This Italian film concerns an acting troupe rehearsing a musical who find out that they are locked in their theatre with an actor cum serial killer who has escaped from a nearby psychiatric hospital. This Micheal Soavi-directed shocker is a banger from start to finish. I love that the characters are either bitchy, conniving, horny …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2024- Day 28- Stage Fright (1987)
After he is bitten by a giant poisonous killer snake, Jason Kincaid finds that he has a psychic bond with the reptile from hell. The premise of this film is like a foreshadowing of the future masterpiece Jaws The Revenge. There are other links with everyone's favourite shark in that Mr Snake likes to fling …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2024- Day 27- Spasms (1983)
A psycho black cat is on the prowl and killing people. Lucio Fulci 'freely adapts' Edgar Allan Poe's story. I never knew that Fulci had shot a film in Britain. And it's glorious! Beautifully shot by Sergio Salvati, this is one of the most picturesque Fulci movies I've ever seen. Add to proceedings a fantastic …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2024- Day 26- The Black Cat (1981)
A couple go camping in the woods. When they're advised not to go in a certain direction, obviously, they venture there. When they save a little girl's life, the girl's hillbilly father invites them to dine with him and stay in their tent on his land. The next morning they meet his son- who just …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2024- Day 25- Geek! (1986)
A woman living alone in a remote house in woodland feels like she's being watched and that someone may have invaded her home. A man calls around out of the blue to use her phone as his car has broken down. And so ensues a night of psychological sparring with the stranger who seems to …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2024- Day 24- The Caller (1987)
A couple are going through a divorce in Berlin. But this isn't Kramer vs Kramer. I know this plot summary is basic, to say the least, but a) once you see the film, you'll know why this plot has been reduced to one line, and b) I don't want to ruin any surprises for you. …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2024- Day 21- Possession (1981)
Newsreader Karen White has been maintaining regular contact with serial killer Eddie Quist, aka Eddie The Mangler. He arranges to meet her, and she agrees, albeit whilst she is monitored by the police so that they can catch him. The experience traumatises her to such an extent that Dr George Waggoner suggests that she goes …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2024- Day 20- The Howling (1981)
I first heard about Phantasm 2 through my love of Fangoria and Gorezone magazines, which I devoured religiously in the 80's and 90's. The stills from the film were so otherworldly, gory and darkly innovative that I couldn't wait to see the movie. When it was finally released in the UK, the first film wasn't …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2024- Day 19- Phantasm 2 (1988)
This Italian film was made before the trademark of the better-known Alien film was registered. After the success of Ridley Scott's movie, it was duly released as Alien 2. It may have been cheekily named as if it was a sequel to this film, but it wasn't. Cave explorers find more than they bargained for- …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2024- Day 17- Alien 2: On Earth (1980)
An American author wants to research Bali's black magic. She meets with a witch who promises to teach her. Mystics In Bali is, apparently, one of the influences of Wes Craven on his movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street. It's also batsh*t crazy! Wanna see a flying head with its spinal column still attached? Wanna …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2024- Day 16- Mystics in Bali (1981)
