the snorkel (1958)

"They all thought I was mad when I said he killed my daddy."
Paul Decker (Peter van Eyck) cunningly disguises the murder of his wife as suicide, the police are satisfied, but not his teeenage step-daughter Candy (Mandy Miller). She is determined to unveil him as as a killer, but can she unmask him before he can think of a way to bump her off, whilst giving himself a good alibi.
A simple plot, well laid out, acted and put together, making an effective little suspence thriller.

black cat, white cat (1998)

"What a life!"
Matko and his Zare son live on Danube, hustling for a living. Unfortunately he owes money to local gangster Dadan. To pay off the debt Matko agrees that Dadan's sister, Afrodita, should marry Zare, but Zare is in love with Ida, and Afrodita would rather wait for the man of her dreams.
A bizarre and twisted fable that is a glimpse into the comic life of a gypsy chancer, and a fun one at that.

hardware (1990)

"Machines don't understand sacrifice - neither do morons."
Post-Apocalypse earth, where much of the world is a scorched desert. In this wasteland a scavenger finds some robotic parts that he hopes to sell on. In the city Moses Baxter (Dylan McDermott) buys them for his girlfriend Jill (Stacey Travis), who makes sculptures out of such junk. What they don't realise is that the parts he has bought are from a military cyborg, and it's not yet dead. Reconstituting itself, it sets about terrorising Jill. Can Moses get to her in time to stop the carnage?
Stanley bumps up the style quotent, in this stalker thriller, and adds a smattering of rock star cameo's, such as Iggy Pop and Lemmy. Yeah it's not a masterpiece, it's cheap and badly paced, and yeah there are plot holes, but I still find it an enjoyable ride.

the faculty (1998)

"Aliens have taken over the fucking school!"
A disperate group of high school students start to notice how their teachers, and other students are starting to change and try and track down what's occurring.
Good twist on the typical teen slasher flick, (mixing 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' with 'The Thing'), helped by competent direction and a fine cast.

the ace of spades (1935)

"Why did you mention the ace of spades?"
Politician Nick Trent (Michael Hogan) is implicated in the death of an opponent, when the man is a victim of a hit and run accident. The real perpetrator wrestles with his conscience, will his actions come back to haunt him?
The words Run of the mill were created for such product as this...a potentially fine situation is sophorifically played out on the screen.

the resurrection of zachary wheeler (1971)

aka The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler.
"He may last a couple of hours no more!"
A politician (Bradford Dillman) is involved in a car crash, which paramedics and TV reporter Harry Walsh (Leslie Nielson) believe will be fatal. The Senator is rushed to hospital, but then disappears, much to the annoyance of the reporter, who is made to look like a fool when the hospital and the Senator's office denies he was even in an accident. Meanwhile the Senator is spirited away to a secret New Mexico medical facility. Under pressure Walsh is determined to get to the bottom of the story. Will Walsh find out about the Medical facility, what their agenda is, and what do they want in exchange for saving the Senator's life?
Interesting thriller that toys with many medical techniques that are now talked off routinely, such as cloning and DNA tampering.

dragon wars (2007)

aka D-war.
"I keep trying to understand, but none of this is making any sense."
simplistic tale of man (Jason Behr) trying to protect girl (Amanda Brooks) from an evil serpant, who wants to use her energy to destroy the world. Culminates in a huge CGI battle fest, if you get that far.

alibi breaker (1937)

aka Double Exposure.
"Can you take our picture?"
A journalist, Peter Bradfield (Basil Langton) is fired for not getting the interview he promised with top businessman Hector Rodman (Julien Mitchell). He subsequently gets a job selling photographic equipment, and unwittingly captures some stills of two gentlemen talking. Unknown to him these gentlemen (the businessmen's lawyer and his secretary) are embezzling money from Rodman and are planning to fit up George (George Astly), his workshy fop of a son as the fall guy.
Cheap but cheerful film, mainly due to Langton who plays a flippant gadabout town that populated these sorts of film.

invasion of the body snatchers (1956)

"They're here already! You're next! You're next, You're next...!"
Dr. Miles J. Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) stumbles on an alien plot to replace people with duplicates in an invasion plot. But the authorities he approaches initially do not believe him, or have already been replaced. How does he stop this plot?
The ultimate paranoid sci-fi thriller, and an effective one at that.

black snake moan (2006)

"The girl's gotta itch..."
A God-fearing farmer/blues singer Lazarus (Samuel L. Jackson) is conflicted when his wife leaves him for his brother. Meanwhile Rae (Christina Ricci) is the white-trash town tramp, whose boyfriend is serving in the army, and seeks solace anywhere she can! When she is left for dead after a beating outside Lazarus's property he takes her in and tries to teach her some discipline. By doing so they may both be able to get some redemption.
A film that suffers from disasterous marketing, that spun it as a sexual tale, when in fact it is a redemption story, told well. A modern take on the Southern Gothic.

paradisio (1961)

"Follow that gondola!"
An English professor (Arthur Howard) is given a pair of sunglasses that are actually x-ray specs. They allow him to see through people's clothes, something he takes great delight in doing whenever a young woman is spotted, as he travels across Europe. But his trip gets complicated when he's chased by some spies trying to get their hands on these miracles of modern science. So complicated that he travels Austria to Paris and then to Venice. He either likes taking the long way round, that or he's remedial in geography!
An unassuming nudie-cutie, there to expose as much female flesh as possible. A curio from a lost time.

dangerous cargo (1954)

"Tell 'em when the planes are coming in and here's 500 quid!"
An airport cargo handler, Tom Matthews (Jack Watling), bumps into old wartime chum, Harry (Terence Alexander). Harry insists on treating Tom and his wife Janie (Susan Stephen) to a night out grayhound racing and have a great time. However Harry is part of a gang that intends to mount a raid on the airport and they need some inside information. So when Tom and Harry re-visits the dogs and Tom ends up owing the bookmakers, he comes under pressure to give up the info the gang needs.
Only mildly diverting B movie crime caper. More interesting for an uncomfortable John Le Mesurier playing a dodgy foreigner, with an even more dodgy accent.

don't look now (1973)

"This one who's blind. She's the one that can see."
Laura and John Baxter (Julie Christie & Donald Sutherland) suffer a tragedy when their daughter drowns. To try and work through their loss the couple take a job restoring a Venitian church. Whilst he works, she starts a friendship with a psychic who claims to be able to contact Laura's child. Meanwhile John keeps glimpsing an elusive figure in the narrow streets, a dwarf woman in a red coat...
Famous for its naturalistic sex scene. This builds an unsettling atmosphere around the tragedy of a childs death and the parents subsequent grief, interwined is the serial killer sub-plot, with its faintly ludicrus reveal.

he who rides a tiger (1965)

"Get back!"
Peter Rayston (Tom Bell), is released from prison for the eighth time, having been in and out all his life. True to form, he immediately returns to his life of crime, in an attempt to pay for his lavish lifestyle. Then he meets Joanne (Judi Dench), a single parent, who is reluctant to get mixed up with Peter, but cannot help but be charmed by him, but can he change for her sake?
A mix of doomed romance and b-movie crime drama, well played and stylishly directed with an effortless 60's style.

yield to the night (1956)

aka Blonde Sinner.
"Supposing I had never met Jim, none of this would have happened, or would it?"
Mary Hilton (Diana Dors) kills a woman in cold blood, and ends up on death row. As she awaits her end her story unfolds. One where Mary falls for Jim (Michael Craig), but he is obsessed and tormented by Lucy: a rich and aloof young woman who dangles him on a string. Finally Jim cracks, committing suicide, and with Lucy showing no remorse for driving him to this, Mary determines to find her...
Dors, an actress accustomed to bombshell parts, is finally given something to get her teeth into, and doesn't betray the trust placed in her, delivering an understated and chilling performance. A classic performance framed by assured direction.

the cassandra crossing (1976)

"I may be the only doctor for a thousand potential plague victims if I haven't caught it myself."
A contagous and deadly virus is unleashed by terrorists on a European train. Whilst the passengers start dropping like flies, the military (Burt Lancaster) try to cover up the problem, ignoring the doctors who argue about how to save those infected.
Another disaster epic, chock full of Hollywood stars, whose plight we are meant to agonise over. But to be honest, I never got to know them enough to care!

hero of rome (1964)

aka The Colossus Of Rome. Arm Of Fire. Il colosso di Roma.
"Perhaps when you've felt the most horrible of all tortures, you'll become a little more reasonable."
The citizens of Rome declare a republic, ousting the despised Tarquinius (Massimo Serato). But Tarquinius makes an alliance with the Etruscan king, Porsenna (Roldano Lupi), in an attempt to retake power. All that stands in his way is the Roman general Mucius (Gordon Scott).
Gordon Scott makes for a fine hero in this light-weight piece of hokum.

a bay of blood (1971)

aka Chain Reaction. Carnage. Ecology Of A Crime. Twitch Of The Death Nerve. Reazione a catena.
"If you kill for killings sake you become a monster."
An elderly heiress is murdered by her husband trying to get his hands on her estate. In doing so he unleashes a wave of violence, as various relatives and friends get in on the act and start offing each other.
Directed with Bava's usual flare, this is a gorefest, and concidered to be the first slasher, but in truth, (like many of the films it influenced), this is not a great piece of entertainment. Definitely not one of Bava's best, but then a lesser Bava is still better than most.

keep it clean (1956)

"Someday every home will have one!"
Advertising executive Bert Lane (Ronald Shiner), offers to help his brother-in-law promote a new cleaner he has invented, with less than hilarious results!
A decent cast is wasted in this pantomimed slapstick, as Shiner shouts his way through the script as a charmless wheeler/dealer.

lisa and the devil (1974)

aka Lisa e il diavolo.
"It is not always wise to stir up the past. We all have some hidden secrets."
Seperated from her tour group Lisa (Elke Sommer) is spooked when she meets a mysterious man (Telly Savalas), who bears an uncanny likeness to the Devil on a fresco she had viewed earlier that day. Later, and still looking for her group, she is forced to shelter at a villa for the night, where the same man is a butler...
An atmospheric and stylish nightmare world, leaning much on foreboding to build an atmosphere. Not well recieved at the time, this was reversoned as the over the top The House of Exorcism.

van helsing (2004)

"Why does it smell like wet dog in here?"
Gabriel Van Helsing (Hugh Jackman) is a man on a mission to seek out and defeat evil. Something that has brought him many enemies. When this mission brings him to Transylvania, he meets and teams up with Anna Valerious (Kate Beckinsale) to defeat Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh). But they soon find out that Dracula has stumbled on Dr. Frankenstein's research and also a werewolf!
Actioner, that throws most of the Universal monsters (barring the Creature from the Black Lagoon) into the pot! Light weight, but entertaining, as long as you like CGI and wizzy gadgets.

nosferatu the vampyre (1979)

aka Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht.
"Death is not the worst. There are things more horrible than death."
Jonathan Harker (Bruno Gantz) is an estate agent who brokers a deal with Count Dracula (Klaus Kinski) to buy a property in Varna Harker's home town. It is only when he meets Dracula that Harker realises the horror he has unleashed on the world, and on his wife Lucy (Isabelle Adjani) in particular. Can Dr. Van Helsing (Walter Ladengast) really help rid the world of this plague?
A thoughtful re-imaging of the classic Nosferatu, giving it a disturbing and brooding unease. Added to by the medative score by Popul Vuh.

dracula 2000 (2000)

"I don't drink...coffee."
Thieves break into the vault of antique dealer Abraham Van Helsing (Christopher Plummer), to find skulls and a coffin! Unwittingly they unleash Dracula (Gerard Butler) back upon the world. Now it is up to Van Helsing and his protige (Jonny Lee Miller) to find and destroy Dracula. To do so have to track down Van Helsing's daughter Mary (Justine Waddell), who Dracula may be stalking.
Entertaining (if less horror, more action) update of the classic story that suggests an intriguing origin for dracula's affliction.

terror (1978)

"I don't know anything about her. I only met her a week ago."
A 300 year old curse plagues the descendents of a witchburning. The last in the line is film director (John Nolan), who conveniently has made a gothic horror based on the tale. Following a cast and crew preview of the finished film one of the actresses (Carolyn Courage) starts acting weird, having being hypnotised. Then later another is brutally murdered...
Supposedly influenced by the rise of Giallo, this is competently made, (and pokes fun at 70's low budget exploitation along the way), but has none of the flair of that genre, just the electronic soundtrack and mysterious murders: The bedsit version of Susperia!