the day the earth stood still (2008)

"I am here to save the earth."
Remake of the 1951 classic, sees the action updated to present day an Keanu Reeves stepping into Klaatu's shoes, as an alien arriving in New York with the message that he has come to save the earth. There at the moment he arrives is scientist Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly), and she sets out to convince him that humanity is worth saving after all.
Unfortunately this remake/remodel expands on the original premise, and has so many targets to go at, but fails to hit most of them, and falls flat. And don't get me started about that bratty kid!

the frozen dead (1967)

"The human is much more complex."
High ranking Nazi's are frozen and secreted about the world, as they realise they are losing the war. Twenty years later Nazi scientist Dr Norberg (Dana Andrews) sets out to revive them. But unfortunately they all come out brain-damaged, some would say they were brain damaged from the start! To determine what is going wrong he needs a healthy brain to experiment on, and a friend of his niece, Elsa (Kathleen Breck) is chosen. But Jean Norberg (Anna Palk) is suspicious of the sudden disappearance of her friend, a friend who has been condemned to a living hell, tortured as a head in a jar.
A film whose premise reads like a typical horror, but is infused with a despair and sadism, that is hard to forget.

island Of the living dead (2006)

aka Island of the Dead. L'isola dei morti viventi.
"What the hell is that!"
A ship full of treasure hunters stumble on a remote, uncharted island. Believing it to be deserted they go ashore, and of course stumble on the mother-load of zombies! a group of treasure hunters got lost in a fog bank and in the morning they notice what appears to be a deserted island. The group goes on shore and sure enough there are zombies running around.
Plenty of claret for the gorehound, and a greatest hits of other zombie movie highlights should make it entertaining for Zombie fans, otherwise its a hack job with no real merit.

4d man (1959)

aka The Evil Force. Master of Terror.
"You can't hurt me."
Scientist Tony Nelson (James Congdon) tries to develop a machine, that allows material to travel through the 4th dimension. When relationship problems come between Tony and his brother Scott (Robert Lansing), due to their mutual attraction to the ravishing Linda (Lee Meriwether), Scott discovers Tony's experiments. Using himself as a guinea pig he manages to make it work, but at a price. Every time Scott breaks through the 4th dimension, it drains some of his life away. Aging rapidly his only way to stave off death is to suck the energy out of others.
A mildly diverting yarn, mainly due to the interesting score by Ralph Carmichael.

children shouldn't play with dead things (1973)

aka Cemetery of the Dead. Things from the Dead. Zombie Graveyard.
"You should have stuck to the clown act."
A couple of actors play a prank on some friends, pretending to dig up a corpse and perform a satanic ritual to resurrect the dead. Unfortunately for everyone their spells work!
Would be comedy that is far to talky for its own good, taking far too long to get to the chomping.

day of the animals (1977)

aka Something Is Out There.
"God sent a plague down on us because we're just a bunch of no good fellers."
A disparate group of hikers find themselves being attacked by various wild animals who have ganged together due to the depletion of the ozone layer.
An Eco-disaster film, where not much happens, but at least you get to see Leslie Nielsen go nuts and wrestle a grizzly.

female convict scorpion jailhouse 41 (1972)

aka Joshuu sasori: Dai-41 zakkyo-bô. Sasori: Jailhouse 41. Scorpion: Female Prisoner Cage #41.
"It sure is hell here."
Scorpion (Meiko Kaji), has spent a year in solitary for attacking the warden, and gets a one day reprieve whilst a dignitary visits. Spotting a chance she attacks again, and is condemned to further punishment and after being raped by the guards, is attacked and left for dead by some prisoners. This gives her the chance to escape with six others that beat her, and she is quick to take the opportunity.
The sequel to Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion, continues Scorpion's decent into hell with rape, sadism and gore, all done with an art house sensibility.

backwoods (2007)

aka Bosque de Sombras. The Backwoods.
"There are hunters and prey in this world."
Two couples on holiday in rural Spain. When the two men (Paddy Considine and Gary Oldman) chance upon an abandoned house with a deformed girl locked inside. They decide they cannot leave her, so take her back to their cottage. Once there they decide to clean her up before taking her to the police, only to be confronted by some armed men who claim to be her brothers, determined to take the girl.
Fusing Deliverance with Straw Dogs makes for an entertaining thriller.

abby (1974)

aka Possess My Soul.
"Whaddya think of my powers now?"
Bishop Garnet Williams (William Marshal), an anthropologist and minister specialising in African religions, manages to unwittingly release a demon on the world. A spirit that possesses marriage counselor Abby (Carol Speed). Bishop Williams returns to battle the demon, but who will win?
A camp blacksploitation take on The Exorcist, that starts slowly and never picks up the pace.