HCF Review - Skin Deep

HUMAN LANTERNS (1982)

The horror and action genres aren’t a frequent blend which is a shame when the thrill power can be extremely high. In the realm of Shaw Brothers movies there are some notable examples of course; whether it’s the mystery killer plot from Masked Avengers, or the utterly bonkers black magic mashup in The Boxer’s Omen. In this case the titular Human Lanterns are a grisly subject matter, but the overall story is more straightforward without too much multi-coloured madness. Still, there is a certain amount of lurid and repulsive imagery included… so let’s get into it.

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HCF Review - The Main Course

THREE... EXTREMES (2004)

As discussed in the review for part one of this set 2002’s Three was sometimes sold as a sequel to Three… Extremes. However, viewing this one afterwards is an essential part of the experience as the levels of extremity reach new heights. It’s the main course in more ways than one, and this time three chapters are more than enough. After all, you only have to mention a name like Park Chan-wook or even just the chapter title ‘Dumplings’ to get a reaction from some world cinema fans. Several years ago when ‘extreme cinema’ home video labels were growing these were a big part of that experience. Stomach churning and eye-watering moments await in this second instalment…

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HCF Review - The Curse

THREE (2002)

While there are a lot of horror anthologies out there none are as exciting as those in this collection; each with a selection of international directors from different regions. First is 2002’s Three (sometimes marketed as a sequel to Three Extremes) which includes stories from South Korea, Thailand, and Hong Kong. While the perfect format for a film like this should be at least five stories, to allow for more variety and some bookend segments, the tales of terror on offer here are no less intriguing. Curses, hauntings, and of course sudden deaths, are depicted differently in each. Does the trio of film-makers deliver a series of chilling yarns or are there pacing issues stemming from each being part of a feature which is over two hours long?

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Review Roundup - The Island

28 YEARS LATER (2025)

Time for a legacy sequel, or what seems to be one the surface. While the previous two films in this series were five years apart this one comes much later, suggesting a pretty cynical motive. The titular time jump isn't quite the amount of time which has elapsed, however, there have been various rights issues between studios over the years. Is this just a way of reanimating a long dead franchise in a financial sense or does it have something to say? The original director and writer have returned; do they have any new ideas or is this a collection of all too familiar tropes? 

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?