Don’t mess with nature. I love the Jaws clones that star big names who were only involved for the pay cheque. In fact, this film foreshadowed the masterpiece that is Jaws The Revenge by about ten years. Surprisingly entertaining. Loving the Ennio Morricone score and theme song. 3 out of 5 stars
This slasher movie starts in the most obvious seting for a film of this ilk- a campfire! We hear of Madman Marz who was a vile man by all accounts. Abusive to his family until he decides to kill them with an axe. He then casually goes to his local tavern to have a drink …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween- Day 28- Madman (1981)
A pretty faithful account of The Hillside Stranglers starring Dennis Farina as Angelo Buono and Billy Zane as Kenneth Bianchi. Richard Crenna is cop Bob Grogan who is hunting them. This made for TV movie is based on the book Two of a Kind: The Hillside Stranglers By Darcy O'Brien. I love TV movies based …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween- Day 23- The Case of the Hillside Stranglers (1989)
Maggie and Ben inherit an old farm by default (the man who it was actually left to had to inhabit the farm within 30 days but we see him attempt to move in in the dead of night but runs his car into a tree after swerving to miss a mysterious girl who intentionally caused …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween- Day 22- Crowhaven Farm (1970)
A new addition to Netflix, this documentary chronicles the life and activism of Peter Tatchell who has campaigned for gay rights and indeed, human rights since his late teens. Born in Australia, he campaigned for issues such as Aboriginal land rights whilst at college. He moved to Britain where days after his arrival he learnt …
A mother and daughter in law (named in the credits as 'older woman' and 'younger woman' respectively) are waiting for their son/husband to return from the war he's fighting in. A soldier named Hachi who fought alongside him comes back to tell them that in fact he saw him killed. He then starts having a …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2020- Day 31- Onibaba (1964)
A teenage drag race goes dreadfully wrong with one car being forced off a bridge and into a river. From the car a woman, Mary manages to escape and clamber ashore. However, Mary's life after that isn't the same. She seems to see ghostly figures when she seemingly disassociates herself with everyday life that is …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2020- Day 29- Carnival of Souls (1962)
As soon as I saw that this 1965 Amicus film was directed by Freddie Francis I knew that the direction and photography would be beautiful. And I was right! I was also excited as I knew that this was a horror anthology film and starred two heavyweights of the genre, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2020- Day 28- Dr Terror’s House of Horrors (1965)
A young couple have their young baby snatched away from them and offered as a human sacrifice to an ancient tree to prolong it's life by the infant's nanny. We then see a short time later the Druid nanny from Hell starts new employment caring for another couple's child. This tautly and stunningly beautiful film …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2020- Day 20- The Guardian (1990)
A sequel to Village of the Damned which is less a continuation of the plot and instead like a film containing characters who possess the same powers as the children in the original but under different circumstances. Whereas the original took part in a countryside idyll, the action within this film is based in London. …
Continue reading 31 Days of Halloween 2020- Day 18- Children of the Damned (1964)
Meathook Cinema 