HCF Review - Strolling Invaders

BEFORE WE VANISH (2017)

While a lot of alien invasion stories tend to focus on the conflict between the human race and an unknown species, it’s interesting to see a take on the subject that is really more about the people of Earth. In fact for once the government cover story that appears part way into the film is kind of plausible. There are no flashy visual effects depicting life from another planet, and details on the invaders are pretty scant to say the least. Instead there are a lot of odd characters behaving strangely as a trio of seemingly average people wander the streets of Japan asking a lot of strange questions. What do they want, and how are they messing with the minds of so many passers by?

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Review Roundup - Family Matters

HEREDITARY (2018)

I must admit I've tended to stick with old school horror films over the years, as you might have noticed from all the blog posts about Hammer and Tigon amongst other things. Still, I step into the modern world every so often to take a peek... even if the paranormal preoccupations of contemporary cinema is a bit off putting to an old relic like myself. Too many CGI mouths and eyeballs for my taste y'know. Maybe that's why I like Hereditary so much, or why some viewers might find it boring. It's a slow methodical chiller that harkens back to the likes of Don't Look Know and various other essential nightmare fuel experiences. The stuff that's not super scary in the traditional sense but feels weird and disturbing long after the credits roll.

Horror Bites - Hairy Palms

CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961)

Time for a couple of firsts, combining both Hammer's only take on the Wolf Man genre and actor Oliver Reed's first starring role in a feature film. While Reed went on to make a few other appearances at Bray it's strange that this was the studio's one time foray into the realm of full moons and silver bullets. All the typical period locations and bloody horror moments are present and correct, so it's strange there was never a series of spin-offs like their vampire and mummy films. Even their rivals over at Amicus only touched on the idea a couple of times, so I guess the idea just wasn't a big favourite at the time. Maybe there's a case for this being a more unique bit of '60s monster mayhem, but maybe it's just a shaky release that failed to hit the mark.

Scorecard

FEBRUARY

FILM OF THE MONTH Strangers on a Train ☆☆☆☆
Casino Royale ☆☆☆☆
Knightriders ☆☆☆☆
Hereditary ☆☆☆☆