The first time I learnt about The Exorcist 2: The Heretic was when my family bought our first VCR. There were trailer compilation tapes that could be rented for free from our local video library and so as well as renting Basket Case (what a great first videotape to rent!) we also took out these …
Continue reading Is It Really That Bad?- The Exorcist 2: The Heretic (1977)
1971 was a great year for British gangster movies. Not only did we get the masterpiece Get Carter but also the lesser-known Villain. These two films would usher in a new era of crime cinema and television. Richard Burton plays Vic Dakin, a psychopathic London gangster. He's planning on robbing a delivery of wages being …
Continue reading Meathook Cinema Hall of Fame- Villain (1971)
A mark that you’ve made a great movie is when your film spawns a number of imitators. One such movie is The Exorcist. One such imitator is Beyond The Door. But whilst some imitators are pale and shoddy rip offs, this film is amazing. Starring esteemed actress Juliet Mills this deals with her possession and …
Continue reading Day 31- 31 Days of Halloween 2023- Beyond The Door (1974)
I read online recently that someone regarded Vampire Circus as to be akin to a Carry On film and that it was a laughable Hammer entry. With such strong sentiments I thought a rewatch would be in store. These opinions certainly weren't in line with how I remembered the film when I watched it on …
Continue reading Day 18- 31 Days of Halloween 2023- Vampire Circus (1972)
This Steven Spielberg-directed movie made for TV and adapted from Richard Matheson's short story still packs a punch. David Mann is a travelling businessman venturing to an appointment across California but is slowed down considerably by an ominous truck that at first inconveniences him until things suddenly take a much darker tone. This film could …
Continue reading Day 17- 31 Days of Halloween 2023- Duel (1971)
Take a very mediocre movie. Apply an 'edgy' and highly questionable marketing campaign to try and sell it to the public. Step back and see what happens. Starlet Terry London and her producer visit a country in South America. Unfortunately, they cross paths with a female junkie biker gang who kill the starlet and several …
Continue reading Day 13- 31 Days of Halloween 2023- Snuff (1976)
Esteemed parapsychologist Sir Hugo Cunningham is investigating the strange smudge that is on the photographs of people who are photographed at their moment of death. He concludes that this is, in fact, an 'asphyx', a force which comes for somebody when it's time for them to leave this mortal coil. He then finds through his …
Continue reading Day 12- 31 Days of Halloween 2023- The Asphyx (1972)
Vincent Price stars in this British horror film as Lord Edward Whitman, a witchfinder. A local witch places a curse on Whitman for his brutal witch-finding ways. This involves taking possession of Roderick, a loyal servant of Whitman. Roderick starts to bump off all of the Whitman clan one by one. The first notable aspect …
Continue reading Day 6- 31 Days of Halloween 2023- Cry of the Banshee (1970)
A very religious policeman (Edward 'Equalizer' Woodward) arrives at the Scottish island of Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a child, Rowan Morrison. Whilst he makes enquiries regarding the missing child he witnesses first-hand the pagan lifestyles of the inhabitants which shock him and clash severely with his staunchly Christian and somewhat puritanical beliefs. I …
Continue reading Meathook Cinema Hall of Fame- The Wicker Man (1973)
Writer David Norliss is employed to write about his scepticism regarding the supernatural and the self-proclaimed spiritualists who are currently in vogue. However, he goes missing. His publisher discovers his research in the area on a series of tapes at his San Francisco home and decides to listen to the first one. He hears the …
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