The Rage (1997) - Sidney J. Furie.

Dower Mindhunter agent Travis (Lamas) teams up with sexy/sparky FBI pistol Kelly McCord (Kristen Cloke) to track down degenerate serial killer Art Dacy (Gary Busey) in this distractingly lively Canadian action thriller. While The Rage proves no less formulaic than squeezey cheese, it remains equally moorish. Like many similarly routine DTV shoot 'em ups, the entertainment quotient is hugely boosted by the live wire presence of magnetic mentalist Gary Busey. The able cast's performances are solid, text provides moments of unintentionally amusing bathos, and no balanced, copiously corn-enriched B-Movie diet is complete without at least one fully loaded Busey/Lamas bullet burger! Furie mounts some explosive action, constructing an especially dynamic vehicular tussle betwixt chewed-up car and truck that is genuinely thrilling to behold! Arguably, the film's strongest appeal will be to trigger-happy recidivist DTV addicts and Gary Busey freaks. Personal highlights include, Lamas's earnest delivery of his 'Live Long and Prosper' line, beautifully batso Busey's toothsome terror tactics, and whoever did the gnarly fire stunt on the lake clearly had some monster cojones!!!!! 

“I see squirrels up there!!!!!??? Let's get nekkid!!!!!”

 

 

 

 

 

Zombie Undead (2009) - Rhys Davies.

Following the detonation of a dirty bomb, the UK is gruesomely plunged into bloody chaos as the dead return to shambling gore-guzzling life! I mostly enjoyed this bargain bucket, blood-spattered, nihilistic throwback to Romero's The Crazies and NOTLD. The performances are earnest, if not always convincing, photography is crudely effective, and a doomy atmosphere is credibly maintained throughout. Zombie Undead is a basic, zestily old school zombie chunkblower, and sometimes that's just what this splatter Mad Hatter needs!

 

 

 

 

High-Kick Girl! (2009) – Fuyuhiko Nishi.

Awesomely fleet-footed kicker Rina Takeda stars in this consistently thrilling all-action femme fighter. Needless to say, the dazzling, bullet-paced combat is truly spectacular! I dug the 'Game of Death' vibe when epic Karate sensei Matsumura (Tatsuya Naka) goes hard after villanous Kung Fu assassins the Destroyers. The heroic, fight-packed finale resolutely rocked my Kung Fu film loving world, dude!

 

 

Wolf Girl (2001) – Thom Fitzgerald.

Melancholy Circus performer Tara Talbot (Victoria Sanchez) suffers from hypertrichosis, and yearns to break away from the freakshow and live life as a normal teenaged girl. With a wonderful cast, this quirky lycanthropic curiosity is coloured with a captivating array of enjoyably eccentric characters, and an especially sympathetic protagonist in the increasingly beleaguered Tara. Obviously, since this is essentially a horror-inflected tragedy, Tara's happy ever after is gruesomely earned, her bloody vengeance wholly justified. As always, the commanding Tim Curry steals the show, but ol' fuzzy face stole my heart! I was very taken by the story, having great empathy for the carny folk, and I'd love to see a restored version of this blood warmingly adult fairy tale.

“People nowadays are afraid of anything that's different!”

 

 

 

 

 

A Day at the Beach (1970) – Simon Hesera/Roman Polanski.

The charismatic, yet entirely dissolute uncle Bernard (Mark Burns) takes the adorable bairn Winnie (Beatrice Edney) out for a chill, bracingly rainswept day at the beach with thrillingly unpredictable results. Engagingly written by Roman Polanski, and co-directed by Simon Hesera & Polanski, this dark, well-made, strongly acted 70s drama holds up well, and remains a moodily compelling period piece. A little stagey at times, the performances are robust, young Edney is quite charming, and a playful Peter Sellers is palpably having fun with his lavender-hued cameo, and it all concludes in a rewardingly downbeat 70s manner.

 "You don't lose a child like a handkerchief??!!"

 

 

 Monolith 1993 – John Eyres.

A couple of lively, prototypically querulous L.A. Cops, Tucker (Bill Paxton) and Terri (Lindsay Frost) fatefully discover the terrifying truth behind the sinisterly shapeshifting exploits of an alien in this enjoyably noisome 90s Sci-actioner. This neglected time killer has a golden cast, slam bang action, goofball buddy Cop badinage, mild weirdosity, healthy schlock elements and a thunderous climax, giving Monolith some viable B-movie heft. I can appreciate why some disparage Monolith, and, hopefully, they might also do me the same courtesy and regard my earnest enjoyment with comparable equanimity. You say Tomato, I say Clamato, what cooks your goose don't do much for your Gander etc. etc. etc. Patently Low brow, not quite monobrow, Monolith is less compelling than The Hidden, yet the cosy familiarity of the Twilight Zoned text kept me tuned in. Hey!!! No one in full command of their mental faculties will ever claim this specific Monolith is responsible for the evolution of man, but I'm more of a devolutionist, anyhoo!!!

 “Bluebook? Isn't that U.F.Os an' stuff???”

 

 

Battle Heater: Kotatsu (1989) - Jôji Iida.

This captivatingly eccentric, splendidly slapsticky Japanese Horror comedy has Noodles of charm and refreshingly off-kilter absurdity! Battle Heater: Kotatsu remains an absolute must-see for any that appreciate subversive wit along with their exultant WTFuckery!!! The lively performances, vivid practical FX and Iida's nimble filmmaking proved wholly irresistible! I enjoyed it that much more knowing nothing about the film beforehand, and, happily, understood even less once it had finished! I only wish more genre films would confound me so deliciously! There are a dazzling number of inventive, crisply edited set-pieces that lend Battle Heater: Kotatsu a toothsomely macabre Buster Keaton quality. The fascinatingly wayward inhabitants of Kirin Court are a compellingly strange lot, and one might have to dig a little deeper to discover a monster more enjoyably whimsical than an evilly sentient, insatiably man-eating, hungrily kilowatt sucking Kotatsu (heated table).