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Category Archives: Reviews
Friday the 13th Part 7: The New Blood 2.5/5
Ridiculous sequel where, even though people find corpses throughout the woods, they act as if nothing has happened and decide to get some air in the same woods. It’s not completely without charm though, as Kane Hodder’s reanimated Jason gives … Continue reading
The Poseidon Adventure 4/5
Despite a few cheesy moments (especially in the build-up to the tidal wave), this was pretty damn thrilling. Everyone seemed to be giving it their all, and it kept me totally engaged from the point the tidal wave hit, right … Continue reading
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream 3.5/5
A fascinating documentary giving us in the 21st century an insight into the ‘midnight movie’ phenomenon of the 70s, .starting with El Topo and finishing with Eraserhead. Some fine talking heads, insights and period footage made it engaging and funny.
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Quatermass 2 Enemy from Space 4/5
Another great British 50s scifi, dealing with mature themes of government conspiracy and control. It has something akin to the podpeople in Invasion of the Bodysnatchers, but these podpeople are ahead of the curve, and have already taken over government. … Continue reading
Macabre (1980) 3/5
Odd Italian thriller/horror that suffers the usual problem in Italian horror, in that the motiviation and speech of the characters seems slightly skewed compared to the narrative drive. The main actress was pretty committed, and the ending was pretty good … Continue reading
Friday the 13th 6: Jason Lives 3/5
A definite improvement on all the sequels (especially the terrible 5th one), this has some talent, wit and decent ideas going on, with some nice tension and jumpscares. I liked this Frankensteinian Jason, who walked fast, and seemed relentless.
The Quatermass Xperiment 4/5
Damn fine British scifi, made by Hammer before they went full-horror, with Brian Donlevy doing a great scientist-as-sociopath in his portrayal of Bernard Quatermass, and Richard Worsworth doing a great turn as Victor Caroon, a man slowly being overtaken by … Continue reading
Friday the 3th 5:A New Beginning 1/5
wow this is rank. Every single character exists only to die in a usually cursory and unconvincing way, as they meander through dialogue that exists only to bridge the bodycount. Even the motivation of this new “Jason” is utterly ridiculous. … Continue reading
X The Unknown 3.5/5
Rather fine 50s scifi that is very Quatermassy (it was intended to be a sequel to the original Quatermass movie, but Hammer couldn’t get the rights), and rather good. It has a creature reminiscent of The Blob, and the effects … Continue reading
Night of the Creeps 3.5/5
This was a lot of fun, and definitely at the top end of 80s B-movie horror. Witty, self-knowing script (in a good way), some good effects (and bad effects), and some really decent setups/payoffs. It thrilled me.
Friday the 13th 4: The Final Chapter 2.5/5
pretty weak entry, with very little tension or decent dialogue, but bolstered by Marty McFly’s dad, and a pretty good final act where a kid takes the war to Jason – AND THAT KID IS COREY FELDMAN WITH A SHAVED … Continue reading
The Haunted Palace 3.5/5
Rather fine, and I think a little forgotten, Roger Corman movie with Vincent Price. The film looks really crisp and lush, and Corman knew how to stretch the dollars to keep the film looking classy, but kept it cheap by … Continue reading
Paperhouse 3.5/5
This is a weird and subtle British horror movie that is really about a child’s dreams. The acting is generally quite poor from the children (who are essentially the leads), but it static quality actually works fine in this movie, … Continue reading
Saturday Night Fever 3.5/5
Travolta is absolutely terrific in this, giving the reasonably complex script his all by an excellent portrayal of a conflicted, trapped, working class young guy. He’s helped by the pounding soundtrack, especially the BeeGees tracks, which add several points of … Continue reading
Logan’s Run 3/5
There was a slew of interesting, thought-provoking scifi made in the lull between 2001:A Space Odyssey and the juggernaut of movie scifi that was Star Wars, that for many years made movie sci-fi==movie sci-fantasy. Stuff like THX 1138, Omega Man, … Continue reading
Patton 4/5
A magnificent performance from George C. Scott as the magnificent bastard blood and guts general Patton. Sometimes this gets lumped in with the antiwar movies of the early 70s (MASH, Catch 22) but this is a horse of a different … Continue reading
King Kong Vs Godzilla 3/5
Ignoring the shockingly bad DVD transfer, this is one of the most fun godzillas for me, with both beasties smashing up trains and cities, and watching Kong’s arms change length throughout. I’m sure there was a bit where Kong swings … Continue reading
Who Can Kill a Child? aka Death is Child’s Play aka Island of the Damned 82/100
I threw this on, expecting a straightforward exploitation movie, and got a BIG surprise. Firstly, it starts off with a prologue explaining, as a documentary, the atrocities and hardships that have affected children, starting with the holocaust (with footage), and … Continue reading
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Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly 64/100 One of the oddest movies I’ve seen…
Mumsy, Nanny, Sonny and Girly 64/100 One of the oddest movies I’ve seen that keeps a traditional narrative. It feels like a parent of the BBC comedy League of Gentlemen. An odd family group consisting of a mother, a nanny, … Continue reading
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Movie: Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979) 63/100 Very gratuitous, flatly acted movie but with some scenes with flair
Zombie Flesh Eaters aka Zombi 2 (1979) From what I’ve read of it, this one seems somewhat overrated, but it does have its moments. Apparently marketed as some sort of sequel to Dawn of the Dead in some places, these … Continue reading
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Movie: Flavia the Heretic (1974) 60/100 Can’t quite decide if it’s art or trash, but winceingly entertaining whatever
Flavia The Heretic (1974) Either the movie, or I, can’t decide whether it’s art with a political/feminist agenda, or sleazy eurotrash. It has artistic bits (some of the imagery, especially one very distinctive scene of a naked woman climbing inside … Continue reading
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Movie: Les Diaboliques/Diabolique 68/100 Highly regarded French thriller that’s too wordy by half
Les Diaboliques/Diabolique 68/100 Highly regarded French thriller that I think owes its reputation to being in the right time and place. It was, I understand, the first foreign language mainstream hit in America in 1955. Frankly, it seems overwordy and … Continue reading
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Movie: Horror Hotel (aka City of the Dead) 74/100 Rather fine, striking horror movie from 1960 that has strangely parallel plot-beats with Psycho
Horror Hotel (aka City of the Dead) (1960) Rather fine short horror movie, made in the UK with the actors doing American accents. A great beginning with the witchiest-looking witch you ever saw (well, without green makeup at least), atmospheric … Continue reading
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Movie: Nosferatu The Vampire 90/100 Deeply enthralling, but with some baffling casting choices that add to the weirdness
Nosferatu The Vampire (1979) Directed by Werner Herzog, and some of its hazy, dreamy shots and atmosphere reminiscent of other Herzog movies such as Aguirre, this will bore some and entrall others. It enthralled me, but it is glacially slow … Continue reading
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The first 6 James Bond books by Ian Fleming in a nutshell
Casino Royale A ridiculously good read from a first-time author, reeking of seemingly authentic detail, and gripping from page 1. The whole setup builds the tension nicely, and it just sticks there like a piece of meat in the throat … Continue reading
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Star Trek (The Original Series) Season 1, Episode 2: Charlie X
Very good episode, involving the crew picking up a teenager that has survived alone on a planet that he shouldnt have been able to, and trying to teach him how to interact with others. During the course of the journey … Continue reading
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Star Trek (The Original Series) The Man Trap SEASON 1, EPISODE 01
Wiki Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Trap Reasonable, but not outstanding, episode, chosen by the TV executives as the one to open the series. There’s been debate why they chose this, as it’s not quite as exciting as some of the other early episodes … Continue reading
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Electra Glide In Blue 60/100 Blake is good, but some scenes are bloated and silly. Looks great though.
Electra Glide in Blue A movie that seems to be considered as part of the whole “great movies of the 70s” block, but it seems overrated. Robert Blake is absolutely solid and rather great in the central performance, and there … Continue reading
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The Perfect Host – cat-and-mouse thriller 6.5/10 recommended
The Perfect Host David Hyde Pierce (Niles from Frasier) is a guy who is about to give a dinner party, who gets duped by an armed robber/thief on the run to let him in, get fooled by him whilst he … Continue reading
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TV Review: Doctor Who Regeneration 1 Series 015 The Space Museum 5/10
Starts with an interesting premise, where the Doctor and company seem to have slipped into a sidestream of time, when they land in a Space Museum, but cannot be seen or heard, but can observe. They find themselves and the … Continue reading
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