First made as a 17-minute short in 2013, Boys from County Hell continues the tear that Irish horror has been on in recent years. The emerald isle has been punching way above its weight, delivering some of the most compelling new low-budget horror movies made anywhere in world cinema. While […]
Rob Simpson
Chief Editor
Host of the Uncut Network. With a love of movies kicked off by Hong Kong Action and Claymation Monsters, Rob has forever been cradled in the bosom of Cinema. Rob has his hands in many a pie, including no budget film making. Filthy
Daimajin Trilogy (1966) A forgotten kaiju trilogy with a unique shintoist spin (Review)
There are two telling facts that need establishing first and foremost when discussing Arrow Video’s new release of the Daimajin trilogy. The studio landscape for the monster movie was divided between Toho and Daiei. Toho had the spoils with Godzilla and Mothra, whereas Daiei had Gamera and the Daimajin. Secondly, […]
One-Armed Boxer (1972) The Good, The Shaft and the Okinawan Karate Vampire (Review)
Perhaps I should’ve seen this coming. When I watched the cult favourite, Master of the Flying Guillotine, the arrival of the bad guy was scored by krautrock legends Neu!. While not strictly legal, this use of music made the threat to the heroes feel more dangerous and substantial than any […]
Encounters of a Spooky Kind (1980) Funny and Spooky, the perfect antidote to a bad day (Review)
Sammo is much more than Jackie Chan’s friend and co-collaborator and the butt of so many fat jokes in the 80s and 90s, he also happens to be one of the best action directors Hong Kong cinema ever produced. At his peak he was just as good behind the camera […]
Lake Mungo (2008) The Most Hauntingly Real Horror One Of A Kind (Review)
In the incredibly generous extras section of Second Sight’s new release – Lake Mungo, are appreciation videos from Rob Savage (Host) and Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead (indie mainstays). Both open with the same throughline, they were looking for genuinely scary movies beyond the same cliched selection of classics and […]
Over the Edge (1979) Satire, Rawness & an Amazing Rock Soundtrack (Review)
Teenagers have been one of cinema’s great projects: from the 1960s to the 90s, entire waves and genres rose and fell in the attempt to get their bums on seats. From the teen sex comedy, beach and party movies, and the pink eiga, sadly, they are now an audience that […]
Stalker (2020) What’s in a movie title? (Review)
What’s in a title? Well, for the 2020 indie thriller, Stalker, quite a lot. Just a cursory google will see the film lost under the weight of one of Russian cinema’s most well-regarded sci-fi epics from Andrei Tarkovsky. Then there is Neil Jordan’s 2018 film, Greta, which also goes by […]
Threshold (2020) The modern hustle of regional horror (Review)
The last Arrow Video film I covered was Clapboard Jungle, an incredible resource for the would-be filmmaker. One piece of advice reiterated by many interviewees is to get out into the world and make something. The regularly regurgitated advice is to use any immediately available camera – even a smartphone […]
Clapboard Jungle (2020) Part Vlog Part Vital Tool for the aspiring filmmaker (Review)
New Arrow Video documentary, Clapboard Jungle, is a curious creation. It’s a documentary about filmmaking that covers multiple strands almost simultaneously. It’s a personal diary of director Justin McConnell as he grapples with the existential angst of being an up and coming writer-director who is seeing their peers, whether talented […]
Silent Action (1975) Sergio Martino, EuroCrime and the emergence of a fantastic new label (Review)
Among fans of European genre cinema of the 70s, Sergio Martino is best known for his killer run within the Giallo sub-genre: all the colours of the dark (1972), Torso (1973), Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972), The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh […]