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Post by politicidal1 on Dec 8, 2023 22:50:14 GMT
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Post by Captain Spencer on Dec 22, 2023 19:59:03 GMT
It's A Wonderful Knife (2023)A serial killer dressed up like angel strikes terror in the heart of a small town. Meanwhile, teenager Winnie finds herself trapped in an alternate universe. This one's kind of all over the place. It has the feel and atmosphere of one of those Hallmark Christmas movies, plus there's some typical teen angst, the fantasy theme à la It's A Wonderful Life, and of course the gory slasher elements. And sometimes it comes down with an annoying case of the cutes. In spite of all this, there is some entertainment value to make it a passable time filler. The killings are generally standard, though the candy cane scene has some showmanship. 6/10
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Post by politicidal1 on Dec 25, 2023 3:40:56 GMT
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Post by Captain Spencer on Dec 30, 2023 15:25:09 GMT
The Brain (1988)A mad scientist uses an alien creature that resembles a large brain to control people's thoughts. I saw this clunker when it was released on VHS back in the 80s, and it's just as awful as I remember it. Ludicrous story with plot holes, terrible acting, and poor direction. The effects aren't all that impressive, and it's hard to take a big brain monster seriously when it reminds you of Audrey II from Little Shop Of Horrors. Bottom line; this sci-fi horror effort is totally brainless. 3/10
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Post by SixOfTheRichest on Jan 4, 2024 1:42:26 GMT
This early 80's horror offering is a well presented mystery type, full of foreboding atmosphere and decent performances. The violence is sadistic and ugly and plenty of make-up effects on offer courtesy of Stan Winston. A slow burn, yet tighter editing could have helped the film along in some of the more drawn out investigative scenes. It needs to lose a few minutes. I have viewed many times.....
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Post by politicidal1 on Jan 4, 2024 2:10:58 GMT
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Post by theravenking on Jan 6, 2024 18:01:54 GMT
The Case Of The Bloody Iris (1972; Giuliano Carnimeo) "The world would be a better place, if everyone had my phobia of blood."Giallo regulars Edwige Fenech and George Hilton starr in this typically convoluted Italo-thriller which is bursting with crazy wtf moments (take the scene at a night club where an erotic dancer challenges the male audience members for a fight, - the prize: her body to anyone who can overpower her in three minutes) and yet still ends up being fairly standard. Yes, as a contemporary review claimed, "it's never boring", but not stylish or creepy enough to leave much of an impression. The sleaze and comedy get in the way of effectively building any dread or atmosphere and none of the set-pieces stand out. It also has what must be one of the most obvious killers in giallo history, although his motive turns out to be fairly amusing. 6/10
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Post by Captain Spencer on Jan 11, 2024 3:58:11 GMT
The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971)A blind man and a reporter team up to solve a murder mystery that is connected to a medical institute doing top secret research on genetics. One of my favorite Dario Argento films of all time. Not without narrative flaws, but still a complex story that benefits from stylish visuals, outstanding camera work, and Ennio Morricone's beautiful soundtrack. The first hour has possibly the best suspense I've ever seen in a giallo, but at mid-point the story gets derailed with a brief subplot involving a possible incest relationship. This has absolutely nothing to do with the overall mystery, other than to serve as a red herring I suppose. But the story gets back on track with the grave robbery sequence, leading to a stunning finale that has an amazing set piece. 8/10
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Post by Captain Spencer on Jan 14, 2024 16:22:59 GMT
Maniac Cop (1988)A New York police officer who was thought to be dead suddenly appears and randomly kills innocent people. The teamwork of director William Lustig and writer Larry Cohen proved to be a match made in heaven. They created a slasher movie with a brain. Lustig put some stylish touches throughout and Cohen skillfully writes with the combination of horror and detective thriller. I especially enjoyed the hard-boiled Lieutenant Frank McCrae, wonderfully played by Tom Atkins, who tries to piece together the puzzle of Matt Cordell, a once-lauded cop who was thrown to the wolves by his superiors and is now out for revenge. There are subtle hints that Cordell might actually be undead. The late Robert Z'Dar is perfect as Cordell. With his hulking frame and enlarged jawline, he is ideal for a monstrous slasher villain. Maniac Cop might have turned out even better if the finale didn't degenerate into a typical, generic car chase. If only they came up with a better ending that didn't seem so rushed. But for the most part this is a good horror outing. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the eerie score by Jay Chattaway which deserves some praise. 7/10
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Post by theravenking on Jan 14, 2024 17:27:43 GMT
Double Face (1969; Ricardo Freda)This is one of those gialli that is not really a giallo. Itw as originally intended to be part of the German series of Edgar Wallace movies. However the Germans brought in an Italian production company and the new writers, among them a certain Lucio Fulci, wrote a completely new story which had barely anything to do with the Wallace novel. The Germans were understandably not amused and there ended up being two different versions of the film with the German cut missing ten minutes from the Italian 90 minutes edit. Klaus Kinski plays one of his rare good guy roles here as a brooding widower who's wealthy wife dies in a car crash at the beginning (although we do see someone wearing black gloves manipulating the car, suggesting that she was murdered). Kinski seems to have stayed true to his usual irascible self on set: His performance here is quite convincing though, the actor proving that he could go subtle when the role required it. Unfortunately the movie is not exactly eventful. It mostly consists of the main character wandering around London trying to figure out what's become of his wife and whether she's become the victim of some criminal scheme. As it's lacking in gory excess with no murders or violence there's only some mild attempts at sleaze to keep the genre fan happy. The ending at least provides one of those ridiculous twists the genre excelled in, but at that point it's already too late to get excited about this plodding mystery thriller. 5/10
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Post by Captain Spencer on Jan 21, 2024 16:18:52 GMT
We Are Still Here (2015)A grieving couple move into a house haunted by malevolent spirits. Good, scary haunted house tale. Tries its best not to resort to cheap jump scares and instead offers shadowy creepiness and quality shocks. Lots of graphic gore as well, pretty much all it practical effects. The appearance of the ghosts are quite frightening. 7/10
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Post by Captain Spencer on Jan 26, 2024 5:34:11 GMT
Maniac Cop 2 (1990)Matt Cordell is back on the streets of New York again, now looking more corpse-like than ever. This time he befriends a crazed serial killer, and the two try to hatch a scheme that involves breaking in the Sing Sing prison. In some ways this is an improvement over the first Maniac Cop. Certainly it has better production values. And it is more of an action thriller than a horror movie. Some of the action set pieces are absolutely incredible; that bloody police station massacre is like watching a cross between The Wild Bunch and the Terminator police station scene. Yet there is still an aura of creepiness that looms, and there are continued hints of supernatural activity going on. I've always complained how the ending of the original Maniac Cop was so generic and seemingly rushed. But not the second one. The finale here is so much better and takes its time to build up to a stunning display of pyrotechnic action. A welcome addition is the presence of Robert Davi as a chainsmoking, noir-style detective. 7.5/10
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Post by Captain Spencer on Jan 30, 2024 2:51:35 GMT
Don't Hang Up (2016)Teens who play extremely cruel pranks and then post them online get a taste of their own medicine for a prank that went way too far. An intriguing premise that made me watch it immediately. Perhaps it could have been better, yet it still works. It borrows some ideas from Saw, and you could even say it's a flat out rip-off. Yet it comes up with some good ideas on its own and builds up some adequate suspense. It's obvious from the get-go who the antagonist is, but there are still a couple of good surprises in store for the finale. Similar to Unfriended, this demonstrates how twisted the cyberspace world is with the enjoyment of bullying and cruelty that leads to public humiliation. And the terrible price paid because of it. 6.5/10
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Post by Teleadm on Feb 6, 2024 6:36:29 GMT
Monster Man 2003 "Two guys and a female hitchhiker are terrorized by a monstrous looking man driving a giant monster truck." Mixes elements from "Duel" 1971, "Joy Ride" 2001 and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" 1974. Filled with gross humor that I found very off-putting and one of the two guys was so annoying that I wished he was killed off early in the movie. Not my kind of a "fun" horror movie. 1/10
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Post by politicidal1 on Feb 8, 2024 2:18:22 GMT
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