Chaw (2009) Review

So here's a pretty fun but kinda lackluster South Korean monster movie about a mutant killer boar who roams the forests of  small village, killing and eating any person it comes across.
The film has a fun tone, playing out like a black comedy, though some of its humour doesn't quite work and feels a bit off.
The films execution is also a little rough, some of the editing and camerawork are a bit messy and its really lacking in the gore department which is bit of a shame.
Still some of Monster action isn't bad, the Boar being brought to life with a mix of practical and CG effect which are decent and works well enough.
The film also has its fair share of odd moments including couple of weird characters and despite is execution I quite enjoyed this overall. Its run time is almost 2 hours, which is too long for this kind of film but I wouldn't say it dragged at all and I think it's the films inherent oddness that keeps your attention.
Overall it's not the best but there's enough there to make it fun. **1/2

Writhing Tongue (1980) Review

AKA Furueru shita.

 I actually went into this expecting a wacky horror especially with a name like 'Writhing Tongue'. However that was not the case at all, instead I was pleasantly surprised to find that this actually a great drama that shows the mental and emotional struggle of a couple who are stuck in hospital with their sick daughter who has a form of tetanus, as the doctors and nurses do their best to keep her alive and help her recover.
Now though its not a horror, the film does still have a couple of disturbing elements, there's some creepy synth music that comes in every now and again and few of things the doctors do to help the young girl which are quite discomforting. To be fair these elements still made me feel the film was gonna turn into full blown horror and it was about 35 minutes in that I realised thats probably wasn't happening.
The film was still really engrossing though, the acting was very good and there was some very nice framed shots, as well as a bluey/purple colour filter which is used a couple of times that I thought look really pretty.
the film also has a couple interesting dream sequence's that were integrated well and overall I really liked the direction and execution.
I think my only main issue with it, was that the ending did feel a bit rushed, it comes very suddenly and feel could have used  more time to play out.
Overall though I enjoyed this alot and thought it was great drama that was simple and effective, this is the second film I've seen from Yoshitaro Nomura and he's definitely impressed me so far from what I've seen, so hopefully I'll delve more into his work in future. Definitely recommended ****

Spirited Killer (1994) Review

AKA Plook mun Kuen ma kah 4 is a low budget Thai Martial arts film from the early 90s featuring a young Tony Jaa. Now the DVD set I bought put all the focus on Jaa as you can tell in the above international DVD cover. But he is in fact only in one segment of the film, but does get to show off some of his skills before making his exit.
The film follows a bunch of travellers out in the Thai rainforest, who must help a local village take down an evil man who is wreaking havoc in the rainforest, fighting and killing all who he encounters.
It's minimal on plot, but heavy on the action with a fight occuring pretty much every 5-10 minutes. The action is well choreographed and fun, though the film does get a little tiresome towards the end and feels a little excessive, like the opening setup which is needlessly padded out to almost 20 minutes.
Now the version I watched had an english dub which was of course awful and threw in some stupid humour, though interestingly when there was no talking they kept to the original audio. A thai dub was available but with no english subs, though I probably still would have been better off with it, its not like there's much to follow.
Overall the movie is fun to a certain extent but could have shaved some of its time off, even if it is only 90 minutes. **1/2

When Worlds Collide (1951) Review

Here's a 50's technicolor Sci-fi film that's pretty solid. It's about a rogue star and it's orbiting earth-like planet that are hurtling towards earth which will cause it's destruction. With no way of avoiding the apocalypse, a decision is made to build a spacecraft that will fly to the planet orbiting the rogue star and start a new life  for humans there.
Majority of the film involves all the preparation for the fight but it's livened up with some dramatic conflicts that make it a little more interesting. There's also a cool little earth destruction sequence that was really nicely done and has some fun effects.
Overall there are some very good moments here but they mostly happen in the second half and the rest of the film is perfectly fine but  nothing inspiring. It's still certainly a decent watch though.

Maniac (1980) Review

Maniac is a grimy slasher flick that follows the killer's POV. It's mainly made up of main character monologues and a bunch of killings that have some nice gore effects provided by FX wiz Tom Savini. It then delivers a very strange and pretty awesome ending as the killers psyche breaks down from what could be argued to be his guilt.
The killer is played by Joe Spinell who puts on a commendable performance but most of the supporting acting and dialogue is pretty bad and at times laughable.
The film also has some pacing issues and it can be a little too slow in places. I think there's one chase scene in particular that goes on far too long and lacks the suspense to merit it's length.
Overall Maniac is a pretty solid slasher though that bring some differences to the usual fare. ***

Zone Troopers (1985) Review

Zone Troopers is a 1985 "sci-fi" movie set in jolly old World War II. It follows a bunch of American soldiers serving in Italy trying to fight off the Nazis in the area. While two of them are captured they encounter an alien that the Nazis have also caught and help it escape with them. the alien and her fellow bretheren then help the soldiers fight off the Nazis and return home to their planet. Yeah it's a very simple film with a very light tone that is arguable comedic but I didn't find much to be funny here, in fact I found the whole movie to be kind of boring.
I just really didn't connect to it all,the main alien looks pretty good but he brethren are literally just green men, since she's the only female among them(which of course is a joke in the film). The film is only 85 minutes long but the plot is so basic that it's stretched out in a rather dull way, there is alot of shooting in the movie, but there's no blood or effects here, so it's just a bunch of people fake dying to the ground and it's all a bit pants.
I feel like the movie would have worked way better if it was more hard edged with lots of blood and gore every way, instead what we get is a rather limp movie that does have an odd charm about it, but nothing much else going for it all. oh Well. **

Invaders from Mars (1986)

Tobe Hooper's remake of 1953 film of the same name, is a rather simple but fun movie. It has a basic plot involving Martians invading earth and taking over peoples bodies, with the main character being a young boy who enlists the help of the army to stop them.
The acting an dialogue isn't all that great but the film's main highlight are the special effects which are awesome and the most enjoyable aspect of the movie. Both the martians and spaceship look really cool and there's even some very minor body horror thrown into the mix.
The film does have a bit of a cop-out ending that I thought was kinda bullshit, but aside from that this is a bit fun that doesn't have much going for it, but has enough there to keep you entertained. If you want much more than just flashy visual effects, then this film is certainly not for you. ***