Lake Mungo (2008)

3 / 5 May '11
Tagline: If you've never seen a ghost... Look closer.
Directed by: Joel Anderson
Written by: Joel Anderson
Actors include: Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe
Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery
Length: 87 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well points for creativity should be awarded here, though the dry spots in the story were a little too plentiful. The film is told in the style of a documentary about a family who's Daughter Alice has turned up drowned in the lake. They determine her death as accidental and her family tries to move on, they start seeing shadowy versions of Alice around. They contact some Supernatural specialists and exhume the body to try to determine what has happened. As things unravel we find out things aren't quite what we seem, and the more digging that happens the more the story contorts. Some of the imagery here is yes, somewhat creepy but beyond that I can't say much in the way of horror happens. It at least does try to build mystery and it did have me wondering exactly what was going similar to some of Peter Weir's flicks. I just think if they'd had a better cast and bothered to try to make it a bit more ominous things would have been so much better. Thanks so much to Happywax (http://doomgoryumshorroremporium.blogspot.com/) for this recommendation!

Availability:  On DVD

Insidious (2010)

2.5 / 5 Apr '11
Tagline: It's not the House thats Haunted.
Directed by: James Wan
Written by: Leigh Whannell
Actors include: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Thriller
Length: 103 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I really did have high hopes for this 'un and I wanted to like it...I truly did. The plot (although derrived heavily from Poltergeist) is a relatively interesting one. A young couple move into a house with their two boys and one of the boys goes into some sort of unmedically explainable coma. Also ghosts start appearing and making Mom (Rose Byrne) appear crazy, but when they move the ghosts seem to follow! Of course they have to start calling in the stereotypical Paranormal experts to come up with the real reason for the coma. It is filled with Lewton Buses and it does go for the jolt for the viewer (it's just not something that I find works the best on me). Also the ghosts reminded me of Darth Maul, Ozzy, and of course some characters from the "Black Hole Sun" video which made me giggle more than it should have. It definitely seems like people are split on this one so I say see it and decide for yourself, it's effective for a particular sort of scare...I just wish I weren't immune.

Availability:  Still in theatres but I'm sure DVD and Blu-Ray will follow

The Whip And The Body (1963) aka La Frusta E Il Corpo

3.5 / 5 Mar '11
Tagline: The most deliriously romantic horror picture ever made!
Directed by: Mario Bava
Written by: Ernesto Gastaldi, Ugo Guerra
Actors include: Christopher Lee, Daliah Lavi, Tony Kendall
Genre: Horror, Drama, Romance
Length: 85 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well it is at least lovingly filmed and very elegant in nature. It's a shame the version I saw was dubbed (why couldn't Christopher Lee dub his own voice I wonder) as it was a little distracting. Lee plays sadist Kurt Menleiff who loves torturing and whipping and sexing. Kurt has come home after being away for a while to find his Father is less than happy to see him and his little brother Christian is married to Nevenka (his former lover and cousin). Christian just happens to be in love with another and Kurt still wants Nevenka. When Kurt turns up dead from being stabbed in the throat things get more interesting as fingers get pointed and Nevenka starts seeing the ghost of Kurt. His muddy footprints adorn her floor and he reaches out and scares her regularly but nobody believes her it seems. It's a rather interesting film as parts were cut out from nearly every release but finally it's been put together again for an uncut Euro version (which luckily is the version I saw). It's rather slow moving but it does become rather interesting as the plot thickens and the characters are rather memorable and the S&M is unusual too.

Availability:  On DVD

Le Château Hanté (1897) aka The Devil's Castle

3 / 5 Jan '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Georges Méliès
Written by: Georges Méliès
Actors include: Georges Méliès
Genre:  Horror
Length: 1 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Wow having just watched Le manoir du diable [The Haunted Castle] (which came out a year earlier) I can say that they are nearly the same film, only this one is the lesser of the two. This version is 1/3 the length, and colorized which actually detracts from the visuals in the case I think, it's not awful but a bit blurred. Mephistopheles is back at it, zapping supernatural beings (one of which is a skeleton) and watching them transform. It's a bit confusing but I guess it's rather basic so I'll just go with what I think it is. It's kinda neat, but honestly I'd say watch the other one instead or at least first.

Availabilty:  On DVD

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

Blacker Than The Night (1975) aka Más Negro Que La Noche

4 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Carlos Enrique Taboada
Written by: Carlos Enrique Taboada
Actors include: Claudia Islas, Susana Dosamantes, Lucía Méndez
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Length: 100 minutes (approx)
Banned: Nope

Review:
I'm finding that I really do like Mexican horror lately, especially the films of Carlos Enrique Taboada, this being no exception. He has a rather unique stylish method to horror (often not showing the faces of who we are looking at), with elegant back drops and the stories often take a while to build up into something really horrific. The story is about Ofelia, a woman who's Aunt dies and leaves her a beautiful old house complete with strange housekeeper. Ofelia moves in her room mates: beautiful model Marta, average looking Pilar, and the also lovely Aurora. Aside from the fact that they don't seem to be getting along with the housekeeper very well the girls (minus Ofelia) seem to not like the black cat who comes with the house. Ghostly and strange things keep happening, but when the girls start dying suspicions turn to reality and even the housekeeper can't watch what happens next. It's not terrifying, and it's not extremely bloody but it is satisfying on a horror front and the characters are interesting and well shaped which makes this compelling. Very neato ghost story that seems to unfortunately be rather unknown, I found it to be a rewarding watch.

Availability:  On DVD

Castle Of Blood (1964) aka Danza Macabre aka The Castle Of Terror

3.5 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: The living and the dead change places in an orgy of terror!
Directed by: Sergio Corbucci, Antonio Margheriti
Written by: Sergio Corbucci, Giovanni Grimaldi
Actors include: Barbara Steele, Georges Rivière, Margarete Robsahm
Genre:  Horror
Length: 87 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Although this film is extremely elegant and beautifully filmed in atmospheric black and white it wasn't as amazing as I'd hoped. The story is a rather familiar one, Writer takes a bet that he can't last the night in a spooky castle on Halloween. This spooky castle happens to be in habited by the spirits of several murdered people who relive their final moments. They want to steal the Writer's blood in order to stay alive one more night. They aren't all extremely evil, one of the sexy ghosts (played by scream queen Barbara Steele) is trying to help him. The story is fine though it could have used a little punch and some scares might have been nice but that really describes my overall reluctance to watch many gothic horror stories. Still considering I did enjoy this, it was engaging even if most of it was because of the visuals. I would say it's one of the better of it's kind, I would just say that maybe it's not as wonderful as it's reputation had me believe.

Availability:  On DVD

Dead End (2003)

3.5 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: Read the signs.
Directed by: Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa
Written by: Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa
Actors include: Ray Wise, Lin Shay, Alexandra Holden
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 85 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Although I thought this was relatively enjoyable there were some extremely cheesy things that kept this from being great. The story is about a family driving out on Christmas Eve to go to a relative's house. The father decides to take a short cut which lands them in a world of trouble. They end up on a extremely long road, all signs of life have disappeared except for a ghost (badly acted by model Amber Smith) who appears every time they have to stop the car. It's kind of a hybrid of a Stephen King novel and Identity in a way, sort of the mystery of what the heck is going on (though it's obvious). It's definitely a situational horror thing and it's quite effective on that level, there is some gore and even a tiny bit of comedy (I love Mom's drawing) packed in there. It's not the most amazing film one is likely to come across, but the family is well acted and somewhat believable and the what if factor is what really makes it work.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

Lady In White (1988) aka The Mystery Of The Lady In White

2.5 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: The year is 1962. The place is Willowpoint Falls. Nobody talks about what happened in the school cloakroom 10 years ago. Now, in the dead of night, Frankie Scarlatti is going to find out why.
Directed by: Frank LaLoggia
Written by: Frank LaLoggia
Actors include: Lukas Haas, Katherine Helmond, Alex Rocco
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Kids, Horror
Length: 119 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Yet another film that I thought I would really like but it ended up leaving me cold. See I think at first I thought...oh this is a kid's movie set in the '60s. It's rather cartoonish and fluffy at the start, we meet a little boy named Frankie who gets locked in a school closet. He then witnesses a girl be carried away by a man who we can't really identify. The little girl keeps haunting him telling him she wants to go home, so he starts an investigation (he's like 8 or something). We learn shortly after that a mass child killer likely is the responsible person for this, and as the story starts to develop Frankie learns it might be someone he knows! It's not chilling or frightening enough for the subject matter, yet the subject matter makes it so that children probably shouldn't be watching it. I'm still not really sure who this film was actually intended for. It's sort of like a Scooby Doo episode only with a child murderer. That being said, it's not violent or satisfying at all on a horror movie front, it's really a young person's fantasy film I guess with a ghost. It's far from the worst thing ever and Lukas Haas does a good job in the role of Frankie. Just the story could use some explanation like why did the killing happen? Still an ok Halloween themed film for just the right person, though most seem to like this so perhaps give it a shot anyhow.

Availability:  On DVD

Mr. Vampire (1985) aka Geung si sin sang

4 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Ricky Lau
Written by: Ricky Lau, Cheuk-Hon Szeto
Actors include: Ching-Ying Lam, Ricky Lau, Siu-hou Chin
Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror
Length: 97 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Although I'm not sure this made a lick of sense were you to pull it apart it's not meant to be. It's purely entertaining absurd comedy with some kung fu action and a touch of horror thrown in. So I don't understand the why on most of this stuff but let's see if I can kind of give a plot synopsis. There is a Master, and two bumbling trainees, also an army of zombies who hop like bunnies (my favorite part) but are kept docile by putting spells on them. In fact spells (made from voodoo paper, and chicken's blood and sticky rice) seem to tame most things when they are in danger. There are also vampires, on of the assistants is bitten by a zombie and tries to stave off zombie effects by dancing around like a fool, and by filing his teeth and nails. The other assistant is possessed by some attractive ghost who throws her own head around. The lessons I learned from this film are that people in Hong Kong are very superstitious, you can't mix sticky rice with other rice, and that more zombies should bounce like bunnies, it's hilarious! It's well paced, action packed and full of laughs, definitely a winner for those of us looking for something rather strange but also very fun.  Also it's worth noting that there are several other entries into the Mr. Vampire series, but this is the first.

Availability:  On DVD

The Evil (1978) aka The House Of Evil

2.5 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: Escape is just a nerve-shredding scream for salvation!
Directed by: Gus Trikonis
Written by: Galen Thompson
Actors include: Richard Crenna, Joanna Pettet, Andrew Prine
Genre: Horror
Length: 84 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I saw the preview for this before actually watching it so I thought it was going to be quite good. Imagine my surprise when the first 50 minutes has basically nothing happen (unless you consider a statue turning it's head and a blob of white light that appears excitement). The plot is about a group of friends who move into a big 'ole house in order to fix it up. Little do they know that most of them won't ever leave bwahahaha. See the house is inhabited by...oh yes the devil and because of this annoying things keep happening to people. The deaths are pretty lackluster minus the fire suits and it does have one cool scene with a saw. The last little bit of the movie does pick up but it's a case of too little too late. Most of this is as dry as can be and it's all been done before blah blah blah. Not one to rush out and grab unless you intend to see every haunted house movie, but I suppose you could do worse.

Availability:  Not on DVD currently

The Keep (1983)

3 / 5 July '10
Tagline: THEY WERE ALL DRAWN TO THE KEEP. The soldiers who brought death. The father and daughter fighting for life. The people who have always feared it. And the one man who knows its secret... THE KEEP Tonight, they will all face the evil.
Directed by: Michael Mann
Written by: F. Paul Wilson, Michael Mann
Actors include: Scott Glenn, Alberta Watson, Ian McKellen
Genre: Horror, War
Length: 96 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Some good ideas here but heck it was based upon a book, there should have been some. The way this was filmed however is extremely muddled and much of it is quite boring and talky. It doesn't help matters that much of the dialogue is either whispered or the loud ridiculous Tangerine Dream soundtrack obscures the voices and is insanely loud. In other words, it tried to make my eardrums burst and I never took my finger off the volume button the entire film. The actual plot seems to be about a Keep that is a fortress that is guarded and protected, but when Nazis start poking around and they try to steal part of the keep (a nickle piece on the walls) they get a shocking surprise. See it's haunted with some sort of bad demon that infects a Nazi, and a good demon sort of infects a Doctor (Ian McKellen). Of course there is an impending battle between bad and good. It's visually rather interesting though it has too much fog in places, and the effects for the initial bad monster make him look like an angry cloud thing which was awesome! Only thing is as the bad demon kills he turns more into this cartoonish figure that is beyond silly. This really should have been so much better but it's ambitious, creative and something one just doesn't see everyday. It's really begging for a nice remaster, then I'd say go for it!

Availability:  Not On DVD

The Haunted Palace (1963)

4.5 / 5  Mar '10
Tagline: A warlock's home is his castle...Forever!
Directed by: Roger Corman
Written by: H.P. Lovecraft, Charles Beaumont
Actors include: Vincent Price, Lon Chaney Jr., Debra Paget
Genre: Horror
Length: 87 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Definitely one of the most underrated Roger Corman films, I mean I really hadn't heard much of anything about it until I was researching Corman's films. This particular one is loosely based upon a poem from Poe but it takes it's influence more from a story by H.P. Lovecraft. The story begins with the perfectly cast Vincent Price as a Warlock being burned alive by the townspeople for being evil. The Warlock vows revenge on the townspeople and their kin of course. Then we jump ahead 110 years to the Warlock's great great Grandson Charles (also played by Price) who along with his wife are wishing to move into the palace from his heritage. The townspeople are less than friendly (and they hang out in a bar called "The Burning Man") yet there is some power in the house that won't let him leave. The spirit of his great great Grandfather seems to be invading Charles in order to obtain his revenge! It's violent, beautifully filmed in the style of a Hammer picture with elaborate sets and costumes and of course it has a dark sense of humor too. I really think that any fan of horror, Lovecraft, Price or Poe should absolutely love this one.

Availability:  On DVD as part of a 2fer with Tower Of London

Whistle, And I'll Come To You (1968)

4 / 5 Mar '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Jonathan Miller
Written by: M.R. James, Jonathan Miller
Actors include: Michael Hordern, Ambrose Coghill, George Woodbridge
Genre: Horror
Length: 42 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Considering this has one of the most irritating characters on earth in it (Professor Parkins), it's surprisingly refreshing. It's based upon an old ghost story from M.R. James and it's supposedly his darkest (according to our narrator). I actually came across it on some list of the scariest moments in film and television and well I can kinda see why it made their list. Professor Parkins is a stuffy smug irritating fellow who mumbles to himself and only believes what is in his books. The subject of ghosts comes up in a conversation and he explained that he cannot believe in that sort of thing the way one would believe in say Australia. Professor Parkins loves his walks around the seaside and one day he stumbles upon an old whistle that he blows. From there everything he knows is turned on it's head as he meets something he never expected. It's a short story coming in at under 45 minutes and it's an effective one, it's just a shame we have to put up with that irritating fools mumbling for much of the film. Still definitely worth it, beautiful cinematography (the shots on the seaside are lovely) and a good story.

Availability:  On DVD

Mortuary (1983) aka Embalmed

2.5 / 5 Mar '10
Tagline: Before your funeral...Before you are buried...Before you are covered with the last shovelful of dirt...Be sure you are really dead!
Directed by: Howard Avedis
Written by: Howard Avedis
Actors include: Mary Beth McDonough, Lynda Day George, Bill Paxton
Genre: Horror
Length: 91 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Christie is suffering from flashbacks and nightmares related to her Father's drowning and she's a sleepwalker too. She keeps seeing this ghoulish figure cloaked in a cape lurking about but nobody seems to believe her. Things get even worse when she finds out her Mother is actually in a coven of witches! She also has the embalmer's Mozart loving son (played by Bill Paxton) trying to get a date with her. Will her boyfriend be able to protect her from all that haunts her? It's got some gore in it sure, but relatively cheaply done and nothing original in sight really. Also much of the film is very uninteresting and it feels as though it takes way too long to get to the point. I found it to be a bit of a struggle to make it to the end, especially when there wasn't much in the way of surprises to be had. Although the plot does have it's absurdities and Paxton fans will want to see this it hasn't got a lot to offer horror fans unfortunately. Oh but I guess I should mention this is one of a handful of horror films that assembles the victims at the end in a group setting. This film seems relatively difficult to find so don't struggle too much, I didn't feel it was worth it anyhow.

Availability:  Never on DVD however it appears as though people sell bootlegs

Retribution (1987)

3.5 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: A Supernatural Nightmare of Unholy Terror.
Directed by: Guy Magar
Written by: Guy Magar, Lee Wasserman
Actors include: Dennis Lipscomb, Leslie Wing, Suzanne Snyder
Genre: Horror, Crime
Length: 107 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
What this does have going for it are some extremely creative and disgusting deaths (yay) in a revenge style setting. George Miller (Dennis Lipscomb) is a big unlikeable weenie, wussy to the core until his body is invaded by the spirit of a murdered Gangster hell bent on revenge. The thing is, George seems to gain confidence and even a punky whore girlfriend (even though I have no clue why...he's still a loser) since the possession, it actually bodes rather well for him. The only trouble is that he disappears during sleep time when he turns demonic blue with green eyes (or reverse I can't recall) and does some massive gory kills (hooray for us). Too much time is spent on the romantic angle and too much time is spent getting to know George (he sucks...I get it). It's clearly got a rather low budget feeling to it but the effects are where the payoff is. Maybe not one to go out of the way for, but still worthy for B-movie fans and those who like good deaths.

Availability:  On DVD

The Sixth Sense (1999)

3.5 / 5
Tagline: "I see dead people"
Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan
Written by: M. Night Shyamalan
Actors include: Haley Joel Osment, Bruce Willis, Toni Collette
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Length: 107 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Even though I didn't guess what was taking place when I watched this, I still didn't find it amazing. I mean I know that's a big reason why everyone thought this was so cool but I didn't really find it very shocking. That being said this is by far the best M. Night Shyamalan film but I usually hate his work so by that standard this is a vast improvement. The story is about a boy who sees dead people (and yes once in a while the dead people surprise you) but they don't seem to think they are dead so he resorts to talking to a Child Psychologist who tries to help him through his problem. As far as ghost stories go it's not even one of my favorites but I suppose it's effective none the less.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

Black Cat Mansion (1958) aka Borei kaibyo yashiki aka The Mansion of the Ghost Cat

3.5 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Nobuo Nakagawa
Written by: Jiro Fujishima, Yoshihiro Ishikawa
Actors include: Toshio Hosokawa, Midori Chikuma, Yuriko Ejima
Genre: Drama, Horror
Length: 69 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is a rather unusual film in many ways, it's half in black & white and half in color (oddly it's the flashback part that's in color?). It starts out with a Doctor and his wife who've moved out in the country for peace and quiet to this eerie home. People start seeing this elderly ghost woman who keeps trying to strangle the ailing wife. Then we flashback to the history of the house and the curse, we meet the evil Lord Shogen who has tons of power and is very violent. He plays a game called Go (which appears like pebble checkers perhaps) and in a violent disagreement he kills his opponent. His ghost comes back to warn his wife that Lord Shogen was to blame for his demise but it doesn't stop there. Shogen abuses the wife and drives her to insanity and death, but not before she makes her cat & it's generations take revenge on family members of Lord Shogen. The black and white segments are actually creepy and very atmospheric, the color segments are more lively but unfortunately the "cat" effects are pretty hilariously cheesy. Considering this was 1958 it's very advanced and even violent picture, it's quite lovely to look at. It's just very short, rather strange and somewhat muddled I suppose, still worth a viewing, especially for fans of early Asian cinema. I'm shocked this seems like a very unknown flick, it's rather amusing and absurd in a good way.

Availability:  On DVD however I'm not sure which region or where to get it

The Haunting (1963)

3 / 5 Dec '09
Tagline: You may not believe in ghosts but you cannot deny terror
Directed by: Robert Wise
Written by: Shirley Jackson, Nelson Gidding
Actors include: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson
Genre: Horror
Length: 112 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I really despised the remake so getting around to watching this was a real chore. The worst part is, I know this is considered a classic but I found it to be dullsville! Obviously House on Haunted Hill [The House on Haunted Hill] is quite similar as I believe both are based upon Shirley Jackson's tale "The Haunting Of Hill House" but I really thought that the other one was so much better than this. This was as dry as a bone, the parts that were supposed to be chilling I thought were laughably stupid and I was cheering for the house to get anyone. I guess silly noises and doors slamming just aren't my cup 'o tea, I am a rather difficult sell on most haunted house tales though. A bunch of people who don't know each other were invited to the house that is haunted. Our lead character Eleanor (who is annoyingly played by Julie Harris) has left her miserable life behind and is desperate to stay in the house. The one thing this does have going for it is atmosphere, it's a great gothic style setting and the staircase is something to see. I wouldn't take my word on this film as I seriously don't understand why it deserves all of the love it gets at all, and I seem to be in the extreme minority with my opinion. Watch it I guess but don't be surprised if you end up doing some major yawning.

Availabilty:  On DVD

The Signalman (1976)

4.5 / 5 Dec '09
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Lawrence Gordon Clark
Written by: Charles Dickens, Andrew Davies
Actors include: Denholm Elliott, Bernard Lloyd
Genre: Horror, Drama
Length: 37 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Part of the UK's A Ghost Story For Christmas series and likely the best story of the lot (though I've only ever seen one other that was also quite good). It's a short period piece but it packs a nice little punch. We follow around a Signalman (bet you wouldn't have guessed that) who seems to be haunted by an image that appears when a disaster happens. This all started after he watched a nasty crash between two trains in a tunnel. He meets a friendly fellow and the two talk about life, work and become friends. It's more than just that though as the dreary ominous atmosphere builds into quite a wonderful flick. When you consider this will only take a little more than a half hour of your time and it's probably the best Christmas ghost story how could one say no?

Availability:  Currently Unavailable