What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[ArgentoFan1987]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

Schoolgirls in Chains (1973)

This fairly enjoyable and sleazy little exploitationer is centered around two brothers who kidnap young girls and keep them locked up in their basement under the control and influence of their domineering mother. One brother is a simpleton who sees the girls as nothing but playmates and subjects them to various torturous games - playing doctor will never be the same again - whilst the other brother is more aloof and absorbed with his 'mommy issues'.

Whilst an exploitationer at heart, the film is often quite dark and brooding with lingering close-ups on the girls' facial expressions as they undergo and witness the various torturous shenanigans the brothers deploy onto them and that of their fellow captees. The low budget adds to the gritty mood and despite the twist element at the end, which becomes increasingly more obvious as the film progresses, this was an interesting and original enough experience to engage me throughout.

This is the first film features on Definitive Video Nasty Guide, Part 2. Looked pretty good!

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Alien Zone (1978)

I knew nothing about this film going in other than it seemed to have two conflicting titles: 'Alien Zone' and 'The House of the Dead', therefore I was expecting either a sci-fi invasion thriller or a zombie film. Or a mix of both.

It's actually neither; in fact it is a mildly entertaining anthology film revolving around an old house and it's creepy resident 'The Mortician', who after admitting a man seeking shelter in out of the rain one night, begins to tell him four stories each of which involves one of the 'inhabitants' of the various caskets he has within the house and the less than natural way in which they arrived there.

Despite a thread-bare budget the tales manage to be fairly interesting and imaginative, albeit a little disjointed at times. Plus, as with most anthology horror films there is always a little sting in the tail.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

The Alpha Incident (1978)

A martian micro-organism brought back by a space probe accidentally gets set loose amongst 5 passengers at a railroad office leading them to be quarantined. The organism is only harmful when the exposed subject is asleep, causing semi-Scanners-esque head exploding side effects, meaning that the group must battle to stay awake.

This one was a chore to get through in as much as it confuses 'building of tension' with 'f*ck all happens'. Add to this the bland, obnoxious/dull/obnoxiously dull, two dimensional and unsympathetic characters and you find it very hard to care for these people's plight, least of all what is happening (or in this case not) on screen.

The film redeems itself slightly in the last 15 minutes in which things actually start to happen as tensions rise within the group and tiredness starts to take its toll, meaning that staying awake becomes very difficult (up to this point the latter fact is true for the film's audience too) and desperation and hopelessness starts to set in. However, it's a case of too little too late and if the organism in question was transferable via the screen, the bulk of the film's audience would no doubt be dead long before the credits rolled.

[SShaw]

This evening I watched Magic, Magic on German blu-ray. This is a film I first saw back in April on the big screen in Amsterdam where it played as part of the Imagine line-up and while I enjoyed it there I think it works much better on the home screen.

It's slow, languid, beautifully shot with a stunning sound design and for most of its running time nothing really happens. It's also a wonderfully unsettling psychological thriller.

Some will find all of the things I like about it unlikeable and see it as a shapeless art-house mess, so for that reason I will give it a cautious recommendation.

[gag]

was at a friends house today and i walked in half way through carrie remake.. it was watchable just and nothing else if u caught on tv on at friends house but i wouldnt go out to watch it.
problem is i have with remakes is when original films is 60/70/80 come out they concentrated on actual making a film. tension atmosphere. likeable characters. storyline and plot. and the fact the budget wasnt as big and had to work on the special effects etc.
now because films industry has the money they throw money at it, big actors cgi which in some cases ruin a film. and they make a big hollywood blockbuster movie. instead of concentrating on story atmopshere likeable characters like they use to.. its not just remakes its a lot of films in general. i do watch odd film that a hollywood or blockbuster but i do get put off by these types of films.. i detest films like Transformers as a on screen film doesnt realy work or do much for me. i just find they are more cgi crash bang wallop style. ive seen films where pratically nothings happens but because they are well made is what grabs you.and yet seen films with none stop action and been bored shitless and turned the film off.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

The Alpha Incident (1978)

A martian micro-organism brought back by a space probe accidentally gets set loose amongst 5 passengers at a railroad office leading them to be quarantined. The organism is only harmful when the exposed subject is asleep, causing semi-Scanners-esque head exploding side effects, meaning that the group must battle to stay awake.

This one was a chore to get through in as much as it confuses 'building of tension' with 'f*ck all happens'. Add to this the bland, obnoxious/dull/obnoxiously dull, two dimensional and unsympathetic characters and you find it very hard to care for these people's plight, least of all what is happening (or in this case not) on screen.

The film redeems itself slightly in the last 15 minutes in which things actually start to happen as tensions rise within the group and tiredness starts to take its toll, meaning that staying awake becomes very difficult (up to this point the latter fact is true for the film's audience too) and desperation and hopelessness starts to set in. However, it's a case of too little too late and if the organism in question was transferable via the screen, the bulk of the film's audience would no doubt be dead long before the credits rolled.

Bill Rebane, such an acquired taste! I do have a soft spot for 'The Demons Of Ludlow", though.

[ArgentoFan1987]

I watched Foxy Brown last night. Slow first half, excellent last half, excellent acting (except from one actress, who couldn't act for shit). Overall 7.5/10!

I hope more blaxploitation films make their way onto Blu-Ray. And 70's films in general. It looked and sounded incredible!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

Bill Rebane, such an acquired taste! I do have a soft spot for 'The Demons Of Ludlow", though.

That film nearly put me off horror for good.

[trebor8273]

watched these over last couple of days

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

The Alchemist (1983)

Despite the pretty straightforward premise of a man (Robert Ginty) seeking revenge on an evil magician who cursed him, the film itself is pretty nonsensical (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), and this is exasperated by the hammy (sometimes even mechanical) acting and ropey dialogue present throughout. All of this could be (and has been many times before) easily forgiven with films such as these, however, what cannot be forgiven is how ultimately dull the film is.

At its core there is a simplistic morality tale of how a person can end up destroying themselves through seeking what they deem to be 'justice', however this is convoluted by the patch-work way in which the film appears to have been cobbled together with seemingly endless scenes where the running time is chewed up by nothing of any importance or interest happening... I could physically feel my energy levels ebbing away as the tawdry tedium swept over me in waves. Admittedly I'm not a big Band fan (from what little I've seen of his work), yet I'm guessing that even he wasn't too fond of this one considering he removed his name from the credits and decided to use a pseudonym.

There are however a few flashes of creativity throughout; notably the always fascinating stop-motion model effects, but these are not enough to lift this one up beyond the insipid mess that it is.

Based on discussions last night and by my reckoning, this could be another film for MTDS' occult model.