
This film recants the story of the murder of Brian Deneke, a 19-year-old Amarillo, Texas punk killed by a 17-year-old jock in 1997. Directed by Jameson Brooks, produced by Cheldon R Chick, and written by the pair, it’s a deeply evocative look into the immediate events that lead to that situation. It’s both a singular story and a repetitive one (Sophie Lancaster springs to mind), but the film goes beyond a simple reenactment. Continue reading
Tag Archives: the grim inevitability of your own mortality
13 Slays Till Xmas (2020)

The straplines made me think this was going to be good old fashioned Psycho Santa Slasher, but this is actually a horror story anthology with a Christmas motif and framing device. Which isn’t a problem as that’s prime quality festive family fun in the Super Fortress. Thus we fired up the streaming service and let the intro credits roll.
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Orchestrator of Storms: The Fantastique World of Jean Rollin (2022)

I’d never heard of Jean Rollin before, so when this documentary about his life and work turned up I was rather excited to give it a go. As usual I had my notepad out, ready to jot down the odd movie that would be worth a look, but by halfway through I just assumed it safer to work through his filmography. I appreciate that a lot of effort when into making this a valid and informative collection of anecdotes and titbits for long-time fans, but I’m quite sure directors Dima Ballin and Kat Ellinger are going to take my uneducated reaction as a win.
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Don’t Panic! The remakes can’t hurt you if you don’t let them in
The Lost Boys is getting a remake, and thus my horror and movie feed has been filled with people throwing their arms up as they suddenly realise they are 30 years away from being culturally relevant. “Oh no!”, I imagine their little straw voices cry, “What if the girl is more than a lampshade with incredible hair? What if the music isn’t from my last carefree summer? What if there isn’t an overly long sequence with an oiled-up saxophonist? And what if it also doesn’t receive the universal acclaim that I think the original was given?” Continue reading