Director:Kyle Edward Ball Starring: Lucas Paul, Dali Rose Tetreault, Ross Paul,Jaime Hill .Canada. 1h 40m
Every now and again a director comes from left field and reminds us that new things are still possible, which is what Kyle Edward Ball has done with his tour de force trippy horror which is causing major ripples in the horror community. To say it appeared from nowhere is far from the truth, it was by no means an accident, through several years of making short movies depicting people’s most vivid nightmare, eventually Ball was able to gather all of that experience and forge together Skinamarink, an almost indescribable horror movie that digs deep into the childhood memories of the audience and eliminates another darker aspect of the Liminal space genre.
Director: Michael Pataki Starring: Richard Basehart, Gloria Grahame, Trish Stewart, Lance Henriksen, Al Ferrara, Jojo D’Amore .USA. 1h 29m
Pataki was a much loved, versatile actor but during his fullfilling career he also directed 3 movies including a risque Cinderella involved a black gay “fairy” godmother who helps Cindereally meet prince charming at a blindfolded orgy, and this crazy gory mad scientst thriller.
For the most part the film rolls out as a reverse Eyes Without a Face, instead of having to replace a face, this crazed doctor is attempting to replace a girl’s eyes. Burdened with guilt the renowned LA Ophthalmologist Dr Leonard Chaney (Basehart) becomes obsessed with restoring the sight of his only daughter, who had barely survived a near fatal crash. Unable to find the willing donors or the raw materials, the Doctor’s dark basement is a gresome reminder of his now blind human experiments.
Director: Tony Sebastian Ukpo Starring: Eke Chukwu. Haruka Abe. Gabby Wong, Anthony Ofoegbu .USA. 1h 30m
This subdued experimental movie seems to tell a pair of harmonious stories, set in a bleak future where space travel is everyday and our social norms are quite alien from what we understand today.
Initially an astronaut has crash lands in a tranquil field and attempts to find help but the social dynamics is unsettling to him, families seem to be “clumped” together any male plays a father, any child adapts to the family they find themselves with that day, language isn’t a barrier, it seems everyone is adapted to all human languages and it just rolls off the tongue.
I have a deep belief that the goal for this movie was to make it as generic as possible, maybe as some kind of experiment, maybe if a film is so no specific the audience might believe that it’s a masterpiece in disguise. Either way the blessing is that it’s only 43 minutes so it’s not an endurance test either.
Macumba Sexual (1983)Director: Jesús Franco
Starring: Ajita Wilson, Lina Romay, Antonio Mayans, Lorna Green, Jose Ferro .USA/Ita. 1h 20m
Franco’s attempt to build a provocative romp around African magic, works in as much as it combines a staggering round of art house prono with a loose story about a powerful witch princess who’s attempt to take over the world one orgasm at a time is going to plan.
A lithe Spanish real estate agent, Alice (Romay), and her partner, a French writer, are holidaying in the Canary Isands when she has a highly erotic dream about a tall black woman who walks through the desert with two human slaves on chains. That very day she’ll recieve a message from her boss to visit Princess Obongo (Wilson) for business, but soon she realises the prophetic nature of her dream and embarks on a journey of sexual awakening.
Director:Brian Jagger Starring: Todd Haberkorn, Don Shanks, Paris Warner, Ester Lay, Corynn Treadwell, Brain Telestai. USA. 1h 10m
It’s a popular belief that a prison or asylum is going to be a hotspot for paranormal activity, it just makes logical sense that at some point along the lines, the areas with the more degrees and sadistic characters, those who are already showing demonic possession and are around electrocution and electrotherapy night channel in darker forces which none can fathom.
AKA Robot Jox 2 : Crash and Burn Director: Charles Band Starring: Paul Ganus, Megal Warn, Jack McGee, Eva LaRue, Bill Moseley .USA. 1h 25m
Originally being a concept for the follow up to Robojox, a much harder end of the world scenario is placed in Band’s post apocalyptic sci fi thriller. Crash and burn does recycle some aspects from Robojox, most noeably the stop motion aniated robots themselvees but it slaps a can of terminator and max mad on to it’s murder mystery plot.
The film is set several years after a global economic collapse, and after Covid it’s easier to imagine than it was in 1990. All of fears of the future from the classic writers are dropped throughout the film, global warming, nuclear poisoning and corporation control all raise their ugly heads and Crash and Burns gives us a glimpse of what it might be like to try and live with all these oppressions but there is hope, a group of freedom fighters attempt to jam TV signals and promote messages for people to rise up against the corporations. The world is pretty dismal, it’s hot, sueper desert hot all the time, there are frequent power cuts and water is hard to find and when you drink it is probably recycled only hours before. Kids learn via some kind of interactive TV and have no connection with each other. it’s life but not a happy one.
Director: Thomas Grieser
Starring: Thomas Grieser, Ursula Grieser, Wolfgang Grieser, Timo Homburg Germany. 1h 09m
There’s something about Griesers career as a movie director that has hints of Don Dohler, not necessarily, subject and quality but determination and drive, it’s a similar energy. For those who aren’t aware, Dohler had a run of trashy sci fi movies in early 80’s including Fiend, Galaxy Invader, The Alien Factor and Nightbeast which have recently started gaining a small cult following.
Director: Matt Jaissle Starring: Deanna Cockrum, Ezekiel Alexander Enriquez, William Jassle, Rich Massey, Don Mature, Adolf Mulzer. USA. 1h 16m
It’s great to see that the truer elements of BMovies haven’t quite died out just yet. And Matt Jaissle is one of the busier directors, having a ton of interesting titles under his belt including… and then there’s the grindhouse epic of Revolution 666 blending together a pseudo Manson cult and a zombie Helter Skelter plot to destroy the world.
Director: Jason Figgis Starring: Matthew Toman, Emma Dunlop, Alan Rogers. Ireland. 1h 20m
Please correct me but this noisy thriller is Dead Man’s Shoes but in a depraved reversal where the gang, all twisted and desperate, are the saviours of a vulnerable lad…let me lead you down this bloody rabbit hole.
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