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| ALUCARDA (1978) |
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| Juan López Moctezuma's atmospheric tale of demonic possession has the perfect amount of nudity, blood and burning nuns. Well acted by all, but it's Tina Romero's amazingly enthusiastic performance as Alucarda with her passionate rants and screams that make this gem deliriously addictive. JV |
| THE BIG COMBO (1955) |
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"Book me, small change." Sex, obsesssion, revenge,
hearing loss. One of the finest film noirs of the rapidly winding
down cycle, this latecomer from Joseph H. Lewis is sordid yet
elegant. Shot by the great John Alton whose photography describes a
universe of dead blacks and gray motivations. VJ
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| BIG GUNS (1973) |
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| Excellent action movie from Duccio Tessari. A wronged Alain Delon systematically eliminates the mob bosses who killed his wife and kid. Richard Conte and Anton Diffring are two of his fearful targets. This is top ten revenge movie material. JV |
| BLAZING MAGNUM (1976) |
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An overlooked classic. Alberto de Martino's crime/revenge/mystery thriller holds up after multiple viewings because of good casting, an interesting plot, awesome music, and one of the greatest car chases ever. The best Stuart Whitman movie of all time. Highly recommended. VJ |
| BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (1964) |
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| A masked killer is knocking off fashion models in Mario Bava's stylish and influential giallo. Between Bava's colorful lighting and Carlo Rustichelli's seductive score, the body count has never been more beautiful. JV |
| BLOOD SPATTERED BRIDE (1974) |
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| Elegantly twisted sex n'horror flick from Spain. Despite the use of a body double for the really cute Maribel Martin, this dreamy, beautifully-photographed wallow in debauchery gets better every time I see it. VJ |
| BRANDED TO KILL (1967) |
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| With inventive framing and stunning black & white cinematography and masterful use of lighting, Seijun Sukuzi turns a simple and absurd script into a genre masterwork. JV |
| DANGER: DIABOLIK (1968) |
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Super cool super villain super groovy pop art action
from the great Mario Bava. JV
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| DARK KNIGHT (2008) |
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| DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS (1971) |
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Much more than a simple vampire tale, Daughters of
Darkness weaves a potent spell of ennui, like a nightmare never
quite shaken off. It finds the dark heart of the innocent, exposing
it to the half-light of the coming dawn. Delphine Seyrig was never
more beautiful as she manipulates a honeymoon couple towards their
inexorable end. As elegant and fascinating as a spreading pool of
blood, it is an undeniable classic. VJ
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| DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE (1994) |
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"I’d give my life to be dead."
Michele Soavi's
first film
after breaking away from Dario Argento is probably the best
horror film of
the decade -
a
visually
stunning and complex meditation on love and death
with lots of
macabre humor and gore thrown in for good
measure.
A must see. JV
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| ELEMENT OF CRIME (1984) |
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Comprised of
one brilliant abstract image after another, Lars Von Trier's
hypnotic and
intentionally illogical trip through a bleak
nightmare is totally fascinating viewing. A
must see unless you are a donkey or horse lover. JV
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| FOR YOUR YOUR HEIGHT ONLY (1979) |
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| Pint-sized Filipino Secret Agent 00 (Weng Weng) uses a spent umbrella gun to float from a high rise into Atrocity infamy. Packed with whacky, dwarf sized spy gadgets that look astonishingly like regular household objects they happened to have on-hand (a deadly pen, a boater hat radio and a magical Filipino man-ring that somehow detects poison) and loads of unintentionally hilarious action sequences, this is truly a rare gem that delivers on so many levels -- despite the high expectations conjured by the title alone. The only thing missing was a scene where the constantly grinning Pilifino dwarf-spy walks toward the camera muttering “Dieter, Dieter, Dieter!” DT |
| HICKEY AND BOGGS (1972) |
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| Overlooked gritty existential crime movie with Bill Cosby and Robert Culp as destitute private eyes. Walter Hill's cynical script is good but it's Culp's restrained and remarkably self assured direction that makes it such great viewing. JV |
| IMPULSE (1974) |
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| "Hey, watch it! What do you think you do, own the place? Fat... people like you oughta be ground up... and made into dog food!" That is just one shatagasmic moment in a movie shat full of them. This is 100% pure shat, a wonderfully bad little gem of mild shatacular sleaze that's nothing without his deliriously shataliscious performance. Check it out - you'll shat yourself. JV |
| ISLAND OF DEATH (1975) |
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| For the first 10 minutes, Island of Death appears to be a romantic film about a young couple vacationing on a small Greek island. Shortly after – to our delight -- it spirals into a no-holds barred murder-fest with a non-discriminatory list of victims, and pleasant little surprises around every turn. You can’t call yourself an Atrocian until you’ve seen this one – twice! So this is what it sounds like when goats cry? DT |
| KILL BABY KILL aka OPERAZIONE PAURA (1966) |
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Giacomo
Rossi-Stuart plays a doctor sent to a remote
village to investigate some mysterious deaths the locals attribute
to the supernatural. Luckily they're right! Mario Bava's
genuinely
creepy gothic masterpiece is engrossing in
story and
beautiful
in set and location. This
haunting and
often surreal ghost story is not to be missed.
JV
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| LADY TERMINATOR (1988) |
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| When a gorgeous anthropologist is possessed by the spirit of an ancient sea witch, she takes us on a killing spree that travels quickly through every 80’s cliché imaginable. Discos, spandex, big hair – you name it. With enough gratuitous nudity and pointless violence to please even the most jaded Atrocian, LT culminates in one of the best mullet and tank filled gun battles in the history of film. Some say this Indonesian film is a ‘rip-off’ of Terminator, I prefer the term ‘homage’. DT |
| MANHUNT (1972) |
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| Genre great Fernando Di Leo turns out one of the best Italian action/revenge movies ever. Mario Adorf's frantic performance is legend. More of the dream cast includes Henry Silva, Woody Strode, Luciano Puluzzi, Adolfo Celi, Cyril Cusack and Sylva Koscina. Recommended with extreme prejudice. JV |
