Demon Wind - Gets better towards the end

I really wanted to like this film.  I'm a big fan of cheesy horror films (and in particular cheesy eighties horror films - yes, technically this one came out in 1990, but it has one hell of an '80s vibe!').  The plot is nothing new, in fact, since the (far superior) 'Evil Dead' films, a handful of friends heading out to a remote dwelling, before being attacked by supernatural forces.

There's an opening segment set in the past where a husband and wife are murdered by demons, before flashing forward to present day and a young couple, the boyfriend of which is descended from the initial victims.  They're off to find out what happened and they seem to have invited half their address book along for the ride.

On the way, you get the typical 'creepy locals' who warn them away from their intended destination.  However, in true horror movie style, they ignore such foreboding words and go to a deserted farmhouse anyway.  The cast are nothing special.  You won't have heard of any of them and they're pretty generic, i.e. you, dumb and oversexed.  There was one guy who stuck out - he reminded me of a young Benedict Cumberbatch who, instead of just being another cardboard cut-out, was effectively a ninja who indulged in magic!

It was a pretty hard watch for the first two thirds as not an awful lot happens.  Yes, it does pick up in the final act when heads (literally!) start to roll.  There's a decent amount of gore and the practical effects are nice and bl00dy - effectively better than 90% of CGI effects released today!

It was one of those films that didn't seem to know what tone it wanted to be.  It starts off really serious, like it's trying to be really scary.  Then, only a few scenes later, you get wise-cracking gags and silliness.  Next, we're back to trying to be really dramatic again.  Off-putting in my opinion.

It's okay enough.  It could have been better.  The final act was fun, but - for me - one of the most odd things about it was the fact that the film-makers clearly only had the one single sound effect for whenever someone gets hit, or knocked over.  Seriously, listen out for it.  It happens no matter who gets hit, whatever they fall on and generally whenever someone bumps into something else.

5/10 a hard trek, a bit like unicycling to Mordor and back

Panic Room - Tight little thriller

I do like films that are basically set in a single location and hardly need any special effects, fancy sets or intricate action set-pieces to work.  They're a hard trick to pull off.  They risk either being called 'cheap,' or simply 'boring' because they don't really go anywhere.  Luckily, 'Panic Room' is an example of a good little film that doesn't need action, special effects, or multiple locations to be tense and engaging.  Of course casting Jodie Foster in the lead never hurts either.

She plays a single mother who moves into a large New York apartment with her teenage daughter (a near unrecognisable Kristen Stewart).  Unsurprisingly, this building comes complete with a small, secure 'panic room' which can be used should a trio of burglars ever break into your house late one night.  Guess what happens when they move in?

Yes, three men (including Forest Whitaker and Jared Leto) break in, forcing Foster and Stewart) to take refuge in the titular location and do their best to launch some sort of 'counter offensive' from there.

Now, I know most people will just ask, 'Why doesn't she then call the police?' Well, the film's script does a decent enough job of explaining why no 'obvious' option is available to her from then on, so - in terms of the movie's plot - it does all make sense and you don't have to suspend your disbelief too much to appreciate it.

The whole film takes place within the apartment (which, sometimes does come across as more of a 'mansion' due to its size than any flat that I've ever been in!) and, despite the set's size, it still gives off a nicely claustrophobic atmosphere.  All performances are good here (but then you'd probably expect that from the talent on the cast list) and the film is still as good today as it ever was.

If you're looking for a decent little thriller to watch this will certainly kill an hour and a half and you won't feel like you've wasted your time.  Interestingly, it's also directed by a well-known (and highly competent) director - David Fincher - yet somehow, in my opinion, it never really felt like part of his body of work.  Still good though.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that

Nick of Time - Great fun nineties thriller

I know it's kind of hard to see Johnny Depp as anything else than a smooth-talking pirate captain (and that's even before his star power has waned slightly!), but - believe it or not - once upon a time, he was a fresh-faced young lad who wouldn't look out of place in your average boyband.

In the 'Nick of Time' he plays a loving father of a young girl who, while taking her to a new city via train, gets accosted by a couple of rogue security agents who hold his child hostage in exchange for him assassinating a political target.  

Okay, so the premise is a little far-fetched and you may be asking yourself, 'Why doesn't he just go to the authorities?' the moment he gets the chance.  However, the script actually does a good job of filling in all these types of 'plot holes' courtesy of one Christopher Walken.  He's the main villain, hell-bent on getting Depp to do his dirty work - and he's at his most sleazy and intimidating here.  It's almost like Depp is playing the 'straight man' to Walken's hissing viper of a man and Walken is on top form here.

Depp's on screen daughter doesn't get much screen time and that's no bad thing.  Kids in adult films can be hit or miss and, although she doesn't seem too bad, I doubt she could handle too much attention in centre stage.

The other character worth mentioning is played by Charles S Dutton (whatever happened to him?) as a well-meaning, but slightly reluctant, shoe shiner who may just be able to offer Depp a hand.  He's a nice touch to the film and adds more than just an 'escape route' for depth, but someone to play off.

Overall, I'd give 'Nick of Time' a go.  Yes, I'm sure you'll think that no matter how tight the writing is, there are still one or two times you'll have to suspend your disbelief in order to get maximum enjoyment out of this film.  It's still a lot of fun.  It's a tight, tense little thriller with a great cast and, although no surprises in the long run, is just great fun to watch.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one

Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996) - Nice try

I think it's fair to say that (most) sequels are pretty much lesser versions of the original and, in particular, horror films seem to suffer more than most from this stereotype.  This is the fourth in the line of 'Hellraiser' films - the original telling the story of a bunch of particularly nasty demons who you can release into our world via an antique puzzle box.  

The first was a classic, but - and you may not believe it based on the way the demons were marketed as the 'central focus' - the monsters were only in it for a few minutes near the end.  The two subsequent sequels realised that the demons (or 'cenobites' as I believe they're called) were the real 'stars' of the show (in the same way Freddy is the real star of the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' series) and therefore utilised them to the max.  

Doug Bradley reprises the role of 'Pinhead' (or 'leader' of the cenobites) for the last time before he hands the reigns over to someone else (dare I say 'inferior?').  And he really is about the only real reason to watch 'Part IV.' It's like the film's writers fell for the oldest cliche in the book, i.e. when you've run out of ideas, just set it in space and hope that that's enough to make it seem fresh and new.

Or at least it starts in space.  We're soon treated to a film of - sort of - three thirds where we meet the inventor of the puzzle box hundreds of year ago and follow his descendents who are bound to its evil - and therefore must repeatedly face off against Pinhead throughout the ages.  The trouble is, none of them are particularly interesting and - although they're technically the good guys - they're just too boring to really care about, so you find yourself drawn more to Pinhead and his lady friend who makes her first appearance in the franchise.

It tries its best here and there, but there's not that much that you haven't seen before in the previous three installments.  There are some nice make-up effects, but the computer-generated attempts fall victim to not having enough of a budget to make them believable/scary.  If you're a fan of Doug Bradley and his iconic performance as Pinhead then you might as well watch the last one he's in.  I know the third installment got a lot of hate, but - personally - I thought it was head and shoulders above this one.

6/10 Should probably keep you awake if Freddy Krueger was haunting your nights

Natural Born Killers - Probably not as controversial as you've heard

Back in the nineties, and Quentin Tarantino's name was the epitome of 'cool' and 'hip' film-making, the prospect of another of his films coming out (after both the much hyped 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Pulp Fiction') was almost too much to handle.  Yes, there were many who pointed out that - technically - 'Natural Born Killers' was not actually one of his films were he did all the writing, producing and directing, but, as it has his name attached, none of us cared.

Then it got banned.  Apparently, it was too violent for the general public and its depiction of serial killers randomly executing innocent people would turn us easily-influenced viewers into the monsters we saw onscreen.  All it really did was make us want to watch it even more.

Back then we were forced to watch it on, er, 'less official' means which certainly could never live up to the experience of seeing it on the big screen, or even on your own TV (properly).  Therefore, everyone enjoyed it - despite it being blurred, juddery and a terrible picture.  No one dared say anything other than it was a 'masterpiece.'

Luckily, these days, 'Natural Born Killers' is available to buy on most good DVD sellers online and you can see it in all its glory (albeit on the small screen).  Plus, without the 'mythos' surrounding its release, you can relax, sit back and actually watch it with a little more of a neutral head on.  Yes, it's still a good film, but probably not one you'd watch often.

Two killers: Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Malory (Juliette Lewis) go on a killing spree and that's about it.  Yes, there are plenty of people who see the story as some type of satirical take on the American way of life and try to read 'deeper' meaning into the story.  It's one of those films that probably hard to truly recommend.  Yes, there's plenty of grotesque and uncalled for violence.  And, rather than Tarantino directing, Oliver Stone takes the chair and gives us one hell of a psychedelic trippy ride, using every directing trick in the book in order to give the feeling that you've been taking every illegal drug possible before you sat down to watch.

There's plenty of famous faces on the cast list, not just the main two, but expect Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Downey Jr also chewing up the scenery, really giving us 'cartoonish' impersonations of cold-hearted - yet supposedly good - characters.

Is it a masterpiece?  Well, it's definitely not your normal 'Classic Hollywood' film.  If you're in the mood for something very different to everything else that's on Netflix these days then it will certainly make you think  Just make sure you have a strong stomach when it comes to excessive violence, swearing and generally bad people getting away with things.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that

Leon - Still holds up

The nineties had its fair share of great action movies, such as 'The Rock, Speed' and 'Armageddon' and, although 1994's 'Leon' doesn't really contain half as much action, or nearly a quarter of the destruction and special effects of the others, it's as if it sits in some sort of 'Marvel-style' 'shared universe' of movies.

Luc Besson directs Jean Reno as the titular 'Leon' - a loner-hitman, living in New York, happily earning his money by *ahem* 'removing' people from circulation.  His life is straightforward (if a little violent) enough, until a gang murders the family in the next apartment and he's forced to look after the only survivor - a young girl called Mathilda (Natalie Portman).  The two of them form an unlikely bond and he even feels protective enough towards her to confide in her as to the true nature of his profession and maybe 'teach her the tools' of his trade.

The premise is sound enough to warrant a watch, but 'Leon' is one of those rare films where every performance is just so perfect that it can't be flawed.  Although, as great as its two leads are, it's Gary Oldman as the villain who steals every scene with his delightfully manic performance.

Like I say, there's not half as much action or high-octane energy in 'Leon' when you compare it to other 'action' films.  It's more centred on tension and the drama of each character and their slow transformations from interacting with each other.

Perhaps the only small 'criticism' (notice the quote marks?) is that certain scenes do somehow feel a little 'uncomfortable' to watch.  These normally focus around the young girl's 'feelings' towards her adult mentor, but then I'm guessing the script is supposed to show the awkwardness that a relationship like this can cause.

However, that doesn't detract from the fact that 'Leon' is still as watchable today as it was back then and it's become a well-deserved classic in its own right since its release all those years ago.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one