Death File 2 (1989) – Susumu Saegusa (Kaoru Adachi).

Adachi's gonzo, mondo-morbid shockumentary series continues with a palpable upscale in explicit scenes of grisly human misfortune. Necro-addicts will enjoy multifarious examples of human physiognomy crudely decimated by explosives, gory murder scenes, bodies incinerated by fire, and horribly pulverised by all manner of monstrously death-dealing vehicles. Thrillingly gruesome content for all those with a salacious interest in human anatomy, namely its luridly crimson-hued contents displayed for all to see! With pun MASSIVELY intended, it is a no-brainer to suggest, the prodigiously gore-blasted Death File 2 provides more than enough sordidly corporeal material to momentarily distract one from the increasing banalities of modern life. Do I think there is something sick about watching this type of blithely gratuitous corpse-sploitation? Absolutely not, humans are innately curious beasts, and there is nothing quite so fascinating as death in all its kaleidoscopically brutalised forms. Do I appreciate the elements that feature animal cruelty? No, I manifestly did not; people mostly suck, while animals are majestic beings. Aye! I'm being a mite fanciful there, but animals demonstratively deserve all the rich bounties of the earth far more than we do. The compellingly explicit Death File 2 remains an intense, frequently bloody compendium of morbidly titillating snuff-gore grotesquery! Non-necro elements include some gynaecological enchilada, a charming indigenous wedding ceremony, and the miserable realities of cruelly impoverished children forced to eke out a meagre existence upon a toxic city landfill.

 Ensuring Your Place in Hell II (2021) -

'The isolated head even reacts to light???!!!'

I thought I would be less anal and deliberately bypass Ensuring Your Place in Hell I, and get straight to hell itself with the magnificently mondo-stuffed Bootleg bonkers sequel. This enjoyably haphazard product presents four prurient parts crudely stuffed into one hole, no, excuse I, four prurient parts that make up a whole lotta gorily grotty what-not. Part 1. An Exorcist in Turkey. This features the best Non-SAG performance of a make-up free zombie. I am led to believe the singy-voiced fellow is shrilly reading aloud from the prohibited Book of Enoch, and should therefore be regarded as being altogether suspect. Part 2. Lurid crime footage from the Wonderland murders crime scene. Quite graphic. DO NOT play the take a drink whenever the cops say 'there's evidence of ransacking!', as you will very soon get rather tiddly. Part 3. The infamous, and intolerably fantabulous B/W 40s Soviet piece 'Experiments in The Revival of Organisms'. I hope to make violent love with great power to this some day. Part 4. High Impact Hand Safety. I foresee a rabid A/V cult forming over this one. Includes splashy scenes of gloriously cheapnis gore, graphically recreating especially grisly workplace accidents.

 Lost Command aka Les Centurions.(1965) – Mark Robson.

This thrilling war history is set during, and following a ferociously bloody, hard-fought battle in French Indochina between hard-line communist Viet Mihn troops and a greatly beleaguered, vastly depleted outfit of French Paratroopers. Not only does Lost Command have an especially capable cast of international icons, it is excitingly photographed by legendary D.O.P Robert Surtees, and features a rousing score by the no less accomplished artist Franz Waxman. With rousing action, and compellingly gritty drama, Lost Command has garnered deserved plaudits for its unfiltered, explosive retelling of the chaotic French colonial wars in French Indochina and Algeria; a morally, and politically complex arena of war that is infrequently examined in non-documental works of cinema. Without sounding trite, the continued interest in Robson's intense military actioner Lost Command may not exclusively be in its uncommon subject matter, but in the robust dramatic portrayals of Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, Claudia Cardinale, George Seagal, Antony Quinn, and the always delightful character actor Gregoire Aslan. I sincerely believe, such is the films quality, those without any notable interest over the singularly grim decisions made within the raging crucible of war would still find enormous value in the balanced, sophisticated, gripping, far from Gung ho Military thriller Lost Command. My overview is somewhat unbiased, since I am a lifelong fanboy of Alain Delon, but I certainly won't be the only one who has happily noted, the witheringly handsome Mr. Delon never once phoned it in, and he manifestly does NOT do so here!!!! Not for the first time, I am struck by Quinn's appealing vitality, his roughly hewn Colonel Raspeguy remains a steely warrior that commands respect. In closing, Euro-cult fans will no doubt appreciate the swarthy presence of Aldo Sambrell.

 Reise Nach Agatis aka Voyage To Agatis. (2010) – Marian Dora.

Marian Dora graphically presents another hellish instalment from NROGG, (New Rage of German Gore-blasting)exploring the grisly depredations forced upon a nubile Fräulein while visiting a barren Greek island. I can't help but wonder if the brutalist Reise Nach Agatis isn't refracting Hellenic sleaze opus Island of Death? Sun, sea, sex, and sadism, just what the Herr Doktor ordered! I enjoyed this at extremely high volume, all the better to experience the feral screams of pain, others may wish to experience Reise Nach Agatis at a less shrill level. If this vicious monstrosity had been unleashed during the UK's Video Nasty furore, the unleavened savagery herein would have given Mary Whitehouse a legitimate cause for concern! With much of the unbridled cruelty taking place upon a luxury boat, some viewer's thoughts may inevitably lead to famed Polanksi classic Knife in The Water. It's intelligent, gruesome, and sharply edited, maintaining a consistently queasy aura of threat, right until its absolutely agonisingly OTT climax. I believe the moral of the tale is that, should ever a porcine German Lecher wish to stick his fingers in your sit upon, it might be best if y'all just let him get on with it!

 And Your Bird Can Sing (2018) – Sho Miyake.

This lively, ethanol-spiked drama presents three friends who fatefully become amorously love- triangled during a sultry, happy-go-lucky, increasingly boozy summer. As an eternally melancholic loner, I maintain an especial fondness for romantic drama, since it examines an experience I have had little success with. I remain eternally on the outside, looking in, making me an ideal, somewhat relentless consumer of cinema. While And Your Bird Can Sing's plot covers familiar territory, it does so with considerable charm, and the amiable lovestruck protagonists proved wholly engaging. A great many films deal with the chilling existential angst of youthful vitality slipping inexorably into the turgid miasma of middle-age, and, thus far, the only viable momentary antidote is strong drink, opioids, and extreme heavy metal. I'm manifestly at the age when I can allow myself a wee bit of a nostalgic wallow in the blithely hedonistic, emotional, summer-singed tumult within Sho Miyake's frothy And Your Bird Can Sing. While the themes presented herein are universally relatable, my personal experiences were somewhat darker than these cats, but I certainly won't hold that against 'em! I very much enjoyed how the narrative allowed space for the trio's differing personality traits to be unhurriedly revealed, and there's some palpable truth in the film's blunt conclusion.

 Crickets aka Korogi. (2006) – Shinji Aoyama.

A delectably pale, rather singular woman (Kyoka Suzuki) cares for a mute, blind old man (Tsutomu Yamazaki) and Aoyama's contemplative, surrealist-adjacent, occasionally eerie drama examines the increasingly strange dynamic between this appealingly odd couple. Flawlessly acted, with stunning visuals, Crickets aka Korogi remains a gorgeous example of immersive, hugely atmospheric, low key cinema. A richly hued tone poem, with an exquisite score, providing film fans with a wealth of oblique wonders to contemplate upon, long after the credits have rolled; one may even recall some of the film's more beautifully languid moments days later. Korogi is a fascinatingly original presentation of the etheric ties that mysteriously bind people to one another, set against an exceptionally pretty rural backdrop. Both Kaoru and her aged blind companion prove themselves to be unusually compelling characters, while some of the narrative proved enigmatic, it remains elegiac, having an almost soothingly lilting quality, drawing you deeply into its mysteries like a dimly recalled childhood lullaby. There are some films that entertain, and others like the inspirational Crickets kinda makes you want to pick up a camera and make your own film!

 Dance of The Pumpkin Head aka Tanz Der Kurbiskopfe. (1997) – Andreas Bethmann.

According to folk legend, on Halloween night, the monstrous figure of Pumpkin Head will once again stalk the earth, lustfully seeking victims to sate his befouled hunger for blood! There is some valid argument to the suggestion that Bethmann's Dance of The Pumpkin Head remains one of the most criminally undervalued, pagan-themed homegrown Halloween slashers. Set around a haunted graveyard, this largely hand-held S.O.V slasher's pacing is a tad unhurried, and the technical aspects, are, as one might suspect, strictly D.I.Y, and yet, Dance of The Pumpkin Head proves itself to be an unexpectedly fun splatter-fest. Heroin is bad m'kay!!!!! but if y'all partake of of The 'Horse' in Pumpkin Head's patch, it rilly BAD m'kay!!!! The graphic gore FX are deliciously unsophisticated, a kind of anti-Bottin, syringes, and plentiful red sauce, Baden Powell would appreciate Bethmann's can-do, no-budget optimism, and I feel he would have awarded Dance of The Pumpkin Head a merit badge!There's a skeevey door-to-door salesman herein providing super-skeevoid animal antics, along with out-sized dildos, and it almost pains me to note that this never became a thing! The dissonant electronic score proves surprisingly excellent, recalling the work of Carlo Mario Corda, and his many fine contributions to Filmirage. Dance of The Pumpkin Head is a niche slasher, but I believe it deserves a bigger audience than it currently enjoys. Bethmann even creates a modest amount of cheapnis pathos over Stephan's remorse, and an especially choice-looking head squib!!!!