I have a soft spot for American teen slasher movies. I love the witty and juvenile dialogue, the actors playing teenagers who are blatantly around 30, and most of all, the death scenes that usually involve thoroughly unpleasant, yet relatable characters getting despatched in various savage ways. When my attention was drawn to the trailer, I knew I'd enjoy Happy Death Day.
01. Waking Lions
02. Colors Bleed
03. Ex Machina
04. Art Of War
05. Be Legendary
06. Nothing But Thieves
07. A Crime To Remember
08. God's Dam
09. When We Were Young
10. Birds Of Prey
11. Rewind
If you read my review of the previous Hellraiser movie, Revelations (if not, click here), you'll know that my opinions of every movie after the fourth (Bloodline, range from disappointment to outright loathing. However, I've read about the passion and enthusiasm towards the franchise from director Gary J. Tunnicliffe (who was a special make-up effects artist on Hellraiser III), and actor Paul T. Taylor (who plays Pinhead for the first time), and it made me quite excited about this new release. It's common knowledge that Dimension keep making these low-budget Hellraiser films now and again so that they can retain the rights to the movie franchise, but with the right people involved in this film, a little budget can go a long way.
I loved the first Jeepers Creepers movie when it came out. I love monster movies, and I found this one to be creepy and scary at times, while maintaining plenty of suspense and oozing character. I enjoyed the second one, but not so much. The monster had been revealed at the end of the first film, so a lot of the intrigue had gone, and we were left with a fairly cool, enjoyable horror movie.
The Open House is an original Netflix Horror / Thriller movie that came out in January 2018. I saw the trailer and it looked really creepy, so I thought I'd give it a watch.
The movie is about a mother and her son who are struggling financially since the death of her partner. She agrees to move into her sister's house, which happens to be on sale, with the arrangement that they leave the property during the day for potential buyers to come in and view it. Naturally, weird shit starts to happen like things going missing, switching on and off, and the elderly neighbour saying strange things. The son becomes convinced that someone or something is lurking in the house.
Firstly, the cinematography is amazing, and the movie is visually stunning throughout. The actors are excellent, making the viewer feel like they are with them in the situation, bringing the story to life.
(Spoilers from here:) The Open House keeps you guessing. Initially, I wasn't sure if it was going to be a ghost story, or at least have some supernatural element, or be a home invasion movie like The Strangers. I was drawn towards the former for the majority of the film, especially with the red herrings of seeing someone in the house that the occupants don't notice or even hear at the time. Another way the writers trick the viewer is with the character of the lady who lives next door, who becomes increasingly creepier throughout the film. One minute she's telling everyone that her husband has died, and the next, she says he's at home, alive and well. Towards the end it's revealed that she has dementia, and has nothing to do with what's going on in the property. At one point, I was considering that the house may be going back in time or some huge twist like that, but no. There's no small-town, pagan village conspiracy like in The Wicker Man either, and the shop owner turns out to simply be a shop owner.
So, with all of these possibilities running through my head, and me trying to work out what's going on Sherlock Holmes style, it turns out that it's just some creepy, murderous dude who is hiding in the property. The final scene shows him arriving at another open house, suggesting that he targets open houses. He obviously enjoys making his life difficult!
I really enjoyed The Open House for the most part, but the ending didn't provide the pay-offs I was hoping for, and I felt a little short-changed. Oh, is that it? He just kills them, which he could have done ages ago, then fucks off? Seriously.
02. Freak Show
03. Skin and Bones
04. Gypsy Kiss
05. Welcome to Hell
06. Dark Days
07. Dropping the Needle
08. Step into the Fire
09. Get on your Knees
10. High Rule
11. Into The Dark
12. Silver Machine (Hawkwind cover) [Bonus track]
I don't normally review gigs where my band is on the line-up, but I thought I'd make an exception this time as I felt inspired to write a few words about this one.
First up were Blood Youth. I'd checked them out on YouTube before the gig, and they're a pretty decent Hardcore band. To my ears, they sound like a mix of Sick Of It All and Cancer Bats, but with the occassional melodic vocal thrown in. I was pleased to see them in a live setting in front of a decent crowd, as the band was clearly in their element. They put on a great show, which was full of the energy you'd expect from a band like this, and seemed to go down really well with the crowd.
Thunderbolt is Saxon's 22nd studio album. Wow! I've been following them since I was a teenager, have most of their studio albums, and have seen them play live many times. Whilst their albums are all fairly consistent, some have been better than others, and I'm pleased to say that Thunderbolt is a really good one.
After the intro Olympus Rising, opener Thunderbolt is a strong metal song and easily identifiable as Saxon. My only issue was that it sounds a little 'by numbers'. I wouldn't expect Saxon to deviate from their classic, traditional Heavy Metal sound, but I was hoping that the first single would be something really killer, as opposed to being just another really good Saxon song. Fortunately, I was worrying about nothing, as the next track The Secret of Flight is a magnificent slice of Heavy Metal, and got me genuinely excited about hearing the rest of the album.
This jump upwards in song writing quality is matched again by the mid-paced, operatic, epic Nosferatu (The Vampire's Waltz), and is then matched by the uptempo rocker, a nice tribute to Motorhead, They Played Rock and Roll.
Predator is a dark grooving beast, where Biff Byford's regular vocal style is complimented by some Extreme Metal growls. It's not what I'd have expected to hear on a Saxon record but works really well, and these subtle changes in style keep the album sounding fresh and interesting.
Thunderbolt is packed with great songs. Other highlights include the fast-paced Sniper and the fun Hard Rocker Roadie's Song.
After all these years, Saxon are still one of the best Heavy Metal bands in the world, and Thunderbolt is one of their strongest albums in years. I'd go as far as to say that it's their best since their 1997 masterpiece Unleash The Beast.
Producer Andy Sneap is key to that amazing 'classic yet contemporary' sound that makes Saxon still sound so relevant and vital. Biff Byford's voice is in great shape, and he sounds re-vitalised on this album. In fact, the whole band have brought their A-game, and have released something way beyond my expectations.
