THE PACT - Well made, pretty intense ghost / haunting type movie which, whilst it doesn't quite avoid the usual let-downs (ie standard, over-dramatic music cues), is at least by no means the worst offender, and features a thoughtfully creepy back story. I liked the long, still shots of scenes in the house - they added to the sense of spooky imminence - and nice characters and vignettes ie protag's blind, psychic high school buddy (yeah, I know), who seems to live in a weird shooting gallery / record shop / industrial noise installation.
THE SLAYER - An old favourite, although I don't know why in some ways - perhaps I've learned to kid myself that the drawn out scenes of people wandering around on a beach are about 'atmosphere' rather than 'boredom'. Whatever, I keep on coming back to it after all these years. I always feel a bit cheated when I watch it, but then again there are some good bits - the genuinely bleak island setting, the odd moments of gore, the ethereally pretty lead and the pre-Elm Street dream murder angle. There's also a recurring shot of a poster which looks like it's framed to seem significant in some way, a weird enigma that keeps me awake at nights sometimes. I really should invest in more porn. 'The Slayer' could've been something other than what it is, but, like I say, it's one of those movies that works a strange magic on me, despite a lack of real delivery - I daresay we've all encountered this kind of thing along the way. I know that quite a few fans would love CR or someone to release a comprehensive version, but every time I revist my shitty Vipco disc I'm surprised to find that it doesn't look TOO bad.
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