Reviews

Fans of giallo movies have been waiting for Argento to make a new film in the traditional giallo mold for many years. This film does not disappoint, in fact I would say it is a triumph! After reading the negative reviews I expected a very poor film this however is a highly polished, intelligently plotted, suspenseful and gory visual and audio feast - superb! The news that Argento is working on another giallo is very welcome, lets hope this opens the doors for a resurgence in giallo cinema once more.

Obviously the director wanted to make a veggie/cannibal horror movie for children. The notion that it's more tasteful to transform human victims into veg before eating them is quite clever and allows the director to show some quite intense scenes especially the Goblins final feast, which I thought was quite disgusting. Acting, direction, special effects and script conspire to make this an unforgettable and very entertaining experience.

A morbid little TV movie in the style of "Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense" or "Tails of the Unexpected". Viewers expecting fulci's ultra violent horror may be disappointed. Even so, given the limited budget and TV format he added a realistic autopsy scene together with repeated shots of a corpse in various stages of maggot ridden decay. The only thing that works against this film is that every scene is shot in soft-focus and very brightly lit, which spoils the overall effect. Also it has a happy ending a rarity for a Fulci movie.

Not an essential film by any means but certainly one for fulci's fans. Wait for the end titles though as it includes an odd dedication to Clive Barker from Fulci.

This movie was recently released on dvd in England by Hong Kong Legends. I had seen the movie before on VCD but I can say without reservation that HKL have done a great job with it's debut on DVD.

For fans of Hong Kong action cinema or viewers bored by the usual brainless Hollywood shoot-em-ups this film should make for a good evenings entertainment.

In a nutshell: Journalist finds cursed video tape watches it and has one week to unravel the mystery - or die!

I won't waste time telling you how good this movie is - everybody else on the imdb can do that. What I would like to do however is draw your attention to an earlier classic ghost story. Although there have been many comparisons to the inferior Blair Witch the true filmic & literary predecessor of this movie is Val Lewton's Curse of the Demon (aka Night of the Demon in the UK) which was based on M.R James's Casting the Runes. If you enjoyed this film and would like to see something spookily similar (and just as un-nerving) seek out this 1950's classic movie. You won't be disappointed.

The best thing I can say about this movie is that the Crow (the black bird, that is) is the best actor in it. The presence of this talented bird is the sole reason to see this movie. My advice to the bird is to get a new agent quickly before they (crow-forbid!) make another one. Sadly all the negative things you've heard about this film are true. It is that bad. As a fan of the original Crow I decided to give this a go as it promised a return to form after the terrible sequel. However, as I sat and watched I discovered myself and my viewing partner becoming more and more irritated by it until we were shouting insults at the screen and cursing the producers.

The film has an annoyingly clichéd MTV style that is glossy but vacuous. For no reason we have flashforwards and flashbacks accompanied by quick edit lightening flashes and loud thunder crashes on the soundtrack, (please no more of these edit's they are not big or clever they just destroy any sense of mood or atmosphere generated in the preceding scene!) which must be a vain attempt to keep the audience interested, or pad out the painfully thin script. This approach to film-making is ridiculous and ruins so many films. It seems however an "in-house" style when you consider other stinker sequel series they've destroyed with exactly the same technique i.e. Prophecy, Hellraiser, Dusk till dawn etc. Some films are so bad they become engrossing this is so bad it's unwatchable. Also it's morally reprehensible - the original Crow was a believable love-story this is just an excuse for poorly staged sadism and pathetic fight scenes that fail to get your interest. The villains too fail to convince and are presented as cops/murderers/rapists with no personality or motivation other than greed.

Please don't encourage any more dross from the producers of this film! Do not waste your time or spend your hard earned money with this transparent attempt to wring a few dollars out of the memory of a classic movie and Brandon Lee. A disgrace to cinema.

Once upon a time, I viewed a copy of Jess Franco's Virgin among the Living Dead. I thought the movie was slow, boring and utterly pointless. Henceforth, I made it my firm resolution to avoid any movie directed by Jess Franco again. However after catching "the Awful Dr Orloff" on tv I have over the years become an admirer of his unique filmic style and now suprisingly claim that Jess Franco can be considered an Auteur of Euro-trash cinema.

The Erotic rites of Frankenstein is a very hard movie to track down. As far as I know it has never been released in the UK or America. Therefore, I was lucky enough to obtain a good widescreen copy on VHS from a car-boot sale. (These thing's always turn up in carboot sales!) The movie is a very imaginative and bizarre reinterpretation of Shelley's classic horror tale with and overtly sexual subtext.

Dr Frankenstein finally bestows the gift of speech upon his creation. Unfortunately his triumph is short lived when he is attacked by a weird naked vulture woman who tears him to shreds in his laboratory. Vera Frankenstein investigating his death reanimates her fathers corpse and discovers that his murderer is none other than Cagliostro the Wizard who has stolen the monster to aid his plans for world domination. Vera sets out to revenge her father but alas falls into the clutches of the wicked and very perverse Cagliostro....

This film contains many odd scenes and speeches from the characters. The oft mentioned scene of a bare chested and silver skinned Monster mercilessly whipping a naked couple over a spiked floor is suprising to say the least. The naked vulture woman's attack and slaughter of several naked men too is unexpected. As is the appearance of zombies at Cagliostro's castle. For once in a Frankenstein film it is the Doctor himself who is reanimated not less than three times and eventually becomes his own monster.

I enjoyed this movie - Franco's obsessions with S&M and naked women provide a spice to a very tired tale.

Red Planet is strongly reminiscent in style to George Pal's 1955 classic "Conquest of Space", in its attempt to accurately depict the future of space travel during the first manned flight to Mars. Technically the film is faultless – the surface of Mars has never been so beautifully realised on celluloid before and I could easily have believed that it had been filmed on location.

As for the plot ….. Well I'm happy to say that the sfx compliments the action perfectly. The major sfx scenes are sparingly used for an explosive beginning and ending. The middle section dealing with the fate of the crew stranded on the planet is engrossing and offers a number of clever twists and turns to a familiar plot.

This is a good movie for the more thoughtful sci-fi fan.

An inexplicable wave of violent suicides sweep Rome. As the bodies fill the local morgue Simone, a forensic pathologist begins to suffer disturbing hallucinations. She teams up with a troubled Catholic Priest who believes his sisters suicide was murder. Their attempts to unravel the truth endangers her life and sanity casting suspicion on all around her.

Macchie solari is an excellent example of the very best and worst aspects of the Italian giallo. In style it is reminiscent of Argento's Tenebre, cleverly utilising bright daylight scenery as a contrast to the perpetual darkness that the character dwell in. The story to is filled with inventive ideas and incidents.

Unfortunately, as with the majority of giallo's, none of the characters are particularly likeable, leaving you cold as to their ultimate fate. I feel sorry for poor Simone however as she suffers constant sexual harassment from the male cast, even the dead ones.

The success of any giallo is whether or not the convoluted plotline is satisfactorily resolved before the end credits. The numerous plot twists kept me guessing and the identity and motivation of the murderer/s was a complete suprise.

If you're a fan of the genre you will want to add this to your collection.

I rate this movie 7 out of 10.

I waited with anticipation for this film to appear on dvd and must say I was rather disappointed overall.

My main problem is the lack of cinematic polish that the other two films had. Although the first two movies were DTV they never betrayed their roots as DTV productions. This film uses the typical "lightening flash" edits accompanied with "thunderous crashing" noise so often used in glossy grade B thrillers. If this effect is used sparingly then is can be very effective - if overdone (as in this film) it becomes very tiresome and annoying. The overall impression is that it was made on the cheap - a fact the other two movies hid.

The film is, even at 80mins, heavily padded with too many unnecessary flashback and flash forward sequences that do not advance the story one jot. Rather than develop the story they seem content to remake Terminator 2, with an unstoppable Angel playing the part of Arnie. Even the music is copied from Terminator. This is particularly disappointing considering how inventive the other two films have been. Lets put it this way they're the only movies that have made me study the Bible!

Christopher Walken has all the best lines in the script, but again for budgetary reasons he has very little screen time. A number of characters return for this final outing but the opportunity to develop the characters further or give them a active role is wasted.

On the plus side the young actor who plays Danyal is very convincing in the role. I hope we see more of this actor in future. The special effects are very impressive as is the underlying story. The true nature of the Angel Pyriel is (in light of current world events) very disturbing and thought provoking.

Overall the film suffers in comparison to the others. Not a bad film just a waste of a good idea and interesting characters.

I give it 4 out of 10.

Argento fans should lighten up a little and enjoy this film for what it is a comedy horror film.

After the nihilistic Stendhal Syndrome Argento gives us a lighter view of his Universe, and the effect is quite refreshing. I only hope he continues with this approach in future, and who knows - maybe his next film will be for Disney.

The boys last film is not the clunker that many would have you believe. There are numerous scenes that made me laugh out loud, especially the scenes involving Stan's pet lobster. The style is geared toward more gentle slapstick and philosophical humour that suits the aged stars perfectly.

All in all a bright and gay movie with pleasant scenery and jolly characters. Give it a try, it's far better than the big studio pictures of the 40's in it's revised approach to the comedy duo.