What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Excellent reviews, Nos.

I'll try and get into a pattern of writing them every few days so they don't mount up – I've still got a few films I've seen I plan to write up today and tomorrow.

[nosferatu42]

Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs

The Brand New Testament

In this absurdist Belgian comedy, God is a complete bastard. He is a hard drinking, heavy smoking cruel and indicative man who lives in Brussels, takes delight in the fact his son was stupid enough to get caught and executed, verbally abuses his wife and beats his 10-year-old daughter.

God is also played by the killer from "Man Bites Dog" Benoît Poelvoorde, this has peaked my interest as i think he's really good in that film.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by nosferatu42

God is also played by the killer from "Man Bites Dog" Benoît Poelvoorde, this has peaked my interest as i think he's really good in that film.

That's a great film. It's an interesting casting choice because he's playing God. In this case, the deity is not a sympathetic and beneficent character, but a petty, mischievous and selfish individual, not dissimilar to the one outlined by Steven Fry in that great clip from Irish TV.

[Demoncrat]

Death Wish (2018)

ER hotshot Bruce Kersey has a poifect life. Sadly crime is endemic. Unlike logic, due process and cctv in the world he lives in . Uncle Hank is the cop assigned to give a white man with a gun a pass at the end. A laugh riot. Roth one of the unsung comedy directors imho.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Slayer (1982)

I realise what i'm about to say leaves me open to a lot of ridicule but i prefer the old VIPCO dvd release of The Slayer to Arrow's sparkling new 4K print.

In all truth it's not a very good film and pales in comparison to many slashers of the time. The old VIPCO release wasn't bad in the picture quality stakes, in fact it was for the most part quite sharp especially when upscaled but at the same time it was also quite badly marked with a light sheen on it's right hand side during the darkly lit scenes. However this damage also gave the film a kind of mystical atmosphere which suited the films dream like premise, giving an impression of peering into a grotesque netherworld, an impression that the newly restored print totally loses. Arrow's release is polished and slick looking (Incidentally two words never usually associated with director JS Cardone) with much of the atmosphere lost, leaving us with a distinctly average and rather talky slasher film which takes an eternity to get going and doesn't have enough murder set pieces to sustain it's ninety minute run time.

[Demoncrat]

I get it D.

I still look forward to this one though. It reminds me of a childhood holiday ...

[Mojo]

THE REINCARNATION OF PETER PROUD

Michael Sarrazin stars as a lecturer whose recurring dreams / nightmares / visions lead him to believe he existed in a previous life that ended in his murder and tracks down the town seen in his visions.
I was always quite intrigued to see this one, after reading about it in the late lamented World Of Horror magazine. Suspend your belief a bit and this is a quirky enjoyable thriller, including a memorable turn from Margot Kidder.

DEATH SMILES ON A MURDERER

No point in trying to write a synopsis of this one, as I don't have a shitting clue what it's supposed to be about! Something about Ewa Aulin being dead but still alive, or maybe a ghost or a zombie. Or something. Oh, and Klaus Kinski is in it.
Enjoyable in a WTF kind of way, Arrow's blu ray looks terrific and features an excellent new interview with Ms Aulin herself.

[Demoncrat]

Great reviews Mojo!! I too am bamboozled everytime I watch DSOAM. I think that's half its charm really


Coco (Sam Liu)

Mexican set Disney flick based around one of their major festivals .... would have been quite 'psychedelic' at the cinema I felt ... it's very rich in colour. Thematically revealing a darker heart (befitting the subject?) than bloody Frozen for sure. What Walt would have said ... is another matter all together . All in all ultimately rewarding.

[Demoncrat]

Caravan To Vaccares (1974, Geoffrey Reeve)

David Birney and Charlotte Rampling trample over France whilst avoiding bullets and the bill in this rather muted Maclean adaptation. Always remember seeing bits of this throughout my youth. They left no impression. I now see why. Birney a void. Negation at the centre leaves you trailing in the dirt ... adrift even already. Drably coloured as well. Odd for a flick with a lot of scenes filmed au naturelle so to speak ....

Next!!

[Dave Boy]

Originally Posted by Crimson Blade

The Full Treatment (1960).

Another great suspense thriller in the superb Hammer Vol 2 Blu-ray set from Indicator. Renowned racing driver Alan Colby, is involved in a major crash shortly after getting married. His wife Denise, played by Diane Cilento, from The Wicker Man, escapes unscathed. Alan, however, has serious head injuries.
After eventually recovering, he finds that he has murderous impulses towards his wife. Eventually, he reluctantly seeks help from a psychiatrist, who he and his wife meet whilst on vacation in the south of France. But is all that what it seems?
Although it felt a bit dragged out at times, it's nevertheless an excellent, well made film. And a great addition to any Hammer fan's collection. 7/10.

Diane Cilento is superb in this movie.