I haven’t posted all that much in blog form recently. My apologises. I decided, on a whim, on the 1^st of the month, to write a short review of no more that 350 words on a different horror film every day this October. And I’ve been posting them to my Facebook and Instagram pages. But I thought I should do a collection style blog, putting them together. So, for better or worse, here are the first 8 films I covered. If you have already read them, ignore them or read them again (it’s up to you). If not, I hope you enjoy them now.

Relentless (1989)

Okay, I started spooky season off a little differently this year. I worked all day selling my art, making connections and working on commissions. So, when I sat down to relax and watch a movie, I picked the first thing on my list. And that was the 1989 thriller, Relentless.

You might think I was being a little lazy, and I was, but this film is connected to a beloved horror director. William Lustig who directed the films Maniac (1980) and the Maniac Cop trilogy. And honestly, I really enjoyed Relentless.

It’s a film that proceeds The Silence of the Lambs by a few years, and while there had been serial killer films before, it wasn’t compared to a larger more impressive film. And it did its own thing.

Centring around a rookie detective Sam Dietz (Leo Rossi) starting his new role in the police force and partnered with a seasoned veteran Bill Molly (Robert Loggia) as they try to catch a serial killer (Judd Nelson) who seemingly picks his victims at random out of the phone book.

Judd Nelson, playing the killer ‘Buck’ Taylor was the draw to this film. A former Brat Pack actor breaking out and doing a very different role than what he had done in the past. And damn it, he was good. The fleshing out of his story with a traumatic past at the hands of his strict cop father was well done and not rammed down the audience’s throat. And Nelson has some truly creepy and disturbing moments. It was a good performance.

But this film is Leo Rossi’s show, even if he is third billed in the cast. His Sam Dietz is our main character. The new face in an ‘old face’ department, no one takes him seriously. Even though he is smarter than those around him and often times right. But credit to the actor, the director and the writer, his intelligence isn’t portrayed as a negative aspect of the character. He is a character who butts heads with others for what he believes because as a patrolman he has had experience in the hunt for serial killers.

And seriously, Rossi is magnetic to watch. I don’t know why he wasn’t a bigger star. Relentless even became a franchise for him, being the only actor to appear in the original and its three sequels.

Yeah, I still haven’t seen the last one. But I remember seeing this film in the early 1990s and have remembered it ever since. It’s a pretty good move. There are better films in this genre, and this film does have a few issues. But it fits nicely into the police procedural thriller and the serial killer thriller subgenres. Its doesn’t try to put to much into the film that would seem out of place, relying more on character. It’s a really good way to spent 90 minutes. And I do think this would have made a freaking awesome TV show. Someone get on this.

It’s worth a watch. Check it out. 

Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965)

Okay. So, let’s do an anthology film. And in that vein, Amicus’ 1965 film Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors. Five men occupy the same train carriage: Architect Jim Dawson (Neil McCallum), family man Bill Rogers (Alan Freeman), musician Biff Bailey (Roy Castle), art critic Franklyn Marsh (Christopher Lee), and Dr Bob Carroll (Donald Sutherland). Just before leaving, they are joined by another, that of the mysterious Dr Schreck (Peter Cushing), who begins to tell their fortunes with a pack of tarot cards.

The train sequences with Schreck telling the future of each man are the framing device for the five short stories we get in this film. The first, ‘Werewolf’ tells the story of Jim Dawson as he travels to his ancestorial home to advise the woman who bought the property from him about renovations to the house. He gets entangled in an ancient curse and a werewolf. While the style is very like the classic Amicus/Hammer of the time, the massive leaps in logic and the muddled alteration of the werewolf mythology make this a less enjoyable watch than it should be.

Next is ‘Creeping Vine’. Bill Rogers and his family return from holiday to find a strange vine growing in the garden. One they soon find that they can’t remove. Its indestructible, intelligent and protects itself. The family dog, friends and investigator are all killed. At the end the family is holed up, besieged in their own house by the vengeful flora. This is kind of boring it spots. It’s a misuse of a good concept.

‘Voodoo’ centres around a trumpet player and his band as they take a booking to play in a night club in the West Indies. When Biff Bailey sneaks to a forbidden part of the island to watch a tribal ceremony. He is mesmerised by the music and proceeds to write is down. Even though he is warned not to steal from the voodoo gods, he completes a whole arrangement based on the music and performs it back in London. And the gods enact their revenge. Good idea, but it is too short to tell a story like this. And is definitely needed a larger scope to tell the tale effectively.

‘Disembodied Hand’ is probably the best of the shorts. It’s simple, effective, and creepy. A snobby art critic is humiliated by a painter that he has mercilessly hounded and attacked in the press and in person for years. The critic, in a fit of anger, runs the painter down in this car, crushing his hand in the process. When the painter then commits suicide at the loss of his hand, the critic is then terrorised by the amputated disembodied hand of the artist. Ending in a near fatal car crash. Top notice. Seriously, I have no notes.

The last story, ‘Vampire’ tells the tale of newlyweds Dr Carroll and his wife as they start their new life together. Strange happening begin in town and Dr Carroll’s business partner become convinced it is a vampire. He believes it to be Mrs. Carroll and convinces the good doctor to kill her. Which he does. He is arrested and we have a great double reveal. It is a passable tale, but the ending elevates it.

But it is with the framing story on the train that the real tension is serve up, culminating in a damn good ending to the film. After the end of each man’s fortune, and the story we see played out, each man draws the death card signifying his future fate. But we never see any of the men die in the stories presented. Have you guessed the twist yet?

The lights go out, and when they come back on Schreck is gone. As the men get off the train, they are not where they are meant to be. And the train they were just on has vanished. Dr Carroll pick a floating newspaper out of the air and all five men read that five men have died on a train crash. Yep, they are all dead and Schreck was the angel of death come to collect their souls, and have a little fun with them on the way. I must admit, it was a nice way to do the anthology film a little differently.

Okay, so this isn’t the best film to use the anthology format, Amicus made so many in the 60s and 70s (and better ones). But this is by no means the worst. And it’s worth it for a young Donald Sutherland and to see Lee and Cushing on screen together again.

Dog Soldiers (2002)

Oh, my giddy Aunt, this movie is cool.

There are so few great werewolf movies out there compared to vampire, zombies, mummies and slasher killers. I’m always over the moon when one is released.

This independent gem was written and directed by Neil Marshall. This was his debut feature. He would later go on to helm The Decent (2005), Doomsday (2008), Centurion (2010), Hellboy (2019), and The Reckoning (2020). As well as some of the best television episodes of your favourite shows in recent memory. This is a creator who knows what he is doing.

Dog Soldiers is a horror action film with a nice dose of black comedy. A squad of Army soldiers are on manoeuvres in Scotland and unbeknownst to them, they are being used as bait for a special operations branch to catch werewolves. Most of the film has the soldiers, the special operation leader and a local woman holed up in an abandoned house as the lycanthropes attack.

Part horror movie, part action movie, part siege thriller with werewolves, and a punch of pop culture references that I didn’t see coming on my first watch. Seriously, the script makes little references to Evil Dead, Star Trek, The Matrix, amongst others. This movie still remains fresh.

Cinematography is great, the action and creature effects are well executed, its well written, especially the dialogue. But the performances sell this movie better than anything else. You believe the soldiers have been doing this a while and that they have a repour that only combat can bring. I dare you not to hear Sean Pertwee’s Sgt Wells monologue about a fallen comrade and not get chills.

Apart from Sean, other stand outs in the cast are Kevin McKidd as Cooper, Liam Cunningham as Ryan, Emma Cleasby as Megan and Darren Morfitt as Spoon.

This is a movie that everyone needs to watch. And whether you have seen is before or haven’t yet, this Halloween season is all the excuse you need. So, sit down and put on one of the best werewolf movies in the past 30 years. You’ll love it.

Exists (2014)

I watch a lot of bigfoot movies. I think the concept of a lost or hidden cryptid is a good basis for fiction. While the kid in my still loves Harry and the Hendersons, I crave a good scary horror movie with old bigfoot. It’s come close a few times, but I am still waiting. Today’s flick is in the ‘comes close’ category. But I haven’t seen them all yet.

2014’s Exists is directed and co-written by Eduardo Sanchez, one half od the team that brought us The Blaire Witch Project in 1999, this is another found footage movie. But with two differences. This film has a single, tangible stalker and better technology from Sanchez’s first effect.

The character of Brian in the film uses different hand-held cameras to capture the action, but also has mounted small Go-Pro cameras on everything he can. Which allows the director and the cinematographer to pick their shots and to edit the film into a more traditional narrative while keeping the tension that comes with a ‘found footage’ movie intact.

And the bigfoot is a fully designed creature too with make-up appliances and a full body suit. The creature becomes a character not just an entity. So, I suppose three things.

But, while the film is entertaining (it held my attention), it doesn’t add anything new to the found footage genre. Paranormal Activity did that wonderfully, even if the later entries in that franchise soured it. Yeah, that is not my favourite series. But Exists is an enjoyable little horror tale, but delivers nothing ground-breaking, but it is in no way a bad film. It lands somewhere between ‘okay’ and ‘good’. It made me jump a few times and made me invested in the outcome.

Now I think there is a bigfoot movie with Lance Henriksen in it. I’m going to try and find that. Even if it’s a bad movie, at least it still has Lance in it.

Cat’s Eye (1985)

Stephen King and the anthology film are not strangers. Creepshow springs to mind for most. Or Tales From the Dark Side maybe. Or the made for TV Nightmares and Dreamscapes. But one I think that is completely overlooked is the 1985 horror/thriller anthology Cat’s Eye.

This film is directed by Lewis Teague, who had previously directed Cujo, (another King adaptation) and is made up of three stories linked by the same cat, The General, as he follows a vision of a little girl in trouble to save her. Because cats are cool.

The first story, Quitter’s Inc. features smoker Dick Morrison (James Woods) who wants to quit. He goes to a clinic that has a 100% success rate. But it’s run by the mob. Here threats, intimidation, and the torture and mutilation of loved ones are used for a different purpose here. Alan King as the clinic counsellor is a solid stand out.

Next is The Ledge. Johnny Norris (Robert Hayes) is having an affair with a woman, who’s jealous crime boss and casino owner Cressner, kidnaps Norris and blackmails him into a dangerous endeavour. To circumnavigate the exterior ledge of Cressner’s penthouse. If he is successful, he will grant his wife divorce. Spoiler alert: the bad guy doesn’t part fair. The casino owner is played by the first Baron Harkonnen himself Kenneth McMillan, in full moustache twirling mode. 

And finally, The General. Our hero cat finally finds the little girl (Drew Barrymore) and is quickly adopted into her family. And every night battles a malevolent troll that lives in the walls. The troll is trying to steal the girl’s breath which will kill her. The General saves the day.

This movie is often billed as a horror, but it is more a thriller with some fantasy elements and a big dose of fun. Seriously, watch Quitter’s Inc. Done? See I told you. Fun. And the set design for The General is amazing when you find out how they did it.

It’s not a masterpiece, but it gets a high recommendation from me. Mainly for re-watchability.

The Devil Riders Out (1968)

The Devil Rides Out is one of my favourite movies and my personal fav of Hammer Studios. And it is also a rare instance of Christopher Lee playing a hero in a horror film.

This is more of a supernatural thriller between the forces of good and evil. The genius occult and black magic expert Duc de Richleau (Lee) and allies as they face off against the evil Mocata (Charles Gray) and his cult of Satanists as they try to rise the devil himself.

Our way into the story is through the traditional two-fisted hero Rex (Leon Green) as he is brought into the fight by de Richleau to save their friend Simon who is under Mocata’s sway. Rex gets involved with Tanith (Mike Arrighi), a beautiful femme fatale that Mocata uses as a weapon against them. And is one of the most interesting characters in the whole movie. The tension of the potential romance between them is also as good as the tension of ‘is she a villain or not’.

After the rescue of Simon and the retreat to the home of the Eaton’s, Marie, Richard and their daughter Peggy (Sarah Lawson, Paul Eddington & Rosalyn Lander), this base of operations is first visited by Mocata to mesmerise them, and then as a location for him to attack. Leading to some pretty effective sequences, even if the quality of the special effects doesn’t hold up.

Even though the film is basically a battle of wills between two father figures, on first watching I was surprised to find out it was all about the women. I won’t give the ending away, but it is wonderful.

This film is written by legend Richard Matheson based on the novel by Dennis Wheatley. A ‘hell yes’ from me before I knew anything else about it. Directed by the amazing and underrated Terrence Fisher, he and cinematographer Arthur Grant craft the visuals in a way that are effective and seamless, and tell the story better than you would expect.

This is a must, not only horror fans but for film fans in general. Hammer’s best film that they ever made.

Crawl (2019)

So, I was surprised by this film. I was expecting a dumb creature feature but found myself invested within the first 20 minutes and stayed that way, hands clutched tight.

Crawl (2019) is a simple set-up. Swim champion Haley (Kaya Scodelario), goes to find her father Dave (Barry Pepper) who hasn’t been answering his phone. Oh, I forgot to mention, there is a category 5 hurricane headed towards them. It is Florida after all.

Haley, only finding her dad’s dog Sugar in his condo heads to the old family home that Dave is fixes up to sell to look for him. And the house is on the shore of a lake/swamp. She finds her father in the crawl space under the house, unconscious with an injured leg. But surprise, there are also alligators down there. Big ones too, and they are trapped, mean and hungry. And we now have a human versus beast movie in a human versus nature set-up.

This is a tense little movie and it seemed to do under the radar. I didn’t hear about this flick until I ran across it on DVD. Which is a shame because this is a well-made film. It’s full of great action sequences, good acting, a dash of humour and some truly amazing and well thought out scenarios for our heroes to overcome.

Even though there are other actors in the film, they are gator food mostly. Th film is Scodelario and Pepper’s and they do a great job in their roles opposite alligators created by practical effects and CGI. This film is produced by icon Sam Raimi (yes, the Evil Dead guy) and directed by Alexandra Aja, the artistic warrior director who gave us High Tension, Mirrors, Piranha 3D, Horns and the remake of The Hills Have Eyes.

This movie has a simple premise executed well. Characters you care about, good action and location, and some real ‘shit your pants’ moments. It’s well worth the ride.

Spoiler Alert: No. The dog doesn’t die. So, you can breathe again.

Mikey (1992)

Kids in horror movies are not a new thing. Print sized spree killers to supernatural evil tots have been in fantastic and horror fiction since forever. But one that isn’t done a lot of is a child serial killer. And that is what the 1992 film Mikey is all about.

Mikey (Brian Bonsall) kills off his current foster family at the beginning because they upset him. He is a ten-year-old kid after all. He may be extremely intelligent, but he is emotionally and socially inexperienced. After a brief investigation, Mikey is eventually place with another foster family in the form of wannabe parents Rachel and Neil (Mimi Craven and John Diehl). And at first everything seems perfect.

Mikey’s teacher Gilder (Ashley Laurence) is the first to notice that the angel faced little boy is not right. He best friend Ben’s sister Jessie who Mikey is obsessed with) is the second to be creeped out by Mikey. And when they both tell the parents of this, they are both shot down and ignored. That is until people around the boy start dying.

The climax is a nice stalker/slasher kind of finale, with a ten-year-old as the killer. You may think it sounds a little ridiculous, but this genius little kid uses his brains against the adult’s assumptions. The final shot is reminiscent of the final shot of The Omen.

Would I recommend this film? Well, yes and no. If you like all manner of serial killer stories (same as those people who love True Crime podcasts) then yes, watch. But if you are just a casual movie goer looking for some entertainment, this film may not be for you. It is a little boring and drags in places, the gore, nudity and language is tame for this kind of tale. It has a made for TV kind of vibe to it. Which is probably not surprising as the director Dennis Dimster and writer Jonathon Glassner have worked most in TV. Glassner writing and producing one of my favourite TV shows Stargate SG-1.

It is such a good idea for a horror of a thriller, but this film doesn’t go far enough to be memorable.   

Kids in horror movies are not a new thing. Print sized spree killers to supernatural evil tots have been in fantastic and horror fiction since forever. But one that isn’t done a lot is a child serial killer. And that is what the 1992 film Mikey is all about.

Mikey (Brian Bonsall) kills off his current foster family at the beginning because they upset him. He is a ten-year-old kid after all. He may be extremely intelligent, but he is emotionally and socially inexperienced. After a brief investigation, Mikey is eventually placed with another foster family in the form of wannabe parents Rachel and Neil (Mimi Craven and John Diehl). And at first everything seems perfect.

Mikey’s teacher Gilder (Ashley Laurence) is the first to notice that the angel-faced little boy is not right. His best friend Ben’s sister Jessie who Mikey is obsessed with) is the second to be creeped out by Mikey. And when they both tell the parents of this, they are both shot down and ignored. That is until people around the boy start dying.

The climax is a nice stalker/slasher kind of finale, with a ten-year-old as the killer. You may think it sounds a little ridiculous, but this genius little kid uses his brains against the adult’s assumptions. The final shot is reminiscent of the final shot of The Omen.

Would I recommend this film? Well, yes and no. If you like all manner of serial killer stories (same as those people who love True Crime podcasts) then yes, watch. But if you are just a casual movie goer looking for some entertainment, this film may not be for you. It is a little boring and drags in places, the gore, nudity and language is tame for this kind of tale. It has a made for TV kind of vibe to it. Which is probably not surprising as the director Dennis Dimster and writer Jonathon Glassner have worked most in TV. Glassner wrote and produced one of my favourite TV shows, Stargate SG-1.

 It is such a good idea for a horror or thriller, but this film doesn’t go far enough to be memorable.

Stay tuned for the next collected edition.

The regular blog post complete with original artwork are coming again soon. I’m working on Heavy Metal (1981), Halloween III (1982) and The Dark Half (1993). Bye.