Blood Runs Cold (2011)
The best I can say about this godawful
Norwegian Swedish slasher is that it looks a lot more expensive than the paltry $5000 spent on it.
Having said that, low budget film-makers in Scandinavia have an advantage in that the incredible scenery adds instant production value. Plus their actresses are probably easier to persuade into taking their tops off than most. This one has literally no plot and the cast all fail in pulling off American accents. Avoid.
2/10
The Vampire Lovers (1970)
The first instalment in Hammer's "Karnstein" trilogy, based on Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla". Ingrid Pitt is a lesbian vampire seducing the local virgins for their blood. Crazy as it seems now, this was one of the most positive portrayals of homosexuality at it's time. Pitt's blood-sucker is the sort of romantic vamp who would be a big hit with teenage girls today, a doomed anti-heroine at odds with a world she doesn't fit in. Roy Ward Baker does a great directing job, the sets designed so his camera can fly through keyholes and up staircases. As always Cushing is immense but this is most definitely Pitt's movie.
8/10
Lust For A Vampire (1971)
The follow up to "The Vampire Lovers" is cheap and shoddy in comparison though still fun for fans of Hammer. Ingrid Pitt refused to return, rightly citing a poor script, so Yutte Stensgard steps in as Carmilla. Though she's very easy on the eye she just can't compete with Pitt's electric charisma. Jimmy Sangster, who wrote many great scripts for Hammer, directs this one in bland fashion. Ralph Bates is fun as a struggling poet who bluffs his way into a teaching job at an all girl boarding school. Respect.
6/10
Twins Of Evil (1971)
The Karnstein trilogy ends with a bang in this return to form for Hammer. Cushing returns though as a different character to the baron he played in "The Vampire Lovers". This time he's an evil preacher who burns local girls at the stake under charge of witchcraft. He's rarely been better, and that's really saying something. When a ridiculously hot pair of twins come to stay with him they become embroiled in all manner of devilry. Great stuff.
8/10
Son Of Kong (1933)
Considering "King Kong" is one of my favourite movies, I don't know why I put off watching it's immediate sequel for so long. The title character might be an offspring but in quality terms this is a distant cousin. Robert Armstrong returns as showman Carl Denham, now bankrupt and pursued by process servers. Hearing of secret treasure, he returns to Skull Island which seems severely underpopulated by creatures compared to the first movie. The highlight is a fight between Kong Jnr and a giant bear but there's little here to satisfy monster fans. Audiences at the time must have felt so cheated.
4/10
