Tackling films dubbed cinematic landmarks can sometimes feel a bit of a minefield. There are any number of worthy, ‘important’ films which can be argued to have demonstrably changed the face of cinema, but in many instances this doesn’t necessarily equate to the film in question still being enjoyable to watch in the 21st century. […]
By Keri O’Shea Imagine a sequence of films, emanating from Japan over forty years ago, which melded – literally – riotously strong female characters with insurrection, violence, sexuality and even the odd dash of social commentary. ‘Women in prison’ films (for the most part) like no other, the Female Convict movies (or ‘Female Prisoner’, in […]
The Ninth Configuration is a film which, at a glance, appears to offer something radically different from what you actually get. Look at the cover art below: above the title we have the name of William Peter Blatty, writer of legendary horror movie The Exorcist; the title itself seems arcane and almost inscrutable; and we […]
By Ben Bussey It can be an interesting business covering DVD and Blu-ray reissues of older movies. Sometimes we wind up with stuff we always meant to see but never got around to; sometimes they’re movies we’ve never even heard of before. But other times, they’re movies which really need no introduction at all – […]
By Guest Contributor Marc Lissenburg I daresay most of you reading this will have a unique personal evolution regarding your horror fandom. Born in 1972, I remember as a five year old in the mid-seventies being drawn to anything remotely to do with vampires. By my teens, driven hugely by the whole video nasty furore, […]
If you’ve had the pleasure of seeing recent documentary Electric Boogaloo: the Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, it’s feasible that, like myself, you may well have found yourself anxious to see these three movies. In many respects, this trilogy might well be the perfect embodiment of the Cannon Films ethos. The output of producers […]
Opening disclaimer: at the time of writing I’ve yet to get through the entire seven disc Blu-ray set that Studiocanal have lovingly put together for Series 5 of TV classic The Avengers (in the wake of series 4 enjoying similar treatment earlier this year). However, I just had to bring this review forward a little, […]
How well can a TV show hold up after fifty years? Surprisingly well, it turns out. No doubt we could pick and choose any number of once-popular shows from the 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s and be overwhelmed by how dated they feel, how old hat the storytelling and dialogue seem, how cheesy and […]
By Ben Bussey And so, one writer’s Troma education continues. Up until only a few months ago, pretty much all I’d seen from the famed trash cinema factory were the original Toxic Avenger and Class of Nuke ‘Em High (or at least those are the only ones that come to mind). However, after 88 Films […]
Review by Ben Bussey So- how does one go about making a sequel to a film as knowingly absurd and excessive as Troma’s original Toxic Avenger? With some difficulty, it would seem. As much as Troma’s output is designed to be more or less critic proof – that old ‘so bad it’s good’ thing – […]
Review by Ben Bussey This, for better or worse, is one of those “where it all began” movies. Though Troma had already been in the filmmaking/distribution game for a full decade before The Toxic Avenger came along, this is the film on which their legend is built, and with which their enduring formula was established: […]