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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Phantasm (1979) in Movies
Jun 25, 2021
Did I fully understand what happened during this wonderful fever dream nightmare? Absolutely not, but what I do know, is that Phantasm is so unique, brimming with wonderful cinematography, creepy as all hell, and has one of the best damn music scores I've ever heard in a horror film.
It's distinguishable aesthetic is complimented by its striking and mysterious villain, The Tall Man, played terrifyingly by Angus Scrimm. Throw in an army of hooded demonic minions, sentient severed fingers, a baseball-sized murderous fly, airborne death spheres that drill through the brain, and a portal to another planet, and the result is a beautifully crafted, if confusing, horror classic that deserves every ounce of it cult status.
Phantasm fucking slaps.
It's distinguishable aesthetic is complimented by its striking and mysterious villain, The Tall Man, played terrifyingly by Angus Scrimm. Throw in an army of hooded demonic minions, sentient severed fingers, a baseball-sized murderous fly, airborne death spheres that drill through the brain, and a portal to another planet, and the result is a beautifully crafted, if confusing, horror classic that deserves every ounce of it cult status.
Phantasm fucking slaps.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated The Mortuary Collection (2019) in Movies
Oct 16, 2020
The Mortuary Collection is the latest in a long line of Creepshow style horror anthology films, a particular sub genre that can be hard to pull off, but director Ryan Spindell rises to the challenge pretty damn well.
The short stories presented here escalate in tone and subject as the film progresses, starting off relatively fun, but getting increasingly darker and in depth. This is something that the characters comment on between the segments, showing a nice sense of self awareness, but not going over the top with it.
Some of the later stories are hard to watch at times, and are quite emotional in places, especially the one that features actress Sarah Hay as a woman in a vegetative state. It's a genuinely sad story, topped off with some fantastic creature design. An interesting mix to say the least.
The stories are all good in their own right, but are tied together with a clever twist and a satisfying conclusion.
The main character is Montgomery Dark played by a brilliant Clancy Brown. He has a proper Phantasm/Tall Man/Angus Scrimm vibe to him (definitely no accident) and is suitably creepy as this movie's story teller.
The film is pretty damn visceral, and employs both practical effects, and decent digital effects to achieve what it does. It's all looks disgustingly awesome. It also has a great music score by Mondo Boys to compliment all the creepiness.
I was pleasantly surprised by The Mortuary Collection. It's a good time, a competent anthology film, and well worth a watch for horror fans.
The short stories presented here escalate in tone and subject as the film progresses, starting off relatively fun, but getting increasingly darker and in depth. This is something that the characters comment on between the segments, showing a nice sense of self awareness, but not going over the top with it.
Some of the later stories are hard to watch at times, and are quite emotional in places, especially the one that features actress Sarah Hay as a woman in a vegetative state. It's a genuinely sad story, topped off with some fantastic creature design. An interesting mix to say the least.
The stories are all good in their own right, but are tied together with a clever twist and a satisfying conclusion.
The main character is Montgomery Dark played by a brilliant Clancy Brown. He has a proper Phantasm/Tall Man/Angus Scrimm vibe to him (definitely no accident) and is suitably creepy as this movie's story teller.
The film is pretty damn visceral, and employs both practical effects, and decent digital effects to achieve what it does. It's all looks disgustingly awesome. It also has a great music score by Mondo Boys to compliment all the creepiness.
I was pleasantly surprised by The Mortuary Collection. It's a good time, a competent anthology film, and well worth a watch for horror fans.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Wishmaster (1997) in Movies
Sep 25, 2020
Robert Kurtzman, Wes Craven, and Greg Nicotero - a match made in heaven surely? Not quite it turns out, but almost. For all it's cheesiness and cheap jump scares, Wishmaster is still a load of fun, with some fantastic practical effects and a handful of big name horror cameos.
The effects are what stand out the most - there are some shitty CGI moments spread about but the majority of the gory moments are practical and rightly disgusting. A mere two minutes in, some poor fuckers skeleton becomes sentient and rips out from his body. It's glorious. Other than that, Wishmaster coasts along on the strength of its villain, The Djinn, played by Andrew Divoff. He's suitably creepy both in human form and in full make up, and gives the film a whole heap of credit, even if the way he pronounces stuff becomes a little grating after a while.
Having Wes Craven as a producer clearly pays off, as multiple horror stalwarts pop up throughout the runtime - Robert Englund, Tony Todd, Kane Hodder, Ted Raimi - some top tier cameos for sure. Even Angus Scrimm pops up to do a bit of narrating!
Everything else is a little lackluster. The premise is ok, but full of holes, and the ending feels like a bit of a cop out, and lead actress Tammy Lauren just seems like she's in the wrong film for the most part.
Wishmaster unfortunately never manages to excel above it's ridiculous opening scene, and is pretty mediocre overall, but it still has a lot to offer to horror fans, and I can't help but enjoy it.
The effects are what stand out the most - there are some shitty CGI moments spread about but the majority of the gory moments are practical and rightly disgusting. A mere two minutes in, some poor fuckers skeleton becomes sentient and rips out from his body. It's glorious. Other than that, Wishmaster coasts along on the strength of its villain, The Djinn, played by Andrew Divoff. He's suitably creepy both in human form and in full make up, and gives the film a whole heap of credit, even if the way he pronounces stuff becomes a little grating after a while.
Having Wes Craven as a producer clearly pays off, as multiple horror stalwarts pop up throughout the runtime - Robert Englund, Tony Todd, Kane Hodder, Ted Raimi - some top tier cameos for sure. Even Angus Scrimm pops up to do a bit of narrating!
Everything else is a little lackluster. The premise is ok, but full of holes, and the ending feels like a bit of a cop out, and lead actress Tammy Lauren just seems like she's in the wrong film for the most part.
Wishmaster unfortunately never manages to excel above it's ridiculous opening scene, and is pretty mediocre overall, but it still has a lot to offer to horror fans, and I can't help but enjoy it.