The Boys From Brazil

There are certain films that fascinate me, movies I would go as far as to say that I love. These movies generally get re-released time after time, after time; and me like the silly fool I am have to go out and purchase it just in case I’m missing something, or because I prefer the packaging, one such movie is The Boys From Brazil and the recent Blueray release proved too much of a temptation to let me pass by.

 

Beginning in Paraguay in 1978 Barry Kohler (Steve Guttenberg) an American Jew obsessed with the Second World War has arrived in the small South American country, acting on a tip off. Concerned with the heavy influx of Nazi war criminals arriving in the country Kohler worries about the possibilities of a new uprising. When Eduard Seibert (James Mason) arrives, he is convinced that things are going to turn very nasty; Seibert during the war went by the nickname “The Executioner”. Reaching out to famous Jewish Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier) for help, Lieberman dismisses Kohler as another kid on a wild goose chase. The next discovery however is far more distressing, as more Nazi’s pour into the country there is a final shocking arrival in the form of Josef Mengele (Gregory Peck), Hitler’s dubious surgeon. Having bugged an imperial looking chateau Kohler discovers that there is a sinister plan to assassinate ninety four 65 year old men, but for what means?

 

Why I enjoy The Boys From Brazil so much is all down to the cleverness of the storyline, this is very much the sort of film that starts one way and ends with something very different. Based on the novel by Ira Levin (The Stepford Wives, Rosemary’s Baby, Sliver) and directed by Franklin J. Schaffner (Papillion, Patton, Planet Of The Apes) Boys From Brazil is a strange synergy of war movie, tense thriller, and very real horror, it’s this alternating  genre turning that makes this an all-round winner. While not necessarily being the most action packed of movies a high body count and a series of rather striking images and situations burn a hole in your head and causes you to believe you have seen something far harsher than you actually had.

 

Boys From Brazil sort of marked the end of big British filmmaking, not long after Lew Grade’s movie company ceased making movies, and this is without a doubt a very worthwhile swansong. Not only does the movie have an impressive cast that also includes Denholm Elliot, Lilli Palmer, Michael Gough, Linda Hayden and Prunella Scales; but also offers some pretty impressive location filming which included Portugal, Austria, America and Great Briton. In between this the effects are pretty impressive, and the musical score by the late great Jerry Goldsmith is enough to send a pretty big shiver down your spine.

 

I won’t ruin the story by getting into the heart of what it’s all about, but I will say that like numerous other Ira Levin pieces of work it was way beyond its time in respect of ideas, the main focus of the movie surrounding something incredibly controversial now, as well as the ethical nature of it. I must say when I first saw the movie nearly 30 years ago, I was really struck by the story, and a little shocked by the revelation, while seeming incredibly farfetched back then it’s strangely obvious now days that someone would try such a thing.

 

There are two moments in the film that critics applaud, a rather sinister series of flashbacks that Mengele sees in his head while exploring an old derelict hospital, combined with a haunting Goldsmith score being the first and for me the most powerful image of the film. The second involves the final face of with Lieberman and Mengele involving a gang of hungry Rottweiler’s, while not so haunting is by far the most known scene of the movie.

 

Of our cast Gregory Peck performs rather well as the demented and devoted follower, looking more Charlie Chan than Nazi war criminal he wears his white suit with pride and has the most wonderful punch up with one of his assassins, while laying the boot into his wife with his tongue. Never much of an Olivier fan, I do really enjoy seeing the great actor here, this is the image I have in my head when I hear the name Laurence Olivier, an incredibly frail old man with a steel like resolve. Steve Guttenberg, on the cusp of his A-List status of the 80’s shows a little comedy that we are all familiar with but also at the same time giving his most serious and tragic role. But it’s the understated James Mason that kind of rules the day, laid back as Hitler’s faithful Executioner he emerges the strongest of all the cast in both performance and character, like Olivier this is how I always see Mason its his finest role.

 

So what difference does our latest technological revolution have on the film? I kind of had my doubts about this one, because in fairness older movies do not normally suit the wonder of Blueray previous discs of pre 80’s movies left me feeling like I had been done, literally getting a good DVD image for the extra five pounds on top of a normal standard DVD release.  One thing you don’t win on is value of content the only additional feature on the extra 30 odd gigabytes of storage is a theatrical trailer. There are also some subtitles, but to be honest with you lots of the words are missed out. What I cannot grumble about however is the beautifully rich image the movie rewards you with, from vibrant colours and a sharpness of image that really makes the movie look like it was made yesterday, not thirty years ago. The sound in fairness however is not much different to the last DVD release. The fact that special features are thin on the ground I guess could explain why the RRP of this DVD is just £14.99.

 

If you have not seen The Boys From Brazil, there has never been a better time (ordinary DVD is just around the £3 mark), in order to preserve the mystery of the movie I have had to keep my review a little thin on the ground, this is one of those movies that if you don’t really know what’s coming you’ll get the best reward.

Bloodbath At The House Of Death

It was a little seen movie 24 years ago when it was released, but since then has been equally elusive. Thankfully film historian Marc Morris and filmmaker Jake West have finally bought Bloodbath At The House Of Death to DVD for the first time anyway (Legally) in the world, courtesy of their niche market DVD label Nucleus.

 

Taking a nod from the often ludicrously titled horror movies of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s; this 1984 movie takes a series of good hard stabs at the horror movie in this off the wall spoof that later inspired a dozen horror spoof movies. Unusually based in the UK and penned by Ray Cameron and Barry Cryer, Bloodbath At The House Of Death will ultimately be most favoured by fans of the 70’s and 80’s sitcom; and as if to solidify this fact gathers some of the best known comedy names of that period to carry the movie forward. Headlining the picture is Kenny Everett of all people, as Doctor Lucas Mandeville a rather wacky boffin who has gathered a team of the best phenomenon experts in the world to Headstone Manor the site of 18 possibly 19 gruesome deaths on one night somewhere back then; date never clearly revealed.

 

As the movie unfolds you discover that the events all circle around a strange cult led by character credited as “Sinister Man” but best placed as the devil’s right hand I guess; this character is played by none other than horror legend Vincent Price in yet another suitably bizarre role (if you have not seen the actors horror comedy movies check out Theatre Of Blood, and the Doctor Phibes movies).

 

Like a football match, Bloodbath is a game of two halves the first half being ultimately superior to the second. Starting with a lot of genuinely funny gags including Vincent Price’s “You Pi** Off!” statement, Kenny Everett ridicule and subsequent intestine flinging, and the crazed mother complete with built on pope style booth; probably best not asking too many questions.  But after some really good laughs it turns into a down on its luck sitcom, with apparent jokes that just are not funny and a bizarre woodland encounter straight out of a bad Monty Python sketch. Towards the end of Price’s role the sort of lines initially funny just start to annoy “Good job I wore my old robe” he shouts as he gets a little inflamed. Although I did have one last giggle near the end as the teddy with a flick knife made an appearance.

 

Bloodbath spoofs a large chunk of popular horror movies of the time Carrie, Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers, and The Entity being prime targets, but unlike the less subtle Scary Movie movies it does allow a certain amount of subtlety, yes if you look at them deeply they are direct spoofs, but given that there is a little unique British humour chucked in, the rip offs are far less obvious.

 

The movie is like a who’s who of British comedy culture of the 70’s and 80’s Everett is joined by Pamela Stephenson, Don Warrington, Cleo Rocos, John Fortune, Gareth Hunt, Sheila Steafal and Pat Ashton; all of whom revel in their big movie offering being actors who were mainly found on television.

Everett really hams it up for the movie, but then what can we expect from the comedian who’s ridiculously funny TV (in a variety of form) ran from 1970 to the late 1980’s; there are lots of preposterous dialogue scenes where Everett clearly knows what he is gabbling on around while the rest of us are without a clue, as well as the usual Everett confusion as he argues in the local pub about the amount dead in the past massacre. Yes he was silly, but when you watch Bloodbath you realise that now a generation have been deprived of his unique sense of humour.

 

The movie is rather unfairly in my opinion given a 15 certificate in the UK, there is little here to justify the certificate, with a brief scene of sexual pleasure courtesy of a supernatural entity that shows nothing, and a few minor swear words I have heard and seen far worse in lower certificated movies. Don’t let the movies horror aspects put you off; there are far more scary things in your own home.

 

On the special features front things are a little thin on the ground, Running The Bloodbath is a great little documentary that looks at aspects of the movies making with interviews by producers Laurence Myers and Stuart Donaldson, there are some wonderful moments of old footage featuring Everett included which make this a really great to watch feature. The theatrical trailer pays an important part, so much so there are two versions. And for those that have a DVD player in your PC (pretty much everyone really) an additional gift of the movies script for you to peruse at your convenience.  Not being on the Nucleus list of preview disc recipients I had to borrow the DVD to view it, so sadly my review does not grant it the attention it deserves.

 

You can purchase Bloodbath At The House Of Death on DVD now.

 

X-Files: I Want To Believe

As the year slowly clocks up numerous returns a new Batman, the return of Indiana Jones, it’s time to welcome back another old friend, or rather two; six years after the final episode of The X-Files, Mulder and Scully are back in the second big screen outing. Strangely enough, although I was never a big X-Files fan this has been one of my eagerly awaited movies of the year.

 

For those that for years revelled in the will they won’t they hype regarding the romantic entanglements of agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovney) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) the answer to this is answered within a short time amount of time from the movie beginning; even though Mulder is on the run from the FBI; X-Files: I Want To Believe finds Mulder and Scully happily cohabiting in an isolated house in the middle of the countryside. It amusingly takes a little bit of time to get your head round this dramatic new development, for nearly ten years it was all the speculation of the show, now it’s dismissed as if it’s nothing. In my eyes this is the first of many mistakes for this new movie offering.

 

X-Files: I Want To Believe is cleverly devised that previous history is not necessary, the previous movie though an isolated piece all blended into the mythology of the show, this time round this is a straight up and individual story.  After a rather brief appearance of the X-Files logo and the haunting whistle of the familiar X-files tune the story thrusts into the heart of the action. While the FBI aid a convicted paedophile Father Joe (Billy Connelly) in a search of a desolate snow and ice filled location the story cuts to a woman fighting for her life against two unknown assailants in the dark.

 

The two incidents are connected the woman attacked being an FBI agent. The fact that Father Joe is aiding the FBI through visions he has, leads ASAC Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) to the fugitive Fox Mulder, whom in exchange for help will have all his past “crimes” forgotten. While Mulder is plunged into the world of missing persons, Scully has her own battles, now an established Surgeon in a private hospital Scully opts to pursue her career rather than join Mulder on new adventures “We are ordinary people Mulder, we go home at night!” she tells him, adamant to leave the past behind and face the future. But Father Joe’s prophecies and his second sight are too much of a temptation for Mulder to turn his back on. The more Mulder probes, the more he is convinced there is a much bigger story than the simple disappearance of an FBI agent, and a giant pit of limbs seems to cement this fact.

 

What struck me most about this movie outing was that other than the unusual visions that Father Joe sees, this really is uncharacteristically not X-Files material. The main storyline of the movie is very much of this earth, nothing from the past, nothing from the future, a simple plain old murder mystery style thriller. The biggest downfall in this is that rather like the odd X-Files story when they focused on less fantastic issues, the story becomes a massive anti-climax; because what you have in essence is a 45 minute TV episode with a bit of blood and gore stretched to fit a 105 minute running time. Sadly I feel it my duty to bring you the news that there really is nothing special about this movie, its bland, tired, and to be perfectly honest all been done before. I won’t dismiss the movie as a right off, don’t get me wrong; there are some really good aspects. It’s just that after a year of hype I had some higher expectations, and sadly I suspect a few of you reading this will too.

 

That old X-Files humour is here, and in abundance; Mulder and Scully still get to play those slick little understated sex jokes that the fans loved. While the situations they encounter also allow for some much enjoyed humour. When our heroes first arrive at FBI headquarters you’re greeted by the X-Files theme just as they stumble upon a picture of George Bush, nothing needs to be said it’s blindingly obvious. While a lot of the humour is similar, it’s changed somehow Mulder and Scully are older and they have happily grown older together, it’s a different dynamic than before.

 

Both versions of the theme tune make an appearance during the movie, the original TV show version, and the booming orchestral piece from the first movie, without the airy fairy additions that the original movie had.  After the first twenty minutes however the tune is ditched until the final roll of the credits, and again because the dynamic here is different it’s fairly appropriate.

 

Realising that age is something to take into account there is a big lack of action, all the running around is left to Whitney and Drummy (Xzibit) both reasonably younger and capable of taking on the action scenes naturally. Even then there is the lack of action full stop that we have come to expect from the franchise, one or two fairly straightforward action scenes.

 

While I enjoyed seeing Mulder and Scully back together again, I was less impressed with the overall feel of the piece. From the quick reveal of the relationship, the lack of extra terrestrial action, and a fairly damp squib of a storyline it’s an incredibly odd affair. But the biggest offence in my eyes is the lack of time Anderson is involved in the overall plot, choosing instead to focus on an important operation on a child suffering from an illness known as Sandhoff Disease, and while here case and the situation Mulder is investigating have certain common factors forcing her to get involved at the end, it’s really not enough. I’m also amazed by the lack of return characters, with the exception of Mulder and Scully only one other character makes a return, but I guess rather like time in the real world most people move on.

 

There is no need for me to even mention the performances, these are tried and tested actors put through familiar circumstances, and lets be real the money that 20^th Century Fox will have invested in the movie, it’s not likely that they would allow some unprofessional actor on the set.

 

I sensed some disappointment in the voice of Gillian Anderson when quizzed about the role, she had this sort of matter of fact attitude about her in which it was best for the story; though further quizzing revealed that she found it incredibly difficult to return to the character she left behind six years ago “I’ve moved on so much, and while being active in smaller features I’m not quite so familiar with acting as I was make in the 1990’s”.  I cannot help but think that maybe this difficulty reflected the amount of screen time she gets in the movie, don’t get me wrong we are not deprived of looking at the actress, just of the useful input she has.  It’s been said that the movie has bombed stateside acquiring the number three place in the box office, but let’s be real released at the same time as the most anticipated movie of the year, against The Dark Knight, X_files was bound to play a second fiddle.  Even despite this bombing of the fortunes of the movie, future tenses were thrown into the interviews with the cast. Anderson above all others gave the best indication that a third X-Files movie would be on the way, or maybe perhaps a “Special episode”. I get a distinct impression that regardless of how well X-Files: I Want To Believe does at the world box office, and despite my rather negative views that Mulder and Scully are not going to rest here; let’s hope next time however they have more to work with.

 

The movie opens in UK cinemas on 1^st August.

Puffball

It’s been near on 18 years since Nicholas Roeg made a movie for the mass audience, even though his return feature Puffball is unlikely to get much attention. Roeg picks up a novel by the ever popular Fay Weldon and delivers his own somewhat warped perspective of things, and it’s a strange mix at that.  Funded by the National Lottery, The Irish Film Fund, and a Canadian Television Channel; the movie then is kind of delivered to a Cornish based film unit, though the movie itself is set and filmed in Ireland. If you’re unfamiliar with Fay Wheldon her novels usually cover witchcraft and the occult prime examples include TV or Movie versions of the novels Growing Rich and The Life And Loves Of The She Devil; but Wheldon has a comic view to her depictions, however Nicholas Roeg has no time for comedy.

 

Puffball is a most unusual piece of filmmaking, its story centres around a young woman called Liffey (Kelly Riley) who is building her dream cottage in the calm and serine Irish Countryside. For Liffey the mistake comes when she encounters the neighbours a family almost ruled by Molly (Rita Tushingham) a Celtic witchcraft obsessed busy body, whose daughter Mabs (Miranda Richardson) longs after three daughters to have a boy.  Having been defiled by her boyfriend Richard (Oscar Pearce) on a ceremonial stone Molly begins to work witchcraft against Liffey for not only showing a lack of respect to the stone, but seemingly because she is simply there. Things become considerably worse for Liffey when Molly sends Tucker (Mabs husband played by William Houston) round for a bit of how’s your father witches brew disguised as wine in hand.

 

I finished watching Puffball obliviously unaware of whether I had watched an amazing piece of art house style cinema, or the biggest celluloid atrocity of all time. While the story was easy enough to piece together the way Roeg goes about telling the story does rely on a certain amount of head scratching. While aside from the awkward meandering of the story your then plummeted into the world of the unexplained when a series of potential plotlines are disregarded as readily as Liffey discards her underwear.

 

To add to an already strange debacle we are then thrust the pleasure of Donald Sutherland as Lars, who is Lars? What is the magical effect that the cottage and Liffey has on him? Why does he know the location of several things? And where on earth is he meant to come from because his accent moves from Canadian to Irish at the drop of a hat? All these questions remain un-concluded by the movies finale and I feel kind of robbed, especially considering I always rather enjoy the spectacle of Sutherland in a movie.

 

While the flame haired Kelly Reilly as Liffey offers a sumptuous visual spectacle for us guys, I wonder what if anything the women viewers would think of her. From beginning the movie in a fairly non sexual manner she is suddenly being thrust around all over the place and in every position, hats off to Roeg however who somehow makes quite explicit scenes completely tame with not so much as nipple or lower lady parts to be seen, although he does focus on the striding male nude backside a little too much for my liking. A scene in a barn with Tucker echoes Roeg’s earlier Don’t Look Now sex scene between Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, it’s a strange entanglement that kind of borderlines rape above anything else.

 

I personally felt that I was involved in some sort if “in” joke that everyone else (movie cast and crew) were all aware of but as an outsider I was the brunt of some sort of clever and offensive bit of mickey taking. Rita Tushingham runs around with all manner of varieties of mushroom and other sorts of phallic shaped fungi, the beast fungi being the Puffball of the movies titles is not only picked and cooked, but on a number of occasions attacked during the movie, on one occasion hacked up with a sickle and on another stamped, and rather like a balloon nothing is inside the Puffball; so how on earth do they eat it?

 

Roeg’s creative camerawork and special effects are quite bizarre, a model of the cottage Liffey is working on quite often has a superimposed foetus working at a desk, a red aura frequently dominates the centre of the screen, and in case you are rather unsure what has been going on with Liffey when she is wrestling with one of two men, your are given an internal view of her just in time to see a rocket launch of ejaculate making its way towards her ovaries, nice!

 

Often one accused of being one to sit on the fence in my movie reviews, I have to today resolve myself to that position. I sort of loved it, I kind of hated it but for some unknown reason I really want to watch it again. Yes I didn’t really get it, yes there were a lot of baffling factors; but maybe, just maybe next time round I might be privy to the joke all the screen characters shared. But then just like Alice I always like to believe in three impossible things before breakfast.

House Of The Whipcord

In a time where laws were seemingly flaunted revolutionary British director Pete Walker had an answer to the question “What’s the world coming too?” His 1974 movie House Of The Whipcord, which is not I must add anywhere near as seedy as it sounds, finds young women who skate through their crimes with a slap on the wrists and a fine imprisoned in a country dwelling ran by the sinister Mrs. Wakeham.

 

Of all Pete Walker’s offerings House Of The Whipcord has to be the most tongue in cheek, with its main character, the vicious Mrs. Wakeham played by Barbara Markham being based on Mary Whitehouse, a notorious British character who wanted everything offensive to her to be put out of sight. Nothing was sacred from Whitehouse, whom being a normal mother took offence at Britain’s declining standards, or at least that was how she viewed it. The effect Whitehouse had on censorship in the UK is a story far too extreme to tell here, but Walkers puppet master approach to Mrs. Wakeham views is obvious and most striking, because rather like Whitehouse, Wakeham is naive, stupid, and misguided.

 

The set up of the movie is a nice idea, and centres around four characters Wakeham, Bates played by Dorothy Gordon, Walker played by Pete Walker regular Sheila Keith; and finally Justice Bailey (Patrick Barr) an aging, senile man who believes he is serving the public.  Chiefly steered by Wakeham, this quartet carry out extreme ranges of corporal punishment and imprisonment on young women who poke two fingers up at the British legal system. A keen reader Wakeham seeks out cases in the papers of women who get away with what she sees as blue murder, arranging for them to find themselves at her custom built prison.

 

As a second element of humour Walkers tool to get inmates to the prison comes in the form of a supposedly suave and debonair man by the name of Mark E. Desade (get it? No? Same the name allowed) played by Robert Tayman, not that I go eyeing up other men but if this guy has anything at all going for him then I have been elevated to stud status by this movie, needless to say however Desade is obviously successful with his captives in order to keep a pretty full prison for Wakeham.

 

House Of The Whipcord is in the same vein as other Pete Walker movies, pretty harsh to say the least. Another trait they have in common is the unusual and often terrible casting and performances. Rather like Frightmare, and Die Screaming, Marianne; Whipcord sadly falls foul of having a number of terrible actors including Ray Brooks who literally plays the same character he has during his entire career (and that includes Mr. Benn), never a particularly good actor Brooks terrible performance literally reeks here. But it’s the casting of Karan David as Karen that creates the biggest laughs, pretending to be French is a road that this actress should never have pursued, and as the movie progresses it’s blatantly apparent that David lost track of exactly what nationality she was.

 

On the flip side of the coin Sheila Keith gives of a well rounded performance as someone both harsh, but capable of the same sort of tongue in cheek humour as the movies director, I’d go as far as to say that the character she plays of Walker was a self imposed homage by the director himself, even naming her after himself. There is a most wonderful piece where Keith and Bates are trying to flee the police, covered in blood and bruises when pulled over and asked if “Do you mind if I have a few words with you?” by a police officer, this moment so amusing it could come off the back of any Carry On movie, it’s a pure delight.

 

Incest raises a familiar head as it does in a number of Walker movies, here the relationship between a mother and her son is certainly moved into a very suspicious light, and anyone not seeing this is looking at the world through those famous rose tinted glasses. The worst factor is the sheer disgustingness of both the characters, the thought of them engaging in anything other than a platonic relationship extreme enough without them needing to be related.

 

While quite a predictable movie now, back in 1974 Walker used an awful lot of techniques in the movie that are now more commonplace, the result at the time was a shocking wakeup call from British horror. Though never banned when the whole video nasty furore in the UK was underway, it was conveniently arranged that House Of The Whipcord was not seen for a period of about 14 years from the beginning of enforced movie certification. It was not until Nigel Wingrove’s company Redemption formed releasing video’s of movies lost in the passage of time that House Of The Whipcord was not only seen again, but generated a new public love for the movie. 

Lost Boys - The Tribe

To help mark the 21^st anniversary of a horror classic, Lost Boys – The Tribe is a chance to revisit the feelings and emotions the original Lost Boys gave back in 1987. It’s strange to write a review of a sequel to a movie that a large percentage of those reading this will either have not seen or not heard of The Lost Boys. For those who do remember the movie, you rather like me are probably a little bit surprised that it has taken 21 years for a follow on movie to appear.

 

After the death of their parents Chris (Tad Hilgenbrink) and Nicole (Autumn Reeser) settle down in a small part of district of Malibu under the watchful eye of their crazy aunt. Chris is a small time hero, a surfer with a well established following, so it’s not surprising that Shane (Angus Sutherland) a mainstream surfing legend soon takes Chris under his wing. As Chris and Nicole attend a party at Shane’s house, a sinister undercurrent sweeps the event. While Lisa makes moves on Chris, Shane makes his moves on Nicole, tonight one of these siblings will become a vampire, and only one man can save them, Edgar Frog (Corey Feldman).

 

If you saw and enjoyed the original Lost Boys I guess it will not be the biggest surprise that this straight to DVD movie offering is the palest of comparisons to the original, though let it not be said it could have been an awful lot worse. Except the movie as a standalone piece and you may very well enjoy this, expect a follow on from the original with equal charm and charisma then you’ll get a rude awakening. Essentially Lost Boys – The Tribe is nothing more than a remake for a new generation, the story follows a very similar path, but because horror movie audiences have a stronger thirst for blood and a need for better effects things have dramatically moved on.

 

Thirty minutes in and your sat watching this poor man’s horror film and pretty much giving up the will to live, but then in marches Corey Feldman looking exactly the same as he did 21 years earlier, there is some differences of course, he now talks like he has been gargling with razorblades, and he has been given some genuinely funny lines, rather than just being a general joke. In a fiery showdown towards the end of the movie where Chris is fighting three vampires Feldman’s Edgar Frog marches in “Who ordered the stake?” he asks referring to the tool of death for a vampire rather than a lump of meat. With each new arrival on scene Feldman is given a typically similar cheesy quip that really endears the character to you. It’s strange but at these moments, it is just like you’re watching the original movie it does not matter if your original favourite Lost Boy was Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, or Alex Winter; the essence of the original Lost Boys is carried over on the shoulders of Feldman for every scene he inhabits. What could realistically have been a terrible car crash style mistake, actually for old fans of the original movie makes this the films only salvation.

 

For new viewers if you enjoy TV shows like Angel, The O.C. and Gossip Girl then this movie will be right up your street, a veritable mix of teen angst and vampire health issues. A heady cocktail of the three shows is shook up for you to deliver a new hybrid. It’s not essential to new viewers to see the original movie and to be honest with you it does not even help; however watch this, and if you enjoy it invest in a copy of the original and see how it should work properly, and at the same time enjoy what made horror the must have movie accessory of 1987, just three years after the genre was considered dead. All these alternative from the traditional vampire type movies (like Dracula), owe a great debt to The Lost Boys.

 

There was something else about the original Lost Boys that made it such a smash, it was a bestselling soundtrack. While Lost Boys – The Tribe does not even attempt to match up to the power of the originals score, there is a wonderful rescoring of the hit song “Cry Little Sister”; if you had any doubt in the back of your mind that you were watching a Lost Boys sequel then this will remind you.

 

To keep up the family side newcomer from the Sutherland family Angus follows in the path of his father Donald, and brother Kiefer. In fairness there is not much to separate the performance of Kiefer and Angus, they both have that special Sutherland chemistry. The other little familiar addition sadly saw censorship, as fans of the reality TV show The Two Corey’s will no doubt be aware fellow Lost Boy’s original and semi-hero of the original movie Corey Haim was due to make an appearance. Sadly Haim over the years has abused himself through drugs, alcohol, and sexual disregard Corey Haim initially the more popular of the two Corey’s had real problems with his lines (probably a dual meaning there). After cut after cut of Haim bungling his lines or being completely incoherent Haim was shown the door, with only one completed scene left in place. Fan’s of these namesakes will be pleased to find that Haim’s one completed scene is included in the movie, but as a special interlude during the final credits, turn off too quickly and you will miss this special scene, and the real tragedy is that Haim looks incredibly together, sadly had he been a little more on the money Lost Boys – The Tribe might well have been a very different movie.

 

The preview DVD I received had no special features, so I cannot tell you if there will be at the time of release in the UK on the 8^th of September. The DVD will be available as a separate feature, or as a double bill with the original.

The Dark Knight

Hard to believe I know but it has been three long years since Batman Begins first hit cinema screens across the globe, and now as I write this The Dark Knight takes the story on a seamless transition from one movie to the other. 2008’s most anticipated movie would have been a blockbuster hit alone, but the death of one of the co-stars Heath Ledger an icon of our time solidified its place in history; when The Dark Knight opened a week ago in America it smashed box office record by achieving a whooping turnover of 67 million pounds on its first day.

 

At the end of the already dark Batman Begins we were told The Joker was coming, and as The Dark Knight begins you’re very well reminded of this, but now no longer just coming, The Joker is here. This time history does not repeat itself, from the old Adam West movies and TV shows to the 1989 movie The Joker onscreen has always provided amusement, that journey stops here. If you are expecting laughs from Heath Ledger’s Joker be prepared for a nasty shock, and if you’re expecting traditional superhero capers, prepare to be shocked again. The Dark Knight crosses the boundaries of the superhero movie offering not just great special effects, but possibly the most extreme horror, yes horror that the cinema screens have seen this year. This Batman outing is no fairy story, it’s cruel, harsh, and completely un-relentless. I would go as far as to say that I was mortified by the horror of this movie, but let‘s  be honest it’s not like it was unexpected, we were warned, it’s just that more often than not we choose to avoid the publicity in order to avoid disappointment.

 

I guess as good a place as any to start is with the performance of Ledger, The Joker’s first onscreen appearance is in a rather daring bank robbery in which he marches into a bank with a gang of footmen armed to the hilt, and leaves alone having performed the perfect crime. It’s not however until The Joker returns some twenty minutes later that we get the real feel for ledgers performance as he offers a group of Gotham’s most notorious gangsters a unique glimpse of his latest magic trip: How to make a pencil disappear! This magic trick takes you in places I never expected to take, and Ledgers delivery of the said trick it’s a truly magnificent sight. Last week I mocked Michael Caine having heard him say that for this role Ledger deserves an Oscar, my reason for mocking is to be honest with you I never really got the whole Heath Ledger thing, but now I’ll have to agree if Hopkins could win an Oscar for playing Hannibal Lector, then Heath Ledger is without a doubt deserving of one for his horrifying performance. I cannot help but wonder what Ledger went through to deliver such a mortifying portrayal of evil. From the look, to the voice Ledger sets the bar higher for any future actor playing the character, in fact scrub that, the bar should stop here and out of respect the role never be recast again, you really cannot tamper with perfection.

 

Like Batman Begins, the story here is two-fold, or I guess you could say two faced; because while The Joker takes the role of the movies main villain, the story more than anything else follows the story of another villain who rises from the ashes to become something equally evil to the scary Ledger; just whom holds this title I’ll leave a secret because if you’re not up on Batman, and specifically the character names then this little revelation will come flying at you like a bolt from the blue.

 

What I find most amazing about this 150 minute movie is that its not got the greatest storyline, all of the movies progression is packed into the performances of Christian Bale (Batman), Maggie Gyllenhaal (taking over from Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes), Michael Caine (Alfred), Morgan Freeman (Fox), Gary Oldman (Lt. Gordon), Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent) and of course Heath Ledger (The Joker). Beyond these performances you have a simple tale of a crazed villain trying to get attention the best way he knows how.

 

The effects rather unsurprisingly are nothing short of spectacular, from big devastating explosions, to physical scenes carried out by the wealth of actors. But of all those little things that go into the movie the factor that really created the total ambience was the music. The Dark Knight’s score is delivered by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard and for the most part is fairly bog standard movie music, but what these creative minds do is deliver the most simplistic musical device three times to the extent that it literally unhinges you as you realise something truly major is about to happen. The piece of music in question revolves around one simple music bar, that increases is volume and length as it continues to play its solitary tone. Rather like Ledger’s hair raising performance this music really puts you into the movie, “Oh my God, what’s going to happen next”; from a scene where The Joker offers Rachel what we in the UK used to refer to as a Chelsea grin (where the sides of the mouth are split in order to cause further ripping of the face as the victim screams out), to a memorial parade where The Joker reveals his hand, the music is the thing that takes these fairly uneventful moments to a different level altogether.

 

I have been purposefully skating round the storyline, and providing snippets of the power of the story, but I’ll warn you now there is a most unexpected death, which takes the movie in a completely different direction. Having dramatically overplayed a series of incidents this mortifying death of a much loved character is completely understated giving the viewer yet another grotesque glance at our favourite superhero turning to the world of horror.

 

All of the movies performers excel themselves, Freeman’s Fox gets a bigger more eventful role, while Caine’s Alfred is more understated than before. Christian Bale the movies star just kind of skims along the edge here not because he is over confident, or has little purpose; but because the movies emphasis is not on him it’s all about the other characters. Speaking of underplayed, you might bea bit surprised by the under use of Ledger too, just why his name appears further down on the posters cast list is made blatantly apparent, not only is he not the movies pivotal villain in reality; he is actually onscreen probably for less than 20 minutes. Katie Holmes’ shoes fit Gyllenhaal very well, but let’s be honest it’s not like there was much for her to fill; I mean no disrespect to Holmes but in Batman Begins I felt she was totally out of place, in both her acting ability and the character she tried to portray; Gyllenhaal is a much better fit for Rachel Dawes, moments of fieriness now convincing rather than a little girl throwing a fit. Aaron EckHart is a big player in the movie his character Harvey Dent a man with a perfect vision for how Gotham can be a safer and better place. While Gary Oldman provides some solid straight up support. The Scarecrow played by Cillian Murphy makes a reappearance kind of carried over from the first movie.

It’s with little regret that I find myself awarding The Dark Knight the award of being my favourite movie of the year, as a horror movie fan I love this new feel to Batman, I loved the menace of it. But this comes with downfalls, I’d certainly have to question the moral standing of anyone that tried to show the movie (in whatever form) to anyone under the age of 15, where as other horror movies or thrillers can have that age negotiation The Dark Knight does not. This is an incredibly adult movie, clearly designed for the adults only.

 

Despite what I say about the movie, make your own conclusions don’t be swayed into loving it or hating it because of trend or to effectively lose face, judge it on your own merits and I’m sure you’ll find yourself loving this darker version of a family favourite.

 

The Dark Knight is in cinemas from the 24^th July.

Zero Population Growth

You could say it was a unique glimpse of a future we now face, while those a little bit more sceptical would say that the world that Zero Population Growth displays was inevitable. Set in the future (though when is unknown) this 1972 movie finds Oliver Reed and Geraldine Chaplin playing a young couple whose hopes and dreams of the future are delivered a crashing blow.

 

After what could have been several nuclear wars, or at least some sort of radioactive disaster, the population live in a sort of Big Brother existence. The air outside is so polluted that it’s not advised to step out of your door without your compulsory gas mask. The citizens of the location the movie is set in live their lives looking back to the past, with museums of living history that talk about a long forgotten age where there were cars that took petrol, and couples that lived monogamous lives.

 

Into this world of dying commodities, and a population too high to live more than two generations, the governing bodies decide that there must be a complete curb on reproduction. For a whole generation it is made illegal to have children, the penalty for even attempting to consider childbirth is death, for the parents and the child.

 

The news of this terrible law comes as a terrible shock to most of the population, while for two couples Russ and Carol (Oliver Reed and Geraldine Chaplin), and George and Edna (Don Gordon and Diane Cilento) the news is truly devastating. While George and Edna adopt a robotic child, Russ and Carol have far more dangerous dreams.

 

Zero Population Growth follows in the wake of movies like Fahrenheit 451, giving a clinical and disturbing view of the future. Its ultimate storyline would not come as a surprise to anyone, two people daring to go out on a limb in order to have a child of their own. But what does come as a bit of a surprise is how unforgiving dull this movie is after so much potential. If you’ll forgive me, the world mind numbing would not even come close to being a fair description for this movie. Having spent a good forty five minutes slowly building up to what we knew was going to happen, what should have been the start of the action was pretty much the end of it.

 

Hollow is a fairly accurate way to describe this movie, I cannot help but think the movies director Michael Campus (a name who directorial history is unsurprising small) was deeply inspired by Staley Kubrick’s 2001, with lots of scenes with drawn out silences while doing mundane things, intermingled by big spectacular shots and equally spectacular music. Zero Population Growth is more of an artwork than a movie, but to be honest with you it does not really succeed in that department either.

 

The only thing that appealed to me about the movie was the disintegration of relationships as jealousy arises between the two couples who at one time happily engaged in a little partner swapping, this is after all the future! It’s this bitterness that you can not only understand and could see coming, really gets to the heart. You don’t know whether you feel sorry for Russ and Carol for being put in a dangerously distressing situation thanks to George and Edna’s want and need to be the parents of the child.

 

Regardless of brief plus points, there are overpowering failures that make the movie a laughing stock. During one scene where authorities are alerted to a breach of the law the carryon of shouting and general other associated noise is so horrendous that you really think it might be time to turn off the movie once and for all.

 

The movies performances do not even warrant acclaim, Oliver Reed is absurdly aloof through the entire movie, Chaplin incredibly whining and annoying, Gordon is obnoxious granted an issue of writing but he does actually seem to be revelling in this; while finally Cilento who I really rather enjoy in the original Wicker Man is just a joke too far to even discuss, shame on her.

 

I’m sure my comments will come painful to those that appreciate this movie, of which I gather has quite a fan base; but I put it that movies need more than stylish looks and a bit of prophecy in order to succeed, they need a decent storyline and some well rounded characters to make things work. While Zero Population Growth looks the part, sadly it’s not and the final thirty minutes of predictability are just some of the most obvious storytelling I have ever seen.

Zombies - Wicked Little Things

Released in the United States as Wicked Little Things, Zombies as it’s known on UK shores wowed audiences at the now popular After Dark Horrorfest, a weekend long American festival of 8 alternative horror movies. Despite the fact that it had such acclaim, it’s taken two years (having appeared at the 2006 Horrorfest) until the UK and Europe get to enjoy the movie. Directed by J.S. Cardone whose previous directorial works included the video nasty The Slayer (1982) and the gritty thriller A Row Of Crows, while his written work features in the movies Prom Night, The Covenant, The Forsaken and the upcoming remake of the 1986 classic The Stepfather.

 

After the death of a much loved father and husband Karen Tunny (Lori Heuring) and her two daughters Sarah (Scout Taylor Compton) and Emma are forced due to financial pressures to flee the city and settle in the woods of a small Pennsylvania community in a house Karen’s husband owned.  The house a traditional dwelling used by miners back at the turn of the 20^th century is in much need of repair, but offers solace for Karen; while Sarah takes a dim view of things, and Emma embraces the move. For young Emma a sweet 8 year old it offers a chance of new friendship in the form of Mary who to everyone else is just an imaginary friend. It seems however that Addytown’s newest arrivals have either caused or arrived at the time of a great awakening, things are about to become dramatically more chilling.

 

I first saw Wicked Little Things as it was then known about 16 months ago, and to be perfectly honest with you I got half way through and could not be bothered to proceed on, to me it was like every other low budget horror movie of the time and I was stacked under a heavy workload. Unbeknown to me was that at that very moment I lost interest and turned off the stories tone changed and effectively was only just the beginning. For an avid horror fan like me this was the place to begin a grizzly death of some animal stock takes the movie back to the sort of shock! Horror! We witnessed at the start of the 1980’s when so many movies were edited or outlawed all together.

 

While I won’t pretend that Zombies is the best horror offering I have seen this year I will say it has some great echoes in horror movie past that will undoubtedly appeal to casual and hardcore horror movie fans. While others have compared the movie to The Omen, a similarity I cannot see I’m reminded most of John Carpenters 1978 movie The Fog, there is a great scene where a group of teenagers are desperately trying to escape a group of killer zombie children in a car that’s back wheels are stuck in mud. The ambience of this moment are literally plucked from The Fog, but with one exception, the scene goes further and almost allows you to ask the question, what if Jamie Lee Curtis had not got that car started? What follows is probably one of the most harrowing scenes I have seen in an American horror movie for some time.

 

Ben Cross an actor best known from Chariots Of Fire and the BBC drama The Citadel plays a creepy hillside soothsayer for want of a better choice of words. The character of Hanks not only knows what to do, he knows what is going to happen, and while at first alienating the Tunny family with his creepy choice of wording and his spreading of blood to ward off evil; soon becomes the key to their survival, if of course they have any chance. Cross who is always around working, but never in anything most of us would probably watch does a sterling job as the movies oddball character. Although the movies villain role is taken by Martin McDougall as William Carlton, descendant of the Carlton mine and all that rests on the surrounding area.

 

Of our main cast Lori Heuring is pretty much a tool (no disrespect) of the movie, not essentially a needed part, the piece is lead by Scout Taylor Compton (An American Crime, Halloween) who as the teenage character of the movie most of the horror is endured through her eyes. Compton delivers a competent performance as the usual dysfunctional type character of the movie. Chloe Moretz (who back in 2006 was at the start of her career but is now pretty much an excepted part of Hollywood furniture) is the most watchable character, however because of child acting laws is dramatically underused in order to get the movie completed within a target time, overall a tragic mistake that may if it has not already cost the movie points in horror movie history offerings.

 

What was most enjoyable about the movie was the dark offing of children as the terrible force of the movies, now just Zombies these were the children of the mine nearly 100 years prior who feel not only wronged by events, but cursed in there vicious need to engage in the consumption of human flesh. These kids whom of course look sweet without the makeup are pretty darn scary, with their over emphasised teeth and their terrible lack of compassion, are genuinely creepy and with their bloody massacre at the mid section of the movie you are left with no doubt that these creatures are best not reckoned with.

 

Zombies is a movie you really need to stick with, and as I said earlier its first 30 minutes or so are hardly going to endear you to the piece. But if you have the patience a small pot of gold lies at the end of this rainbow, and judging by horror releases over the last two months this isthe best choice of salvation.

 

Released in the UK on the Momentum pictures label on the 21^st of July, the movie has a short featurette as a special feature called Wicked Little Zombies, this feature shows you a glimpse behind the scenes and discusses the immense pressure of filming a movie with children, especially ones that have enough experience but are still young enough to pull off the terrifying performances effectively. Zombies is released with an RRP of £15.99.

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Penitentiary

As a child I remember friends of my mother’s talking passionately about the Penitentiary movies; to hear the tales of these movies you would think they were the best films ever made. These friends were fairly middle class with aspirations to go higher in the class system, as a child our family worshipped this couple, but as an adult I come to realise that this couple had absolutely no class at all. Never have I been so sure about the low standards of these friends than after recently watching Penitentiary, undoubtedly one of the worst “cult” movies I have ever seen.

 

It’s hard to know where to start with this movie because to be honest with you it’s all kind of a blur. Following the story of Martel “Too Sweet” Cardone (Leon Isaac Kennedy), from the outside world into prison; once inside Too Sweet through bullying decides it’s important to fight in the prison boxing team, from here on out it’s all kind of....Yawn.

 

I try never to write off a movie too soon, and in doing so watched Penitentiary until the very end, what I sadly was doing was not giving a movie a chance, but literally throwing away a hundred minutes of my life. Watching this movie is rather like spending 20 years doing a job you hate, it’s offensive and almost painful. The story itself staggers between bad storytelling to bad editing; this is the reason why I find trying to tell the movie in a review so much of a blur.

 

The movie is pretty much an opportunity to display black people in the worst possible light stereotyping them into the category of rapists, drug addicts, murderers and crazy folks. From the first ten minutes of the movie you really get the feeling that this is a piece of racist paraphernalia. What is most sad about the movie is that is written and directed by a black filmmaker known as Jamaa Fanaka, committing the offence of selling his own race down the river.

 

After thirty minutes of stumbled storytelling the movie moves onto the fighting, which seems to dominate the following forty minutes. While Too Sweet fights in the ring, some of his fellow inmates use the opportunity to subdue some visiting women from the nearby women’s prison, when i say subdue they have a choice have sex, or be raped; used as a tool of pleasure, obviously this is all women are worth. While having to endure the unending series of systematic  sexual activity you are forced to hear the sound of the boxing match over the top of the lovemaking, further annoyance is that this sound is on a loop, so every few seconds you here the same shrieks and chants along with some wailing noises that you could only associate with a hippo standing on a spear.

 

All the way through the movie you feel you’re not watching a serious piece of cult cinema, but a spoof; it resembles in some ways the Scary Movie films, with black people with over the top afro’s smoking cigarettes through their ears. While another individual runs round with foam pouring from his mouth and covering his face while holding a monkey, demanding to see the naked rear end of whomever he finds offensive.  I spent a great proportion of the movie laughing my socks off, but not at the great humour playing out on screen, but because of the sheer absurdity of the piece.

 

Further annoyance is delivered in the fact that when the cast are not talking in a as yet unchartered “negro slang”, they are more often than not inaudible due to poor care of the print over the 30 years since the movie was made, in bringing the movie to DVD no time or effort has been spent trying to improve the sound, or the incredibly grainy images on screen.

 

What started out mildly amusing because of the overall “badness” of the piece soon turned to annoyance, I was annoyed that I was watching a movie that literally stood as a piece of intolerable racism at a time in American history where all cultures were supposedly being embraced after years of inequality.

The House Of Mortal Sin

Also known as The Confessional Murders, Pete Walkers 1976 movie The House Of Mortal Sin gained Walker unexpected notoriety both during the year of its release, but a further 8 years later when having appeared on video for a couple of years, the movie found itself banned in its native England. Why did the movie find itself outlawed in the UK? Because it committed the ultimate sin, in delivering horror spills it also had a rather hostile stab at the often believed corruptness of the Roman Catholic Church, something they simply would not allow to happen.

 

While out shopping, and in a slightly distracted manner Jenny Welch (Susan Penhaligon) steps into the path of an oncoming car, fortunately its driver is a very good one and stops before any damage is done. This isolated incident brings together childhood friends when it transpires that the driver is old school friend Bernard (Norman Eshley) now a priest newly arrived to work in the nearby Roman Catholic Church. Having enjoyed the reunion over a coffee, Jenny is enriched by this reunion; and in celebrating this feeling she heads for the church where Bernard works. Believing that Bernard is giving confession, Jenny heads for the booth where she finds Father Xavier Meldrum (Anthony Sharp). Realising that Jenny has something heavy on her shoulders to offload, Father Meldrum persuades her to give confession, during which she reveals that boyfriend Terry some months earlier made her pregnant and forced her to have an abortion. Unbeknown to Jenny however that is Father Meldrum records all his confessions, and opts to make all of his flock’s and in particular Jenny’s problems disappear, regardless of exactly how he achieves his goals.

 

House Of Mortal Sin, is in many ways unlike a lot of other Walker movies; no lesbian overtones as in House Of The Whipcord, No power drill cannibals as in Frightmare, no incest crazed families as in Die Screaming, Marianne; no House Of Mortal Sin comes off for a large part like a traditional Hammer Horror movie. But from this more traditional shell, Walker splinters something of the insane upon his audience creating a horrific terror in a warm and cosy environment.

 

Sadly this tale of a psychopath priest who will happily kill to protect those who confess to their sins to him, takes a decidedly dull path to its conclusion. Please don’t get me wrong as a whole the movie is a superior if not quirky piece of British filmmaking, what happens with The House Of Mortal Sin is a sad tale of unfulfilled promise. The reason of the downfall is after the best part of an hour of pretty much near blinding, curious, enchanting storytelling; the movie stumbles off down the route of being like any old 70’s horror movie that England turned out during that time, slightly stuffy and incredibly familiar.

 

Until that final portion though I really enjoyed the movie, I loved the thought of this religious character shuffling around in the night snuffing out anyone that interferes with the hopes and dreams of an innocent party; while the movie focuses on Jenny’s story all around you see the wreckage of a dozen other families ripped asunder by Father Meldrum’s unique tool of justice. What of course stands out about the movie is the thought of hindsight, while often in our darkest hours we wish ill of those that offend us deep down in the pit of our stomach we really don’t mean it. Not only does the movie cover that ground, but also looks at the ground of mistaken identity, of people being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and finding themselves caught in a terribly bloody crossfire.

 

Like all other Pete Walker movies the cast are sure-fire products of the day lead actress Susan Penhaligon had shot to fame through the movies The Land That Time Forgot and No Sex Please Were British as well as cameo performances in the likes of Doctor Who and Upstairs Downstairs. Anthony Sharp who played Father Meldrum was a well loved actor of the day that appeared in pretty much any British movie you might find, from A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon to popular re-occurring roles in TV shows like Steptoe And Son, Sharp was a much loved character of the day so his appearance here was most out of character, his real fame however came after his death when he became a bit of a cult hero. Popular actress Stephanie Beacham who had suddenly shot to fame, was only at the beginning of her career here just a few short years after her legendary Playboy centrefold. Norman Eshley took the role of Bernard, an actor who was appearing in two successful British comedy shows of the day Man About The House, and George and Mildred. As well as a scattering of other British stars of the day there was of course a place for Pete Walker favourite Sheila Keith, who here as with all her other Walker collaborations (except House Of The Long Shadows) played a rather understated villain.

 

Unlike a lot of other Walker features the actors here are on fine form, never once did I find myself on the verge of laughter because of a terrible performance, not one piece of ham acting to be found here.

 

As an around piece and in comparison to the dreary Amicus (a similar rival to Hammer, Hammer at this time having fallen into a sudden decline) offerings of the day, The House Of Mortal Sin is a pretty inspiring piece of British horror.

Young People Fucking

Released across the world under the title Young People Fu**ing (but without the censorship I imposed) it might not come as too much of a surprise that here in the UK the movie is not only going straight to DVD (when all other English speaking cultures saw it at the cinemas), but we are going to see it with an amended title of YPF. While its perfectly acceptable it seems for albums to get released in the UK with the F word present, it seems the movie industry gets the same sort of militant censorship it always has.

 

YPF is an interesting low budget movie that looks at a series of relationships surrounding the act of sex, there is a couple, some work colleagues, roommates, Ex’s, and best friends all who over the course of a night have sex. What separates the different stories are the status of the relationships and the lack of, or sometimes too much sexual experience.

 

While the movie features a variety of familiar looking cast, possibly the most know cast member is British actor Callum Blue, who started his acting career in Channel Four’s As IF, before moving on to the popular Grim Reaper based American comedy show Dead Like Me, where he played the loveable Mason. Here he displays a similar roguish charm to the character he played in Dead Like Me as a womanising employer possibly pursuing “the one” who just so happens to work in the same restaurant, for reasons left unknown this player decides that the woman he has taken home is different from all the other employees he has seduced before.

 

Other stories follow two roommates whose fading friendship means that the one in the relationship now has the excuse to act out his fantasy, to see his girlfriend have sex with his now estranged roommate, the tip of this iceberg being that the soon to be evicted roommate has something rather large to offer his one night only lady friend.

 

Bored of the dull sex life a woman one night decides that it’s time to drag her husband kicking and screaming into the new sexual generation. But Abby wants this night to enjoy anal sex for the first time, trouble being she is not going to be the one on the receiving end.

 

A couple of opposite sex friends through circumstance find themselves in a situation that was plotted out on the cards some years prior, that if they were ever feeling the need for sex but unable to get it, that they would help each other out. While the woman is all too eager, the man just cannot get the friendship out of his head.

 

Finally two long time partners now separated, having enjoyed a night out together decide to take things a little further, feeling that both should have gotten over each other. The idea of quick convenience sex comes with a razors edge when the subject of other lovers since their relationship dissolved is bought up.

 

YPF is a very cleverly knit story, and despite the fact that it’s all about sex, the conversation and visual images are surprisingly tame, you could almost say it’s a very innocent piece, having lured you in from the shock value of the title. Each story is cleverly developed with a good mix of humour and an underlying serious edge that does rightly raise some incredibly valuable questions and answers. I’m reminded of a movie I saw earlier this year called After Sex, though the messages here are not so straightforward. After Sex was the ultimate lesson for young people considering having sex for the first time, while YPF is all about pushing your boundaries when it comes to sex; its literally all about trying new and different things, and the effects that those different things has on a relationship.

 

What is so odd about YPF is that after the humour of the story as a whole, there are some devastating conclusions to the stories that quite literally have the potential to shake the foundations of the said relationships to the ground.  Trust is broken, sexual boundaries are pushed far too far, and some literally feel like they have been raped. Having delivered the horror of some of the conclusions, the envelope is pushed one step further by looking then at the reactions of those seen as the conquering party.

 

YPF is one of those movies you can watch as a disposable piece of entertainment or as something that needs some levels of deep analysis. When I watched the movie some seven days ago I took it to be a fairly lightweight piece, yet it’s only now as I write this review that I fully appreciate the harsh realities of the movie. And thinking on, that’s quite an achievement to see a movie just once and have two completely opposite views of the same film... Clever stuff indeed!

 

YPF is going to be available shortly on DVD in the UK. 

Scala

Not a movie I know, But the story of Scala is an important piece of forgotten cinema history.

There is nothing I hate more than a majestic piece of history just forgotten, worse still nothing I hate more than history forgotten soon after it’s time. Sat on Pentonville Road, Kings Cross, London is the well known Scala Nightclub, a location popular with upcoming bands and singers. Since 1999 Scala Nightclub has carved itself a certain reputation in London nightlife. But what is ultimately the saddest tale of all is that beneath what you see now, is an infinitely more appealing Scala that for 10 years became a hub of activity and controversy.

 During the 1920’s Scala operated as The King’s Cross Cinema, and had for a period of time reasonable trade. Between 1921 and 1929 the cinema changed hands more times than some had varied dinners in the same timeline. From 1929 to the Second World War trade was constant and the cinema was owned by Gaumont British Pictures.  But at some point, exact date unknown the building became bombed by enemy warplanes flying overhead. The result was that the cinema closed and fell into a dire state of disrepair until 1952, when it re-opened as The Gaumont. In 1962 the Cinemawas bought out and re-opened as the Odeon which lasted until 1970. In 1971 the cinema went in a dramatically different direction re-opening as Cineclub; the choice of movies was strictly of an adult nature. With raids, embarrassment and all sorts of other controversy after four months of trading Cineclub came to a sudden, but highly expected close. Later in the same year the cinema re-opened as The King’s Cross Cinema again with a themed cinema and venue for music. Having then tried to change into a sports complex, the cinema finally closed in its known form in 1975 and began to fall into disrepair.  It was the form the cinema took in 1980 that was the most bizarre, as a sort of Eco-Project the legendary seating was pulled out, untold historical damage done to the building, in order to lay grass and show strange “nature” style films, called the Primatarium the key interest to the then owner/tenant was monkeys.

 

In 1977 on Tottenham Street a group formed in a cinema known as The Other Cinema, this group was called the Scarla Club. Scarla was a speciality club showing classic movies to a select group of individuals. In 1978 Stephen Woolley later the part owner of Palace Pictures, took over Scala and began to change the format moving on from classic to cult movies. In 1981 Scala had grown in popularity and saw a window of opportunity by acquiring tenancy of the Primatarium. Opening under their own rights as The Scala, the cinema screened the original King Kong and progressed to show more unusual, and progressively daring pictures.

 

Scala was different to any other cinema in the UK, it was very much a place to turn up, chill out, and really let your hair down. Never the best part of Pentonville Road to be in, Scala was a place strangely out of time, it’s clientele varied from business professionals, stuffy upper class types, punks, lesbians, gays, cannabis lovers, alcoholics, and plain good old movie lovers that wanted a different experience. Scala was a place where anything quite literally would go, if you wanted to have sex then it was off to the back row, if you wanted to smoke whatever took your fancy it was the center seats, and if you literally wanted to watch and love movies it was straight up to the front. Scala flaunted every public law it possibly could inviting its clients to do whatever they saw fit, smoke at the centre part of the cinema was so extreme that often the beam of the projector found it difficult to penetrate the smoke, smoking incidentally had been banned in cinemas many years before.  Whatever your vice, Scala was a nightime venue for those that wanted more stimulation than pop music, those that wanted culture, and an ambience that they could not get anywhere else.

 

Over the next few years things at Scala changed dramatically offering its visitors a sort of experience they could not get anywhere at that time. Straight after the British board of film classification had their arms twisted to be more vigilant and video tapes of movies in the home became fashionable, censorship in Britain reached a pinnacle, with more or less any movie with an 18 certificate falling foul of the censors. At this time Scala again flaunted these rules and showed movies both in their uncut form, but also often showing movies that were banned in the UK. The Exorcist, Salo, I Spit On Your Grave, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre were all movies boycotted by the BBFC and the government, yet Scala stood up and showed them. In the mid 1980’s the focus moved towards bigger targets in the world of adult, gay, and horror cinema. And as these progressions occurred so did further change at Scala, the cinema showed different movies every night, with calendars of schedules released often months in advance. The cinema became the ultimate haunt, all night horror movie marathons proved incredibly successful driving people from the nightclubs into the cinemas, where they could enjoy both alcohol and the culture of movies they could not see anywhere else.

 

What is most strange about Scala was that at its height of popularity things were being ran at their worst, staff did as they felt, the projectionists were often so out of their heads on the drug of the moment that film reels were often placed in the wrong order, or not even played at all. The whole Scale experience became so hit and miss that people often thought they were just watching movies so weird that the stories to them just must have been that way. Outside the projection booth, staff performed, drank and fornicated with the patrons of Scala; but it just became all the more popular.

 

It’s of no surprise I guess that this story but come to an end, and the past tense manner I have spoken about Scala in this whole piece is a clear indication. Censorship began to lift in the UK, and more and more movies made it onto video, the exact sort of movies Scala chose to show. It was indeed time to up the ante, and then manager Jane Giles knew exactly how to do that. Giles committed the ultimate sin, on April 1^st 1992 Scala showed the full and uncut version of Staley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange; a movie outlawed in the UK after director Kubrick received death threats. Without permission to screen the movie Warner Brothers, FACT (Federation of copyright theft) and Kubricks own legal counsel all took a civil action against Scala, at a time audiences were at an all time low and the landlord wanted a hefty rent increase.

 

In April 1993 Giles was prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and in June after a screening of King Kong, Scala closed its doors. After months of campaigning, and incredibly hard partying nothing could save Scala, and a unique piece of history, the only ever Grindhouse cinema the UK had ceased to exist.

 

Scala’s effect on UK cinema is far more than anyone will ever truly appreciate, making mockery of the government by screening banned movies, and films were forced out of censorship as copycat cinemas tried their hand at mimicking Scala’s charm.

 

The Comeback

From acclaimed and heavily criticised British director Pete Walker came the 1978 movie The Comeback, a story in which a pop star plans to make a return to the industry after a bad relationship goes wrong. Starring a real life pop star Jack Jones who stars as Nick Cooper, the story to some level was close to home as Jones himself was planning a comeback album, of course his story was far different to Nick Coopers.

 

British horror of this era was somewhat tale in comparison to American and European horror, Pete Walker single handily changed this making British horror far more extreme, while this would now be welcomed it almost became the death nail for British horror with most of Walkers films becoming either heavily censored or completely banned like the movie Frightmare. The Comeback is one of Walker’s best received movies, but also the movie seen least of all of the directors work.

 

What makes The Comeback a strange offering is the casting choices for the movie, joining Jack Jones is Pamela Stephenson one time comedian now psychologist and wife of Scottish comedian Billy Connelly. David Doyle best known as Bosley from Charlie’s Angels stars as Nick Cooper’s agent, and in a fairly shocking moment exposed as a transvestite. Then Bill Owen best known as Comp from Last Of The Summer Wine  provides a sobering straight laced performance as the loving husband of Mrs. B played by regular Walker actress Sheila Keith.  Jack Palance’s daughter Holly Palance playsa most unusual role as a corpse from the movies offset; while popular novelist Peter Turner plays a bizarrely abysmal Harry, Coopers right hand man. Finally you have June Chadwick, who would later appear in the Sci-Fi spectacular V. In fairness if you are not from the UK or up on UK culture this might not mean very much to you but to put it most effectively it’s a collection of the most unlikely people gathered together for a shockingly graphic horror movie. It was a strange thing that Walker had, a certain hold over certain celebrities that he could somehow command the most unlikely people to star in his incredibly low budget movies, most of his movies are like a who’s who of British culture at that particular point in time, and here with the Comeback you get the most striking pointer to what was going on in British society.

 

Trivia put aside The Comeback begins with the estranged partner being horrendously hacked to death by a crazed old woman with a sickle. Unbeknown of the death of Gail in his penthouse on Londons Docklands, Cooper returns home from the States (his homeland) to work on his new album . Webster Jones or Webby, Cooper’s agent finds a county house mansion for Cooper to work on where he won’t be disturbed, however upon arrival he finds he is haunted by sounds and images from the past. As Cooper begins to have a mental breakdown, the roles of his careful aging housekeepers Mr & Mrs B change, but can Coopers career be stopped from falling into freefall?

 

I appreciate that the storyline might not sound the most compelling of movie offerings, but things are surprisingly better than they first seem. After a really quite shocking murder (considering this is British) things for a time slump into almost soap opera style storytelling, however as the story moves full circle it gets really quite extreme.

 

What I find most strange about the movie is the slowly rotting body of Gail that we keep seeing in quick flashes, and it’s not too long before she is joined by another body.  It’s hard to put into words the way this looks, or even to describe the impact and shocking nature the movie delivered on an unsuspecting British public.

 

It’s a strange combination of melodrama and extreme horror that to be honest I have never seen before, moving from the most horrific extremes, to kitchen sink drama at the drop of a hat. The scenes of Cooper and Linda (Stephenson) at times are almost painfully normal to watch as they sit and contemplate each other’s pasts, and Cooper shows of the sort of bizarre and totally anal sort of self possessiveness that you come to expect from medium level celebrities. The story darts about from one to the other at the drop of a hat, with the most unusual red herrings thrown in left right and centre to really keep your mind thinking in overtime.

 

I cannot pretend for a minute that in my opinion this is one of Pete Walkers finest, for me that crown will always go to Die Screaming, Marianne; but The Comeback is without a doubt one of the most unusually refreshing movies of the 1970’s. It has a sort of charm and charisma that literally puts the movie in a category all of its own that no country in the world has ever delivered something comparable. The gore is extreme, the language likewise for the movies location in time. All the while you’re getting this incredibly dark and sinister view of England in the 1970’s; and this makes the movie all the more special.

 

The cast whether good or bad in their acting add to the unique flavour of the movie, Sheila Keith plays a typically Pete Walker leading lady role as an aging woman with a secret, while the film is somehow stolen by Bill Owen’s unique secret. But of all the bizarre images that you take from the movie by far the most striking is Charlies Angels Bosley in drag, by far the most frightening (and I don’t mean that sarcastically) image to take from the film.