August 2011
**= Monthly Favourites (updated as I get round to viewing them)
= Link to the Internet Movie Database
= Link to more information
DVDr
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
SCREAM 4 (2011)
Wes Craven
Blu-ray copy of this fairly decent entry into the series which is definitely the goriest of the lot
**SUPER (2010)
James Gunn
Very entertaining & funny comedy action drama in which a geeky guy becomes a superhero with no super powers – but he does have a big spanner!
THE WARD (2010)
John Carpenter
Blu-ray copy of this thriller centered on an institutionalized young woman who becomes terrorized by a ghost
QUARENTINE 2: TERMINAL (2011)
John Pogue
Nothing special but very watchable horror in which infected airline passengers attack each other
YELLOWBRICKROAD (2010)
Jesse Holland & Andy Mitton
Horror with quite an original story to tell & scores points for trying to be different
VANISHING ON 7th STREET (2010)
Brad Anderson
The population of Detroit has almost completely disappeared, but a few remain. As daylight disappears they realize that the Dark is coming for them
CHATROOM (2010)
Hideo Nakata
Strangely conceptualized thriller highlighting the dangers of sharing secrets with strangers in cyberspace
**POOLBOY: DROWNING OUT THE FURY (2011)
Garrett Brawith
Portrayed as an unreleased film from 1990 this over-the-top comedy action romp kinda spoofs revenge flicks like Machete & Hobo With a Shotgun
HESHER (2010)
Spencer Susser
Highly rated & well reviewed dark comedy drama
CINEMA OF DEATH (1987)
5 Short Films
Compilation of some extreme films featuring raw, poetic, explosive images that will enter into and linger on in the subconscious
**STAKE LAND (2010)
Jim Mickle
Like Zombieland but with mutant vampires. Damn good horror set in an apocalyptic wasteland inhabited by blood thirsty vampires
WRECKED (2011)
Michael Greenspan
Pretty good horror thriller with a man trapped in a car wreck & no memory of how he got there
ZOMBIE DIARIES 2: WORLD OF THE DEAD (2011)
Michael Bartlett & Kevin Gates
Passable low budget zombie flick shot documentary style
DRIVE-IN HORRORSHOW (2009)
Michael Neel
Low budget but good fun compendium of gory horror tales – plenty of VERY cheap gore (especially in the last 3 stories)
**THE TRAIL OF THE SCREAMING FOREHEAD (2007)
Larry Blamire
The makers of the Lost Skeleton films do a spoof of 1950’s sci-fi alien monster movies in a very entertainingly silly way
**RITUALS (1977)
Peter Carter
Code Red DVD release of this decent psycho in the woods stalk & slash shocker
**PIRANHA (1978)
Joe Dante
Classic spoofy horror gets a Special 30th Anniversary release
THE KEEP (1983)
Michael Mann
Nazis guard a citadel that harbors a dangerous force that starts wreaking havoc and death upon them – unofficial release but DVD quality
**MARTIN (1977)
George A. Romero
2 disc Arrow release with a Fullscreen ‘open matte’ version & widescreen version on disc 1. Disc 2 has the Italian version called Wampyr with a Goblin soundtrack & English subtitles
POLICE STORY 3: SUPERCOP (1992)
Stanley Tong
Jackie Chan throws himself at trains & helicopters in this English dubbed action flick
BLOOD MANIA (1970)
Robert Vincent O’Neil
A sex-crazed nympho helps speed along her father's death so she can use the inheritance to help out her depraved boyfriend
OBLIVION (1994)
Sam Irvin
Kinda bonkers Cowboys vs Aliens cheesy sci-fi western comedy horror stuff
OBLIVION 2: BACKLASH (1996)
Sam Irvin
More of the same but with extra cheese
**THURSDAY (1998)
Skip Woods
Very entertaining & darkly comical thriller with mucho sex, violence & drugs
**THE FURY (1978)
Brian De Palma
Fast paced & compelling telekinesis horror/thriller with plenty of over the top set pieces including a spectacular exploding body
ASIAN LANGUAGE
HANSEL & GRETEL (2007)
Pil-Sung Yim
Very well reviewed horror loosely based on the dark & twisted fairytale
DETECTIVE DEE: MYSTERY OF THE PHANTOM FLAME (2010)
Hark Tsui
A special effects spectacular from the legendary director
ALONE (2007)
Banjong Pisanthanakun & Parkpoom Wongpoom
Deceased Siamese twin returns to haunt surviving sister
****COLD FISH (2010)
Shion Sono
Extreme drama thriller with flashes of violence & gore amidst the bleak psychological horror – a damn fine movie!!
A SNAKE OF JUNE (2002)
Shinya Tsukamoto
Brian De Palma-styled "erotic thriller", with typical Asian horror dream logic sensibilities and spurts of Terry Gilliam-inspired surrealism
OTHER LANGUAGES
PREY (2010)
Antoine Blossier
Decent French horror thriller with pigs gone mad in the woods – very atmospheric with proper practical effects not crappy CGI
AUSCHWITZ (2011)
Uwe Boll
Dark depressing controversial & possibly offensive film that combines dramatization & documentary
THE REAL CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1974)
Akira Ide
Mondo movie sicko
THE PACK aka LA MEUTE (2010)
Franck Richard
A pack of blood lusting ghouls needs to be fed & mother is on the lookout for ‘meat’
CAPTAIN BERLIN vs HITLER (2009)
George Buttgereit
German comedy (?) stage play shot on film & jazzed up a bit in post-production – some extra features have subtitles, some don’t…
MR 73 (2008)
Olivier Marchal
Highly rated harrowing French police crime drama
CONVERTED TO DVD
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
UNCUT (2009)
Philip West
Set in a theatre this horror thriller actually comes across as more of a play than a movie & the whole thing was shot in one take!
**HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP (1996)
Jeff Yonis
TV Remake of the 1980 monster flick – this is available on DVD in a CUT version. This version is the UNCUT TV broadcast aired in the USA in 1996. Picture isn’t DVD quality but it’s pretty decent considering…
DREAMANIAC (1986)
David DeCoteau
DeCoteau’s first non-porn film (look him up on IMDB – he’s responsible for a huge mountain of shite!). His porn roots show through in this cheesy horror with loads of nudity – picture quality is a bit murky
ALBERT FISH: IN SIN HE FOUND SALVATION (2007)
John Borowski
Horrific true story (documentary) of elderly cannibal, sadomasochist & serial killer, who lured children to their deaths in Depression-era New York City
APHRODISIAC: THE SEXUAL SECRETS OF MARIJUANA (1971)
Dennis Van Zak
42 minute documentary – the title says it all really!!
ASIAN LANGUAGE
NEIGHBOUR ZOMBIE (2010)
Young-Geun Hong
A series of short films from four different directors, all of them set in the aftermath of a zombie outbreak in Seoul
KESURUPAN (2008)
Rizal Mantovani
Indonesian possession horror
OTHER LANGUAGES
**SECUESTRADOS aka KIDNAPPED (2010)
Miguel Angel Vivas
Excellent & VERY brutal Spanish home invasion horror thriller
SOMBRE (1998)
Phillipe Grandrieux
Surreal & disturbing or pointless & pretentious?? I dunno cos I ain’t seen it yet but it definitely sounds different!
TERROR A LA MUERTE (1989)
Ruben Gonzalez
Very hard to find copy of this crap-fest featuring kung-fu zombies with chainsaws & a killer bear & some ridiculously bad acting – picture quality is kinda too much brightness & not enough contrast
VHS RIPS
TERROR, SEX & WITCHCRAFT (1989)
Raphael Portillo
Aka Terror, sexo y brujería – Satanic pacts, possession & ghostly revenge abound in this rare oddity from Mexico
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD WORKPRINT (1990)
Tom Savini
Allegedly this is taken from a copy of a tape pinched from Tom Savini’s house. It features extended scenes & a different score to the retail release. Picture quality is quite poor but compares favorably to other workprints
FAN-EDITS
LEGION: EXORCIST 3 (1990)
William Peter Blatty
This version is more in line with what the director wanted before studio interference
**TRANCERS (ENHANCED EDITION) (1985)
Charles Band
One of the most enjoyable B-movies ever made. The time travel plot & "fish-out-of-water" aspects make it similar to the "Terminator," but with a lower budget & more humor – this laser disc copy is much better quality than any official DVD release