Land of the Minotaur

"Land of the Minotaur" aka "The Devil's Men" (1976, Kostas Karagiannis, Crown International Pictures) is a horror film set in 1970s Greece.


A group of archaeology-loving tourists begin to go missing when visiting a particular site. Could the shifty Baron Corofax (Peter Cushing) be involved? Could the whole town be in on it?! It's up to Irish Priest, Father Roche (Donald Pleasance), Milo Kaye (Mr Director himself, Kostas Karagiannis - billed here as Costas Skouras) and Laurie Gordon (Luan Peters) to uncover the mystery and put a stop to the worship and sacrifice to the Minotaur.


Both Cushing and Pleasance have led varied and extensive careers and were extremely supportive of the horror genre and its many aspiring creators, being game to appear in a true variety of quality of films. But, in spite of this, the biggest mystery by far is how they ended up in this one with so much screen time considering the other larger budget pieces they were in around the same time! Truly, we did not deserve them.


This film is a delightful piece of B-movie nonsense that includes;

• Donald Pleasance doing an Irish accent and wearing (and losing!) several hats,
• a few females in short shorts and other skimpy outfits,
• a creepy teenaged girl,
• a leading character resembling a young 70s Father Ted (I dare you to not think of it whilst watching Milo) who is nude quite a lot,
• cult worshippers in multi-coloured outfits (it seems the Baron got a discount on several metres of coloured satin at Remnant Kings - and those bejewelled eyeholes, dahling!),
• lots of shots of a convertible driving quite sensibly around Greece coupled with Donald Pleasance berating the driver for being careless,
• people haplessly digging up things on sites of archaeological interest with their bare hands,
• a mysteriously deserted town where the few townsfolk like to enjoy a beer with breakfast,
• Peter Cushing drinking beer and shooting a grandfather clock, and,
• lots of cult sacrifices to a statue of the Minotaur with a bad case of the fire sneezes and a dislike of people in his special room. 

At only 95 minutes long, it's also not too taxing a spectacle and is currently on Amazon Prime in the UK under it's UK title.

[Image: Crown International Pictures]

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Mandy

"Mandy" (2018, Panos Cosmatos, Spectrevision, Umedia, XYZ Films, RLJE Films) is an arthouse horror thriller starring Nicolas Cage.



Set in the 80s, we meet logger Red Miller (Nicolas Cage) and his fantasy artist and gas station attendant girlfriend, Mandy Bloom (Andrea Riseborough) at their lakeside cabin.


A cult calling themselves Children of the New Dawn along with the help of a drugged-up, cannibalistic biker gang called The Black Skulls, kidnap Mandy for their leader, Jeremiah Sand (Linus Roache). However, Mandy rejects Sand and he instead burns her alive in front of Red.


Red then goes on a vengeful rampage armed with a special crossbow, a handmade axe and a whole tonne of hallucinogenic drugs... Oh, and there's a chainsaw battle also.


For me, the description sounded a lot better than the finished article. While I don't dislike Nicolas Cage, there's only so much entertainment I can glean from the famous Cage Rage - and this film is chalk full of it. The plot is pretty simple and the imagery is often really creative but it's all done with a kind of pretentious smirk and a lot of colour filters and starts to wear after a while. Some scenes are fantastically metal but the style likes to jump all over the place. For a film where all the characters are on drugs, however, I guess this makes sense. I guess that's also true for the odd dialogue...


The film takes a while to get started, and when it finally does it jumps off the deep end in an impressive way. If it had been cheesier, it would have been superb. But the arthouse pretention keeps this for being a hit for me.

[Image: Spectrevision, et al]

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The Endless

"The Endless" (2017, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Snowfort Pictures, Love & Death Productions, Pfaff & Pfaff Productions, Well Go USA Entertainment) is a sci-fi thriller about two brothers who escape from a cult only to be tempted back years later. It is the sequel to 2012's "Resolution".


Justin (Justin Benson) and Aaron (Aaron Moorhead) receive a video cassette in the post and, after hunting for a way to play the damn thing, discover that it is from Camp Arcadia; a commune they were part of as kids/young adults.


It turns out the boys have completely different recollections of the their time at the Camp with Justin remembering a dangerous UFO death cult and Aaron only remembering a friendly group of hippies getting back to nature. The brothers decide to venture back to the camp to see how everyone is doing. Just for one day.


They reach the camp to warm welcomes but something is not quite right about the campers; they look exactly the same as they had a decade earlier... As the boys spend more time with their old comrades they start to notice other peculiarities about the camp and the surrounding area... Something is there and leaving might not be an option...


A fun and intriguing film that kept me engaged throughout. It starts off relatively slowly and the plot slowly drip feeds a sense of dread and uneasiness through excellent use of slightly 'wrong' things happening on screen. As the wrongness intensifies we are introduced to other characters outside of the cult (some of whom you might recognise if you've seen "Resolution") who are experiencing some grim and unsettling effects of the 'presence' surrounding the camp.


A bizarre story that is told in an effective and sober manner which further adds to the overall strangeness of the tale. With a lot of Lovecraft inspiration felt throughout, a hint that the plot might be a commentary about audiences as a whole, and rounded but not overdone characters; The Endless is a very enjoyable, thoughtful and robust piece of film. A somewhat sudden and ambiguous end leaves the viewer wondering if there's still more to come in a third film.

[Image: Snowfort Pictures, et al]

Hani

Society

"Society" (1989, Brian Yuzna, Wild Street Pictures) is a body horror film which was actually the directorial debut from Yuzna who brought us "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond" so... you know what you're in for.

Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) is a teenager in Beverly Hills. He lives with his wealthy parents and sister, Jenny (Patrice Jennings). Despite his luxurious lifestyle, Bill feels alienated from his highfalutin family, and this is the main focus of his weekly meetings with his therapist, Dr. Cleveland (Ben Slack). Bill becomes obsessed with finding out what's going on when Jenny's ex-boyfriend, Blanchard (Tim Bartell), gives him a cassette tape which seems to implicate his family in a disturbing and murderous act. As Bill begins to delve deeper into the mystery of his family and the apparent elite cult that they are a part of, he begins to suspect that he may be more alone than he thought.... And that his enemies may have gruesome plans for him...

An entertaining and gooey horror comedy which builds to a fairly disturbing and equally funny climax. The effects (by Screaming Mad George (Joji Tani)) are surreal, perverse and delightfully gruesome and are, in all fairness, the true star of the film which is admittedly a little clunky in the plot department.

This is definitely a must-see for any body horror fan and will leave you chuckling and possibly also a little traumatised.

[Image: Wild Street Pictures]

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The Void (2016)

"The Void" (2016, Steven Kostanski, Jeremy Gillespie, Cave Painting Pictures, Astron-6) is a Canadian monster movie set in a small town's hospital at night.

We open to an exciting and horrific scene where a man called James (Evan Stern) flees a house while two other men, Vincent (Daniel Fathers) and Simon (Mik Byskov), kill a screaming woman. James is later found by local Deputy, Daniel Carter (Aaron Poole), who takes him to the nearby hospital.

James turns hysterical upon entering the hospital and is sedated by Dr. Powell (Kenneth Welsh). Soon Vincent and Simon appear hunting James. They are closely followed by a Marshall (Art Hindle) and a group of strangely garbed cultists brandishing knives. Aside from being surrounded by creepy, hooded figures, the group are terrified to find that some of them are becoming less than human...

I really wanted to like this movie. The marketing had made it look like an updated answer to Carpenter's "The Thing", but unfortunately, the reality was nowhere near as comprehensive.

The initial build up is excellent: dark, atmospheric and brutal. There's enough going on to get you involved as a viewer, and the characters have just enough screen time to establish their personalities before the real horror begins. The effects are really fun and the action moves... Until it doesn't.

Around the third-way mark we move away from Carpenter and into Clive Barker terrirtory where the plot takes a sudden "Hellraiser"-esque turn and things become bogged down in trying to be artistic and weird instead of scary and weird. Although there is an enveloping theme established, it felt like there had been two concepts and the directors decided to try merging both with disjointed results.

While I commend the technical aspects of the film and the creatures, the story-telling really let it down and we ended up with a muddy, bloody mess that isn't sure if it wants to be a Lovecraftian epic or a gritty, 80s gorefest. With a bit more of a decisive direction, however, the Astron-6 guys will undoubtedly bring us some really great stuff.

[Image: Cave Painting Pictures]

 

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Rebirth

"Rebirth" (2016, Karl Mueller, Netflix) is a film about peer pressure and the dangers of self-help groups.

Kyle (Fran Kranz) is a guy trying to live the American dream. He has a wife and a kid and a white collar job and spends his evenings going to through the same routines. Every day is the same and he feels a nagging feeling of unfulfilled potential. But in the main, he has a beautiful family and a beautiful home and what more could a guy want?

Kyle's everyday life is soon turned upside down, however, when his old college friend, Zack (Adam Goldberg) shows up at his office looking and acting every inch the free spirit he was in college. Intrigued, Kyle agrees to join Zack on a weekend self-help retreat called "Rebirth" which Zack maintains is the key to self discovery and enlightenment.

When he gets there Kyle finds the experience to be somewhat different to his expectations and he becomes lost in a maze of confusing situations, emotions and rooms as he tries to make sense of it all. But his terrifying ordeal may not simply end when he finally escapes the labyrinth as although you are free to leave "Rebirth" at anytime...."Rebirth" may not leave you....

I like Fran Kranz. I've mentioned this before. I think he's a talented actor and it's just a bonus that he's also cute. This film has flaws, but one thing really shines through and that's Kyle's palpable frustration and terror. He feels like he's missing some big joke and everyone is in on it except him and his awkward attempts to join in to the 'big group' are almost hard to watch. He's a dull, normal, everyday guy and he doesn't want to be the protagonist. I feel for the guy.

Nicky Whelan, however, steals the show as the mysterious, sophisticated and cold Naomi.

I have met people who are involved in something I'd consider along the same lines as "Rebirth" as an organisation. They live the brand, they breathe the brand, they wear the brand, they drink the brand, they eat the brand and they only talk about the brand. They're so indoctrinated into their organisation's influence that it's honestly scary. And while this film pokes fun at organisations like the one I'm thinking of, it also makes a hard hitting statement: everyone thinks they need this. Everyone thinks they're doing something wrong and that they could achieve more, all they need is for some nice, easy, secret potion to make everything fall into place. And that potion's price is not so important if it's shiny enough...

The film is really slow to start and I did find myself thinking about giving up, but once it got going it was interesting enough. Almost everyone in the film is an asshole. And the underlying tone that everything is a big sham but no one is willing to say it is pretty haunting. But all in all the film feels a little under produced and something felt missing, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Whilst it's not exactly a ground breaking film, I did enjoy it and felt some things about it ponder at the back of my mind over the course of the following day, which I appreciated.

[Image: Netflix]

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Videodrome

"Videodrome" (1983, Canadian Film Development Corporation, Famous Players, Filmplan International, David Cronenberg) explores porn and how we view life in our advancingly technology-dependent world in an excellently (Rick Baker) gore-soaked way.

Max Renn (James Woods) is a TV executive for a cable channel. It's the 80s, VHS and Betamax are still shiny new technologies, and he thinks he's found the most interesting thing ever to show on TV: foreign snuff porn of questionable quality! The underground programme is called "Videodrome" and Renn is determined to get to the bottom of it. He has become sinisterly obsessed.

As his life becomes more entwined into the cult-like Videodrome lifestyle, his view on life changes and he begins to see things that he is not sure are real or not... Is he losing his mind or is he becoming part of a new reality? His femme fatale friend, Nicki (Debbie Harry of Blondie), also gets herself involved as she and Renn fall into the Videodrome trap together.

His searchings lead him to the hub of the technological cult, but has he gone too far?

This film was a slighlty different step for Cronenberg at the time and hinted towards where he would take his movies next. Videodrome manages to balance slightly obnoxious cerebral plot with a message about society's obsession with technology, with the confusing, but gory action his audience had come to expect. He manages to make a social comment on video and technology while also exploiting just that as his platform to do so. The film remains ever relevant and the effects make for undated, uncomfortable viewing.

[Image: FilmPlan International, et al]

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The Dorm

"The Dorm" (2014, Rachel Talalay, Nomadic Pictures) is a college based horror.

Vivian (Alexis Knapp) starts college a semester late. She's shy, self-conscious, reliant on lots of medication that she doesn't truly need, overly dependent on her elder sister and keen on frumpy, unflattering clothing. On her first night, however, she manages to get to know a few housemates who invite her to join them in drinking their "tea". Feeling like she's being accepted, Vivian joins in and soon becomes fast friends with Sarah (Cassie Steele) and the group. Or so she thinks...

Over the coming days, Vivian experiences several transformations as her face, hair and body begin to alter to suit her beauty ideals. She is over the moon... and is quick to become just like the bitchy, drunken, popular twits she'd once despised.

However, soon Vivian begins to worry about these transformations as she learns that she is becoming more and more like her dorm room's previous occupant (who disappeared). Could her new friends be behind this? Is this more of a sinister trick than a happy miracle?

At just over an hour long, the film manages to cover a lot of ground. The themes of outer beauty and society's obsession with becoming beautiful and being accepted are very interesting. The characters aren't all explored to their full extent, but it's a horror film. What do you want?

There's some chilling points and a few gore elements, although the film is more of a psychological thriller than a slash fest. There's also some really effective tension built as our protagonist becomes more aware of what is going on and her friends become more and more... strange.

The main flaws are with the plot. I get what's happening, but I don't understand the motive. The whole premise of the film is just off; why would anyone do the things that start this ball rolling? Seriously?

Aside from that, it's not terrible. It has an odd score and some of the bar scenes are oddly quiet. I'm pretty sure this was done for effect to hone in on our, now very selfish, main character, but it plays out weirdly as if there's something missing.

Some of the ghostly parts are very nicely achieved, however, and this film certainly has some merit as a night-in trashy college flick.

[Image: Nomadic Pictures]

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Starry Eyes

"Starry Eyes" (2014, Kevin Kölsch, Dennis Widmyer, Snowfort Pictures, Parallactic Pictures, Dark Sky Films) is all about the fame game.

Budding young actress, Sarah (Alex Essoe), is becoming desperate to catch her big break. Her housemates, also actors, have all given up and are planning their own indie film instead of looking for paid work, but Sarah has bigger dreams. Finally she thinks she's found her chance, but is she willing to make the necessary sacrifices to reach her goals?

A film that is very slow to get started, I was starting to think I'd made a mistake when the plot began to speed up and drag me right back in. A really masterful film which creates a dark and sinister build up to a quite shocking and impressive payoff.

The effects are impressive and the actors create some really well rounded characters, despite minimal screen time. Essoe is an excellent leading lady, proving herself to be very diverse and able to hold an audience in thrall.

Well-trod ground in terms of the inspiration, but a truly unique film that I enjoyed. I don't want to give too much away, so rest assured that if you let this film run, it's worth it.

[Image: Dark Sky Films]

 

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Nightbreed

"Nightbreed" (1990, Clive Barker, Morgan Creek Productions) is an oddity of a movie, based on Barker's own novella "Cabal".

Aaron Boone (Craig Sheffer) is a bit mental. His frankly evil doctor, Philip Decker (David Cronenberg), has convinced him that he is a murderer. Aaron dreams of a place named Midian where monsters and murderers are accepted. He longs to go there.

A series of events leads Aaron to the acquaintance of Narcisse (Hugh Ross), a deranged killer, who confirms his belief in Midian and tells him how to get there, whilst giving himself a rather extreme facial....

While Boone searches for acceptance amongst the deformed creatures of Midian, his girlfriend Lori, (Anne Bobby) is trying to find him, unsure as to why he has run off and left her in the first place.

A very typically styled film from Barker, with elaborate sets, wonderfully outrageous effects and makeup and some nice gore. Unfortunately, the plot wears out after so long and the main character is dull.

On the whole, "Hellraiser" is a much better film, and "Nightbreed" pales in comparison, however, I, as usual, enjoy the styling and feel of this film and can see why it has reached Cult status.

I'm tempted now to read the Novella as my research has shown Barker is particularly disappointed with the way this film was cut and edited. Perhaps his true vision is much more disturbing. I also have to admit I have not put myself through the much longer "Cabal Cut" of this film...

B-movie cheesiness and a fun evil doctor in Cronenberg. Possibly one of the oddest love stories ever captured on film, and a lot of interesting effects makeup. If you're looking for something to keep you smiling on a rainy day, you can do much, much worse.

[Image: Morgan Creek Productions]

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The Sacrament

"The Sacrament" (Ti West, Eli Roth, Worldview Entertainment, Arcade Pictures) is a found footage film about the goings on behind the scenes of a secluded religious commune.

 

We follow two reporters (Joe Swanberg and AJ Bowen) and fashion photographer, Patrick (Kentucker Audley), who are travelling to the 'Earth paradise' that is the Eden Parish commune, where Patrick's sister, Caroline (Amy Seimetz) has been living since getting over her drug addiction.

 

The Commune is run by charismatic and freaky leader, Father (Gene Jones), who is keen for Patrick to 'visit'. However, the staunch security the three men are faced with is daunting and they soon begin to suspect something sinister is going on in the idyllic farming community.

 

A tense, sometimes funny and engaging slow burner, which builds up to a dramatic climax. The characters are interesting (especially for a found footage style film) and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey.

 

It's more of a dark thriller than an all-out horror, however, and draws very much from the horrifying real story of Jonestown, bringing a very melancholy feeling and poignancy to the film.

 

[Image: Arcade Pictures]

 

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V/H/S/2

"V/H/S/2" (2013, Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Eduardo Sánchez, Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Huw Evans & Jason Eisener, The Collective, Haxan Films, Magnet Releasing) is the sequel to the 2012 found footage film.

Similar to its predecessor, the film is an anthology of short horrors, all found footage, encased within one wrap-around horror story, which is also found footage. Whilst following the same equation, it manages to separate itself from the original.

As in most anthologies, and the original film, some of the stories are hit and miss, and some of the effect qualities vary from pretty schlocky to 'oooh, that was gross'. But on the whole, I really enjoyed this one over its predecessor and thought it held together much better as a film.

I'm not a fan of found footage at the best of times, finding it more likely to give me a migraine that the chills, but V/H/S/2 does well in the format. Some of the 'shorts' could have been doing with being a little shorter though, as they began to get a bit monotonous and Go Pro cameras will probably enjoy all this advertising.

 

 

[Image: Magnet Releasing]

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Children of the Corn

"Children of the Corn" (1984, Fritz Kiersch, New World Pictures) is based on Stephen King's story of the same name, but is not identical story-wise.

The children of Gatlin, Nebraska have rebelled, killing all of the adults and following the teachings of a strange Preaching boy named Isaac (John Franklin) who tells of a demon named "He who walks behind the rows". The demon is responsible, so says Isaac, for the failure of the corn crops and desires to be worshipped with the blood sacrifice of adults. Gatlin, previously a farming community, has become a backwoods cult deadzone, where no adult is safe from Isaac and his blood thirsty followers, even those who have grown up there...

Burt (Peter Horton) and his girlfriend Vicky (Linda Hamilton) stumble upon the town when given bad directions from a local garage owner who's paid off by the Gatlin kids to send straggling adults their way.

With the help of two non-believing children, Job (Robby Kiger) and Sarah (Anne Marie McEvoy), can Burt and Vicky avoid being lead to slaughter? And can they defeat Isaac and his right hand boy, Malachai (Courtney Gains)? And is there really a demon back there behind those rows of corn?! Well, watch and see.

While dated and a little slow in places, this film doesn't disappoint with sudden action. From rampaging, murderous children to road accidents, there's a lot going on. There's a small amount of gore, and a fair few parts always make me think this story must have inspired some of the storyline in "Silent Hill", but on the whole it's hardly a shudderfest and is best approached with relatively low expectations and an understanding that it is, afterall, a B-Movie.

[Image: New World Pictures]

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Witchcraft

"Witchcraft" (1989, Robert Spera, Digital Entertainment Limited) is a low budget witch horror which managed to rack up a surprising number of spin offs and sequels (mostly skin flicks to be honest), despite being one of the most boring, unoriginal witch horrors ever made!

Taking most of the plot from "Rosemary's Baby" and sticking in some of  "The Omen" and "The Amittyville Horror", this film is hardly original. When Grace (Anat Topol-Barzilai) moves into her creepy mother-in-law's mansion house (mother-in-law played by Mary Shelley - awesome name. Shame about the acting...)  with her partner John (Gary Sloan) and their brand new baby, it isn't long before she begins to suspect that not everything, or indeed everyone, is what they appear.

It soon transpires that Grace has unwittingly managed to get herself involved in a witchcraft cult, and now that she's given them what they wanted, a baby, she's really of no further use to them.

A terrible and harrowing film with some nicely hilarious effects which are the only reason I kept watching (well, that, my two good friends and a bottle of rum helped...). From the sacrificial cuddly toy, to the beheaded mannequin this film truly scrapes the barrel of effects to bring up what, even in the 80s, was beyond low budget.

No jumps, no scares and certainly no inventive plot, this film is less of a cheesy B-movie and more of a "Can I get those 85 minutes of my life back?" movie. A somewhat poor attempt to exploit the success of raunchy 70s horrors, this film didn't leave me eager to watch any of the sequels or indeed, rewatch this one ever again.

On the upside, the bloody drooling scene was good fun.

I don't recommend, but if you must torture yourself, by all means do!

[Image: Digital Entertainment Limited]