Oddur B.T.Film Archive ⌕

Cult cinema, physical media, and strange films

Oddur B.T.
Film Archive

Notes from the darker side of the video shelf.

„Cult“ is where my comfort zone lies

I mostly enjoy writing about films that fit into the category „Cult“ in one way or another. It‘s, frankly, where my comfort zone lies. It would be easy to just focus on horror films, but the category also includes so many films that are truly un-classifiable.

Clear

Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)

Comedy, Horror, Mystery, Drama

At the Shady Rest nursing home in East Texas resides Elvis Presley, withering away as the days merge together. Still reeling from a broken hip from years before and with some grotesque puss on his genitals he fears may be cancer; the former King of rock and roll looks set to fade into the sunset with no fanfare. Known to the staff as Sebastian Haff, an Elvis impersonator, the King is a shell of a man who spends his days in bed reminiscing about the old days and how he messed things up and treate

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Buffy – “The Zeppo” and “A New Man”

Comedy, Mystery, Drama

I’m a huge fan of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003). Although the show is highly regarded for a variety of reasons it is, and will be, pigeonholed in the teen supernatural/drama category with the likes of “Charmed” (1998-2006) and Kristen Stwewart’s “Twilight” film series (2008-2012) and be easily dismissed by many “serious” watchers. That’s a shame and in my twenties I was fairly obsessed with convincing others of the show’s genuine quality in just about every department and felt bummed th

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Deer Woman (2005)

Comedy, Mystery, Drama

Det. Dwight Faraday, who’s been relegated exclusively to animal attacks, gets the call and just can’t figure out how this happened. Upon examining the body he and spunky coroner Dana discover that the victim died in a state of arousal and the remains display a number of hoofprints.

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Radioland Murders (1994)

Comedy, Mystery, Drama

It’s the year 1939. A radio station, WBN, is going national and the roster is packed with entertainment. Station owner General Walt Whalen has a huge number of potential investors so nothing can go wrong…

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House on Haunted Hill (1999)

Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Married couple Stephen Price and Evelyn have a toxic relationship. Once Evelyn sees that a supposedly haunted place that was once a famous psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane is available for rent she decides she wants to have her birthday party there….

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Nine Guests for a Crime (1977)

Horror, Mystery, Crime

Nine members of an extremely rich and spiteful family spend an annual vacation on a small, and very rocky, Mediterranean island. Family patriarch Uberto brings his three children and their spouses. The ninth member is Uberto’s sister. There they indulge in adultery, binge drinking, bickering and general belittling towards each other. Among them is someone with devilish designs…

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Two 90’s Hitchcockian thrillers; “Shattered” and “Final Analysis”

Mystery, Drama, Crime

There’s a word you can look up on Wikipedia; Hitchcockian. Meaning; “Hitchcockian films are those made by various filmmakers, with the styles and themes similar to those of Alfred Hitchcock”. The master of suspense’s influence cannot be underestimated, and I doubt many filmmakers had as great an effect on the film industry (this is of course debatable). His filmography is huge and filled with classics in the suspense genre. Not a calendar year goes by without me visiting at least a few of the ma

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Terminal Invasion (2002)

Sci-Fi, Mystery, Action

Inside an isolated airport, a group of people learn that their charter flight has been grounded. Things don’t get any better when two guards escort convicted murderer Jack to the premises after their car skidded off the road. But soon things get even worse as the group discovers that some may not be who, or what, they appear to be. An alien invasion is taking place and it begins at this terminal.

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Girls Nite Out (1982)

Horror, Mystery, Thriller

At Dewitt University a scavenger hunt is about to begin. The game, which takes place at night, takes the contestants all over the campus looking for clues. The terror begins as one by one the female players are slashed by a maniac…dressed as the basketball team’s mascot bear!

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The Watcher (2000)

Horror, Mystery, Drama, Crime

I do have a very soft spot for “The Watcher” and view it regularly. Formula movies resemble comfort food in a lot of ways and can be just the thing to close off an average day and gets more than a passing grade as a decent time killer on a slow night.

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