'Deviation' (1971) - José Ramón Larraz as J.R. Larrath.

Larraz proved himself remarkably adept at creating macabre, off-beat, evocatively shot erotic psychodramas, deservedly lauded for his genuinely unsettling mini-masterpiece 'Symptoms'. The prodigiously gifted Iberian genre filmmaker creates an equally skewed vibe with his dope-raddled, spectacularly smutty beatnik boff-fest 'Deviation'. Following an late night automotive mishap, a blandly bickering couple are offered succour in a distinctly doomy domicile by openly hedonistic, morbidly oversexed taxidermist, Julian (Karl Lanchbury) and his erotic con-conspirator, the strikingly sinister strumpet, Rebecca (Sibyla Gray).

Shaken by the accident, the querulous couple swiftly discover that their horny hosts are an unusually gregarious pair, uninhibitedly holding wild, chemically-enhanced sex orgies within their eerily isolated mansion. Wonderfully warped, and wickedly lascivious in equal measure, Larraz's deliciously degenerated, off-kilter exploitation gem is ripe for rediscovery. Not without missteps, the goofy hippy patios is hilarious, and there's rather more soft-core shunt than grue, but, Larraz is an estimable, uniquely stylish perpetrator of far out fleshly phantasmagoria, and 'Deviation' remains a tantalizingly lurid trip into THC-soaked 70s saturnalia.

 

 


 

 

'The Night Flier' (1997)  - Mark Pavia.

'Why do all the weird one's want to fly at night?'

Mark Pavia's engaging, exhilaratingly gory, Stephen King adaptation takes flight from the very first outstandingly grisly interlude! Cynical, sleazy tabloid hack, Richard Dees (Miguel Ferrer)somewhat reluctantly investigates the increasingly gruesome slayings of some eerily elusive, perversely plasma pilfering pilot,Dwight Renfield (Michael H. Moss). Relentlessly hunting this broody bloodsucker draws memorably misanthropic protagonist, Dees ever deeper into his very own heart of darkness! Why the well-made, thrillingly splattery 'The Night Flier' should be so frequently overlooked remains entirely baffling to me!!??? 

Simply put, 'The Night Flier' is one hellaciously good, ragu-slathered 90s horror film! While the fine cast's performances are uniformly excellent, with a notably bravura turn from powerhouse, Ferrer, the true stars of the criminally under seen 'The Night Flier' are splatter impresarios KNB's spectacular practical SPFX. While I am aware that, Pavia's 'The Night Flier' maintains a rabid cult following, I still feel that a great many splatter mad hatters have yet to appreciate the dark majesty of airborne parasite, Dwight Renfield. 

'Never a chore, 'The Night Flier' is fuelled with enough audacious gore to make any serious horror fan's heart soar!' - Weirdlingwolf. 

 

 

    
 

 

 'One Last Dance' (2006) – Max Makowski.

With its quirky text, flamboyant characters, gaudy outbursts of comic book violence, Makowski's glib, neo-Noirish, prodigiously hip gangster thriller is a worthy watch for lovers of stylised, off-beat Asian thrill-spillage. The notably fine cast includes, Francis Ng and HK icon, Ti lung, supported by a no less credible ensemble of engagingly energetic younger actors. While, Makowski clearly has a flair for eye-popping visuals I found the directors aggressive 'style' a little jarring at first, but it wasn't long before I became wholly engrossed in this eccentric existential hitman thriller. The flavoursome dialogue occasionally had a vividly Jim Jarmusch quality that provided additional interest, and I believe that another viewing will, perhaps, prove more seamless than the first. On a personal level, I didn't feel that, Harvey Keitel's conspicuous cameo did much more than draw attention to itself, but, the witheringly cool, Francis Ng delivers a fascinatingly nuenced performance as cerebral contract killer T. 

 

 

 

'Ransom' (1975) – Casper Wrede.

Arguably one of the swarthy megastar's less documented performances, regarded by some as a lesser work in Mr. Connery's estimable cannon of theatrical excellence. Capable director, Casper Wrede's tremendously exciting, rivet-tight, jet streamed skyjack thriller 'Ransom' remains robustly written, high-wire taut, top flight 70s entertainment. Notoriously hard-line head of security, Nils Tahlvik (Sean Connery) zero tolerance approach to hostage negotiation, and his stubborn unwillingness to acquiesce to the terrorists demands uncomfortably makes him a marked man! 

A dynamic hero, bullheaded, Tahlvik faces censure from his superiors, and copes with the palpable threat of twitchy, well-organised, heavily armed hijackers with a steely resolve. Pacy, and excitingly dramatized, Ransom concludes deftly with a satisfying twist! Casper Wrede's incendiary action/thriller 'Ransom' has aged remarkably well, having compelling performances, muscular action, fine photography by legendary D.O.P, Sven Nykvist, and another exemplary score by maestro, Jerry Goldsmith. The beautifully restored Network Blu-ray should deservedly draw more attention to this explosive, nerve-terrorizing Hostage thriller.

 

 

'Urotsukidoji' - Legend of The Overfiend' (1989) aka Chôjin densetsu Urotsukidôji – Hideki Takayama.

I can still vividly recall the very first time I saw, Takayama's deliriously devilish, dayglow demented, fiendishly fabulous flesh flayer on my then greatly prized Big Box Manga VHS. This preternaturally perverse, polymorphously weird, wickedly warped anime masterpiece proved to be quite the mesmerisingly malevolent melon twister!!! The splatter-headed, dementedly demon-seeded 'Urotsukidoji' - Legend of The Overfiend' did much to pervert many impressionable young minds, Hideki Takayama's gloriously unfiltered phantasmagoria demonstratively galvanizing my own rabid interest in extreme Asian cinema/manga!!!

 

 

 

'Curtains' (1983) – Richard Ciupka.

The authoritative character actor, John Vernon utilizes his menacing persona to striking effect in his barnstorming, deliciously Machiavellian persona of, John Stryker. The tyrannical director goes about casting his latest production in a singularly charismatic, wholly unethical fashion! The bizarre approach of convincing his leading lady, Samantha Sherwood (Samantha Eggar) to have herself committed in order to better research her comeback role yields unforeseen results! The amusingly tweaked Canadian shocker's unpredictable narrative, becoming increasingly outlandish as the evilly enigmatic, Stryker continues his esoteric auditions within this snowbound isolated country estate. 

Matters soon mount with a maniacal intensity after, Samantha's arrival, having orchestrated her unrehearsed escape from the psychiatric ward. Richard Ciupka's surrealistic slasher maintains a delightful eccentricity, there's a compelling strangeness to its flamboyant theatricality that sporadically distances 'Curtains' from being a generic run-of-the-blood-spill splatter that don't matter. Enlivened by the bravura performances of Eggar and Vernon, the increasingly sinister events that befall these tormented theatrical artistes still makes for exquisitely skewed entertainment. 'Curtains' remains one of the 80s more appealingly mental horror films, having a luridly loopy atmosphere all of its very own!

'For this tyrannically terrorized troupe of highly strung Thespians the final curtain will be fatal!' - Weirdlingwolf.