Thursday, October 8, 2009

Hammer time! The Mummy



When ever you put Terence Fisher, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee together in one film you can expect nothing less than greatness! Ive personaly never been into the Mummy monster films, but Hammer Horrors take on the classic story is pure gold! Everything about this film oozes greatness. Besides the three main players previously mentioned there is the fact that this IS a Hammer horror film. Right there you should already be sold on it. Hammer does not do bad films. They are sophisticated horror films with great actors, great directors and they nail the gothic feel better than anybody before and after them. Period!
Terence Fisher was Hammers best asset. More so than their actors. Fisher not only made stars out of Lee and Cushing but he reinvented all the major Universal monsters for Hammer including Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolfman and The Mummy. He is the one who put Hammer on the map. His visions of the old classics were spectacular. His Frankenstein series is the best Frankenstein series! His Werewolf movie is the best werewolf movie! And his Mummy movie is without a doubt the best Mummy movie!. Brandon Fraiser and his ass bag series can eat shit and apple sauce!

Hammers Mummy film has great sets. From green lit swamps to red and blue lit Egyptian tombs. Lee's Mummy is scary and menacing. He smashes through doors, busts bars and breaks through windows. He'll choke the life out of you with one hand and snap your back over his knee. And yet he's a real softy for a beautiful Egyptian princess..aww. Hes tall and menacing and he moves pretty fast when he's going in for the kill.
The story is the same one that youll find in a million Mummy movies but the visuals and performances make this well worth the time. Egyptian-gothic horror Hammer style!




Friday, October 2, 2009

Death Rides A Horse!! This is revenge... And there's nothing sweet about it!


"Somebody once wrote that revenge is a dish that has to be eaten cold. Hot as you are, you're liable to end up with indigestion."



Death Rides a Horse (Da uomo a uomo) is a spaghetti western made in 1967, directed by Giulio Petroni and stars Lee Van Cleef and John Philip Law. Law plays Bill Meceita who as a boy witnessed the brutal murder of his family, his mother and sister were also raped. 15 years go by and now the grown Meceita has revenge on his mind. When Van Cleef strolls into town with violent results, with his own agenda of revenge, Bill finds he has a lead as to the were abouts of the sadistic gang that murdered his family.




This is a great film and one of the very best in the genre. It feels like it had a decent budget behind it. Petroni is a very skillful director here with lots of great camera shoots and a very well paced film. Ive never heard of Petroni until i watched this and now I am curious about the rest of his filmography. Van Cleef and Law share great chemistry on screen. You can tell Van Cleef was having a blast. The dialogue is great and memorable. Van Cleef spouts lots of wisdom to the inexperienced Law. Van Cleef's gunfighter, Ryan, is mysteriously sympathetic and protective of Laws hot headed vengence seeker. Theres several great scenes were Ryan leaves Bill in the middle of nowere so that he is able to the gang first.

The film doesnt shy away from the violence either. Theres alot of great shoot outs. The end climax is a balls out shoot em up that lasts a good ten minutes or so. Petroni films the action well. Lots of great revealing camera shots and some seriously haunting locations.
All of that and Ennio Morricone contribute another classic spaghetti western score here.