Film Reviews by NP

I applaud the sentiments behind this film, giving King Kong another stab at happiness after the gruelling drubbing he received at the end of 1979’s underrated Dino De Laurentiis produced remake of the 1933 original.

There’s a lot that’s good about this, but moments that are bad, too, which makes viewing it both frustrating and rewarding by turns. The idea that Kong survived is, of course, appealing, but seeing the serious masked faces of various medical people operating the cranes and assorted machinery necessary to bring him back to life is impossible to take seriously – but then, I’m not entirely sure we’re supposed to.

Lady Kong, a burgundy-furred secondary primate stumbled upon by hapless hero Hank (Brian Kerwin) not only saves Kong’s life, but steals his heart (in a manner of speaking), and their sometimes awkward, sometimes appealing courtship is mirrored by that of Hank and surgeon Amy Franklin (Linda Hamilton). There’s too much ape frivolity, but a whole load of human stupidity to balance it out. Apart from the heroes, most of the non-simians we meet are either knuckle-headed military, cigar-chewing morons or inbred hicks determined to humiliate the supposedly noble beast and his mate.

The effects are often ropey, looking back. And yet the expressions on the animated ape-masks are often subtle and very effective. Equally Peter Elliott and George Antoni, the two actors sweltering inside the costumes, move and twitch in a sufficiently ape-like manner. All music is swamped by overbearing 80’s strings courtesy of often heavy handed Joe Scott.

Does The King and his mate get a happy ending this time? Fifty/fifty, really and their eventual fate is nicely handled.

‘King Kong Lives’ died a death at the box office and was obliterated by negative reviews. Although it now has a kind of cult appeal, it is not quite the hidden gem people claim it to be. Neither is it as bad as opposing views would have us believe. It’s perfectly acceptable to enjoy this, and you’re even allowed to have a tear in your eye toward the end.

One of the many things I enjoy about the giallo genre is that whilst the structure is similar with each film, the overall style can be infused with various other flavours. Here, the horror/thriller style is given a kind of ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ treatment, with the incredible Edwige Fenech playing Jane, who appears to becoming immersed into the world of the occult (this is a far more successful melding of genres than ‘A Black Ribbon for Deborah’ two years later).

Traumatised by the loss of her unborn child, Jane begins seeing the image of an impossibly blue-eyed man. As time goes on, this figure tries to kill her, and desperately lonely with her husband away for his work, she befriends nearby mysterious and condescending Mary (Marina Malfatti), who promises that if Jane attends a Black Mass ceremony, all her problems will vanish. As solutions go, it was never going to work. The blue eyed figure, now wielding a knife, warns her not to renounce the group.

Looking fabulous, poor Jane is catapulted from one nightmare to another, with partner Richard (George Hilton) turning up to save her. However, could he become ensnared in the cult too? You would hope not. Incidentally, in a sadly brief role as Jane’s sister Barbara is Nieves Navarro (here billed as Susan Scott), a million miles away from the carefree characters she played in ‘Death Walks… ‘ giallos from the early 1970s.

Beautifully directed in an occasionally hallucinogenic fashion by Sergio Martino, and mesmerizingly scored by Bruno Nicolai, ‘All the Colours of the Dark’ features a typically exciting climax. If you like giallo films, you’ll like this. If you’re uninitiated in the genre, I’d recommend it without question.

This is a fairly enjoyable film. However, it is very strangely paced.

A family move into a house in an idyllic, if isolated, location. Overbearing dad Bruce (Steve Jacques), fractious mum Jennifer (Cara O’Brien), gobby teenage daughter Kacie (Alana Chester - and boyfriend Mark (Tomas Decurgez)) and sensitive younger son Manny (David Mendoza). They film themselves during their first few days in their new home, and this ‘found footage’ is interspersed with interviews with friends and authority figures telling what is essentially the same story. The doom-laden tone of their discourse jars with the scenes of family squabbles and normality. Worse, this style of presentation goes on for far, far too long without incident.

There are murmurs and whispers about the neighbouring un-named Californian town having some kind of murderous mystery, but this is rarely expanded upon. What we do find out is that the entire family disappear overnight – we are told this fairly early on (in fact, news of their disappearance is the first thing we see, presented as anecdotal information on screen). Now all ‘The Purging Hour’ has to do is go through the motions of killing everyone and providing some kind of explanation.

To this end, the final fifteen minutes of the film’s 77 minute running-time is suddenly a mass of breaking-up images (‘this battery is dying,’ providing the reason for that), screams, a bit of blood and death. Sadly, no real explanation, motive or reason is given.

Open-ended films have to be handled carefully, or the lack of closure is frustrating. Here, it is doubly so as we have invested so much time watching the family go about their business of arguing, laughing, unpacking, eating etc, the lack of cohesion in the subsequent pay-off we have waited too long for is annoying. Even with these things in mind, I quite enjoyed ‘The Purging Hour’ – the acting is good throughout and writer/director Emmanuel Giorgio Sandoval’s style is confident, if uneven.

This is a low budget horror. It briefly features Doug Bradley as park owner Mr Hyde (Bradley worked for only one day on the film). ‘Fright Land’ is closing down, going bankrupt, and there is an eccentric plan to attract more customers.

There are some nice directorial moments here – the best being the dead body of a young blond girl tied to a functioning night-time merry-go-round. There’s a definite tension in the climactic scenes and a nicely ludicrous twist to make you groan.

I would never suggest you need to be familiar with the production background to appreciate any finished project, but there is no point criticising this for not have a multi-million dollar budget; it is what it is. Director/writer Cary Hill has financed this through the Kickstarter project, and results are occasionally dull, often interesting. Aside from the impressive Bradley, the cast turn in fair performances. My problem is, this tries to be a kind of horror film I have little enthusiasm for. A teen slasher flick often leads me to side with the villain – not so much the case here, although the characters do not always go out of their way to be likeable.

Pleasingly, there is no compunction to take things too seriously, and that is ‘Scream Park’s biggest asset. As the credits tell us, ‘No teens were harmed during the filming of this motion picture’.

‘Cowboy Zombies’ is, as you can imagine, a fairly light-hearted zombie story, set in wild Arizona in 1870. It’s a nuts and bolts ride, neither funny enough to work fully as a comedy or horrific enough to work as a horror. But that’s alright, because it’s good enough to keep an audience entertained for its 76 minutes.

The sun-drenched locations are the best thing, and the costumes are persuasive enough to convince of the period setting. The acting veers from good to not-so-good, but there are no woefully inadequate performances here. The make-up for the zombies is where things fall down though. ‘Restrained’ might be a good word.

Things occasionally lull, and only sometimes do they rise above adequate. Typical for a low-budget effort, the (otherwise effective) soundtrack can obfuscate some of the dialogue. But the idea of the walking dead shambling across the wild country dust-tracks of the West is an appealing one – if only they were a little more gruesome!

I really enjoyed this low budget independent Irish horror. After a gory establishing scene which packs a good twist in its brief pre-credits time, we get to know the group of four young people (Keith, Jen, Jay, and Katie) taking a trip to a music festival. They’re a mischievous bunch – coarse, good humoured and genuinely likeable. Because of this, when they stop in a remote pub and are intimidated by the subtly sinister locals, we are concerned they will come to harm – or gang-raped, as one of their number quips.

This is writer/director Anthony White’s debut full-length film and it’s a good one. Much is made of the verdant scenery and remoteness. The dialogue and acting are persuasive, and even the inevitable sex chat has an amusing edge to it. Nothing hugely new is attempted here, we have ghost stories around the camp-fire to set the scene, slow burning horror atmospherics and a gradual cloud of doom sweeping over the small cast of characters. This is not a criticism – what this film it does, it does very well.

The music by Paul Scott is very raw and effective and helps sell the mood of this rural nightmare, and it is true to say, the brutality and horror is piled up nicely toward the end. Recommended.

Candyman’s Tony Todd growls his way through the role of Ruber, caretaker to the infamous Jericho Manor. Todd gleefully hams his way through his scenes, but manages never to send up the subject matter.

Two policemen observe footage left behind by a group of internet documentary makers. They have been locked in the Manor overnight and the policemen, Detectives Anderson and Jenkins (Joseph Milson and Gary Mavers) are determined to find out what happened to them. Paul (the essential unsubtle idiot of the group), Jason, Anne-Marie, Sheila (the clairvoyant) and Amanda the hostess with ideas above her station. The cast are enthusiastic but not always convincing, which is a common trait with low budget projects like this. The characters have their flaws of course, but are never as needlessly unlikable as several other groups portrayed in ‘teen’ horror films.

It might be easy to dismiss this as ‘Blair Witch in a haunted building’ – and there is a scene in which Amanda (Cicely Tennant), having been brought down to size by her experiences, records a goodbye message to her parents much like Heather did in the 1999 film – but here the protagonist is not quite spectral. Furthermore, this is not quite a found footage film. It is a film about two Detectives looking at found footage – with that in mind, the addition of jump scares and an incidental score is somewhat explained. And the reactions of Jenkins are very effective.

The twist at the end also really impressed me. The reveal of the killer is very well handled, as is his habit of gently kissing his victims before they die. Good fun.

There is a pre-credits sequence involving something unpleasant involving evil children. You might well be forgiven for wondering what on earth is going on by the time that opening title sequence rolls. Embrace that wonderment, because during the course of the next 93 minutes, it will become a good friend.

The usual constraints of a low-budget production happen here – some unpolished acting (which improves as the horror sets in) and a musical score that occasionally squashes the dialogue. That is something I readily ignore if the film is engaging. Sadly, writer/directors Maurizio and Roberto del Piccolo do everything they can to ensure ‘Evil Souls’ is not engaging a lot of the time.

There is a hugely over-the-top performance from Peter Cosgrove as Valentine, a devotee of The Marquis De Sade. He dresses in period costume and face mask and indulges in some eccentric Shakespearian dialogue. I end up quite liking him, although I’m not sure I’m supposed to. He specialises in kidnapping single mums, it seems, and ends up with old school friends Jess (Holli Dillon) and Susan (Paola Masciadri).

There are also some foul-mouthed prostitutes (including Valentine’s sister Maddie, played by Lisa Holsappel-Marrs. Lisa also plays Maddie’s mother, giving probably the film’s best performance; she also co-produces this) and a priest (Julian Boote). There are moments of briefly glimpsed gore. The Italian locations look very impressive, and there is a well conveyed mood-scape of bleakness and gloom, which makes the film as good as it is. And yet the story-line is simply impenetrable. Sometimes a confusing narrative can be successfully disorientating inducing an almost hallucinogenic effect on the viewer. Perhaps that is what is being attempted here.

Torture porn, rape, demonic possession that seems to tie-in with historical figures (apart from De Sade, Hitler gets a nod, and others too), revenge, gore and mild nudity: it’s all here. The result is often enjoyable despite (or possibly because of) the induced confusion, and things definitely build up towards the end. It’s just a shame these elements couldn’t have been brought together with a little more cohesion.

A group of teen friends meet up on a sport’s field. The two girls sit on the bench talking about sex, while the guys play sports. But enough of the character development.

“No sh*t I got sh*t,” says one later as they play cards in the basement. The girls remain bored throughout. The group aren’t as detestable as teens often are in these films, but they do their best. Scratchy voiced, horny and, whilst their wild parents are partying above, they decide to take out a Ouija board. They summon Jonah (Cesar Pereira), who was murdered before his time. We see him clambering out of a grave, looking like a fairly convincing Freddy Krueger – but rather than immediately go after whoever it was that killed him, he sets about tracking down the six teens instead.

The acting is mainly what you might expect from a very low-budget production, although the performances become more persuasive once Jonah appears. This applies to the girls especially. Jocelyn Padilla (as Barbara) is good at reacting to the devastation around her, and Nicole LaSala ensures that Lydia journeys from being by far the most annoying group member to the most interesting, via a bizarre change in character. The character of Zora is played by prolific scream queen Brinke Stevens. At first I thought her character was given such prominence because of the actress’s notoriety, but the character has her own story, revealed towards the film’s close …

Russell Estrela’s terrifically chunky electronic score is my favourite thing about this. His incidentals help cultivate the notion that this is in some way an ‘appreciation’ of 1980s slasher films. First-time director Luis Carvalho who also writes, co-produces and edits this (as well as appearing as one of the swingers) should be commended for following his dream and creating a horror film. It isn’t terribly good – many of the kills take place off-screen, and the idea that a group of young people can be slaughtered in a basement whilst their parents party upstairs is a little ridiculous (or delightfully silly, whichever way you want to look at it) – but I have seen worse. Problematically, apart from these questionable decisions, ‘Jonah Lives’ is often a rather dull experience, enlivened by a commendable upswing in pace towards the end.

Michael Shannon, who starred recently in the terrific ‘Can’t Come Out to Play (2013)’ plays Richard Strickland, gammy-handed Colonel in charge of studying ‘the asset’, a lone fish-creature held in captivity by the US government. Sally Hawkins plays Elisa, a mute woman who, alongside Zelda (Octavia Spencer) works as a cleaner for the project. Her next door neighbour is Giles, struggling homosexual artist (Richard Jenkins, Chicory from 2015’s ‘Bone Tomahawk’). I mention his sexuality, because alongside Elisa and African-American Zelda, these people are somewhat outcast in Baltimore, 1962, where this film is set. All except Strickland, of course, who is fully accepted and acceptable, a respectable military man – cruel, arrogant and ‘decent’: apart from his injured hand, of course.

Strickland was bitten by the humanoid amphibian creature known as ‘the asset’, in this acclaimed Guillermo del Toro directed (and co-written) partial reimagining of ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon.’ It is hugely cinematic, beautifully shot, exquisitely acted and in places, strangely moving in the way that monster/human love affairs have occasionally been over the decades. Unfortunately, the sentimentality goes overboard on a number of occasions and squashes the appeal of the fragile relationship between the unappreciated mute girl and the abused creature.

Satisfyingly though, there is no doubt that the ‘system’, the ‘establishment’ is entirely corrupt and that the higher up the proverbial ladder, the more brazenly deceitful the officials have become. As in the best traditions of horror, the unsightly creature is the one we all route for, whilst those who have given themselves the responsibility of hierarchy are, to quote Doctor Who, decadent, degenerate and rotten to the core. And how do our heroes attempt to thwart the nastiness around them? They escape, they run away. Ah, would that we could all do that …

This is a terrific and typical del Torro fairytale, child-like and affecting, with only the occasional sex-scene or moment of graphic horror violence to make the children audience members wince. It’s a long ‘un at just over two hours, but such is the spectacle, it never outstays its welcome. Lovely.

Ireland, early 1920s. Twins Rachael (Charlotte Vega) and Edward (Bill Milner) are twins cursed to live their lives alone in a magnificently gothic mansion, lest they break the rules set by a mysterious presence from generations past. This presence insists that no-one else may enter the dwelling, and that they must be in their beds by midnight. And something mysterious exists beneath the trapdoor.

The twins are unfortunately rather defined by their current characteristics – Rachel is headstrong and sensible, and Edward is weird and more subservient to the presence. Apart from that, there’s not a great deal in the script or dialogue that allows us to get close to them.

The arrival of one-legged Sean (Eugene Simon), a World War 1 veteran who has returned to a village that now spurns him, finds himself attracted to Rachel, and that the feeling is mutual causes an imbalance in her ordered life. David Bradley makes a welcome appearance as solicitor Bermingham, reluctantly on hand to deliver bad news about the twins’ financial state.

That hoary old cliché ‘style over substance’ may well apply to ‘The Lodgers’. Filmed in one of Ireland's most haunted houses, Loftus Hall, the story takes its time – which is something I have no problem with – but the mansion, village and surrounding locations look breath-taking. Director Brian O'Malley ensures that everything is a scenic as it can possibly be, and that the surroundings strike that perfect balance between beauty and gothic horror. A closed society, living in a resplendent land.

Whilst the atmospherics, and Edward’s strangeness – as well as Rachael’s longing to leave – are handled very effectively, actual scares are thin on the ground. When they do occur, however, they are very well handled. All in all, I really enjoyed this. An elegant, strangely tragic horror excursion.

Lina Romay looks stunning in this, possibly more so than in any Franco film I’ve yet seen. Here, she lends her not inconsiderable acting talents to play Shirley Fields, whom we first meet as she kills her thief boyfriend before being sentenced to six year’s imprisonment. Once incarcerated, the prison snitch Martine (Martine Stedil) is given the job of getting close to her and trying to find out about the diamonds missing in the latest robbery.

Martine and Shirley spend most of their time swapping cigarettes and smoking them whilst naked. Jess himself makes one of his regular appearances as thug overlord Bill. Ronald Weiss is another cast-member of note, playing the seedy Carlo de Bries. There’s a moment of prison sex when Martine and Shirley suddenly become lesbians. It takes a special skill to make lesbian love scenes between these two beautiful women entirely un-erotic, but ‘Women Behind Bars’ manages it. As far as torture – something Women In Prison dramas pride themselves in – there is some whipping, and some particularly invasive punishment for our Shirley.

The downside of the production is, unsurprisingly, the dubbing, with lines being spat out staccato style, and often two characters will talk over each other. Daniel White, musician veteran of so many Franco films, turns in a lacklustre score here. Shades of lounge/jazz music, often sounding as if it comes from a single keyboard. The story itself is fairly thin and, although this is only Franco third ‘Women in Prison’ film, his directorship seems only occasionally inspired this time round.

The upside is that Romay carries the film well. Shirley is required to suffer a lot throughout, seemingly at the hands of whomever she meets. It could only be discreetly suggested that she enjoys it. And in a SPOILER, it works out for her in the end, giving the ‘heroine’ (if that is what she is) a refreshingly happy ending. Whilst the ‘prison’ looks a little too much like a hotel, the darkened tunnel leading to and fro (possibly filmed somewhere else entirely) looks suitably drab and austere. More of a crime caper than the more standard WIP piece, this emerges as enjoyable, but pretty mild Franco fare.

As found footage films go, this begins with one of the most persuasive scene settings I’ve seen for some time. Whilst testing his camera equipment, Jake (Josh Stewart, who also wrote and directed) is enjoying a laugh with his tiny children, who in turn are screaming with delight at the images on the camera. They don’t know they’re part of a horror film, they’re just having fun; as an audience member, I’m instantly thinking that surely such an appealing family unit isn’t going to be wrecked by anything ‘orrible.

With little further build-up, Jake and Stevie (Ronnie Gene Blevins), are deep in the forests of West Virginia. They meet the quietly threatening Tony (Skipp Sudduth) who lives in the forest, and his daughter Jessie (Jessi Blue Gormezano). As the two friends hunting monsters, not a huge amount happens. This is a slow burner, despite wasting no time in setting up the premise. But if you’re happy with that – and I am – this is worth your time.

The acting is very naturalistic. You really believe these two are good friends. So when their footage appears to be tampered with, and the Blair-Witchy-woodlands behave strangely, it is effective. Most potent, however, is the child-like screaming of whatever is ‘out there’.

Whilst the ending is disappointing, I enjoyed this for the most part. It is strange to once more glance at reviews and see the marks given for ‘Dark Forest’ 10 out of 10 and plenty of praise, or 1 out of 10 for the obligatory ‘worst film I have ever seen’ nonsense. The truth as I see it, is about halfway between the two.

A period piece Italian giallo from the mid-1970s, featuring some wonderful rain-swept locations and some mild sexual moments – all of this sounds like a guarantee of success. Somewhere along the way, however, dullness overtakes proceedings. The dubbing must take some of the blame for this. Although I’ve seen worse, some of the voice actors sound incredibly bored. Whoever voiced the magnificently – almost unnaturally - coiffured, twinkling Count Richard Marnack (played by prolific actor Giacomo Rossi-Stuart) reduces the character to a monosyllabic sneerer instead of the suave charmer of a certain age he is supposed to be. Krista Nell was due to play the starring role, but due to health reasons, played the secondary Cora. Sadly, this was her last film – she died the same year. Patrizia De Rossi plays Evelyn, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Count Marnack’s wife. And they all they all have one thing in common: they all hate Samuel (Leo Valeriano). So when various characters begin dying in graphic circumstances, I drew my own conclusions. I might have been wrong.

The ending is quite abrupt, as often things are with films such as this. It is also not entirely satisfying, with a very effective revelation not quite answering all the questions regarding the previous 86 minutes. Whilst far from the best giallo film I have seen – in fact, it is only loosely a giallo – it has a certain appealing strangeness about it.

Several sexy scenes were inserted into this for its French release, where it was known as ‘L'insatiable Samantha (1977)’.

I have always found it difficult to enjoy Roger Corman films, which surprises me. I like low-budget productions, and Corman always assembles very impressive casts. And yet, his projects appear to strive to create a staginess, a campy theatricality that I find difficult to become immersed in

Vincent Price was originally slated to play Guy Carrell, but the part went to Ray Milland. Milland has always been a very impressive actor in my view, able to transcend even average productions and emerge with dignity intact. Ten years later, he would exert his excellence on the notorious ‘The Thing with Two Heads’, where he somehow managed even there to inject his role as the titular creature with humour and above all, gravitas. He does the same here, as does Hazel Court, who plays Emily, his wife. Richard Ney plays family friend Miles and all characters are fairly staid and unengaging, lifted hugely by the playing.

Perhaps Price would have injected Carrell with a bit of a twinkle, which would at least have lightened this humourless piece. What we have here is a very earnest reimagining of Edgar Allen Poe’s short story. There’s a certain inevitability Carrell’s fate once we learn of his dread of being buried alive, and certainly the atmosphere reaches impressive levels as a result of this, and what happens beyond.

I would have liked to enjoy this more, but often couldn’t get past the style of the piece, which for the most part, looks like it has the production values of a television continuing serial, or soap. This is no slight on the budget or production team, it just fails to convince me, or to inject proceedings with any kind of eccentricity or outlandishness that offsets the limitations.