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Reviews
The Black Phone (2021)
Impressive Acting
The Black Phone holds together due to the impressive performances by the two young leads as a brother and sister duo who look out for each other. It's not very scary in the traditional sense, but there's a few good suspense moments.
Martyrs (2008)
Will Mess Up Your Whole Week
Martyrs is a brutal and visceral experience unlike any other and, given your mileage, you might want to wait for a more relaxing time in your life to watch it, because it's bound to leave you thinking about it for days afterwards. I'm still having trouble shaking it. Very violent, very gory, but also heartfelt and carrying some sort of message.
Fade to Black (1980)
An Ok Slasher/Thriller
Dennis Christopher plays a film nerd who becomes obsessed with a Marilyn Monroe lookalike and takes revenge on everyone who's done him wrong by dressing up like his favorite film characters and killing them. It's a much more exciting concept than film, but Christopher is never less than watchable and keeps the viewer invested right until the very end.
Night of the Comet (1984)
Who Knew The End of the World Could Be This Fun?
Two valley girl sisters end up being the only members of their family who survive a world-ending comet disaster and they try their best to make due with what they have including empty shopping malls where they can shop til they drop, evil scientists, and strange zombie-like creatures. Night of the Comet is a great mix of horror, sci-fi, and lighthearted comedy blended to entertaining perfection and anchored by the joyful performances of Catherine Mary Stewart and Kelli Maroney as the two lead sisters.
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990)
Entertaining Anthology
A great wraparound story with Debbie Harry as a child-eating witch sets the tone of this mostly solid anthology featuring the likes of Julianne Moore, Christian Slater, and Steve Buscemi. There are mummies, evil cats, and love-hungry gargoyles to cater to just about each and every type of horror fan out there.
Dressed to Kill (1980)
Visually Stunning Suspense
A bored housewife, a prostitute, and a psychiatrist get mixed up in a murder investigation thanks to the psychiatrist's dangerous patient. There are elements in this that could be considered problematic these days, but as pure cinema goes, Dressed to Kill is brilliant. So much is told visually without dialogue, especially in the opening act of the movie, and De Palma proves himself to be a master visual storyteller. The story is a bit derivative, but the film has a sense of humor about it.
Phantasm (1979)
Surreal Supernatural Horror
Phantasm is one of those rare films that defies any traditional description. There's a story, but it's low on plot and the whole film is best taken in the same way you'd take in a strange dream. Two brothers and their friend discover that a local mortuary is doing something unsavory with the corpses being brought in and that decide to get to the bottom of things with frightening results. The low budget only helps give the film a unique and bizarre quality.
Body Double (1984)
Solid De Palma Thriller
Body Double might not be as exciting as some of De Palma's other works, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth seeing. His camera is still never standing still for long and Pino Donaggio's lush score underscore this lurid tale of an out of work actor who's housesitting job puts him in contact with a mysterious woman across the street who's being stalked by a killer. De Palma borrows from Rear Window and Vertigo most heavily, but adds a lot of modern 80's style and uses it to explore the adult film industry where the audience is introduced to a delightful Melanie Griffith as a no-nonsense adult film star.
Hellraiser (1987)
Clive Barker's Wild World
Clive Barker's first attempt at the world of filmmaking isn't without its flaws and, sometimes, the budget and lack of filmmaking experience shows through, but he has such a strong vision and is so great at world building that these flaws are easy to overlook. He weaves a delectable and disturbing tale of marital infidelity and sexual passion that turns deadly as a repressed housewife kills strange men to bring back her favorite lover who just so happens to be her brother-in-law who just so happens to be running from a bunch of scary demons who want to drag him back to Hell for daring to open a mysterious puzzle box. It's a complicated and well-orchestrated plot with some unforgettable visuals.
The Seduction (1982)
Falls in the Middle
Morgan Fairchild plays an L. A. anchorwoman stalked by Andrew Stevens' deranged fan who breaks into her home and attacks her friends to prove his love to her. The Seduction walks an unsteady jaunt between sleaze and classy thriller, never really leaning too much into one lane to be truly satisfying. The thrills are minimal and the sleaze isn't ever over the top enough to make it a memorable exploitation film. It's beautifully shot and Fairchild does well with the lead role, but you'll wish it took a few more big risks.
Quella villa accanto al cimitero (1981)
Gory Mix of Supernatural and Slasher
The House By the Cemetery won't be remembered for having a great screenplay, but the visuals are striking and production values are higher than usual for a film of this sort with the filmmakers getting a lot of mileage out of the creepy main location and some really gnarly special effects. The major minus is the annoying dubbing for the lead child actor which can grate the nerves after a few minutes.
Terror in the Aisles (1984)
Fun Sampler Platter of Horror
For those who are looking to get into horror, Terror in the Aisles is a great sampler of some of the greatest horror/thriller films made pre-1984. In that sense, it's a bit dated and missing all of the great films that have been released since, but it's a well edited and always entertaining compilation of classics like Jaws, Halloween, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre mixed with less obvious additions such as Ms. 45 and Vice Squad.
La casa dalle finestre che ridono (1976)
Lots of Creepy Mood
With a relaxed pace and a lot of ominous mood, The House With the Laughing Windows is a real creep fest of a movie. The desolate villages, ominous buildings in big open fields, and unsettling religious imagery all add up to a unique, if slow, horror experience.
Il rosso segno della follia (1970)
A Wedding to Die For
Mario Bava's slasher/thriller is an early attempt at American Psycho-esque character study as we see everything from the perspective of our demented anti-hero. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but there's always a lot of that trademark Bava style and even little dark humor.
Ms .45 (1981)
Brilliant Revenge Tale
A mute seamstress is attacked multiple times in one day and suffers a mental collapse. And starts targeting random men to satisfy her need for revenge. Zoe Tamerlis is astounding in a completely silent role and she conveys so much with her eyes and body language. Ms. 45 is a gritty, at times, uncomfortable feminist parable about the dangers of life in the big city.
Don't Panic (1987)
Mexican Nightmare on Elm Street?
Don't Panic borrows elements of A Nightmare on Elm Street, Witchboard, and a few others to create a mostly forgettable, but sometimes entertaining slasher film. There's an innocent game involving a ouija board that ends up unleashing an evil spirit that possesses a teenager and causes a series of gory murders. That's about it, but the film isn't too long, so it's tolerable.
The Devils (1971)
Outrageous, Offensive, and Fantastic
There's really no other filmmaker like Ken Russell. He goes for broke every time even if it's not the most subtle or socially acceptable thing to do and The Devils is easily his most confrontational and controversial of his work which is really saying something. Big stars such as Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave give brave performances as they're required to do all sorts of shocking and sacreligious things.
Sisters (1972)
Great Early De Palma Thriller
Even with his first thriller, it was clear that Brian De Palma had a flair for complex and suspenseful filmmaking. This early attempt at Hitchcock appropriation borrows a bit from Psycho (especially in one particularly vicious knife attack), but feels fresh and modern for its time. Margot Kidder is excellent as the two demented twins and Jennifer Salt is a wonderful audience surrogate as the stressed reporter wanting to get to the bottom of this. There's a great split screen suspense sequence that shows how effective that technique can be when used correctly.
Dolls (1986)
Short and Very Sweet
Many horror films have a habit of outstaying their welcome and adding too much padding to extend the runtime, but Dolls doesn't have this problem at all. They know what they want to say, say it quickly, and with style. On the surface, it seems to be another generic killer doll movie, but this one has a lot of heart and sweetness underneath all the creepy doll effects and gory murders.
Society (1989)
Original and Creative
Society might not have the most interesting characters or best script, but the ideas and concepts are daring, innovative, and unlike anything that's come before it or since. In the film, a rich teenager starts to think he has little in common with his status-obsessed family and friends and he's right, because they might be cannibalistic monsters. The special effects are out of this world and the last act is a triumph of ingenuity and darkly comic gross out gags.
Il gatto dagli occhi di giada (1977)
Similar to Deep Red
The filmmakers must have really enjoyed Dario Argento's Deep Red, because Watch Me When I Kill really reminded me of that film throughout. The music score sounds very Goblin inspired and the lead actress even looks a bit like Daria Nicolodi in certain lights. The twists get to be a little bit much and it ends on a rather sad, somber note, but some of the stalk set pieces are pretty good.
Violación fatal (1978)
Predictable
Trauma is very similar to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho in that we're given an outsider who shows up to a strange secluded hotel where the owner has a big secret and people are getting murdered. For a European horror film, it's low on style and gore and feels more like a cheapo exploitation film from the U. S. around that time. There's not enough insanity to make it a worthwhile watch except for completeists.
Last Night in Soho (2021)
Edgar Wright's Euro Horror Homage
It's obvious that Edgar Wright loves European horror films of the 60's and 70's and he's created an interesting story to hang all these homages on while still creating something interesting and unique of his own. The film can get repetitive in its second half where its unhinged fashion designer heroine is chased by ghouls everywhere she goes, but it builds to a fittingly fun finale.
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
De Palma's Phantom of the Opera
Director Brian De Palma has fun reinventing the classic Phantom of the Opera story by setting it in the wacky world of 70's rock where a song writer is abused by the higher ups around him until he's ultimately disfigured and left for dead and returns to have vengeance on all those who wronged him and create music for his muse. Performances are spirited, the cinematography pops, and the music by Paul Williams is very catchy and listenable.
Deadly Embrace (1989)
Slow
A typically cheap David DeCoteau production that was shot in 5 days, but without any of the campy fun of some of his other works like Nightmare Sisters or Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama. It's a competently made erotic thriller, but lacking any real style or narrative slow. Nudity fans get a good amount of equal opportunity skin from both men and women, but the script feels like it was written on the spot and all the actors seem like they're reading from a teleprompter.