Powerhouse Films
Blu-Ray Review: Torture Garden
Two of the greatest authors of terror, H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe, revelled in the medium of short stories. The format lends itself to the horror genre, allowing directors to investigate a full gamut of fear. Anthology films are inherently difficult as, unlike collections of short stories, by their very nature there’s a much …
Blu-Ray Review: See No Evil (Indicator Series)
The loss of a sense is an obviously devastating and life changing experience. Whilst the body and mind can gradually adjust, there’s a period where every day becomes a new learning experience. Sigh, is arguably the most important sense. If the lights go out, the world can become a very strange and scary place. In …
Blu-Ray Review: Castle Keep
Whilst Sydney Pollack may not have been the most prolific of directors (he only made 20 features), the films he did make were almost always of the highest quality. He won an Oscar for Out of Africa and also received nomination for Tootsie and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Other notable works include The Firm, …
Blu-Ray Review: The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T
The name Theodor Geisel probably won’t mean anything to you. However, if I told you his pen name was Dr. Seuss, I can guarantee you’ll at least be aware of his work. He created an array of fantastical and unique characters who are still loved by kids around the world today. His most famous books …
Blu-Ray Review: Mickey One
Whilst it’s fair to say that film noir inspired much of the French new wave, the favour was undeniably repaid. Arthur Penn, whose seminal Bonnie and Clyde marked the beginning of a more ambitious/risk-taking era in Hollywood, was an avid devotee of le nouvelle vague. Two years earlier, Penn directed a rather peculiar and surreal …
Blu-Ray Review: Bunny Lake is Missing
Whilst Otto Preminger may have had a formidable reputation of being difficult to work with, highly strung and temperamental, he was also one of the best American filmmakers of his generation. He made his name in film noir through great films such as Laura and Fallen Angel before producing more high-profile work like Anatomy of …
Blu-Ray Review: The Last Detail (Indicator)
Jack Nicholson was one the most iconic actor of the ‘70s, with many of his biggest roles coming during that decade. Roman Polanski’s Chinatown is one of the best films ever made and it rived to be Nicholson’s defining role. Milos Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest gave him the opportunity to really let …
Blu-Ray Review: Vampires
Myths and legends of vampires have fascinated and frightened people around the world for hundreds of years. They featured in some of the earliest horror films. Even before World War II, Nosferatu and Vampyr set a high standard for directors to live up to. Myriad films followed, with Interview with a Vampire, The Lost Boys, …
Blu-Ray Review: Ghosts of Mars
Even before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon, humans have been looking to the stars. The 1950s became boom time for sci-fi cinema as writers and directors captured the imagination of an entire generation. The Forbidden Planet, War of the Worlds, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and …
DVD Review: Happy Birthday To Me
Teenage girls have it rough. Not only are their bodies undergoing a series of strange and unsettling changes, there’s the added media pressure of body image and (often unwanted) attention from boys. By far the scariest challenge is their peers. Cinema has tackled this is many way, most memorably in Mean Girls, Carrie, and The …