woodoo

The theme of crypto-Nazism was outmoded even in '46, but the performances and direction are so strong it doesn't really matter. The greatest tension is reserved for the scenes set in the daytime, a great touch.

80 _44%

Journey Into Fear (1943) - Rated 07 Jan 2016

Breezy fluff with a cool, menacing fat guy as the villain (even when Welles was an idol type, he had an affinity for the big-boned). Not quite as gripping as Hitchcock's very similar Saboteur. Hilarious ending, though.

85 _63%

The Gate (1987) - Rated 21 Apr 2015

Very, very few horror movies star kids with almost no reference to adults. Starts off cheap and small, ends up damn near apocalyptic. Backmasking, stop motion animation, genuinely terrifying shit like the kid having to stab himself with broken glass and zombies bursting out of the wall. This movie scared the pants off me when I was young.

75 _30%

Immortals (2011) - Rated 21 Apr 2015

Tarsem Singh was born to make weird mythology films but it's bound to annoy those who insist on the literal. It's great whenever Rourke gets up on his hind legs for a role, too.

85 _63%

The Psychic (1977) - Rated 21 Apr 2015

Very cool gimmick once it gets going and it avoids the typical offhand giallo attitude to logic. One of my favorite recent movies, Prisoners, steals the ending.

85 _63%

Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971) - Rated 21 Apr 2015

"Those who rebel must be put to sleep." Absolutely fantastic ending. I've never seen such an overtly political giallo.

80 _44%

Footprints on the Moon (1975) - Rated 21 Apr 2015

The Jeanne Dielmann of giallo. Very slow, very atmospheric and dreadful. Probably its handsomest protagonist. A good reminder that giallo doesn't necessarily mean scratchy voiced killers and gore, and can also include weird mysteries.

90 _82%

Point Blank (1967) - Rated 17 Feb 2015

Ultra-cool semi-adaptation of Parker: The Hunter (I believe). Hilariously hip while totally numbing and bleak at the same time. The "footsteps" sequence is one of the most badass things ever put on film. Carol O'Connor's eight minutes or so of screentime in this is criminally short.

85 _63%

Deliverance (1972) - Rated 17 Feb 2015

It's always interesting when a film takes the idea of taking a life totally seriously. As grim as this film is, it never quite takes Lewis' side that killing is something you have to do. Also, to parrot everyone who's ever seen this film, the Dueling Banjos scene is just amazing. One has to wonder if Boorman was thinking of Straw Dogs when he'd made this, or if he'd seen Wake In Fright.

25 _4%

American Sniper (2014) - Rated 24 Jan 2015

No tone, no point of view. Incredibly stultifying. Empty crap for empty heads.