Viewings: December 2022

With 2022 in its final death throes, I almost managed a movie a day with a final tally of 343 this year.

Favourite discovery this month was Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo's chilling, alternate-history mockumentary, It Happened Here. Despite coppin' a physical copy of the film ages ago, my lazy arse didn't watch it until a nice quality rip hit YouTube earlier this month.

Other new finds that I really liked were Dennis Hopper falling head over hills for a sideshow mermaid in Night Tide, and Yuen Biao exacting vigilante justice in Righting Wrongs.

 

Film:

The Maze (William Cameron Menzies, 1953)*

Creature with the Atom Brain (Edward L. Cahn, 1955)*

Night Tide (Curtis Harrington, 1961)*

Cape Fear (J. Lee Thompson, 1962)

Witchcraft (Don Sharp, 1964)*

It Happened Here (Kevin Brownlow & Andrew Mollo, 1965)* 

Zeta One (Michael Cort, 1969)*

Get Carter (Mike Hodges, 1971)

Futureworld (Richard T. Heffron, 1976)*

Porridge (Dick Clement, 1979)

Rock 'N' Roll High School (Allan Arkush & Joe Dante, 1979)*

The Scaremaker AKA Girls Nite Out (Robert Deubel, 1982)

Don't Open Till Christmas (Edmund Purdum, 1984)

Yes, Madam! (Corey Yuen, 1985)*

Righting Wrongs (Corey Yuen, 1986)*

The Dead Pool (Buddy Van Horn, 1988)

Trapped Alive (Leszek Burzynski, 1988)*

Meet the Feebles (Peter Jackson, 1989)

Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)

The Invisible Maniac (Rif Coogan, AKA Adam Rifkin, 1990)*

Basket Case 3 (Frank Henenlotter, 1991)

Evil Toons (Fred Olen Ray, 1992)

Rubber’s Lover (Shozin Fukui, 1996)*

Devil’s Prey (Bradford May, 2001)*

Elvira’s Haunted Hills (Sam Irvin, 2001)*

Havoc (Barbara Kopple, 2005)*

Santa’s Slay (David Steiman, 2005)*

WΔZ (Tom Shankland, 2008)*

All Through the House (Todd Nunes, 2015)*

Under the Silver Lake (David Robert Mitchell, 2018)

The Good Liar (Bill Condon, 2019)*

Cow (Andrea Arnold, 2022)* 

The Banshees of Inisherin (Martin McDonagh, 2022)*

Hounded (Tommy Boulding, 2022)*

Matriarch (Ben Steiner, 2022)*

Triangle of Sadness (Ruben Östlund, 2022)*

 

Television:

The Fast Show Christmas Special (Brendan O’Casey, 1996)

The Two Ronnies Christmas Sketchbook (Ronnie Barker & Ronnie Corbett, 2005)

Christmas University Challenge 2022 (Don Reid, 2022)*

FIFA World Cup 2022 (2022)*

Mastermind - lost count of episode numbers since the rugby (Bill Wright, 2022)*

Werewolf by Night - TV special (Michael Giacchino, 2022)*

 

*First time viewings.

 

Dada Debaser Notes:

• Never caught the Westworld (1973) sequel from start to finish until now. Great conspiracy premise, but the film looks terribly cheap. Many scenes were shot in some grotty industrial plant. Yul Brynner's return as The Gunslinger scene was completely bonkers.
• Loved the gothic splendour of Menzies' The Maze, but the film's climax is perhaps one of the most unexpected film twists I've witnissed. Somewhat spoilt the film for me, sadly.
  
• Lost count how many times I've watched Goodfellas, but it's only now I noticed Saw's Jigsaw was Henry Hill's parole officer.
  
• The homie Tommy Bunz (R.I.P.) was dead right about Havoc. Pure cringe from start to finish.
  
• Career lows for both James Robertson Justice and Charles Hawtrey appearing in the British sci-fi/sexploitation romp, Zeta One.
• Not a fan of musicals, but I can't hate on Rock 'N' Roll High School for having The Ramones as its main focus; plus, P.J. Soles helps a lot in what's otherwise a very erratic film. 
• The sixth form politics and class commentary in Östlund's Triangle of Sadness would almost be tolerable if it didn't bludgeon me over the head with it continuously throughout its lengthy, two hours and twenty-seven minutes run time. The dinner scene was the main highlight from the film.
• Usually get film trivia correct on quiz shows, but I'm dead proud I got none of the French New Wave set of questions right on University Challenge. 
• Adding Hounded to my list of Brit flicks which caters to The Daily Mail's readership. Dumb fun, despite its flaws. Doubt I'll ever bother seeing it again, though.
  
• Michelle Yeoh might be TIME's icon of 2022 , but her Hong Kong action flicks are undisputably better than any of the Hollywood film and TV shite she's been lacing us with over recent years. Loved seeing her kicking arse alongside Cynthia Rothrock in Yes, Madam, even if the slapstick comedy didn't work for me half the time.
  

Gonna tell my grandchildren this was Pepsi & Shirlie back in the day.

Worst Movie Accents: Part 2

The Dead Pool (Welcome to the Jungle scene)

Buddy Van Horn, 1988

As much as I like Liam Neeson, it's fair to say the big Irishman is hardly the best at adopting other accents. I'll never truly pinpoint what exactly his accent is meant to be in the Taken franchise, or whatever identikit movie he's been making ever since.

Big fan of  Peter Swan, Neeson's character from the giallo-esque The Dead Pool (1988), the fifth and final instalment in Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry series of films. Swan is a trashy horror director who thinks of himself as something of a luvvie. After a comical scene where Jim Carrey's punk rocker, Johnny Squares, mimes his way through Guns 'N' Roses' Welcome to the Jungle, Neeson's English accent becomes comically apparent in this scene. His vowel chewing delivers the best line in the entire film, "it's not a rip-off, it's a hummage". No idea what a "hummage" is, but I do know a hilarious homage when I see one. His ridicoulous accent, along with his schlockmeister standards, makes Neeson's Peter Swan a very likeable character.

The Dead Pool might be the weakest entry in the Dirty Harry films, but there's still a lot to love about it: it's blessed with way superior commentary on the film industry than Fellini's insomnia curing 8½ (1963); a Pauline Kael style film critic coming to a grisly end; and of course, a highly entertaining Bullitt (1968) inspired chase sequence with a remote controlled car:

The Dead Pool (Car Chase scene)

Buddy Van Horn, 1988

 

Speaking of dead pools.

Dada Debaser's 101 Greatest Rap Songs of the 90s

Ain't it funny how my favourite genres in film and music were once treated like red-headed step-children back in the day? Mainstream critics turned their noses in the eighties, but things done changed in the nineties and these two passions of mine were crossing over with more frequency. Mobb Deep's Prodigy dropped the lyrics "stab you in your brain with your nose bone," became the soundtrack to Doug's death scene from Friday the 13 Part IV: The Final Chapter (1984). That's why I've always found it fascinating when other like-minded people share their passion between the two; film critic, Mike Bracken, AKA The Horror Geek, dropping rap references in virtually all his film reviews, or that Moodz616 podcaster showing off his rap collection in between all that Italian Horror love. On a more refined tip, I once copped the utterly surreal The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973) from Mr. Bongo's boutique film label many years back.

Anyhow, with all that rambling out of the way, here are my greatest nineties Rap songs that have been sitting in my draft box for ages.

 

Dada Debaser's 101 Greatest Nineties Rap Songs:

Brand Nubian - Slow Down (1990)

Gang Starr - Just to Get A Rep (1990)

Ice Cube - Once Upon A Time in the Projects (1990)

Intelligent Hoodlum - Arrest the President (1990)

Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo - Streets of New York (1990)

LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out (1990)

N.W.A. - 100 Miles and Runnin' (1990)

Black Sheep - The Choice is Yours (Revisited) (1991)

Cypress Hill - How I Could Just Kill A Man (1991)

De La Soul - Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa (1991)

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Summertime (1991)

Eric B. & Rakim - Juice (Know the Ledge) (1991)

Geto Boys - Mind Playing Tricks On Me (1991)

Ice-T - New Jack Huster (Nino's Theme) (1991)

Main Source - Just Hangin' Out (1991)

Naughty By Nature - Uptown Anthem (1991)

Nice & Smooth - Sometimes I Rhyme Slow (1991)

Organized Konfusion - Prisoners of War (1991)

Positive K feat. Big Daddy Kane - Night Shift (Pimp Version) (1991)

Public Enemy - Shut Em Down (Pe-te Rock Mixx) (1991)

Tim Dog - Fuck Compton (1991)

Too $hort - So You Want to be a Gangsta (1991) 

The UMC's - Never Never Land (1991)

A Tribe Called Quest feat. Leaders of the New School & Kid Hood - Scenario (Remix) (1992)

Black Moon - Who Got The Props (1992)

Das EFX - Mic Checka (Remix) (1992)

Diamond D and The Psychotic Neurotics feat. Showbiz - Feel the Vibe (1992)

EPMD feat. K-Solo & Redman - Head Banger (1992)

Lord Finesse feat. Big L - Yes You May (Funk Flow Mix) (1992)

Onyx - Throw Ya Gunz (1992)

Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.) (1992)

Redman - Time 4 Sum Aksion (1992)

Ultramagnetic MC's - Poppa Large (East Coast Mix) (1992)

The Beatnuts feat. V.I.C - World's Famous (1993)

Big L - Devil's Son (1993)

Notorious B.I.G - Party And Bullshit (1993)

Da King & I - Tears (1993) 

KRS-One - Outta Here (1993)

Masta Ace Incorporated feat. Lord Digga & Eyce - Saturday Nite Live (L.A. Jay Remix) (1993)

MC Eiht - Streiht Up Menace (1993)

Outkast - Player's Ball (1993)

The Pharcyde - Passin' Me By (1993)

PHD - Concrete Jungle (1993)

Snoop Dogg - Tha Shiznit (1993)

Souls of Mischief - 93 'Til Infinity (1993)

South Central Cartel feat. Mr. 3-2 & Big Mike - Gang Stories (1993)

Wu-Tang Clan - Tearz (1993) 

Above The Law - Black Superman (1994)

Artifacts - Wrong Side of da Tracks (1994)

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Thuggish Ruggish Bone (1994)

Gravediggaz - 1-800 Suicide (1994)*

KMD - What A N*ggy Know? (1994)

Lady of Rage - Afro Puffs (1994)

Nas - N.Y. State of Mind (1994)

O.C. - Time's Up (1994)

Rappin 4 Tay - Playaz Club (1994)

Scarface - Jesse James (1994)

Slick Rick feat. Doug E. Fresh - Sittin' in My Car (1994)

Smif-N-Wessun - Bucktown (1994)

Warren G feat. Nate Dogg - Regulate (1994)

2Pac feat. Dr. Dre - California Love (1995)

AZ feat. Nas - Mo' Money, Mo' Murder "Homicide" (1995)

Common - Resurrection (Extra P. Remix) (1995)

Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise (1995)

Fab 5 - Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka (1995)

Goodie Mob - Cell Therapy (1995)

GZA feat. Method Man - Shadowboxin' (1995)

Luniz - I Got 5 On It (1995)

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones Part II (1995)

Ol' Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya (1995)

Raekwon feat. Ghostface Killah, Method Man & Cappadonna - Ice Cream (1995)

Saukrates - Father Time (1995)

Smoothe Da Hustler & Trigga Tha Gambla - Broken Language (1995)

Big Noyd - Recognize & Realise (Part 1) (1996)

Camp Lo - Luchini (This Is It) (1996)

East Flatbush Project - Tried by 12 (1996)

Ghostface Killah feat. Raekwon & Cappadonna - Daytona 500 (1996)

The Juggaknots - Troubleman (1996)

Lost Boys - Renee (1996)

M.O.P. feat. Teflon & Kool G. Rap - Stick To Ya Gunz (1996)

Poor Righteous Teachers - Word Iz Life (1996)

Ras Kass - Soul On Ice (Remix) (1996)

The Roots - Clones (1996)

Royal Flush feat. Noreaga - Iced Down Medallions (1996)

Street Smartz feat. O.C & Pharoah Monch - Metal Thangz (1996)

Black Attack feat. Problemz & Al Tariq - Verbal Attack (1997)

Capone ‘N’ Noreaga - Bloody Money (1997)

CRU - Just Another Case (1997)

Fat Joe feat. Armageddon - Find Out (1997) 

The Firm - Phone Tap (1997)

Puff Daddy & The Family feat. Notorious B.I.G, Lil' Kim & The Lox - It's All About the Benjamins (1997)

DMX - Stop Being Greedy (1998)

Smut Peddlers - One by One (1998)

N.O.R.E. - Superthug (1998)

50 Cent feat. The Madd Rapper - How to Rob (1999)**

Black Rob - Whoa! (1999)

Cam'ron - Let Me Know (1999)

Dead Prez - Hip Hop (1999)

Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg - Still D.R.E. (1999)

Jay-Z feat. U.G.K. - Big Pimpin' (1999)

Pharoahe Monch - Simon Says (1999)

* Was only able to find a fan video of this song online with the original and better lyrics. 
** Really ought to be the official video.

 

Dada Debaser Notes:

• Some of these I was listening to when they originally came out, while others were discovered  later on via various Rap forums.
  
• As expected, a bunch of songs I thought were from '90 turned out to be from '89, but surprisingly, a bunch of songs that I thought were from 2000 happened to be from '99. Rap finds a way, I guess.

Dada Debaser Bonus:

101 Greatest Non-Rap Songs of the 80s.

101 Greatest Non-Rap Songs of the 90s.

Black Christmas

Cilla Black's Christmas Eve (All Night Long performance)

Noel. D. Greene, 1983

 

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even our Graham. When Cilla Black's Christmas Eve was broadcast to British homes in the early eighties, it brought similar shock-horror to the unsuspecting public like Threads (1984), thanks to its awful rendition of Lionel Richie's All Night Long, featuring a bunch of kids rehearsing for one of George A. Romero's zombie pictures. Watching them body-poppin' and shuffling around what looks like a DFS showroom, while Cilla murders an already horrid song cements its legacy in TV Hell. Ardent Cilla Black nostaljacks would be hard pressed defending this eighties yuletide abomination to anyone with an ounce of common sense.

Thankfully, horror and Cilla Black managed to successfully align themselves more tastefully thanks to Edgar Wright's superb, time-travelling giallo, Last Night in Soho (2021). One of my favourite film highlights from last year and Wright's best film since Hot Fuzz (2007), in my humble opinion.

Last Night in Soho (Cilla Black's Your My World scene)

Edgar Wright, 2021

 

Dada Debser Bonus: 

The kid in a blue hoodie might seem like a familiar face. Surprise, surprise! It's none other than a young Jake Wood, better known as Max Branning from EastEnders (1985-∞) well before he appeared in that classic "French Polishers" Yellow Pages commercial.

It's a Wonderful Knife

Don't Open Till Christmas (Edmund Purdom, 1984)

There are winners and losers in all aspects of life and when it comes to eighties slashers, Don't Open Till Christmas (1984) is unquestionably the last kid to be picked for the team. However, there's a discrete charm of the non-bourgeoisie to this grubby and sleazy, Brit nasty, which is, believe it or not, even less refined than Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), making it a traditional festive staple at the Dada Debaser humble abode. Objectively a terrible film, but one that always calls to me around this time of year.

Co-produced by the larger than life American film producer, Dick Randall; better known as the man responsible for the deluge of Bruce Lee rip-off films in the wake of the martial arts star's death, and a string of seventies sexploitation films, Randall was no stranger to dipping his toes into popular film trends. The slasher was the next big thing after the success of  John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) and Randall would contribute to this subgenre with three personal favourites of mine: the giallo-esque campus based slasher, Pieces (1982); the British yule log, Don't Open Till Christmas (1984); and the second best fake-American slasher, Slaughter High (1986) after Michele Soavi's classic Stagefright (1987) of course. Don't Open Till Christmas would pose as an intersection of sorts as some cast members from Randall's other two slashers would also wind up here.

Directed by and starring Brit thespian, Edmund Purdom, Don't Open Till Christmas was destined for failure once he strayed away from the original screenplay and shot scenes which were superfluous to the film, e.g. a bizarre romantic subplot involving Purdom's older Inspector Harris and the film's younger "leading lady", Kate (Belinda Mayne). Conflicting sources claim Purdom had either quit or was fired from his directorial debut. The film's writer Derek Ford took over the director's chair, but didn't have much time to get too comfortable as he was fired after just two days. Languishing in limbo, the film ushered Ray Selfe and Alan Birkinshaw as the new director and writer team to sort the film out once and for all. Considering Birkinshaw gave the world Killer's Moon (1978), a scuzzy film where a bunch of psychopaths high on LSD, who rape and kill a bunch of stranded school girls whilst ripping off Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971) in the process, it's fair to say Don't Open Till Christmas went from out of the frying pan and into the fire. With the numerous faults which plagued the film the writing is unquestionably one of its biggest problems. If Birkinshaw's additional material was meant to correct previous issues, then I dread to think what kind of foul state the original iteration of the film was like. There are characters introduced who are either completely forgotten or crudely written out by the it limps its way to the end titles. New characters were introduced by Birkinshaw, one of which was a replacement final girl, this time a sex worker played by Kelly Baker from Slaughter High (1986),  who turned up around the halfway mark, making the film feel all the more hotchpotch.

Purdom wasn't the only recognisable actor to appear in this film, Kevin Lloyd, better known as D.C. "Tosh" Lines from the cop show The Bill (1984-2010) appears in it in a supporting role as Gerry, a sleazy and tactless photographer. Queen of Fantasy, Caroline Munro makes a brief appearance playing herself, performing a song number while literally being upstaged by the latest victim. Birkinshaw introduced the character of Giles, a creepy journalist played by Alan Lake; an actor who was married to the British cult icon, Diana Dors, along with appearing in several sexploitation films from the seventies. Still mourning over the loss of  his wife, he tragically took his own life with a shotgun on the day of Diana Dors' birthday.

With all that doom and gloom out of the way, it's worth addressing there are some notable postives about Don't Open Till Christmas; the fact that the killer creatively offs drunk and pervy men dressed as Father Christmas (not everytime, though) is both hilarious and kind of refreshing from all the usual teen slaughter synonymous with the slasher subgenre. One poor fella ends up being castrated while taking a leak in a public toilet; another reason in avoiding them. Also, what I personally find appealing about the film is how much of a time capsule it is as it perfectly encapsulates early eighties London and out-dated social attitudes. One scene that never fails to have me laughing is where a glamour model in a Santa robe is locked outside a photo studio with the boyfriend of the film's orginal final girl. While she makes advances on him, he spots two patrolling police officers and utters, "uh oh, here they come. They'll think we're a couple of gays". Product of its time, of course, but a hilarious line, regardless. All these factors help the film exude a cheap and tatty dinginess, making the film feel bizarrely endearing.

Always found the popularity of Christmas-themed horror films strangely puzzling; with the exception of the more apt Halloween festivities, I would have thought an occasion like St. Valentine's Day and the whole psycho-lover theme would have spawned way more slasher entries than Christmas. Still, it has birthed yuletide crackers like ...And All Through the House featured in the Tales from the Crypt (1972) and of course, Black Christmas (1974). Don't Open Till Christmas is an obvious turkey in comparison to them, but an endearing one.

Recently upgraded my old Mondo Macabro DVD of the film with Vinegar Syndrome's superb blu-ray. They're the boutique label equivalent of Paxo since the film is stuffed with a glorious HD remaster, a night's worth of bonus features, and one of those rare times where even I was awestruck by its beautiful packaging. How bonkers is it that a crudely made, semi-obscure, sleazy slasher from yesteryear receives more loving attention by an independent distributor than many of today's pop cultural films?

Best Films of 2022

At the time of writing this, I watched over seventy films that were released this year. That's more than enough to leave me feeling like Mr. Creosote by the end of the year.

Best Films of 2022:

The Northman (Robert Eggers)

Mad God (Phil Tippett)

Hatching (Hanna Bergholm)

Crimes of the Future (David Cronenberg)

R.R.R (S.S. Rajamouli)

Elvis (Baz Luhrmann)

The Innocents (Eskil Vogt)

Brian and Charles (Jim Archer)

All Quiet on the Western Front (Edward Berger)

X (Ti West)

Deadstream (Joseph Winter & Vanessa Winter)

Robert Eggers' The Northman was my best film of 2022. A fantastic revenge story that struck all the right notes for me. Surprised Eggers' trademark style didn't appear at all compromised considering it was essentially a big mainstream production. Too bad he's no longer attached with that Nosferatu remake as he would have been a perfect fit to walk the same steps as F.W. Murnau and Werner Herzog.

Enjoyed this lot as well, despite whatever issues they had.

Honourable Mentions of 2022:

Terrifier 2 (Damien Leone)

The Sadness (Rob Jabbaz) 

Pearl (Ti West)

Baby Assassins (Yûgo Sakamoto)

 Men (Alex Garland)

Saloum (Jean Luc Herbulot)

Top Gun: Maverick (Joseph Kosinski)

Some Like It Rare (Fabrice Eboué)

Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (Mike Judge & Gary Cole)

Vesper (Kristina Buozyte & Bruno Samper)

Hellbender (John Adamn, Zelda Adams & Toby Poser)

This year's crop was a distinctive improvement compared to the last couple of years. That makes sense since the world is mostly back to "normal" again and there are less restrictions. It was a notable year where Baz Luhrmann and Tom Cruise's respective projects turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable, and Ti West bucked the trend of making a feature film comeback and being successful with not one, but two films released this year.

Also had a great time watching a bunch of older films for the first time this year. These were my favourite highlights:

 

Older Films Discovered in 2022:

Things to Come (William Cameron Menzies, 1936)

This Gun for Hire (Frank Tuttle, 1942)

Nineteen Eighty-Four (Rudolph Cartier, 1954)

Riot in Cell Block 11 (Don Siegel, 1954)

Passport to Shame (Alvin Rakoff, 1958)

The Servant (Joseph Losey, 1963)

It Happened Here (Kevin Brownlow & Andrew Mollo, 1965)

Requiescant (Carlo Lizzani, 1967)

Doppelgänger (Robert Parrish, 1969)

The Specialists (Sergio Corbucci, 1969)

Witchhammer (Otakar Vávra, 1970)

Malpertuis (Harry Kummel, 1971)

Endless Night (Sidney Gilliet, 1972)

Black Caesar (Larry Cohen, 1973)

Hell Up in Harlem (Larry Cohen, 1973)

Malatesta's Carnival of Blood (Christopher Speeth, 1973)

Terminal Island (Stephanie Rothman, 1973)

Bucktown (Arthur Marks, 1975)

The Tough Ones (Umberto Lenzi, 1976)

Alison's Birthday (Ian Coughlan, 1981)

Angst (Gerald Kargl, 1983)

The Boys Next Door (Penelope Spheeris, 1985)

Django Strikes Again (Nello Rossati, 1987)

Celia (Ann Walker, 1989)

Wicked World (Barry J. Gillis, 1991)

Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (Shinichi Fukazawa, 1995/2012)

Pandorum (Christian Alvart, 2009)

Dogs Don't Wear Pants (J. -P. Valkeapää 2019)

The Golden Glove (Fatih Akin, 2019)

Midnight (Kwon Oh-seung, 2021)  

Hopefully 2023 will be just as good or even better.

Worst Films of 2022

2022 might go down as a noticeable improvement over the last couple of years, but let's not kid ourselves in pretending there weren't a plethora of atrocious films released during this period; films which were so bad that I didn't even bother hyperlinking.

Below is a timely reminder why certain film makers should have stuck to their lane eking out a living helming music videos, posting food pics on Instagram, or better yet, should have just quit film school altogether:

Worst 2022 Films I Watched:

A Banquet (Ruth Paxton)

The Batman (Matt Reeves)

Bodies Bodies Bodies (Halina Reijn)

Cow (Andrea Arnold)

Death Hunt (Neil Mackay)

Everything Everywhere All at Once (Dan Kwan & Daniel Scheinert)

Firestarter (Keith Thomas)

Fresh (Mimi Cave)

The Gray Man (Anthony Russo & Joe Russo)

Halloween Ends (David Gordon Green)

Hellraiser (David Bruckner)

Jikirag (Alexander J. Baxter, Leigah Keewatin & Jessica Moutray)

The Munsters (Rob Zombie)

Mutant Ghost Wargirl (Liu Binjie)

Nope (Jordan Peele)

Poser (Noah Dixon & Ori Segev)

Scream (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillet)

The Seed (Sam Walker)

She Will (Charlotte Colbert)

Studio 666 (B.J. McDonnell)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (David Blue Garcia)

Two Witches (Pierrre Tsigaridis)

Cracks me up whenever I spot a movie I thoroughly detested making it in various Best Films lists. Only proves to me just how irrelevant most critics are.

Sat through all of these horrid films; right up to the end credits. For this reason I've more than earnt the right to shit on them every chance I get. There are probably even worse films from this year that I still haven't seen; counting my blessings that I won't ever do so.

Dada Debaser's Choons of 2022

As someone who's closer in years to a Freedom pass than a Student pass, there's really no point in an old timer posting their boomer choons on the net. There is every point in having it logged here at my personal fortress of solitude, however, for the inevitable, "so that's where my head was at in 2022" acknowlegment when scrollling back here and enjoying all the benefits of free travel in the city.

Choons I Liked in 2022

Austin Butler - Trouble

beabadoobee - The Perfect Pair

Cannons - Hurricane

Cookiee Kawaii - Is U Mad?

Denzel Curry - Walkin'

Disasterpeace - Body Drop

Ezale - Ironic 

Homeboy Sandman - Flat Pockets

Howard Shore - Klinek

Ka - If Not True

Knucks - Leon the Professional

Lady Wray feat. Kenneth Wray Sr. - Beauty in the Fire

Lee Fields - Two Jobs

PinkPantheress - Boy's a Liar

PYLOT feat. Ezra Hyte - Invisible

Ramson Badbones - Omega

Tinashe - Naturally

We Are Magnolia - Electric Guillotine Part II  

Wolfram & Desire - Sad Ibiza Song

Choons I Discovered / Rediscovered in 2022

The Sonics - Psycho (1965)

Roger & The Gypsies - Pass the Hatchet (1966)

Big John K - Poor Souls (1968)

The Chakachas - Jungle Fever (1972)

Mike Lease w/ The Studio G's Beat Group - Hard Selling Woman (1973)

Bruno Canfora - Dirty Gang (1974)

Desert - Leaving (1979)

Nice & Nasty 3 - The Ultimate Rap (1980)

Diana Brown & Barrie 'K' Sharpe - The Masterplan (1990)

Ed Case feat. Shelley Nelson - Something in Your Eyes (K Warren Mix) (1999)

Baron - Drive In Drive By (2006)

Escort - All Through the Night (2006)

Murray Gold - Doomsday (2006)

Nneka - Heartbeat (Chase & Status We Just Bought a Guitar Mix) (2009)

Rusko feat. Amber Coffman - Hold On (2010)

Homeboy Sandman - Peace & Love (2013)

Fleurie - Love and War (2016)

Jamie Jupitor - Future Computer (2016)

The Alchemist feat. Bruiser Brigade - Flying Spirit (2021)

Curtis Harding - Can't Hide It (2021)

PinkPantheress - Pain (2021)

Shoutout to the The Martorialist for schooling me on a few choons listed here.

Home Format Releases of 2022

Tried my damnedest to stick to my New Year's resolution and ease up on grabbing whatever took my fancy like a traveller, but had already failed by March this year. Regardless, here's a totally subjective list of what I consider the best releases which I purchased over the year.

All blu's unless otherwise stated.

Home Format Releases of 2022:

Police Story Trilogy 4K (Eureka)

The Witch 4K (Second Sight)

Forgotten Gialli Vol. 5 (Vinegar Syndrome)

Gothic Fantastico: Four Italian Tales of Terror (Arrow)

Karloff in Maniacal Mayhem Box Set (Eureka Classics)

Death Wish II 4K (Vinegar Syndrome)

Flesheater 4K (Vinegar Syndrome)

The Most Dangerous Game (Masters of Cinema)

Don't Open Till Christmas (Vinegar Syndrome)

Girls Nite Out AKA The Scaremaker (Arrow)

Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (Visual Vengeance)

Don't Deliver Us from Evil (Mondo Macabro)

Robocop 4K (Arrow)

Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. 4K (Studiocanal)

Nineteen Eighty-Four (BFI)

Tenebre 4K (Arrow)

Faceless 4K (Severin)

Get Carter (4K)

Almost included Arrow Films as one of my Villains of 2022, but they did release some great and worthwhile gems this year.

Shout out to all those saps on eBay, who paid silly money for a rare slip card recently. Even if the film was included, it would have still been too much.

Other Notable Media:

Enjoyed reading Robin Bougie's Cinema Sewer Vol. 8 and Bleeding Skull! A 1990s Trash-Horror Odyssey, by Joseph A. Ziemba, Annie Choi & Zack Carlson.

Heroes and Villains of 2022

Decided to list five heroes and five villains that summed up my film world of 2022. They left an impression on me - be it positive or negative.

Heroes

Damien Leone: Terrifier 2 might not be one of Dada Dada's best films of 2022, but it's definitely amongst the most respected for what it's accomplished. Other than flossin' his dope Class of 1984 poster for his Zoom interviews, Leone, a self-taught make-up expert and film maker, delivered what was arguably the greatest success story of the year. An unrated and ultra gory slasher that managed to rake-in approximately $11.5M at the worldwide box office on a miniscule budget of $250K. Little wonder a number of film studios have approached Leone since then. In an interview, Leone dreamt of rebooting the Friday the 13th franchise, or helming a Romero-esque zombie film with Sylvester Stallone. That boy is the golden goose, let him make them.

Hanna Bergholm & Siiri Solalina: Two of the best debuts this year were by director Hanna Bergholm and her young lead, Siiri Solalina for the body-horror fable Hatching (2022). Bergholm claims inspiration from Luca Guadagino's Suspira (2018) remake, but I won't hold that against her as Hatching is an incredible debut film; thanks in part to Solania's strong performance and Bergholm's wonderful eye for visual splendour. Also, props to Bergholm for not letting Hatching be another cliched horror film that's a metaphor for puberty.

S.S. Rajamouli: Hollywood is like cunnilingus: for anyone who won't; there's somebody who will. It's tragic that the epic action movie has mostly become appropriated into superhero flicks, while the traditional action forumla has been mostly relegated to straight-to-video, B-movie hell. When Rajamouli delivered a stellar, Michael Bay-esque, bromance of a blockbuster which ran for over three hours, heads weren't ready for this spectacle from India. It came immediately after the Covid lockdowns and sated the appetite of many nostalgic action anorak pining for something with more real heart than Tony Stark's. Netflix took note of the film's success which ushered in a potential new audience opening  eyes towards action cinema from the Indian subcontinent. One of those rare times I won't shit on Netflix. Props to Rajamouli's success.

Joseph Winter & Vanessa Winter: This husband and wife team are also graduates from the Class of '22. Newbies who not only managed to breathe fresh life in a tired old format we know as the found footage subgenre with Deadstream, but also managed to rescue V/H/S/99 (2022), an excrutiatingly dull horror anthology, with the short story, To Hell and Back; which does exactly what it says it does on the tin. The Winters are relative unknowns in the game, but their work this year has me interested in whatever further films they might be working on.

Peter Bradshaw: More often than not, myself and Poncey Pete never crossed the streams since he seemed happier than Larry Clark at a youth centre covering pretentious film shite, or mourning over an overrated hack; however, I've enjoyed reading some of his reviews this year, like his belated Robocop review for instance. His pièce de résistance is undoubtedly telling it like it really is regarding the massively, overrated Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022). The clapback that ensued in the comments section for his review from hive-minded morons, who were incapable of accepting a difference of opinion, was way more entertaining to me than the actual film. 

Peter Bradshaw after posting his Everything Everywhere All At Once review.

Villains

Mark Kermode: How the mighty have fallen. One of my favourite critics now suffering from a latelife crisis. His increasing tendency to discuss issues irrelevant to his film expertise became more apparent this year. From March 2022, Comrade Kermode was no longer under the watchful scrutiny of the BBC, thus his petulant, political tweets (foreign and domestic) began to manifest more bluntly into his professional film reviews. The Quiffed One is from Chipping Barnet and blessed with a very privileged educational background; thus, whenever he rides his moral and ideological high horse, championing some shitty slacktivist's film, because it has the right politics rather than it containing any genuine artistic merit, it smacks of every elitist, crusty performer preaching their sermon on stage to the trustfund masses at Glastonbury. If only he was self-aware enough to see how at odds he appears. Allegorically at odds with himself in the same way his quiff serves as a combover to his bald patch.

Jordan Peele: Film makers tend to have a habit of failing up in Hollywood. Peele is a good example as he's only had one genuinely great movie in his catalogue and has been producing slop ever since. This swill has been lapped up by both critics and gullible simpletons with the misguided belief he’s the next Alfred Hitchcock. Having to slog through one hundred and thirty minutes of Nope (2022), which I found so terribly dull that even Daniel Kaluuya looked bored out of his skull in it, was a task I never want to repeat ever again. To add further salt, Peele, the writer and producer, has been to existing intellectual properties what Dr. Harold Shipman has been to his patients; writing and producing The Twilight Zone (2019 - 2020), and one of the worst films I watched from last year Candyman (2021), has been lethal.

David Gordon Green: Not content with helming the absolute turd that was Halloween Kills (2021), David Gordon Green capped off his rebooted sequel trilogy with an even worse offering, Halloween Ends (2022). For any self-respecting horror fan, the writing was horrendous since Michael Myers played second fiddle in his own climactic movie. What was even more farcical, was the fact that it took four awful writers (including Danny McBride) to come up with a plot that they knew would piss off a large contingent. Subversion is one thing, but not to the detriment of a franchise that is beloved by many. Can't respect it, then leave it be! Too bad Green feels the need to tackle another reboot sequel trilogy; this time The Exorcist, no less. Perhaps this will finally give Kermode his mojo back.

Sight and Sound's G.O.A.T films poll: Expected this once in a decade, overrated film poll being a shitshow time ago; what I didn't predict, however, was just how much worse it would be. Hats off to all of those esteemed plebians who voted for the sake of being edgy and managed to piss off even the ponciest of film snobs with the likes of Ingmar Bergman only getting one film in, while P.T. Anderson stans were all in a tizzy on Reddit when their god had no film listed. The uproar was almost worth the poll's villainy since it got Paul Schrader to post a thinly veiled "fuck you!" post on his Facebook. Still, the orchestrated controversy might have backfired and killed the only prestigious aspect about S&S, proving just how toxic many of its voters really are in the wake of this predicatble travesty.

Kier-La Janisse's followers: One of the greatest film related books published over the last ten years was Kier-La Janisse's House of Psychotic Women: An Autobigraphical Topography of Female Neurosis in Horror and Exploitation, largely because I liked all the glossy pictures. That book made Kier-La a popular figure for journo-types and hipsters; one that has turned her into a pied-piper of genre cinema.  Imagine my horror recently when I spotted Queen Kier-La this year wearing a Massacre at Central High T-shirt - one of my favourite exploitation films from the seventies, I knew then that the kulcha vulchas would have a field day ruining one of the best kept secrets in seventies cinema. R.I.P!

Kier-La Janisse's followers. The pits.

To the Manor, Shawn

Deadstream (Joseph Winter & Vanessa Winter, 2022)

Felt like sharing some love for Deadstream (2022); a horror comedy that's left a lasting impression on me since watching it over Halloween night. It owes a lot of what makes it work to Sam Raimi's original The Evil Dead (1981), but it also adds a few contemporary features making it a far more interesting spin than what Fede Alvarez achieved with Evil Dead (2013).

Shawn Ruddy, played by actor and co-director, Joseph Winter, is a cancelled internet celebrity hoping to make a comeback by spending the night in the ominously nicknamed "Death Manor", while livestreaming it. For a film that goes by the conventions of the one-night-in-a-haunted-house type formula, there's a lot going on here; from Shawn's fall from grace; the legend of Mildred Pratt; the previous victims befallen in Death Manor; Chrissy, the stalkerish fan, and demonic rituals, these all constitute to the film being a rollercoaster ride. At times it's reminiscent of Ghostwatch (1992) in the way it toys with its premise, along with its format conventions. This give Deadstream a more indelible charm compared to some of its other peers. Also, it's worth bearing in mind that this the first enjoyable film to feature an internet personality/influencer that did not annoy ruin the film in any way.

Deadstream's biggest advantage over similar haunted house flicks is the character, Shawn himself. Can't speak for anyone else, but watching a completely shallow, internet personality being terrorised by the undead is hilarious. His dumb logic in facing his fears is delightfully entertaining. At times, he reminds me of Carl Kolchak and Ash Williams with the way he completely pussies out, but repeatedly attempts to confront the supernatural in his idiosyncratic way. Shawn also happens to be really self-aware; especially after getting cancelled, so he tries not to use any foul language while being abused by the evil dead as he's equally scared of losing his sponsors. One cool, but ridiculous detail I like about Shawn is him playing creepy synth music on a tape player for ambience. As if wondering around in a delapidated abandoned building in the middle of the woods wasn't enough for the fear factor. Shawn's interaction with his chatroom is another huge positive aspect in the film; he's ridiculed, trolled and at times given invaluable help by them. This helps the film progress and stay fresh.

Found-footage films have been around for yonks and despite no longer being in vogue, their relative cheap production marks them as a firm favourite for many aspiring film makers. It's birthed a lot of crap because of this, so whenever a genuinely good entry in the format happens to come along, it's worth celebrating. It certainly looks like a cheap production; the set looks like it was shot in a crack house, which makes this all the more atmospheric while watching it in complete darkness.

Discovered the Winters from their short film, To Hell And Back; which was part of Shudder's horror anthology V/H/S/99 (2022). It was the highlight in an otherwise forgettable portmanteau. Made a note of them and was rewarded with Deadstream being a low-budget gem more precious than any cubic zircona.

Down with the Sickness

The Sadness (Rob Jabbaz, 2021/2022)

Feeling confident to share that I've pretty much seen what 2022's movies had to offer; or at the very least, anything that was of interest to me. Therefore, it's time to make things right by spending a bit of time discussing Rob Jabbaz's Taiwanese gorefest, The Sadness (2022) from earlier in the year. Sticklers for precise film release dates might class this as one of last year's movies, but The Sadness only made its way to most people's radars this year.

The Sadness is the type of depraved horror film that's far too brutal and sadistic for even today's mainstream horror standards. It's remarkable how a pandemic can turn the world on its head and in the case of The Sadness, it's within a blink of an eye. Its breezey pace kicks in relatively early and doesn't really let up until around the big finale. Jabbaz's film is essentially a showstopper of misanthropic nihilism and brutal depravity; seldom seen to this degree. Another example of the type of product that Hollywood won't or cant produce! What's equally amazing is that it was funded via cryptocurrency and a camgirl business. Twitch thots - take note!

The premise itself is the standard outbreak formula; which hardly makes it groundbreaking. You've seen it all before; albeit with some not so subtle allegories to COVID-19 and vaccinations. The film's young couple are your typical template, but they do thankfully become compelling enough to make the viewer feel invested in their plight throughout the progress of the film. Comic book heads are right to make comparisons to Garth Ennis' Crossed. Not meaning to come off as a contrarian, but I wasn't a fan of those ploddingly-paced, The Walking Dead style books. To its credit, Jabbaz's The Sadness condenses shocking depravity in ninety-nine minutes without having to make me wait long and that's probably a good reason why I don't mind its flawed writing so much. Delving into any further details about the film won't attract nor repel anyone since it's the type of extreme film where you just know whether this is for you or not. The Sadness is definitely for me.

Horror snobs might turn their noses at The Sadness for not fitting into the pompous category known as "elevated horror", but this was one of the most entertaining and engrossing outbreak/zombie films for your host since maybe Train to Busan (2016). Despite its faults, it really delivered in the entertainment department, and for that it get a respective nod from me, regardless.

The Sadness (Restaurant scene)

Rob Jabbaz, 2022

Songs in the Key of Lies

Under the Silver Lake (The Songwriter scene)

(David Robert Mitchell, 2018)

 

Considering David Robert Mitchell's debut film It Follows (2014) marked him as one third of horror cinema's hottest trifecta (along with Jennifern Kent's The Babadook (2014) and Richard Eggers' The Witch (2015)), his sophomore effort, Under the Silver Lake (2018), was something of a disappointment for yours truly. What's really heartbreaking about it are the numerous elements and ideas introduced which are greatly appealing: ranging from cryptic codes, Hollywood's elitism, mysterious tunnels beneath L.A and etc, feeling squandered after having to sit through its long running time.

The problems with Under the Silver Lake really do lie with Mitchell punching above his weight, since its premise feels overly ambitious in his hands and all too random; resulting in many of the film's questions either remaining unanswered, or given the quintessential ambiguous treatment; which is a familiar cop-out whenever a film maker over extends their reach. Also, when fans are having to resort to external sources like the internet in order to decypher hidden meanings and messages just to fill the gaps, then that defeats the objective of any good mystery, in my opinion.

What Under the Silver Lake does have, however, is a fantastic scene where Adam Garfield's wasteman meets the mysterious, Illuminati-like songwriter. He is the architect to many classic songs and jingles glorified in popular culture. It's a compelling scene where the old timer tinkers away on his piano while simultaneously crushing Andrew Garfield's very soul. The realisation that those beloved songs Garfield cherished were like disposable fodder to the elderly songwriter, makes this scene pure gold.

Managed to revisit Under the Silver Lake again recently, and while this time around the experience kind of cushioned the blow, its flaws are still apparent. A real shame, as it potentially could have been one of the best films of the 2010s, if Mitchell had a bit more experience under his belt.

Juvenile Hell: Part 4

Girl Gang (Robert C. Dertano, 1954)

Tooting on the old devil's lettuce has long been associated as the gateway to hard drugs, and in the case of Robert C. Dertano's Girl Gang (1954), it supports this sentiment to the fullest. Like many exploitation films from the fifties, Girl Gang purports to serve as a cautionary moral tale, but its true purpose is to titilate and sensationalise. The film follows the three basic fundamentals of vintage juvenile delinquency films: sex, drugs and rock & roll (that's four, innit?).

Girl Gang's selling point is in its title, which is about as faithful as its sincerity in social commentary. The film chiefly focuses on Joe the Big Boss, played by Timothy Farrell; a drug peddler who turns young teens into drug addicted slaves, with them resorting to crime inorder to fund their next fix. June and Jack appear as junkie lieutenants in Joe's criminal empire. They're versitile figures: from floggin' stolen cars, blackmail scams, to recruiting new blood, they help create drug addled slaves while being addicts themselves. There's also Doc Bradford, played by Buster Keaton's younger brother Harry; a struck-off doctor who oddly appears ashamed of his actions at times, yet that still doesn't stop him from being a sleazy lowlife and taking advantage of the girls.

Of course, being an unrealistic film, the things young jezebels would do for some wacky baccy is hilarious to see on screen. Any route causes for drug addiction such as poverty, trauma or mental disorder, are wholly ignored and simply conveyed by our juvenile junkies being nothing but complete morons. Take youngsters Wanda and Bill embarking on their first steps into becoming chronic weed heads, by getting caned on Joe's flea ridden sofa and press ganged into a petrol station robbery (it's always a petrol station); on a Sunday, of all days. Requiem for a Dream this ain't, but it's these unrealistic examples of youngsters being led astray which makes Girl Gang so much fun and charming. However, what Girl Gang does offer are surprisingly graphic instances of heroin use, which must have struck audiences back then as very transgressive.

Stand out scenes include a the dingy, shindig, where the teens are caned and a Jerry Lee Lewis wannabe is hammering on the piano in some dank looking garage. Hilariously, they start bustin' moves until they're  knackered and want to spark up again. A couple of them wind-up making out on some old piss-stained looking mattress; how ghetto is that? One of the girls forces one poor sod to a back room so she can get "initiated". Once in the room, an occupied light starts flashing.

As one would expect with most films involving a robbery, the heist doesn't exactly go smoothly, and our poor ruffians become fatal casualties in Joe's bumbling endeavour. The final moments of the film consist of a hilarious chase sequence where two armed cops shoot a fleeing and completely unarmed Doc Bradford in the back. Oddly reminiscent of Gene Hackman's shot in The French Connection (1971), but with a fraction of the budget and none of William Friedkin's expert direction.

Seen a few of Dertano's films and other than some recurring cast members (e.g. Farrell and Keaton), they tend to follow a familiar template: the awkward ogling over women scenes; a seedy boss pulling the strings from his den; the inevitable double-cross, a heist that goes wrong, and a righteous monologue via an authoritarian / elder to justify its intentions. These are far from honest social commentaries, but then again, neither are some of today's offerrings like Bodies, Bodies, Bodies (2022), which portrays today's youths in a similarly pathetic and dishonest manner as of those from seventy years ago, but all the more insufferably annoying due to social media culture. Girl Gang is a favourite for being Dertano's most enjoyable film watched so far in his catalogue, which marks this as another notable entry in the canon of juvenile delinquency movies.