‘You can’t outrun fate’

Blackwood is a 2013 British supernatural horror film directed by Adam Wimpenny from a screenplay by J.S. Hill. It stars Ed Stoppard, Sophia Myles, Russell Tovey, Isaac Andrews, Paul Kaye, Greg Wise, Joanna Vanderham, Kenneth Collard.

The film was shown at the London Film Festival on October 17, 2013. It is released in the UK on August 1, 2014.

Official synopsis:

Having recovered from a shattering emotional breakdown, college professor Ben Marshall (Ed Stoppard) relocates to the countryside with his wife (Sophia Myles) and young son (Isaac Andrews), hoping for a fresh start. With a new job and a new home, Blackwood, things seem to be going his way.

But Blackwood is far from a peaceful, rural escape, as Ben is haunted by visions that seem to connect to the house’s previous owner, Mrs Warner, an artist whose disturbed paintings litter the house. As Ben begins to dig into the disappearance of a local woman and her missing son, he is led into investigating a troubled gamekeeper (Russell Tovey) and the local vicar (Paul Kaye). The arrival of Ben’s old friend and fellow academic, Dominic (Greg Wise), serves only to awaken buried feelings and past rivalries.

Is Ben fated to solve the mystery of Blackwood and save his family before time runs out?

Reviews:

“Whilst it doesn’t make anywhere near enough use of its landscape as it could (especially aurally), it is stunning to watch and is wonderfully eerie; especially in its explicit winter-time shots that look atmospheric and crisp. The scene is also set with marvellous location work, again filled with ghost story norms such as stone circles, empty forests, village churches, and even the local woodcutting workshop. This strangely surmises the real enjoyment of the film as well as its downfall. For while the narrative is pleasingly innovative in its twist and conclusion, Blackwood seems more like a ghost story greatest hits compilation than a real attempt to find something new within the genre.” Adam Scovell, Celluloid Wicker Man

“Despite the film’s clearly successful atmospheric flair, such artful direction and meticulous scene setting is let down by a script overwhelmed with abominable clichés and generic formulas. Traces of recent horror offerings, such as You’re Next, Sinister and Insidious can be derived from the screenplay of Blackwood, plaguing it with the unshakeable stench of unoriginality. A promising film alas falls into the evil clutches of repetition; aside from the truly gripping final ten minutes, Blackwood hardly confronts what hasn’t been addressed countless times before in horror films.” Zoe De Pasquale, Next Projection

“While efficiently filmed, Blackwood prefers using horror tropes as metaphors than for pure scares, lending events the feel of an ambitious but airless thesis. It doesn’t help that Ben is so unlikeable – and Ed Stoppard so inert.” Simon Kinnear, Total Film

“Definitely reminiscent of any other ghost story or haunted house film you’ve seen before – it certainly has a swirl of Kubrick’s The Shining too – but this acquaintance doesn’t detract from the film’s curt and intense pace.” Emily Stockham, Movie Ramblings

“It’s an intriguing watch with a killer ending, although it’s a struggle to relate to Stoppard’s blunt, difficult character, and his performance is a little falt. Myles is more sympathetic, while Greg Wise brings a touch of levity as a jocular friend. As low-budget Brit horrors go, this works well enough both visually and thematically: there’s plenty to keep you guessing and a few genuinely tense, scary scenes.” Anna Smith, London Metro

Filming locations:

Wales and Surrey, England

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Poster art by Tom Chantrell

The Lifetaker is a 1975 British psychological horror film directed by Michael Papas and starring Terence Morgan, Lea Dregorn, and soon-to-be Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan.

Plot teaser:

A deceived husband (Terence Morgan) engages his wife (Lea Dregorn) and her young lover (Peter Duncan) in a series of deadly games…

The Lifetaker had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where it was both lauded and criticized for its controversial themes of sex and violence and the corruption of youth. According to Papas, the film was scheduled to be released across the UK, but the managing director of EMI distribution cancelled the release after viewing the completed film due to its controversial themes.

Peter Duncan joined Blue Peter in 1980, and shortly afterwards it was revealed in a tabloid newspaper that Duncan had appeared nude in the The Lifetaker. The BBC refuted that he was ever a porn star in The Times. Whilst he does appear naked, the film is certainly not porn.

Reviews:

A stylish and erotically charged tale of obsession…. not only the quintessence of the kind of film they don’t make anymore, but is also radically unlike the kind of film they made even then.” Julian Upton (editor), Offbeat: British Cinema’s Curiosities, Obscurities and Forgotten Gems (Buy at Amazon.co.uk, an essential read!)

“Excellent Roeg-esque UK thriller… this dark, exotic morality piece is stylishly mounted is capably acted and has a suitably unflinching finale.”  Giallo Goblin

IMDb | Michael Papas website | Tom Chantrell poster artist

WH

Chislehurst Caves is a 22 miles (35 km) long series of tunnels in Chislehurst, in the south eastern suburbs of London. Today they are a tourist attraction and although they are called caves, they are entirely man-made and were dug and used as chalk and flint mines. The earliest mention of the mines is circa 1250 and they are last believed to have been worked in the 1830s. During the early 1900s they became a popular tourist attraction, but in the First World War, they were used as an ammunition depot, then they were used for mushroom cultivation in the 1930s. During the Second World War, the caves were used as an air raid shelter. Within a short time, it became an underground city of some 15,000 inhabitants with electric lighting, a chapel and a hospital.

In 1903, William Nichols, then Vice President of the British Archaeological Association, produced a theory that the mines were made by the Druids (who apparently conducted blood sacrifices), Romans and Saxons. This theory was used to give names to the three parts of the caves. Tour guides point out supposed Druid altars and Roman features. However this can at best be speculation as the earliest documented evidence for mining is 1250 AD.

Cave carving by Sandy Brown, 1995

In the 1950s and 1960s, the caves were used as a music venue for jazz, skiffle and rock bands. David Bowie, Status Quo, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Paul Raven (later Gary Glitter) and Pink Floyd all performed there. On October 31, 1974 a lavish media party was held there to celebrate the launch of new UK record company Swan Song Records by Led Zeppelin. More recently, some of the tunnels have been used by the live action role-playing game Labyrinthe. 

Judy Geeson is terrorised in Inseminoid (1981)

The caves have appeared in several television programmes including Doctor Who in a 1972 story titled The Mutants. The caves were also used in the films The Tribe and Norman J. Warren’s Inseminoid and in a 2008 music video for Cradle of Filth a metal band. Two episodes of TV series Most Haunted were filmed at the caves. A twenty year investigation into the supposed supernatural hauntings of the caves – including the legend of the “white woman” – by author James Wilkinson containing the testimonies of many of the guides and owners over a 50 year period was published in 2011 entitled The Ghosts of Chislehurst Caves.

Jon Pertwee as Doctor Who in the BBC episode ‘The Mutants’

Wikipedia | Official site

Stephanie Beacham (born in Barnet, Hertfordshire, 28 February 1947) is an English television, radio, film and theatre actress. Her career began in modelling before she moved into television with roles in series such as The Saint, Callan, and alien invasion cult classic UFO. Her early film roles included The Ballad of Tam Lin (aka The Devil’s Widow), directed by Roddy McDowall.

Other horror roles:

In Michael Winner’s SM-tinged The Nightcomers (1971), a bizarre ‘prequel’ to the events that occurred in Henry James’ novella ‘The Turn of the Screw’, she starred opposite Marlon Brando. Beacham appeared nude in one scene, during the filming of which Brando apparently wore Y-fronts and wellington boots under the bed clothes to ensure Winner did not film anything lower than was necessary.

Horror would be a genre that Stephanie Beacham appeared often in during the 1970s, and she was subsequently cast as Jessica Van Helsing in Hammer’s Dracula A.D. 1972 alongside genre icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.

Her other horror film appearances are in Amicus period piece  –And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973), Pete Walker’s House of Mortal Sin (aka The Confessional Murders, 1975), Schizo (1976) and Norman J. Warren’s Inseminoid (aka Horror Planet, 1981),

She was featured in the Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense episode ‘A Distant Scream‘ in 1984 before achieving worldwide fame in TV soaps such as The Colbys and Dynasty. In 2000, she appeared in supernatural fantasy Charmed TV episode “Reckless Abandon”.

Wikipedia (click for non-horror roles)

US one sheet

It! (aka It, Anger of the Golem and Curse of the Golem) is a 1966 (released 1967) British/American horror film made by Seven Arts Productions and Gold Star Productions, Ltd. that features the Golem of Prague as its main subject. It is directed by Herbert J. Leder (The Frozen Dead) and stars Roddy McDowall (Planet of the Apes; The Legend of Hell House; Embryo), Jill Haworth (Tower of Evil; The Mutations) and Paul Maxwell (How to Make a Monster; Aliens). It was Ian McCulloch‘s debut film – he later starred in Zombie Flesh Eaters and a slew of Italian horror films.

Plot teaser:

After one of their store houses burnt down, museum director Grove and his assistant Pimm (McDowall) find everything destroyed – only one statue withstood the fire mysteriously undamaged. Suddenly, Grove is discovered lying dead on the ground – killed by the statue? Pimm finds out that the cursed statue has been created by Rabbi Loew in the 16th century and will withstand every human attempt to destroy it. He decides to use it to his own advantage…

Director Herbert J. Leder apparently wanted the film to have the style of the Hammer horror films that were popular. He directed the camera work and audio effects to have the characteristics of a Hammer film. Although it was shot in colour, U.S. theatrical release prints were in black-and-white.

Buy It! on DVD from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“This colorful, whacked out version of the classic tale of the Golem is really fun and finely acted. Sure, it seems a little slow and outdated, but that just makes it all the more charming. It’s a classy little horror show with just enough eccentric and sexy touches in it to keep you interested.” Brutal as Hell

“McDowall is so over the top, the characters so odd and the plot so loopy that it’s actually fun to watch, if you’re the kind of person who enjoys a good bad movie.” DVD Verdict

“Some amusing touches to kiddie-orientated plot which progressively becomes more ridiculous to thoroughly ludicrous conclusion.” Castle of Frankenstein

“With echoes of dozens of other films, It stands on its own as a delightfully dark, tongue-in-cheek horror film that’s riddled with low budget nonsense, over-the-top hammy performances, and enough cheese to feed a third world country for decades.” Dread Central

Wikipedia | IMDb

WH

‘They shared the pleasures of the flesh and the horrors of the grave!’

Vampyres – also released as Daughters of Dracula; Vampyres, Daughters of Dracula; Vampyres: Daughters of Darkness; Satan’s Daughters and Blood Hunger – is a 1974 British erotic vampire horror film directed by José Ramón Larraz. The film’s delightfully discordant score was by James Kenelm Clarke who directed Exposé aka House on Straw Hill a year later.

A novelisation was belatedly published in 2001 by Tim Greaves via FAB Press.

Though initially heavily censored in the UK, an uncut Blu-ray was released in the USA on 30 March 2010 by Blue Underground, including a commentary by director José Ramón Larraz and producer Brian Smedley-Aston, interviews with stars Marianne Morris and Anulka, the international trailer, and the U.S. trailer.

Plot teaser:

Two beautiful undead women roam the English countryside, luring unsuspecting men to their estate for orgies of sex and blood. But when an innocent young couple stumble into the vampires’ lair, they find themselves sucked into an unforgettable vortex of savage lust and forbidden desires…

Reviews:

‘ … quite decent, achieving some good shock moments and showing a taste for the sombre visual…’ Films Illustrated, 1974

‘A non-too-original idea loses through poor acting and the film that emerges is a stock sex-horror exploitation vehicle that gets better direction than it deserves’. Alan Frank, The Horror Film Handbook (Batsford, 1982)

‘… the film is essential viewing for the serious aficionado of British screen terror. Even as the decades pass, it remains one of the most haunting and atmospheric pieces ever committed to celluloid. Few films of such limited funding can claim to be the subject of continued celebration so long after their lensing.” Tim Greaves, Ten Years of Terror (FAB Press, 2001)

Buy Vampyres uncut on Blue Underground Blu-ray from Amazon.com

Cast:

• Marianne Morris … Fran
• Anulka Dziubinska … Miriam
• Murray Brown … Ted
• Brian Deacon … John
• Sally Faulkner … Harriet
• Michael Byrne … Playboy
• Karl Lanchbury … Rupert
• Margaret Heald … Receptionist
• Gerald Case … Estate Agent
• Bessie Love … American Lady
• Elliott Sullivan … American Man

Filming locations:

Oakley Court; Denham churchyard

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘They lived by eating human bones… and threatened to consume the world!

Island of Terror is a 1966 British science fiction horror film produced by Planet Film. It was directed by Terence Fisher – he also helmed The Earth Dies Screaming and Night of the Big Heat for Planet – from a screenplay by Edward Mann and Al Ramsen. It stars Peter Cushing, Edward Judd, Carole Gray, Eddie Byrne, Niall MacGinnis and Sam Kydd.

The idea for the film came when Richard Gordon read the Gerry Fernback screenplay The Night the Silicates Came.

The film was released in the US by Universal Studios on a double-bill with The Projected Man.

Plot teaser:

On the remote Petrie’s Island, farmer Ian Bellows goes missing and his wife contacts the police. Constable John Harris goes looking for him and finds him dead in a cave without a single bone in his body. Horrified, Harris swiftly fetches the town physician Dr. Reginald Landers, but Dr. Landers is unable to determine what happened to the dead man’s skeleton. Landers journeys to the mainland to seek the help of a noted London pathologist, Dr. Brian Stanley.

Like Landers, Stanley is unable to even hypothesize what could have happened to Ian Bellows, so both men seek out Dr. David West, an expert on bones and bone diseases. Although Stanley and Landers interrupt West’s dinner date with the wealthy jetsetter Toni Merrill, West is intrigued by the problem and so agrees to accompany the two doctors back to Petrie’s Island to examine the corpse.

In order for them to reach the island that much faster, Merrill offers the use of her father’s private helicopter in exchange for the three men allowing her to come along on the adventure…

Buy Island of Terror on Odeon Entertainment DVD | Blu-ray from Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

” …one of the very best monster movies to come out of Great Britain in the 1960’s. Not only do its script and direction give the audience credit for a great deal of B-movie erudition, it isn’t overly protective of its main characters (some surprisingly nasty things happen to some surprisingly important people in this movie), and its monsters, though none too convincingly realized, are an extremely imaginative departure from the mutant lizards and gigantic bugs we’re accustomed to in the genre.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

“Island of Terror also lacks a great deal of conviction. The scene where Edward Judd is forced to cut off Peter Cushing’s arm to save his life would have had some brutal effect were it not undermined by the sight of Cushing cheerfully sitting up being bandaged in the following scene. The film taps into the peculiar isolationist mentality of 1960s Britain. Unfortunately the menace is too dull to be effective – and Terence Fisher fails to tap into any of the swimming subtexts that manage to make all good science-fiction monsters more than they are.” Moria

Gory hand-chopping moment

“It’s a strangely sedate movie, given its outré subject matter and lurid title, which is probably both a strength and a weakness. Fisher shoots it in naturalistic tones and the actors mostly give restrained performances. Cushing is excellent, as always, though his character often takes a backseat to Edward Judd’s more charismatic scientist character. He does get to lose a hand, though, in probably the film’s tensest moment. And Carole Gray turns in a very likeable performance, even if her character doesn’t get much to do besides scream and be told to wait in the car. Innsmouth Free Press

“Minor genre entry which makes the most of its low budget thanks to first rate direction by Terence Fisher, adequate special effects and attractive cinematography.” Alan Frank, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Handbook

“Exteriors are interesting when we see the overcast skies, the foggy woods, the actors breathing in the midst. Action comes very often compared with other sci-fi horror films of the era. Weird blob sound effects might be overdone, and the coda is too campy, but these are minor flaws.” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers

Buy Claws & Saucers book from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Buy Masters of Horror Collector’s Edition DVD from Amazon.co.uk

A silicate monster fridge magnet

Cast:

• Peter Cushing as Dr. Brian Stanley
• Edward Judd as Dr. David West
• Carole Gray as Toni Merrill
• Eddie Byrne as Dr. Reginald Landers
• Sam Kydd as Constable John Harris
• Niall MacGinnis as Roger Campbell
• James Caffrey as Peter Argyle
• Liam Gaffney as Ian Bellows
• Roger Heathcote as Dunley
• Keith Bell as Halsey
• Margaret Lacey as Old Woman
• Shay Gorman as Morton
• Peter Forbes-Robertson as Dr. Lawrence Phillips
• Richard Bidlake as Carson
• Joyce Hemson as Mrs. Bellows

Wikipedia | IMDb | Image thanks: Black Hole Reviews

Taste of Fear (US title: Scream of Fear) is a 1961 British horror thriller film directed by Seth Holt (Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb), shot in black-and-white by Douglas Slocombe, for Hammer Films. The film stars Susan Strasberg (The Manitou), Ronald Lewis, Ann Todd, and Christopher Lee, the latter, one of Hammer’s most bankable stars, in a supporting role.

Christopher Lee has been quoted as saying: “Taste of Fear was the best film that I was in that Hammer ever made… It had the best director, the best cast and the best story.” To “drag it back to reality” (his words in the film), Lee’s French accent doesn’t work.

Plot teaser:

A young paralysed woman (Susan Strasberg) returns to her family home after the mysterious disappearance of her father. She has a cool relationship with her stepmother, while the chauffeur helps her to investigate the father’s disappearance.

During the investigations, she finds the father’s corpse in various locations around the house, but it always quickly vanishes again before anyone else sees it.

Reviews:

” … plainly inspired by Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955) but offering several neat twists and turns of its own. A superior Hammer movie – from its well-crafted script to its inventive direction and fabulous monochrome cinematography from the great Douglas Slocombe, it features a stand out performance from young star Susan Strasberg as well as great support from Ann Todd and Hammer Studios stalwart Christopher Lee.” Tipping My Fedora

“Scream of Fear doesn’t demonstrate quite the same mastery of its subgenre as earlier Hammer productions demonstrated of gothic or sci-fi-inflected horror in the 1950’s, but it is competitive, on the whole, with any but the best of the similar movies that William Castle would make during the post-Psycho era. Susan Strasberg is one of 60’s psycho-horror’s better damsels in distress, Christopher Lee is wonderfully smarmy (who the hell knew that Lee could do smarm?) as the vaguely but palpably suspect doctor, and Ronald Lewis damn near walks off with the whole movie as a character who repeatedly shows us that we don’t know him nearly as well as we think we do.” 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting

“I usually don’t care for this type of plotting (it requires way too much planning on the part of our heroes, not to mention that any slight deviation on the part of the villains would cause their entire plan to unravel. These people must be chess masters), but at least I was somewhat surprised by the final five minutes. It was still fairly dull, but it’s something.” Horror Movie a Day

“What I find so exceptional about S.O.F. is the fact that even though it is a grounded in reality thriller, it huffs and puffs like a supernatural yarn and is just altogether haunting. The incredible black and white photography is partially to blame but the story itself leaves giant spaces for you to come to your own conclusions at times and you won’t be blamed for suspecting something otherworldly is going down. One scene in particular that involves Dad’s corpse being spied in a swimming pool is just a blaring punch of full-on horror.” Kindertrauma

Writer/producer Jimmy Sangster jokes with actress Susan Strasberg

Cast:

• Susan Strasberg as Penny Appleby
• Ronald Lewis as Bob
• Ann Todd as Jane Appleby
• Christopher Lee as Doctor Gerrard
• John Serret as Inspector Legrand
• Leonard Sachs (The Giant Behemoth; Konga; Doctor Who) as Spratt
• Anne Blake as Marie
• Fred Johnson as Father

Wikipedia | IMDb

The Sleeping Room is a 2014 British horror movie that was directed by John Shackleton. It had its world premiere on August 23, 2014 at the London FrightFest Film Festival and stars Leila Mimmack, Joseph Beattie and Christopher Adamson . Funding for The Sleeping Room was raised using equity crowdfunding and is credited as being the first British film to use this method.

Plot teaser

Blue (Leila Mimmack) is a call girl working out of Brighton that has been sent out to an old building that Bill (Joseph Beattie) is trying to restore. She’s somewhat surprised when he shows little interest in having sex with her, but ends up staying in the house with him since he has paid for her time. As she is looking around Blue discovers a mutoscope, through which she sees a series of moving images depicting a hooded man (Christopher Adamson). Shortly after that, Blue and Bill discover a secret room that is the key to unlocking many dark and terrifying secrets relating to Blue’s family, and the death of her mother.

Reviews

“A superb example of modern British horror, The Sleeping Room, like fellow Frightfest movie The Forgotten, marks a new bright future for genre filmmaking in the UK that, in a perfect world, would be held in the same esteem as Hammer’s prolific output.” Nerdly

“The Sleeping Room is an accomplished directorial debut from Shackleton. It’s a slow burner that relies on brooding atmospherics and a growing sense of dread fuelled by throw backs to the darkside of the Victorian seaside resort’s long forgotten history. Shot out of season there’s a rainy, end of the road feeling that permeates Blue’s search for answers and the need to escape the chains of her past, Bill’s alter ego and ultimately from this town for good.” Britflicks

“What really shines through is the sheer pace and bare-boned narrative efficiency, which represents both the film’s most idiosyncratic strength and its deepest flaw. While this breakneck pace never allows the viewer’s attention to meander from the plot’s unstoppable trajectory, it also leaves certain story elements somewhat underdeveloped…What it does pack into its lean, 75-minute running time though, is effectively creepy and satisfyingly lensed, and the shocks are permeated with a melancholy calm, mirrored in the constant lapping of the sea, which gives the whole film an unsettling sense of stillness, even as it rushes by.” Exquisite Terror

Wikipedia | IMDb

WH

The Dead 2: India is a 2013 British horror film written and directed by Howard J. Ford and Jon Ford. It is a sequel to the 2010 film The Dead, which was set in Africa.

Filmed in five weeks, in locations across India, including Rajasthan, Delhi and Mumbai, The Dead 2: India stars Joseph Millson, Meenu, Anand Goyal, Sandip Datta Gupta and Poonam Mathur.

American engineer, Nicholas Burton (Joseph Millson, Devil’s Bridge), is toiling in the barren countryside of India, working on wind turbines and fretting about his girlfriend, Ishani (Meenu Mishra) who is 300 miles away on the edge of the slums of Mumbai, under the watchful eye of her disapproving father (Sandip Datta Gupta), who is about to get even more ruffled when he learns she’s pregnant. They will shortly have more to worry about as mother is in bed with a bit of a chomp wound. Elsewhere, a ship from Somalia, docks, one of the passengers stumbling off the ship, not quite himself since he was bitten by a crazy woman. In the cramped streets of the sprawling city, it isn’t long before his newly-found passion for eating human flesh has turned viral, sensible folk taking shelter behind the locked doors of their homes. Burton telephones Ishani and advises her to stay put whilst he makes his way to save her – his work colleague, nearer to the city, recommends avoiding heroics and getting to one of the planes which are shuttling foreign nationals out of the danger zone.

300 miles suddenly feels more like 3000 for Burton and his initial attempts to get there via a parachute powered by a giant fan (no, really) are jettisoned as quickly as he is deposited on the desert floor. Fleeing, he meets an orphaned child, Javed (Anand Krishna Goyal), who is rather obliged to tag along, lest the film carry on with Burton talking to himself. Luckily, Javed knows his way around every inch of India, despite it being the world’s 7th largest country, and so can give his new mate, ‘Mr Nicholas’, the very best directions in their newly acquired car.

There are inevitably mishaps across the desert and after abandoning their car, they ‘borrow’ a motorbike, only to have it nicked off them by a desperate local who needs to urgently visit his cannibalistic kids. After Javed is rescued by a Chinook loaded with refugees, Nick is forced to stagger through the burning sun alone, evading zombies and hoping his beloved hasn’t already become one of the shuffling rot bags. Will he honour his promise to meet Javed at the refugee camp? Will he get to the girl in time? Is mother hungry?

Firstly, let us dispense with the formalities – if you didn’t like the first The Dead film, which is absolutely everyone I’ve spoken to about it, you aren’t going to be converted by this. Millson is a more accomplished lead but there again, he is given far more to do, as opposed to the silent and solemn mystery of The Dead’s protagonist. You will need something approaching titanium-strength tolerance to Javed’s constant appeals to ‘Mr Nicholas’ which ultimately borders more on the entrenched racism of Love Thy Neighbour than Eat Thy Neighbour. The rest of the acting is appalling, chief offender being Ishani, the whole thing being a terrible affair best forgotten.

It’s easy to see why the Brothers Ford fancied another shot at relocating zombies to an unfamiliar locale, but that is also its failing. It is a complete re-run, the trek across the desert naturally being the same, apart from Nick apparently not suffering too much from thirst and having a side-kick. Our hero has a remarkable knack for avoiding being infected, unlike everyone else in the film who suffer particularly satisfying bites to the extremities – for all its faults, there is no questioning the cinematography or special effects. With an inexhaustible supply of bullets, it does feel like you’ve pressed ‘cheat mode’ on a computer game, a pleasing and quite believable twist at the end making such frippery just about palatable. Just to ensure the saris and turbans aren’t enough, the original soundtrack is re-used but with added sitar and rhythms. It’s an easy, no-brain watch but there are hints at real opportunity and the fact they largely go untapped is enormously frustrating.

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia

Speaking about this sequel in Cannes, Howard J Ford  commented: “Jon and I knew we’d get around to making a sequel one day as there was plenty of scope to where we could take our idea of abject horror and emotional devastation presented against a stunning natural backdrop. But it was while we were escorting The Dead to various film festivals around the world, listening to the overwhelmingly positive feedback and reading all the Internet comments, that we felt compelled to make another film pretty quickly to satisfy the demand we knew was out there. We wrote the sequel frighteningly quickly, tapping into every constructive comment from true fans of the genre so we could make a film we feel we owe to all the people who supported The Dead“.

Jon Ford added, “We still felt our creative itches hadn’t been scratched and that we needed to continue our adventure into the living dead unknown. There just seemed to be too much talk and anticipation about us making another zombie movie we couldn’t ignore. So we thought let’s do it! Part of the magic of The Dead was its minimalism both in terms of dialogue and how it played out in the road movie style. Not everyone was going to get that and we knew it. So we decided to embellish the story this time with a few more mainstream elements without losing what was so special about the first film”.

Howard concluded, “There was a tenderness to The Dead that thankfully people loved and the character connections are what many warmed to. Thus it was important to include those aspects again and add to them, because we want The Dead 2: India to pull on your heartstrings as much as we want the exciting and violent elements to thrill you”.

Related: living dead | zombies

Dracula:The Undead is a video game released in 1991 for the Atari Lynx handheld system. It was created by UK-based company Hand Made Software.

The game is loosely based on Bram Stoker‘s novel Dracula with the maker’s going as far as to claim Bram Stoker himself “narrates” the story (its just on screen text).

The player takes the role of Jonathan Harker as he tries to escape from Dracula’s Castle. The game bears a striking resemblance to the Alone in the Dark survival horror games despite pre-dating the series by one year.

Review:

‘Punctuating the atmospheric storyline is the unsettling look of the graphics, which are displayed entirely in sepia tones and shadows. The nearly colorless presentation gives Dracula: The Undead the feel of an old photograph come to life; indeed, the game opens with a crisply digitized shot of Dracula’s piercing eyes. (Yes, Hammer horror fans, they are the eyes of actor Christopher Lee.) Certain rooms can only be reached by – gasp! – climbing out a window and clinging to the castle’s outer wall, and there are some terrific lighting effects in the scenes where Jonathan carries a lantern into the catacombs where Dracula sleeps. While most Lynx games have a dated look, Dracula: The Undead manages to hold up simply because of its unusual look’. John Huxley, Defunct Games

Buy Dracula: The Undead Atari Lynx video game from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

Wikipedia | Image credits: AtariAge

The Frozen Dead is a 1966 British science fiction horror film written, produced and directed by Herbert J. Leder (It!; Doomsday Machine) and starring Dana Andrews (Night of the Demon), Anna Palk (The Skull; The Nightcomers; Tower of Evil) and Philip Gilbert (Die! Die! My Darling!). Edward Fox (Skullduggery; The Cat and the Canary; Lost in Space) has an early role as Prisoner #3.

Hammer horror regulars Don Banks (The Evil of Frankenstein; The Reptile; The Mummy’s Shroud) composed the strident score, whilst Scott MacGregor provided the art direction (Taste the Blood of Dracula; The Vampire Lovers; Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell).

Although shot in Eastmancolor, US distributors Warner-Seven Arts chose to release it in black and white to save money duplicating prints!

Plot teaser:

A Nazi scientist plans to revive a dozen frozen Nazi leaders…

Reviews:

“Unlike It!, where a simple premise gets madder and madder, The Frozen Dead has a grand idea but doesn’t really seem to know what to do with it. We’re only treated to one rampaging Nazi zombie (as played by Edward Fox, no less), but even he’s a bit crap. However, it’s worth noting that the “Elsa’s head in a box” scenes are incredibly effective, and almost make it worth seeking out the film by themselves. Bathed in an eerie blue light and glaring balefully at her captors, she’s the real star of the show.” British Horror Films

Buy The Frozen Dead from Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.com

“Dana Andrews is actually quite good in this mess, giving his character of Dr. Norberg some layers that went above and beyond the call of duty for a film of this caliber. Character actor Alan Tilvern plays a goofy Igor-like character who manages to spice things up by going bat-guano crazy. It’s too bad the rest of the movie didn’t give these two more to work with.” Victor Medina, Cinelinx

“The Brain That Wouldn’t Die is noteworthy for Virginia Leith’s talkative, taunting performance as that film’s body-less head. In The Frozen Dead, the honor goes to Kathleen Breck as the hapless Elsa. Her subtler, more tortured and mostly mimed performance is actually quite good, in unrealistic surroundings realistically expressing the horror of finding oneself disembodied and at the mercy of loopy scientists. A couple of (stationary matte?) effects shots showing the disembodied head are also well done. And she gets the film’s memorable last line, dialogue which, given all the absurdities that preceded it, is admirably haunting.” Stewart Galbraith IV, DVD Talk

“Seriously, folks: despite being an enjoyably bad b-movie, The Frozen Dead has a somewhat disturbing quality to it that won’t let you forget about it. But, of course, on the upside, we do get to see a wall of severed arms come to life and strangle Nazis. I mean, you can’t go wrong with that, right?” Luigi Bastardo, Cinema Sentries

“The best things about this unscary movie are the art direction and the living head which features prominently in the production.” Alan Frank, The Horror Film Handbook

Choice dialogue:

“Bury me, bury me…”

Cast:

• Dana Andrews – Dr. Norberg
• Anna Palk – Jean Norburg
• Philip Gilbert – Dr. Ted Roberts
• Kathleen Breck – Elsa Tenney
• Karel Stepanek – General Lubeck
• Basil Henson – Dr. Tirpitz
• Alan Tilvern – Karl Essen
• Anne Tirard – Mrs. Schmidt
• Edward Fox – Norburg’s Brother (Prisoner #3)
• Oliver MacGreevy – Joseph the Butler
• Tom Chatto – Inspector Witt
• John Moore – Bailey the Stationmaster
• Charles Wade – Alfie the Porter

Wikipedia | IMDb

Fear was a British full-colour magazine published by Newsfield between 1988 and 1991. It was edited by John Gilbert and as well as covering just horror films, it also provided a showcase for both established authors and first-timers with a section dedicated to short fiction.

Gilbert was formally deputy editor of the home computer magazine Sinclair User but as the console market was starting to leave behind the age of rubber keys and unreliable cassettes, he was keen to find a new niche in the magazine marketplace in which to set-up shop. Horror was to provide this and the first issue was a mix of both horror film and book reviews, news of forthcoming genre activity and a section towards the middle of horror, science fiction and fantasy fiction from a variety of writers.

Whilst this was a period when many of the more unusual, European or unreleased/banned films were receiving attention from a myriad of self-published fanzines, Fear provided information for eager horror fans to find out more about their passion on a monthly basis in many newsagents and shops on the high street. Sales were unremarkable but strong enough to ensure the magazine survived for the period Newsfield was operating. The equal coverage the magazine gave to authors was well-received by both readers and writers and the first works by the likes of Peter F. Hamilton sat alongside established masters of the art such as Ramsey Campbell, Brian Lumley, James Herbert and Clive Barker (who, towards the end of the magazine’s life appeared with head-spinning regularity throughout).

So successful was the literary section that a spin-off magazine appeared, Frighteners, which solely served this purpose. Sadly, its success was short-lived; the first issue featured a story by Graham Masterton entitled, ‘Eric the Pie’ which saw a young chap discovering his fondness for eating live animals descending into more cannibalistic behaviour, all of which was a bit too much for newsagent chain WH Smith who pulled it from their shelves. Given that one issue of Fear had covered the cannibal genre, specifically cannibals in films, in some depth, you can understand the disappointment of both fans, author and publisher. The sticking point was the lack of any warning that the magazine was intended for an adult audience – such was the power of WH Smith at the time that this was financially ruinous for Newsfield who had little option to accept the first issue was a huge loss.

The covers to the magazine featured the stunning artwork of Oliver Frey, whose painted designs were often worthy of purchasing the magazine in themselves. Only a couple of issues featured images from films in lieu of his work. Oliver and his brother, Franco, as well as mutual friend Roger Kean, were actually the founders of Newsfield and had developed it to provide a platform for their ZX Spectrum magazine, Crash and later, Sinclair User. Crash also used Frey’s distinctive artwork on the cover. The ‘Eric the Pie’ fiasco naturally affected both magazines due to the financial impact of the magazines withdrawal, indeed the liquidators for Newsfield also pointed out that the other major national magazine retailer, John Menzies, had too refused to stock the magazine, after a customer complained about the content. In the face of adversity, a spirited defence was launched, with issue 33 of Fear (August, 1991) published an article supporting both the story and the decision to publish it, whilst a second issue of Frighteners also appeared, though now with the missing warning in place. Readers were invited to purchase the banned issue direct from the supplier for the cover price alone in an attempt to repair the damage but sadly, the end was nigh and only issues 2 and 3 of Frighteners appeared with issue 33 being the final issue of Fear.

Fear‘s piece on the incident reveals Frighteners as being “withdrawn from sale after legal advice” and Fear editor, Gilbert, spoke to author Graham Masterton who describes ‘Eric the Pie’ as: “a satire to show the grisly realities of the human diet”, whilst going on to clarify that the tale, “is no more disturbing than the meat counter at Sainsbury’s”. Describing the story’s strongest scene featuring a still (not for long) breathing calf, Masterton says, “There is nothing in the scene that tends to deprave or corrupt, but it should rightly evoke outrage. ‘Eric the Pie’ is a serious story with a serious purpose. I hope very much that it will be taken as such.” He has since admitted it may have been a bit strong for many audiences.

As well as many of the authors who appeared within the pages, others, such as regular reviewer, Mark Kermode, went on to achieve great success after the magazine’s closure. Fortunately, Gilbert has remained determined to resurrect the hugely-missed magazine and a relaunch is planned at some point in 2015…

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia

Noted British screenwriter and producer Brian Clemens has died, aged 83.

Clemens is best known for his TV work, often in fantasy-based action series. His most famous creation is TV series The Avengers, which ran from 1961 to 1969, and was relaunched as The New Avengers in 1976.

He also produced action series The Professionals between 1977 and 1983 (with The New Professionals appearing in 1999) and Bugs between 1995 and 1999. As a writer, he contributed to the likes of popular TV productions Adam Adamant Lives, The Baron, The Champions, The Persuaders, Remington Steele and many more.

Yet, running throughout his career, was an involvement in the horror genre. In 1960, he wrote his first horror film, The Tell Tale Heart, based (very) loosely on the Poe story, and in 1965 he co-wrote Lindsay Shonteff’s Curse of the Voodoo.

In the early Seventies, he took a break from TV to concentrate on screenplay writing. His impressively low-key psycho thriller And Soon the Darkness (remade in 2010) was directed by Avengers alumni Robert Fuest, and he followed it with another psycho movie, Blind Terror, a year later.

These two films would ultimately form the template for his hit TV series Thriller, which ran from 1973 to 1976 and tended to specialise in ‘woman in peril’ stories, often treading the fine line between psychological thriller and horror, and occasionally crossing the line into outright supernatural stories.

For Hammer, he wrote Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde, a film that belied its gimmicky title and somewhat subverted the Hammer gothic style, mixing Stevenson’s story with Burke and Hare and Jack the Ripper in a genre mash-up that was decades ahead of its time.

He followed this with Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter in 1972, which would be his only directorial credit. The film attempted to breathe new life into Hammer’s vampire cycle – by now flogged to death – by combining it with swashbuckling action courtesy of superhero-like Kronos. The movie blended humour, horror and action, and aside from a rather stiff central performance by Horst Jansen, proved to be tremendous fun.

It could’ve been a fresh start for Hammer, but they had no idea what to do with it and considered the film too weird. It was eventually slipped out as the bottom half of a double bill with last-gasp Frankenstein film Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell. Plans for further Kronos adventures were dropped, though the character did briefly live on, appropriately enough, as a comic strip in early issues of House of Hammer.

Between the Hammer films, Clemens wrote the Ray Harryhausen fantasy The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and in 1980 he was the screenwriter for Disney’s family-oriented horror / science fiction crossover The Watcher in the Woods, which mixed haunted house spookiness with alien invasion. John Hough’s film was badly edited (with a new ending) in initial release, but has since built a strong reputation.

In the 1980s, Clemens once again concentrated on TV, writing one episode of horror anthology The Dark Room (1981) and two instalments of Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense (1984).

He wrote science fiction TV movie Timestalkers in 1987 and three episodes of supernatural anthology Worlds Beyond and one episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents around the same time. His final cinematic writing credit was for the story for Highlander II: The Quickening in 1991.

IMDb

DF

‘Moving house can be torture’

Spiderhole is a 2010 British horror film written and directed by Daniel Simpson. The film is Simpson’s feature film directorial debut. It stars Amy Noble, Emma Griffiths Malin, George Maguire, Reuben-Henry Biggs.

Official plot teaser:

Molly, together with her three art student friends, embark upon a mission to find an empty house in London, with the view to the living as squatters, free from rent, and free to party. Having found the ideal squat, they break in and go about the merry business of dressing the stark interior to reflect their artistic selves. Darkness pervades their new dwelling place, a darkness through which they discover the full implications of their intrepid choice.

A nightmare unfolds that traps the viewer and protagonists alike in a terrifying and unforgiving new reality. Who or what is orchestrating their bloody demise and why? The house appeared to be empty and yet a malevolent force is clearly at work…

Buy Spiderhole on DVD | Instant video from Amazon.co.uk

Buy Spiderhole on DVD | Instant video from Amazon.com

Reviews:

” …not bad enough to qualify as a train wreck, and what little it does (relatively) right has been done better. If you want to see kids get killed, the body count is too low and kills too bland to compete even with 1980s sequels, let alone newer stuff. If you want torture, the Hostels deliver AND give decent stories to go along with them … And hell, if you just want a killer doctor, just watch Dr. Giggles. At least the title is more fitting.” Horror Movie a Day

“Spiderhole had promise, theoretically, but it fails to generate much in the way of suspense or scares. Shots of dusty pipes, slime dripping from faucets, and spiders crawling about are no substitute for real atmosphere, character development, and emotional investment.” Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects

“A sizeable chunk of the budget looks like it has been spent on lashings of blood, fake appendages, rubbery eyeballs and a gleaming set of surgical apparatus (there’s a maniac in the basement wearing scrubs). But for all the gore, Spiderhole wants for genuine frights; it’s a kind of Saw for beginners. Still, it might just work as a public service film: kids, squatting is bad – leave those bolt cutters alone.” Cath Clarke, The Guardian

Wikipedia | IMDb

Video Nasties trump cards are being sold by new British company Gods and Monsters.

The debut set is Series One of the Video Nasties collection. Each card features a reproduction of the original iconic VHS video sleeve artwork from the notorious, previously banned, video nasties – 72 films split across the two sets (Series Two is out in the Spring), printed on glossy card and housed in a clear plastic keep case.

As well as the 36 cards in each series, they come with an original cover card featuring a notorious anti-nasty campaigner rendered in vivid cartoon form.

The Video Nasties Series One trump cards are available in a limited first run edition from Gods and Monsters.

Related:

Ban the Sadist Videos! The Story of Video Nasties

Video Nasties: The Complete Illustrated Checklist

Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide Part Two, Draconian Days

‘The ultimate predator!’

Silverhide – formerly Pounce – is a 2015 British horror film written and directed by Keith R. Robinson. It stars Lucy Clarvis, Kelly Wines, John Hoye, Jordan Murphy, Phil Stone, Sean Hayes, and Matt Brewer.

Plot teaser:

A group of conspiracy theorists are secretly watching a top secret military base in the desolate Welsh mountains. They are looking for experimental and highly classified test aircraft to report about in a magazine, when they suddenly discover a top secret and highly lethal creature (discovered in the 1920’s) which the military and Government are testing. The creature’s fur can turn invisible in moon light.

The conspiracy theorists are hunted by both the creature – which the army has nick named “The Silverhide” – and the military who will stop at nothing to keep their classified specimen a secret…

Silverhide is released on DVD in the UK on April 6, 2015 via 101 Films.

WH

Amityville Playhouse – also known as The Amityville Legacy and Amityville Theater (USA) – is a forthcoming 2015 British horror film directed by John R. Walker from a screenplay by Steve Hardy. The film stars Monèle LeStrat, Linden Baker, Kennie Benoit, Hollie Anne Kornik, Eva Kwok, Logan Russell, Gary Martin, Ania Marson.

The film will be released in the US on DVD by 4 Digital Media on June 23, 2015.

Plot teaser:

Following the tragic death of her parents Fawn Harriman discovers she has inherited a theatre in the town of Amityville. Along with three friends, she decides to spend the weekend looking the place over. Meanwhile, one of her high school teachers begins an investigation into the village’s past and makes a connection with something that goes back beyond recorded history…

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‘A fucked up fairy tale’

Nina Forever is a 2015 dark comedy romantic British horror film written and directed by Ben and Chris Blaine. It stars Fiona O’Shaughnessy, Abigail Hardingham, Cian Barry, David Troughton, Elizabeth Elvin, Bill Holland, Lee Nicholas Harris, Sean Verey, Phelim Kelly, Richard Sandling, Javan Hirst.

The Jeva Film production will have its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, on March 14, 2015 with a limited US release to follow.

Plot teaser:

Holly wants to save Rob and has fallen in love with him. She is training to be a paramedic and works a dead end job in a supermarket, where Rob is the only remarkable thing although he’s lost and angry since the death of his girlfriend, Nina.

Drawn into a relationship, the first time they’re in bed together, so is Nina. A tangled and bloody mess of broken limbs, she is very much dead but still here, still talking, still angry…

However, Holly doesn’t freak out and run. She is determined to be the one who heals Rob’s wounds. She can deal with the dead girl sharing their bed, their lives, their minds. If it’s what Rob needs, it’s what Holly will do, whatever the consequences…

IMDb

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‘Where black magic explodes into murder!’

Craze – also known as The Infernal Idol and Demon Master – is a 1974 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis (The Skull; The Vampire Happening; The Ghoul) from a screenplay co-written by producer Herman Cohen (Berserk; Trog) and Aben Kandel based on a 1967 novel by Henry Seymour.

The film stars Jack Palance (Torture Garden), Diana Dors (Nothing But the Night; Theatre of Blood; From Beyond the Grave), Julie Ege (Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires; The Mutations), Hugh Griffith (Dr. Phibes Rises Again; Legend of the Werewolf), Trevor Howard (Persecution; The Unholy), Suzy Kendall (Torso), Michael Jayston (Dominique), Martin Potter (Satan’s Slave), David Warbeck (The Beyond).

Plot teaser:

Psychotic London-based antique dealer Neal Mottram (Palance) sacrifices women to the statue of African god Chuku in the belief that it will help his ailing finances…

Reviews:

‘So what’s left when one tries to watch Craze as a horror film are scenes of Jack Palance mugging, Jack Palance killing women, some very brightly coloured blood, and Jack Palance’s bare chest. That would leave the film barely watchable in a “point and laugh” sort of way, but for me, there’s something utterly irresistible about a film so desperately trying to be part of its time, and to be pop. I do doubt Francis or Cohen actually understood contemporary pop culture in the least, but that’s part of the fun of the whole affair.’ The Horror!?

‘ …a badly made exploitation piece with zero production values and murky camerawork, only relieved by Palance’s reliably over-the-top performance and some bizarre cameos from illuminati like Dors (although as Jayston remarks at one point: “One would have to be pretty desperate to sail into that port”) and even Trevor Howard(!) as Superintendant Bellamy.’ British Horror Films

‘A typically bad Herman Cohen movie that wastes the talents of director Freddie Francis and a good cast.’ Alan Frank, The Horror Film Handbook

‘The film is a waste of everybody’s time – including yours if you are misguided enough to see it.’ Daily Express, May 1974

‘Cohen and Kandel’s one-dimensional storyline quickly grinds the film down to a series of murders interspersed with police procedural segments and eye-rolling monologues from the out-of-control Palance, the Greed is Good theme leading to an inevitable ‘final sacrifice’ moment…’ Harvey Fenton, Ten Years of Terror

Cast:

• Jack Palance as Neal Mottram
• Diana Dors as Dolly Newman
• Julie Ege as Helena
• Edith Evans as Aunt Louise
• Hugh Griffith as Solicitor
• Trevor Howard as Bellamy
• Suzy Kendall as Sally
• Michael Jayston as Wall
• Martin Potter as Ronnie
• Percy Herbert as Detective Russet
• David Warbeck as Detective Wilson
• Kathleen Byron as Muriel Sharp
• Marianne Stone as Jane, a barmaid
• Dean Harris as Ronnie’s friend
• Venicia Day as exotic dancer
• Brian McDermott as policeman following Ronnie (uncredited)

Wikipedia | IMDb | Images thanks to Bookgasm | Viaje… a lo inesperado