This film was actually made in 1986 (although I've read it was actually shot in 1985) but not released until 1990 as there were censorship problems as to the graphic nature of the film's proceedings. The film is loosely based on the lives of real life serial killers Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole. Henry lives with …
Continue reading Day 25- 31 Days of Halloween- Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
Whilst on holiday Virginia bumps into her old friend and one-time lesbian fumble, Bet. Virginia's 'friend' Roger asks Bet to continue with them on their travels but whilst on the train the next day Virginia is angry at the attention Bet is getting from Roger who insists that he and Virginia are actually just travelling …
Continue reading Day 24- 31 Days of Halloween- Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972)
I first learnt of this film's existence by walking past a cinema at the tender age of 4 and seeing a poster for the double bill of this and a TV movie that was shown theatrically in the UK called The Savage Bees (to be reviewed tomorrow night). Even the poster for this genius double …
Continue reading Day 22- 31 Days of Halloween- The Incredible Melting Man (1977)
A gorgeous slice of Ozploitation that is extremely well made, acted and written. A young man named Patrick is in a coma after killing his parents three years earlier. A new nurse named Kathie has been assigned to tend to him and they strike up a relationship through a typewriter that Patrick can telekinetically control …
Continue reading Day 21- 31 Days of Halloween- Patrick (1978)
A young family move into a house where a young man killed his entire family. And they wonder why the house price was so low. Cue all manner of haunted house shenanigans- flies, crucifixes being turned upside down, the kids suddenly acquiring imaginary friends, red eyes being seen through the window at night, black ooze overflowing …
Continue reading Day 20- 31 Days of Halloween- The Amityville Horror (1979)
A remake of the 1958 classic gets a 70s update. The premise is the same but the reasons behind it are different. It seems like each incarnation of this film reflects the unrest of each society it was made in. This film depicts the 70s swing towards pop-psychology and psychiatry that was popular at the …
Continue reading Day 19- 31 Days of Halloween- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
I’ll always have a soft spot for this movie. An obscure horror film made in America in the 70s and set in a drive in. Whats not to like? Could it be the mentally challenged employee there called Germy who could be the killer? Or the local sex pest we see the cops interview? (‘I didn’t …
Continue reading Day 17- 31 Days of Halloween- Drive In Massacre (1976)
A scientist (played by Vincent Price with his usual aplomb) discovers an organism that attaches itself to the human spine and feeds on the feeling of fear from the host person. The parasite is known to be present as it makes the spine of the person feel a tingling sensation. For this reason its known …
Continue reading Day 16- 31 Days of Halloween- The Tingler (1959)
I first saw this when studying film at University. Tod Browning tries the sideshow carnival trick of sensationalism to try to bring audiences in to gawk at the disgusting freaks of nature. But he has a trick up his sleeve- he treats the ‘freaks’ as human beings, utterly likeable and as having feelings like everyone else. …
Continue reading Day 15- 31 Days of Halloween- Freaks (1932)
This film works on many different levels. Firstly, its a cracking horror film/thriller about a child murderer on the loose in the Berlin of 1931. Lang’s use of framing and lighting is a revelation and would prove highly influential in the wider medium of film. The film is also an amazing snapshot of Germany at the …
Meathook Cinema 