'The Devil Outside' (2018) - Andrew Hulme.

A rather pleasantly twisted (second) coming of rage drama about an innocent teenage boy, Robert (Noah Carson) who has his angsty sexual awakening profoundly aggravated by the increasing sense of emotional isolation he experiences as the sole disbelieving member of a strict Christian community. While deliberately paced, Andrew Hulme's never less than intriguing 'The Devil Outside' is a handsomely shot, oppressively bleak theological thriller that is uncomfortably credible, due in no small part to the strong cast's committed performances. Hulme's cogent, searingly angry text, roils with fervid religious motifs, delivering some palpably unsettling sequences, with off-key folk horror undertones that sinisterly suggests the increasingly destructive intervention of some malign evil! An intelligent, visually engaging examination of religious dogma and madness, this finely wrought independent British feature is clearly an impassioned work from talented writer/director, Andrew Hulme. The oblique tone, and psychological horror tropes are robustly anchored by the demonstratively human elements. 'The Devil Outside' comes highly recommended, and disturbingly proves that man's secular demons are all too often devastatingly real.

 

 

'The Intruder' (1962) - Roger Corman.

A sinisterly smooth, pristinely white-suited, William Shatner is magnetically malign as silver tongued hatemonger, Adam Cramer in maestro, Roger Corman's starkly powerful desegregation drama 'The Intruder' (1962). This incendiary feature remains a compelling, earnest, frequently upsetting work, with vivid performances, a stirring text, and a truly unforgettable climax, Corman's stark, agitprop masterpiece 'The Intruder' has lost none of its devastating impact, a timeless monochrome masterpiece whose impassioned message, sadly, is all too relevant to this very day!

 

 

 'Waltz of the Toreadors' (1962) - John Guillermin.

This saucy, appetizingly frothy, superbly executed period farce finds comedy chameleon, Peter Sellers on tremendously engaging form as ageing cocksman, General Fitzjohn, this lugubrious Lothario's persistently thwarted attempts to finally bed the great love of his life, Ghislaine (Dany Robin) after a frustratingly protracted, 17 year courtship still provides a chucklesome wealth of tastefully rendered ribaldry! John Guillermin's joyous 'Waltz of the Toreadors' is blessed with a truly dynamite cast, with exquisite work from, Cyril Cusack, Margaret Leighton, and, Dany Robin, an effervescent text, and, perhaps, it might also be argued that, John Guillermin's charming, fabulously frolicsome farce showcases one of, Peter Sellers more meticulously crafted comedy creations.

 

 

'Cold Eyes of Fear' (1971) - Enzo G. Castellari.

Maestro, Enzo G. Castellari's paranoid,darkly erotic, razor-edged Giallo has a stridently sinister, Ennio Morricone score, a raw, genuinely disturbing turn from a masterful, Frank Wolff, and contrary to the many naysayers, Castellari's stark claustrophobic thriller has much more to offer than, Gianni 'Sartana' Garko's strangely voluminous hair! And hack writers look out!!!! as vivacious beauty, Giovanna Ralli's steely strumpet sure 'aint got no heart of gold! The increasingly volatile, tripwire taut terror trip, 'Cold Eyes of Fear' excitingly remains an exemplary 'home-invasion' Giallo, the electric atmosphere positively seethes with a barely restrained bellicosity!

 

 

'Stone Cold II : Heart of Stone' (1996)- Philippe Mora.

What could be more desirable than lantern jawed, Brian Bosworth's Alpha-mongous 80s cult classic 'Stone Cold'?; well, outside of a bigger Johnson, and someone to appreciate it, frankly, very little springs to mind, but a belated, bizarrely undervalued sequel is a pretty gnarly start! Amiable ex-cop, Joe Elkhart (Brian Bosworth) is 'Back in Business', fatefully drawn into the murderous midst of an increasingly volatile undercover operation by close friend, Tony (Joe Torry), a slick cop whose brash, cavalier methodology precariously puts them both, dead bang in the exceedingly cross hairs of double-dealing killer cop, Emery Ryker (Brion James). 

The budgetary constraints preclude any grandiose Lethal Weaponoid pyrotechnics, but gifted filmmaker, Philippe 'Howling II' Mora orchestrates a riotously entertaining PM Entertainment-style Buddy-Cop shoot 'em up that tantalizingly ticks many of the more agreeably bellicose B-Movie boxes! The immaculate screen villainy of, Brion James as corrupt, drug peddling cop, Ryker, and the charismatic, Joe Torry do much to enliven the familiar shenanigans, with the playful badinage betwixt affable lug, Bosworth, and perma-glib, Torry providing some primo Dude-lord quipage! Fans of the classic Billy Blanks/Roddy Piper punch-fighter 'Back in Action' should definitely give, Philippe Mora's jocular actioner 'Stone Cold II : Heart of Stone' a shot.

 

 

'Skin Trade' (2014) - Ekachai Uekrongtham. 

The bellicose, full throttle fight-fest 'Skin Trade' stars towering, ruggedly handsome action icon, Dolph Lundgren, the strapping, steely-eyed storm bringer has little trouble filling the oversized, skell-crushing boots of Teflon tough cop, Nick Cassidy, whose overwhelming grief over the sudden loss of his loving wife, Rosa (Tasya Teles) turns him rogue revenger, righteously slaughtering all the scum and villainy working for girl trafficking Serbian gangster, Viktor Dravik (Ron Perlman). The skinny Minnie plot providing the meagre skeleton for the fleet-fisted narrative's bulkier substances, namely an explosively power packed preponderance of hypertrophically muscular action scenes, the bullet-shredded mayhem culminating in a bravura display of adrenalized martial arts insanity!

Ekachai 'Beautiful Boxer' Uekrongtham's ably orchestrates some visceral confrontations in his frequently exhilarating fight-fest 'Skin Trade', this relentlessly rib cracking, bone breaking bonanza is electrified by three of the hardiest head knockers in the business, a triumphant triple threat, with Dolph Lundgren, Michael Jai White, and brutally balletic Muay Thai legend, Tony Jaa offering the sordid sex traffickers no quarter! This tibia trashing trio really delivers the goods, with the savage showdown between the preternaturally agile, Tony Jaa and heroically hard-hitting, Dolph Lundgren providing a memorably mayhemic display of killer Kung Fu wizardry! While the formulaic text is stolid, rather than subtle, the plentiful punch ups, and committed performances of these charismatic action stars are exemplary! 

 

 

 

'Arna's Children' (2004) - Juliano Mer Khamis.

Raw, candid, uncompromising, and undeniably beautiful, the painfully intimate 'Arna's Children' is one of the more visceral, soul-wrenching documentaries I have had the pleasure to see in quite some time. One cannot fail to be enormously moved by the indomitable spirit, kindness, and boundless courage of this truly extraordinary woman's profound love for these beleaguered Palestinian children. Absolutely ESSENTIAL viewing, with indelible imagery, and crystalline moments of exquisite joy, this bare-bones DVD/DVD-R is an insult for such a profound work of non-fiction cinema. There is no doubt in my mind that 'Arna's Children' is imbued with the rare galvanizing intensity to rouse the more heartful individual to action. While blunt, cruel, occasionally brutal, and frequently shocking, this stark, unabashedly humanist document not only grimly captures the unconscionable savagery of an unthinking horde, but upliftingly reveals how the selfless actions of just one exceptional individual can resist the ugliness of a multitude. On a more personal level, the fact that the director, Juliano, was Arna's son made his earnest film that much more poignant. Go. Watch. Now!!!!