the devil has seven faces (1971)

aka Il diavolo a sette facce. Bloody Mary. The Devil with Seven Faces.
"Is there any one else here?"
Mary's (Carroll Baker) life gets complicated when she starts being stalked by various men. Then she gets a call from her identical twin Julie who mentions her husband and that she is in trouble. Noting her distress two men come to her aid, her lawyer Dave (Stephen Boyd) and Tony (George Hilton), a dashing racing driver.
Standard Giallo, that entertains, but will not stay in the mind much after watching.

the case of the bloody iris (1972)

aka Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer? Erotic Blue. What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing on Jennifer's Body? Why Are Those Strange Drops of Blood on the Body of Jennifer.
"I need to below to someone."
Following a couple of murders in an apartment block, Models Jennifer Lansbury and Marilyn Ricci (Edwige Fenech & Paola Quattrini) get a good deal on the last victim's flat. But Jennifer comes to regret the deal when she starts being stalked by the killer.
Giallo, which sets up enough suspects and twists to prove entertaining without being a classic.

fairy tales (1978)

aka Adult Fairytales. Pornorella.
"My dream princess."
A prince (Don Sparks) has just turned 18 and his doctors are worried that he's not had sex, and will lose his kingdom if he doesn't get any action before Thursday. They tell him to journey to the land of the fairies to find the lost princess, the princess of his dreams.
A mildly comic look at how various fairy tales would have worked out if written in the San Fernando valley. Remarkable only for an appearance of Martha Reeves, who supposedly didn't know that this was a softcore film.

death smiles on a murderer (1973)

aka La morte ha sorriso all'assassino. Death Smiled at Murder.
"They killed you and I didn't do anything to stop them."
A disturbed man (Luciano Rossi) mourns the death of his sister (Ewa Aulin). We then see a coach crash, involving the woman which leads to her losing her memory. She is taken in by a wealthy man (Sergio Doria) and his wife (Angela Bo) to convalesce. They both fall in love with her, but the wife is the jealous type. Meanwhile the family Dr (Klaus Kinski) has developed a formula to restore life to dead people...
What starts out as a psychological thriller, morphs into a Poe-esque horror with a convoluted plot involving incest, reanimation of the dead, and revenge that keeps you guessing as to what the hell is going on!

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

aka Sherlock Holmes. "I'm going to break you Holmes. I'm going to bring off right under your nose the most incredible crime of the century, and you'll never suspect it until it's too late. "
Prof. Moriarty (George Zucco) is reluctantly found not guilty of murder and released. He immediately taunts Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) about his next plan of action, the crime of the century, and how Holmes will never be able to solve it. Now that's a challenge the detective cannot ignore...
The second in the series of films starring Rathbone as Holmes, and considered to be the best.

the fifth cord (1971)

aka Giornata nera per l'ariete. Evil Fingers.
"I am going to commit murder!"
Journalist Andrea Bild (Franco Nero) is on the trail of a serial killer, but soon becomes suspected of the crimes by the police. His only way out is to find the murderer himself.
This has everything going for it, good cinematography, a fine cast, and score, but it somehow manages to miss the mark.

nothing left to fear (2013)

aka Nothing To Fear.
"Do not get close to any of them."
Pastor Dan (James Tupper) and his family move from the city to take over a rural church. It seems a delightful town, and the retiring pastor Kingsman (Clancy Brown) makes sure they feel welcome. So why does daughter Rebecca (Rebekah Brandes) have an uneasy feeling about the place, especially as she has the feeling that her new boyfriend Noah (Ethan Peck) is holding something back.
Slow to start, and just as it is showing promise, with a couple of genuine shocks, it throws it all away with a lame last third.

johnny angel (1945)

"There are two things I've not had enough of in this life, money and you Johnny."
Capt. Johnny Angel (George Raft) boards a deserted ship, where there have been signs of a struggle. It is his father's vessel, and the only clue is a French newspaper and a woman's shoe. With these Johnny hopes to find out who killed his father, and heads for the French Quarter of New Orleans on the trail of a new girl in town (Signe Hasso), taken there by quirky cabbie cabbie Celestial O'Brien (Hoagy Carmichael), who always seems to be around to pick up a fair.
A curious miss-mash of a detective story, that suffers from the casting of Raft, as he underplays the part of the vengeful son.

mad dog (1977)

aka The Mad Dog Killer. Beast With A Gun. La belva col mitra. Ferocious. Ferocious Beast with a Gun. Street Killers. The Human Beast. Wild Beasts with Machine Guns.
"You are dead, understand!"
Four men escape from prison and their leader (Helmut Berger) immediately gets retribution on the man who betrayed him, kidnapping his girlfriend (Marisa Mell). He plans to use her as a distraction to an armed robbery. Meanwhile detective Giulio Santini (Richard Harrison) is charged with tracking the gang down.
Throws all manner of madness at the screen, in this over the top crime drama.

vengeance (1979)

aka El perro. A Dog Called... Vengeance.
"What are you doing?"
A political prisoner (Jason Miller) sees his chance to escape from a remote South American jail, but is tracked down by one of the sadistic guards and his killer dog. He again manages to escape by killing the guard, only to be pursued through the swamps by the vengeful dog.
A simple chase story is given a twist, giving the film greater interest, and a political element, with the dog representing Franco's fascist govt.

wheels of terror (1990)

aka Terror in Copper Valley.
"Please Stop!"
Laura and daughter Stephanie (Joanna Cassidy & Marcie Leeds) leave LA for the sedate life of Copper Valley, Arizona. Life seems idyllic, but then Laura learns there is a child molester on the loose in the area. Then every parents nightmare comes true, as sees her daughter kidnapped in front of her, by someone driving a black Dodge Charger, and she does what any parent would do, she gives chase...
Slow to start, this soon revs up into a thriller of a ride, that unfortunately doesn't manage to maintain the adrenaline drive.

liane, jungle goddess (1956)

aka Liane, das Mädchen aus dem Urwald.
"We just can't leave her here."
Toren (Hardy Krüger) is busy exploring and killing things in the African jungle, when he is captured by a tribe. They are about to kill him, when he's saved by a young white woman (Marion Michael), who seems to be living with the tribe. Intreged Toren sets out to find her again and bring her back to civilisation. It turns out she may be Liane, the long lost relative of a wealthy industrialist, and expedition leader, Toren (Hardy Krüger), tries to work on her manners. But can she survive in the urban jungle?
A weak ripoff of Tarzan, and the fish out of water theme, with the usual stock footage to pad out and add to the 'exotic' feel of the flick.

the three stooges in orbit (1962)

"Remind me to wallop you later."
Professor Danforth (Emil Sitka), has invented a vehicle capable of space flight as well as undersea and all-terrain. The lads agree to help him demonstrate it to the military. But Martians are also interested in vehicle...
Not one of their best, but they give it a good go.

the hills have eyes (1977)

aka Blood Relations.
"You folks gone to far."
A family on a detour to view a silver mine, whilst moving to California. They crash when they reaslise they have ventured into a USAF nuclear testing range. Unfortunately for them a clan still lives there scavenging what they can, including humans...
Craven's homage to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, sees him produce a taught thriller, with plenty of shocks. A true classic.

bare behind bars (1980)

aka A Prisão.
"Come to mamma."
A sadistic prison warden (Maria Stella Splendore) rules a women's prison with a mix of sex and sadism. Eventually the prisoners have had enough and rebel, with some escaping and being chased by the police.
A chance to show as much female flesh as possible, with little plot above and beyond this. Otherwise of little importance.

daddy's deadly darling (1972)

aka Pigs.
"Daddy, I love you."
Lynn Hart (Toni Lawrence) escapes from a mental institution, where she had been committed after she had killed her abusive father. On the run, she takes a job in a remote cafe owned by Zambrini (Marc Lawrence), who also keeps pigs. All is going well for Lynn, but she cannot help but teach abusive men a lesson they will not forget for the rest of their short lives. Fortunately Zambrini's pigs are very grateful for this new source of protein.
Slight film, that breezes over the central relationships and motivations, but provides just enough to keep you watching.

the blood spattered bride (1972)

aka La novia ensangrentada. Blood Castle. Bloody Fiancée. Till Death Do Us Part
"If your heart is wounded then mine is too."
Newly wed Susan (Maribel Martín) is repulsed by her husband's (Simón Andreu) sexual fantasies, and is haunted by grisly dreams featuring a woman called Mircalla. Then her husband finds a woman buried in the sand on the beach and brings her home; a woman called Carmilla, who looks exactly like Mircalla. The two women then come together in an obsessive and bloody relationship, to the exclusion of the husband.
Atmospheric lesbian vampire eurotica, and a supposed critique of Franco's fascist government of the time.

schoolgirl hitchhikers (1973)

aka High School Hitch Hikers. Jeunes filles impudiques.
"she knew that if she did she would have to follow me all the way."
Monica and Jackie (Joëlle Coeur & Gilda Arancio) stumble on what they think is an abandoned house in the country. They decide to investigate it, only to find it to be the hideout of a gang of thieves.
Typical Rollin film, in that it doesn't make a lick of sense, and exists only to show as much flesh as possible.

blood sabbath (1972)

aka Yyalah.
"No good comes of the lake."
A drifter (Anthony Geary) is knocked unconscious by a lake and is helped by a water nymph Yyalah (Susan Damante). They subsequently fall for each other, but two complications arise. One, she cannot love someone with a soul, and two Alotta (Dyanne Thorne) a jealous witch, is determined to have the drifter for herself.
Soporific and nonsensical.

trauma (1978)

aka Rings of Fear. Enigma rosso.
"You! But you must be crazy to come here!"
A teenage girl is murdered, and the detective in charge, Gianni Di Salvo (Fabio Testi), starts to suspect three of her friends, who call themselves 'The Inseparables'.
Run of the mill Giallo, that holds its own based on the presence of its lead Fabio Testi.

evil dead (2013)

"I will feast on your soul!"
Take one cabin in the woods, five friends, and one book of the dead. Mix them up and you have one gory fright-fest, where one by one, the friends are dispatched by the demons summoned by them.
Effective, straight up horror re-make of the Raimi comic-horror classic. Less inventive than the original, but certainly more gory.

dance hall racket (1953)

“What, so I killed somebody, that makes me a bad person?
A dance hall is a front for a diamond smuggling racket. The feds get wise to it, but need evidence so send in an undercover cop.
Only of interest to see Lenny Bruce, (as the gang leaders muscle), prove he's no actor, and should have stuck to the comedy. Though there is a theory that this was produced as a satire, and definitely works better if viewed as such.

trauma (1976)

aka Exposé. The House On Straw Hill.
"You've here for me. For my pleasure."
Novelist Paul Martin (Udo Kier) rents a country house, for some seclusion. Moving in with him is his new typist Linda (Linda Hayden), whilst Paul's girlfriend (Fiona Richmond) comes and goes. The peace doesn't last long though, when two lads are shot, after having sex with Linda, and she doesn't mention a thing...
Slight story, that takes some time to get to the point, and spends too much time trying to build on the sexual tension between the trio, at the expense of the thriller element.

the three stooges meet hercules (1962)

"These young Greek things have great curves as well."
Schuyler Davis (Quinn K. Redeker) is working on a time machine, and everyone thinks he's barmy, so his friends, Larry, Curly and Moe decide to take a look at it. The result finds them back in time facing the wrath of Hercules.
Entertaining slapstick comedy, that harks back to the stooges heyday.

the yin and the yang of mr go (1970)

aka The Third Eye. "See straight and think crooked." A young amoral army deserter, Nero Finnegan (Jeff Bridges), is enticed into helping master criminal Yin Yang Go (James Mason) in blackmailing a weapons designer into giving up the blueprints of a new laser system. But the plan to sell the prints to the Russians is interrupted by Buddha who has the power to change a person's nature once every fifty years, and uses this power on Ying Yang...
Written and directed by Burgess Meredith, this is like an warped adult version of Batman meets Austin Powers, only not in a good way.

the guy from harlem (1977)

"Something just doesn't seem to fit." Tough Harlem P.I. Al Conners (Loye Hawkins), now works the mean streets of Florida. He's hired by the CIA to guard visiting African dignitary, Mrs. Ashanti (Patricia Fulton), who is in tow for 24 hours. Having dispensed his unique take on bodyguarding, (by bedding the lady), Al then takes on the case of finding Wanda (Cathy Davis), who has been kidnapped by Big Daddy (Wayne Crawford).
Stilted in all ways, from acting, script and direction. There is nothing going for this little number.

the seducers (1977)

aka Death Game.
"I'm a happily married man."
A happily married man (Seymour Cassel) is home alone when he takes pity on a couple of young women when they knock on his door during a storm. They tell him they are lost, need directions and are soaked, so he invites them in. Jackson and Donna (Sondra Locke & Colleen Camp) flirt with their host and seduce him. The next morning he is surprised that they are still there, and things rapidly turn nasty, as they tell him they are underage and threaten him...
The creepy-crawly, home invasion theme, could have been seriously scary, but is instead turned into something mildly irritating. An opportunity wasted.

world war z (2013)

"Whatever goes to hell, stays in hell!"
A viral outbreak hits the world, and spreads like wildfire, infecting all those bitten. The virus leaps around the world, landing in New York, where Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) and his family witness it first hand, and are lucky to escape. In shock, Gerry is called into action, and revive his past career as a UN fixer, and protect a virologist as he attempts to find out where the pandemic started. Their first stop: South Korea.
Entertaining, roller-coaster of a thriller, as long as you don't stop to think about the plot!

the bells (1973)

aka Bell from Hell. La campana del infierno.
"finally you realise that there is only dust inside your head."
John (Renaud Verley) is released from an asylum, but doesn't return home until after a sojourn working in a slaughter house. Once home he invites his aunt and her three daughters over for dinner, and starts discussing his inheritance. Did they really have him sectioned to gain control of his money?
Suspenseful revenge thriller, full of startling imagery.

hotel! (2001)

"You've got 24 minutes!"
Terrorists led by Radochek Zeigler (Art Malik) take over a country house hotel. The only man that can save them is Ben Carter (Paul McGann).
Slapstick comedy, featuring the good and the bad of British tv comedians and actors, but none can save this one note re-hash of the Airplane franchise. This does no one any credit!

carry on admiral (1957)

aka The Ship Was Loaded.
"I've come ahead to see that everything is shipshape."
Two friends, Tom and Peter (David Tomlinson & Brian Reece) switch identities after getting drunk. unfortunately this means that Tom, a parliamentary secretary, gets mistaken for a naval captain, and causes a number of catastrophes in the process.
Lacks logic and laughs, a fatal flaw for a comedy.

the purge (2013)

"Wanting is our will on this fine night."
It's 2022 and the U.S. has found the secret to a crime free society; one night of 'purging', where anything goes, including murder. The belief being that this releases any pent up aggression. James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) ascribes to this viewpoint, and as a wealthy security systems salesman, believes that the purge will never touch him or his family in their gated community. But that doesn't allow for his 10 year old son's compassion when he gives a bloody stranger (Edwin Hodge) sanctuary. Especially when the Wasp'ish gang that were chasing him come knocking, and want their prey.
Well, the premise is absurd, the participants annoying, (constantly making bad and irrational decisions), and numerous moral issues are brought up only to be subsequently ignored. Apart from these few quibbles...

the seven minutes (1971)

"Objection!"
A newly published book, The Seven Minutes, is up in court to determine if it is pornographic. Complicating the defenses case is an opportunist politician who is trying to make gains off the back of the issue of pornography, and has throw his weight behind the case of a young man who is up for rape and attempted murder. They maintain he was inflamed by reading the book, and care not a jot that he may not be guilty of the rape.
A courtroom drama, played out with Meyer's larger than life characters and comic asides. Surprisingly entertaining and restrained for a Meyer film.

the strange hostel of pleasures (1975)

aka Fracasso de Um Homem nas Duas Noites de Núpcias. Estranha Hospedaria dos Prazeres.
"God! Sorry but this house scares me!"
Coffin Joe (José Mojica Marins) runs a small hotel, where a variety of people check-in, but none check out!
Bafflingly psychedelic Brazilian horror, from the warped mind of José Mojica Marins, who provides metaphysical rambling, and non-actors to the party.

the travelor (1979)

aka El Caminante. "man is the only true evil being of creation." An amoral traveller Leonardo (Paul Naschy) walks the highways of Medieval Spain, corrupting all that he meets. For it turns out this man is the devil and he has decided to see just how corrupt and selfish the human race really is.
Episodic and bawdy film, played out in a style of the Decameron, as it unfolds its comic morality tale.

tomb of the werewolf (1984)

"Decide Count. Who shall live and who shall die?"
Medieval Countess, Erzabeth Bathory (Michelle Bauer), makes a pact with the devil, she has to bath in the blood of her victims, to retain her youth & beauty. We move then to the present and a TV show is shooting at Castle Daninsky. Their search for treasure, instead unearths the tomb of Bathory's servant, Waldemar, a werewolf (Paul Naschy).
Straight to video, but much better if it had been straight to the bin!

the vengeance of the mummy (1973)

aka The Mummy's Revenge. La venganza de la momia.
"Everyone knows mummy's cannot come back to life."
Prof. Nathan Stark (Jack Taylor) discovers the tomb of Amenhotep (Paul Naschy), and ships it back to London to exhibit. But Assad Bey, the servant of Amenhotep has ways of bringing the Pharaoh back to life. But in order For Amenhotep to achieve immortality, Assad Bey has to sacrifice some nubile young virgins.
Essentially a re-telling of the classic tale, and one done with a certain style.

the black godfather (1974)

"Ain't no room for the both of us."
JJ (Rod Perry), has ambition, and wants to see the white heroin cartel is run out of the black neighbourhoods, so he can run it himself. Understandably the cartel are reluctant to give up their market share, and it's only a matter of time before things come to a head. To aid his takeover, JJ recruits a black militant named Diablo (Damu King) and his men in an uneasy truce to fight against the man.
Low key, by the rules of blacksploitation, this story never really catches fire.

the antichrist (1974)

aka L'anticristo. The Tempter. Blasphemy.
"This time I'm going to win."
Ippolita Oderisi (Carla Gravina), is a physically handicapped young woman, haunted by the death of her mother. A psychologist tries a bit of past life regression on her, revealing that Ippolita had been a witch burnt at the stake during the Inquisition. This unlocks more than just repressed memories, as she starts to imitate her past life, seducing and killing young men. Naturally her friends are worried and an exorcist (George Coulouris) is brought in to help...
Having seen how popular the Exorcist was, De Martino was duty bound to rip it off, badly.

riddles of the sphinx (2008)

"Keep her out of trouble will you."
Jessica (Dina Meyer) unleashes the wrath of the sphinx when she tries to enter its tomb, and unwittingly involves a history teacher (Lochlyn Munro) and his daughter in the fight.
Tomb Raider very lite!

eve and the handyman (1961)

"My mind raced like a hot rod along the drag strip of inspiration."
Eve (Eve Meyer) is spying on handyman (Anthony-James Ryan), as he does his daily chores, but why is she watching him?
Nudie-cutie that exploits men's desire to see women in the nude, any other consideration was secondary to this, and thus this proves. For whilst it injects a certain silent, and slapstick humour into the proceedings, it is never a funny film.

black cobra (1987)

aka Cobra Nero.
"Enough with the tears, OK?"
A siege with hostages is in progress, enter Robert Malone (Fred Williamson), who on being told to negotiate and acquiesce the kidnappers demands, shoots them all dead! Can you tell this is a cop playing by his own rules, and getting the job done? Subsequently he is called on to act as witness protection, for Elys Trumbo (Eva Grimaldi), who has witnessed a murder by a psychopathic gang. But should he hole up and stop her from being intimidated? Or should he find them, and deliver some high caliber justice of his own?
By the numbers action flick, that has the Italians taking Dirty Harry as its template, and adds a dash of John Carpenter's synth driven soundtrack. What's not to like?

night of the howling beast (1975)

aka La maldición de la bestia. Hall of the Mountain King. Horror of the Werewolf. The Curse of the Beast. The Werewolf and the Yeti.
"How did you get the name Tiger? Because I've never seen anyone more afraid."
whilst hunting for the Yeti in the Himalayas, adventurer Waldemar Daninsky (Paul Naschy) is captured by two attractive demons guarding a sacred shrine. Finding that his hosts are cannibals, Waldemar kills them, but not before they curse him to become a werewolf. Can he find his way back to his fellow explorers and find a cure for his affliction?
Naschy returns to the yeti/werewolf plot line, in a quickfire adventure.

carnivore (1983)

aka The Final Terror. Bump in the Night. Campsite Massacre. The Forest Primeval. "If you people want to survive, you better start looking and thinking like the forest."
A group teens are taken by a couple of forest rangers to work and camp in a remote forest. Unfortunately for them they don't know that someone is very protective of this woodland...
, Uninvolved stalk fest, only of interest as it features Rachel Ward and Daryl Hannah. Horror, American, Andrew Davis,

burial ground (1981)

aka Le notti del terrore. The Nights of Terror. Zombie 3. The Zombie Dead. "I am the only one that knows the secret" A professor (Raimondo Barbieri) opens a crypt whilst conducting his research, but what he finds there are zombies. Having been cooped up for so long the zombies naturally decide to go party, and there happens to be one already in progress at a nearby villa...
Some creative deaths make up to some extent for the ineptitude of the rest of this run of the mill zombie horror.

zombies' lake (1981)

aka Zombie Lake. Le lac des morts vivants. The Lake of the Living Dead.
"You could call it the damned lake of the damned!"
The love story of a French girl and the German soldier who saved her life during WWII. He subsequently dies at the hands of the French resistance, and is thrown into a lake. But that's not going to stop him from returning as a zombie some years later to find his daughter, and he's brought some mates along.
Slow, episodic, and badly filmed zombie romance!

berberian sound studio (2012)

"This is not a horror film. This is a Santini film!"
Gilderoy (Toby Jones) a meak English sound engineer moves to Italy to work on a film. He sound finds himself alone and uncomfortable, working on a grissly horror film. As he immerses himself in his work, and that of the films grisly content, Gilderoy starts to feel homesick, and his mental state comes in for a battering.
Fish out of water drama, which establishes a wonderfully creepy atmosphere, as it fetishises sound and analogue sound equipment, and gives homage to Italian horror and Giallo soundtracks. The films one low point is its ending with no resolution, leaving the viewer baffled and disorientated, but may be that is what the director intended, as it mirrors the state of the main character.

conquest of mycene (1963)

aka Ercole contro Molock. Hercules vs. the Molloch. Hercules Against Moloch. Hercules Attacks.
"If you love freedom above all else, Glauco loves it more so."
Glauco (Gordon Scott), is a prince to a neighboring empire who goes undercover as Hercules in an attempt to free Mycenae from the corrupt and evil Queen Demetra (Rosalba Neri) and her disfigured son Moloch.
Well made political thriller, with the added attractions of a hunky hero and beautiful princesses and queens.

curse of the devil (1973)

aka El retorno de Walpurgis. The Return of Walpurgis. The Black Harvest of Countess Dracula. Return of the Werewolf.
"Take this sacred skull and continue his damnation."
When a medieval knight breaks up a satanist coven, its leader curses his descendants. Forward four centuries and the inquisitors descendant, Waldemar Daninsky (Paul Naschy), is in shock having accidentally shot a gypsy whilst on a wolf hunt. The gypsies take none to kindly to this, and set about enacting the curse by sending the mysterious Ilona (Ines Morales) to start his downfall.
Romantic thriller, plays out in a coherent manner, something that cannot be said for some others in the Naschy canon.

john carpenter's vampires (1998)

aka Vampires. "For 600 years I have fed on your kind at will."
A vampire slayer (James Woods) has most of his team trashed by Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith), a particularly nasty vampire. With long term sidekick Montoya (Daniel Baldwin) and recently bitten Katrina (Sheryl Lee) along for the ride, he has to find and protect an ancient religious relic, the black cross. Why? Because Valek has found out that should he acquire it then he will be able to walk in the day.
Enjoyable romp, despite the annoyingly huge plot holes.