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The Bodysnatcher, a review by Jon

THE BODYSNATCHER
5 out of 5

The first of Lewton's films I've seen that could be described as a full on proper horror. Still has the atmosphere, but now with a story that Hammer could have made, wearing it's bloody evil heart on its sleeve! Edinburgh 1831 (though you wouldn't know from the accents) and a doctor employs a grave robber. They have a long history and the robber is using it as a hold over the doctor and his wife (he's over familiar, calling her "crony"). It is perfect horror, but still has the subtleties Lewton has brought to his others to produce another challenging story. Boris Karloff gives a fantastic performance as the grinning graverobber, a part not unlike the Joker in that he teases and manipulates the characters into place.

Boris Karloff is an absolute legend. You should see this film if only for his wonderful performance. He is superb. Film education is sorely lacking that this particular bastard never has a rightful place in classic villains (or even Lewton and his films in general). He even has a creepy laugh! What else do you need to make this a true horror classic? How about Bela Lugosi scrapping with Karloff. That's right, Dracula and Frankenstein slugging it out. Great stuff!

The story cleverly weaves into Scottish tradition with strong links to classic Resurrection Men Burke and Hare (the Dr was supposedly an assistant of Dr Knox), and more shockingly, a cheeky swipe at poor old Greyfriars Bobby. This is the equivalent of kicking Santa in the nuts! It's sacred. You just don't. Bloody great though.

By the way, if you don't know Burke and Hare, or Greyfriars, it's worth Googling. Both are fascinating stories and really adds to this story. It is rare that someone creates fiction to follow on from fact and it should be done more.

(From Val Lewton Horror Marathon on October 4th, 2008)

WarGames, a review by Dragonfire

My Thoughts

I first saw this one years ago on television and watched it several more times since I enjoyed it.  I just got the DVD on Friday and this was the first time that I had seen the  movie in several years.  I still really enjoyed it.  It was kind of funny to see the computers and think that all that stuff was high tech when the movie came out.     I thought that the plot was very interesting and I remember finding it very suspenseful the first time I saw the movie.  It was really scary to me to think that computers would control something like that and not be able to be stopped if something went wrong.  All the computer stuff does look dated, but I think the movie has held up well and is still entertaining. 

 

(From My November Alphabet Marathon on November 9th, 2008)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Day Break: The Complete Series (2006/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia BCI Entertainment (United States) Length: 546 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:Taye Diggs (Private Practice) stars in an action-packed, thriller from director Rob Bowman (The X-Files, Reign of Fire) and writer Paul Zbyszewski (After the Sunset). Hopper must find the balance between doing what's important and what's right to get through this killer day and move on to tomorrow.

Day Break
1.01 Pilot
Writer: Paul Zbyszewski (Created By), Paul Zbyszewski (Writer)
Director: Rob Bowman
Cast

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on April 2nd, 2011)