The Tenth Victim (1965) aka La decima vittima aka La dixième victime

4 / 5   Nov '09
Tagline: It's the 21st century and they have a licence to kill
Directed by: Elio Petri
Written by:  Robert Sheckley, Tonino Guerra
Actors include: Marcello Mastroianni, Ursula Andress, Elsa Martinelli
Genre: Sci-Fi, Action
Length: 92 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:

One insanely weird '60s sci-fi picture from Italy featuring the appearance of Ursula Andress and a futuristic dystopian plot. In the future, there is a Government run program you can sign up for (especially if suicidal) which puts you in a game. There are Hunters and there are Victims, you must survive being both a total of ten times before you win a million dollars. Only a few survive as they are being shot at nearly constantly not to mention the Hunter takes in all the information about the Victim, and the Victim isn't allowed any info at all. Ursula plays a girl who is about ready to take her tenth victim (the title...ya dig?), and they've planned a big movie shoot to show her as she kills him. Of course this he we refer to isn't a dumb guy, and let's just say she's met her match. It's filled with bizarre futuristic music, weird costumes and set designs and all kinds of absurdity. It's no wonder this influenced "The Running Man" and the Austin Powers series (you'll see exactly what I mean). Definitely something intriguing to see but yet I don't think it delivered the excitement I was hoping for ultimately.

Availability:  On DVD

Homicidal (1961)

4.5 / 5  Nov '09
Tagline: A WORD OF WARNING! Please don't reveal the ending of this picture or your friends will kill you - IF THEY DON'T, I WILL! - William Castle
Directed by: William Castle
Written by: Robb White
Actors include: Glenn Corbett, Patricia Breslin, Eugenie Leontovich
Genre: Horror, Black Comedy, Thriller
Length: 87 Minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is one hilarious black comedy, and shocking (well until about the halfway point where it's a dead giveaway) but still! It's about a murderous Nurse who is looking after an old Woman with a lot of money. It's very hard to review this actually because I don't want to give a thing away because it really must be experienced with as little information as possible. Heck William Castle threatened to kill anyone who gave the ending to this away! I can say it's surprising, it's dark, I laughed a ton, the characters are amusing and the lead character is simply stunning as a homicidal maniac! This film's gimmick was a 45 second fright break near the ending for patrons who weren't ready for it to leave the theater. Kinda weak on his scale of gimmicks but the movie more than made up for it in style and sheer entertainment. I was glued to the screen from the beginning to the ending, it really is one heck of a film and I'm kinda surprised that Castle had this in him! Definitely watch now and don't read any more for your own good...

Availability:  On DVD

Strait-Jacket (1964)

4 / 5   Nov '09
Tagline: HER HUSBAND...HER ROOM... ......AND ANOTHER WOMAN
Directed by: William Castle
Written by: Robert Bloch
Actors include: Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 93 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Castle has done it again, another amusingly dark black comedy/horror picture only this time his gimmick was having a star...actress Joan Crawford. She does a stunning job as Lucy, who gave her Husband 40 wacks and when she saw what she had done she gave his Girlfriend 41! Or so I think that's how I remember it..., at any rate Lucy does kill her hubby and girlfriend with an axe in front of their 3 year old daughter (who looks way older than 3). She ends up in an Asylum for 20 years and we catch up with her as she's released. Lucy moves in with her Daughter, Brother and his Wife to try to adjust to life as a sane person. Her Daughter has a nice young Lad she wishes to marry and needs her Mom to be sane so his Parents will approve. Lucy seems to be having some coping skills (especially as people seem to humourously be using axes and knives around her repeatedly) but could she be responsible for several people's disappearances? It's pretty gosh darned entertaining and it definitely has that good old Castle vibe with the wit and sets and everything. The ending does beat you a little over the head with obvious information...it left me feeling like they thought I either didn't watch the movie or I was entirely a Moron. I guess to that point the story is clear...very very clear! Still quite a nice little gem that actually goes a little further than I thought it might but I think that's what makes it so gosh darned charming.

Availabilty:  On DVD

Targets (1968)

4.5 / 5 Jan '10
Tagline: TARGETS are people...and you could be one of them!
Directed by: Peter Bogdanovich
Written by: Peter Bogdanovich, Polly Platt
Actors include: Boris Karloff, Tim O'Kelly, Arthur Peterson
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 90 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I definitely liked this a whole bunch, even though parts of it seemed unimportant...the great moments more than made up for any lulls. Boris Karloff plays aging horror star (what a stretch) Byron Orlok who is working on retiring because he feels he's irrelevant. Also we have a story with a fellow named Bobby Thompson (who looks like a cross between Bobby Kennedy & Matt Damon) who seems very square, has a very nice family yet something is very clearly wrong with him. He gleefully shoots and collects guns...and rounds of ammo and gets weirder and weirder. He snaps, goes on a huge massacre spree that winds up at the drive-in where Byron is showing one of his films. It's actually a very cold and evil feeling picture, I can't help but wonder if it helped inspire any of the shooting tragedies that followed in real life unfortunately. This is one dark and strange film, the tension is great as one can tell something bad is about to happen for much of the movie. I'm surprised they got away with this sort of thing back in '68 but heck I'm glad they did. Something that you've really got to see, shocking and disturbing probably Karloff's best late film that I've seen.
 
Availability:  On DVD

Die! Die! My Darling! (1965) aka Fanatic

4 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: She's One Mean Mother-in-Law!
Directed by: Silvio Narizzano
Written by: Anne Blaisdell, Richard Matheson
Actors include: Stefanie Powers, Talullah Bankhead, Peter Vaughan
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 97 minutes
Banned: Finland

Review:
Although not the most original idea, it was a bucket of fun thanks to Tallulah Bankhead (in her final role) as a demented religious fanatic called Mrs. Trefoil...seriously awesomely evil performance. Stefanie Powers plays pretty and likeable Pat Carroll who was engaged to Mrs. Trefoil's son Stephen before he died. At Mrs. Trefoil's behest Pat comes to visit her at her house before planning to run off and marry a man named Allan. The only thing is, Pat isn't allowed to leave and it seems that Mrs. Trefoil is completely insane and seems to blame her for Allan's death! Also in this plot here we have Mrs. Trefoil's other son Harry whom she doesn't seem to like as much, and his wife Anna (Man About The House's Yootha Joyce) and also there is the handicapped Joseph (hilariously played by Donald Sutherland). It's not the most eventful film, but the performances make it more than worthwhile plus who doesn't love watching crazy people?
 
Availability:  On DVD

The Collector (1965)

5 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: A man kidnaps a woman and holds her hostage just for the pleasure of having her there.
Directed by: William Wyler
Written by: John Fowles, Stanley Mann
Actors include: Terence Stamp, Samantha Eggar, Mona Washbourne
Genre: Thriller, Drama
Length: 119 minutes
Banned: Finland

Review:
One heck of a thriller really, you won't find many like this and it was so influential with films that followed like 盲獣 [Blind Beast] and The Silence of the Lambs. The story is about a man called Freddie (Terence Stamp) who is obsessive about collecting butterflies, only as it turns out he's had a more sinister plan. He spies on and follows the beautiful and vivacious Miranda (Samantha Eggar) who is a free spirited artist. Eventually Freddie decides to chloroform her and drag her back to the gigantic house he's bought (with a separate hidden chamber for Miranda). I think the big shock is the amount of detail and planning this would have taken, and the fact that Freddie doesn't believe he's really done anything wrong. He only wants Miranda to love him and he figures this is the way...by holding her captive. It's demented, brilliantly acted, both Eggar & Stamp deserve Oscars for this...it's so engaging and so well written, this is an absolute must!

Availability:  On DVD

The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963) aka La Ragazza Che Sapeva Troppo aka The Evil Eye

4 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: What Does It Want? What Will Satisfy Its Cravings?
Directed by: Mario Bava
Written by: Mario Bava, Enzio Corbucci
Actors include: John Saxon, Letícia Román, Valentina Cortese
Genre: Giallo, Thriller, Horror
Length: 86 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
So this is arguably the first giallo film, and although it's not my favorite it's still pretty darned amusing. It's actually Mario Bava's final black and white film which gives it a sort of class however I hate to say this but I'd rather it were in color. Thing is with gialli films there is often so much garish color and that is a huge tool in many of them. This doesn't rely on that obviously but it does have a good story, some interesting characters and plenty of little twists and even quite a sense of humor. When American girl Nora sees too much (go figure) she ends up being knocked out in near Trafalgar square. After she's taken to hospital she meets a charming Doctor Marcello (John Saxon who is so much younger here than I'm used to) who wants to help her. See the thing she saw was the latest victim of the Alphabet Murderer (killing by last name in order A, B and C are already dead) and she wants to try to solve the crime. Of course things get dangerous and there are surprises around every corner, but it's a pretty engaging little flick really. We do get the gloves, a giant set of stairs, various red herrings and well the stage is pretty well set for everything that followed (though I didn't spot a bottle of J&B...maybe I missed it?). Definitely one to watch though I hate to say I prefer the sleazier titles!

Availability:  On DVD

The Cremator (1969) aka Spalovac mrtvol

2.5 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Juraj Herz
Written by: Ladislav Fuks
Actors include: Rudolf Hrusínský, Vlasta Chramostová, Jana Stehnová
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Length: 95 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I guess this one just wasn't for me...over my head or too artsy or whatever you want to say. I did think the black comedy element was rather amusing, it did give me a few giggles. I can also recognize that it is a rather disturbing portrait really, a Cremator who absolutely loves his job wayyy too much. He also gets in with the wrong crowd and he begins to be obsessed with ridding the world of the Jews. Only trouble his, his family are part Jewish (you see where this is going) and as his dementia grows well let's just say the movie gets crazier. It's extremely dark, the artsy way it's shot seems to be a little too much for me, I found it nearly schizophrenic in places and hard to pay attention too. Unnecessarily obtuse I guess, but I'm sure that is just me as so many love this film. It's depraved sure, but not in a way I find very effective, watch it if you are curious because well I'm in the minority.

Availability:  On DVD

Blow-Up (1966)

 4.5 / 5 Feb '10

Tagline: Michelangelo Antonioni's first British film

Directed by: Michelangelo Antonioni

Written by: Michelangelo Antonioni, Julio Cortázar

Actors include: Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, David Hemmings

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Length: 111 minutes

Banned: Nope

Review:

Pretty darned impressive and highly influential little chiller from Michelangelo Antonioni (it's his first English language film). The style is marvelous, absolutely perfect in getting across the vibes of the '60s in swinging London. The music from Herbie Hancock was superb in setting the mood, and there was even a surprise performance from the Yardbirds, how cool is that? The film is about an arrogant photographer who snaps a bunch of pictures of a couple innocently kissing in the park but ends up in the midst of a murder! See after he takes the shots the Woman in them (Vanessa Redgrave) begs for them back and even shows up at his apartment to seduce him for the negatives. Naturally he's curious why she's so desperate for them and starts to examine them closely and he starts to learn why! It's really very interesting as far as the plot goes plus the combination of the art world and models and strange goings ons make this pretty irresistible. I actually prefer Blow Out (which is directly influenced by this) by a bit because it's more satisfying, but this one is a definite must too, very groovy and fascinating in it's own way.

Availability:  On DVD

Seance On A Wet Afternoon (1964)

4.5 / 5 Feb '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Bryan Forbes
Written by: Bryan Forbes, Mark McShane
Actors include: Kim Stanley, Richard Attenborough, Judith Donner
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Length: 119 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is one positively gripping thriller that doesn't rely on bells and whistles, only direct story telling and sheerly brilliant acting. Kim Stanley is amazing as Myra, a psychic who hasn't been all that successful so together with her weak willed husband Billy (Richard Attenborough) they device a scheme. They decide to kidnap (erm borrow) the daughter of a rich family and hold her hostage, then try to boost the claims of Myra's psychic powers by offering useful information. Billy's reluctance is really quite something, the dynamic between the couple is much like that of Hyacinth & Richard from the tv show Keeping Up Appearances only instead of just being irritating Myra is down right insane! Things of course go downhill from there and the whole scheme gets quite mixed up but it's the sort of thing one can't take their eyes off of. Very atmospheric, it may appear rather slow to some but it's all so purposeful I find it impossible to fault the film for that. Really one heck of a classic that I can't believe I've never heard mention of until recently, definitely you must see this!

Availability:  On DVD

Pretty Poison (1968)

4.5 / 5  Feb '10
Tagline: She's such a sweet girl. He's such a nice boy. They'll scare the hell out of you.
Directed by: Noel Black
Written by: Lorenzo Semple Jr., Stephen Geller
Actors include: Anthony Perkins, Tuesday Weld, Beverly Garland
Genre: Crime, Thriller, Black Comedy
Length: 89 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I actually thought this was really quite charming, who'da thought that Anthony Perkins could be out crazied? In this film he plays somewhat of a sociopath ex-con who convinces a simple beautiful young woman (Tuesday Weld) that he's a secret FBI agent. He charms her with tales of his imaginary life and even convinces her she's working with the FBI all in the name of getting back at the chemical company that fired him. When they go on a "mission" to rig the collapse of part of the building things go really wrong when they are spotted by the night watchman. It's really a bizarre film because Tuesday's character is really naive and well seemingly dense but yet well appearances aren't always what they seem. This is one unusually creative and fun to watch crime film with well written characters that seem surprisingly real and some nice violence. You can't go wrong with this one and there certainly aren't many like it....sort of like Bonnie and Clyde for the mentally disturbed!

Availability:  On DVD

Eye Of The Devil (1966)

3.5 / 5
Tagline: we've got your number!
Directed by: J. Lee Thompson
Written by: Robin Estridge, Dennis Murphy
Actors include: Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Donald Pleasence
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 96 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is a rather elegant picture with beautiful black and white photography really quite well made. Sharon Tate actually makes her first appearance here even though I think they dubbed over her voice oddly enough. What it has also working in it's favor is that it's actually rather creepy...some of the imagery is impressive and eerie. It's sort of a precursor for The Wicker Man in some ways, it's about Philippe de Montfaucon who is summonzed back to his hometown castle leaving his wife and children behind. Of course they get lonely and show up at the castle, but something isn't quite right. Especially when his wife walks in on some sort of black magic rite with everyone in hoods. It's better than I had expected yet the lead character is so square that it's kind of annoying in some ways unfortunately. Still a stellar story and really they did do a good job making it unsettling which I liked. Recommended but maybe not something to rush out and try to see.

Availability:  Not currently on DVD
Eye of the Devil

Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1969)

2.5 / 5 July '10
Tagline: What made you leave him, Cathy ... was it the way he made love, or why?
Directed by: Mark Robson
Written by: Larry Cohen
Actors include: Carol White, Paul Burke, Mala Powers
Genre: Thriller
Length: 108 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
I was really looking forward to this as some talented filmmakers and so forth were at the helm here. The film is very nicely shot in San Francisco and I truly thought the concept was a good one. The story is about a young woman called Cathy who meets a young man, realizes he's mentally disturbed about the same time she finds out she's pregnant. She decides to have an abortion and tells the nutty father about it (big mistake!). Anyhow flash forward to later when she's met a new feller married and now with a baby and this is where the majority of the film takes place. The nutty fella turns up in her new life posing as a photographer and playing games with her. He wants to punish her and get revenge for the abortion but can she and her child be saved? What made this movie so awful was the actress playing Cathy, irritating, bitchy and whiny as heck, it's hard to feel bad for someone you hate. In fact there really wasn't much of anyone to try to root for in this, everyone was unlikable! The terrible theme song kept reoccurring (one of the worst I've heard yet), and most of the film dragged and dragged and was rather predictable. It's also the handling of the story was so overwrought and obnoxious it was difficult to even sit through. It's a shame because I feel this could have been something special if quite a few things changed.

Availability:  Not on DVD

Lady In A Cage (1964)

4 / 5 July '10
Tagline: Do not see "Lady in a Cage" alone!
Directed by: Walter Grauman
Written by: Luther Davis
Actors include: Olivia de Havilland, James Caan, Ann Sothern
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 94 minutes
Banned: Finland

Review:
Mrs. Hilyard (Olivia de Havilland) needs to have her hip replaced, in the meantime she has to use a cage-like elevator to get between floors in her house. Her Son has left her alone for a few days, so when something in her elevator malfunctions and she's trapped in there she's panicked. The elevator has a buzzer for help that rings a bell outside, instead of attracting help she attracts the attention of a bum who wants to rob her. Of course she's trapped so she can do nothing, but when more bad people that are more dangerous invade her house things go from bad to worse. Suddenly there are bodies, and total destruction and nobody will help. In a way it feels like a message to the audience that society sucks and won't help a suffering injured Woman, we'd rather rob her instead. Still it's rather shocking honestly and it goes further than I had expected. A rather cool concept with an intriguing execution and a wonderful leading lady...what more could one want?

Availability:  On DVD

Twisted Nerve (1968)

4.5 / 5 Aug '10
Tagline: Cleaver. Cleaver. Chop. Chop. First the mom and then the pop. Then we'll get the pretty girl. We'll get her right between the curl.
Directed by: Roy Boulting
Written by: Roy Boulting, Leo Marks
Actors include: Hayley Mills, Hywel Bennett, Billie Whitelaw
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Length: 118 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is one nifty psychological thriller that was instantly entertaining and loveable. Martin Durnley (Hywel Bennett) is a strange young man of 22. His Mother treats him like he's a little boy, and his Step-Father seems to hate his guts and desperately wants him out of the house. Martin's brother is a mongoloid in an institution, and well Martin seems to have an alter ego as a 6 year old named Georgie (which drove our cat Georgie insane). Martin meets a beautiful kindly young librarian named Susan (Hayley Mills) who he becomes obsessed with. When his Father forces him out of the house he goes to live in at the house of Susan under false pretenses. Things seem to get worse because Susan and the others only know Georgie...when Georgie doesn't get what he wants Martin is the one they'll have to deal with. Let's just say Martin isn't the type of person you want to say no to. It actually maintained a really good level of tension and the acting was really impressive too. Definitely one of the better little known thrillers from the '60s, very surprising and cool.

Availability:  On DVD region 2

Night Of The Eagle (1962) aka Burn, Witch, Burn!

3.5 / 5 Dec '10
Tagline: Witch or Woman, What Was It?
Directed by: Sidney Hayers
Written by: Fritz Leiber Jr., Charles Beaumont
Actors include: Janet Blair, Peter Wyngarde, Margaret Johnston
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 85 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
This is actually a charming little film even though at times it's rather dry and talky and it's not exactly scary though I'm sure at the time the subject matter creeped a few out. Norman Taylor is a charming young teacher, his students adore him and he has everything life could offer, even an adoring wife (played by singer Janet Blair). When he discovers his Wife has been engaging in the practice of witchcraft (he doesn't believe in it) he burns all of her protection gear. Well let's just say burning voodoo style stuff isn't exactly the best plan as they are sort of doomed from that point on. This has some pretty neat scenes and the visuals are positively lovely, even though parts are less than interesting the bigger picture is engaging enough to keep following it. If you are looking for straight up horror you might be disappointed but if you are looking for a neat little story that has horror elements than this is more for you.

Availability:  On DVD

Bonnie And Clyde (1967)

5 / 5
Tagline:  They're young... they're in love... and they kill people.
Directed by:  Arthur Penn
Written by:  David Newman, Robert Benton
Actors include:  Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty, Michael J. Pollard
Genre:  Crime, Drama, Action
Length:  112 minutes
Banned:  Nope

Review: 

Pretty darned great glimpse into the lives of Bonnie & Clyde though I should mention I've never really studied either.  I have no idea how factual this film is nor did I really care as it's purely entertaining and it felt real regardless.  That is of course largely because Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty did such an amazing job in their roles (well everyone did really).  The film starts out innocently enough with Clyde meeting Bonnie and wisking her away to a life of excitement and crime.  It almost feels like kids daring each other and wanting to impress one another so things get extremely carried away.  On that note if you like violence, this should definitely please your pallet, it's shockingly bloody (especially for 1967).  I was actually really surprised how much of this film was copied for both Badlands and Natural Born Killers.  The cinematography and style were impressive as well, they really helped propell this from a great film to an amazing one.  The film is thrilling, fast paced and always entertaining a definite classic deserving of it's reputation.

Availability:  On Blu-Ray & DVD

Shock Corridor (1963)

4 / 5 Mar '11
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Samuel Fuller
Written by: Samuel Fuller
Actors include: Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Mystery
Length: 101 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Although this is rather campy and obviously inexpensively made it's still a really charismatic piece and the ideas within are rather shocking (for the time). Peter Breck plays Johnny Barrett, a journalist hell bent on getting the Pulitzer Prize by any means necessary. He devices a plan to have his showgirl singer girlfriend Cathy pretend to be his Sister who he's obsessed with in order to be committed to an insane asylum so he can try to solve a murder. Yeah it's that simple! As you can probably already guess things don't work out quite as planned but considering that the basics are obvious it's the little details that made it special. Johnny has to try to milk the information out of three different mental patients who witnessed a murder in order to solve the crime. The film manages to delve into racism, mental patient abuse and obsession. It's quite the picture that won't appeal to everyone, but it's pretty fascinating I thought.

Availability:  On Blu-Ray & DVD