Tag Archives: Suspense

The Nunsploitation Convent Collection (DVD)

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Available in on 2500 Limited Edition Copies, Cult Epics has released the ultimate in nunsploitation double features pairing two of the most iconic nunsploitation films of all time “School of the Holy Beast” and “Behind Convent Calls” together, and attaching a new restoration along with fantastic features for all collectors. “School of the Holy Beast” is the definition of the nunsploitation sub-genre. It’s a wonky, surreal, and demented piece of Asian drama with some of the most memorable moments I’ve ever seen in the Grindhouse motif. Most importantly it has an odd sense of humor that make it worthy of many laughs, but ones that will assuredly be of the uncomfortable sort.

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Nun of That (2009)

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nunofthatpremtrailernewsI really should not have loved this as much as I did. In all honesty, I sat through “Nun of That” thinking I should rightfully despise every minute of this, but… I didn’t. In the end, “Nun of That” is a hilarious, action packed ode to nunsploitation and the grindhouse motif that fuels an otherwise ridiculous, over the top action bonanza. There’s a nun in a club stripping before she eliminates a full house of Italian stereotypes, a martial arts Jew assassin who chucks deadly Stars of David and a razor edged yarmulke, there’s Ghandi teaching Sister Wrath how to fight with demon ninjas, and there’s Jesus Christ who engages in a musical number that is shockingly memorable and catchy. All of which is played with deadpan insistence from its sharp cast who seem to truly enjoy being in this movie.

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Black Christmas (1974)

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We never did find out who Billy was, did we? Was he a disgruntled ex-boyfriend? A humiliated crush? Or perhaps just a lunatic who drifted into the sorority house one night before Christmas? It’s always more frightening to be left with questions, isn’t it? Why do killers always have to have a motive or connection to the characters? Do real murderers always make sense? From the first frame director Bob Clark leads us through a labyrinth of absolute red herrings advising us to pay attention, notice the clues, and really focus in on where he’s going with “Black Christmas.” For years I heard many people trying to figure out who Billy is and what his intent was toward this group of young women in their sorority house one Christmas. How is able to get in and out without notice? How is he able to sneak back and forth in this house without being seen?

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Watchmen: Director's Cut (DVD)

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XnYzBCWI’m honestly not sure why I’ve taken so long to sit down and watch “Watchmen” subsequent its lackluster theatrical release. I enjoyed the comic books for what they were as well as their fantastic literary class epilogues, I loved the characters (including Nite Owl and Rorschach), I enjoy Alan Moore as the eccentric mad genius that he is, and yet… I still never quite saw “Watchmen,” even with the “Director’s Cut” sitting on my pile. The Alan Moore groundbreaking graphic novel has been deemed completely unfilmable for decades after its release. But that didn’t stop Warner bros. from trying their damndest by bringing aboard acclaimed visualist director Zack Snyder to unfold the world of Rorschach and Night shade for the fan boys in full color and motion.

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Hatchet II (2010)

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Unnecessary back story, toilet humor, and overlong gags involving gore, yes, this is a sequel to “Hatchet” alright! While “Hatchet” was a serviceable genre installment that consumed time with a smile and didn’t change the genre as many movie critics promised it would, “Hatchet II” is here regardless, and rather than simply follow the formula it purports to adhere to with a throwback to goofy slashers of the eighties, in actuality it spends more time setting up the story in the first twenty minutes than it does get down to the nitty gritty of the sub-genre. Green takes the time out to explain the origin of Victor Crowley yet again for audiences after setting the sequel immediately after the events of the first film where Marybeth escapes the clutches of Crowley and manages to get away with the help of an eccentric fisherman.

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Let Me In (2010)

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let-me-in-uk-quad-movie-posI think “Let Me In” will be deemed as a respectable companion piece to the infinitely superior “Let The Right One In” if only because Matt Reeves directs this version with his eye on convention more than edge. The original was already so gruesome and complex and filled with subtext and undertones that Reeves opts instead for simple and superficial and it will rely on the audiences preference if they want a movie about a vampire and a boy falling in love, or if they want a story about a boy and a girl falling in love, one of whom mutilates people and drinks their blood.

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The Red Hours (2009)

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Invoking much of the grindhouse elements, director John Fallon’s experimental short thriller is something of a royal mind fuck, one that excels in being about surreal as it possibly can while squeezing in nods to some classic films during the duration of its story. Director Fallon goes against the conventions of formula storytelling with “The Red Hours” a movie constantly blurring the realms of fantasy and reality when a club goer on a night out takes some hallucinogens to spite an ex he sees across the club canoodling with a girlfriend of hers.

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