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"THE SCARIEST FILM IMAGINABLE" - radio ads from the 1970s
My YouTube playlist of how the movies were sold with sound... This year's long term project has turned out to be listening through all my old audio cassette recordings. Besides reviving huge dollops of...
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Son of Monsterpalooza convention - October 26th, 2012
A quick, furtive look around...If we're lucky, when we're in Los Angeles, there's a chance of catching a movie convention. This time around we lucked into Son of Monsterpalooza, just before Halloween...
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LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT (1927) - how to enjoy a lost film
LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT(USA, 1927)What to do until this lost film is found...December 17th, 1927, was the American premiere of an unusual Christmas movie. Starring Lon Chaney and directed by regular...
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HOTEI TOMOYASU - Japanese axe-god live in London
Live in London, living in London!On December 18th at the Camden Roundhouse, part of the HyperJapan festival, this concert was a superb return to the London stage (after twenty years) for Japanese rock...
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BREAKING GLASS (1980) - a pivotal time in music, fashion and politics
BREAKING GLASS(1980, UK)This was EnglandWhen Breaking Glass was playing cinemas in late 1980, I'd already seen Stardust, also a drama warning us of the machinations of the music industry, but set in...
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THE AMITYVILLE HORRORs - based on a true story?
The most shocking aspect is that it's still presented as a true story...A great premise. A young family find a dream house but they've barely got enough money for it. Huge rooms, sea view, boat...
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My favourite new old films of 2012!
Didn't watch nearly enough movies to compile a worthwhile Best or Worst list of last year's releases, even if I wanted to. But over the holiday season, I was honoured to be asked to compile a very...
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THE PSYCHOPATH (1966) - Amicus horror not on DVD
THE PSYCHOPATH(1966, UK)A twisty, twisted tale...Amicus Studios became successful once Hammer Films had attracted international attention to British horror in the 1950s. Continuing through the 60s and...
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THE BIRDS (1963) - restored for blu-ray and cinema
THE BIRDS(1963, USA)They're attacking again...To try and top his previous hit, Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock undertook his most technically complex movie, with the most visual effects he'd used on a film...
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LES REVENANTS - THEY CAME BACK again and again
LES REVENANTS(2004 movie, France)Low-key zombie movie rises again and again as a TV series...Nine years ago, there was an unusual zombie movie made in France. More sci-fi than horror, more arthouse...
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GRABBERS (2012) - creepy, slimy fun from Ireland
A new monster movie... that's good!We watched this completely cold and it's already a favourite.I prefer monster movies played for real, which this does. But its balanced with a healthy amount of...
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THE GHOUL (1975) - Peter Cushing horror not on DVD
THE GHOUL(1975, UK)Peter Cushing, John Hurt, Freddie Francis... but no DVDThe horror films in the many themed seasons on the BBC, late on Friday and Saturday nights in the 1970s and 80s imprinted on a...
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AMICUS: HOUSE OF HORRORS (2012) - heartfelt fan-made documentary
AMICUS: HOUSE OF HORRORS(2012, UK)Attempting to document the famous horror studioFor British horror films of the 1960s and 1970s, Amicus Productions rivalled Hammer films by taking a different approach...
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THE CHANGES (1975) - post-apocalyptic children's TV!
THE CHANGES(1975, UK, TV 10 x 25mins)The image of a caravan in a quarry haunted me for nearly forty years!I remember catching some of this children's TV series on one of its original showings. As a...
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OCTANE (2003) - a caffeine-fuelled, nightmare road trip
OCTANEU.S. title: PULSE(2003, UK/Luxembourg) Norman Reedus doing horror ten years ago!A rain-drenched motorway, an upturned car, an ambulance nearby. But when the paramedics check out the two crash...
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SKY RIDERS (1976) - finally widescreen on DVD
SKY RIDERS(1976, USA)What's the most dangerous method for liberating hostages?Definitely a 70s action movie, centred around a fad that's not related to disco or skateboarding. With a great cast and a...
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THE POSSESSED (1977) - TV movie takes on The Exorcist
How to make The Exorcist safe for TVTV movies in the seventies often tried to spin trending movie ideas into TV series. Even The Exorcist! To make it TV-friendly, The Possessed obviously has to water...
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SUMMER WARS (2009) - an anime internet disaster movie!
SUMMER WARS(2009, Japan)Mind-expanding, family-friendly anime movieI've been away from anime for too long, after taking a break when Satoshi Kon passed away suddenly, who I regarded as the most...
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BLOOD SIMPLE (1984) - the first from the Coen brothers
BLOOD SIMPLE(1984, USA)Dark debut for the Coen brothers...Before I even knew who Joel and Ethan Coen were, Blood Simple was an immediately impressive first film, with visual storytelling, brutality and...
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GORGO (1961) - new restoration on DVD and Blu-ray
This excellent restoration, from newly-discovered 35mm film elements in an MGM vault, finally gives us a home video release of Gorgo that surpasses my experience of it on TV! Up until now, I've been...
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