Ned's Recently Viewed Horror Movies

Otis Driftwood

The Fog (1980)
One of Carpenters best flicks IMO.Although being 30 years old it is as atmospheric and eerie as it was when I first saw it many years ago.Its in a similar vein to Halloween in that it doesnt rely on cheap scares or gratuitous gore to get a reaction,in fact there is no blood in it at all and the scenes of violence that are in it are largely unfocused upon.Excellent ghost story from a genre master.
8/10

Murder Collection V.1
Movie number 5 from the guys at Toetag Pictures and IMO their weakest entry to date.Its basically a collection of different death scenes with the premise that the narrator Balan gathered them together and released them on the internet.Toetag are responsible for the August Underground Trilogy,a now infamous psuedo snuff movie series and unfortunatly MCV.1 suffers because of it.TTP released The Redsin Tower between the second and third movies in the August Underground trilogy and that movie was a huge departure in story and tone and is a very enjoyable independent horror however MCV.1 is trotting over old ground and frankly the AU series did it much much better.There are a couple of very intense "clips" in MCV.1 and as in all TTP movies the effects work courtesy of Jeremi Cruise is top notch but overall I was left wanting more and was pretty bored by the end of it.This movie is really for completists (like me) only.
5/10

Maskhead
The most recent release from Toetag Pictures is pretty good.The premise is that 2 fetish loving lesbians make increasingly bizarre S+M movies where the stars end getting murdered by the charector Maskhead.The effects work is excellent as always and includes a truly horrible arm breaking scene.One of the main charectors,The Cowboy,is one of the most depraved and disgusting people Ive ever seen commited to film and alot of his scenes had me laughing and cringing at the same time.Im of the opinion that Toetag should now steer away from the faux snuff genre and concentrate on original ideas like this or The Redsin Tower.
7/10

Torched
For alot of underground and extreme horror fans,myself included,Torched was one of the holy grails when it came to insane horror movies.It never got an official release(aside from being part of movies shorts set a few years ago) until about a month or so ago.For me,it more than lived up to the hype and was well worth the wait.Its a simple rape/revenge a la I Spit On Your Grave but what seperates it from that movie and others in the genre is the sheer level of carnage shown on screen.There is graphic,and I mean graphic torture scenes involving a mans genitals,a blowtorch,safety pins and other similar delights.Its only about 46 minutes in lenght but those 45 minutes are a hell of a ride.It was shot on a shoe string by Ryan Nicholson(who has gone on to make Gutterballs,Hanger and Live Feed)and is done so with an obvious love for and affinity with 70s rape/revenge sleaze like I Spit On Your Grave or Thriller:A Cruel Picture.Its currently available direct from Ryan himself (www.plotdigger.com) on a strictly limited run of 666(I got number 7) and he will personalise it at no extra charge.The dvd even comes with 4 or 5 badges and a few stickers thrown in as well.I recommend it for fans of the obscure or extreme.Personally,I feckin loved it.
9/10

Otis Driftwood

Mother of Tears
One of Dario Argentos most recent efforts.Personally Ive always found his work hit and miss.There are masterpieces like Suspiria and there are kinda crappy ones like Trauma.This one falls somewhere between those 2.Its a second sequel (of sorts) to Suspiria and is about the 3rd witch - The Mother of Tears being reawakened in modern day and causing people to wreak havoc.It lacks the style of alot of Argentos stuff and there are parts of it that lag however on the plus side its not a bad story and some of the gore is top notch(I can even overlook a horrible CGI generated full body burn).While its not a must see its certainly well worth a watch if you can pick it up cheap or its on TV.
6.5/10

Children of the Corn 2
The original COTC is an enjoyable little horror from the pen of Stephen King,throwaway fluff handy for killing a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon but this lacklustre sequel is a chore to watch.Predictible,cliched and more or less boring as all hell.Very little gore and what gore there is isnt even that well done.Recurring charactors without any of the menace of the original actors and a pretty nonsensical ending make this one to avoid.
3/10

Otis Driftwood

Creepshow
Penned by Stephen King and directed by George Romero,whats not to love?
Not a thing,this movie kicks ass.Its a pure unadulterated love in for EC comics that King and Romero grew up reading.5 short stories about various things from a cheated husband (Leslie Neilson) to a redneck hick(wonderfully played by King himself),this is such an enjoyable movie.Those expecting big scares or lots of gore will be disappointed as there are neither,its just a really fun compendium of creepy stories written and directed with obvious affection.
8/10

Otis Driftwood

Chaos
A blatant Last House on the Left rip off,this is a terrible movie.Piss poor acting,lead actresses devoid of any emotion,poorly executed gore and a frankly preposterous ending make this one of the worst plagarisms Ive ever had the misfortune to watch.Sofaking crappy I can hardly fathom it.
2/10

Garden Of Love
A rather enjoyable little German horror from splatter king Olaf Ittenbach.The story centres around the sole survivor of a brutal massacre and her apparent losing of her marbles.Its essentially a ghost story that has a nice twist ending.Like any Ittenbach movie,dont expect great acting or high end production values,you get what you invariably get from him,blood and guts by the truckload.There are some really cool death scenes in this and pretty much every piece of gore/violence is done with man made effects,something that should be applauded.The horror channel have shown this over the last month or 2 so I would advise those that are interested to check it out there as this is pretty damn pricey to get on dvd.Well worth a watch for indy/splatter fans.
7/10

Nekromantik 2
Jorg Buttgereit's original Nekromantik is one of the best German horror movies ever made.As disgusting as it is amusing,its a dark trip into the recesses of a necrophiliac.I was expecting something even more sick and nasty from the sequel but was left sadly unsatisfied.The pacing of this movie is all wrong,virtually nothing happens on screen for large portions of it and what does happen,while pretty rank,lacks the punch of the original.Far too slow moving for my liking although it does somewhat redeem itself with the closing scene,this one is for those that want to see something totally off the wall,my advice would be go with the original though as both are very pricey and part 2 isnt nearly worth what I paid for it.
5/10

Otis Driftwood

Hellraiser:Bloodline
The 4th installment in the Hellraiser series is a rather hit and miss affair.The basic premis is that an ancestor of the puzzle box creator wants to destroy the box and close the gateway once and for all.The movie details the making of the box but doesnt give any indication as to why it was or became a gateway to hell which annoyed me a little.Not a whole lot of gore but what is in it is pretty cool and there are a couple of nice new cenobites.While not near the quality of the first 2 this is still an ok film that fans of the series would prolly enjoy.
6/10


Tokyo Gore Police
Ive seen some mad movies in my time - Tetsuo,Full Metal Yakuza,Braindead.This movie tops anything Ive seen and the best way to describe it is as a hybrid of the 3 movies mentioned above.It is bonkers.Basic story is about a special cop hunting "engineers" - genetically modified super criminals that grow weapons when they suffer a bad injury eg a chainsaw in place of a decapitated arm.This is an end to end gore fest,totally cheesey but wildly enjoyable with some real LOL moments especially the police recruitment ads that are interspersed throughout the movie.Get a 6 pack and a pizza and watch this movie!
8/10

Tusky

Good thread, keep it up.

Otis Driftwood

Hellraiser:Inferno
Part 5 of the series(I got this and part 4 in a boxset on ebay for 4 quid) and going on the diminishing quality of the series I was not expecting a whole helluva lot from this,boy was I wrong.I really really liked this movie.The plot revolves around a cop that finds the puzzle box at a murder scene and solves it,or does he?This is a very clever entry into the series and alot of it had me second guessing what was happening and I loved the ending.

I dont want to say too much about it because to do so would spoil it but I highly recommend it.On the basis of this movie alone,I intend sourcing the rest of the sequels very soon.
8/10

Otis Driftwood

Candyman
For years I held this movie in very high esteem and recently picked up the collectors edition as I felt it deserved a place in my collection but if Im honest,I was left feeling disappointed after watching it again.Its still a good movie but it just didnt jump out at me for some reason.You will all know the story now so no need for me to go into it.It has an almost gothic feel to it and while Tony Todd casts makes an elegent bad guy I was left feeling let down by it.
6.5/10

Otis Driftwood

Planet Terror
Had heard this slated by alot of people so only picked it up recently and Im kinda pissed off I waited as long because I fookin loved this movie.It is great fun from start to finish,has some brilliant set pieces,some quality gore,a brilliantly twisted performance from Josh Brolin,a couple of real "uhhhhhh gross" moments and even Tarantinos turn in it was enjoyable.This is a definite 6 pack and pizza movie that I will have no problem watching again.
8.5/10

Otis Driftwood

Aftermath
Nacho Cerdas 1994 short is an odd one.No plot,no dialogue,nada.Basically centers around a morgue worker with a penchant for necrophilia.The big thing for this movie is the effects work.There are some real wince inducing moments and the corpses look pretty damn life like.This definitly isnt a date movie and I wouldnt be in a rush to show it to pretty much any of my friends as it is fairly out there.Still,as a curio its worth at least one viewing for horror afficianados..
7.5/10

Otis Driftwood

Cannibal Apocalypse
One of the later stage cannibal movies that appeared in the 70s early 80s.It centres around some Vietnam vets that contract some kind of virus that basically turns them into cannibals.They return to the States and a few months later go on a rampage and infect people,thats pretty much it.It differs from its more famous Italian cannibal flicks (Holocaust or Ferox) in that its not set in a jungle and that the cannibals arent indigenous people that have gotten the shaft from reporters or white men in general.The acting is what I expected,hammy with lots of tortured looking gurning,the music sounds like it was rejected from the Warriors soundtrack.As for the gore,there isnt that much in it but what is in it is ok - some nice flesh ripping and a cool eye gouging.Oh,and it stars John Saxon.

Id never seen this up until today and picked it up on ebay for 3 or 4 quid so am not too disappointed that it was a bit crappy.It had been on my to see list for a long time so at least its out of the way.
5/10

Otis Driftwood

The Abandoned
I loved this movie.One first glance its a standard haunted house/ghost story but its done with such style that it raises it well above the standard genre fare.Basic premise is about an adopted woman that returns to her childhood home and discovers some dark secrets from her past.To say any more would likely ruin it so I will stop there.Stylistically I would liken it to the Orphanage or Ringu.It has a couple of real jump out of the seat moments and the overall sense of dread and forboding in the film is what really did it for me.

8/10

Otis Driftwood

The Poughkeepsie Tapes
I first heard about this about two years ago and was very keen to see it,the problem is,it has never actually been released on dvd.It got a run in some theatres in the States but that was about it.It cropped up every now and again over the last few years on some different sites but then disappeared.Today however I managed to finally find,download and view it.

First and foremost,Im a big fan of underground and indy horror and rarely download these types of movies but in this case I had no choice.I will most definitly buy it if and when it gets an official release.

The premise of the movie is that its a documentary about a serial killer that was operating in the small area of Poughkeepsie in central US.The movie consists of "interviews" with police,FBI agents,family members of victims and it is interspersed with video clips of the killer in action,the tapes from the movie title.While alot of the violence is unfocused upon there are still a few pretty hard to watch scenes.What impressed me most about this movie was the performances.They are the best Ive ever seen in any indy horror by a long way and the actress that plays Cheryl was outstanding.From the cops or agents talking about the case to the family members grief at their loss,the whole thing feels ultra realistic which for an obviously low budget movie really should be commended.

This is an excellent little sleeper that I hope gets the release it deserves sometime soon because it really should be seen by alot more people than have seen it.
9/10

Otis Driftwood

City Of The Living Dead
Good old Lucio Fulci,with all his movies you pretty much know exactly what you are going to get.Hammy acting,similar soundtracks and lashings of gore so for COTLD he didnt deviate from his basic formula.Story centres around a priest that kills himself and his suicide causes the dead to reawaken,no explanation as to why,it just happens.This isnt a zombie movie in the vein of say Zombie Flesh Eaters or House By The Cemetary,there is a supernatural feel to the film.Of course Fulci stalwart,the lovely Catriona MacColl plays the heroine and there are also some other recognisible Fulci regulars on show too.

One of Fulci's trademarks was his penchant for blood letting and COTLD doesnt disappoint on that front either with some excellent deaths in it including one person vomiting out their intestines and another getting a huge drill through the head as well as the usual flesh chomping delights.

Not his best work (thats either The Beyond or New York Ripper for me) but certainly worth watching for fans of Italian splatter or zombie movies in general.

As an FYI this recently got a remastering and rebooting and is available in HMV in a lovely looking 2 disc set priced about 14 bucks.The version I watched was the widescreen collectors release from EC Entertainment and was fully uncut so if anyone is going to pick up the new release,do check that it is uncut before buying.
7.5/10

Otis Driftwood

Masters Of Horror : Cigarette Burns.
John Carpenters contribution to season 1 of MOH is simply put,brilliant.Its the story of an avid movie collector that hires a theatre owner to find a print of a fabled movie.But its much more than that.As the theatre owner begins his search he starts having strange visions and nightmares coupled with blackouts.To say much more would spoil it but I cant recommend it highly enough.Excellent pacing,good performances,some nice gore effects and a real sense of WTF in a couple of scenes,its an outstanding short that hooks the viewer from the out set.Carpenter is a horror God.
9/10

djkeogh

Nice thread Ned. I've only ever seen the Miike episode of Masters Of Horror and it tapped into the nastiness from Audition and I found it just as hard to watch. I'll defo check out Cigarette Burns though and maybe delve into some more MOH in general.

Otis Driftwood

Keep an eye on ebay,I managed to pick up the complete first series for about 25 eurons used a few weeks ago.They are still very pricey in HMV/Tower.

sendit.com have each volume at 10 euro each, meaning that both seasons will cost you 40 euro.

Otis Driftwood

I take it they are reliable Darko?
Have been looking for season 2.

nedtheshed

nedtheshed wrote: »

I take it they are reliable Darko?
Have been looking for season 2.

As reliable as they come, I've order off them quite a bit, it's replaced play for me.

Otis Driftwood

Masters of Horror : Dreams in The Witch House
Story centres around a student that rents a room in a run down building and begins suffering from weird dreams and visions surrounding witches and sacrifices.Great fun,nice pacing and some nice gore.
7.5/10

Masters Of Horror : Incident on and Off a Mountain Road
Don "Phantasm" Coscarellis MOH effort is a very enjoyable little outing.Centres around a woman that gets involved in a car crash and gets chased by a deformed madman.Partly told in flash back this great fun.Its pretty implausible but that doesnt matter,its zips along nicely and is good throwaway fun.Its worth viewing alone for a fantastic,scene stealing turn from long time Coscarelli contributor Angus Scrimm.
8.5/10

Otis Driftwood

Masters of Horror : Chocolate
Weakest entry thus far in the MOH series.Story centres around a man that begins having visions/hallucinations of being a woman and he sets off on his quest to find her.I was pretty bored with this one,no real gore,slow pacing and not very interesting despite having an interesting premise.
5/10

Otis Driftwood

Frontier(s)
Part of the new wave of French horror cinema I went into this pretty much blind.While its enjoyable enough we have seen the plot all before.Basic story is about a group of French youths that hole up in a remote farm house after a robbery goes awry.Unfortunatly the farmhouse is occupied by a nazi cannibal and his twisted offspring.This movie has a real Texas Chainsaw Massacre feel to it but where TCM excelled in ramping up the tension Frontier(s) falls sadly flat.There is some nice gore in it and is pretty brutal in places but it lacks the pure WTF factor of Martyrs or the roller coaster switch the brain off pace of Switchblade Romance.Overall it wasnt a bad movie at all,I was just left wanting more.
6.5/10

Otis Driftwood

The Beyond
My second favourite Fulci movie may have aged badly in a few respects but is still a thoroughly enjoyable gore fest.The story centres around a young woman that inherits a run down hotel in Louisiana which was the scene of a terrible murder years before.Nearly as soon as she arrives strange things begin happening and people start dying left right and centre.This movie is frequently cited as being a zombie movie which I dont really agree with.Yes,there are zombies in it but much like City of the Living Dead,this movie has a more supernatural feel to it rather than a straight up zombie movie like Zombie Flesh Eaters.The effects in this,barring one scene are still a joy to behold,faces get melted,throats get ripped out,eye balls get gouged all with great gusto.The dubbing is pretty crappy in places but aside from that I would highly recommend this to any horror fan.
8.5/10

Otis Driftwood

Masters of Horror:Sick Girl
The story centres around an unlucky in love female entemologist that meets a girl and begins to fall in love.The entemologist receives a mysterious package from Brazil with a very strange insect inside,the likes of which she has never encountered.The insect escapes and the fun begins.The MOH entry was great fun from start to finish,great acting,a nice tight script and some decent effects in it.Well worth watching.7/10

The Wicker Man(73) Directors Cut
Most nay all of you will know this movie so there no need to explain the plot.The one thing that struck me on this viewing was just how outstanding Woodwards central performance was.He plays the sexually repressed,deeply religous police man to perfection,even up to the closing credits where he prays for his salvation,it really sent shivers down my spine.This is simply a wonderful example of horror that breaks away from the genre trappings ie gore or cheap attempted scares.Christopher Lee is also superbly menacing as the icy Lord Summerisle.The directors cut features a number of extended or previously deleted scenes,some of which add to the overall movie however they are obviously inserted and dont meld in with the original finished product properly.This is however the only criticism of this classic British movie.
10/10

nedtheshed

nedtheshed wrote: »

Chaos
A blatant Last House on the Left rip off,this is a terrible movie.Piss poor acting,lead actresses devoid of any emotion,poorly executed gore and a frankly preposterous ending make this one of the worst plagarisms Ive ever had the misfortune to watch.Sofaking crappy I can hardly fathom it.
2/10

It was originally a remake of Last House and was to be titled as such until during production when the producers decided to rename the film. David Hess was even cast in one of the main roles at one stage. I have a poster of the film somewhere in which it's titled Last House on the Left, must see if I can find it.

Otis Driftwood

All Masters of Horror entries.

Deer Woman
Story centres around a Native American legend in which a half deer half woman creatures kills amorous men.Started off promising but peetered out towards then end.
5/10

Homecoming
Wasnt a fan of this at all,yes,its a decent commentary on the US and their wars through the ages but for me it lacked any real structure and focus.
4/10

Jenifer
Argentos first foray into the MOH series is a fairly enjoyable piece.It centres on a cop that saves a badly deformed girl from being murdered and moves her into his house but Jenifer is not what she seems.Decent make up and a pretty unpleasent tone throughout make this worth a watch.
7.5/10

Dance of the Dead
Set in a post apocalyptic world this centres around a young girl that falls for a Mad Max type bad boy.Some really great sets raise the bar in this one although I would have preferred some kind of explanation as to what happened to cause the war and the germ warfare that was used.Robert Englund hams it up gleefully as MC of the "Doom Room".
7/10

Otis Driftwood

Masters of Horror : Imprint
Takashi Miikes entry into the MOH arena is a worthy effort.The story centres around a man that is searching for the love of his life in ancient Japan and follows her trail to a remote island where he meets a deformed prostitute.At first the prostitute appears to be genuine but as things progress more and more is revealed about her.This is similar to some of Miikes movies in that its chock full of shocks,torture and violence against women and there are some genuinely cringeworthy moments(in a good way)Definitly one of the best of the series.
8/10

The X-Files : Home
I got the x-files boxset a while ago and am currently on season 4 where I came across this forgotten gem.It centres around an in-bred family in rural America and the lenghts they will go to to survive.This is an exceptional episode of this show,pretty violent compared to most other episodes and it tackles an extremely taboo subject very well.
9/10

Otis Driftwood

An American Haunting
Alleged horror set in the early 19th century about a man that gets cursed and then his daughter starts suffering seemingly supernatural attacks.This is such a crap movie I cant even describe it.Plot holes that you could drive an 18 wheeler through,terrible CGI,obvious attempts to scare the audience,everything about this sucks.The worst "horror" Ive seen in years.
0/10

The Gateway Meat.
Low budget indy horror from the States that centres around a man that inherits his satanist fathers house and tries to open a portal to hell using torture and human sacrifice.This is a very violent movie that isnt for everyone.For the budget the effects are top notch in places,there is some really nasty scenes in it that are genuinly cringe inducing.While not on a par with other indy horrors like Fetus or August Underground,this is still an enjoyable slice of extreme cinema.
7.5/10

Wolflikeme

nedtheshed wrote: »

Masters of Horror : Dreams in The Witch House
Story centres around a student that rents a room in a run down building and begins suffering from weird dreams and visions surrounding witches and sacrifices.Great fun,nice pacing and some nice gore.
7.5/10

Masters Of Horror : Incident on and Off a Mountain Road
Don "Phantasm" Coscarellis MOH effort is a very enjoyable little outing.Centres around a woman that gets involved in a car crash and gets chased by a deformed madman.Partly told in flash back this great fun.Its pretty implausible but that doesnt matter,its zips along nicely and is good throwaway fun.Its worth viewing alone for a fantastic,scene stealing turn from long time Coscarelli contributor Angus Scrimm.
8.5/10

Incidend off a mountain road is brilliant.

I really enjoyed epidsode 1 of Fear itself quit a lot. Wasn't a bad show.

Otis Driftwood

House Of The Devil
Picked this up in HMV for a fiver on the sterling reviews it received from Darko and a couple of other posters on here.While I enjoyed it I was a little bit disappointed.Plus points were the cinematography,the acting was pretty solid and there were some nice creepy moments.Negatives relate to the pacing,I felt it dragged a bit around the 40 minute mark.I also didnt like the ending all that much

Sam got out of the ropes far,far too easily,it was pretty silly,also,she shot herself in the head.I know about suspension of belief but she put the gun to the side of her head and blood/brains visibly exploded from the other side.This just doesnt work for me.Maybe if the gun had been pointed upwards but the way it was annoyed me.

Im probably nit picking a bit and West is a talented guy but this one just let me down somewhat.
6.5/10