Horror Bites - Mirror Mirror

PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987)

I suppose it's not a big stretch to consider this one of John Carpenter's less seen movies, at least with general audiences. Maybe that's because it's a fairly ideas heavy film about science fiction and religious mythology clashing together. Or maybe it's just because a team of physicists and a priest have to join forces to fight a big glass tube full of green goop. There are no iconic villains here or heroes, it's all far more eerie and ambiguous. Even the typical Carpenter and Howarth score swaps out the memorable keyboard tunes for something purely atmospheric. But this is still worth examining; a sinister film full of smaller moments that still make a lasting impact. It's how these pieces come together as a whole that make this less favoured with genre fans.

Review Roundup - One More Bout

2019 CATCHUP - MARTIAL ARTS MIX

Previously I talked about John Wick 3 in the sequels portion of this catch up, but now it's time to look closer at some of the more action centric releases from the year. I haven't had time to see everything of course, and it's been a fairly busy year for the genre. There was even a documentary on the rise of kung fu cinema called Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks not so long ago, which is pretty uneven but well worth a look. I don't often talk about non-fiction here but it fits well with the theme of 2019 in action. For anyone looking for a bit of a history lesson it's essential, but overall it skips a lot when discussing the last couple of decades. So let's talk about a few of the those newer releases.

HCF Review - He's Coming to Town

CHRISTMAS BLOOD (2017)

Well I guess it is the season (of evil) so let’s take a look at what sort of blood soaked stocking fillers are on offer. As you might have noticed the low rent horror film listings are chock full of evil Santa movies, whether it’s the likes of Krampus in various guises or simply a lot of killers dressed in red and white. This Norwegian effort falls into the latter category, and so there have to be comparisons drawn with festive favourites like Christmas Evil and Silent Night, Deadly Night. Personally I’m all about that opening chapter of Tales from Crypt – it’s got brevity. Unfortunately this is mostly inspired by a different kind of seasonal slasher.

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Review Roundup - Star Crash

STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER (2019)

As a returning character once said '...only now at the end do you understand.' And for better or worse this is the end. But it's also just another J.J. Abrams film. Star Wars is back, again, and the results are erratic, messy and often badly edited. The plot threads he follows are cherry picked, new ideas are plucked our of thin air (sometimes literally) and there's a lot of rushing, shooting and yelling. Overall though it's just so hard to be that disappointed, in a world where the love or hate of a series like this is now an entire online industry. Some of it is a fine action adventure story, one last hurrah for various cast members. Some of it is hilarious laugh out loud schlock. Some of it's just overtly stupid. And yet it's hard for me to feel strongly about it either way.

HCF Review - Skin Deep

REPLACE (2017)

Time for a bit of good old fashioned body horror, a sub-genre which is often employed to get both the brain cells and the stomach juices swirling once the credits roll. Norbert Keil’s feature debut certainly includes this sort of material from the gruesome to the thought provoking, in a story which includes plenty of inspirations from stories about lost time, lost identities and everyday people find themselves the centre of a Metamorphosis. There also seems to be some connecting tissue with a monster of the week X-Files story called ‘2Shy’ for those who remember that classic season. But any good idea is only as good as its execution, and like the protagonist of this story it’s all a bit cracked and broken when put under the microscope.

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Scorecard

NOVEMBER

FILM OF THE MONTH - Silent Running ☆☆☆☆