The Killer (1989)

Chow Yun Fat is an assassin with a big heart who starts a relationship with a woman he accidentally blinds. A cop is intent on bringing him him in, but the closer he gets to him, the more he finds himself liking him. Meanwhile, the triad are trying to get rid of the assassin.
A very special movie and a hugely influential one also. This story of the frienship between an amoral cop and a moral assassin laid the blueprint for many of the action films of the 90s and beyond. You can see, for example, where Tarantino got many of his ideas from right here. A high octane gun ballet that still has time for plot fulfilling emotion. Done with a style and originality that comes along rarely.

Shadow Of A Doubt (1942)

In small town America Uncle Charlie visits his family, to the delight of his niece, also called Charlie who has been wishing for something to happen. Unfortunately, Uncle Charlie may be a serial killer....
Hitch is on his toppest form in this utterly marvellous thriller that gets better with each subsequent viewing. The use of location shooting adds to the "small town American family" feeling so much that it is disturbing to see it violated by Uncle Charlie. The change of young Charlie from bored, prim high school student to the world weary lady she becomes is a wonderful transformation that unfolds before your very eyes. Cotton is excellent as the uncle, charming one moment and understatedly callous and evil the next. But everyone understands their part and plays it to perfection. All this and some delicious black humour and much much more make this mainstream cinema at its hypnotic best.

The Little Girl Who Lived Down The Lane (1976)

Jodie Foster lives all alone in a house with the nosey village unaware that her father has died and she keeps the dead body of her mother in the cellar. She gets unwanted attention from local pervert Martin Sheen and has to resort to murder to try and keep her secret safe.
A rather bizarre and original story that's pretty hard to classify. Foster gives a great performance as the 13 year girl who lives all alone and Sheen is suitably creepy as her unwanted admirer. It seems to be more unsettling when reviewing it as opposed to when watching it.

The Night She Arose From The Grave (1971)

A man is believed to be mentally unstable after his wife dies and he continues to see her, all the while taking vengeance on other red heads
A eurohorror version of those psycho thrillers from Hammer where someone in the family may or may not be mad and there's a big inhgeritence to be had. Not the most stylish of European horrors but sufficiently well handled to be enjoyed.

Good Morning Boys (1937)

Will Hay’s seedy teacher wins a trip to Paris for his class and outwit a gang of villains
Will Hay starting to really get into his stride here. Highly enjoyable modest little comedy with an early appearance from a young Charles Hawtrey. Good stuff.

The New York Ripper (1981)

A serial killer, with a penchant for quacking like a duck, is killing the ladies of New York. It says on the box - The Sickest Movie Ever Made - and, well, it isn’t. However it is quite a nasty little slasher film crossed with a giallo. Well made but obviously won’t appeal to all due to the nature of the violence - mostly directed towards women. There is a particularly nasty eye slashing scene which is instantly reminiscent of Fulci’s earlier Zombie Flesheaters flick. Deserving of most of its notoriety but not all, it's a worthwhile flick for those who can stomach it.

Wilderness (2006)

After a kid kills himself, the rest of his dorm at the youth correction facility are sent to a deserted island for an outward bound weekend as a punishment for not helping the kid. Once there they find they are not alone as they bump into a group of women from a similar correctional facility. Also on the island is the father of the suicide boy who intends killing them all one-by-one because of what happened to his son. So it's pretty much modern-British-horror-thriller-by-numbers. It even has Sean Pertwee in it. Watchable, mildly diverting but ultimately forgettable.

Eden Lake (2008)

One of the new slew of films following in the wake of such modern mould-breakers such as Funny Games, Hostel, Them etc (although Funny Games is a film that stands out on its own). A young couple decide to spend the weekend at a beautry spot that's about to become a building site. Once there, the man confronts a group of adolescents who are are ruining their day. The youths turn nasty, and eventually terrorise the couple ending in a horrific conclusion.

As said, there are quite a few of these films coming out these days (Broken was another just watched previously) and this one is on a par with most. Some good shock moments, some nauseous gore, decent suspense and the now obligatory downbeat ending. Not bad.

Girl Shy (1924)

A feature length silent comedy from one of the greats, Harold Lloyd. At the time of making only Chaplin could better him in turns of bums on seats. Looking at the films now he seems to me to be quite a way behind Chaplin and Keaton in purely film making terms. This is the stroy of a young lad who, although pathologically shy of talking to the opposite sex, writes a book about how to love women. Although it is meant as a serious text, it is taken for a humourous book and becomes a success, which makes him able to approach the girl he loves. Alas she is about to get married to a ploygamous bounder, so the chase to the church begins.

The whole film is geared to the chase sequence that occurs in the last 15 minutes, which in itself is a thoroughly top notch chase that only the silent comedians could do. Stunningly well choreographed as Lloyd moves from Car to tram to horse and cart to horse to motorbike etc. A sublime moment. Unfortunately the whole build up to this moment drags in places which is a problem I often find with Lloyd. He should have been a bit more thoughtful of his editing. Saying that, the films were huge business back then and retain a very loyal following.

Boys Will Be Boys (1935)

Another outing for Will Hay, and like Where There's A Will it's one of the early ones before he really got into his stride. However, for the first time we are introduced to Hay in his most famous guise, that of the seedy schoolmaster, who here defrauds his way into the headmaster's position at Narkover School and ends up thwarting the plans of some jewel thieves. With some excellent back-up from the likes of Gordon Harker and also featuriong Jimmy Hanley its a a funny film that gives some hints of the greatness soon to follow.

Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937)

Ray Milland portrays the jut-jawed hero of 'Sappers' novels with a twinkle in his eyes and tongue ever so-slightly in cheek. Drummond arrives home from some derring-do abroad and gets himself mixed up with a kidnapped heiress. With a short running time, there's not much padding and it rattles along its merry way. Good film for those who enjoy this sort of thick ear fun.

And Then There Were None (1945)

The first film version of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians is a joy from start to finish, regardless if you know the outcome or not. Plenty of suspense and dark humour keep the plot rolling along and director Rene Clair makes it all look fine and dandy. One of the most [erfect Sunday afternoon films ever.

Dr Jekyll vs The Wolfman (1972)

Reading the title, you won't be surprised to find that this isn't a lost Laurence Olivier classic. Instead it's a Spanish horror starring ther great Paul Naschy. Naschy was A Spanish version of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing rolled into one. While nevber achieving their exaulted position, he did carve a particular niche for himself making 70 plus films from the late 60's onwards. In particular, he made 14 (at the current count) films about tortured lycanthrope Waldemar Daninsky. Mirroring his career, the series is of varying quality but always watchable. A quick rundown of the plot should tell you what you're up against: A newly married couple travel from London to Spain to visit the village where the groom was born. They are attacked at a cemetery and the groom is killed but as the girl is attacked, Waldemar Daninsky comes to her aid. She eventually finds out that his mentioned 'illness' is lycanthropy. After a showdown with the villagers she takes Daninsky to London to meet her friend, the grandson of Dr Jekyll. Jekyll reckons he can cure him by injecting him with his grandfather's serum, thus turning Daninsky into Mr Hyde. His idea that the totally evil will do inner battle with the wolf man when the moon is up, beat him, and then Jekyll will inject him again with his antidote that he has handily invented. Jekyll's assistant, jealous of his love for the widow, who loves Daninsky, sabotages things and Mr Hyde is set loose into the swinging London scene around Soho. But Jekyll shows Justine (the widow) what she must do to stop the whole thing and kill Daninsky, thus relieving him of his illness. She does and they die in each other's arms.

Daninsky being dead never stopped him returning in more sequels and he was still terrorising people in 2004's Tomb Of The Werewolf. Not to all tastes, this is a hugely enjoyable slice of hokum that entertains on many levels.

Zombie Strippers (2008)

Featuring horror stalwart Robert Englund and porn superstar Jenna Jameson this is a fun movie, abviously made as a 'B' picture full of corny jokes and OTT gore - and none the worse for it. Not groundbreaking by any means, but an entertaining enough way to spend a mindless 90 minutes.

Where There's A Will (1936)

Down at luck solicitor Will Hay gets involved with robbers and saves the day.
Hay is as delightful to watch as ever, though the film was made before he really got into his stride, but a fine film nonehteless. It also fetures a young Graham Moffatt before he became a regular with his Albert character.

Devil's Nightmare (1971)

A Eurohorror from the early 70's which, despite some dodgy acting, is not bad at all. A group of tourists get stranded and are offered the help at the local castle. Each of the tourists reflect one of the 7 deadly sins and get bumped off according to their sins. The last tourist alive, who doesn't succumb to the succubs, offers his soul to the devil in return for the return of the others. Next morning all the tourists awake as though nothing has happened. But the Devil has a trick up his sleeve.
A like of these Eurotrash-type of films is needed to fully appreciate the goings on but it it is a fine example if you like that sort of thing.

Tenebre (1968)

A terrific Giallo from the Italian maestro, Dario Argento. Author Peter Neal arrives in Rome to publicise his latest book, Tenebre, and finds that someone is killing peoiple in ways very similar to his novel and the bodies have pages of the novel stuffed in their mouth. The author decides to investigate.

Argento is on great form here and the film charges along with some gory killings and twists and turns and a little bit of skin. I did manage to guess the outcome but not without being deliciously baffled at times. It all wraps up perfectly and leaves you thoroughly satisfied with the notion that you have just watched one of the best Giallos there is. Superb..

Penny Dreadful (2006)

Not the most apt title as Penny Dreadful suggests, to me, a swirling mist enclosed Whitechapel in the Victorian age and not, as is the case here, modern day hinterlands of America. Anyhoo, Penny (naturally) is a young girl with a phobia of cars, who is travelling in one with her shrink trying to excise the demons. They knock down a hitch-hiker and end up giving the hitcher a ride to a nearby camp, silly people. Well, inevitably the shrink bites it and Penny knocks herself unconscious and when she wakes up she is back in the car, but the car is jammed between trees and there is no way out for her (a little atristic liscence is required here) and the majority of the film from her on in is set in the car. This is the trick that makes the film interesting and a cut above the rest of these cheap straight to dvd titles. There's some decent suspense and few good efforts at giving the viewer a shock. With a few other characters introduced purely to bump off and add a bit of gore, the film manages to keep your interest going although you pretty much know where it's going. An interesting premise, done quite well but ultimately lets itself down in the predictable ending.

2001 Maniacs (2005)

A remake of Hershall Gordon Lewis kitsch splatter fest from 1964. Obviously better made, as Lewis' films weren't exactly oscar material (although they are of immense interest as the forerunner of gore films), this stars Robert Englund as the head of a southern American village, Paradise Valley, that lures passer bys in and feasts on them. It tries hard to be quirky and the gore runs freely but still comes across as an America teen movie. Fun nonetheless.

Broken (2006)

A low-budget UK horror that fits into the current vogue of so-called torture porn, but made with some panache. A young lady goes out for a date, leaving her daughter in the hands of a babysitter. The date ges well, she kisses her daughter good night, goes to bed....and wakes up buried in a coffin. She than has to prove her mettle by not only completing a gruesome task but also by survviving with her survival instinct intact. She finds herself the prisoner of an unnamed survivalist and is given chores, such as the washing up and tending a makeshift garden, with harsh consequences for any failure to perform these tasks well. She tries and fails to escape, all the time asking about her daughter, whom she is led to believe is dead. Eventually another girl is brought in, but one without the same instinct for self-preservation. Eventually a successful escape is made, but the survivalist hgas one more trick up his sleeve.

In the wrong hands this could have been a sleazy affair, but the writers make it an interesting experience, as we see Hope (the initial girl) adapt herself, and even has a certain power over her captor. The survivalist himself is an interesting character, in that he seems to have a moral code of his own - he never kills any of his 'wards' (there are plenty who don't pass the first tests) and never forces himself on the women. The only time sex rears its head is when Hope instigates it, as a prelude to an escape attempt. When the survivalist is forced to kill the other girl, it is he that is Broken, and not hope. The film looks like ending in optimistic moment, but that is cruelly snatched away in a nihilistic ending that leaves you feeling quite empty. This actually had the power of making me question these types of film, not that I believe that to have been the makers purpose. An intelligent gore film

Unbreakable (2000)

M. Night Shyamalan's follow up to The Sixth Sense, again starring Bruce Willis, centre's around Willis, the sole survivor of an horrific train crash and the theory put forward by crippled Samual L JAckson as to why he survived. It's a very slow movie that all seems to be heading towards the Big Final Twist that Shymalan always puts in his films. There's probably a lot going on regarding destiny and fate etc, but it was so slow that I found it hard to keep interest. The Big Final Twist was also a let down, probably because I had ceased caring about an hour before. I don't know what makes some slow, ponderous movies good and others bad, but this would class as the latter.

Trial By Combat (1976)

This is one of those films that's instantly recognisable, even though you may never have seen it! It centres around The Noble Knights of Avalon, a society set up by Peter Cushing but taken to deadly limits by Donald Pleasance and his cohorts who see it as their duty to get rid of criminals that have escaped justice. And they deliver their own brand of justice - trial by comabt. Cue plenty of jousting, sword fighting etc, even though it is modern day. A quite bizarre film that is very reminiscent of The Avengers as the director fills the film with what he hoped was quirky humour. Half of this film works and half doesn't, but if you can keep your tongue firmly embedded in your cheek, it's a lot of fun. Along for the ride is John Mills as a Steed-like ex detective and a host of British TV character actors.

The Wicker Man (1973)

There's not a lot that can be said for The Wicker Man that hasn't already been said. Rightly hailed as a British classic, it stands up to repeated viewings and I usually give it a go at least once a year. The story of the virginal and Christian Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward , never better) and his search for a missing girl on a remote pagan island never wanes and is always as unsettling as the previous watch. This time around there was some added interest after we had spent a fair amount of time at Christmas visiting the locations.

If you've never seen this film, remedy that as soon as possible. It remains a sparkling and haunting original.