Category Archives: Review

Music To Die By: Indie Schlock Soundtracks (Part 1)

Over the years I’ve written about a large number of independent, low-budget exploitation flicks, and have been extremely impressed when, amid the mediocrity and failed ambition, there appears a real gem, a film that stands up well under fire, despite … Continue reading

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Dissecting Pazuzu

The Exorcist: Studies in the Horror Film (2011), edited by Danel Olson, Centipede Press: Colorado Reviewed by Robert Hood In the general category of Good Horror Films, there are those that gain their status by the sheer exuberance of their … Continue reading

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Review: Painting Giant Robots and Monsters

Godaizer (Singapore-2011; short [18:43 min.]; dir. Hillary Yeo) Reviewed by Robert Hood Mecha is one of the most popular sub-categories of anime and has produced some of the best and longest-running animated sci-fi series ever. Though quintessentially Japanese when considered … Continue reading

Posted in Animation, Daikaiju, Giant Monsters, Independent film, Mecha, Pictorial art, Review, Robots | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Laputa: Castle in the Sky

Laputa: Castle in the Sky [original title: Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta] (Japan-1986; dir. Hayao Miyazaki Reviewed by Robert Hood There is a distinctly steampunk — or perhaps more accurately retro, post-Industrial — aesthetic  to Hayao Miyazaki’s typically luminous fantasy anime, … Continue reading

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Review: Sex and Insects

The Midge (UK-2010; short [11:22 min.]; dir. Rory Lowe) To quote Wikipedia: “Midges comprise many kinds of very small two-winged flies found world-wide. The term does not encapsulate a well-defined taxonomic group, but includes animals in several families of Nematoceran … Continue reading

Posted in Competition, Film, Horror, Independent film, Review, Weekend Fright Flick | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Review: Monsters

Monsters (US-2010; dir. Gareth Edwards) Reviewed by Robert Hood To some extent, the title tells the story. Monsters is indeed a movie with monsters in it. They’re big, very alien and of daikaiju proportions. But is Monsters a Monster Movie? … Continue reading

Posted in Film, Giant Monsters, Independent film, Review | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Review: Ghost in the Shell 2.0 Redux

Ghost in the Shell 2.0 Redux (orig. Kôkaku kidôtai; Japan-1995; dir. Mamoru Oshii) Reviewed by Robert Hood Anyone who knows anything about anime knows Ghost in the Shell. Based on the classic manga of Masamune Shirow, Ghost in the Shell … Continue reading

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Review: Evangelion 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone

Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone (Japan-2007; dir. Masayuki Yamaguchi, Kazuya Tsurumaki and Hideaki Anno) Blu-ray edition reviewed by Robert Hood Giant robots (known as mecha) and giant monsters (known as daikaiju): two of the most iconic elements of Japanese … Continue reading

Posted in Animation, Apocalypse, Daikaiju, Giant Monsters, Japanese, Mecha, Review | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Review: Bringing the Zombies Home

Home (Australia-2010; short [approx. 11 min.]; dir. Cameron McCulloch) Aussie filmmaker Cameron McCulloch has produced a damn fine short zombie film in Home. Made for AUS$2,000, it is, as it were, but a moment in the Romeroesque, post-Night of the … Continue reading

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The Muckman Cometh

Muckman (US-2010; dir. Brett Piper) Low-budget independent B-film maven, Brett Piper’s new cryptozoological comedy-thriller, Muckman, is a satirical excursion into a backwater wilderness inhabited by more than mosquitoes and alligators. Featuring a plotline churning with deception, false identities and self-serving … Continue reading

Posted in Cryptozoology, Horror, Humour, Independent film, Review | 3 Comments