Twisted Nerve (1968)

4.5 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: Cleaver. Cleaver. Chop. Chop. First the mom and then the pop. Then we'll get the pretty girl. We'll get her right between the curl.
Directed by: Roy Boulting
Written by: Roy Boulting, Leo Marks
Actors include: Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, Billie Whitelaw
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 118 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is one nifty psychological thriller that was instantly entertaining and loveable. Martin Durnley (Hywel Bennett) is a strange young man of 22. His Mother treats him like he's a little boy, and his Step-Father seems to hate his guts and desperately wants him out of the house. Martin's brother is a mongoloid in an institution, and well Martin seems to have an alter ego as a 6 year old named Georgie (which drove our cat Georgie insane). Martin meets a beautiful kindly young librarian named Susan (Hayley Mills) who he becomes obsessed with. When his Father forces him out of the house he goes to live in at the house of Susan under false pretenses. Things seem to get worse because Susan and the others only know Georgie...when Georgie doesn't get what he wants Martin is the one they'll have to deal with. Let's just say Martin isn't the type of person you want to say no to. It actually maintained a really good level of tension and the acting was really impressive too. Definitely one of the better little known thrillers from the '60s, very surprising and cool.

Availability:  On DVD region 2

The New Kids (1985)

4 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: The kids learned three things about southern hospitality, blood, sweat and terror!
Directed by: Sean S. Cunningham
Written by: Stephen Gyllenhaal, Brian Taggert
Actors include: Shannon Presby, Lori Laughlin, James Spader
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 89 minutes
Banned: Iceland

Review:
Teehee, well this starts out like an insanely cheap teeny bopper flick it morphs into one heck of a bizarre and satisfying revenge flick so stick with it. Brother Charlie (Eddie Jones) and Sister Abby (Lori Laughlin yes Rebecca from Full House) are orphaned and they end up living at their Uncle's house. Uncle and wife are working on making a little theme park about Christmas, and together they all restore the park. It's not all happy though because Abby is one heck of a pretty girl and the local thugs have noticed. When she refuses each and every one of them a date, war is on and it's really not pretty (it actually goes a lot further than I thought it would dare). There are knives being pulled, they keep trying to light Abby on fire and ultimately a huge showdown occurs at the theme park (which involves many deaths with the rides which is awesome). It's got a lot more to offer than one might think, but you really wouldn't know it was from the same guy who directed Friday the 13th. Also be prepared to laugh hysterically at James Spader who plays one of the main thugs and looks like an albino, and has a terrible accent.

Availability:  On DVD

Android (1982)

3.5 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: On a remote space laboratory, Android Model MAX 404 has learnt how to live...and learnt how to kill!
Directed by: Aaron Lipstadt
Written by: James Reigle, Don Keith Opper
Actors include: Klaus Kinski, Brie Howard, Norbert Weisser
Genre: Sci-Fi
Length: 80 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is a rather unusual and cheap sci-fi film, but on the other hand it's rather effective and well acted, plus the plot is an intriguing one. Klaus Kinski plays Dr. Daniel a Scientist on a research station who is completely alone...except for Max. Together they carry out research about Androids (who were banned several years ago for rape and various other problems that existed). Max is clumsy and awkward, weird, horny and lonely too. He watches sexual training videos for fun! When three space refugees land on their ship Max is eager to make nice with the girl. He's not the only one who has the hots for her though, Dr. Daniel has an eye for her too. It's a very strange film that leaves you kind of guessing where it's going but in a way I liked that about it. It's not going to be for everyone but I think it was a memorable little oddball sci-fi flick that should appeal to some.

Availability:  On DVD

Cry Of The Banshee (1970)

3 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Gordon Hessler
Written by: Tim Kelly
Actors include: Vincent Price, Elisabeth Bergner, Essy Persson
Genre: Horror
Length: 91 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I suppose this is very much in the style of the Hammer period pieces, only it seems to contain more nudity and be rather derivative of several better movies. It also doesn't have the personality or the ability to make entertaining dialogue unfortunately. Vincent Price plays Lord Whitman, a fellow who enjoys killing many witches, which ticks off the lead witch Oona. Oona decides to take matters into her own hands by summoning a banshee to get revenge on Lord Whitman. It's really a hodgepodge of witchcraft, masque of red death, voodoo and another surprise that I somehow didn't see coming. Still it really didn't offer anything that several similar movies had to offer and although it's reasonably easy to sit through it felt like it was missing something. You might want to watch this if you've seen all the other Hammer knock-offs first but I wouldn't say one should rush out and grab this.

Availability:  On DVD

Passi Di Danza Su Una Lama Di Rasoio (1973) aka Death Carries A Cane

2 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Maurizio Pradeaux
Written by: Alfonso Balcázar, Arpad DiRiso
Actors include: Robert Hoffmann, Nieves Navarro, George Martin
Genre: Giallo, Horror, Thriller
Length: 84 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well, this one started out a lot stronger than it finished but it never really made a good impression I'm afraid. It's ridiculous and with the dubbing the first bit feels like a comedy and really I did laugh a fair bit until it got excruciatingly dull. Oh sure there were many pointless song and dance numbers and it did have a fair bit of nudity and the typical giallo trappings but nothing to make it remarkable in any way. The plot is about a woman who witnesses a murder, the other people who witness the murder end up razored and caned to death...could she be next? They certainly didn't have special effects despite trying to do series of flashes of things that could add up to someone being murdered. It also wasn't satisfying in the least in the conclusion, it really felt like a pale imitation of better films. The story suffered, the music was dreck and it wasn't really worth bothering with despite the awesome title.

Availability:  On DVD

The Plumber (1979) aka The Mad Plumber

4 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: The Australian New Wave Has Come
Directed by: Peter Weir
Written by: Peter Weir
Actors include: Judy Morris, Ivar Kants, Robert Coleby
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 77 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
So it would appear that The Cable Guy was entirely ripped off from this one. The big difference being that Jim Carrey in his film was just obnoxious, the plumber in this film was disturbing. A couple are adjusting to their relatively new apartment and their new situation (the wife has decided to stay home and study for a bit while the husband works). When the wife is home alone she gets a knock on her door from the plumber, he just needs to check her pipes you see. Next thing you know he's claiming the pipes are rotted and need to be replaced. Before long he's mentally tormenting her in her own home and the bathroom has turned into total destruction. He's writing song lyrics in her shower and performing in her bathroom, watching her change and various other creepy things. Just watching him interact with her is extremely uncomfortable. It's actually a relatively well made film and it was really short (77 minutes) but originally it was shot for tv. Still it packs quite a punch, and well it would make most people think before answering the door to a plumber!

Availability:  On DVD as a bonus when you buy:

Faceless (1987)

4 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: Come Face To Face With Evil
Directed by: Jesus Franco
Written by: Rene Chateau
Actors include: Helmut Berger, Brigitte Lahaie, Telly Savalas
Genre: Horror
Length: 98 minutes
Banned: Canada

Review:
Well this is a pretty darned entertaining Eurosleaze take on the story Les yeux sans visage [Eyes Without a Face], and really it's probably the best Jesús Franco film I've seen. It's from the late '80s so expect lots of colors, cheesy music and so forth but really they did do a relatively good job of making this straightforward. The plot is about a plastic surgeon who improperly fixed a Woman's face, so she throws acid on the face of his sister, horribly disfiguring her. He feels guilt and wants to give her back her face so along with his creepy Nurse Nathalie (Brigitte Lahaie they kidnap models with the intent of performing a face transplant. It's as gory as heck and actually pretty darned hilarious too, really they did a good job with the effects and everything considering it was likely straight-to-video. It also does have a bunch of people you are likely to recognize in the cast including Anton Diffring and Telly Savalas as an added bonus as well. Recommended for those who like gruesome trash, although it's certainly not the classic the film it's aping is, it's still worthwhile.

Availability:  On DVD

Lemora (1973) aka Lemora: A Child's Tale Of The Supernatural

3.5 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: Run, little girl! Innocence is in peril tonight!
Directed by: Richard Blackburn
Written by: Richard Blackburn, Robert Fern
Actors include: Lesley Taplin, Cheryl Smith, William Whitton
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 85 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
A very unusual take on the Dracula concept, but it really isn't for kids I guess (like the title might dictate). In many ways it is a nightmarish fairy tale, a beautiful young innocent named Lila Lee has the voice of an angel. She has been raised by the church because her Parents are well evil I suppose. Lila Lee receives a message from Lemora (her Mom) which states that her Father is unwell and they've found Christ and that she is to come to them. Well she sneaks out on a trek, but it's in the middle of an extremely dangerous area. Zombie like people who live in the woods attack and not only that but witchcraft and vampirism seem to run rampant too. She gets to Lemora's and of course things aren't quite what they seem, her Father can't be found and to say Lemora is creepy would be an understatement. It's not a bloody massacre of a movie but rather a horrific situation that works particularly well because Lila Lee just seems so gosh darned innocent.The imagery is quite interesting and grotesque in some way, it's pretty visually interesting. It's also such a different take on this concept that I think fans will really enjoy this.

Availability:  On DVD

eXistenZ (1999)

2.5 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: Play it. Live it. Kill for it.
Directed by: David Cronenberg
Written by: David Cronenberg
Actors include: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jude Law, Ian Holm
Genre: Sci-Fi
Length: 97 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well I like David Cronenberg films, and I like Jennifer Jason Leigh as an actress so combining the two should be excellent right? Well the answer is yes for most people but I actually hated this. I found myself rolling my eyes through most of it and laughing at the technology and imagined advancements for the future. Leigh plays Allegra Gellar, a person who takes part in a new game along with a test group of others. Of course the line is blurred between reality and the game, and it's seemingly dangerous. There are also little reptile creatures with multiple heads everywhere and strange little computer animated effects that were silly. I guess this idea is fine, but the execution was sheerly silly, but perhaps it's because this is now 2010 and the technology from the '90s is a bit behind? I think it's more than that, I just never really got into this and I kept looking at the time because I really wanted it to be over. Take someone else's opinion because I think giving it 2.5 stars is generous but I think I'm in the minority here.

Availability:  On DVD

The Psychic Killer (1975)

3 / 5 July '10
Tagline: First it drives you mad, then it kills and kills and kills!
Directed by: Ray Danton
Written by: Greydon Clark, Mikel Angel
Actors include: Paul Burke, Jim Hutton, Julie Adams
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 89 minutes
Banned: Iceland

Review:
Oh dear, this is quite a film I suppose. It reminds me of Patrick I guess, only this film uses some sort of astral projection in order to get revenge. Arnold Masters is in a mental hospital for a crime he didn't commit. He makes friends with another in the hospital who gives him his magical charm when executed which teaches Arnold astral projection revenge. See Arnold is very mad at the people who killed his Mother and the Men who set him up to make him look guilty. One by one they die off in amusing ways (I give credit there, they did try with the deaths), but it's baffling the cops. See they are tailing Arnold and watching him go into trances while the murders happen, but will they be able to solve the puzzle before Arnold goes too far? It's rather slow and dry for the most part but it never really got to the level of being boring. The amusing deaths and strange story aren't exactly a must see but some will find this entertaining.

Availability:  On DVD

Lady In A Cage (1964)

4 / 5 July '10
Tagline: Do not see "Lady in a Cage" alone!
Directed by: Walter Grauman
Written by: Luther Davis
Actors include: Olivia de Havilland, James Caan, Ann Sothern
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 94 minutes
Banned: Finland

Review:
Mrs. Hilyard (Olivia de Havilland) needs to have her hip replaced, in the meantime she has to use a cage-like elevator to get between floors in her house. Her Son has left her alone for a few days, so when something in her elevator malfunctions and she's trapped in there she's panicked. The elevator has a buzzer for help that rings a bell outside, instead of attracting help she attracts the attention of a bum who wants to rob her. Of course she's trapped so she can do nothing, but when more bad people that are more dangerous invade her house things go from bad to worse. Suddenly there are bodies, and total destruction and nobody will help. In a way it feels like a message to the audience that society sucks and won't help a suffering injured Woman, we'd rather rob her instead. Still it's rather shocking honestly and it goes further than I had expected. A rather cool concept with an intriguing execution and a wonderful leading lady...what more could one want?

Availability:  On DVD

Alien Prey (1978) aka Prey

3 / 5 July '10
Tagline: His savage hunger makes us all... Alien Prey
Directed by: Norman J. Warren
Written by: Quinn Donoghue, Max Cuff
Actors include: Barry Stokes, Sally Faulkner, Glory Annen
Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror, Exploitation
Length: 85 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well this is one of the stranger things I've come across (thanks to the recommendation of cosmicnoiree) though not a "successful" movie there is still something for weird film lovers to observe here. The plot (though barely explained) is about some alien creature crashing down and invading a feller's body. This feller ends up stumbling onto the doorstep of a Lesbian couple who are going through a tough time. See one of them wants to leave and experience the world (and possibly some Men instead) yet the other is desperate to hold on to her and not let her leave. They welcome this weird alien fellow into their home (for some unknown reason) and they end up dressing him up and treating him almost like some sort of toy. The thing is, the angry Lesbian has been up to her own "dangerous" activities and the roaming Lesbian doesn't quite know what do to...will she run off with the alien? It's all very absurd and pointless, I'm sure that's why many hate this. Still I couldn't help but watch and I wasn't exactly bored, a few odd developments kept this slightly above average I think.

Availability:  on DVD