Fascination (1979)

There’s something prototypical about a Jean Rollin film, in that it can be classified as what people would think of when it comes to ‘Euro-horror’ (nude women, vampires, castles). And yet, there’s something distinct, which probably helps when you’ve seen a few other 1970s exploitation movies. That there’s something slow and atmospheric, which feels very […]

Kaithi (2019)

Hearing that the Indian Tamil-language flick Kaithi (2019) was a cross between Assault On Precinct 13 and The Wages Of Fear was enough to hook me into searching it out. What I found was something that is reminiscent of both those films, but was also pitched between a Johnnie To/Milky Way film (strong premise, tense […]

Peking Opera Blues (1986)

Peking Opera Blues (1986) is a rollicking action-adventure comedy-drama, critically regarded as one of the best Hong Kong movies from the 1980s. In the first ten to fifteen minutes, the film might feel overwhelming with all of the characters who are introduced and establishing the 1910s socio-political atmosphere in China. As Peking Opera Blues proceeds, […]

Habit (1995)

First time I heard about Larry Fessenden’s Habit (1995) was through a glowing Roger Ebert review I remember reading. As a low budget indie with zero stars, it never received an Australian cinema release, or even a video release, or possibly I just missed out since I was in high school. There’s an indie movie […]

Matador (1986)

Pedro Almodovar’s film, Matador, has a provocative opening salvo, with the character of Diego Montes (Nacho Martinez) sitting alone at home, masturbating in a chair to clips of murder and death scenes from slashers and giallo thrillers (I was delighted to recognise the Jess Franco film, Bloody Moon, in the mix). Shifting from this conflation of auto-erotic […]