skip to main |
skip to sidebar
aka The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent. Undersea Monster. Viking Women. The Saga of the Viking.
"All they can do is kill me, or make a slave of me."
A village of Viking women, determine to locate their missing men, who have not returned from a foraging trip. Led by Desir (Abby Dalton), they undertake a perilous journey across seas full of monsters. They eventually stumble on their men being held captive by the barbarian Grimolts. Unfortunately they are also soon captured and have to figure out how to free themselves and the men.
The usual low budget quickie made by Corman. Cheap effects and even cheaper acting, enlivened by Susan Cabot who gives another of her devious performances as the high priestess, determined that Desir should have an 'accident'. Expect vikings that look more like Californian surfers and sea serpents made of rubber. Also expect an enjoyable little adventure.
aka John Carpenter's Halloween.
"He came home."
The film opens on halloween 1963 and the police finds Judith Myers stabbed to death, murdered by her 6 year-old brother. Cut to 15 years later, and Myers has escaped from the institution he was confined to. His physciatrist Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) arrives at the Myers house, convinced Michael will come back. Meanwhile local babysitter Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) has an uneasy feeling that she is being watched and followed.
The film that brought the slasher genre to prominence and inspired a whole slew of teen killers. Carpenter keeps the tension building towards the faitful night, when all hell breaks loose. A classic and masterclass in how to do it. From the deft use of shadows, keeping us from truely seeing the evil that lurks, false frights and most of all keeping it all subtle and understated. Making the eventual horror all the more frightening. No blood, no gore, just a sense of unease and shock.
"Where were you last night?"
Professor Mounserrat (Boris Karloff) and his wife Estelle (Catherine Lacey) are an elderly couple who have developed a technique to control other people's minds through a form of hypnotism. This allows them to feel the sensations the subject feels, allowing them to live vicariously through the subject. Their latest victim is a hip young arrogant thing about town Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy). The couple force him to go further and further in pursuit of pleasure. But when Estelle takes control and forces Mike into murder, the Professor realises he has to stop his wife, but how?
A low budget horror, effectively directed by the up and coming Michael Reeves, who unfortunately died before fulfilling his potential. The budget forced the makers to concentrate on the melodrama of the piece, rather than flashy set pieces, which is all to the good.
aka Saang Gong yat ho tung chap faan.
"We can beat them only if we join forces."
Hung (Anthony Wong) is a lone wolf plainclothes policeman. He is assigned to go into mainland China and hook up with the local police in order to track down a crazed killer (Yu Rong Guang) and his gang. Can he and the tough, no nonesense mainland cop Wang (Wu Xing-Guo) get over their differences long enough to catch the killer.
A gritty, almost none stop action fest using the staple of many a film, the miss-matched partnership. The film breezes along, hitting a lull in the middle, when it tries for some emotional depth, but soon remembers we are here for the action and away we go again, with hardly a chance to draw breath.
aka Jing cha gu shi III: Chao ji jing cha. Supercop.
"It's a sin to let anything go to waste." (said as they dump a woman's body into a shark pool)
Police Inspector Chan Ka-Kui (Jackie Chan), is assigned to take part in an Interpol operation on mainland China. The Interpol director, Jessica Yang (Michelle Yeoh), tells him the assignment is to target the drug lord Chaibat. Ka-Kui, posing as a petty criminal is jailed and infiltrates the gang by helping one of its top men to escape. They travel to Hong Kong and he gains Chaibat's trust, getting involved in some drug smuggling. But things get complicated when Ka-Kui's girlfriend spots him whilst undercover and inadvertently gives the game away.
Another in the successful Police Story series, gives us exactly what we expect, glamourous locations and lots of comedy and action.
"It seems a shame to go without doing the twist."
Billy Universe (Billy Fury) is an up and coming singer, with a motley band in tow, including one member who looks about 10! He gets involved with a poor little rich girl, who is going out with pop star, and all round nasty piece of work Larry Grainger (Maurice Kaufmann). Sir Charles (Dennis Price) her father is trying to split them up, and rightly so. Will Billy get involved, or continue to believe it is none of his business.
Along the way he manages to sing at the drop of a hat, and we get turns from a number of other stars such as Helen Shapiro, Bobby Vee, Shane Fenton (or Alvin Stardust as he became), and Danny Williams. Plus appearances from many of the great and the good of the time such as Norrie Paramor.
This film is carried totally by whether you like Billy fury or not, given that there is very little plot, and pitifully little in the way of what would normally be called acting. This is really a standard pop music exploitation piece directed with all the flair that journeyman director Winner can muster, which is not a lot. But even with all that said, Billy's star quality still shines through. An enjoyable piece of pre-Beatles pop.
aka Out of the Darkness. Prehistoric World. "A Law is truth to itself. We must find a new Law."
The titular caveman (Robert Vaughan), complete with bearskin outfit and brylcreamed hair, starts to question the laws of his clan. This obviously leads to trouble, but he's a rebel and determined to improve their lot in the world, but this brings some shocking truths.
A bizarre little teen movie uses the usual staples, including a leading man who was way past being a teenager, and lizards dressed up as dinosaurs. But this one packs an unusual anti-militarist twist in the ending. Fun to watch because of the basic absurdity of the script, the acting, and the obviously 20th century actors who couldn't look less like cavemen if they tried.
aka Sien nui yau wan II yan gaan do.
"I'll die with the one I love."
Ning (Leslie Cheung) is on the run after being mistaken for a bandit, and is befriended by a wandering Taoist Autumn (Jacky Cheung), who fights demons. They are attacked by some rebel warriors and Ning falls for one of their number, Windy (Joey Wong) who just happens to look like the ghost Siusin, who he fell for in the first installment. Autumn explains they are fighting the evil general and Ning tags along fascinated by Windy's resemblance to Siusin. They are determined to rescue her father who is held captive by the general, but in doing so they have to battle more than just men.
An extremely entertaining fantasy horror, which is almost the equal of its first installment. The film is an energetic and breathtaking run through various myths, legends. With incredulous monsters and evil spirits which the team must defeat, thrown in for good measure. The sometimes now cheesy effects only serve to add to the whole chaotic enjoyment.
aka The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent. Undersea Monster. Viking Women. The Saga of the Viking.
