Sharky’s Machine (1981)

Sharky’s Machine (1981) has a great opening sequence of Burt Reynolds looking gruff, striding through fog on a train track to the sounds of Randy Crawford’s ‘Street Life’ (later used on the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown). Directed by Reynolds himself, this is adapted from a William Diehl novel and works as a 1980s […]

Cat Chaser (1989)

Cat Chaser (1989) is an adaptation of an Elmore Leonard novel and is directed by Abel Ferrara. However, it is a film that he disowns and sits low in critical reflections of his filmography. From interviews I’ve read (the Hidden Films article about it is insightful), it was a troubled production with stars Peter Weller […]

Fright Night (1985)

I’ve always loved Fright Night (1985) ever since seeing the iconic poster on video shelves gave me the heebie jeebies as a kid. I have a distinct memory of seeing a scene of it on TV when I was young and generally petrified of any horror movie – when Charlie Brewster (William Ragsdale) attempts to […]

The House By The Cemetery (1981)

On the night of Halloween, I intended to finish Lucio Fulci’s ‘Gates of Hell’ trilogy by watching the final film, The House By The Cemetery (1981; Quella villa accanto al cimitero). I have to agree with the consensus out there that it’s the weakest of the trilogy; I still enjoyed watching it however. It’s basically […]

Next Of Kin (1982)

Not to be confused with the Patrick Swayze action flick, Next Of Kin (1982) is an underrated Australian horror thriller, which has been championed as a classic by Quentin Tarantino in his appearance in Not Quite Hollywood, the documentary about “Ozploitation” reappraising Australian of the 1970s and 1980s, and the soundtrack is renown in some […]