What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[MrBarlow]

I Miss You, Hugs And Kisses. 1978.

A woman is murdered and her rich husband is accused of the murder but is he really guilty? Blonde bombshell Elke Sommer is the money grabbing model/housewife married to Donald Pilon, their marriage is on the brink and both seem to want each other dead. We are thrown into the film quickly with a killing right at the start which should have been a interesting plot as it switches back and forth to who killed her. This film went on and on to the point I lost interest and by the time it came to who killed her I didn't really bother about. This made the video nasty list with a brutal killing and necrophilia, to be honest this one can be avoided.

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[Frankie Teardrop]

CRAWLSPACE - Slight but enjoyable mid-eighties horror outing from the director of one of my favourites, 'Tourist Tap'. The main draw is Klaus Kinski as a landlord turned slasher with severe peeping tendencies, a Nazi past and a killer gadget obsession. He gives maximum creep by simply murmuring and creasing his face the right way, but it's a revelation seeing him on a skateboard.

BUTCHER, BAKER, NIGHTMARE MAKER - This ex-Video Nasty has benefited from its boutique blu-ray era rehab and can these days be viewed as a thoughtful, well-made and disturbing inversion of 'Psycho'. Its standout aspect is absolutely Susan Tyrell's performance as terrifying Aunt Cheryl. What a face! I wonder whether the Tyrell connection inspired Julia Davis when she did 'Nighty Night', which also featured a ruthlessly efficient gaslighting maniac.

GHOST DANCE - Supernatural slasher about a museum curator on the tail of a murderous Native American spirit. Highly enjoyable, for the tone more than anything - the splattery aspects are nothing to write home about, but something's always rumbling away in the background, the same kind of shadowy early eighties eeriness that runs through overlooked classics such as 'The Dark Room' and 'Incubus'.

STRANGE DARLING - Another one that everyone's been talking about this year, 'Strange Darling' has made the fan community headlines by virtue of its zig-zagging 'post-Tarrantino' structure, blurts of ultraviolence and a mindset seen by some as a bit iffy in the wake of '#Me Too'. A hotel-room hook-up goes wrong and spirals into cross-county cat-and-mouse. I'll leave it to others to unpack the layers of potential controversy and just simply say that it didn't blow me away or anything but worked well enough as a fairly nasty thriller. Nice to see Barbara Hershey, didn't really get the whole "hey stop what you're doing this is in 35mm" thing.

AENIGMA - I love how Fulci can do a film in complete defiance of anything that might be taken as 'good cinema' and still make my head spin by zooming in on a snail crawling across a 'Smash Hits' poster. Totally weirdo, totally class. This is a typical mongrel exercise that throws in bits of 'Carrie', 'Patrick' and 'Phenomena'. Lots of silly bits, some lovely-to-behold high vaulted shadowy chambers, and inspired bouts of mania such as the sequence in which someone runs from room-to-room in a dorm where everyone's been decapitated.

[Mojo]

REQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE. (1972)
Two girls fleeing from some sort of heist end up trapped in castle full of dying vampires in this Rollin classic. REQUIEM was the first Rollin film I watched ( thanks to Redemption?s VHS and no thanks to James Ferman?s ridiculous cutting ) and it still remains a favourite of mine.
The ( fully uncut ) 4k presentation from Indicator looks stunning - the reds and purples leap off the screen. It?s a shame Jean didn?t live long enough to see how beautifully presented his films are in this collection. Wonderful.

KNIFE UNDER THE THROAT. (1986)
A half naked woman runs into a police station, claiming to have been attacked by a group of men, but is dismissed as she has apparently done this before. Meanwhile, a black gloved killer is murdering various exotic models, in this sleazy 80s Giallo.
This is the sort of movie where a woman walks around her house in the nude, answers a threatening phone call in the nude and then checks if there are in dodgy characters hanging round her house by peering out the curtains. In the nude.
Basically, a pretty poor film full of nude or half nude women and vile, horrible men, this would never make anybody?s top ten Gialli. Having said that, Brigitte Lahaie takes a leading role ( as well as having a great interview in the extras ) so it?s not all bad. Plus, 88 Films gives us a really nice print and it?s good to see a rarely seen Giallo get the Blu Ray treatment, instead of the umpteenth release of all the usual ( black gloved ) suspects.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Full Circle (1977)

Another tour de force performance following Rosemary's Baby and See No Evil from Mia Farrow as a woman under duress. This slow moving and atmospheric take on the Peter Straub novel is subtly directed by Richard Loncraine who envelops us in Farrow's world of weird as she moves into a new home in a grey and depressing mid seventies London following the death of her daughter and finds herself at the mercy of the vengeful spirit of a young girl.

As with the aforementioned Farrow vehicles, here we are once more relying on Mia to carry proceedings, in fact more so, and your enjoyment will come from how much you can invest in her one woman showcase of distress.

There are one or two shocks along the way but this could be seen as either plodding and dull or fascinatingly morbidly ambient depending on your mood. Think Don't Look Now set in London and you won't go far wrong.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City (2021)

Solid is a term i really don't care for when it comes to discussing films and yet it seems the most appropriate to use were i to describe this movie in a single word.

It's story is a solid reworking of the early video games whilst the cast is also made up of solid dependable names you'll have seen in various tv productions such as Kaya Scodelario, Robbie Amell, Donal Logue, Tom Hopper and Neal McDonough among others. Director Johannes Roberts is solidly assured and the script solid enough to keep you invested in all the various characters.

Although not particularly scary there's a nice atmosphere to events in Raccoon City and later the mansion and police station and the action scenes are fun if not all that original. This isn't a remarkable film by any means, merely solid you might say.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Brannigan (1975)

Chicago detective Jim Brannigan (John Wayne) is sent to London to extradite a wanted American criminal, Ben Larkin (John Vernon). However, Larkin is kidnapped before Brannigan can apprehend him, igniting a manhunt throughout the city.

John Wayne strides about this thriller like Godzilla rampages through Tokyo, leaving rubble in his wake, even with one or two comical touches - the riotous Leadenhall Market pub fight and the car chase around London resulting in the coolest jump across an opening Tower Bridge you'll see - A fine British support cast lead by Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson, John Standing and a couple of Booths valiantly try and keep up. Geeson in particular appears to have genuine screen chemistry with Wayne and they genuinely come over as friends.

Brannigan is an effortlessly entertaining film with superb London location work which at times gives it the feel of a tourism film presented by John Wayne. (How cool would that be?) This along with McQ (1974) was the Duke's take on Dirty Harry and Coogan's Bluff and he's perfectly suited, albeit by this time a little too old, for the role.

The recent Blu-ray from the BFI looks splendid and initial copies have a very informative booklet on the film.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Poor Things (2023)

What a wonderfully brilliant film this is. I had no idea what i was letting myself in for as i got comfy on the sofa.

A bizarre multi pastel coloured steam punk Frankenstein tale of a young pregnant woman (Emma Stone) who throws herself off a bridge to her death only to be brought back to life by scientist Godwin (Willem Dafoe, in a direct reference to Frankenstein's author playing a character with Mary Shelley's maiden name). However rather than simply reanimate her he swaps her brain with that of the unborn child so Bella, as she is named, begins life as a young woman with a babies brain.

What comes next is a weird and absolutely f*cking wonderful adventure as Bella leaves London and goes off into the world along with partner lawyer Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo) across Europe and North Africa (Lisbon, Paris, Alexandria) to learn about life.

The film plays out as the story of a reborn woman free from the pressures of society with the most liberated mindset imaginable. Emma Stone is absolutely superb as Bella in a role that asks her to bare both her naked body and soul in equal measure with some of the juiciest, wittiest dialogue i can remember from any film this century with a standout performance that is brilliantly bold and utterly fearless.

I laughed out loud several times at both the visual aspects but mainly Bella's forked tongue as her innocent naivety allowed her to say exactly what she wanted to whomever she wanted. And boy she doesn't hold back.

Director Yorgos Lanthimos, who made the almost as good Dogtooth back in 2009, brings to the screen a beautiful visual tour de force of a strange out of time 19th century that's almost impossible to avert the gaze from. Whether it's the pink and yellow streets of Lisbon or a dog with a chickens head (When it barked Milly was transfixed at the screen) Poor Things is a feast for the eyes. This might actually be a genuine case of style over substance, but what style it is!

Poor Things will definitely be worth my Blu-ray purchase price as there will be so much rewatch value... I can't wait. Meanwhile i might have watched the best new-to-me film i'll see all year and it's only the first of January.

This is highly recommended but perhaps not for those who are easily shocked or offended.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

633 Squadron (1964)

In the tradition of other Royal Air Force WWII films The Dam Busters and Battle of Britain. 633 Squadron differs in that it's totally fictional. It's also inferior to those films but still enjoyable never the less.

Despite starring Oscar winners Cliff Robertson and George Chakiris, it feels slightly underwhelming early doors as neither quite provides the heroicness required for what is essentially a stirring boys own adventure. Where the film does deliver is in the flying sequences featuring eight De Havilland Mosquitos and some stunning Scottish location photography around the Glencoe area, as well as the stirring theme tune from composer Ron Goodwin, still used in RAF ceremonies to this day.

The final aerial assault on a German armaments factory deep in a Norwegian fjord is brilliantly realised and riveting viewing with the last words spoken "But they're probably all dead. All 633 Squadron", " You can't kill a squadron" being particularly memorable.

Genre actress Maria Perschy, a fave of both Paul Naschy and Jess Franco plays Robertson's love interest. As a final aside, you do get the feeling some fella called Lucas was definitely influenced by the attack down the Death Star trench... i mean, attack down the fjord on the factory.

The Blu-ray from Final Cut (A port of the Kino release) is not the greatest example of high definition. Whilst some scenes look great others seem merely average dvd quality. However i look forward to watching critic, all round know it all and general good egg Kim Newman's views on the film courtesy of one of his regular twenty five minute interviews.

[Frankie Teardrop]

DR JEKYLL AND THE WEREWOLF - This kind of inspired silliness - the kind where werewolf Paul Naschy hops over to swingin' London for an appointment with Dr Jeckyll, who inadvertently unleashes a whip-wielding, strip club-frequenting Mr Hyde - is so of its time that it's slightly nauseating to think of any A24 types wanting to turn the clock back on it now. Could you imagine a remake these days? I suppose there's a subplot about someone mourning the loss of their spouse. Anyway, wahwah guitars, random shots of stuffed animals, inane technobabble in place of dialogue, Jack Taylor looking very shifty and a few lovely 'gothic passages'... gets a bit languid in spots, but it's a nice jolt to see such an unapologetic dollop of socially oblivious monster mash.

TICKS - Seth Green and a bunch of wayward 'city kids' are on a wilderness retreat when they come face to face with genre stalwart Clint Howard's mutant bugs. 'Ticks' offers a relatively slick rendition of man vs nature with a little body horror thrown in. Its actiony tropes are entertaining enough, but it's lightweight; it never really wants to mess with us or slime us out, and watching it now just goes to show how reined-in horror had become by the mid-nineties. Competently handled by Tony Randel, who made a bit more of an impression with the likes of 'Hellraiser 2'.

REQUIEM FOR A VAMPIRE - One thought that occurred to me whilst revisiting 'Requiem For A Vampire', in what must surely be its definitive version courtesy of the new release by Indicator, was something like "I could basically just sit and watch a camera going up and down the derelict corridors of a run-down castle - sometimes under candlelight, sometimes by day - for ninety minutes, and pretty much be OK with it". More than that happens in 'Requiem For A Vampire', and it generally involves vampires with bad fake teeth either waxing melancholy or shagging, but I like that for Rollin it's always about atmosphere and imagery and never screaming college kids trying to move the 'plot' forward. I'm sure this needs no recommendation, but you have mine anyway.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

DR JEKYLL AND THE WEREWOLF - This kind of inspired silliness - the kind where werewolf Paul Naschy hops over to swingin' London for an appointment with Dr Jeckyll, who inadvertently unleashes a whip-wielding, strip club-frequenting Mr Hyde - is so of its time that it's slightly nauseating to think of any A24 types wanting to turn the clock back on it now. Could you imagine a remake these days? I suppose there's a subplot about someone mourning the loss of their spouse. Anyway, wahwah guitars, random shots of stuffed animals, inane technobabble in place of dialogue, Jack Taylor looking very shifty and a few lovely 'gothic passages'... gets a bit languid in spots, but it's a nice jolt to see such an unapologetic dollop of socially oblivious monster mash.

When doesn't he?

I love him in The Vampire's Night Orgy. He's supposed to be the hero of the piece but he spends half the film spying on Dyanik Zurakowska through a hole in the wall.