The Wolfman (2010)

3.5 / 5 Feb '11
Tagline: When the moon is full the legend comes to life
Directed by: Joe Johnston
Written by: Andrew Kevin Walker, David Self
Actors include: Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt
Genre: Horror, Drama, Thriller
Length: 103 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I actually thought this was better than I had expected, however it wasn't perfect. I appreciated the throwback to the style of the early Universal monster films, and they really went out of their way to make a visually appealing and detailed setting for the film. The cast was quite good as well really, and the story seemed true enough to form I think. A man's (Benicio Del Toro) brother is savagely killed, so he seeks the truth behind the killing. Of course he finds there is werewolf activity...only a little too late. I think the biggest issue with the movie was the CGI effects which majorly cheesed it up wherever they were involved. It could have been really excellent without honestly and that was disappointing. Still considering they are just reworking old material they managed to make an entertaining and fast paced film. I would recommend this however this is far from the best film about the topic.

Availability:  On Blu-Ray & DVD

...E Tanta Paura (1976) aka Plot Of Fear

3.5 / 5 Nov '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Paolo Cavara
Written by: Paolo Cavara, Enrico Oldoini
Actors include: Corinne Clery, Michele Placido, Quinto Parmeggiani
Genre: Giallo, Horror, Mystery
Length: 98 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Although not one of the classic giallo films, this still has some memorable moments and is a reasonably entertaining entry although it's seldom mentioned. It's relatively well filmed and it appears to have a budget and is rather well made. The story involves a murderer who is leaving illustrations from a child's book with the victims. We also follow around the detectives who are trying to solve the crime of course. The story involves sex, weird parties, violence, mystery and even some gore...it has all the successful trappings of the genre. It even for some reason has appearances by Tom Skerritt and Eli Wallach in this film. It's easy enough to watch and it comes together nicely enough in the end. Definitely one for Ital sleaze fans to check out, but beware! There is an edited version floating around with far less murder footage in it.

Availability:  non USA DVD only

The Fall Of The House Of Usher (1928) aka La Chute De La Maison Usher

4.5 / 5 Feb '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Jean Epstein
Written by: Edgar Allan Poe, Luis Buñuel
Actors include: Jean Debucourt, Marguerite Gance, Charles Lamy
Genre: Horror
Length: 63 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is insanely imaginative, and lovely to look at, it's very much art in the form of a film. Great care seems to have been taken to ensure that just about every shot looks amazing, even the experimental technics are fascinating. To add to this Jean Debucourt and Marguerite Gance were spectacularly creepy and both were brilliant in their portrayals. The plot is about a fellow named Allan who is a friend of a fellow named Usher who people seem to be terrified of. Usher lives with a Doctor, and his sickly wife Madeline. Usher is obsessed with painting Madeline's portrait, but with every portrait she gets sicker. The story as it goes on becomes a little less clear, but it was rather gripping regardless. It's hard to believe it's only 63 minutes long as a lot is packed into this film. Definitely worth watching for fans of early cinema, it was beautiful and haunting...it just could have used a bit of tightening towards the end.

Availability:  On DVD

A Stranger Is Watching (1982)

2.5 / 5 Feb '11
Tagline: Beneath New York's Grand Central Station, a killer can hide, victims can disappear... and a million witnesses will never know it happened.
Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham
Written by: Mary Higgins Clark, Earl Mac Rauch
Actors include: Kate Mulgrew, Rip Torn, James Naughton
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 92 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I've actually enjoyed a few Sean S. Cunningham but this is definitely not one of them. I was surprised how tame it was, it felt like a movie of the week thriller involving a kidnapping. Now yes, towards the end we get a little knifey action but it's far too little too late. The plot is about a young girl who watches her Mom get raped and murdered. The it jumps to the future and she and Dad's current girlfriend (Kate Mulgrew) are kidnapped by the Man (Rip Torn) who killed Ma. From there it's a ransom situation with a "daring" escape as they are imprisoned below Grand Central Station with Bums (er homeless) galore. It should have been way more entertaining than it was, and perhaps if I had found that little girl less irritating I might have cared what happened to everyone. Oh well, certainly not a satisfying horror film or thriller really but it could have been worse.

Availability:  On DVD

Enigma Rosso (1978) aka Virgin Killer aka Red Rings Of Fear aka Rings Of Fear

2.5 / 5 Feb '11
Tagline: Sweet sixteen ... they'll lose more than just their lives.
Directed by: Alberto Negrin
Written by: Peter Berling, Marcello Coscia
Actors include: Fabio Testi, Christine Kaufmann, Ivan Desny
Genre: Giallo, Horror, Mystery
Length: 85 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Apparently this is the third part of the "schoolgirls" trilogy, the first two parts being Cosa avete fatto a Solange? [What Have They Done to Solange?], and La polizia chiede aiuto [The Police Want Help] both had the same director, and this one has a different fellow in charge. That may be why this film is way inferior to the other two. The muddy giallo plot involves the murder of a young girl (killed by a big dick). They start questioning her friends (they were quite a clique) and of course anyone else who might have done something so terrible. There are red herrings, and unnecessary nudity left right and center. What it is missing is violence, and gratuity and satisfying plot conclusion. By the time they actually got to the ending I couldn't have cared less (though I suppose they tried a little bit). It just lacked whatever character the first two had, it's very bland and forgettable really, heck I only saw this two days ago and I'm having trouble remembering it. Not a must see but it's okay I guess if you are a gialli addict.

Availability:  On DVD

Scream Bloody Murder (1973) aka The Captive Female

3.5 / 5 Feb '11
Tagline: When You're In Her Business, Sooner Or Later, It Has To Happen!
Directed by: Marc B. Ray
Written by: Larry Alexander, Marc B. Ray
Actors include: Fred Holbert, Leigh Mitchell, Robert Knox
Genre: Horror
Length: 90 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Certainly not the best low budget '70s slasher film, but it's not without it's charm. This one is about a disturbed boy who runs his Father down with a tractor before having his own hand run over. He loses his hand and how has a hook, is forced to live in the asylum for a while and is a little disturbed shall we say. When he's released things get nasty as he sees Mommy has a new mate and he's not too happy about this. I give this film credit for some ambitious and bloody deaths, sure they look cheap but the effort was there. The hooked killer is pretty hilarious, and does a fairly good job of being a believable given the circumstances. The big problem is that it starts out way stronger than it finishes, it gets quite boring towards the end. Still worth a viewing, it's pretty funny in many ways, definitely a campy exploitation film in many ways. Not a classic, but worth it for fans of this sort of thing.

Availability:  On DVD

The Andromeda Strain (1971)

3.5 / 5 Feb '11
Tagline: The picture runs 130 minutes!... The story covers 96 of the most critical hours in man's history!... The suspense will last through your lifetime!
Directed by: Robert Wise
Written by: Michael Crichton, Nelson Gidding
Actors include: Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson
Genre: Sci-Fi
Length: 130 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Conceptually this is very interesting, and the documentary style likely creeped out many. The plot is about an alien virus that is discovered near New Mexico. Then we are treated to what would happen in the next few days as they try to discover the virus and how to treat it, and learn of the disaster it could cause. It's visually very well made, everything is stark and put together, though some of the strange camera ideas and whatnot definitely scream of the times. I think what works so well as this feels like it could happen, they go about portraying the story in a very realistic way. Where it lacks is that it's just too darned long, I could do with an hour less and be far more satisfied. This is a slow moving film with purpose and I do recommend it to fans of vintage sci-fi, particularly to see how influential this must have been. I did feel a little disappointed but I certainly don't regret watching it.

Availability:  On DVD

Starcrash (1978) aka The Adventures Of Stella Star

2.5 / 5 Feb '11
Tagline: A Sexy Space Adventure
Directed by: Luigi Cozzi
Written by: Luigi Cozzi
Actors include: Caroline Munro, David Hasselhoff, Christopher Plummer
Genre: Sci-Fi
Length: 92 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Even by it's title you can tell it's a Star Wars imitator, but it also has a fair bit in common with Barbarella too. The cast is what drew me to the film, I mean Christopher Plummer (as "The Emperor"), Joe Spinell (as the evil "Count" ahem Vader", David Hasselhoff (as Luke er Simon) and the scantily clad Caroline Munro in the leading role Stella Star. The plot is rather epic, it's about a secret weapon capable of mass destruction that Stella Star, her alien friend and robot friend (with a penis helmet) must save the world from. The acting is quite terrible, and so are the hilariously bad effects. It's also a laugh for quite a bit as you point out what parts were stolen from what film and so forth. I think the main purpose of the film was to show of Munro's legs but when dealing with a film this cheesy it's hard to say. I'm kinda sad we bought this on blu-ray but I guess if nothing more it did amuse until it bored to tears...skip this unless you like bad movies.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray