Classic cosmic horror from John Carpenter, taking obvious influence from Lovecraft. The Thing relies on a simple basic premise - a group of people battle an unknown alien creature in an isolated location. The concept of The Thing itself is paramount. It could be anyone, humans become just the meat - insignificant in the face of insurmountable horror with unimaginable intentions. Carpenter really ramps up the paranoia, with the group's own fear and suspicions of each other providing the backbone…
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Inferno 1980
Every viewing of Inferno is a pleasure! There aren't many films that make perfect sense in their own right and no sense whatsoever simultaneously. Argento's story is carried not through logic but by feeling and sound. A curious girl looks for a key; drops her keys, then finds a key in a secret flooded room under a basement. A letter is carried from New York to Rome by notes of classic music. Time forsakes logic, spanning different periods in different…
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Mystery of the Wax Museum 1933
A pulpy pre-code early horror thrill ride from Casablanca director Michael Curtiz. Shot in beautiful two strip technicolor, Mystery of the Wax Museum tells a Phantom of the Opera inspired story of a wronged wax sculptor (played by Lionel Atwill), who sets himself up in New York after his original London museum was burned down for insurance purposes. The main plot thrust here focuses on a press investigation into some strange occurances in the area, including bodies disappearing from the…
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Vampire Killer Barbys 1996
Late period Jess Franco movie that sees the prolific director team up with punk rock band The Killer Barbies. The title had to be changed to Killer Barbys because Mattel didn't want their trademark associated with a Jess Franco movie. I really can't think why? Anyway, the semi-coherant plot focuses on the eponymous group, whose bus breaks down outside a creepy old castle where the presiding countess just happens to be keeping herself young using the blood of young people.…
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Possession 1981
This film is pure adrenaline on screen. Director Andrzej Zulawski's opus about a fractured couple (apparently based on his own experience of divorce) is rich with metaphor and symbolism. The dream logic means that it doesn't always make perfect sense - but the film is utterly captivating, helped by Andrzej Zulawski's nauseating roaming camera and a pair of brilliant central performances from Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani - the latter of which absolutely owns the film. It's a mesmerising and…
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Double Indemnity 1944
For my money, this is the greatest film noir ever made. The story is set in motion with a clever metaphor - a car running through a stop sign. This leads to a hard boiled story of murder and deception. The way the film is set up instills a sense of foreboding over every sequence - it's brilliant storytelling, steeped in dramatic irony. The direction courtesy of the great Billy Wilder is absolutely flawless - and matched by an intelligent…
