[Gojirosan]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

THE HILLS HAVE EYES - The remake. I thought it was pretty good. The build-up felt a bit overlong and tedious, but once it exploded into frantic horror about halfway through it didn't really let up. The mutants looked good, the gore was there, the 'horror of the American family' theme was overdone and the 'redemptive' ending was a bit meh, but what won me over were snippets like the ghost town strewn with mannequins and the full on-ness of some of the attack scenes.

I DRINK YOUR BLOOD - Essential seventies nastiness. Satanic hippies stranded in small town America rape a local girl and spike her granddad... the girl's brother infects them with rabies contaminated meat pies (!) and the inevitable bloodbath begins. Disjointed in tone and construction and guaranteed to leave you with a low grade fever with its frequent outbursts of gleeful viciousness. Fave line: "I don't know much about LSD, but I sure know a lot about rabies!" Plays like a wooden public information broadcast warning of the dangers of a tripped out lifestyle one moment, then swings over into mean spirited nihilism the next. Delirious and frenetic, a victory for trash.

HOME SICK - Wasn't really sure what to make of it, but I liked bits of it. Bill Moseley turns up unannounced at a house full of goths and... well, it all gets a bit confusing (I was drunk when watching, so maybe its more sensible than I remember it) but there are murders, a giallo type killer, over the top gore, stuff about returning to your home town, Sid Haig (edit - a Sid Haig lookalike) as a paramilitary guy and a demon at the end. Normally I like movies with a scrambled feel (see above), but 'Home Sick's fractured tone, seemingly going for slightly goofy black comedy one minute then the next appearing darkly surreal, just felt a bit jarring. But certainly quite arresting in places and worth a watch.

I really rate the remake of Hills. In many ways I consider it a better film than the original, and that is a very small and honoured list indeed!

I really must watch I Drink Your Blood!