Review:  Creepy (Japan 2016)

Creepy marks something of a return to form for the one-time po-mo J-horror master Kiyoshi Kurosawa.  There was a point in the late 1990s and early 2000s when Kurosawa was one of the most exciting filmmakers working, and his every film was a cause for celebration.  Unfortunately, after an string of innovative work that included Kairo, Doppelganger, Charisma, Séance, Cure and Bright Future, Kurosawa began to languish, retreading old ground with mediocre films like Loft and Retribution, and temporarily trying on new identities with the well-received Tokyo Sonata or his oddity Beautiful New Bay Area Project. Continue reading

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Review: Missing in Action (USA 1984)

I like Joseph Zito, but this quickie Vietnam revenge actioner starring Chuck Norris that Cannon rushed out in time to beat Rambo: First Blood, Part II is a real stinker. The narrative is incredibly choppy, and the action scenes are largely sub-Delta Force, and the racial subtext (text) is even more offensive than that in Rambo. Continue reading

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Review: Punk Vacation (USA 1990)

This movie is profoundly confused.  The filmmakers basically took all the tropes of the 60s biker film (think The Wild Angels or The Glory Stompers), and moved them into the 1980s while substituting new wave punks for the traditional leather-clad bikers – a move that creates some bizarre cognitive dissonance.

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Review: Shin Godzilla (Japan 2016)

As a Godzilla fan of the old school, I’ve always loathed the occasional American attempts at the Big G – whether the truly awful Matthew Broderick version or the decent-monster-movie-but-in-no-way-Godzilla attempt by Gareth Edwards from 2014 – but I think I’ve had the wrong idea. I should be welcoming them, because every time Hollywood farts out another pseudo-zilla, Toho responds by reinvigorating the dormant franchise and starts anew. And if Shin Godzilla, which opened late last year in limited release in New York and LA, is any example, we’re in for a very good cycle indeed. Continue reading

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Review: Empire of Lust (South Korea 2015)

Trashy enough to live up to its title, Empire of Lust is a hilariously overwrought and deeply, deeply silly historical action/drama that takes itself deadly seriously. Full of preening villains, sexy femme fatales, and convoluted scheming, Empire of Lust wants to be a moving love story but is more like a Cinemax bodice ripper with a blockbuster’s budget and production values. Continue reading

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Review: Hell Comes to Frogtown (USA 1988)

I watched this grotty little treat recently as a tribute to the late, great Rowdy Roddy Piper. Actually, I did see about half of this on late night HBO as a misguided teen, but pretty much forgot everything. Continue reading

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Q&A: The Blackcoat’s Daughter with Oz Perkins, Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Boynton

Last Thursday, March 23, the new Alamo Drafthouse NYC in Brooklyn hosted a special screening of the well-received first film by Osgood Perkins, The Blackcoat’s DaughterThe Blackcoat’s Daughter is a psychological horror film set in a girls’ boarding school starring Kiernan Shipka (Mad Men) as Kat, a troubled student caught at the school during vacation, and co-starring Lucy Boynton and Emma Roberts, which premiered at the 2015 Toronto Film Fest but is finally getting a limited theatrical release.  The film opens this Friday, March 31, at the Alamo NYC.

After the screening, Mr. Perkins, who has since released his follow-up picture, the subdued ghost story I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House, through Netflix, sat with Shudder’s Sam Zimmerman, along with stars Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Boynton, for the entertainingly candid Q&A presented below (edited for space and clarity).

On Making a “Classy” Horror Film

Osgood Perkins:          When I wrote it, it seems old-fashioned to say this, but the horror genre was sort of in trouble.  Now that’s such a stupid thing to say because the horror genre has never been more of the moment.  Everybody and their mom has a great horror movie.  But at the time it sort of felt like a beleaguered slum. Continue reading

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Review: Phantasm: Ravager (USA 2016)

It breaks my heart to have to give this film a bad review. I love the Phantasm film series. The first one is a freaky trip, and the second one is a campy, action-packed blast – and both do an incredible job of creating a dreamlike atmosphere of hopelessness. Even the third film, while deeply flawed, is still a lot of fun. Unfortunately, Ravager follows in the path of Phantasm IV, an ultra-low budget mix of outtakes and inexpensive new footage with little narrative coherence. Continue reading

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Review: The Black Tavern (Hong Kong 1972)

An obscurity from the Shaw Brothers’ libraries, this film is definitely staffed with the Shaw B-team but still manages to be an energy-filled take on King Hu’s classic Dragon Inn. Continue reading

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Tomas Milian, RIP

I never thought he carried poliziotteschi films as well as Maurizio Merli, but he had some superb spaghetti western roles, particularly in Sergio Corbucci’s Companeros.

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