Fast Company (1979)
Cult filmmaker David Cronenberg has made many cult classics but really only one B-movie complete with a bona fide hero vs. an utter villain, cars and crashes, fistfights and some good old fashioned sleaze thrown in the mix.
Cult filmmaker David Cronenberg has made many cult classics but really only one B-movie complete with a bona fide hero vs. an utter villain, cars and crashes, fistfights and some good old fashioned sleaze thrown in the mix.
In 1937, in Seattle, a twenty-year old budding filmmaker had already created 50 plays and 9 never released, award-winning films, using his own equipment. This director would go on to work for Disney, and eventually create an Academy Award winning documentary in 1950. Richard H. Lyford’s films have developed a following among film-historians around the world. His early “amateur” films are some of the first “indie” films ever created outside of Hollywood. Lyford experimented with special effects and models, and was developing as a director. His final film of this era was “As the Earth Turns”. It was filmed in the Pacific Northwest, around Seattle.
“Final Exam” is a relatively bloodless slasher that is clearly very influenced by “Halloween” (1978) in that it honestly goes for scares and tries to build up a brooding atmosphere.
A classic British horror film not necessarily in terms of quality but rather as a fun time capsule of an era long gone and a mood that was only attainable for a short period of time.
It’s a stretch to coin any of Eastwood’s movies as genuine cult items but some of them stray fairly from the mainstream. The legendary actor/director is a favourite of mine and I wanted to cover at least one of his movies and “Tightrope” fits the bill perfectly as something slightly different.
Less than a year ago (27th June to be exact) I posted a review on “D-Tox” In conclusion of my earlier review I mentioned that the film was in serious need of some loving from niche labels (Arrow Video, Scream Factory etc.) and, in a small way, that has happened with MVD Marquee Collection’s Blu-ray release that came out on April 14th…
A man (Dempster) wakes up in a car only to find himself being threatened by an assailant. The man manages to kill him, then frantically dumps his body and heads home in a state of shock. On his doorstep he comes across a large wooden box. He brings it inside and then…
“Five Dolls for an August Moon” is a wonderfully entertaining example of massive style over substance. The gleeful Bava was peeved at not getting what he asked for so he delivered something entirely different than anyone expected.
In an age where bona fide classics in the horror genre get the remake treatment or are being re-imagined there are some cult films out there that really could do with a make-over treatment. A little finesse story wise, some polishing in the gory department and a bigger budget that could help realize better a possibly great location could work wonders for a film that has a solid premise. Case in point; “Blood Rage”.
“Pieces” is an unapologetically sleazy and gory slasher film without any socially redeeming qualities to hide behind. It’s misogynistic, overall in bad taste and, in the end, completely gonzo so there’s no way of taking it seriously. It’s there for the bloody set-pieces and the gratuitous nudity and so it goes all out in delivering those.