Seen and not seen's, recommendations and queries on top films in general.

[ConcreteMascara]

Vampyros Lesbos - [dir. Jesus Franco, 1967]
This is a movie I've been hearing about since I first started watching b-movies and the like however many years ago. I mean that title and that cover, it definitely piques my curiosity. Yet 20 years later I'm only just now watching it. I think the only other Jes Franco film I've seen is Venus in Furs, so I can't compare other than to say I think I prefer Venus in Furs over this one, although my last viewing was 10+ years ago. Anyway.... extremely hot Soledad Miranda and les hot Ewa Stromberg get naked and kiss in a variety of extremely gorgeous interior and exterior sets in Turkey. A psychiatrist slaps the shit out of his patients. A jilted female ex screams a lot. A boyfriend looks befuddled. The music is wonderful. The sound design gets real weird. A big ass pin gets shoved in an eye.  The script is laconic, the pace is lethargic, but it all works most of the time because the images and sounds are so damn enjoyable. Not an everyday film, but a movie you should watch once, even if it takes you 20 years to get around to it. Final note, the Severin blu-ray I have looked fucking stunning.

Vampyros Lesbos is certainly not the best Franco and I guess its heightened cult status can be accredited to the title alone. I rewatched it a couple months ago after like 5 years expecting to appreciate it more after being 30+ films deep into Franco but that wasn't the case and if anything it solidified my previous comment.

Venus in Furs is more deserving of the attention it gets. His sweet spot sort of begins around here (69-70). But the greatest stuff is all 73-74 imo. Some recs off the top of my head if you have interest: Eugenie de Sade (1973 - Soledad Miranda's finest), The Obscene Mirror (1973), A Virgin Among the Living Dead (aka Christina, Princess of Eroticism) (1973), Lorna, The Exorcist (1974), The Perverse Countess (1974). Things get more complicated later but there are still some excellent ones to check out in the early/mid-80s like Macumba Sexual (1983), Bahia Blanca (1984), Night Has a Thousand Desires (1984), Faceless (1987). And of course any fan of classic horror owes it to themselves to see The Awful Dr. Orlof (1962) which is just a straight up good movie.

Thanks for the recommendations, I was hoping you might make some! I picked up She Killed In Ecstasy at the same time as Vampyros Lesbos so I'll probably do that one next, but I'm very interested to check out his career highlights. Have you ever seen the Mansion of the Living Dead by Franco? As a lover of the Blind Dead series I'm very interested in his spin on the idea, even if it's only a cosmetic relation.

[absurdexposition]

Vampyros Lesbos - [dir. Jesus Franco, 1967]
This is a movie I've been hearing about since I first started watching b-movies and the like however many years ago. I mean that title and that cover, it definitely piques my curiosity. Yet 20 years later I'm only just now watching it. I think the only other Jes Franco film I've seen is Venus in Furs, so I can't compare other than to say I think I prefer Venus in Furs over this one, although my last viewing was 10+ years ago. Anyway.... extremely hot Soledad Miranda and les hot Ewa Stromberg get naked and kiss in a variety of extremely gorgeous interior and exterior sets in Turkey. A psychiatrist slaps the shit out of his patients. A jilted female ex screams a lot. A boyfriend looks befuddled. The music is wonderful. The sound design gets real weird. A big ass pin gets shoved in an eye.  The script is laconic, the pace is lethargic, but it all works most of the time because the images and sounds are so damn enjoyable. Not an everyday film, but a movie you should watch once, even if it takes you 20 years to get around to it. Final note, the Severin blu-ray I have looked fucking stunning.

Vampyros Lesbos is certainly not the best Franco and I guess its heightened cult status can be accredited to the title alone. I rewatched it a couple months ago after like 5 years expecting to appreciate it more after being 30+ films deep into Franco but that wasn't the case and if anything it solidified my previous comment.

Venus in Furs is more deserving of the attention it gets. His sweet spot sort of begins around here (69-70). But the greatest stuff is all 73-74 imo. Some recs off the top of my head if you have interest: Eugenie de Sade (1973 - Soledad Miranda's finest), The Obscene Mirror (1973), A Virgin Among the Living Dead (aka Christina, Princess of Eroticism) (1973), Lorna, The Exorcist (1974), The Perverse Countess (1974). Things get more complicated later but there are still some excellent ones to check out in the early/mid-80s like Macumba Sexual (1983), Bahia Blanca (1984), Night Has a Thousand Desires (1984), Faceless (1987). And of course any fan of classic horror owes it to themselves to see The Awful Dr. Orlof (1962) which is just a straight up good movie.

Have you ever seen the Mansion of the Living Dead by Franco? As a lover of the Blind Dead series I'm very interested in his spin on the idea, even if it's only a cosmetic relation.

Haven't seen it! Seems like it could go either way. I'm not sure that that type of horror is really his forte, but maybe you're more forgiving than I (although I am pretty forgiving when it comes to Franco).

[ConcreteMascara]

From the last month or so...:

Dune - dir. Denis Villeneuve, 2021 - I love Dune. I love the books, I love the old RTS games from Westwood, I love Lynch film, I love all the things its inspired and I fucking loved this movie. so happy I saw it in the theater too. for my taste Denis Villeneuve is one the very best directors working right now. here's hoping part 2 is as good as part 1.

Sicario - dir. Denis Villeneuve, 2015 - a perennial favorite since I saw it in theaters. my favorite "war on drugs" movie.

Halloween III: Season of the Witch - dir. Tommy Lee Wallace, 1982 - along with the original Halloween this is one of the best halloween season movies. So absurd and so much fucking fun.

Young Frankenstein - dir. Mel Brooks, 1974 - I haven't seen this one in 15 years or more. Really enjoyed it but not near the amount of jokes per minute as a Blazing Saddles, but probably a better movie in some respects. I was very distracted while watching and probably need to give it another go to enjoy it more.

Trick ’r Treat - dir. Michael Dougherty, 2007 - I only saw this movie for the first time earlier this year (I think) but figured I should give it a re-watch closer to Halloween. Not the best thing ever and it certainly doesn't top Halloween III, but still a lot of fun. Also any movie that kills kids is gonna get bonus points from me.

Brotherhood of the Wolf - dir. Christophe Gans, 2001 - I've seen this movie twice, once in theaters when I was 14 and once maybe 10 years ago. I have mostly fond if vague memories. My buddy and I watched it on a lark earlier this week and while it's an uneven and long ride, I'd say it was worth it over all. A bizarre concoction of martial arts, monster movie, gothic intrigue and sinister occultism, this one delivers a lot of ideas over its runtime. and at over 2 hours you fucking better keep delivering the hits if you want to keep me interested. funny enough, the visuals are the films biggest asset and sometimes its biggest downfall. There's a fair amount of 2001 CGI which largely looks bad, and some of it is super unnecessary, but the costuming and set design are mostly absolutely sumptuous. I want to specifically mention Monica Bellucci who plays an interesting character with easily the best costumes when she isn't partially nude. A lot of the ideas in the film are interesting too, but I don't think the narrative comes together completely. it reminded me a bit of The Devils, but it doesn't have near the vision that that film does. But yes, a flawed genre mix-em-up that's worth watching.

Death Walks on High Heels - dir. Luciano Ercoli, 1971 - this giallo's been sitting on my shelf for 3 years. at home for a sick day I decided to finally give it a shot. whooboy was this narrative twistier than a mountain switchback. at times it reminded me of better arthouse crime films, but then it would descend into sillier and sleazier territory, not that I was really complaining. the "red herring" genre trope is well known in giallo but goddamn does this movie keep turning em out. I called a couple of the twists early on but I couldn't even place them in the overall narrative context. not a complaint though, this one was a lot of fun. I really like Nieves Navarro as the leading lady. She was pretty but also self-assured and charismatic. also there was a great mixture of scenic backdrops from Paris to London to the countryside. Not my favorite or the best, bet definitely one I'd return to or screen for a larger audience.

[tiny_tove]

I have finally watched EX Drummer, which was suggested by many of you, but I kept postponing and, really, this is just perfect and fits the "power electronics" movies category and totally fits my vision of the world we live in. Superb ending.

Then I watched the Grisly Strangler, bertween dumb, gross and exhilarating, something that dwells between Troma, a Jared Hess gone wrong and British surreal comedy, with lots of greas, horrible nudity and crazy soundtrack. Not for everyone, but definitely for me.

Grethel & Hansel. Very good and classy gothic fairy tale with strong folk-horror references.

Halley - Mexican arthouse body horror, like a softer version of Carcinoma/Thanatomorphose, with a classy touch and superb leading actor performance, in all his stillness. Despite the slow and non-extreme visuals, you can smell the reek of putrefaction. We are in Atrax Morgue territory.

La LLorna - not the American flick, but a political horror from Guatemala, with creepy/sad mood and a constant feel of siege. I don't know anything about Guatemala's history, so I probably lost many references, but the dictator's obsession under siege made me obviously think about Pinochet and Videla.

[Atrophist]

Greasy Strangler is an embarrassing and idiotic film, but in a …. good way? I don’t like it, but still I’m glad I’ve seen it? I dunno. The delightfully awful music is the icing on the cake.

The same director’s next film, An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, is much less memorable imo. Although it’s possible I misunderstood it or went with the wrong expectations. But it seems to be going for the same fussy, precious, pretentious style as Wes Anderson, which I personally don’t care for at all.

I’ve checked out a few episodes of the Chucky television show. If you’re a bigger fan of the movies, I’m sure there is a lot of fun to be had, as they’ve brought back many of the original actors. The plotlines keep changing and crashing and collapsing into each other. At some point there’s apparently multiple Chuckys going around, and there’s also an attempt at a backstory for the serial killer possessing the doll. The animation/puppeteering is astonishingly bad at times, which seems surprising. Brad Dourif is great as always and he does what he can to carry this mess forward.

[ConcreteMascara]

11/13 - The Player - [dir. Robert Altman, 1992] - I was struck by a deep desire to watch this movie for reasons I can't explain. I've never been the biggest Altman fan but Tim Robbins is generally great and this seemed interesting enough. While I definitely enjoyed this movie, a lot of the fun was just spotting young versions of celebrities, which it's absolutely full of. I feel like my fucking parents now saying "look at Jeff Goldblum, oh he's so young" etc etc. But the story itself is a lot of fun and as is the dialogue and it's Tim Robbin's evolving performance that kept me hooked. It's a cynical movie but not miserably so. Definitely worth a watch. I think I might enjoy it more on a second viewing.

11/15 - Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone & Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance - [dir. Hideaki Anno, 2007, 2009] - Even though I really enjoyed the original Evangelion series I just haven’t had a burning desire to watch the movie remake of it. About 15 minutes into watching the first one I realized that was a bit of a mistake. The pacing is tighter, the story is told more clearly and exposition dumps are a little less insane. But at the same time the existential and adolescent misery seems to have been dropped, which is a bit disappointing since its part of what makes the original series so good. To make up for that, the animation is absolutely fucking gorgeous. Holy shit does this movie look good. I’m excited for the last two films and am curious how all of the films together will stand up against the original series and original movies.

11/23 – Suspiria – [dir. Dario Argento, 1977] – finally got a new all region 4K blu-ray player so I could watch my 4K copy of Suspiria I bought 9 months ago. Well goddamn if that wasn’t worth the money, this movie looks fucking amazing with its new hi-res transfer. And sounds wayyy better too. The film itself remains a stone cold classic and mandatory viewing.

11/25 – Hellraiser: Inferno – [dir. Scott Derrickson, 2000] – so I found out after rewatching this that the director went on to direct the Dr. Strange film for the MCU which was kind of shocking. I guess some people really do get to work up the ladder. As for this entry in the Hellraiser series, it’s easily my favorite after the first two. Now it’s debated whether this was a neo-noir spec script that was retrofitted into the Hellraiser universe, which is plausible, but frankly I don’t think it matters. I like that it feels like a combination of psycho-sexual serial killer film from the ‘90s combined with a Max Payne [the game]. I like all of the what’s real, what’s not bullshit. Hell I even like the dollar store Tim Robbins we have as the lead. The movie takes itself seriously, even though it’s totally ridiculous and that really sells it for me. It aint perfect but there’s a lot here to enjoy for my taste, something I can’t say for about half of the Hellraiser films.
 
11/28 – Gamera 2: Attack of the Legion – [dir. Shusuke Kaneko, 1996] – definitely the best Gamera film I’ve ever seen and a top tier Kaiju film in general. The design of Legion, specifically the big one, is fucking rad. And the little guys, they look like the Bugs from Starship Troopers. Also an entire city is destroyed, so that’s great. The miniature work is insane too. The human plot isn’t painful either. And this movie keeps a brisk brace, something you want  desperately in a kaiju film. Highly recommended to fans of the genre. Also the Arrow transfer looks fantastic.

[ConcreteMascara]

Eaten Alive! - [dir. Umberto Lenzi, 1980] - picked this up in Severin's sale earlier this year. I don't exactly regret it but it's definitely not a film I'll be running back to watch. On one hand the dialogue and editing make this one laugh out loud throughout, which is honestly necessary since Lenzi wanted to film reptiles getting butchered as much as any other part of the movie, which is naturally miserable watching. This kind of shit is always the worst part of cannibal films because its just so wasteful and pointless, but in service of a shit movie like this it adds insult to injury. The Jim Jones plot framing device is pretty fun and Janet Ågren is fucking hot. She also takes a damn beating between all the slaps and the one haymaker our protagonist delivers to shut her up. Hilarious and absurd. Again, there is a fair amount of entertainment here but its sandwiched between too much reptile butchery and general stupidity. Transfer looked good though!

[no_baizuo_allowed]

Let's see... movies I watched fairly recently that come to mind:

San Babila Ore 20 (I think someone mentioned this one somewhere in this thread. Thanks to whoever mentioned it!)

This was one of the best things I've sat down and watched during this whole damned year. A sincere thank you for clueing me on to this!

[ConcreteMascara]

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance & Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo - dir. Hideaki Anno, 2009, 2012 - So I get to finish the second movie last week and go right into the third, and I can say of these 3 films the second is my favorite, at least on first viewing. For the last hour I just kept thinking, "how can there be two more movies after this". Well so far they haven't. There's a lot to like about the 3rd movie, especially the visuals which take thing to an even higher level, somehow. BUT damn did it feel like the 3rd movie was just a stop-gap between the 2nd and 4th. At least on a narrative level it is not satisfying as a single story. That's okay since Anno actually did the 4th movie and now we've supposedly got the whole story available, but if this movie were judged individually that'd be it's stumbling block. But then who is really gonna stumble into the 3rd movie in a franchise that's been running for 25 years? Final note, as much as I am enjoying all of these movies, they definitely feel more like traditional anime than the original series, which becomes increasingly alienating to the viewer as it progresses. Once I finish the movies I'll have to return to the show for a re-watch to see how my memory stacks up to reality.

Black Christmas - dir. Bob Clark, 1974 - last night was my annual viewing of Black Christmas. my estimation of this film only increases every year and it's effectiveness as an unpleasant horror movie does not diminish despite many many viewings. I also find myself re-appraising the characters and actions each time. Last year I was down on Jess, this year, I had more sympathy than ever. To me this definitely falls in the "perfect movie" category now. As far as scenes of winter horror go, only The Shining surpasses it.

[absurdexposition]

Black Christmas - dir. Bob Clark, 1974 - last night was my annual viewing of Black Christmas. my estimation of this film only increases every year and it's effectiveness as an unpleasant horror movie does not diminish despite many many viewings. I also find myself re-appraising the characters and actions each time. Last year I was down on Jess, this year, I had more sympathy than ever. To me this definitely falls in the "perfect movie" category now.

I feel the same way about this one. Rewatched last week and liked it more than ever. Pretty much perfect.

[ConcreteMascara]

Black Christmas - dir. Glen Morgan, 2006 - my buddy/podcast co-host and I decided we'd do a discussion on all 3 Black Christmas movies; the original, this 2006 remake, and 2019's Blumhouse remake. Obviously this a terrible use of our time and 2 of the 3 movies would be shit, but c'est la vie. So Sunday I watched the perfect original and last night we watched this terrible piece of fucking trash. Now hypothetically I could enjoy a "modern", trashy remake of this film from a boobs and gore perspective, titillation over substance lens, but this movie made so many basic missteps I couldn't even get that kind of fun out of it. First off, it's one of the ugliest movies I've seen in years. Holy shit it looks like christmas lights covered in vomit, legitimately. Second, the script was so fucking inane and stupid that the last 30 minutes we're physically painful. Third, "Billy" is shown throughout the whole movie and he looks ridiculous. Like a knockoff of "The Yellow Bastard" from Sin City, without any of the character. The sorority house may have been filled with cuties but they we're written in such a way you're begging for them to die. Also you only see one of them naked and the movies doesn't really even want to show you that. Kill me. The only good thing about the movie is the ridiculous amount of gore but it's in service of such a profoundly dumb and visually ugly film it fails to make an impact.

Censor - dir. Prano Bailey-Bond, 2021 - so put this on after Black Christmas as a palette cleanser with mixed results. I'll avoid spoilers but I will say my buddy HATED it by the end and I was left feeling lukewarm. The last 5-10 minutes I found especially trying, but I enjoyed it overall, especially from a visual perspective. However, when elements of the b-movie horror shlock found its way into the film, which otherwise felt more like indie arthouse horror, I found it to be very jarring in a bad way. It reminded me a lot of Beyond the Black Rainbow, with it's slow build and frustrating ending, although that one I like more, even if it tests the audience patience quite a bit. Maybe I'll enjoy this one more on a re-watch, but I can think of a lot of movies about a woman unraveling that I'd rather watch before this. But hey, I'm glad this director is out here trying something that looks and feels different than most new horror.

[Fistfuck Masonanie]

Black Christmas - dir. Bob Clark, 1974 - last night was my annual viewing of Black Christmas. my estimation of this film only increases every year and it's effectiveness as an unpleasant horror movie does not diminish despite many many viewings. I also find myself re-appraising the characters and actions each time. Last year I was down on Jess, this year, I had more sympathy than ever. To me this definitely falls in the "perfect movie" category now.

I feel the same way about this one. Rewatched last week and liked it more than ever. Pretty much perfect.

This was a great recommendation, thanks! Nice casting with John Saxon, Margot Kidder, Art Hindle, and Keir Dullea. The phone calls are so disturbing. I hardly ever post, but I pop in this thread quite a bit. Thanks to everyone that spends time writing reviews.

The movie tag line is great, "If this movie doesn't make your skin crawl... It's on too tight".

[ConcreteMascara]

Black Christmas - dir. Bob Clark, 1974 - last night was my annual viewing of Black Christmas. my estimation of this film only increases every year and it's effectiveness as an unpleasant horror movie does not diminish despite many many viewings. I also find myself re-appraising the characters and actions each time. Last year I was down on Jess, this year, I had more sympathy than ever. To me this definitely falls in the "perfect movie" category now.

I feel the same way about this one. Rewatched last week and liked it more than ever. Pretty much perfect.

This was a great recommendation, thanks! Nice casting with John Saxon, Margot Kidder, Art Hindle, and Keir Dullea. The phone calls are so disturbing. I hardly ever post, but I pop in this thread quite a bit. Thanks to everyone that spends time writing reviews.

The movie tag line is great, "If this movie doesn't make your skin crawl... It's on too tight".

Glad you enjoyed it! My December isn't complete until I've watched it.

Here are reviews of the films I've watched in the last few weeks.

Black Christmas - [dir. Sophia Takal, 2019] - A modern update of Black Christmas, sort of. Not as terrible as the 2006 remake but with it's PG-13 rating, tonal shifts and absurd final act it's terrible in its own special way. I've sat through more painful dreck than this but still, best to avoid. Only watched it so my friend and I could discuss all three Black Christmas films on our podcast. It doesn't do a single thing better than the original and it's female forward narrative is much more overstated but much less effective.

The Brain - [dir. Ed Hunt, 1988] - my wife and I have a wonderful tradition of watching xmas themed horror movies with another couple every xmas night after all of the social obligations are complete. This year we started with The Brain. Ostensibly the events occur around xmas but it never figures into the plot. Still, this one was a fair amount of fun. The monster is silly but still very cool, the badguy doctor from The Re-animator plays the villain here to to great success. The gore and body horror aren't overwhelming but still good. Small town paranoia and powerful organizations trying to take down kids is fun too. And you do get to see a lot of innocent high schoolers die. I felt the pacing sagged a little in places but this definitely one I'll be picking up for future watches. Also, the slightest tinge of Cronenberg vibes at time, and that never hurts.

Samurai Cop - [dir. Amir Shervan, 1991] - our second xmas movie, although this one has admittedly nothing to do with xmas, other than it being a gift I received that day. As a fan of RLM it was great to finally watch a movie that I've seen clips from and discussed so many times. It's really truly terrible and baffling in all the best ways. It's constantly entertaining and it's got Robert Z'Dar who I'd watch in just about anything. It's violent, it's crude, it's got some great stunts and some terrible ones, and it has some of the most baffling dialogue and performances you've ever seen. watching the Matthew Kareda's interview with RLM really shed some light on so much of the insanity so if you watch this I recommend watching that after.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome [dir. George Miller, George Ogilvie, 1985] - I've put off watching this movie my whole life because I've always heard it's a big disappointment. Despite knowing that I was still disappointed! Visually the world of Mad Max is as interesting if not more so than ever. But the plot, especially the way it goes from fairly serious grim post apocalypse tale to Spielbergian children's tale..... what the fuck. Also only one Thunderdome fight? Are you fucking kidding me? At least its a good one but with a pg-13 rating they have to pull punches there too. I will say I liked Tina Turner's character, I really liked Master of Master-Blaster fame and Dr. Dealgood should have his own fucking spinoff film. But that second half is almost completely unengaging despite amazing set design, costumes and set pieces. Those kids are repugnant , not endearing especially with the dumbass style of speaking they have. While it was cool to see this movie and spot all of the ways its influenced post-apocalyptic video games, movies, manga, etc., it's a case where the things it influenced are better than the original.

Maniac Cop 2 [dir. William Lustig, 1990] - this movie fucking rules. Robert Z'Dar is an undead terminator. Robert Davi is a mean mugging hard boiled cop. Claudia Christian gets handcuffed to a steering wheel while stuck outside the car. 10 minutes of stunt hijinks ensues. so many people get lit on fire at the end for so long you're brain is screaming how. two men burst through a 6 story wall, on fire, and crash through a bus. hot strippers strip. shots of dirty old new york. it's the fucking best! After this viewing I can say I definitely prefer like Maniac Cop 2 over the original. The original might have more atmosphere but this plays like a James Cameron action film meets John Woo meets... well William Lustig. It's just so ridiculous over the top in all the best ways .

Mad Max: Fury Road [dir. George Miller, 2015] - an absolute masterpiece and the best action movie in 10 if not 20 years. it's basically like doing a 2hour long sniff of coke. perfect.

Squid Games [2021] - I watched this entire show with my wife in one sitting on New Year's Day. I enjoyed it up until the episode with the bridge of glass squares. then it really started to fall apart for me, abandoning side plots with no payoff, getting really silly with some of the performances and characters abandoning the logic they had before. the ending felt especially Korean too, all big unnecessary twist. I'd same I'm glad I saw it once but I don't need to ever watch it again.

The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh [Sergio Martino, 1971] - I've been meaning to watch this since I got into giallo 10+ years ago but somehow it just never happened. of Martino films with Fenech I think I like this the best, but as far as Martino films go, Torso is still my absolute favorite. the violence and gore, eh not so impressive. the constant stream of quality ass and titties? Very, very nice! And this is a fun one. Not exactly a romp considering it's a psychosexual thriller about a depraved sex maniac and a women with a curious fetish, but being Italian and having everything dialed up to 11, yeah it is still kind of a romp. Wonderful interiors in this one too. It's a modern and classy picture. Good ending too.

[cantle]

RE the children in ...Thunderdome- they way they speak and the pilot's name is an intentional nod towards Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker....

[ConcreteMascara]

RE the children in ...Thunderdome- they way they speak and the pilot's name is an intentional nod towards Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker....

Thanks for the info, I had no idea! Those kids still make me want to put my fingers in my ears though..