The House on Sorority Row (1982)

Nowhere near as good as it could have been (though equally nowhere as bad as well!) A group of college girls want to hold their leaving party at the house they live at with the tyrannical Mrs Slater (Lois Kelso Hunt). Mrs Slater is eager for the girls to leave as soon as possible so the girls decide to play a prank on her. As the prank involves a gun and getting her to fall into a rancid pool its a rather mean prank. Especially as she dies during it...

Despite causing their landlady's apparent death, the girls party continues as planned (which is probably the funniest part of the entire film). Then the girls start disappearing one by one, killed off by a largely unseen assailant. Then the only one left is Katharine (Kate McNeil) - who to be fair is the only one with any the slightest inkling of what is going on. But then she gets drugged and left as bait...

Full of cliches and yet another 1980s slasher horror with plenty of gore. The acting is fairly mediocre and most of the characters loathsome though the film isn't without it's good points and unintentional humour, just that you have to wait some time for it,

Party Girl (1930)

An awkward early talkie and a rather cheap exploitation film involving the sleazy world of escort girls and the men who pay for them. Jay (Douglas Fairbanks Jr) is the son of a rich businessman who finds himself dragged into this world, targeted by Leeda (Judith Barrie) and her cunning mother. Jay is tricked into marrying Leeda, for her personal gain. Jay's plans to marry Ellen (Jeanette Loff), his Dad's secretary, lie in tatters. Yet another rich sucker.

However, the law are planning to move in and shut the scam down. Will Jay and Jeanette get dragged into their necks?

A rather racy film for the day which leaves little to the imagination. It suffers from the usual problems of many an early talkie and is quite shameless and not very good to be honest. The most notable thing about the film is the young Douglas Fairbanks Jr having to appear in it, just showing that all stars had to start somewhere. The sets and club scenes are superb though.

The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956)

A Western / Monster movie... however it makes you wait so long for the monster it can't help but be a bit disappointing when it finally arrives. Jimmy (Guy Madison) is a gringo with a cattle ranch somewhere in Mexico. Local lovely Sarita (Patricia Medina) has caught his eye, much to the distaste of Enrique Rios (Eduardo Noriega) who is her fiancé and also wants Jimmy's ranch. Enrique and Jimmy have a hilariously bad fight in the town, which seems to mostly consist of them knocking over every stall in the market.

But some of Jimmy's cows are disappearing, are they falling into the swamp, being stolen by rustlers or some other reason? After what feels like a lifetime we finally discover it is the other reason... a highly dubious looking monster. He snacks on the hapless Pancho (Pascual Garcia Pena) but can Jimmy save the day with some nifty rope action?

Truly this is not a good film. The monster effects are poor even by the standards of the day. The film also makes you wait for it too long. For cheese value the film isn't bad, and it is undeniably fun once the monster action gets started. It is just a shame it takes so long to get there.

The Loves of Hercules (1960)

A hilariously bad sword and sandal tale. The wife of Hercules (Mickey Hargitay) is killed by the treachery of Licos (Massimo Serato) who blames his King (and who Licos kills as well). Hercules turns up wanting revenge but is faced by the King's daughter Deianira (Jayne Mansfield) instead. Hercules falls in love with Deianira (and thus seems to get over his wife rather easily!)

However, Licos is continuing his schemes as he wants the throne, and Deianira, for himself. He has Deianira's fiancé murdered and Hercules is blamed. Hercules goes away and gets entangled in the land of the Amazons and subject to Hippolyta's (Tina Gloriani) sinister lusts and is in danger of being turned into a tree...

The film is ridiculously campy nonsense with poor dialogue and acting, rather ropey action and mediocre special effects. The Hydra, which Hercules fights, looks a bit like a carnival float. However, the film is great fun and a complete cheese fest.

Avalanche (1978)

A standard 1970s disaster movie, a motley collection of stereotypes (reckless businessman, ex wife, sporty big head, annoying man who will be proved right, drunk old dame) is at Shelby's (Rock Hudson) new ski resort. Shelby promises the resort will be the best ever, but local photographer and environmentalist Thorne (Robert Forster) thinks an avalanche could happen any time, of course Shelby laughs this off.

Shelby is also obsessed with trying to get back in with his ex-wife Caroline (Mia Farrow) though she shows more interest in Thorne and shacks up at his remote lodge, which is kind of lucky for her as she was out of harms way when the avalanche finally happens - thanks to a plane crash. 

After about an hour of largely aimless and somewhat mediocre melodrama the actual disaster is almost a relief, however it is also pretty brutal with many extras slaughtered in various horrible ways including buried in snow, electrocuted, stomped by a stampede and even blown up in a gas explosion! The effects are hilariously cheesy but effective.

The film is nonsense but entertaining enough if approached the right way. The film is full of disaster movie cliches and stock characters. Total tosh but fun with it.

Theirs is the Glory (1946)

A film of the heroic but ultimately doomed Arnhem operation where British and allied parachutists seized and tried to hold a bridge in Arnhem far behind the front line from the Germans in World War 2. Unlike the 1970s epic A Bridge too Far, this film does not star any actors but soldiers who actually fought in the battle a couple of years before and using original equipment.

A tremendous film this is too, though things can be a bit stilted and awkward when the non-actors have to act (though there has been much worse done in films by real actors!) The re-enactment schemes are amazing and very accurate. 

Propaganda perhaps but that is not always a bad thing.

Pulgasari (1985)

The North Korean Godzilla film. Considering the fact the director Sang-ok-Shin and lead actress were South Koreans kidnapped by the North to make movies... and the Japanese Toho studio were tricked into helping by thinking they were filming in China... and the undoubted propaganda nature of the film... this isn't that bad a film at all!

In Ancient Korea the evil (imperialist no doubt) King (Yong-hok Pan) is starving his population. Villagers rise up and the King orders a new army formed, weapons to be made by Takse (Gwon Ri) using iron seized from the villagers. He refuses and dies in prison, before hand he gives a strange little figure of a monster to his daughter Ami (Son Hui Chang). She accidentally drips blood on it and the monster, Pulgasari, comes to life. Pulgasari eats iron to grow and is soon a huge monster... however he obeys Ami and helps Inde's (Ham Gi Sop) rebel army fight the King...

This is an interesting mixture of period drama and monster movie. The special effects are quite poor and Pulgasari doesn't get to destroy as many buildings as usual in these kinds of film, however when he does it is pretty spectacular. The film has lots of action, though can get a bit repetitive after awhile. The twists in the story, the monster being the hero and then the enemy, keep your interest. The sheer novelty and strange nature of this film makes it well worth a watch and it certainly isn't the worst monster movie made by any means.

Scrooge (1951)

A masterly version of the Dickens classic. Scrooge (Alastair Sim) of course has no time for Christmas, he sneers at Bob Cratchit (Mervyn Johns) for wanting Christmas Day off. But, alone in the night on Christmas Eve, he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Will he see the error of his ways and celebrate Christmas like everyone else and not be so mean?

The story is very familiar of course but is given such life with this version and the superb performances by the cast including George Cole as the young Scrooge. A story of redemption and restoration which probably stays closer to the true spirit to original than some versions. 

Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)

A highly enjoyable horror anthology. Dr Terror (Peter Cushing) boards a railway carriage compartment already containing five men. Soon it is discovered he has tarot cards and he is asked to give a demonstration. Each of his fellow passengers learns what is in store for them, and they have very strange futures indeed.

Bill Bailey (Roy Castle) discovers his jazz band will tour the West Indies. Out there Bill discovers voodoo music and, despite being warned not to steal the music by the witchdoctor, he returns to London and performs his adaptation. That is when things start to go really wrong for Bill, and his audience...

Marsh (Christopher Lee) is an art critic. He discovers that he will enter a feud with an artist (Michael Gough) he criticises. That feud ends in a hit and run and Marsh being menaced by a severed hand!

The five horror stories don't all work, the story about the murderous plant is let down by poor special effects. The film is sometimes cheesy, and leans more on the strange and supernatural rather than gore (which is no bad thing). The cast is great and do a great job with what they were given. The film has a good twist as well.

Army in Space and Under the Sea (1971)

With US astronauts on the Moon, the US Army decided it needed to explain it's role in the fantastic achievement. So, this interesting though rather dry documentary was made to highlight the US Army's role in space exploration and underwater salvage operations. 

With a slightly quirky and jaunty soundtrack, various rockets and missiles are shown as well as special facilities built by the Army for developing things like the astronauts' spacesuits. Interesting archive footage of exciting times. It is literally out of this world though the film is ironically a bit pedestrian.

Above Us the Waves (1955)

A classic British war film, stiff upper lips in the face of certain death, but just time for a cup of tea first. The German battleship, the Tirpitz, must be destroyed but it is hiding deep in a Norwegian fjord. Commander Fraser (John Mills) concocts a plan using human torpedoes to attack the ship. Admiral Ryder (James Robertson Justice) thinks it is a folly but when Fraser's team plant dummy charges on his own ship he decides to give the go-ahead.

With a plucky team of heroes including Duffy (John Gregson) and Corbett (Donald Sinden), Fraser makes his attack but it fails even before they reach the Tirpitz. There is a plan B though, with midget submarines. Three of which make an attack, penetrating deep into German occupied territory, evading patrol boats and torpedo nets...

A very tense film, especially during the actual attack. Submarines are always claustrophobic but a midget submarine where you can't move without risking kicking a comrade in the head are even more so. The film is based on real events and is a fitting tribute to the sheer courage needed to perform such deeds.

End of the Art World (1971)

The late 1960s art scene in New York, one of the coolest places in the universe. This universe is portrayed in this quirky little documentary. It certainly has a galaxy of stars of the art scene including Roy Liechtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg and of course Andy Warhol. 

It also at times so jarring a watch it can feel like the end of the world. Experimental film making is all very well though sometimes can be a bit tiring. As a historical document this can't be faulted though, the art and the artists were fantastic. As were the times.

Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967)

The South Korean Godzilla, bought to life by a nuclear explosion. A mysterious earthquake travels across South Korea before Yongary finally emerges and starts doing the usual monster thing of destroying flimsy model buildings. 

It is quite some time until we get to Yongary though, the first part of the film can drag a bit and includes a couple of newly weds menaced by Icho (Kwan Ho Lee), an annoying child, who borrows secret technology from the lab which has a conspicuous lack of security. For some vague reason the wedding night is ruined by the groom being ordered into space. While he is up in orbit radio contact is lost and the earthquakes begin. Finally, Yongary emerges from the Earth. Yongary is largely immune to conventional firepower, though doesn't like a certain chemical...

The film is great fun once Yongary makes his appearance and we get the usual scenes of destruction, terrible looking tank and helicopter models, and people running in terror. The film doesn't make a great deal of sense (for example the scientist Illo (Oh Yeong-il) taking his girlfriend (Nam Jeong-im) along with him on a helicopter flying above the fire breathing monster as if its some kind of day trip!) however is a decent entry in the genre.

The Goat (1921)

A hilarious Buster Keaton comedy short. Buster is down on his luck, things get even worse for him when he is pursued by the police. Things get even even worse when notorious murderer Dead Shot Dan (Malcolm St Clair) escapes prison and, due to an unfortunate mix-up, Buster's face appears on the wanted posters!

Buster seeks refuge with Virginia Fox, and she takes him home. There is just one problem, she is the police chief's (Joe Roberts) daughter!

A series of very funny comedy scenes and plenty of slap stick and visual gags. Intelligence and a dose of surrealism elevates this above most comedies. The work of a genius (of course!)

Enemy Mine (1985)

One of the better science-fiction films from the 1980s, it starts off all laser guns blazing as a bit of passable space opera nonsense but when Davidge (Dennis Quaid) is marooned on a hostile planet the film changes (and improves) dramatically. He sets off in search of the Drac enemy he shot down though tables are soon turned when he ends up the prisoner of Jeriba (Louis Gossett Jr).

However, to survive on the planet the two must work together and friendship blossoms as they struggle against meteorite storms and vile predatory creatures. They learn each other's language and culture, though Jeriba seems to think Mickey Mouse is a prominent Human philosopher. Maybe he was?

Jeriba gives birth and dies, Dravidge brings up the child (Bumper Robinson) as his nephew. Then a slaver ship led by the brutal Stubbs (Brion James) lands on the planet...

Although the film is bookended by sci-fi action, the bulk of the film is an intelligent exploration of what really makes a person and how two enemies can have more in common than different. The film had a troubled start, the director being changed during filming, the new director starting again from scratch! Despite this, the film has some magic to it.

Scared to Death (1947)

A rather strange film, and not very good though notable for being the only colour film Bela Lugosi starred in. We start in the morgue with a young woman on the slab, the coroner trying to work out how she was killed. The film then goes into flashback and we find out the young woman is Laura (Molly Lamont), estranged from her husband but still living with her father-in-law Dr Van Ee (George Zucco) though seemingly in conflict with everyone.

Laura is becoming increasingly paranoid that her husband Ward (Roland Varno) is out to get her and is being slowly driven mad. She is also dead set against being blindfolded. Strange things continue to occur, including the arrival of a hypnotist (Lugosi) and his Dwarf (Angelo Rossito), Laura receives a dummy head in a box, and what is this green masked face which begins to appear in the windows?

With awkward dialogue, frequently fluffed, the film is that well made, the story is also rather cheesy and cliche with some dubious humour and characters who don't really do anything (including the Dwarf!) However, it is great fun if you like bad films. Lugosi treats the nonsense as it should be, in his own well-worn style. Though his presence in the film is a bit of a red herring. 

The film is worth persevering with, as the final twists are excellent. The film finally gets into high gear in the final few minutes after spending the preceding hour at a slow trot.

Mark of the Phoenix (1958)

Low budget and slightly baffling but a perfectly decent crime and spy drama. A secret metal that could give one side a decided advantage in the Cold War is stolen in Belgium. A highly convoluted method is used to get the metal to the East, the metal hidden in a cigarette case. However, the case ends up in the hands of American jewel thief Martin (Sheldon Lawrence).

Martin now finds himself being chased by Duser (Eric Poulmann) and his somewhat hapless gang of thugs, he also is blackmailed by East Bloc agent Vachek (Bernard Rebel) who wants to defect, and also Petra (Julia Arnall) who is keen on him. Of course the police (Anton Diffring) are also closing in...

So, the film has a rather complicated plot, which at times doesn't make 100% sense, but is a fun drama set in postwar Europe. The film is at times brutal, at other times ridiculous. The performances vary between competent to heavy stereotypes but everyone does their job to produce a decent and enjoyable film. Postwar Brussels is the real star though.

Snake Eater II: The Drug Buster (1989)

The second in the Snake Eater trilogy, Lorenzo Lamas returns as Soldier - a Vietnam Vet now cop and special forces expert. Whereas in the first film Soldier seemed to spend most of the film getting his ass kicked, in this second instalment he is a much more authentic warrior although this isn't a straightforward action movie. 

With drugs wrecking havoc and putting his friend Speedboat's (Larry B Scott) sister in hospital, Soldier begins a one man war against the drug lords. However, he is immediately shut down by the police. Pleading insanity, he is sent to a mental institution...

But getting out of the place is pretty easy for Soldier (and anyone else) and he leaves as he pleases to continue the fight, without normal weapons he improvises including making his own bombs. Soldier and Speedboat decide to go after the drugs kingpin Franco (Al Vandycruys)...

At times a brutal film, but tempered with various attempts at humour in the institution with psychiatrist Dr Pierce (Michele Scarabelli) and inmates including Harvey Atkin and Jack Blum. Most of the time the humour falls fairly flat but at least it does give the film a lighter feel and helps punctuate the violence. An enjoyable watch, quirky and ridiculous.

Blueprint for Robbery (1961)

Based on a true story (the Brinks job in 1950), this is a satisfying if unspectacular heist movie. Red Mack (Jay Barney) organises a team, including veteran safe cracker Pop (J. Pat O'Malley), to rob a security company in Boston. After several months careful planning and preparation (including one tense scene where they copy keys used at the company) the robbery is carried out and the criminals get away. Gus (Sherwood Price) agrees to keep the money for over three years until the State's Statute of Limitations expires and they'll be away free with millions of bucks...

Even though the police do not know where the money is and who was involved, this of course this is when the trouble starts for the gang. The gang can't get their hands on the loot and when Red gets arrested for another robbery things really start to go South, especially when Gus arranges a botched hit on him. The police know he is involved in something big, when he tells them what exactly it is they are shocked...

Maybe a limited film in terms of budget, it lacks spark but is a very acceptable crime film with good storytelling. Some scenes maybe would have been better off left on the cutting room floor to aid the film's pace.

Bruce's Deadly Fingers (1976)

Quality Bruceploitation action though in many ways a baffling film. Bruce Le for a change doesn't play Bruce Lee (though his character is called Bruce). Instead he is looking for Bruce Lee's book on finger king fu. Bad guy Lee Hung (Lo Lieh) is also looking for this book, and considers it more valuable than all the diamonds in the world for some reason.

But there are a couple of other guys looking for the book, quite why isn't explained. Bruce's sister (Yuan Man Tzu) is being forced to become a prostitute, scared into submission by seeing a woman tortured with a lizard. Thankfully Bruce saves her before she has to sell herself and he takes her to his friend Mina (Nora Miao) to look after. Not that Mina does a very good job as she and Bruce's sister are captured by the bad guys twice...

The other guys looking for the book turn out to be a cop (Michael Chan) and his new friend (Nik Cheung). All explained in the end then. After much muddled plotting, and random scenes, and lots of fighting (of course) the Bruce Lee book is discovered and Bruce learns finger kung fu. Unfortunately Lee Hung also gets the book and this sets the scene for a final gruesome showdown...

A clumsy film that contains a few too many strange awkward scenes (including a bizarre scene where the bad guys set a ring of gasoline on fire and begin to molest some unfortunate women in the centre of the fast approaching flames) though mid-1970s HK looks very groovy. Not a film for plot, a film for kung fu action which often is pretty decent. 

Stop Press Girl (1949)

In a sleepy little village barely touched by the modern world, young girl Jennifer (Sally Ann Howes) has a strange power, any mechanical device from a watch to a car stops working in her presence after fifteen minutes. However, she doesn't know she has this power yet. 

When she meets Roy (Nigel Buchanan) who drives a sports car and has a watch making business this strange power causes all sorts of mischief. Jennifer's uncle (James Robertson Justice), a dentist, scares Roy away when he tells him Jennifer's secret.

Jennifer decides to go to London herself, of course her powers cause mayhem. She meets Jock (Gordon Jackson), a journalist, who discovers the secret of her power but also falls in love with her...

A charming little comedy, the gimmick is stretched but the decent performances and gentle jokes will help the viewer retain interest, for at least longer than the fifteen minutes Jennifer would need to stop proceedings!

The Journey: Absolution (1997)

A very confusing film. An asteroid hits the Earth, thirty years later the world is now a frozen Hell, which seems to now consist of remote bases in the snow populated by near naked men who spend their days working out and indulging in military weirdness. Murphy (Mario Lopez) arrives at the base as a new cadet under the command of the deranged Bradley (Richard Greico), who is a man who worships Richard Nixon, smokes a lot of cigars and has a weird plan that involves torturing naked young men...

Murphy is in fact a spy, trying to find his missing comrade Lyles (Charles Mattocks) and also discover what on (frozen) Earth Bradley is doing. With the help of his friend Quintana (Nick Spano) and token female Wade (Jaime Pressly), Murphy discovers Bradley's plot to facilitate the final invasion of the Earth from another world...

This film truly is low budget sci-fi nonsense. The plot is hard to follow and doesn't make a lot of sense, the dialogue is frequently banal. A rather large proportion of the running time consists of muscular young men in their underwear, working out hard and getting sweaty - so it isn't all bad then! It is campy, ridiculous and (unintentionally) hilarious.