Mutant Hunt (1987)

Some films deserve to be seen in shitty video quality rather than remastered to pristine condition. Not to worry because the copy of Mutant Hunt (1987) on Tubi is basically a VHS rip with that wavy ‘dirty tapehead’ quality over the opening credits. This is low budget cyberpunk trash that I had a blast with, […]

Psycho II (1983)

Now this is a legacy sequel! Psycho II (1983) was actually a box office hit, from what I’ve read, and exists nicely at this cross-section of eras and influences: obviously 1960s Hitchcock, but also 1970s Network TV Mystery Of The Week and 1980s Slasher Sequels. While an unnecessary sequel to a genre-defining classic twenty years […]

Nowhere To Hide (1999)

Sometimes the algorithm works. I only came across Nowhere To Hide (1999) when I was looking up “Similar Movies to” The Wild Goose Lake (a Chinese neo-noir that was a recent fave) on Apple. Wong Kar-wai stylistic comparisons for a South Korean crime thriller, images of dudes punching each other drenched in the rain, I’m […]

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972)

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972) belongs undeniably to a sleazy exploitation category, the “women in prison” sub-genre. Yet if you can stomach that grubbiness, this entry proves to be an artistic triumph because of two strong elements: (1) the theatrical and surreal style that director Shunya Ito (his debut film!) brings to it, and (2) […]

Sabotage (2014)

In the space of a week, I watched both Triple 9 and Sabotage (2014), which would make a good double feature under the sub-genre of “corrupt cops commit heist”. Along with Den Of Thieves, there’s a similar post-Heat aesthetic but jacked-up with scumbag Monster drink energy. While Triple 9 has some great sequences, looks amazing, […]