RAZORBACK (1984)

Well this was an interesting find... I inherited a whole bunch of VHS tapes from a friend and while I had throw most of them out there were some gems in there, this one being one of them.

I never managed to catch Razorback before so it was with bated breath that I loaded this one into my 'state of the art' 6 head Hifi VCR and prepared to absorb the movie in all its grainy VHS glory.

Once one's eyes adjust to the analogue / grainy-ness of said tapes, this was a pretty cool watch. It's shot in the Australian outback and I have to say is a fairly entertaining watch. It kind of reminds me of the "Dingo Ate My Baby" case of the 80's revolving around Azaria Chamberlain (not sure if it was loosely based on that story or not) but in this story revolving around a strange mutant breed of pig/boar that is twice the size and killing power of a normal pig that dragged an infant off to be eaten in a grizzly death. The case goes to court and the grandparent that is supposed to have been looking after the child is aquitted, but no-body is sure of the existence of said razorback

a couple of years later an American journalist is on a mission to the Australian outback seeking to create a news story on suspected animal cruelty, carried out by Australian farmers (hunters) and said grandparent who has now become a full time razorback hunter and gets a whole lot more than she bargains for withe the Australian outback folk and the mutant pig..... Over all thats about all I can say about the plot without ruining it, but it does have enough twists and turns to keep it interesting and moving at a steady pace

Overall a pretty cool watch and a great one for those who like Australian Horror, not that we have a lot of it here, but its nice to see the ones that do get produced. Its by no means a master piece but will appeal to fans of the movies Jaws, Cujo, the hills have eyes (for the creepy/rapey Australian outback folk)  etc.... but obviously done on a smaller budget.

I thought it was a decent watch and had a fun watching it, the horror effects are all practical as this was before the time of CGI, not a huge reliance on gore but a gritty watch none the less....... Its also a great chance to check out the Australian outback on film and marvel at Aussie slang and marvel our strange accents and euphamisms

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IT (1990)

Horror author Stephen King is a mainstay of the horror genre, his work has inspired many fledgling writers, directors, metal bands the world over, and this particular movie, is considered a classic of the genre. I'll be honest and say, I don't think it's a classic, I think its a cool movie, don't get me wrong, its a cool watch, well written and engrossing  but be warned its a hefty watch weighing in at over 3 hours in length, so make sure you have the whole afternoon or night free to watch it. I understand it was originally released on TV as a two night movie special in 1990 which as a TV special would have been really cool, as a stand alone movie I think it does loose a little but that's just my opinion

The plot revolves around a 'loosers club' of kids in in high school whose inner most fears have manifested themselves in the form of a homicidal clown called 'Pennywise' ...  Pennywise the clown represents something much more sinister than just a clown, being more a supernatural being that has played a part in the town of Derry's history over hundreds of years murdering kids. I'm sure this is the start of the 'creepy clown' phenomena, and Tim Curry pulls off the role rather well. The story takes place in two time frames, when the kids are young and again 30 odd years later as they re-unite as middle aged adults to hopefully destroy the malevolent / supernatural clown once and for all. 

Plot wise the movie is quite detailed with numerous subplots, with each of the kids lives as both children an adults (way too many to go into here) that keep the viewer interested rather nicely through the film, as a TV film its well developed but obviously that in mind the gore factor is quite low so it does come across a little 'soap opera' ish but over all its pretty cool and I'm glad I finally got around to watching it! 

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HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959)

This is a vintage horror film featuring the talents of Vincent Price, who is looking and sounding as debonairre as always. I'm a big fan of this guys work and this one is no exception.

The plot centres in on Price's wealthy, and serial husband character Frederick who is unhappy with his current wife Annabelle his fourth or fifth wife. Annabelle organises the which involves spending a night in a haunted house with 5 other guests for a reward of $10,000 (a lot of money back in the times of black and white cinema) for anyone who survives the night.

Some of the party believe in the supernatural and of course others do not, and its not long before a few bumps in the night and macabre goings on have everyone scared for their life and wanting get out.

The dialogue is excellent and the story is extremely well written and engrossing through out the whole story. This movie has a certain old world charm about it that cannot seem to be recreated in this day and age... The gore factor is non-existent but this means the story has to rely on dialogue and plot development the whole way through, and it does very well thank you very much! The movie has a genuinely creepy atmosphere about it, and the sound effects compliment the film perfectly keeping the viewer rivetted. This is not going to scare hardened gore-fiends but is a very entertaining and compelling watch.

Plot wise there are a few twists and developments that are expertly written into the story development and everything in my opinion works rather well. I won't ruin them here but rest assurred it will keep you guessing~



Of course its up on Youtube so check it out here! You won't be dissapointed!

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THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE - the next generation (1994)

Well, this is an interesting film..... I'm not sure on the continuity of this one, and how it relates to part 1 and 2, is it a reboot or a sequel or what.... remains a little unclear..... but I have to say over all it was a reasonably  solid and engrossing affair.... I won't go as far as to say it is as good as either part 1 or part 2 (both of which I enjoyed immensely) but yeah, it was a pretty decent watch and I really can't complain too much. Although the potential was there to make it a lot better!

The opening spiel at the start of the movie stated it was in fact, a continuation of the story, but I'm not buying it, it felt more like a retelling of the first story, but without the high impact violence and gore. It did feel a little like a watered down version of events or maybe retold to be more relevant to the current day viewers of the time (mid 90's) to appeal to a wider market. Whatever the reason it was still a pretty good watch, and then young up and coming stars Renee Zellweger and Matthew McConaughey did really good work in their respective roles, which is probably what brought the film into the realms of decentness, rather than being stuck in B Grade limbo.

Basically the story revolves around a bunch of teenagers who after their prom get lost in the back-woods of texas and fall prey to a family of perverted and mentally deficient rednecks (much the same as the first film) it lacks the punch of the first classic film and while some interesting new takes on the story are present, the box office reaction to this film, basically backs up what I'm saying, it was quite OK but nothing special. Regardless you can basically guess the story from there, so there's no real point in me discussing it any further.

Don't bust a gut or pay big money to see this film but if like me you like haunting the second hand markets and find it going cheap, its a worthy watch...  it just falls short of the first two films which is kind of a shame really. I do believe director Henkel actually did work on the first film of the series as well as Tobe Hooper... which lends it some authenticity but it is really a tale of squandered pontential.

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THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE (2005)

I have to admit I was very pleasantly surprised with this one... It started off a little slow ..... Much like any exorcism movie I guess.....  but what separates this one from a multitude of  exorcism / possession films that have come before it is that much of it takes place in the court room, so its like cross over exorcism flick meets court room drama, which I find really take on what could have been a very run-of-the-mill exorcism flick.

The movie recounts from the witness stand and the mouth of Father Richard Moore, the catholic priest that conducted the exorcism of Emily Rose,  the events of which could have either been a demonic possession or a psychotic episode depending on which side of the proceedings your sense of logic takes you, which led to the untimely death of young Emily, a university student who'd just started studying after winning a scholarship. The gore levels aren't too high but the movie never looses its focus, it is always interesting and keeps the viewer captivated, this would cross over well with non-horror fans and horror fans alike. The movie is well thought out and its obvious the creators have researched the subject matter (or had a thorough prior knowledge)  in the occult and cases of demonic possession which really makes this feel authentic. I really can't say enough good things about this film.

Some people say the mark of a good movie is to make you believe and in many cases I tend to agree with that. When recounting the events of the Emily Rose trial Fr. Moore's testimony and the films depictions of the events really  do make you question whether or not demonic possession can occur. On side issue I couldn't help but wonder, testimony  involving the supernatural (much less demonic possession) generally wouldn't be taken seriously in any court, yet most western world court rooms are quite happy to have you swear on a bible.

All I can do is tell you to check this movie out for yourself if you can find it on youtube in the 'available to rent' format and I'm sure any  dvd retailer should have it

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WYRMWOOD (2014)

Wyrmwood is an Australian made horror flick. What separates this from the multitude of zombie flicks before it you ask? Well not that much to be honest if you've seen a million zombie flicks before this may not be the ground breaking experience you were hoping for. It is however a pretty cool attempt at injecting a little freshness into what can be a stale genre at times , and while it doesn't add anything ground breakingly new to the genre the zombies have been done really well, and gore effects are top notch, a definite step above many zombie flicks that came before it....

Plot wise it centres around a few unrelated Aussies in the outback who find themselves knee deep in a newly formed zombie apocalypse.......  many gratituous zombie killings follow as the few left alive band together in the hopes of staying staying that way. Pretty standard fare really plot wise but its the classic dialogue moments that could have only come from an Aussie flick that make this stand out... classic one liners from an ocka Aboriginal bloke like "Thats fucked eh?"  and some very casual Australian moments when faced with a zombie holocaust really add an air of Aussie humour to the whole thing.

The actors are unknown to myself but overall its a pretty convincing attempt at a zombie flick and well worth a watch, is it a classic? Nope, not by any stretch but indeed a worth watch and good fun from start to finish. Also good if you have friends around a want to have a few beers, missing the odd moment of this won't ruin the story continuity either and you all may get a few chuckles out of it too

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GRUESOME / SALVAGE (2006)

Hmmm? Luck was not on my side at the flea market today when I bought this one. Initially attracted to the cover and the title of "Gruesome" I held high hopes for a splatter fest of epic proportions... I had a friend over on first attempt to watch it and I have to say it was pretty painful and didn't seem to go anywhere, until he requested I turn it off after which it almost went into the bin. We decided to  watch reality TV cooking shows instead........ :/ not a good sign.

One good thing about the film is that the main starlet is fairly cute in that 'girl next door' kind of way (she reminds me of Marcia from the Brady Bunch a bit) . It was in fact the only thing that kept us watching as long as we did. The film appears to be about a girl who is experiencing lucid nightmares about a guy who is trying to kill her, and in the dreams he manages to catch her again and again as she relives her own horrifying death. The premise of the movie is pretty cool actually and has some definite potential but I have to say it is poorly executed.

On subsequent research the next day it seems that the movie had been getting half decent (but far from good) reviews in some of the other online sources such as wikipedia and imdb (where it is also known as "Salvage") so i decided to give it another shot and see how it went...... for what is worth I do see some small amount of  merit in it, especially since finding out the whole movie only cost $25000 to produce, but sadly on second viewing I fell asleep and woke up in time to see the ending and it just didn't do it for me.

I won't be trying for a third time. Recommended only for those who are bored out of their skulls basically best left as a last resort

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