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Post by theravenking on Aug 6, 2023 14:05:12 GMT
Death Carries a Cane (1973; Maurizio Pradeaux)Also known under the title The Tormentor in the US this giallo has all the usual tropes of the genre, from a sadistic razorblade-wielding killer, over voyeuristic, sleazy sex scenes to a nonsensical plot, but still manages to be a rather dull and routine affair. Susan Scott and Simon Andreu, both of whom I had just recently seen in the far superior Death Walks On High Heels appear alongside Robert Hoffman as a sculptor, who is creating life-sized dolls made of cloth (a crazy idea which should be fun, but ends up being completely insignificant to the story). Not even the lovely Roman locations can lift this above average. 5/10
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Post by Captain Spencer on Aug 6, 2023 15:46:47 GMT
Death Carries a Cane (1973; Maurizio Pradeaux)Also known under the title The Tormentor in the US this giallo has all the usual tropes of the genre, from a sadistic razorblade-wielding killer, over voyeuristic, sleazy sex scenes to a nonsensical plot, but still manages to be a rather dull and routine affair. Susan Scott and Simon Andreu, both of whom I had just recently seen in the far superior Death Walks On High Heels appear alongside Robert Hoffman as a sculptor, who is creating life-sized dolls made of cloth (a crazy idea which should be fun, but ends up being completely insignificant to the story). Not even the lovely Roman locations can lift this above average. 5/10 I've been watching these old giallo movies sporadically for the past several years. Some of them can be quite good, yet many others are dull and formulaic. But I'll still continue to seek out others I haven't seen yet. My all-time favorite giallo still remains The Cat O' Nine Tails.
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Post by theravenking on Aug 6, 2023 20:02:25 GMT
Death Carries a Cane (1973; Maurizio Pradeaux)Also known under the title The Tormentor in the US this giallo has all the usual tropes of the genre, from a sadistic razorblade-wielding killer, over voyeuristic, sleazy sex scenes to a nonsensical plot, but still manages to be a rather dull and routine affair. Susan Scott and Simon Andreu, both of whom I had just recently seen in the far superior Death Walks On High Heels appear alongside Robert Hoffman as a sculptor, who is creating life-sized dolls made of cloth (a crazy idea which should be fun, but ends up being completely insignificant to the story). Not even the lovely Roman locations can lift this above average. 5/10 I've been watching these old giallo movies sporadically for the past several years. Some of them can be quite good, yet many others are dull and formulaic. But I'll still continue to seek out others I haven't seen yet. My all-time favorite giallo still remains The Cat O' Nine Tails.Interesting, since I often see this being mentioned as the weakest from Argento's early phase.
I liked it enough the first time I watched it, but it's been a while. it was one of the first gialli I saw, since unlike many of the others it wasn't put on the index and had a 16-rating in my country, and was therefore widely available.
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Post by Teleadm on Aug 14, 2023 6:03:58 GMT
Urban Legend 1998 directed by Jamie Blanks. A college student suspects a series of bizarre deaths are connected to certain urban legends. Not very fond of slasher movies, so I have no idea if this was a good or bad movie in that genre.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 15, 2023 17:59:26 GMT
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Post by Captain Spencer on Aug 24, 2023 1:20:58 GMT
Blue Eyes Of The Broken Doll (1974)A drifter roaming around a village and looking for work is hired by three sisters to do odd jobs for their large estate. Meanwhile, there is a black-gloved killer stalking young blue-eyed blondes. A Spanish giallo which was sometimes confusing and had me wondering about the direction it was headed in, especially with the red herrings and some loose ends dangling in the story. But it all came together rather nicely with a surprising twist and shocking ending. Certainly livelier than some other gialli I've seen in recent time. Some extremely gory murders and a nice cocktail lounge music score. 6.5/10
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Post by politicidal1 on Aug 26, 2023 14:24:02 GMT
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Post by Captain Spencer on Sept 1, 2023 3:05:44 GMT
Visiting Hours (1982)A misogynistic psycho stalks a feminist talk-show host in a hospital after failing to kill her on the first attempt. For a hospital that claims to have quality security, I find it amazing how the killer can easily go in and out. And shouldn't the cops have given the woman better protection? In spite these narrative lapses, this Canadian-made slasher is not too bad at all. Generally routine, but director Jean Claude Lord keeps the pace going and delivers genuine suspense and thrills. A top notch cast helps a lot, too. Michael Ironside is perfect as the psycho. Doesn't speak much, yet his presence is so menacing. Lee Grant is also excellent as the head-strong TV host, and she gives her character much depth and believability as a woman who refuses to be a victim. 6.5/10
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Post by politicidal1 on Sept 5, 2023 2:05:21 GMT
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Post by theravenking on Sept 13, 2023 20:32:57 GMT
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Post by Captain Spencer on Sept 15, 2023 3:09:19 GMT
The Legend Of Hell House (1973)A millionaire hires a physicist and two mediums to investigate an evil house and to determine if there is really an afterlife. An intelligently written, seriously intense British horror piece. Great sound effects and some outstanding camera shots. Good cast, and Roddy McDowall in particular delivers an incredible performance as the medium who barely survived in the house twenty years prior. Spooky and atmospheric. One of the best and scariest among the many British horror movies made in the early 70s. 8/10
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Post by James on Sept 15, 2023 21:46:07 GMT
It's pretty standard as far as exorcism films go but Russell Crowe carries it and it has a bit of fun tongue-and-cheek that separates it from others in the genre. 6.5/10
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Post by theravenking on Sept 16, 2023 15:28:13 GMT
Bless The Child (2000; Chuck Russell)A while ago I picked up a copy of the book Bless The Child assuming it was a novelization of the film written after the screenplay. But as it turned out it was actually an original novel on which the movie was based. I did vaguely remember the film getting terrible reviews on its release, so I wasn't exactly in a rush to read the novel, in the end I ended up only skimming it. I still decided to give the film a try though. Psychiatric nurse Maggie O'Connor, Kim Basinger looking more like a member of high society who got lost on her way to a dinner party than a hardworking single woman, is forced to adopt her newborn niece, Cody, from her sister Jenna, a homeless heroin addict who abandoned her at Maggie's house just before Christmas. Little does she know, that Cody is no average child but the possessor of disturbing powers who becomes the target of a satanist coven. Evil children, they are a dime a dozen in horror films and Bless The Child fails to bring anything new to the table in this respect. At least the little moppet here doesn't hurt harmless pets or drives her fellow kids to suicide. She is content with banging her head against the wall or drawing demonic images at her catholic school. Lack of originality wouldn't have been a problem had the filmmakers decided to focus more on character development, giving the age old story of the fight between good and evil a bit of depth, and trying to flesh out the moral conundrum the titular child finds itself in, as satanists are trying to pull it over to the dark side, forcing it to committ acts of evil. Unfortunately Holliston Coleman, the young actress playing Cody, the special child, is weak and annoying in the role and chief villain Rufus Sewell - who has barely anything to work with, so shallow and one-note is his character - remains largely ineffective too. Basinger walks through the whole thing wearing the same facial expression throughout, failing to convey her character's distress. Jimmy Smits who had been in the similary themed The Believers (1987) could've made for an engaging leading man as the investigating detective, but is sidelined, most likely because star Basinger may've wanted the majority of screentime for herself.
Production design is rather cheap and unimaginative too, as is the visual presentation with director Chuck Russell relying heavily on repeat shots of gargoyles and dodgy CGI demons. There are two fun scenes: one with Christina Ricci at a subway station and later a killing involving knitting needles but I'm not sure these would justify spending 107 minutes of your life on this. While Bless The Child is hardly the catastrophe the scathing reviews might've indicated, it's a dull and derivative satanic thriller with little to recommend. 4/10
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Post by kuatorises on Sept 17, 2023 12:58:54 GMT
Like the first two, did not care for the 3rd. Vince Vaughn playing a teenage girl is worth the price of admission. This movie is the same director a Happy Death Day, which I am a fan of. I enjoyed this movie too. It's funny and Christopher Landon has a knack for slipping a litte emotion and heart into his goofy movies (and it works). First time I watched Army of Darkness in years. I snorted when Ash says you have something on your face and throws dirt on Bad Ash's face.What a fun movie! I did not enjoy the Dracula movie. It was just very boring and flat.
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Post by kuatorises on Sept 18, 2023 15:07:45 GMT
The Blacksmith and the Devil. I really enjoyed it. Had the feel of a play or fairy tail. Really enjoyable.
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