Viewings: November 2025

With the long, cold nights in full effect, binging on movies with a hot cup of cha is a necessary survival tactic for your host. The majority of November's viewings are rewatches, but there are a couple of first time gems worth praising.

Edward G. Robinson proving simpin' ain't easy in Fritz Lang's superb Scarlet Street is easily my favourite find this month. Ought to check out The Woman in the Window (1944) considering it's practically the same cast and crew involved.

Fast forwarding to the present day, Alex Russell's psychological drama Lurker is a compelling tale of fan love and obsession with a neat little twist.

Film:

La Chienne AKA The Bitch (Jean Renoir, 1931)*

The Glass Key (Stuart Heisler, 1942)*

This Gun for Hire (Frank Tuttle, 1942)

Scarlet Street (Fritz Lang, 1945)*

The Curse of Frankenstein (Terence Fisher, 1957)

The Angry Red Planet (Ib Melchior, 1959)*

Dark of the Sun (Jack Cardiff, 1968)*

Daughters of Darkness (Harry Kümel, 1971)

The Omega Man (Boris Sagal, 1971)

The Case of the Bloody Iris (Giuliano Carnimeo, 1972) 

Death Falls Lightly (Leopoldo Savona, 1972)* 

The Bloodstained Lawn (Riccardo Ghione, 1973)*

Murder by Decree (Bob Clark, 1979)

 Altered States (Ken Russell, 1980)

The Beyond (Lucio Fulci, 1981)

Ms .45 (Abel Ferrara, 1981)

Wild Style (Charlie Ahearn, 1982)

Re-Wind (Hisayasu Satô, 1988)*

Hardware (Richard Stanley, 1990)

Nikita (Luc Besson, 1990)

Dead End (Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Fabrice Canepa, 2003)

The Mother of Tears (Dario Argento, 2007)

Sunshine (Danny Boyle, 2007)

The Ruins (Carter Smith, 2008)

Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy, 2014)

Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro, 2025)*

Lurker (Alex Russell, 2025)*

One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2025)*

Warfare (Alex Garland, Ray Mendoza, 2025)

 

Television:

Blake's 7 - Series 2 (Various, 1979)  

Prisoner: Cell Block H - Episodes 3-10, Series 1 (Various, 1979)*

Mastermind - Episodes 16-19 (Bill Wright, 2025 / 2026)* 

*First time viewings.

 

Dada Debaser Notes:

• I discovered The Misfits' Walk Among Us album cover originated from a scene from The Angry Red Planet.
• Surprised by how brutal Jack Cardiff's Dark of the Sun was; especially when it's made out to be a '60s men-on-a-mission actioner with Rod Taylor, Jim Brown and Kenneth More.
• Can't overstate my love for This Gun for Hire. Alan Ladd being an unfathomably based hitman might possibly be the earliest example of the anti-hero assassin in a film. Not hard to see the on-screen chemistry shared with Veronica Lake, either; considering she was an absolute smoke show in it.
• It's a shame Ladd and Lake's The Glass Key isn't on the same level as This Gun for Hire. Despite the so-so direction and a convoluted plot, there's a cool escape sequence in it, as well as a death by cuckoldry scene, which makes it at least memorable.
• Despite its title and associated cast, I should have realised The Bloodstained Lawn wasn't a giallo once I spotted the robot chilling in the background. Very dull and meandering, but Marina Malfatti is a definite highlight as an aristocratic noble using the aforementioned robot to suck the blood out of working class undesirables and selling it. Plus, she wears revealing garments like in her gialli. Sweet!
• Nearly seventy years old and Hammer's The Curse of Frankenstein does everything better than Mexican Tim Burton's adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic novel. It wasn't struck by Disneyfied visuals, uneven pacing and Cushing and Lee weren't playing characters with daddy issues.
• A film I never totally understood (and still don't, to be honest), is Ken Rusell's Altered States. William Hurt experiencing religious visions in a sensory depravation chamber and consuming enough psychedelic drugs to turn him into primal matter are worth watching the film, however. I love the caveman scene.
• Both of Arrow's restorations for Ms .45 and Wild Style look incredible in 4K. It's crazy how well they depict early '80s New York City on such small budgets. In the very remote chance an Arrow rep is lurking here, can we please get The Exterminator (1980) next year?
• The Mother of Tears is a perfect example as to why a director should never finish their trilogy if too much time has passed. Dario Argento fell off well before producing this unintentional comedy. I'm dreading Gareth Evans announcing The Raid Part III.
• Serious question for all the “Paul Thomas Anderson is the master of modern cinema” people: which brand of colouring crayon tastes the best?
• Already discussed the second season of Blake's 7 in detail, but I feel compelled to include Shivan's scene just to end the month on a high:

Blake's 7 | Voice from the Past | Shivan Scene

George Spenton-Foster | 1979