Pre-xmas splurge. Not all of them are v christmassy, soz santa
SILENT NIGHT - Steve Miner's loose remake of 'Silent Night, Deadly Night' can't quite pack the ruthlessly schlocky punch of the original, but there's plenty to like - pretty visuals, nice gore and a tone that manages to juggle black comedy with a slightly oppressive dourness without dropping any balls. An at times faltering pace is countered by barking Malcolm McDowall and that all-important Santa with a flamethrower.
MANHATTAN BABY - Fans still flock to the ultraviolence of 'The Beyond' etc, but do those zombie movies ever get as weird as some of Fulci's other stuff? Though theoretically it should be easy - archaeologist's daughter scores a haunted Eye Of Horus type pendant in Egypt, then encounters supernatural events and laser effects back home in the big apple - I've yet to make sense of a film in which most of the cast mangle the plot every few minutes by walking through a door and either vanishing or wandering off into an alternative reality. Inspiringly 'huh?' all round, with added stuffed birds who shred faces.
DAWN OF THE MUMMY - Nostalgia, this time of year's nominated emotion, has a lot to answer for when we're talking about early eighties dreck. I would say that I have lovely, warm memories of every murk-filled frame of 'Dawn Of The Mummy' from back when I had it on VHS in the early nineties, but careful scrutiny reveals that in fact my experience of same was deadeningly shite, not to mention curtailed by the BBFC. However... sat here on the cutting edge of 'the now', watching this lovingly restored version of what was once an ill-defined home-viewing headache, I find enjoyable trash that gifts us flesh-ripping, Italian-esque mummies, frantic overperformances and even a moment or two that feel genuinely atmospheric. Tis the season.
BLUE VENGEANCE - I loved this, a film so scummily 'eighties New York' that you expect Joe Spinell to walk on halfway through and stand around looking a bit clammy. That doesn't happen, but what DOES happen is that a deranged rocker breaks out of his high-security forensic unit to stalk the ex-members of a Kiss-esque rip-off band whilst suffering D&D inspired combat hallucinations; all that stands between him and total carnage is a cop who looks a bit like a pissed-off accountant. A movie of endless moments of low-key craziness, and actually quite difficult to frame as it feels a little like someone making a parody of a Cannon film, perhaps unintentionally. I digress, but, a total blast.
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