Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)

3 / 5 Jan '11
Tagline: To avoid moral panic keep repeating: "They were only movies, only movies, only movies, only movies..."
Directed by: Jake West
Written by: N/A
Actors include: Julian Petley, Marc Morris, Andy Nyman
Genre: Documentary, Horror
Length: 72 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well perhaps it's because I've studied the Nasties closely and been obsessed with them for such a long time that I found this to be rather dull. I give credit for at least showing a few seconds from each "Nasty" at the very beginning of the show, but from then on it's more about the effect it had on retailers. This is rather interesting and they raise some good points, but it's all stuff I've heard before. Same about how Mary Whitehouse actually unknowingly helped promote all of these pictures as she went on the warpath and was a driving force in banning them. Then people wanted the list and tried to watch stuff from it because of course they weren't supposed to. The phenomenon is quite interesting and if you know nothing about it, sure give this a watch. I was bothered by the fact that they didn't go into the content of the films very much, nor did they mention how The Funhouse was banned mistakenly for having the same name as another film. They do mention the Cannibal films and I Spit on Your Grave a few times but some more explanation would have been nice. Still it's better than nothing and I did learn a few tidbits from it.

Availability:  On DVD in the UK

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

A History Of Horror With Mark Gatiss (2010) BBC4

4 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: N/A
Written by: N/A
Actors include: Mark Gatiss, John Carpenter, Barbara Steele
Genre: Horror Documentary
Length: 3 hours (3 one hour episodes)
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well this Mark Gatiss is someone who shares many of the same horror opinions I do, so I found this particular series quite a bit of fun to watch though it didn't have much that I didn't already know to offer. The first episode focuses mainly on the '30s to the '50s, really the beginnings of American and British horror (it completely avoids most other films for some reason, the gaping hole being the German films of the time). It goes into Val Lewton (who for some reason Carpenter disses big time...I like Lewton), Lon Chaney and a brief summery of his horror works, James Whale and of course the Universal Monster films. The second episode focuses on the Hammer Horror age with close attention to that studio, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and even into some Amicus anthologies that I love and even a Tigon production (The Blood on Satan's Claw). It definitely mainly focuses in on the UK but that is where most of the action was at that time. The third portion goes into slashers like Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and the like, but it stops right after Halloween. Also since this set of episodes is so British centric I was surprised there was no mention of Pete Walker. At least they tried to talk to several people involved, and Mark takes us to several of the locations and throws in little tidbits here and there too. It's not comprehensive...it is just his favorite films and some of the details within so yes many areas are completely untouched but what it does cover is interesting and informative. Mark is a likeable host though where he and I disagree is that I think there is merit in the '80s slashers and so forth but heck I at least like every film I've seen mentioned on the list (and I'd seen most of them). Worthy of a viewing for fans of the genre, but if you like the new stuff this might have nothing to offer you.

Availability:  Airs on BBC4 from time to time

50 Worst Movies Ever (2004)

3.5 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: N/A
Written by: Brandon Christopher
Actors include: Carlos Larkin
Genre: Documentary
Length: 60 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well this was an interesting countdown of crap, much of this I didn't know much about, a few of the films I'd seen and quite a few I have in various box sets to watch. The way they've put it together is from clips of the films with narration, some have more time spent on them then others. It's curious why some of the films they chose to have rather large uninteresting info on, yet some of the tales that sound fascinating only get a few seconds of time. None the less, it's a combination of bad horror/exploitation/sci-fi mainly with some other major uh-ohs thrown in. Of course you'll see major flop movies like Ishtar, Leonard Part 6, plus many Edward D. Wood, Jr. which are all expected. They throw in some bad movies that are campy and entertaining like The Killer Shrews, Spider Baby and my personal favorite on the list Bloodsucking Freaks. It's strange though because some films one would expect to be on here aren't, (Manos: The Hands of Fate for example) but it all comes down to personal taste. At least this introduced me to several films I'll never want to see as well as several I've bought that I'm not going to rush to put in the player. It's likely far more entertaining than watching most of those movies plus they don't spoil any (although it may not be possible) for the audience. Entertaining little countdown, nice to see a worst list rather than yet another best list.

Availability:  Not On DVD

30 Even Scarier Movie Moments (2006)

2 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Jeff Rotter
Written by: N/A
Actors include: Rob Zombie, Eli Roth, Wes Craven
Genre: Horror, Documentary
Length: 90 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well, this was broadcast on Bravo Televison in 2 parts counting down 30 moments that were not on their top 100 Scariest Movie Moments broadcast. Unfortunately just like many sequels it's a far lesser list, heck I thought most of the films on this countdown were lousy but there were a few bright spots. The other issue with this series I have is that if you haven't seen the movie they will completely ruin it for you, so good advice if you are watching this and a movie you intend to see pops up, walk away or fast forward. Now as for what's included on the list, some of the stuff I really disliked that made the list included Open Water (one of the worst films I've ever seen bar none), Wolf Creek, Cabin Fever, and Devil's Rejects to name a few. Some of the better films mentioned were: The Hand That Rocked The Cradle, Hostel, Braindead (how that didn't make the first countdown is beyond me), Play Misty For Me, Videodrome, Scanners, A Clockwork Orange and so forth. Some of the entries were just laughable, like Christine (how is that frightening?), Fear (Marky Mark is scary how?), and The Stepford Wives (I liked it but I wouldn't say it's chilling). I think the most ridiculous part of this was watching the people involved jack off all over each other with praise, and heck they aren't above hyping themselves at all either. It really left kind of a sour taste in my mouth, I mean I guess I shouldn't be surprised people like Eli Roth and Wes Craven are full of themselves but it's no fun to watch. Oh well something I definitely could have done without but if you are looking for the names of a few movies to watch and you want the plot ruined watch on.

Availability:  Not on DVD but it might air on TV again

Going To Pieces: The Rise & Fall Of The Slasher Film (2006)

3 / 5 Sept '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: N/A
Written by: J. Albert Bell, Rachel Belofsky
Actors include: Ed Green, Malek Akkad, Lilyan Chauvin
Genre: Horror, Documentary
Length: 88 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well, I didn't expect a heck of a lot out of this going into it, I mean I've studied slasher films and seen many of them so I didn't think I would learn much. I was right unfortunately, but it was nice that they had interviews with many of the folks associated with slashers like Sean S. Cunningham, Wes Craven, Tom Savini (the most interesting of the lot) and several others. It does touch upon most of the biggies and it will include clips that will ruin the films for you if you haven't seen them already. Lucky for me only a small few of them that the even put up posters or anything for. The even briefly mention Italian films being an influence but it needed more detail I felt, also mentioning some of the earlier splatter films, particularly those of Herschell Gordon Lewis would have been worthwhile but they weren't touched upon at all. Also going into the later bits with Rob Zombie I didn't care for either but well I think he's a useless hack but I think that is just me, also all the mention of Scream as a savior of the genre to be rather nauseating too.I'm sure this would have been a nice bonus feature for a disc or something but considering I think this was sold separately as well I wouldn't really think it was worthwhile. You'll either have seen everything mentioned, or won't have in which case you'll wish you had so that many good plot points weren't ruined for you.

Availability:  On DVD

100 Scariest Movie Moments (2004)

4 / 5 Apr '09

Tagline: Presenting the 100 scariest movie moments: a countdown of the greatest moments of cinema shock.

Directed by: Kevin Kaufman
Written by: Patrick Moses

Actors include: Keiko Agena, Krista Allen, Clive Barker

Genre: Documentary, Horror

Length: 300 minutes

Banned: Nope

Review:

So Bravo TV did a countdown of the scariest moments in movie history, it aired in a 5 part series and I watched 'em all! I've seen most of the films on the list, in fact I've seen all but 8 of the 100 listed. Some of the choices I wouldn't say I agree with like "Child's Play"...that is scary how? Others that I don't feel fit the bill were "Shallow Grave" (it was cool but not scary), "Zombie" (again cool but scary?), "Demons" (colorful but not frightening), "The Game" (good concept but not scary), "It's Alive" (silly never near scary), "Scream" (erm no way especially not at #13) and so on. I'd do the ordering differently of course, have different things on the list and whatnot but still an absolutely reasonable and interesting countdown. Being a horror fan I didn't learn a heck of a lot, it pushed me to watch some of the ones I've not seen yet and I've learned a few tales about the movies which was interesting but most was common. It's also nice that they got footage for most of them as well as some of the people that were involved. They needed to ditch the interview with the ditzy twins that have nothing to do with anything though. It's not perfect but seldom is a countdown to please everyone, I do think that nearly anyone could get something from this at the very least.

Availability:  Not on DVD