Haunted House - 1921 - USA

Haunted House - 1921 - 6/10

 
Harried bank clerk Buster takes the rap for counterfeit currency, then a holdup!
He flees – into the notorious haunted house, actually a front for counterfeiters.
A film by half.  First half, in the bank, is repetitive and the glue joke is used to death.
Once the setting shifts to the spook house, look out.
Gag after gag after gag, and the pace is hectic.
Well preserved prints out there, too, and nicely tinted.

Nyarlathotep - 2001 - USA

Nyarlathotep - 2001 - 5/10

 
Rooting around during an archeological excavation in Egypt, the messenger is disturbed.
Promising concept does with best with budget constraints.
No dialogue, only narration finds Nyarlathotep, mascara and extended goatee, as celebrated prophet.
Still … a game attempt and worth a look.  HPL short is easily found.

A Shop For Killers - 2024 - S Korea

A Shop For Killers - 2024 - 6/10
AKA - Sarinjaui Syopingmol  // 킬러들의 쇼핑몰

 
Is it just me, or did she leave the lens cover on the scope?
Jian’s highly protective uncle was a mercenary, now a dealer.
He made enemies, and, straight off, dozens come a’callin.
Repetitive shootouts grow boringly repetitive.
The adults and their stories hold your interest, while the teenagers complain or boast.
Sniper Seong-Jo is the best thing going, musing aloud, thoughts wandering like loose balloons.
Intentionally or unintentionally, he is funny throughout.
Series sorta quits, leaving doors open for S02 of this Disney “aimed-at-children” K-drana.

Hard Candy - 2005 - USA

Hard Candy - 2005 - 7/10

 
Jeff, 39 something camera guy, likes them young.
He meets Hayley online, and they start exchanging dirty, flirty messages.
Hayley Is 14, of which Jeff is aware.
They meet at a small bistro, then he invites her back to his place for drinks.
Again … this guy … what?  It’s all good, perfectly innocent.
Until the innocent yucks disappear into a drug haze.
While the narrative pivots into psychological suspense.
Edgy, provocative fare with teeth.

A Week’s Vacation - 1980 - France

A Week’s Vacation - 1980 - 7/10
AKA - Une Semaine de Vacances

 
Her class is unruly, her partner wants a child, her parents are struggling, her brother is an idler.
Age 31, schoolteacher Laurence needs a break, which her doctor prescribes.
A week off.  Do something, do nothing, recharge, reflect.
Which Laurence does, takes a week off and takes stock of her life, her situation.
Along with her, we encounter others, most are isolated, perhaps lonely.
The undercurrent of social pressures and personal aspirations quietly roil about.
An image of a neighbor, whom Laurence spies upon yet never meets, is haunting.

The Diabolical Doctor Z - 1966 - France

The Diabolical Doctor Z - 1966 - 6/10
AKA - Miss Muerte

The good doktor, acolyte / follower of Dr. Orloff, asks the board permission to experiment on humans.
His gizmo could remove the murder impulse from killers.
Denied and derided, with his dying gasp he urges his daughter to carry on.
Only she wants revenge.
She finds her instrument in a stage artist call Miss Death.

 
Perfect entry for anyone curious about Jess Franco.
Well constructed story of revenge and murder.
Fantastic Noir lighting, a fetching Estella Blain as the lethal huntress.
Recent DVD contains excellent commentary by Franco expert, Tim Lucas.

Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In - 2024 - Hong Kong

Twilight Of The Warriors: Walled In - 2024 - 6/10
AKA - Jiu Long Cheng Zhai: Wei Cheng  // 九龍城寨之圍城

 
Supernatural fortress?  No, action overload in the lanes, alleys and balconies.
The triad swindles him, so he grabs a sack of cocaine and flees into Kowloon.
Specifically, the “Walled City” controlled by Cyclone and his crew.
After awhile, Chan adjusts to the violent, claustrophobic environment and is grudgingly accepted.
Outside events are closing in on Kowloon, however, as authorities want to level it.
Whereupon the land, even in 1980’s Hong Kong, would be worth a staggering fortune.
Action and stunts dazzle, save for excessive wire-work, which feels out of place here.
High scores, I suspect, reflect nostalgia from Hong Kong for the bygone walled city.

Stage Mother - 2019 - Canada

Stage Mother - 2019 - 6/10

 

 

Rickey left Texas for San Francisco over a decade ago.
Now Ma, Maybelline, is flying there for his funeral.
It ain’t right, burying one’s own son, yet despite the estrangement, she did love him so.
And, it turns out, she is the inheritor of his business, a struggling drag club.
In no time flat, Maybelline overcomes her conservative, religious upbringing.
Bonds with the entertainers, brings fresh ideas for revitalizing business, finds romance.
Only in the movies.
Ain’t depressing enough?  Seek elsewhere.  Feel-good all the way, with catchy songs.

The Untold Story - 1993 - Hong Kong

The Untold Story - 1993 - 7/10
AKA - 八仙饭店之人肉叉烧包

 
The steamed buns are hugely popular at the Eight Immortals Restaurant.
Credit new owner Wong Chi Hang, who took over after the previous owner – and family – disappeared!
Body parts are discovered, which may be the previous family, rousing the police.
Who accept a story along with free pork buns.
Friend, if you think you have this all worked out, you’d best think again.
This is a wild Cat III Hong Kong classic (Anthony Wong won Best Actor!).
Funny, brutal, ugly, sadistic, completely out of control, and, based on real events.

The Sermon - 2018 - UK

The Sermon - 2018 - 6/10

 
Good old-fashioned fire and brimstone.
The time the preacher warns about the abomination of sex.
Quoting Leviticus, condoning persecution of those who prey on children.
Lesbians, sadists, deviants.
God cannot love them, nor should we.
Events spiral.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3357760

The Village - 2004 - USA

The Village - 2004 - 6/10

 
Might as well say, the village of M. Night Shyamalan.
Don’t venture into the Wild Wood as there are creatures that will kill you.
Every generation is warned by village Elders.
Until one child sickens, needs medicine from another village, through the woods.
As usual with this director, there is tense buildup, suffocating atmosphere.
With a payoff, sometimes potent, or not.
Depends on how much of a fan of his you are, I guess.

Solitudo - 2020 - Poland

Solitudo - 2020 - 6/10

 
Three backpackers, and “the couple” clearly keep trying to leave the other make behind.
He is hard to shake, however, and clingy.  Uncool.
They break into an abandoned building for the night.
Only by morning, it is not abandoned.
Short film, not so much Horror as one haunt and loneliness.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3357758

Salem’s Lot - 1979 - USA

Salem’s Lot - 1979 - 7/10

 
One of the few good adaptations of King, especially from this period.
The middling writer returns to his hometown, just about the same time as the mysterious arrivals.
Followed by the sickness.
David Soul was perhaps too glamorous originally, but OK now since he is less remembered.

 
James Mason excellent as the smooth, cultured Straker.
The chief menace is seen sparingly and effectively.
While bearing a TV look in the beginning, it grows more cinematic.
By all means, watch the longest version you can, avoid the movie condensation.
And yes, there are deeper layers and societal parallels in this, should you care to look.

Alan Bennett: 90 Years On - 2024 - UK

Alan Bennett: 90 Years On - 2024 - 7/10  

 
Arena special that packs a lot into an hour.
Brief childhood, early ensemble Beyond The Fringe (Peter Cook, Dudley Moore, Jonathan Miller).
Acting career, playwright, screenplays, teleplays.
For cinema and theatre enthusiasts, numerous clips for your wish lists.
Still alive at 90, still typing away on a manual, he is droll, perceptive and merciless.
“Two things one seldom hears about getting older.
"One's ears get larger, and one's dick gets smaller.”
An overall outlook, not pessimistic, yet not hopeful.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3357759