Featuring yer hobbit man from Lost and that lass from Lost Girl, this got fairly good reviews on the horror circuit last year. Was somewhat surprised therefore when it started off as a fairly bog standard awkward loner/ stalker type affair. The story then pulls a fairly neat switcheroo midway through and then sticks in another couple of plot twists, includes some decent gore, before a pleasingly bleak finale. 7/10
Also, after the chat up ^there, picked up the book of The Girl With All The Gifts (part of Fopp’s two for five pounds selection deal lovers). Looking forward to reading that as enjoyed the film very much…
That’s showing at FrightFest in London later this month
Due to various commitments, I’m not going to get to anywhere near as many films at this year’s FrightFest as normal Currently got tickets for Cult Of Chucky and Death Note on the opening night however. Anyone else going to anything?
Having my own mini FrightFest at home tonight with a double-bill of The Cabinet of Dr Caligari to further my son’s love of early horror films and then after that, once he’s in bed, Train to Busan. Should be a good night…
Good stuff. Let us know what you think of Train To Busan - most people in this thread, myself included, seem to have enjoyed it aside from White Russia, but who values her ridiculous Swedish opinions anyway…
Loved Train to Busan - wasn’t expecting it to be be as bleak as it was, and found it genuinely emotionally-involving; the stakes always feel that much higher when you care about the characters. Definitely one of the best zombie/action-move hybrids I’ve seen in a long time. (My son enjoyed Caligari too…)
A History of British Folk Horror - Spectacular Opticalhttp://www.spectacularoptical.ca/2013/10/a-history-of-british-folk-horror/
www.spectacularoptical.ca
England is an old country. There’s evidence of us as a Mesolithic people 15,000 years ago, and the beginnings of a settled society, rituals, religious worship and …
Watched last night: The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave. What a title. The world would be a better place if films with names like this were still being made. I’ve been wanting to see this for years, but for whatever reason never got round to it. Picked this up recently on an Arrow Blu-Ray set along with another movie by the same director, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times, another fantastic title. As for Evelyn… this is a wonderfully lurid (at least in the first third or so) slice of 70s Italian giallo-tinged goodness. Without ever quite reaching the heights of some its more well-known country-mates it still manages to prove extremely entertaining. There’s a pleasing selection of Euro-starlets on display here, including Erika Blanc and Marina Malfatti, and the soundtrack is the kind of pleasing mix of lounge-core and of-its-time rock numbers that makes this type of film as easy on the ear as it is on the eye. The plot plays its cards pretty close to its chest, opting for several final reel reveals that had me reaching for the remote to make sure the director was playing fair - he was, and well done to him for fooling me. It’s not the best of its kind but if you’re in the mood for a giallo laced with some Gothic atmosphere, this comes recommended. Very upsetting final scene, mind.
Good article - I do love a bit of folk horror/psychogeography. Reminds me of Antichrist - not my favourite film, but I do like the idea that just being in the woods themselves are fairly menacing.
On a related note, I’m currently reading The Lonely which is a lovely slab of this kind of thing. Plus it was Costa’s debut novel of the year last year, so, err, that’s good…
Watched Phantasm: Ravager for the 2nd time last night. I fucking love these films. I’m always up for a horror franchise and I think this may be my favourite of all. Think I enjoyed this more on a second viewing because I wasn’t sitting there the whole time thinking, ‘Please don’t suck, please don’t suck, please don’t suck…’ By now anyone that’s been paying attention to these films should have known not to expect a sequel that would wrap everything up in a nice bow; none of the previous sequels have really attempted that, so it would have been weird for this one to start trying. Nevertheless, if I had one criticism, it might be that there’s so much dimension-hopping going one here, that at times it’s hard to care about some of the secondary characters because hey!, if they die in this reality, what’s to stop them from coming back in another one, later in the movie. But these films have never been about the secondary characters: it’s all about Reggie, Mike, Jody and the Tall Man, and in this respect, Ravager more than succeeds. It’s probably safe to assume that this will be the last one in the series, with the passing of Angus Scrimm last year, (a sub-plot from earlier films where Mike seemed to be being groomed to take over as the Tall Man seems to be ignored in Ravager) and if that’s the case, this would serve as a pretty much perfect finale. If you’re a fan of the series this is definitely worth checking out…
I’m five episodes i, I think. Hardly any racing after the first episode, they just seem to be at the next destination. Characters are decent enough though the main police guy grates in his righteousness.
In other news, I watched The Poughkeepsie Tapes last night. It kept popping up on lists and it’s easy to see why. Thoroughly creepy, and shot in a style which mixes the found footage and interviews in a believable manner. I was horrified to find both the front and back doors were open when I checked them…
Lol. Reminds me of when I watched Shutter (original) by myself late at night at home one day, and then disturbed a black cat that had crept into the house on my way to bed - literally froze with fear
It was the middle of summer so I’d left the garden doors open to cool the house down. Switched off all the lights before heading up the stairs so it was almost pitch black - got just to the top of the stairs and could just make out a…shape right in front of me, slightly glowing (presumably its eyes). Froze solid for what felt like ages before the cat bolted nearly giving me a heart attack and causing me to fall down the stairs. When I’d recovered approximately 10% of my composure I blundered around chasing it from room to room in the dark trying to get it outside before giving up and going to bed. Could still be in there somewhere for all I know…
Brilliant. At least there were no small dark critters in Shutter. One of my cats once jumped from the stairs behind me onto my chest as I was lying recumbent on the sofa. I was fully engrossed in a film and had no idea the fat bastard was there.
Finally caught up with The Autopsy Of Jane Doe last night. I liked it a lot, really creepy. The last twenty minutes or so fell off a little bit, and I am heartily sick of Carrie type ‘shock’ endings but the good stuff outweighed the niggles. Really liked the bit where they peel back her skin and it’s tattooed on the inside. Brrr.
Currently got tickets for Cult Of Chucky and Death Note on the opening night however. Anyone else going to anything?
