Vultural

Escape Dangerous - 1947 - 5/10

Height of the French Revolution, the Terror, and aristocrats scramble to save their heads.
Literally.
Several find shelter with a shifty female … for a large fee.
Then there is Doctor Belhomme. Refugees who sicken either die under his care, or vanish in his hospital.
All the makings of fine Gothic Horror, except this is dismal.
The directing is lackluster. Static sets, no camera movement, reminiscent of an early talkie.
Best is Beresford Egan (?!!?) as the villainous doctor.
Script by Oswell Blakeston disappoints in every way.

Sex From Beyond The Grave - 1984 - 5/10
AKA - Fung lau Yuen Gwai // 風 流 冤 鬼

During WWII, lustful Japanese murder her husband and son, then rape the beautiful actress.
Jump 40 years. The ghost, after having killed guilty parties, now haunts the home.
The narrative jumps to a luckless gambler, comically inept.
And a professor, his wife and son who purchase the cursed house.
Confused? The whole thing is a mess, with several nude dance sequences and other distractions.
Dylan Cheung provides a lively, if breathless, commentary ranging from the demise of Shaw Brothers, Hong Kong in the 1980’s, actors, films, in-jokes, locations, anecdotes, restrictions, much more.
Cheung never stops for air. His commentary is more valuable than the film which is uneven and cheesy.

Candidate For Murder - 1951 - 5/10

A killer roams the London streets at night.
Headlines blare corpse number three, knife in its body.
We follow the “perpetrator” throughout then next day.
Mystery short borders on Experimental, using rapid editing, atypical of the 1950’s.
I sought this out as it is a rare Oswell Blakeston scripted film.

Murphy, Damian - The Acephalic Imperial

Wayward spirit, Séverine, accepts a role in an unorthodox household.
Not a maid, not a servant, but as an observer, a watcher.
With instructions from her employer, Vital, to steal stray items occasionally.
Tasks are simple enough, and a change from the usual lethargy inducing jobs.
Séverine is a hired voyeur, aware that she herself, her activities are also observed.
The novella is increasingly steeped in a dream fugue.
The house, which is sumptuously furnished, along with her moonlit hours, influence her.
An alternate history emerges, perhaps a more aware doppelganger.
Murphy’s prose can be knotty at times, but never overbearing, and the wordplay is something to savor.

The Square - 2008 - 7/10

Land developer Ray is building a recreation area for future, affluent punters.
A classic fiddle type, he extorts a kickback from a contractor.
And plays pole in the hole with a younger, fetching neighbor.
He’s married, she’s married, but if it feels good, what’s the harm?
Plenty. Carla is wed to a violent man, with a huge stash of cash hidden in the house.
She urges Ray to “do something” so they can run away.
Australian Neo-Noir has a few innocents, but most are tainted souls.
As with most half-baked plans, when thing start to go wrong, events spread like brush fire.

Alibi For Murder - 1936 - 6/10

Radio reporter Perry persistently tries to interview the world famous scientist.
He is even at the home of the extremely private man when Dr. Foster commits suicide.
Except Perry, and the scientist’s plucky secretary, Lois, suspect murder.
Police pooh-pooh his theory, until warning notes are sent, along with bullets.
Fast-paced programmer makes a diverting B-mystery.

Tower Of London - 1939 - 6/10

Bold, historically inaccurate retelling of Richard III and his power grab.
Why wait for succession when one can murder the way to the throne?
Rathbone and Karloff as the evil usurper and his murderous henchman.
Elsewhere, there are plenty from Hollywood’s British colony (and Commonwealth).
Gothic sets and lightning, a tone bordering on Horror, treachery run wild.

I’ve Loved You So Long - 2008 - 7/10
AKA - Il y a Longtemps Que je t’aime

Juliette sits in the airport lobby and waits, and waits.
Eventually her younger sister Léa arrives and drives Juliette to her home.
Throughout, Juliette remains sullen and non-communicative.
Even after meeting two adopted children, husband, grandfather.
Turns out, Juliette had been spending 15 years in prison.
Gradually, reasons and motives are teased out.
Character study of immense grief and heavy guilt.
Quietly avoids emotional outbursts and overacting.

Anchoress - 1991 - 7/10

Christine, working the English fields in the 1300’s stands transfixed, watching the Virgin Mary stature arrive.
Seemingly blessed, Christine agrees to be confined in a small dwelling attached to the church.
A holy anchoress, an intermediary between the flesh and the Divine.
The faithful seek her out, for answers, for guidance, for succor.
Conflict arises with the self-righteous priest, as her answers do not always align with dogma.
Greater conflict between her midwife mother, and the priest, who declares her a witch.

Extremely slow film, black and white arthouse, similar to Book Of Days.
Filled with arresting images, yet one never knows if Christine is truly visionary, or a simpleton.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3362252

Ashe, Rosalind - Moths

Oxford don Harry Harris comes across Dower House, a bit worse for the years.
Nevertheless, this is a spacious beauty, faded, neglected, needing care and expense.
Developers, hoteliers, loud sorts, all are primed at the auction.
Fortunately, the couple Harry backs, Nemo and Peter, carry the day, and get the house.
Along with a wayward spirit, Sarah Moore, Regency actress, dead over 150 years.
The story is an under-the-skin thriller, with three compelling characters.
Nemo (Latin for no one), Sarah (murderous, lascivious) and Dower House itself.
Throughout, Harry observes and narrates, meddles, grows obsessive. Harry is a dishrag.
An over-aged worshiper, his increasing presence takes me away from the other three, the three I would prefer to be with.
Despite a few detours, the pace gathers momentum until a heady conclusion.
While I enjoyed this, I longed for more Nemo, much more.

See No Evil - 1971 - 6/10

After an accident, Sarah is blind.
She returns to her aunt and uncle’s country estate and beings to navigate.
How to live sightless for the rest of her days.
Even when a psychopath invades the home, stealthily with deadly intent.
For the audience, all we see are the menacing boots, prized by the wearer.
Mia Farrow plays the blind Sarah. Good use of rural locations and misdirection.
Slow pace, yet rewarding for patient fans of quiet thrillers.

Eye Of The Spider - 1971 - 5/10
AKA - L’occhio del Ragno

Convict Paul is freed from a prison transport van.
He was part of a three-man jewel heist earlier, but abandoned by his mates.
The mastermind (a bored Van Johnson) gets him out to recover the jewels and loot.
Paul wants likewise, but also revenge, so he keeps getting sidetracked.
This one predates the era of Euro-Crime, so the violence, chases, energy are all pretty low.
Despite nudity and Kinski, this feels / looks like TV. The Sweeney or Starsky & Hutch.
There was one scene where Paul driving a Citroen was chased by baddies in a ‘64 Corvair.
One was a rally sports car, the other my grandmother drove. I watched and laughed.

Traitor’s Gate - 1964 - 6/10
AKA - Das Verrätertor

Graham is busted out of Dartmoor, then helicoptered into London.
Reason? He’s a dead ringer for one of the Tower guards, Dick.
Once you realize the Tower Of London, you grasp the plot.
Caper film. Heist. Stealing the Crown Jewels.
Alright Krimi, based on Edgar Wallace, is great for shots of vintage England.
Some comic relief from a curious busybody, but it is minimal.
Kinski best as the ruthless right hand man and crew captain.

Dr. Jekyll’s Mistresses - 1964 - 6/10
AKA - El Secreto del Dr. Orloff

Middling Gothic Horror outing, well composed yet the plot is weak.
On his deathbed, Dr. Orloff shares with his most gifted pupil, Dr. Fisherman, the secret of immortality.
Actually, it Is more like reanimation, which Fisherman employs to revive his murdered brother.
Whom he then controls and sends out to kill some females because … I don’t know.
Side story involves a flirtatious romance between niece Melissa and a cute taxi driver.
Songs, nightclub scenes and police investigations round out a muddled film.

Ayckbourn, Alan - The Divide

A lethal STD pandemic is annihilating humankind. Women carry, exposed men perish. Within a few generations, adios folks.
Solution: divide the genders. Men in the North, women in the South. Wait for the disease to die out.
Generations play out; now young male Eilhu and female Giella discover hormones and libido.
Epistolary novel, set in the near future, predominantly in the female South, is NOT a dystopian saga.
Society works fairly well, although there are glimpses of discontent. Attitudes are divided between Orthodox, Moderates and Progressives.
Being epistolary, the narrative is carried by diaries, letters and memorandums.
Because so much of this is told by young Soween, I am putting this into Young Adult reading, despite some of the spicy activities.
Main characters are teenagers, yet they seem like teens from the 1940’s or much earlier.
I had trouble buying them.
There are four seasons. Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn. Each season has 30 days.
After 200 pages, the adults predominate and the energy boosts.
By using different fonts, each character their own handwriting. That was a creative touch.
Fans of the playwright might be tempted, but this not a comedy of manners. It is an old-fashioned, VERY old-fashioned love story.

Between Riverside And Crazy - 2022 - 7/10

Retired beat cop Walter Washington survives in his rent-controlled apartment.
His landlord wants him out, and his ex-con son Junior (Common) worries about eviction papers.
There is a young moocher who runs errands, and pushy church types.
Excellent ensemble of forces urging the old man to leave.
To accept payouts, to compromise.
Funny as well, with a jagged edge.
Stephen McKinley Henderson anchors this throughout as the lovable, cruel, obstinate, lonely, Walter.

(Iron) Angels - 1987 - 6/10
AKA - Tian Shi Xing Dong // 天使行動

Military troops, led by Interpol, destroy a poppy field in the Golden Triangle.
In retaliation, Triads murder or kidnap and torture Interpol agents.
Police haven’t the resources, so instead the Angel organization is contracted to hit the gangs.
Breathless action in the Girls With Guns category, with Moon Lee and Oshima Yukari squaring off.
Countless villains, endless rounds of bullets, crazy stunts.
One of those rare HK films directed by a female. Several sequences would be cribbed by major films.
Entertaining audio commentary by Samm Deighan.

Dangerous Animals - 2025 - 7/10

Greg and Heather board skipper Tucker’s boat for shark cage diving.
Soon to discover sharks also exist topside.
Among later arrivals is Zephyr, recognized by Tucker as a fellow shark.
Seafaring adventure mixes surfing, sharks and a sociopath.
Gruesome cat and mouse torments throughout.
Jai Courtney spellbinding as the lethal Tucker. Surf porn? Very little.

Hello XL. Please boost your post count, then ask for directions.
Try to engage. There are literally hundreds of threads here.
Participate - then ask questions.

Phantom Lady - 1944 - 7/10

“No names, no addresses, just companions for the evening.”
Two unhappy souls meet in an empty bar, later attend a hit show.
Afterward, they separate, he returns home where three detectives await.
And a murdered wife. Detectives ask where he was, who he was with.
“No names, no addresses” comes back to haunt him.
Characters above disappear, while others start to track the elusive date.
Terrific Noir, highlighting midnight New York full of exuberance and excitement.
As well as loneliness and despair.

Various (Editor: Schiff, Stuart David) - Whispers

Juicy sampling from one of the most acclaimed Horror fanzines from the 70’s and 80’s.
Opening with Karl Edward Wagner, closing with Ramsey Campbell.
In between: Fritz Leiber, Robert Bloch, Hugh Cave, Brian Lumley, Robert Aickman, many others.

Illustrators include Tim Kirk, Lee Brown Coye, Stephen Fabian.
These predate the Splatterpunk run, and are similar to classic Arkham House.

“The Closer Of The Way” makes a great in-joke from the genre’s top prankster.

The taped interview provides all the clues one needs in “Dark Winner”, a bitter competition that extended beyond the grave.

“Ladies In Waiting” manages to be suspenseful, sensual, and horrifying. Never relax on dusty sheets.

Whether the gentleman’s club or explorer’s club, the setting abides. Leather chairs, fireplace, a tumbler of single malt, cigars. And a yarn. “Antiquities” combines Egypt, cats, the exotic female, rural misdeeds.

“The Goat” features the malicious, know-all neighbor. Who knows what occurs behind doors, what was buried in your past, the slips unseen by everyone else. Sneering blackmail or exposure.

Issues of the old, stapled-together Whispers can hard to acquire. The HC compilations are generally affordable and will quench your thirst for old school horrors.

Murder In Lille - 2017 - 6/10
AKA - Les Crimes Silencieux

The victim, swinging from the noose, had been highly unpopular.
Our new captain arrives with her daughter and traumatized husband in tow.
Suspects include the dead man’s wife, her lover, as well as the new captain’s dad, a retired judge.
There are several elements of conflict which elevate this over most of these TV films.
Romance is dysfunctional in this one, which is a plus in my book.

The Lady Lies - 1929 - 6/10

Sales girl Joyce at the 5th Avenue store helps Walter pick out a gift for his 14-year-old daughter.
A fur coat (this must be pre-Depression).
Later, they form a friendship, then relationship.
Walter, corporate attorney, is widowed and upper class.
Their affair is quasi-scandalous, ruffling the genteel, as well as his blue-nosed children.
Walter Huston and Claudette Colbert fine as the ill-starred romantics in the early talkie.
Ruggles memorable as inebriated chum. Betty Garde steals every scene she is in.

Muriel’s Wedding - 1994 - 7/10

Muriel is a loser, perceived by the cool clique as overweight and dumb.
Not only that, her own philandering father bullies her.
What to do? How about steal a packet of family savings and head to the beach?
Biting Australian comedy skews middle-class wannabees, shines the underdogs.
Feel-good story provides a lot of big laughs.
Despite those, there is a quiet stream of unhappiness.
Muriel may be reliant and plucky enough to find her way, other are less able.
And Fate, as ever, can be capricious and cruel.

Has anyone finished this? Thoughts?
I am 2 episodes in. Plenty to “look” at, but it feels slow and padded.