Another genuine horror classic which you have either seen, or else should see, this is going to be a very short review, as with nothing to criticise, there's not much to say!
John Carpenter's remake of 1951's "The Thing From Another World" ditches everything about the original (even most of the title) keeping only the polar basecamp, and the fact that an alien crash-lands there.
Tuesday 23 June 2015
Alien (1979) - Will's Review
Alien was groundbreaking in its depiction of space travel; it was (and to a large degree, still is) the norm to show all space travel, no matter how far in the future, as being the domain of pioneers and explorers, in gleaming white console rooms. Here space travel has clearly been going on for a while, and the crew of the Nostromo are basically space-truckers (or at best the space-merchant-navy), while the ship itself is industrial looking and lived-in.
When they accidentally pick up the Alien, the confined setting gives plenty of scope for claustrophobia, while the labyrinth of corridors which comprise much of the ship give the creature plenty of room to hide, allowing that the Alien could be anywhere. This mixture of claustrophobia and hiding spots gives the movie a lot to play with in the way of suspense.
When they accidentally pick up the Alien, the confined setting gives plenty of scope for claustrophobia, while the labyrinth of corridors which comprise much of the ship give the creature plenty of room to hide, allowing that the Alien could be anywhere. This mixture of claustrophobia and hiding spots gives the movie a lot to play with in the way of suspense.
Monday 22 June 2015
Martyrs - Will's Review
One of the great things about watching movies from a list you didn't write, is that occasionally you get to go into a film completely cold. For my money the best way to see any film is with absolutely no knowledge of it at all, but when choosing films for yourself it's all but impossible.
I'm pleased to say that I went into Martyrs knowing exactly nothing. If you like your horror movies brutal, and don't mind subtitles (it's a French film) I STRONGLY recommend that you stop reading. Come back when you've seen it.
I'm pleased to say that I went into Martyrs knowing exactly nothing. If you like your horror movies brutal, and don't mind subtitles (it's a French film) I STRONGLY recommend that you stop reading. Come back when you've seen it.
Hour of the Wolf (1967)
Hour of the Wolf (1967) - Will's Review
I don't have a great deal to say about this movie, given it mostly comprised of characters I didn't care about, having conversations I wasn't interested in, and doing things I didn't really understand, for reasons that were never made clear.
As best I can tell, it's about an artist's decent into madness, but that's all I can really say for sure plot-wise, with much of the film's second half being very unclear regards how much of what we are seeing is real.
Parts of the film look amazing, particularly the scene following the "hour of the wolf" title card at about the movies mid-point; the use of light and shadow in particular is phenomenal, and wasted on such a dull movie... So dull that I had to rewind many parts of it as I realised my mind had wondered, and the movie was simply washing over me.
Quite how this film has ranked so highly on the list I have no idea.
Parts of the film look amazing, particularly the scene following the "hour of the wolf" title card at about the movies mid-point; the use of light and shadow in particular is phenomenal, and wasted on such a dull movie... So dull that I had to rewind many parts of it as I realised my mind had wondered, and the movie was simply washing over me.
Quite how this film has ranked so highly on the list I have no idea.
Monday 8 June 2015
The Thing - Lisa's Review
So tonight I finally managed to watch all of The Thing. I have started to watch it many times in the past, as pretty much everyone and their aunt fanny rant about how good it is. Sadly each and every time I've tried, I've grown so incredibly bored I've had to give up. Tonight I was on a mission... I WILL WATCH THIS MOVIE! So how did it go? Well lets say I fell asleep more times than I was able to count in the end and I had to scan back my DVD over and over and over. In the end I spent all damn evening watching it!! Let me tell you, I can think of much better uses of my time on an evening. Nope, I was indeed not wrong the first time I sat down to watch it, nor any of the others. It just IS exceedingly boring!
I can hear the nay-sayers already. How dare she?!! The Thing is an awesome movie! Well I'm afraid I disagree. For me the only saving grace was a perv at Kurt Russell, but even he wasn't enough to hold my interest after a while. Let me put it to you like this. I switched it off at one point and a program about the Manchester Midland Hotel was on the TV. This woke me straight up and was riveting viewing in comparison!
Rosemarys Baby (1968) - Lisa's Review
This is a movie I was convinced I had seen several times. In actual fact I sat down last night to review it whilst I was watching it as I just wanted a bit of a reminder. Believe it or not, I managed to get it confused with 'The Hand That Rocks The Cradle'. *Facepalm*
So, what did I think? I'll get that out of the way early on. I absolutely loved this movie. I feel that even though aspects of the movie have dated (hair, make-up and fashion), for the most part, I feel it has just as much of an impact today as it did back in 1968. It doesn't rely on special effects or make-up to instill terror in the audience, but instead specialises in psychological horror as you empathise with the main character.
Rosemary in the story is played by the very beautiful Mia Farrow. Her delicate innocence and feminine fragility made her perfect for this role. She is a woman men could easily fall for and women would love as their friend. As Rosemary she is instantly likable and relatable. Her husband, Guy is played by John Cassavetes. I didn't like the character of Guy at all, even from the start. It makes me wonder if Cassavetes deliberately played the role as someone the viewer would feel suspicious of immediately or if he just doesn't play 'nice' very well. So, to a premise I suppose...
Saturday 6 June 2015
Halloween (1978) - Lisa's Review
Halloween is a favourite of an awful lot of people I know. I wouldn't say it was a favourite of mine, but it is a movie I would recommend any horror fan watch. It was the first that spawned a lot of similar teen slasher style movies. I'm thinking Friday the 13th / Nightmare on Elm Street.
The teenagers in these movies can pretty much be taken or left, replaced by the next young hopeful in the queue. I think a lot of guys may disagree with me here seeing as Jamie Lee Curtis plays our innocent young schoolgirl Laurie in this movie. The slasher is Michael Myers. We never see an adult face, only that of his 6 year old self with the murder that started it all.
When Michael was 6 years old he murdered his sister on Halloween night with a very big knife whilst wearing a clown costume. The murder scene itself in this movie is something that was incredibly weakened for me by the need for the sister to be shown naked after she'd been murdered, ok, so she'd just been shagging her boyfriend, but for me it turned what could have been a creepy, dark scene into something for the boys. Also the ridiculous flailing about by his sister, the lack of any attempt to get up from her seat to get away or push her 6 year old brother over was a bit of a laugh. It's sad really as the movies start is very strong, but would have been much stronger had these couple of elements been changed.
Thursday 4 June 2015
Dawn of the Dead (1978) - Lisa's Review
This is a movie I have watched a few times. It does remain one of the better 'of the dead' movies. Hey, the remake wasn't even that bad. In all honesty I've never been a big fan of zombie movies, but I happen to be married to someone obsessed by them, so I've had to watch my fair share of them.
When I recommend this movie, it isn't a recommended for a general movie fan, but rather one for a fan of older horrors or more notably fans of zombie horror.
Our story follows 2 SWAT teams (yes, 2!) and a couple who work for a television company and their fight against the ever-growing epidemic of the rise of the undead. The main location for the movie is a shopping mall which has escaped most of the zombies. Our four leading characters are TV Exec Francine (Gaylen Ross), her boyfriend - traffic reporter Stephen (David Emge), SWAT member Roger (Scott H Reiniger) and his friend Peter (Ken Foree). The four manage to rid the mall of the existing zombies, build a false wall which constructs a corridor that conceals the entrance they had been using and they took out trucks to block all the other entrances. While showboating on one of the truck rides, Roger ends up getting bitten, but the remaining three try to care for him at first. For a while they live it up, availing of everything you can do inside an empty mall. This freedom leads to feeling not so free after all when they realise they are trapped inside due to the zombies outside. They begin to think about taking their chances on the outside, but since there wasn't a complete consensus within the group they stayed, at least until Roger eventually snuffs it and starts to reanimate. Peter does the needful and pulls the trigger.
Week 211 - The Thing (1982)
Wednesday 3 June 2015
Week 207 - Jaws (1975)
Tuesday 2 June 2015
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