Film Reviews by NP

Although brushed with typical big-budget over-production, genuine scares come thick and fast in this unusual horror story. Director James Wan keeps the unreal and sinister moments at regular intervals until a genuine sense of ongoing fear is evoked. Even when some scares don’t quite hit the mark, there’s always something uncomfortable to look out for around the corner – and some revelations are truly horrifying..

‘Ring’ stings – yes I said that – are on display here; spooky voices on the phone, a dark, long-haired figure, and some musical motifs are reminiscent of Japan’s 1999 cinematic hit. If I continue the comparison with such films, the odd and complex pace of the twisting story is also similar to The Grudge. Or maybe I’m seeing things that aren’t there.

The reveal of the antagonist is a cracker; it looks great in close-up, but more than a little absurd in long shots. Of course, horror – more than any other genre – requires you buy into them to be effective, and that is down to personal choice. It’s entirely possible to enjoy a film whilst acknowledging its silliness – but even that enjoyment is stretched in the barmy, CGI-choked finale.

A mixed bag certainly, but the good outweighs the not-so-good. My score is 6 out of 10

It’s difficult to get past the opening scenes of close-ups of animal abuse, but at least that sets the tone for this very dark and murky adaption of the famous story. They say the acting life can be very glamorous – it certainly isn’t the case here. No CGI safety-net, the performers attached to this story certainly seem to suffer for their art in a variety of uncomfortably cold situations.

It’s good when horror films bring some new locations into their stories, but equally, it’s always worth it to revisit the vast crumbling lairs of traditional settings, and that is done really effectively here; the story is given the most impressive horror treatment. Creatures hide in shadow – you only know they’re there when you see a rolled eyeball or a moving, inhuman talon. There is enough of a fairytale quality to this to appeal to the inner child, and there are moments when the eyes will moisten! It’s all accompanied by wonderful, sepulchral music, and directed like a hugely gothic TV film. My score is 8 out of 10.

Drugs, psychopathic criminals, underage sex – it’s all going on in this low-budget British shocker. One of the schoolgirls is played by Jane Haydon, sister of horror legend Linda (most famous perhaps for her role as Angel Blake in ‘Blood on Satan’s Claw’).

A busload of stranded girls spend the night in an unfinished hotel ‘in the wilds of nowhere’, where nearby asylum inmates, tanked up with LSD as part of their experimental therapy, escape and cause horrific carnage.

The escaped inmates’ atrocities are very much in the style of the ultra-violence on display in ‘The Clockwork Orange’, where this film takes a lot of its cues – especially main escapee Mr. Trubshawe (David Jackson – possibly most famous for playing Gan early on in BBC TV space opera Blake’s 7). Apart from the subject matter being distinctly unsavoury, there is a lack of pace to the proceedings.

Some of dialogue is alarming. “See - you’re better,” one girl assures her friend who has just been raped, when she accepts a cup of coffee.

With all this going on, events are surprisingly slow and turgid. Never quite aspiring to the disturbing levels of ‘A Clockwork Orange’, this is ultimately an average rip-off. My score is 5 out of 10.

Nightwing.

This is one of the most un-horror-like horror films I ever saw. It isn’t until the mighty David Warner turns up as Payne, a Van Helsing-type that things begin to get interesting. The music is as jaunty as has ever been found in a 1970s American tea-time drama and the beautiful locations are wonderful to look at but distinctly un-horrific.

A slow spooky realisation dawns on the inhabitants of an Indian colony in New Mexico, mainly thanks to starchy Payne’s information. Knowledgeable he may be, but he ain’t no charmer: just that kind of character Warner excels at.

But things are too slow and too unspectacular and really need a few more scenes of jeopardy to liven things up. I’m a fan of restraint in films like this, but I’m left waiting for something to happen too often. When it does, the special effects sometimes strain to convince. Just when you think things have shifted up a gear, the pace returns to its leaden pace. My score is 5 out of 10.

Shadow of the hawk.

I found this to be a bit of a plodder if I’m honest. More of a stock 70’s adventure drama than the horror it is billed as. It does feature a fine turn from a young, lithe Jan Michel Vincent (Mike) though, and Chief Dan George plays, well, Chief Dan George (Old Man Hawk).

Some nice Indian dark magic is on display to antagonise our heroes (Marilyn Hassett as Maureen completes the trio), and things become quite dramatic from time to time. The finale sees the film finally shift up a gear, but it’s not quite enough to life ‘Shadow of the Hawk’ past average. My score is 5 out of 10.

The grainy atmosphere of some nicely shot locations is completely undone when the ‘guys’ turn up. Horny teens are one thing, it seems obligatory for films like this, but the two gate-crashing twenty-something adolescents arrive at a sorority party and the viewer – or this viewer at least – is aching for the film’s antagonist to graphically wipe the smug grin off the faces of these cretins. The girls, by comparison, are more concerned with semesters and exams and that kind of thing – before mild sex is introduced to fill in more time before anything interesting happens.

One of the freedoms of low budget films like this is that they don’t have to go down the same predictable routes as more mainstream horrors. Many exercise the freedom they have by producing something different and interesting – this one doesn’t.

The kills are arbitrary, we know nothing about the murderer, and characters are tepid. Against that, it’s nicely directed and the moments of gore are fairly convincing. My score is 4 out of 10.

‘Skin Collector’ begins with a pre-credits sequence where stunning young Asian waitress Cathy politely declines the advances of a middle-aged hopeful and this results in his subsequent temper tantrum and her brutal murder in a public place, unseen by anyone. I wondered if this unassuming man was to be the film’s killer, because although competently played, he doesn’t possess any menace, instability or threat.

The hero of the piece Delgado (Casper Van Dien), a police inspector, is as square-jawed, designer stubbled and ruggedly handsome as you could imagine – competent but bland. With these two main players holding things together, this doesn’t promise to be riveting viewing, sadly.

Wendy, a bullied (by her unspeakable mother) Portland secretary, is the most appealing character, and through her, things become ever more watchable. She is the most appealing character. Well played by Danielle Harris and constantly in jeopardy or put down by those around her, it is difficult not to empathise as her face crumples in misery as a result of her latest hardship.

Amid the nicely filmed rainy locations and John Jarratt’s performance, the unterrifying Rood slowly becomes a fascinating villain because of his child-like politeness and unstoppable nature – an interesting combination. Stick with this and you’ll enjoy it. My score is 7 out of 10.

This is an increasingly compelling home invasion chiller concerning a group of high-class daughters left alone and at the mercy of an unruly group of guests. The performances vary, my favourite – and most convincing - characters being Sam (Elana Di Troya), Toby (Flynn Horne) and Josh (Owen Bleach).

A low budgeted production, this isn’t particularly polished or sophisticated, but the money is spent wisely and used where it counts. There are some effective moments, for example, Ella’s fate is particularly gruesome. Iain Mahanty’s music is also very effective.

Although there may be pacing problems in the mid section, a good selection of twists and revelations keep the interest and these only increase toward the satisfying finale. I had a great time with this; my score is 8 out of 10.

This stars sisters Anne and Vicki Michelle, the former long since having disowned the film, saying the producer had just wanted nude scenes. She’s absolutely right of course. This Tigon tale presents the two girls as impossibly naïve, unknowingly sexy and always willing to disrobe. The media at the time often presented young females in this way.

The disrobing ironically acts as a cover-up, because there is not much plot to speak of, outside of what you can imagine from the title. I was hoping for something a little Hammer-esque amidst the blatant exploitation, a hint of something to justify the ‘witch’ of the title. There’s nothing much - some very nice locations from a bygone era, lots of frolicking and a nicely downbeat ending.

However, I’m not sure how an exploitation movie featuring much nudity and dark rituals could turn out to be quite this dull, but Director Ray Austin and super-soap Crossroads founder Hazel Adair manage it. There are sinister moments, but they seem to be directed with such a leisurely pace, and a musical score devoid of any menace, it’s difficult to become invested.

On the acting front, there are no particularly bad performances here, but Patricia Haynes really injects some life into the role of Sybil Waite. Other than that, ‘Virgin Witch’ is distinctly average. My score is 4 out of 10.

Very slow-moving horror that plays its cards very close to its chest, heightened by some fine acting. Basically, a two-piece featuring the fractious relationship between posh Sophia (Catherine Walker) and coarse Joseph Solomon (Steve Oram); these two sharply written (writer Liam Gavin, who also directs, is clearly a name to look out for), beautifully played characters carry most of the film.

Maybe we have to wait a little too long for things to start happening, but we won’t get as frustrated about it as Sophia, who gets very angry indeed. This is a good, claustrophobic chiller rather than a fully-fledged horror a lot of the time, although the events toward the end take on a much more gruesome nature. I thoroughly enjoyed this. My score is 8 out of 10.

This acclaimed dark tale has all the trappings of a sophisticated TV movie whodunit horror bolstered by some crisp direction, nice character-driven writing and extraordinary acting.

Director Michael Pearce conveys a convincingly off-kilter, somewhat isolated community which is subtly creepy – as are the main players Moll (Jessie Buckleyl) and Pascal (Johnny Flynn). All supporting players are great as well, especially Geraldine James as the respectably monstrous Hilary.

I don’t find it quite as riveting as some reviewers, but there’s no doubt the story – where you never quite know who to side with – is played with extraordinary power. My score is 7 out of 10.

Ultimately this is an enjoyably mild and atmospheric horror film if you get past the slightly dull first half. It has the production values of a TV Movie, but is atmospherically shot with a nice line in melancholy.

The acting is convincing throughout, even during the talky scenes set in featureless cabins. A slow burner for sure, but not bad. My score is 6 out of 10.

After a fairly promising beginning, the film proper seems at first like a different production. Aesha, a bubbly former tearaway, is well played by Becca Hirani and the story has potential but the pacing leaves a lot to be desired.

A conversation where the villain of the piece politely asks to be let in, and is politely turned down, goes on for an age, lapsing into farce. Perhaps it is meant to, but to constantly revert to a scene that is unnecessary and hardly progresses, saps the interest. It’s a shame, because heavily reduced, it might have been quite effective. The villain, when revealed, seems less physically able than the two sprightly girls Aesha and Imogen (Tiffany-Ellen Robinson). They could at least have tried to defend themselves.

The dialogue is marred by many statements beginning with ‘sorry’; director/writer Scott Jeffrey might have taken steps to iron out such repetition and improved the end result.

Ultimately, we have a film that almost works, but could have been better. There’s a nice eccentric performance from Thomas Mailand as Dan, which helps things along. My score is 6 out of 10.

Nice scantily clad girls and cretinous boys take a tour around Ravensworth Asylum. The most irritating of these is Carl, who is certainly the first character I wanted to see succumb to what unpleasantness this film had to offer. For an irredeemable twit, Adam Horner plays him very well, and he turns out to be the most interesting character; his male counterparts aren’t much more likeable. The development between the characters is fuelled almost entirely by conversations about whether or not to have sex. Titillating, but not really engaging.

Only Sofia (Madeline Marie Dona) has a story to tell, and it’s all blurted out in exposition. This is a possible reason given for her affinity with the twin-set of ghostly activity occurring in the abandoned, but remarkably tidy, asylum location.

There are more than enough twists and revelations at the end to ensure the film ends on a point of interest, but getting there is a meander. My score is 6 out of 10.

This is a home invasion horror story with a main cast of three characters. There are some truly lovely misty locations, all nicely filmed and directed. The story is a bit slow, but enlivened by some witty dialogue, particularly from Aidan O’Neil as Karl, an un-PC social worker assigned to visit David, a recluse who has recently been discharged from a mental institution.

I enjoyed this independent production. It’s well directed and co-written by Mike Dunkin and sells a good atmosphere of isolation and fear. There’s a twist at the end; twists are tricky things – get them wrong and the whole film tumbles down like a house of cards. Here, though, I found the revelations to be satisfying, but in a tone consistent with the rest of the story. My score is 8 out of 10.

I found this to be a pleasingly indefinable film, but the thin story turned out to be insubstantial. It’s directed rather like a fly-on-the-wall documentary on actress Maggie Cheung (playing a fictional version of herself). Cheung is playing Irma Vep (an anagram of Vampire), and the story contents itself with allowing us to see her experiences behind-the-scenes in an ego-driven industry with a washed-up director (Jean-Pierre Léaud).

The acting is impeccable, and Cheung emerges as one of the few genuine and likeable characters. The story is entertaining once you get onto its wavelength, which I’m not sure I ever did entirely. An acquired taste for sure. My score is 5 out of 10.