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Karen Black at the Black House with the Black Fence: An Appreciation of “The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver”
Originally posted on Goddess of Hellfire:
You know how sometimes when you’re bored and kinda hung over on a Sunday, and you go poking around YouTube looking for some comforting…
Review : A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
Year: 2014
Director: Ana Lily Amipour
Cast: Sheila Vand, Arash Marandi, Marshall Manesh, Mozhan Marnò
Themes: Vampire, Pop culture cool, Belonging, Love Story
All it took were three words to reel me in “Iranian Vampire Western”- ok, and a deliciously neo-gothic looking still of a female vampette donning a burka styled headdress. Something new, something different, at last! So it would come to be that A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night became one of my most anticipated releases of 2014- and into 2015 when the opportunity (not for the want of trying) finally arose for me to see it. Of course this came with much anticipation, and that’s probably never a good thing. But then I should kick myself for allowing to get drawn in by a tagline- because scratch beneath the surface of this ‘First Iranian Vampire Western’ marketing, and we find a film that was shot in…
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Stiggy’s Film of the Day Eye of the Devil (1966)
Year: 1966
Director: J. Lee Thompson
Cast: Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Sharon Tate, David Hemmings, Donald Pleasence
Themes: Pagan Rites, Black Mass, Ancient Tradition, Witchcraft Thriller
Story
The de Montfaucon family appear to be living the perfect life in suburban Paris- husband Philippe (David Niven) and wife Catherine (Deborah Kerr) and their two children Jacques and Antoinette, seem to have everything they need. But when Philippe receives news from his home at castle Bellenac that the vineyard crops have failed for the third year running it is time he must return, in order to fulfil an ancestral pact he made, to appease the old Gods and make a sacrifice that will restore vitality to the land. Leaving his family behind Philippe heads home, but his wife Catherine- knowing her husband is troubled by his past- ignores her husband’s wishes to stay behind. She and the children travel to be…
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Stiggy’s Film of the Day Tam-Lin aka The Devil’s Widow (1970)
Year: 1970
Director: Roddy McDowall
Cast: Ava Gardner , Ian McShane , Stephanie Beacham, Cyril Cusack
Themes: Occult, Folklore, Legends, Thriller,Witchcraft, Love Triangle
The Story.
Aging spinster Mickey is a fickle woman. Determined to escape her biological reality, she surrounds herself with the company of beautiful young people- using her immense wealth, and possibly a little bit of witchy wonder, to keep them there by her side. Catch her on a good day she will pander to your every dream; dare defy the mistress of the manor and there will be trouble. But then who could resist living a life of luxury and decadence if it means paying lip service to the crone’s ego every once and a while? Tom does more than this. He truly believes he loves Mickey. As her favourite pet he gets more than his fair share of attention. He is granted access to…
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Everything dies in the Everly trailer
One of the films I highlighted as a must-see earlier this month was Joe Lynch’s ass-kicking Die Hard in a room thriller, Everly. Starring the gorgeous Salma Hayek as a gun-wielding…
Stiggy’s Film of the Day The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976)
Year: 1976
Director: Matt Cimber
Cast: Millie Perkins, Lonny Chapman, Vanessa Brown, Peggy Fuery
Themes: Child Abuse, Video Nasty, Female Serial Killer, Trauma
Story.
Following on with another entry into our Witchy Wonder and Demonic Delight season, today I bring you former DPP video nasty, The Witch Who Came from the Sea (1976). For anyone who has already seen this, yes I am quite aware there are no witches in it, but the title fits, so it stays!
The Witch Who Came from the Sea might not feature anything remotely witchy, or supernatural for that matter, but it is a fantastic slab of grindhouse retro horror nevertheless, that provides an innovative riff on the old rape revenge theme- which makes it worth writing about in my book. The story of the survivor of child sex abuse, Molly (Millie Perkins), now a grown woman has invented a fantasy world…
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Stiggy’s Film of the Day Inquisition (1976)
Year: 1976
Alternate title: Inquisición
Director: Paul Naschy ( as Jacinto Molina)
Cast: Paul Naschy, Daniela Giordano, Mónica Randall, Ricardo Merino
Themes: Witchfinder General, Witchcraft, Occult, Torture, Period Horror
The Story.
Kicking off our season Witchy Wonder and Demonic Delight (just in time for everyone’s favourite time of the year, Samhain), comes a spicy little Witchsploitation number from Spanish horror legend Paul Naschy- Inquisition (1976). The film at first glance follows a typical Witchfinder General type riff but then finds itself wandering into some very interesting territory as the plot moves on. Naschy manages to melt in some extra flavours before the climax hits its final note, to produce something of a memorable piece with strong elements of good old euro-sleaze to ease things along.
Naschy stars as Bernard de Fossey, a man on a mission to rid the world of witchcraft. Cruising from town to town with his merry…
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Re-Animator 1985 (UK Blu-ray Review).
Year: 1985
Director: Stuart Gordon
Cast: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Robert Sampson
Themes: Zombies, Mad Scientists, Reanimation, Splatstick, Comedy, Gore
Disc specification: Video: 1.78:1, 1080p, Audio DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 /LPCM Stereo
So few directors in the genre have earned the title ‘Master of Horror’- a crown only befitting to those who have earned their stripes by their innovative pushing of the envelop, their ability to take a risk and win; a benchmark of true quality that many can only strive to attain, but never manage to achieve. One such director who has earned his right to reign under this moniker is genre stalwart Stuart Gordon. Everyone has to start somewhere, for Gordon is was this film, the unforgettable Re-Animator– a film that appalled critics and delighted audiences in equal measure. A film that caused such contention with the BBFC it remained heavily…
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Artist Spotlight: The Sinister Works of Worthless Endeavors
Originally posted on Heathen Harvest:
? Worthless ? Somewhere amongst the shadows in the Northeastern swamplands of New Jersey, there lies an artist cloaked in obscurity who holds no limits…
House at Highgate Cemetery 