The Cat ‘O Nine Tails (1971)

Acquainting myself slowly with Dario Argento’s ‘animal’ giallo trilogy (because of the animals named in the title) and I had heard The Cat ‘O Nine Tails (1971; Il gatto a nove code) wasn’t as good as the first of the trilogy, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage. This may be true, and apparently it is […]

Thief Of Hearts (1984)

If a movie could only be judged on its Harold Faltermeyer soundtrack and its opening typeface, Thief Of Hearts (1984) would be a classic. However it is one Bruckheimer/Simpson production that isn’t really remembered, maybe because it is a soapy and trashy (wait, what Bruckheimer/Simpson production isn’t?). It’s about a hunky thief played by Scarface’s […]

Blood And Black Lace (1964)

Continuing the exploration of Italian director Mario Bava’s films, I watched Blood and Black Lace (1964), which really impressed upon me how creepy red mannequins are. A stylish murder mystery set in a fashion house where models are killed one by one. The use of bold colours, wind effects and shadows is pretty great, definitely […]

The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970)

The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970; L’uccello dalle piume di cristallo) is Dario Argento’s first film as a director and one of the first examples of the giallo genre (if the info on the back of the Blu-Ray box is correct). This was an entertaining mystery thriller with Hitchcock and Blow Up as clear […]

The Fourth Man (1983)

I realised I’d never seen any pre-Hollywood Paul Verhoeven Dutch movies so I sat down with The Fourth Man (1983), which is a pretty nutty erotic thriller in the post-Hitchcock mould. Better known to me as the go-to actor for European dodgy guys in American movies like No Mercy and The Fugitive, Jeroen Krabbé plays […]