Review by Ben Bussey A word of advice to microbudget filmmakers who plan on subjecting us to yet another by-the-numbers torture flick: might be best to give yourselves a title that doesn’t invite cockney rhyming slang. Flashing the word ‘terrible’ in the opening sequence perhaps isn’t the best step either. First impressions count for a […]
Review by Keri O’Shea Sometimes, when you least expect it, you stumble upon a movie which is so strange and so wonderful that it just lodges itself in your affections and refuses to budge, come what may. Sure, the warm afterglow of the first viewing will fade somewhat, but the impression overall remains – even […]
Time and again we’re told we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. How often do we really heed that advice, though? Does experience generally show the old adage to be true? I could almost certainly list dozens of works that were neither more nor less than the image on which they were sold. When […]
Review by Stephanie Scaife New from Arrow Video and on its first ever outing onto Blu-ray comes Red Scorpion, a quintessential 80s action movie from Joseph Zito, he who brought us such classics as Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter as well as the exemplary Chuck Norris pictures, Missing in Action and Invasion USA. But […]
Review by Keri O’Shea Good ghost stories are hard to find on film these days – and directors, I would argue, know as much. Of course, there are myriad reasons for the glut of endurance horrors we have had in recent years, but at least part of that must stem from the fact that it […]
Review by Keri O’Shea When editor Ben asked if there were any takers to review a Bulgarian neo-noir entitled Zift, I’ll admit it – I jumped at the chance. My knowledge of Bulgaria is limited, but I find Eastern Europe fascinating and the cinema I have seen from that part of the world doubly so, […]
Review by Ben Bussey Ambition; perhaps both the most vital, yet also most hazardous attribute a filmmaker can have. If you aim high and deliver, you will vindicate yourself and by all rights should be applauded for it. However, if you fall short of the mark you may well end up the subject of a […]
Review by Stephanie Scaife Eureka Entertainment brings us the next instalment from their Masters of Cinema series in the form of the little known pseudo-documentary called Punishment Park, directed by cult British director Peter Watkins (The War Game, Culloden). After a poor critical response and with its tough, political subject matter ensuring distribution near impossible, […]
Review by Ben Bussey In another fortuitous turn of events, our Japanese Exploitation month sees a new release from one of the most eminent contemporary J-sploitation directors, Noboru Iguchi. Now, it’s a bit strange to sit down to watch the ninth film of a film franchise – itself adapted from a long-running manga series – […]
Review by Nia Edwards-Behi If I may, before I begin to review this film properly, get a complaint out of the way. Whoever designed the cover of this DVD needs a pat on the back for having seen the cover for the I Spit on Your Grave remake and a big fat medal for thinking […]
Review by Ben Bussey There is a particular potency to films (or stories told in any medium, for that matter) which go to lengths to establish a naturalistic context, then introduce a supernatural element. When we are presented with a story world which we can swallow as real, it gives that bit more power to […]