Director: Johannes Roberts Starring: Mandy Moore, Claire Holt, Matthew Modine .USA/UK. 1h 25m
There seems to be a modern push to make a shark film that’s more frightening than Jaws (1975) and 47 Meters Down attempts to put a couple of holidaying party girls in the driving seat against a deadly toothy beast resulting in a laughable popcorn “thriller”. Initially there’s no real build up as with the classic Jaws so really the connection should stop being made? It seems that after being jilted by her lover for being boring, a young girl is talked into going on an adventure swimming with sharks. “Think of the pictures’ ‘ It’s never clear if this is supposed to win her ex back or just make him jealous but think about all the other health implications too Karen!?
Director: Fred Olen Ray Starring:Buster Crabbe, Raymon Roberts, Linda Lewis, Georeg Kelsey. USA. 1h 27m
Mind bending retro sci fi horror, featuring gator eating alien zombies that lay siege on a quaint rural southern town where a journalist ends up in a dead end town that seems to be running out of gators only to stumbles on the story of a lifetime.
Director: Anthony DiBlasi Starring: Juliana Harkavy, Natalie Victoria, J LaRose, Joshua Mikel. USA. 1h 30m
Just when you thought it was safe enough to guard an abandoned prison during the graveyard shift… There’s something about The Last Shift which really resonates with horror fanatics. A simple story which is the ultimate setting for a horror story is amped up with good old fashioned ghostly atmospherics and relies on practical effects, this is what the fans cry out for constantly and when it’s delivered it’s welcomed with open creepy arms!
Jessica (Harkavy) is left to her own devices while guarding a local empty and highly haunted prison during the night shift. and the night becomes a roller coaster of jump scares, poltergeist activity and moving family revelations.
Director: Fred Olen Ray Starring: Charles Napier, Ann Turkel, Bo Svenson, Ron Glass. USA. 1h 30m
I love when the smaller budgeted movies attempt to retell bigger budgeted blockbuster style stories, and this film, that spends most of its time I’m swimming in the success of other sci fi classics like Alien (1979) in fact it’s totally an Alien rip off, but all of its good intentions, seems to be another homage to cult film but plays out like another version of the fated project, The Dark(1979), and this about s successfully thrilling as Alien 2 on Earth(1981)
Director: Wes Ball Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Will Poulter, Ki Hong Lee, Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper, Aidan Gillen, Giancarlo Esposito, Thomas Brodie-Sangster. UK. 2h 22m
I’m a big sucker for well planned trilogies, but if I don’t feel there’s much going for them, like the Matrix, I’ll only watch the first and last. Generally the 2nd movie is just fluffy filler, something to make the fans ever eager for the penultimate showdown. I like to see the set up and close down and I feel that I’ve not missed anything by skipping straight to the final chapter here. At last we all get some closure to a franchise that has a curious beginning, the ending won’t be much of a payoff.
Director: Rob Bowman Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, Gerard Butler, Alexander Siddig, Ned Dennehy, Izabella Scorupco .UK. 1h 41m
I fell out of love with fantasy movies for the surreal back in my teens, I still enjoy the genre but I live for the way out psychotropic pop surreal that goes that one step beyond. The fantasy genre is riddled with stories of dragons, maidens, cruel giant monsters, laws and riddles but going back to the standard western fantasy realm only gets a film canned as a tiresome Lord of the Rings rip off, so many attempts to bring Fantasy into the modern realm have challenged many a cast and crew, this silly bu entertaining project from X Files director Rob Bowman is interesting but slightly cringe.
After years of working the TV circuit Bowman branched out into a lengthy feature which resurrects a modern tale of dragons and legendary heroes, blending castles and helicopters, a tale of ultimate bravery and sacrifice unfolds. Continue reading Reign of Fire (2002)→
Director:William Herbert . Starring.Laurie Walters, Joe Spano, Edna MacAfee, Harry Bauer, Steve Solinsky, Richard, Veille. USA. 1h 29m.
Warlock Moon is a stange low budget horror that has all the right intentions to be a twisted occult driven grindhouse thriller but it just doesn’t quite reach those dizzying heights, but still remains a hot favourite with a select few enthusiasts.
William Herbert’s confident homemade horror involved a lot of favours and dedication, but that’s what a lot of b movies are all about, making the most of what you can and creatively bending rules on public filming, it also helps to have a cast who are flexible and are fully dedicated to project, in this case, Edna MacAfee wasn’t allowed to wear makeup to enhance her old woman look and Walters and Spano were able to ad lib most of their scenes together which runs natural as they were a couple at the time. Continue reading Warlock Moon (1973)→
There was a terrible traffic jam and as the roads were dead I decided to duck into the pub and right across the road is the indie cinema soooooo… I took my pint over the road and got tickets for….
*47 Metres Down (2017) I finally found an indie cinema still showing this, I dunno why I wanted to see this and now I’ve seen it, I dunno why I bothered, after sitting down it dawned on me, this is a movie about a couple of girls in a cage in shark infested water, how much can you expand on that in an hour and 20 minutes…. but I like to keep an open mind. It starts out slow,  it takes 20 minutes before the sisters are on the boat. The backstory is irrelevant and the attempt to pull at the heart strings is isn’t needed but once they are out in the blue yonder under the guidance of Matthew Modine, who looks older but sounds exactly like Private joker and that’s a bonus as most of the film he’s a voice in their ears. The chum is chucked and the girls get dunked and with an hour of oxygen and an hour of movie the rest is supposed to be in pseudo real time. The film focuses on the girls after they get dropped to the sea bed, and bizarrely the great white sharks circling them don’t really get a lot of screen time, but this isn’t a scary shark movie it’s an underwater thriller, without any thrills…there are frights but there’s lots of puzzle solving and cute twist at the ending, you see it coming a mile on.. in fact it line up for this twist is as subtle as Conner McGregor but on the whole it’s just another underwater film. I wasn’t won over by it, it’s incredibly made and looks stunning but unlike something like Jaws (I didn’t want to mention it but…) which has a lot more storyline to it, I just don’t see myself watching it again.. but it was good to see at last but there is no treasure in this wreck 3/10Continue reading Last Night’s Movies 26.07.2017→
Director – Abel Ferrara Writer – Abel Ferrara Starring – Willem Dafoe, Shanyn Leigh. USA. 1h 24m
I had been looking for this film for some time, I rekindled my love affair with the unusual character that we know as Willem Dafoe when I watched The Hunter (2011) and Antichrist (2009) and remembered how his presence always added a bit of skinny charisma to any film. So I got busy on Amazon and started searching for his back catalogue. 4:44 Last Day on Earth came up and sounded like an amazing spiritual adventure, so it was the top of the list…. but it was strangely hard to find! Anyway I have it now and I’ve watched it and.. I’m not all that impressed.Continue reading 4.44 Last Day On Earth (2011)→
Director: Joe Johnston Starring: Benicio De Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving . UK. 1h 59m
This gothic tale centres on the Talbot family and their estate in the town of blackmoor. Based in 1890s Britain. After the brutal murder of his brother, Lawrence Talbot (Benico Del Toro) returned to his family home from the theater when promoted by his brothers fiance Gwen. Nothing has changed, especially and hatred between him and his estranged father (Sir Anthony Hopkins). Lawrence finds himself along; battling his mothers apparent suicide, his fathers coldness, the new desire of his late brothers wife, suspicious locals and the pursuant police officer to try and solve his brothers murder while the beast stalks them all.
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