What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Paul Zombie]

Tales From The Crypt.

5 strangers get trapped in a crypt while on a guided tour of some caves and each end up getting told a story of their future by a mysterious crypt keeper(Ralph Richardson).

From Amicus films, this is a very entertaining anthology indeed. and has 5 short stories featuring Joan Collins murdering her husband at Christmas before being at the mercy of a psycho santa, Ian Hendry leaving his wife and kids for his fancy woman and ending up in a car crash, a bankrupt buisness man who;s wife makes a wish for lots of money with a magic chinese statue, and a ruthless ex military man who makes life hell for the residents of a blind home when he becomes manager. But my favorite tale stars Peter Cushing as a elderly widower who entertains all the local kids and falls victim to a snobbish neighbour and drives him to suicide. Cushing is just fantastic in the role.

Yes i recommend these stories a lot. all very well acted with a lot of the great stars at the time. and a nice mix of creepy atmosphere and black comedy. 90.5 out of 100.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Scars of Dracula (1970)

Scars of Dracula has many faults. I've dissected them myself on here plenty of times. But among the high levels of sadism, gore and rubber bats it also features a terrific scene i'd never really noticed previously.

It's when Paul Carlson first ventures into Dracula's castle. He meets the lovely Tania (Anouska Hempel ) and is all cheerful and chirpy with her. Then Dracula enters. The room falls silent, the camera focuses on Christopher Lee's stern, pale face, then back to Paul, crazily holding a sword in his hand from the wall, a young happy go lucky young man who'd just been cavorting with the burgomasters daughter a few minutes ago. Gone is the fun, to be replaced by a chilling air of tension, as Dracula, Paul, Tania and then Patrick Troughton's Klove, eye one another up in a beautifully directed (By Roy Ward Baker) sequence of tension and dread. It's a scene reminiscent of Jonathon Harker's entrance to Castle Dracula in Hammer's first Dracula film but this is a very different Count Dracula. A Dracula no longer welcoming but terrifying instead. A Dracula to be feared!

[Demoncrat]

Rewatch!!

[Paul Zombie]

I am a big fan of the Scars of Dracula, despite rubber bats and knife and the stunt man in the fire proof suit at the end

[Demoncrat]

I need to revisit most of the later Hammers tbh. And it seems there are few obstacles left with this imminent release of Satanic Rites ...

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

I need to revisit most of the later Hammers tbh. And it seems there are few obstacles left with this imminent release of Satanic Rites ...

Care to expand, D?

[Demoncrat]

Ach, it's been years since I watched Scars, AD72, Taste The Blood ... etc. Starting with the Wheatley film was hit or miss tbh

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demoncrat

Ach, it's been years since I watched Scars, AD72, Taste The Blood ... etc. Starting with the Wheatley film was hit or miss tbh

No i meant expand on this

it seems there are few obstacles left with this imminent release of Satanic Rites ...

[Demoncrat]

Aren't Warner Archive putting it out?


Death Line (1972, Gary Sherman)
Pleasence and Rossington in the pub is surely a precursor to The Sweeney guv!!
Two students find a 'drunk' lying on the stairs at the tube station they alight at. So begins one of the truly strangest British films you will see. Follow Donald's tetchy detective as he travails the more unsightly side of Lahndahn Taawn ahem. And it still looks grotty as hell. A good thing. When people mention the slushy excreta that was Notting Hill ... I like to seize them by the throat in order to put my point across that this film is far worthier of their attention. I digress. Highly fricking recommended btw.

[iank]

Avalanche. A rich businessman builds a luxury skiing resort, in spite of warnings that the area is unstable. You can probably guess the rest. Rock Hudson, Mia Farrow and Robert Forster star in this fairly nondescript late 70s disaster movie. It's not bad - it's competently made and acted - but it takes forever for the disaster to start, and it's not that interesting when it does.