What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Justin101]

I love Prince of Darkness! I wouldn't hold any expectations for Village of the Damned, I watched it again a few weeks back, while it's an OK and competent film it's not Carpenter at his best!

However by and far the worst thing about it is the wigs the poor children have to wear

[Demoncrat]

Originally Posted by Justin101

I love Prince of Darkness! I wouldn't hold any expectations for Village of the Damned, I watched it again a few weeks back, while it's an OK and competent film it's not Carpenter at his best!

However by and far the worst thing about it is the wigs the poor children have to wear

Twas filmed nearish where The Fog was though, (Inverness!! ) so at least the scenery will be nice.

[Bringer Of Funerals]

The Kid With The Golden Arm
Aladdin And The King Of Thieves
The Human Centipede (First Sequence)

[Vipp]

Originally Posted by sjconstable

I have a distracting problem with that Blu-ray, and don't know if it's just my setup. Loads of the lines of dialogue make an unpleasant crackle, but I've not seen it mentioned anywhere online. I presume you haven't experienced this with yours?

I haven't noticed that SJ, that sounds terrible mate. I will double check my copy and get back to you.

[Gold6082]

The only advantage of being seriously ill is the chance to watch back to back horror instead of staring at a ceiling whilst stuck in bed...


Anthology-athon Part 1

I will do my recent viewings over 3 or 4 posts as to keep them in a sensible length not a manifesto


Dead Of Night (1945)


One of my all time favourites,Melvyn Johns drives to a house in which he meets 5 people whom he informs he has met before in his dreams,5 stories unfold of the house guests experiences of the supernatural including a creepy hearse driver who saves the life of a racing car driver & a ventriloquists doll with a life of it's own some broken glasses and an arrogantly sceptic Shrink ends the wrap around story shockingly. This film truly is a masterpiece and deserves the fantastic praise it gets. 9/10


Tales from the Crypt. (1972)


5 unlucky people get to see Ralph Richardson in a bathrobe who then unfolds their futures, Joan Collins encounters a Santa who likes to Slay,whilst Ian Hendry isn't informed he sleepwalked and put his face in bubble and squeak after a car accident,throw in a skeletal Biker, some Razorblades in walls & Peter Cushing's heartbreaking performance following the demise of his real life wife very recently before his segment & you have one of amicus finest Hours. 8/10


Vault of Horror (1973)


The only amicus anthology where Cushing didn't appear. Some people say Vault is one of the poorest of their output but I disagree I love the film. Tom Baker hides his head under an Hgv,while Terry Thomas Marries Dead of Night's Melvyn Johns Daughter and rants insanely about an empty cupboard,a man is "heading" for an early grave & Kurt Jurgens finds money just hangoney for old rope that might just hang him. Whilst Daniel Massey "necks" his drink in a rather unsociable restaraunt. 8/10


Torture Garden (1968)


(FOR ME) this was the worst Amicus Anthology and is the only one I can't stand, an annoying idiot at a funfair asks Jack Palance and others to stare at some garden shears whilst their fates are foretold. Some drivel about Cats with odd names and a piano with a life of it's own if you're still awake by the end well done 3/10


The House That Dripped Blood. (1971)


A Police inspector investigates why everyone who lives in a house locally dies in nasty mysterious ways. We then visit the last days of 5 previous occupants of said abode. Peter Cushing is obsessed with a head in a waxworks,Christopher Lee realises Chloe Franks isn't as cute as she seems,Denholm Elliot finds his written work coming to life & Wurzel Gummidge can't trust Ingrid pitt. With a nice in joke in that final segment "bela lugosi of course not that new chap" in reference to Dracula and of course a cheeky wink at Mr Lee who of course appeared a segment earlier 7/10


Dr Terror's House of Horror's (1965)


Peter Cushing boards a train with his Tarot Cards in Amicus First effort, he proceeds to tell the futures of Christopher lee,Roy Castle,Donald Sutherland and others. This first effort from Amicus is tame in comparison to Vault & Crypt but is still good fun and eesential to any fan's collection. Cue weeds that overtake and strangle everything,Wolves who need to cut their fingernails & Vampire Doctors amonst others 7/10

[Handyman Joe]

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mrs Osbourne - what can you say about this one? A psychosexual farce? An arty spoof horror? A straight ahead adaptation ? That last option sounds ridiculous but wait a mo, isn't this film just taking the idea of the sexual Id being brought to the fore to its ultimate conclusion? Who's to say Stevenson might not have included a little spanking and light torture if he was able. Truly this film is a bundle of riches, it looks absolutely fantastic, it's genuinely funny and it has Patrick Magee at his most demented. You are never sure what's round the corner in this film, how far it will go - a rare commodity. One of the years best finds for me.

Robin Redbreast - Last of the Summer Wine meets The Wicker Man (although contemporary Belgian classic Left Bank is a better comparison story wise), a 1970 Play For Today which has its moments but never reaches the heights. Two problems for me - the preoccupation with social issues - promiscuity, contraception, class divide, abortion etc get in the way of the chills, also I never bought the remoteness of the location and hence never felt the threat - a quick travel montage a la the helicopter ride at the start of the WM would've worked wonders. Story is chilling all the same and lingers in the mind. This is the kind of thing that would benefit from a remake IMO, as it is well worth a watch.
Edit - was thinking about what I had written and it occurred to me the lack of differentiation between city and country (only insert shots of random, creepy forest) is a deliberate choice - the distance between our civilised selves and our pagan/primitive roots isn't a physical one but a mere synapse in the brain. Hmm, love the way these old BBC dramas get you thinking - sure I'll watch it again and get a totally different take.

[Nordicdusk]

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Vince is down in the dumps and feeling pretty down on his luck while he struggles with the final stages of his divorce. In an attempt to get him out of the rut he finds himself in his mates plans a lads weekend in a small village in the countryside. The plan is simple get to the first pub and get shit-faced for two days before returning back to the daily grind and hopefully get Vince back to his old self. What could possibly go wrong.

When they arrive in town the whole plays appears abandoned all the shops are closed the streets are empty even the local pub is empty. Without as much as a drop of alcohol in their systems all hell breaks loose. Once outside the pub the streets start to fill with female zombies on the rampage for male blood and flesh.

Nowhere near as bad as i taught it would be which was a big surprise i didnt set the bar of expectation very high so the only way was up from there i suppose. The characters are a fun bunch led by the extremely sexist Neil played by the one and only Danny Dyer. The comedy side was a little hit and miss what funny bits there were only made me smile not laugh. There are some really fun kills and the gore effects were done really well but saying that the make up on some of the zombies was pretty questionable. If you are in the market for some stupid mindless fun then this is worth a watch not sure if its a film i would watch again but with the time i had with it i had fun.

5/10

[TJ Doc]

Harbinger Down (AKA: Inanimate)

I appreciate the intention here. Old-school creature features with a reliance on practical effects are few and far between these days, so it was great to see this achieve its Kickstarter goals... but this an unprecedented disaster.

Almost every single shot is poorly framed and appears cropped, the script is farcical with acting to match, attack sequences are a mess of shakeycam edits, creature designs are totally uninspired, Lance Henriksen can barely hide the suicidal glimmer in his eyes... and it's all so very hilarious.

We should all own a copy of this. Our children need to grow up viewing this as a cautionary tale. And it must be preserved so that alien archaeologists can study it in the distant future and decipher its secrets.

Truly special.

[iank]

Saw The Visit at the cinema today. A teenage girl and her younger brother go to visit their grandparents for the very first time because of the grandparents' long-standing estrangement from their mother. The visit starts off well enough, but then their grandparents begin to behave in increasingly peculiar ways, especially once the sun goes down... This "found footage" tongue-in-cheek horror flick works better than I was expecting, thanks to fine performances from the entire cast, none of whom I recognise from anything else. The likeable characters and semi-humorous tone keep it watchable and engaging, until the last act tips the situation over into absolute terror. Very enjoyable, and definitely the best thing M Night Shyamalan has done in a very long time.

[J Harker]

Managed a solo trip to the cinema to watch Legend on Tuesday.
Brilliant film and Tom Hardy was fantastic as the Kray Twins. Particularly Ronnie who is a terrifying portrayal. From what i can tell Brian Helgelands film does play fast and loose with the facts, but as a piece of entertainment it worked brilliantly. Its also very funny at times.