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Showing posts from May, 2015

eXistenZ (1999) - David Cronenberg

David Cronenberg never fails to entertain me with the direction he takes. His movies have always come as a recommendation and with really good reason. Body Horror is very unique. Only a handful of Directors can actually pull them off. Cronenberg mastered the genre. He gave a face to the genre and created the path for it. This movie is a continuation of that path. It is a very strange affair. Quite possibly the strangest representative of Cronenberg's work. It's neck and neck with Velodrome.  In the near future a video game designer is the target of a terrorist plot. She had created this biotech that plugs directly into your spine. The biotech is a virtual reality video game that feels like reality. However, everything is curious and you start to lose control of your actions. You do things that the game wants you to do. It gets worse the further you go.  The designer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and her reluctant "Body guard" (Jude Law) are constantly und

The Invisible Man Returns (1940) - Joe May

This movie has an awesome opening title sequence. I have been looking for this movie for quite sometime and finally caught it. Really excited for the combination of Vincent Price, Universal Studios, and H.G. Wells.  Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe, played by Vincent Price, is given the invisibility drug by the brother of the Invisible Man. He means to help Radcliff escape his fate after being wrongfully accused of murder. As the Invisible Man, Radcliff alludes the police but slowly succumbs to that horrible side-effect: Madness. It's funny that Vincent Price is actually just a voice for most of the movie.  Vincent Price does a really good job early-on as the "new" Invisible Man. He adds a great deal of depth to the character. Of course Universal took this opportunity to really showcase their special effects. They did a really good job. Also, Universal makes sure to turn out quality films. This is really well shot, lit, written, and acted. Universal Mons

Humanoids From the Deep (1980) - Barbara Peeters and Jimmy T. Murakami

This is your standard old drive-in Creature Feature that has tons of gore and boobs. It's great if your in for a cheap thrill. This film goes right up along side any Roger Corman produced picture from the eighties. It's rumored that Joe Dante was approached to direct this movie but he turned it down. Humanoids from the Deep, also known as Monster, is a strange but forgettable piece of exploitation that failed to make it's notch in history. Don't let that detour you though. This is a really fun little film that doesn't fail to be entertaining.  A small sea town in California is terrorized by some mutated creatures from the deep. They look like some sort of mutated fish, merman-thing. They seem to have one goal in mind and that is raping and impregnating the females of the town. Also the town is being taken for a ride by a shifty businessman and his new corporate cannery. Could this evil cannery corporation be responsible for the Extreme Creatures of the B

The Ghost Breakers (1940) - George Marshall

This movie really showcases the comedic talent that Bob Hope has. It's more than just another Old Dark House type movie. It isn't that flat. However, it suffers from being a product of its time. It has a charm. A certain quality that seems unmatched. It is one of the more well-preserved films from the time. My copy was excellent. Paulette Goddard inherits a small island near Cuba, with an old plantation. Bob Hope is a loudmouth radio crime reporter that literally gets mixed up with the mafia and has to run for his life. He ends up stowing away in Goddard's luggage as she has decided to travel to the island to gather her inheritance. However, she is confronted with Zombies and Ghosts. She suspects someone is just trying to scare her away from the treasure, err... inheritance.  Horror movies during this period didn't really have a lot of depth. They all followed a similar plot and had very similar characters. The most obviously used is the Old Dar

Slime City (1988) - Greg Lamberson

When i first heard of Slime City I got really excited. My enjoyment grew with the amazing opening synth theme. I came into it knowing that it would be low budget but that didn't even cross my mind. I just sort of... took it in and enjoied it for what it is. A cult classic from the eighties. A rare gem that prefers to stay hidden from the masses.  The characters are likable enough to become invested. Alex is an art student that gets an apartment to "seal the deal" with his girlfriend Lori. The apartment building he moves into has some real upstanding characters. However, a Nick Cave wannabe and a biker skank seem to be the main culprits. The mucky biker chick seems to concoct this thick sticky ooze that the other tenants eat. They love it. It's pretty foul.  The ooze is weird. It has odd effects. Although the initial effects are temporary, they could last for a lifetime. It makes your skin turn into a gelatinous substance and sends you into a murder

Forbidden World (1982) - Allan Holzman

An Alien rip-off directed by Allan Holzman and produced by Roger Corman. What would you expect? This isn't a movie for everyone and certainly is not for the younger viewers. It's gritty and gruesome. It's a cheap eighties schlock picture and it's beautiful. Pretty cheap space battles. Pretty cheap special effects. The sound keeps fluctuating. It's a cult movie from the eighties and it's part of what made that era great. An interstellar Law man visits a Research Facility where a crazy Mutant has gotten loose. The mutant loves "restructuring" DNA and pretty much melts its victims into a puddle of gelatinous goop. Insert a Mad Scientist and two girls that can't seem to keep any clothes on and you have this . This being a Roger Corman movie, is most definitely full of innuendo and sex. That's a Corman staple. Which isn't a bad thing. It just makes the horror sleazier. It's fun. It has a terrible soundtrack, bad editing, and

The Willies (1990) - Brian Peck

First off this movie would never have the ability to qualify for a PG-13 rating now-a-days. It is frightening. It's like a Nickelodeon horror movie. It has some really adult size horror, but can't shake that safe feeling that children's programming provides. This is an Anthology horror film that features a couple of different tales. These are always fun as they tend to provide some much needed variety.  The film is about a group of kids, camping out and telling scary stories around the fire. They make reference to The Goonies and apparently Sean Astin is playing the same character that he was in that movie. Or at least that is what the rumor mill was saying. The kid's give us a lot of quick, short stories to kick it off. Surprisingly this is all part of a cold open that seems to take forever.  They finally delve into some really bizarre tales. The first is about a scrawny, kid that has a problem with getting bullied at school. He discovers some stran

American Psycho (2000) - Mary Harron

This movie is the PSYCHO of the modern world. Showing that anyone can be a psychotic ax-wielding maniac. A world of excess and vices. A perfect little picture of the fast lifestyles of the wealthy "Wolves of Wall Street." Lot's of drugs, lot's of women, lot's of reservations, and lot's of business cards. Patrick Bateman is a fantastic character. This movie is based on the book American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis. It is an amazing read. Check it out if you haven't.  This movie is about Patrick. Patrick is an investment banker that has grown incredibly bored of his everyday lifestyle. His joys in life come in very few forms. He is very organized. Down to very fine details. He loves music. He loves sex. And, he loves murder. This film follows Patrick as he spirals further and further out of control. Everyone around him is in danger.  We follow him through his everyday life encountering friends and victims along the way. The movie has a very u

Psychomania (1971) - Don Sharp

Psychomania is a product of it's time. A film that was created by a troupe of hippies that wanted it to be incredibly bad-ass. Only, the hippie culture and the outlaw biker culture always seem to run into this awkward wall. Scenes of light brutality are sprinkled with happy dancing and frolicking. It makes the picture odd. The pacing seems off a bit. Or maybe it was just suffering from an identity crisis. This film is about a group of ne'er-do-well's that form the biker club known as The Living Dead. The leader Thomas seems to be a little odd. Apparently his folks know the secret to immortality. He learns that he must die and then he can come back as an unstoppable force. A force that knocks groceries out of old ladies hands, pushes strollers with their motorcycles, steals petrol, and shoplifts! Thomas is killed, buried (lol), and comes back from the dead. So if it works for him it has to work for his mates, right? What kind of danger is this going to s