An Arthouse Movie That Feels Like a Dare Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Salò isn’t so much a film as it is a gauntlet thrown down to see who’s willing to crawl through four months of degradation, fascist philosophy, and bodily functions that should never be filmed in close-up. Adapted—loosely and sadistically—from the Marquis de Sade, Pasolini … Read More “Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) – When Cinema Decides You Should Suffer Too” »
The Yuletide Spirit, Italian Exploitation-Style If you’ve ever watched The Virgin Spring and thought, “This needs more sleaze, more sadism, and a random older woman egging people on,” congratulations—you’ve just pitched Last Stop on the Night Train. It’s Christmas Eve in Europe, but instead of cocoa by the fire, we get two teenage girls, a … Read More “Last Stop on the Night Train (1975) – A “Video Nasty” That Earned the Title” »
When the Opening Scene is the High Point You know you’re in trouble when the most memorable part of your horror movie is a nightclub strip act involving Joan Collins and a lecherous dwarf named Hercules. This is how I Don’t Want to Be Born kicks things off—less “creepy gothic horror,” more “Eurotrash fever dream.” … Read More “I Don’t Want to Be Born (1975) – Rosemary’s Baby’s Louder, Trashier Cousin” »
A Groundbreaking Concept… with All the Grace of a B-Movie Stake Through the Heart There’s no denying that Deafula has an unusual and historically important hook: the first American Sign Language feature film, written, directed, and starring Peter Wechsberg (credited as Peter Wolf). That’s a milestone worth noting. Unfortunately, instead of becoming a hidden cult … Read More “Deafula (1975) – The First ASL Vampire Movie You’ll Never Forget… No Matter How Hard You Try” »
There’s cinema that grabs you by the balls and doesn’t let go, and then there’s Midnight Cop (aka Killing Blue). If you’ve ever watched a movie so dull it feels like your soul’s being siphoned out one agonizing second at a time, then congratulations, you’ve found it. A German crime thriller that’s about as gritty … Read More “Killing Blue aka Midnight Cop (1988): An Attempt at Noir that’s More Like a Wet Napkin” »
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, this gritty political action thriller follows Mark Wahlberg as Bobby Lee Swagger (sounds like something out of the Von Erich’s World Class Wrestling), a decorated ex-Marine sniper who gets caught up in a complex conspiracy involving the assassination of the President. What could be a mindless action flick is, in fact, … Read More “Shooter (2007): A Searing Political Thriller with a Side of Explosive Action and a Dash of Kate Mara’s Radiance” »
Ah, The Messengers—another ghost story, another damn haunted house, another family stumbling through a house full of history they don’t give a damn about. It’s the kind of film that feels like it was cobbled together in a half-drunk haze after someone watched a few too many old horror flicks and decided, “Yeah, let’s slap … Read More “The Messengers (2007): Ghosts, Family Drama, and the Stereotypical Haunted House” »
The Dead Don’t Die (1975) is a made-for-TV horror thriller that is as confused in its execution as its plot is in its structure. Directed by Curtis Harrington and based on a story by Robert Bloch, the film presents a neo-noir tale of murder, voodoo, and resurrected zombies. While it has an intriguing premise—set in … Read More “The Dead Don’t Die (1975): A Missed Opportunity in Neo-Noir Horror” »
The Bloodsucker Leads the Dance (1975) is an Italian film directed by Alfredo Rizzo, a director best known for his work as an actor rather than his brief directorial career. This gothic horror movie, set in 1902 Ireland, offers a promising setup involving mysterious decapitations and a family curse, but ultimately fails to deliver the … Read More “The Bloodsucker Leads the Dance (1975): A Missed Opportunity for Gothic Horror” »
Plot OverviewThe Cursed Medallion (1975), directed by Massimo Dallamano, is a supernatural horror film that leans heavily on familiar tropes of demonic possession, family secrets, and haunted artifacts, but fails to deliver a truly gripping narrative. The story follows Michael Williams (Richard Johnson), a documentary filmmaker who is researching depictions of Satan and demonic death … Read More “The Cursed Medallion (1975) An Overwrought Supernatural Thriller” »
