October Horror Movie Marathon

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

I was meant to be staff training tonight but it's been cancelled at the last minute and went through my phone to see what I downloaded and started with this.

Xtro II: The Second Encounter. 1991.

Scientists under Military orders discover a dimension and go through it only for them to release a alien.

Harry Bromley Davenport had the rights to the name but not the creative side and was given this to do, this has nothing to do with the previous which for me is a masterpiece. This is like finding a door, going through it discovering something unknown and coming back with a parasite attached to you, bit of a Alien rip-off. Airwolf star Jan-Michael Vincent is in this and can tell he wasn't really enthusiastic about being in a horror film but suppose we do strange things for money.

Being in a somewhat underground bunker, there could be, tension, suspense and a feel of claustrophobia like with other films set in a enclosed spaces, the film lacks that atmosphere, one good thing about the film is the background score, I know I watched a few crap films recently and a bit apprehensive about Xtro 3 but here goes.

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The Harry Bromley Davenport commentary is a blast. He can't stick Jan-Michael Vincent. He really pulls no punches when discussing the film.

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

The Harry Bromley Davenport commentary is a blast. He can't stick Jan-Michael Vincent. He really pulls no punches when discussing the film.

Yeah I heard they weren't the best of friends during filming

[MrBarlow]

Madman. 1981.

At a summer camp, teens are told of a story and as a joke they call out name "Madman Marz" soon after they are stalked and killed.

With the suspense and terror of Friday 13th and a creepy looking villain like Cropsy from The Burning, someone decided summer camp slashers were the way to move forward in the horror genre. The set up is done decently like a campfire tale and back ground of the Madman Marz who butchered his family and cue silly teens. We see the shadows, then the growl but it ain't bigfoot. The cinematography is done decently and well directed even though it may have a slow pace in between, certainly fun and enjoyable.

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[MrBarlow]

Night Of The Demons. 1988.

A group of teens decide to have a party in a old funeral home with a grisly past and unwittingly release spirits that possess them.

I usually leave this one till the end of the month but thought i'd watch it early, 80s haunted house with some laughs and good sarcastic quotes and a nice little dance sequence by Mimi Kinkade and Linnea Quigley bending over in a short dress. One that's not to be taken seriously but does have some good make-up effects created by Steve Johnson and good cinematography combined with Kevin Tenney's direction.

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[MrBarlow]

Rats: Night Of Terror. 1984.

After a nuclear war, a group of people living underground reach the surface and take shelter in a lab that is over run by rats but something darker is approaching them.

From Bruno Mattei director of Hell Of The Living Dead comes a somewhat low budget horror that I find strangely entertaining, yeah it's a daft film, not the best acting or maybe the dubbing makes it daft but you can't miss out on the gore. The producers probably thought how can we scare the audience, yeah get a rat to come out of someone's mouth but improvise with the budget we can give you, even at that part I had to laugh, chessey 80s fest at it's best.

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Have a good day all

[MacBlayne]

Spiral

Detective Ezekiel Banks (Chris Rock) is called out to look into the death of a homeless man in the subway. It's a grisly scene - blood, guts, and limbs are scattered everywhere. On closer inspection, it turns out the deceased is not homeless, but a police officer suspected of corruption. Soon, Banks is sent a message that is very, very reminiscent of the infamous Jigsaw killer, warning Banks that this will not be the last.

Darren Lynn Bousman returns to the Saw series with this spin-off. Although the series was supposed to have ended with Saw 3D: The Final Chapter, the producers obviously picked up their definition of "final" from the Friday the 13th series. Saw 3D was followed by Jigsaw, a surprise sequel to the other films.

Spiral is complete reboot. New faces, new city, new motives, same modus operandi. It does start very strong. Bousman has clearly dialled down his over-direction from his previous films. He's still fond of his Dutch angles, but he compliments with tasteful lighting (he's definitely been studying the work of Harris Savides), and elegant tracking shots. The trademark overcranking is still present, but Bousman saves it for the more dramatic moments.

The set-up is fantastic. Banks is a rogue police officer, who is only that way because he's the only straight arrow in the force. Despised by his colleagues for turning in a bent cop, Banks spends his days cleaning dead rats off his desk, spitting venom about his failed marriage, nursing an old bullet wound (he was left to die by his partners), listening to the angry police chief rant about heatwaves and powercuts, and breaking in a new rookie detective (Max Minghella). This all changes when the killer starts targeting his corrupt colleagues, and realises that only he can stop it.

It's a good premise, as it can open the door for a lot of subtle tension beyond the murder set-pieces. I say can, because this door remains firmly shut. The heatwave does little beyond giving Banks's shirts sweat stains. The powercuts never happen. The police and citizens seem non-plussed by the killer. Banks's failed marriage is just the setup for a Chris Rock routine about adultery.

The film's most interesting angle of the honest cop saving his corrupt brethren is thrown aside. We never see if Banks feels guilty or vindicated when his colleagues are murdered. We never see his colleagues express paranoia at how the "honest" cop is spared the wrath.

Spiral was developed by Chris Rock before the massive police protests of 2020 kicked off, so it would be unfair to accuse the film of ignoring it. Rock has always struck me as a very intelligent man, one who is sharp but measured with his anger, so it's a shame that the film does nothing with the police corruption angle. Institutional corruption is not new, nor is the concept of police covering up for each other. The film does happily show all that. It's just that it's meaningless. When the lame, pathetic, predictable twist is revealed, the killer isn't an avenging force or a product borne from a cancerous system. It's just simple revenge, the likes of which we have seen many times before.

I strongly suspect the commercial success of the Saw series was not due to the gore, but its convoluted continuity. The series antagonist died in the third film, but it continued for five more. Fans that stuck with the series were surely delighted with all the plot twists, denouements, and callbacks. It was their own jigsaw (...ahem) puzzle to solve.

So I'm not sure who Spiral is for. Saw fans will be disappointed that there is no connection to the previous films barring a headshot of Tobin Bell. Those new to the series, or those that gave on it, will find Spiral's unique ideas wasted on what is just an excuse for gory torture scenes (that lack the Goldberg Machine novelty of the other films). It's not the worst of the series, but it's arguably the most squandered. Rather than breathe life into a dormant franchise, or kickstart a whole new one, Spiral will just be relegated to That one with Chris Rock in it.

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by MacBlayne

Spiral

I am really interested in seeing this

Originally Posted by MacBlayne

Detective Ezekiel Banks (Chris Rock)

Oh, I'm sorry - you have totally lost me!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Dark Eyes of London (1939)

A classic slice of British Grand Guignol starring Bela Lugosi as the head of an insurance company who commits murders in order to claim their inheritances aided by his henchman, the ghoulish Jake.

Lugosi is excellent here, holding back from his typical excesses in a role that exudes creepy menace whilst for once he isn't playing a vampire or mad scientist and he's all the better for it. The script serves him well, in fact he's better served than in the majority of his Hollywood movies. The fact that Bela... No. I won't say anything else regarding his role for anyone who might buy this new release from Network.

What i will say is don't look at the six beautiful double sided glossy art cards of which one side is of a film poster and the other lovely studio portraits from the film because one of them is one hell of a spoiler.

Aside from Lugosi the film stars Hugh Williams as a Scotland Yard inspector trying to get to the bottom of the murders and Edmon Ryan as a New York cop helping out. the pair have some terrific dialogue together and this early movie could be seen as a precursor to later films such as 1959's Jack the Ripper which has the exact same set up as well as non horror films such as 1975's John Wayne vehicle Brannigan and it's loose 1993 remake The Young Americans.

Norwegian actress Greta Gynt also has a meaty role as the film's heroine, she's especially good and not simply there to scream in terror.

Whilst the first half of the film is taken with the police investigation, this isn't surprising seeing as it's based on an Edgar Wallace story who himself wrote German Krimi stories (Think Giallo but German) it's the second half where the film becomes a delightful and atmospheric horror film with an attack on Gynt particularly well realized.

Network's Blu-ray looks gorgeous and the sound is crisp and clear. The package itself is top quality. There's a commentary from experts Kim Newman and Stephen Jones which i haven't listened to and a half hour chat about Lugosi and his four British films filmed in London's Edgar Wallace pub. I did watch this after the film and thought it highly informative as well as highly entertaining with Newman and Jones very easy to watch and listen to.

There's a fourteen page booklet on the film as well as the aforementioned six glossy double sided art cards and it's all finished off with an embossed soft touch slip case.

For £11.50 this is a fantastic package.

[Dave Boy]

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THE MUMMY (1932)

Universal begin thier Mummy series. Not linked to any of the Mummy films that were to follow. This movie sees The Mummy restored to life in the form of Boris Karloff as Ardeth Bay. The wrapped Mummy only appears for minutes at the start of the movie which is a shame because the make up is great.

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CIRCUS OF HORRORS (1960)

I've mentioned this before but my Mum and Dad went to see this movie on release. My Dad thought he may have to take my Mum outside as she did not feal too good when Donald Pleasance is crushed by the bear. She thought she could hear his bones cracking! So this movie is a nostalgic for me as I always think of that when watching the film.

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THE PROWLER (1981)

Superb slasher! Great effects by Tom Savini and a chilling soundtrack.What more can you ask for? Great stuff!

[MacBlayne]

Originally Posted by Dave Boy

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THE PROWLER (1981)

Superb slasher! Great effects by Tom Savini and a chilling soundtrack.What more can you ask for? Great stuff!

Saw this a few months ago. Loved the dream-like cinematography. I heard a few people say this film was as basic as slashers got, but I think the dreamy quality makes that an advantage. Feels like a nightmare you can't really wake up from.