My blog: Some thoughts on films

On stands today is the brand new issue of Rue Morgue and I could not be happier. It is a celebration of British horror and it has two of my first features, so you can understand why this means so much!

First up is my feature on A Fantastic Fear of Everything, one of my favourite films of last year. I talk to the director Crispian Mills about this extraordinarily quirky film and I can assure you, if you haven’t seen it, you MUST.

Next is the feature on one of my favourite British horrors to come out recently, a small independent film that needs attention: Harold’s Going Stiff. I chat to the director Keith Wright about how this small film has done so well at recent film festivals. 

I’ve also got my monthly Entrails and there’s also a damn cool review of Cockney’s vs. Zombies which *spoiler alert* I loved.

That’s pretty awesome stuff, and that’s just the stuff I’VE written. There’s an incredible feature on The Wicker Man and Sightseers, just to name a couple. Not only is it jam PACKED with awesome, it also boasts their best cover in a long time. Don’t miss out!

Click on the picture below to read my HorrorTalk review of Lake Placid: The Final Crapter… I mean… Chapter….

The new issue of Rue Morgue is out and has excellent coverage of the new Evil Dead film. I wrote about the intriguing story of how Toy Story 3 director, Lee Unkrich, came to find the famous lost ending of The Shining. I also talk about the return of Toronto-based lecture series The Black Museum, not to mention my  monthly Entrails to boot.

Pick up a copy today!

Watch this while you can, no doubt it will get taken down very, very soon. This is test footage from Edgar Wright’s Ant Man. Just imagine the fight scenes, what he did with Scott Pilgrim still blows me away he is exactly what is needed for a comic book movie!

Last night I got a chance to see Evil Dead before its release next month. This is one of the films I have been looking forward to the most this year, and after what has been such a disappointing year for movies for me, I was a little worried. Luckily though this film was all kinds of insane awesome, just the horror film I had hoped for.

An unrelenting bloody mess from start to finish, Evil Dead promises gore and it gives it by the bucket loads. The effects are phenomenal, but some of the most excruciating scenes to watch use the classic device of sound, not sight. It’s not torture porn. Yes, it’s insanely over the top but it never makes you feel nasty like a Saw or Hostel film, this is the kind of nasty that evokes a classic ’80s horror feel, it never feels completely real…but it’s close enough to scare the crap out of you. 

What makes this film work is the sense that the people behind it had not only a true love for the original, but understood it completely too. There are lots of nice little nods to the original series, and I actually got the feeling this film isn’t so much a remake, as following on from the events that have happened already from Raimi’s original. 

What was kind of annoying about the experience was that the entire theatre was howling, screaming, laughing together and then the minute the credits roll all I could hear was, “Yeah it was OK but….” it’s like people didn’t want to fully like this because it’s a remake. That it’s instantly never going to be more than a 3 out of 5 film. That pisses me off, fair enough if it didn’t do it for you but give it a fair chance first and mark it on its own merits, don’t even try and compare it. I’ve also heard a lot of people complaining about the lack of comedy, people forget that the first Evil Dead was a flat out horror film and it only really got slapstick in the second one. Also, if they did have an “Ash” character, it would NEVER have lived up to Bruce Campbell so I for one, am glad they didn’t try. 

After the onslaught of mediocre bump-in-the night movies this year has brought us (Mama, Dark Skies etc.) it is great to see a true blood and guts movie that doesn’t hold back. Evil Dead is the film Sam Raimi would have made back in ‘81 if he’d had the money and means. And that is why this movie works. 

Oh, tip: If you’re a fan of the series, make sure you stay until the end of the credits for a nice little surprise. 

4/5