Home For The Holidays (1972)

3 / 5 Dec '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: John Llewellyn Moxey
Written by: Joseph Stefano
Actors include: Jessica Walter, Sally Field, Julie Harris
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Length: 73 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
An impressive cast and reasonable (though unsurprising) ending make this tolerable, but the wooden dialogue and the fact that they tried to cram too much into a tv movie work against it. The plot is about a sickly Father and his Daughter Alex (Eleanor Parker) who suspect his new Wife is poisoning him. They call all of his other daughters home to assist even though they aren't too eager. See their Mother committed suicide but they believe their Father pushed her to it for the most part so they aren't too eager to forgive. Daughter Christine (a young Sally Field) is the young sweet one, Jessica Walter is hilariously over the top as the alcoholic pill popping sister Frederica, and Jill Haworth plays the sister of many failed marriages Joanna. Step mom Elizabeth (Julie Harris) seems rather evil, and when the daughters start getting knocked off could she be responsible? It's a silly little murder mystery that is low on the murder scale (at one point someone is tapped with a pitchfork and dies...how does that work exactly?) that takes place over the holidays. There are definitely worse made-for-tv movies but there are better ones also.

Availability:  Not currently on DVD

Il Coltello Di Ghiaccio aka Knife Of Ice aka Detrás Del Silencio (1972)

2.5 / 5 Dec '10
Tagline:   N/A
Directed by: Umberto Lenzi
Written by: Luis G. de Blain, Umberto Lenzi
Actors include: Carroll Baker, Alan Scott, Ida Galli
Genre: Horror, Giallo, Thriller
Length: 91 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Meh...I'm actually usually rather fond of Umberto Lenzi movies but this one did nothing for me. It's a giallo indeed but it's missing the excess flair and nudity and violence. It involves a young Woman named Martha (relatively well acted by Carroll Baker) who is mute because of a railway tragedy that occurred when she was 13. She lives with her Uncle in the countryside, but when her cousin Jenny arrives things turn disastrous. Jenny turns up dead and soon they realize there is some sort of maniac killing young women around and maybe Martha could be next! It is a rather dry and humorless effort which didn't help with moving things along either. I also hate to say that there weren't really any surprises with this, I predicted what would happen and I was right, not too much fun in that. I really had expected more from this one but they can't all be winners!

Availability:  Not on DVD currently

Night Of The Eagle (1962) aka Burn, Witch, Burn!

3.5 / 5 Dec '10
Tagline: Witch or Woman, What Was It?
Directed by: Sidney Hayers
Written by: Fritz Leiber Jr., Charles Beaumont
Actors include: Janet Blair, Peter Wyngarde, Margaret Johnston
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 85 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is actually a charming little film even though at times it's rather dry and talky and it's not exactly scary though I'm sure at the time the subject matter creeped a few out. Norman Taylor is a charming young teacher, his students adore him and he has everything life could offer, even an adoring wife (played by singer Janet Blair). When he discovers his Wife has been engaging in the practice of witchcraft (he doesn't believe in it) he burns all of her protection gear. Well let's just say burning voodoo style stuff isn't exactly the best plan as they are sort of doomed from that point on. This has some pretty neat scenes and the visuals are positively lovely, even though parts are less than interesting the bigger picture is engaging enough to keep following it. If you are looking for straight up horror you might be disappointed but if you are looking for a neat little story that has horror elements than this is more for you.

Availability:  On DVD

Antichrist (2009)

3.5 / 5 Dec '10
Tagline: When nature turns evil, true terror awaits.
Directed by: Lars von Trier
Written by: Lars von Trier
Actors include: Willem DaFoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Horror
Length: 105 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
For me this was a rather hit and miss film, the ending I quite enjoyed...okay well maybe "enjoyed" isn't the word...it made me uncomfortable. The beginning I found to be rather dry and up it's own ass (although very well acted) it was rather boring. It begins with the death of a couple's infant while they are having sex (I was shocked at how much we see here honestly), from there it's a downward spiral of guilt, shame and despair. It's a depressing film, and some of the creepy imagery is quite well created (especially the woods and dead animals). The ending was surprisingly demented and entertaining though people watching this as an art film will be disappointed, I thought it had good payoff. It does "cross the line" a few times into silly territory...I mean a talking fox? What was up with that? Oh well it's a strange hybrid of art film, disturbing gross out fest and well acted drama....it was worth watching but not something I'd probably watch again.

Availability:  On Blu-Ray & DVD

Turkey Shoot (1982) aka Escape 2000

3.5 / 5 Dec '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Written by: Jon George
Actor include: Steve Railsback, Olivia Hussey, Michael Craig
Genre: Science Fiction, Action
Length: 93 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Quite a bloody dystopian picture from Australia that has some parts in common with Mad Max but it mostly mimics The Most Dangerous Game. The idea is that in the future there are reprogramming and punishment camps for "deviants" (those who commit minor offenses it seems like). There they are forced to work, sexually abused and forced to learn to obey at all costs. When a group of new entries (and one old worker) to the camp are given the option to be part of a hunting game in exchange for their freedom. Since they are told that they'll never get out otherwise, they agree and so they are thrown into the woods. Shortly after a bunch of evil rich jerks are out on the prowl with various weapons. From there it's loads of fun and excitement and it's very bloody (some of the effects are cheesy) but it's well worth it for any action or horror fan. Not the most original film ever but it is a rather fun take on an old idea.

Availability:  On DVD

The Witch's Mirror (1960) aka El Espejo de la Bruja

4 / 5 Dec '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Chano Urueta
Written by: Alfredo Ruanova
Actors include: Rosa Arenas, Armando Calvo, Isabela Corona
Genre: Horror
Length: 75 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Even though Carlos Enrique Taboada was only the screenwriter on this film, it's got his mark of quality all over it, what a wicked Mexican director. This film is very stylish (albeit cheap) and it's borrows from several popular stories like Les yeux sans visage [Eyes Without a Face], Frankenstein and Orlacs Hände [The Hands of Orlac] to name a few. It's about a Witch who has a mirror, she finds out that the Lady of the house Elena is doomed to die and nothing she begs the black arts for can save her. Her husband is responsible for her death, and shortly after he brings home a new Lady Deborah. Deborah isn't the nicest girl and she definitely disapproves of anything that reminds her of Elena in the house. Let's just say Elena has her revenge destroying the face of Deborah which is sort of where the next segment leads. I don't want to give more away here but it's cruel, sadistic and surprisingly exciting for the last bit. They may not have had much in the way of budget but they sure managed to make an entertaining and wonderfully satisfying horror film out of what they had.

Availability:  On DVD

Dark Tower (1987)

2 / 5 Dec '10
Tagline: In a city that never sleeps... this building is a nightmare.
Directed by: Freddie Francis, Ken Wiederhorn
Written by: Robert J. Avrech
Actors include: Michael Moriarty, Jenny Agutter, Carol Lynley
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 91 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This was a rather predictable ghost story with beyond stupid effects and lackluster straight to video acting (even though Jenny Agutter is usually very good). She plays the widow of a apartment building that her husband had built. He's now around in ghost form attacking those who peep at her changing or those who try to get in her way. Some of the deaths were kind of fun, towards the beginning of the film I had higher hopes but as it dragged on and on it became painfully obvious that they just gave up. Such an unoriginal concept and it was truly impossible to even care what the resolve was (what was with the mask by the way?). Oh well it's really not worth digging out of any vault, leave it hidden where it is or be bored to tears.

Availability:  Not on DVD

Sweet Kill (1973) aka The Arousers aka A Kiss From Eddie

2.5 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Curtis Hanson
Written by: Curtis Hanson
Actors include: Tab Hunter, Cherie Latimer, Nadyne Turney
Genre: Horror, Exploitation
Length: 85 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Such a lackluster exploitation flick, especially considering the topic, I'm not even sure how they made it so boring. Former teen heartthrob Tab Hunter plays creepy murderer Eddie Collins, and to see him in a role like this is a tiny bit entertaining but not enough to compensate for the plot. Eddie kills, gets erect, then kills, then gets erect....yeah you get the picture, nothing really special thrown in and the kills aren't even that great. I at least appreciate that they tried to make this a character study but they should have tried a little harder to make him intriguing even if in a bad way. It's insanely cheap, there are way too many uninteresting sex scenes and it was really missing that flavor that makes for great exploitation. It truly is hard to believe how mundane this really was, I had rather high hopes and usually I enjoy sleaze like this but I'd say that most would benefit from passing on this one.

Availability:  Not on DVD

Let The Right One In (2008)

4 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Tomas Alfredson
Written by: John Ajvide Lindqvist
Actors include: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar
Genre: Horror
Length: 115 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Considering this is a modern vampire film I actually expected to dislike this but luckily this was one of the rare good ones. It's stylish, and elegant, particularly the contrast with the snow and blood, very interesting. The cast is very effective and skilled and the plot is engaging yet simple, very easy to enjoy. It's no wonder this one made such headlines and inspired a remake (that I haven't seen). The story is about a young boy named Oscar who is bullied and lonely but he dreams of revenge. He meets an unusual neighbor girl, and despite initial resistance the two become close friends, only of course she has a secret. She can't go into the sun and she has rather odd eating habits. It's actually quite satisfying on a story level and on a blood level so horror fans who just came for the red stuff should still be pleased. Even for those who don't enjoy subtitles this one is worth the effort (plus there isn't a ton of dialogue), definitely one of the highlights of horror from the last decade.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

The Woods (2006)

2 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: Every high school has its secrets...
Directed by: Lucky McGee
Written by: David Ross
Actors include: Lauren Birkell, Agnes Bruckner, Jane Gilchrist
Genre: Horror
Length: 91 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well the biggest pro I can think of with this movie is main character Heather (Agnes Bruckner) who is charismatic and really carries the film. Everything else is pretty much uninteresting, particularly because it borrows pretty heavily from a much better film (Suspiria). Heather is a bad girl who likes to start fires, she is put in this special school out in the woods. The teachers seem very strange, and the classmates seem afraid or snobbish, depending on whom you go to. When students start disappearing Heather must find out the real truth about the school before it's too late! It unfortunately feels a big like an M. Night Shyamalan picture which I find off-putting, I really hoped it would be more like Lucky McKee's other film May. Oh well, it started off much stronger than it ended up, it was actually laughable in places and I don't think it's aim was to be silly. Oh and all of you Bruce Campbell fans take note, he appears in the film in a minor role but you will probably want to see it for that reason alone. It's not the worst thing ever, but I certainly had hoped for a heck of a lot more.

Availability:  On DVD

Scream Pretty Peggy (1973)

4 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Gordon Hessler
Written by: Jimmy Sangster, Arthur Hoff
Actors include: Ted Bessell, Bette Davis, Sian Barbara Allen
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 73 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Pretty darned entertaining although entirely derivative of two movies specifically A Bucket of Blood and Psycho but it's still good fun. The story is about a girl whom they call pretty Peggy (though I think that's quite an exaggeration), she needs a job and is interested in sculpture. When she finds a low paying house cleaning job working for a semi-famous sculptor named Jeffrey and his unusual elderly Mother (Bette Davis playing that role she plays in horror films). Peggy is desperately throwing herself at Jeffrey and eagerly trying to please the family, but his Mother keeps trying to get her to quit. Peggy soon starts to suspect something isn't quite right when she sees someone moving around in the forbidden rooms over the garage. Also when a Man turns up looking for his missing daughter who used to work for the family, she gets suspicious. It's pretty satisfying even if quite predictable, but for a made-for-tv movie it's pretty stellar.

Availability:  On DVD but I'm not sure how common it is

The Children (2008)

3 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: You brought them into this world. Now ... They will take you out.
Directed by: Tom Shankland
Written by: Tom Shankland, Paul Andrew Williams
Actors include: Eva Birthistle, Rachel Shelley, Stephen Campbell Moore
Genre: Horror
Length: 84 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
The first half of this movie is so gosh darned painful that I barely made it to the second more exciting half but I'm glad I did. See the first half of the film is two couples with their children (and one teenager) arrive at a cottage for Christmas. The children are continually screaming and making terrible noise, it's enough to give anyone a headache. I mean seriously, 40 minutes of kids banging on toys running all willy nilly while Adults try to talk over top and the teenager pouts...so frigging awful. At least the second half gave us some action as the little children start attacking and killing the adults in gruesome ways. The effects are decent and it does look cool with all that blood out in the snow, credit there. The style is a but frustrating as things happen so fast it's often hard to get what just happened, I mean it's obvious seconds later but at the time it's kind of annoying. Still the revenge and attack scenes are pretty cool, and the teenager becomes a rather likeable warrior. Also who doesn't enjoy watching irritating children go down? Some of the reactions seem a bit silly, would Parents really be that oblivious but I'm not one, so maybe I just don't get that aspect. The story does offer a few twists and turns too that maybe aren't instantly obvious, so definite points for trying there too. Not the greatest new movie ever but it did have some things worthy of mentioning and it's probably worth a viewing for fans of horror.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

Superstition (1982)

2.5 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: The victims who died were the lucky ones.
Directed by: James W. Roberson
Written by: Galen Thompson, Michael O. Sajbel
Actors include: James Houghton, Albert Salmi, Lynn Carlin
Genre: Horror
Length: 99 minutes
Banned: UK

Review:
In some ways I suppose I should award this points for trying some creative and gory deaths...but then I have to deduct them because they look so fake they are laughable. The plot is about a witch who is back from the dead for revenge because she was burned many years ago. She kills everyone in peculiar ways who live in a certain area, but only at night while the sacred cross is still in the pond, once it's removed it's open season! The characters are as wooden as heck, and I found it very hard to pay attention to despite the fact that they were shoving fistfuls of blood in my face. Considering there are so many other witch revenge films, this is one of the laziest and most contrived I've seen. At least it was aptly filmed, and if you only care about deaths then this might suit your fancy, I'd just hoped for a little more honestly. Oh and as a side note apparently this was originally on the police seizure list for the video nasty scare in the early '80s.

Availability:  On DVD

Nightmares (1983)

3 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: Nightmares... is this year's sleeper.
Directed by: Joseph Sargent
Written by: Jeffrey Bloom, Christopher Crowe
Actors include: Cristina Raines, Joe Lambie, Emilio Estevez
Genre: Horror
Length: 99 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
While this is a rather weak and unoriginal attempt at an anthology yet two out of the four segments are pretty entertaining. The plot synopsis offers that each tale will have a twist but hilariously the first one doesn't at all...it couldn't have been more direct. A nicotine addict needs smokes, she goes to the store despite multiple warnings that a maniac is on the loose in her area. She doesn't lock her vehicle doors...blah blah blah. The next tale is a rip-off of TRON with Emilio Estevez as a cocky arcade wiz determined to beat the 13th level of some game I've never heard of. When he breaks into the arcade to practice late at night things get crazy. The third tale is also decent, it's about a Priest who questions his faith, then ends up in a Duel style situation with a demonic pick-up truck. Lastly the worst tale involved a giant devil rat tearing up a family's home...the effects are so very bad and the story was so very stupid. Not a very positive note to end on at all. Considering this is a horror movie, it's more of a kiddie anthology, I think only one animal and one person dies throughout the entire film. Still despite all of it's many flaws it did entertain me and I had no difficulty getting to the end, one could certainly do better though.

Availability:  On DVD

In A Glass Cage (1987) aka Tras El Cristal

4.5 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Agustí Villaronga
Written by: Agustí Villaronga
Actors include: Günter Meisner, David Sust, Marisa Paredes
Genre: Horror, Drama, War, Thriller
Length: 105 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Egads, this must have been the feel bad movie of the year. That being said, it's really an amazing picture about the atrocities of war and their lasting effects even after and it's told in a different way then I've ever seen before. It's so bleak and difficult to watch in places, this one will test and disturb, I doubt I'll ever forget it. The story is about a former Nazi/pedophile named Klaus who tormented little boys but is now clinging to life at home in an iron lung. His wife seems harsh and awful as well, and their poor little girl Rena lives with them too. A young Man called Angelo shows up at their house wanting to take care of Klaus but something isn't quite right with this arrangement. It's brutal, violent, explicit, humorless and in no way should this be watched by everyone. Still it's an impressively made and acted film that leaves one hell of an impression and does more than makes it's point. It's rare to see such a combination of exploitation/drama and horror but this is effective and worthwhile to the right viewer.

Availability:  On DVD

Quarantine (2008)

2 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: Contain The Truth
Directed by: John Erick Dowdle
Written by: John Erick Dowdle
Actors include: Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris, Columbus Short
Genre: Horror
Length: 89 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
From what I understand this is the American remake of the French film [REC] (which shamefully I haven't seen yet). Although I'm sure that is a much better film, after seeing this one I'm in no hurry. This one starts out with an obnoxious reporter called Angela (Quarantine) who has her film crew at the fire department to do a little special on them. All is duller than dull (seriously who would watch her news report?) until they get a call at an apartment building. They all rush inside to find a woman who is exibiting signs of zombism. Soon they find themselves locked inside with no way to escape, nobody will tell them anything and soon this mysterious virus starts running rampant when person after person gets bit. The handicam style is annoying, as well as the fact that nobody seems to have a clue how to adapt or what to do in the situation. In other words, how did they find the world's dumbest people to lock together in a building...it really seemed as though this "virus" was doing the world a favor. I will give this credit for having reasonable gore, and the infected humans look evil enough. I really thought this started out horribly and ended up even worse, though the middle had a few better points. Really weak film overall, I'll see [REC] eventually but after seeing this I'm not in any hurry, regardless of the fact that I'm sure it was much better than this.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

Marebito (2004) aka The Stranger From Afar

3 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Takashi Shimizu
Written by: Chiaki Konaka
Actors include: Shinya Tsukamoto, Tomomi Miyashita, Kazuhiro Nakahara
Genre: Horror
Length: 92 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Considering it has a reasonable reputation I was a rather disappointed in this J-horror offering. Granted it's not your typical long black haired Asian ghost story...well not really, and there is some creativity that went into this but the execution was weak. The story is about a cameraman who is obsessed with capturing the moment of fear on someone's retina. He ends up filming a fellow who stabs himself in the head and then tries to seek what might have scared him into the suicide. This leads him to the subway into a strange area where he sees a young naked girl chained up. He somehow gets her home and keeps her as a pet calling her F., but the story gets more unusual from there (it reminded me of The Little Shop of Horrors in a way) as she feeds on blood. It's bloody yes, but silly most definitely plus the story although somewhat mysterious is kind of obvious a little sooner than I think they meant for it to be. It's also ridiculously ponderous and so far from scary that it's nearly laughable. I must admit as the film went on it got a little better but the first half was pretty insufferably boring. Points for trying and heck you might want to give this a whirl but it's not something I'll ever watch again.

Availability:  On DVD

The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane (1976)

4 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: Ask Her No Questions And Nobody Dies.
Directed by: Nicolas Gessner
Written by: Laird Koenig
Actors include: Jodie Foster, Scott Jacoby, Martin Sheen
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Horror
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is one unusual yet likeable '70s film with impressive acting and a compelling story. Jodie Foster is the star of this one playing a brilliant and independent 13 year old girl named Rynn. She's tougher than nails, and cunning all because she has to keep her secret...even if it means murder! It's not just a horror film, in fact it's very psychological and plot driven...heck in some ways it's a bizarre romance. Scott Jacoby (who played the lead in Bad Ronald) steals the show (which is impressive considering Foster's performance) as a dorky yet sweet magician called Mario who is Foster's romantic interest. She also has a problem with an obnoxious meddling neighbor/landlady and her perverted sadistic son Frank (Martin Sheen). In many ways this is exploitation, and apparently Foster didn't really like making this film because the director kept insisting on nudity from her (she was 14 I think at the time) but she resisted and her older sister was the stand-in for that scene. It goes where maybe one would think it wouldn't, but at the same time it's sort of a depressing film and a black comedy all at once too. Really quite a memorable and creative little film that deserves to be seen by any fan of '70s cinema, a really weird classic indeed.

Availability:  On DVD

Pretty Bloody: The Women Of Horror (2009)

1 / 5 Nov '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Donna Davies
Written by: N/A
Actors include: Cerina Vincent, Elza Kephart, Tanya Huff
Genre: Horror Documentary
Length: 60 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well this is one of the most pointless and boring documentaries that I've ever sat through (and to be honest I didn't make it through the last 5 minutes...so if something brilliant happened there I'll never know it). Most of this documentary is spent interviewing a female who works at Rue Morgue magazine (ooh ahh, she mainly talks about how she has to prove herself to men...shocker), we also meet a feminist horror fan (yawn), and for celebs how about Debbie Rochon. I've heard of her, only because she's in a crappy Troma movie I had, apparently she's been in many films none of which I ever want to see (the clips look gawd awful). The only thing I thought to be somewhat interesting is the small feature they did on Vampira but it was nothing new to me either. Considering the wealth of strong Women in the horror industry and the many interesting topics that could have been covered this is a royal waste of time.

Availability:  Airs on TV periodically

Ginger Snaps (2000)

3.5 / 5  Nov '10
Tagline: Hungry like the Wolf.
Directed by: John Fawcett
Written by: John Fawcett, Karen Walton
Actors include: Emily Perkins, Katharine Isabelle, Chris Lemche
Genre: Horror, Drama
Length: 110 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well it's definitely a puberty movie...it nearly beats the viewer over the head with it. I appreciate the concept (rather original) and the tie-ins are interesting but it's overkill in some ways. Two sisters who are rather outcasts and they enjoy talking about death and staging it immensely are out and about when one of them is attacked by a werewolf. At first everyone keeps telling her it's puberty and so forth, but when she starts to grow a tail and rip people apart it's hard to deny that it might be something more. The film does have a big of a sense of humor to it, and it's rather well made (though the full blown werewolf effects are laughable) for the most part. The two lead actresses are really quite terrific and they carry the movie, it's just an unusual situation and how they behave seems somewhat realistic (considering). It does have gore, it does have a decent story and it does have many things that make it worthy of a viewing, but I can see why this may appeal to girls more than lads.

Availability:  On DVD