Darko's Recently Viewed Diary

Bone Dry - One of those great ideas let down by a lackstruck script, it's pretty much Saw in a desert with the always reliable Lance Henriksen and Luke Goss impressing. The last ten minutes completely tears the film apart turning what could have been a satisfying little piece into a film which strives to something much more.

The Hills Run Red - This is how you made a lowbudget direct to DVD slasher film. You write a witty, intelligent, gore laden script which features nods to the genre but never becomes a parody. For anyone who feels that the cookie cutter nature of modern horror has become to repetitive it's the perfect antidote.

The Craft - One of those films which surprised me by how entertaining it is. There's nothing stunningly original or amazing about the film but it does manages to entertain through a great story, some decent acting and a number of great scenes.

Rise - Shockingly bad vampire film with Lucy Liu. Some of the shoddiest editing that I have ever seen coupled with a story which feels the pre credits sequence of a far superior film. featuring a cast who really should know better and a cameo from Marilyn Manson it's a thoroughly repetitive mess which really isn't worth your time.

The Breed - One of my all time favourite low-budget horror films. With a unique take on the vampire mythos, some great action scenes and a cast who by and large deliver. I've watched it repeatedly over the past decade and am constantly entertained by it. It's 90 minutes of stylistic action with a good story and a truly great final death scene.

Nightbreed - Another of my all time favourite horror films. It's just an absolutely stunning looking film with superb character design, a rich and involving mythology and story and some truly breathtaking moments. The only drawback is that much of what Barker shot was cut at the last-minute by a studio who had no faith in a film which portrays the monster sympathetically. Recent discoveries of the excised footage has led to speculation of a directors cut but I'm not holding my breath. For anyone who has yet to experience Nightbreed it really is a film which you should go out of your way to pick up asap.

High Lane - It's the French The Hills Have Eyes and while there isnt an ounce of originality on display, some poor writing and questionable character motivations it's still an entertaining 80 or so minutes though the ending which tries to pass it all off as a true story does leave a sour taste in the mouth. Watch it with your expectations suitably lowered and you'll find yourself enjoying the film.

Fright Night - Fright Night remains one of the greatest horror films ever made, one which has frights, laughs and even a few moments where tears are in order. It's the perfect vampire film and one which every self respecitng horror fan has to have seen. It features one of my favourite performances of all time from the great Roddy McDowall as Peter Vincent, a role which he was bron to play. To see Fright Night once is to fall in love with it.

Fright Night Part 2 - A great sequel to one of the best films ver made. While not on par with the original it does more than enough to justify its existence and manages to stand on its own two feet. Both William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowell return to once more do battle with the forces of evil. I genuinely think that the character of Peter Vincent is one of the all time greats, hopefully David Tenant will do justice to McDowell in the remake. Fright Night 2 is the perfect double bill for Halloween when watched alongside the original and tbh if you havent seen the original you really can't call yourself a true horror fan.

The Plague - Billed as a Clive Barker film the Plague is in fact a rather low-key, story driven film from writer/director Hal Masonberg. It's an entertainINg romp with some very well handled moments though watching it you can't help but wish to see the proper directors cut. Barker and his fellow producers recut the film substantially, removing an hour of footage, they concentrated on violence rather than allowing for a truly great slow burning horror film.

Re-Animator - Spatterific fun, one of my all time favourite horror films till stands up magnificently nearly a decade after I first watched in glee as Herbert West played with the dead. Jeffrey Combs is the out-and-out star here, he's one of those rare actors whose very presence no matter how bad the film is will guarantee that I watch it. For anyone who hasn't seen Re-Animator, it's a loose adaptation of Lovecraft's tale with a dash of Frankenstein thrown in for effect. Re-Animator is something of a forgotten gem and like many other 80s gems it ripe for rediscovery and I cannot stress this enough, you cannot call yourself a fan of splatter horror until you have seen Re-Animator and fell in love with a certain Dr. West.

Bride of Re-Animator The Frankenstein influence is slightly more obvious here and while it's not a patch on the original Bride is a worthy follow-up which retains the originals dark humour while upping the gore and creature effects considerably. It's more of the same with most of the original cast returning though IF you don't find the thought of a dog with a human hand or laugh at the thought of Jeffrey Combs sneaking bodies out of hospitals you're best advised to look elsewhere. But for fans of the original or those with a love of all those dark it's good fun.

Undead or Alive - For some reason I adore Undead or Alive. One of those films which is guaranteed to put a smile on my face no matter how down I feel. Chris Kattan and James Denton play 2 cowboys who end up facing off against a horde of the recently departed. With plenty of laughs, some fantastic effects and a great story Undead or Alive is a truly fantastic little film which few have seen let alone heard of.

Route 666 - Lou "I used to have a career" Diamond Phillips takes on an undead road crew while transporting a prisoner to trial. From the director of the 80s classic Scarecrows, Route 666 is absolute nonsense from start to finish but that doesn't mean that it's not entertaining hokum. while it's not a film worth going out of your way to see it's at least got some original ideas and won't leave you felling robbed of 80 minutes.

Been awhile since I updated this so here goes:

Reeker 2: Fantastic fun, plenty of gore, inventive deaths and a few laughs. Basically a remake of the original only with added story concerning the Reeker and his origins. It's never going to be considered a classic but for what it is, a low-budget, horror sequel its value for money.

Mutants: An interesting French horror film with great creature effects and gore but a sadly clichéd plot sinks the film into mediocrity. Had they spent a little more time on the plot and crafting an original story it could have been something truly special but as it stands it's entertaining enough but fails to stand out from the crowd.

Snakes aka Python 2: A thoroughly entertaining creature film with plenty of things going boom, some decidedly dicey effects and a constant sense of fun. Low budget as hell but far more fun than it has any right to be.

Resident Evil Extinction: Average enough switch off your brain fun. Milla kicks serious ass but he ropey effects and seen it all before plot sink the film into mediocrity.

Resident Evil After Life: Truly great fun, a series of set pieces strung together with a plot which would fit on the back of a napkin, One fo the few 3D films seen on blu Ray that really you wish you could have seen on the big screen.

Dracula 2000: some interesting ideas but a reliance on tried and tested clichés sinks this one down into the abyss of direct to DVD fare. performances are decent but it all looks oh so rather cheap.

Reptilian: absolutely dreadful Godzilla rip off, atrocious effects, kindergarten play acting, a story written by illiterate 4 year olds yet its strangely compelling. Worth watching just to see how bad cinema can be.

The Host: Superb Korean creature feature, great performances, superb effects and a story at once humours and heart breaking. One of the few recent creature features which realised that story trumps effects.

Dead Space Downfall: surprisingly entertaining and gory animated game tie in. THe voice acting is decent and the story is interesting but its the gore which really impresses. Some of the nastiest and most entertaining death scenes in many years.

Friday the 13th: entertaining if badly dated slasher fare, the waves of imitators have turned what was at the time an original concept into one which every bargain bin the world over is full of. Some nice death scenes and likeable characters help to keep the film well above the imitators.

Vampires: Classic Carpenter, just something immensely cool about it all. James Woods is a serious bad ass, the music rocks and the repeated scenes of Woods and a Baldwin abusing a hooker are hilarious. One of the most underrated horror films of the past few decades and a truly beautiful looking film.

Ghosts of Mars: Ughhhhh, from the obviously plastic swords to the dreadful editing this is one of Carpenter's lowest hours. Yet it's still entertaining as hell with plenty of ludicrous deaths and the cheapest set ever constructed.

The Fog: Atmospheric as hell, while dated it still remains one of the few horror films that can truly be credited with creating a true sense of evil. The acting is spotty but considering the low budget and quick shoot time this is easily forgiven especially considering just how good the film is, you can take your Jack Sparrow and shove it, these are real pirates.

Legion: a truly great concept and a fantastic 90 minutes let down by a woeful final 10. Some great action with Paul Bettany showing just what a bad ass he can be though the rest of the cast is wasted and the overtly talky nature of the film means that it's nowhere near as action filled as it promises to be. Still it does have some jaw dropping moments and is the second best film ever made about angels at war.

Burke and Hare: Dreadful attempt at a horror comedy, a poor mans I Sell the Dad with only Andy Serkis impressing. Skip it in favour of the much superior I Sell the Dead.

The Chaser: While I don't count it as a horror many do so I best include it. Superior thriller, a great concept, superb acting and a real sense of foreboding. One of the best films of the past few years and one which really improves the less you know going in.

I Saw the Devil: One of the best revenge films ever, truly gut wrenching at times and that it manages to sustain its self for over 2 hours is a testament to the quality of the writing. Like the Chaser it's best experienced cold.

Drive Angry 3D: This is good old-fashioned trash, a novel concept and a cast who over act just enough. Some great uses of 3D, the flash back scene has to be seen to be believed and lots of great deaths. A real throwback to the sleaze of yesteryear.

The Devil's Playground: A decent british spin on the rise of the dead. Danny Dyer is really good in what is an underwritten to hell role and there are some nice ideas in play but parkour zombies really don't do anything for me. For a low budget English horror film it's stylish, well made and entertaining but you can't help but wish they had thrown in a few more encounters with the undead.

Black Death: A true classic, Sean Bean was born to wield a sword. THe story, an exploration of faith is superbly handled with fine performances and gorgeous cinematography it's one of my all time favourite films and one which any true horror fan should seek out.

Resurrection Men: Mediocre slasher fare which strives to be so much more. A true missed opportunity, James Nesbit is miscast beyond belief in a role which truly shows his limitations,. John Hannah doesnt fare much better but only because of how 2D his character is. There are tethe h guts of a good film here but it needs more experienced writer and director to bring it out.

Highway to Hell: A lost classic, never released on DVD it stars Chad Lowe and Patrick Bergin in what is an original , well written and made film. Some great effects work and creatures never take away from the fun plot which features the best Hitler of all time.

Apocalypse of the Dead - Also know as Zone of the Dead and starring Ken Foree AotD is perhaps one of the worst films in recent years. The decision to shoot it in English was a disastrous one given that English is a second language to most of the cast and as such line delivery is stilted and unbelievable, throw in the poor acting and each delivery of dialogue is cringe worthy.
The English speaking cast don't fare much better given how poor the dialogue is, Foree seems particularly lost with his constant twitching and the manner in which he seems to repeats certain words. The story is a shambles, you imagine that it they discovered the Foree was at a Serbian horror con and agreed to spend a few days to shoot a film after which the writers went home and hastily wrote the script over a 3 hour period.
Even teh worst horror films can be saved by some decent fxs work or gore, unfortunately there's nothing remotely interesting to be found here. While tehre are some hints of good fxs work the camera work is all over the place, with constant quick zooms and a camera man who seems to mistake flailing all over the place as creating a sense of realism.
Really there's nothing worthwhile on offer here and even the 2 euro I paid for the DVD feels like a rip off.

Mother's Day - Been looking forward to this for a long time and it didn't disappoint, a truly fantastic remake and a great film in it's own right. The original is a cult classic but this is good enough to be a true genre classic, great performances, a great script and direction and some genuinely fantastic deaths and situations.

Had I know that it was opening in cinemas here on Friday I would have waited but as it stands I'm quite happy to pay to see it this weekend and I've all ready ordered the Blu Ray which is out in Germany on the 9th of this month.

Hard Ride to Hell - Hard Ride to Hell is a thoroughly ridiculous satanic bikers film which is a hell of a lot of fun. A real throw back to genre cinema of the 70s its entertaining as hell all the while be completely and utterly ludicrously bizzare.

Lake Placid - Entertaining as hell creature feature. A little short running time but an abundance of great moments make it well worth a watch. The cast are great and the creature effects are very well handled.

Lockjaw: Rise of the Kulev Serpent - A truly terrible creature feature and an abysmal film in all areas. DMX cameos in what has to be the lowest rung in his career and manages to turn in one of the worst performances of anyones career. If the death or effects were in any way effective and fun the film could be worthwhile but alas it's one of the poorest films of the past decade.


Snakehead Terror - A fun little creature feature with the always watchable Bruce Boxleitner. Some effective deaths and impressive effects work make it a perfect beer and pizza film.

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night - Dylan Dog in name only but removed from the source material it's a very watchable film. The closest comparison is to Constantine the film, both film are fun and easily pass a few hours but they have nothing in common with their source material bar the title.

Machete Maidens Unleashed! - An informative and entertaining documentary on low budget films shot in the Philippines. Unfortunately I only saw the short TV cut but it certainly has me interested in catching the full version. The only real drawback in the film is how must time is spent on Apocalypse Now and not on many of the more interesting low budget action films shot there in the late 80s featuring actors such as Richard Harris.


Tokyo Gore Police - A truly bizarre and bloody film. The story is completely ridiculous and exists solely to string together a series of excessively gory moments. Some cheap looking effects and plain odd moments make it never less than watchable.