Monster's Blog

Here at Monster Movie DVDs you can discover a wide range of British horror dvds, books and posters. Check out our Hammer Horror and Amicus sections, or search through our entire range of horror dvds.

If you are looking for more information on British horror movies then I recommend British Horror Films, a website dedicated to british horror films (the clue's in the title!). It has been around for years, but is a site that I still go back to time and again as it is such an entertaining resource, especially its reviews, which make up the bulk of the site.

As a child of the 1970s I've always had a soft spot for the films of Hammer Horror, Amicus and the like, and British Horror Films shares this enthusiasm - its reviews are affectionate and nostalgic, and at times amusingly irreverent. They are also nimbly-written and knowledgeable, and generally reveal impeccable taste - the author (journalist Chris Woods) shares my admiration for Vincent Price's performance in 'Witchfinder General', for example… though I'll pretend not to notice his disregard of 'Company of Wolves'.

In addition to reviews and additional articles, British Horror Films also boasts a very active and lively forum, where all things horrific and british are discussed. I joined the forum recently and have found its members to be a very friendly and welcoming bunch, and highly recommend it as a place to hang out if you share a love of Britain's contribution to the genre.

A relatively new spin-off blog can also be found at http://britishhorrorfilms.blogspot.com which features various british horror related news and views and is also well worth a look.

Danny Boyle's 'Sunshine' is set in the future, at a time when our sun is dying, consequently threatening life on Earth. A solitary manned spaceship is sent toward the sun with the intention of detonating a nuclear device on its surface, thus kick-starting it back to life...

In the hands of Jerry Bruckheimer a plot like that could easily have been turned into another 'wham-bang' action movie like 'Armageddon'. But Boyle approaches it in a style much more akin to 1970s science fiction classics like 'Silent Running' and '2001'. In his hands the story becomes a solemn meditation on the isolation of space travel, of carrying the weight of responsibility, and of trying to hold onto hope in the face of impossible odds. It also contains a scenario mid-way way through the film which poses a devastating moral dilemma for the crew, one which poses a fascinating 'what would you do?' question to the viewer, and which provides the film with its most emotionally charged and compelling scenes.

'Sunshine' is however a frustrating film, So impressive in its first hour, yet undermined by a sudden and detrimental change of gear half way through its running time. Without giving anything away, all I can say is that it almost feels like someone got the scripts for two different films muddled up and that Boyle was given the first half of 'Sunshine' and the second half of 'Nightmare on Elm Ship'. Its not that the second half is bad, its just that it is predictable and formulaic, and simply isn't the movie you were enjoying up until that point.

Nevertheless 'Sunshine' is still essential viewing for science fiction fans, because that first hour is just so good. The visual effects are tremendous - the spacecraft is beautifully realised, and the Sun has a real presence throughout (the viewing deck, in which the crew view the Sun through giant filters is a very nice idea). There's real poetry here, the kind of poetry that comes through in real-life footage of space flight. The acting is good, the characters well drawn, and the treacherous nature of their mission infuses every scene with tension.

What a magnificent film 'Sunshine' nearly was...

'28 Weeks Later' has one of the most harrowing opening sequences I have ever seen. I really can't say much without giving too much away - suffice to say that when you see it you'll feel emotionally battered for the next half hour of the film. It is one of those sequences that lives with you for days, troubling you with reflections on human nature, so horrific are its events and the actions of those involved.

Worth seeing for that scene alone. Trust me.

The plot of '28 Weeks Later' picks up the story of '28 Days Later' , 28 weeks from the initial 'zombie' outbreak. Britain is a ghost of a country, and the U.S. military has secured a section of London in which live survivors of the outbreak. Early on in the film the military decide to let relatives of the survivors from overseas back into Britain with the ambition of beginning a process of re-population.

The story touches upon social and political commentary, specifically on the attitude and methods of the U.S. military in its peace-keeping and non-aggressive roles, and in that sense is very much a film for our times. But it essentially '28 Weeks Later' intends to do one thing, and that is to scare you.

And it does so masterfully.

Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo does not give the viewer any time to recover from the shock of the film's opening scene. Instead he exploits the viewer's vulnerability, relentlessly horrifying us with the sequence of events that unfold. The first hour contains some terrifying set pieces - the sight of the 'rage' infection sweeping through a confined and panicking crowd; and the sequence in which a team of snipers try to identify and take out the 'Infected' from a crowd of fleeing survivors. Both scenes capture all too vividly the horror of being swept along blindly in a terrified crowd, becoming just another stumbling figure with little control over your destiny.

But it isn't all just set pieces. The repercussions of that opening sequence turn out to be the narrative and emotional drive of the film, and the two child protagonists, played excellently by Imogen Poots and Mackintosh Muggleton, are sympathetic and compelling, bringing a welcome and needed warmth to an otherwise cold and aggressive film.

The film is also littered with well-realised, bleak depictions of a deserted London. The abandoned pizza delivery restaurant, with skeletal delivery bikers; the empty playgrounds; the numerous aerial shots.... all of them chilling and verging on the poetic.

It is unfortunate that the film loses momentum in the last half hour, a half hour which is also weakened by some rather improbable plot twists, but that doesn't detract from the fact that '28 Weeks Later' is an intelligent, stylish and most of all genuinely frightening film that in many ways I enjoyed more than its predecessor. Highly recommended.

Oh, and that opening sequence....

I finally caught up with 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'. this weekend. Having read mixed reviews I wasn't expecting anything as good as the original trilogy, but it was still with some excitement that I sat down to watch it...

The story, written by George Lucas, is set in the 1950s, and involves the mysterious crystal skull of the film's title, an explosive encounter with some evil Russians, and a trip to the Amazon in search of El Dorado. Sounds promising enough and indeed the first half hour is pretty impressive. The depiction of 1950s America is enjoyable, and enfused with some of the nostalgic affection that was evident in Lucas' 'American Graffiti', and the scenes that follow Indy accidentally triggering an explosion on a nuclear test site contain the same flair and wit as the original trilogy.

It is a very likeable start to the adventure, and Speilberg and Lucas both appear to be on form and enjoying resurrecting the franchise. Unfortunately however, once the adventure re-locates to the Amazon things take a turn for the worse. The problem is simple - there just isn't enough action. It becomes far too talky, with Indiana and his sidekick (Shia LaBeouf) travelling from location to location, only to stand there and talk endlessly, deciphering hieroglyphs, and discussing the origins of the skull, all of which add nothing to the film but boredom.

When the Russians finally catch up with them it improves slightly, largely due to the performance of Cate Blanchett - whose comic-book villain Irina Spalko is one of the few truly enjoyable things about the film. Even so, even the encounters with the Russians largely consist of standing around talking, albeit at gunpoint.

The latter half of the film is saved by one great action sequence involving a jeep chase through the jungle and a swarm of killer ants. The adrenaline-fuelled camera work and lively stunts finally give the audience what they wanted, even if the sequence is marred by an ill-advised use of CGI to create a highly improbable 'Tarzan' sequence that breaks the viewers suspension of disbelief in a manner similar to the infamous iceberg surfing sequence in 'Die Another Day'.

After the chase sequence comes the climax, the nature of which is signposted in the films opening scene to anyone with a passing interest in sci-fi. Unfortunately even this is a disappointment, with yet more wordy explanation of what we are seeing in front of us. I'm reminded again that this is the same writer of 'The Phantom Menace', which suffered a similar problem. Lucas seems too often to forget that all the mythology he creates in order to write a story should remain in his notebooks - it should be a means to an end (the end being an action-packed story), not the end itself.

With a few edits in the mid-section of the film, and a more dramatic confrontation at the climax 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' could have been much improved, but as it stands it is rather a disappointment. It isn't without its moments, and is by no means a bad film, but once that first half hour finishes it has to be said that the old magic fades. Shame.

The BBC have produced some excellent Christmas ghost stories over the years, most notably its adaptations of MR James stories. So it was great anticipation that I sat down to watch the three part series 'Crooked House'.

Written and produced by Mark Gatiss (best known for his work on the dark comedy series 'The League of Gentlemen'), 'Crooked House' tells three stories from three different centuries, all of them centering on the haunted house Geap Manor, and linked together by conversations between a museum curator (Mark Gatiss) and a school teacher who has discovered a door knocker that once hung on Geap Manor's front door.

The first episode was a satisfying ghost story in the tradition of MR James, in which a corrupt Georgian businessman renovates Geap Manor, only to find something sinister lurking within the woodwork. The plot was predictable, and the scenes of haunting were not especially scary, but it was a nonetheless solid and very entertaining piece of work, and its familiar, old fashioned feel served the Christmas schedules well. Best enjoyed with an open fire and a comfy pair of slippers.

The second episode was set in the 1920s and concerned itself with an aristocratic party in which a couple announce their engagement, a declaration which results in the bride-to-be becoming haunted by a ghostly bride.

My enjoyment of this episode was marred somewhat by its trailer, which revealed far too much of the story's plot, including a glimpse of its climax. However, I think it is fair to say that like the first episode, the story is solid yet unremarkable. Additionally, some of its story elements are somewhat irrelevant to the progression of the plot, though the period detail is convincing and interesting. Some of the appearances of the ghost do send a chill down the spine however, and the origins of the ghost are revealed to be suitably macabre. There's also a very effective (albeit cheap) jump scare, helping to make this a scarier, if less appealing follow-up to the opening episode.

The third episode brings us forward to the present day, when the school teacher ceases to be a mere linking thread and becomes instead the focus of a horrific haunting of his own. In this episode, the various snippets of Tudor back-story discussed by the teacher and curator take on an unforeseen significance, and the school teacher realises that Geap Manor's door knocker is no mere antique but poses a real and immediate threat.

I was expecting the third episode to continue in the same vein as the previous two, to be enjoyable yet somewhat over-familiar and lacking in real fear. How wrong I was. This turned out to be one of the most inventive and genuinely frightening slices of television that I've seen in a while. The haunting sequences had something of the terrifying irrationality displayed in Robert Wise's classic 'The Haunting', and the whole episode was infused with a sense of dread and inevitability.... the plot twists leave you guessing how it will all end, but you feel certain its going to end badly. A rather scary demon makes an appearance, and although the episode's climax may read as a little absurd on paper, it was handled convincingly by director Damon Thomas, leaving the viewer unsettled in the best possible way, as well as rounding off the series in a way that encourages repeat viewings.

'Crooked House' was apparently the manifestation of a life-long dream of Mark Gatiss to 'sending a festive shiver down the nation's spine.' On the evidence of this series, the last episode in particular, he can consider it a dream fulfilled.