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Lenard (726 KP) rated 3 From Hell (2019) in Movies
Sep 23, 2019
After the deadly shootout in The Devil's Rejects, the Rejects miraculously survive and face trial. All three are given the death penalty or life sentences. Due to SId Haig's health, Captain Spaulding does not a huge part, but his performance is still extremely memorable. Otis Driftwood takes center stage as he regathers his family after a massacre leading to his escape from prison. On the run, Otis, Baby, and Wolfman (don't ask) hide out in a Mexican town because they love killing people for sport. Anyway, director Rob Zombie once again crafts a love letter to 70s exploitation films even if he never intended to make another chapter to the House of 1000 Corpses series.
Cypriot Cinemas: Memory, Conflict, and Identity in the Margins of Europe
Costas Constandinides and Yiannis Papadakis
Book
Cyprus, the idyllic "island of Aphrodite," is better known as a site of conflict and division...
Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)
8.0
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As Australian cinema broke through to international audiences in the 1970s through respected art...
Drive in Australian
American Independent Cinema: Second Edition
Book
This introduction to American Independent Cinema offers both a comprehensive industrial and economic...
EV
Escape Velocity: American Science Fiction Film, 1950-1982
Book
Today, movie theaters are packed with audiences of all ages marveling to exciting science fiction...
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Lost Continent (1968) in Movies
May 9, 2021
Highly entertaining but impossible to categorise piece of nonsense from Hammer Films. Starts off looking like a bad melodrama as a freighter sets off from Sierra Leone with a combustible mix of lost souls in the ship's saloon, and an even more combustible cargo of white phosphorous in the hold. The various characters doggedly try to get on with telling each other their back-stories even as the crew is mutinying, the ship is sinking, sharks and giant octopuses are attacking, carnivorous sea-weed is snarling the propellors and fanatical descendants of the Spanish Inquisition are clambering over the side intent on dragging them off to be sacrificed.
One does have to wonder what anyone involved was thinking (the chief culprit, perhaps unsurprisingly, is long-serving Hammer executive Michael Carreras, who was a good producer but not so good at anything else), but the actors attack the ridiculous material with admirable gravitas and the set dressing is decent. It at least hits all the necessary exploitation movie beats (plenty of badly-realised monsters, low-octane action and scantily-clad women), and is very funny, albeit not intentionally. Possibly one of the worst films ever made, certainly the weirdest thing Hammer ever did; rated highly for entertainment value, not actual quality.
One does have to wonder what anyone involved was thinking (the chief culprit, perhaps unsurprisingly, is long-serving Hammer executive Michael Carreras, who was a good producer but not so good at anything else), but the actors attack the ridiculous material with admirable gravitas and the set dressing is decent. It at least hits all the necessary exploitation movie beats (plenty of badly-realised monsters, low-octane action and scantily-clad women), and is very funny, albeit not intentionally. Possibly one of the worst films ever made, certainly the weirdest thing Hammer ever did; rated highly for entertainment value, not actual quality.
Darren Fisher (2447 KP) rated 13 Dolls In Darkness (2017) in Movies
Jul 24, 2022
I have been an obsessive fan of horror films since I was a kid in the 70's. Brought up on Hammer and Universal monster films it wasn't long before I delved into pre-cert exploitation films and that is where my preference has been ever since.
Over the last 20 years I have felt that the horror genre hasn't really offered it's fans anything new (bar a few exceptions). Having been left despondent, disappointed and bored senseless by the over-saturation of remakes, reboots and just plain dull horror fare, it comes with great surprise that a black and white silent film from Australia would be the breath of fresh air that the horror genre desperately needs.
The plot of 13 Dolls is pretty straightforward. Marjorie receives a letter from her ailing mother to return home after a 13 year absence. On her return home Marjorie realises that things are not what they seem...
Written and directed by the talented Zeda Mรผller, this is a film that demands your attention from the start. With its eerie score and moody camerawork it sets a very atmospheric and claustrophobic feel to proceedings. It's a great take on the 'old dark house' horrors of a bygone era, Robert Wiene and Tod Brownings early work springs to mind... yet draws on influences from the likes of Dario Argento, Mario Bava's gothic horrors, giallo and slasher films (there are some nicely placed references for the sharp-eyed viewer). The fact that this is a silent film (I'll get to the score in a bit) actually works in its favour. Gone are the usual mundane dialogue pieces that fill out most horror films these days and the viewer is reintroduced to dialogue cards when required to move the story along. This also means that the actors are given room to act through expression and emotion and they all do a sterling job.
The masterstroke of 13 Dolls though is the excellent use of camerawork and soundtrack. The soundtrack is interspliced with sound effects (church bells, howling wind, dripping taps etc) and moody piano/tension building synths, all used to full sensory effect. The footage and score intertwine brilliantly together and I found some scenes genuinely eerie and creepy (a rare feeling for me whilst watching a new film these days).
Overall 13 Dolls is a mesmerising experience, interspersed with some cleverly executed gore scenes, and at a scant 75 minutes long, it motors along at a cracking pace.
So, you have probably guessed that I liked this film a lot. I highly recommend checking it out, especially if you are looking for something different. It's a great film and I for one am looking forward to Zeda Mรผller & Co's next venture...!
Over the last 20 years I have felt that the horror genre hasn't really offered it's fans anything new (bar a few exceptions). Having been left despondent, disappointed and bored senseless by the over-saturation of remakes, reboots and just plain dull horror fare, it comes with great surprise that a black and white silent film from Australia would be the breath of fresh air that the horror genre desperately needs.
The plot of 13 Dolls is pretty straightforward. Marjorie receives a letter from her ailing mother to return home after a 13 year absence. On her return home Marjorie realises that things are not what they seem...
Written and directed by the talented Zeda Mรผller, this is a film that demands your attention from the start. With its eerie score and moody camerawork it sets a very atmospheric and claustrophobic feel to proceedings. It's a great take on the 'old dark house' horrors of a bygone era, Robert Wiene and Tod Brownings early work springs to mind... yet draws on influences from the likes of Dario Argento, Mario Bava's gothic horrors, giallo and slasher films (there are some nicely placed references for the sharp-eyed viewer). The fact that this is a silent film (I'll get to the score in a bit) actually works in its favour. Gone are the usual mundane dialogue pieces that fill out most horror films these days and the viewer is reintroduced to dialogue cards when required to move the story along. This also means that the actors are given room to act through expression and emotion and they all do a sterling job.
The masterstroke of 13 Dolls though is the excellent use of camerawork and soundtrack. The soundtrack is interspliced with sound effects (church bells, howling wind, dripping taps etc) and moody piano/tension building synths, all used to full sensory effect. The footage and score intertwine brilliantly together and I found some scenes genuinely eerie and creepy (a rare feeling for me whilst watching a new film these days).
Overall 13 Dolls is a mesmerising experience, interspersed with some cleverly executed gore scenes, and at a scant 75 minutes long, it motors along at a cracking pace.
So, you have probably guessed that I liked this film a lot. I highly recommend checking it out, especially if you are looking for something different. It's a great film and I for one am looking forward to Zeda Mรผller & Co's next venture...!
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Planet Terror (2007) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020 (Updated Sep 20, 2020)
*Examining mutilated corpse*
"๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฐ-๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ"
"๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ?"
"๐๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ."
A nasty, gushing open wound of a movie - real gnarly dirtbag exploitation on display and easily one of the dopest film heroines ever put on screen. The American military as a grotesque, deformed monster of its former self - shambling around causing havoc in its wake, using its past achievements to justify its new warped existence. Also cool lady has machine gun for leg. Plants its sickness firmly into the ground before the zombies even start showing up, and then we get those reliably exemplary Nicotero effects - and they sure aren't afraid to use them. Dear God almighty is there a *lot* of blood, pus, rotting flesh, and guts in this and it all looks top-notch. Even by this genre's standards this leans hard into depraved splatfest mode. The last thirty minutes are seriously some of the best that cinema has ever created - and every Tarantino scene is the sort of masterclass revolting slime that makes you feel physically sick. The type of movie Rodriguez was born to direct - orgasmically evocative of the ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ era of gorecore films while also totally remaining its own thing with a formidable vigor and sense of self. Prestige filth.
"๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ด ๐ญ๐ช๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ฏ๐ฐ-๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ"
"๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ?"
"๐๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ."
A nasty, gushing open wound of a movie - real gnarly dirtbag exploitation on display and easily one of the dopest film heroines ever put on screen. The American military as a grotesque, deformed monster of its former self - shambling around causing havoc in its wake, using its past achievements to justify its new warped existence. Also cool lady has machine gun for leg. Plants its sickness firmly into the ground before the zombies even start showing up, and then we get those reliably exemplary Nicotero effects - and they sure aren't afraid to use them. Dear God almighty is there a *lot* of blood, pus, rotting flesh, and guts in this and it all looks top-notch. Even by this genre's standards this leans hard into depraved splatfest mode. The last thirty minutes are seriously some of the best that cinema has ever created - and every Tarantino scene is the sort of masterclass revolting slime that makes you feel physically sick. The type of movie Rodriguez was born to direct - orgasmically evocative of the ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ช๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ณ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ era of gorecore films while also totally remaining its own thing with a formidable vigor and sense of self. Prestige filth.
Rock 'n' Film: Cinema's Dance with Popular Music
Book
Rock 'N' Film presents a cultural history of films about US and British rock music during the period...