Female SS officer and twisted doctor, SS Kratsch (what a great name for an evil character) has developed a genetically engineered half-man, half-maniac (think a cross between Ralphus from Bloodsucking Freaks and the real-life serial killer Fred West) who is fed a diet of 'mega-aphrodisiacs' which meets that his libido is through the roof and …
Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 1- Day 5- The Beast In Heat (1977)
A trio of murderous mobsters take refuge in a farmhouse that houses a young girl, Lisa and her wheelchair-bound grandfather. There must have been something in the water when Axe was made as I see a lot of similarities between it and Wes Craven's Last House on the Left. Both are gritty, low-budget to the …
Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 1- Day 3- Axe (1974)
A group of tourists explore the Greek Islands. Unfortunately, someone or something starts bumping them off. There's so much to love about Joe D'Amato's Anthropophagus The Beast. Firstly, it delivers. The film's reputation is one of extreme gore and about it being utterly disgusting. And, thankfully, it is, which is perfect for horror fans. How …
Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 1- Day 2- Anthropophagus The Beast (1980)
Absurd opens with lead character, Nikos Tanoupoulos, being pursued by a priest. Nikos tries to climb over a wrought iron fence but accidentally impales himself on the spikes on top of the fence and is rushed to hospital. As he seems to get over his surgery and injuries in record time, it is established that, …
Continue reading The Video Nasties Reviewed- Section 1- Day 1- Absurd (1981)
A leather-gloved serial killer is on the loose in Rome, but David Hemming's pianist and Daria Nicolodi's journalist are on the trail to try and find out who it is. Dario Argento's Deep Red is one of his best and features several signature elements that are now synonymous with his films- the innovative direction, the …
A young couple who are in search of a place to get it on, discover some old ruins. They see what appears to be a woman hanging there. On closer inspection, it is, in fact, a mannequin. Another couple go walking through some sand dunes. They see what appears to be a woman's body lying …
Hooray for Facebook. I was browsing pages devoted to cult cinema as I'm prone to do during my downtime, and I saw a post about the Giallo gem, The Red Queen Kills Seven Times and realised that I had never seen it. And lo and behold, it was on YouTube in both Italian and badly …
Continue reading Giallo in June- Day 28- The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972)
Probably Argento's best movie in my opinion. A successful writer Peter Neal is visiting Rome from America. He becomes aware that a serial killer is on the loose and strongly influenced by his work. This film is staggeringly good. Prepare to be astounded by the tracking shot of the outside of the apartment block- one …
This film is a new edit of Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond for a North American release through a distribution company called Aquarius. Whereas the extreme horror of the original would have undoubtedly ensured the dreaded X certificate in the States, this version effectively removed the gore so that an R could be granted. It worked. …
Continue reading Giallo in June- Day 26- 7 Doors of Death (1983)
A wealthy man invites nine friends to an abandoned theatre he owns but doesn't use. They quickly discover they are locked in and that a killer is picking them off one by one. This giallo movie feels like part Agatha Christie (particularly And Then There Were None) and a proto-slasher movie. It also features a …
Continue reading Giallo in June- Day 25- The Killer Reserved Nine Seats (1974)
Meathook Cinema 