The Eye (2002)
On one level it feels quite patronising and imprecise to refer to “Asian horror” as a genre, at least from a critical perspective; one would hesitate to bracket “European horror” and expect to find useful common ground between, say, Terence Fisher and Lucio Fulci. But on another such a generalisation is actually pretty indicative of the lack of differentiation in the gold-rush that saw Hollywood ransacking the back catalogues of directors from countries such as Japan, China and Korea in the early 21st century. Read more
The Innocents (1961)
20th Century Fox were vexed by how to market The Innocents even before it was released. After the recent successes of Hammer Horror, it was recognised that there was a lot to be gained from promoting it as a good, old-fashioned spook-fest. However, even the densest of studio executives were aware that Jack Clayton had crafted something all together more sophisticated than The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula or The Mummy (no disrespect intended). Succour might therefore be found in jumping on the then-rumbling Hitchcock bandwagon, and drawing on the popular clamour for films in the Vertigo and Psycho mould. Read more
Opera (1987)
Have you ever wondered what a Dario Argento opera might look like? Of course you have. Violence, anarchy, tragedy and death are shared leitmotifs, and given that the merit of Argento’s early work lays as much in his artistic vision and delivery as it does in the nuts and bolts of plot or narrative, the more pointed question is why hasn’t he ever taken the plunge and done something at La Scala? Read more
The Ghost Galleon (1974)
The Ghost Galleon is the third installment of Spanish director Amando de Ossorio’s series of Blind Dead films, and has all the hallmarks of a franchise rapidly running out of steam. Ludicrously over the top premise? Check. Painful cost-cutting measures? Check. Even the people who made the trailer seem like they are over-compensating, with the voiceover artist portentously declaring it to be “an important film”. The Ghost Galleon may be many things - dull, for instance - but it really is not important. Read more
Re-Animator (1985)
Given that 1985 saw the release of both Re-Animator and Dan O’Bannon’s The Return Of The Living Dead, it’s a shame to reflect that the splatter horror has never really enjoyed a sustained level of output. Periodic stops and starts have whetted the appetite but have usually been followed by a series of sequels of decreasing quality and all too infrequent original output. I think this is a real shame, as splatter horror as a sub-genre naturally lends itself to a cross between the niche and general viewer. As well as being great for horror output in itself, this realisation of a duel market is also why splatter horrors, when done properly, can be among the most original, inventive and damned well enjoyable films going. Read more