the demon (1981)

aka Midnight Caller. Night Demon.
"Did your extrasensory perception prepare you for this?"
A girl is kidnapped from her parents home, and a man killed after picking up a hitchhiker. How are these events linked? The parents bring in psychic Bill Carson (Cameron Mitchell) to find their daughter, but he doesn't forsee the events he is about to get involved in.
A story that goes nowhere and is infuriatingly unexplained.

carry on follow that camel (1967)

"The behaviour of the white infidels is like blood coming from a stone. Bleedin' mystery."
A bogus legionaire proves his mettle during an arab attack.
Bo West (Jim Dale) joins the Foreign Legion to clear his reputation, but there is trouble brewing with the locals, amd unknown to Bo, his fiance (Angela Douglas) has followed him in disguise...
One of the few Carry On's that breaks with tradition, using a known American star, in this case Phil Silvers as the star of the show, possibly showing the producers felt this was not one of their finest moments. One for the completists.

the secret beyond the door (1947)

"...he resents domination...."
An heiress Celia Lamphere (Joan Bennett) marries Mark (Michael Redgrave), a man she hardly knows after a whirlwind romance, and finds to late of his strange obsession.
Thriller that introduces an interesting premise, then loosens its grip through its slow pacing.

scarlet street (1945)

"How can a man be so dumb..."
A henpecked older man Chris Cross (Edward G. Robinson) goes to the defence of a beautiful young woman (Joan Bennett) one night, when she is attacked in the street. This chance encounter turns his head and sets him up as a patsy for her boyfriend (Dan Duryea) who believing Chris to be rich sets out to fleece him.
Neglected noir, that features a wonderful performance by Robinson as the repressed gent.

the sleeping tiger (1954)

"What do you think of him, Glenda? Is he worth saving?"
A prison psychologist takes in a petty criminal, Frank Clemmons (Dirk Bogarde), so he can study his motivations and treat him. Unfortunately he has a beautiful young wife Glenda (Alexis Smith), who soon falls for Franks rough ways, and thus starts the psychological games-playing between dispassionate psychologist, career criminal and the frustrated wife.
A standard potboiler is lifted byLosey, using the film noir staples of, jazz. crime, and passion, all centred around Bogarde as the young man in turmoil.

eraserhead (1977)

"Did you and Mary have sexual intercourse?"
Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) stumbles through his life cowed by his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend (Charlotte Stewart), and the neverending cries of their new born mutated child. The only distraction is the radiator woman (Laurel Near), who appears to him and sings about the happiness of heaven.
The film that established Lynch as a maveric genius loaded down with neuroses and more than willing to pour them out onto the screen.

please murder me (1956)

"...in 55 minutes I will be dead..."
A lawyer Craig Carlson (Raymond Burr) falls for his best mates wife Myra (Angela Lansbury), and plucks up the courage to tell his friend. His friend is subsequently shot by Myra. She cries self defence, but is tried for murder. Craig successful defends Myra against the charge, only to then find she actually did it, and has manipulated him all along. Now he's in a dilema knowing her guilty, but also that she can't be tried again for the killing...
An obviously small film, but one that holds the attention due to he intriguing plot twists.

the delavine affair (1954)

aka Murder Is News.
"I'll be careful. You be good."
Reporter Rex Banner (Peter Reynolds), gets caught up as a suspect in the murder of acquaintance Gospel Joe. But how was Joe connected to the theft of the Delavine diamonds?
Standard B movie thriller, more notable for its cast, than the story itself, with turns by Gordon Jackson, and Honor Blackman, who would find better vehicles for their talents.

metamorphosis (1990)

aka Regenerator.
"He won't die. He won't ever die."
Geneticist Dr. Houseman (Gene LeBrock) is working on a serum to stop human aging. But when his university funding is threatened the doctor administers the serum on himself, with the expected results!
Stilted and unedifying mix of "The Fly" and "Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde", with a twist that by the time it is revealed I'd lost the will to notice...

land of the minotaur (1976)

aka The Devil's Men.
"The old customs remain and the ancient gods live on."
A Greek village revives an old Pagan religion, the cult of the Minotaur, and kidnaps a trio of young archaeologists. It's up to Father Roche (Donald Pleasence), Costas Skouras (Kostas Karagiannis), and Laurie Gordon (Luan Peters) to save them from the hands of the evil cult led by Baron Corofax (Peter Cushing).
We've seen this all before, but what makes this work is the acting of Cushing and Pleasance. Still this just balances out to become an OK thriller at best.

war of the robots (1978)

aka La guerra dei robot.
"Here this. Enemy formation at ten o'clock."
A civilization facing extinction decides on drastic action and kidnap a couple of famous scientists from Earth. Earth retaliates by sending soldiers to rescue the scientists and defend itself from their robot army.
Another Italian space epic featuring silvery costumes and robots in blond wigs!
Enjoyable in a cheesy unintential way.

star odyssey (1979)

aka Space Odyssey. Captive Planet. Sette uomini d'oro nello spazio.
"Great integrated circuits! What's that thing? Look Tilly! A prehistoric cave robot!"
Earth is attacked by an intergalactic villain and his army of blonde haired androids.
Gives a bad name to cheap and nasty! The earth is being threatened by an inter-galactic being...and our response, to try and talk each other to death!

terror house (1972)

aka Terror at Red Wolf Inn.
"A butcher's work is never done."
A college student (Linda Gillen) wins a vacation to the quiet Red Wolf Inn, and is soon whisked off, (before she can even tell anyone), to the guest house. There she meets the two other guests, and finds the place is a dream, a beautiful location and wonderful food, but she starts to feel uneasy when one of the guests suddenly vanishes, and why are the owners so reluctant to let anyone into their meat locker.
A delicious little black comedy.

source code (2011)

"Out here the clocks only move in one direction."
Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man aboard a Chicago bound train. Though his confusion he discovers he's on a mission to find the bomber about to blow up the train. One of his major problems is that he only has eight minutes to do so, his advantage is everytime he fails, he can be sent back to start again...
Although initially convoluted, this serves to slowly draw you in and grip you.

food of the gods (1976)

"That's what your husband brought us out her for?"
Islanders are feeding their livestock a growth suppliment, but unfortunately the wildlife, including the rats have developed a taste for it, and for humans...
An Eco-horror loosely based on a H.G. Wells novel. Whilst Gordon takes it all seriously, once you see the toy rat heads you wont.

colossus the forbin project (1970)

aka The Day the World Changed Hands. Colossus. The Forbin Project.
"It has no emotions, knows no fear or hate..."
Dr Forbin (Eric Braeden) develops an artificially intelligent supercomputer to oversee the United States nuclear deterent, but once activated it soon reveals that it is going to follow its own agenda rather than that of its creators.
An overlooked view into a frighening future, where computers realise that they are better placed to make decisions about the human condition that we are...

the mole people (1956)

"In archaeology all things are possible."
A party of archaeologists led by Dr. Roger Bentley (John Agar) stumble on a 5000 year old civilization living beneath the earth. To survive they keep humanoid like mole men as their slaves, but can God fearing Americans stand by whilst they witness cruelty being metered out to the Mole men?
Not one of their better creature feature's, but still an entertaining enough flick from Universal.

carry on up the khyber (1968)

"Fakir! Off!"
India during the British Raj and the Khazi of Kalabar (Kenneth Williams) wants his country back from the British. All that is stopping him is Sir Sidney Ruff-Diamond (Sid James) and his "skirted-devils", the kilted Third Foot and Mouth regiment.
Featuring all the usual gang, this is one of the better of the long running series, with the jokes coming thick and fast.

7 faces of dr lao (1964)

"The whole world is a circus if you know how to look at it."
A small western town dominated by Clint Stark (Arthur O'Connell) gets a visit from the mysterious Dr. Lau (Tony Randall), who changes the town's citizens forever when they view his mysterious circus of mythical beasts.
A pleasant fantasy adventure.

aeon flux (2005)

"I have to end it."
2415: A dystopian future where Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron) is a resistance fighter to overthrow the government. When she is a sent to kill the Chairman, she soon realises that there is something not quite right with the situation...
An incredibly good looking film, but one that is more style than substance and betrays its origins as a cartoon, lacking a certain humour that should be inherent in this sort of action/adventure.

five golden dragons (1967)

"There are times that I could kill you."
A crime syndicate called the five golden dragons plans on meeting up in Hong Kong. Blundering American tourist Bob Mitchell (Robert Cummings) stumbles on their existance and gets embroiled with Commander Sanders (Rupert Davies) in finding out who they are and ending their reign of terror.
A thriller that never grips and basically wastes the talent on show.

the beast of yucca flats (1961)

aka Girl Madness. The Atomic Monster: The Beast of Yucca Flats.
"Always on the prowl. Looking for something or somebody to kill. Quench the killer's thirst."
A defecting Soviet scientist (Tor Johnson) is chased onto Yucca Flats, and tragically hit by a nuclear explosion. This turns him into a raging monster who goes on a killing spree.
Fantastically narrated mess by Coleman Francis.

the undead (1957)

"Though art the author of the piece and Satan is the critic."
A pair of psychic researchers hynotise their test subject (Pamela Duncan), sending her back in time. She finds herself in medieval England about to be executed for being a witch, something she is anxious to avoid. One person, Pendragon (Richard Garland), tries to help her, but is hindered by Livia (Allison Hayes), who wishes to keep him to herself and whom happens to be a real witch.
An interesting and entertaining cheapy, produced it is said in six days.

robot monster (1953)

aka Monster From Mars. Monster From The Moon.
"Roy's dead and there is nothing to be done."
An evil alien called Ro-Man has taken over and killed all but five people on the earth, the survivors being the family of scientist (John Mylong) and his young assistant. All are immune to Ro-Man's death ray as a side effect to an antibiotic serum developed by the professor. Can the family not only survive, but also defeat the onslaught of Ro-Man. Not if they just wander around the countryside oblivious to the menace they wont!
Confusing and infuriatingly full of plot holes, but still manages to entertain, often for all the wrong reasons.

circus of fear (1966)

aka Circus of Terror.
"Careful how you speak to me, it could be most expensive."
An armed robbery goes wrong and a guard is killed. Some of the loot ends up being stashed in a travelling circus where it waits to be picked up by the gangs mysterious boss. The police start honing in on the money whilst various circus performers including Gregor (Christopher Lee), and Natasha (Suzy Kendall) get involved for various reasons. Meanwhile Manfred (Klaus Kinski) hovers around the circus looking ominous...
Interesting drama, full of lots of red herrings along the way.

the man who turned to stone (1957)

"Don't be a fool, that won't help."
Dr. Murdock (Victor Jory) and his followers are immortal, but have to siphon off the life forces of young female prisoners in order to stay so. When a secretary in the prison, Carol Adams (Charlotte Austin), becomes curious about prisoner deaths, and starts to compile a report on them she finds out more than she bargained for.
B movie fodder that passes the time, but no more.

the strange world of coffin joe (1968)

aka O Estranho Mundo de Zé do Caixão.
"What is nothing?"
A film made up of three episodes, the Dollmaker, Perversion, and Ideology. The first follows the burglary on a dollmakers house, where we find out how he achieves the lifelike eyes in his toys. Perversion is the tale of a young man's obsession with a beautiful and unobtainable woman, and how far his obsession will take him. Finally we have a tale about Professor Odez who invites a TV journalist home to prove the existance of love.
Marins grim, grusome and gory take on the horror anthology, where he throws in everything from rape, to cannibalism, and necrophilia, via a smattering of S & M.

tonight lets all make love in london (1967)

"Once you've ceased to be a pupil, then you have ceased."
A visual exploration of swinging London via the general public, as well as movers and shakers in the film and music scene. So up pops Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Michael Caine and Julie Christie amongst others to expound on free love, radical politics and being young and care free.
Captures the vacariousness of youth and the London scene at that time, in an uneven and disjointed piece, which in itself shows how fractured life seemed to be at the time, as people expoused peace and revolution in the same breath.

sabateur (1942)

"Here come the wolves."
An aircraft engineer (Robert Cummings) is wrongly accused of being a sabateur after a factory fire kills his best friend. To prove his innocence he goes on the run in order to find the real culprits. This being Hitchcock the innocent man gets a female companion, in the form of Priscilla Lane to tag along and convince of his innocence.
Hitchcock produces an entertaining thriller chock full of symbolism as we find out what America was fighting for via some down home wisdom.

humanoid (1979)

"So you have come to battle me at last, princely hero."
The evil Graal (Ivan Rassimov), with Lady Agatha (Barbara Bach), tries to usurp power from his brother to rule the planet Metropolis with the help of the mad scientist Dr Kraspin (Arthur Kennedy), who has developed a treatment that turns people into the perfect soldier. A chemical he has tested on Golob (Richard Kiel). Can Golob help Barbara (Corinne Clery) and Nick (Leonard Mann) to stop this evil cabal.
A prime example of the exploitation film. Taking elements of recently successful movies, stitching them together as cheaply as possible, and creating something that should fool enough people to part with their money. A cheap, cheerful, bad, but watchable film.

go down death (1944)

"the short stick is too short a weapon to fight the devil with."
Big Jim Bottoms (Spencer Williams) runs a successful juke joint which is threatened when a new preacher (Samuel H. James) arrives in town and woos his punters into the church. Big Jim, his livelyhood on the line sets out to blackmail the preacher, but his Aunt who raised him knowing his plan beseaches the Lord to stop him...
Flawed religious piece by and for an African American audience, and as such an interesting historical watch.

the spy's wife (1972)

"Selling Toys it's got S.P.Y. written all over it."
Hilda Tyler (Dorothy Tutin) is the titular wife of Tom (Tom Bell), a spy, and whilst he goes off on business, she is left alone. But is she up to some spying of her own?
A short drama, with a nice twist at the finish.

all the right noises (1971)

"Can't we go on for a little while?"
Len (Tom Bell) is a lighting engineer in the theatre has a fling with a precocious young girl in the chorus, Val (Olivia Hussey). Complicating events is Joy (Judy Carne), Len's wife and mother of his two children, and Len's confusion when he finds out Val is not yet 16.
A seventies suburban take on the kitchen sink drama, which foregoes histronics and fireworks, but still holds your attention with the strong central performances of Bell and Hussey.

nightmare (1962)

"You found me out there didn't you."
A finishing school student, Janet (Jennie Linden) is revisiting her traumatic childhood in her nightmares, when she witnessed her father's murder by her mother. So much so that she is sent home with a teacher Mary Lewis (Brenda Bruce), who places Janet into the care of Grace Maddox (Moira Redmond). Now home can these nightmares be stopped or is Janet doomed to become mad, as her mother was before her?
Another in a long line of psychological terrors from the house of Hammer.

beyond re-animator (2003)

"She's not getting any fresher."
Dr West (Jeffrey Combs) is still in prison, but he restarts his experiments when the new prison doctor (Jason Barry) knows all about West and his background, and wants in.
Yuzna gives us more of the same comic horror, as in his previous installments of the RE-animator chronicles, as West causes yet more carnage. If you like the previous instalments, you'll like this.

the awakening (1980)

aka The Wakening.
"I've forgotten how lovely she was."
Archeologist Matthew Corbeck (Charlton Heston) discovers the long lost tomb of an Egyptian queen. Eighteen years later he returns to Cairo and discovers his daughter (Stephanie Zimbalist) may be possessed by the spirit of that monarch. Can he bring himself to kill his daughter to save mankind from her wraith?
A well made film, dragged down by its slow and methodical pacing, and unfortunately the shockingly violent deaths that occure do not enliven it enough. Loosely based on the Bram Stoker novel 'The Jewel of Seven Stars'.

blood salvage (1990)

aka Mad Jake.
"sometimes good decent folks seem to suffer more than their fair share."
Jake (Danny Nelson) is a preacher in rural Georgia, who likes nothing better than to kidnap people and perform experiments on them. Then he has the misfortune to kidnap a wheelchair bound April (Lori Birdsong) who won't go quietly.
A cheap but entertaining thriller. You've seen it all before, but it still manages to keep your attention till the end.

borderland (2007)

"I don't believe in violence...without a purpose."
Three college friends go on a trip across the Mexican border in search of sex and booze. What they find is a drug running gang using satan for protection via human sacrifice.
A taut thriller, with shockingly brutal and realistic gore. All the more shocking when you know that this was loosely based on real events.

the hitch-hiker (1953)

"Nobody ever gave me anything, so I don't owe nobody!"
Two men (Edmond O'Brien & Frank Lovejoy) on a fishing trip, have the misfortune of picking up escaped convict Emmett Myers (William Talman), who tells them that he intends to murder them when the ride is over.
Lupino produces a nerve wracking flick centered around the psychotic Myers, ably played by Talman.

eight legged freaks (2002)

"So you're trying to tell me that a giant spider ate Gladys?"
Chris McCormick (David Arquette) arrives back in his rural home town, after years away, just in time to get caught up in an invasion of giant spiders, created by exposure to some noxious chemicals. Can he protect the town and the woman (Kari Wuhrer) who he's always had a secret crush on?
Elkayem brings the 50's creature feature up to date with a tongue in cheek script and a large dollop of arachnid action.

final destination (2000)

"In death there are no accidents, no coincidences, no mishaps, and no escapes."
A school trip goes wrong when the plane the class is on blows up, killing all aboard. All but a handful of kids thrown off the flight when Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) has a vision of the disaster. From then on Alex realises that death is stalking them, determined not to be cheated of those who avoided death, but can Alex outfox death and survive?
Some great set pieces add an extra level to what would have otherwise been an average teen-thriller.

st. trinians (2007)

"Girls, we have the schools reputation to uphold."
Treatened with closure by the bank, the girls of St. Trinian's, led by Kelly (Gemma Arterton), decide to steal a painting from the National Gallery and fence it to save the school. All under cover of appearing on a televised schools quiz.
An updating of the uncontrollable schoolgirls - with sly nods to various other films, from Pride and Prejudice to The Italian Job along the way. And whilst it doesn't live up to the 60's originals, this still has enough about it to merit a sequel.

four lions (2010)

"Aye up you unbelievin' Kuffar bastards!"
Omar (Riz Ahmed) is a young idealistic Muslim, who dreams of joining the global jihad. Alongside a motley crew of likeminded lads he sets out to realise his dream, a journey that will take him from Sheffield to Afghanistan and back again.
Morris, famous for his undercover black humour, turns his attention to a subject of Muslim extremism, producing a film that is both funny, and thought provoking at the same time. A black satire that makes you sympathise with suicide bombers!

the last man on planet earth (1999)

"The carpet's Persian handsome, I would like to avoid bloodstains."
Made for TV film, that like most TV films lacks rather a lot. Following a war with Afghanistan, 97% of men are killed by a virus and with the world taken over by women, the 3% of men left are outlawed. Twenty years later, a scientist (Julie Bowen) clones a man (Paul Francis) without the capacity to violence, but when he's discovered, he ends up on the run with the male underground.

submarine (2010)

"My mother is worried I have mental problems."
The bitter sweet coming of age story about Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), who is fixated on Jordana (Yasmin Paige), and sets about getting her as his girlfriend. Meanwhile he also has to contend with his parents potential break-up, as he tries to prevent his mother (Sally Hawkins) from running off with old boyfriend Graham (Paddy Considine).
A fine, visually stimulating debut, but one that is dragged down by a melancholy that pervades the script, so that ultimately we have a good film, rather than a great one.

in a lonely place (1950)

"There's no sacrifice too great for a chance at immortality."
A well thought of, but violent screenwriter Dixon Steele (Humphrey Bogart) becomes a murder suspect, but is cleared by one of his neighbours, Lauren (Gloria Grahame). They soon start dating, but the lead detective has his doubts about Dixon and presses Lauren about him, making her have doubts. Could he really be the murderer after all?
A wonderfully played out fiction, that grips you right to the last frame.

tales from the crypt (1972)

"There's no way out that way."
Portmanteau where five people, (including Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, and Ian Hendry), lost in a crypt are told how they will died by the mysterious crypt keeper (Ralph Richardson).
As with all anthologies, there is good, bad and indiferent here. So if you don't like one, you may prefer the next one along.

death laid an egg (1968)

aka La morte ha fatto l'uovo.
"Don't ask me to understand anything."
A husband and wife (Jean-Louis Trintignant & Gina Lollobrigida) run a newly automated chicken farm along with Gabrielle (Ewa Aulin), their secretary, who is haunted by a car crash that killed all her family. But with the husband having an affair with Gabrielle, it's only time before the tranquility is shattered.
A stylish thriller, which leaves you guessing right to the end, but lacks a certain spark to make it a classic.

cause for alarm (1951)

"Whatever made you think I'm perfect."
George (Barry Sullivan) is a bedridden man due to a heart condition, who believes that his wife (Loretta Young) is having an affair with his doctor (Bruce Cowling), an old friend. Believing they are about to kill him he writes an incriminating letter, then confronts his wife with his allegations, threatening her with a gun, before collapsing dead. Now the race is on to retrieve the letter, before the authorities recieve it...
Film noir, that ratchets up the paranoia and suspense with a subtily adept script.

man-thing (2005)

"It has chosen who will die."
An oil company's men are vanishing when exploring drilling points in an American swamp region. A new sheriff in town (Matthew Le Nevez) investigates and finds himself up against an ancient native american legand, the Man-thing, the ultimate eco-warrior.
Full of clichés, with standard bad guys, wise native americans, and plot holes you could drive a bus through, but overall an ok 90 minutes.