Violent interpretations – Possessor (Film Review)

Posted by crowian - February 1, 2021

When Brandon Cronenberg burst onto the film scene with his first feature Antiviral in 2012, people questioned whether he would go down the same route as his famous father, David. With his new film Possessor, it certainly embodies his father’s work and sets a clear precedent of what to expect from the Canadian filmmaker. Possessor

“I Wish You’d Never Seen Me” — Criss Cross (Blu-ray Review)

Posted by Tom Beasley - June 22, 2020

There's something inherently delicious about a 1940s film noir, from the plumes of cigarette smoke to the gorgeous shadows of the monochrome cinematography. And that's before you get to the colourful characters, from the seductive femme fatales to the irredeemable criminal rotters who would do anything for love, including whatever it is Meat Loaf refused

“There’ll Be No More Murders in This Town” – Edge of the Axe (Blu-ray Review)

Posted by Tom Beasley - February 3, 2020

At the tail end of the 1980s, the decade of the slasher was coming to an end. By the time Edge of the Axe – getting a new UK Blu-ray release from the fine folks at Arrow – first arrived in the UK in 1989, there were already eight Fridays, five Elm Streets and five

“Talk? That’s All You People Ever Do” – Asylum (Blu-ray Review)

Posted by Tom Beasley - January 7, 2020

Outside of the juggernaut of Hammer, the British horror industry's biggest name is almost certainly Amicus. Best known for their anthology movies, the producing duo Max Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky created projects that have since gone on to influence many anthology makers, including the team behind play-turned-movie Ghost Stories. One of the Amicus team's best-known

“He Specialises In Murder, In The Most Gruesome Ways Imaginable” – The House That Dripped Blood (Blu-ray Review)

Posted by Tom Beasley - January 6, 2020

British horror factory Amicus certainly knew its way around a florid title. During their 1970s heyday, they put out movies with monikers as deliciously scandalous as And Now The Screaming Starts and The Beast Must Die. Perhaps the pick of the bunch, though, was the 1971 anthology The House That Dripped Blood, penned by Psycho

“This is The Best Place We’ve Hit So Far” – And Soon The Darkness (Blu-ray Review)

Posted by Tom Beasley - October 17, 2019

The notion of holidaymakers in peril is one that has been a fixture of horror and thriller cinema for generations. Often, these characters are privileged folk who are out of their depth in a foreign land, miles away from anyone who can help. That's certainly the case for the posh British duo cycling around rural

“The Sparrows Are Flying Again” – The Dark Half (Blu-ray Review)

Posted by Tom Beasley - October 16, 2019

The Dark Half has an awful lot going for it. On the one hand, it united Stephen King and George A. Romero to make a delightfully misshapen horror maestro homunculus. It also boasts an entertaining premise, in which an acclaimed writer is tormented by a physical manifestation of the hyper-masculine, aggressive, pulp fiction pseudonym he

“You Could Make A Horror Film In Here” – Fright (Blu-ray Review)

Posted by Tom Beasley - October 15, 2019

When you think about British horror of the 1970s, you probably think of posh scream queens yelling their way through slightly shonky melodrama. And when you sit down to watch Peter Collinson's 1971 shocker Fright, that's exactly what you get. But the entire thing is done with such a sense of self-aware silliness and a

“All Things Are Good When Taken to Excess” – Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Blu-ray Review)

Posted by Tom Beasley - September 30, 2019

In any list of the most notorious and disturbing films ever made, Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1975 movie Salò is certain to be near the top. Released just weeks after the brutal and still unsolved murder of its director, the film takes the Marquis de Sade's infamous 18th-century novel The 120 Days of Sodom as an

“I’ve Never Run From Anybody Before” – High Noon (Blu-ray Review)

Posted by Tom Beasley - September 16, 2019

More than perhaps any other genre, classic Western movies feel like they are historical artifacts – products of their time in just about every way. That's certainly true of Fred Zinnemann's iconic High Noon, which is an ode to the lone cowboy as protector. It's the epitome of an underdog hero fighting back against the