Darko's Recently Viewed Diary

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale - It's rare that I get to experience a film completely blind but this was on one of thoserare occasions in which my quest to ignore all trailers, reviews, interviews or any mention of the film worked out.

Much like Monsters Rare Exports is being touted by many of publications as a genre defining piece and while it is a thoroughly entertaining film it does reek of budget limitations. The bizarre tonal shifts hamper the film with the ending being particularly odd and out-of-place, especially as the last third spends some time building up to a pay off which never transpires.

Still it's a very entertaingin film, which I could easily rewatch tomorrow.

Brainscan - From the writer of Se7en and starring Edward Furlong the film is a strangelye satisfying little romp. Nothing wholly original or ground breaking but entertaining as hell and with a great villain though the best thing about the entire film is the rather brilliant and spooky theme.

Hobo With A Shotgun - A real gem, 80 minutes of over the top gore and laughs. Much like Black Dynamite it pays homage to the genre in a loving manner by highlighting the ridiculousness of many of the Grindhouse films but never making fun of them.

Manhunter - The best incarnation of Hanniable Lecktor, Michael Mann's adaptation of Red Dragon is a serious, well made and genuinely creepy film which is immensely re-watchable and features one of the most memorable finales of all time.

High Plains Invaders - Cowboys V Aliens, only made on less than the catering budget of its big screen brother. Some nice ideas and 1 good performance but low budget does drag it down. Worth a watch if there's nothing else on but not something you need to track down.

Rottweiler - An odd, odd film. Perhaps the only film about a killer cyborg dog which plays the entire thing without a hint of irony of laughs. It all looks rather great and Paul Nacshy is fun to watch but it's far too serious for its own good. It's worth a watch if you come across it as it really is something quite original and that is something to cherish.

The Deaths of Ian Stone - A good idea let down but an final third where ti all just falls apart. With creature effects from Stan Winston you expect something unique and not costumes which are forever hidden by cheap cgi smoke. it all looks rather cinematic and production values are high but the lack of any real originality does drag the film down.

Down - i bought this knowing nothing about it bar that the cast featured Michael Ironside and Ron Perlman. Expecting a generic B movie I was instead greeted with one of the most entertaining 100 minutes of film I have seen in a long time. The premise about an elevator which kills may seem like the most ridiculous concept ever but by playing it completeely straight and with great fx work it somehow really does work. It's teh kind of film best watched knowing as little about beforehand, and lets not forget the scene in which Ironside and Perlman talk is the B-Movie fans version of Heat.

God Told Me To - Larry Cohen is the God of genre cinema and this is perhaps his most impressive feat. it's hard to talk about the film without giving too much away but the plot concerns a spate of unrelated murder spree and when asked the killers motivations are always the same" God Told Me To". It's a great premise and one which could easily have been used for cheap laughs but Cohen is adept at working with hookey premises and plays it all straight creating one of the oddest and most original films you are ever likely to see.

Tucker & Dale vs Evil - I absolutely adore the film, one of the funniest I have seen in a long time and with enough fun deaths and gore to satisfy. It's a genius piece of film which manages to perfectly capture the mood of cabin in the woods films and sprinkle in enough genuine comedy moments to make it a must see. So good is it that I'm watching it again and looking forward to owning it.

Decided to do a quick in-depth review of Mother's Day after Darren Lynn Bousman asked me to share my thoughts of the film with imdb users.

Attempting to remake Mother's Day, a low budget and trashy Troma production form 1980 is certainly a daunting task. For while the film will never be considered anything other than cult it is so completely out there that once seen you can't help but love it. And love you will, but not because it's a great film in the traditional sense but rather because of just how fabulously trashy it is.

When approaching the remake it's important not go in expecting a faithful update, the set up remains the same but Darren Lynn Bousman's remake is an entirely different beast and one which is all the better for it. By dispensing with the kitsch humour and feel of the original Bousman has crafted a film which is for want of a better word truly terrifying.

The set up is simple, a married couple Daniel and Beth are celebrating Daniel's birthday in the basement of their new home with a group of friend, safely tucked away from an approaching tornado. Unbeknownst to Daniel and Beth their new home, obtained in a foreclosure auction was not so long ago home to the the Koffin Family, a force of nature far more terrifying than any tornado.

After a bank robbery gone wrong the three Koffin boys return home expecting to find their mother and sister but instead stumble onto the new owners. The set up may sound somewhat ordinary but the plot is far more intricate and layered than one would expect. Allegiances are constantly changing and evolving as friend turns against friend and as the night wears on and the body count mounts no one is leaf unscathed.

Much like the Dawn of the Dead Remake, Bousman has peppered the film with knowing nods to the original. Numerous lines of dialogue pay homage to Charles Kaufman film and Lloyd Kaufman even gets to cameo on the TV, in the background of one scene. It's obvious that Bousman loves the original and that he has poured his heart into creating not just a great remake but a truly superb film in it's own right.

The film is shocking violent at times and while this was to be expected the most surprising aspect of Mother's Day is just how well the psychological horror is implemented. This is not some watered down, run of the mill genre picture but one where the most unsettling moments are not the scenes of visceral violence, (of which there are much) but rather the reflective moments where our hostages are forced to look themselves in the eye and consider just what it is they have done. These are not two dimensional characters but fully formed people we come to care about and this doesn’t just apply to the hostage but also to the entire Koffin family. That none of our characters ever does anything stupid or unrealistic in a bid to escape keeps us constant involved and on edge.

The cast here are at the top of their game but it is Rebecca De Mornay and Jamie King who truly shine. De Mornay as the matriarch of the Koffin family is one of the most unsettling screen villains in a long time. That she never resorts to any form of grandstanding makes her truly realistic and all the more frightening as a result. She is also the only character in the film to have any form of moral system, while our hostages quickly turn on one another she truly values the family system and would do anything top preserve it, making her a somewhat sympathetic villain whose actions are not as straight forward as they initially appear. King as her main adversary turns in a grounded and strong performance becoming every bit De Mornays equal.

Special mention has to also go to Patrick John Flueger, Warren Kole, and Deborah Ann Woll who are simply astonishing as the Koffin kids. That said there is not a single weak performances in the entire film, everyone from villain to victim is at the top of the game and it must be said that it is refreshing to find a genre picture starring adults playing adults.

Mother's Day is easily the best remake in recent memory, it sits up there with John Carpenter's The Thing as a remake which not only betters the original film but is also superior to most other films. It's a sin that Mother's Day has yet to receive a wide theatrical release as it is easily one of the most terrifying, nail biting films of the past decade.

Untraceable - A trashy serial killer film with somewhat of an original premise, the killer broadcasts the murders online and the more people watch the quicker death comes. It's the traditional Hollywood serial killer procedural film, a killer whose far too smart and constantly 1 step ahead of the FBI and local police, a tough single mom FBI agent and a charming cop. It's derivative as hell, the tech is beyond ridiculous but in it's own way it's highly entertaining, that is once you accept that all logic has been thrown out the window.

Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story - A loving look back at one of the forgotten greats of American genre cinema. Derided during his life time, Castle is one of the all time greats who recognized what his audience wanted and repeatably delivered just that. As the documentary progresses it leaves you constantly wishing that film makers like William Castle still existed.

Been awhile since I posted here but with the month that's in it I decided to do my 31 Days of Fright where I watch a minimum of one horror film a day.

First up was the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street. Far as remakes go it's one of the more interesting. It's a visually striking film that has a very music video look and feel, which considering the director was to be expected. There's a surprisingly bleak feel to the film and one of the few entries in the Freddy series where he truly is a despicable human being. By making it clear that Freddy was a child abuser makes it hard for the audience to enjoy the kills as much as they should. It's a brave move on the filmmakers part as they paint Freddy as a truly despicable villain and have the audience root for the teens in danger, or it would were the teenagers a little bit more developed. One thing that left a bad taste in my mouth was the motivation for Freddy's killings. There's a line of dialogue near the end where one of the teens states, "We were wrong. He's not after us because we lied. He's after us because we told the truth." Even with that in mind the ANOES remake is a decent way to kill 90 minutes and the fact that it was shot and released as an R rated horror and not some cut to pieces PG13 makes for a pleasant surprise. It's still a long way from the remake heights of My Bloody Valentine which is easily the best modern horror remake.

Next up was The Barrens. From writer/director Darren Lynn Bouseman who gave us a number of the Saw sequels, the rather excellent Mother's Day remake and the brilliant Repo A Genetic Opera. The Barrens is one of the more effective low budget horror films in a long time. It's more concerned with building tension and atmosphere than it is with blood and guts. There's a real sense of unease to the film that makes a change from the cookie cutter jump scares of most modern horror. That said it's not without it's problems, it looks rather cheap having at times the feel of a SYFY original, some of the acting is far from convincing and the ending is both a stroke of genius and a mistake considering how it turns an interesting character study into just another creature feature. Still it's ahead of trash like the Chernobyl Diaries.

After the surprisingly enjoyable The Barrens I sat down to watch Famine, the latest genre entry from Ryan Nicholson. Don't think I've been as disappointed by a film in a long, long time. At only 65 minutes Famine is a dull, plodding, poorly made mess of a film that could easily lose 30 minutes and still feel overlong. The plot is thread bare, performances are woeful and the kills are lackluster and boring. There's not a single redeeming aspect of the film, from the amateurish direction, to the sound which appears to have been recorded underwater, Famine is easily one of the worst films of 2012.

To kick off day 3 of 31 Frights I watched the rather decent SYFY original Roadkill. Shot on location in Ireland the film follows a group of young American adults who get together for one last road trip before they begin their adult lives. The plan to travel around Ireland in an RV visiting castles and ruins is cut short when our group accidentally run down and kill an old gypsy woman who curses them shortly before she shuffles of this mortal coil. Soon our attractive looking young adults are on the run from a giant evil bird and the gypsies relatives who have control over the beast aswell as plenty of shotguns. It's pretty standard low budget fare, imagine Thinner by ways of Jeepers Creepers and you get Roadkill. But for what it is Roadkill is an effective 85 minutes that is head and shoulders above most of the drek produced by SYFY. Watching a bored looking Stephen Rea cashing a quick pay cheque is one of the films highlights as are the numerous shots of the comically bad CGI baddie. While nowhere near as good as Grabbers, it is pretty decent post pub fun, just don't go in expecting anything other than a bargain basement creature feature and you won't be disappointed. Looking at the image of the DVD cover on imdb and noticed that it and Absentia use the same image of a woman clawing at the ground.

On my phone so keeping this short. Day 5 of 31 Frights was something a little more light hearted and fun, the Pierce Brithers rather wonderful Deadheads. The low budget nature of the film is obvious and some of the acting is a little too broad but none of that matters. There's plenty of laughs, the two main leads are great, there's some great FX and there's a sweetness to it all that's hard not to warm to. If only ever zombie film had this much wit then the genre wouldn't be so derided.

Day 7 of 31 Frights was a double  bill of Splinter and The Clinic. 

Splinter is for all intents and purposes a calling card, a film made to show the talents of an FX artist cum director and as such the FX work is brilliant.  The creature design and its usage is highly reminiscent of Evil Dead II and Bride of Re-Animator. There's a subtle charm to the low budget nature of it that's hard not to love and the creature is used sparingly in order to create just the right amount of tension.

The cast including the brilliant and underrated Shea Whigham all play it with just the right amount of tongue in cheek. A strong script and tight direction give the film the look and feel of a much larger production making Splinter one of the best creature features to come along in years.

The Clinic, a low budget Australian shocker is more thriller than out and out horror but most would argue otherwise. Ignore the preposterous   and downright ridiculous motivation behind the villains actions and there's a lot to like here. The script is decent and the actors are all fine though none of them has much to do beyond running around and looking scared. 

There's some great moments that heighten the tension and the initial set up is interesting but there's nothing here we haven't seen before. Now that doesn't stop it from being an interesting and enjoyable experience just one thats extremely frustrating considering how well the first hour and a bit plays out. Ignore the final 15 or so minutes and The Clinic is a damn fine low budget suspense film that does a low with very little.

Day 8 of 31 Days of Fright was Adam Giersch's Night of the Demons remake. 

The plot is straight forward enough, a group of friends attend a Halloween party in a gothic New Orleans mansion where 85 years ago a multiple murder occurred. As expected the night takes a turn for the dark when the police shut down the party and our 7 friends find themselves locked in the house and at the mercy of some rather nasty demons. 

It's clear from the off set that Night of the Demons is a rock n roll horror film that sets out to entertain the hell out of the viewer. Giersch infuses the film with a sense of fun and it feels like he has made the kind of film that every 15 year old boy wants to see. Full of big breasted babes, gallons of gore and the rare ability to poke fun at the sheer absurdity of it all NotD is just a blast from start to finish.

Yes the plot is pretty basic and the characters are one dimensional as hell but you know what, who the hell cares considering just how much fun it all is. 
Once the films gets into gear and the demons appear its non stop, over the top absurdity that's hard not to love. There's so much blood, guts, slime and bodily organs onscreen that 80s horror fans are going to be in heaven. Throw in the awesome soundtrack, good cast and  some really interesting shots and you have the sleaziest, trashiest and most down right enjoyable horror film to come along in many a year.

Night of the Demons may not be the smartest or most original horror film around but it sure as hell is one of the most fun filled ways to spend an evening. 

Day 10 of 31 Days of Fright was the rather bloody good The Collector.

Writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunst, best known for their work on the Saw sequels have with The Collector created one of the more inspired and enjoyable horror films of the past decade. The set up couldn't be simpler. Arkin, played by the underrated as hell Josh Stewart is a handyman who uses his day job to case potential targets. With loan sharks leaning on his wife to repay what she borrowed, Arkin breaks into the home of a wealthy family who are supposed to be away on vacation. Things are far from simple and instead of finding an easy score Arkin finds himself trapped in the house where a masked madman has set dozens of lethal traps and torture devices and plans to spend the night tormenting the family. Arkin, finding himself trapped faces a moral dilemma, to help the family or simply save his own skin.

The Collector has something that most modern horrors would kill for, a straightforward narrative that doesn't get bogged down in overtly complicated character development. The film is for the most part a one man job and with the focus almost constantly on Arkin, Dunstan, making his direction debut doesn't waste time trying to flesh out the character of the Collector. Far too many recent slashers have went out of their way to develop over convoluted and complicated back stories for their antagonists. The Collector is a silent, brooding presence that feels like a force of nature and brings to mind such genre greats as Jason and Michael. He exists solely to inflict plain on others and takes pleasure in watching as innocent bystanders fall prey to his traps.


The Collector is a strangely beautiful film. The acid washed look of the film perfectly captures that foreboding atmosphere that the film drips. There's a grittiness to the film which is perfectly augmented but the superb soundtrack from Jerome Dillon. The Collector is at it's most impressive when it marries together striking visuals with the pulsating score to create a nightmarish reality for the Arkin.

The biggest problem with The Collector is that it's one of those films that doesn't know quite where to end. There are at least 4 moments in the final 15 minutes that would mark the perfect ending to the film but as far as complaints go it really is a small one. The Collector is a taught, well made horror that knows exactly what it's audience wants and gives it to them. The superb central performance by Stewart who does a hell of a lot with very little and the superb visuals help make the Collector one hell of an enjoyable ride. Roll on part 2, The Collection.

Day 12 of 31 Frights was The Tall Man. From the director of the superior Martyrs The Tall Man is one of those films that was missold as a horror film. It's a rather mundane thriller that id one of the most peculiar things I've seen in a long time. It's not quite the worst film of the year as there are some interesting ideas but theres also something inherently insulting about it all. The set up hits all the expected genre cliches and for the first 45 minutes appears to be you basic every day horror but then it gets interesting and for all of 20 minutes it looks like the film could actually be something special before the entire thing just falls apart. The final 5 minutes
are amongst the most insulting things I've ever sat through.

It may be an over used metaphor but The Tall Man is like watching a car crash. The whole thing makes absolutely no sense and the overall message/attempt at social commentary is childish and offensive. It really is hard to take any of it the least but serious.

Visually it's one of the dreariest, flattest and down right ugly films in a long time. It's like watching some early 2000s shot on handy cam student film.

Today's horror was Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, a fine example of trashy action cinema that is never less than watchable. The novel concept and setting help the film stand out a little but the script is weak and really doesn't expand upon the basic idea. Still it's well directed and has a number of fantastic set pieces and is never boring which is all you really want in a film such as this. No one is every going to mistake it for a classic and in 10 years time it will be largely forgotten but for some throwaway nonsense you could do a whole lot worse.

Another day another Fright and after last nights underwhelming SyFy original wannabe I opted for a genuine cheap as chips SyFy original with Mandrake. Which is perhaps the only film ever made where an attractive looking non Japanese are menaced by tentacles. 

Mandrake does quite well by attracting and then wasting the abilities of two talented and successful TV actors, Max Martini from the Unit and The Shield's very own Benito Martinez. Watching them struggle with the poor characterisations and weak dialogue is painful considering how much they've impressed in numerous other projects. 

 Mandrake does a bit right, there's a decent sense of tension and a foreboding atmosphere for all of 15 minutes but everything is so by the book and run of the mill that you've seen it a dozen times before in similar SyFy originals. treasure hunters getting attacked by some mythical entity seems to be their most popular story considering they've made the same film a dozen times at this stage.

The problem with Mandrake is that it does nothing the least but innovative or fun. Films such as Frankenfish and Boa vs Python work because of how much fun they are. They embrace the absurdity and go with it whereas Mandrake plays everything straight. There's not a single genuine laugh to be found and few unintentional ones either. It also features the worst green screen **** in years and by the time the credits roll you'll find it difficult to recall anything from the previous 80 minutes. 

For a killer vine film with wit, intelligence and a sense of fun check out the rather great The Ruins. 

 

Day 18 of 31 Days of Fright was the criminally underrated The Hole.

Not to be confused with the Keira Knightly starring teens in trouble horror from a decade or so ago, The Hole 2010 is a low budget PG13 horror from the cinema legend that is Joe Dante.

The story follows two brothers who settle with their mom in small town USA. Exploring their new home they stumble across a locked door on the floor of their basement. With the assistance of their attractive neighbour the brothers open the door and discover a hole that seems to have no bottom. In the days following all three are forced to face their fears as all manner of evil behind stalking them.

The Hole is very much a throw back to 80s horror cinema and brings to mind such genre classics as The Monster Squad and Gremlins. The young cast all impress and make the most of one of the stronger genre scripts in years. Few horror films have tackled the theme of child abuse in such a mature and intelligent manner and it's a credit to both the script and Dante's assured direction that it never feels exploitive or heavy handed. 

The Hole is a film that has sadly never gotten a chance. Bypassing theatres it was dumped unceremoniously onto DVD and Blu-Ray which is a shame. It's an intelligent, well made and genuinely unsettling horror that makes great use of a talented cast, a string script and some great old school fx work. 

Day 20 of 31 Frights was Cockneys vs Zombies a film that is far more enjoyable than it has any right to be.

The set up is simple, two brothers team up with a rag tag bunch of criminal **** ups in order to rob a bank and save their grandfathers nursing home. As per the title their simple plan goes awry when legions of the undead rise up and begin to feast upon the living.  It's nothing we haven't seen before and is similar in style and time to Shaun of the Dead and Braindead and as such the laughs cone quick and fast. There's  numerous sight gags and some fantastic one liners that make the film one of the best comedies of the year. The undead football hooligans versus a rival firm to the theme of Match of the Day is comedy gold. The gore is equally well handled and rather inventive. The metal plate in the head is equal parts comedy genius and gore soaked insanity. 

Cockneys vs Zombies will never be mistaken for a genre classic but its a hell of a lot of fun and is destined to be a cult classic. 

Day 22of 31 Frights was another SyFy original, the rather nicely titles Arachnoquake.

It's another in the long line of cheap as chips creature features from the channel and while it'll never be mistaken for a classic it's a relatively entertaining 85 minutes. 

The plot is the same as a dozen others. A natural disaster allows ungodly creatures to escape and spend their time tormenting the local populace. Amongst the carnage we follow a rag tag team of heroes who go out of their way to get into ridiculous scrapes and battle wave after wave of giant spiders.

The FX work is not exactly impressive but it does have a certain rustic charm. At least the film makers are striving for a little ingenuity and use their money where it matters. 

At the end of the day a lot can be said when it comes to criticising Arachnoquake but it embraces the ludicrous premise and has a little fun with it. It's not a film likely to blow you away but it'll keep you entertained for 85 minutes and is certainly a step up from most SyFy creature features. 

Dat 24 of 31 Days of Frights was another SyFy original creature feature, the rather enjoyable Ferocious Planet. It may be of particular interest to Irish viewers considering it's from an Irish director, features a largely Irish cast and was shot in some woodlands around Dublin. But to be honest the main reason for watching the film is the presence of Joe Flanigan and lots of pissed off evil aliens.

The plot is the same as pretty much every other SyFy original. A rag tag group of soldiers and scientists are caught up in an inter-dimensional vortex and transported to an alternate dimension where a number of pissed off man eating creatures spend their time hunting down and killing our heroes. It's pretty basic stuff but there are some memorable moments along the way and it even has a few interesting ideas though at the end of the day it feels like a lesser Stargate script that was deemed too poor to film and spent the past half decade gathering dust.

As with all SyFy originals the FX is ropey, the acting ranges from passable to terrible, it all looks incredibly cheap and you can't help but feel like you've jsut wasted teh past 80 minutes of your life but there's a few nice deaths along the way and Joe Flanigan is always watchable. Ferocious Planet is not a genre classic and I doubt I'll remember it a week from today but there are a lot worse ways to spend a hour or so after a few pints.

Day 26 of 31 Days of Fright was a double bill of Fido and Midnight Movie.

Fido is a rather fun homage/piss take of Douglas Sirk melodrama with the added bonus of fleash eating zombies. It's a witty and enjoyable film that follows a young boy and the bond that grows between him and his pet/servent zombie. There's little in the way of gore but there's a charm that's hard to overlook and Billy Connolly does a hell of a lot with very little. The film does at times feel like a short stretched out to feature length but there's a real sense of fun to it all.

Midnight Movie is a low budget slasher with an inventive and fun central premise and a real sense of fun. The deaths are fun, the killer memorable and the premise is far more rounded and intelligent than the generic killer on a rampage. It's not a classic but it's far more memorable than most and leaves you hoping for a sequel.

Day 28 of 31 Days of Fright was a double bill of war time horrors.

First up was the rather moody and well made The Devil's Rock. Set the day before the D day landings the film follows two Kiwi soldiers sent on a special mission to destroy a gun placement. After setting charges on the gun the soldiers hear screams from within the fortress and venture within to explore and discover a fiendish Nazi plot involving the summoning of a demon.

The Devil's Rock is the first feature from one of Weta's leading FX experts and it shows. Visually the film impresses and the creature make up is excellent but the script really could do with some work. The initial set up is very well handled but the mid point reveal and subsequent scenes lack any real sense of urgency. 

Still far as genre cinema goes its one of the more interesting to come along in awhile. Acting is decent though the German SS officer with no hint of a German accent is hard to take seriously and the demon as good as it looks is not in the least but frightening. 

The Devil's Rock is an enjoyable and well made low budget horror but you can't not watch it and think what could have been. A little work on the script and a bigger budget and it could easily be something truly special.

Next up was Deathwatch, a WWI horror which follows a group of English and Irish soldiers who stumble across a deserted German trench and quickly realise that there's evil at work.

Much like The Devil's Rock there's a lot to admire here but sadly it's an underwhelming experience. The cast are fine but the characters are straight out of genre cliche 101. There's the overtly religious one, the commander with no field experience, the new recruit who lied about his age and so on. With a little more wit and inventiveness and this could have worked in the films favor but Bassett does little to examine the horrors of war. That the films most unsettling and effecting moment is the sight of a sick soldiers rat eaten legs says it all. War is hell and the addition of the supernatural really only distracts from examining how man can do easily lose his humanity. 

Far as the horror is concerned, well Deathwatch does a lot right. There are a few incentive kills and a great sense of mouthing claustrophobic terror as the days drag on but the ending is lack struck and the script just not strong enough to impress.

It's hard to hate on Deathwatch as it really tries hard to be something a lite different but sadly beyond its setting there's not a lot of originality to be found and it really could do with losing 10 minutes from the middle section. It's a valiant effort and is never boring but again, there's do much promise there that you can't help but feel let down by how generic it all feels.

Day 30 of 31 Days of Fright was marathon of films.

First up some 80s John Carpenter cheesy fun with Prince of Darkness. A group of scientists and a priest investigate an vial of ooze the has spent a thousand years locked up beneath a church. As the night wares on things take a turn for the worse when the local homeless population led by Alice Cooper blocks all exits and then inside the ooze begin
s to take on a mind of it's own. Prince of Darkness is very much lesser Carpenter but it's not without it's charms. There are a number of great ideas in play, mirrors as a doorway to alternate dimensions, the ability that dreams are messages from the future and the ooze it's self are all fantastic ideas but sadly Carpenter does nothing with them. The films biggest problem is that for most of it's running time it's little more than people chasing people down long corridors. There really is a great film in there but it get's lost amongst the horror cliches. Still it's not a bad film and there's a great score, some wonderful imagery and a sense of fun.

Next up was C.H.U.D. which is a perfect slice of 1980s cheese. An inventive, tongue in cheek film that understands the absurdity of the set up and just runs with it. As the underground homeless begin disappearing a cop, a reporter and a slightly demented preacher team up to investigate. Journeying beneath the city they find that cannibalistic monsters are devouring the population and in true 80s style things go crazy. C.H.U.D. is not high art but it is a lot of FUN which at the end of the day is all you want from a film whose title is an acronym for "Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller".

Continuing the 80s theme, next up was Dead Heat which to this day remains criminally unseen. Writer by Shane Black's brother Terry, Dead Heat is a classic of the horror genre and brilliantly pokes fun at the zombie genre while lovingly homaging some of the classics. I could go on for days about just why the film is one of the greatest films of the 80s but nothing is going to convince you more than sitting down and watching it. It's funny, sweet, has buckets of great looking gore and some of the best practical FX work you will ever see.

To end the night I decided on a second John Carpenter film, his remake of Village of the Damned which was the only film he made I had never seen. Made in the mid 90s it's decidedly lesser Carpenter and looks like it was made a good decade before Prince of Darkness. Visually it's a drab and uninteresting looking film with little of Carpenter's trademark style. The score is drab, performances are mediocre and the script is poor. The most interesting thing about the film is seeing a young Thomas Dekker as one of the children. Beyond that there's little to recommend here and while it's not a terrible film it's just so average that you can't help but be bored.

Not watched a whole lot of horror over the past month but did finially sit down last night to watch The Awakening.

It's a refreshingly old school ghost story with an interesting premise, a good script, a fine cast and some really interesting ideas. There's nothing we haven't see before in films such as The Innocents, the Others, Woman in Black and a few others but like the better examples it's a well thought out and intelligent story that offers a lot to think about. There are no easy answers and I imagine that it will lend itself nicely to a rewatch.

A few from the past months.

My Bloody Valentine (remake) - Rewatched this for the dozenth time and it remains a damn great film. Filled with great kills, a fine cast, a great script and some of the best uses of 3D yet. It really does deserve to be held in much higher esteem and the lack of a sequel is criminal.

Underworld 1-4 - Watched the series and really enjoyed it. Have seen the first two a few times but sitting down to watch parts 3 and 4 I expected something a lot less interesting. Granted the mythology is somewhat convoluted and the films are over long but they're never boring. Perfect fodder to kill a lazy evening in.

Drive Angry - Perhaps my favorite use of 3D ever. It's little more than a Ghost Rider ripoff and by christ is it entertaining. Cage is brilliant and Fitchner is equally great. Really cannot recommend it enough to anyone who enjoys a little slice of trashy action.

Pries - Little more than a sci-fi remake of the Searchers, Priest is an entertaining if not exactly original sci-fi film that sadly squanders great source material. It's relatively short and fitfully entertaining and while easily kill 90 minutes.

Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters - A few fun moments but overall a bland, long and drawn out horror that hasn't a single original moment. Really is a shame considering just how much fun Dead Snow was.

Phantoms - good fun that manages to do a lot before falling apart at the end. O'Toole is slumming but having fun and it's a joy to watch. Had the film concentrated a little more on him and a little less on ropey CGI fx and this could have been a winner.

Night Train - A poorly made and uninteresting film that squanders a great cast on a script that feels like a rather poor episode of the 80s Twilight Zone. It could have made a great short but at feature length it's at least 60 minutes too long.

Stag night - A far better than average slasher with a good cast and nasty sense of glee attached to the various deaths. The performances are good and the script packs a few interesting idea making this one to seek out.

The Prophecy - A fine example of what low budget horror can do when a filmmaker has a good idea. Intelligent, well made and featuring Christopher Walken's best performance in many a year.

Slaughter of the Innocents - One of the lesser Silence of the Lambs wannabes, SotI is a completely bonkers serial killer flick with the great Scott Glenn being given not a whole lot to do. The killer is good fun and his reasoning behind his murders are interesting but the kid is annoying as hell and the film has the cheap early 90s shot on the quick look. That said the ending is just too odd not to like.

Hypothermia - Quite possibly the worst film of the past decade. A cheap, cheap looking film with a woeful script, performances that are one note and a look that screams "we shot this over a weekend with a few friends". The creature FX is cool in a retro way but it looks crap and there's not a hint of menace to it and there's not a single bit of tension generated in the film.

Blood and Chocolate - One of the more interesting love will conquer all wannabe horrors of the past decade. It's not exactly all that good and the story has been told a dozen times before but it's a hundred times more entertaining than Twilight and a thousand times better made.

Piggy - A interesting revenge tale that loses itself near the end as it leaves far too many questions unanswered. The cast are excellent, the violence is visceral and tough to watch and it looks great but sadly the script simply isn't good enough.

The Hidden - One of the finest films of the 80s. Any self respecting horror or sci-fi fans owes it to themselves to watch this at least once a year.

John Dies at the End -John Dies at the End is one of those films that shows just what can be down with a limited budget when given to a director with some vision. The meager budget is used to create one of the most involving and bigger worlds than pretty much any 200 million dollar blockbuster. Every cent is on screen and Coscarelli knows exactly what the viewer wants and has created one of the silliest, zaniest, down right charming films ever made.

There's an awful lot going on in John Dies at the End and to try and condense it down into a paragraph would be a disservice to the film but in order to convince you to give it a chance, I'll try my best. John Dies at the End tells the story of two, slacker twenty somethings, Dave and John who after a nights partying take a drug know as "soy sauce". From here things get weird as the sauce throws open the doors of perception and as such, the rules go out the window and were treated to a dog driving a jeep, a monster made of meat, an topless alternate world right out of Eyes Wide Shut and a dozen other inspired moments of lunacy. Words really cannot do justice to the sheer brilliance of the onscreen insanity. It's the most ridiculous film I've seen in many a year and also the most entertaining.

Adding a little prestige to proceedings are the always brilliant Paul Giamatti and Clancy Brown. They play their roles just the right amount of tongue and cheek and while our leads Williamson and Mayes are both excellent, one can't but imagine just how great a film where Giamatti and Brown's characters team up.

Back to the film. John Dies at the End is not a straight forward narrative and the film has fun jumping around the place. The episodic nature won't appeal to some and there's no doubt that it can be a jarring experience but when a film is this much fun you really couldn't care less. The first act has John and Dave as a pair of bargain basement Ghostbusters, the second act is exposition heavy and the third act introduces an alternate reality with some poor green screen but there's not a single moment that I'd lose from the 90+ minutes. It really is just the oddest, most down right brilliant thing that I have seen in many, many years though I can easily see why many will hate it. There's an oddness to the film that must be accepted in order to enjoy the film.

And those that accept the lunacy are in for a treat. As the credits roll I was left wanting more. this is the kind of project that if there was a kickstarterfor I'd happily give every cent that I could afford to. I could go on and on about just how much I loved the film but really, everyone should just take the time to watch it. And there's really no excuse now that it's been added to US Netflix

Manhunter - The best Hannibal Lector film by far and one of my all time favorite films. Just an all round classic with a number of brilliant set pieces and a finale that is perfect.


ParaNorman - A kids film that manages to be far more affecting and emotional than most. A wonderfully realised world with a great script and some truly beautiful moments. Really cannot recommend it enough.

The Purge - A bland, lifeless thriller that manages to take a great set up and do absolutely nothing with it. It feels like a cheap remake of Judgement Night.

Dead Mine - A damn fine low budget horror with some wonderful locations, an interesting set up and a cast multi national cast who all impress. It ends rather abruptly and leaves you praying for a sequel. It's never going to be considered a classic but it's far more deserving of your time than say the latest Paranormal Activity.

No One Lives - Some decent looking gore but overall a missed opportunity that manages to be boring beyond belief with a cast made up of some of the stupidest characters ever put on screen. Real shocking just how poor this is considering that it's from the director who gave us Versus and The Midnight Meat Train.

ABC's of Death - Talk of a mixed bag. Some of the shorts such as D is for Dogfight are amazing and manage to be amongst the years best while entries such as F is for Fart manage to be the worst things ever put on screen. It's mixed bag but it's usually interesting and rarely boring.

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter - A real hammer classic with some brilliant moments. Real shame that the proposed franchise never came to be as I'd love to see what Kronos did next.

The Condemned - The WWE does Battle Royale and it sure is fun. Steve Austin is great as a big lug who can punch someone to death and the kills are all well done. Again, like many I list here it's not big and it ain't clever but it is fun which is all you want for a lazy Friday night in.

Odd Thomas - An enjoyable adaptation that does a hell of a lot right. It's a shame that the film has seen such post production trouble as it's superior to a lot of this summers big blockbusters and deserves far more than being dumped to DVD in Hungary.

World War Z - Enjoyable if not exactly all that good adaptation that throws away everything that was good about the novel in favor of telling a cliched tale of globe hopping. Pitt is good but it's not like he has much to work with and the script is really stupid. That said I am looking forward to watching the extended R rated version when it hits Blu-Ray next month.

Wolfen - One of those forgotten horrors of the 80s that places the emphasis on a good script above all else. Albrt Finney is excellent and the mythology is brilliantly implemented though it is slightly over long and the ending is a bit WTF. Still it's well worth a watch and a lot of modern filmmakers could learn a whole lot from it.

Desperation - A long, boring, drawn out King adaptation that's a chore to sit through. Really not worth your time or money.

The Seasoning House - One of those great little low budget gems that no one expects anything from. It's one of the grimmest films in recent memory and takes place in the Balkans at the height of the genocide and focuses on a deaf girl whose job involves preparing kidnapped girls for their work in the worlds least appealing brothel. It's a claustrophobic tale that's unrelentingly grim and while the final third is a departure from what came before it remains a highly effective and nasty little horror thriller that deserves to be seen.

100 Bloody Acres - Bloody good fun is all you need know about this horror comedy that does almost everything right. A smart script, strong performances, superb direction and just the right amount of blood an guts make this standout from the glut of forgettable horrors released every week. It's just a joy to watch and Reg is one of the most likeable horror antagonists in the history of cinema.

R.I.P.D. - R.I.P.D. IS pretty much a big screen version of GvE meets Men in Black without the wit of either. Still it's far better than it has any right to be and Bridges and Reynolds are excellent and have great chemistry. It's just a shame that it all feels so familiar. From the very first scene it's obvious who the big baddies going to be and there's not a single surprise in the films entire 90 minutes. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, it's rather refreshing to find a summer release that comes in under 90 minutes and doesn't try to be anything other than some light, easy to digest entertainment. R.I.P.D is the kind of film that you'll have forgotten 10 minutes after its over but while it lasts its never boring and manages to raise more than a few smiles. It's not a film I'd go out of my way to see but I can see myself thrown it on at some time in the future when I want something easy to kill a few minutes. .

The Frozen Ground - Another John Cusack serial killer film, another waste of time. One of the most generic, plodding and dull thrillers in many a year. Cage is decent and Hudgens impresses but it's 50 Cent whose the real standout. Playing somewhat against type he shows a range that no one expected of him. Shame that Cusack is so uninterested, he doesn't even bother to phone it in favoring instead to have his assistant fax it in for him. Really was looking forward to this one but sadly it was for the msot part a waste of time.

Beowulf - Not the big screen motion capture one but rather the late 90s, Christopher Lambert starring steam punk one. Visually it's gorgeous with some of the best production design around but sadly the low budget means that at it's best the film is only really adequate. Lambert is decent and the script isn't half bad but you get the feeling that the whole thing was little more than a set up for a sequel that never came.

World War Z UNRATED Cut - The addition of a little of the red stuff adds absolutely nothing to a run of the mill zombie film. There's so much potential that one can't help but be disappointed by a film that really has no idea just what it wants to say or do.

Autopsy - A gleefully sick and twisted romp with some really inventive gore and a pitch black streak running throughout it. It may not be the most original of films but it has a lot of fun picking off our various characters and the hanging organ scene is a work of genius.

Riddick - Not a patch on Pitch Black or Chronicles but a damn good old school sci-fi flick with some excellent creature FX. The opening 30 minutes is a wonderful piece of cinema and you have to hand it to any film brave enough to spend it's opening third with barely a word of dialogue. Shame then that the middle section is overlong and unexciting and the ending, fun as it is is seriously rushed.

Doom - One of the better game to film adaptations and a real nice throw back to those sci-fi horrors of the 80s. Some wonderful creature FX is the highlight but like many contemporary films the director mistakes dark murky corridors for atmosphere.

Remains - The kind of low budget horror that you can't not think that a child would do a better job. The set up is interesting but the whole thing looks cheap as hell and could pass for a mid 90s afternoon sitcom. The writing is atrocious and seems to blunder from one set up to the next with little joining the random events. Defiantly one to miss.

Friday the 13th Part 2 - A watchable slasher but it's little more than a remake of the original and feels over long. There's some good gore but the script is formulaic and lacks any surprise. It's a decent way to kill 80 minutes but there's so many better slashers out there that it's hard to recommend.

Lord of Darkness - Quite a bit of good fore and FX work but the script is really, really poor and the ending is so stupid that it's insulting. The whole thing works better as a calling card for ti's talented director and FX crew but that's not reason enough that your film should be watched by anyone outside your friends and family.

Silent Hill Revelations - Quite simply one of the poorest films ever given a mainstream release. It's 80 minutes of poor acting, bland direction and Sean Bean tripping over an accent that sounds ludicrous. The FX work is fantastic but that's the only aspect where the film doesn't fail miserably.

Hannibal - A decent if uninspired thriller with some interesting deaths and good performances. Moore is rather good and Hopkins gives the second best Lector performance but watching it one can't help but think of just how superior Manhunter is.

Rites of Spring - A damn fine low budget horror that's more concerned with plot than it is cheap scares. The creature himself looks good but there's no enough of him on screen and you're left wishing that we'd spent a little more time with him and a little less with our bungling kidnappers. The somewhat open ended closing leaves the door open for a sequel and it's one of the few occasions where you'd like to see a sequel/