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A gaggle of chattering schoolgirls are making their way to the edge of a train platform. They join hands, and as the train pulls into the station, all 54 of the uniformed waifs jump in unison onto the tracks.
In the 1970s, the devil and satanic cults got a bad rap, and proved attractive forbidden fodder for movie goers. The Exorcist had people fainting in the aisles. The Manson Family terrorised a nation. Rosemary’s Baby was a hit, and made you question your neighbours. Race With the Devil belongs to a genre that’s often overlooked. This holiday from hell/car chase/popcorn flick is a great movie for different reasons. Directed by Jack Starrett (sometimes credited elsewhere as Claude Ennis Starrett Jr), it stars Peter Fonda and Warren Oates, two further reasons to see the film.
Last year, I was diagnosed with swine flu. Upon being quarantined in my flat, with much time on my hands, I scanned my movie archive. My first appropriate choice to keep my feeble mind busy was [Rec], the Spanish sleeper-hit that took many by surprise in 2007.
I love that movie for many reasons. The claustrophobic intensity. The manic frustration of the residents trying to figure out what’s going on. And now, I shared their plight. I was ushered out of my Doctor’s office faster than a whore in church, once it was verified I was infected.
Luckily for my sick butt, I was given a copy of [Rec] 2 by a buddy (thanks Ishi!). So I was, as they say in Spanish, muy emocionado!
If you’re a sucker for body horror, then this my friend is right up your alley! Yes, pun intended. Think David Cronenberg jizzing all over a Takashi Miike script. Dutch director Tom Six turns in this opus about three unfortunate people doomed by the hands of one demented Doctor.
Renowned Dr Heiter is a specialist in separating Siamese twins, and has a hair-brained scheme to connect people, in more ways than one. Needless to say, things take an ugly, nasty turn.
Don’t Go In The Woods was the first ever video nasty to jump out of the pages of The Dark Side magazine and into my crazed mind! The cover art fascinated me beyond belief. The hand-drawn image of the severely beaten (and presumed dead) woman, the backdrop of an eerie campfire, topped with a tagline of “Everyone has nightmares about the ugliest way to die!” gave me a glimpse of hope that greats like Friday The 13th and The Burning had a new camp-slasher flick to challenge them. How wrong I was.
