August 20, 2018, Posted in  Features Comments: No comments

Currently making an impact on the festival circuit, Jenn Wexler’s The Ranger is a horror home-run. When a gang of punks run foul of the law they flee to a cabin in the nearby woods. But soon discover the laws of nature are governed by a terrifying park ranger with a lethal zero tolerance policy on infractions.

Deftly working in elements of Green Room, The Blair Witch Project and Friday the 13^th, it rises above mere pastiche due to Wexler’s deft direction and great performances from Chloe Levine as the troubled Chelsea and Jeremy Holm, larger than life as the titular park official.

A horror movie producer for Glass Eye Pix, The Ranger is Wexler’s directorial debut...

July 28, 2018, Posted in  Podcast Comments: No comments

Ep 48 of The Electric Shadows Podcast sees Robs Daniel & Wallis pulling a late nighter to talk about Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Our intrepid casters in pod had just seen the film and were both suitably impressed by Tom Cruise latest attempt to risk life and limb to entertain the audience.

To find out why, listen on, and see where they rank this in the M:I canon.

The Robs also find time to scale Dwayne Johnson’s Skyscraper (if you will) and discuss why it it doesn’t quite reach the dizzying heights of Rob D’s expectations.

As always, thanks for listening and please click to subscribe. We’re also available on iTunes, Stitcher and Pocketcast.

To check out Rob Wallis’ movie writings, head over to: www.ofallthefilmsites.com

Twitter: rob_a_daniel

iTunes Podcast: The Electric Shadows Po...

July 25, 2018, Posted in  Features Comments: No comments

The biggest monster in 2018 is my dear friend who has chosen to get married abroad this August Bank Holiday weekend.

Ahem, I jest. It is, of course, a privilege to be invited to his wedding. Plus, it means I shall spend the next 12 months catching up with the fantastic films listed below. An all-year-round FrightFest? There’s an idea…

Arrow Video FrightFest 2018 sees the festival entering a remarkable 19^th year, and showing no sign of easing up on the shocks, surprises, special guests and treats.

Located at Leicester Square’s Cineworld and Prince Charles Cinema, the celebration of shivers runs from Thursday 23^rd to Monday 27^th August.

Over these five days FrightFest will showcase a record breaking seventy movies from eighteen countries...

July 17, 2018, Posted in  Podcast Comments: 2 comments

To celebrate the 10^th anniversary of The Dark Knight’s theatrical release, episode 47 of The Electric Shadows Podcast has gone big. Across four hours, Robs Daniel and Wallis and Bat-expert Ian Bird discuss Nolan’s landmark trilogy. Plus, a wider discussion of the Caped Crusader in comic books and on the small screen, both animated and live action.

Our trio delve deep into the Bat cave, covering a range of Bat chat. From Nolan’s career, to the making of the trilogy, Nolan’s influences, the impact of Christian Bale’s Batman, Heath Ledger’s Joker and Tom Hardy’s Bane, and the difficult-to-repeat legacy the films left behind.

Not that the discussion is just a rhapsody. Ian and the Robs discuss some of the brickbats thrown at the trilogy, particularly the divisive The Dark Knight...

July 7, 2018, Posted in  Podcast Comments: No comments

Episode 46 of The Electric Shadows Podcast may focus on Incredibles 2, but Robs Daniel & Wallis squeeze in much more movie talk besides.

Other films discussed are Hereditary (one Rob is warmer to it than the other), Sicario 2: Soldado (the other Rob is warmer to it than the other), Oceans 8 (only one Rob has seen it) and Leave No Trace (only the other other Rob has seen it).

There is also time for a quick rundown of Mission: Impossible movies and superhero films when delivering their verdict on Incredibles 2.  And Rob Wallis impresses with his knowledge of Shakespeare. Everything crammed into just over an hour. Who says they can’t be disciplined with run times? They do actually…

To check out Rob Wallis’ movie writings, head over to www.ofallthefilmsites.com

Twitter: rob_a_daniel

iTu...

July 1, 2018, Posted in  Reviews Comments: One comment

Director: Brad Bird

Writer: Brad Bird

Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Bob Odenkirk, Catherine Keener, Samuel L. Jackson

Cert: PG

Running time: 118mins

Year: 2018

What’s the story: Helen Parr, aka Elastigirl (Hunter), is recruited by brother and sister tech tycoons (Odenkirk and Keener) to rehabilitate public perception of superheroes. Leaving Bob Parr, aka Mr. Incredible (Nelson), to deal with kids Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack. But, supervillainous trouble looms in the shape of the mysterious Screenslaver.

What’s the verdict: The Incredibles was such a delight that despite climaxing with a cliffhanger (or, more accurately, a threat from below) a follow-up never felt necessary.

Writer/director Brad Bird clearly shared this opinion for years...

June 24, 2018, Posted in  Reviews Comments: No comments

Director: Abel Ferrara

Writer: Nicholas St. John

Cast: Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken, Annabella Sciorra, Edie Falco, Paul Calderon, Michael Imperioli

Cert: 18

Running time: 82mins

Year: 1995

Film:
Extras:

What’s the story: New York philosophy student Kathleen (Taylor) is turned into a vampire after a nocturnal attack. Struggling with a new craving for human blood, she also comes to learn more about the nature of evil.

What’s the verdict: While Abel Ferrara’s cinematic cred may have expired some twenty years ago, during the ’80s and ‘90s there were few directors as raw, fearless and exciting as the Bronx-born madman.

The Addiction, his take on vampirism, is steeped in ‘90s touchpoints: AIDS, drug dependency, underclass anxiety, and comfortable middle-class ennui.

A canny m...

June 17, 2018, Posted in  Podcast Comments: No comments

Episode 45 of The Electric Shadows Podcast sees Robs Daniel & Wallis with meat between their teeth as they get stuck into Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. The intrepid explorers discuss the original Jurassic Park, and the issues facing all the sequels.

Where does this latest Jurassic outing lie amidst the sequels in their view? You’ll have to listen to find out.

And, along the way you can hear them take chunks out of each other as they debate whether genetic engineering is wise. Rob Wallis errs on the side of caution; Rob Daniel is a bold visionary excited by the places scientific endeavours could take us. Rob D did also pen this blurb.

Plus, as Die Hard is nearing celebrating its 30 year anniversary, they kick off the podcast discussing why it remains one of the best action films ever mad...

June 13, 2018, Posted in  Features Comments: No comments

Pink Flamingos. Society. Ichi the Killer. The Sound of Music. Sometimes a film comes along so wild, weird, whacked-out and debauched, it sears itself into the brain forever.

Attack of the Adult Babies is such a cinematic experience.

A suburban family stumbles upon a world of privileged perversion in a palatial country manor house. Here they discover elite middle-aged men indulging in infantalised fetishism, and it’s all about to get murderously messy. Yet, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Wait until they get to the bottom of things.

The brain child (or baby) of Dominic Brunt and Joanne Mitchell, the team behind British horror flicks Before Dawn and Bait, and scriptwriter Paul Shrimpton, Attack of the Adult Babies is a film to witness in mouth-open disbelief...

June 10, 2018, Posted in  Features Comments: 2 comments

Watching Die Hard today could not be easier. Simply add it to your digital basket and chances are you’ll be watching it in under 24 hours. Or the very same day. In 4K Ultra-HD if you are so set-up.

But, things were different for us UK action junkies who were teenagers when the film was released. First up, as was the fashion of the time, despite a US release date of July 1988, we had to wait until February ’89.

Now it is a BBFC certificate 15 (although DVD extras push it to 18). Back then the film was an 18, meaning another wait for video later in the year and then persuading a parent the film was worth renting. The final hurdle, if you lived in rural Northamptonshire as I did, was that 10 VHS copies of Die Hard had to cater for a town of 10,000 people...