Action USA (1989)

Discovered, restored and released by Alamo Drafthouse, Action USA is a late 1980s low budget stunt fest that screened as part of this year’s Monster Fest. While not matching the giddy heights of a previous Drafthouse hidden VHS gem like Miami Connection, this is still a fun ride. Right from the opening scene of a […]

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 […]

Amarcord (1973)

I really became swept up in Amarcord’s (1973) approach to depicting a place, a time, a memory. Directed by Federico Fellini, and while not strictly autobiographical, the film is based on his memories growing up, set in the village of Borgo San Giulano during the 1930s and Benito Mussolini’s Fascism. Rather than having one character […]

Defending Your Life (1991)

This might be a generalisation, but it felt like the late-1980s/early-1990s were all about high concept comedies, usually involving time travel, reincarnation, body swapping, and the afterlife. I remember the video cover for the Albert Brooks film, Defending Your Life (1991), but watching it had eluded me until the Albert Brooks collection on the Criterion […]

The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)

All I really knew about Peter Weir’s first film The Cars That Ate Paris (1974) was its memorable title and the iconic image of the VW bug covered in spikes, which was used a lot in the advertising that sold it as a genre horror film (and is even referenced in Mad Max: Fury Road). […]