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THE CURSE - An eighties sort-of Lovecraft adaption which I only got round to seeing the other day. In it, a meteorite lands in a small town and starts to rot the population. We follow the decline of a mostly noxious family of hillbillies. I thought it was pretty good, and was glad it took itself seriously and didn't descend into goofy histrionics unlike so many of its mid decade direct to video brethren. There was something quite depressing about the atmosphere during its latter half which could have been all the more powerful had it been able to rise above its limitations, which I guess were mostly tied to the aesthetics of its era and budget. A couple of scenes were commendably revolting - the maggot ridden flanks of cattle oozing away into slop, the ever-curdling mother character. Wasn't it produced by Lucio Fulci? I could see the influence. Worth catching, and available on a budget double bill with 'The Curse 2'. FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM - A top tip from Dem, FAWTAS is an anthology from genre stalwart Jeff Burr and features Vincent Price in the unlikely company of four vignettes which emphasise eighties splatter rather than old skool gothic. I guess it goes for a post-Creepshow EC inspired kind of feel, but minus the humour and deftness of touch. It's quite serious and slightly nasty in tone, and there's some great stuff on show, particularly during the first and final segments - Clu Gulager as a nebbish necrophile and a house full of manic civil war kids respectively. The latter segment is the standout, and made me wish 'Children of the Corn' had taken the same route and involved some similarly vicious gore and mean spiritedness. 'From A Whisper To A Scream' is well worth picking up, and is twinned with 'Theatre Of Terror' on a recently released cheap DVD. |
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Really pleased you enjoyed Whisper. It was totally new to me and a real joy to discover. |
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Haunts (1977) 'Haunts' is a curious little psychological horror film in which Swede May Britt plays Ingrid, a girl with a troubled past who lives with her uncle in a small rural community. Deeply religious and adverse to the advances of and physical contact by men, our farm girl is unfortunate enough to endure multiple ordeals in the stretch of a short period including stalkings and physical and sexual assaults. Parallel to Ingrid's attacks, the town sheriff (played by Aldo Ray) is heading up an investigation into a series of brutal scissor-attacks of other local girls by a masked assailant. Whilst all this may sound pretty formulaic, as the film trundles on, nothing is as cut and dried as it seems... but to elaborate would be to spoil things. Overall, this was fairly enjoyable, and the more of Herb Freed's films I watch, the more I respect him as a director. Whilst none of the films I've viewed so far are particularly mind-blowing, they are at least solid works and all add something a little unique and interesting to that saturated cess-pool which is '70s horror cinema. Originally posted here: Nightmare USA Films Discussion Thread |
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THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH Having previously watched this a couple of years ago, I thought I would watch the US EVIL EYE cut of the film, being slightly longer and with a different soundtrack. Really enjoyed this minor Bava gem, which is ( rightly ) getting reappraised. Lovely sharp b+w print from Arrow. SCREAM BLACULA, SCREAM Another outing for William Marshall as the Count, this sequel doesn't quite hit the mark as much as the groovy original, though it does have its moments and the action scenes are arguably beter staged. Complete with a great intro / feature on the two movies ( plus blaxploitation movies in general ) from the always entertaining Kim Newman, these two movies are well worth seeking out. |
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Actually if you aren't a nunsploitation fan i'm not sure why you bought it. |
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