Inside [À l'intérieur] by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury [2007]

Title: Inside / À l'intérieur
Director: Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury
Starring: Béatrice Dalle, Alysson Paradis
Runtime: 83 minutes
Year: 2007

I've never heard so much good about a single movie as I have about Inside [exceptions being Halloween and Jaws]. And like those movies, this is one I'd recommend to anyone and everyone. There wasn't a single aspect or scene that disappointed me.

First of all the two main characters are strong female leads, a nice treat. Both are easy to identify with, easy to fall for, and very human. An element most horror villians lately seem to lack.

First we have Sarah, a young pregnant woman dealing with the recent death of her boyfriend. She's so distant and cold you'd almost assume she wanted absolutely nothing to do with the scheduled birth that is to take place the very next day. Almost as though she is left to just go through the motions, alive but not really living. The photographers scattered around her home just echo the reality that she is now just merely a shell of her former self.

Once the amazingly put together character, commonly refered to as La Femme, enters the picture the blood just starts to pour. Plenty of blood. No chainsaws, no hardcore ammunition, just everyday scissors and knitting needles. Never again will those simple objects be looked at as just household items. You could arm an army with these bad boys and get the job done as La Femme clearly demostrates. Basic tools tend to always get the job done the most visually appealing way when it comes to horror, time and time again.

As the movie gets going there's this heavy, nauseating feeling that just comes over you that prove just how damn good of a job this pair of directors did. They managed to pull of a constant urgent sense of emergency, the ongoing dread of no escape. This castrophobic moment where all Sarah can do is scream and beat at the walls that are keeping her confined is all to easy to relate to.

It seems easy enough to toss around buckets of blood and ruthless masked monsters, but to pull off what these dudes did? That level of suspence that keeps you demanding to know what's going to happen next. Man, all I can say is thank you. Easily one of the best films I've seen in recent history and already an instant classic in my collection.

I had waited quite a while to see this little number, but the wait was well worth it.

Highly recommended.


Jo

ps. If we've got each other linked, please update it to http://www.nightlyaccounts.com/ Thanks, ladies and gents.

The Machine Girl by Noboru Iguchi [2008]

Title: The Machine Girl
Director: Noboru Iguchi
Starring: Minase Yashiro, Asami, Ryōsuke Kawamura
Runtime: 96 minutes
Trailer: YouTube


Oh revenge fueled films, how I love thee. And those lovely Asian ladies in school girl outfits, I think I love you a little more. Thankfully with The Machine Girl we get both for the price of one.

There really isn't much to tell you about this little gem without giving you the goods. We have the ever adorable knock out Ami as The Machine Girl, of course she didn't pop out of the womb with a 8 barrel high power machine gun strapped to her arm. That'd be grounds for some post-birth abortion.

Instead she's the nice girl next door that just wants to lay low and do her family a world of good. Ami and Yu [her younger brother] are braving the world alone after their parents off themselves once accused of murder. Which we are kindly reminded of randomly with sweet one liners like, "What would mom and dad say, before they killed themselves over murder allegations?" Is that not some pure gold right there? Perhaps I'm easily amused.

This is straight up gore film. The blood is over the top and just keeps flowing. The kills are equally over the top provoking plenty of laughter. It's clear to see the dudes behind this number wanted you to laugh and I don't think for a moment they wanted to actually scare you. There's not an ounce of suspence, but plenty of impeccable moments worth watching over and over again.

Here's a repeat watch, a movie to toss on when you have people over, even if they are not fans of the genre. Hell, with the kind of kids I hang out with - this movie would clearly be a nice conversation starter plus a nice change of pace from what people typically watch when it comes to Japanese horror.

Highly recommended.



Jo

ps. If we've got each other linked, please update it to http://www.nightlyaccounts.com/ Thanks, ladies and gents.

Storm Warning by Jamie Blanks [2007]

Title: Storm Warning [Unrated]
Director: Jamie Blanks
Starring: Nadia Farès, John Brumpton, Robert Taylor
Runtime: 82 minutes
Year: 2007

I rented this on Tuesday with all intentions of not liking it. I really thought it would recieve a huge fail on all fronts.

Surprisingly, the movie was not nearly as bad as I'd imagined. I'd actually go as far as to say it was good. Unoriginal, yes. But still, damn good.

There is scenes for the gore junkies while showing homage to a few of the classics. We've been front and center and seen these kind of scenarios unfold a hundred times before us. But isn't that kind of what you come to expect occasionally? The whole wrong place, wrong time situation? At least here we get a little twist. Instead of the playing up the damsel-in-distress routine, we get a little role reversal.
The husband was initially The Hero but lost the spotlight to the french speaking, uber hot woman known as his wife.

As they say... hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Clearing she was not cast just for her ass flaunting abilities (although, she does that as well). She nails the part perfectly when it came to slowly becoming the revengeful killer, the lead up is done exceptionally well. Forget running dirt roads screaming half-naked when you are locked up in a barn filled with all sorts of things to use as you please and the time to make the little devices your heart desires. This is the kind of victim I enjoy seeing every once in a while. The victim that not only fights back, but makes a mess of your face in the process.

I can see the aspects to this movie that could make it rank high on the shit list for some [and I'm sure it does] but I enjoyed it. The cast was awesome with the exception of the husband role, that dude could of used an espresso or two prior to setting foot on set. A little slow starting, but once it got going it kept my attention.

Recommended.


Jo

I'd like to give a big high five to my fellow regular horror bloggers that tend to entertain me daily. They rule. So, if you are a lurker from elsewhere, really- go check them out! In no order other than alphabetical: Horror-Movie-A-Day, Mad Mad Mad Mad Movie Reviews, The Horrors of It All, The Vault of Horror and usually Wine And Werewolves - but where the crap did CG go?! Sheesh.

Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door by Gregory Wilson [2007]

Title: Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door
Director: Gregory Wilson
Starring: Blythe Auffarth, Daniel Manche, Blanche Baker
Runtime: 91
Year: 2007

The 1950's have been painted as this sweet and innocent decade thanks to Coca Cola ads and Leave it to Beaver. The Girl Next Door rips it apart within minutes.

We are first introducted to David, an older man trying to deal with the guilt he has surrounding the torture and death surrounding a childhood friend of his. That friend being Meg and her sister Susan. Following the death of their parents the sisters live with Auntie Ruth and her three sons. She's viewed as the 'too kind' woman on the block that all the neighbour boys viewed as one of the guys. Laid back, full of wisdom and a fridge stacked with beer she's more than willing to share with the pre-teens.

Right away it becomes quite clear that Ruth is not so fond of other women, herself included, she's bitter and has no trust in grown men. Which I'm sure explains her choice in surrounding herself with young boys that know no better. Ruth has taken a particular interest in disliking Meg and finding creative ways to teach her lifes little lessons with the boys of the neighbour fully involved in 'the game'.

Once the torture starts, the whole tone of the movie changes. It's incredible to see the gradual changes with Aunt Ruth's demeanor. Any remaining part of a sympathetic, loving person slowly disappears entirely and all that is left is this vile hate machine. Blanche Baker plays this whole amazingly well, she really makes it all come together, along with her talented young co-stars.

I read this book a while ago and was never able to shake it, let alone that there was more than one moment where I had to put it down for a few days. The ways they torture this poor young girl is unbelievable and although we see more and more torture driven movies being released, this is possibly more horrifying than some can handle. Even though we don't see some parts of what is happening, we know the horrors of what is going on.

Quite a few parts are really hard to watch, but you feel you are commited to finishing the film. I can't imagine walking out on this story, I'd feel I cheated the characters.

Proceed with caution, but do see this release if you get the opportunity to do so.

Recommended.


j

The Lost by Chris Sivertson [2005]

Title: The Lost
Director: Chris Sivertson
Starring: Marc Senter, Shay Astar, Alex Frost
Runtime: ?
Year: 2002

This past weekend I was lucky enough to go catch two film adaptations of books by Jack Ketchum, horror writer extraordinaire. Seeing both The Lost and The Girl Next Door on the big screen, followed by a Q&A with Jack was quite a treat. Having read both the books, I was hoping the adaptations would hold up well. Good news is, they exceeded my expectations. Job well done, fellas. And thanks to Jovanka of Rue Morgue Magazine, I was able to tag along to dinner with Jack Ketchum and crew to hear more of what one of my favourite authors had on the brain. Amazing night, to say the least.

Ok, on to what is usually wrote around here. :)

Remember in high school the typical small man, big mouth guy? The one that always wanted to be seen as Mr. Big Shot but in reality was someone everyone else viewed as a joke? That would be the main character, Ray Pye [Senter]. Always in black with crushed beer cans in his boots to make him appear taller, Ray wants your attention, your respect, and he wants you to fear him. When really, he's just another annoying asshole you've seen a hundred times before.

During the opening scene, Ray is out camping with his friend Tim [Frost] and occasional girlfriend Jennifer [Astar] when they come across two girls. They spend the evening watching these girls at their campsite all night from behind bushes and all is well until Ray sees them share a friendy peck. He interprets this as though they must be 'lezzies' and therefore, why not kill them? Even just the mentioning of the idea puts the power in Ray's hands.

Ray shoots both girls from a distance with a stolen shotgun, one of the girls are able to outrun him and makes it to the highway and survives, barely. The other girl is not so lucky.

The movie then speeds ahead 4 years, when the surviving victim finally dies, as she's been in a coma since the shooting. The small town cops are all sorts of frustrated, the towns a wreck- but Ray just continues business as usual. With an on-going supply of drugs and alchol at his disposal, as well as a small town sort of rockstar status he's made for himself, life is good. He's either fucked, or will fuck, every girl in town- a fact he's quite pleased with.

Marc Senter plays the role of Ray perfectly, he brings across the image that you really couldn't give a rats ass about what happens to Ray. You don't care about him, just the surrounding characters. You know Ray is going to snap, you know it's coming- what toward who? And how? As Ray comes across various women in his town he soon refers to as 'his girls', you start to fear for them. Most of these girls are just the female version of Ray in the cocky, self-absorbed department, you can tell they don't know who they are dealing with.

When Ray finally snaps, the way it unfolds is perfection- and I don't care to give it away. He goes at his chosen victims with such a strong hate for life in general.

I loved the book and thankfully, the movie ruled too.

Recommended.


j

ps. Lucky McKee [director of May] seems to have his hands all over the film adaptation Jack Ketchum's Red. Sweet.

Dark Water by Hideo Nakata [2002]

Title: Dark Water
Director: Hideo Nakata
Starring: Hitomi Kuroki, Rio Kanno, Mirei Oguchi
Runtime: 101 minutes
Year: 2002

The Basics: A recently seperated mother, Yoshimi [Kuroki] moves into a run down apartment building with her 6 year old daughter, Ikuko [Kanno]. Currently tackling a drawn out custody case with her ex-husband, she's under a watchful eye to do right and lead a normal life. It's made known in the beginning that both her and her husband have recieved physiatric help in the past. How's that for an obvious glance to what the next hour holds - she's about to go crazy and no one will believe what she claims.

The new apartment they've moved into have an issue with water, it's everywhere always. You couldn't pay me to ride in an elevator with a soaking wet floor and rain dripping in. I may love the undead, but I'm not so into the idea of a damp death [or a premature one at that].

The young girl, Ikuko , finds a little girls red bag. After we see it, we don't stop seeing it. The mother tries to get rid of it multiple times, but it always shows back up. Kind of like a pair of annoying neighbours... oh wait.

Anyways, at times this little number is super slow pace wise, but it's still enjoyable. Falling more on the creep instead of horror side of things, I'm sure I enjoyed this simply because I've never seen Ringu, which was directed by Hideo Nakata as well. Apparently they are very similar. I've seen The Ring and find them different enough.

Once thing I don't quite get, is how fast the remake was put out. This was done in 2002 and then in 2005 the U.S remake was done with Jennifer Connelly as the lead. I've yet to see that one, but if it's the same, I don't see the need for it.

Recommended.


j.

Murder Party by Jeremy Saulnier [2007]

Title: Murder Party
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Starring: Chris Sharp, Alex Barnett, Macon Blair
Runtime: 79 minutes
Year: 2007

Imagine being lonesome single boy with nothing to do on Halloween night but then finding a random invitation to cure the boredom. The invitation being to a Murder Party, leaving you instructed to come dressed in costume and alone. Would you go? I'm sure I would, but I'm kinda silly like that.

Our main hermit, Chris, is just looking for a good time but ends up being helt captive as the main source of entertainment. A bunch of geeked out college kids decide they are going to murder a random person all in the name of art. Oh la la!

This may be low budget, but it rules hard and is easily one of my favourite comedies to come out in 2007. Both the leading and supporting characters are a ton of laughs and play their roles to the max. The slight tributes to awesome movies of the past [Blade Runner!] is a nice touch, too.

Perfect in lenght, wit, and adorable costumes [let's hear it for the cardboard knight!] this exceeds any and all expectations I had for it.

Recommended.


j.

Skinwalkers by James Isaac [2006]

Title: Skinwalkers
Director: James Isaac
Starring: Jason Behr, Elias Koteas, Rhona Mitra
Runtime: 91 minutes
Year: 2006

I guess not everyone is stoked on the idea of being a werewolf. When two clans of werewolves with an opposite set of morals collide it's nothing but high speed chases and drawn out gun fights? Uh... more biting and ripping apart, please...?

The story revolves around a boy soon approaching his 13th birthday. Once he reaches it, the werewolves will cease to be and return to living normal human lives. To some of the werewolves this is looked at as a saving grace, a way to remove the curse they've been left to deal with. To the others, this is not at all welcomed, as they quite enjoy feeding on the flesh of mere mortals.

My favourite part of the movie was in the beginning when you first come to realize the setting is a community full of gun toting crazies ready to blast your ass off. When the 'bad guys' first come into their little downtown district it's lovely to see the otherwise sweet old lady yanking out some guns. Oh, and can't forget how even the mailman is packing at all times. It's fun and a nice way to get the movie rolling.

I'd like to know where it's written that werewolves and vampires of the 'bad boy' variety must be decked out in leather, have long greasy hair and ride motorcycles? Can't the Abercromie & Fitch sporting nerds be in love with blood too? Just a thought. Hell, I'd enjoy seeing the 'bad guy' getting served up a hot steaming plate of death more if they were wearing Uggs and popped collars.

I know that werewolf movies have been done to death over and over again, but if you can look past the plot holes [that's what we get when they slice minutes off to get a PG 13 rating, I guess] and occasional cheese moments, this release ain't so bad.

Recommended.


j.

The Gate by Tibor Takács [1987]

Title: The Gate
Director: Tibor Takács
Starring: Stephen Dorff, Christa Denton, Kelly Rowan
Runtime: 85 minutes
Year: 1987

I remember catching the tail end of this when I was 12 or 13. I thought it was amazing then and now... it's still a good laugh.

Starts out with the usual 80's opening of parents leaving for vacation while the kids are left to be on their best behaviour. The older sister, Al, does what's expected and has a party. While her younger brother Glen and his friend Terry open the gate to a world filled with demons in his backyard.

This just might be one of those movies you had to see when you were a kid to enjoy. Or if, like me, you have the sense of humour of a 3rd grader and still laugh at fart jokes- you'll more than likely will find it entertaining as well.

Sometimes the acting is terrible but the heavy metal geekboy more than makes up for it. The demons are naked and more than cheesy, but I think they are cute and kinda want one as a pet. The ending is a little over the top in the 'aww' department and the last demon should of been sent back to the drawning table.

Recommended.


j.

Dark Angel: The Ascent by Linda Hassani [1994]

Title: Dark Angel: The Ascent
Director: Linda Hassani
Starring: Angela Featherstone, Cristina Stoica, Daniel Markel
Runtime: 81 minutes
Year: 1994
Source: Scream Television

Welcome to quite the strange little gem of a movie.

Basically, Veronica [Featherstone] is a demon living the high life in Hell, all while wanting to walk on the earth above. Her parents, an overly religious mother [?!] and a 9-5 punishment giving father serving Satan. I wonder how they met? MySpace? They seem to compromise by saying grace [?!] prior to munching on the flesh of the damned.

Although forbidden to leave the gates of hell, Veronica finds a passage way that brings her to a downtown district? When she walks the earth her tail, horn, and other demon bargain shop accessories vanish and she's left standing naked. A good looking enough young Doctor happens to be learing out his window and notices her. Right away she's hit by a car [still naked] and the young Doctor Max treats her minor bruises. As he's using his stethoscope to listen to her heart beat, get this, he hears the cries of the damned being punished in hell. How cool is that? I'd offer her a record contract, asap.

Once Veronica wakes up, Max seems to take it upon himself to make sure she is truly ok and offers his bedroom. Within no time they are busy banging by day, and Veronica is out slaying the bad people of their city. Oh, I forgot to mention, when Veronica crossed over she brought her adorable German Sheppard doggie, Hellraiser with her. As she's hunting down the damned, Hellraiser cleans up and enjoys the organs. Veronica is so kind to even bring him home leftovers for the next morning! None of which our not-to-smart doctor can seem to piece together initially.

Once Veronica lets her true self be known, during sex of course when she transforms, Max couldn't seem to care less. He still falls in love with her, how inspiring. The ending is a little Brady Bunch, which just adds to the laughs.

As cheesy as it may be, Dark Angel is fun. I'm not so sure the director was going for the comedy aspect, but it makes the film.

Recommended.


j.

Dark Waters by Mariano Baino [1994]

Title: Dark Waters [also known as Dead Waters]
Director: Mariano Baino
Starring: Louise Salter, Louise Salter, Mariya Kapnist
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 1994
Source: Generation X Video

What better way to spend the holidays than watching films full of religious iconography?

We are early on introducted to Elizabeth [Louise Salter], a young lady first landing on a small island that is home to a small but creepy convent. After her father recently passed away she is on a mission to first find out why he's been sending these nuns money and to seek information about her friend that recently visited and went missing. Also, an interesting tibit of information, her mother died giving birth to her on that same island. Personally, I'd stay clear for those three reasons as opposed to showing up in the middle of the night.

Nuns and blood, tons of it right from the get go, pretty much makes for a sure thing. The visuals are awesome, occasionally a bit dark [crappy in the lighting department], but almost always entertaining. The atmosphere is right on point and makes you believe what you are viewing, even with all the crazy nuns running around.

Maybe it's from spending the majority of my schooling in the roman catholic school board, but anything religion based tends to suck me in. All those religion classes and lectures gave me an advantage in all the jargon often tossed around, as good or bad as that may be. This is a title worth picking up, just make sure you grab the NoShame release as it's apparently is the best on the quality side of things.

Recommended.


j.

Willard by Glen Morgan [2003]

Title: Willard
Director: Glen Morgan
Starring: Crispin Glover, R. Lee Ermey, Laura Harring
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 2003
Source: Scream Television


I never saw the 1971 original Willard, so I had nothing to compare this too [which is usually for the better].

Crispin Glover does a fabulous job as Willard. He's creepy, yet charming. He's quite the loner, but half the college girls I know would still do him.

Rats creep me out, always have, and these little co-stars are no different. They serve as Willard's little soldiers, out to do whatever he wishes. Willard has no real motivation in life, his boss [his late father's business partner] has no love for him at all and treats him as such.

Once Willard comes into contact with the rats, it kind of gives you that warm, gushy feeling to see how he interacts with then. This socially awkward man finally finds companionship in an army of furry friends. Even as he stands at the head of his mothers corpse, he seems to feel more for his dear rats.

The dark comedy aspects are what carry Willard for the most part. At times extremely slow and sorta boring, but the good make up for it. If it wasn't for Crispin Glover, this would easily be a disaster. Someone, give that boy some candy for a job well done.

Recommended.


j.

Santa's Slay by David Steiman [2005]

Title: Santa's Slay
Director: David Steiman
Starring: Bill Goldberg, Douglas Smith, Dave Thomas
Runtime: 78 minutes
Year: 2005
Source: Scream Television

I can't believe I watched three movies this past week with a killer Santa as the main character. At least this this one was far superior in the comedy department than the last one Silent Night, Deadly Night 2.

The idea behind this picture is that Santa is far from being Mr. Good Guy, but instead in the son of Satan. He ends up losing a game of curling to an angel leaving his debt being to spend 1000 years delivering presents to the deserving children of the world. Once those 1000 years are up, he's hellbent on getting revenge against that angel, as well any anyone he comes into contact with [deli shop cashier or strip club customers, either way, blood is blood] and Santa does a fabulous job delivering the kills, laughing all the way.

The supporting cast does a top notch job too. The slighlty crazy grandpa [Robert Culp] and his grandson [Douglas Smith] who seem to be the only ones in the know are both hilarious and pass off plenty of one liners worth pulling out during the holidays. The icing on the cake is this is no serial killer throwing on a Santa suit, but rather Santa himself about to decapitate you. It's a nice touch and if I actually supported the idea of more killer Santa movies, I'd suggest that as the route to go. [ But please, no more.]

The kill count is pretty high, plus they are done in fun and creative ways for the most part. Who could of guessed Bill Goldberg [of the WWE] would be good in a slasher movie like this? Not this kid.

The attention to detail in most shots and especially Santa's viking inspired suit just raises the bar. This is for you if you can take a good joke and like some humour with your blood splater.

Recommended.

j.

Silent Night, Deadly Night by Charles E. Sellier Jr. [1984]

Title: Silent Night, Deadly Night
Director: Charles E. Sellier Jr.
Starring: Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin
Runtime: 85 minutes
Year: 1984
Source: Zip.ca

I've never been much of a fan of Christmas, and even more so, never really a fan of Christmas inspired movies. But a while back the Mad Mad Mad Mad Movies blog convienced me to add this little gem to my queue.

In short, this movie ruled.

We start out with Santa Claus killing the cashier at a poor mans Kwik-E-Mart for a measly $31. The North Pole must not pay that much.

We then meet a young boy named Billy getting schooled on all things naughty from his crazy old half-dead grandfather to his way to happy mommy dearest. His family is on a roadtrip for the holidays when his jolly daddy decides to stop to help a stranded Santa. Not so smart, as he put a few in his chest and slit the thoat of his wife. How's that for Happy Holidays?

Billy and his little brother Ricky are left untouched... and without parents. The movie then fast forwards a few years to show the boys living at St. Mary's Orphanage with a few not-so-nice nuns. As the years pass, Billy shows more and more hatred for St. Nick and the whole Christmas time of year. The head nun, Mother Superior, uses her own unconventional forms of punishment to discipline him.

Once Billy grows up he ends up working at a toy shop and surprise, surprise ends up being assigned the role of Santa. And this, my friends, is when the killing spree begins.

I feel like a jackass that I never cared to pick this up before, as it's damn good. The music is extremely present in almost every scene, so many tits with teenage hormones running wild, and the kills are fun too. Let's all hang a body on a set of antlers on the deer head in the livingroom! Woohooo.

Apparently this movie caused tons of controversy when it was first released for having a killer Santa Claus and displaying nuns in a not-so-nice way. I'm sure when the remake gets released, it'll get no flack for those things, with us living in the days of Saw and all that supposed 'torture porn', a killer Santa is no biggie.

I think this is one to show to the young kids during our family get together this Christmas Eve, as we are related, I'm sure they'll adore it.

Highly recommended.

j.

Kill, Baby... Kill! by Mario Bava [1966]

Title: Kill, Baby... Kill!
Director: Mario Bava
Starring: Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Erica Blanc
Runtime: 85 minutes
Year: 1966
Source: Zip.ca

I've had this disc sitting on my computer desk for the last two weeks and everytime I popped it in, I was pulled away to do something else. Finally, I was able to sit back and finish it off start to finish, thankfully.

I'm not too familiar with Mario Bava's work, of course I've seen his name mentioned in multiple interviews and credited as a great influence. But I've yet to actually sit back and watch his movies back-to-back, such a shame. This being only the second Bava film I've seen [the first being Black Sabbath] but totally sucked me in. I feel kind of guilty for not hunting down his titles before.

This movie starts out with Dr. Paul Eswai [Giacomo Rossi-Stuart] being called in to a small town to perform an autopsy on a girl that had the misfortune to land on the sharp end of a pointy fence. After meeting one of the prettiest actresses ever, Monica [Erica Blanc], he starts the autopsy only to find a coin stuck in the womens heart. Slightly odd, don't you think?

Before long Eswai comes to realize the whole town is cracked and suspicious deaths isn't really all that rare in their end of the woods. This doctor likes to earn his paycheck, I suppose, and decides to toss on his investigator hat to find out just what all in going on in this little town. All signs point to this secluded estate where a young girl named Melissa was killed off some 20+ years ago. Creeep. The towns people seem to not like the Doctor getting all up in their business, but as he persists, well... I can't go ruining the movie for you, now can I?

The real winning aspect to this movie is all the attention to detail. Every shot is creepy, the sound effects rule and bring you into the moment, so even if nothing is actually happening on screen, your at the edge of your seat waiting for it. My attention is hard to hold at times, but Bava did so easily.

Highly recommended.

j.

ps. I just read the feature on The Girl Next Door in the latest issue of Rue Morgue magazine. I'm on a hunt tomorrow to find it in stores [came out on DVD Dec. 4th]. Sounds really good, initially I first thought it would be just another 'torture porn' attempt, but apparently that's the exact opposite of what the director was going for. Go check out the trailer.

Also, today I picked up the info and photo intensive book Horror Films by Alan Frank [first published in 1977] at a used book shop for $5. Sweet find.

The Howling by Joe Dante [1981]

Title: The Howling
Director: Joe Dante
Starring: Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee, Belinda Balaski
Runtime: 91 minutes
Year: 1981
Source: AMC/cable

If you want to watch a really rad werewolf transformation then this is for you. If you care to see a werewolf serial killer... then why haven't you seen this yet? The Howling has been on my list of movies to watch for a while, just haven't got around to actually picking it up.

Starts out with an anchorwoman meeting up with a serial killer, only to suffer amnesia afterwards. Her doctor, obviously on the crack pipe, then sends her out to a relaxation resort [that happens to have more than a handful of werewolves calling the place home].

Overall, this is just a really strong werewolf story, with good characters, decent enough effects, and a werewolf sex scene to boot. How could you not love it? The gore level isn't high up there and at times the movie is a bit slow, but really, it all comes together quite well. A few of the supporting actors really need to re-think their mission in life, as acting is obviously not it, but I guess that's why they are supporting and I can't even think of another film they are in?

Don't care to give out anymore details, but go pick this up, even just for the werewovles themselves. Don't tell anyone, but I'm pretty certain they even creeped me out a wee bit.

Recommended.

j.

Gravedancers by Mike Mendez [2006]

Title: The Gravedancers
Director: Mike Mendez
Starring: Dominic Purcell, Josie Maran, Clare Kramer, Marcus Thomas
Runtime: 95 minutes
Year: 2006
Source: Generation X Video

Since my fellow movie bloggers gave this raving recommendations, how could I need go out and rent it? And thankfully, they are on point, as this was easily the best out of last years After Dark Horrorfest. Which isn't to say it's absolutely amazing, but the best among it's peers.

First, I gotta say, the ghosts looked amazing. Happy, smiling ghosts doing everything in their power to kick your ass for disrespecting theirs? Awesome. Far superior to the moody, miserable jerkoff ghost that tries to teach you a lesson [like 95% of ghost movies].

This little bad boy starts out with three friends celebrating the life of a dead friend by dancing on graves[?] after downing a few too many. They picked the wrong corpses to piss off, as they happened to be a bitter axe murderer, a wee little kid addicted to starting fires [with you in it], and a sadistic rapist with a good boy exterior.

Along the way of trying to save their asses they team up with some slighlty annoying paranormal investigators. I wonder if that position exists in the real world? Cause I surely wouldn't mind telling people the exact opposite of what to do just to watch them die. [I know, I know... I'm going to hell].

There's a reason this is the most recommended features out of the Horrorfest films from last year. The ghosts carry the movie, they have more of a story than the actual 'victims' and keeps you rooting for the bad guys.

Recommended.

j.

Family by John Landis [2006]

Title: Family
Director: John Landis
Starring: George Wendt, Meredith Monroe, Matt Keeslar
Runtime: 58 minutes
Year: 2006
Source: Generation X Video

Who doesn't miss Cheers? George Wendt [Norm of Cheers fame] stars as Mr. Boring Neighbour Next Door who kind of wants to melt all your skin off and arrange your bones in overly tacky outfits. Sweet.

As slow moving as this movie creeped along at times, and with terrible supporting actors, I got quite a few laughs out of it anyway. I kind of need a new set of grandparents, so I may take a few pointers , too. Educational and entertaining? Win-win!

This is one of those movies where I can't really tell you jack all without spoiling the whole thing. Not that I don't already drop enough spoilers almost daily, but this one I'll leave you in the dark about. Go rent it, prepare yourself for a few slow moving bits, but overall it's fairly decent.

Wendt carries the whole movie, so if you don't find him entertaining, then you shouldn't rush out to pick it up. The Masters of Horror series has been full of hits and misses, so for some I'm sure this goes on the misses pile, but I enjoyed it. And well, I'm all about force feeding you my opiniong, ha.

Recommended.

j.

Village of the Damned by Wolf Rilla [1960]

Title: Village of the Damned
Director: Wolf Rilla
Starring: George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, Michael Gwynn
Runtime: 77 minutes
Year: 1960
Source: TCM on cable

Ah, the original Village of the Damned. I remember watching the first part of this when I was about 10 or so, and then my grandma turned it off. Such a shame.

The movie starts opens in the town of Midwich, all the residents seem to of blacked out for three hours. No explaination can be found and life resumes are usual. Then two months later, all the towns women are pregnant. Including those that haven't got banged out in a while, causing alarm.

Once the children are finally ready to be born, they all are on the same night, with numerous similarities. They all are large babies (over 10 pounds, ouch), white hair, strange fingernails, and the most unusal eyes that tend to glow when pissed off. As they age the creep factor just goes up- they all dress the same, grow and mature way faster than usual, super-intelligent, void of any kind of emotion and seem to be able to communicate without speaking or without even being in the same room. The parents and community in a whole are all creeped right the fuck out and decide to send these kids to their own private boarding school fronted by a too kind man who is the pretend father of one of them.

A few locals tend to die unexpectantly, but it isn't until adults witness a man drive his car into a brick wall after almost hitting one of the creepy bastard children.

The movie was shot all in black and white, which just seems to up the creep vibe ten fold. There honestly isn't anythnig to complain about [and I can almost always find a few flaws since I'm an anal dick].

Highly recommended.

j.

Feast by John Gulager [2005]

Title: Feast
Director: John Gulager
Starring: Balthazar Getty, Henry Rollins, Navi Rawat
Runtime: 95 minutes
Year: 2006
Source: Zip.ca

After the last two not-so-good films, this one just about makes up for it. This came as a result of the Greenlight Project contest and is produced by the always delicious Matt Damon, almost equally adorable Ben Affleck, and usually entertaining Wes Craven. This release is far more superior than their previous attempts with Greenlight.

The movie starts out with quite a few characters at a small bar doing their usual shit-talking and money making. Enough character development is done to make you remember who's who and then a new guy enters the picture. Mr. New Guy is Hero number one and comes in with a ton of bad news. Basically, a crew of monsters are on their way to eating your face. But Mr. Hero is up to the task of kicking ass and saying yours... unfortuantely he is eaten within minutes of getting us caught up to speed. Boo-hoo.

After a bloody attack that pretty much rules, in comes Mrs. Heroine. She's pissed, her husbands laying headless on the floor, her kids somewhere else, and I'm pretty positive she's ruined her manicure too. Before long, the monsters are all up in your face attempting to eat whoever has a heartbeat. The large cast then boards up the place in hopes it'll hold while they try to think of some kind of survival plan.

The comedy level is right on point, with plenty one liners delivered by a fairly entertaining cast. One of my favourite old man crushes, Henry Rollins, plays the role of Coach, a Tim Robbins wannabe/motivational speaker with too much to say, but all the clever ways to say it. Oh Henry, how I love you. This movie is worth the rental fee based on Rollins performance alone.

I'm pretty positive all the horror movie stereotypes acted out were intentional and adds a nice touch. Plus, there's plenty of blood covered clevage, guts, and fight scenes pulled off flawlessly to keep us kids happy.

Recommended.

j.