A killer stalks a high school. And thats the plot. This is a cookie cutter slasher film. The only interesting thing about this movie is it's historical value as an atypical sub-genre piece. You get to see the sheer rubbish that was made to generate ticket sales and box office. Movies with no artistic merit …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween- Day 17- Final Exam (1981)
Martin is by filmmaker George A Romero and was his favourite film from his oeuvre. Martin is a young man who we see travelling by train to Braddock in Pittsburgh to live with his elderly cousin, Tata Cuda who seems convinced that Martin is the latest in a long line of vampires ('the family curse'). …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween- Day 13- Martin (1978)
A double date decide to investigate a travelling carnival that has just come into town. After strolling around the different attractions they decide to hide overnight in the actual funhouse (like a ghost ride) which is on the grounds of the carnival. This film starts out so well with the carnival and the people who …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween- Day 11- The Funhouse (1981)
This has one of the most crazy plots of any Hammer film I've ever seen. I won't give away everything that happens though. A Cornish village is suffering from some sort of plague that is bumping people off at such a rate that the local doctor asks an expert friend to investigate what is happening. …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween- Day 9- Plague of the Zombies (1966)
I remember so well the 1981 BBC1 adaptation of Day of the Triffids. It may now be dated but, by Christ, it gave me plenty of sleepless nights as a 6 year old boy. Years later I discovered the work of author John Wyndham who is now one of my favourite writers. Day of the …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween- Day 5- Day of the Triffids (1963)
I remember when I lived in London I loved perusing the list of films being shown citywide in the listings magazine Time Out. In those days (the mid 90s) there were plenty of funky little cinemas showing all manner of films old and new, renowned and obscure. I remember going to see Witchfinder General and …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween- Day 2- Witchfinder General (1968)
I first learnt of this film as it was called The Day After Halloween and marketed as a sequel to John Carpenter's classic. It isn't. But it's still a really interesting movie. Angela (played by Prisoner Cell Block H's brilliant Sigrid Thornton) is persuaded to ditch her low paid hairdressing job and enter the world of …
The infamous video nasty that was banned in the SS Thatcher days of 80’s Britain. It’s a solid effort with great gore and decent suspense as two couples go to an island for a vacation. I loved the lead character who feels like she’s been having nightmares all her life about the place she’s just arrived at. …
When you recognise a murder weapon which could implicate a hacksaw wielding murderer who's already killed two other people, what do you do? You go to stay in a remote secluded clifftop villa with your friends, that's what! Nothing could go wrong... This is a fantastic slice of giallo directed by Sergio Martino in 1973. …
I was looking forward to this movie. Someone who had seen it in the States said that it was 'grim'. Another said that it 'stayed with you long after you've finished watching it'. Having watched the movie I can now say that it is grim. But not in a good way. It's the most pretensious, …
Meathook Cinema 