What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by J Harker

He could pull of such things in the same scene at times.

He certainly could.

"I'll be having a drink with my old friend, Toddy".

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

The problem with Ygor is he was such a cruel character. I hate him and that's testament to Lugosi's performance. He deserves all that comes to him. I couldn't wait for the monster to kill him.

Karloff could do cruel and manipulative and heart warming all in the same film. The Body Snatcher is a great example of this.

The way he talked to young Georgina with her affliction was lovely. You'd never have known what sort of a man he was really.

Exactly – John Gray is a nuanced and layered character, both evil and affectionate, and couldn't have been played as such by a lesser actor.

[MrBarlow]

The Goonies. 1985.

Steven Spielberg and Richard Donner's film about a group of kids lead by Sean Astin go on a treasure hunt to find a missing pirate boat and steal the fortune to save their houses from being demolished and everyone is separated. Anne Ramsay, Robert Davi and Joe Pantoliano play the Fratelli family who join the hunt for their own gain and laughs. Pro footballer John Matuszak spent a good few hours in the make up chair to give us a iconic character for the film and a probable memorable catchphrases "Hey You Guys hehe".

We got Chunk played by Jeff Cohen who does the "Truffle Shuffle" and and makes a brilliant confession which can attract a laugh or two. Corey Feldman as the non stop talker mouth who can land himself in trouble. Josh Brolin as the tough older brother who thinks the pirate ship is just a story. Key Hu Quan as the inventer Data who spells out the swear words. I know this may not be for one or two fellow Cultists but decent funny family entertainment.

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[MrBarlow]

The Love Bug. 1968.

A down on his luck race car driver buys a old VW Beetle that has a mind of its own.

Comedy, some drama, romance, we know very little about Jim Douglas except when he is described as down on his luck, angry, and one who was prone to getting into trouble. Dean Jones did an excellent job as the cocky, angry, egotistical driver who is knocked down a few pegs by his friends and a little car. Buddy Hackett is Jones little mechanic that seems to have a understanding with the car and calls it Herbie. David Tomlinson plays the opponent race car driver who wants to steal the car and fails at the opportunity.

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[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Reasonable Doubt (2001)

I think it's called Reasonable Doubt, but i watched it on dvd as Dirty Work whilst the poster below is Crime Scene.

A homicide detective investigating a series of sex murders in L.A receives help on the case from a well-known sex therapist with a dark secret.

When said homicide detective is former glamour model turned actress Amber Smith and the sex therapist is another hot blonde played by GiGi Erneta, i think you can probably imagine the help given. Help by a warming fireplace, help in a jacuzzi...

When it comes to serial killer movies The Silence of the Lambs this is not, it's pretty dismal, although Smith's cop partner has some funny scenes especially when questioning a couple of pot heads regarding the whereabouts of one of several red herrings.

I watched this on Wednesday night and even for a second time viewing it's rather unmemorable (Except this one scene with Smith and Erneta in a jacuzzi...did i mention that?) with a plot that starts okay but becomes ever more convoluted yet despite it being obviously pretty crap i keep returning to tat like this every so often.

[Frankie Teardrop]

SKINAMARINK – The one that set social media alight last year (I wish it’d done that literally) finally arrives on Shudder. I find it really odd that it caused such furore because it’s the most abstract thing I’ve seen in ages. There is a story, kind of – two kids find that they’re alone in a house at night after their parents disappear, only there might be something waiting in the darkness for them after all etc etc. This thumbnail might, in other hands, have formed the basis of yet another badly filmed jump-scare flick, but no, director Kyle Edward Ball has taken the less frequently travelled avant-garde route and instead presents us with a veritable cinematic tone poem. ‘Skinamarink’ unfolds as a series of moody shots of surfaces, doorways, halls, all Dutch angles, everything at night, whilst disembodied TV voices and weird cartoons play in the background. We see snatches of the kids and hear their muffled voices as they try to figure out what’s happening. What IS happening isn’t ever really clear, but it’s pretty spooky. As is the film. It’s one for that elusive ‘right mood’, and I have a feeling that sticking it on for shits and giggles will swiftly lead to boredom for most; it seems tailor-made for three AM and a fairly sketchy mental state. I actually found it less of an endurance test than I feared thanks to the atmosphere of grim foreboding and the director’s fascinatingly manipulative use of a pound shop budget. If nothing else, it’s a very interesting experiment in tranced-out weirdness. Films like this and ‘We’re All Going To The World’s Fair’ give me hope that the genre’s upping its freak factor.

RESURRECTION – Rebecca Hall in another role that showcases her talent for weird intensity (see also ‘The Night House’, but more so her deeply unnerving performance in ‘Christine’, a sad, sad film that really sticks in the mind after all these years). Hall is being stalked by none other than Tim Roth, so the potential for psychosis seems limitless. ‘Resurrection’ presents itself as a fairly standard thriller, then gradually morphs into something stranger and more surreal – we end up in a realm where gaslighting, madness and the supernatural all seem entangled - but the outstanding aspect is Hall and her wracked, starey face, through which all the film’s otherworldliness plays out. The final spiral into bleakness is pretty messed up, not to mention stomach-rummagingly gory. I recommend it.

MURDER ME MONSTER – Argentinian monster movie that’s short on popcorny thrills and long on cryptic mood. Headless women have been turning up near the Andes; a burned-out cop teams up with the suspect to find out what’s going on. These bare bones make it sound standard, but ‘Murder Me Monster’ is an exercise in floaty vibes that becomes progressively unhinged. There’s an off-key neo-noirishness (I was about to say ‘Lynchean’, but didn’t bother) that sets the tone, but then lots of zoned-out asides and dialogue that’s borderline incomprehensible. You do get an hilarious bollocks-vag-teeth monster at the end and a couple more dollops of gore, but beware, I really liked it but it’s probably one for people who don’t mind feeling like they’re watching stuff in zero gravity (see ‘The Skinamarink’, maybe ambient horror’s becoming a thing).

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

SKINAMARINK – Films like this and ‘We’re All Going To The World’s Fair’ give me hope that the genre’s upping its freak factor.

The extremely long and derivative supernatural thriller genre that took over following gore and torture porn's fun ascendancy and rapid descent died a death for me years ago when the likes of Blumhouse churned out utter shite constantly on rinse and repeat for practically a decade now.

It seems with the lease of life the likes of Shudder are giving low budget horror that film makers are experimenting again which is great. It's not always successful but at least it's not boring. In a way it's like the mid 00's when supermarket dvd shelves oozed so much potential just begging for idiots like me to spend a fiver on.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

The extremely long and derivative supernatural thriller genre that took over following gore and torture porn's fun ascendancy and rapid descent died a death for me years ago when the likes of Blumhouse churned out utter shite constantly on rinse and repeat for practically a decade now.

It seems with the lease of life the likes of Shudder are giving low budget horror that film makers are experimenting again which is great. It's not always successful but at least it's not boring. In a way it's like the mid 00's when supermarket dvd shelves oozed so much potential just begging for idiots like me to spend a fiver on.

Totally agree - it's strange to think that the period around 2002 - 2012 (from the time of all that French and Japanese extreme stuff to the start of the 'Insidious' era) might be seen in years to come as a a golden age of weird, gory shit, but I think it's in with a chance. I remember that time as being full of loads of quirky stuff that hasn't had much of a look-in since. Even the 'Hostel' rip-offs were more of a laugh than a lot of the tripe we've had to put up with in the last ten. So signs that things might be getting more experimental are all for the good imo.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Born Free (1966)

Born Free tells the story of Joy and George Adamson, conservationists in Kenya who raised three orphaned lion cubs. Two of which are sent to Rotterdam Zoo when they reached near adulthood but the third Elsa, remained with the Adamson's.

When it becomes clear they can no longer keep Elsa they realise they will have to teach her within three months to fend for herself and go back to the wild or join her siblings in a zoo.

The cinematography is excellent - it looks glorious via Eureka's Blu-ray - and the story is extremely affecting. I don't mind saying i was in tears a couple of times experiencing this all over again. Although the Adamson's, as played by real life couple Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, are very good it's Elsa we are here to see and she's impossible to take your eyes off; talk about a scene stealer! Meanwhile John Barry's theme and Matt Monro's iconic title song is still echoing round my head over 24 hours later.

A childhood favourite (And now an adult favourite) which i can't have seen for at least thirty five years, this is a beautifully shot and sensitively made adaptation of Joy Adamson's true life best seller and one of the all time great animal films.

[MrBarlow]

Herbie Rides Again. 1974.

Herbie helps a old lady to protect her house from a property developer.

Growing up i felt this was the Herbie movie that played a lot on TV during school holidays and totally loved it yet now a fully grown man and I still love it. Helen Hayes plays the adorable grandmother who has custody of the loveable VW Beetle and young friend Stefanie Powers who likes to pack a punch and Ken Berry who seems more afraid of the young lady than his evil Uncle. Keenan Wynn plays the property developer who seems to think everything should go his way. Robert Stevenson returns for the sequel and somehow manages to add in more family fun entertainment.

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