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Category Archives: Reviews
Experiment in Terror (1962)
As someone only familiar with Blake Edwards through his colourful comedies and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Experiment in Terror was especially surprising. In total contrast to those movies, this film is truly, deeply sinister. The unravelling mystery at the centre is … Continue reading
Dracula (1931)
I know this is a “classic” but this is bad. No atmosphere. No sense of threat, tension or peril. Lugosi is hammy as hell. Kinda stupid overall. Even for 1931, this is poor. Look at Whale’s direction on Frankenstein then watch this. … Continue reading
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The Big Heat (1953)
Fritz Lang’s seminal American noir The Big Heat begins with a man blowing his brains out and only descends further into the black from there. Anchored by a pin-sharp screenplay full of sassy dames, thugs and augmented by Lang’s roaming … Continue reading
Forbidden Zone (1980)
Imagine Crumb’s artwork brought to life by John Waters and that’s the realm that Richard Elfman’s gleefully, irritatingly grotesque Forbidden Zone occupies. Shot in black and white among painted cardboard backdrops for sets and featuring a merry band of misfits … Continue reading
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Tagged 1980, Danny Elfman, Herve Villechaize, Richard Elfman, Susan Tyrell
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Seeding of a Ghost (1983)
“Your wife’s spirit will now have sex with him. Let’s stay away.” Another batshit Shaw Bros experience. Where to start? Well, for the first hour or so this is pretty much business as usual; ghosts, curses, adultery, colourfully back-lit mist and … Continue reading
Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)
Nowhere near as satisfying as the first Dr. Phibes. It basically suffers from the frequent sequel problem of “same formula, same ingredients, minimal variation”. Still, I appreciate the continuity in cast and director and the production design is even bigger … Continue reading
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
Vincent Price plays an organ-playing surgeon hell-bent on avenging his wife’s death and his own disfigurement by inventively murdering the doctors responsible. Equipped with the ten plagues of Egypt for inspiration, a band of robots (literally, as in instrument-playing robots) … Continue reading
Psycho (1960)
Despite that clunky exposition dump at the end and lots of driving shots with voice-over (this could easily be hacked down to a lean, mean 90 mins), Psycho is still the grandaddy. It’s all in the little things too, like when the … Continue reading
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Room (2015)
I’m dumb. In my original review I sort of bemoaned that the entire film didn’t take place solely in the titular room and that everything following their escape was kinda forgettable. On the contrary, whenever I’ve thought of Room in the year … Continue reading
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"This Film Should Be Played Loud" 