What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Mighty Joe Young (1949)

The first time i ever saw Mighty Joe Young was on BBC2 one tea time i think when i was a child and i was wowed by it. Now i'm no longer a child but i'm still wowed by it.

It's a film that seems lost in the mists of time probably because of what it's not. It's not King Kong. Other than it being a gorilla that's removed from it's home land and put on show that's all the similarities really.

Joe isn't some god to a lost tribe, he was an orphan who was brought up by a girl called Jill (Terry Young) at her home in Africa who then twelve years later both end up in as an act at a Hollywood nightclub until three idiots get Joe drunk and he escapes and goes on the rampage... and then there's the third act to come. A third act which is utterly thrilling and a classic piece of stop motion cinema.

Mighty Joe Young is such an enjoyable film. There's a lot of humour in it and Joe is better rendered by the model makers (Including Ray Harryhausen) than King Kong was which given the years between the films is expected and his expressions and mannerisms are a hoot, such as Joe in the back of a truck during a massive chase. I genuinely laughed out loud at him.

So yes, whilst Mighty Joe Young is no King Kong i actually think it's a more entertaining film with a more gratifying finale which like King Kong usually brings a tear to my eye, not of sadness but in sheer joy in the case of Mighty Joe Young.

A huge thanks to Mr.Barlow for grabbing this for me.

[MrBarlow]

Ilsa: She Wolf Of The SS. 1975.

Ilsa, played by chesty blonde Dianne Thorne, is the commander at a concentration camp where she oversees medical research performed on the female prisoners and she uses the males to try and satisfy her sexual needs, when they don't satisfy her then it's snip snip with their ding dings.

Somehow when I go online to search for these old 70s movies I seem to be lucky or unlucky to find the uncut versions and this was the original 96-97 uncut version and everything is just about shown, MMPAA and BBFC probably had great fun sitting through this film, which is now cheesy, campy, bad acting but original Nazi exploitation film may have turned a few heads back in the day. Not one to watch over and over but will certainly come back to it.

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[MrBarlow]

Last Shift. 2014.

I'm sure we all know what it feels like to do a last shift someplace, empty building, last minute stuff to be collected at stupid o' clock in the morning and only your imagination to keep you going. Rookie cop Juliana Harkavy has that task of looking after a old police station while everything is being transferred to a new one...sounds a bit like Assault On Precinct 13...suppose you can say she is being seiged...by ghosts from the past.

I went into this and expecting very little but this turned out to be a neatly done atmospheric horror, this at times does rely on the jump scare tactics which can be predictable but not very often. The whole premise is a empty building, hazardous material in a locked room, there is one or two supporting cast members and one creepy looking guy, as the film goes on it does draw in a few things on the plot slowly but does pay off right up to the end.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

As far as low budget horror goes i think Last Shift is pretty impressive having seen it a couple of times now.

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

As far as low budget horror goes i think Last Shift is pretty impressive having seen it a couple of times now.

I have seen it advertised on either Legend or HorrorXtra and keep missing it and this was the second time seeing it and for me second time round was even better.

[MrBarlow]

Lady In A Cage. 1964.

Olivia De Havilland plays the wealthy lady who sustained a injury and has a elevator installed in her house, while alone she becomes stuck. While trying to attract attention for help, a group of people lead by James Caan decide to do a home invasion.

60s at it best with this tense, thriller even though Hallivand seems a bit young to have a 30s something year old son but manages to pull off a good role as the woman trapped within her house and slowly being tormented. I think this was James Caan's first role and able to pull out no stops in his tormenting and at the time maybe unpleasant thoughts on the house and the lonely lady. Filmed in Black and White gives out the right mood for the tone of the film.

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[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

Last Shift. 2014.

The whole premise is a empty building, hazardous material in a locked room, there is one or two supporting cast members and one creepy looking guy, as the film goes on it does draw in a few things on the plot slowly but does pay off right up to the end.

Attachment 245706

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

As far as low budget horror goes i think Last Shift is pretty impressive having seen it a couple of times now.

I wish I could buy a copy of this based on your recommendations, sucking it is out of stock everywhere and the cheapest DVD is over £20. I want to see Last Shift, but not that much!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

I wish I could buy a copy of this based on your recommendations, sucking it is out of stock everywhere and the cheapest DVD is over £20. I want to see Last Shift, but not that much!

Here's what i said about Last Shift back in 2016.

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Last Shift (2014)

Rookie police officer Jessica Loren (Juliana Harkavy) is given the unenviable last shift at a police station before it is closed down. Ordered not to leave as she waits for a hazmat team to arrive to collect the final cases of crime scene evidence, strange events start to occur and Jessica realizes she might not be alone in the seemingly deserted police station.

Last Shift is basically a one woman film and stands or falls on that one woman's performance. Luckily Jessica Loren, who was one of the Governor's women at arms in season four of The Walking Dead is an accomplished enough actress to pull it off.

Obviously there are other characters but their scenes last no longer than a few minutes and i do want to avoid spoilers so i'll leave it at that.

The film is low budget but the old police station is a creepily effective set and what money was available was obviously spent on ghostly FX and make up. The film is a slow burner which gradually allows suspense to build, and director Anthony DiBlasi, who also directed the rather good Clive Barker adaptation Dread, makes great use of light and shadow in a very Lewton-esq way, rather than the usual lazy jump scares. Being a big fan of Val Lewton i don't say this lightly, so keep watching the shadows.

The film is flawed but the eerie, unnerving, atmosphere allowed me to forgive and forget.

Far superior to many of the big budget ghost stories doing the rounds such as The Woman in Black: Angel of Vengeance, Last Shift is a ghost story similar to Absentia , money wise, that other low budget film makers should aspire to and realize what is achievable with limited sets and a small cast.

Recommended to all lovers of no-budget film making (You know who you are) and to others i'd say it's worth a risk.

[MrBarlow]

MouseHunt. 1997.

Nathan Lane and Lee Evan are two brothers who inherit a string factory and a old house that has a mouse living in it, only problem is the mouse puts up a fight when they try to get rid of it.

Lane and Evans are like a more modern day version of Laurel and Hardy and should have done more films together, right at the start there is laughter and through out the film the laughs are in far between but when it happens it can be laugh out loud moments. Gore Verbiski does add a somewhat homage to the old 1940s dark house film from the outside with the lost house that gives out the spooky atmosphere. The short appearance of Christopher Walken as the mouse catcher does have a somewhat serious tone then you know it won't last long and all you can do is sit back and let the laughter out.

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[Nordicdusk]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

Last Shift. 2014.

I'm sure we all know what it feels like to do a last shift someplace, empty building, last minute stuff to be collected at stupid o' clock in the morning and only your imagination to keep you going. Rookie cop Juliana Harkavy has that task of looking after a old police station while everything is being transferred to a new one...sounds a bit like Assault On Precinct 13...suppose you can say she is being seiged...by ghosts from the past.

I went into this and expecting very little but this turned out to be a neatly done atmospheric horror, this at times does rely on the jump scare tactics which can be predictable but not very often. The whole premise is a empty building, hazardous material in a locked room, there is one or two supporting cast members and one creepy looking guy, as the film goes on it does draw in a few things on the plot slowly but does pay off right up to the end.

Attachment 245706

I couldn't get into it my first time watching it maybe it was the hype around it I'm not sure maybe I need to go back in the future and rewatch it to see.