fury of the wolfman (1972)

aka La furia del Hombre Lobo. The Wolfman Never Sleeps.
"If there is a killer, there must also be a victim."
Doctor Daninsky (Paul Naschy) is bitten by a Yeti in Tibet, and cursed to become a werewolf. Returning to Spain he finds his wife is having an affair, and in turmoil he turns to Dr. Ilona Alman (Perla Cristal). She promises that she can help cure him, but still angry, he kills his wife, her lover and then himself. Or so it would seem, for as a werewolf he cannot die. Knowing this, Ilona digs him up and sets about controlling him.
Some interesting concepts are dealt with in an incoherent manor, mixing werewolves, pseudo-science and fantastically bad dialogue.

hand of death (1976)

aka Countdown In Kung Fu, Strike of Death. Shaolin Men
"Everyone has to die sometime, just a matter of when."
With the Shaolin on the run, student Yun Fei (Tao-liang Tan) is sent to find and kill (James Tien); the man responsible for the break up of the Shaolin temple. As if this isn't enough, he also has to help a scholar to cross the border and help the revolution against the Manchu.
Now better known for featuring early acting performances from Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, this is an entertaining Shaolin feature.

shaolin wooden men (1976)

aka Shao Lin mu ren xiang.
"Those that you strike will always strike back." Jackie (Jackie Chan) vows vengeance and to become a Shaolin monk, after he witnesses his father's murder. At first he is the class buffoon, but finds a willing teacher in a prisoner held by the monks. His teaching enables Jackie to become a Shaolin and leave the temple. But when his teacher escapes Jackie has a hard decision to make. Does he honour his master, or accept that he is a bandit, and try and defeat him?
This early outing for Jackie provides plenty of fight scenes to keep most action fans happy.

the day mars invaded earth (1963)

"I turned the radio on for the news and went to sleep."
Martians replace scientist Dr. David Fielding (Kent Taylor), his wife Claire (Marie Windsor), and the kids, in order to pave the way for an invasion.
Subtle, in fact far too subtle for me, sci-fi.

night of the seagulls (1975)

aka La noche de las gaviotas.
"The pretty girls when they die they become seagulls."
Dr. Henry Stein and his wife Joan (Víctor Petit & María Kosty) arrive in a small fishing village, to take up his position as GP. Their arrival coincides with the return of the Templar's who rise every seven years to haunt the village, and claim sacrificial offerings.
The Knight Templar's return in this atmospheric chiller, the fourth and weakest installment of the Blind Dead series.

intimate games (1976)

aka Sex Games of the Very Rich.
"Doing what comes naturally, no longer comes naturally."
A psychology professor (George Baker) assigns his class, (including Suzy Mandel and Peter Blake), a project to explore their own and other people's personal fantasies.
Sex comedy that sees many a well known face pop up for the cash, and indulge in some lame innuendo whilst the women get naked.

cat girl (1957)

aka The Cat Girl.
"Better she had never been born, than to come home to this." Recently married Leonora Johnson (Barbara Shelley) takes a trip to her uncle's house to break the news. Whilst visiting he leads her to believe she has inherited the family curse. A curse that means she controls a murderous feline that does her bidding when angered.
Psychological horror that plays with the same themes as Val Lewton's Cat People and Leopard Man. Unfortunately it doesn't live up to these high standards.

headhunters (2011)

aka Hodejegerne.
"you don't need a PHD to know that I'm over compensating for my height."
High flying Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie), is a successful headhunter, procuring managers for large companies. But he has an expensive trophy wife to maintain, and to do so he has a sideline as an art thief. So when his wife introduces him to Clas Greve (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), the ex-CEO of a technology company, he is immediately interested on both fronts, as Clas is looking for a new position, and has recently inherited a valuable painting. This initiates a violent game of cat and mouse.
Less than perfect, though still engaging thriller, that manages to draw you in more with each new plot twist.

the crazies (2010)

"Please help me."
Sheriff (Timothy Olyphant) has no option but to shoot a man brandishing a shotgun during the opening baseball game of the season. There then follows a number of incidents where residents become violent psychopaths. As the Sheriff tries to make sense of it all, the authorities arrive, and the town decends into chaos...
Fine paranoid horror, that updates and improves on George A. Romero's original.

the apparition (2012)

"You knew what was happening and didn't tell me."
A college experiment to capture psychic energy and contact the dead, leads years later to a young couple (Sebastian Stan & Ashley Greene) being haunted by the results in their new home.
Run of the mill thriller, that supplies little in the way of thrills or chills.

jennifer's body (2009)

"This cannot be a coincidence."
Needy (Amanda Seyfried) has been friends with Jennifer (Megan Fox) since pre-school, and the friendship endures, despite Jennifer being everything Needy isn't: beautiful and popular. But when they go see local indie band Low Shoulder, Jennifer return's covered in blood, suffering amnesia. Can Needy stop Jennifer as she undertakes a bloodthirsty rampage in revenge.
Flawed from the outset, due to its use of the flash-back, which dissipates the tension necessary for the film to work as an effective thriller.

phantoms (1998)

aka Dean Koontz's Phantoms.
"I don't want to go to hell."
Sisters Jenny & Lisa (Joanna Going & Rose McGowan) visit their rural home town, and find everyone either dead or missing. When they bump into a couple of Sheriffs (Ben Affleck & Lieve Schreiber), they get to investigating what has happened and the name Jonathon Flyte (Peter O'Toole) and the ancient enemy is found scrawled on a mirror...
Passable thriller.

born to defence (1986)

aka Born To Defend. Zhong hua ying xiong.
"Show him your support as he goes one on one with the foreign devil from China." Jet (Jet Li) returns from serving in the Chinese army at the end of WWII, only to find the heroes welcome reserved for the conquering Americans. And life is hard, made harder by the marauding GI's, who literally get away with murder...
Jet Li's directorial debut is a weak thriller, with only passable fight scenes and is marked out only by its anti-American rhetoric.

town on trial (1957)

"I didn't do it. I didn't do it."
Supt. Mike Halloran (John Mills) is new to town when he's called to investigate a series of sexually based murders. Suspicion falls on several high placed members of the local tennis club, who are all more concerned about maintaining their good names than catching the culprit.
Interesting peek into the concerns of 50's society lifts this above the run of the mill.

mutiny! the last birthday party (1983)

"I just want to hear how it is going anyway."
A documentary short following the dying days of the Australian band The Birthday Party, as they record their last record. Barely talking to each other and riddled with drug problems, they sleepwalk into splitting up.
With no commentary, this is a meandering 25 minute glimpse into the studio life of a group in the final stages of falling apart.

vampire warriors (2010)

aka Jiang shi xin zhan shi. Lesbian Vampire Warriors.
"Don't you want to try my blood?"
Vampire hunter Ar (Luxia Jiang), hangs out with Max (Chrissie Chau) and her a family of 'vegetarian' vampires. So when Mung (Wah Yuen) arrives in town; a vampire who eats other vampires to gain their strength, Ar can enlist her veggie mates to help defeat him.
Fine martial arts, let down by some lame comedy, thankfully the action just about makes up for this.