Horror - Name That Film Take 18

I've been a bit slack lately (not like that!), not keeping up with the blog.  I can only apologise dear follower.
I've been catching up on plenty of movies though. 
Night of the Demons (remake) - poor.
13 Hrs - abominable.
Burke and Hare - could've been so much better.
Night of the Eagle - fantastic.
Biutiful - depressing but couldn't tear my eyes away.
I Come With The Rain - disjointed and pretentious but very watchable.
Ringu Saishusho (not a movie, but a Ring inspired TV series) - cheap.
13 Assasins - exciting and action packed (I like Miike)
There you go, 8 reviews in less than a minute.
Now, back to business.

Easy...

Medium...

And Hard...

Nice and simple, eh?  Get them right, and get your name and a link to your site on the leaderboard.

Horror - Name That Film Take 17

Here, agaiu, is the quiz you've been dreading.
Bi-monthly now, instead of weekly (I got the feeleing you were getting a little sick of it), so I'll dip you into the waters nice and easy.
Easy...

Easy...

And Quite Hard...

Good luck, I have the feeling the first 2 will be known by quite a few of you!

Horror - Psycho Model

This week I bought my little boy a new nightlight.  So what, I hear you say.  Well, this one is a bit cool.

It has a light kit which, once assembled, painted and the curtains put in, shines out the windows.

It even has a tiny Mother figure (which I am apparantly to paint in 'various shades of dead') which sits in an upstairs window.

The assembly wasn't too hard.  After an hour we had it looking like this...

Smaller than I expected, but as it's going to be a nightlight I suppose it's about right. 

 I've got to build the hill it sits on yet as well though, so its size will increase.

My son and I had a really good time making this, and - as he's never seen the film - it holds no fear for him (I'm not a complete monster, deliberately giving him nightmares of Norman Bates - I'll wait until he's 9 for that)

Now the hard part - painting it so it looks realistic....

If it doesn't turn out to be a total disaster, I'll let you all know how it looks.

Horror - Wake Wood

I finally got round to watching Wake Wood, and it didn't disapoint.
Aidan Gillen and Eva Birthistle star as a grieving couple who, after losing their daughter to a viscious dog attack, move to a remote Irish village to rebuild their lives.
Once there they stumble across a pagan ritual, in which the leader (Timothy Spall) claims he can bring back the departed for 3 days in order to say their goodbyes, but that person could only have been dead for less than a year or things would go very wrong indeed.  Patrick and Louise jump at the chance, with only one problem - their daughter had been dead longer than a year.

When thier daughter is brought back, things take a predictable and bloody turn for the worse.
The acting in this film is uniformly excellent, with The Wire's Aidan Gillen and Eva Birthistle from The Children convincing as the couple on the edge of despair.
But Timothy Spall, as always, shines as Arthur.  A man who is doing something monstrous, and yet is doing it with a good heart for the good of the community, is both caring, sympathetic and sinister.

His Irish accent slips in a couple of scenes, but that is nit-picking.
Also worth a mention are Ruth McCabe from My Left Foot and the young Ella Connolly, who both deliver solid, convincing performances.
When I heard Hammer had returned, this is what I hoped for, instead they delivered drivel like Beyond The Rave and The Resident.  But now they have delivered a film that would make Bray Studios proud.
If The Woman In Black is as successful in its adaptation, then Hammers future looks very good indeed.

Horror - Name That Film Take 16

Undeterred, I plough on in the hope that at least one of you will enjoy this bloody quiz!

Here we go again,
Easy...

Medium...

Hard...

I was having a quiet debate with myself about what order to present these.  Some of you may find the hard one ridiculously easy, whilst others may not know the correct title for the easy one.  Maybe I should've called this weeks quiz Medium, Medium and Medium?

Horror - Horror Blog Challenge

Well, I lost.

Horror - Name That Film Take 15

Yes, it's that time of the week that absolutely no-one has been looking forward to. It's the Saturday Name That Film quiz. You all know the drill by now, so here we go.
This weeks movies are all ones I have watched in the last fortnight, so if you've been spying on me, you'll get them easily.



Easy...

 Medium...

Hard...

Good luck

Horror - Rubber & Rubber Johnny

Tonight I sat through Rubber.


A film about people watching a film about a possesed car tyre.  That's right.  A possesed car tyre.
Not as stupid as it sounds, this has decent special effects, and a knowing sense of humour that rises it above the hoi poloi of low budget horror fare that comes out these days.


But the real reason I mention it is while I was looking on youTube for the trailer I stumbled across something I'd not seen in a couple of years.  Something I think you all should watch.
Shot by Chris Cunningham, who directed the excellent Aphex Twin music videos Windowlicker and Come To Daddy, this is a 6 minute nightmare come to life.  Why this man hasn't directed a feature length horror yet is a mystery to me.
If you have even a passing interest in anything scary turn the lights off, click on full screen and enjoy...

I truly believe, whether you like Aphex Twin's music or not (you can turn the sound down, the visuals speak volumes), that Chris Cunningham is a hell of a talented director who should be making movies.  If you liked that video check out the terrifying Come To Daddy here.  Be warned though, this is not Myley Cyrus or Jay-Z.

Horror - Noroi The Curse 呪い

Tonight I watched Noroi, The Curse.


Filmed hand-held style and yet not to be thought of as just another Blair Witch knock-off, this movie is effective and suspense filled. 
It follows Kobayashi (not the one from The Usual Suspects), an investigative journalist of a paranormal themed TV show, as he investigates the story behind a young psychic girl's disapearence.  Could this be linked to a ritual used to appease a demon in the 1970's?
What do you think?
This builds up the spookiness factor nicely, and although the plot meanders around quite a bit, there is still enough tension to keep you watching.
There's not many shocks, and - SPOILER ALERT - no dramatic ending where the possesed-girl-with-long-hair comes crawling towards the frozen hero, but despite not following these Japanese conventions this film is still worth a watch.
Just not if you're a crazy dog-lover, you'll see why.
Recommended, just don't let your 8 year old watch it, ahem...

Horror - Project Voting Mayhem

Someone I can't talk about has instructed me to appeal to you to vote for me here in a Dr. Vs Dr. blog challenge.  Time is almost up, then I will stop pestering you all.  You can even repost this on your own blogs if you're feeling charitable!

Horror - Name That Film Take 14

It's Saturday!  That can mean only one thing...
It's the weekly waste of time that is Name That Film.
3 screen grabs from my collection, but can you name what films they are from?  Of course you can.  You've not let me down yet!
No prizes, just see if you can be the first.
Easy...

Medium...

And Hard...

Good luck.


And I'm getting properly thrashed (and not in a good way) here.  Vote now!

Horror - Colin Firth - Vampire?

It would appear Colin Firth is to don the fangs to star alongside Nicole Kidman, in Stoker currently in production.
It concerns a young girl, who has recently lost her father, whose mysterious and sinister uncle turns up at the house.  The screenplay was on 2010's Black List of best unproduced scripts.

For some reason, I really want to hate this - Firth and Kidmann, it could be a proper luvvie fest - but it's directed by Oldboy's Chan Wook Park who made the excellent vampire flick Thirst, so it could be very good indeed.

Horror - Wake Wood

In cinemas 25th March, Wake Wood is the latest entry from the newly ressurected Hammer studios.


Starring Aidan Gillen from The Wire and one of my favorite actors, Timothy Spall this looks quite interesting.  Gillen and his wife, grieving over the death of their daughter, move to a remote village where the locals practise Pagan rituals.  The leader, Spall, says he can bring their daughter back from the dead for three days only.  But what will happen when their time is up?
I'll be looking out for this one.

Horror - Legion

Change of plan, I was going to watch I Saw The Devil but ended up watching Legion instead.
Wish I had stuck with original plan to be honest.

Legion starts off fairly slowly and slows down cosiderably after that.  To say that Legion suffers from pacing problems would be like saying A Serbian Film suffers with child protection issues.
The plot centres around Michael, Paul Bettany, a fallen angel sent to protect an unborn child who (obviously) is humanity's last hope for redemption.  God has had quite enough of us miserable sinners, and had sent down an apocolypse to sort us right out! 
With Dennis Quaid as a drunk-who'll-turn-good-in-the-end, a stereotypical yuppie couple, and a token black gang banger character, this film is not shy in shallow charcter development.  There is so much charcter development in fact, that the film drags on between set-pieces interminably.
I'm not a philistine, I expect at the very least some talking in a film.  Dialogue could be considered quite important in driving the plot along.  But when an action sequence is followed by twenty minutes of talking, another three minutes of effects driven action and then another fifteen minutes of slow paced chatting I began to get a little bored.
The action scenes are quite enjoyable with possesed mortals with shark like eyes and teeth scuttling around on the ceiling, foul-mouthed grannies and demonic children, this certainly had it's moments, but unfortunately I found the flagging exposition not to my disposition.

Horror - I Saw The Devil

I'm watching this Korean serial killer movie later...


Looks good, I'll let you know how it performed.

BTW, if any of you haven't voted for me here then why the Hell not?  You bring the House of Cyclops much shame!
Sorry, been watching too many Japanese Yakuza flicks lately. 

あまりにも多くの暴力団

Horror - Name That Film Take 13

Here's this weeks selection of flicks to keep you guessing.  As always, there's nothing here to cause you too much consternation.
Easy...

(That should've been 'Really really easy!)

Medium...

And Hard...

Simple enough, eh?

Horror - Beyond The Limits

I had popcorn, I had wine.  I had Olaf Itttenbach's Beyond The Limits to enjoy.  I'd heard it was extremely gory - even hard to stomach in places, and that the second half was beautifully shot.  But what i found beyond the limits (of my patience) was the acting. it was truly abominable.  I'm sure the recomendations were sincere, but I had to turn this movie off, as the performances were so appaling (and bear in mind, I'd just watched Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call New Orleans with Nicolas Cage and Val Kilmer, so I know what I'm talking about here!)
I admit, it was the second half of this film I'd heard was worth watching - when the action shifts from present day Los Angeles to the Middle Ages, where a priest is chased and then tortured in the name of the Inquisition.
Wait until I get to the bottom of this very nice bottle of Chardonnay Semillon, and I'll perservere - and let you all know how gruesome this film really is.

Horror - Vote For Me!

Apparantly I am up against Dr Blood's Video Vault in a horror blog face off.  Flip! Okay, probably Dr. Blood is a worthier entry to the horror blogosphere than I, but if you like this blog, then show it some love.  Give me a vote here.

Horror - Name That Film Take 12

I quite enjoyed the last quiz, hopefully you'll enjoy this one.
Same rules, different films.
Easy...

Medium...

And Hard...

And before any wiseasses say that the hard's not hard, I know.  It's hard to some, just not you hardcore gorehounds.
Having said that, enjoy (these are all still taken off my shelf and so are films I've enjoyed enough to actually buy!),  and I wonder if this will last more than a day...
 

Horror - Answers

Sorry to leave you all hanging, I was drunk.
The answers were
Hard -   Nekromantik
Hard -   Inside
Even Bloody Harder -   It was... Blood On Satan's Claw.

Well done to those who knew.  You clearly know your stuff, you nerds you!

Ok, a new quiz tomorrow, hopefully.

Horror - Name That Film Take 11

So, because Smarty-pants' like Jason, Giovanni, Dr,Morbius, Eternity Kidz, Jinx et al are just too damn good at guessing the films I put up, here (as a one off) is a special Hard, Hard and Hard edition of Name That Film.  Who has the cajones to correctly name all three films...?
Hard...

Harder...

Even Bloody Harder Still...

I'm laughing to myself, because I know you'll get them all, despite my claims of their dificulty!

Every still I've put up so far is from a horror film I have in my collection, so does that make me very sad or you lot even sadder for guessing them within hours of me posting them? hmmm.

Probably, just me.

Horror - Name That Film Take 10

Last weeks answers were...
Easy - The Ring
Medium - The Evil Dead
Hard - Amer
Well done to those who knew.
And here, a few days late, is this weeks quiz; who knows the most?
Easy...

Medium...

And Hard...

Once again, none are too hard really, just a bit of fun to prove what clever sticks you all are!

Horror - Name That Film Take 9

Here we go again.  Another week, another mild diversion of your time. Guess the three horror films from these stills.  No prizes, just my unending respect for being a massive cinephile.

Easy...

Medium...

And Hard...

These should cause you no problems at all, they're all fairly simple.

Horror - Valentines

I know it's a day late, but here's a Valentines Day treat for the ghoul in your life.

Made specially for The London Dungeon by the Black Cherry Bakery.

Give them your heart.

Horror - Name That Film Take 8

After another underwhelming response (I'm not discouraged) its that time of week again.
But first, the answers to last weeks comp.
Easy - Salem's Lot
Medium - Bubba Ho-Tep (only Mark at The Guano Gallery got this one)
Hard - Mr Vampire (a classic!)
Obvious really, weren't they?

So here's this weeks pictures to guess.
Easy...

Medium....

And Hard....

Good luck guessing, and remember - it's just for fun.

Horror - Name That Film Take 7

It's your last chance to prove how horror savvy you all are!
The answers to the last Name That Film contest will be posted tomorrow. Either no-one's interested or no-one could get them.
Hopefully, the next one will provoke more of a reaction!

Horror- The Troll Hunter

Well, The Troll Hunter was watched, and it didn't let me down.
Filmed in the hand-held Blair Witch 'found footage 'style, with a young student film crew out looking for their first big scoop, this could've been a cliche from start to finish, but with some decent actors this was turned into something rather good.  A knowledge of Scandinavian fokelore is not essential (you just need to appreciate that they've been telling stories about Trolls for thousands of years in Norway) for you to enjoy this one.
Funny, great special effects and exciting, this is one I will be showing my kids (there's nothing too gratuitous here) once I get them used to reading subtitles while viewing a film, and you should too.
This is a film that all kids should see - when I was a kid I watched The 7th Voyage of Sinbad or Murder, Mystery, Suspense and these were scary and exciting, but not gory or unsuitable for minors.  This is what The Troll Hunter reminds me of.  Good, old fashioned thrills.

Horror- The Troll Hunter

Look at what I'll be watching tonight!

I mean, the film can't be as good as the poster, can it?  I'm looking forward to this one.

P.S. Any guesses at the Name That Film quiz below?  I thought they were all quite easy

Horror - Name That Film Take 7

Okay, here we go again.  Bit rushed so they're not as difficult as I'd hoped for, the next lot will be better.
Easy...

Medium....

And Hard....

These three shouldn't give you lot any trouble.  Good luck.

Horror - Watchmen

No, not that Watchmen (don't you know what sort of films I watch by now?).
No, this Watchmen stars Simon Yam, who also stars in Midnight Beating - a movie that seems to be taking forever to come out.
Apparently, getting horror movies past the censors in China is a real chore, but more and more directors are pushing the bounderies over there.  Good luck to them I say, oh and kung hei fat choi to them too.

Horror - I'll be back

Sorry, I've been a bit slack with this blog over the last week, between trips to the theatre, the pub and work I've had no free time. Rest assured there will be some drivel soon.