Viewings: October 2024

Romain reigns! David Moreau's zonked out, zombie-zoomer, one take MadS was undoubtedly the best discovery this month — both old and new. An anxiety ridden trip leading to the beginning of the end.

Fittingly, the lean and mean post-apocalyptic film Azrael became a very late highlight for me.

Film:

The Camp on Blood Island (Val Guest, 1958)*

One Shocking Moment (Ted V. Mikels, 1965)*

With These Hands (Don Chaffey, 1971)*

Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural (Richard Blackburn, 1973)*

The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980)

Homework (James Beshears, 1982)*

The Outcasts (Robert Wynne-Simmons, 1982)*

One False Move (Carl Franklin, 1992)*

All Ladies Do It (Tinto Brass, 1992)*

Pulse (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 2001)

The Mist (Frank Darabont, 2007)

Trick ‘r Treat (Michael Dougherty, 2007)

Starry Eyes (Dennis Widmyer, Kevin Kölsch, 2014)

Becky (Jonathan Milott, Cary Murnion, 2020)*

Spontaneous (Brian Duffield, 2020)*

Alien: Romulus (Fede Álvarez, 2024)*

Apartment 7A (Natalie Erika James, 2024)*

Azrael (E.L. Katz, 2024)*

The First Omen (Arkasha Stevenson, 2024)*

MadS (David Moreau, 2024)*

Never Let Go (Alexandre Aja, 2024)*

Strange Darling (J.T. Mollner, 2023/2024)*

Terrifier 3 (Damien Leone, 2024)*

Television:

The Avengers 'Dial a Deadly Number' (Sydney Newman, 1965)*

Return of the Saint - Various Episodes (Leslie Charteris, 1978-1979)*

Sapphire and Steel - Various Episodes (Peter J. Hammond, 1979-1982)*

Generation Z (Ben Wheatley, 2024)*

Mastermind - Episodes 7-10 (Bill Wright, 2024/25)*

 

*First time viewings.

Dada Debaser Notes:

• Did my own take on the annual 31 Days of Horror post. You’re welcome!
  
• What if Jack Hill made Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)? That's Lemora... in a nutshell. Despite its acclaim by seventies horror connoisseurs, the heavy nonce vibes put me off.
  
• One False Move is regarded as one of the "defining thrillers of the nineties". After its admittedly disturbing home invasion scene, it ploddingly devolves into a derivative cop movie than the underrated neo-noir it's made out to be. Largely forgettable, despite Bill Paxman being in it.
  
• I had high hopes for another lost gem being unearthed from the BFI Flipside imprint, like The Appointment (1982), but sadly The Outcasts was more a snug fairy tale than the folk horror it was promoted as. Decent, regardless.
  
• Channel 4's new zombie series Generation Z is a massive chore to binge through; it's largely boring and ridden with Guardianista loathing. Typical Ben Wheatley shite. Alternatively, watch the superior and far more entertaining Dead Set (2008) instead.
  
• Art the Clown definitely earned his spot on the slasher Mount Rushmore, but can we not pretend Terrifier 3 didn't drag due to Sienna's PTSD taking up so much precious screen time?
• Once Strange Darling's predictable twist occurred, it all went significantly downhill for me. Kyle Gallner-core run ruined. Real shame, as I was absolutely loving it and praying for another curveball to maybe save the film.
  
• Keep hearing Star Wars' "modern audience" doesn't existent, but that's a factually wrong statement after witnessing it on a recent episode of Mastermind.

Other stuff I enjoyed: Arena of the Unwell's 31 film reviews celebrating Halloween and The Martorialist's 100 Best songs of the 2020s list.