braids Reviews

Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964)

A lot of fun and quite a unique film

[7/10 · 7 January 2006]

I'm glad I didn't turn off HG Lewis films completely after 'Blood Feast', because although it may be better and more historically important than '2000 Maniacs', this is for sure the better film.

This is the story of Pleasant Valley, a town in the south that we never really do find out the truth about, but what we do find out, is that Pleasant Valley sure don't like 'yankees', as there are gruesome murders to prove that.

There is a storyline, which is very nice to see, and although the acting is still pretty terrible, the characters are extremely entertaining. The music is also a campy and cool touch.

These days, the film works more as a campy cult classic than an effective horror movie, so if you're looking for a scare, '2000 Maniacs' probably isn't the movie you're looking for.

But if you're a fan of cult movies, or just curious to see where the modern gore movie came from, skip 'Blood Feast' and go straight to '2000 Maniacs'.

Blood Feast (1963)

Worth seeing, but only for historical purposes

[2/10 · 5 January 2006]

Well, it's been said that 'Blood Feast' was the first gore movie of all time. I'm not going to dispute that, as I haven't seen any before its release date of 1963. What can not be disputed by anybody is that the film had an incredible influence on the horror/gore/cult film genre.

That's admirable. Without 'Blood Feast' and the other early gore films of HG Lewis, we may not have had the great movies by the likes of Romero, Argento and Fulci, and those are some of the best horror films of all time.

However, other than the gore, 'Blood Feast' really has nothing going for it as far as I'm concerned. The storyline involves an Egyptian man who believes in an ancient cult and goes around killing young women and the police force's efforts to catch the killer. That's the whole story.

Quite often an absence of a storyline and bad acting can help, not hinder a film, as seen in another cult classic released just two years after 'Blood Feast', 'Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!'.

In conclusion, basically, if you are a fan of the horror genre or cult films in general, 'Blood Feast' is worth checking out, just to see where it all began, but it doesn't stand up to the standards to any of the classic or cult horror movies that it has influenced.

Singles (1992)

A sweet romantic comedy

[10/10 · 5 January 2006]

This movie has almost convinced me that I am way too closed minded about mainstream movies.

I saw this mainly because of its 'grunge' soundtrack, composed by the brilliant Paul Westerberg.

What I saw was not a 'grunge' subculture movie, but rather a conventional romantic comedy, probably quite similar to many Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts movies, but I loved it! Sometimes you need a bit of sugar in a movie, in the same way you need to escape, or have your mind expanded.

I really enjoyed this movie, and I find it hard to believe that anyone can not find something to like about it. One of my favourites of all time!

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)

A whole lot of fun

[9/10 · 5 January 2006]

It seems now that in Australia, finally some great cult movies are being released to DVD. Although I've wanted to see it for years, I only just saw Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill, and it's my first film by Russ Meyer.

If they're all similar to this, I can't wait to see more. The storyline is pretty dodgy, and so is the acting, but if you're watching a movie called Faster Pussycat, Kill Kill, you are probably after a bit of weirdness and campy fun. With Faster Pussycat, that's exactly what you get! Everything is great about this movie as far as I'm concerned. It's aged considerably, but that is what makes it so great.

A must for any cult movie fan!