Where The Wild Films Are

Welcome

2005-07-30T15:56:00.000-07:00

This site is a browsable list of my most-loved films.

I hope you get a taste of something that you might also love, or at least that might terrify you!

Do let me know if you have a wild-film that might join this list…

Films by Genre
Links

Third Man, The

2005-07-29T18:04:00.000-07:00

Carol Reed, 1949.

An outstanding collaboration between Reed and Graham Greene. Set in Vienna shortly after the second world war, the story follows American Holly Martin as he investigates the death of old-friend, Harry Lime. As Martin discovers, Lime is a black marketer of questionable morality. Orson Welles is memorable as Lime, especially great in the ferris wheel scene with Lime’s considerations on the masses and cuckoo clocks. The film is often shot at jaunty angles, with a persistent and excellent zither score. The final snub endured by Martin is also just brilliant.

Noir

2005-07-29T16:00:00.000-07:00

Murder, infidelity, jealously, corruption, betrayal; all themes that come as standard in the Noir genre. I’ve heard the term “Noir” attributed to French critic Nino Frank, referring to a series of pulp literature that many of the original films were based on. Typically these films are shot in high contrast. Many of the films I’ve listed here aren’t Noir in the strictest sense, but I've included them as they are either obviously influenced by Noir or have a Noir-feel.

Apartment, The
Asphalt Jungle, The
Bête Humaine, La
Big Combo, The
Big Heat, The
Big Sleep, The
Blood Simple
Blowup
Blue Velvet
Brick
Cercle Rouge, Le
Chinatown
Classe Tous Risques
Crime Wave
Criss Cross
Diaboliques, Les
D.O.A.
Double Indemnity
Elevator to the Gallows (Ascenseur pour L'échafaud)
Grifters, The
High and Low (Tengoku to Jigoku)
In a Lonely Place
In Cold Blood
Insomnia
Jackie Brown
Killers, The
Killing, The
Kiss Me Deadly
Lady from Shanghai, The
Limey, The
Long Goodbye, The
Lost Highway
Lost Weekend, The
M
Maltese Falcon, The
Mulholland Drive
Murder, My Sweet
Mona Lisa
Night of the Hunter, The
Out of the Past
Our Man in Havana
Pickup on South Street
Point Blank
Postman Always Rings Twice, The
Quai des Orfèvres
Rear Window
Reservoir Dogs
Rififi chez les Hommes
Samouraï, Le
Set-Up, The
Story of a Love http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifAffair (Cronaca di un Amore)
Third Man, The
Thirty-Nine Steps, The
To Live and Die in L.A.
Touch of Evil
Touchez pas au Grisbi
Two Jakes, The
Vertigo

Night of the Living Dead

2005-07-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

George Romero, 1968.

Romero's genre defining film and beginning of his zombie quadrology has the disheveled, staggering undead looking fantastic in black and white. The movie follows the survival of a small group in a farmhouse barricaded against the hungry masses. The tension builds as radio and television reports announce a horrifying cannibalistic phenomena spreading across the country. Possibly the first instance of zombies being generated by a mysterious apocalyptic force, and not Carribean sorcerey? As usual Romero layers on political overtones.

Horror

2005-07-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

These films provoke fear in the viewer by exploring death, dismemberment, terror, and the unknown. The cause of the horror is often supernatural, though worldly terrors can be just as frightening. I’m not exactly sure what makes the fantastically macabre such wonderful viewing, but I just can’t get enough!

Alice (aka Neco z Alenky)
Angelheart
Bird with the Crystal Plumage, The
Black Christmas
Blair Witch Project, The
Blood and Black Lace (aka Fashion House of Death, aka Sei Donne per L'Assassino)
Blood Feast
Body Parts
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The
Candyman
Cat O'Nine Tails, The (Gatto a Nove Code, Il)
Cat People
Chiesa, La (The Church)
City of the Living Dead (Paura Nella Città dei Morti Viventi)
Dawn of the Dead
Day of the Dead
Deliria (aka Stagefright)
Dellamorte Dellamore (aka Cemetery Man)
Demon Seed
Don't Torture a Duckling (Non si Sevizia un Paperino)
Eraserhead
Evil Dead, The
Evil Dead II, The
Exorcist III, The
Eyes Without a Face (Les Yeux Sans Visage)
Funny Games
Halloween
Haunting, The
Häxan
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Hitcher, The
Ichi, the Killer
I Walked with a Zombie
Inferno
Innocents, The
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Jacob's Ladder
Kaidan
Little Otik (Otesanek)
Maschera Del Demonio, La (aka Black Sunday)
Mystery of the Wax Museum
Near Dark
Night of the Demon
Night of the Living Dead
Nosferatu
Office Killer
Omen, The
Onibaba
Opera
Peeping Tom
Phenomena
Pit and the Pendulum, The
Profondo Rosso (Deep Red)
Re-animator
Ring (Ringu)
Scanners
Seconds
Shining, The
Sinnui Yauwan (A Chinese Ghost Story)
Spiral Staircase, The
Stepford Wives, The
Suspiria
Tenebre
Tesis
Thing, The
Tombs of the Blind Dead (aka Noche del Terror Ciego)
Vanishing, The (Spoorloos)
Vargtimmen (The Hour of the Wolf)
Videodrome
Village of the Damned
Wickerman, The
Wolf Creek
Zombie (aka Zombi 2)

Double Indemnity

2005-07-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

Billy Wilder, 1944.

Perhaps the definitive Noir. Fred MacMurray plays Walter Neff, willing victim to Barbara Stanwyck’s femme fatale, Phyllis. Neff is an insurance salesman who falls for the manipulative Phyllis and is persuaded to murder her husband after they fraudulently take out a large life insurance policy on him. Edward Robinson is also fantastic as Barton Keyes; insurance investigator, co-worker and friend of Neff, who smells a rat. The screenplay was wonderfully adapted by Wilder and Raymond Chandler from the novel by James A. Cain, with clever use of diverse locations within greater Los Angeles.

Halloween

2005-07-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

John Carpenter, 1978.

The prototypical suburban teen-slasher. Psychotic, knife-wielding Michael Myers terrorizes sleepy suburbia wearing an inside-out William Shatner mask. Jamie Lee Curtis is the chaste victim who Myers spends most of the film pursuing. This may be the first instance where sexually promiscuous teens are punished by death, though Carpenter denies a moral agenda.

Films by Genre

2005-07-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Horror
Noir
L.A. Films
SciFi
Comedy
Drama
Westerns

Nosferatu

2005-07-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

F.W. Murnau, 1922.

Max Schreck plays Count Orlak/Dracula in this hugely influential silent horror. The names differ from the Bram Stoker novel due to legal difficulties. The pestilent image of the count, with sharp incisors, hunched back and a pale bald head is terrifying and differs dramatically from his later, more suave incarnations. There are some great, creepy touches such as Nosferatu's hinged emergence from his coffin.

Eyes Without a Face (Les Yeux Sans Visage)

2005-07-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

Georges Franju, 1959.

In this masterfully creepy French horror the gifted, yet evil plastic surgeon Dr. Genessier abducts and murders young women. His aim is to reconstruct the disfigured face of his daughter, which involves slicing off the visage of his victim and performing a transplant. The daughter herself is also sinister as she waifs around their country house, hiding behind a white, expressionless mask. I recommend the new Criterion DVD, which also contains Franju’s mesmerizing 1949 short film “Le sang des bêtes”, which takes a graphic tour of Parisian abbatoirs.

Angelheart

2005-07-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

Alan Parker, 1987.

Excellent horror/mystery with Noir influences. Mickey Rourke is tough as private dick, Harry Angel, who is hired to find old-time crooner Johnny Favourite. His employer is Louis Cyphere, played by a Satanically creepy Robert De Niro. There’s a great scene where De Niro consumes an egg in a horrific and very devilish manner. Most of the film follows Rourke around a beautifully shot voodoo-South as he becomes gruesomely embroiled with various sinister characters. His descent into this nightmare is reflected by the progressive destruction of his lovely linen suit.

Re-animator

2005-07-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

Stuart Gordon, 1985.

Hilarious film following the exploits of young and gifted medical student, Herbert West, who experiments with a “re-animating” serum (which is fluorescent green of course!), capable of bringing dead tissue back to life. Herbert’s experiments in the hospital morgue quickly spiral out of control into zombie pandemonium. West’s nemesis Dr Carl Hill, is brilliantly played by David Gale, who ends up as a disembodied head attempting sexual intimacy with apple of his undead eye. Excellent! Based on a H.P. Lovecraft story.

Apartment, The

2005-07-24T16:36:00.000-07:00

Billy Wilder, 1960.

Jack Lemmon plays C.C.Baxter, an office clerk, who offers his apartment to senior executives to facilitate their affairs and infidelities, in exchange for his promotion. Baxter falls for elevator operator Fran, only to discover she is the mistress of his boss, a frequenter of the apartment. Although the film is initially light-hearted, it rapidly grows darker, striking an uneasy balance between tragedy and comedy.

Dawn of the Dead

2005-07-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

George Romero, 1978.

Seminal and massively influential zombie-epic that launched a thousand inferior splatter-movies. The second in Romero’s “Dead” series, it begins in a zombie-infested Philadelphia slum and follows the escape of a small group in a helicopter. The survivors eventually land on a gigantic shopping mall which they proceed to cleanse of the undead. Entertaining social commentary on consumerism with shots of zombies staggering around the mall. The gore is great and the zombies look vivid in the 70’s colour palate. The recent “Land of the Dead”, covers much of the same ground, but just isn’t as good.

Blair Witch Project, The

2005-07-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez, 1999.

This is one of the few films that genuinely had me scared. Shot as a pseudo-documentary it follows an unfortunate trio of filmmakers documenting a witch-legend in the Maryland woods. The handheld camera and low budget give a sense of authenticity, whilst their tormentor is never actually seen. We only hear it in the night or see the consequences; sinister piles of sticks or a bundle of teeth, I recommend not watching this before a camping-trip.

Little Otik (Otesanek)

2005-07-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

Jan Svankmajer, 2000.

Based on an eastern European folk-tale this surreal film follows a couple, Karel and Bozena, who are tormented by their inability to bear a child. The desperate Karel presents his wife with a log crudely fashioned to resemble an infant. To his despair Bozena refuses to give up the log, which eventually acquires its a life of it’s own. The log baby, Otik, is wonderfully stop-motion animated by the Czech master, with a mouth equipped with a full-set of teeth. A mouth that has an appetite for more than just baby food…

Evil Dead II, The

2005-07-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

Sam Raimi, 1987.

Basically the same film as it’s prequel, but better! After the horrors endured by Ash in the first film he bizarrely, and inexplicably, returns to the cabin with a new girlfriend. Needless to say, she is possessed and decapitated within the first half-hour! What I really love about this film is Campbell’s superb slapstick. The highlight being when his demon-possessed hand starts beating him up- ultimately he divorces it from his arm with a chainsaw, only for it to scurry away. Campbell’s expressions all the while are hysterically funny. One of my favourite horror films.

Candyman

2005-07-22T16:21:00.000-07:00

Bernard Rose, 1992.

The “Candyman” is a horrific urban myth in the Chicago projects and a topic of fascination for a sociology student Helen, played by Virginia Madsen. Candyman himself is a terrifying, bee-covered man with a hook-hand who appears after you say his name five times in the mirror (that old chestnut!). Madsen in turn becomes the Candyman’s object of attention, which needless to say leads to much bloodshed and strife. Aspects of this film are a little cheesy, such as the incessant Gregorian chanting, but I still really like it. Madsen is great aswell, apparently she was hypnotized for the scenes with Candyman.

Ring (Ringu)

2005-07-21T14:40:00.000-07:00

Hideo Nakata, 1998.

Perfect Japanese horror/mystery which plays with the urban-myth-like premise of a cursed video that causes the death of it’s viewers seven days later. Journalist Reiko has the misfortune to watch the tape whilst investigating a series of previous-viewer's deaths. A tense race against time follows as Reiko attempts to solve the mystery of the video, before its sinister avenger comes for her. Great twist.

2046

2005-07-20T18:07:00.000-07:00

Wong Kar Wai, 2005.

Heartbroken Chow Mo-Wan (Tony Leung) continues the writing career he began in “In the Mood for Love”, transferring his talents from Wuxia to SciFi. Damaged by the failure of his relationship with Su Li-Zhen, Chow is now somewhat of a womanizer. The film follows three of his relationships with beautiful women - Wang (Faye Wong), gambler Su (Gong Li) and neighbour Bai (Ziyi Zhang), in parallel we also see one of his stories concerning unrequited love for an android. The tales are presented non-chronologically, in multiple languages and again focus around the memory of lost loves.

Body Parts

2005-07-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

Eric Red 1994.

Well-adjusted psychiatrist Bill survives a near-fatal car accident minus a hand. Unfortunately, he receives a newly executed serial killer’s hand as a transplant, which naturally takes on a violent and murderous life of it’s own. The premise isn’t original but still a highly entertaining film. I especially liked scenes with Bill packing a bag and his hands looking different. Red also wrote the scripts for “The Hitcher” and “Near Dark”.

Vanishing, The (Spoorloos)

2005-07-20T15:01:00.000-07:00

Georges Sluzier, 1998.

Supremely scary horror following psychotic French Raymond and his unfortunate Dutch victims, Rex and Saskia. The young couple are taking a road-trip, when Saskia disappears at a service station in France. Rex becomes deeply obsessed with discovering Saskia’s fate. When Raymond contacts him and offers to reveal what happened to Saskia, will Rex trust him to find the truth? The film also traces Raymond’s creepy development as a sociopath. Avoid awful Hollywood remake.

Exorcist III, The

2005-07-20T11:36:00.000-07:00

William Peter Blatty, 1990.

Set in Georgetown, 15 years after the original film, Detective Kinderman (George C. Scott) is investigating a string of grisly, Satanic killings, which mysteriously carry the hallmarks of the deceased Gemini killer (Brad Dourif). After Kinderman’s friend, a priest, is exsanguinated in his hospital bed, he is shocked to discover what appears to be Father Damien Karras as an inmate of the psychiatric ward. Furthermore, Karras appears to be possessed by the Gemini killer and somehow involved in the murders. Although a little overly dramatic, the film is tense and intelligently constructed. The murder of Nurse Keating (pictured) is one of my absolute favourite horror scenes!

Evil Dead, The

2005-07-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

Sam Raimi, 1981.

The first of Raimi’s triology starts with four teenagers traveling to a remote Tennessee woodland cabin. Once there they unwittingly play an academic recording of a reading from the “Necronomicon”, which may be a reference to the fictional book of magic conceived by H.P. Lovecraft. This reading summons evil sprits from another dimension, leading to three films of demonic troubles for Ash, brilliantly played by Bruce Campbell. Although not as hilarious as the sequels, Evil Dead is still excellent. Highlights include the roving camera shots through the forest and the tree-assault.

Jacob's Ladder

2005-07-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

Adrian Lyne, 1990.

Tim Robbins plays Jacob, a troubled ex-GI living in New York with his girlfriend, Jezebel. When Jacob isn’t remembering his wife Sarah and deceased son Gabriel or his tour of duty, he is experiencing increasingly graphic and bizarre hallucinations. The twist is: (Spoiler Alert!) this is all the hallucination of a dying man. Influenced by the Ambrose Bierce short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”.

Thirty-Nine Steps, The

2005-07-17T10:50:00.000-07:00

Alfred Hitchcock, 1935.

Gentlemanly Canadian Richard Hannay (Robert Donat) befriends a distraught Annabella Smith, who claims to be a spy involved in counter-espionage. When he awakes to find her with a knife buried in her back Hannay is forced to go on the run to Scotland, in an attempt to prove her claims and clear his name. Pursued by detectives, spies and a sinister professor without a pinkie, Hannay leads a wild chase, ending up cuffed to a reluctant accomplice (Madeleine Carroll), who fall in love. Highly enjoyable and influencing many thrillers to come.

Passenger, The (aka Professione: Reporter)

2005-07-13T23:02:00.000-07:00

Michelangelo Antonioni, 1975.

Jack Nicholson plays David Locke, a disillusioned journalist investigating rebels in north Africa. When the Englishman staying next-door to him dies, Locke assumes his identity and convinces the rest of the world that in-fact, it is he who has died. Whilst embroiling himself in the Englishman’s weapon dealing engagements across several European cities, Locke also acquires a young female passenger (Maria Schnieder). The motivations behind either character are ambiguous and their progression through the film’s plot is dreamlike. Locke pays the price for his deception in the film’s virtuosic 8 minute final shot.

In Cold Blood

2005-07-12T10:33:00.000-07:00

Richard Brooks, 1967.

Adapted from Truman Capote’s account of the 1959 Kansas murder of the Clutter family by two drifters, sociopathic Dick Hickock (Scott Wilcon) and troubled Perry Smith (Robert Blake - who would have first hand experience of a murder trial in years to come). The film details the psychology of the killer’s relationship and their crimes, with outstanding performances from both actors, using actual locations from the crimes and trial. Brooks also added a reporter character, apparently as a means to deliver an anti-capital punishment message, which reaches its climax with the disturbing final scene of Perry’s hanging. Capote’s material, a chilling Quincy Jones score, Conrad Hall’s stark cinematography and Brook’s expert direction make this one of the most unsettling and powerful crime films.

Tombs of the Blind Dead (aka Noche del Terror Ciego)

2005-07-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Amando de Ossorio, 1971.

Virginia argues with her boyfriend and best-friend whilst on holiday in the Portuguese countryside and angrily storms off to an ancient, deserted monastery. Unbeknownst to her this is the burial site of 13th century Templar knights, who engaged in blood sacrifice. The knights were executed and their eyes pecked out by crows, and Virginia’s presence awakens the blind dead with a thirst for fresh victims. Though certainly a B-movie the scenes of the undead raising from the grave and galloping in the night are excellent and creepily filmed in slow-motion. The Anchor-Bay dvd also carries a hilarious extra showing how promoters tenuously attempted to cash-in on recent success of “Plant of the Apes” with a hastily prepared opening spiel.

Opera

2005-07-06T11:48:00.000-07:00

Dario Argento, 1987.

A production of Verdi’s “Macbeth” is plagued by a serial killer murdering members of the production. The murders are characteristically elaborate with the macabre touch of the lead soprano being made to watch them by pins placed on her lower eyelids. This torture is allegedly something Argento fantasized about inflicting upon his audiences to ensure they watched every second of his horror. Keep your eyes peeled for the magnificent peephole scene. Viewed by many as the last great Argento film.

Comedy

2005-07-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

Big Lebowski, The
Withnail and I

Withnail and I

2005-07-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

Bruce Robinson 1997.

The stuff of legend. Richard E. Grant (Withnail) and Paul McGann (Marwood, I) play a pair of reprobate, redundant actors living a squalid existence in 1969 Camden Town. To rejuvenate they take a trip to the country cottage of Uncle Monty, who unfortunately takes an amorous interest in I. The dialogue is superb as the film staggers from one drunken episode to another. Semi-autobiographical recollection of Robinson's time as a young actor. Very English and very hilarious.

Night of the Demon

2005-07-03T12:21:00.000-07:00

Jacques Tourneur, 1957.

American scientist John Holden (Dana Andrews) arrives in England to attend a conference on the supernatural and to debunk notorious practioner of black magic Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis). Prior to arrival his contact Professor Harrington was brutally murdered, apparently by an animal, though Karswell implies a more sinister cause and threatens a similar fate for the scientist. As he investigates Holden reluctantly accepts the possibility of a demonic power behind Karswell and desperately attempts to reverse the curse. I actually found the Demon startling, though obviously dated. Kate Bush’s “Hounds of Love” uses a sample from the film.

Lost Highway

2005-07-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

David Lynch, 1997.

I’ve heard many attempts to explain the structure and meaning of this film including Möbius strips and multiple personalities- but why bother? Just sit back and enjoy this vivid Noir hallucination. The plot follows Bill Pullman’s character Fred, a jazz musician, who may have murdered his wife- only then to change to a second character Pete. Both characters are in love with women played by Patricia Arquette. Robert Blake is wonderfully creepy as the very Lynchian Mystery Man- and apparently devised his makeup himself after being confused about exactly what his character was meant to be. Co-written by Lynch and Barry Gifford, who I heard describe the film as “Double Indemnity meets Orpheus/Eurydice”.

Our Man in Havana

2005-07-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

Carol Reed, 1959.

Alec Guinness plays unlikely secret agent Jim Wormold, a vacuum salesman in Havana. Financial burdens from Wormold’s teenage daughter lead him to accept work from the Intelligence service, which in turn necessitates fabrication of information and an ever more complicated series of lies and deceptions. Wormold was based on a real double agent Greene encountered during his work in SIS. This second excellent collaboration between Reed and Greene shares the same black humour and jauntiness of “The Third Man”. Fantastic scenes include the attempted poisening at the vacuum trade conference and all appearances of Noel Coward as Hawthorne, the man from the Government.

Peeping Tom

2005-07-02T19:28:00.000-07:00

Michael Powell, 1960.

Mark is an introverted photographer traumatized by the childhood experiments his father subjected him to, as he investigated responses to fear. Mark, brilliantly played by Carl Boehm, continues this legacy by serially murdering women and simultaneously capturing their looks of mortal fear on film. He then gratifies his urges by viewing these snuff films in his own private cinema. Once Mark falls for one of neighbours his crimes come closer and closer to discovery. This dark display of voyeurism and violent cinema was considered too genuinely horrific by it’s contemporary audience, and the film, now viewed as a masterpiece, ended Powell’s distinguished career.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

2005-07-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

John McNaughton, 1986.

Michael Rooker terrifies as sociopath Henry who has a casual and remorseless addiction to murder. While staying with ex-con Otis in grey, miserable Chicago, Henry quickly persuades his friend to join the killing spree. The formation of a perverse sex-triangle with Otis’ sister Becky ultimately leads to the violent resolution of their association. Loosely based on the exaggerated confessions of serial murderer Henry Lee Lucas, the film is a gritty and unflinching look at the inhumane.

Bladerunner

2005-07-02T17:50:00.000-07:00

Ridley Scott, 1982.

Atmospheric vision of 2019 Los Angeles in which advanced genetic engineering manufactures androids, loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”. Harrison Ford plays Deckard, a “Bladerunner”, charged with retiring a group of murderous, renegade androids, including a crazed Rutger Hauer. Multiple versions of the film are around, my favourite being the one that ambiguously ends with the origami unicorn. Includes memorable use of several Los Angeles locations including Union Station (police HQ), the Bradbury Building (Sebastian’s apartment) and the Ennis-Brown House (Deckard’s apartment).

SciFi

2005-07-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

Science-Fiction portrays imagined futures adapting to new technologies or environments. Often these futures are apocalyptic or dystopian. Or at least the Science-Fiction I like is.

2001: A Space Odyssey
A Boy and His Dog
Bladerunner
Mad Max
On the Beach
Skammen (Shame)
Solaris
Soylent Green
Temps du Loup, Le (Time of the Wolf)

Jungfrukällan (Virgin Spring, The)

2005-07-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

Ingmar Bergman, 1960.

Set in rural 14th century Sweden, which is oscillating between Christianity and Paganism, the virginal daughter (Brigitta Pettersson) of a wealthy farmer (Max Von Sydow) is sent to deliver candles for mass at a church. While traveling on horseback through the forest she is befriended, raped and murdered by a pair of goatherders. In a twist of fate the killers arrive at the family’s farm seeking food and shelter. When they attempt to sell the dead girl’s elegant clothes to her mother, the grieving parents realize the truth and take their revenge. Although the story is sensational, the film is comes across more as a rather austere allegory. Remade as the video-nasty "Last House on the Left".

Temps du Loup, Le (Time of the Wolf)

2005-07-02T11:48:00.000-07:00

Michael Haneke, 2003.

Following an mysterious apocalyptic event Anna and her family retreat from the city to their house in the country. They are confronted by intruders when they arrive, who murder her husband forcing Anna and the children to drift as refugees through the French countryside. Eventually, they find a group of survivors at a train station struggling to deal with the rapid degradation of civilized society. The film presents a terrifying and minute account of the power relationships that develop between the displaced people and the now very limited resources available to them.

Wickerman, The

2005-07-02T11:37:00.000-07:00

Robin Hardy, 1973.

Classic British horror/mystery set on a remote island off the west coast of Scotland. Edward Woodward plays the prudish and doomed Sgt. Howie who travels to Summerisle to investigate reports of a missing child. The devout Howie is scandalized when confronted by the islander’s pagan reverence for the “Old Gods” and antagonized by suave Lord Summerisle, magnificently played by Christopher Lee. Howie is led down the garden path by the islanders to the film’s horrifying conclusion, which I won’t spoil here. Screenplay written by Anthony Shaffer.

Cercle Rouge, Le

2005-06-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970.

Stylish and influential crime picture following the twisting coincidences that bring two hardened criminals together, played by Gian Volonté and the excellent Alain Delon. Once united the criminals plan a daring jewel heist in Paris, whilst cat-loving Commissaire Mattei attempts to apprehend them. The cast are impeccabley turned out - to the extent that I nearly rushed out and bought a trenchcoat after watching the film.

Onibaba

2005-06-30T19:24:00.000-07:00

Kaneto Shindô, 1964.

Set in war-torn, medieval Japan a mother and her daughter-in-law scrape an existence by scavenging armour from dead samurai. The desperate couple even murder wounded samurai and discard their bodies down a sinister and ancient hole. When their neighbour returns from battle without the mother’s son, her daughter-in-law begins a passionate, nocturnal relationship with him. Jealous and concerned about her ability to survive alone, the mother plots to separate the couple. After murdering a samurai with a terrifying demon-mask she makes her own use of it, with gruesome consequences. Beautifully shot in an undulating sea of grass, the film is both disquieting and hypnotic.

Jackie Brown

2005-06-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

Quentin Tarantino, 1997.

Strong adaptation of the hard-boiled Elmore Leonard novel “Rum Punch”, with the significant change of the lead character to an African-American female, played by star of blaxploitation cinema Pam Grier. Referential to a bewildering array of films and pop culture, with a notable 1970s soul soundtrack. The film also perfectly captures the urban landscape of southern California - the central action sequence taking place in the Del Amo (world’s largest indoor) mall in Torrance, where the characters dine at “teriyaki-donut”, yum! The unfolding betrayals and double-crosses are a delight to behold.

Insomnia

2005-06-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

Erik Skjoldbjærg, 1997.

Disgraced Swedish detective Jonas (Stellan Skarsgård) is banished to northern Norway to investigate the murder of a young girl. In the "land of the midnight sun" his investigation takes an unfortunate turn when Jonas accidentally shoots his partner dead, whilst attempting to apprehend the murderer. Plagued by insomnia, Jonas covers up the accident and is forced into brinkmanship with the killer who knows his secret.

Scanners

2005-06-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

David Cronenberg, 1981.

Prescription of an untested drug to pregnant women accidentally generates a generation of troubled telepaths, termed Scanners. The pinnacle of their abilities being explosion of a victim’s head to the accompaniment of excellent 80’s synthesizers. Unfortunately, these ESP gifts also lead to severe social problems, until they organize under a destructive leader intent on world domination, Daryl Revok. Opposing Revok is a large corporation who recruit scanner Cameron to infiltrate and assassinate him. The final psychic duel between Revok and Cameron is gruesome and spectacular.

Mona Lisa

2005-06-30T17:33:00.000-07:00

Neil Jordan, 1986.

Grimy London crime tale with a superb Bob Hoskins as George, who on release from prison takes a job driving prostitute Simone (Cathy Tyson) between her wealthy clientele at West End hotels and town-houses. Though at first mutually resentful, George and Simone are drawn closer and he aids her in locating a missing girl. The seedy atmosphere and existential angst combine with stunning performances to make a delightful film.

Barry Lyndon

2005-06-30T17:26:00.000-07:00

Stanley Kubrik, 1975.

Supreme period drama detailing the rise and tragic fall of Irish lad Redmond Barry (Ryan O’Neal), who bootstraps his way up 18th century European society, skirting the aristocracy as Barry Lyndon. The film’s cinematography is justly famous, particularly the interior scenes lit only by candlelight and captured with a specialized Zeiss lens and cinema’s largest aperture (f 0,7). Many of the film’s dramatic compositions recall paintings and are revealed by extended zooms, accompanied by a memorable classical score, my favourite scenes using Schubert.

Touch of Evil

2005-06-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

Orson Welles, 1958.

Elaborate and excellent Noir set in a decaying Mexican-American border town. Charlton Heston plays a honey-mooning Mexican narcotics agent who becomes embroiled in a case of police corruption after witnessing a car bomb at the border. Welles also acts as the grossly corpulent Captain Hank Quinlan with an intuitive leg. Recently restored to a version more true to Welles’ expressionistic vision after the original release was butchered by the Studio. The great opening shot and final scenes are especially virtuosic.

Diaboliques, Les

2005-06-29T13:50:00.000-07:00

Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955.

Clouzot cast his wife as schoolmistress Mme. Delasalle, who is plagued by a weak heart and an oppressive, brutal husband. Mme. Delasalle conspires with her husband’s more robust mistress (Simone Signoret) to murder him. After they leave his corpse in the school swimming pool, things go increasingly awry when the body disappears. This classic mystery-horror-noir was adapted from a novel by Boileau and Narcejac, which Hitchcock also attempted to acquire the rights for. He eventually used another of their stories, “D'Entre les Morts” as the basis for Vertigo.

In a Lonely Place

2005-06-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

Nicholas Ray, 1950.

Humphrey Bogart plays Dixon Steele, a troubled Hollywood screenwriter with a history of violent episodes. After a young girl is brutally murdered Dixon comes under suspicion. The murder investigation introduces him to his beautiful neighbour Laurel (Gloria Grahame). As Laurel and Steele fell in love, she starts to have her own doubts about his potential for murder. Also the title of one of my favourite New Order songs.

High and Low (Tengoku to Jigoku)

2005-06-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

Akira Kurosawa, 1963.

Kurosawa’s tribute to the Noir genre has Toshirô Mifune playing Kingo Gondo, executive of a woman’s shoe manufacturer. Though the company produces an effeminate product, the boardroom politics are as tough as Wall Street. Kingo is in the middle of a bold power coup when an attempt to kidnap his son goes awry and the son of a worker is taken by mistake. The dilemma that Kingo faces is to sacrifice control of the company and wealth for the boy taken in lieu of his own. Parallel to Kingo’s battle of conscience, we follow the sleuth-work of the detectives to track down the kidnapper. Adapted from the Ed McBain Mystery novel, “King’s Ransom”.

D.O.A.

2005-06-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

Rudolph Maté, 1950.

Edmond O’Brein plays Frank Bigelow, a notary from Banning - a small desert town just west of Palm Springs. Bigelow deserts his amorous secretary for a weekend of debauchery in San Francisco and is punished by being slipped a mysterious “luminous toxin” whilst boozing in a jazz club. After discovering that he has hours left to live, Bigelow frantically follows a convoluted trail south to Los Angeles to find his murderer and revenge himself. The tension builds to a classic scene in the Bradbury building where Bigelow confronts the killer. The opening sequence with Bigelow announcing to the LAPD homicide department that there’s been a murder and he is the victim is also entertaining, in a very noir kindof way.

Maltese Falcon, The

2005-06-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

John Huston, 1941.

Huston’s directorial debut adapted a Dashiell Hammet story and both defined Noir and provided a breakout role for Bogart. When a distraught Brigid O’Shaughnessy (Mary Astor) turns up at detective Sam Spade’s (Bogart) San Francisco office searching for an errant sister, his partner Miles ends up with a “bullet in the pump. Spade is drawn into a complicated web of shady characters, all chasing a mysterious jewel-encrusted Falcon statue. These marvelously eccentric criminals include Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre), obese Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) and Wilmer Cook (Elisha Cook Jr.). Deeply enjoyable.

Profondo Rosso (Deep Red)

2005-06-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

Dario Argento, 1975.

Gender-bending giallo slasher with David Hemmings as an English pianist in Rome who witnesses the gruesome slaying of a German telepath. Hemmings hooks-up with Daria Nicolodi in attempt to identify the murderer and save himself. The killer is typically hidden behind a raincoat and leather gloves, together with some serious psychosexual issues. Keep an eye-out for the recreation of the bar from Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks” painting.

Village of the Damned

2005-06-26T19:15:00.000-07:00

Wolf Rilla, 1960.

The inhabitants of idyllic, sleepy Midwich mysteriously pass out and wake to find their womenfolk pregnant, who go on to give synchronous birth to a clutch of sinister, blonde children. The children develop quickly and display an ability to manipulate the villagers with their hypnotic stare, leading to a bloody rebellion against the extraterrestrial cuckolds. Lovely shots of the English village with many hilariously quaint touches of a bygone era, such as the chain-smoking doctor.

Innocents, The

2005-06-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

Jack Clayton, 1961.

Spine-chilling adaptation of Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw”, with Deborah Kerr playing a governess caring for the niece and nephew of a wayward London bachelor. Her deceased predecessor was a passionate young woman violently involved with the sinister valet Peter Quint. Though dead, this dark couple are far from gone and exert a mysterious and horrific effect over the innocent children, whom Kerr is determined to save. The ghosts are masterfully portrayed with their apparitions threatening from the shadows of the house and the edges of the estate. The ghostly woman in the reeds of the lake where she drowned especially terrified me - I definitely kept the covers over my head after this one!

City of the Living Dead (aka Paura Nella Città dei Morti Viventi)

2005-06-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

Lucio Fulci. 1980.

A disturbed priest commits suicide by hanging himself above a graveyard, causing the gates of Hell to open and unleashing the evil dead upon Dunwich, a sleepy New England town. After witnessing this catastrophe during a near-fatal vision, psychic Mary teams up with journalist Peter to close the gate. Cult exploitation horror notable for several memorably gruesome scenes including a brutal death by drilling and an unfortunate girl vomiting up sheep’s entrails (watch out for horror director Michele Soavi in this scene!). My favourite scene is Mary waking in her coffin after being buried alive.

Blowup

2005-06-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966.

Not Noir at all really, but anyway… Whilst enjoying a druggy 60s London, fashionable and detached photographer Thomas (David Hemming) finds time to covertly take pictures of a couple in a park. After the photographed woman (Vanessa Redgrave) anxiously demands the pictures Thomas develops the negatives and in a series of “blowups” realises he may have captured something murderous and sinister. Beautifully captures London with stunning, painterly scenes filmed in Maryon Park. Apparently Antonioni painting the grass green to achieve the desired look. Interesting anticlimactic end following a suspenseful buildup.

Links

2005-06-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

British Horror Films
Excellent site providing a timeline and reviews of the horror of my peoples.

Pass the Marmalade
Even more comprehensive and scholarly consideration of scary films from the motherland.

The Essential Ghoul's Record Shelf
Jolly entertaining blog with many hilarious horror-related songs on it.

Pre-Certification Video
An excellent resource for fans of the "video-nasty". Also be sure to check out the related "Shock, Horror" book for a midblowing collection of lurid covers from pre-certification VHS releases.

The Val Lewton Screenplay Collection
Extensive collection of screenplays and articles focused on Lewton's RKO horror unit.

M

2005-06-25T13:32:00.000-07:00

Fritz Lang, 1931.

Decadent Berlin is terrorized by a serial killer preying upon the city’s children. After 8 murders and no leads the desperate police come down hard on the underworld, whose denizens in turn resolve to find the killer themselves. Peter Lorre gives a sinister performance as the whistling killer – whose crime is creepily symbolized by a balloon caught in electricity pylons. Influential and incredibly dark, the film directly addresses the morality of capital punishment, most famously in Lorre’s dramatic speech in front of the criminal’s kangaroo court as he screams “who know’s what its like to be me?”.

Häxan

2005-06-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

Benjamin Christensen, 1922.

The history of witchcraft is the subject of this silent pseudo-documentary. Beginning with a slide-show tracing ancient black magic to the persecution of medieval witches, the film progresses to a series of vignettes depicting all manner of devilish going-ons. The magical subject matter is illustrated wonderfully with stop-motion animation and shadow puppetry, including a creepy scene of a coven flying over a medieval village on broomsticks. Of particular delight are the devils, who appear with stereotypical horns, scales and forked tails, whilst engaging is much vulgar gesticulation and protruding of their tongues. The film meanders slightly toward the end with attempts to rationalize the witch phenomena.

Mystery of the Wax Museum

2005-06-23T18:09:00.000-07:00

Michael Curtiz, 1933.

Talented wax sculptor Ivan (Lionel Atwill) and his work are burnt up when his disgruntled partner commits arson. Covering his scars with wax, Ivan relocates to New York where he opens a new museum with startlingly life-like figures, coinciding with a spate of suspicious deaths and body snatching. The film is photographed in early two-component technicolour, which gives a reduced spectrum, but nicely adds to the Gothic atmosphere. I much prefer this to the 1953 remake with Vincent Price, and needless to say, the 2005 version with Paris Hilton.

Spiral Staircase, The

2005-06-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

Robert Siodmak, 1946.

Beautiful, mute Helen works for cantankerous and mansion-bound Mrs. Warren, while the local town is being terrorized by a serial killer slaying imperfect women. The film follows a cold and stormy night where Helen is to be the next victim. Classic horror shot in high contrast with an entertaining ensemble of eccentric characters. Helen’s inability to speak is used to great effect as the murderer stalks the house.

Zombie (aka Zombi 2)

2005-06-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

Lucio Fulci, 1979.

A mysterious, crewless ship from the Caribbean drifts into New York harbour carrying a lone ravenous, undead passenger. The daughter (Tisa Farrow) of the ship’s absent owner travels with a journalist to Matool island to discover his fate. On the island they discover Dr. Menard (Richard Johnson) desperately trying to understand and cure a rampant plague of flesh-eating zombies. Contemporary with Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead” and every bit as essential - the many highlights include an infamous shark versus zombie battle, the rising of a conquistador graveyard and of course one of Fulci’s trademark eye-ball mutilations. The film also carries a outstanding electro soundtrack, the main theme of which graces my iPod.

Blood Feast

2005-06-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

Herschell Gordon Lewis, 1963.

A Miami housewife planning a dinner party and looking for “something different” visits exotic caterer Faud Ramses to provide her with an authentic Egyptian feast. Unfortunately for her Ramses is also a devotee of the Goddess Ishtar and intends to prepare a blood sacrifice composed of body parts taken from various beautiful young women. Cited as the first splatter-movie and also a bona fide U.K. DPP-39 “video nasty”, Blood Feast has notoriously low production values including an awful script, performances and continuity - I can only recommend this to the most ardent horror fans!

Blue Velvet

2005-06-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

David Lynch, 1986.

In peaceful North-Western Lumberton Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) is surprised to find a severed human ear in a field. Intrigued and sensing an opportunity for “knowledge and experience”, Jeffery begins to investigate with the help of innocent police detective’s daughter Sandy Williams (Laura Dern). The ear leads him into a grimy, surreal underworld where nightclub singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini) is being blackmailed and abused by psychotic, gas-inhaling gangster Frank Booth (an intensely deranged Dennis Hopper). A wonderful film best enjoyed on the big screen.

Suspiria

2005-06-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

Dario Argento, 1977.

Technicolour nightmare in which willful American ballet student Susy arrives at an illustrious German Dance Academy. Susy’s arrival coincides with a series of bizarre and elaborate murders that lead her to a witches coven at the heart of the school. Dreamy colouring with a spine-tingling Goblin score, the film has a feverish feel. The first in Argento’s as yet incomplete “Three Mothers” triology and some might say the pinnacle of his horrific work.

Pickup on South Street

2005-06-21T15:40:00.000-07:00

Samuel Fuller, 1953.

Three New York grifters; artful pickpocket Skip (Richard Widmark), B-girl floozie Candy (Jean Peters) and professional stool pigeon Moe (Thelma Ritter) are dragged into a dangerous Cold War espionage plot by communist agent Joey. Candy acts a courier for Joey’s stolen microfilm, when it is fingered by Skip on the subway. After Moe informs on Skip’s Hudson river hideout for 50 bucks, a fatal chain of events begin. Sharp performances and dialogue with wonderfully gritty characters. The Criterion version carries an excellent interview with Fuller smoking an enourmous cigar!

Murder, My Sweet

2005-06-20T16:24:00.000-07:00

Edward Dmytryk, 1944.

Crooner Dick Powell plays Philip Marlowe in Chandler’s favourite on-screen manifestation of his detective. The plot verges on the indecipherable involving Marlowe simultaneously tracking down a hoodlum’s girlfriend and an expensive jade necklace. Although his employers are at opposite ends of the social spectrum, the jobs are more connected than is immediately obvious. In the process Marlowe takes quite a beating, even being drugged with truth serum for three days. A classicly Chandleresque vision of Los Angeles with Marlowe sandwiched between the parasitic Rich and a panoply of eccentric criminals.

Phenomena

2005-06-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

Dario Argento, 1985.

Jennifer Connelly plays an American student attending a Swiss boarding school, which is plagued by a serial killer murdering it’s pupils. Bizarrely, Jennifer has the ability to communicate with insects, and is derisively nick-named "Lady of the Flies". Although this perhaps sounds silly, her entomological affinity is made creepy use of, particularly in connection to maggots. The film becomes even more strangely enjoyable when razor-wielding chimpanzees and midgets make horrific appearances.

A Boy and His Dog

2005-06-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

L.Q. Jones, 1975.

A young Don Johnson plays Vic marauding across post-apocalyptic Arizonia whose cities are buried under radioactive dust. Vic is accompanied by a dog, Blood, with whom he can telephatically communicate. They share a mutualistic relationship searching for food and women for Vic to rape. Susanne Breton plays Quilla, who is used as bait to lure Vic into a grim, sterile underground society who intend to harvest his semen. Blackly comic and tense, the characters are forced to make violent survival choices – the final of which is both horrifying and hilarious.

Soylent Green

2005-06-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

Richard Fleischer, 1973.

Classically grim dystopia set on an overheated earth whose natural resources are drained and destroyed, with the human population crammed into dilapidating, crowded cities. Robert Thorn (Charlton Heston) is a New York detective who lives with police researcher Sol Roth (Edward G. Robinson – who died shortly after filming finished). Thorn investigates the murder of a powerful member of the Soylent Corporation, who provide the city's masses with their synthetic food stuff. Smelling a rat, Thorn soon uncovers a horrifying conspiracy involving Soylent and the disposal of human bodies.

Cat People

2005-06-20T14:53:00.000-07:00

Jacques Tourneur, 1942.

All-American Ollie is mesmerized by and marries mysterious Serb Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon). Unfortunately, beautiful Irena has a deep fear of intimacy. Her Balkan ancestry of evil witches capable of transforming into murderous cats leads Irena to believe such a metamorphosis will occur when she embraces her lover. Frustrated Ollie seeks comfort in his co-worker’s arms, enflaming Irena’s deadly feline jealously. Acclaimed for the subtlety of it’s scares, which rely on shadows and suggestion, this was the most successful of Val Lewton’s RKO horrors.

Criss Cross

2005-06-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

Robert Siodmak, 1949.

Steve (Burt Lancaster) returns to Los Angeles unable to forget his capricious ex-wife Anna (Yvonne de Carlo), who is now embedded in the underworld and married to vicious gangster Slim. Nevertheless, Anna encourages Steve’s illicit attentions landing them in hot water when they are discovered. In desperation Steve suggests performing a heist on the armored car he drives, planning to cross Slim and escape with Anna, though naturally, this isn’t the film’s last betrayal. Darkly fatalistic and memorably shot in Bunker Hill – pay attention to the Angel’s Flight tram passing the window when the gang plan their heist.

To Live and Die in L.A.

2005-06-18T13:03:00.000-07:00

William Friedkin, 1985.

Secret service agent Richard Chance (William Petersen) embarks upon a vendetta against his partner’s murderer, counterfeiter Rick Masters (William Dafoe) – whose money-printing abilities detail the film’s opening shots. Chance’s obsession for revenge leads him to commit blackmail and armed robbery to get to Masters. These shady dealings culminate in a mind-blowing car chase through the storm drains and then terrifyingly the wrong way on the freeway - scary stuff! The film captures many of the city’s harsher locales around downtown, East L.A. and South Central, though my favourite shots are of industrial Long Beach looking magically sparkly.

Pit and the Pendulum, The

2005-06-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

Roger Corman, 1961.

In 16th Century Spain Nicholas (Vincent Price) the aristocratic descendent of an Inquisition torturer is mourning the recent death of his young wife Elizabeth (Barbara Steele). Elizabeth’s brother arrives to ascertain how and why his sister died and is surprised to find his sibling haunting the castle from beyond the grave. The trauma edges fragile Nicolas gradually towards madness and a climactic end in the castle torture chamber. The technicolour campness detracts somewhat from the gothic plot, which is a loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, its only similarity being the infamous torture device appearing in the film’s finale.

Solaris

2005-06-17T13:23:00.000-07:00

Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972.

The ocean-covered planet Solaris has mystified man since its discovery, spawning an entire Solarist academia, whose central debate concerns whether the ocean represents a sentient being. Kris Kelvin arrives on the research station orbiting Solaris to evaluate its future and finds that one of the remaining three scientists has committed suicide and that the other two are behaving extremely strangely. The cause being the materialization of self-aware simulcra from within their own minds, in Kelvin's case his dead wife. Addressing the themes of free-will and the limits of human knowledge the film is a moving and thoughtful, adapted from the wonderful novel by Polish authour Stanislaw Lem.

Office Killer

2005-06-17T12:19:00.000-07:00

Cindy Sherman, 1997.

Dowdy Dorine is a longterm employee at a struggling New York magazine who is downsized to a temporary position. Dejected and stressed, Dorine accidentally kills a workmate and finds herself taking the body home to her cellar. Her new dead friend gives Dorine a taste for murder and soon the basement is filled with corpses. I was expecting something darker from Cindy Sherman, though the sickly coloured basement scenes are enjoyable in this blackly comic slasher.

Classe Tous Risques

2005-06-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

Claude Sautet, 1960.

Abel and Raymond are partners in crime exiled to Italy who stage one last job to return to France. With Abel’s family in tow their tense escapade ends in tragedy with a border incident slaying both Raymond and Abel’s wife. The situation becomes desperate as Abel goes on the lam with his two young sons, lending a heartbreakingly tender aspect to this already outstanding French crime flick. Finally, Abel's ex-gang let him down, offending his code of honor and compelling him to revenge himself. Lino Venture (Abel) is marvelous, looking world weary and the quintessential criminal.

Omen, The

2005-06-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Richard Donner, 1976.

Gregory Peck plays Robert Thorn, an American diplomat, whose newborn son is murdered by Satanists and switched for Damien, the Anti-Christ. Several people are aware of Damien’s true identity and conspire against him, generally meeting a bizarre and grisly death, including Hollywood’s first, memorable decapitation. Other notable creepy touches include the Latin chanting score and the discovery of Damien's Satanic 666 birthmark. This is probably the definitive Anti-Christ apocalypse movie.

Don’t Torture a Duckling (Non si Sevizia un Paperino)

2005-06-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

Lucio Fulci, 1972.

Set in a remote southern Italian town steeped in superstitions and witchcraft, the film centres upon a spate of child-killings. The numerous and strange suspects make the film relatively complex and is one of the few to have kept me guessing until the end. Though conventional in comparison with Fulci’s later surreal, non-linear films, this is an enjoyabley stylish and well executed Giallo. Fulci’s critique of the Catholic church led to a very limited theatrical release throughout Europe and the US, which likely contributes to its relative obscurity.

Paths of Glory

2005-06-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

Stanley Kubrick, 1957.

Behind the Western front, occupying opulent headquarters, decadent French generals order their men to undertake a suicidal advance towards the german trenches. During the nightmarish attack many of the battalion fail to advance and a courtmarshall is held against a handful of the soldiers. Kirk Douglas is superb as Colonel Dax, who defends the men during the farcical trial. Tightly filmed and starkly critical, the film was banned in France until 1975. The sole female part is played by Christiane Harlane, who went on to marry Kubrik.

Big Heat, The

2005-06-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

Fritz Lang, 1953.

Homicide detective Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) investigates the suicide of a fellow officer and finds himself confronting cover-up and corruption - though the mob’s threats only serve to propel Bannion onto a self-righteous crusade. Although courageous, Bannion is also a dark character, prone to violence and apparently unaware of the human cost of his actions, which includes the murder of his wife. Lee Marvin is threatening as one of the "thieves" Bannion pursues - a nasty coffee-flinging hood, whose scalded floozy (Gloria Grahame) aids Bannion in his vendetta.

Big Sleep, The

2005-06-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

Howard Hawks, 1946.

Glorious adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel with Marlowe employed by aged and wealthy General Sternwood, who is slowly dying in his orchid house living his vices “by proxy”, to deal with a blackmail attempt directed against his wayward daughter, Carmen. Marlowe’s investigation leads him through a kaleidoscope of shady Angelenos, all the while he and the General’s second daughter, Vivian, fall taughtly in love. The legendary chemistry between Bogart and Bacall is so good that it almost makes the baroque plot painless (Chandler himself was unsure about whether the chaffeur was murdered or commited suicide!). William Faulkner co-wrote the screenplay, the dialogue of which is a delight.

Sinnui Yauwan (A Chinese Ghost Story)

2005-06-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Siu-Tung Ching, 1987.

Hilarious Hong Kong movie which takes a characteristic genre-blending approach to an otherwise classical ghost story. Ling is a bumbling tax collector, played by the deceased Leslie Cheung, who is seduced by alluring ghost Tsu-Hsien (Joey Wong) while nocturnally stumbling round an eiree forest. Unfortunately, Tsu-Hsien is in the power of an ancient tree demon, owing much to Sam Raimi, but with the monstrous innovation of an enourmous, prehensile tongue. The mood of the film jumps bewilderingly from horror to comedy as Ling attempts to save Nie from a demonic underworld by laying her ashes to rest. Though bizarrely schizoid in mood, the film never ceases to entertain.

Hitcher, The

2005-06-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

Robert Harmon, 1986.

Whilst driving through the Texas desert Jim Halsey picks up hitchhiker John Ryder, an intensely deranged serial killer. Jim escapes but Ryder continues his killing spree and terrorizes Halsey in a bloody game of cat and mouse down the freeway. Ryder is played by Rutger Hauer doing what he does best; playing an utter psychopath. The complete lack of motive for Ryder’s murderous behaviour and the spectacular desert (shot mainly in California) give the film a surreal atmosphere. Wait for the particularly nasty end awaiting Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character, Nash.

The Set-Up

2005-06-14T15:10:00.000-07:00

Robert Wise, 1949.

Classic boxing film with Robert Ryan (himself a college heavyweight champion) playing washed-up Stoker Thompson. Thompson’s losing streak prompts his manager to take a bribe from gangster “Little Boy” for him to take a dive, but cuts Stoker out of the deal. When Stoker unexpectedly finds his form, unaware of the consequences of a win, the tension mounts. The fights scenes are great with almost ridiculously seedy characters and atmosphere - an absolute gem.

Kaidan

2005-06-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

Masaki Kobayashi, 1964.

Exquisite and enchanting period-horror adapted from a collection of Japanese ghost stories written by Lafcadio Hearn. The restless dead in the film's four tales have different motives for haunting, though in each case they are a grave danger to the living. The first two tales in which the living and the dead share a doomed love are especially memorable. The sets and costumes are lavish and frequently combined with colourful painted backdrops, evoking a fairy-tale atmosphere.

Shining, The

2005-06-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

Stanley Kubrick, 1980.

Struggling writer and recovered alcoholic Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) accepts a job as winter caretaker of the Overlook hotel in the remote Colorado mountains, retreating there with his wife Wendy (Shelley Duval) and young, sensitive son Danny. The hotel is built on an Indian burial ground and has a gruesome history, including the slaughter of the previous caretaker’s family, who became unhinged by the isolation. As winter progresses father and son endure unpleasant connections to the hotel’s past, with terrifying consequences. Kubrick employs his mastery of combining vivid visuals and classical music, but here to create a powerful sense of psychic terror. Scenes such as the blood pouring out of the elevator and the steadicam shots following Danny down the hotel corridors and impossible to forget. In my opinion, the finest horror film yet made.

Asphalt Jungle, The

2005-06-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

John Huston, 1950.

Country-boy turned hoodlum Dix (Sterling Hayden) is recruited for a daring diamond heist by German mastermind “Doc” Riedenschnieder. Though the gang plan and execute the theft meticulously, events conspire against them, proving that crime doesn’t pay in this classic caper-noir. The film is gritty with the criminals sympathetically depicted as desperate working-stiffs, caught up in a tightening noose. Marilyn Monroe also briefly appears as the girlfriend of one of the gangsters.

Rear Window

2005-06-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

Alfred Hitchcock, 1954.

Photographer L.B. Jeffries is confined to his Manhattan apartment with a broken leg and passes his time voyeuristically peeping on his neighbours. His voyeurism becomes an obsession when one neighbour, Lars, starts to behave unusually: come-ing and go-ing in the middle of the night, carrying a knife, a saw, rope. All of which co-incides with the disappearance of Lars’ wife, leading Jeffries to question whether he has observed a murder? The film is rich in Hitchcock's black humour with a masterful use of suspense, which builds to the wonderful confrontation between the observer and the observed.

Postman Always Rings Twice, The

2005-06-12T11:25:00.000-07:00

Tay Garnett, 1946.

Darkly sexual tale of a drifter falling for the dissatisfied housewife of a Californian roadside café owner. Lana Turner is almost overly stunning as domestically frustrated Cora, never appearing in anything apart from all-white or all-black outfits. Once the couple's illicit passion ignites they hatch a murderous plan for the cuckolded husband. Discovery of the murder leads to a series of deceptions and eventual self-destruction of the lovers. Probably the best known version of the oft-adapted James M. Cain novel, I much prefer Antonioni’s “Cronaca di un Amore”.

Long Goodbye, The

2005-06-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

Robert Altman, 1973.

Eliah Gould is outstanding as wise-cracking Marlowe in Altman’s reinvention of Chandler. Marlowe lands in hot water when he aids the escape of his friend over the Mexican border after he is accused of murdering his wife. Once his friend commits suicide Marlowe takes work with wealthy and troubled inhabitants of the Malibu colony – leading him to a complicated web of deception and an end that some might say is very un-Marlowe. However, this is Chandler envisioned in a new and changed Los Angeles, a city that is sun-drenched and colour saturated, replete with naked hippies.

Point Blank

2005-06-11T15:48:00.000-07:00

John Boorman, 1967.

Shot twice, jilted, robbed and left for dead on Alcatraz by his best friend and wife, a profoundly peeved Lee Marvin emerges in Los Angeles aching for vengeance. Like an automaton set on killing he pursues and slays his friend and the members of his shadowy “Organization”. Marvin’s hardened performance is compelling, set against some absolutely classic Los Angeles scenes, my favourite being the sniper above an L.A. river storm drain.

Story of a Love Affair (Cronaca di un Amore)

2005-06-11T15:46:00.000-07:00

Michelangelo Antonioni, 1950.

Enrico, a wealthy and powerful man knows little of his beautiful wife Paola’s past, played by the mesmerizing Lucia Bose. The private detective he employs reunites Paola with her first love Guido, who together share a dark secret. The lover’s loneliness and alienation lead them to a murderous plan for Enrico. A remake of James M. Cain’s “The Postman always Rings Twice”, this is surely the most chic noir, with an overt social commentary on wealth, class and the emptiness of the Bourgeoisie.

L.A. Films

2005-06-11T13:35:00.000-07:00

Big Lebowski, The
Big Sleep, The
Bladerunner
Chinatown
Criss Cross
Crime Wave
D.O.A.
Double Indemnity
Grifters, The
In a Lonely Place
Jackie Brown
Kiss Me Deadly
Limey, The
Long Goodbye, The
Lost Highway
Murder, My Sweet
Mulholland Drive
Point Blank
Reservoir Dogs
To Live and Die in L.A.
Two Jakes, The

Kiss Me Deadly

2005-06-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Robert Aldrich, 1955.

Nuclear Noir masterpiece in which tough, flawed private dick Mike Hammer picks up a lone woman in a trenchcoat, only to be attacked and pushed off a cliff with the murdered girl’s body. After he recovers Hammer beats and squeezes a trail to the woman’s secret; a mysterious container, "the Great Whatzit", locked in Hollywood Athletic Club. The glowing contents of this Pandora’s box are claimed to influence film’s as diverse as Pulp Fiction, Repo Man and Raider’s of the Lost Ark. The film also contains some great shots of the “lost” L.A. neighbourhood Bunker Hill and the steps around Angel’s Flight. Dark atmosphere, dark characters, and incredibly it was all filmed in less than three weeks.

Night of the Hunter, The

2005-06-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

Charles Laughton, 1955.

The psychotic preacher Harry Powell is played with almost slapstick zeal by Robert Mitchum, as he swindles and murders his way around a depression-era South. While languishing in jail Powell learns that his cellmate has $10,000 of stolen loot stashed with his children. After the thief hangs, Powell heads to his widow’s house to retrieve the dead man’s loot. The children however, turn out to be a hard nut to crack. The influence of expressionist cinema is clear in many of the dramatically framed and semi-surreal shots – my favourite being the murdered widow Willa sat in a jalopy at the bottom of a river with a cut throat and waving river weeds. Although Laughton's sole picture, the film continues to influence, not least through Powell's iconic "love" and "hate" tattoos.