Director: Dick Lowry Starring: Meredith Baxter, Stephen Collins, Michelle Johnson, Kelli Williams, Stephen Root, and Lori Hallier. USA. 1h 36m
We’ve had Alien Vs Predator and Freddy Vs Jason and even Godzilla vs Mothra, but have you ever seen a jilted wife fight her husband, the horror generated by a blond bombshell feeling the grips of age and jealousy is nothing compared to the other hollywood beasts. If at some point ,Betty Broaderick turned up at a 50ft woman and shot lazers from her eyes at his “deadbeat” husband while people flee in terror then no one would be shocked.
In it’s own rights there’s an air of horror about (directors) taught drama. The case of Betty Broaderick was one which shocked America and the world was glued to her televised court case, the details all too much to chromphrend for a lot of people. How can a wife be so cold hearted, but no matter what Betty did or was accused of, she also had her fans, it wasn’t even a matter of Hybristophilia, there was a jisted ex wife uprising on the cards, so what did Betty do?
Director: Michael Cimino Starring: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, Georeg Dzundza, Chuck Aspegren. USA. 3h 3m
Michael Cimino is a fairly laid back director, with only 8 titles under his belt he seems to only get out of bed to make a groundbreaking movie if and when he has something poignant to say. So 4 years after Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) he returns with this dark cult classic that will forever be etched in the minds of many cinema enthusiasts.
There isn’t much I can say about Deer Hunter that hasn’t been said already. It’s impact has been massive, but even with the parodies, tributes and deep analysis, what is the film trying to say? Is it anti war, is it purely dealing ? It is purely about the male bond of a few good friends? Whatever you get from the movie it starts with a wedding and ends with a funeral and there’s a lot of pain and torment that happens in between, which sounds like a nihilistic analogy for life itself. I think I knew more about the movie before watching than any other film
Director: Chigozie Oduah Starring: Yul Edochie, Uju Okoli, Nobert Waski Oguegbu, Ngozi Evuka, Joseph Daniels, Rita Arum, Mike Oscar Isamede .Nigeria. 4h +
Nollywood always comes across as being quite different when it starts to mix mythology and special effects battles which is how this epic opens, with what appears to be an angry prince dueling evil entity however as the film kicks into gear we start to learn that this prince isn’t as violent as he first appears, switching back and forth through time we learn about this doomed royal family with a king is laying in a coma to which his traditional African doctor cannot wake him and in the meantime his son spends his time throwing his weight around and persuading people to do whatever he wishes. His girlfriend is belittled in front of the servants and ordered to kiss his feet when he’s angry with her, on top of this a further insult is that any women in the village has to be made availabel to him Continue reading The Tyrant Prince (2020)→
Director: Lars von Trier Starring: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg . Denmark, Germany, Italy, France, Italy, Poland, Sweden. 1h 48m
This made a very interesting date night, a reconciliation with an ex and a movie filled with sexual violence and gnostic connotations, but in all honesty we both read that there were crazy genital mutilation scenes and being the sick twisted couple we were, we actually wanted to see this together, on top of this any film with Charlotte is usually a bit nutty and even with all this knowledge we were still a bit mystified and shocked at this dark and distinctively effective movie.
Director: Todd Haynes Starring: Juilanne Moore, John Apicella, Xander Berkeley, Dean Norris .USA/UK. 1h 59m
After watching Todd Haynes’s masterful macabre paperwork drama, Dark Waters I can’t help but think back to one of his more impressive and less talked about movies, Safe; featuring all of the key elements that Haynes loves to explore, showing how we are negatively affected by “forever” chemicals. He takes a more sensitive approach in this mid nineties movie before breaking the doors down years later with the harder hitting Mark Ruffalo biopic.
I hired Safe out many years ago from Blockbusters, it was cheap, because it’s a bit too art house for some and slow and boring for the rest, but for me it really struck a chord, and later on after years of talking to people about it, that chord resonated more as there’s a surprising divide between the sexes about how real or relevant this movie is, I don’t believe it was the aim of the film but maybe a byproduct of Haynes ability to paint Julianne in a certain light while she battles invisible illness. Something that we’re all a little bit more aware of despite these damning warnings.
Director: Jamie M. Dagg Starring: Jon Bernthal, Christopher Abbott, Imogen Poots, Rosemarie DeWitt, Odessa Young, Jared Abrahamson .USA/Canada 1h 35m,
For the most part this dark neo-noir thriller takes two distinctive strong men and the troubles that surround them, highlights their strengths and weaknesses, then crash them together in the mist of a brutal cash for murder in a small American town and watches the fireworks blow them apart in a spectacular and emotive fashion.
A puzzling stranger sends bloody shock waves through a close knit community, after committing three brutal cold blooded murders. In the wake of the devastation of the remote and bleak Alaskan town, a tightly wound drifter Elwood (Abbott) checks into a motel run by Sam (Bernthal) a former Rodeo star, having retired he is making ends meet with this new venture to motel keeping but he’s a deeply troubled soul. Continue reading Sweet Virgina (2017)→
Director: Ivan Kavanagh Starring: Rupertt Evans, Anatonia Campbell-Hughes, Hannah Hoekstra, Kelly Bryne. UK. 1h 32m
A paranoid love story inflames within the confined walls of a haunted house, but not just any ghost is lingering in the shadows, it’s the ghost of a violent killer. This is enough to make any film spooky but Canal just end up dragging out the age a repetition of the same old suspense scenes and delivers little else. Written like a gothic novel and presented as a bleak drama with added Ring (1998) style ghostly scares, and The Red Shoes (2005) style red herrings, the film attempts to blur the lines between the supernatural and a genuine psychological thriller.. Shrouded in the historical mysteries of the house and deluded paranoia, the film packs a punch (be it a weak love tap) on two sides of the horror spectrum simultaneously, this can easily be mistaken as a confused Continue reading The Canal (2014)→
Director: Peter Collinson Starring: Susan George, Ian Bannen, Honor Blackman, and John Gregson .UK. 1h 27m
AKA The Baby Minder or Girl in the Dark
Often credited as the starting block for all Babysitter horror movies, this British cult classic really challenges it’s audience as much as it’s production challenges the actors. They say the best horrors are the ones where you can place yourself in the situation, and there’s nothing quite as frightening as being trapped in unfamiliar surroundings with a deranged lunatic trying to get to you while you look after someone else’s child. And this is where Susan George finds herself in Peter Collinsons cultured horror.
Collinson is probably best known for The Italian Job (1969) but only 2 years later he came back swinging with this taught thriller that verges into the Slasher territory. A young babysitter Amanda (George) settles into the Lloyd residence, the Lloyds display a lot of nervousness about their rare night out, but what dark family secret could they possibly be hiding. Continue reading Fright (1971)→
Marriage can be a difficult game to play, even when you are a player.. That seems to be the surreal message of this painful romantic drama.
A married woman (Kadiri) is torn between her average husband and a charming Prince who is willing to turn down another royal and his life in a royal household just to be with her but she just can’t make up her mind. Continue reading Wild Away (2020)→
Director: … Starring.Clems Ohameze, Mike Joseph, Chinyere Nwabueze, Chioma Ifemeludike, Yemsi Obi, Cece Edeme, Golden Black. Nigeria. 1h 56m.
Not often enough, a Nollywood movie will have a poignant message, they are typically littered with high emotional drama, horrible women being taught a lesson and people learning from their mistakes and finding religion, but there are some really big issues facing Africa and I champion any Nollywood movie which takes some timeout from the average thrall and attempts to tackle these issues, especially when they aim to change archaic views and aim to give people a better quality of life and equality, but sadly this cause is such a pivotal part of the plot I can’t go into detail. Continue reading The Fallen (2019)→
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