Horror Hotel Cinema - The Prowler/Rosemary's Killer (1981)

Just look at that one-sheet....

I first came across THE PROWLER when I was a little kid. I remember seeing this one-sheet, (in VHS cover form) in our local video store, and being thoroughly freaked out by it. Of course, I was around 7 or 8 and so didn't see the actual film till later....much later as it happens.

I finally got my bloody mitts on this underrated slasher sometime around 2009, and it proved worth the wait for a number of reasons. The first and foremost being the effects work by none other than Tom Savini. The kills in this thing are among the most brutal of the slasher's golden era, and still hold up today as some prime nasty shit. Its a violent little bitch of a film, folks.

The second reason to give this film some eye-time is the killer himself. He's a fearsome looking bastard with his WWII fatigues and his prediliction for sharp objects.

The third, is the films atmosphere. It's a genuinely creepy little movie that, while slow in parts, has a real 80's flavor to it that's hard to resist.

Anyway, you came here not to read, but to view. So I'll shut the fuck up, and you can kick back and enjoy...have fun...

Review : Ghost Rider - Spirit of Vengeance (2012)

 

 

Directors:

Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Writers:

Scott M. Gimple (screenplay), Seth Hoffman (screenplay), and 2 more credits »

Stars:

Nicolas Cage, Ciarán Hinds and Idris Elba

As Johnny Blaze hides out in Eastern Europe, he is called upon to stop the devil, who is trying to take human form.

I have to be honest with you folks, I never gave a rats ass about the original GHOST RIDER adaptation, either way. I enjoyed it as a popcorn, intellect-free escapist jaunt, but it never left any great effect for good or ill in my ole' bonce.

Before seeing it, the closest I'd come to this iconic character was listening to, (and loving), the song GHOST RIDER by minimalist drone-rock pioneers, SUICIDE. He sounded like a cool cat in that song, man, and if the visuals of the first film were anything to go by, he most likely was a cool cat. The characters visage is just about as iconic and bad-ass as it gets, and I'm assuming that he's a character who lends himself to the more heavy-metal friendly comic-reading audience. His origin is pretty fuckin ace too, and I hope one day to look into the character more deeply; but for now, I'm gonna have to review this sequel to his first cinematic foray as a plain old-fashioned film-fan.

I've heard the complaints leveled at the original movie, and the certain timidity it displayed, even when in comparison to other super-hero movies. It did feel lacking, even as a clueless popcorn muncher, I have to admit. Good news, then. The sequel goes some way to rectifying this problem.

Review : Hobo with a Shotgun ( 2011 )

When I grow up I wanna be a HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN...

A wandering hobo hops off a train and enters Fuck City, a wretched hive of scum and villainy if ever there was one. Surrounded by violence, rape and corruption, our hobo hero purchases a shotgun, and sets about dispensing his own brand of justice..

Director and co-writer, Jason Eisener is one to watch closely. He knocks it out the park. If your looking for a bat shit crazy, gory as hell, utterly offensive and hilarious exploitation flick, look no further. HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN is the real deal, folks. Its a perfect storm of bad taste, brilliant performances and sheer lunacy that's irresistible to anyone with a taste for grindhouse cinema. From what I gather, it went down a storm at Cannes Film Festival, and its easy to see why. There will be those who find it unconscionable, of course, in fact certain scenes are tailor made to upset and offend the more conservative viewer, but why the hell are you guys watching anyway?! GONE WITH THE WIND may be more to your taste.

Grindhouse is a tough sub-genre to get right. Rodriquez's MACHETE pulled it off with aplomb last year, (Tarantino showed us how to fuck it up royally with DEATH PROOF in the not too distant past), but with HOBO its filthy beauty is taken to a whole new level. Its visionary in its abandon.

In HOBO, the legendary Rutger Hauer, is afforded a long overdue lead role. For genre fans this in itself is all sorts of brilliant. And as the titular pissed off hobo, he's a revelation. You'll care for him, feel his pain and sympathise with his plight. Hes a force for good. A simple man who just ain't taking the worlds shit anymore. His performance alone is reason enough to see this film. So often in the horror genre, especially when dealing with the dirge Hollywood churns out, your left feeling cold by the characters lack of depth, but with Hauer spitting out endlessly quotable dialogue while righteously slaughtering all comers. Your left in awe. How often do you enter an exploitation flick expecting to have tears in your eyes? Never, that's how fucking often! With HOBO you may well shed a few for the big mans plight. Somebody just buy the guy a fucking lawnmower already!
The characters Hauer's hobo trades bullets and blood with are a cavalcade of the weird and wonderful. From over the top 80's disco gangsters, a prostitute with a heart of gold, (and some very fresh death dealing techniques), to best of all, 'The Plague'; two armor clad hired assassins who pretty much defy description. The larger than life characters act as a perfect balance to Hauer's totally convincing lead. A film this excessive could easily spin wildly out of control, but thanks to Eisener savvy direction and Hauer's utter devotion to his heroic hobo, it never happens.Together they keep the whole wild trip just as grounded as this sort of film needs to be.

What you have here is a near perfect marriage of great writing, searing acting and brilliant directing. And HOBO looks incredible. Bordering at times on psychedelic. Its world is a neon lit hellscape where nothing is sacred and life is cheap, and it oozes sleaze. And yet there's moments of real heart. A simple written note left by the bedside speaks of real warmth.
As to the writing, its effortlessly funny and cool with it. Razor sharp, filthy and often poignant. Look to the scene where 'The Hobo' stands over all the newborn infants in a maternity ward, and waxes lyrical about what life will have in store for them. It'll raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Its instantly iconic and damn near poetic.

I could rant on for hours about the brilliant cinematography, totally authentic pulse pounding soundtrack, awesome levels of gore and depravity on display, and how hilarious the whole thing is, but I'm not going to. You know why? Because its a film with Rutger Hauer playing a hobo with a shotgun. And that's really all you need to know....

9.5 Hungover Hobo's out of 10