BugEye Reviews

Dark Places (1974)

Should have been a better spook story...

[5 July 2000]

This film has a plot which, if handled competently, should have made a very shivery film. A man searches for a hidden fortune in the house of a deceased maniac. As he does so, images from the house's past begin to haunt him, and his own personality is slowly overshadowed by that of the former, homicidal occupant. It is to the credit of Robert Hardy that he carries off the central role well (and, indeed, holds the film together) but indifferent direction ensures that the rest of a talented cast is largely wasted. Still, worth seeing for the original story line.

Violence in the Cinema, Part 1 (1971)

A gory, entertaining spoof

[8/10 · 26 September 1998]

In the early seventies, when I saw this film, the depiction of violence on the screen was a hot media topic. Therefore the opening of this short feature took most of us in; an academic type, filmed against the background of his study, addresses the screen on the title subject. Just as we have settled down to the tedious tempo, - BANG! The study door bursts open, and a shotgun toting intruder blasts part of the speaker's head away, hurling him backwards out of his chair. It would spoil the fun if I described the rest of the increasingly blood-soaked proceedings; suffice it to say that the joke works wonderfully.

Godzilla (I) (1998)

NY attacked by giant turkey.

[1/10 · 18 September 1998]

This film deserved to fail. It seems to have been made for no other reason than to sell toys and promote various franchises. I have never seen such shameless product placement in any film. I doubt if KFC sold many extra drumsticks on the strength of this one! It will be quite a while before I forget the ridiculous spectacle of a 400 ft high monster fleeing like a frightened rabbit from a few midge sized helicopters. And couldn't he at least have knocked the Chrysler building over? Japan should declare a day of national mourning over this slur on the name of their greatest son.

The Fabulous Baron Munchausen (1962)

Marvellous Munchhausen

[10/10 · 18 September 1998]

Probably the most charming of the filmic adaptations of Raspe's 'Baron Munchausen". Czech animator Zeman creates a wonderland by combining live actors, animated models, and old prints to relate the Baron's marvelous adventures. A tour de force of the visual imagination.