ABC’s of Death 2.5 (2016)

Director:Various.
Starring. A lotta people WORLDWIDE. 1h 25m.

There aren’t many movies series that I fangirl over but the ABCs of Death and VHS are certainly anthologies that I got my teeth firmly into. I had lost hope for a 3rd part to turn the duo into a trilogy, and in my haste I didn’t realise this strange collection has been compiled. It definitely seems to be a marmite movie, but if you enjoyed the previous then you’ll probably see a lot of charm in this selection of movies which seem to be just as creative and diverse as the rest.

During the original submissions, there was an outstanding amount of M’s submitted, and this ABC, is really an MMM as it complies the 26 favourites from the M list, which begs me to ask why the hell isn’t there a box set of 26 movies for each letter in an epic box set, but alas we have the MMM’s of death to enjoy for now.

Nightmare Cinema (2018)

Director:Alejandro Brugué, Joe Dante, Mick Garris, Ryûhei Kitamura, David Slade
Starring:Mickey Rourke, Richard Chamberlain, Eric Nelsen, Mariela Garriga, Adam Godley, Patrick Wilson, Ezra Buzzington, Stephanie Cood .USA. 1h.59m

Anthologies are an important part of any genre but their significance to the world of horror is vital for getting a collection of directors to get those shorter, sometimes more obscure ideas out there. Horror is usually just a concept, Short Stories to tell the dark is a great example of a very short one page stories that kept a lot of kids up at night and is about to start scaring them again with the upcoming horror with the same name by Guillermo del Toro.

Every era has its highs and lows, from the golden era of Amicus to the more recent VHS and Southbound movies, we’ve also been treated by cult classics like Creepshow and Body Bags, the list really does go on. A lot of these films really took themselves seriously, trying to deliver something unseen, new and unbound, but most of this is set aside for a slightly retro kookie mish mash of bizarre horror and a few giggles in this bizarre anthology, partially starring Mickey Rouke in the wrap around.

Nightmare Cinema is set around an out of the way cinema called the Rialto, run by the master of nightmares Mr Rouke, the basis is an unsuspecting victim wanders into the cinema, once seated they are forced to see their worst nightmare, but the aftermath is slightly different for each character, this was a bit unnerving for me, I like a good routine in an anthology.

Waxworks II – Lost in Time (1992)

 

Director: Anthoy Hickox
Starring: Zach Galligan, Alexander Godnov, Monkia Schnarre, Martin Kemp, Bruce Campbell . USA . 1h 44m

After the impressive Waxworks(1988) Anthony Hickox spoilt his loyal fans with a sequel only 4 years after the original, possible in an era when fans were honoured with such things rather than waiting a lifetime for nothing. It’s very typical for Hickox’s trademark horror lightly dusted with black comedy, evil henchmen drenched in black with lots of hints of magic and a bizarre array of special effects and fantasy.

The final scene of Waxworks has been re-enacted and the film flows on seamlessly from here. Although it’s a little scattered and less formed than the original where we saw a group of wayward teens visit an enchanted waxworks exhibition and its freakish staff. They one by one get seduced into a display and find themselves thrust into the fantasy world that it depicted. While this is rife in this comedic sequel, it has a very different atmosphere to it, nothing is really taken seriously here, and after all we’ve seen it all before with the original and it seems that Hickox was just out for a lark with this one. He does make the most of the original set up, so the film is presented in different segments each with a very unique feel and theme.

Waxworks (1988)

Director: Anthony Hickox
Starring: Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, David Warner, Michelle Johnson, Patrick Macnee, Dana Ashbrook, John Rhys-Davies . USA . 1h 35m

The 80’s was a decade of goofy horror, obviously there were some real shockers out there which really upped the ante and changed the game forever but I feel that the number of cheesy comedy horrors was possibly at an all time high, but some were presented in a way which really captured the hearts of horror fans and like this, made themselves into the cult classic year book. Waxworks have always thrilled and entertained but in this epic terror things get more creepy than usual when a mysterious exhibit appears from nowhere with a staff of misfits at its helm.

Ginger Snaps(2000)

Day 1 – Ginger Snaps

Director: John Fawcett .
Starring. Katharine Isabelle, Emily Perkins, Kris Lemche,Mimi Rogers. Canada. 1h 48m.

Usually teen coming of age movies are both shocking and comedic, and while ginger snaps has all of this, it takes everything to a new level, the comedy is blacker and there’s much more blood than you’d expect from a couple of girls who are just trying to get by in high school..

A lot of horror films involve teenagers; classic horrors like Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) have thrilled and scared our pants off, but usually the teens are the victims, but a whole lot Ginger Snaps strives to be different from all the rest and in this teen dream film meets hammer horror, the beast wears lipstick and heels while feeling really awkward in social situations.

Hausu / House (1977)

Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi.
Starring: Kimiko Ikegami, Kumiko Ohba, Kumiko Oba, Mitshtoshi Ishigami, Miki Jinbo, Reiko Sato. Japan. 1h 27m.

Every now and then I have the urge to watch something completely off the wall, and I’ve seen and heard so much about House over the years and deemed that most of it couldn’t be true..  but finally managed to find a copy at a semi reasonable price so I relaxed into it a few nights ago… then panicked a lot, but there is a lot going on in this cartoon style fairy story.

Drag me to hell (2009)

Day 11 of 31

Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: Alison Lohman Justin Long Lorna Raver Dileep Rao David Paymer Adriana Barraza. USA. 1h 39m

This playful full horror film turns a tragedy until waking nightmare, And coming from the king of comedy horror,  Sam Raimi this film is almost faultless.  Anything that digs its way out of the twisted minds that unleash the Evil Dead (1981) onto an unsuspecting cinematic audience this  weirdtastic thriller centres around and ambitious loan clark at the bank who attempts to impress her boss by being unnecessarily firm with a  an old gypsy woman who was literally begging for an extension on a home loan Christie believes that she successful made the “tough call” that was so very important and is now front of the line for the illustrious promotion but little does this small town country girl know how much truth is in the curse that has been laid upon her by the old Gypsy Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver). Once strange things start to occur Christine seeks help help my local psychic Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) but with the skeptical long suffering boyfriend Clay (Justin Long) who rubbishes any notion of a curse down to coincidence Christine has to soldier on facing her personal demons along with the Lamia that might actually be trying to drag her to hell.