Sunday, 30 November 2025

Zootropolis 2 - The scoop and digest

Known as Zootopia 2 in America, Jared Bush writes and co-directs long overdue sequel with Byron Howard.

Most will forget, but events in TV miniseries Zootropolis+ (initially released in 2022), run concurrently with orignal film.

Ginnifer Goodwin - Judy Hopps
Jason Bateman - Nick Wilde
Ke Huy Quan - Gary De'Snake
Fortune Feimster - Nibbles Maplestick
Andy Samberg - Pawbert Lynxley
David Strathairn - Milton Lynxley
Idris Elba - Chief Bogo
Patrick Warburton - Mayor Brian Winddancer

Wild cameos include Alan Tudyk, Jean Reno, Michael J. Fox, Danny Trejo, John Leguizamo, Josh Gad and Macaulay Culkin.

Summary

One week after the arrest of former mayor Dawn Bellwether, Judy and Nick go undercover to investigate pit viper Gary De'Snake.  At a gala celebrating town's centenary, Judy befriends Pawbert, the youngest descendant of Ebenezer Lynxley, who apparently founded Zootropolis.

Mismatched ZPD cops soon find themselves at the centre of a conspiracy and go on the run, doing whatever it takes to clear their names.

Post-credits

Judy plays back the recording of Nick declaring his love on the carrot pen, and a feather landing on her apartment window teases a third film.

Ter-roar in Tundratown

Like Inside Out 2 (ironically, also released nine years after its predecessor), this wasn't as good as the original.

But that doesn't mean to say buddyquel wasn't fun, even if shit appears to rip off Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005).

Striking animation is predictably top notch and chemistry between leads remains strong.

Cheesy dad jokes and relentless animal puns get tedious and Pawbert being the villain was obvious from the moment we laid eyes on him.

Marsh Market (which may as well be called 'Disneyland') introduces marine animals, reptiles and amphibians, most of which are just background noise.

Judy surfing the net with Zoogle and Nick's streaming service Huluzoo are pretty cringe, but nods to iconic movies fare way better.

Back to the Future

Grumpy prison inmate Michael J. says "What are you looking at butthead?"

Yes it's Biff's catchphrase, not Marty's, but whatever.

The Silence of the Lambs

Dawn Bellwether is basically Hannibal Lecter.

Pulp Fiction

Gary cures Judy by injecting her in the chest with anti-venom.  Vincent uses an adrenaline shot to bring Mia back after she OD's.

Also, a specific camera angle of Flash pulling his car up mirrors The Wolf's arrival.

The Shining

At Honeymoon Lodge, Nibbles smashes his head through a door and Pawbert trudges through the hedge maze.

Heck, we even hear music samples.

Mulholland Drive

A road sign reads Moleholland Tunnel.

Similar, yes?

Here's the best one.

When Harry Met Sally...

Inside a barber's shop, a sheep exclaims "I'll have what he's having."

After Meg Ryan convincingly fakes an orgasm in a crowded restaurant, a woman responds:

"I'll have what she's having."

Thursday, 27 November 2025

Tormented Souls II

Dual Effect's sequel picks up soon after the events of 2021 original.

Summary

Seeking answers about Anna's terrifying visions, Caroline Walker (real name Emma Wildberger) and adoptive sister take a train to Villa Hess.  When Anna is kidnapped by Mother Lucia's cultists (who need her to summon Lovecraftian deity Lord Nautilus), Caroline rolls up her rescuing sleeves and in the process, uncovers dark secrets of sinister town.

Do not let shadows embrace you

First off, choose between Standard or Assisted difficulty.

To unlock Tormented (how innovative), game must be beaten on Standard.

We're thrust into a creepy convent, then (in no particular order), a school, shopping mall, processing plant, cemetery, sewer and bunker.

Boasting masterful chiaroscuro and beautiful melancholy, environments look amazing.

Monsters are tamed by a variety of melee weapons and firearms (which can be upgraded), including hammer, crowbar, nailer, shotgun, crossbow and chainsaw.

Bosses (dubbed entities by Lucia), are Iron Maiden, Doctor Hertz, The Harvester, Pighead and Lovecraftian deity Lord Nautilus.

Hello frustration my old friend

Like original, accomplished love letter to old-school Resident Evil and Silent Hill should be applauded for doing a lot of things right, but awkward controls, clunky combat and annoying fixed camera angles made experience an endurance test.

The 'darkness kills' mechanic returns and illuminating claustrophobic corridors leaves you extremely vulnerable.

Oh, get used to fucking back-tracking.

While I tolerated anything back in the day, 'classic' trope always pissed me off.

Most puzzles are obtuse to say the least and solutions more so.

Several items (weapons and tools) are used more than once for different situations, making shit cryptic later on.

Verdict 6/10

You'll need patience, a stiff drink and something to punch, but shit is worth persevering with.

Then again, I'd suggest most will flip the bird and give up.

Tuesday, 25 November 2025

Sisu: Road to Revenge - The scoop and digest

Jalmari Helander returns as writer and director.

Jorma Tommila - Aatami Korpi
Stephen Lang - Yeagor Dragunov
Richard Brake - KGB Officer

Summary

In 1946, Aatami dismantles the house where his family was murdered and loads the timber onto his truck.

Meanwhile in Siberia, a KGB Officer releases ruthless Soviet Commander Yeagor Dragunov from prison and promises to make him rich, providing he 'destroys the legend he created'.

Even with the might of the Red Army at his disposal, something tells me that 'killing machine' won't go down easily.

Light the fire

Doing everything what made the original great and turning shit up to eleven - this was fucking awesome.

Once scintillating action starts (clearly inspired by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), it doesn't really stop.  Sure there are brief lulls, but that's only so we can catch our breath.

After a soldier is thrown off the front of Aatami's truck and motorbikes swerve around him.  But reprieve is short-lived, as Dragunov runs him over.

HA HA HA!

Think Road Runner, with blood and guts.

In my favourite sequence, a plane heads towards Aatami's truck at speed.  But our man thinks fast by using planks of wood as a shield, causing aircraft to bounce over and explode.

Superb climax takes place on a train, where Aatami launches a ballistic missile into Dragunov's forehead.

Aatami gets back to Finland unobstructed and a group of locals help him Aatami rebuild his house.

If this doesn't become a trilogy, that'd be really sad.

Monday, 24 November 2025

Keeper - The scoop and digest

Unrelated to 2025 video game and 2006 Sarah Langan novel of same name, folk horror is written by Nick Lepard and directed by Osgood Perkins.

Oh, three different films called The Keeper exist.

Tatiana Maslany - Liz
Rossif Sutherland - Malcolm
Birkett Turton - Darren
Eden Weiss - Minka

Summary

For their one-year anniversary, Malcolm (doctor) and Liz (painter) arrive at a secluded cabin in the woods for a romantic weekend getaway.

Liz finds a boxed cake which Malcolm claims was gifted by the caretaker.

His cousin Darren and girlfriend Minka unexpectedly show up and after a quiet chat with Malcolm, they soon go.

After sampling a slice of cake at Malcolm's insistence, Liz begins having strange visions and later, inexplicably eats the rest.

When Malcolm is called away to treat a patient, Liz is left alone, but not for long.

Fish on the hook

When Liz tries the cake, she reacts by saying:

"Tastes like shit."

How ironic, as this literally was.

Despite a committed performance by Maslany, I was really bored.

In the final 20 minutes, we get the big reveal.

200 years ago, Malcolm and Darren as teenagers, caught a pregnant woman trespassing on their property and locked her in a pigpen, where she gave birth to the humanoid creatures stalking Liz.  They shot her dead and ever since, have been luring women to feed the creatures who in exchange, granted them immortality.

Those expecting a proper explanation will be sorely disappointed.

In the basement, the 'children' surround and embrace Liz due to her resembling mother, whose head has been preserved inside a jar of honey.

The following morning, a now elderly Malcolm has been strung upside-down from a tree.  Liz (now with black eyes), forcibly feeds him cake and drowns him in another jar of honey.

Saturday, 22 November 2025

Meat Kills - The scoop and digest

Johan Paul de Vrijer writes and Martijn Smits (who also cameos at the beginning as Regie) directs the first Dutch horror to be rated NC-17.

As I know you care, the first film slapped with the same certificate was 1990 biopic Henry & June.

Although released as Meat Kills, title card is bizarrely Vleesdag (Meat Day).

The most literal English translation of Meat Kills is Vlees doodt.

Caro Derkx - Mirthe
Emma Josten - Nasha
Sweder de Sitter - Jonathan
Sem Ben Yakar - Ishmael
Tommy Zonneveld - Humphrey
Chardonnay Rillen - Donna
Bart Oomen - Jonas
Derron Lurvink - Jacco
Juliёtte van de Weerdt - Jerrienne

Summary

At Heerema's Piggery, Mirthe is caught recording activities on her phone and is fired by Jonas for breaking regulations.

She joins activist group Animal Army and after meeting its leader Nasha, they decide to break into slaughterhouse and free the pigs.

Once inside, there isn't an animal in sight and presume they've already been killed.

When Jonas' son Jacco turns up, he and his brother Jonathan are taken hostage.

Shit quickly spirals out of control, and a bloody fight for survival between both factions ensues.

Meat is murder

Premise is absolutely ridiculous, but the appetite of gore aficionados will be sated.

The influence of Hostel, Eden Lake and extreme French horrors such as Switchblade Romance are there for all to see.

Also, Jonas releasing pigs which eat Donna alive smacks of Hannibal (2001).

Jonas chases Humphrey in a tractor, chops up body and then guts Ishmael, ripping his insides out.

Mirthe bites off a huge chunk of Jonas' neck and kills him with a handheld circular saw.  She also extinguishes Nasha's light by firing a bolt into psychopath's foreheard.

Such irony.

To briefly explain, Nasha loses it when she learns that Mirthe was close to Jonathan.

Climax is so stupid, it's almost brilliant.

Bedridden for most of running time, wee lass Jerrienne gets up and finds the bodies of Jonas and Jacco.

Does she scream? Shed hysterical tears?

No.

Instead, after coming across Mirthe holding Jonathan's corpse, she takes a shotgun and blasts Mirthe in the back.

Jerrienne catches up and slits her throat with a meat cleaver.  As Mirthe dies, she hallucinates a pig.

Totally realistic, right?

Friday, 21 November 2025

The Running Man - It's Show Time

Edgar Wright's adaptation sucked serious ass.


While I had so much more to say in my review, I purposely kept schtum for reasons that will soon become clear.

1982 novel

Welcome to America in 2025 when the best men don't run for President. They run for their lives - in the ultimate death game.

Each night all Americans tune in to the nation's favorite TV game show - The Running Man.

Each night they see if the contestant has evaded death at the hands of the Hunters just one more day. Thirty days of survival takes the prize - one billion dollars.

The record is eight days....

But now a new contestant, Ben Richards, has set out to beat the brutal odds, beat the rigged game, beat the entire savage system. He's betting his life that he can....

Stephen King (as Richard Bachman), was no doubt inspired by Richard Connell's 1924 short story The Most Dangerous Game and 1975 films Death Race 2000 and Rollerball.

Years later came Battle Royale and The Hunger Games (both books before becoming movie franchises).

Finally, The Condemned (2007) is a really bad rip off of The Most Dangerous Game and the first Battle Royale film.

Getting back on track.

Das Millionspiel (1970)

West German TV film (translated as The Million Dollar Game) adapted Robert Sheckley's 1958 story The Prize of Peril.

To win one million marks, Bernhard Lotz has to survive 7 days, while being hunted by a gang.

While it's likely King stole idea from Sheckley, I can't see him having access to film.

1987 film

Apart from main character and basic premise, Schwarzenegger classic had almost nothing to do with source material.

Prologue begins in 2017, but meat takes place 18 months later in 2019.

Just for shits and geeky giggles, The House of the Dead III (2002) is also set in 2019.

A lawsuit determined filmmakers plagiarized French film Le Prix du Danger (1983), the second adaptation of Sheckley's story.

King didn't face any action.

So coming full circle, 2025 film is arguably an unofficial adaptation of Das Millionspiel.

Official game

Emerald Software's shitty side-scrolling beat 'em up was released for Amiga, Atari ST, C64, Spectrum and Amstrad CPC in 1989.

We play Ben Richards (obviously), but Amber Mendez, William Laughlin and Harold Weiss are MIA.

To be fair, Subzero, Buzzsaw, Dynamo, Fireball and even Killian made the effort.

Smash T.V. (1990)

The year is 1999.

Television has adapted to the more violent nature of man. The most popular form of television remains the game show.

One show in particular has dominated the ratings. That show is Smash T.V. The most violent game show of all time.

Two lucky contestants compete for cash and prizes. Each contestant is armed with an assortment of powerful weapons and sent into a closed arena.

The action takes place in front of a studio audience and is broadcast live via satellite around the world.

Intro presumably used an excerpt of film's prologue as template.

"Television is controlled by the state and a sadistic game show called 'The Running Man' has become the most popular program in history."

Unlike Robotron: 2084, spirtual successor didn't hold back on gore.
Big money. Big prizes. I LOVE IT!
Evil MC can also say: "I'd buy that for a dollar," confirming devs were fans of Robocop.

Flashback (1992)

Conrad B. Hart is told by his friend Ian that TV show Death Tower is literally his ticket back to Earth.

10000 credits is up for grabs.
Conrad is presented as the winner.
A sequel, Fade to Black, was released for PC and PS1 in 1995.

Original was remade in 2013, and ten years later, we got Flashback 2, set eight years before original in 2134.

How prequel fits into timeline remains unclear.

Other numbered video game prequels include Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, Suikoden IV and Dead to Rights II.

Films are more prolific, such as Puppet Master III: Toulon's Revenge, Tremors 4: The Legend Begins, Paranormal Activity 3, Insidious: Chapter 3 and From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter.

Finally, let's look Paul Michael Glaser's film in more detail.

Spelling police

Accomodations should be accommodations.
Retreval should be retrieval.
Miscellany

When the runners arrive in the game zone on vacuum sleds (just in case you missed name), END IS HERE is written on a wall.
'Professor' Subzero is wearing one hell of a jock strap.
Here's something pretty odd.

After Richards takes care of Subzero, we can clearly see Laughlin taking hockey stick.
But as he and Richards are freeing Weiss, weapon has vanished, and never seen again.
Later, Richards could've easily taken Buzzsaw's chainsaw, but doesn't.

You could say weapon would be a hindrance, but if I was in their situation, I'd like to fight back with more than fists and feet.

The Magnificent 10

Before getting his hands on Richards and co, Killian searches for potential contestants.

Some things are impossible to appreciate in real-time, hence why the pause button is used for more than toilet breaks.

Pete Rodriguez
Conv: Agent provacateur
Occu: Technical writer
Hobb: Criminal poetry
John Doe
Conv: Unauthorized outdoor activities
Occu: Anti fire worker
Hobb: Arson, pyromania
Jason 'Jay Man' Argo
Conv: International espionage
Occu: Interpretor
Hobb: Golf, scuba, TV
Spike Mackenzie
Conv: Industrial terrorism
Occu: Copy machine repair
Hobb: Collecting antique phones, guns
Brad 'Pepsi' Yamamoto
Conv: Anti state prop inciting a riot
Occu: Industrial waste
Hobb: Morbid interest in intellectual games ie. chess
Eddi 'Ed' Fisher
Conv: Religious crimes unsanc. worship
Occu: Collective framer
Hobb: Collector anti state icons
Advertisement break.

Mado 'Baby Face' March
Are you kidding me?

Next.

Peggy 'Now What' Vinetz
Conv: Anti state prop inciting a riot
Occu: Industrial waste
Hobb: Morbid interest in intellectual games ie. chess
Jeffry 'DJ' Winsted
Conv: Religious crimes unsanc. worship
Occu: Collective framer
Hobb: Collector anti state icons
Wanda Zorn
Conv: Agent provacateur
Occu: Technical writer
Hobb: Criminal poetry
What do Eddi and JeffryPete and Wanda have in common?

Well, quite a lot actually.

As do Peggy and Brad, who are industrial waste and have a morbid interest in chess.

Awww, that's cute.

But the prize goes to John Doe.

What constitutes as unauthorized outdoor activities?

Err, I dread to think.

Considering geezer's profession is against fire, I find it hilarious that he's into arson and pyromania.

Monday, 17 November 2025

Deathstalker (2025) - The scoop and digest

Writer-director Steven Kostanski reboots cult 1983 sword and sorcery fantasy of same name.

Slash of Guns N' Roses is an executive producer.

Daniel Bernhardt - Deathstalker
Laurie Field - Doodad
Christina Orjalo - Brisbayne
Paul Lazenby - Jotak
Nicholas Rice - Nekromemnon
Tanya Saari - Toralva
Nina Bergman - Grendul
Conor Sweeny - Prince Baldur
Adam Brooks - Prince Halgan

Additionally, Patton Oswalt provides the voice of Doodad.

Summary

The Dreadite horde cuts a path of death and destruction throughout the land.

Who wields the power to stand against the might of never-ending darkness?

Oh I don't know, Deathstalker perhaps?

Coming into possession of a mysterious amulet, protagonist seeks the help of Doodad to translate runes, but pint-sized wizard disappoints.

They learn sorcerer Nekromemnon is after object, as it secretly houses almightly weapon the Light of Talon (a four-bladed sword).

Female thief Brisbayne tags along, who is captured by Nekromemnon and used as a vessel for the demon Citor.

Machinations of the Gods

Rather than raping women, self-aware cheese fest inserts goofy comedy, hammy villains and cartoonish gore.

I had a fucking blast.

Munkar (who was the big bad in original) now owns a tavern, serving as a fun callback.

Miscellany

Army of Darkness (1992)

Dreadites sound nothing like 'Deadites', right?

Contrary to popular belief, possessed beings weren't named in The Evil Dead (1981) or Evil Dead II (1987).

Hellraiser (1987)

When the Acolytes of Kulthis bring a Dreadite back to life, I honestly thought I was watching Frank being reborn.

Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

Realising that a Stone Golem is pretty much invincible, Deathstalker 'unplugs' adversary, identical to what Jason does to Talos' heel.

Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

Towards the end, rival sorcerers Doodad and Nekromemnon summon stop-motion skeletons, ripping off the principle of samurai warriors conjured by Egg Shen and Lo Pan.

Sunday, 16 November 2025

Nuremberg - The scoop and digest

James Vanderbilt's historical epic (ntbcw TV series and 2023 film of same name), is based on Jack El-Hai's 2013 book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist. 

Rami Malek - Douglas Kelley
Russell Crowe - Hermann Göring
Leo Woodall - Sgt. Howie Triest
John Slattery - Col. Burton C. Andrus
Michael Shannon - Robert H. Jackson
Richard E. Grant - David Maxwell Fyfe

Summary

May 7, 1945.

A week after the death of Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring is captured by American soldiers in Austria.

At the Grand Hotel Mondorf (Codename: Ashcan) in Luxembourg, Colonel Andrus tells psychiatrist Douglas Kelley that the governments of Russia, France, Great Britain and the United States are considering putting the remainder of the Nazi High Command on trial for their lives.

Göring is the key, a leader of a nation in exile.

Kelley works closely with Sgt. Howie Triest, who serves as a translator.

As the trial draws closer, Göring grows in confidence, becoming an enigma for Kelley.

Epilogue

Robert Jackson returned to the Supreme Court.

The case laws he established became the bedrock for all modern war crimes prosecutions.

He left the army following the trials and took his sister Margot back to America, dying aged 93.

Douglas Kelley's book 22 Cells in Nuremberg failed.  He never wrote another.

In 1958, after a long struggle with depression, he committed suicide using cyanide, the same method as Göring.

Palace of Justice

Crowe gives one of his best performances, expertly capturing character's narcissistic arrogance, while also nailing accent and contemptuous attitude.

Malek is no slouch either, and shares a brilliant scene with Woodall baring his soul.

Of course they're not given as much to do, but support is also outstanding.

Authenticity is immaculately observed, as we're forced to endure about six harrowing minutes of concentration camp footage during the trial.

Göring initially gains the upper hand over Jackson, but then Fyfe takes over, soon wiping smug smile from face.

By escaping hangman's noose, he did make good his threat though.

Saturday, 15 November 2025

The Running Man (2025) - The scoop and digest

Edgar Wright co-writes and directs the second adaptation of Stephen King's 1982 novel of same name (as Richard Bachman).

To be clear, this is NOT a remake of the 1987 Schwarzenegger classic.

Glen Powell - Ben Richards
Josh Brolin - Dan Killian
Colman Domingo - Bobby T.
Lee Pace - Evan McCone
Michael Cera - Elton Parrakis
Emilia Jones - Amelia Williams
William H. Macy - Molie Jernigan
Daniel Ezra - Bradley Throckmorton
Jayme Lawson - Sheila Richards
Alyssa and Sienna Benn - Cathy Richards
Katy O'Brian - Jenni Laughlin
Martin Herlihy - Tim Jansky

Summary

Welcome to Co-Op City, where poverty is rife and corporate media networks bombard people with trashy reality and violent game shows.

Blue-collar worker Ben Richards lives in the slums with his wife Sheila and daughter Cathy.

When he's fired by Defense-Net for insurbordination, he can't afford the medicine for Cathy's influenza.  In desperation, Ben auditions for FreeVee's game shows, with his anger, fitness and physique making him the perfect contestant for The Running Man.

He meets the producer Dan Killian, who offers an advance on Cathy's medication and a safe house for his family if he agrees to take part.

To win one billion new dollars, 'runners' must survive for 30 days, hunted by not just trained killers, but also the public.

Ben and fellow runners Jenni Laughlin and Tim Jansky are given $1000 and a 12-hour head start, and must send a tape of themselves each day.

Trio quickly learn that the show's host Bobby T. manipulates the audience by making out contestants are psychopathic killers.

Can they defy the odds and scoop the ultimate prize?

Kill the execs

First off, this is very faithful to the book, but unfortunately, that's the problem.

I'm a huge Edgar Wright fan, but bloated, joyless borefest is defintiely his worst.

The tone and pacing is all over the place, the script is blunter than a butter knife and while action and chase sequences huff and puff, no house is in danger of being blown down.

Unlikable protagonist moves from one convenience to another and after arriving at the home of Elton Parrakis, underground activist has bizarrely booby-trapped his house, Home Alone style.

Scott Pilgrim electrocutes soldiers with his Psycho Hydro gun, which may be a nod to Dynamo in the Arnie film, but whatever - it's fucking dumb.

Speaking of which, Arnold is literally the face of dollar bills and this Ben even says to Sheila "I'll be back".

CRINGE.

Another weird choice is a female Laughlin.  Yaphet Kotto played made-for-film character William Laughlin.

At Hollywood's behest, we get a happy ending.

Sheila and Cathy are alive, living under false identities.  Ben also survived, otherwise he wouldn't be able to shoot Killian dead.

In the book, Sheila and Cathy have been dead for over 10 days and the plane crashes into the Games Network skyscraper, killing Richards and Killian.

"The explosion was tremendous, lighting up the night like the wrath of God, and it rained fire twenty blocks away."

Wednesday, 12 November 2025

Frankenstein (2025) - The scoop and digest

Guillermo del Toro writes, co-produces and directs the latest adaptation.

Oscar Isaac - Victor Frankenstein
Jacob Elordi - The Creature
Christoph Waltz - Henrich Harlander
Mia Goth - Elizabeth and Claire Frankenstein
Felix Kammerer - William Frankenstein
Charles Dance - Leopold Frankenstein
David Bradley - Blind Man
Lars Mikkelsen - Captain Anderson

Prelude

Farthermost North, 1857.

Captain Anderson (not Walton) is on a mission to reach the North Pole, but his vessel the Horisont is trapped in ice.

After his crew find a badly injured man, a humanoid of awesome strength wreaks havoc.

"BRING HIM TO ME!"

Realising bullets are ineffective, Anderson blows a hole in the ice, causing the monster to disappear underneath.

Victor warns it's not dead and will come back for him.

Part I
Victor's Tale

A young Victor lives with his mother Claire and father Leopold.

Claire goes into labour and gives birth to William, but dies doing so.

Some years later, Leopold also departs, and the brothers are separated.

In 1855, Victor meets wealthy merchant Heinrich Harlander, with William due to marry his niece Elizabeth.

Harlander hires Victor to bring the dead back to life at his castle and agrees to bring him whatever he needs to build a laboratory.

Favouring tall specimens with long limbs, lightning strikes and the experiment is a success.

Victor chains creation up in the basement and learns it how to say his name.

When Elizabeth bonds with the Creature, a jealous Victor decides to burn the castle down.

In the present, the Creature is about to kill Anderson, but stops at Victor's request.

Part II
The Creature's Tale

Having escaped blazing inferno, the Creature hides in a barn.  Longing to be the family's benefactor, he brings them supplies for winter, and the 'Spirit of the Forest' is thanked with food and clothes.

When a pack of wolves attack and kill the Blind Man, the family blame the Creature and drive him away.

After the Creature demands a companion, Elizabeth is accidentally killed.  Victor hunts the Creature with dynamite, but fails to destroy it.

Back on the ship, 'son' forgives his 'father'.

The Creatures pushes ship free and the Creature walks towards the sunset.  

"And thus the heart will break. Yet brokenly live on."

- Lord Byron

Excerpt is from 1812 poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.

A storm is coming

Great performances, stunning production values and Alexandre Desplat's exhilarating score ensures this is one of the best versions.

Despite some new ideas, this is largely a remake of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein (1994).

Criticisms include ropey CG animals, the Creature's invincibility and it reconciling with Victor.

But here's something particularly weird.

During his time with the Blind Man, the Creature says:

"In my dreams... I... see memories."

Whoa!

Sounds like a derivative of Silent Hill 2 to me.

"In my restless dreams, I see that town."

To Mary¹ and Bernie², Boris³ and Whale⁴
The Big Bang of my soul

¹Mary Shelley (no explanation needed).
²Mike Hill's Creature design was inspired in part by Bernie Wrightson's 'Frankenstein's Monster'.
³Boris Karloff (c'mon guys).
⁴James Whale directed 1931 film, where the Doctor (Colin Clive) is renamed Henry.

Tuesday, 11 November 2025

Go Film Go (Final Postergasm)

Miscellany

Who Am I¹ (2014)
Fight Club
¹ntbcw 1998 film Who Am I?

White Noise: The Light
The Thing (1982)
Black Phone 2
The Thing That Couldn't Die
Boogie Nights
Serpico
Brainscan
I Was a Teenage Frankenstein
Decoys 2: Alien Seduction
Reefer Madness
Dreamscape
Thanks a Million
Evil Spawn
The Stewardess
Fear Street: Prom Queen
Zombie Flesh Eaters
It Came From the Desert
At the Earth's Core
Primal Rage (1988)
The Living Daylights
School Spirit
The Young Warriors
Seed of Chucky
Scraface (1983)
Seven
Boule de suif (Angel and Sinner)
She's Having a Baby
Lolita
Showdown
China White
The Color of Money
Carmen
The Iron Claw
Smokey and the Bandit
The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2014)
Boxcar Bertha
This Is the End
Pineapple Express
World's Greatest Dad
Night of the Living Dead (1968) - Italian version
Zombieland: Double Tap
Borat
Multiples

Death of a Vlogger
L-R: Ghostbusters (1984) and Gremlins
See How They Run
L-R: The African Queen (1951) and Laura (1944)
Xtro
L-R: Two Years Before the Mast and Reunion in Paris
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
L-R: Cloverfield and Bad Boys II
Vanilla Sky
L-R: Breathless and Jules and Jim
Kung Fu Killer
L-R: The Big Boss - Hong Kong version, Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain and The One-Armed Swordsman
Leaving D.C.
L-R: Taxi Driver, Tommy and The King of Comedy
The Mouse Trap
L-R: Frankenstein (1931), The Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Scary Movie

Jackie Brown
Artemisia
Bleeding

House on Haunted Hill (1959)
White Zombie
Grave Encounters 2

Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt
Tourist Trap (1979)
Night of the Reaper

Robocop (1987)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2
Salem's Lot (2024)

Sugar Hill
L-R: Trog and Dracula A.D. 1972
Tomorrowland

L-R: Attack of the Crab Monsters and Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Man from Planet X (top right) and Doctor Cyclops (upper most right)
Beverly Hills Cop II

Cobra
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

Jupiter Ascending
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Lisa Frankenstein

Creature from the Black Lagoon
Bride of Frankenstein
The Mummy (1932)
The Squid and the Whale

Psycho (1960) - French version
The Mother and the Whore
The Thing (1982)
Joker

Arthur
Wolfen
L-R: Excalibur and Blow Out 
Videodrome

L-R: Something Waits in the Dark (aka Island of the Fishmen) and Up from the Depths
L-R: Screamers (aka Island of the Fishmen) and The Lady in Red
L-R: Deathsport and The Evil
La La Land

Saboteur
The Killers (1946)
L-R: Rebel Without a Cause, Radio Patrol and A Farewell to Arms
The Blonde Vampire (left), Lillies of the Field (centre top), The Black Cat (centre bottom) and The Dove (right)
The Last Matinee

Galaxy of Terror - French version
L-R: Puppet Pal V and Opera
L-R: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and The Goonies
L-R: Monty Python's The Meaning of Life and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Love, Simon

Alien
Give My Regards to Broadway
Laura (1944)
The Day the Earth Stool Still (1951)
Young Frankenstein (left), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) (bottom left), Borat (right) and The Fly (1958) (far fight)
Finally.

Scream 4

Creature from the Black Lagoon
Vertigo
Tremors
L-R: Blood Simple and The Green Mile
L-R: Zack and Miri Make a Porno and Dawn of the Dead (1978)
L-R: Halloween II (2009) and The Thing (1982)
L-R: The Hill Have Eyes (1977) and Feast
End of transmission.
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