Kill Zone 2. the Tony Jaa film. Put on Hard Target 2, then realised it's a Scott Adkins film, so that was that. Stuck this on, and fisher price Raid that it is, twas entertaining enough to hold my attention. Recommended to the actioners on here. |
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I'm putting you on the Adkins diet. Eat lead! :rambo: Ha, seriously though - I really like his films. He's a great martial artist, and with the right director and script, he can be a decent actor. Undisputed 2 & 3 and Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning are belting films. |
Salem's lot. One of the most atmospheric and scary TV series ever made, hell till this day the scenes with the child vampire outside the window still give me a chill till this day. I couldn't sleep for a week when I first saw it as a kid. One of the best adaptation s of kings work and one of Hooper's best films up there with chainsaw. 9.2/10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itgqj4okSv8 |
Halloween (1978) [Extended TV Cut] ****1/2 out of ***** Halloween II (1981) ***1/2 out of ***** |
1 Attachment(s) The Ninth Gate (1999) Johnny Depp is in my opinion one of the finest actors currently working out of Hollywood. It can be argued that his star has fallen somewhat thanks to numerous films with Tim Burton and the critical if not financial maulings his later Pirates of the Caribbean movies took although last years Black Mass showcased his acting chops making him a critics darling once again. It's easy to forget that at the turn of the century Depp was taking challenging and also genre roles that people such as me immediately took to as he shook off his earlier teen dream tag in films like Donnie Brasco (1997), Fear and Loathing in Last Vegas (1998), Blow (2001) and the interesting horror triumvirate of Sleepy Hollow (1999), From Hell (2001) and yes, The Ninth Gate. I love The Ninth Gate. I find it totally engrossing. Roman Polanski is a director with a long and loved career. From Repulsion (1965) to Rosemary's Baby (1968) and Chinatown (1974) to The Pianist (2002), he's a director with a back catalogue of classic film making, but i think The Ninth Gate is his masterpiece. It's a film that is superbly paced, the viewer is drawn in and gripped from the opening seconds and Polanski never lets go throughout all 133 minutes of it's run time. The music by Wojciech Kilar is outstanding as is the cinematography and indeed all the technical aspects, not to mention a terrific support cast including Emmanuelle Seigner and a seductive Lena Headey. The story about a rare book dealer (Depp) who is employed for a lot of money by a billionaire collector (Frank Langella) to authenticate his copy of The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, a book that was written in 1666 by the pen of Lucifer himself, and there are only three copies in existence. The quest takes Depp from New York to Portugal and on to Paris as he uncovers more disturbing secrets about the book. It might help that i love books and i also love Occult movies and The Ninth Gate uses both ideas to make an outstanding psychological horror film. In fact Polanski's use of the Devil is ingenious. Similar in pace to say Chinatown except with a tremendous performance by Depp instead of Jack Nicholson, the film becomes creepier and more chilling as the secrets of the book and it's connections to the Devil unfold. Polanski gets the film under your skin in a way modern horror (The Witch aside) never comes close to doing and it proves all the better for it. The Ninth Gate probably gets classed as one of both Roman Polanski and Johnny Depp's lesser films but to me both are at the very top of their game and The Ninth Gate is outstanding. |
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ZOMBIE FLESH EATERS 2 – I've reviewed this before, but it seems I can't stay away from late period Fulci for very long. Despite being a bit dismissive of ZFE2 when I first saw it a few years ago, it's grown on me ever since, to the point where it stands as a primo trash classic in my eyes. I prefer it to the original ZFE... that's not me trying to be controversial, it's more a testament to my lack of patience with a movie I consider to be plodding and overrated. ZFE is atmospheric, eventually, and contains a few iconic moments of groundbreaking gore, but whenever I see it I feel as if I'm having to wade through a lot of drag to get to the goods. ZFE2 is just pretty bonkers from the outset. It's a film packed with incident, messed up images, bizarre overacting and scrambled 'plot lines' . ZFE is a 'proper' film, with a narrative, a direction and a resolution. ZFE2 is a load of scenes strung together that just about make sense as a whole, but only just, and even then, maybe not really. It's well known that the reason for this messiness was that Fulci was ill, and couldn't complete it – the reins went over to Bruno Mattei for a few scenes. Looking at it now, the whole film seems way more Mattei than Fulci. It lacks any gothic aspiration, or aspiration to being anything beyond a mad scramble. It throws a bunch of stuff at the viewer and hopes for the best. A severed head flies out of a fridge and bites someone's throat out. A really fast, hard looking zombie flails around scarily with a machete. Some really slow zombies just do their usual thing. There's a bird attack on a bus. There's more dead birds on a road, prompting one character to bleat “that's the saddest thing I've ever seen”. A man wrestles a chicken only to be shot by mean guys in hazmat outfits. A zombie pregnancy culminates in a show stopping moment when an adult sized arm shoots out and rips someone's face off, prompting cries of “huh?” from me at least. The list goes on. Highly recommended for lovers of environmentally fixated low brow cine-scum. |
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1 Attachment(s) Pay the Ghost (2015) From IMDB - Quote:
Cage's main problem is he can go over the top with his histrionics however he reels it all in for Pay the Ghost and is rather subdued. The film as a whole is rather subdued. It's a slow burner and the first half hour is all in the acting hands of Cage and co-star Sarah Wayne Callies whom i expect many of you know from The Walking Dead. Playing out as a mystery about missing children it then takes a left turn at the half way point as elements of the supernatural and the Celtic festival of Samhain begin to take precedence, which made the film a more interesting proposition. Thankfully Pay the Ghost isn't the usual FX fest riddled with musical jump scares, the CGI is kept to a minimum and really only comes in towards the end but it brings a nightmare scenario to life rather than anything else. I enjoyed Pay the Ghost, it held my attention throughout and the Halloween mythology ensured it will get many more viewings over forthcoming October horrorfests. |
DRIVE IN MASSACRE – Some murders are happening down at the drive in. Who is the culprit? Could it be the drive in's slimy owner, who resembles Anton LaVey in a car coat? Could it be the janitor with the weird hat? How about the man who lives in a room made of porn? Things are getting serious, so two rubbish detectives are drafted in. They go around talking to each other, and to others. Erm, that's it, really. 'Drive In Massacre' pretty much redefines 'ropey' for those looking for exploitation era greasiness. Now, as far as bad movie status goes, it's not in the video supermax under armed guard, unlike, say, 'A Night to Dismember'. It doesn't totally violate every cinematic expectation. It is, however, very creaky and quite woefully put together. Aside from a couple of gory killings near the beginning, not a whole lot happens in the horror stakes, so I don't imagine the casual viewer's interest will be held. Those with an eye for weirdo eccentricities will find enough to keep themselves occupied, however. From the 'electronic' soundtrack, done on a shit keyboard but still somehow managing to sound like something by Suicide at points, to the badly edited shots of ugly people shouting and partially forgetting their lines to the revelation that the already arbitrary seeming 'climax' is a complete red herring, 'Drive In Massacre' won't really disappoint those in search of nuggets of shite. Admittedly, that's not everyone. Journalistic caution means that I can only recommend 'Drive In Massacre' to myself with a clear conscience. 88 Films have at least given me and fellow sufferers an excuse to retire the old Vipco edition with their excellent blu-ray, which thankfully accentuates the visual rot at the heart of this film. |
Bad Moms (2016) *** out of ***** Prince of Darkness (1987) ***1/2 out of ***** |
1 Attachment(s) The Devil's Woods (2015) A group of four friends trying to repair their strained relationships decide to spend the weekend camping at a music festival. En route they stop off at a small town in the middle of rural Ireland and then find a nearby spot in the woods in which to camp en'route to the festival. In a way there's nothing new to see in this ultra low budget Irish horror, however i really enjoyed it. Director Anthony White basically seems to have a camera and a cast of four for much of this film yet it works really well. It helps that the friends all come over as likable and the dialogue totally natural and at times really funny whilst never feeling forced or scripted, and a pace that allows the characters to build and not seem so throw away as is the case with many of these films. Much credit must go to actors Stephen Cromwell, Danielle Keaney, Daniel Mahony and Caoimhe Cassidy, who with a bit of luck will go on to greater things in the future. There's an air of unease which develops as the films slender 70 minutes gather pace, idle chatter which could have been awful actually feels invigorating thanks to White's innovative camera work and an ambient soundtrack from a band called Stillroom which is lovely and sinister. Of course a horror film can't be about four friends who go camping and all come home happy ever after. From the off there are hints at what is to come with Occult themes and symbolism throughout and even a few homages to films like The Wicker Man and The Blair Witch Project. However i won't spoil anything here. I'm sure some will hate The Devil's Woods but i thought it a terrific example of no-budget horror and an ideal Halloween viewing. |
City of the living dead. 6.5/10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfDiQ99f1-4 The beyond. 6.4/10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vltPK0IfP4M House by the cemetery. 6.6/10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZAMoslxS8U Iron man 3. 8.5/10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke1Y3P9D0Bc |
Not sure I agree with your scoring, with The Beyond probably a 9/10, City of the Living Dead probably 8/10 and The House by the Cemetery about the same, perhaps a point lower, but still a wonderfully gruesome and atmospheric film. I really enjoyed Iron Man 3, but don't think it is as good as, nor has the longevity of, the better films in the Gates of Hell Trilogy. As I recently bought Iron Man 2, which I thought was very weak, I'm looking forward to watching those three back-to-back and seeing if they stand up as a trilogy whether you need the other films in the Marvel Universe to supplement them and make a coherent series. Saying that, the Gates of Hell Trilogy isn't really a trilogy in the narrative sense of something like The Matrix or Godfather trilogy is, but more akin to the 'Three Colours' trilogy. |
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Frankie Teardrop's "Drive in Massacre" review had me laughing out loud!! Literally lolling! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk |
Thor 2 the dark world. 7.5/10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdbB8i9ROr8 Deadly eyes. 7.7/10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khywOKn-j6k Rats night of terror. 7.4/10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzoTaeCIrIg Had a rethink and changed my scores for the gates of hell trilogy City of the living dead 8/10 The beyond 9/0 House by the cemetery 9.1/10 |
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Always be true to yourself and your feelings, Mr 8273. It doesn't matter what other people say or think |
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As for how it stands against the MCU, pretty well. I think there's only Tony's panic attacks brought by the ending of Avengers. But, it is mentioned what happened so you don't need to see any other film. |
1 Attachment(s) The Hollow (2004) Coming some five years after Sleepy Hollow this had to be something a bit different to stand any chance of being remembered. Using the general ideas from Washington Irvine's story and bringing them kicking and screaming into the modern day works well, sort of. The story involves a high school student (Kevin Zegers) and his discovery that he's a descendant of the legendary Ichabod Crane from Irvine's story and the newly resurrected Headless Horseman has come back from the dead once more to collect his head. A teen high school movie was never going to grab me like Tim Burton's Gothic classic did but thanks to some likable characters - Zegers does really well in the lead role and Kaley Cuoco always seems like someone you could talk to (If anyone's interested she suits her cheerleader outfit quite nicely) meaning you have a couple of leads to root for rather than wish dead from the opening minutes. The film also benefits from a couple of veteran stars namely Stacy Keach and Judge Reinhold who both have significant screen time, especially Keach. The Hollow is probably too much of a teen movie early doors to be viewed as any sort of classic but as it progresses and we go on a haunted hay ride things take a turn for the creepy and Halloween traditions and Irvine's story are carefully examined. As for the headless horseman? Well he's no Ray Park and the film lacks the thunderous galloping hooves from Burton's film but it's probably as good as you could hope for. There's not much in the way of gore as the film was originally made for ABC's Family Channel (It was cut when shown) but everything has been re-inserted for this dvd including heads getting lopped off, brief nudity (with a literal idea of 'giving head') and gory remains. The Hollow isn't an essential Halloween film by any means but enjoyable despite it's high school roots. |
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Salem's Lot (1979) [Full 3-hours version] **** out of ***** |
Christine 8.7/10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O08w8CegEeg Maximum Overdrive. 9/10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgIgYhaqKeo Captain America The Winter Solider. 9.4/10 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SlILk2WMTI |
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The girl on the train Feeling like a Gone Girl-lite effort, girl on the train isnt bad and actually makes the most of the hazy blackout drunk memories of Emily Blunts genuinely pathetic character. Just when you thinkyou have a handle on things it shifts itself and people are revealed to not be who you think they are. It doesn't entirely work and the mid section sags a bit but it picks up for a nasty conclusion. For all its faults I enjoyed it, mainly for Blunt who deserves to walk away from this smelling of roses. I've known one or two drunks in my time and she mostly nails it in a shambling toxic performance that is better than the film its in. |
Snake Eyes. Nicolas Cage is a cocky and not-exactly-honest cop who finds himself plunged into a terrible conspiracy when a US Senator is assassinated at a boxing match in an Atlantic City casino, and soon learns he doesn't know the way things work, or the people around him, quite as well as he thought he did. Gary Sinise and Carla Gugino co-star in this fast-paced and thoroughly enjoyable late 90s thriller, directed with typical flair and style by Brian DePalma. |
Went to the cinema today to see Ouija: Origin of Evil. The sequel (or rather, prequel) no one wanted to the horror flick no one liked, but which has turned out to be a somewhat unexpected critical darling. Though perhaps it shouldn't have been too unexpected, as this one (unlike the original) is co-written and directed by Mike Flanagan, whose track record includes the low-budget but excellent Absentia and the excellent 2013 Karen Gillan horror flick Oculus (he's also done a home invasion thriller called Hush this year which is not out here yet) and who is rapidly becoming my favourite modern horror director. A widow and fake medium conducts her "sessions" with the aid of her two daughters, one teenage (and played by the same young actress who played the young Karen Gillan in Oculus, funnily enough) and the other a little girl. One day the mother decides to bring home one of these newfangled ouija boards to spice up her act, but unknown to her, her youngest decides to play with it alone at night. And something decides to start answering back, and it ain't interested in playing 20 Questions. Needless to say, things start going rapidly downhill for the family after that... I totally dug this movie, from the excellent cast (which includes an all growed up Henry "ET" Thomas as the family's increasingly concerned priest) to the slow-burn tension and mood, to the whole 60s atmosphere and iconography (which even includes the use of the old Universal logo at the start of the film and "cigarette burns" to indicate reel changes throughout). Love a bit of period stuff (anything to get away from the 21st century I guess!). I shall certainly be getting this on Blu ray, which is the first time I've said that since The Conjuring 2, and I actually think I even liked this a little more. I really enjoyed this! :bat::woot: |
1 Attachment(s) Zombie (1979) This has long been my favourite zombie film and still is. However on watching Arrow's beautiful bells and whistles edition for the very first time last night (even though i've had it months) i did notice some glaring errors especially in continuity. The first was the zombie fighting the shark. As he grapples with it the zombie clearly has lost his arm however in the next shot the shark bites it off. Secondly there's the mystery of Al Cliver's bloody shirt. When he cradles Auretta Gay's blood soaked corpse and stands up he has a small patch of blood near his arm pit. In the next scene his shirt is torn and covered in blood. When they reach the hospital the shirt is fairly clean again and not torn then reverts back to being blood soaked. Finally as our heroes begin to petrol bomb the zombies, the first is thrown followed by four more yet each one explodes in the same area showing no fire from the preceding bombs. Also the shark fight itself. How come this zombie backs off from the shark and takes stances against it when all the other reanimated corpses just shamble along very slowly with no reaction to anything in their surroundings. Somebody should have told the shark wrangler how to act like the living dead perhaps? Finally there's the poor reaction acting from the cast. As they walk into the room where Olga Karlatos is being eaten by a group of zombies, Ian McCulloch and Al Cliver don't even notice until one of the girls screams suggesting there wasn't actually anything happening in said room and it was two separate shots.In fact this happens more than once with poor reactions, thank god these guys never had to act with green screen. Probably best not to mention the films final shot either... Zombie Flesh Eaters clearly isn't anywhere near perfect but i love it anyway. |
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ZFE is enjoyable enough but probably wouldn't scrape my Top 10 where zombie films are concerned. |
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As for flesh-eaters, my fave is probably Romero's Night of the Living Dead closely followed by Fulci's The Beyond. :zombie: |
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