Flavours of the Month: November/December 2023...

Whammin' bammin' slammin' action, two very twisted brothers, and a flatulent cartoon quest are just some of what's been setting the tone of my November/December 2023...

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Ski School (Damian Lee, 1990) Review...

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“It's not how far you go, it's how go you far.” Atop Whistler mountain it's the annual Spring Pageant Week and control of the ski slopes is up for grabs with the loser to be banished. With square-jawed preppy jocks on one side and the all-American party dudes on the other, it's Animal House in the snow...!

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Flavours of the Month: September/October 2023...

Gothic tragedy, dystopian revolution, and some nice Chianti is just some of what's been setting the tone of my September/October 2023...

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V/H/S/85 (2023) review...

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The V/H/S portmanteau horror anthology franchise has been a mixed bag from its inception, but this inherently goes with the territory. The first film, from 2012, was a bold but flawed beginning that was clearly one story too long and, most egregiously, suffered from featuring numerous characters who were outright wretched to spend any time with. The 2013 follow-up clocked in at an agreeably brisk 92 minutes, balanced the tone and characters, and explored a nice variety of ideas, styles, and approaches to the set-up. Sadly, 2014's V/H/S/Viral was thoroughly misguided, at times appearing embarrassingly cheap and sloppy, while also featuring mostly uninspiring tales.

Fast forward to 2021 and horror streaming service Shudder co-produced and distributed V/H/S/94, which proved to be a return to form and an impressive doubling-down on the 'vhs style'. It had some weak aspects, but it's strengths outnumbered its weaknesses. Hopes were high, then, for 2022's V/H/S/99, which absolutely dropped the ball. Aside from one segment ("Suicide Bid"), the film was a mess of miss opportunities, half-baked ideas (some of which didn't fit the format or franchise tone whatsoever), aggressive amounts of shaky-cam, and poorly-placed humour.

Nonetheless, V/H/S/99 was a ratings hit, but this was no doubt built more on the achievements of its immediate predecessor that it's own content, as born out by numerous reactions from the audience. Approaching V/H/S/85, therefore, came with some serious concern that the wrong lessons would be learned from V/H/S/99's success. Thankfully, V/H/S/85 feels more in-keeping with the first two entries in the franchise as well as V/H/S/94...

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Murdercise (Angelica De Alba & Paul Ragsdale 2023) Review

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“How's it you kids keep getting yourselves brutally murdered?” Like a throwback to the heyday of the 1980s Scream Queens, Murdercise poses the question – how far should one go to become the cover girl for a cheap and tacky workout video? Is a little bit of killing a step too far, or a fast track to success in Reagan's day-glo lycra-clad America?...

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Flavours of the Months: July/August 2023...

Tomes of Terror, a menagerie of monsters, and some rubber-burning donuts is just some of what's been setting the tone of my July and August 2023...

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Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-o-rama 2 (Brinke Stevens, 2022) Review

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“It's nothing, just a little debauchery … in the bowling alley.” Belated sequels are always a tricky sell. Can you ever truly recapture the magic of the original movie(s), the texture and tone of the way they were shot, the time in which they were made, even the attitudes of the period? Do you risk trampling on the memory of what came before – just look at what happened with Indiana Jones, which (at the time of writing) is looking to be on-course for a disastrous reception to it's fifth entry (a belated-sequel of a belated-sequel). So, what about a raunchy horror-comedy from the heyday of the VHS rental era – what will a thirty-four year gap between films mean to the tale of a nefarious Imp trapped inside a bowling trophy?...

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Flavours of the Month: May & June 2023...

Ghoulish horrors, gritty criminal cases, and a spine-tingling trip into the woods are some of what's been setting the tone of my May & June 2023...

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Evil Dead Rise (Lee Cronin, 2023) Review

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“Don't let it take my babies!” Sam Raimi's notorious 1983 film The Evil Dead was described by horror icon Stephen King as “the most ferociously original horror film of the year”, with the poster justifiably promising “the ultimate experience in gruelling terror”, and went on to spawn a decades-long franchise across all media platforms. A few years on from the unfortunately early and entirely unfair demise of the Ash vs Evil Dead television show, the original team return to exec produce a new tale in the soul-swallowing series. But considering the fan favourite pedigree of what has skewered audience eyeballs thus far, can Evil Dead Rise leave the track record unbroken...?

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Kids vs Aliens (Jason Eisener, 2023) Review

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“I'm tired of hearing and smelling what comes out of your face hole!” It's been a long time since the director of Hobo With A Shotgun unleashed his foul-mouthed, gore-splattered, ramped-up roar of a debut movie onto audiences, but finally the renegade filmmaker from Nova Scotia has dished up a new feature-length helping from his multi-coloured mind of madness...

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Flavours of the Months: February, March, and April 2023...

March was a rough month, drawing to a sad but somewhat merciful close to a very difficult three years that was only going to get even worse, which is obviously why these 'flavours of the month' are later than usual.

So ... an apocalyptic adaptation, globetrotting with Agent 47, and Mando on the skids are some of what's been flavouring my February, March, and April 2023...

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Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge (Various, 2022) Review

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“Time to die … again.” Following on from franchise creators Aaron B. Koontz and Cameron Burns' 2019 Shudder-exclusive comedy horror portmanteau flick Scare Package, it's time to strap-in for movie references galore, big splattery guffaws, and some twisted ideas turned on their severed head...

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Flavours of the Month: December 2022 & January 2023...

Dark, brooding dramas, local familiarity, and the foibles of Yara are just some of what's been setting the tone of my December 2022 and January 2023...

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