Reviews

In what seems to be a near-future society, a frustrated boy manages to escape from a home environment full of petty rules, materialism and an obsession with reality-TV by joining up with a gang of time-traveling bandit dwarfs who have stolen a special map from their former employer the "Supreme Being" who gave them the sack after they created a 600ft red tree that smelled terrible.

The script (written by Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin) features plenty of Python-esque humor, and director Gilliam brings his usual visual flair and surrealism. For the most part, this is a very funny and charming fantasy adventure suitable for the whole family but also highly recommended for fans of Python and/or Gilliam.

An early scene in The Shout (based on the short story of the same name by Robert Graves) shows a cricket match getting underway in a small English village. One of the scorers, Charles Crossley (Alan Bates) tells a story of a musician/sound effects artist (John Hurt) from the local village, who is unfaithful to his wife. Along comes a stranger (Alan Bates again) who invites himself to lunch at the married couple's house and tells them of his time in Australia living with an aboriginal tribe, during which time he claims to have perfected a shout that has the power to kill anything nearby. Eventually he is given an opportunity to prove it.

This is a strange horror film. It tells its story subtly and not necessarily always in the order the events occurred. This approach could be part of the reason The Shout isn't at all well-known, despite its good qualities.

Rich in symbolism and open to interpretation, this film drew me in and by the end I was both satisfied with the story that had been told but also left wanting. A second viewing helped me piece together a few more plot strands such as the significance of certain objects such as bones and a lost belt buckle, but also left me with a few more unanswered questions.

From reading some other people's thoughts on The Shout, it seems to get compared to films such as Don't Look Now, The Wicker Man and Picnic at Hanging Rock. While I don't think it's quite as good as any of those, I would recommend it to fans of those titles. It fits into the mould of the more artsy genre films of the 70s, where the storytelling is complex and (in this case) rewards the discerning viewers attention.

At least as bizarre as it sounds, this early feature from Peter Weir (Picnic At Hanging Rock, Witness, The Truman Show, Dead Poets Society) begins with two brothers driving into a small, isolated, rural town. Upon entering, they have a serious car accident which kills the older brother and leaves the grief-stricken younger brother, Arthur Waldo (Terry Camilleri), to undergo his physical and psychological rehabilitation in an unknown place, surrounded by more than a few rather strange characters. The local mayor takes Arthur under his wing, offering him board at his house with his family and a respectable job at the local psychiatric ward, later on appointing him town Parking Officer. On the surface all is well in Paris... although newcomers seem to have rotten luck on the roads in and out of town.

The film operates very much within the confines of a western (overtly so during one scene, being something of a standoff - Arthur is asking some of the local carheads to park their vehicles in a different spot).

Performances are generally very good, particularly John Meillon as the mayor. Also features a demented Bruce Spence, who many will recognize from Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, in a supporting role.

The film's score may well divide audiences. Personally I liked it very much as it was willing to take risks. There wasn't just the usual dramatic flurries and simmering undercurrents - there are some great pieces and it offers a bit more than many modern Hollywood productions. Disturbingly effective at several points was the gentle music following the restoration of the idyllic structure of the small town, so restored often as a result of grossly immoral acts. (Think of the Men's Group in The Stepford Wives or "the greater good!" mentality of the townsfolk in Hot Fuzz).

The Cars That Ate Paris comes admirably close to being a full-on classic, and offers much to seasoned genre fans (providing you don't mind Australian accents, and I notice they were noticeably thicker in these older films).

Peter Weir would later go on to bigger and better things, but The Cars That Ate Paris remains a genuine cult classic and an important piece of early Australian cinema.

On Valentine's Day in 1900, students of an all-girls college in Victoria, Australia, embark on an excursion to Hanging Rock, where they picnic and just generally appreciate the beauty of the surroundings and the geological marvel of the rock formations. Unfortunately, some of the students disappear in truly bizarre circumstances.

Early feature from Peter Weir (Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show) is a story often subtly told, and this enhances the sense of mystery regarding the disappearance of the girls, a mystery that appears to be at least as deeply buried as the now "hanging" rocks themselves were prior to being spewed out of the earth one-million years ago.

The period setting and often beautiful locations add greatly to the overall effect. Hanging Rock is located in Victoria, but many other scenes were shot in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia and also the picturesque town of Strathalbyn (a mere half-hour's drive from yours truly's hometown of Murray Bridge) which to this day retains much of the aesthetic appeal of its early settlement heritage, but I digress. Also adding greatly to the atmosphere is the often haunting score, dominated by an eerie and beautiful wind instrument, perfectly suited to the natural surroundings and the mysterious quality of the central narrative locale. Truly spellbinding.

Though it contains nothing much to appeal to gore-hounds, Picnic at Hanging Rock has at least one foot firmly planted in the horror genre, and many seasoned genre fans will find much to appreciate.

The varied characters are well-drawn, telling us a story in themselves, often reaching a satisfying resolution of conflict, for better or worse.

Just don't expect a bunch of straightforward answers concerning the incidents at Hanging Rock. It's in exploring the mysterious where Picnic truly shines.

Based on Dean Koontz's breakthrough bestseller published the previous year, Watchers takes the same central idea of the book - a secret government agency is creating super-intelligent creatures.

The film proper opens with the explosion of a large government research facility. A golden retriever and a savage beast escape the facility. Another early scene finds teenager Travis Cornell (Corey Haim) rendezvousing with his girl Tracey at the barn at her house, before having to make a hasty exit when Tracey is sought out by her suspicious dad. As Travis starts to drive away, the golden retriever jumps into the back of his pickup. Soon after, Tracey is attacked, but not killed by the savage beast and ends up in the hospital. Here she is questioned and then kidnapped by two government agents who work for an outfit called the NSO. The more sadistic agent is played by Michael Ironside (Top Gun, Scanners, Total Recall, Starship Troopers). The agenda and motives of these agents actions is only partly explained.

Some early scenes involving Travis and the golden retriever bonding have a winning Lassie-adventure-story charm to them.

What is unfortunate is the radical shift away from a central theme of the book - individuals ability to find emotional rehabilitation through love and community.

The central storyline in both the book and the film - of super- intelligent creatures created to perform specific tasks, remains interesting. However, the film manages to fall into a lot of b-movie clichés, while ignoring many of the tense and compelling set-pieces of the novel.

However, if you like 80s horror, and/or Corey Haim and don't mind a bit of cheesy dialogue, you may enjoy some of what's on offer here.

The atmosphere is great (often spooky!), and the subject matter is handled in an intelligent way. Curse of the Demon deals with superstition, religious beliefs, and the nature of evil. We get a practical, logical approach to these subjects by Dr John Holden (Dana Andrews), and opposing viewpoints from cult leader Dr Julian Carswell and Joanna Harrington (Peggy Cummins), who seeks Holdens' help when her Uncle is killed in strange circumstances. Both Dr Carswell and Joanna believe in certain occult superstitions and curses which can be traced back to ancient times. At the centre of this case is a rare book in Dr Carswell's possession, written in a secret language and featuring diagrams depicting an evil, demonic creature. Dr Holden soon learns of a similar looking creature depicted as an object of superstition in other times, places and cultures...

This is a fascinating watch for anyone who is remotely interested in these kinds of topics because the treatment is just superb. I wonder if this was a source of inspiration for future director Sam Raimi *.

Night of the Demon/Curse of the Demon was directed by Jacques Tourneur who also directed Cat People, Out of the Past, The Leopard Man, I Walked With a Zombie - great films, but if I had to pick his best, it's Night of the Demon, by a horn... or something. Like Cat People, much is left to the imagination but here sometimes it is shown, sometimes it's coming towards you. Yes, that's right, there is indeed a demon and you don't want to meet him. Late at night. In the dark...

* Sam Raimi's Evil Dead trilogy also features an ancient book which has the power to summon forth demons. There are also close parallels between this and another of Raimi's memorable horror films - Drag Me To Hell - in which a curse is placed on the main characters who are tormented in various ways in the days and hours leading up to the arrival of the Demon.

This was one of many Jackie Chan vehicles made around this time when he was not yet a huge star. He had just made "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow", and "Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin". The mega-hit "Drunken Master" would follow. Unfortunately this doesn't compare well to those.

Chan is asked by a young, wealthy lady to take her sick brother to a specialist doctor. To reach him, Chan and a handful of traveling companions must pass through bandit-infested wild country. They encounter and kung-fu-fight several gangs of thugs along the way.

Some minor interest is maintained as there's a quest involved, and the group journey through some nice locations. Also, the musical score has a surprising range of dynamics.

On the downside, the version I saw was poorly dubbed and the script had a lot of problems.

None of the many fight-scenes reach the heights of "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow", "Snake and Crane Arts of Shaolin" or "Drunken Master" (Jackie Chan vehicles made immediately before and after Magnificent Bodyguards).

Also, there is a twist near the end which I felt was a cop out and undermined the nature of the film, but by that point I wasn't too bothered anyway.

I would recommend this to die-hard Jackie Chan fans only. The casual fan would do well to stick with his 80s and 90s output (with a few exceptions).

This was Columbia Studios attempt at a horror film in the same vein as those Universal were making around this time ("Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man", "House of Frankenstein" etc.), as it features both a vampire and a wolf man.

Bela Lugosi plays a vampire (this time Armand Tesla) and when he is not busy being evil at night and sleeping all day, he is treating patients as Dr Hugo Bruckner. It's up to the strong, determined Lady Jane Ainsley (Freda Inescort) to put all the clues together and rid the world of Tesla's evil ways.

There are a few atmospheric scenes typical of this type of film and Lugosi is suitably menacing and hypnotic, but the script isn't very good and many of the performances are quite stilted. For me, it just wasn't much fun unlike most of the Universal monster films of this era which were more satisfying dramatically, and as spectacle.

Lugosi would play a vampire once more a few years later in "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" alongside other horror icons Frankenstein's Monster and the Wolf Man, whose design looks much better in those superior films.