged son add a little emotional impact but not enough to become annoying.

As far as great sporting movies go Grudge Match is never going to knock you out (ahem) but this entertaining film which pits Rocky against the Raging Bull might be worthy of your time.

Prime eg of rubbish after first 3
And lets not also forget first 3 of these where good then went dire until they recently did the 4th true sequel

Saw Bridge of Spies at the cinema today. Very well made and acted, but very slooooooooooooow and not really my cup of tea. Bring back funny 80s Tom Hanks! :ghost:

CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE – Like the otherwise unrelated 'The Slayer', this is a film which I keep coming back to without quite knowing why. It's certainly not the jewel in the crown of Italian horror, although it does contain the odd spurt of glory. Stylistically gritty if a bit flat, it takes its time in getting going and always ends up leaving me feeling as though I'd been promised a little more than I got, which, when it comes down to it, is surely the essential attitude of exploitation filmmaking. It does feature the impeccable pairing of Johns Saxon and Morghen, and maybe that's enough. Actually, there are quite a lot of intriguing elements at work. 'Cannibal Apocalypse' plays for half its run time like a post-Nam drama, presumably keen to pick up on the vibes sent out by 'The Deer Hunter' and 'Apocalypse Now'. Saxon is an army sergeant trying to get over the trauma of being bitten by his colleague-turned-cannibal Back Over There. Morghen is on day release from 'The Hospital For Nervous Disorders' when he freaks out in a cinema and bites someone's throat out. After Saxon goes cannibal (yep, it was that bite I mentioned, cannibalism being viral and whatnot ), he pairs up with Morghen and they go on the run with a couple of flesh munching buddies. Cue shoot out in sewer, then tragic ending etc etc. Saxon's character makes for an interesting lead, in that he's a bit sleazy (as the teen next door finds out) and, well, basically turns into a cannibal killer for the last half hour, providing limited scope, you would suppose, for audience identification. Morghen is as creepily enticing as ever, and I can't imagine many people finding him all that likeable either. Both are good performers, although acting is the last reason anyone should have in mind when they turn to films like 'Cannibal Apocalypse'. So there's melodrama and tension and action and punch ups with bikers and it all works quite well. All in all, it's a good exploitation package which doesn't come up short when it comes to those certain 'yes!' moments like – Morghen and female accomplice looking sexily at each other as they cut some dude's leg up with a circular saw, cheered on by an explosion of disco on the soundtrack. Would that the whole lived up to these parts, but... it doesn't, sadly, and remains stuck in the realm of 'the pretty good'. But still I keep coming back for more, as if I'll ever find it.

The Black Cat (fulci)

Like a lot of people here I've been giving Arrows new blu-ray set of Black cats a whirl. I needed something a little different to the solid hours of Halloween & Halloween bonus material I've been watching up until now through October.
So I decided to watch a slasher film with a cat. Ok that might be a Little unfair... actually no it isn't. It still FELT different, perhaps because I didn't want to pick Michael Myers up, give him a big hug and then feed him a tin of tuna, though given the wide variety of fans out there I'm sure there is someone out there that does.
For a while Black Cat was an underwhelming experience for me, perhaps it was my teenage gorehound phase where The Beyond, City of the Living dead ect appealed more for their explosive gore. Recently however, with the Shameless release and now this I find myself having a new-found appreciation for the kitty based occult slasher flick that I never had before.
Essentially its set in a small English Village that's being terrorised by a fluffy kitty that causes all manner of horrible accidents. As their police officer is Al Cliver, no one is the wiser until David Warbeck is called in from Scotland Yard and realises something is amiss. Mimsy Farmer plays an American photographer living over here who also realises something is amiss, mainly from her encounter with a spiritual medium who appears to have some kind of connection to the cat. I'm not sure if the medium is Supposed to be unhinged, but given his played by Patrick Magee that's how he comes across. I say this half jokingly as I really like Magee as an actor and he really steals this film. His character seems to have been keen on hypnosis porn (tragically a real thing but in jest here) as he attempts to 'woo' mimsy Farmer through the erotic powers of mind control, fortunately the Kitty in a rare act of heroism interrupts the rapey antics. It DOES somewhat explain how he managed to pull Dagmar Lassander as the plot indicates they once had a thing. Magee's character also has a thing about wandering graveyards trying to record the dead, as Stephen Thrower points out, its a great idea that goes nowhere and would be an interesting idea to revisit in itself.
David Warbeck called Black Cat "a mess", Fulci wasn't keen either and indicated he was working as a gun for hire for the producers. However a lot of Fulci's style is present throughout including some great camera work and set ups, and of course the ever present close up on the eyes. Re-visiting it, I realised I had almost forgotten what a rich, gothic atmosphere the film has, mixed in with a superb score from Pino Dinaggio who moves from suspense to a score that at points feels more British Folk! The cat stuff itself is actually pretty good as well. Cats are notoriously difficult to work with. Perhaps it's due to the fact that most of the stunts here require it to cause mayhem. Arrows Transfer is f*****g marvellous, the film is still not in the pantheon of total classics from Fulci however its a lot better than its reputation suggests. Certainly the lovely transfer goes some way to selling the picture. Definitely glad to re-visit this one!

Your vice is a locked room & only I have the key

You just f******g know your in giallo territory with a title like this. Here we follow washed up writer Oliviero who spends more time beating his wife Irina and lusting after other women than he does writing new books. He seems to have hit a dry spot since getting married and now spends most of his time either womanising or drowning himself in the Italian whiskey of choice J&B. There's a bunch of 'Yoof' hanging round the estate with the happy couples blessing and a maid who they sensitively refer to as 'the negro' and variously other racist terms, just keep telling yourself it was the 70's. Someone is butchering ladies locally and Oliviero comes under suspicion as he was banging one of the victims. Things come to a head when the maid is butchered and Irena suspects Oliviero but he denies it. Irena, apparently out of fear, decides to go ahead with a plan of bricking her up in the wine cellar in order to avoid more police hassle. Ultimately the real killer is apparently caught and things go back to dysfunctional normality until Oliviero's niece
Floriana turns up and throws things into turmoil. first she starts by banging Irena then Oliviero, because f*****g your niece is never creepy (though it is Edwige Fenech!). Pretty soon the mind games between the three commence.
For me this is one of Sergio Martino's best Giallo's. As an adaptation of the Black cat it really works and manages to weave in a lot of the plot points from the story with a neat twist. The final twist in the tale is a little implausible but having watched many giallo before this isn't entirely unexpected. check out The editor a film that does a great job parodying the conventions of the giallo picture. Martion directs with great style and all the cast have a real chemistry with each other that really captivates. Arrows Transfer is lovely and tops even noshames with ease. a genuine classic given great treatment!

Couldn't agree more. It's a shame, because if the prices were more reasonable, I'd love to take my two more often. As it is, a trip to the flicks is a treat, rather than the norm, and then only for the 'must see' films. The last one was Jurassic World. The next one will be Star Wars. I hate to see empty theatres, especially when films have just opened, but surely they're shooting themselves in the foot...

It's been a long time since I watched Fulci's The Black Cat, but when I reviewed the Shameless DVD, I wrote this:

"I was almost driven to distraction by the constant close-ups of eyes and rather than the traditional shot – reverse shot, Fulci often shows two of these, so four close-ups of eyes. I lost count very early of these and, to satisfy my own curiosity, watched it again with a sheep counter to add up the number of ‘eye shots’. In under 90 minutes, there are a staggering 108!"

It will be interesting to watch it again and see if I like it more than I did all those years ago.

Finally managed to find a decent copy of The Green Inferno online (I would have paid to see it, but hey, it's not on general release over here).

Was it worth the wait? Yes and no. Won't go into details here, obviously. Suffice to say it's a good homage to what influenced Roth, but not quite up there with them. It doesn't disappoint on gore (the first death is particularly gory), and what the girls experience, I also found congruent with elements of the originals. That said, strangely, I didn't feel as much tenseness as I'd expected to i.e. what I experienced watching Roth's Hostel, and it also felt a bit too short - could have done with another half hour.

Nevertheless, a very good film: 8/10

Should i assume you can't actually say where you managed to see this mate?

No you can't. Cult Labs is paid to represent labels who would be very upset if piracy was being openly discussed and promoted on the forums. Could you please stop?

Thanks.

Of course, sorry Nos that wasn't my intention.

No problem but, just for future reference, if you have acquired something by non-legal means, please keep all discussion oblique and any links sent by private message.

This is to keep Cult Labs safe because, as I'm sure you can understand, Shameless (for Instance) wouldn't be too pleased if we were advocating piracy of material they were considering releasing

Poorly worded question.
I simply meant has Green Inferno actually had a proper release somewhere in the world?

As far as I'm aware, it's just been screened at film festivals.

Actually, it had an opening weekend this time last month in 1540 screens in the USA – I'm not sure where else it's been shown.

I watched Ti Wests The Sacrament last night.
Patrick a New York fashion magazine photographer recieves a letter from his estranged sister inviting him to visit her at an isolated religious commune Eden Parish.
Sniffing a story his colleague, reporter Sam arranges to accompany him with cameraman Jake in tow. Effectively turning the trip into a documentary.
Thinking they're heading into a chilled out hippy community the three are a little taken back to find their location is only accessible by helicopter and patrolled by gaurds with machine guns.
Eventually they meet up with Patricks sister and things calm down a bit as they're granted access to the community and freedom to film and conduct interviews with the residents, culminating in a very public interview with the charismatic but oh so slightly sinister founder and leader of the community a man known as 'Father'.
The three have to agree that everyone they speak to seems very happy with their life at Eden Parish and even Patricks sister a former drug addict appears to be at peace.
However things start to get eerie once a young mute girl starts taking an interest in the outside.
I don't want to say anymore about the plot and i would advise avoiding the trailer for this one too.
I loved The Sacrament and its the best film of Ti Wests I've seen.
The found footage aspect is intigrated well into the story and the film is the right length.
The performances are great all around managing to get the right level of characterisation out of Patrick, Sam and Jake without feeling forced, something that i don't think makes sense in found footage films. The Father is a fantastic character and Gene Jones plays him beautifully, a man able to go from charming to threatening in the same sentence. I picked this up for a quid in Poundland last week but i would have been just as happy if I'd paid a tenner.
There are faint whiffs of the Wicker Man here and the opening scenes as the New York make their way to the commune via helicopter seem heavily influenced by Cannibal Holocaust to me.
Highly recommended.

I too watched this last night and also loved it.

It's a real slow burner where the tension builds up ever so gradually. Agree with it's heavy influences of The Wicker Man and 70's cannibal films as well.

There are shots from the helicopter at the beginning that look very much like the opening of CH. Even the music while obviously very different from Riz Ortolanis theme achieves a similar dreamy chilled effect.
There's a bit toward the end where Father is just strolling around the marquee surveying the scene. While nothing is really happening the tension is incredible and the way West just keeps the scene running without cutting is brilliant.

It's probably the best found footage film i've ever seen in terms of camera work.

Hmm. Mr V certainly seems assured of his artistic worth anyhow......;)

Watched [B]Jurassic World. I could, but I won't. Cool scrap at the end though....;)

That was where i was going Nos, if its had an official release somewhere then there might be a legit way of watching it.

I think it helps that the guy filming is actually supposed to be a professional cameraman so it makes sense within the context of the film that it would be quite well filmed.

Glad you liked it, it's easily one of my favourite film docs. Haven't seen TDOR.....yet. Looking forward to it...

If i seen a film online thats not released yet i dont even post a review until after someone else has, so doesnt give away fact ive done something i shouldnt do. Also if i know someone might be interested then i just pm then direct so no one knows.

I adored The Dance Of Reality, probably my favourite film of the year. On the face of it it's typical Jodorowsky, plenty of symbolism and oddness, the main female character sings her way through the film for example, but there's also a lot of heart, it's actually quite moving and it looks wonderful.

Jodorowsky is 86 years of age and still making films as vibrant as The Dance Of Reality. Jodorowsky is currently filming the follow up, Endless Poetry, which again is autobiographical.

Attachment 171674

Six strangers wake up inside various coloured rooms each wall including the floor and ceiling has a hatch leading to another room identical in size only differing in colour. When all six people meet up in the same place they discover that certain rooms are safe and others contain traps that kill instantly. The group must put their minds together to figure out who put them there and why while also figuring a way out of this nightmare.

I love the idea behind Cube the feeling of being trapped in a small space has always been a fear of mine so i could put myself in the position of the people trapped in the Cube. The gore and kill effects are mostly practical just a few incidents we get CGI but its not distracting.

At the start the acting and dialogue was fine but as the film progresses it gets worse and worse and the characters themselves follow the same path of becoming less and less likeable to the point it seemed that they were just talking to to fill up time in the film. Like i said earlier i love the idea but its not used to its full potential. Within this massive cube there are thousands of rooms i would i like to have seen them explore the idea for more traps im sure they were restricted by budget but it would of been a nice touch.

Overall Cube is a decent film despite its flaws it kept me interested until the end even it if was to see if the people i disliked the most would meet a terrible end. Not one i would want to watch again not because its bad just once you have seen it you have seen it.

5/10

Attachment 171680

The Templars are terrorising the people of a small Portuguese villiage kidnapping their daughters to sacrifice to Satan. When the villagers capture the Templars they burn out their eyes before burning them alive so they would not be able to find their way back from the dead and the village would finally be at peace for all the future generations. On the 500th anniversary the village is holing a festival to celebrate the bravery of their forefathers for removing the evil Templars from their land. But the merriment is short lived when the Blind Templars return from the dead to exact their revenge.

This is only my second Blind Dead film and i really loved both this and Tombs of the Blind Dead. The Blind Dead galloping across the countryside on their dead cloaked horses looks great very creepy. The characters in the film are made up of the hero the women every man in the village wants despite here scary eyebrows :lol: the slime ball cowardly mayor and his henchmen. Our hero wants to escape with his ex lover after re igniting their relationship but the mayor and his head goon who also loves the same woman will stop at nothing to keep her from leaving and make her their own.

So far the Blind Dead films are alot of fun and filled with great atmosphere so hopes are high for the other two entries to the series.

7/10

The Ghost Galleon isn't well thought of but i think it gets better with each viewing.

Hopefully get to watch that tomorrow night will post my thoughts.