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We Are Still Here 2015
A haunted house film, through and through. If you're hard for that genre, give it a go. It is newer and it does its own thing with familiar tropes.
It has a bit more splatter. The ghosts look very cool. The cast is primarily middle age and older, which is rare these days.
WE ARE STILL HERE does pay home to Lucio Fulci's THE BEYOND throughout the movie. If you like WE ARE STILL HERE and haven't seen THE BEYOND…
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Teenage Seductress 1975
"I'm gonna fuck you, father. Like you fucked me."
There's a jaw-dropper of a line!
Sondra Currie was in her late-twenties when she played Terry Nelson in this film. And she looks about that ago too. So we get this title, doubtless the result of exploitation marketing.
Despite the premise, the story is surprisingly low on sleaze. Instead, we get decent acting (especially by director/co-writer/producer Chris Warfield as the Father), reckless deceit by the protagonist, and a respectable take on…
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Kuso 2017
Steven Ellison of Flying Lotus gives filmmaking a try. I can binge on the FL discography; it's a thing of it's own. So, how was KUSO?
For most of the run time, it's a wild, humorous, and disgusting ride of dystopian body horror, varied filmmaking and animation styles, and anthology-styled storytelling that feels like the channel-surfing narrative of a Ford & Lopatin album or a vaporwave YouTube mix filtered through the resin-stained glass of a seasoned bong. It relishes the grotesque.…
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Grave of the Vampire 1972
Weird, dark and serious, even a bit hysterical at times. A notable oddity. Likely to please crowds.
The most affecting part of the film, however, is the depiction of character James Eastman, the adult son born in the grave of the vampire, interacting with women. He doesn't respond in a conventionally masculine way, despite his incredible muscularity—he smashes through a door. I found it relatable.
Director John Hayes has a strange career. This wouldn't be so odd in a double feature alongside BABY ROSEMARY, a "horror" porno he directed later in the 1970s.
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Human Experiments 1979
I'm not interested in outlining many details about this movie, nor delving into the protagonist's role in depth. I'd rather make a sales pitch about how we should watch a movie like "Human Experiments."
“Video Nasties” are subjects of government censorship, not a category of movies conceived in the minds of horror and exploitation fans. We should ignore the label, unless we’re engaged in historical and cultural analysis. Otherwise, we may frame our expectations on the criteria of prudish, squeamish,…
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The Horror of Party Beach 1964
An older, cheaper, and rock 'n roll lovin' version of "Humanoids from the Deep," humanized with a side plot of marital dysfunction and love. I liked the dark and creepy music and the wonderfully slow and tedious mutation scene.
A fun and frivolous blast from the past.