For some, war movies are something to avoid, with their rampant machismo and gleeful jingoism. It doesn’t matter where in the world they originate—this is often true. Given history’s grim record of wartime atrocities, a wave of critical, hyper-politicized anti-war films emerged. And, to be honest, the issue of hyper-masculinity […]
Movies & Documentaries
Seance (2021): standard slasher with one killer extra (Review)
It won’t be my favourite film of the year, but Acorn media’s Blu-Ray release of Simon Barrett’s directorial debut Seance contains an early contender for extra of the year. Barrett begins the director’s commentary with disarming enthusiasm, saying he’s always loved director’s commentaries and is excited to be providing his […]
Shock (1977) Italian Horror without the gorgeous flamboyance (Review)
Final films of legendary directors is a fascinating topic. For every Kenji Mizoguchi who bowed out with a genuine masterwork like 1956’s Street of Shame, there are stories of directors who couldn’t finish their final works or an untimely passing that required someone else to pick up the baton. Looking […]
Jakob’s Wife (2021) Eternally left-turning Modern Vampire Movie (Review)
Acorn Media’s new Blu-Ray of Jakob’s Wife is their latest physical media release of a title that premiered on the streaming service Shudder, a platform which is probably too new to generalise about but I’m a critic and I’m at a loose end, so here we go. One way of […]
Dillinger (1973): Print the Legend (Review)
“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend” is an infamous quote from John Ford’s 1962 classic Western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance that could arguably be seen as the inspiration for Dillinger, John Milius’1973 directorial debut, dusted down by Arrow Video and given the Blu-ray treatment this week. Based on […]
In the Realm of the Senses (1976): legendary arthouse shocker returns, its power undimmed (Review)
2022’s home releases get off to a dynamite start with Criterion UK’s Blu-Ray of this legendary arthouse shocker by Nagisa Oshima, alternatively known as Ai no Corrida but not – despite the persistent mistake – known as In the Realm of the Senses. (The misunderstanding stems from the opening credits, […]
2021 Blow Out: Giants & Toys, Running Against the Wind, Menace II Society, The Millionaires’ Express (REVIEW)
Here at Geek Show Towers we don’t always get the time to cover everything we’re sent. In the interests of greeting the new year with a clear desk, here’s a round-up of some of the most noteworthy discs we didn’t get round to. Each of them is from a different […]
Stage Fright (1987) Slasher turned Silent Liminal Chiller once the lights go out (Review)
For a young horror director to the protege of a more seasoned hand, few could have better fortune than Michele Soavi, who sat under the learning tree of Dario Argento. Not only that, he had his directorial debut produced by another substantial Italian genre legend, Joe D’Amato. Soavi exploded out […]
Original Cast Album: Company (1970) have I got a film for you! (Review)
Before the end of the year, we at The Geek Show plan to take a little look back through some of the home releases we missed when they were released. All of them have their merits, but none have gained retrospective interest like Criterion UK’s release of D.A. Pennebaker’s 1970 […]
Agnus Dei (1971) Godard & Larping Via a Hungarian Master Director (Review)
Rounding out our coverage of Second Run’s acclaimed Hungarian Masters boxset, following Current and Merry-go-round is Miklós Jancsó’s Agnus Dei. The prior have something of a social realist streak to them, whether they were steadfast in their subscription to the stylistic tics or used it as a cinematic tradition to subvert. We’ve featured Jancso’s […]