I, Monster (1971)

A re-telling of the Jekyll & Hyde story, though though renamed Marlowe & Blake for some reason. An enjoyable horror.

Dr Marlowe (Christopher Lee) is a follower of the ideas of Freud and has developed a serum which can remove inhibitions. The first person he tries it on, a young woman, removes all of her clothes. For some reason Marlowe decided to continue his experiments on himself. He becomes a craved vicious thug with a deformed face who haunts the streets of Old London Town called Mr Blake...

Marlowe's friend Utterson (Peter Cushing) is starting to suspect things are not right with Marlowe. As for the Doctor, prolonged use of the serum begin to push him over the edge and out of control...

This is a good version of Jekyll & Hyde, with the Victorian feel down to a tee. Christopher Lee gives his usual excellent performance in a British horror of the period though the film falls short of being truly great. The action is often a bit static and Cushing could have done with more of a role. 

In the Line of Fire (1993)

This is a superbly tense thriller involving the protection... and assassination of US presidents.

Frank (Clint Eastwood) is a grizzled old Secret Service agent, his claim to fame/infamy was that he was present when JFK was shot. Frank discovers a plot to kill the current president who is seeking re-election. Nothing too unusual there but it soon transpires that this is not a normal threat to POTUS. Frank begins a cat and mouse chase with a mysterious and deadly foe called Leary (John Malkovich) who will stop at nothing to achieve his aims.

As the election campaign reaches it's final stages, Leary prepares to strike. Can Frank stop him and gain redemption (and get his leg-over with fellow agent Lilly (Rene Russo))?

Leary's plot is pretty intricate and maybe slightly far fetched (though his amazing abilities are later explained). Eastwood does a great turn as the veteran with plenty of past demons, Malkovich superbly dark and menacing. 

Jail Bait (1954)

A rather strange and technically terrible but very watchable little crime drama, directed by Ed Wood Jr - say no more!

Don (Clancy Malone) is the son of eminent plastic surgeon Dr Gregor (Herbert Rawlinson), but Don has chosen the world of low rent crime with Vic Brady (Timothy Farrell). After a robbery goes wrong, Don and Vic are now on the run for murder of a police officer. Vic kills Don when the son wants to give himself up. With the police in the form of Johns (Lyle Talbot) searching for him, Vic forces Dr Gregor to use his skills to change his appearance. When the bandages are finally removed, Vic has a real shock!

A clumsy film with indifferent acting and dialogue, static staging, a curiously sparse soundtrack which seems to come from a completely different film and a basic plot. However, the twist is great (even if you see if coming a mile off). A perfectly watchable film, despite everything. 

The Galaxy Invader (1985)

Quite possibly the worst film ever made, an awful tale of rednecks versus an alien.

David (Greg Dohler) spots a UFO land in the woods, nearby terrible drunk Joe (Richard Ruxton) is out hunting his daughter with a rifle (something you imagine is a regular occurrence). He spots a green man carrying advanced technology and reacts as any real American would... he shoots it!

What follows is a horrendously dreary and garbled series of events in the woods as the alien is captured after a shootout, escapes, then is shot again. At the end though the true threat to life on Earth isn't the green man with his ridiculous laser gun but Joe in his torn t-shirt and massive capacity for alcohol and shooting... well anything.

Every redneck stereotype under the sun is employed in this ridiculous film. Somehow it is brilliant and hilarious, but quite how is a mystery beyond the ability of any advanced alien science to explain.

How Men Propose (1913)

An interesting short feature. Three men propose to the same woman (Margarita Fischer) - without realising. When they finally realise it they go to see the woman and discover that she was just researching for an article she was writing on how men propose for a magazine!

There isn't much to the film though it has some historic and curiosity value. 

Grizzly (1976)

What do bears do in the woods? We know they do that, but they also leave a trail of dead bodies behind them in this film...

Kelly (Christopher George) is a park ranger who has to handle the hunt for a killer grizzly bear as well as the usual stereotypes in this kind of film, Kittridge (Joe Dorsey) the reckless park administrator and Allison (Joan McCall) the female interest - but then who disappears in the last act of the film. 

Kelly is helped by a Vietnam vet helicopter pilot (Andrew Pine) and a naturalist (Richard Jaeckel) who both end up victims of the giant bear. Kelly, though, has a rocket launcher...

It is an enjoyable, if fairly unoriginal romp in the woods. The hunt for the bear is rather aimless and repetitive, to be honest even the bear seems to end up getting bored as he ends up finding them in the end. The gore is high though often ridiculous. Fun if you can bear it. Jaws in the woods.

The Screaming Skull (1958)

The makers of this film promised to pay for the funeral of anyone who died while watching it, but they probably didn't have to pay much out as it's a rather unscary horror...

Eric (John Hudson) and Jenni (Peggy Webber) are newlyweds, they move into the home Eric used to share with his first wife - who died in mysterious circumstances. Jenni starts hearing strange noises begins to see a skull. Eric tells her it isn't real, and we discover that Jenni had had some mental illness in the past. Eventually it seems it is the ghost of Eric's first wife and she is out for revenge...

Although not very scary really, this is a fun film due to all of the cheese including some very ropey looking special effects.