The Shining (1980) - Will's Review

It isn't the popular opinion, but to my mind, Kubrick and Nicholson are two of the most over-rate done trick ponies in cinema. The former can do only slow-paced pieces which are generally far less clever than they think they are, the latter plays unhinged brilliantly, but little else.

But in the shining, the slow-build of tension and the just-below-the-surface insanity create somewhat of a perfect storm. Kubrick attention to detail shines through, adding so many touches which have become iconic; even the foul way he treated his actors pays of in Shelly Duvall's genuine distress captured on screen.

The deviations from the source material are perfect for the medium - for proof see 1997's faithful, but dreadful, TV adaptation!

The effects, though sparing, stand up well even 35 years later, and even the overpass hotel was wonderfully cast, with the long corridors and sharp corner allowing for the famous shots of Danny on his tricycle, and the ballroom provides the perfect setting for both the deserted scenes with Jack drinking alone, and the busy flashbacks to the hotels decadent glory.

The films dream-logic could so easily have been a negative point, but manages to walk the line perfectly, with our never-quite knowing the full story managing to be interesting, rather than annoying.

As has become common now that we are so far up the list, there's a very good chance you've seen this classic movie; if you haven't, go do so now.

Psycho (1960) - Will's Review

Once again, I'm going to assume that if you're reading this you have either seen Psycho, or absorbed enough horror knowledge to have had it spoiled for you.

On the off chance that you are in that 0.01% of the population who do not know what surprises the movie holds, please I BEG YOU go and see it now... You camera check out my spoiler-free notes on my own blog HERE, but please, please, read no more on the subject than that until you have seen this masterpiece.

Halloween (1978) - Will's Review

First let me make it clear that I do not worship at the alter of John Carpenter, I find him to be one of horror's most inconsistent figures; at his best, he's undeniably a genius, but for every The Thing, there's a Ghosts of Mars...

Still, if you're reading a horror blog, there's really no point dragging out any suspense about this one; Halloween is an amazing movie, which cemented the slasher as a sub-genre, and inspired directors for the next 30 some years.

Dawn of the Dead - Will's Review

Many people will tell you that this is the best of Romero's original dead trilogy... For my money it's a distant 3rd.

Frankenstein - Will's Review

Before James Whale cut loose in the previously reviewed Bride of Frankenstein, he adapted (parts of) Shelly's famous novel in this 1931 masterpiece.

Not scary to a modern audience, it's hard to understand the effect this had on audiences over 7 decades ago. What today is a classic movie which seems more horror-inspired than actual horror, once had audiences fleeing theatres in terror.

Jaws - Will's Review

As we approach the end of the list, it's no surprise that we're encountering more and more bonafide classics, but Jaws is one of those rare genre movies which is also a modern classic of mainstream cinema; in fact, this is the movie which more or less invented the summer blockbuster.

Dead of Night - Will's Review

This 1946 anthology movie sees an architect, Walter, arrive at the home of a perspective client during a party. After experiencing déjà vu, Walter realises that he has dreamed of this night, and is filled with dread. This, of course, turns the conversation to the supernatural, and 5 guests each tell a tale of their own.

Maybe I'm a little ADHD, but I love anthology movies; there's something about the bite-size story that appeals to me no matter how obvious the twist.

The Tenant - Will's Review

The Tenant features a twist I've seen before, but which I don't really know what to call. It's no where near as common as "he was dead all along" or "it was all a dream", but it's common enough to be a cliché. It's a very 'twilight zone'esq and doesn't really make any linear sense; it's well suited to mind bending psychological movies (it was kinda-sorta used in the 1990 Bill Pullman movie - not to be confused with Peter Jackson's zombie movie), but it is not suited to The Tennant.

That said, I think it points to the movies biggest problem; this 2-hour journey into madness isn't close to as interesting as it thinks it it.

As aesthetically boring as it is emotionally unengaging this Roman Polanski snoozefest sleepwalks from one dull scene to the next.

The Thing (1982) - Will's Review

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.

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.

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.

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.

Night of the Living Dead - Will's Review

When the dead start to rise and feast on the flesh of the living. A group of survivors haul up in an abandoned farmhouse.

Although the word "zombie" is never uttered on screen (the undead are referred to as "ghouls", Night of the Living Dead gave us the the modern zombie movie; until NOTLD, "zombies" referred to the sometimes undead, often hypnotised or brainwashed living people, used as slaves in Haitian Voodoo. Whereas old-school zombies would usually be present in small numbers, Romero gave us the horde of the undead working independently of a master.

More than the creatures themselves though, NOTLD supplied the blueprint still used in most zombie movies (and AMC's "The Walking Dead") to this day; a group of survivors hauled up in a semi-secure location, with in-fighting being every bit as dangerous as the horde outside.

An American Werewolf in London - Will's Review

2 young American backpackers are attacked in the Yorkshire dales, one of them (Jack) is killed; the other (David) is badly injured and sent to hospital in London. The Dales' Locals cover up the truth behind the savage attack, claiming it was a madman; but when David comes too, the spirit of Jack is on hand to tell him the truth; they were attacked by a werewolf, and only the distraction of the wolf's "bloodline" can rescue his victims from purgatory.

David, naturally, questions his own sanity, rather than simply accepting the visions as fact... But the full moon is in its way.

Carrie - Will's Review

Stephen King spins a great story but film adaptations of his work, while usually entertaining, are veritable in quality to say the least.

In Carry, I think one of his books was captured properly; of course some things were changed, books and movies are different mediums, but none of those changes take anything away from one of Kings most identifiable novels.

Don't Look Now - Will's Review

I can only assume this movie wasn't available on video during the early 80's, or between opening with a child death, featuring a fairly graphic sex scene, and it's "Don't" title, it would surely have found itself on the DPP list.

As well acted as the movie is, the real star of the show though, is the editor, who takes a simple story about a couple's grief and turns it to to an atmospheric, compelling movie, full of scenes from the present intercut wonderfully with flashback (and other) material. Totally this movie is very similar to Possesion; dealing with grief in much the same way that movie dealt with a failing relationship... Only without the rubber monster!

The Innocents - Will's Review

Truthfully, and without exaggeration, I assert that nothing in a motion picture can drive me to distraction with more haste than the ever so frightfully effected speech patterns employed by those who write period dramas, save perhaps the cadence with which such lines are delivered by members of the acting profession whom find themselves cast in same. I am certain therefore, that it will be no great struggle for you to ascertain the issues I found myself having with the movie it befalls upon to view for our two hundred and sixth week.

That particular kind of affectedly "posh" period drama is (along with westerns) outright not my thing, and this movie would have to do a lot to win me over...

The Omen - Will's Review

The Omen is one of those films who's 'classic' status completely mystifies me - with the exception of one or two scenes (one, if I'm honest) the movie completely fails to hold, or even get, my attention.


If anyone is both reading this, and doesn't know the plot of The Omen (two things unlikely enough separately, yet alone together), it tells of an American diplomat Robert thorn (Gregory Peck) stationed in Rome. Robert's wife Katherine (Lee Remick) gives birth to a boy, who he is told dies moments after being born. Robert is convinced by the hospital chaplain, to illicitly adopt an orphan whose mother died at the same time.


Fearing by that his wife couldn't cope with the loss of thier child, he agrees to secretly adopt the boy, and tell no one. They call the boy Damien, and as I'm sure you already know (unless you've been living under a rock your entire life) he is the anti-Christ.


Sadly what follows is not the apocalypse, there are no appearances from the four horsemen, no trumpets sound, faithful Christians do not ascend in droves; instead, some slightly creepy stuff happens around the child for the next hour and a half, then the movie ends.

The bible jump-cuts from The Christ being born, to him being an adult and doing Christ-stuff; biblical scholars have debated why so much of his story - his entire childhood, no less, goes untold. I put it to them that the answer lies in The Omen; the early life of a Demi-God is simply not that noteworthy, and the film feels very much like an overly long introduction.

Audition - Will's Review

This isn't the first time I've seen Audition, but I'm Damned if I remembered more than 10 minutes of it, so for all intents and purposes I went in cold on this one.

After his young adult son suggest it's time he remarries, widower Shigeharu enlists the help of a film producer friend to hold a fake Audition for a non existent roll, so that he may find a woman he wishes to date. He becomes immediately infatuated with one woman in particular (Asami) and pursues her.

Asami is receptive to Shingeharu's advances, but this being a horror movie, it's no spoiler to tell you that not everything goes smoothly, and that someone isn't what they appear.

Eyes Without A Face - Will's Review

Eyes without a face is a French-Italian co-production. Were it not for the subtitles there would very little clue to this, feeling instead like one of the many American produced sci-fi horrors put out by Universal or MGM at about the same time, indeed, this would sit well on a shelf next to Village of the Damned, being one of the more thoughtful, sympathetic, examples of the genre.