#10 - Antebellum (2020)
So we stuck this on without knowing anything about it (just a reccie by a mate) and enjoyed it immensely. I'm hesitant to say anything about it at all to ruin any surprises. I will say it felt like a Jordan Peele flick and just leave it at that. Check it out
It Chapter Two (2019)
Well this one gets off to a corker of a start with the adults assembling for a wonderful Chinese restaurant scene. Then things start to sag when everyone is sent off alone to enable a bunch more jump scares to be crammed in. The repetition of the 'scary thing rapidly rushing towards you' gag really outstays its welcome. But Henry (along with the plot) catches up again and we're get back into the narrative with a terrific sprint to the finale. Given this is where the 80s version dropped the ball, I enjoyed this a lot more. Once again the casting is spot on and I have to give special kudos to Bill Hader for making the most annoying character MVP this time around. Overall, I think the structure could be better with a little rearrangement and removal of some of the bloat, but they nailed it with the characters and, for the most part, the atmosphere.
Quote:
Eddie Kaspbrak: You should cut that ******* mullet. It's been, like, thirty years, man!
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"It's always funny until someone gets hurt...
and then it's just hilarious! "
Xbox Live Tag - "Weaselfierce360"
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#6 - The Babysitter Killer Queen. Wasnt a big fan. Didnt like the retconning of the first film. Thought it was too long for what it was. Weaving looked bored and not as engaged as in the first one (contractual obligation? ). Different writers probably didn't help.
Season 3 of Channel Zero dragged. But the last one is mental.
Sadly not really a horror film but a good teen comedy though. James cosmo is alot of fun in his little role. The 4 lads are also very good with some funny lines.
Worth a watch but dont expect a horror. 7 out of 10
Slaughterhouse rulez (2018) on Netflix
Trailer...
Now this is more like it a proper horror comedy. Nick frost is hilarious. Really like the odd creature design. Another fun movie thats worth a watch. 7 out of 10 again for this one.
#11 - Let Us Prey (2014)
Mysterious stranger Liam Cunningham materializes after dark in a remote Scottish village, hit by a car and taken to the local police station he proceeds to draw out the sins of everyone inside. Another quality wee Scottish/Irish horror flick with a host of familiar faces; Cunningham and Pollyanna McIntosh are always worth watching, throw in Scottish comedian Jonathan Watson in a rare creepy role and Brian Vernel [who's mug seems to be all the over the place these days] and you've got my attention. This one can get a bit stagey given it's mostly filmed in one location but it's got style and substance for what is essentially a b-grade bit of schlock. Recommended.
Other than having had some of these flicks on my shelf gathering dust for years I have so far this October not selected one movie myself and I'm kinda liking the randomness so I'm gonna see if I can keep it up all month; I have a world cinema pile at the ready so human randomizers please pick a country/place of origin from the list below for one of tomorrow night's flicks...
Germany
Japan
Korea
Italy
Mexico
Hong Kong
Australia
#09 - Dogs (1976)
The pet dogs in a small college town in California start to inexplicably turn on their owners. What a hoot!
Your review of the canine Maximum Overdrive reminded me about the existence of...
#7 - Trapped (1973)
"There'll be another plane tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that".
A TV movie from the 70s that sees a man accidentally locked in a department store overnight with a pack of Dobermann guard dogs.
If logic was anywhere to be seen then this film would be called “James Brolin finds an office to lock himself in and waits until the morning for security personnel to arrive” but that wouldn’t be anywhere near as much fun. Or practical for the poster.
I recall seeing this as a kid in the late 80s but as of writing it isn’t available anywhere officially, so tonight I had to view it via a 240p Daily Motion video. Less than ideal but I wasn't in it for the cinematography and the low resolution does some of the suits in this film a favour.
Despite the silliness of the concept it does a good job of generating tension as Brolin tries desperately to fend off or outmanoeuvre the dogs using various appliances found around the department store. Even fishing for weaponry at one stage.
I’m pretty sure this isn’t the original trailer given the music but it does the job. It's quite spoilerific though so swerve it if you plan to watch it.
__________________ Xbox Live Gamertag: Absinthe Miasma
Shock Waves (1977)
John Carradine's low rent boat cruise runs aground, dumping passengers and crew on a Carribbean island housing reclusive Nazi Scientist Peter Cushing - oh, and his underwater Nazi zombies! Brooke Adams recounts the terrible tale of what befell them… It's an interesting concept and, it has to be said, the use of the undead aquatic goose-steppers emerging and submerging into the water is quite effective and creepy. Just as well, since aside from the score, that's about all the film has going for it. Carradine and Cushing were obviously on day rates and depart as soon as they've appeared and delivered their exposition. The deaths too (the few that you actually witness!) are also rather lacklustre variations of drowning. Good core concept held back by its lack of budget.
Quote:
SS Commander: I can tell you this, there is danger here. Danger in the water.
__________________
"It's always funny until someone gets hurt...
and then it's just hilarious! "
Xbox Live Tag - "Weaselfierce360"
PSN - "Weaselfierce72"
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Other than having had some of these flicks on my shelf gathering dust for years I have so far this October not selected one movie myself and I'm kinda liking the randomness so I'm gonna see if I can keep it up all month; I have a world cinema pile at the ready so human randomizers please pick a country/place of origin from the list below for one of tomorrow night's flicks...
Germany
Japan
Korea
Italy
Mexico
Hong Kong
Australia
Now this was great fun, alot better than the first. Gareth (the raid) evans short about a religious cult is the best of the bunch - very violent and gorey fun. The other shorts are good (the first is very creepy even though not at all original), with only the wrap around story being pretty crap although again some nice gore. 8 out of 10
#12 - Hubie Halloween (2020)
Adam Sandler does Halloween for Netflix. I don't really know why I still watch Sandler comedies, I guess it's some kind of deep rooted psychological holdover from my teenage years and a yearning to see Steve Buscemi acting like a doofus. Calling this brain candy would be a disservice to disposable popcorn entertainment (and that excellent Kids In The Hall flick) but I did giggle a few times so now I hate myself.
What we have here, courtesy of Amazon Prime Video, is basically Evil Jumanji.
Two estranged brothers return to their home town after their father disappears to pack up his video store.
They discover a VHS board game in his office which turns out to be an inter-dimensional hub to some version of hell but to unlock the gates they have to find 4 keys and with them they could win back their father’s soul.
This is a homage to 80s horror films like The Gate or Demons, so we get lots of smoke machines, which are backlit by lots of strobe lights. There’s a healthy dose of pratical gore, featuring disembowelment, head trauma and various stabbings, but it’s the blood cannon that does a lot of the heavy lifting, regularly coating everyone on set with crimson splatter.
It’s not clever or original but it's distracting enough for 83 minutes.
__________________ Xbox Live Gamertag: Absinthe Miasma
Despite the short running time, I found it quite a challenge ... not cos of the 'extreme' scenes but cos it's just so damned weird and arty!
I won't say any more, and look forward to your review, GPR79 ...
Well (as is my preferred m.o. these days) I went into this without even reading the back of the box
#13 - We Are the Flesh (2016)
Mexican hermit living in a bombed out post apocalyptic building befriends a brother and sister scavenging for food. And from that basic setup we get explicit sex, extreme violence, incest, necrophilia, masturbation, urination, menstruation, exsanguination, cannibalism and an orgy all set to occasional Gaspar Noe-lite trippy visuals with a Lynchian flavoured rudimentary plot. I actually really enjoyed it. The director balances well on that thin line between allegorical fable and just being weird for the hell of it. I hate things that are purposely incomprehensible but I never felt that way with this one, probably because of it's short-ish runtime and ability to surprise and actually amuse me despite it's heavy visuals and intense performances. I was never bored and I certainly won't forget this flick in a hurry, hell I might even watch it again sometime
Need another flick for tonight, someone pick a number between 1-43 (not 24) please
Interesting. Not sure if I've ever seen this one. If I have it would have been on VHS back in the day. I'm getting a flash of a VHS cover with a birthday party and a girl with a knife behind her back and her hair shaped like a noose, but that might be Bloody Birthday or something else...
Ringu (1998)
It's been some years since I last sat and watched this Hideo Nakata version (ahh, the old Tartan Video days!). What's surprising on re-watch, given how imitated and influential this has been to horror over the years, is how few actual spooky scare scenes are actually in this film. There are scenes I must have remembered from sequels or remakes that I could have sworn were from here. What really holds up though is the intriguing central mystery behind the plot with its escalating pace, tension and building dread as time runs out for our protagonists. And the finale still packs a punch - both the scare and Reiko's final lines.
Quote:
Ryuji Takayama: This kind of thing... it doesn't start by one person telling a story. It's more like everyone's fear just takes on a life of its own.
__________________
"It's always funny until someone gets hurt...
and then it's just hilarious! "
Xbox Live Tag - "Weaselfierce360"
PSN - "Weaselfierce72"
Wii-U - "Weaselfierce-U"
STEAM ID - "WeaselFierce"
Not seen Spiral yet myself but I think I'm going to do the One Missed Call Trilogy this year. Miike's original is one of my favourites but I've never seen either sequel.
__________________
"It's always funny until someone gets hurt...
and then it's just hilarious! "
Xbox Live Tag - "Weaselfierce360"
PSN - "Weaselfierce72"
Wii-U - "Weaselfierce-U"
STEAM ID - "WeaselFierce"
but it does the job. It's quite spoilerific though so swerve it if you plan to watch it.
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