The review would be hysterical.

That's fair enough. I don't think of the 'Gates of Hell' movies as gorefests as their appeal for me is not about the goal, but the sense of dread and foreboding (exacerbated by the ambiguity in the storytelling) that pervades the films.

That being said, his best films are probably the gialli Perversion Story, Don't Torture a Duckling and, to a lesser extent, Lizard in a Woman's Skin.

Deadly eyes. 7.7/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khywOKn-j6k


Rats night of terror. 7.4/10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzoTaeCIrIg


Had a rethink and changed my scores for the gates of hell trilogy

City of the living dead 8/10

The beyond 9/0

House by the cemetery 9.1/10


Tomorrow's viewings will be a King double with the theme of "possessed" machines.

Picking up on something I watched yesterday, something which I had intended to do for several days, and my thoughts on it:

Oliver the Eighth (1934)

This wonderfully funny, dark, and slightly surreal comedy by Laurel & Hardy, a short which gave one of our long-standing members a rough time when he was an impressionable child, is probably best summed up by this description:

Barbershop owners Stan and Ollie answer an ad in the newspaper from a wealthy widow looking for a husband. Ollie only mails in his response and is invited to the widow's mansion. Stan discovers his unmailed letter and insists on tagging along. At the mansion, the widow's creepy butler informs them that the woman is crazy. She was once jilted by an Oliver and now her hobby is marrying Olivers and then slitting their throats. Now the boys must figure out how to escape.

I can understand why it would be traumatic to a child because the idea of having your throat slit in your sleep is not exactly pleasant, and is the sort of thought which would give impressionable youngsters sleepless nights.

There are a few standout moments in the 27 minute running time, the first is the superb wordplay between Stan and Ollie about the former's intentions with his new bride:

Stanley: [reading newspaper] Listen to this... wealthy young widow with large fortune seeks male companionship... object matrimony.
Oliver: It's probably some old crab with a face that would stop a clock!
Stanley: Well, I'd marry her.
Oliver: You would!
Stanley: No, listen... I'd take some of the money, and I'd have her face lifted. Then we could settle down, congenial, and we would have to scrape chins any more... wouldn't have to work hard any more.
Oliver: Tell me that again.
Stanley: Well, I could take some of the money... and I'd have her skinned... and she'd be able to look at a clock without having to work hard any more... and we could settle down and scrape each other's chin... and congenial... if I didn't have to work hard anymore.
Oliver: I know exactly what you mean.

The other involves Stanley and the murderess's butler, apparently called Jitters, engaged in an elaborate card trick in which the cards are entirely imaginary. This is a long-standing (reasonably, in terms of the running time) gag which continues from one room to another with a brilliant punchline. Once at the house and aware of their host's intentions, the duo share a bedroom and there are a couple of superb set pieces involving a shotgun, and another with a brick attached to a length of string.

I found the whole thing utterly enchanting and it reminded me it has been far too long since I watched any of my Laurel & Hardy collection, something I'll remedy when my pile of unwatched discs is considerably smaller than it is at the moment. If you have any of the collection, it's on the sixth disc; if you don't, it's on YouTube and is highly recommended.

The Hollow (2004)

Coming some five years after Sleepy Hollow this had to be something a bit different to stand any chance of being remembered. Using the general ideas from Washington Irvine's story and bringing them kicking and screaming into the modern day works well, sort of.

The story involves a high school student (Kevin Zegers) and his discovery that he's a descendant of the legendary Ichabod Crane from Irvine's story and the newly resurrected Headless Horseman has come back from the dead once more to collect his head.

A teen high school movie was never going to grab me like Tim Burton's Gothic classic did but thanks to some likable characters - Zegers does really well in the lead role and Kaley Cuoco always seems like someone you could talk to (If anyone's interested she suits her cheerleader outfit quite nicely) meaning you have a couple of leads to root for rather than wish dead from the opening minutes. The film also benefits from a couple of veteran stars namely Stacy Keach and Judge Reinhold who both have significant screen time, especially Keach.

The Hollow is probably too much of a teen movie early doors to be viewed as any sort of classic but as it progresses and we go on a haunted hay ride things take a turn for the creepy and Halloween traditions and Irvine's story are carefully examined.

As for the headless horseman? Well he's no Ray Park and the film lacks the thunderous galloping hooves from Burton's film but it's probably as good as you could hope for. There's not much in the way of gore as the film was originally made for ABC's Family Channel (It was cut when shown) but everything has been re-inserted for this dvd including heads getting lopped off, brief nudity (with a literal idea of 'giving head') and gory remains.

The Hollow isn't an essential Halloween film by any means but enjoyable despite it's high school roots.

One pumpkin newly carved.

A grim one to be sure to start the final full week of ABUKtober...

http://i66.tinypic.com/24y77g8.jpg

Very nice, sir! :pumpkin:

Thank you, it seemed to take ages to cut round those teeth.

I love it in films like Trick r' Treat where a few slashes later and a perfect carved pumpkin is sat on the table. It's like a bleedin' science experiment when i do it.

Hello, Jack!