Well, I mean, come on. Once you’ve forked out the necessary cash to walk through the cinema doors, or even to walk out of the video store with your copy of Resident Evil: Extinction tucked firmly under your arm, what do you expect? Subtle characterisation? A devilishly intricate plot? Of course not - you expect lots of blood, lots of gore, and lots of slow motion fighting. In which case, this film won’t disappoint you. Read the rest of this entry »

Despite the fact that he tackles his craft with tongue planted firmly in cheek, Robert Rodriguez may go down in film history as the greatest B-movie director of all time. Planet Terror is Rodriguez’ half of the Grindhouse double feature joint project with Quentin Tarantino. Although Tarantino’s effort, Death Proof, was great, it begins to look almost trivial in comparison to this instant schlock classic.

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You can just imagine the pitch to the producers: “It’s Godzilla meets the Blair Witch Project!” Yep, when you put it that way, it sounds pretty silly, but there’s a lot to like about this modern take on the old giant monster movie format. Read the rest of this entry »

Who’d have thought a little novel by an Irish businessman about a nasty man with a tendency to drink the blood of his victims would trigger a century of creative effort in literature, film and popular culture to flesh out and embellish the mythology of vampires? 30 Days of Night adds yet another layer of imaginative conceptualisation to the subject, and it’s about as far removed as Bram Stoker’s romantic notion as it’s possible to be. Read the rest of this entry »

There’s a new threat facing crappy sci fi movies which may prevent them ever being worth watching again: CGI! Cheaply available computer-generated imagery must be an exciting prospect for budding young film-makers everywhere. You can create an image of almost anything and it should look so much better than the old stop-motion stuff. But guess what? Sometimes it doesn’t. Read the rest of this entry »

“I’m B, and I’m proud”. That seems to be the attitude of this schlocker from director David R Ellis. This is a B-movie that revels in its own crappiness. Indeed, the concept is so hilariously ridiculous, it generated a pre-release internet hype not seen since The Blair Witch Project back in 1999. Read the rest of this entry »

Not as bad as I had expected from a C-grade 80’s sequel, but still no world-beater. I’m not squeamish, but a couple of scenes in this were pretty gross, and completely gratuitous.