MudSkippers Scary Viewing Log

Haven't had much time to post lately, hope to to catch up on the movies I've watched over last month or two in the next couple of days, first up is a batch of universal studios monster movies.

Invisible Woman
The female version of the classic HG Wells story....... unfortunately more comedy than 'monster' movie. Entertaining, but the beginning of the end as its the start of the milking of franchises
4.5/10

Invisible Agent
Grandson of the original invisible man inherits the formula and after pearl harbour decides to use it to spy on the germans. Rated a bit higher than the invisble woman as the plot is a little bit more interesting
5/10

Ghost of Frankenstein
Lon Chaney takes over from Karloff as the monster in the 4th installment of the Frankenstein series. Although he's not as menacing it is still very enjoyable, just unfortunate that it does nothing new or add anything to the first 3 movies.
5.5/10


Mummys Tomb
Sequalitis seems to be setting in, although I have plenty of tiime for Lon Chaney the cheap re-use of footage from the earlier mummy's hand takes away from this effort
4.5/10


The Wolf Man
Speaking of Lon Chaney....... he is the original wolf man and this movie is rightly called a classic, not to be missed if you enjoy a good werewolf movie.
7.5/10

Dead and Buried
A small seaside town with a sinister secret... tourists get killed, a fairly hapless sherriff and an enterprising undertaker. Solid movie with plenty of atmosphere from the early 80s..
6.5/10

The Evil Dead
This one doesn't need any introduction or spoilers... the book of the dead, Bruce Campbell and zombies...... a classic and looks even better in HD
8.5/10

Hellraiser
This one doesn't need any introduction either... Clive Barker directs his own story 'the hellbound heart' and introduces Pinhead and the cenobites... another classic given the HD treatment with great effect
8.5/10

Martyrs
Not sure how to sum this one up without spoilers, so am borrowing imdb's description: A young woman's quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child leads her and a friend, who is also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.
Although there's plenty of gore this movie works its disturbing best at the psychological level.
7.5/10

I Spit on Your Grave
A young female writer rents a riverside cabiin to work on her book and attracts the unwanted attention of some local rednecks, they catch her alone and she is gang raped several times. Once recovered the young writer sets out for revenge and kills her tormentors one by one. Other than being banned at its release, it is a relatively average revenge movie
6/10

The Mist (B&W)
Darabonts version of the Stephen King short story 'the mist' tells the story of a small town in Maine that gets hit by a powerful storm knocking down trees and powerlines... the following morning a thick fog rolls in from the lake and envelopes the town.... Creatures in the mist feed on humans and a large group of people are trapped in the local supermarket to fight for their survival.

Part creature feature and part psychological horror about human despair the movie is much improved in B&W over the colour one. The creatures are less CGI cheese and the atmosphere is much bleaker. As for the ending, I'd have preferred if 7.5/10

The Fog
John Carpenters masterpiece about a small seaside town celebrating its 100th birthday when a thick fog rolls in from the sea... in the fog are the victims of a crime committed by the towns founders and they've come to claim what is rightfully theirs....
8.5/10

Riget and Riget II
Lars von Trier presents Riget 'The Kingdom', Denmark's most advanced hospital... and some very strange going ons... phantom ambulance, zombie doctors, spirits and a monstrously fast growing fetus to name a few. With a slow-ish pace, 'dirty' camerawork and little gore this 8hr mini-series wont be for everyone, but if you enjoy atmospheric creepiness with excellent acting this is well worth checking out.

Too bad there will be no concluding part III Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital mini-series is based on Riget and in my to watch pile

7/10

The Langoliers

Speaking of Stephen King, this straight for TV adaptation of his langoliers book about the survivors of a disappeared jet that find themselves in a deserted parallel world is let down by erratic pacing, a mismatched cast and too many filler segments (at 3hours it is too long)

4.5/10

Deep Red
A psychic giving a lecture picks up murderous thoughts from someone in the audience and is shortly after murdered. A jazz pianist witnessed the murder and investigates..... plenty of gore, oodles of atmosphere and several satisfying twists in this classic masterpiece by Dario Argento..

7.5/10

Bloodsucking Freaks
The owner of a macabre magic show uses naked women in his shows, torturing and killing them on stage while the audience believe it is all fake.... When he kidnaps a famous ballet dancer, her boyfriend starts to investigate the theatre and its occupants. Could have been interesting, but its all done rather tastelessly and the characters simply don't convince..... although the sidekick is succesful at being vile and leery

4/10

A Blade in the Dark
A composer is writing the score for a horror movie in an isolated villa in italy... two beautiful women who disappear and a mysterious former tenant and a it's all connected to the movie hes writing the score for.... decent little italian giallo by Lamberto Bava (Mario's son)

6/10

Tenebrae
Staying with the italian theme, this is an Argento classic about an american author arriving in rome to find that someone is using his latest book as the inspiration for murders.. as the police are baffled (as usual) the author becomes very closely involved in the case

8/10

My Name is Bruce
B Movie actor Bruce Campbell is mistaken for his character Ash (from evil dead) and after being kidnapped to a small town is forced to fight a real life monster... Great to see Bruce can still ham it up in this horror/comedy

7/10

Manhunter
Before silence of the lambs the good doctor hanibal lector was introduced to the big screen in Manhunter where he 'assists' in the chase by a retired fbi agent of a serial killer nicknamed the tooth fairy. Excellent atmospheric stuff from michael mann
7/10

Aliens
big budget blockbuster follow up to Alien, Sigourney Weaver stars again as Ripley. kicking lots of alien ass when she returns to the planet of the original.... Great acting and non stop action make this a sequal almost on a par with the original, only thing missing is the chest burst.....
8/10

Alien 3
Ok, so I got the quadrilogy and still do not understand how this one fits in or ever got made, other than a cash-in.....Ripley is sort of there (all other survivors killed in a crash).... the rest of the cast are mostly non-descript inmates with bald heads, combined with a ludicrous plot and the cheap setting of a penal planet make this "Alien the Turd" to me
3.5 / 10

Carrie
Stephen Kings first novel is brilliantly brought to the screen by Brian de Palma. Sissy Spacek stars as a mousy and abused girl with telekinetic powers who gets pushed too far on one special night.... Piper Laurie also stars as Carrie's religiously fanatical mother (only matched by the bible basher in SK's the mist)
8.5/10

Alien Resurrection
Ripley is revived 2000 years after her death and has yet again kick some alien butt, only this time......... well she's related to them... Sigourney Weaver once again steals the show as Ripley
6.5/10

Martin
George A Romero's unconventional tale about a vampire who goes to stay with his cousin....... martin is unconventional as crosses, garlic or sunlight dont hurt him... excellent acting and oodles of atmosphere make this one to watch.
6.5/10

Night of the Lepus
A ranch is over-run by rabbits and the owner brings in the help of a zooological expert to stop them breeding... the experiment goes wrong and the local town is overrun by ginormous rabbits. Low budget with cheap effects, but good fun for what it is.
5/10

Stake Land
'Mister' and teenager martin travel north across an american wateland filled with vampire-zombies to new eden in Canada. Throw in some pockets of survivors and a semi-religious fanatical group called the brotherhood and the resulting mix reminded me of both 'the road' and 'the walking dead'.
6.5/10

Not horror, but after his role in Walking Dead I spotted Michael 'Henry' Rooker in Burn Notice , still as menacing as ever

The Beyond
A young woman inherits a rundown hotel in Louisiana and decides to restore it, little does she know that there is a doorway to the beyond in the basement of the building, until workmen meet with fatal accidents. Great gory fun from Fulci
7/10

Conspiracy of Torture
A young woman, her lover and her stepmother plot to kill her abusive father..... set in the 16th century in italy the horror is not the traditional Fulci fare, but more about the evil of the roman catholic church as it investigates the death of a 'nobleman'. Acting is solid, but it all moves along a bit sluggish and the torture scenes are kept short.
5.5/10

Invasion of the bodysnatchers
A doctor returns to his small town practice and finds that slowly the towns inhabitants are being replaced by emotionless clones... atmospheric sc-fi horror and imo one of the best from that era.
7.5/10

Monsters
Earth has been invaded by aliens and the US government is trying to contain them in the 'infected zone' in Mexico, Two americans make their way home through the zone..... Sounded good, but the lack of monsters, the so-so acting (especially the 'photo journalist' lead) and the predictability of the 'plot' make this one forgettable.
4/10

Nightbeast
An alien crash lands near a small town and goes on a rampage... vaporizing people with his laser gun or tearing their heads of with his claws. The high bodycount is the best part of this B movie of B movies. The acting is bad, the dialogue is worse, the plot is full of holes and the effects are laughable. Still fun for what it is.
5/10


The New York Ripper
Probably Fulci's best known slasher, there is a serial killer (who talks like a duck) on the loose in New York, killing young women in varied and bloody ways. A burned out cop and a psychotherapist investigate to try and stop the killer.
7/10

Dr Giggles
Crazed son of a murderous doctor escapes the mental instution and returns to his small home town to re-open his fathers practice. Fun little slasher, nothing new but the lead actor is solid and the rest are mostly dumb teens as usual. 6/10

Swamp Thing
Wes Craven comedy-horror about a scientist who hidden away in a murky swamp is trying to create a new lifeform by combining plant and animal tissue. When an experiment goes wrong he himself is transformed into.... the Swamp Thing. Good cheesy fun.
6/10

Return of the Swamp Thing
The follow up (not directed by Craven) is more comedy than horror and pretty much picks up where the original finished, it is definitely cheesier than the first and a young heather locklear is probably it's best feature
5/10

Zombie Flesh Eaters
A rudderless sailboat arrives in New York with a hungry zombie on board, the missing owners daughter is joined by a journalist and investigates. Their investigation leads them to a tropical island where a dr is trying to find a cure for a disease that turns humans into flesh eating zombies. Great gory fun from the master.
7/10

Naked You Die
A killer is on the loose at a posh all girl private school. An early italian gallio, not a lot of gore or nakedness to be had tho.
5.5/10

Splintered
A group of friends head of into the woods for bit of fun and maybe track down a wild animal that's been killing livestock..... yawnnnn. The acting is bad, the dialogue is bad and gore/shocks/horror are missing.. avoid
4/10

Thirst
A priest volunteers for a secret medical project to help find a cure for a deadly virus. The virus takes over the priest and he nearly dies. An accidental transfusion of vampire blood cures him, but also leaves him conflicted between his faith and his desire for human blood. A vampire flick with a difference from the director of Old Boy.
7.5/10

Havent updated in a while, willl try to catch up over next week or so. Starting with 5 of the Hammer Frankenstein movies

The Curse of Frankenstein
Dr Frankenstein is in prison awaiting execution and tells a priest his story, from his inheritence of large fortune to his tuition to thee creation of his creature and his downfall. Hammers re-imagination of the frankensteiin tale oozes atmosphere and Peter Cushing steals the show as the dr (Christopher Lee stars as the monster)
7/10

The Revenge of Frankenstein
The Dr escapes the guillotine and moves to Germany where he works as a GP in a hospital. When he is recognised by an old colleague they revive his experiments using bodies from the hospital. Excellent sequal to the 'curse' Peter Cushing once again steals the show.
6.5/10

Frankenstein Created Woman
A frozen dr Frankenstein is revived proving that the soul doesnt leave the body when dead. When his assistant is falsely accused of killing a landlord and executed he acquires the body and when the landlords daughter commits suicide he transplant the assistants brain (and soul) into her body... revenge on the actual killers ensues. The weakest of the hammer frankenstein series.
5.5/10

Frankenstein Must be Destroyed
The Dr returns (appearing slightly demented himself) and blackmails a young doctor and his fiancee to help kidnap a mentally ill professor, transplant his brain, cure his insanity and transplant the brain back. Once again Peter Cushing steals the show in another atmospheric outing.
6/10

Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell
The good doctor starts working in an insane asylum and together with one of the inmates (promoted to dr assistant) starts experimenting again on bodies. The last of the hammer frankensteins once again stars Peter Cushing providing oodles of atmosphere
6/10

Quatermass and the Pit
A mysterious object is discovered while building a new london underground station... is it a bomb? a missile? or maybe an alien spacecraft.... Renowned scientist Dr. Quatermass is called in to help investigate. This is one of Hammer studios best movies and one of my personal favorites.
7.5//10

The Stepfather
Probably not strictly a horror, but has a psychopathic killer as the main character who is looking for his 'perfect' family by marrying divorcee's or widows with children. If they turn out to be less then perfect he murders them, changes appearance and moves to another town.
6/10

Antichrist
A couple grieving for the loss of their young son who fell out of an open window while they had sex in another room, move to a remote cabin in the woods where the husband (who is a therapist) attempts to treat his wife... Even with strong performances by both leads, a dark menacing atmosphere and escalating gore, it still is a Lars von Trier film and wont be for everyone 6.5/10

Attack the Block
A gang of amoral hoodlums defend their towerblock in London from an alien invasion. Refreshing take on the alien invasion theme that doesnt rely to heavily on special effect, add a healthy dose of humor and its a very enjoyable romp.
6.5/10

Infestation
A lazy so-n-so goes to 'work' as normal, gets fired and wakes up wrapped in a web.... he manages to wake some random people and together they set off to find the nest and destroy the bugs. Was expecting a B movie, but it delivers with decent acting, understated CGI and not too many plot holes. Solid, good fun.
6/10

Confessions
not strictly horror, but this tale of a grieving mother taking revenge for the death of her young daughter is slow burning and chilling like most Asian horrors. Starts of slow, but picks up pace after the first part.
6.5/10