manos: the hands of fate (1966)

"Not dead the way you know it. He is with us always."
A couple and their kid get lost trying to find their holiday lodge, and end up staying at a sinister place in the desert, ignoring their better instincts. When their dog is savaged to death they make to leave, also creeped out by the prescence of the weird caretaker Torgo (John Reynolds). But are forced to stay when their car fails to start. They are then further disturbed when they come across the master that Torgo has been babbling about, laid out in his death shroud surrounded by comatose women. The night can only get worse...
The lowest of the low, in all senses; budget, script, direction and acting all combine to make for a captivating film, for all the wrong reasons. Even the director supposedly thought this the worst film ever made, and he may be have been right.

style wars (1982)

"They call themselves writers because that's what they do..."
Another seminal film about the early hip hop scene in New York, showing the development of graffiti art on the New York Subway system and b-boys such as the Rock Steady Crew developing their break dance techniques. A must see if you have any interest in either of the above.

wild style (1983)

"Watch out for the third rail baby, that shit is high voltage."
Zoro (Lee Quinones) is the Bronx coolest graffiti writer, due in part to no one knowing who Zoro is. But Zoro is conflicted, having lots of personal troubles, whilst trying to stay true to his art.
A classic not because of the story or the acting, but because it gives the truest view of the hip hop scene at the time, mainly due it packing in as many of the movers and shakers of the scene at the time, whether DJs, rappers, graffiti artists or b-boys. So we get legendary Grand Master Flash, the Cold Crush Brothers, Kool Moe Dee, and the Rock Steady Crew amongst many others.

blood tide (1982)

aka Bloodtide. Demon Island.
"You have seen your death Mr. Frye."
Neil (Martin Kove) and his wife Sherry (Mary Louise Weller) are cruising the Greek islands looking for his sister Madeline (Deborah Shelton), who went missing some months previously. They find her on a remote island, along with a dodgy treasure hunter Frye (James Earl Jones), just in time for Frye to awaken an ancient and cranky sea beast, and it wastes no time in eating as many of the islanders as it can get its claws on. But how do they stop it?
The bizarre thing about this film is that I got to the end of it, as its an extremely run of the mill thriller, with no thrills.

needful things (1993)

"You're drenched to your soul."
Here we go again, another day, another Stephen King adaption. This one sees a small town getting a new shop on the high street, one that sells your most desired object, but at a price!
A twist on the Faustian pact story, with Max von Sydow sowing seeds of discontent and disharmony as he goes. And although Sydow holds your attenton as the films centre, this comes across as as lesser TV movie.

eye of the devil (1966)

aka 13.
"I thought it was the most frighening place, almost like you were back in the middle ages."
A French winemaker (David Niven) is under pressure due to a series of disasterous harvests. His family start to worry about him, especially when they find him employing pagan rituals in a desperate attempt to save the crops, pressured into it by the local witch (Sharon Tate).
A star studded cast, including Deborah Kerr, David Hemmings, Donald Pleasence and Flora Robson, cannot make up for an uneven, and only mildly chilling horror. Best remembered as a precursor to The Wicker Man - using essentially the same central plot device.

we are what we are (2010)

aka Somos lo que hay.
"Why did you make me like this?"
A family have to learn to fend for themselves and put food on the table when their father dies suddenly. A task made more difficult when you consider that this family are cannibals.
With no backstory or exposition, we are thrown straight into the deep end with this drama, as the family slowly falls apart, and it slowly dawns on us that this is not a normal family. You also realise that this is more of a drama with touches of horror than a true horror film, but its slight plot manages to keep you watching all the same.