Dead and Buried

I feel silly it has taken me so long to finally watch this movie. I claim to be a horror fan, yet I have never watched this until now. It a different interpreation of the zombie movie, its not a game changer but you think you know what's its all about and then the end comes. I can honestly say that it surprised me again and again and then there a double twist at the end. It's now in the top 10 of my favourite horror movies. I would like to describe it more but it would spoil it's charm,just watch it, I've done you a favour.

Getting My Horror On

Recently I had a health issue that meant I spent alot of time at home feeling generally unwell. I spent a week catching up on programmes like Revenge, Arrow, The Following and 666 Park Avenue each dispensing their own type of horror on unsuspecting characters. Wondering if these programs have now replaced horror. My family wasn't into horror, all the films I watched were off the TV, shown after the witching hour. The 1st horror I watched was one I was nostagic about I could only remember by the scene tree eats babies was The Guardian (1990) starring Jenny Seagrove, Dwier Brown, Carey Lowell (a "Bond girl"), Miguel Ferrer, Natalia Nogulich, Xander Berkeley On viewing years later, I can tell you its more a thriller then a horror. What Camillia is, is never explained is she a tree spirit? How comes she is unable to erase phone messages or able to practise self preservation and hunt outside the tree barriers. Why not adbuct why become a babysister? Leave brain on chair.

The Road to Bali

Two years ago I got an amazing book for Christmas called Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design by Deborah Nadoolman Landis, president of the Hollywood Costume Designers Guild. Its an amazing book with beautiful pictures of the stars dressed in their costumes and background information.
One of the pages in the book features Deborah Lamour costumes in The Road to Bali.
While visiting the local poundshop I found this title, and thought I should take a chance. The quality of the film isn't good, so none of the elaborate detail of the Princess costumes can be seen and its a turkey of movie! The slapstick is way over the top, the plot laughable.

Guillermo Del Toro Triple Bill on Film 4

Last weekend Film 4 showcased 3 of Guillermo Del Toro most personal films Cronos, The Devils Backbone and Pans Labyrinth.
I have tried to watch Cronos quite a few times but I tend to full asleep, but his time I saw it in full.
It tells the story of The Cronos device which gives its user eternal life unless there heart is pierced.

Summary extract taken from imbd
In 1535, an alchemist builds an extraordinary mechanism encapsulated into a small golden device. The invention, designed to convey eternal life to its owner, survives its maker until 1997, when it shows up with an antiques dealer. Fascinated with the strange device, Gris (Luppi) doesn't note that there's more than one person looking for it.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104029/plotsummary

Gris an ageing antique dealer stumbles upon the device and accidentally uses it, is pursued by Angel played by Ron Pearlmen. Jesus Gris is a man way over his head, you spend half of the movie hoping he will make it through and not be killed forever and the half hoping he will not resorting to killing other people for their blood. The most poignant scene for me in the movie is after he has escaped the funeral home is reduced to raiding dustbins for scraps of clothes to cover his appearance and then he picks up a paper which has his obligatory in it.
In the end Jesus Gris most, confront his tormenter to save his family life, followed by his loyal Grandaughter Aurora, he defeats his enemy and destroys the Cronos device to save people from himself.
In the 3 films I have seen directed by Guillermo Del Toro, their is a theme that yes there is greed and desire and wicked adults but the innocence of childhood can restores our humanity, and inspire others to finally do the right thing.
I think this is illustrated perfectly in The Devil Backbones, that the meek Professor Casares comes back as a ghost to save the surviving children from Jacinto, when he failed in life to protect the orphanage and Carman his love.

BBC Four History of Horror

Last night the second part of the History of Horror covering the 50s and 60s with a tiny nod to the seventies. I have to admit I had seen many of the films referenced as they were hammer horrors, and Bray studios which used to be screened very regularly on the BBC in the 1990s. No mention was made of the Wicker Man apart from a reference to Folklore horror and little was said about the European horrors an area I would have liked to now more about. Of course A History of Horror is about Mark Gatiss journey into horror and many of the films selected during this second part, were available to watch on TV, when I was growing up. Last night horror film was The Brides of Dracula which I recently purchased as its a rare film to be screened, if it ever was on TV. And it does sum up Hammer Horror at its best, but as I have quite a few of the hammer box sets, purchased the book I was looking for something different.

Halloween Viewing- Lucky The Murderous Dog

The film Lucky The Murderous Dog (2002) suffers from a lack of budget, the plot line alone offers a good promise of black comedy horror. But lack of money meant poor recording, poor editing, poor camera techniques and poor development of ideas.
The plot line goes a failed cartoon writer (Millard), hits a dog he nurses back to health called Lucky. Lucky changes his life, Lucky talks to him and tells him to kill people.
I assume the film has narration throughout which became very annoy after 10 minutes as it was too self explanation, I did a lot of fast forwarding and then the dog started to talk and you know what it wasn't witty or smart so I switched off.
I think I would of tried to watch it through if the DVD quality had been better, but this is a film that should be remade, just on a better budget.

Plot Summary from imbd
Ever have one of those lifetimes where nothing seems to go right? Failing cartoon writer, Millard Mudd, has sunk deep into one. Living hermit-like and existing on a strict alcohol diet, Mudd's world has collapsed. But one day everything changes when a dog named Lucky enters his life. You see, what makes Lucky no ordinary dog is his ability to talk. And what makes Lucky invaluable is his ability to teach Mudd how to write again. But what makes Lucky dangerous is his ability to get inside Mudd's head and turn him into a serial killer.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299014/

Halloween Viewing - CastleFreaks

When I say the label best Direct to video on the dvd, I thought I made a good choice for £1.
Once Castlefreak was revealed, he wasn't particuly scary, the thought that the monster will come jumping out at you at any moment added to the suspense. I think that has more to do with what I expect from modern horrors, sick blood acts and fright moments. The sequences wghere the mother and daughter run around the Castle screaming while CastleFreak follows them were comedy. I couldnt understand why she didnt just pick up the number of tall candlesticks and use it to whack it. I also didn't understand the ending as, the Monster was only a deformed person and there were a number of objects in the Castle to use as weapons, surely couldnt the husband have used CastleFreak own chain to strangle him, rather then hurl himself of the Castle roof with CastleFreak with him.
Better then Demons.