Movie Review - Castle Freak (1995)

Castle Freak (1995)

The venerable 40k Quest movie review returns and this time we are delving into 90s horror obscurity Castle Freak.

On a vague off-hand recommendation I picked up this Jeffrey Combs horror film and I am so glad I did. Especially as I love a good HP Lovecraft style horror flick (see Re-animator, In the Mouth of Madness etc ...)

The plot is straight forward, a man carrying the guilt of blinding his daughter and killing his son in a drunk driving incident inherits a castle in Italy after the duchess he didn't know he was related to dies. He and his family; including his Wife who has not forgiven him, move into the place while he tries to sell it. Unbeknown to everyone is the duchess has been keeping her long thought dead, disfigured son in the crypt who she used to beat and treat worse than a dog.

That's right officer an angry, surprisingly strong naked man with no thumb has been prowling around my 150 room castle and I'd like you and your men to find him.

The location is different and interesting. The acting is decent, Combs is great as a slightly off-kilter alcoholic father and Barbara Crampton is good too as the struggling Wife. The blind daughter is a nice addition to the film even if her main role is being a near victim for the beast man most of the time. The star of the show though is certainly the beast in the cell aka Giorgio. The effects they used for his face are top notch and his perverted and self-mutilating actions are amazingly grim. Once he escapes things get very creepy, horrifying and very gory in this film. Although I'm not entirely sure we needed to see his very hairy and very nude body dangling about quite so much, I suppose it is balanced out by the whore Combs meets at a bar, who gets her kit off first.

There are plenty of great scenes in this film from jumping through windows, police beat downs and police deaths. Plus there is the scene involving the previously mentioned prostitute and Giorgio which goes from creepy to downright savage as he literally bites off her nipple!! Also if you like cats then I should warn you this film has one, that doesn't make it to the end.

Overall I was greatly surprised by this film and really enjoyed it. I would definitely watch it again.

Until next time.

Movie Review - Deep Rising (1998)

Ah a movie review, these are always fun:

Deep Rising (1998) is a film that has a multitude of ideas to begin with and then turns into a standard creature feature on a ship. The basic plot is a big ferry is sabotaged by mercenaries, yet something else beats them to the money/passengers ... ominous!

Movie Review - Q: The Winged Serpent

Hey look it's another movie review :)

What can I say about this little gem. A pretty great film about a monster summoned via ancient Aztec sacrifice that promptly goes about decapitating and eating the residents of New York.

"It's as big as a battleship!", wait wrong film.

Even though I mainly watched this for the dragon like monster I really got into it because of Michael Moriarty playing a small time crook and David Caradine the main cop, the acting from these two is really good although Moriarty's character is a complete jackass. The actual reason for summoning the Quetzalcoatl isn't really explained but if it creates a loony killer sacrificing people as a sub-plot then that's fine by me.

These Canadian Geese are getting out of hand!

The monster effects are not too bad although it's not quite Ray Harryhausen quality, but the creature works as a fleeting menace for the early parts of the film and as a suitable finale, it gets quite the kill count by the end. Also I loved the Aztec cult leader who would give Boris the Bullet Dodger from Snatch a run for his money in survival.

Overall decent acting and a unique view of New York makes this a better that you think giant flying monster movie.

I give it 3 out of 5 pumpkins.

Movie Review - The Deadly Mantis (1957)

The Deadly Mantis (1957) 

A film featuring a giant fictional prehistoric monster causing mayhem to the people of earth. Oh how I love these old school films where something is disturbed and then decides to attack the nearest populated area. So In this case we have a 200ft tall Praying Mantis.

Movie Review: The Brain Eaters (1958)

The Brain Eaters (1958)

I'm Here and I Want Action! is a phrase barked out by a gruff military type in this alien threat B-Movie. On viewing the whole film I think it's a fairly good analysis of what I watched.

In the world of cinema the B-Movie is the runner-up to the main feature, the cast off that was there to amuse but not much else. So when I opted to watch The Brain Eaters I wasn’t expecting too much …

Movie Review: Mimic (1997)

Mimic (1997)

If you have been following these occasional movie reviews you may be noticing a little bit of a trend in that they are all either monster or horror related. This is no mere coincidence as I do love a good scare filled movie with some sort of creature or supernatural force that will pluck its victims one by one until only a scared few remain.

So with that in mind I watched Mimic recently. One of the early Guillermo del Toro films this is one of those films that has great ideas but doesn't quite know which one to go with. It starts off with a plague in New York caused by cockroaches, but this is passed over as it is merely set up for the main story of the Judas Breed which should have died out after wiping out the plague carrying insects but instead inevitably found a way to survive.

There are various subplots which go no where or do very little such as sweatshop workers being quarantined, the main scientist getting bitten, a kid mimicking the sounds of the creatures with spoons and a professor type who is introduced but has no bearing on the plot at all. As an aside this film also has a early film appearance from Josh Brolin, which is really cool.

For all this I was still entertained, the sub way police man Norton is great (Played by the guy who was Dillon in Alien 3, the convicts preacher). While there are two kids who hustle the lead lady bug scientist because they keep finding bugs to sell her who I liked and the actual atmosphere and ideas are good if not pulled off. I felt they could have done a lot more with the actual idea of these things mimicking humans.

Late at night in a subway, what could possibly go wrong?

As for the creatures, cockroaches that have evolved to mimic there prey, namely us. They are pretty cool especially the idea of using there shells to form a human shape and face like a man in a trench coat. (the subway reveal scene is really something). Indeed it gave me ideas for a Necromunda campaign where these things have infested a Delaque territory and you don't know if the sentries you need to avoid are human gangers or a human sized cockroaches.

Overall if you fancy a slightly ridiculous but entertaining film about the perils of genetically modifying nature watch Jurassic Park, but if you have seen that and want something a bit more daft and violent (quite a few characters are dispatched in this film) then Mimic is wortha watch.

3.5 out of 5 pumpkins.

Movie Review: Don't Breathe

Don't Breathe

Yes Don't Breathe a film by the director who gave us that Evil Dead remake (which I haven't seen yet). I wasn't holding my breath when I went to watch this although the trailer seemed quite good.

The basic plot is three competent 20 something burglars decide to rob a house owned by a reclusive blind man who has 300k stashed away. Alex, Ricky and Money all have there own reasons for needing the money which sets them off on this enterprise, which then goes very wrong, very quickly.

What surprised me was that the acting is all great, the setting/plot is well contained not outstaying its welcome and the thrils, tension and fear are solid. Naturally there are added twists and turns (the most disturbing of which had one guy swear out loud in the cinema) as the film progresses but as it's only 88mins long so these seem natural and add to the suspense. The gore level is kept to a minimum but there is a constant threat so it's not missed.

This film is firmly based in reality so there is no supernatural stuff here which is honestly quite refreshing. Got to mention Stephen Lang who plays the Blind Man, he is excellent throughout the film and I will remember this great villain he has portrayed here. I admit the final third leans slightly into traditional horror tropes for anyone who has watched a slasher film before will be familiar with, but its still very entertaining.

Overall I can't recommend this enough. Don't Breathe is a concise, suspenseful thriller horror with an original idea. If you need to see a decent horror film give this one a go it is really worth your time.

4 out of 5 pumpkins.

Movie Review: Humanoids from the Deep

Humanoids from the Deep (1980) aka Monster

Sometimes you have to admire the ideas that get turned into horror movies. Dog sized carnivorous shrews, shark filled tornadoes and violent mutated bipedal celocanths. If that last one isn't recognizable then you haven't watched Humanoids from the Deep a Roger Corman horror film about a fishing company trying to make super salmon that get eaten by Celocanths that then rapidly evolve into humanoid fish men that kill the men and rape the women of a sleepy fishing village.

The plot is  your standard tale of an unseen threat slowly infiltrating a town by killing the odd person or all the dogs (if you can't stomach dogs dying on film I'd skip this one) while the residents blame the local native american at first before realizing too late it's actually the horrifying love child of the creature from the black lagoon, regenerators from resident evil and Rainbows Zippy.

Time to eat the townspeople!

Is it any good? Well the effects for are really good as you might expect from SFX supremo Rob Bottin (pre The Thing), there is a huge kill count, there is a decent amount of nudity and a surprisingly large amount of explosions for a fishing village. The highlights are probably the creatures themselves which are really creepy, the brawl between the townspeople early on and the finale at the town festival where the salmon monsters run amok killing and raping everyone. On the other hand some of the acting is not that great, the ending sequel bait is kind of off and if mutant salmon men raping women isn't your thing then this is probably best avoided.

Overall this is a decent exploitation monster movie which didn't leave me bored at all, worth checking out.

3 out of 5 Pumpkins

Movie Review: 20 Million Miles to Earth

Over the years I have watched my fair share of films and a lot of them are from the sci-fi and horror genres, so I thought I may as well keep a record of these on here:

20 Million Miles to Earth

I like to start an October monster/horror movie viewing session with something light not too serious and not too long, so naturally I turn to 1950s B-Movies and none could be better than a Ray Harryhausen film.

20 Million Miles to Earth is a tale of man bringing back something from space. In this case a gelatinous blob that turns into an adorable club tailed reptilian creature called Ymir. You see scientists in 1950s America somehow could fly to Venus, land, study the wildlife and then fly back. Unfortunately they must have forgotten about all the sulfuric acid and intense heat and pressure of Venus because the ship crashes on returning to earth.

The film has two main stages. The first involves the crashed spaceship, rescue of the crew and Italian and american governments trying to work together. The second involves Ymir who via a small boy is sold to a scientist and then proceeds to grow and escape. Ymir is a great monster who is immune to most weapons and smashes his way through farms, labs, zoos and the Coliseum of Rome. His fight with an Elephant being a highlight.

A fun Saturday afternoon film with some great special effects, worth a watch.

3 and a half pumpkins out of 5.