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thomaspemberton
Reviews
Resident Evil (2002)
Evil Kneival
This had all the ingredients for a disaster, a director whos credits include Mortal Kombat & Event Horizon, a cast of unknowns led by a model-turned actor (Fair Game with Cindy Crawford anyone?) and the the most ineffective CGI since Michael Madsen gurned his way through thriller-by-numbers Species.
So imagine my surprise when the fetid debacle i had imagined turned out the be a low budget and very effective zombie/shoot em up. All the elements were in place from the zombie fodder gung ho lead men and the surly tomboy ala Michelle Rodreguiz, and it cracks along at a fair place which never lets up until the predictable ending.
Even the hand-me-down effects are quite endearing and lend a real 1980s feel to the film, all it needed was a camp chain-mail villian with porn tache and a matching stick chewing action hero who takes his name from a particularly venomous snake.
8/10
Vamp (1986)
Love at first bite
This has to be the most underrated vamp flick that i have come across, most could be put off by bottom shelf, fading icon Chris Makepiece gurning his way through frat-cliche after another, but sit tight and you will become witness to invention in a low budget movie not seen since the likes of The Black Gestapo and You can't buy love. Grace Jones makes compelling viewing as the said vamp and the soundtrack is a lesson in the tried and tested sublime to the ridiculous pitch. All in all this is a quality movie and very creepy i might add, could have toned down the pink and green lighting though (maybe Jerry Bruckheimer got a job onset as exec producer)
Blacula (1972)
Always bet on blac
I recently bought this on video to fuel my soul cinema fetish, only to find a turgid, excuse for a horror film that really left a nasty taste in the mouth. The blaxploitation era had alot of plus points with regards to black directors and actors previously not given the chance to play roles that were tended to be given to white actors - the problem came was when white studio execs realised that money was to be made in this market, thats when these sort of films got made. Pointless, racist junk that should be locked away with the dark ages - The film piles on stereotype after stereotype and you begin to wonder how anyone connected with this can still look people in the eye. Choose carefully when immersing yourself in the murky world of Blaxploitation, because for every Foxy Brown and Shaft, there is The Black Gestapo and this debacle.