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Thriller: Teen-Slasher flick set in Compton. A boy with special, Chauncey, needs is tricked into believing he is being attacked by monsters and accidentally kills one of his tormentors. The rest of the gang lie about the circumstances of the death and Chauncey is sent to Juvenile Prison. Four years later it's Homecoming weekend at their High School and the gang are doing teen things. But Chauncey has been released. A hooded killer starts to pick off the teens one by one. Eviscerating, clubbed to death etc. Nothing particularly new in this film, all a bit predictable and mediocre. Writer/Director Dallas Jackson delivers a just about watchable horror-revenge movie. 4.5/10. On Netflix.
 
Welcome To Mercy: Stigmata, possession, a convent of strange nuns on an isolated island, a creepy priest, twisting tinelines. Some good levitation and demonic strength scenes. But there are no real jump scares and the horror is darkly psychological and builds up through mood and mind games. A few interesting twists and reveals. The writer of the screenplay, Kristen Ruhlin, plays the main character Madeline who returns to Latvia from the US to visit her terminally ill father. Along with Ruhlin Director Tommy Bertelsen delivers an intriguing horror film. 7/10. On Netflix.
 
Watched the French language horror-comedy "Le Manoir" (aka The Mansion) last night on Netflix.
A bunch of oddball students (usual stereotypes - bimbo, closet lesbian, nerd, cool guy, prudish shy girl, whacked-out stoner, would-be actor with attitude etc.) hire a gothic mansion for their New Year's Eve party.
There's lots of good, hedonistic fun to be had, until things turn nightmarish.
The humour is alternately goofy and very black, but with some genuine laugh-out-loud moments.
A few gruesome scenes with moderate gore and one particular death is likely to make all the male viewers wince and cross their legs.
The stoner gets the best lines!
We could obviously follow the French dialogue. Worth a watch, even if you do need the subtitles.

Trailer (without subtitles):

 
Every Time I Die: Quirky murder/ghost thriller. Starts off rather noirish, a love triangle involving a couple and a friend, the odd man out, Sam, is murdered by the husband. Then it takes a weird turn as Sam's consciousness effectively dybbuks some of his friends as he takes control of their bodies and attempts to warn them about the murderer. More mayhem ensues. There's also a subplot regarding Sam's sister who drowned when he was a child, he carries a burden of guilt over this. It takes time to really get started so I couldn't help but feel that this might have been better off edited down as an episode of The Twilight Zone. But there are some startling and convincing scenes of personality transformation. Writer/Director Robi Michael in his feature debut at the helm delivers a flawed but enjoyable dark thriller. 6/10. On Netflix.
 
Jackals: A family kidnap their son from a cult and bring him to an isolated house in an attempt to deprogram him. Stephen Dorf is the deprogrammer with Jimmy Levine as the son. It soon becomes obvious that this is no ordinary cult when Levine threatens Dorf and the family that they will be killed. He is more like a possessed person as he curses and struggles in the chair he is tied to. A bit reminiscent of Reservoir Dogs but in this case it's the prisoner in the chair who bites one of his captors ears off. Things take an even darker turn as the family realise their house is surrounded by cult members wearing animal masks. An arm bursts through a window grabbing one of the occupants. The cultists howl outside lije jackals and Levine joins in. Sheer existential terror builds up among those in the house. This is a disturbing film with scenes of throats being cut, people clubbed to death, burned alive and disemboweled. Certainly not for the squeamish or faint of heart. Check out a cult carefully before you mess with them. Editor/Director Kevin Greutert (Saw VI, Jessabelle) working from a script by Jared Rivet delivers a scarifying horror/thriller. 7/10. Showing again on Horror Channel, Thursday 16 April, 2.45 am.
 
Watched The Boat (2018) last night on Amazon Prime.
A Maltese horror movie with a cast of one (!), which tries to do for boats what Christine did for cars.
Rather like Stephen King plots, this does spin out a sort of short story premise into a full-length feature, but what there is I found very atmospheric, with a hefty dose of claustrophobia.
There's no real gore, except a slightly nasty slip with a razor blade, as this is all about psychological horror.

Well worth a look - with an added bonus if you know Malta well (we found ourselves comparing our holiday snaps from the Blue Grotto, Gozo and Valetta with some of the movie scenes). You may feel a little short-changed by the ending though.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7468616/
 
Pyewacket: Leah Reyes (Nicole Muno)z is a teen goth, she's into magic and the occult, gotten more involved in it since her father died. She doesn't always get on with her mother (Laurie Holden) who isn't handling the death of her husband very well. Mrs Reyes decides to move to an isolated wooded area for a new start. Leah is angry at this, it separates her from her Goth friends. After a blazing row with her mother Leah decides to perform a ritual, using spells from a book she summons up the Demon Pyewacket to kill her mother. Leah doesn't really expect anything to happen and makes up with her mother. Strange events occur, Leah finds the front door open with dirt inside, she wakes up outside the house, her mothers car goes out of control. An excellent Canadian horror film which uses the woods around the Reyes home to great effect. By day or night the trees appear ominous and threatening, a low sun shining between branches seems to promise darkness rather than light. When the Demon briefly appears it inspires horror and disgust. How evil spirits can trick those who summon them is made shockingly clear, Good performances from Holden and Munoz and the other teen Goths. Writer/Director Adam MacDonald delivers an impressive tale of terror. 8/10. Available at https://www.channel4.com/programmes/pyewacket until May 17 2020,
 
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This is the film I would have been running out to see in the kinoteatr and reviewing here (and in my blog) - if things had been as normal.

Anyway, SPUTNIK* has been released, a 16+certitifate science -fiction/horror hybrid from the Russian director Egor Abramenko (it seems to be a longer version of a short that he brought out three years ago).

Just from the trailer - English subs! -and the premise it all looks very Quatermass Experiment-ish, both in scenario and general ambience. It seems to be set in Soviet times and features a returned cosmonaut who has been infected by an extraterrestrial presence.

Of course, that whole theme of infection has gained a new resonance since the film's conception....

Unlike a lot of Russian horrors, this one doesn't look as though it will tip over into extravagant fantasy - but like a lot of Russian scary flicks it also looks quite po-faced as though it takes itself quite seriously (which can often be a plus in this genre).

It stars Oksana Akinshina - who was actually in the spi-fi The Bourne Supremacy some 16 years back, and the film director-cum-actor Fedor Bondarchuk who directed the frothier Attraction 1 and 2 blockbusters, which also featured an alien incusion theme.


It made the news on Russian TV that this film is now going to (or now has been) be premiered live online somehow...but, you know what, that won't do for me. I'm going to wait until the time I can get to see it on the big silver screen - second row from the front, bottle in hand - as is my wont. That's how to catch a premier!

* The word `sputnik` just means satellite in Russian - but also can carry connotations of `fellow traveller`. I suspect the film's title is playing on this double meaning.
 
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Has anyone viewed this horror from 1990? I'm looking for reviews before I commit!

I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle
Birmingham biker Nick (Neil Morrissey) thinks he's got a bargain when he buys a second-hand motorcycle at a knock-down price. The only problem is that the machine won't start in the hours of daylight. Nick's suspicions begin to mount when his best friend is murdered. Could he be the owner of a monstrous vampire motorbike which stalks the streets at night, feasting upon Hell's Angels, streetwalkers and traffic wardens? Understandably alarmed, Nick decides to call in Inspector Cleaver (Michael Elphick) and a priest (Anthony Daniels) in order to exorcise the two-wheeled beast from hell...

 
Has anyone viewed this horror from 1990? I'm looking for reviews before I commit!

I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle
Birmingham biker Nick (Neil Morrissey) thinks he's got a bargain when he buys a second-hand motorcycle at a knock-down price. The only problem is that the machine won't start in the hours of daylight. Nick's suspicions begin to mount when his best friend is murdered. Could he be the owner of a monstrous vampire motorbike which stalks the streets at night, feasting upon Hell's Angels, streetwalkers and traffic wardens? Understandably alarmed, Nick decides to call in Inspector Cleaver (Michael Elphick) and a priest (Anthony Daniels) in order to exorcise the two-wheeled beast from hell...


That trailer showed all the best bits - including the toilet scene!
 
Pyewacket: Leah Reyes (Nicole Muno)z is a teen goth, she's into magic and the occult, gotten more involved in it since her father died. She doesn't always get on with her mother (Laurie Holden) who isn't handling the death of her husband very well. Mrs Reyes decides to move to an isolated wooded area for a new start. Leah is angry at this, it separates her from her Goth friends. After a blazing row with her mother Leah decides to perform a ritual, using spells from a book she summons up the Demon Pyewacket to kill her mother. Leah doesn't really expect anything to happen and makes up with her mother. Strange events occur, Leah finds the front door open with dirt inside, she wakes up outside the house, her mothers car goes out of control. An excellent Canadian horror film which uses the woods around the Reyes home to great effect. By day or night the trees appear ominous and threatening, a low sun shining between branches seems to promise darkness rather than light. When the Demon briefly appears it inspires horror and disgust. How evil spirits can trick those who summon them is made shockingly clear, Good performances from Holden and Munoz and the other teen Goths. Writer/Director Adam MacDonald delivers an ime tale of terror. 8/10. Available at https://www.channel4.com/programmes/pyewacket until May 17 2020,

1587836644762.png

Pyewacket from Bell Book and Candle.
;)
 
Has anyone viewed this horror from 1990? I'm looking for reviews before I commit!

I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle
Birmingham biker Nick (Neil Morrissey) thinks he's got a bargain when he buys a second-hand motorcycle at a knock-down price. The only problem is that the machine won't start in the hours of daylight. Nick's suspicions begin to mount when his best friend is murdered. Could he be the owner of a monstrous vampire motorbike which stalks the streets at night, feasting upon Hell's Angels, streetwalkers and traffic wardens? Understandably alarmed, Nick decides to call in Inspector Cleaver (Michael Elphick) and a priest (Anthony Daniels) in order to exorcise the two-wheeled beast from hell...


It's not very cool, in fact it's very naff, but it makes me laugh. Cheerful bad taste is how I'd describe it, not up (or down) there with Pink Flamingos or Meet the Feebles, it's milder than that, but it is so stupid it's entertaining. C3PO is in it.
 
Well, I tried to search for this and could not find it so, if it has already been posted pleased forgive me.

This isn't exactly what I would call a block buster but, I found it to be quite a enjoyable watch. I do like some Vampire shows/movies but, not most. This one was action packed from start to finish. I'd rate it about 6.5 out of 10. Here's the full movie on YT.

 
Well, I tried to search for this and could not find it so, if it has already been posted pleased forgive me.

This isn't exactly what I would call a block buster but, I found it to be quite a enjoyable watch. I do like some Vampire shows/movies but, not most. This one was action packed from start to finish. I'd rate it about 6.5 out of 10. Here's the full movie on YT.

It's a pretty good film on a low budget, but sadly it had a limited release and I think it lost money.
 
Has anyone viewed this horror from 1990? I'm looking for reviews before I commit!

I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle
Birmingham biker Nick (Neil Morrissey) thinks he's got a bargain when he buys a second-hand motorcycle at a knock-down price. The only problem is that the machine won't start in the hours of daylight. Nick's suspicions begin to mount when his best friend is murdered. Could he be the owner of a monstrous vampire motorbike which stalks the streets at night, feasting upon Hell's Angels, streetwalkers and traffic wardens? Understandably alarmed, Nick decides to call in Inspector Cleaver (Michael Elphick) and a priest (Anthony Daniels) in order to exorcise the two-wheeled beast from hell...

It was just OK from memory but I haven't watched it since it arrived in video shops so my memory is fuzzy .. I just remember thinking 'That's Neil Morrissey .. he was just in 'Lovejoy' about that dodgy antiques dealer played my Michael Elphick .. why's he in a crappy horror film now?'

It's sort of like 'Christine' what with the possessed bike ..

For a better crappy British horror comedy from roughly the same time with the same production values, I recommend 'Hands of Death Pt 25' which was a spoof on slasher films ..

 
It was just OK from memory but I haven't watched it since it arrived in video shops so my memory is fuzzy .. I just remember thinking 'That's Neil Morrissey .. he was just in 'Lovejoy' about that dodgy antiques dealer played my Michael Elphick .. why's he in a crappy horror film now?'
You're confusing 'Boon' and 'Lovejoy'. Neil M and Michael E were in 'Boon'.
 
It was just OK from memory but I haven't watched it since it arrived in video shops so my memory is fuzzy .. I just remember thinking 'That's Neil Morrissey .. he was just in 'Lovejoy' about that dodgy antiques dealer played my Michael Elphick .. why's he in a crappy horror film now?'

It's sort of like 'Christine' what with the possessed bike .

Morrissey and Elphick were in Boon, not Lovejoy. Boon also featured motorcycles heavily, so I guess someone was a fan? Apparently the whole thing was just done as a laugh. (Edit: Beat me to it, Mytho!)
 
Skinwalkers (2006): Two Werewolf clans, one is determined to curb their dark nature, the other revels in blood lust. An ancient legend is coming to pass: a young boy will free them from their curse. But the savage Werewolves are intent on killing him before the night of the Red Full Moon. Some pretty gruesome scenes, Werewolves eating people alive, fighting each other. Gun battles, a victim literally crucified. Make up/effects are ok. A few holes in the plot but it's a watchable horror film. Directed by Jim Isaac. 6/10. Saw it on Horror Channel.
 
Some Kind Of Hate: Lincoln (Ronen Rubenstein) is a Goth, bullied at home and at school, he finally strikes back, stabbing a bully in the face with a fork. He ends up being sent to to the Mind's Eye Academy, a reform school in the desert which encourages spiritual growth. But he faces more bullies there. His angst summons up the vengeful ghost of Moira (Sierra McCormick), a girl who committed suicide at the school due to bullying. She begins to deal with the bullies. Blood runs freely as Moira makes it look as if the bullies are committing suicide. She is terrifying to behold, her limbs slashed from self-harming, wearing a necklace of razor blades. A disturbing film which will stick in your mind long after the final credits roll. Good performances by Rubenstein and McCormick. IMDB has it at 4.5/10 but I think Director Adam Egypt Mortimer's bloody horror flick deserves 7/10. On the Horror Channel.
 
Get In (Furie): A couple return from holidays to find that their home has been taken over by squatters. Legal cases drag on and they end up in a mobile home park. The husband, Paul, makes new friends, violent types who try to persuade him to take direct action against the usurpers. Not a new story line but this film takes a new angle: Paul is black and the squatters are white. There are elements of Parasite in Get In, not least in the grand guignol finale. An everyday drama which morphs into dark horror. Writer/Director Olivier Abbou delivers a disturbing satire/thriller. 8/10. On Netflix.
 
The Most Assassinated Woman in the World (France 2018 - on Netflix)

A fictional telling of the life of Paula Maxa, who dies onstage every night at The Grand Guignol in Paris, as her life intersects with a real-life killer... Great stylish thriller... with music by French songstress Keren Ann.

The Plagues of Breslau (Poland 2018 - on Netflix)

Fast-paced Euro crime drama is pushed into horror territory by blood and gore as the bodies pile up... Totally implausible but entertaining!

The Fan (USA 1981 - on Talking Pictures)

Old Hollywood meets New Hollywood as Lauren Bacall is stalked by Michael Biehn (future star of The Terminator and Aliens) in New York. She plays a famous actress rehearsing a musical. He sends her menacing letters ala Eminem's "Stan". Then he starts slashing everyone around her with a razor blade to a Pino Donaggio soundtrack. Bacall wasn't happy with the bloody direction it took - after Dressed To kill became a hit - and the film, coming out after John Lennon assassination (and other celebrity stalkings), was released amongst bad publicity.
 
I once read a review of The Fan which complained Bacall was referred to as "Miss Ross" in the fan's letters. There's only one Miss Ross, and she sure ain't Lauren Bacall!
 
I was looking forward to seeing Sea Fever after hearing the director talking it up on the Trailers from Hell podcast, but now I've seen it and what a huge disappointment. It starts out OK, with a strange lead character who can't be arsed with anyone else, but after half an hour I couldn't be arsed with the movie, it's so boring. Not sure what went wrong, I stuck it out to the end, but what a tedious experience. Big shame.
 
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