Max Page’s birthday party is ruined when an uninvited metre crashes into his yard, freaking out the old guy and his guests. Later on the next day, “authorities” turn up to investigate the site and fool everyone off with a “nothing to worry about” story.
Fear is never an invited guest
Continue reading The Unwelcomed/The Arrival (1991)
Largely forgotten, The McPherson Tapes film is an often overlooked early found footage sci fi movie. It’s something that you’ll find among those creepy compilation videos on YouTube, as the kids don’t have recollection of the movie or it’s creepy impact, often citing it as real found footage. If only they had seen the movie they really wouldn’t be any doubts.. But in all fairness the movie was once presented on a 1990’s paranormal investigation show as real footage, so I guess we can’t just blame the kids as the entire history of the movie has been plagued with claims of authenticity. But what makes it so realistic, that even the professionals can’t set it’s a work of fiction?
Director: Liam O’DonnellLong after the failure of Skyline and the mediocre success of the sequel, it’s plain to see that the new format is the new template for all future movies, now that Liam O’Donnell is in the driving seat. While O’Donnell’s fine tuning has made a drastic improvement in the Skyline trilogy it’s taken the film down a strange rabbit hole but is this third installment a breath of fresh air or just the final nail in the Skyline coffin? Continue reading Skylines (2020)
Richard Stanley has made a succinct but highly notable list of horror movies over the last 37 years, my personal top favourite is Hardware AKA Mark 13 (1990), a film I associate with so closely I have my own MARK 13 tattooed as part of my sci fi leg piece, Dust Devil (1992) and Island of Dr Monroe (1996) received mixed reviews but retains a solid cult fan base for their unique approach to horror. Somewhere within all of his back catalogue there includes crazy hallucinogenic colour bursts, unknown hidden horrors and strong powerful characters who are usually lost in the heat of the earth.
Continue reading Color Out Of Space (2019)Make no mistake there’s a deeper meaning behind this 16mm Quality Color movie, on the surface Dolher’s homemade sci fi adventure is simply about a small handful of rogue aliens that have landed on earth and intend on making some mischief, but by the end of this wintry escapade we’re left questioning who the real monsters are.
In a sleepy Baltimore down during mid winter, the biggest crisis was who was going to be nominated as the new mayor, but after a suspected meteor lands out in the woods, there’s a spate of unusual deaths. Before the town can really comprehend who or what is killing anyone who wanders out into the wilderness, a brilliant scientist is soon lending a hand and aiding the officials in the right direction of a possible downed UFO.
Continue reading Alien Factor (1978)
Director: Luigi Cozzi
Starring: Ian McCulloch Louise Marleau Marino Masé Siegfried Rauch Gisela Hahn. Italy/Germany. 1h 22m
A ship carrying coffee,pulls into a New York harbour, but no one is on board, instead it’s filled with glowing “eggs” when tampered with they explode, spraying toxic liquid that causes massive tissue damage to anyone near them, an expert is called in to investigate the matter, Colonel Stella Holmes (Marleau) and her journey to discover the source is exciting and dangerous. Initially she freezes the samples but when more are found she brings in the flamethrowers, but how can we be sure that they have all been destroyed, where do they come from and what’s going on? WIth all these questions she digs deeper into the physiology of the “eggs” and soon comes to the conclusion that they are not from this planet, she tracks down one of two astronauts who have recently returned from Mars, but now Commander Ian Hubbard (MuCulloch) is a shabby down and out alcoholic but after some prompting he sorts his shit out and helps out the stunning Colonel. Continue reading Contamination (1980)
HOME SWEET HOME
(Thriller, Gore, Horror, 2013) (18) D/W: David Morlet S: Megham Heffern 1h 20m. USA.
A young married couple comes home from a date night to discover that they are imprisoned in their own house with a methodical killer.
How strange, two movies with the same name, same synopsis made in the same year! The only way I could tell them apart is by the running time. Remakes are getting quicker and quicker! I thought Quarantine (2008) was made pretty soon after Rec (2007)
This is another Home Invasion movie but in a very different style, it has charm, it’s very quiet and the intruder is genuinely very creepy as is his mask. He’s as sadistic as the Collector (2009) but more believable as he doesn’t rig up Saw traps in every room in under 3 minutes.
The beginning is a bit lengthy, silent introduction into the movie, while the villain settles in, tucking in the baby and lubing himself up for the night. Literally lubing his head up with Vaseline.. Obviously it’s his thing…
The real tension starts when the couple, a young married coule return home after an evening at the theatre, they briefly settle in before the uninvited guest makes his appearance known.
Slow paced but brutal is the best way to describe this movie, it’s similar to Funny Games (1997) or the Strangers (2008), you’ll notice something in the background and then WHOA blood! It mimics the directors other horror, Mutants (2009) and does have a very Euro Film feel to it.
There is a very different structure to Home Sweet Home that works for this style of movie, often with films directors will try and introduce the characters in great detail to make you love or hate them to cause a deeper reaction when the shit hits the fan, it doesn’t happen in here and it’s great because you don’t become annoyed with the characters, instead the sheer horror of a home invasion strike enough fear into the viewer. Lets face it, it’s pretty unpleasant… you get a pretty good idea what the couple are like in the brief introduction.
Another striking factor is that unlike other home invasion movie this one is well lit and you can clearly see what is going on, there is a bit of sneaking around but it’s not in the shadows. A majority of the movie is a showdown between the intruder and the wife and both actors nail the performance totally.
A great twist at the end, actually a pretty good ending considering the pace and tension, it still gives a little kick at the end on top of all the others.. It’s not the best film ever but it’s certainly one of the more memorable home invasion movies and it worth a watch.
Q: Not many quotes I’m afraid.. this is a pretty silent film.
BS: I have to say that I really did love the introduction where the guy smears himself with Vaseline.. and there is a strange art house style scene where a ball bounces down the stairs.. TENSION!!! It’s simple and extremely affective.
R: Strangers (2008), Funny Games (1997), Cherry Tree Lane (2010) , Ils/Them (2006).
7/10
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