28 Days Later ( 2002 )

Directed by Danny Boyle 28 Days later is a post - apocalyptic sci fi come horror film.

As such this is a pretty good film and compares rather favoroubly to the more famous horror films made by George A. Romero. Emphasis here however seems to be much more focused on the small group of people escaping from the diseased ridden zombies as they travel across country to find refuge with like minded survivors and eventually wind up at an army blockade led by none other than Christopher Eccleston. Yes folks this is a british film and starts out being centered around London when Jim ( Cillian Murphy ) awakens from a coma and finds himself alone in a deserted hospital where he is recovering from some accident.One scene i found a complete rip off though from George A Romeros Dawn of the Dead was the very similar supermarket sequence, but much less effectively done here where they raid a store picking up items willy nilly from the shelves.

Definitely worth a look see this one although it doesn't come across as scarey when compared to similar more greater films. Another odd thing is that unlike the slow moving zombies in the classic Romero films , these are extremely agile and fast moving.

GOOD EGG

QUATERMASS 2 ( 1957 )

Brian Donlevy reprises his role in this Nigel Kneale TV adaption sequel.

Somewhat ponderous and less effective than the earlier film Quatermass 2 is nevertheless a splendid slice of british SF cinema. It is also much darker than the other two.

Director Val Guest maintains and conveys a nice sense of mystery and threat throughout as we find out just exactly what is being manufactured at the secret plant and about it's monstrous occupants.

Best scenes are the ones at the plant ,especially where one of the touring crew, a minister, accidentally falls into one of the domes and stumbles screaming down the steel steps covered in a corrosive black sludge. A very impressive scene.

Only minor complaint, performance wise is Sid James in a cameo role as the drunken press reporter Jimmy. Definitely the worst performance in the film!

If you enjoyed either of the other Quatermass films you will most certainly enjoy this one. I know i did!

GOOD EGG

THEY LIVE ( 1988)

John Carpenter is back with a very cool concept here based on a pulp fiction sci-fi story.

A tough loner ( Roddy Piper ) loses his job and takes to the road. Becoming involved with a bunch of squatters he stumbles upon the terrifying discovery of ghoulish aliens masquerading as humans.Only seen it seems through a certain type of dark glasses which he unwittingly comes across in one of the buildings.

The film certainly recalls the likes of his 'Assault on Precint 13' , again with his own dark menacing electro score bringing out nicely the underlying terror and violence which is about to ensue. A very cool tongue in cheek attitude permeates too which works well. I can't help but think of Kurt Russel in the place of hunky lead Roddy Prior .....although he's not bad at all. It all moves along nicely and there's plenty of action along the way. Keith David makes an excellent sidekick as they eventually penetrate the nerve centre of the aliens and ultmately cause chaos in their plans to take over.

A back on form JC !

GOOD EGG

PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES ( 1965 )


Planet of The Vampires or TERRORE NELLO SPAZIO was made in 1965 by revered italian film director Mario Bava. A director whose love for visuals were a major aspect of all his films. No less so here which is a splendid mix of science fiction and horror.

First off for or a more detailed synopsis of the storyline please go to http://members.tripod.com/mariobava/planet.htm Briefly though this is about two space ships in deep uncharted space who respond to a distress call from an uncharted planet.Upon landing there ship the Argos is damaged and the crew succumb to being posessed by strange phenomenon and wind up for no apparant reason attacking one another. They soon find out that during these spells of madness they are to keep guard over each other.They soon find the wreck of the other ship Gaillo and the dead occupants who died violent deaths.Later they are found to be alive! Mario Bava paints a vivid picture here of a malevolent planet with its swirling cloud mass and ominous atmosphere which is the key to the whole film.

Dramatically Planet Of The Vampires will not have you on the edge of your seat and the dialogue ( dubbed ) is very monosyllabic. However what it lacks in this department is more than made up for with the splendid visuals throughout.Amazingly there's even a sequence which recalls Alien where they stumble across an alien ship and its huge gruesome occupants. Again excellent visuals here as they enter a cylindrical passageway to the control room.

To watch a preview of this film click play button on top right Veoh video . To download this film for free go to : http://www.veoh.com/channels/solaris

HARD BOILED

PSYCHO ( 1998 )

One undoubtedly has to compare Gus Van Sant's version with Hitchcocks orignal and as such falls flat on it's face. Maybe this would have been a far better movie if wasn't so hell bent on copying the original shot for shot, which ultimately makes for a decidedly less interesting viewing experience. Shot in colour it is much less atmospheric too and only lessens the visual impact, including the famous shower scene.

Anne Heche fairs pretty well in place of Janet Leigh but is really no substitute. As i found almost every other actor to be. The exception on the other hand would be Viggo Mortenson as Sam Loomis , who in the original was played by John Gavin who i believe Hitchcock branded stiff. He was! He is far better characterised here by the lord of the rings man himself .........who is much more animated and believable, if a little less unlikeable!

The beginning i found pretty good, but once Anne Heche arrived at the motel and Vince Vaughn appeared on the scene it all seemed to fall apart even more. Nothing new here . A retread which plodded along until the conclusion.

Just like music .....live performances which try to recreate the studo recording are seldom of interest!

PAR BOLIED

THE THING (1951)

Produced by Howard Hawks and directed by ( in all but name ) Christian Nyby 'The Thing From Another World ' ( which it is also known as ) still remains a classic film,whose imagary has stood the test of time extremely well. OK No big special effects here by todays standards but this film
more than makes up for that with it's rich atmosphere.

Based on J W Cambells story 'Who Goes There ' TTFAW deviates somewhat from the original concept, with the monster resembling more of a kind of ' Intellectual Carrot' ; whereas John Carpenters remake is much closer with it's shape changing monster and its ability to take on human form, however this is far more gory and gruesome horror fare compared to Hawks's version.

Considering TTFAW was made on a budget the arctic wastes and mounting paranoia are beautifully realised. With a cast of B actors headed by ' Kenneth Toby ' TTFAW has most definitely an 'Hawksian' stamp to it with his use of typically overlapping dialogue and characters. Not your usual Sci fi/ horror fare at all here.

Favourite scenes has to be when the group set out by plane to track down what is apparently thought to be a meteorite and come across a spaceship frozen under the ice which has seemingly crashlanded. It's more of what one doesn't see here, which make these scenes so powerfull. In fact all that's glimpsed is a tail fin of the craft protruding from the ice and the vague shadowy figure of it's occupant.

The 8 foot tall monster, which somehow lost it's ability to mimic others along the way is played by ' James Arness , he of ' Gunsmoke ' fame, although you would never recognize him here! In fact he supposedly was so embarassed by the role he refused to eat with the rest of the cast.


The climax in which the creature becomes trapped on the wire and electrocuted where he gradually decreases in size was by all accounts achieved by using different proportioned actors ( height ) until in the final scene a midget in costume was used. However ridiculous this all may sound it is very effectively done and in my opinion adds more realism.

Definitely worth a watch then this one if you havn't seen it! Even if you have, another screening is highly recommended. One of those films i guess which just seems to get better each time it's viewed!

CRYSTAL EGG