What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Rome Express (1932)

Murder, art theft, blackmail and intrigue with a motley assortment of passengers on a train traveling from Paris to Rome.

Conrad Veidt and Cedric Hardwicke star in this superior piece of early British cinema here lovingly restored by Network and the BFI on dvd and bluray. A key piece of thirties cinema Rome Express has excellent production values and a script that mixes tension with a dash of humour making this the pioneer of train thrillers that would inspire a genre in itself.

Veidt, probably best known as Major Strasser in Casablanca, is excellent here. He's so shady Mexicans would take a siesta in his shadow, yet he's almost eclipsed by the stunning Esther Ralston as a silent movie star on a promotional tour, an actress whose beauty seems almost crystal like in the stunning black and white photography.

Remade in 1948 as the inferior Sleeping Car to Trieste, Rome Express is an early example of British proto-Noir and is well worth seeking out in the next Network sale. The film even comes with a delightful 24 page booklet, unusual for Network, but not for the BFI.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Nail Gun Massacre (1985)

It would be far too easy to be critical of Nail Gun Massacre, a low budget indie film about a motorbike helmet, combat fatigue clad assailant who goes round nailing the population of a small Texan town to death. It's a simple little film, poorly acted and has lapses of continuity that stand out like a sore thumb - particularly in how many nails are fired into victims or clearly rubber nails on bodies that wobble at the slightest touch - and could be seen as a sign of incompetence.

So forget all that, sit back, grab a beer and a pizza or in my case Trooper ale and a bag of Quavers and enjoy Nail Gun Massacre for what it is - a marvelous little slasher film with a simplistic plot and is all the better for it.

From the opening seconds Nail Gun Massacre is switched on. Albeit the red button marked sleazy rape but it's still all go and never lets up until the credits roll. The film makers clearly knew thespianism isn't the films strength so from the off it's a cornucopia of er' nail gun massacring. It's obvious from the first sighting of the killer that it's a woman so the final reveal of the killer as a male is surprising but also a bit bollocks as the final reveal shows a character who had several scenes in the film and never once had the gait of the killer or even near it. Again this is also verging on irrelevant as what has come before is so much fun as the killer goes on a rampage with a gory death every few minutes and it's all done with that 80's air of cheap and nasty thrills aided somewhat by a weird and wonderful soundtrack which screams experimental at you.

Nail Gun Massacre is a cheery bloody rampage of sex and inventive violence - enjoy!

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Rome Express (1932)

Veidt, probably best known as Major Strasser in Casablanca

He is also pretty well-known as the somnambulist Cesare in The Cabinet of Dr Caligari.

[Stephen@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I heard something like that years ago and wished it had been filmed so was available either as a deleted scene or in an extended cut of the film.



Have you seen the 2003 TV version or read the comic book Halloween: Sam? I haven't seen either.

I haven't seen either myself, so I just read a quick summary of the plot of Halloween: Sam.

[Cinematic Shocks]

Child's Play (1988)

**** out of *****

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Wall Street (1987)

...Oliver Stone's film is still pretty impressive, powered along by a massive performance from Michael Douglas as Gecko a character who came to define the 'Greed is Good' 80's era and the idea that those with money can have everything. He is quite repulsive but also extremely charismatic even with his bullying ways and is ever so watchable.

An entirely relevant tale of money, power and broken dreams, despite it's dated imagery, Wall Street still stands tall today.

Originally Posted by Frankenhooker

Wall Street is still extremely relevant today as we're still paying the price.

Wall Street is a fantastic film, and something of a warning.

Strange thing is...this was one of the films that we had when I was working at the cinema, and over the week-long run, more often than not, the place was literally empty

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead (2014)

There's no need to go into plot details here. Suffice to say this is Australia's answer to The Walking Dead. In fact i could imagine this film telling the story of the zombie outbreak from the Aussie perspective.

It's fast paced, delightfully bloody, funny in that roguish way Australians are. 'Pass me the first aid kit' - 'You want bandages?' - 'No beer!'. (Box is empty except for two bottles of beer) and populated with great characters - but most importantly, inventive in the story department, meaning a well trodden path feels fresh and vital.

I'm not going to say any more seeing as this is a relatively new film, just have a watch and hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as i did.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead (2014)

I quite enjoyed this one too.

[Inspector Abberline]

As a genre there has not really been that many killer plant movies,segment in Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors , Donald Pleasance turning young 1970s students into plants in The Mutations,Steve King going green in The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill episode of Creepshow and Im sure there is another killer vine movie out there somewhere's and there has bound to of been at least one Dr Who episode with a rampaging plant in its story. I suppose on the whole we see plants as rather sedentary and placid things,plus they do not have legs which makes it easy to runaway from. Still this all changed with John Wyndham's novel The Day of the Triffids,as these lumbering penis shaped rose bushes manage to waddle around quite well and blind and kill anybody they came across including the odd canine.Of course when ever its gets a bit Beyond the Thunderdome on earth,its not just the killer plants that are the problem but the surviving humans,most of which are blinded by a meteorite,are bumping into things and just generally annoying each other.In this 1962 adaptation Howard Keel is the last man standing as he was all bandaged up in hospital ,(how convenient a plot device) when the rest of the planet was getting bombarded by an early fireworks night. Its no secret that 28 Days Later (2002) was influenced by this part of the story,which is good because they ripped it off whole sale id say. But like slow zombies and the Inland revenue,the Triffids always manage to get you when you least expect it.And while they might look like the kind of trees you would get in a school play,the Triffids in this version do have a kind of weird nightmare appearance,even if they do shuffle along like an old lady .Its all great B-movie fun,especially when Keel goes all Rambo with his machine gun and flame thrower ,something he never did in Dallas.

[Buboven]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

I quite enjoyed this one too.

Me three.