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Has anyone seen The Blackwell Ghost series of films? They seem to have good ratings for films that I don't think are particularly well-known.
 
Never heard of Ganja & Hess before. Has anyone here watched it>

Bill Gunn's 1973 horror was revered at Cannes, but buried in the US – leading him to pen a famous letter about reviewers' racism. Now it's finally getting its due, writes Leila Latif.
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The story of Ganja & Hess is just as compelling a tale as the film itself. Written and directed by Bill Gunn, and released in New York on 20 April, 1973, the black vampire movie has lost none of its power over the past 50 years. It artfully depicts a wealthy anthropologist Dr Hess Green (Duane Jones), who is stabbed by his assistant George (Gunn) with an ancient African ceremonial dagger before George kills himself. The dagger turns Hess into a vampire, and further complications ensue when George's widow Ganja (Marlene Clark) comes to Hess' home looking for her husband, and the two fall hopelessly in love.

The film defies easy classification with its hallucinatory visuals, rich metaphors for addiction, raw sexuality and lyrical dialogue that offers a wholly unique treatise on African-American identity. For the film critic and programmer Kelli Weston, who recently co-programmed the In Dreams are Monsters season at London's British Film Institute, which screened Ganja & Hess, "the story has a quite classic structure for a horror film" and is founded on "the core premise of horror cinema, that what is repressed must always return". "But Ganja & Hess is enlivened by these black characters and the tension between spirituality, addiction and the predatory nature of empire," she adds. "Hess faces a curse from another place that he's sort of tied to – there's a rupture between black Americans and Africa, but a sense of feeling always bound or even haunted by it."

But, while Ganja & Hess is nowadays widely praised, the journey that Gunn's film has had to gain due respect is infamous, having been mistreated and misrepresented for decades. ....

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article...he-50-year-old-vampire-film-critics-got-wrong
 
The House on the Cliff (2021 on Prime).

An Anglo-Indian horror set in the 70s in the mythical English village of Corvid's Head (a thinly disguised Marazion in Cornwall, overlooking St. Michael's Mount).
Well-to-do Indian couple, featuring glamourous Bollywood star Nyra Banerjee, move to England and buy a suspiciously cheap big old house on a cliff. They should have realised something was a bit awry when the husband asked the estate agent "is there anything you're not telling us" and she looks panicked, mumbles something about getting the place at below the market price before beating a hasty retreat.
Even though they're obviously a Hindu couple, the local vicar pops in to offer a blessing, presumably knowing the grim history of the house and nearby suicide hotspot - only to get the full-on Amityville Horror treatment.
As things get increasingly weird, the couple seek the services of a psychic investigator.
Yes, this isn't the most original movie and feels rather like a throw-back to umpteen 1970s horrors, but with a hint of the usual over-dramatic Bollywood vibe (thankfully though, no-one breaks into a song and dance routine).
The special effects of the ghosts are pretty weak and are revealed far too soon and some of the acting is a bit iffy.
At a shade under 2 hours, it also feels at least 20 minutes too long.
Still it ticks most of the Fortean boxes, there are a couple of make-you-jump moments (notably at 1hr 20!), and there's a certain entertainment value in identifying all the clichés and hat-tips (Amityville Horror, The Exorcist, The Omen, Straw Dogs, Poltergeist and The Ring spring immediately to mind).
Overall, it's only a 5/10 from me (would have been less if Nyra Banerjee wasn't so captivating!).

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Beau Is Afraid: Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) has good reasons to be afraid, he was setting off to visit his mother (Patti LuPone) when everything started to go wrong. The night before he gets notes shoved under his door accusing him of making noise when neighbours are actually doing so. He sleeps in, rushes to catch his flight but his his keys and luggage are stolen. A mob of street people invade his apartment and he is then stabbed and chased by a naked serial killer and is struck by a vehicle. All of this occurs in the opening 15 minutes of the film and is not without it;s comic moments, Beau awakens in the home of the family who knocked him down, the pater familias being a surgeon he's on a drip. Shades of Misery ensue.

Beau's onward journey is convoluted as he encounters an travelling actors troupe in a forest along with crazed pursuers. His sanity as well as his life is at stake. People die horribly, commit suicide by drinking paint. Through flashbacks we learn how Beau became the man he is, still controlled by his distant mother. There are literally heart breaking scenes scattered throughout the movie. There is a story here but the moral of it is difficult to figure out as he Beau wanders through animated scenes and longs for a lost love from his childhood. His mother gradually begins to emerge as the domineering parent from Hell whilst his father is missing due to a fatal on the job accident. What is reality here and what is fantasy, drug induced visions or psychosis is open to question but the narrative somehow hangs together. Totally different in tone, imagery and influences from Hereditary and Midsommar, Beau will likely disappoint those who expect to see a film of the Folk Horror genre. But it's worth sticking with even if I may have to watch it a second time to figure everything out. Written, Directed, and Produced by Ari Aster. 8/10.

In cinemas.
 
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Mr Mrs put on a horror film that had been recommend to her by her ex called 'INBRED' ..

.. a torture porn which I hate, set in England in Yorkshire and with townies sent there who get captured then tortured or violently murdered. 10 out of 10 to the special FX crew to be fair, I never thought I'd get to see a horse stamp on someone's head with no cutaway. The decapitation by meat cleaver was done with reverse motion photography in three fast edits ending with the lingering fake head so someone needs to buy F/X legend Tom Savini a pint to thank him for teaching them that. I couldn't stomach watching it because I don't like the 'torture porn' genre of horror but some people might enjoy it. It's intense.

 
The Boogeyman has some jump scares but a lot of the horror is also psychological, about how our fears may summon up a physical reality. sort of a tulpa that has been around for millennia. Maybe first summoned up when humans discovered fire and feared what hid in the daek beyond. Not just fear but grief may bring about the onset of the conditions which create The Boogeyman. High school student Sadie Harper (Sophie Thatcher) and her little sister Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) are distraught after the recent death of their mother. Their father Will (Chris Messina), a therapist by profession, gives them neither the support nor the affection that they need. He tries but is crippled by his own pain and dense of loss which he refuses to verbalise.. A disturbed patient shows up unexpectedly at their house asking for help, ends up committing suicide and brings in a strange entity that preys on the family and like a psychic vampire leeches off their greatest suffering. The monster when it appears is quite effective, even terrifying but on prior scenes the dark corners where it lurks beforehand, barely glimpsed also work well. This film is based on a classic Stephen King story and carries more depth than such a trope normally would. The lives of the children, their father and the disturbed patient are explored, no cardboard characters here, Good performances all round. Directed by Rob Savage from a screenplay by Scott Beck, Bryan Woods and Mark Heyman. 8/10

In cinemas.
 
The Boogeyman has some jump scares but a lot of the horror is also psychological, about how our fears may summon up a physical reality. sort of a tulpa that has been around for millennia. Maybe first summoned up when humans discovered fire and feared what hid in the daek beyond. Not just fear but grief may bring about the onset of the conditions which create The Boogeyman. High school student Sadie Harper (Sophie Thatcher) and her little sister Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) are distraught after the recent death of their mother. Their father Will (Chris Messina), a therapist by profession, gives them neither the support nor the affection that they need. He tries but is crippled by his own pain and dense of loss which he refuses to verbalise.. A disturbed patient shows up unexpectedly at their house asking for help, ends up committing suicide and brings in a strange entity that preys on the family and like a psychic vampire leeches off their greatest suffering. The monster when it appears is quite effective, even terrifying but on prior scenes the dark corners where it lurks beforehand, barely glimpsed also work well. This film is based on a classic Stephen King story and carries more depth than such a trope normally would. The lives of the children, their father and the disturbed patient are explored, no cardboard characters here, Good performances all round. Directed by Rob Savage from a screenplay by Scott Beck, Bryan Woods and Mark Heyman. 8/10

In cinemas.
Is this a remake of the 1980 Boogeyman?
 
No. This is based on the 1973 short story by Stephen King,.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boogeyman_(short_story)
Reading the plot on wiki, I now remember the story. I usually remember SK's stories as I have read most of them, except the last ten years. I like King's earlier works and particularly his short stories better. The supernatural element rather than psychological. Though Misery and Dolores Claiborne were good.
 
Tin & Tina: No it's not about Tintin suffering from DID, it's a dark Spanish film with much of the horror being psychological, the violence mostly being off screen or suggested. It may (to some extent) also be an allegory about Spain emerging from it's Fascist past as the film opens in 1981 with Lola (Milena Smit) suffering a miscarriage, the attempted coup playing out on TV in the background. At her husband Adolfo's (Jaime Lorente) urging Lola agrees to adopt a baby but when she visits an orphanage she is attracted to 7 year old twins Tin (Carlos González Morollón) and Tina (Anastasia Russo) as hey play the church organ. They look like the kids from The Midwich Cuckoos which should have been an immediate warning, secondly Lola's pet dog is disturbed by the twins. Tin and Tina have been indoctrinated at the orphanage which is run by nuns who use a strict method of faith formation. The children have a very literal interpretation of Bible verses and put them into practice, Things gradually get stranger as the twins fanatical beliefs clash with their adoptive parents' secular attitudes. Does anything supernatural occur? It's open to debate, there are more prosaic explanations for some seemingly miraculous events. There are disturbing scenes which are made all the more concerning by the feeling of trepidation which builds up as the narrative unfolds. It's always good to see a bully get his comeuppance though. It would have been a better film (imo) if it had lost 15 minutes of it's 119 minute running time. Directed and written by Rubin Stein. On Netflix. 7/10.
 
HELD, 2021 on Prime, was last night's dose of psychological horror.

Unfaithful wife and her husband book up a weekend away at an isolated, luxurious house, in an attempt (supposedly) to spice up their flagging marriage. After a few drinks, they feel woozy and wake up to find some disturbing changes have occurred overnight. Worse still, a deep, robotic voice starts commanding them to commit certain actions and, if they refuse, a painful electric shock is administered courtesy of an electronic gizmo that has been surgically implanted behind their ears (no, I couldn't believe that either). When we catch a glimpse of the couple's tormentor, he is wearing what looks like a cross between a Michael Myers and a Purge mask, spray-painted black, presumably to make it scary.
OK, so far, so fairly effective, if a bit routine home invasion/domestic horror territory.
It all changes tack in the final quarter though and heads off into heavy-handed social commentary, which totally failed to convince.
For me, the combining factors of the twist of who is behind all the violence being pretty-well telegraphed from 15 minutes onwards, some dubious-looking day-for-night shots (thought those went out in the 70s?), implausible plot-holes and gross overuse of strobe effects (whenever anyone gets an electric shock - which is frequently), made ultimately for a rather disappointing film.
It was produced, written, and stars Jill Awbrey and, it has to be said, it feels rather like her vanity piece to compare with Michael Flatley's cringeworthy "Blackbird".
The house itself looks amazing and some of the arial shots are impressive but, overall, it's just a 3/10 from me.


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Beau Is Afraid: Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) has good reasons to be afraid, he was setting off to visit his mother (Patti LuPone) when everything started to go wrong. The night before he gets notes shoved under his door accusing him of making noise when neighbours are actually doing so. He sleeps in, rushes to catch his flight but his his keys and luggage are stolen. A mob of street people invade his apartment and he is then stabbed and chased by a naked serial killer and is struck by a vehicle. All of this occurs in the opening 15 minutes of the film and is not without it;s comic moments, Beau awakens in the home of the family who knocked him down, the pater familias being a surgeon he's on a drip. Shades of Misery ensue.

Beau's onward journey is convoluted as he encounters an travelling actors troupe in a forest along with crazed pursuers. His sanity as well as his life is at stake. People die horribly, commit suicide by drinking paint. Through flashbacks we learn how Beau became the man he is, still controlled by his distant mother. There are literally heart breaking scenes scattered throughout the movie. There is a story here but the moral of it is difficult to figure out as he Beau wanders through animated scenes and longs for a lost love from his childhood. His mother gradually begins to emerge as the domineering parent from Hell whilst his father is missing due to a fatal on the job accident. What is reality here and what is fantasy, drug induced visions or psychosis is open to question but the narrative somehow hangs together. Totally different in tone, imagery and influences from Hereditary and Midsommar, Beau will likely disappoint those who expect to see a film of the Folk Horror genre. But it's worth sticking with even if I may have to watch it a second time to figure everything out. Written, Directed, and Produced by Ari Aster. 8/10.

In cinemas.
Not reading the post yet coz I wanna go in cold. Loved both of Aster’s films thus far and Phoenix is a genius. Combo to draw me in. Going Wednesday.
 
Last night I watched a really funny movie, billed as horror, but is more a gruesome murder-mystery along the lines of Theatre of Death.

Arnold (1973)
Starts out with a woman marrying a corpse displayed vertically in his casket, and it gets weirder - and funnier - after that! Starring Roddy McDowall, Elsa Lanchester, and Jamie Farr among others.
It's a very American production, pretending to be set in Wales (complete with locals having unconvincing Welsh accents*), an utter lack of timing or reality, nonsensical plot.
I was tempted to put this on the Worst Movie thread, but it's not the worst I've seen by far, and it was actually funny. Not in the intended parts though - the village bobby never being able to stand his bicycle up wasn't a crowd-pleaser; the barmaid's low-cut, high thrusting decolletage was too obvious - especially with her mockney accent.
But actually mildly amusing to relieve boredom.

* Which is criminal, since the village copper is played by Bernard Fox - who was actually born in Glamorgan!
 
I posted this to the Ganzfeld thread earlier and thought I'd give the movie a try tonight on Prime.
Wish I hadn't bothered.
It does pay a modicum of lip-service to the Ganzfeld experiment, with 4 students trying to open their minds to ESP, using 1950s technical paraphernalia.
The possession element though persuades the girls to get horny and take their clothes off and the whole thing descends into not-particularly-stylish soft porn and repetitive scenes of drug-taking.
There is a scattering of hackneyed horror clichés thrown in too (blood running from a tap, lipstick messages appearing on a mirror, a room full of blood one moment, but empty the next, flitting shadows and jump-scare music etc.)
There is a revelation of sorts at the end and a couple of gory scenes, but I couldn't really care less by then and struggled to make it to the end of the 86 minutes (which felt much longer).
2/10


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...Well I’ve just booked my tickets for the 50th Anniversary release of The Wicker Man...it’s on a my local CineWorld ( other debt ridden multiplex chains are available) -never had the chance to see it on the big screen...Yey-!

Solid “ Classic” of the genre by any measure...

And the novel is actually even more descriptive, bleak and disturbing imho- so ticks all the boxes, too.
 
Beau Is Afraid: Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) has good reasons to be afraid, he was setting off to visit his mother (Patti LuPone) when everything started to go wrong. The night before he gets notes shoved under his door accusing him of making noise when neighbours are actually doing so. He sleeps in, rushes to catch his flight but his his keys and luggage are stolen. A mob of street people invade his apartment and he is then stabbed and chased by a naked serial killer and is struck by a vehicle. All of this occurs in the opening 15 minutes of the film and is not without it;s comic moments, Beau awakens in the home of the family who knocked him down, the pater familias being a surgeon he's on a drip. Shades of Misery ensue.

Beau's onward journey is convoluted as he encounters an travelling actors troupe in a forest along with crazed pursuers. His sanity as well as his life is at stake. People die horribly, commit suicide by drinking paint. Through flashbacks we learn how Beau became the man he is, still controlled by his distant mother. There are literally heart breaking scenes scattered throughout the movie. There is a story here but the moral of it is difficult to figure out as he Beau wanders through animated scenes and longs for a lost love from his childhood. His mother gradually begins to emerge as the domineering parent from Hell whilst his father is missing due to a fatal on the job accident. What is reality here and what is fantasy, drug induced visions or psychosis is open to question but the narrative somehow hangs together. Totally different in tone, imagery and influences from Hereditary and Midsommar, Beau will likely disappoint those who expect to see a film of the Folk Horror genre. But it's worth sticking with even if I may have to watch it a second time to figure everything out. Written, Directed, and Produced by Ari Aster. 8/10.

In cinemas.
Kaufman meets Lynch, yet it hasn't even got the stuff either would edit out. It was crap. Aster could have done this as a 9 minute short and impressed me more.
 
I saw Cold Skin the other night. Actually not a bad film, it reminded me a little of that lighthouse keeper film starring Willem Dafoe.
Some pretty good CGI and stunning location. It looked like a real lighthouse on a volcanic island.
Decent acting as well.
Would I recommend it? It's probably a 5 out of 10.
 
Well. I liked it!
I’m sure you’re not alone in that. It was one of the most irredeemably awful viewing experiences I’ve had in a long time. I just kept waiting and waiting and waiting for some kind of payoff, some resolution to all the relentless negative, but it never happened. Phoenix held it together like a trooper. He hasn’t had a bum performance, but it was a bummer of a role. I got a good laugh or two. I just didn’t get the joke. Maybe i just wasn’t in the mood or something.

In summary
Undistilled is how I would describe it. It ain’t no Ulysses. I don’t recommend this film.

Interested to hear if anyone else here found something in it (besides your good self, RM). Or indeed if anyone pushed as hard as I did into the third hour to see it through to the finish.
 
Mutant midges!

The dreaded biting Highland midge could be set for horror movie infamy.

Scottish crime novelist JD Kirk has pitched the concept of mutant flesh-eating midges to his readers. His fans' reaction to just a few lines of script and mocked-up movie stills has encouraged him to pursue the idea further. With fellow writer Alex Smith he hopes to work up a full script and eventually secure the backing needed for the film to be made.

Real-life biting midges are well-known to residents and visitors of Scotland, particularly the Highlands. They are often encountered on mild, damp summer evenings, and are the scourge of campers and hillwalkers.

Female midges gather in swarms of millions as they seek out a blood meal to feed their eggs, leaving many of their human "victims" with red, itchy sores.

"I think the real menace of the midge is that they are tiny and there are so many of them," said Fort William-based Kirk.

Mocked up still for Midges horror movie
IMAGE SOURCE, JD KIRK/MIDJOURNEY
Mocked up still for Midges horror movie
IMAGE SOURCE, JD KIRK/MIDJOURNEY
Mocked up still for Midges horror movie
IMAGE SOURCE, JD KIRK/MIDJOURNEY

After 10 years writing children's stories for publishers Harper Collins and Penguin, and stints writing comedy sci-fi and Beano comic storylines, Kirk has established himself as a crime writer with his DCI Jack Logan Highland police series.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-66064776
 
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