|
|
Post by stefancrosscoe on May 20, 2021 2:18:07 GMT
I also enjoyed George Wendt's performance. He had that laid-back Norm Peterson persona going. I loved the scene, where he is finally convinced that his idol, is not losing it, completely. And the sight of the two men, banging on the monster in the closet, like total maniacs, as well as trying to capture the creature on tape. Yeah, that was sure a riot to behold. Always cracks me up.
|
|
|
|
Post by stefancrosscoe on May 20, 2021 2:35:09 GMT
Circus of Horrors (1960) by Sidney Hayers
A groundbreaking but unstable plastic surgeon, who goes under the name of Dr. Rossiter (Anthon Diffring), has to leave his homeland in dramatic fashion, when his latest "masterpiece" is revealed. Along with his two loyal companions, they set their destination towards a small circus, located in France, and where the trio soon finds themselves very much at home, and where the doctor is all of a sudden known as Dr. Schuler.
He sees the great potential, of using the circus as a way of continuing his controversial work, but also to offer ex-criminals a new life, as well as a new face.
But the prize for getting under the radar, and far away of the local police, is very costly, and soon to be, deadly.
As the circus itself, is known as the Circus of Horrors, due to all of the gruesome endings, to many of the performers, specially those who have tried to live or escape from Dr. Schuler's iron grip.
I recently picked up this 2020 DVD version, and I gotta say, after having seen it, for the first time. I was somewhat surprised, at how poor or low some of the scores/ratings were for this fast paced, well acted and very fun horror-thriller, which took me by surprise, as it has been a while since I had any luck, with a impulse buy, and this one were a bit pricy as well, since my version were a import copy, and these tend to be ridiculously overpriced, but I just could not ignore it, and had to have it with me home, the moment I saw the awesome artwork and title. Another reason, to why this film caught my eye, was the familiar face of Anthon Diffring, who I knew I had seen those cold and calculating eyes, before, also the scalpel. Sure, he had a small, but memorable part, as an old nazi-doctor, who appared in the late 80s cult-slasher Faceless, by Jess Franco, and also there, he has his hands full of beautiful young women, and surely not the kind of doctor, you want a house visit from, late at night. Anyway, Circus of Horrors moves really well, and fast. There is probably not a lot of scary stuff here, as some of the scenes is just downright hilarious, like with the "state of the art" car chase, at the beginning, but hey, I rather have it like that, than ending up with yet another generic and dull CGI car chase, which looks like something out of a random video game. Then, it is impossible to forget, the moment when Donald Pleasance is killed by a hilarious bear skin, and in such a dramatic and over the top way, it is a worthy opponent, to the legendary bear fight, in broad daylight, between Arnie and a brown bear at Central Park New York. Another nice surprise, where the many incredible and very sexy women, who had some deep cleavages and other big things, bouncing around, and reminded me of the later british Hammer Studio movies, which at times looked like they could have been directed by Russ Meyer. All in all, I really enjoyed this film, and if you are a fan of crazy and unstable doctors, then this movie is surely worth a watch. 7,5/10
|
|
|
|
Post by gspdude on May 20, 2021 13:06:41 GMT
 Death Factory (2002) Teens like to explore and party at the old abandoned factory, unfortunately that's where the local slasher killer hangs out. Points of interest: Tiffany Shepis, Ron Jeremy, 2 topless females, lots of blood. Drawbacks: Simplistic plot, poor acting, poor directing, a twist which doesn't make sense with some previous scenes. 2.5/10. I bought that VHS at a Hollywood Video in 2004. I liked it actually. I did really low/no budget horror films. Did you see the sequel? I haven't seen The Death Factory Bloodletting, but I see it has a higher IMDB rating than Death Factory, albeit with only 200+ ratings, so I may give it a shot someday.
|
|
|
|
Post by Salzmank on May 20, 2021 17:42:19 GMT
Probably shameful to admit around these parts that I’d never seen this before, but I watched Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981, dir. Steven Miner) for the first time yesterday.  It’s pretty terrible, but it’s slightly less terrible than the original. It has the elements I expected the original to have: shots of the camp, campers around a fire telling ghost stories, hilarious death scenes. Like the first one, it has one effective jump scare at the end—only one. Also like the first one, it lacks anything spooky or atmospheric, has too many interminable shots of tree branches rustling in the daytime, and doesn’t tie in with the Friday the 13th legend at all, which is such a missed opportunity. That said, I liked cast members Lauren-Marie Taylor and Tom McBride. They give the best performances in the thing (“best” being a relative term, of course) and unsurprisingly come off as the most likable characters by far. McBride’s character is in a wheelchair after an accident and gets a nice little speech about how he wants to beat his disability. Taylor looks a bit like Margot Kidder and, despite being and looking very young, has this wisecracking-’30s/’40s-dame air to her delivery, like Kidder had in Superman. And of course they’re not the final couple and Jason kills ’em. Too bad: If the movie focused on them it’d be a helluva lot more interesting. |
|
|
|
Post by lostinlimbo on May 21, 2021 2:14:11 GMT
I do think it starts off with a bang, but sort of loses steam when it finally came to the final assault. The lead bad guy’s henchmen/ & henchwoman easily overshadowed him in presence and it made we wonder why they would even take orders from somebody like him. Especially when the woman openly criticises him. Well, at least he’s not as unbelievable as the one in ‘Defcon 4’. I guess it was all about the connections (especially for the drugs), and this dude had the right ones to keep him on top? VFW is probably his most accessible film. Bliss is just as well made, but seems to be a like it or hate it response. Little middle ground. I saw both at the same festival and came away liking VFW more. However upon a re-watch it switched around. As for his other two films (Almost Human & The Mind’s Eye). They’re interesting experiments, but rough around the edges e.g performances. Yeah, I guess you summed it up, rather nicely. A slimy and scrawny bad guy, who probably had the brains over brawns style and leadership, but also happened to suply his army of users, the right kind of "stuff", to keep things in "perfect" balance. Well, at least until the next injection arrives. Kind of like Manny Fraker from Death Wish 3, who also were maybe not the most physical threatning gang leader, and had even some of his lesser loyal men, trying to overtake his place, which turned out to be a bad mistake. Still, he made sure to strike back, ruthlessly, and in a way which for such a ridiculous movie, still came out as rather nasty and brutal. He also seemed to hook up his followers, with a bit of that special stuff, before hitting the old timers, during night time. I remember I quite enjoyed Defcon 4, but have not seen it, since, well, very long now. Might give it another shot, along with a few other 80s and early 90s post-apocalyptic films. I actually find Def-con 4 to be rather a good film up to a point. Then it loses me. It’s when the core characters get captured and the preppy gang leader hits the screen. He felt more like a villain out of Revenge of the Nerds, and that’s where for me the story got less interesting. I think the opening set-up in space is creative for such a limited production. And I liked the early scenes with the mutants and Maury Chaykin‘s nomad character.
|
|
|
|
Post by gspdude on May 21, 2021 11:58:00 GMT
 The Haunted House of Horror (1969) aka Horror house. When I saw Frankie Avalon in the cast I was worried this might be a silly 60s teen comedy, but it's not that. It's part slasher, with the requisite number of not too bright young people, and part murder mystery, with the requisite number of false flags. Jill Haworth and Gina Warwick provide some nice British eye candy, but no nudity. 4.5/10. |
|
|
|
Post by FridayOnElmStreet on May 21, 2021 19:17:06 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Salzmank on May 22, 2021 2:24:16 GMT
Night Hunter (2018, dir. David Raymond).  Critics pilloried this one, but it’s not bad. It’s not bad at all. To be sure, the script is messy and, at the beginning, unpleasant; Ben Kingsley, despite playing Batman a rich vigilante who has a secret hideout, a supercomputer, and a kid sidekick and fights crime to avenge his family’s murder, is pointless; and some moments don’t feel earned (e.g., Kingsley’s last speech to Robin Lara). But it’s nicely acted by everyone and very nicely directed (despite a seemingly low budget) by first-timer Raymond. And it has a surprise twist I actually found surprising and some effective suspense set pieces, and it moves well. I still don’t think Henry Cavill is much of an actor, but he does fine with the material he’s given here. Alexandra Daddario, who always reminds me of a girl I knew in high school, does a great job with the limited material she’s given. If only the screenplay had had a few more drafts this would have been very good indeed. Even as is, though, it’s—if you get past the unpleasant first 10 mins. or so—a surprisingly entertaining thriller.
|
|
|
|
Post by FridayOnElmStreet on May 22, 2021 2:51:36 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by theravenking on May 22, 2021 14:50:50 GMT
Night Hunter (2018, dir. David Raymond). Critics pilloried this one, but it’s not bad. It’s not bad at all. To be sure, the script is messy and, at the beginning, unpleasant; Ben Kingsley, despite playing Batman a rich vigilante who has a secret hideout, a supercomputer, and a kid sidekick and fights crime to avenge his family’s murder, is pointless; and some moments don’t feel earned (e.g., Kingsley’s last speech to Robin Lara). But it’s nicely acted by everyone and very nicely directed (despite a seemingly low budget) by first-timer Raymond. And it has a surprise twist I actually found surprising and some effective suspense set pieces, and it moves well. I still don’t think Henry Cavill is much of an actor, but he does fine with the material he’s given here. Alexandra Daddario, who always reminds me of a girl I knew in high school, does a great job with the limited material she’s given. If only the screenplay had had a few more drafts this would have been very good indeed. Even as is, though, it’s—if you get past the unpleasant first 10 mins. or so—a surprisingly entertaining thriller. I actually thought this looked interesting, but all the terrible reviews put me off from watching it. Now I have to give it a try.
|
|
|
|
Post by theravenking on May 22, 2021 15:15:04 GMT
 Cat People (1972; Paul Schrader) I wasn't aware this was a remake, in fact I new next to nothing about it. I was expecting some sort of dark fairy tale, but it's more like a creature-feature/ erotic thriller. As it is it's a weird clash of European arthouse sensibilities and more mainstream Hollywood film-making. I found the first half which relies more on atmosphere and creating a dreamlike mysterious mood more interesting. For some reason Schrader abandons this more subtle approach around the middle and the movie becomes more straight forward and in the process less satisfying. There are some effective but also rather generic scare sequences. Nastassia Kinski is excellent, redefining the term "sex kitten". The rest of the cast is solid, but saddled with underwritten characters which fail to make much of an impression. There is some nudity from Kinski and a few gory scenes. It moves at a good pace and is never boring. I still didn't find the movie particularly engaging though. Perhaps the problem is Schrader's rather cold and distant directing which kept me from sympathizing too deeply with any of the characters.
|
|
|
|
Post by Prime etc. on May 22, 2021 16:07:40 GMT
I have been meaning to check out the remake of Cat People but I still have to see the sequel to the original.
The Haunted House of Horror--if that film had used a masked killer, it would be remembered a lot better.
I think that was a Tigon film and they were like the nasty drunken brother of Hammer and Amicus.
One thing on Circus of Horrors--Donald Pleasence in a special club of actor who wrestled a bear. It also includes Leslie Nielsen and a few others.
I re-watched THE CEMETERY, the first segment of the Night Gallery movie. Is this the best episode? It sure is a spooky one when you first watch it.
I remember the first time I saw this--it was a freaky experience.
It's so simple an idea too. The story is entirely carried by the acting of McDowall and Davis--their reactions to the painting.
|
|
|
|
Post by Prime etc. on May 23, 2021 7:25:03 GMT
COUNTESS DRACULA 1971 (50th anniversary).
Overlooked Hammer--it tends to be more dramatically focused than going for gory thrills--it's not very bloody considering the topic of the film-I had assumed she took a bath in blood but there is no scene like that here. I have not seen the Spanish film from 1973 on the same subject--I need to check that one out.
Nigel Green is really good--he dominates the film--Ingrid Pitt is compromised by the dubbing although her actual voice being so deep, I wonder if it was necessary to sell the idea that she was younger. Leslie-Anne Down is also dubbed by the same voice.
Another thing I wonder is if they had shuffled things towards the end, it could have concluded with the mother plunging a knife into the daughter before realizing what she had done thanks to the conniving of Nigel Green.
That would have been extra horrific-maybe it would have run afoul of censorship rules.
|
|
|
|
Post by gspdude on May 23, 2021 12:42:21 GMT
 Starcrash (1978) Totally absurd space opera, obviously ripping off several that have come before(Marjoe Gortner even has a light saber). The script, direction, and acting are bad, and the special effects are worse. The only reasons to sit through this are a scantily clad Caroline Munro and if your sense of humor can appreciate crap from a "so bad it's good" perspective. Actually those aren't bad reasons. They worked with me. 4/10. |
|
|
|
Post by theravenking on May 23, 2021 12:44:22 GMT
 Andrea Riseborough plays an assassin who via brain-transplants manages to enter the bodies of other people and use them to committ the actual killings. It's never explained in detail how this technology works and why the company behind it would go to such lengths to bump off somebody when a simple hit and run accident or poisoning their morning coffee would be a far less expensive and more inconspicuous way to get rid off the targets. The protagonist is having moral and personal issues with her job which leads to her botching her latest assignment. Her host takes control of his body again and takes revenge on her family. Or something like that, since story-telling is not Brandon Cronenberg's forte. Some impressive practical effects and good cinematography. The cast is overqualified for this type of nonsense and the extreme violence seems gratuitous. Lack of depth and too little character development make this a disappointing SF thriller. 4/10
|
|
|
|
Post by Dramatic Look Gopher on May 23, 2021 15:26:23 GMT
 Asylum (1972) A young doctor, newly arrived to a mental institution for possible employment, examines the mental state of four patients, each of them with a story to tell. Good Amicus anthology, although I like some of the other Amicus productions better (like Tales From The Crypt and The House That Dripped Blood). I felt the third story was weak, and the segment with the mini robot was rather silly. However, there's still much to be desired; the first tale was supremely creepy, and the second one has Peter Cushing giving a mysterious performance.
|
|
|
|
Post by mgmarshall on May 23, 2021 21:18:30 GMT
Asylum (1972) A young doctor, newly arrived to a mental institution for possible employment, examines the mental state of four patients, each of them with a story to tell. Good Amicus anthology, although I like some of the other Amicus productions better (like Tales From The Crypt and The House That Dripped Blood). I felt the third story was weak, and the segment with the mini robot was rather silly. However, there's still much to be desired; the first tale was supremely creepy, and the second one has Peter Cushing giving a mysterious performance. This one was always one of my favorite Amicus anthologies, but yeah that Herbert Lom segment is pretty silly. Maybe it would work better if the killer doll wasn't visibly just a wind up toy.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ass_E9 on May 24, 2021 3:01:46 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Dramatic Look Gopher on May 24, 2021 4:37:36 GMT
 Parents (1989) A young boy suspects his square parents are actually cannibals in 1950s suburbia. An incredibly weird and quirky horror comedy, loaded with bizarre images; kind of a cross between David Lynch and John Waters movies. I guess the point of this was to satirize the so-called "golly-gee" innocence of the 1950s, suggesting that underneath the facade of all the purity there lurks an evil presence kept hidden. |
|
|
|
Post by Prime etc. on May 24, 2021 5:56:52 GMT
Asylum has a great surprise twist with the wraparound story.
"Better keep the door closed and keep out the drafts as Dr. Starr used to say."
Starcrash - Emperor of the Universe:
"Well, it's done. It's happened. The stars are clear. The planets shine. We've won. Oh. Some dark force, no doubt, will show its face once more. The wheel will always turn; but for now it's calm. And for a little time, at least, we can rest."
|
|
