Friday 29 April 2016

DAY OF THE DEAD (1985)

Day of the Dead

Day of the dead marks George Romero's third outing into the world of the undead the first of course being Night of the living dead waaaaay back in 1968, then Dawn of the Dead in 1978 and now this one...

Day of the Dead - horror movie reviews at http://www.gorenography.comFrom what I gather Night of the Living Dead gained some notoriety for its gore content, well this would have given those same cry babies a coronary attack! The gore content has been upped ten fold from NOTLD and is another step beyond Dawn of the Dead, the gore and special effects are looking great which results in one hell of a blood bath, and fun ride for the viewer!



The movie itself fasts forwards to a point where zombies have taken over much of the free world the last remaining humans some military and some research staff have been isolated in a military bunker / research facility type thing and trying to figure out how they are going to survive. Despite the fact the undead have decimated the world population the research staff are still conducting experiments on how the zombies work, and trying to domesticate them. This of course sits at odds with the military staff, and results in tension between the last of the humans and creates a cool sub-plot to the story. In a way this is really cool as it analyses the zombies and allows the viewer to understand what makes them tick, their memories of their past lives and the instincts that keep them hunting human flesh. I think its a good departure from the first two films and gives the horror fan a more cerebral look at the zombie. Some might think the film is a little slow paced, as it is fairly long... but for the conclusion of the original zombie trilogy I think its fitting.

Over all its a fun, but more intelligent look at the brainless undead creatures we have all come to love. Definately worth a watch for any gore / zombie fan!

We managed to find  a good copy of this on you tube so go check it out while you can!





Also be sure to check out our reviews of George Romero's work on later films Night of the Living Dead  and  Dawn of the Dead


For more great horror movie reviews check out:
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Monday 25 April 2016

BOXING HELENA

BOXING HELENA 1993

I've been trying to track this one down for ages to check it out... not much chance of seeing this one at your local DVD outlet, so I had to stream it on one of those 'free to watch' sites. I don't normally advocate those but I guess if you're not likely to find it anywhere else what can you do? This one is well worth the effort of finding it anywhere you can!


boxing helena movie review posted at http://www.gorenography.comThis movie is an excellently shot and produced film with Julian Sands (from the Warlock series of movies) perfectly cast as the creepy Dr. Nick who develops and unholy obsession with a one night stand he had, Helena. Try as he might he can't get her out of his head ...To be fair, Helena is one of the most beautiful creatures walking the earth.... After watching this film I think I'm a little obsessed by her... Filling out her role perfectly is Sherylin Fenn.

Helena is a man eater, she is sexy and she knows it, manipulating men and throwing them away like garbage. As a bizzare twitst of fate -helped along by Dr. Nick, would have it our dear Helena gets in a car crash and Dr. Nick seizes the opportunity to amputate her legs and later on her arms and keep her to himself for his own perverted pleasures.

This is I guess what you'd call an erotic thriller, not so much horror but the thought of obsession going as far as it did in this case is certainly unnerving, yet creepily saucy. Even though its quite a well made film I feel a little ashamed at myself for enjoying it so much.

I remember there was a bit of controversy when this film was being cast as originally it was supposed to feature Madonna, who declined the role after she had agreed to it upon realising the nudity and concepts involved in the film (I can't say I blame her either)  but despite such a genuinely disturbing plot and subject matter it failed miserably at the box office, condemened to a live of obscurity and to be featured in blogs such as this



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Sunday 17 April 2016

SPECIES (1995)





This film is not too bad really. I wouldn't call it an all time classic of either the sci-fi or horror genre but its a solid watch and quite entertaining from start to finish, despite the panning it got at the hands of serious movie critics

The film follows the "growing pains" of a young female of the extra-terrestrial variety (human and alien DNA spliced) who is bred and studied on earth. Of course the team of scientists can't contain said alien visitor due to her superhuman strength and abilities and she absconds from the care of the government facility she was contained in. Her alien DNA transforms her body into that of a VERY attractive young woman (who can't seem to keep her clothes on) who goes on the hunt for males to mate with and then destroy. Very saucy stuff indeed :)

Some of the horror effects seem a little dated by modern standards, but it doesn't take away too much from the film and of course the aliens are designed by none other than HR Gieger (who was responsible for the aliens in the Aliens series of movies) so its visually pretty cool. Overall my real complaint with this movie is that it could have been much better with a little more of a budget behind it more maybe just a bit more time spent on the special effects

There is unfortunately no decent rips of this on you tube but it is available for rent on there, or better yet it shouldn't be too hard to track down in second hand haunts and flea markets.



Thursday 7 April 2016

SLAUGHTER HIGH (1986)

Slaughter high - 80's HorrorAnother one taken from the deepest darkest depths of the 80's... I do remember seeing this one sitting on the shelves of the local video rental store as a young horror fan but never got around to seeing it.

Once again thanks to the magic of youtube we can relive this long forgotten horror classic in all its grainy,blurry, VHS glory. I have to admit I wasn't holding out for a classic when I started this one up but sometimes you get a pleasant surprise when you're not expecting too much of anything, and this was definatley one of those times.

This follows the exploits of a group of popular kids who tormented the school nerd Marty to breaking point.  Years later the kids re-unite as adults for their high school reunion ... only its not as it seems and the popular kids of course, get picked off one by one by a now deranged Marty who has been unsuccessfully coping the effects of high school bullying in the years that have elapsed.

Again without giving away too much of the plot this is actually a quite well written and executed little gem. Some very inventive and novel killings and cool plot twists keep this a captivating and enthralling watch once you can get past the real horror of the 1980's ladies fashion on display. Some of the horror effects do come across as a little dated but all in all, I hope this does one day get a re-issue on DVD or blue ray ... maybe even a remastering. A much better movie than some of the crap out there and it would be a shame to see this fade into obscurity. Overall its no classic but still a worthy watch.

check it out for yourself!



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Monday 4 April 2016

BATMAN V SUPERMAN



Ok, this one doesn't fit into the genre of horror but its been receiving some very harsh reviews online, so I wanted to weigh in with my humble opinion.

I used to read comic books as a kid, Batman and Superman were amongst the ones I loved. That was in the mid eighties.... but to be honest I haven't followed much in the way of comic books since I discovered the joys of heavy metal. 30 years later and these two superhero's have transcended another generation and and now enjoyed by kids all over the world in much the same way I did as a child....

The harsh reviews I'm seeing online, are mainly originating from comic book nerds, self styled guardians of the comic book mythos. I don't have a problem with that necessarily but for those of us who just go to movies to enjoy them, without over analysing everything I think this is a great watch, my kid, who is 12 thought it was great too.

Movies have come so far and this is visually spectacular, the CGI effects are stunning and the soundtrack really comes out when you experience it in the premium cinema environment.... (this was the first time I'd had the leather reclining chairs in the movie hall) To be honest I can't remember the finer points of the entire history of these two DC superhero's but it seemed to fit in fairly well with the comic books as far as I could remember (except for the Lex Luthor being so young in the same timeframe as an adult Superman and I have no idea what Wonder Woman really had to do with the film except to build the foundations for a new spin off....) whilst still maintaining a fresh edge and staying current for the next generation of kids experiencing superhero's. Some dark rigious overtones and a reasonably involved plot keep it interesting for the parents or older fans which ever you may be.

Many people had reservations about Ben Affleck playing Batman but I think he did a great job, but seriously how hard could it be to play a surly introvert? Superman was a little darker than he has been portrayed in the 80's flims more along the lines of the 'man of steel' movie and Jesse Eisenberg (whom I normally detest) did a great job as a young Lex Luthor

 If you like your action big and loud with awesome CGI this will do it for you, your kids will love it and if you can leave the inner cynic behind your inner child will love it too.

Friday 1 April 2016

GWAR - PHALLUS IN WONDERLAND (1992)


Our favorate aliens from beyond Uranus have been entertaining shocking and offending the world at large for almost 30 years now, and quite frankly they are masters at the art of shock rock. I bought my first Gwar CD over 25 years ago now and still love it to this day. Beneath the many kilograms of latex each member wears, they are accomplished musicians and masters of the art of their bloody pantomime.
For those unaquainted with GWAR they basically take shock rock to a new level, picking up where Alice Cooper left off, taking the live theatrics to a whole new level of sickness, depravity and hilarity. Bear in mind when watching this Gwar came before Marilyn Manson, Slipknot and Lordi.

This is their first venture into the world of movies, and it is a cheesy, sick, depraved, offensive piece of work. Needless to say I loved it. Their off the wall humour has been offending the world at large in the funniest way for many years now and this is a prime example. For my tastes it is the best in their series of their film works. If you liked the humour in movies such as Brain Dead, Bad Taste and Meet the Feebles this would appeal to you, you like heavy metal this will appeal to you, if like me, you like heavy metal, gore and comedy this is a must have.

For those who have some understanding of the band, the plot centres around the disembodied penis of lead singer Oderus Urungus which goes missing and the trials and tribulations involved in reuniting the singer with said body part. Along the way we are treated to violence, bloodshed, religious blasphemy and many litres of miscellaneous bodily excretions... in short, all the good stuff! We are also treated to five of the bands video clips which have been ingeniously worked into the plot of the movie. This movie takes pride of place in my DVD collection and I strongly recommend you check it out on you tube (as I'm sure you have sweet FA chance of finding it in a DVD store)  





Sadly major creative influence and lead singer of the band, Dave Brockie (who plays Oderus Urungus) passed away a couple of years ago so I'm not sure what kind of output the band will have from here on in... they have played a few shows since but no word on upcoming releases. This will always stand as a monument to his sick perverted sense of humour. To keep updated on what Gwar are doing make sure you visit their website from time to time

for more great horror movie news and reviews be sure to check out http://www.gorenography.com