For some inane reason it took years for me to finally watch this well made low budget Australian Horror. The basic premise is a widowed mother has problems looking after her incredibly annoying son, then things turn for the worse when she reads him a bedtime story called 'The Babadook'. I will admit that the first 15 minutes of the move were hard going simply because of the world's most annoying child, though I urge you to carry on watching as it might start to make sense. For modern Horror lovers, this might not hit the spot, there is no gore and nothing really shocking, just the sanity of either the Mother or the child or both slowly going. It's a good tale, and the acting from both the leads is very good. A horror movie outside the box, well worth a watch.
Reviews
750 Reviews
A Hollywood Christmas
(2022 TV Movie)
Anything this bad....
19 December 2022
I have read a couple of reviews for this movie where they obviously didn't get that this is a deliberately awful movie encased in a deliberately cheesy Christmas movie. I admit that the first ten minutes were going hard until I realised the intentional cheesiness, and also thought that Anissa Borrego's fake voice was wonderfully awful, until I realised it was her real voice, I'm so sorry! This is simply a comedic look at Christmas movies, but done in an interesting way. Yes, it's not to everyone's taste, but when you realise how over the top it is you've got to find it funny. Not everyone's cup of tea, but I liked it.
Scarecrows
(2017)
Simple but effective
18 December 2022
Saw this on Amazon Prime,. Within five minutes, horror fans will know where this movie is heading, which is typical for most of this genre. What makes horror interesting is the route plan and destination and unfortunately the plan is very obvious with the director taking far too long to get to the crux of the matter. Once there, it gets better and the destination becomes blurred. The acting is pretty good for a 'b' horror movie, the cinematography is far better than I would have expected for this level of movie and I liked the kills. Worth a viewing for horror fans, but contains far too many cliches.
Triangle
(2009)
An endless voyage of discovery
14 December 2022
Watched this on Amazon Prime. On IMDb the movie is described as a thriller/Sci-Fi, but I would add the genre of Horror. The plot is a group of six people go sailing on a yacht, come across a weird storm and all hell breaks loose. It's very hard to give any more details without giving away the whole plot but the story is good enough to have you gripped quite early on. The acting is generally good and the pacing is fine and at no point drops off. I thought Melissa George in the lead role was very good, but I've always had my doubts about Liam Hemsworth, and as usual he had no presence. Watch it, you might be surprised!
Horror House
(1969)
I've seen a lot worse!
28 November 2022
Watched this on Amazon prime. The basic plot is a group of twenty-somethings get bored at a party and decide to explore a deserted mansion (amazingly, horror plots haven't changed much in 50 years). I would best describe this as a horror whodunit movie, although the horror is milder than some Hammer House productions. Typical for a 'B' horror flick, you always find famous actors either at the beginning or end of their careers. The Police Detective is played by Dennis Price, who gained fame for the Ealing Comedy 'Kind Hearts and Coronets' alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi and two of the explorers are Frankie Avalon and Richard O'Sullivan who became a big UK TV star. The movie starts incredibly slowly but gets a lot better, the plot has a couple of twists and the ending might surprise you. Good for a horror fest.
Lady on a Train
(1945)
Enjoyable Comedy Murder Mystery
27 November 2022
This is a thoroughly entertaining 1940s movie starring Deanna Durbin, who at the time was probably one of the most famous and best paid women in Hollywood. The basic plot is while on a train Deanna witnesses a murder from the train's window, nobody believes her so she tries to become an amateur sleuth. The original story was written by Leslie Charteris, who gained fame from The Saint novels, made famous by Roger Moore and others. The screwball humour is great fun, the whodunnit part is not obvious, which keeps you enthralled throughout and the supporting cast are all great. This movie is definitely worth a watch.
X
(II) (2022)
Well made but light on fright
26 November 2022
The basic plot of this horror flick is a small film crew hires out a barn conversion from a farmer in what I think was Texas in the 1970s to make a porn movie. The movie is well made, the actors, led by Mia Goth and Brittany Snow are all good and the cinematography is great, but as horrors go it just isn't anything special, there is nothing that would frighten or shock anyone past puberty, the movie takes forever to get to the time of screaming, and the kills are incredibly boring. Yet another modern horror which fixates on style over substance. On the plus side, it's far superior to the awful 'Midsommar' and I'll probably watch the prequel 'Pearl'.
A Field in England
(2013)
Belongs in the Tate modern by the bricks!
22 November 2022
I liken this movie to a patchwork quilt where you can admire the skill in each individual piece, but when joined together it's just an elaborate blanket. Some of the acting, especially from Reece Shearsmith, is really great, the cinematography and use of monochrome which lends this movie a certain gravitas is superb and the lingering thought of whether this is a dream attempts to keep you interested, but there is an over-riding feeling of style over substance. I really enjoyed Ben Wheatley's work on High-rise and Sightseers so was hopeful for this movie, but have been left disappointed, this is a monochromatic Emperor's new clothes.
The Toolbox Murders
(1978)
Makes Rob Zombie look like Christopher Nolan
15 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is one of the infamous 72 'video nasties' banned in the UK in the early 80's, some of which were superb horror movies, this one though was most certainly not. A man carrying a toolbox goes around an apartment block killing women with various work tools. Amazingly it's not until the fourth murder victim, that you hear a scream; there is not much gore and the acting is appalling, even for a bad horror movie. The movie then changes to a detective thriller of sorts, without the thrills, and ends with the abduction and rape of a 15 year old girl who gets revenge by killing for rapist. Unfortunately, the revenge killing isn't shown, the only murder in this awful movie which could have shown empowerment, similar to 'I spit on your grave'. I suggest this movie is only for those horror fans who want to tick off a movie on a specific list.
Pieces
(1982)
Wonderfully over the top
5 November 2022
I was lucky enough to see this during a Halloween horror Fest at the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle. This movie was on the infamous list of banned video nasties in the UK, although I can't understand why as it's far more tame than most on the list. The basic plot is a killer is murdering women at a Boston University and taking a body piece as a trophy. The modern version of the Keystone cops are on the hunt for the killer, led by Christopher George, the only actor in this movie who would pass an audition for part of the donkey in a pre-school nativity play. This though, is not a criticism as this is the essence of 'B' Horror flicks, awful acting, terrible dialogue tons of gore and dodgy effects. There was more laughter in the cinema than for many comedy movies. For horror fans this movie is a must see. I loved it.
Greener Grass
(2019)
Completely Bonkers
4 September 2022
This is one of the times where I cannot do justice to a movie by giving any plot as it may possibly put you off viewing what is one of the most original alternative comedy movies I've seen in decades, but suffice to say think of a comedic blend of Stepford Wives and Desperate Housewives. This is definitely a Marmite movie, you'll either love it or hate. I found it rather clever and completely absurd at the way it poked fun at middle class suburbia. Directed, Written by and starring Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe this is one of the most original movies for ages and I look forward to seeing what they have in store for us next. Two thumbs up.
Shattered
(1991)
A pretty good 90's thriller
2 September 2022
The idea for the story isn't original, but it's entertaining and leaves a certain amount of doubt in the mind, which for a thriller is all important. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, this isn't anywhere near his best movie but it's still enjoyable. A cast of decent but not quite A-list actors led by the always reliable Tom Berenger (could never understand why he never quite made the top, considering the movies he starred in) with good support from both Bob Hoskins and Greta Scacchi this is a good but pretty typical early 90's noir movie. Reminiscent of Presumed Innocent and Jagged Edge in style, worth a watch.
St. Vincent
(2014)
You've got to love Bill Murray
31 August 2022
A drama comedy about a mother and son moving living next door to what seems like a Grouch, played brilliantly by Bill Murray. Not being rude about Melissa McCarthy, but with the exception of 'Spy', have never found her the least amusing, but she's really good in this movie, primarily because she's not attempting comedy. Naomi Watts as the pregnant Dancer/ Hooker love interest was also really good; but the person who keeps your interest throughout is the young boy Oliver, played brilliantly by newcomer Jaeden Martell, an actor to watch out for in the future. This is a small movie with a lot of character as well as a few surprises, definitely worth watching.
A Good Year
(2006)
A great little movie
28 August 2022
Watched this film on Amazon Prime. Not the usual type of movie for Russell Crowe, but definitely one of his better ones. It helps when the movie is directed by Ridley Scott, based on a noel by Peter Mayle and has a supporting cast of Albert Finney, Tom Hollander and the drop dead gorgeous and under-rated actress Marion Cotillard. The essence of the plot is a man deciding what he wants from life, and the enjoyment of the movie is watching him reach that decision. Contains occasional swearing (to be honest I'm a Londoner, so I never notice it) and has no nudity, so I'd call this a family movie. Two thumbs up from me.
Interstate 60
(2002)
A hidden gem
27 August 2022
Watched this on Amazon Prime. I would describe this movie as a Romantic Comedy Fantasy, it has a really good story and a cast that most movies could only dream of (I should add that some of the famous cast literally appear in the movies for no more than 5 minutes, but but others will pop up again and again) and yet it was released straight to video, which for the life of me I cannot understand as this will definitely be in my top 20 movies of the year, and I watch a lot of movies. I would say this isn't for people of all ages as there is occasional swearing, but it's fleeting. A great movie that left a big smile on the face of this 50 yr old.
Just Like Heaven
(2005)
A great under-rated Rom-com
25 August 2022
A man (Mark Ruffalo) rents an apartment in San Francisco and gets spooked by a ghost (Reece Witherspoon) who thinks he's broken into her apartment. Nothing particularly original, but both the lead actors are great, the story is a good one, and it has that X factor that just makes it really good. I'm probably doing it a disservice not giving it 9 stars, but I'm a tough critic.
True Grit
(1969)
Surprisingly good
24 August 2022
I admit I haven't seen many John Wayne movies, but his acting and especially his voice has put me off seeing more. This is not your average Western, the movie has far more depth than many from the 60's or before. The story is a good one, even John Wayne is more likeable as an older drunken rogue, though Kim Darby as Mattie Ross is the star. Glen Campbell was great as a supporting actor and there were small roles for new and unknown actors Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper. This movie might have changed my mind about John Wayne, will have to try more of his movies.
Monster Island
(2004 TV Movie)
Great idea
16 August 2022
Some of the people rating this movie lowly seem to miss the point, this is an intentionally cheesy re-imagining of a stop motion movie from the 60's made for the MTV era. Having Adam West play the scientist was the icing on the cake. Fantastic idea, unfortunately the humour is lost on the modern generation.
Cruel Intentions
(1999)
A quite clever teen movie
13 August 2022
If you want to introduce classic literature to a teen audience, movies like this are a great way, a good adaptation of a classic, not up there with '10 things I hate about you' or 'Romeo + Juliet' but still good enough to elicit interest in the classics from the audience.
Walk the Line
(2005)
Quite superb
9 August 2022
This is not a Johnny Cash Biography, this is a Cash & Carter biography, with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon at their very best in the lead roles. You don't need to love music to enjoy this great movie, but it helps, they both sang rather than mimed, and that made the movie all the better. It's sad that neither Cash or Carter got to see this movie, I think they would have liked it.
Quite different for a Hammer movie
9 August 2022
Captain Kronos was a quite original take on a vampire Hunter when this movie came out. Whilst it has the bare trappings of a horror, it was made far more tongue in cheek, which made it all the more memorable. The acting is okay, the plot is reasonable and it also stars a young Caroline Munro, which is a plus.
Torn Hearts
(2022)
Not great, but watchable
3 August 2022
An average Blumhouse production is better than most horrors, but this one was barely watchable, the acting was okay, but the plot was poor. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I was into Country music. A well made movie with a lousy plot.
Howl
(I) (2015)
A good horror flick
31 July 2022
A good idea for a movie, a train breaks down in the middle of nowhere and something nasty is outside. Not original, but this movie is made with a bit of intelligence, it's not full of the typical brainless horror flick characters, and instead looks how people cope in times of desperation. A good low budget horror / thriller that's well worth a watch.
Bottle Shock
(2008)
A great small movie
31 July 2022
A great cast and a wonderful true tale of the early days of the American wine industry make this a really good movie to watch. The late great Alan Rickman was wonderful as the British Wine Snob, with Bill Pullman and a young Chris Pine acting well as father and son. A great family movie.
Bloody New Year
(1987)
A really bad English horror
31 July 2022
Saw this on Netflix. I know characters in horror movies need to be dumb for the movies to work, but this movie might contain the most mentally challenged characters I've ever seen in a movie. The plot is unoriginal and the acting and effects in this are far worse than most 'b' movies. Don't waste your time watching this.
Tell Your Friends