HALLOWEEN 3 – Bit late for the Hallowe'en party I know, but I watched this anyway. An enjoyable frolic as ever, and I'm always impressed by the way it manages to make its fairly silly sci-fi plot seem quite grave and ominous. The looming atmosphere has a lot to do with this last point, and although Carpenter wasn't at the (directorial) helm, the aesthetic feels like his – of course, his trademark glowering synths are all over the soundtrack. Who could forget nasty moments like the laser blast to unsuspecting saleswoman's gob and the eruption of insects that follows? Maybe more of that kind of stuff was needed, as there's just a little too much walking and talking for my liking. But only a little. I'm obviously not the only one who still feels haunted by those flickering TV jack o'lantern faces and creeped out jingles, images which cement 'Halloween 3' as a firm seasonal fave.

THE NEIGHBOR – A lone woman wanders around a suburban neighbourhood and just kind of tortures people for no reason. I like the overall concept here i.e. there isn't one. A severe lack of back story (read – complete absence of any meaningful character psychology, motivation, intent yadda yadda) actually works in 'The Neighbour's favour, because it means we can forget about pinning any hopes on coming to terms with the human tragedy of the situation and concentrate instead on what the film does offer plenty of, which is graphic gore, reasonably well done, served up 'torture porn' style with people getting it nice and slooowly whilst tied to chairs. I should point out that the main characters are really irritating thirtysomething slackers who elicited absolutely zero empathy from me, so all well and good really vis a vis the question of extreme brutality. 'The Neighbour' is pretty flaky, and plays the whole “it was a dream! Erm, was it a dream? Am I dreaming? No it's not a dream, but something else happened and now this is all like in the past or something? No, wait on, we're back to it being a dream. And, you're not going to ram that glass tube up my knob, are you?” card relentlessly. For me, this adds to its charm – gratuitous gore and a complete contempt for character and narrative structure place it easily within the realm of latter day exploitation trash, and I for one am very happy to take 'The Neighbour' on these cheapshit terms. No classic, but I'd rather watch this than 'Gandhi'. Oh, and PS, that reference to glass rods and cocks – the BBFC saw fit to trim that bit from the UK release, so thanks guys for saving the great british public from the inevitable wave of vaguely ludicrous penile torture which was just bound to have happened.

FORBIDDEN WORLD – I'm really glad I saw this again, as I'd forgotten just how much of a gem it actually is. A Roger Corman studios 'Alien' / 'Thing' rip off, 'Forbidden World' might not live up to the cinematic gravitas of its inspirations, but it certainly outdoes them when it comes to garish, cheapskate debauchery. There's an interstellar troubleshooter, a genetics lab, a mutant and a load of threadbare sets and bad lines. What marks 'Forbidden World' out from other cash-ins is its reverence for total schlock, which borders on mania. Exploitation staples are hurled wildly at the screen; nudity happens for the flimsiest of reasons; bad effects are brandished with sneery abandon; ridiculous, slimy gore kicks off for no reason; trippy edits beam in from nowhere; any notion of good taste is stripped right down and forced to prance like a performing dog in a humiliating ruff etc etc etc. 'Forbidden World's' dementia is so heightened that it almost feels like parody. It's not, though. It's played straight, although you can imagine Corman and everyone else having a good laugh during the shoot. I prefer it to that other New World sci-fi horror rip 'Galaxy of Terror' which is saying a lot, as that flick was a formidable and mystifying cod psychedelic work out with a high mayhem quotient of its own. Needless to say, both are highly recommended.

Maybe I need to watch Galaxy Of Terror and Forbidden World again. Couldn't get along with them before. Then again I actually enjoyed the Town That Dreaded Sundown so maybe I'm just weird :tongue1:

DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK (2005). Made for TV but this more recent Argento film I do find quite effective, story-wise very much like his old style thrillers. The casting certainly could've been better but the actors do their best, it's watchable and that's what counts.

Stoker (2013)

I'm quite late to the party with this one which is inexcusable as i bought the dvd from Blockbuster prior to it going under.

Anyway that's digressing. Stoker, written by Prison Break star Wentworth Miller (his first screenplay), is quite a little gem. Impeccably acted by it's three leads - Mia Wasikowska, Mathew Goode and Nicole Kidman in what is essentially a southern Gothic drama with nods to the Hitchcock classic Shadow of Doubt.

Unlike the Hitchcock film Stoker brings doubt to the viewers mind as to what is actually unfolding on screen. At times i wasn't convinced Uncle Charlie as played by Goode actually existed at all thinking he was just an idea in India Stoker's (Wasikowska) head. Indeed acclaimed Korean director Park Chan-Wook suggests otherwise but i feel it's up to your own interpretation of events as to exactly what unfolds onscreen and exactly who is the culprit for the nefarious goings on.

The film looks stunning thanks to Park's direction and he fails to waste even a single scene and brings to the table some fascinating directorial flourishes that even Hitchcock himself would have admired.

I would say it's recommended but i think you'll all have seen it anyway.

Good to see you've finally gotten around to watching it, Dem. ;)

Hellraiser.
So here it goes, it's been a while since i last watched this and I'm gonna be honest i don't remember being massively impressed with the original last time around, i preferred the sequels, particularly the third.
But i put it on last night, not really expecting to be blown away and...well...its a film of two halfs isn't it. I spent the first 45 mins or so thinking that it did seem the same as last time I'd watched it. A little bland, a bit flat. Then it gets to about the 50 minute mark when Kirsty finally meets Uncle Frank and all hell breaks loose. From there on it starts to feel like a different film, the aesthetic just seems to change. I'm not sure if its intentional on Barkers part and its not something I'd thought before but it felt like the film purposely contrasted it very mundane (barring a few bits and pieces) first half with the more striking, nasty second. Characters such as the frustratingly whiny Kirsty or the incredibly boring 'we just want to be together' Larry become fiesty and relevant. It's no wonder that Doug Bradleys Pinhead became so popular, he's easily the best thing in the film and the most charismatic character in the film.
As for Arrows new blu, well it looks great in terms of detail and colour, so much brighter and more vibrant than either of the older dvds I've owned. Its pretty grainy though which always disappoints me, though I'm very well aware thats a personal thing.

I actually thought it was a lot better than the original which is very boring

Off to Manchester for a long weekend.

Saturday night saw me watching...

The Burbs

First part of a Grimm double bill, I know some here don't like it but its always been a personal favourite of mine. The cast, including Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, Bruce Dern, Corey Feldman and not forgetting Rick Ducommun are all uniformly excellent in a horror comedy classic that still holds up today. Certainly the audience were digging it quite a bit. I enjoy myself a lot each time I watch it, even through the pricey craft beer the venue was serving.

The Addams Family

Ex Coen Bros cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld delivers one of the best screen adaptations of a classic 60's TV series I've seen. Admittedly there's not many out there so no real strong competition. The only flaw with it is that there are to many scenes set up purely to pun. Otherwise again, the cast is excellent, special nod to the late Raul Julia, a terrific actor who really delivers as Gomez. Some surprising blink and you'll miss it puns including grandma cooking with the Joy of cooking and greys anatomy at the table. Personally I prefer The Addams family to the munsters. The Munsters are too...obvious (for want of a better word) and clearly designed off the at that point well worn appeal of Universal Monster. The Addamses are a more f*** up family, rich old money gone to seed through incest. Overall still fun but not as good as the Burbs.


Spectre

Was supposed to be Goblin! However with Hotel, trains ect booked decided to give this a go. Firstly, I f*****g hate the theme, really bland. Other than that however the film is a first rate action-er that had me chuckling and entertained throughout. Its a barely contained secret who Cristoph Waltz is supposed to be, I'll not give it all away but he has a white cat. Sadly no hidden volcano lairs or ninjas however. Not as good as Skyfall but its like saying Good the bad and the ugly isnt as good as once upon a time in the west. Spectre is still a great bond flick.

Watched Saving Mr. Banks yesterday with the Mrs, maybe not the kind of film usually discussed here but honestly we both really enjoyed it, with the whole cast giving strong performances. I think Disney had a bit of fun with the actual truth of what happened but then who cares? Well worth a watch.

San Andreas (2015) Your typical disaster movie really, nothing really new, some good effects.

:star::star::star:

The Big Chase (1954)

An LA cop delivers his expectant wife to hospital and gets caught up in a heist involving a payroll robbery.

Story wise that's pretty much it. The Big Chase is a slender affair clocking in at a mere 61 minutes. The first forty minutes involve the set up and the cop's home life but the final third is where all the action is as the big chase kicks into gear. Cars, trains, motor boats and helicopters are all on show in a majestic bullet strewn finale which comprises a full third of this film.

It's all quite exciting stuff and features one scene that appears strong for the time. During the car chase the cop (Glenn Langan) shoots the wife of the robbery mastermind (Jim Davis from Dallas), still alive, she's dragged from the car and rather nastily thrown down the side of what might possibly be Mulholland Drive by her accomplice's.

Genre fans might like to know Lon Chaney jr co-stars in this film as one of the crooks and is involved in a well staged foot race and shoot out in an LA rail yard.

The Big Chase is definitely a minor noir and most likely played as an opener to a bigger film in cinemas but it's still well worth checking out.

Better than Oldboy in my opinion.

Scream Bloody Murder (1973)

An proto slasher from the States, Scream Bloody Murder has that same cruel streak in it's reels that later efforts left out and it's all the better for it.

Titled Claw of Terror on video, it tells the story of a farm boy who murders his father and then loses his hand in a farm machinery accident. Years later on his release from a sanitarium, the still deranged young man goes on a killing spree of bloody proportions.

Taking it's cues from Psycho ,the film is at heart, just another tale of a mother obsessed hallucinating prude on the rampage. However it does have inner depth and a slightly differing angle to the typical hack and slash movies which would be so prevalent just a few years down the line.

What the film has in spades is gore. Unfortunately it's more HG Lewis gore than Savini style but it's effective none the less. Scream Bloody Murder isn't a film i can recommend because some of the acting is poor and much of the dialogue is woeful to the point of negating the effects of some scenes, but those who like this drive-in style fayre should have a good time here.

What Films Have You Seen Recently?
 

:skull:

DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE
The magnificent Mr Lee stars again in one of my favourites of Hammer's Dracula series. Sadly, no Peter Cushing, but the performances are all top notch, the sets are wonderful and, of course, it has that wonderful staking scene! Another magnificent looking blu ray from Warner.

SECONDS
Rock Hudson stars as a man given the chance to relive his previously duller ( and older ) life in this chilling tale. It is an intriguing story of someone trapped in a body and lifestyle he doesn't want, but what can he do? Terrific film, that has an arguably even greater relevance today, which looks stunning on Eureka's blu ray.

What We Do In The Shadows-AKA This is Spinal Tap:Vampire Edition.

For anyone not familiar with this film, it's basically a fake documentary about three vampire flatmates (and the elder Nosferatu/Barlow like leader who lives in the basement) and what they get up to in their day to day lives. It had me in stitches in places (the late night encounter with the pack of rival werewolves was brilliant) and it had a few decent gore scenes, all played out for laughs.
When I first heard about this film (from seeing the Humph's awesome poster art on FB), I wasn't too bothered for seeing it, but it came highly recommended by one of my bandmates, so I rented it from Lovefilm and watched it this morning, definitely going to pick up the blu :nod:

You're Next

Another film I wasn't bothered for seeing, this time recommended by my other half (who watched it at the weekend while I was out pretending to be a rock star). Wasn't too bad, nothing really original in the home invasion style of films, it did have a couple of good moments, but I'm in no rush to watch it again

I also rented this from Love Film earlier on in the year... I wasn't sure how I'd take to it as I'm a little picky when it comes to horror comedies. I ended up really enjoying it though and actually laughed out loud a few times. I'll be picking it up on Blu at some point too. :nod:

Yeah, as mentioned on here a few times I wasn't overly enamoured with this one either.

The Conformist

Beautiful film with wonderful music. The leafy scene outside Marcello's mothers place. The sex scene in the train carriage. The snowy forest assassination. The story, pretentions, subtle as a sledgehammer metaphors and Freudian twaddle are all firmly rooted in the student politics of the time though.

Full up with the lurgy so home with a few hours to myself this morning so i watched No One Lives on Netflix.
A family of dedicated career criminals kidnap a seemingly wealthy couple travelling cross country in some random anonymous part of the US. Things aren't quite what they seem. I really enjoyed this short snappy little horror/action/thriller mishmash and would recommend it.

We got this from Poundland a couple of months back, I too recommend it :nod:

Spectre (2015) The Bond pictures seem to have fallen into the same pattern as the original Star Trek movies as in good, bad, good, bad (reverse that for Trek). It isn't bad for a Bond but it kind of slows down in the middle, almost dozed off at one point!

:star: :star: :star: :halfstar:

The Green Inferno

Well this was a pleasant surprise. Given some of the harsh word of mouth online through social media I was expecting some pile of Junk. It occurs to me though that certain sections of 'fandom' are a wee bit to intense when it comes to any modern film-makers having any kind of success in the genre, genuinely I single these folk out when they tend to state their dislike of an artist purely through creative use of personal insult and vitriol linked to their latest blog. Not that all criticism of Mr Roth is unwarranted and there are plenty of eloquent arguments from people as to their dislike of his work.
Green Inferno avoids too much retro navel gazing, its certainly clear from the film that Roth is a fan however there are no knowing music cues from classic 70's genre pictures, no recreations of classic moments and no running into ivan Rassimov somewhere in the jungle for a nudge & wink cameo. Green Inferno is a very modern film, focused on the current wave student activism and a harsh critique of the motives of some of the folk behind it that use the good will of people with genuine concerns to further their own careers. Neither is it some new age tract on the spiritual or moral superiority of the noble savage. The cannibals have a point in their dislike of the white interlopers however they are actually depicted as assholes who get high and get a thorough kick out of some of their more brutal antics. the blood, when it comes flows freely and there is some nasty sequences here for the squemish and the gore-hounds. Green Inferno isn't perfect but I'll give it a watch if it plays at my local cinema, I'll probably shell out for the blu-ray also.

Zombie doom (aka violent shit 3)

3 blokes wash up on some island and end up sport for a bunch of nutters in metal masks. Plot-wise its wafer thin and makes no real rational sense. The dialogue is f******g dreadful, as if written by some kind of racist 10 year old who has taken a short break from Xbox live, lots of discussion about pissing on peoples shit, shitty uncles, puking at piss, pissing on puke and shitting at ****s.... you get the idea. The gore is sort of creative and the whole thing flat lines out into some kind of rotten terminal mess that is like a kind of vomit laden car crash involving clowns and german pornographers. If you want something really, really bad that will make you chuckle for the wrong reasons its probably worth ago. The DVD I watched included Zombie 90, a film best viewed when either dead, on heroin or possessed by the ghost of some kind of pervert.

DEMONIUM – Those looking for epic badness can often get their fix in the form of Andreas Schnaas and his ouvre, which of course boasts such delicacies as the 'Violent Shit' series. 'Demonium' is pretty rubbish – no, actually it's utter shite, but do I hold it against the fella behind the camera? Not really, but if I had to sit through this again I might try to. 'Demonium' is, well, it's a bit pointless recounting the plot because Andreas evidently either found it at the bottom of a badly soiled packet of cornflakes or made it up as he went along, but it has something to do with an inheritance, a mansion full of dickheads lined up for a Christie style whodunnit murder mystery, medical experiments involving the concept of immortality and a monster in the cellar who's in it for about half a minute. I was entertained by some of the utterly bad acting, but again, this lasted about half a minute. There's a fair amount of gore, but I didn't really care. This kind of boneheaded grime I usually like, but I found myself wincing when I wasn't pinching myself trying to stay awake. Probably worth a go only for bad film completists, and I'll probably stumble across it in another five years when I've forgotten about it again. Message to Frankie – watch 'Persona' or something.

THE HORSEMAN – A middle aged dad goes on a revenge spree when his daughter dies after taking part in a porn shoot. This is a really good film actually, and I know this to be true because I usually groan a bit when confronted with the tried and tested 'revenge' type dynamic, but in this case I found it pretty riveting and decidedly lacking in sentimentality. Actually, rewind and erase that last bit, there is some sentimentality at play – middle aged dad forges a contrived relationship with a teenage runaway, who of course supplies surrogate daughter psychology. But this strand was necessary for the narrative to develop in a certain direction and reach a specific destination, so I can forgive it, especially as it seemed so crassly calculated and mechanical, slipped in to make a point. In fact, 'well oiled machine' pretty much sums up 'The Horseman', a spare, lean slice of brutality which seems every bit as down and dirty as its seventies exploitation counterparts. Recommended.

THE PACK – One of the lesser known entries in last decade's French horror renaissance – I'm being a bit lazy, but it's essentially that – 'The Pack' is a slightly confusing proposition which takes us from 'backwoods' type shenanigans through to full on monster action. It follows a footloose rocker who ends up in a rural dive with the hitchhiker she's picked up along the way. Surrounded by decrepit weirdoes in a beige cafe bar relic from the seventies, she ends up embroiled in a 'hidden captives behind the toilet walls' type scenario which threatens to go torture porn pretty quickly. This all gets interwoven with a local legend about creatures rising from the earth in the aftermath of a local mining incident (or something, can't quite remember). Things happen, and yes, said creatures rise from the earth and some bits of gore ensue, although alas there is too little of this for my liking. 'The Pack' skeeters from one approach to the next in a way which seems contrived to wrongfoot the audience, but to its credit it never feels too messy, or, if it does, it's only in a good way. There are plenty of strong points, and I liked the characters (some of them) and the quirky (I hate the word 'quirky', but I'm typing fast) milieu, and the creatures themselves did 'horror' pretty well, being strange blind things deathly white as maggots, with gnashing mandibles ready to do bad things to human flesh... I was left wanting more somehow, and the pacing seemed a bit off for such a short film. Definitely worth a look though, for Gallic admirers and anyone who likes slightly offbeat horror.

Why do i get the feeling this is a favourite of MTDS? :lol:

Late Phases.

Had this purely been about a blind, angered, 'Nam Vet burying his dog for what seems like an eternity, I would have loved this film but loads of hairy arsed werewolves came along and spoilt it for me. It shifts from a rather fine if slightly shallow character study into a mad as f*ck A-Team style final that is both small and wildly over the top at the same time. Enjoyably odd and down beat.

Totally agree with your reviews Frankie.

Demonium i found almost unwatchable...almost!

The Horseman is one of those grimy Aussie films that mangles Wolf Creek for Breakfast and The Pack is full of Gallic madness. I remember buying The Pack at Asda along with Devil's Rock. Weirdly both films are on my shelf sat right next to The Horseman.

Try the Brian Cox film Red. That pretty much sums it up. And yes it's a terrific film. :nod:

I possess the ghosts of perverts not the other way round.

I had Violent Shit Der Trilogie and Zombie 90 on DVD about 15 years ago and couldn't believe how dreadful they are. Nikos the Impaler is terrible too. I'm sure on imdb someone has given Violent Shit a very concise Spinal Tapesque review along the lines of "Shark sandwich. Shit sandwich".

The Prophecy: Forsaken. (2005)

Usually when your film series loses actors of the calibre of Christopher Walken, Viggo Mortensen and Virginia Madsen and gains the likes of Kari Wuhrer, Tony Todd, Jason Scott Lee (wasn't he in Steps?) and Doug Bradley, you can tell the quality on offer is in terminal decline. (Perhaps this is a tad unfair on Bradley who's Hellraiser series apparently went even more downhill when he left) Unfortunately for The Prophecy: Forsaken this decline is all too easily apparent to the point of getting so bogged down in tedious exposition that it all becomes extremely boring.

I like the original Walken starring film. I like it a lot. Back in 1995 when it originally became available direct to video, i and many others felt it was deserving of a theatrical run it was so good. Telling the story of the Archangel Gabriel and his hunt for souls, it was a classic tale of an angelic civil war here on earth as Lucifer and others step in and all hell breaks loose.

The Prophecy: Forsaken deals with the coming of the Antichrist and an ancient book that forewarns of it's coming. It has none of the ambition of the original film and feels tired and uninvolving. Kari Wuhrer tries but fails to come across as a worthy heroine and Tony Todd does his usual standing in the shadows whispering routine that he perfected in the far more worthy Candyman films.

There are sporadic action sequences, if running through washing lines can be considered action and the odd bits of bloody violence but it's nothing you haven't seen before and in much better movies. The film runs for a measly 70 minutes plus end credits but even that seems overlong so little entertainment is on offer.

By all means seek out the three original Prophecy films. All star the ever watchable Christopher Walken and are worthy of your attention but i'd stop after that.

Oh, Miss. Wuhrer. When will you get the role you deserve?

I've never seen Uprising and Forsaken but I am curious. I loved the original trilogy. Gregory Widen has a knack for creating intriguing mythologies for adults.

Did the original not get a theatrical release? I remember Barry Norman reviewing once years ago on Film whatever it was then.

Only in America where it only made $16m.

I also completely agree with your reviews and really enjoyed both The Horseman and The Pack, which I haven't seen since I reviewed them prior to release on DVD!

The Color of Money
 

Strange a film I had totally forgotten about,Don't think ive seen it since it was originally released and surprising still id forgotten it was directed by Martin Scorsese.I should imagine at the time Tom Cruise was the new talent on the block made the same year as Top Gun,But its Paul Newman who steals the whole film,he just oozes cool and class and is so enigmatic its hard not to take your eyes of this ageing actor.The actual film is abit meh,did we need a sequel to the Hustler? Scorsese direction seems rather lanquid compared to his other films,but its Richard Price's script and dialogue that really sizzle although the actual tournament is another let down.For me this is Newman's film and just more proof he was a great actor.

Double bill.....

http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/67...f95e55a2b0.jpg http://images.yuku.com/image/jpeg/ac...aecad19856.jpg
KING OF THE ZOMBIES (MONOGRAM 1941) SPOOKS RUN WILD (MONOGRAM 1941)

Two more low budget thrills.
In KING OF THE ZOMBIES, a plane gets blown off course and crashes on an island. The occupants seek shelter in a mansion and soon there is talk of zombies and people walking through walls.......
Good comedy horror with man servant Mantan Moreland stealing the show throughout as scared to death Jefferson Jackson.
In SPOOKS RUN WILD, the East Side Kids take on Bela Lugosi and his midget friend when Bela invites them inside his house when one of the gang is hurt. They are convinced that Bela is 'The Monster' they have heard about...
More rowdy goings on with the East Side Kids shouting thier way through the movie. Bela is a joy to watch. He's really creepy and actually looks quite a bit like Dracula in the suit he wears.

Terminator Genisys (2015) Took a bit of a panning on release but I saw it tonight for the first time and although it's nowhere near as good as T1, T2 and dare I say it T3 it is better than T4. Time travel movies do it for me so it had that going for it.

:star::star::star:

I liked it. It's about the same level as T3 to me. ;)

I watched it this afternoon, i really liked it, way better than T3 i thought, better than Salvation though i do like that one. Poor casting with Jai Courtney though, he's no Michael Biehn.