What was the last movie you watched? Part 2

[Brutikus]

 

[emielaen]

 

[blueharvest]

 

[Luigi]

Rebel Ridge

7.5/10

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

The Whip and the Body (1963)

Italian gothic horror directed by Mario Bava, and starring Daliah Lavi and Christopher Lee. Lee plays Kurt, the elder son of a Count (not a vampire!). Kurt had an affair with the daughter of one of his father's servants. When the girl learned that Kurt was to be married to Nevenka (Lavi) she committed suicide. The Count disowned Kurt, forcing him to leave the family castle. In time Nevenka began a romance with Kurt's younger brother, Cristiano, now set to inherit the Count's title and estate. Eventually they are engaged. Soon afterwards Kurt returns, to reclaim what's 'rightfully' his - including Nevenka. He rekindles his intimate relationship with her, despite her now being his brother's fiancee, and generally does nothing to win friends - so it's no surprise when he's murdered. However, afterwards Nevenka starts to see his ghost, and before long the whole household suspect Kurt has returned from the grave.

Bava was of course famed for his visuals and this is one of the most beautiful looking films I've seen. The atmosphere of the castle and surrounding coastal countryside is fantastic. Christopher Lee gives one of his greatest performances, which is saying something considering this is one of the few European films that he didn't provide his own voice for on the English dub. But just watch him and you'll see what I mean. He's utterly compelling. Daliah Lavi (who actually gets top billing) was a beautiful woman, but not one I really rated as an actress. However, she also turns in an absolute cracker of a performance. Sadly, the rest of the cast don't come close to their level, and once Lee begins to appear less (given that he's been killed and just pops up now and then as a ghost) the film sags, only picking up as it gets towards the climax.

Kurt and Nevenka's relationship is a sado-masochistic one, and the unflinching scenes of Lee gleefully whipping Lavi's bare back with a riding crop and her borderline ecstatic response caused censors at the time to have palpitations. The result was that in many countries it was either heavily cut or banned outright. Thankfully, the scenes have now been restored. What's good in this is great (the score by Carlo Rustichelli deserves special mention). The look, atmosphere, and lead performances, are faultless. The rest of the cast and the mid-movie slump bring it down a bit, but it's still a great watch. 7.5/10

 

[Ash J. Williams]

The Face of Another

 

[Batgirl0202]

7/10

 

[childeroland]

This was fine. Not great, not terrible. It's essentially a miniseries and not a movie, but it's fine as that.

 

[Spider-Fan83]

 

[Broseph44]

Creep (2014)

 

[squeekness]

Virtuosity

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Scarecrows (1988)

For some reason this horror-action hybrid had completely slipped past me until now. Five mercenaries steal $3million from Camp Pendleton and escape in a hijacked plane. As they fly towards Mexico one of the gang double-crosses the others and parachutes out with the cash (can't help feeling $3million in cash would need a bigger bag, but whatever). He lands in the middle of some overgrown farmland. Two of the gang bail out after him, whilst the other two force the pilot to land the plane in a field nearby. The farmland has several creepy-looking scarecrows that for some reason come to life and start killing-off the mercenaries. We're never told why or how this happens, although one of the mercs puts forward the theory that the scarecrows are possessed by the spirits of three deceased satanist farmers whose photograph hangs inside the farmhouse (what makes this guy think the farmers were satanists I don't know). And that's it, mercs v monsters. It had the makings of an interesting idea, but the dialogue is bad, the acting is bad (no big names), the sound is bad, and the plot feels half finished. The camerawork is admittedly good (cinematographer Peter Deming's next feature was Evil Dead 2 (although this film was released in 1988 it was actually shot in 1984)), and the scarecrow designs are pretty effective. Looking online Scarecrows seems to have a bit of a cult following, but for me it was a painful watch. 3/10

 

[Luigi]

The Front Room

6/10

 

[NDX]

Star Wars Despecialized Edition
The Empire Strikes Back DE
Return Of The Jedi DE
Caravan Of Courage: An Ewok Adventure
Ewoks: Thr Battle Of Endor

 

[Brutikus]

 

[Brutikus]

 

[squeekness]

Pet Sematary: Bloodlines

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Alien

 

[NDX]

The Transformers: The Movie

 

[Frodo]

BEETLEJUICE , BEETLEJUICE ( 2024)

 

[KaijuDude1992]

 

[Sculder]

The Deliverance (2024)
Baby Ruby (2022)
I Used to Be Funny (2023)
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Commando Ninja (2018)
Pasqualino Settebellezze / Seven Beauties (1975)
Hopkins (2020)
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)
American Reunion (2012)
Duchess (2024)
Kárate contra mafia (1981)

 

[Ash J. Williams]

 

[Link]

Despicable Me 4 (2024)

A truly disconcerting amount of Minion ass in this one.

 

[Gothamsknight]