POMO

If there’s no budget for a monster, we’ll have a female astronaut raped to death by a monster. The attractive, always thoroughly made-up female members of the space-station crew and their charismatic colleagues act as if they are at a casting call for extras, and the suspense and action are laughable. Inseminoid is very bad sci-fi B-movie.

In terms of form and acting, Strait-Jacket is a likeable old-school thriller, psychologically well told and acted, with deep trauma, axe murders, a pretty daughter and a young George Kennedy. It’s just a shame that it crosses the line into B-movie foolishness at the end with a would-be shocking twist that, in the way it negates all of the characters' previous behaviour, is basically an acknowledgement of the film’s sole and regrettably modest aim of only momentarily tricking the viewer.

This Italian slasher borrows the character of the killer from the previous year’s classic Anthropophagus, without that film’s atmosphere and tragic mystery, but rather with the simple storyline of “a monster on the run goes on a killing spree”. The intense soundtrack and the character of the priest chasing the “boogeyman” suggest inspiration in Carpenter’s Halloween, but instead of any filmmaking inventiveness, it plays on crude violence, cruelty and gory brutality. Absurd is an average though still decent Eurotrash horror flick in the context of the subgenre. **1/2

This brief shocker stands out thanks to its unique location on a remote Greek island, powerfully atmospheric soundtrack, terrifying killer and one or two extraordinarily gross bits of disgustingness, which made it a classic of the genre. Italian horror trash with courage and an irresistibly distinctive face.

A good half of It’s Alive is taken up by empty talking and unnecessary scenes. Cohen was a proficient Hollywood practitioner, and he was able to engage Bernard Herrmann and put together an attractive poster, but constructing an interesting story and engaging the viewer were beyond his abilities. The film has an original idea with a born murderous mutant and parents who struggle with remorse on the one hand and parental attachment to the child on the other hand, but none of this is utilised as a functional psychological motor for the film. And the horror scenes are B-movie cheap.

Kathryn borrowed the crew of the spaceship from Jim’s Aliens and turned them into ruthless vampires. Near Dark is a nice mix of drama, romance and vampire horror set in the American desert. The soundtrack alone brings the pain. Where did those composers get that stuff back then?!

Amundsen is a nicely told story with an explorer’s spirit, high-quality CGI and make-up, and a remarkable performance by Pål Sverre Hagen. However, the film is a bit sluggish in depicting Amundsen’s complex nature, primarily through the character played by Katherine Waterston, who, together with Amundsen’s brother, guides us through his story. It's as if she was plugged into the screenplay as an unavoidable female element only to vindicate Amundsen’s positive human qualities. However, the film tells us the minimum about her relationship with Amundsen and rather depicts his relationship with another woman.

A properly filled-in plot template that’s entertaining, especially thanks to its characters. With its good villain(s), one dramatic moment and one joke that will make you laugh out loud, Spenser Confidential is fine a diversion, better than you would have expected.

Geostorm is an extraordinarily bad and silly disaster blockbuster in which absolutely nothing works. It lacks Emmerich’s perspective and empathetic work with the characters. The scientific dialogue and the plot in general don’t make even a bit of sense and the political conspiracy plot line is laughable, as are the nonsensical weather elements (a cold wind-driven mega-wave flash freezes people in bathing suits on the beach in tropical Rio? Huh?). It’s been a long time since I’ve had trouble finishing such a well-cast film.

Though Chaos is a bit of a guilty pleasure, it’s a nice film with an original sci-fi world, imaginative “dialogue” and a very likeable central duo. The motif of revealing heartfelt thoughts and revealed wishes is magical for sparking romance. Daisy’s shyness and unkempt blond hair won me over more here than in Star Wars, and Holland is perfect as a simple adolescent boy with no awareness of the truth, nostalgia for his mother and his relationship with his dog. Only Mikkelsen isn’t well suited for these negative roles; I simply don’t believe him.