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Antebellum: Nothing supernatural about this just the horrors of slavery. This terror is inflicted by white supremacists led by a U.S. Senator. They dress in Confederate uniforms as they lord it over abducted African-Americans, who are treated as slaves, made to pick cotton, serve as cooks and sex-slaves. Among these prisoners is sociologist/activist Veronica Henley (Janelle Monae) who has in the past clashed with Senator Denton (Eric Lange). Denton clothes himself as a Confederate General and takes Henley as his personal slave, branding her when she tries to escape and refuses to say her save name. Other escapees are executed, whipped, tortured. Truly a dark nightmare, extremely violent and disturbing in places, some of this when the "slaves" fight back. Not a film you will forget in a hurry. Co-Written and Co-Directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Reinz. 7/10.
 
Sea Fever: Sea Monster flick, nothing really original bit well worth watching. Bit of Paddy-whackery though with crew members superstitious about the marine biologist (Hermione Corfield) having red hair. For god's sake the trawler sets off from Galway! Aso the skipper (Dougray Scott) has an accent which ranges from Cork to Donegal and points between. Interesting encounter with the monster though, the trawler comes to a dead stop and something is degrading the wooden hull. Corfield scuba-dives and sees that the boat is in the grip of a tendriled sea monster. Infections spread on board through a green goo and soon the crew are stricken with parasites. Eyes explode! Eerie battles in confined spaces and wondering who is infected is reminiscent of Alien and The Thing. Connie Nielsen plays the skippers wife and owner of the trawler. Written and Directed by Neasa Hardiman. 7/10.
 
Sea Fever: Sea Monster flick, nothing really original bit well worth watching. Bit of Paddy-whackery though with crew members superstitious about the marine biologist (Hermione Corfield) having red hair. For god's sake the trawler sets off from Galway! Aso the skipper (Dougray Scott) has an accent which ranges from Cork to Donegal and points between. Interesting encounter with the monster though, the trawler comes to a dead stop and something is degrading the wooden hull. Corfield scuba-dives and sees that the boat is in the grip of a tendriled sea monster. Infections spread on board through a green goo and soon the crew are stricken with parasites. Eyes explode! Eerie battles in confined spaces and wondering who is infected is reminiscent of Alien and The Thing. Connie Nielsen plays the skippers wife and owner of the trawler. Written and Directed by Neasa Hardiman. 7/10.
I will be watching that!
 
Sea Fever: Sea Monster flick, nothing really original bit well worth watching. Bit of Paddy-whackery though with crew members superstitious about the marine biologist (Hermione Corfield) having red hair. For god's sake the trawler sets off from Galway! Aso the skipper (Dougray Scott) has an accent which ranges from Cork to Donegal and points between. Interesting encounter with the monster though, the trawler comes to a dead stop and something is degrading the wooden hull. Corfield scuba-dives and sees that the boat is in the grip of a tendriled sea monster. Infections spread on board through a green goo and soon the crew are stricken with parasites. Eyes explode! Eerie battles in confined spaces and wondering who is infected is reminiscent of Alien and The Thing. Connie Nielsen plays the skippers wife and owner of the trawler. Written and Directed by Neasa Hardiman. 7/10.

Watched it around a year ago and pretty well agree with your summary.
Certainly watchable, if you accept it for what it is - a mash up of Alien and The Thing but with sou'westers.
7/10 is probably about right.
 
Sea Fever had a nice atmosphere, but it was a bit underplotted. Also: totally unfair to ginger people!
 
The Deep Ones: A contemporary adaptation of the H.P. Lovecraft classic though it has the feel of a 70s/80s horror flick due to the camera filter used AND the clothes of the Dagon worshipers. It's also reminiscent of Rosemary's Baby given the subject matter and the way some scenes are shot. A couple rent an AirBnB near Ventura Beach and are greeted by the owners, an odd but friendly duo. It soon transpires that the locals are part of a Cult, many being hybrids with gills etc, due to a long tradition of interbreeding with the Deep Ones (bit like Cromer). Drugs, hypnotism, tentacles attacks and manic chases are interspersed with rituals on the beach. Dagon himself isn't too convincing (might be homage to old films) but it's all good Lovecraftian fun. Written and Directed by Chad Ferrin. 7/10.
 
Vampires vs. The Bronx: Very much a comedy but also a social satire about the gentrification of the Bronx; blood sucking developers driving local people out. The vampires' Renfield is named Polidori and the fiends are the Clan Murnau. Some real horror scenes with the vampires biting throats out as they suck blood, levitating with the teeth stuck in. Holy water bombs in balloons prove effective against the bloodsuckers as do the old reliable stakes. Not great but it is entertaining, a bit like Do The Right Thing ... With Vampires. Written & Directed by Oz Rodriguez. On Netflix 6/10.
 
Watched Dreamkatcher (yes, with a K) on its Sky debut last night.

Started off pretty well in setting the scene, with hints of Elm Street-style deadly nightmares but with a night-hag replacing Freddy. It also features the obligatory Lin Shaye - her of the long creepy face that has spooked us in countless horror movies.

Sadly though, the plot sort of meanders aimlessly, with characters making implausible decisions, right up to the (also seemingly obligatory these days) non-ending.

A disappointment overall: 5/10
 
Just finished Suspiria (2018). What a banquet! I never saw the original and may not bother now. This film kept me fully absorbed with bold direction and fearless performances by Swinton and Swinton. I watched without any English subtitles and yet followed the plot pretty accurately. My only beef was that it was bloody hard to see due to the dark print. Had to crank my brights and contrast to near washout levels. Anyway it was a fantastic movie. Lots to ponder over. Watch it when you've had a red or two.
 
1BR: A young woman, Sarah (Nicole Brydon Bloom) moves to LA, taking an office job while she tries to get into a design school. She takes a dream apartment in a complex which seems to be full of friendly, helpful people. The pipes are noisy at night though and she gets a nasty note about pet rules when she smuggles in a cat. Things then take a strange turn when other residents drug and imprison her, using brainwashing techniques and other methods to break her resistance. The building is run by a cult who want to create the perfect community this is a rather complex complex. Quite distressing in parts, especially the stress methods used on bloom and how the cat is treated. Not a film for the squeamish or faint of heart. The gradual breaking down of an individual personality to be replaced by a commitment to the group is frightening to behold. Beware of apartment deals too good to be true which come with over-friendly neighbours. Written and Directed by David Marmor. 8/10.
 
The Heretics: It's unfortunate to be snatched once by a Satanic Sect but to be grabbed a second time looks like carelessness. All is not as it seems though. Gloria (Nina Kiri) survived the original abduction when all of the Cult members committed suicide. Five years later she now attends group therapy at her local church and helps out at it's homeless mission where she met her present lover Joan (Jorja Cadence). Going home one night Gloria is ambushed and dragged into a van by a horribly scarred man. Joan is frantic, feeling that the police aren't taking Gloria's disappearance seriously she organises search parties but gradually starts to turn psychotic with stress. Gloria's abductor claims he is saving her from the Satanists, they now intend to carry out part two of their plan, sacrifice Gloria to bring the Demon Abaddon to Earth.. Horror from the beginning when Gloria has a nightmare about her abduction, masked and robed Sect members with antlers tie her to an alter. we later see their mass suicide in a flashback. The supernatural is shown to be at work, casting glamours over people and Gloria undergoes bodily changes. Satanism, body horror, cults, this film has it all as well as a few interesting plot twists. At times the low budget is all too obvious but it's well worth watching. Written & Directed by Chad Archibald (Bite, The Drownsman). On the Horror Channel. 7/10.
 
Containment (2015)

An artist wakes up hungover and late for a crucial appointment. He then discovers he has no electricity, water and he's been sealed into his flat.
Looking outside he notices other people are also trapped in their tower block apartments and on the ground floor people are running around in what looks like Hazmat suits.

Being trapped in a block of flats has been done before with the brilliant REC. The film is different but plays on the same idea that we completely trust our government to look after us in an emergency.

I wonder if films like this will go the way of the dinosaur? No one trusts any government and the film contains its own skeptic/conspiracy buff, (played by the director who is the weakest character in the film), to sow discord which is now commonplace and which now seems quite twee.

The other characters lack depth. The kid and his brother were also pretty much place-holders for a better writer to flesh out. Why were they storing so much? Why doesn't the kid communicate etc? This stuff might have been left on the floor but it does the film no favors.

Lee Ross as the lead keeps the whole thing alive, I've always rated him as an actor and as we say in gaming he "carried the team".

Worth watching as there aren't enough British films like this and Lee Ross is brilliant in keeping a lid on dialogue, plot issues, and Spartan/cliched character development.

6 out of 10.
 
Run: Some mothers will do anything to keep control over their daughters. In this case it even extends to giving the daughter animal muscle relaxants to keep her in a wheelchair. This is is more than just another tale of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy though; far darker secrets are revealed as the narrative unfolds. Most of the horror here is psychological but there are some violent scenes. There is also the sense of betrayal as the daughter, Chloe (Kiera Allen), begins to comprehend the enormity of the transgressions inflicted on her by her mother (Sarah Paulson). Good acting by Allen and Paulson in this horror/thriller which is Written and Directed by Aneesh Chaganty. 7/10.
 
A new Cronenberg movie is always something to look forward to.
I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as "Possessor", directed by Brandon Cronenberg is receiving excellent reviews and typifies the violent and gross-out horror (but always with a sub-theme of social commentary) that his dad David Cronenberg excelled at.

Available to stream from 27th November.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...on-cronenberg-andrea-riseborough-sc0fi-horror
 
Watched two horror movies on Prime yesterday:

1) Island Zero (2019)

A highly Fortean horror movie, featuring a hitherto unknown cryptid terrorising an isolated Maine community. Some people aren't quite what they seem and a sinister government conspiracy is thrown into the mix.
The atmosphere was suitably creepy, with a few make-you-jump moments and a fair splattering of gore.
Unless they intend to make a Island Zero #2 though, the ending left far too much unfinished business to satisfy me.
5/10.

2) Jeruzalem (2015)

Presumably the Z is to make you think of zombies, but this seemed to be more about the apocalyptic "Jerusalem syndrome", with a rather more demonic theme. Nicely filmed through labyrinthine streets and tunnels and I'm a bit surprised that Jerusalem, with its unparalleled history, hasn't been the backdrop for more horror films. Quite a clever "transformative" ending too.
7/10.
 
The Nun (2005): Finally caught up with this and its entertaining enough. Another nasty nun who terrorises and abuses her pupils until finally she disappears without trace. Eighteen later the nun's ghost is running riot, slaying the pupils who may have been involved in her demise. Stabbed, limbs severed by lift doors, but all of these deaths also involve water. A spectral sodden sister emerges from water and attacks her victims. A new generation set out to solve thus mystery and negate the nefarious nun. Veers a bit towards teen horror with history repeating itself. Enough shocks and tension to keep you interested. Directed and Co-Written Luis De La Madrid. On the Horror Channel. 6/10.
 
A new Cronenberg movie is always something to look forward to.
I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, as "Possessor", directed by Brandon Cronenberg is receiving excellent reviews and typifies the violent and gross-out horror (but always with a sub-theme of social commentary) that his dad David Cronenberg excelled at.

Available to stream from 27th November.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/20...on-cronenberg-andrea-riseborough-sc0fi-horror

It's a bit of a David Cronenberg facsimile, but seeing as how he doesn't make horror movies anymore, maybe that's no bad thing. It did look as he (Brandon) was trying too hard to shock, it's unbelievably violent and features transgender eroticism, for instance, but I liked the overall identity crisis theme that seemed very pertinent to the times.
 
It's a bit of a David Cronenberg facsimile, but seeing as how he doesn't make horror movies anymore, maybe that's no bad thing. It did look as he (Brandon) was trying too hard to shock, it's unbelievably violent and features transgender eroticism, for instance, but I liked the overall identity crisis theme that seemed very pertinent to the times.

Worth paying Prime Video £6-49p to rent then?
 
Worth paying Prime Video £6-49p to rent then?

As always with Prime, it depends on how desperate you are to watch, it'll come down in price eventually. I've noticed since Lockdown a vast amount of newer stuff ends up free with the subscription!
 
Hypothermia 2012.

A family moves to their winter cabin to pursue a yearly winter tradition of ice fishing. There's tension in the air as the son has news that will upset his father. On the ice, another family moves to a spot nearby and destroys the tranquility with their pesky modern ways of ice fishing, (a shitty looking caravan basically).

Catches are nonexistent until they spot a huge fish moving under the ice. Is it a marlin? Is it a Nessie or is it a guy in the worst rubber suit since The Creature from the Haunted Sea? Both families find themselves in a life and death struggle on the ice but luckily they can retreat to the state of the art shitty caravan - (think Blackpool rather than Great lakes).

Not even Micheal Rooker, (Slither, Guardians of the Galaxy) or Blanche Baker, (Emmy award winner) can save this awful film. From Dad surviving being immersed in the ice for what seems to be hours to Mom's amazing ability to put hideous death behind her and soldier on, to that bloody suit - it's bad. The thing is the cast is pretty good, even the supports do their job, even if the other Dad is OTT.

The sinking feeling the crew and cast must have felt when seeing the dailies the first time the rubber suit was introduced must have destroyed any sense of hope.

Why they didn't then decide to just play it for laughs I'll never know.

Paradoxically the thing that destroys the credibility of the film is the thing that makes it worth watching - the rubber suit.

3 out of 10.
 
Don't Listen (Voces): An electronic voice phenomena (EVP) horror thriller. A couple and their young son move to an old home in the country intending to renovate The house Is fly-infested and soon strange noises and voices are heard over phones and walkie talkies. Tragically the son drowns but his voice is still heard over the phone. The father calls in an EVP psychic investigator. Things go crazy from there, suicides, attempts at self-harm, cats hanging from trees. There is a malign presence in the house causing the noises and manipulating people. Some really gruesome scenes, the cats bit is bad enough but there are also shootings, stabbings, hangings, throats slit and a tree branch impaling a head. So plenty of horror and shocks plus a few plot twists keeps things interesting. The rambling, sinister old house with shadowy, dark rooms and tunnels provides a fitting backdrop to the unfolding of this narrative. Directed by Ángel Gómez Hernández, written by Santiago Diaz. On Netflix. 7/10.
 
We Summon The Darkness: 1988, a Satanic Cult is committing mass murder in the US Heartland, the body count is at 18. In Indiana three girls meet up with three guys at a heavy metal concert and head back to one of the girl's homes for a party. This is not going to end well. Soon three of them are drugged and tied to chairs, Satanic symbols and slogans are daubed on the walls. All is not as it seems though with some interesting ploy twists. It does get pretty savage with shootings and stabbings. A wide variety of improvised weapons are used including broken bottles, hedge-trimmers and gas containers. The walls are drenched with blood, unwitting arrivals are slaughtered. An engaging horror thriller with elements of satire and a vein of dark humour which leavens the mood a bit. Directed by Marc Meyers from a script by Alan Trezza. 7/10.
 
It's a bit of a David Cronenberg facsimile, but seeing as how he doesn't make horror movies anymore, maybe that's no bad thing. It did look as he (Brandon) was trying too hard to shock, it's unbelievably violent and features transgender eroticism, for instance, but I liked the overall identity crisis theme that seemed very pertinent to the times.

Definitely worth renting.
Probably the best sci-fi horror/thriller I've watched since lockdown.
Very clever theme with a couple of good twists.
A fair smattering of gore - when we saw what happened to Sean Bean, I did mutter "that's got to sting a bit".
Could have done without some of the strobe effects though.
Overall 8/10.
 
Glad you enjoyed it! One unusual thing about Sean Bean:

There's a bit of dialogue suggesting he wasn't killed by Vos - does this mean this is a rare Sean Bean film where his character survives?!
 
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