Umberto Lenzi is one of those directors whose reputation in the UK has been bent out of shape by the video nasties scandal. Since the Director of Public Prosecutions’ list of potentially obscene films has spent decades doubling as a watchlist for horror fans, Lenzi is best-known in this country […]
Movies & Documentaries
Le Samourai (1967) Alain in the Underworld (Review)
Criterion delivers Alain Delon’s most iconic performance to Blu-ray this week with the release of Jean-Pierre Melville’s classic, Gallic ode to ’40s US gangster movies, Le Samourai. In what is arguably his greatest role, the impossibly handsome Delon stars as as assassin-for-hire Jef Costello. Dressed in trenchcoat and a deeply […]
Swallow (2019) the Horror of Control (Review)
A theme of David Cronenberg’s work with horror was the tenet that the human body is far more terrifying than any monster or external violence. His work revolved around the corruption of the human form with all manner of disturbing aberrations. Post-Cronenberg, the concept of body horror has become inanely […]
Two New Criterions: Devi (1960) and The Thin Red Line (1998)(Review)
After early November’s Blu-Ray of Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr Fox, Criterion UK release a pair of movies unconnected save for their very different approaches to making a film about faith. And that’s “a film about faith” rather than a “faith-based film”. The latter is generally used as a synonym for […]
Mill of the Stone Women (1960), A Rediscovered Italian Horror Classic (Review)
As we approach the end of the year, Arrow is helping us all get into the seasonal spirit with an uncovered gem from 1960, Giorgio Ferroni’s Mill of the Stone Women, released on a double-disc Blu-ray and to stream on Arrow Player. There are four versions of the film: the original […]
Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (1981) The Cutest Yakuza Film in Town (Review)
The 1980s weren’t exactly a golden era for Japanese cinema. The masters that put the country on the global stage had either passed away or were in the twilight of their careers, offering the world their final works. Instead, the 1980s were much more of a transitionary era with a […]
The Damned (1969) Classic Film Kid Review
Note: Since The Damned has only been out on Blu-Ray for a few weeks, I will try and keep this as light on spoilers as I can. Hello everyone, the Classic Film Kid is back with another review of a recent Blu-Ray release of a forgotten gem, in this case, […]
Dementia 13 (1962): the B-Horror that gave us The Godfather (Review)
Roger Corman is generally remembered as a net positive for movie history. As the legend goes, his American International Pictures gave an early break to a generation of actors, writers and directors who went on to reshape American cinema in the 1970s. The actual films, though, are often overlooked in […]
Early Universal Vol 2: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea/The Calgary Stampede/What Happened to Jones? (1916-1926) (Review)
Hot on the heels of Eureka’s Masters of Cinema release of Early Universal Vol 1 in August comes this second volume from the vaults of the 110-year-old Hollywood studio, featuring one of its earliest productions, an epic adaptation of Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea from 1916, alongside 1925 […]
Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes (2021) Complex, Thought-Provoking Sci-Fi (Review)
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes really makes you think it will confuse, confound, and in places make you laugh. It’s billed as a Sci-Fi comedy, but honestly don’t expect laugh-out-loud moments, it’s not that kind of film, there is mild humour which makes it an easy light-hearted watch. Before I go on you need to […]