Vultural

The Cockleshell Heroes - 1955 - 6/10

WWII. The Wehrmacht has overrun France and controls a vital port in Bordeaux.
A small force is assembled to infiltrate and destroy.
Using canoes or kayaks.
Yes, there were many of these stories, only this one is based on true events.
Aside from one or two soldiers, most are just faces.
Two officers, José Farrer and Trevor Howard, stand out. Christopher Lee has a bit.
Music is too loud, intrusive and jaunty.

The Easiest Way - 1931 - 6/10

Ma and Pa have five kids - five mouths - to feed, ages ten to twenty.
Pa used to work as a longshoreman, now he finds excuses.
Laura, the oldest, quits her department store job to be a model.
Successful, too, catching the eye of the big boss who woos her and makes her a “kept woman”.
No, the word mistress is never used, although she has a nice apartment, limousine, furs, jewels.
Later on, a moral dilemma. The poor, honest guy or the older, rich man?
Remember, this was the Depression. Folks were starving to death, freezing in winter.
Pre-Code drama with great MGM cast, and bleaker than their usual fare.

A New Leaf - 1971 - 6/10

Snob-to-the-max Henry discovers he has squandered his wealth on a lifestyle.
Choices are now: poverty – get a job – suicide – marry a rich girl.
Suicide is the choice until he meets Henrietta, clueless and gauche.
Never mind, Henrietta has cash without end.
Henry opts for marriage, followed by a quick murder.
Elaine May’s first directorial outing seems a loose connection of scenes.
The humor is deliberately awkward and forced, screwball, often skin crawly.
It is sweet, however. Her next film, Heartbreak Kid would deliver a more savage bite.

Horror Hospital - 1973 - 6/10

Jason, on break from the music scene, heads to a woodland retreat.
Enroute, he meets Judy, who is going likewise to meet an aunt.
Once there, the vibes are bad, dude. Like Bummer City. Ain’t no way out either, man.
Horror spliced with mad science, with a scene chewing Michael Gough.
Funny at times, and Vanessa and Robin make a sexy couple.
(Why, oh why, did no one ever cast Robin Askwith as Rolling Stone Brian Jones?)

Crisp, Quentin S. - Out There

Jake arrives in Japan to visit with Sean.
And to hike into the mountains. Get away, recharge, maybe.
For all the peace and quiet he wants, Jake cannot break free from modern noise.
The intrusive upsetter, his phone. Where in the mountains, there is no signal.
Story is a clash of expectations and values, and one wonders about their friendship.
In time, the story walks into the rain swept fantastic. Quite literally.
Jake wanders away, then is soon led into floating dreams.
An altogether singular character offers wise counsel, although humanity tends to ignore wisdom.
“Your saviours are malevolent. They do not know themselves. They wear masks to cover their emptiness, and they force their way into the Shrine Of Life, where you were born.”
As with much of Crisp’s work, the book is elegant and reflective, with an uneasy undercurrent.

Black Lizard - 1968 - 7/10
AKA - Kuro Tokage // 黒蜥蝪

The female criminal mastermind wants that stone, the Star Of Egypt.
Moreover, she even warns the wealthy jeweler of the upcoming theft.
Who swiftly obtains the resources of Detective Akechi.
From there, move / countermove, each relishing the competitive match.
Overly talky at times, but the dialogue is florid and heady.
Gorgeous to watch. Story by Edogawa Rampo, script by Yukio Mishima, directed by Kinji Fukasaku.
Perverse film, highly entertaining, depending on your tastes.

In Blind Daylight - 1971 - 5/10

Famed actor Anthony leaves the doctor’s office, still blind, yet now capable of navigating the world at large.
He quietly returns home to announce his progress.
And overhears his wife and best friend making bedroom noises.
From there, he plots murder, which, step by step, we follow.
Sluggish thriller seems patterned after Blind Corner (1963), albeit with less snap.
Suzanne Pleshette and Stella Stevens wasted.

Upcoming mystery / crime / thriller Film and TV for 2026.

This is a bear.

https://thekillingtimestv.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/2026-crime-drama-the-killing-times-enormous-rollicking-great-new-year-preview/#more-41324

Loose Ankles - 1930 - 5/10

Ann, now a wealthy heiress, does not want her inheritance. (please!)
Codicil: If she is “compromised” or discovered that way, she loses her inheritance.
As do all the other relatives.
So, she hires a cad – until it transpires they both like each other.
Depression era nonsense flirts with Pre-Code and Screwball.
Comedy is slapstick and farce. Screen presence by leads is low.
The insane circus cafe a highlight.

The Intruder - 2025 - 6/10
AKA - L’intruse

Ma, late 40’s, unexpectedly pops out another kid.
She works! What to do? Hire a nanny!

Tess is hired, adored by the teenage kids and Dad, while Paula suffers doubts.
Paula is a weak hinge, behind at work, out of touch in the house, and guilty of an affair.
Tess is manipulative, cunning, and quite dangerous.
Has makings of a good thriller, especially since I disliked the mother and began rooting for the bad.
Always a viewing mistake to side with the villain.

Gravity - 2013 - 7/10

Space junk destroys a shuttle making repairs to the Hubble scope.
Two survivors make for the International Space Station, only to find that situation almost as bad.
The astronauts work without a safety net, trying to survive and – maybe – return to Earth.
Despite the outer space tropes, this hews closer to adventure survival.
Nevertheless, the effects are outstanding, the plotting well-thought out.
A great one for science majors who don’t demand a lot of magical explanations.
Dazzling cinema.

The Fall Of The House Of Usher - 1955 - 6/10

Terribly obscure version of the Poe tale, helmed by Horror mainstay, Basil Copper.
This is black and white, silent, bordering on experimental, and stops after Madeline’s internment.
Photography slightly jumpy, but effective, and the narrative doesn’t mess around.
Score by In The Nursery is quite good, adding to but not dominating proceedings.
There are numerous Usher shorts, this would be in the upper third.

Together - 2025 - 6/10

It should have been a fresh start, moving to the country.
Almost immediately, Millie realizes it’s not working out.
Tim, in front of all their friends, declined her marriage proposal.
Age 35, he is never going to “grow up”; always me-me-me with him.
Then, out hiking, the two city folks get lost in the woods and tumble down what looks like a sinkhole.
From there, events turn weird and their relationship tightens uncomfortably.
Oddball body-horror film has laugh out loud scenes marring a somewhat interesting concept.
Tim is an annoying crybaby and it is hard to understand why Millie hung with him for 10 years.

Die! Die! My Darling! - 1965 - 6/10

Out of respect, Pat goes to visit the mother of her fiancé.
Realizing way too late that Mrs Trefoile is batty as hell.
A religious zealot who prays at length, is sanctimonious, and bends those around her.
This one is wildly over the top, with a victim who refuses to listen to my suggestions.
She has a lighter, she has the scissors. Come on!
Almost corny, except Tallulah Bankhead is mesmerizing from the onset.
Glorious Grand Guignol role which she must have had a field day playing.

Madness Rules - 1947 - 6/10
AKA - Matto Regiert

Doktor Laduner thinks young Kaplaun can soon return to society.
The asylum director, a bullying tyrant, thinks otherwise.
New methods clash with severe discipline – until the director is murdered.
Enter police inspector Studer.

Murder in a madhouse suggests all manner of themes.
This goes the procedural route, with the inspector asking provocative questions and keenly observing.
Patients and their maladies are backgrounded. This is not Mabuse.

Nights Of Iemanjá - 1971 - 5/10
AKA - Noites de Iemanjá

She snubs her husband, who seems unable to satisfy her needs.
Instead, she prowls the docks, the wharves, open beaches.
Seeking younger, fitter men. Whom she seduces and drains.
Not the vampire, succubus, femme fatale trope, but closer to a destroying siren.
The pace is languid and the female’s impulses are vague.
Even to herself.
Copy I viewed seemed from a nth generation VHS.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/download/3365673

Thomas, Donald - The Marquis de Sade

Informative biography of a rather irritating soul.
The aristocrat and his litany of complaints, like so many of the rich.
Cautious souls or folks who slow down to giggle at traffic deaths, there is little of de Sade’s celebrated pornographic fantasies in this.
There ARE drawings and plates from various editions of his work, as well as voyeuristic art during and following his era.
I had no idea that de Sade had joined the other team, the Revolutionaries, following the great purges.
Being literary, being able to write, gave advantages.
This also dashes cinema showcases where the roué exists in squalid misery.
No. By the end he was pretty much a country club prisoner.
For those who put their faith in karma, Life is ever disappointing.
An enjoyable book that I’ve owned for decades, only now reading.
I shall likely put this in the box of Salvation Army donations. I imagine de Sade would be amused.

Deadly Games - 1989 - 6/10
AKA - 3615 Code Père Noël

The store is short-staffed on Santas. So they hire a street bum.
Who turns out to be unstable and dangerous.
Luckily, they realize and fire him before he can inflict further harm.
Unluckily, he learns where the boss lives and goes there to exact revenge.
Fans of Home Alone (1990) will recognize the bones of the plot.
Although this menace is deadlier, childlike and cuckooland.
There are numerous murders, and the young boy is injured, possibly scarred.
The creators of this did parody Rambo, so it’s perhaps fair play that John Hughes stole their concept.

Sugarcane - 2024 - 7/10

Graves are reported at closed Catholic schools for tribal children.
If there were wrongdoings or incidents, they occurred long ago and many culprits are now dead.
Documentary is partly a race against time, interviewing survivors, tracking the guilty.
Also, painful persuasion, as most of the victims, now elderly and frail, are extremely reluctant to revisit the past.
As ever, problems stem from wayward priests, who, once exposed, were simply relocated.
Compelling viewing, yet a difficult watch.

Boulet Brothers’ Holiday Of Horrors - 2025 - 5/10

Four shorts (10” each) sorta/kinda winter related.
A murdered grandma, feeling restless. Hikers, lost in the woods, and a Yeti.
Daughter inherits Pa’s home. And Santa with a big ole bag.
Three are mere sketches, pitches, if you like, that do not satisfy.
Santa’s experience, however, is the stuff of nightmares.
Parents who let underage children watch that one will suffer the consequences once they are retirement age.
Filmmakers aim for camp, yet deliver stale cookies and corny approach.

In The Wink Of An Eye - 1981 - 7/10
AKA - Kisapmata

He has trouble letting go.
Even though daughter Mila is pregnant, the male is ready to marry her.
Her father does not want to let her leave.
All manner of excuses, reasons, coercion, threats.
After all, Mila is more than just a daughter, she is his property, and something more.
Creepy suspenser with tension that tightens from the onset.
Steeped in incest, this is more frightening than most “horror” films.
Sadly, based on true events.

The Deluge - 1933 - 6/10

Barometric pressures are plunging across the globe for no reason.
Then there is an ongoing eclipse!
Earthquakes arrive, including the “big one” feared by all Californians.
And the Western states tumble into the sea!
Omigod, the quakes migrate east, while annihilating the rest of the planet.
Afterward, dog eat dog, sweet cheeks, and heaven help you if you are female.
Late Pre-Code suffers stilted acting, impressive (for their time) effects, and a racy story.
Recent DVD from an excellent Italian print is the one to seek out.
English subs = https://sub-scene.com/download/3365672

Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? - 1980 - 6/10

Out golfing, Bobby and his doctor partner come across (or strike) a hiker.
His dying words were those above. A puzzle.
Bobby is mildly curious, his female friend, Lady Francis, more so.
Breezy whodunit has multiple suspects that the main players disagree on.
“Well, he’s certainly innocent.” – “He most certainly is not!”
There is a sinister health sanitarium, and a lot of morphine.
Probably too long at 3 hours, but easy to portion. Christie fans ought to seek it out.
Francesca Annis and Tommy Warwick would later pair up as Tommy & Tuppence.

Bell, Peter - Strange Epiphanies

Superb introduction to Mr. Bell. Nicely chosen, themed, and affordable (PB).

Amanda alights from the train in Greendale. Her depression worsening, she hopes a break in the country might sweep her dark clouds. Amanda had arrived ere a major village celebration, which she found unwelcome. During the “Resurrection” her anxiety mounts along with her hostility.

He was on a search, a pilgrimage, to find a cairn or marker for one “M. E. F.”.
Marie Emily Farnario, had been a fey creature who came to an unfortunate end on the moors. Like all obsessive hunters, our pilgrim ignores his practical sense and takes greater risks.

Another guilty survivor, another pilgrimage in “The Light Of The World”. From the empty wastes of Cumberland to the fiery heat of Italy, Franklyn seems guided by two ravaged figures.

Most of the protagonists are solitary travelers, and inexperienced, complaining ones at that. The majority of global wanderers are NOT soloists, and I wish writers would abandon this trope.

“A Midsummer Romance In The Carpathians” steers closest to Horror. A tale of hints and feints, suggestion over clarification. This would fit snugly into any Stoker tribute.

The Empress - 1917 - 6/10

The painting “The Empress” makes artist Louis rich.
He invites his model Nedra to the country, where he tries to assault her and the landlord’s daughter.

Meanwhile, the landlord snaps photos for later blackmail, since who knows the tomorrow brings.
For famous model Nedra, tomorrow brings a rich husband, followed by steady blackmail.
Old-fashioned Melodrama creaks along and harks to the Edwardian era.
Inter-titles missing (as is music), although the attentive will have no trouble following.