Change Your Image
c.lewis
Reviews
The Changeling (1980)
the classic ghost story
If you ever see a scarier film than the Changeling it's either The Shining or your kidding yourself! This film is about as good as it gets in the scare yourself silly department. Everything about the movie is perfect.The cast are tremendous,led by the incomparable George C Scott,the directing is subtle yet powerful and the story itself is clever demanding and above all chilling. I won't spoil you with the details of the plot,the fact that it involves a haunted house,political intrigue and murder is enough.If you like your movies to scare without the need to gross you out then see this film,If all the critics in the world got together to list the top 10 scary movies of all time this one would be in the top 3!
Circus (2000)
give me the money and I'll give you a movie!
When will the people financing British films like this,or other such offerings(and there are many!)realize that the money would be better spent on the 3.30 at Newmarket or even on a few nights out on the town,at least that way someone gets some entertainment out of it! This movie was depressing silly and downright embarrassing.I would say it was a waste of a talented cast but I feel that would be to much of an opt out for those involved.Lock Stock has a lot to answer for as the inspiration for this and many other shoddy British gangster films. Film producers please listen - we want to be entertained!!!
House on Haunted Hill (1999)
not a horror movie for horror fans
Spoiler I had such high hopes for this movie,the original is one of my all time favourites and even though there would be no Vincent Price there was still plenty of ammo to be utilized.Instead what we got was a high gloss mess! We had a cast of mostly talentless model types,one good actor,Geoffrey Rush hamming it up so much it became depressing when you remembered Price's performance.Then off course there was the token black member of the party and the clever tasty blond(any guesses as to the survivors?)worst of all the movie failed to deliver one decent scare,oh! sorry I forgot the moment at the amusement park I do apologize.When I sat at the bar before going in to see this movie I relayed an experience I had many years ago in a cinema,it told of the ridicule I suffered when I ran to the toilets during a particularly nasty scene in a movie(city of the living dead)little was I to know that half an hour later I would also be rushing from the cinema only this time it was back to the bar!
The Evil Dead (1981)
the best horror film for 20 years
Arguably,the Evil Dead is the most audacious,fun and entertaining horror film made since,well since cinema began! The story is totally unoriginal and the acting is average at best,yet what we have here can only be described as superb!From the moment the kids arrive at the cabin until the final moment of the film you find yourself gripped by the chills and thrills so outrageous at times that laughter is the most common reaction.For instance,most films dealing with a vicious sexual assault in a forest would have to be controversial,not here,by having the attacker be the trees themselves the last reactions you have are depression and revulsion. Overall the Evil Dead is fantastic entertainment very much in the vein of the horror comics some of us old enough to remember read as kids,it's gory, occasionally jumpy, wickedly funny and a bit like a good ride at the fairground, unforgettable!
The Shining (1980)
The scariest movie ever made !
The Shining is not the best film ever made,it's probably not even the best horror film but one thing for sure it's the scariest! Jack Nicholson gives the finest portrayal of a homicidal maniac in movie history,just ask any psychiatrists! The idea of being locked in a hotel miles from anyone with just your son and an increasingly frightening and bizarre acting husband for company cannot be topped for shear fear.People complain that the movie was not faithful to the Stephen King novel,well to be slightly controversial(I've also read the book)the Kubrick Shining makes Kings novel look like a Harry Potter book! If you like to be scared look no further!
Dead of Night (1945)
When Britain new how to make movies
I will start by saying quite unashamedly that I am a horror movie fanatic.I have spent the best part of 30 years hunting down every rare,weird and sometimes downright awful film involved in this particular genre.But it is only recently that I have watched this movie,you see like a lot of people I felt that to be scary a film must be modern,gory, willing to let us see every moment of terror.So to sit and watch a film that is more than 50 years old in b/w and British made, hardly full filled me with anticipation.What a surprise! I don't know if it was due to watching it alone on a windy night,or it was just a moment of weakness but this movie scared the hell out of me! the last story without doubt was 100% terror,only the Shining and to a lesser extent the Exorcist has a movie had this effect on me,so I urge all you fear finders out there to give this one a viewing you won't regret it!
Grandmother's House (1988)
An unexpected treat
When you come across a movie that no one else has heard of,even amongst fellow horror enthusiasts,and discover it to be both a tense and enjoyable romp,it gives a great deal of pleasure,grandmothers house gave me that feeling.The story itself is nothing to write home about,kids go to live with their grandparents,who have a dark secret, there's a mad woman in the house!! hardly original but then not many films are. But this film has some good heart stopping moments,yes there are some rather gaping holes in the plot and the ending is a bit of a let down but if getting the girlfriend to jump into your arms is a major benefit you can do a lot worse.
Lo squartatore di New York (1982)
what was I expecting?
To describe the plot of this film is pointless,after all you don't watch a film about a serial killer who mutilates his victims and is directed by the infamous Lucio Fulci and expect snow white! But what I wasn't prepared for was the out and out sadistic feel to the movie,all right Zombie was gory,and the beyond and city of the living dead and etc etc,but this was altogether different.Those other movies were comic book gore,kids love em!but this was so real,so repellent so depressing.I hate to say it as Mr Fulci was a cinematic hero of mine, but if you like your horror gory entertaining and above all fun give the New York Ripper a miss.