I remember being traumatised by the poster for The Fog before I actually saw the film. We had driven past The Odeon in York and I briefly glanced at it. As this was just a glance I thought I saw a woman lying in bed with a ghostly hand reaching out to grab her. I …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 5- The Fog (1980)
‘After moving in a new apartment, Leigh Michaels receives mysterious phone calls and gifts. She approaches the police but unsatisfied with their investigation, she decides to tackle the matter herself.’ I remember watching this on TV and it scaring the crap out of me. On rewatching it, it still had the same effect. This was …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 4- Someone’s Watching Me! (1978)
I remember the first time I saw Halloween on VHS in the late 80’s here in the UK. It was in pan-and-scan, and hence not the perfect format to watch a film that used the frame so brilliantly. But I’d learn that as the film would be released in widescreen on VHS, then DVD, then …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 3- Halloween (1978)
It's 1990. I'm tuning into the excellent Moviedrome series of films on BBC2 with each cult film in the series being introduced by director Alex Cox. The film being shown that night was John Carpenter's second feature film Assault on Precinct 13, his reworking of Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo and my mind was blown. I …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 2- Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
A motley crew work in space aboard the dilapidated vessel, Dark Star as they destroy unstable planets to make way for future colonisation. John Carpenter’s debut is ripe with stoner humour, perceptive insight (yes, even in space you can hate your job) and a delightfully minuscule budget. Whatever they were partaking in whilst making this …
Continue reading John Carpenter Reviewed- Day 1- Dark Star (1974)
A Dirty Shame concerns Sylvia Stickles, a sexually repressed and frigid woman. That's until she sustains a concussion during an accident and becomes horny beyond all expectations. I hated A Dirty Shame when I saw it on its first release. Twenty years later and I find a DVD copy of the film selling for 50 …
Continue reading John Waters Reviewed- Day 11- A Dirty Shame (2004)
What happens when an amateur photographer is ‘discovered’ by the New York elites and becomes an overnight sensation? Pecker feels like a more (don’t take this the wrong way) adult John Waters film. This doesn’t mean that he’s suddenly become Woody Allen, but instead of the most extreme shock elements being exploited to the hilt, …
Continue reading John Waters Reviewed- Day 10- Pecker (1998)
From Google- ‘Beverly Sutphin, a suburban housewife, is the perfect example of an ideal mother. Unbeknownst to her family, Beverly is a psychopathic killer who murders all those who slight her family in any manner’. When Serial Mom was first released, I went to see it three times. Then I left to go and live …
Continue reading John Waters Reviewed- Day 9- Serial Mom (1994)
What happens when a ‘drape’ (a juvenile delinquent) falls in love with a ‘square’? This is the basis for this John Waters movie, his first in the 90’s. After the success of Hairspray, everything was thrown at Cry Baby which boasted the highest budget for one of Waters’ films so far, a subject matter that …
Continue reading John Waters Reviewed- Day 8- Cry Baby (1990)
‘Pleasantly plump’ teenager Tracy Turnblad auditions for a spot on the local Baltimore dance show, The Corny Collins Show. But she’s horrified to see that the show is racially segregated and plans to remedy this. There’s a reason for the gap of 7 years since 1981’s Polyester- Waters was trying (and failing) to secure funding …
Continue reading John Waters Reviewed- Day 7- Hairspray (1988)
Meathook Cinema 