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  #58161  
Old 13th May 2022, 09:29 PM
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Zeder. 1983.

A young journalist Stefano buys a old used typewriter, he finds some text on it about a man called Poalo Zeder who done work in the 1950s and bringing the dead back to life and discovers a group of scientists who are putting the theory to the test.

This is a film that may not be for everyone, it is a bit of a slow pace movie but that may be down to Pupi Avati's intentions of creating a dark toned atmosphere of a film rather than go with the full blown zombie genre we love to watch. With the 88 film release they have cleaned it up a bit and decent picture quality release but they still never managed to fix the dubbing, to be honest i'm sure we have all seen films with worse dubbing.

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  #58162  
Old 13th May 2022, 10:08 PM
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The Hunt. Wealthy liberal elites kidnap ordinary people (who've been mean to them on social media) and hunt them for sport in this wickedly funny satirical comedy horror from 2020. Fast-paced, funny and gory, and the satire is undeniably amusing. This was a good time!
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  #58163  
Old 13th May 2022, 10:12 PM
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The Great Wall (2016)

An entertaining popcorn munching blockbuster. The 100 min running time meant it never dragged but the downside was there wasn't much in the way of characterization other than for Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal's mercenary's.

The film looked terrific throughout with innovative action sequences (The use of Chinese lanterns in the finale was class) courtesy of director Zhang Yimou's and worthy of his excellent Chinese films Hero and House of Flying Daggers as were drumming sequences when soldiers were called to arms during an epic opening battle on the wall.

Interestingly it was co-written by The Last Samurai's director and writer Edward Zwick. Whilst The Great Wall has similarities with that film - Westerner integrates into Asian society to combat outside threat - it's nowhere near as good but remains very watchable all the same.

A no-brainer purchase from Poundland on Blu-ray last year to upgrade my dvd
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  #58164  
Old 13th May 2022, 10:44 PM
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Fury (2014)

Excellent portrayal of a grizzled American tank crew as it forces it's way through Germany towards Berlin. Brad Pitt and Logan Lerman give fine portrayals as a battle weary sergeant and wet behind the ears rookie tank gunner.

A film that doesn't glamorize the Second World War, David Ayers movie is a near damning indictment of both sides and as much an anti-war movie as eighties Vietnam films like Platoon.

Although there is plenty of gripping well shot action - the showdown with the Tiger is a particular highlight - much of the film is a character study of the tank crew who more often than not come across as wholly unlikable characters and it's only towards the end that their true camaraderie shows.

I've always liked this and was delighted to pick it up for a couple of quid on Blu-ray earlier this week.
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  #58165  
Old 14th May 2022, 08:06 AM
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Miami Blues (1990, George Armitage)

Picked this as I couldn't quite get my hands on Remo ahem. Fred Ward plays an unlucky detective (one of his few lead roles ...), I read the novel for this years before during a "hard boiled" phase I went through and thought "they filmed that??" as the protagonist isn't exactly a role model
Revisiting this, I noticed this time that the film is quite blackly toned (Ward and his partner cracking funnies over a dead body etc)

So it'll be Remo and probably Southern Comfort tonight as I was thinking about revisiting that one anyway ....
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  #58166  
Old 14th May 2022, 10:18 AM
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Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988)

Often cited as the weakest entry in the Friday the 13th series sadly due to cuts by the American censors the MPAA who proved just as adept at slashing as the zombie like Jason Vorhees.

So much is missing from the murder scenes it makes the film a bit of a travesty. Heads being crushed by Jason's hands to the size of a tennis ball, the slimy Dr. Crews mangled to death with a Brush Cutter... the cuts ruin every kill much to the films detriment. (I'm sure a couple of them could be restored enough from the rough cuts to actually be put back into the film without too much variation in quality).

Lazily this is seen as Jason vs Carrie as the hockey masked killer fights a new opponent. This time a psychokinetic teenage girl. But i've always thought it works quite well, with Lar Park Lincoln proving a strong female lead not only in her struggle with Vorhees but also the unscrupulous Dr. Crews (Terry Kiser) out to manipulate Lincoln for his own ends which is actually the best sub plot in the entire franchise.

So whilst Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood is a lesser entry it's unfair to blame the film makers for something out of their control. Documentaries on the Blu-ray itself and also on the Crystal Lake Memories set show just how much was cut from the film and how it affected the general flow of what is a very decent entry.
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  #58167  
Old 14th May 2022, 10:41 AM
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THE DEVIL’S MEN – Seventies trash sees Pleasance on a Greek island, battling a Minotaur cult. In the past, I allowed others to convince me that ‘The Devil’s Men’ was a load of toss, so I always avoided it. Turns out they were wrong, and so was I. TDM is not as lip-smackingly pulpy (nor as bonkers) as something like ‘Psychomania’, but its tendency to derail into scenes of people wandering around and investigating is offset by a few cards up its sleeve. The menacingly droney score by Brian Eno lends the film an almost undeserved feeling of otherworldliness and is pretty much the best thing about it. Other stuff isn’t quite so sublime, but delivers the schlocky goods; the nicely arranged tableaus involving cultists and sacrifice, and the Whovian silliness of that talking, fire-snorting papier mache Minotaur statue monster or whatever it is. Obviously there’s also the attraction of seeing Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasance under the same roof. Quite enjoyable, making the blu-ray probably worth a punt for those interested.

TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE – Paired with ‘Nothing Underneath’ on the recent VS release, and I think this is probably the better half. It ticks more of my boxes anyway – gratuitous, music video-esque stylisation, overbearing eighties fashion, visual classiness surrendering to badfilm crassness. Like the other film, it’s set in Rome’s fashion / music community, where models are being iced by a Giallo-type with an over-elaborate weapon. It outstays its welcome when it gets bogged down in ‘the investigation’, but mostly pretty good IMO.

THE SEED – Three women hang out in a big house with a swimming pool. Somewhere along the line a weird alien crops up along with a slew of body-horror, a lot of it pregnancy-related, and the tone ratchets into hysteria. I thought ‘The Seed’ might be a bit cute in its attempts to pit casual sass with revolting goo, but eventually its incessant strangeness wore me down and won me over. It’s freaky. So – a hit.

THE DARK – This is a pretty good film. It’s about an odd, corpse-like girl who strikes up a partnership with a child who seems to have been kidnapped and indoctrinated by an escaped con. Themes of abuse and co-dependency are handled thoughtfully, and hang like a fog around the more trad genre elements of pretty in-your-face gore and a wonderful woodland atmosphere. A petty gripe, but maybe they could’ve tried again with that title.

HELLBENDER – From family-sized film industry The Adams’s comes ‘Hellbender’, about a witchy mother / daughter duo who spend their time rocking out goth-metal style at their woodland retreat. Drama, along with a bit of splat and black magic, ensues when daughter makes a break for independence. Very good I thought, and in some ways it reminded me of those slightly arty seventies horror flicks like ‘Dark August’, where a surface uneventfulness gives way to an atmosphere that builds through the lingering unease of long, still shots. Recommended.
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  #58168  
Old 14th May 2022, 10:47 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop View Post

HELLBENDER – From family-sized film industry The Adams’s comes ‘Hellbender’, about a witchy mother / daughter duo who spend their time rocking out goth-metal style at their woodland retreat. Drama, along with a bit of splat and black magic, ensues when daughter makes a break for independence. Very good I thought, and in some ways it reminded me of those slightly arty seventies horror flicks like ‘Dark August’, where a surface uneventfulness gives way to an atmosphere that builds through the lingering unease of long, still shots. Recommended.
This sounds good. Is it new?

I bought the Arrow blu of The Deeper You Dig and The Hatred in the recent sale as i'd heard good things about the lo-fi movie making institution that is The Adams Family although as yet i've seen neither.
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  #58169  
Old 14th May 2022, 10:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs View Post
This sounds good. Is it new?

I bought the Arrow blu of The Deeper You Dig and The Hatred in the recent sale as i'd heard good things about the lo-fi movie making institution that is The Adams Family although as yet i've seen neither.
It is their latest yes, currently a 'Shudder' exclusive but a lot of those have been released on discs later down the line. Been meaning to watch this one for a few months now.
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  #58170  
Old 14th May 2022, 10:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin101 View Post
It is their latest yes, currently a 'Shudder' exclusive but a lot of those have been released on discs later down the line. Been meaning to watch this one for a few months now.
Thanks. Have you seen the two i bought recently?
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