What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Handyman Joe]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

DON'T GO IN THE HOUSE - This will sound ridiculous (well, it's a Frankie Teardrop review after all), but there's something about the passing of summer and the looming descent into Autumn and beyond that always makes me want to stick on 'Don't Go In The House'! I have no idea why this is - no doubt some awful Pavlovian experiment once went on behind a closed door in the depths of my mind. Who knows. What I do know is, DGITH is a film I return to endlessly, although the reasons for this, seasonally-triggered salivation aside, are a bit harder to grasp. I think, as is usual for me, that it's all about tone. In some ways, DGITH is a bit wooden and flat - it kind of starts out that way - but it soon warps into a cold, claustrophobic universe, a mildewed twilit non-space where, within the confines of his rotten shell of a house, Dan Grimaldi can relate to nothing and no-one beyond flame-thrower fantasies and some badly burned corpses in granny dresses. The performances are stiff, the B-movie mechanics perfunctory, but it always leaves me feeling haunted. Maybe that's just misplaced bewilderment at the filmmakers willingness to juxtapose harrowing scenes of parental cruelty with screamingly awful disco music (again, we're in that seventies regional indie territory where sometimes it's never quite apparent what's intended and what's mind skeweringly random). I'm always really struck by the psychotic-subjective vs supernatural-objective conundrum it throws at the viewer, especially as it seems meaningless and never resolved (the 'voices' and the dead-sprung-to life are for the most part insinuated to be in flame-thrower guy's head, but then are given independent existence at at least two points). The scene it's most notorious for in a DPP sense, the naked chick in chains scorching, feels a bit out of place in a way, but at least sets it up with a patina of sleaze. DGITP remains for me an all time grimy classic, and, I know you've all seen it, but see it again!

I'm pretty sure it's shot in Autumn - all blue skies and golden leaves - a perfect choice for this time of year. I seem to remember a ridiculous scene where our 'hero' gets fitted up for a date - all naff suits and cheesy disco, or am I mixing that up with another movie? Carrie maybe? Anyway been meaning to rewatch this with the Grimaldi commentary for ever - will do so soon, cheers Frankie for the reminder.

[keirarts]

Sin city 2.

Rather disdapointing really. Individually some of the stories are fun, (though dame to kill for starts to skirt dangerouisly close to mysogyny) but they don't gel as well together as the tales in the first film did.

The fact Frank miller had more of a direct hand with this one probably contributes to why it falls so flat. As a writer and artist he's gone completely up his own arse in recent years and his work has suffered as a result. Don't get me wrong, the film is far from being outright terrible, its just dissapointing.

The good stuff. Powers Boothe as the villain. Thats what rescued the film for me. He's better than almost anything else in the film.

Goonies.

I know some people on here don't rate it but I really enjoy Goonies. Weird to see a much younger josh brolin, as well as Robert Davi who recently turned up in Expendables 2. Still a fun lightweight piece of 80's nostalgia that looks great on blu-ray.


Machete.

Nuff said. Great film. Very funny indeed and a stark reminder of how dissapointing SS2 was

Machete kills

First time with this. Held off due to bad reviews. Not as bad as was made out by some. I found the film to be pretty funny and outrageous. Like with exopendables 2 its good to see Mel Gibson picking up the tattered remains of his career and attempting to stitch it up. The music cue in the scene with him and machete was genuinely funny. Certainly not as bad as sin city 2.

I bury the living.

A nice weird tale before bed of a man who believes that he is killing people by placing a pin in the map that marks their burial plot. May have worked better as a twilight zone episode but still good fun. Its availiable most places piss cheap but I had to buy the MGM midnight movies release. Almost got them all (i think)

[Rik]

I don't get all the hate for Machete Kills, it's just as much fun as Machete IMO.

Watched Hell of the Living Dead last night via the new BU BD, looks great in HD, with only the stock footage looking shoddy. Such a crappy film, but one I have a soft spot for, especially the music (a combination of Goblin's scores from Dawn of the Dead and Contamination) and the ridiculous looking zombies.
I'd recommend the new BD for fans of this or crappy DOTD rip offs, I can't comment on Rats:Night of Terror that shares the disc, because I haven't checked it out yet, but I imagine it's been given the same treatment

[Hawkmonger]

I still need to order that. Quite a tasty double bill and now we finally have some Mattei on BD!

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Handyman Joe

I'm pretty sure it's shot in Autumn - all blue skies and golden leaves - a perfect choice for this time of year. I seem to remember a ridiculous scene where our 'hero' gets fitted up for a date - all naff suits and cheesy disco, or am I mixing that up with another movie? Carrie maybe? Anyway been meaning to rewatch this with the Grimaldi commentary for ever - will do so soon, cheers Frankie for the reminder.

Indeed he does...the date from hell literally.......good comm on the SS dvd btw....

[Demoncrat]

Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975, Peter Weir) Second Sight UK dvd.

Since twas the "bonus" disc I have been left with, featuring the "long" version. Less eerie than I remembered, more lyrical imo. I suppose I could always get the 2 dvd set etc.....

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Carnage (1984)

Andy Milligan does Amityville, and Carnage is also quite possibly the 'talkiest' Milligan film I've come across so far.

The plot concerns a newly married couple who form a suicide pact and perform the dour deed in their home. Three years later, another couple moves into the same house and starts to experience some strange goings on, including electrical appliances turning on by themselves, knife blocks inexplicably turning upside-down, and hedge clippers moving around of their own accord.

The spooky occurrences are heightened when they decide to invite another couple to stay, but aside from some low budget grisly kills, the bulk of the film consists of having to endure the lengthy, numerous dialogue scenes and the over the top 'acting'.

Whilst Carnage is interesting in as much as it plays to my affinity for Milligan, it is far from his best work.

Originally posted here: Nightmare USA Films Discussion Thread

[PhenomenalTLD]

I watched The Burning about a dozen times in preparation for Monday's show for Travis and Vic's Drunken Horror Adventures.

I've been watching John Dies At The End off and on but can't seem to get through the whole thing. It's not bad...just isn't keeping my interest, really.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Devil Bat (1940)

Bela Lugosi plays a mad scientist who is betrayed by the owners of the chemical company he works for. He seeks revenge on them using a large vicious vampire bat.

More schlock from Lugosi in his stereotypical mad scientist / vampire / general nutter, (delete as applicable) guise. Classed as a horror comedy but largely unfunny, although sporting one or two reasonably effective bat attacks for the period, especially for such a low budget movie. As usual it's Lugosi - one of the most overrated actors in the history of horror - who drags the film down to a sleep inducing festival of campness. Well, him and director Jean Yarborough who clumsily shows the bat entering and leaving Lugosi's attic window with rather dodgy freeze frame work.

[keirarts]

Runaway nightmare.

Some late night pre-bed entertainment. Runaway nightmare is some kind of freakish desert based acid laced oddity that feels like it was shot in the manson family's old stomping grounds. Two blokes in the desert farming worms witness a woman being buried in the desert. They dig her up and are promptly kidnapped by a gang of female gun runners, used as dogsbodys'/sex slaves and then drawn in to some kind of heist/revenge against 'the cartel' . Theres lots of wandering round the desert compound attempting to be profound while discharging firearms, a fair bit of sex and then the heist itself as well as some kind of crptic vampire sub plot that seems to be working as both a metaphor for power dynamic and an anti-nuclear statement.

I'm not sure what kind of bin Vinegar syndrome found this in but i'm glad they did. This is one of those weird as f*** films that would normall surface in some kind of ragged beat up print in a 50 film set released by mill creek. Here Vinegar syndrome have given it a full restortation so it can sit proudly next to the well retored night train to terror and massage parlour murders!

The blu-ray is region free and looks genuinely impressive. If you like ropey post hippie desert based psychadelia with pretensions to art then you will probably get a lot of enjoyment out of this. Gore hounds looking for something a bit more down to earth will probably walk away a little bewildered.