Horror Bites - The Village

THE WITCHES (1966)

1966 was a pretty good year for Hammer (and their reused sets and actors) with Christopher Lee playing both Dracula and Rasputin, and a couple of adventures on the moors in The Reptile and Plague of the Zombies. The latter is probably their essential voodoo thriller, but what of this other tale of black magic and folk horror out in the English countryside? The distributor of an older Hammer movie collection used the music from this film for all their DVD menus so someone must have been a fan. But does it hold up or is it all just a bit too slow and frustrating? 

Monster Bites - The Devil's Whistle

GAMERA VS. JIGER (1970)

Time for a final look at the Showa era Gamera films, and the last double feature before heading to the later series. At least in the main run before the reboot; I don't think the clips show from 1980 counts. So let's check off all the usual ingredients. Another submarine used by two children? Yes. Another flying saucer, and another undersea monster? Correct. However, at least when it comes to Gamera vs. Jiger someone said 'hey what if we make a monster movie?' So there are actual kaiju attacks and the pacing is almost tolerable. Let's see how the rest of the film stacks up.

Review Roundup - Super Friends

SUPERMAN (2025)

Superman has a lot to answer for. The 1978 film directed by Richard Donner that is. Over the years that same origin story formula has been done to death; in comic book movies beyond. That classic three act structure that often runs out of steam when it needs to reach an action filled resolution. But what happens when that formula, and in turn the backstory, is jettisoned entirely? Of course, you know the story of Krypton, everyone knows it. Is it a refreshing way to reboot the whole thing, again, for a new era? Or does it result in pacing issues for everything that follows?

Review Roundup - Public Relations

BREAKING NEWS (2004)

Time for one more cops versus robbers thriller on the streets of Hong Kong. Not exactly imaginative stuff, at least on the surface, but this is another Johnnie To feature so things are always a little out of left field. Particularly when it comes to the music... which I will get to in due course. It's also a tale of media manipulation and reality versus narrative, promising to add another dimension to so many familiar character tropes and action beats. But what makes this one stand out from the crowd is the smaller flourishes sprinkled throughout. 

Review Roundup - A Dish Served Cold

VENGEANCE (2009)

While some of Johnnie To's films have a fresh take on old themes and tropes, or a new perspective, others feel more like ideas he wanted to revisit. Such is the case with Vengeance, a story that feels like another take on the ideas from Exiled. So it's back to Macau for another tale of brotherhood and bloodshed with yet another crime boss played by To regular Simon Yam. However, it's not just a series of familiar faces and situations, there are plenty of original and creative moments. More importantly the execution still feels fresh in plenty of sequences.