the baader-meinhof complex (2008)

aka Der Baader Meinhof Komplex.

The film charts, in a pseudo-documentary way, ten years in the life of the Red Army Faction, or as they were more commonly known the Baader-Meinhof gang. From their beginings in the radical 60's, through to the bloody events of the 70's, the bank robberies, kidnappings and plane hijakings.
Not really a b-movie, but a great bit of film making. Due to the amount of events and the long time span the film rockets along at a breakneck pace, leaving little room for character development; some people are omitted or combined. But for all that it gives a great overview of the era and the events. It tries to stay neutral, preferring the events to speak for themselves, rather than allowing political polemics to overtake the film. It also does not shy away from the very real brutality of the gangs actions, you feel every bullet and bomb.

the golden voyage of sinbad (1974)

Sinbad (John Phillip Law) with a motley crew, including a slave girl (Caroline Munro), along as eye candy, set sail on another adventure. He has a golden tablet that shows the way to the lost continent of Lemuria. Legend has it that the fountain of destiny is hidden there, and the bearer of all three tablets will be granted eternal youth and untold riches. The only problem is Koura (Tom Baker), an evil magician who also knows of the legend and is determined to get there first, and being a sorcerer he's not adverse to using some devious means to do so.
A rollicking old school adventure film that is stuffed full with Ray Harryhausen's stop motion creations, which transforms it. One for the Sunday afternoon, not too taxing, but enough in it to keep you amused.

zu warriors from the magic mountain (1983)

aka San suk san geen hap. Warriors from the Magic Mountain. Xin shu shan jian xia. Zu Mountain: New Legend of the Zu Mountain Swordsmen. Zu Time Warrior. Zu Warriors. Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain.
In ancient China a civil war rages. A young warrior Ti escapes the mayhem by ascending a mountain and sheltering in a cave. There he is caught up in a battle between supernatural forces and has to help defeat the blood demon.
Legendary Hong Kong filmmaker Tsui Hark delivers a lavish fantasy epic; a magical underworld filled with demons and flying monks, and featuring some of the most cutting edge (for its time), special effects. Sure its dated by the standards of todays computer generated effects, but its still packs an entertaining punch. Forget the plot, what there is of it, just wallow in the frenetic action, Hong Kong at its best.

ilsa, the tigress of siberia (1977)

Ilsa, (Dyanne Thorne), the SS commandant is now in Siberia overseeing a Soviet Gulag in 1953. A mission she throws herself into body and soul. By day thinking up new and devilish tortures, by night using the guards as her personal sex toys. But one prisoner Andrei is more stubborn than the rest, refusing to give in and allow Ilsa to break him. Then the world is turned upside down for her: Stalin dies and Ilsa and the guards kill the prisoners before fleeing. But Andrei survives and thinks of nothing else but revenge...
This is the last of the Ilsa movies and with the move to the 70's the film switches from its prison torture roots, adding a spy/thriller element, as Ilsa tries to break Andrei psychologically. Considered by aficianado's of Ilsa films to be the least interesting of the series, I nevertheless thought it ok, but nothing more than that.

snakes on a plane (2006)

Sean Jones, an extreme sports fan in Hawaii for the surf, witnesses a brutal murder by a gangland leader and is persuaded to testify in court against him. In order to do so he's put on a plane to Los Angeles, with an FBI agent (Samuel L Jackson). However, hundreds of poisonous snakes are also on the flight and they are no mood to stay put. Thus starts a struggle for survival, man vs snake.
Well this film definitely does what it says on the poster. I was fully prepared to not like this, but I don't know if its just my lowered expectations, but it was ok and entertained me for the 90 minutes, as there isn't much chance to catch breath as wave upon wave of snakes attack. Its never going to win any awards, but its OK if you like dumb-ass action films.

day of the dead (1985)

aka George A. Romero's Day of the Dead. Another few years on from the last film and society has fully broken down, with zombies roaming the land. One group that has survived exist on a military base of mainly scientists and military personnel, safe in a underground bunker in Florida. The scientists experiment on the undead, searching for a cure, much to the annoyance of the army. This conflict getting more and more serious as the claustrophobia and stress builds tensions between the two factions. The film really gives you a feeling for the tensions that would run so high in such a situation and the improved special effects add another level to the zombies. But even though the previous two ended in depressing circumstances, this one is unrelentingly depressing from the off and makes for an effective, but less entertaining film.

buffy the vampire slayer (1992)

"Kill him a lot!"
Buffy (Kristy Swanson) is having the time of her life as a popular cheerleader at school and dating the captain of the basketball team. That is until a mysterious man informs her of her destiny as a vampire slayer. From then on life gets that bit more complicated. Once trained, she has to confront head vampire Lothos (Rutger Hauer) and his side kick Amilyn (Paul Reubens), armed only with a stake and the youthful good looks of Pike (Luke Perry).
A coming of age teen movie, that failed to click with its audience at the time of its release. It lacks much of the charm and angst that characterised the later TV series, but still has some good laughs along the way, especially from Paul Reubens.

dawn of the dead (1978)

aka George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Dawn of the Living Dead. The Zombies. Zombi. Zombie: Dawn of the Dead. Zombies. Zombies: Dawn of the Dead.
Sometime after the events in Night Of The Living Dead and the zombies are increasingly taking over. Civilisation seems to be crumbling and the authorities are loosing control. A couple of TV station workers with access to a helicopter decide to make a run for it and end up at a deserted mall with two SWAT team police who have also ran. Together they decide to wait it out there, as it seems to have everything that they need, whilst all around them hell breaks out.
Where the first film was a critique of Vietnam, this has been viewed as a critique of American consumerism. This is Romero's epic take on the zombie film, with zombies that can be one second comical and the next terrifying creatures. The ultimate zombie film featuring fun and gore in equal measure.

night of the living dead (1968)

aka Night of the Living Dead: 30th Anniversary Edition. Laugh Track: Night of the Living Dead, Monster Flick. Night of Anubis. Night of the Flesh Eaters.
The dead become re-animated and determined to feed on the living. Anyone bitten by a zombie then returns as a zombie themselves. The only way to destroy them is to destroy their brain. A number of people try to escape the chaos and end up barricaded inside a remote farmhouse, besieged by an increasing zombie hoard. As the zombies attack the tensions inside the house increase.
The realistic almost documentary feel and downbeat conclusion adds to the films tension and helped usher in a new era of contemporary horror. A wonderfully realised low budget film, that set the standard for what was to come.

evil dead III: army of darkness (1993)

aka Army of Darkness: The Medieval Dead. Captain Supermarket. Army of Darkness.
The third of the trilogy sees Ash as an out and out hero transported back in time to fight the deadites in medieval England. But first he needs to put an end to the civil war and unite the two factions to fight their common enemy. Only then can he try and return to the present.
Like Evil Dead II, this brings yet more humour, mostly slapstick humour to the story, rather than the out and out gore of the previous. This is more of a comic-book version of the story, especially when he meets and fights the army of the dead. It starts off well, but the more comic it gets the less its appeal, and whilst still a great film, it fails to match up to the previous installments. Watch it as a comic horror and you'll love it, but if you expect another gorefest like the Evil Dead then you'll likely leave disapointed.

evil dead II (1987)

aka Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn.
Ash (Bruce Campbell) takes his girlfriend to a backwoods cabin, and finding a professor's tape recorded translation of the Book of the Dead, unleashes some evil spirits. He's soon fighting his girlfriend and once she's dispatched, the spirits within himself. His hand becoming a truly original and comic creation! Then four strangers turn up including the professor's daughter. Who will survive, or will they all be 'dead by dawn'?
A sequel come remake of The Evil Dead, its an obviously slicker and more expensive affair, but retains its cheap credentials, still making use of the stop motion creatures of the first. The additions are in the character of Ash, who has developed a wickedly black humour and some great one liners. He's also developed his use of tools in defeating the deadites. This makes for a more fulfilling film than the first, which was a much more straight up horror. In this version Ash is more rounded and he's grown into the role of hero, all be it a cowardly one. It also sets us up nicely for Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness.

evil dead (1981)

aka Book of the Dead. Into The Woods. Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead. The Evil Dead, the Ultimate Experience in Grueling Horror.
Five friends holiday in a backwoods cabin. Unfortunately there is a malevolent spirit loose in the woods, which they unleash when they find the Necronomicon, (a book of the dead), and its translation. One by one, they succumb to the evil, leaving one trying to survive till morning.
Once the action gets going this is a truly harrowing, and completely unrelenting horror. But it also knows how to relieve the tension with some deeply black humour. The film became one of the original video nasties, it features the notorious tree rape scene, that viewed now is far less harrowing than in 1981. This is a masterclass in how to make an effective horror with little money.

countess dracula (1971)

The aged Countess Elisabeth, (Ingred Pitt), with the help of her steward, and would be suiter, Captain Dobi (Nigel Green), is an old and brutal ruler of a medieval principality. She discovers that washing in the blood of young girls restores her youthful looks, and presses Dobi to provide the raw material for her remarkable make overs. The Countess, now a young beauty begins an affair with a dashing young man by pretending to be her own daughter, much to Dobi's annoyance. But all these young woman going missing is bound to be noticed sooner or later.
The story is based on the Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Barthory, who killed many women. But that is as close to Dracula as it gets, the film is less of a gothic horror than most Hammer films, rather its a study in the lengths women will go to to retain or regain youth. A well made film, but its leisurely pace is rather slow for me, a stand out Hammer, just not one of my favourites.

trog (1970)

Some cavers stumble upon the find of the century, a troglodyte, half-caveman, half-ape. Anthropologist Dr. Brockton (Joan Crawford) undertakes the task of studying him and defending him from people who would rather see him destroyed as a monster. Which seems to be everyone else, including the authorities.
Joan Crawford's last film, and boy is it bad, which it shouldn't be, as its made by some experienced filmmakers. But unfortunately they all seem to have had an off-day for the five weeks this took to shoot! The script is all over the place, it's illogical, and there is no pacing to the film at all. It adds up to a sprawling mess - one of the best bad films you'll ever see. It comes across like a made for tv kids film for the most part, but with extreme violence whenever Trog goes beserk, bludgening people to death, or in one instance impaling a butcher on one of his own meat hooks!