Angel Heart (1987)

3 / 5 Jul '10
Tagline: It will scare you to your very soul.
Directed by: Alan Parker
Written by: William Hjortsberg, Alan Parker
Actors Include:  Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Length: 113 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well I kinda thought this would be a really good film, heck nearly everyone seems to think so. I'm in the minority here as I didn't really see anything refreshing, shocking, horrific or even scary. Just naked [Artist440936] if that be your pleasure. Well okay there is a plot, Private Dick Harry Angel ([Artist84952]) is called upon by Louis Cypher (how original...in fact that was a bit too much of a clue for me). Angel's mission is to find a fella called Johnny Favorite who definitely doesn't want to be found. When people start turning up dead and he starts witnessing some strange things, the story gets thicker. It's got a fair bit in common with [Film5479] (which came out the same year) only I kind of liked the other film a bit better although neither wowed me to be honest. I will give this credit for being nicely filmed and relatively well acted I suppose and it creates a decent atmosphere. I just thought it needed more meat, more excitement and a bit more of a surprise, especially considering the hype that follows it around.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray

Mr. Vampire (1985) aka Geung si sin sang

4 / 5 Oct '10
Tagline: N/A
Directed by: Ricky Lau
Written by: Ricky Lau, Cheuk-Hon Szeto
Actors include: Ching-Ying Lam, Ricky Lau, Siu-hou Chin
Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror
Length: 97 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Although I'm not sure this made a lick of sense were you to pull it apart it's not meant to be. It's purely entertaining absurd comedy with some kung fu action and a touch of horror thrown in. So I don't understand the why on most of this stuff but let's see if I can kind of give a plot synopsis. There is a Master, and two bumbling trainees, also an army of zombies who hop like bunnies (my favorite part) but are kept docile by putting spells on them. In fact spells (made from voodoo paper, and chicken's blood and sticky rice) seem to tame most things when they are in danger. There are also vampires, on of the assistants is bitten by a zombie and tries to stave off zombie effects by dancing around like a fool, and by filing his teeth and nails. The other assistant is possessed by some attractive ghost who throws her own head around. The lessons I learned from this film are that people in Hong Kong are very superstitious, you can't mix sticky rice with other rice, and that more zombies should bounce like bunnies, it's hilarious! It's well paced, action packed and full of laughs, definitely a winner for those of us looking for something rather strange but also very fun.  Also it's worth noting that there are several other entries into the Mr. Vampire series, but this is the first.

Availability:  On DVD

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