Listmania!
Some DVD's.
Martin [1977]Martin [1977]
Buy used from: £11.98
Romero classic, combining gritty downbeat 70's realism with lush b and w fantasy (or are they?) sequences. Director's most emotional, bleak film.
Uzumaki [2000]Uzumaki [2000]
Buy used from: £13.95
Japanese oddity.
Affliction [1998]Affliction [1998]
Buy used from: £1.43
Excellent, bleak Schrader. His best film, I think.
Affliction [1998]Affliction [1998]
Buy new: £19.99 / Used from: £1.39
Which version shall I get?
Intimacy [2001]Intimacy [2001]
Buy new: £13.00 / Used from: £7.98
Still not seen this one.
The Last Of England [1988]The Last Of England [1988]
Buy new: £6.98
Jarman always at his best with stream-of-consciousness flow of images rather than dealing with actors/dialogue. See also 'The Garden'.
Werckmeister Harmonies/Damnation [2001]Werckmeister Harmonies/Damnation [2001]
Buy new: £11.48 / Used from: £13.76
Hungarian arthouse bleakness. Only seen 'Damnation' so far - so grim, it makes Tarkovsky's 'Stalker' look like 'Little Women'.
The House By The Cemetery [1981]The House By The Cemetery [1981]
Buy used from: £2.00
Fulci gruesomeness, featuring the fantastically named Dr. Freudstein. Like a pop-art collage of scenes from other horror movies - as with Argento, totally non-linear/anti-narrative.
Nightmare In A Damaged Brain (DVD) [1981]Nightmare In A Damaged Brain (DVD) [1981]
Buy new: £2.98
Old school nasty, with that unmistakably grotty 70's grindhouse ambience that films like 'Se7en' ironically tried to replicate using a massive budget.
The Living Dead At The Manchester Morgue [1974]The Living Dead At The Manchester Morgue [1974]
Buy used from: £8.50
Atmospheric mid-70's Spanish/British zombie flick - visceral (literally) FX anticipate Dawn/Day of Dead.
The Adjuster [1991]The Adjuster [1991]
Buy new: £19.99
Atom Egoyan's best.
Magnolia - Single Disc Set (1999)Magnolia - Single Disc Set (1999)
Buy new: £3.89 / Used from: £1.99
Bit mainstream - what a sellout I am. Awful music, but often impressive, even though I hated the director's previous effort.
Dead CreaturesDead Creatures
Buy used from: £1.57
Sounds interesting (like a 'serious' version of 'Shaun of the Dead', i.e. combining kitchen sink realism and horror) - but way too expensive. Who's going to take a chance at that price?
Shock Waves [1977] (NTSC)Shock Waves [1977] (NTSC)
Buy used from: £6.32
Creates the kind of unique atmosphere only low budget cinema can achieve.
The Homecoming [1973]The Homecoming [1973]
Very menacing and absorbing Pinter. Beckett with balls.
The Birthday Party [1968]The Birthday Party [1968]
Buy new: £6.97 / Used from: £5.94
Well worth seeing this 60's Friedkin version. Scene where Goldberg's head starts spinning round clearly looks forward to 'The Exorcist'.
The Machinist [2004]The Machinist [2004]
Buy new: £6.13 / Used from: £3.00
Looking forward to this one coming out on DVD. For fans of Lynch and Polanski. See Brad Anderson's previous 'Session 9' - superbly understated horror. Working on remake of Romero's 'The Crazies' next.
Pitfall - Masters of Cinema seriesPitfall - Masters of Cinema series
Buy new: £9.98 / Used from: £9.00
Teshigahara/Abe/Takemitsu gem. 'Woman of the Dunes' still best of quartet, I think.
God Told Me ToGod Told Me To
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £10.00
Larry Cohen's highly inventive mid-70's micro-budgeter.
Carnival Of Souls [1962]Carnival Of Souls [1962]
Buy new: £3.97 / Used from: £2.99
No collection complete without this. Totally blown away when saw it in the cinema. Keep coming back to 'atmospheric' cliche, but no other way to describe it........
The Servant [1963]The Servant [1963]
Buy used from: £9.99
Losey/Pinter classic. Slightly let down by overblown finale (OTT camera angles and sub-Fellini orgies) - understated first half way more menacing.
House Of Sand And Fog [2004]House Of Sand And Fog [2004]
Buy new: £5.97 / Used from: £3.45
OK, there's something a bit MOR, even soap-ish about this downbeat melodrama, but I found it pretty absorbing.
Dolores Claiborne [1995]Dolores Claiborne [1995]
Buy new: £3.24 / Used from: £1.69
Ditto. Far bleaker than the more feelgood Stephen King adaptations 'Shawshank Redemption' and 'Green Mile'.
The Door In The Floor [2004]The Door In The Floor [2004]
Buy new: £4.98 / Used from: £1.98
Again, another impressive mainstream offering.
3 Modern Classics - The Stepfather / Glengarry Glen Ross / The Last Seduction [1987]3 Modern Classics - The Stepfather / Glengarry Glen Ross / The Last Seduction [1987]
Buy new: £9.97
Haven't seen 'The Stepfather' in ages - but the Mamet film as psychologically brutal as any recent Neil LaBute offering.