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Night Ripper. Playing something like an Italian take on the town that dreaded sundown this film and the real events behind it share some eerie parallels. The monster of Florence, the name given to the killer and an alternate title to this 1986 film, operated between the years 1968 and 1985 killing parked couples with a handgun and in some cases mutilating the female victims with a knife. Besides the modus operandi of attacking people parked up in isolated locations, the killer here was never caught, much like the perpetrator of the Tex arcana killings. This films feels very much like the sort of films Italy was pumping out in the mid to late eighties. Its still got some production value to it but could also pass as a TV movie in some places. Its still pretty decent and the documentary style to parts of it is certainly a nice touch. This is one that is unlikely to end up in the Giallo hall of fame however. FilmArt's blu-ray is decent quality but not breath taking, theres plenty of print damage evident and it feels somewhat like watching a DVD. That said its also on DVD in the same package and the Blu is still a definite step up. |
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Here Comes the Devil (2012) A married couple loses their children while on a family trip near some caves in Tijuana. The kids eventually reappear without explanation, but it becomes clear that they are not who they used to be, that something terrifying has changed them. We all know the score with films like this. Kids go missing, return apparently unharmed. After a while they seem different, start disecting cats in the garden, practically murdering an unsuspecting school pal before turning on their parents. It's a tried and tested formula and..... Here Comes the Devil is not like this at all. This Mexican offering is a different beast all together centering on the parents. From the outset this a dark brutal and foreboding horror film full of tension. Francisco Barreiro and especially Laura Caro as the mother carry the film beautifully. It's their actions and reactions which propel the film along in an unpredictable sense. The film has an unnerving air to it which felt more at home in seventies cinema than it does here making the whole experience feel like a mature piece of film making and as far away from the norm as you can get. It would spoil it for others to go into detail but this is a film with a denouement that verges on the downright disturbing. Here Comes the Devil is highly recommended. |
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According to dvdcompare - The R2 Optimum and HK release deliver anamorphic transfers in the film's OAR, according to IMDB. The R2 Cinema Club/Italian releases are open-matte delivering more information top/bottom than the w/s releases. I picked up the open matte version as, despite what IMDB says must be the correct version otherwise it wouldn't have extra information top and bottom. If anyone disagrees please say as to why, as i don't really understand it all. |
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The House Across the Lake (1954) British noir from Hammer films written and directed by Ken Hughes. This slow burn thriller in the mould of Double Indemnity is full of great performances from it's central cast of Alex Nicol, Sid James (before he was typecast) and a smouldering Hillary Brooke. Sharp direction and great dialogue make the film a real pleasure to watch but i also found it slightly quirky as it was set in the Lake District, specifically Lake Windermere which gave certain sequences great atmosphere with the fog rolling in off the mountains. Running at only 68 minutes this was definitely a B-picture of the time, but it's still well worth your attention. I watched this from the region one Hammer Film Noir box set released by VCI, going under the title Heat Wave (which sums up Brooke's performance) It has a fine print especially considering it's age and obscurity. The film also has a UK release via Network utilizing the excellent original poster art below. |
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Terminator: Salvation (2009) Big budget, big effects, big let down! My first time seeing this and imho there is something missing....or in this case something added. The franchise didn't need yet another character, (Wright), added to the established chain of events.
__________________ Alea iacta est." |
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I've never seen it. No Arnie, no care-e. Saw the 1976 supernatural anthology flick Dead of Night last night. The first of the 3 stories, with Ed Begley Jr as a young man who restores a vintage car and then somehow goes back in time, was rather lame, but I enjoyed the other two. The second features the late, great Patrick Macnee as a man in superstitious times whose wife appears to be being visited by a vampire at night, and the third (the scariest) sees a grieving mother use the supernatural to bring back her missing-presumed-drowned little boy. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to see that This Will Not End Well. Enjoyable. |
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