Month of Halloween - horror film #8: GHOST SHIP

Uhh, I'm kinda way behind if I wanna make it just CLOSE to 31 films, haha. Actually, I HAVE watched more than the 8 but I just haven't bothered to write about them. Oh well, maybe later. I watched GHOST SHIP a couple nights ago. I thought the first half was good but the second half was, well it's not so much that it wasn't good but it just wasn't a good horror movie! The second half was an okay action movie but it ought to have been more of a horror flick than what it turned out to be. I mean I felt it was almost a Terminator kinda film. That ghost guy even fucken LOOKED like the bad terminator from TERMINATOR 2! I got the reg. 1 DVD from Amazon UK at one penny and it has a cool hologram cover. Unfortunately the film had been changed to fullscreen (they even made a point out of pointing that out on both the cover and on the DVD!). The extras were okay. The film was okay, good enough to watch again but not to upgrade to a better DVD. ^_^

TAXI HUNTER (Herman Yau, Hong Kong, 1993)

HERMAN YAU made the awesome horror flicks EBOLA SYNDROME and UNTOLD STORY that both star ANTHONY WONG. For some reason not a whole lot of fans of those films have watched TAXI HUNTER even tho that film is ALSO directed by Herman Yau and it ALSO stars Anthony Wong as a maniac on the loose. It's a pity cos it's a really good film. Gore fans who are only watching these films for the nasty scenes but don't give a fuck about characters or plot probably won't like TAXI HUNTER all that much as it's not as extreme and sick as the other two. But I'd recommend that everyone else watch it. I own it on HK video-cd and Malay DVD. The rest of you might find it a lot easier to just pick up the reg. 1 DVD (LOL). Here's the trailer:

Oh, Iggy

Everybody talks about THE STOOGES and people forget the many good years IGGY had in-between. "I'm a Conservative" is an awesome track from his "Soldier" LP from the early 80s. The studio version is the top video and here's a brilliant live version of the same track. You'll be excused for wondering if he's really a conservative. That's is until three minutes into the video and you discover he's wearing nothing but women's underpants.



I bought "Soldier" and two other early IGGY POP LP's in a cool and cheap CD box set recently. The cool thing is not least that as far as I can tell it's not been remastered and thus doesn't suffer from the "loudness war" effect. The set is simply entitled "Original Album Classics" and the other two albums are "New Values" and "Party".

The trouble with violent Italian cities in the 1970s (if your video tape screws up that is)

What a fershtunkener afternoon! Arr marone!!! I was gonna watch two poliziesco films of the finest calibre, VIOLENT NAPLES and VIOLENT ROME, both starring Italy's own Dirty Harry, Maurizio Merli. I'd pulled out the uncut, English dubbed, letterboxed Danish video tapes (released as "Helvedes Forgård" and "Rottereden"). I've got my coffee, I've got my lollies (which some of you call candy or sweets), I've got the blinds down, and I've got the phone off the hook. Perfect. Now, what I don't need is for the first tape to say, "Grrrrrrreeee". I try and fastforward and it sounds like one of those grindgore bands that some of you listen to. Major worry. So I try it on the other VCR. Same result. And now the tape won't even rewind. So I try the first VCR again. Now it rewinds but won't play at all.
I try 5 times. Same result. So I try it on the second VCR again, now the tape plays... and stops again after 10 seconds. I try 10 times. Same result. Major bummer. I consider to just skip it and watch the other film - but no, I'm like a spoilt brat now I W-A-N-T to watch that film. I'm about to have a hissy fit. I'm about to yell and throw things at the wall. So I do what I always do in those situations; have another cup of coffee and think rationally about the problematic situation! At this point I'm thinking I might as well skip the film viewing and try and repair the tape. I open the tape case and discover one teeny weeny little piece of plastic has come undone. I put it back and close the cassette again (which takes me 15-20 minutes cos those damn things are always a pest). Finally I put the screws back in, put the tape in the VCR, and it works like a charm. My gawd, it took like an hour to fix that tape. Anyhoo, fortunately the tape wasn't damaged and the picture is crisp clear and looks awesome. Brilliant! Halfway thru VIOLENT ROME I fall asleep. >_< (i.e. during the second film and only because I'd been awake for 24 hours, certainly not because the film is boring cos none of them are!)

Diabolik's upload of the Danish trailer for VIOLENT ROME.

GATOR BAIT finally on DVD soon!

Very good news indeed! The two GATOR BAIT films are finally gonna get released on DVD!!! They're cool "woman takes revenge" films set in swamp land. I tracked them both down years ago on NTSC VHS and was surprised they weren't on DVD (I've later got hold of #1 on a Danish ex-rental as well). Thanks to Bruce Holecheck for the info!! The films were directed and produced by the couple Beverly and Ferd Sebastian, and they're also behind the upcoming DVD releases on Panama Films. Hopefully that means they'll be using proper prints. The DVD's are listed on Amazon here and here.

Pulp!

I ordered a couple of books! :D

The cover for "Dig me a Grave" is awesome! It's a pity book publishing houses make shit covers nowadays (well, most of them anyway). "Grave" and "The Evil Star" are written by "John Spain" who was in reality CLEVE F. ADAMS. The "Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers" book calls him, "The missing link between Dashiell Hammett and James Ellroy"! Most of his books haven't been reprinted since the 1950s.

Random DVD from the pile

I got "Shock Cinema" #42 recently. It has an interview with BO HOPKINS. The article says one of his best films is THE NICKEL RIDE (underrated gangster film from 1974). I read the review and thought, "Man, I wish I had THE NICKEL RIDE!". Two days later I pull out a random DVD from my box of unwatched films (around 100 DVD's), I look at it and it's THE NICKEL RIDE!! Haha. I bought it 6 months ago on a hunch, "From Shout Factory, hmm, could be good". It turned out it was! JASON MILLER, the priest from THE EXORCIST, is also in it.

Read more about the release on DVDBeaver here.

"You may want to look away"

Check out these two trailers, they're both awesome! I haven't seen either of the films but I've got NIGHTMARE on Code Red's DVD, and I'll certainly check if CANNIBAL GIRLS is out on a proper (or even not so proper) DVD.

EDIT: CANNIBAL GIRLS is out on DVD from both Shout! Factory in the US and Nucleus Films in the UK. They both seem to carry the same extras except the UK disc has additional subtitles.

Month of Halloween - horror film #6/7: THE OMEN & THE EXORCIST

Apologies to international readers but this entry is on the "Dutch" part of this blog.

There's something wrong with you! Something missing someplace somewhere! Sometimes you just ain't all there!

I'm sure I'd complain about the lack of SCREAMIN' JAY HAWKINS records on the radio ... if I actually listened to the radio. ^_^

A new HITCHCOCK movie

Here's the trailer for the upcoming film about ALFRED HITCHCOCK. Maybe it'll suck, maybe it'll be great, but in any case hopefully it'll get Alfred back into the limelight. Cinemas ought to run his films again, and why not; they're better than most of the drek in cinemas today. I read somewhere that new film fans don't even watch Hitchcock films anymore which is, needless to say, a great pity. They ought to. Everybody ought to. Hell, I think I'll go a watch one now!

Baby Woodrose - "Dandelion"

Hmm, for some reason I haven't posted any cool music for a while so here's BABY WOODROSE's "Dandelion" from their latest LP.

Month of Halloween horror - film #5: DAY OF THE ANIMALS

I found DAY OF THE ANIMALS (aka "Dyrene hævner") on Danish ex-rental VHS at last week's Bloody Weekend festival in Copenhagen. The fullscreen release from Warner is quite rare (I've never seen a copy before) so I grabbed it right away. The guy asked $17 for it which could have got me the DVD but, hey, the VHS is more collectable!!

The plot is something we've seen before, our feathered/furry/fourlegged friends have finally had it with humanity and decide to do something about it. And all this while a group of city-slickers decide to go for an extended walk in the mountains. Chaos, death and bloody carnage follow. And funny guy Leslie Nielsen gets less funny when he kills a young guy with a spear and sets out to rape the dead guy's girlfriend. Oh, AND SEE HIM WRESTLE A BEAR!!

Like I said we've seen it all before but DAY OF THE ANIMALS is well made and entertaining. Good performances all round, even the kids are good. Having said that, there was one dog that couldn't act his way out of a beer bottle. Christ, he was bad! But, hey, I forgive him, he probably had a bad day on the set.

Scandinavians ought to check out the release from AWE.

Jack J's fave HK movies on "A Hero Never Dies" blog!

Yes, it's true. I was handed an invite to that exclusive Hong Kong film den entitled A HERO NEVER DIES. Every celeb in the HK film blog world is there with their Top 10 - and so am I (needless to say in grand tradition with my ol'e self I was later than late and it's only thanks to Mr Heroneverdies that I actually made it in before the doors shut. LMAO). For my list go here and click the label at the bottom of the post to see everyone else's lists.

Halloween horror film #4: Guided tour in the PSYCHO house by Alfred Hitchcock

This isn't a review but simply a very cool teaser trailer for Hitchock's PSYCHO from 1960. The cool thing about it that it's a little film on its own - and it's presented by Alfred himself! That's not something you see anymore. Nowadays teaser trailers are simply slightly shorter versions of the trailers. It's been many years since I watched PSYCHO the last time but I really ought to re-watch it soon.

Month of Halloween - horror film #3: SACRIFICE (Breck Eisner, USA, 2008)

Episode from FEAR ITSELF - season 1 (aka MASTERS OF HORROR season 3)



Last night, it had become too late for a real feature length movie but I still wanted to watch something in the field of horror so I pulled out the FEAR ITSELF set (which has been collecting dust on my shelf for about two years or so!!) and decided on BRECK EISNER's SACRIFICE (ultimately because I had read a comment that Fred Adelman made about the CRAZIES remake on his site where he said the film was really good and I figured I might as well give this one a shot then. See, it all hangs together in this universe, LOL). I notice on the box (the Skeleton box mind you!) that it said it was by the same director. It was a no-brainer, if Fred said the remake was really good I didn't need to consider the other episodes. And I'm glad I went with SACRIFICE because, well, it was a great one!

A bunch of crooks are stranded in the middle of a snowy nowhere. Their car is fucked and so is one of the guys who's been shot (or some such. An explanation is given but it's probably bogus). It's never explained what's happened prior to the film's start. They discover some buildings in the distance and start walking there. Thru the snow, thru the hostile (yet beautiful Canadian) landscape. Once they get there they find out it's actually an old fort which is only inhabited by three young women. Well, that is until they find out there's someone else there that the fair maidens aren't telling them about. Then blood, killing, hanging upside down, a bed that isn't very comfy, nasty breath, an ugly mug, and mucho sexy (yet scary) Rachel Miner!

I loved this episode and already wanna watch it again. The approx 45 minute running time means all the fat and unnecessary chewy bits are cut off the bone and we're left with an intense and tight wee horror film. So far I've only watched one other episode from this season (I count it as the third season as it's really the sequel to the MASTERS OF HORROR series that was retitled because it was broadcast by a different network. The complete season is out on DVD in the UK but I decided to get the reg. 1 release as it looks pretty fucken cool. xD
Highly recommended.

PS: I couldn't find a trailer for this specific episode so I've posted the preview trailer for the series. Almost all of the first 30 seconds are from SACRIFICE plus there's some footage towards the end.




NB: I've reviewed previous episodes here.

Month of Halloween - horror film #2: INFESTATION (Kyle Rankin, USA, 2009)

As the second film in my Halloween month series I watched INFESTATION last night and, incidentally, just like the first film, CLOVERFIELD, it was a film about nasty creatures that attack humans. These ones didn't come from outer space but from the dirt we step on. And somehow they got much bigger. It's never explained why or how that happened. The film is part killer bug feature, part comedy but fortunately the comedic part never takes over and the film never becomes a straight-out comedy.

I'm not gonna waste time on a plot description ... Ay? You want one?? Alright-alright, here's the convoluted plot: People are attacked by bugs, main character guy and friends try and get from one place to another in order to escape bugs and survive. Main character guy tries to hook up with brunette babe. Blonde chick shows tits. Main character guy and friends are attacked by more bugs. Brunette chick is kidnapped by bugs. Bugs have HC sex with blonde chick (I wish!). Black guy turns into half man/half bug. Explosions. Dialogue in Spanish. Emotional drama between main character guy and dad. Will they survive? Will the bugs survive? And will the brunette hook up with the main character guy or with the leader of the bugs?

No real gore but lots of blown-to-pieces bugs. Whatshisface from TWIN PEAKS is in there too. Fun flick that I'd watch again. I bought the Danish DVD second hand from Blockbuster. It had ZILCH extras.
Recommended.

Month of Halloween - horror film #1: CLOVERFIELD (Matt Reeves, USA, 2008)

Today is two things; My birthday (not something you look forward to once you're old enough to have friends half your age!!) and the first day of October, i.e. Halloween month! I went to celebrate the day at my dad's place, I was in a hurry and forgot to bring a film, but on the way out of my flat I emptied my mailbox and there was ONE parcel for me; a DVD I'd bought second-hand from Amazon UK for the whooping price of 30 shiny pennies!!! And the copy I received looks brand new. Niice!

I didn't know anything about the film other than it was a kinda post-apocalypse film - or some such (yes-yes, I know it's a well known big-ass film and everybody else has seen it four years ago - but remember: It may be 2012 out here but in my house it's still 1985!!). The story line; A group of friends are having a going away party for one of their friends who's moving to Japan. One of them is given a camera to document the night so that the poor sod who's going to Japan has something to remember his friends by.

The whole party segment of the film goes on forever and you kinda forget you're watching a horror film but, uh, I guess it's what's called characterisation - with today's bombardment of films that include expensive CGI effects and HOLLOW story lines and ZERO time spent on getting to know the characters' background you kinda get totally alienated to the whole concept of CHARACTERISATION! I'm not even kidding (very much).

Anyhoo, at some point New York is suddenly attacked by something. I must admit it looked familiar to something we've seen on TV ... but this is a piece of fiction and it's got no roots in the real past. I'm not gonna reveal what happens cos that would be too much of a spoiler ... arrh what the hell, we're talking creature feature here! Not Godzilla, not big ants, not a blob, but, well, something else!

Before watching the film I had a feeling it might turn out to be a kinda okay'ish film but actually now that I've actually watched it I think it was really good. Not the best film I've ever seen, and I wouldn't give it five stars out of five as Søren Hardy Rasmussen did in his Uncut.dk review, but I was pretty good entertained! I think I'm more inclined to agree with Caspar Vang ("DVD check" next to the review on the same page) who gave it three stars and called it "pretty entertaining without breaking any new ground or being inventive").

The UK DVD has a commentary track and some onscreen production info. That's it! Not even a fucken trailer! But the print is great and there are English and Scandinavian subs. And at 30 pence I can hardly complain.
Recommended.