The things I get myself into… Okay, anytime you try some long-lost film, you know the odds. Most films made by someone you never heard of, in a city without a major film industry are going to be terrible, or worse. We know that. And, yes, M. Night Shyamalan managed to do his best work […]
Read more "Video Wars (1983)"You never know what you are going to find next. After all, there are a lot of incredible movies out there no one has ever heard of. Consider for a moment the 1986 French comedy, Kamikaze: The first thing you’ll notice is that it was produced by Luc Besson. Now this is actually more remarkable […]
Read more "Kamikaze (1986)"It was called “No Wave Film.” Although that wasn’t the official name: it was borrowed from the No Wave underground music movement which was already growing at the time and involved many of the same people. Some people called it the “New Cinema,” which was actually the name of the theater which showed these films. […]
Read more "Vortex (1982)"It can be so hard to tell whether a zombie film is science fiction or not. Take The Return of the Living Dead: we have the usual government secret weapon, we have barrels full of zombies, and the usual accidental release. But this time around, those darn zombies don’t seem to have any physical constraints […]
Read more "The Return of the Living Dead (1985)"This is one of the rarest of Toho’s Tokusatsu films. But what the heck, I managed to see it anyway. Mind you, while I didn’t exactly see it in the worst way possible — after all, the quality of the film itself was quite good — I came fairly close. I couldn’t find any subtitles […]
Read more "Shuto shôshitsu [Tokyo Blackout] (1987)"I’m sure there’s a nicer word for it than “rip-off,” but the unofficial remake has been with us for a long time and for good reason: After all, you know the original story was successful, so making your own version of it should increase the odds that your film (or book or play or whatever) […]
Read more "Island of Lost Women (1959)"(Literal title: Three Giant Monster Gourmet) I have to wonder if you could have a Minoru Kawasaki anywhere other than in Japan? It’s not merely that he has made some truly bizarre films. It is simply hard to imagine his weird fantasy worlds where Tokusatsu monsters become famous wrestlers or fuzzy animals work as Salary […]
Read more "Monster SeaFood Wars [San Daikaijū Gurume] (2020)"Before I get started, I need to grumble a bit. One of the most frustrating problems with IMDB (not the only one, by any means) is the surprisingly poor coverage of Chinese film (new and old) on the site. I have repeated found myself stymied when I try to locate them. Sometimes it is because […]
Read more "Full Metal Duel (2016)"Honorable Mention (mostly) Before I get started here, I need to say a few words about Janne Waas. Janne is perhaps the single best online Science Fiction film critic working today. Perhaps the best in any media for that matter. He’s trying to write about every major (and minor) science fiction film out there on […]
Read more "Red Snow (1952)"You learn something new every day. Now, as I’ve noted before, quite a few of Fred Olen Ray‘s films are remakes — or sort-of remakes — of past B-Movie “classics” (for example, Alienator is supposedly his take on The Astounding She-Monster.) But it seems strange when you see these connections in reverse, when you watch […]
Read more "Rattlers (1976)"
rivets on the poster 