The Choral: Another Depressing Film About The War

A choir sing songs in Yorkshire during the War.

So I like to support the British film industry, but this just didn’t seem to be coming out in my region anytime soon, so I decided to simply use a VPN and watch it on streaming.

I probably would have resent paying a cinema ticket price for this, mainly because it is depressing. It is the usual Oscar bait sort of film, there is a lot of diversity, it is sad, and there is some sort of allegory. The issue with it is that these sort of films are ten a penny and so this is nothing remarkable.

There is also a horrible scene wherein a character who is presented to you as sympathetic throughout the film coerces his ex into a sexual act when she is now with someone else. This then makes the fact that this does not get mentioned again or cause any further conflict in the film seem odd, the fact the film still wants you to root for him thereafter seems like a moral failings.

Overall, another depressing film about the War.

2/5

Pros.

It is well shot

The period feels real

Cons.

It is Oscar bait

It is depressing

The assault

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The Ballard Of Wallis Island: The Ultimate Stan Move

Summary

An oddball who wins the lottery, invites his favourite pop duo to his private island for a show after they have long since broken up.

This was quite a heart warming film and it doesn’t go the way you expect it to, you imagine the duo are going to get back together, musically and romantically, but in the end they don’t and that is presented as okay and a healthy step forward.

This film is not really a laugh a minute sort of film, I would almost hesitate to call it a comedy film, I would say it is more of a feel good film, it makes you smile rather than laugh. That is not to say there aren’t jokes in it, there are but that is not really what the film is going for.

You could I suppose argue it is a comedy drama film as there is a raw emotional side to this film, with the island owner being a widow who is incredibly sad, or the male half of the pop duo hating his life since the band broke up. This for once works as you do care about the characters so both sides of the comedy drama split hold up, you care about them and they make you smile but also you feel bad for them when you see how much pain they are in.

In many ways this is a rare beast these days an intelligent film that doesn’t need to be pretentious or tell you openly how deep it is, this is a film with hidden depth palpably throughout that is obvious to those who can recognise it.

Overall, a sweet film.

4/5

Pros.

The characters

The music

The charm

The emotional depth

Cons.

Some of the character arcs are perhaps not explored enough

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Curse of Frankenstein: The Original Hammer Horror

Summary

The age of Hammer Horror begins.

This is one of my holdovers from the Halloween period, that I am slotting in here in between major releases.

I thought this film had a cool vibe, and I liked that it did something different with the source material and though exploring Frankenstein’s madness, here played by Peter Cushing, was an interesting road to walk down. Seeing him do more and more evil things to bring the monster to life, losing his soul along the way, was a fascinating piece of juxtaposition for the later actions of the monster.

I would say that the film has pacing issues and could have done with a closer edit, there were scenes that went on for too long and others that could have been cut out entirely, this was somewhat offset by the strong framing of the man condemned to die at the beginning and then revisited at the end, but not enough.

Overall, the film certainly looked good and did something different with the source material but the pacing and some of the dialogue just held it back of being more than it is.

3/5

Pros.

The style

The new twist

Cushing

Cons.

The pacing

Weaker dialogue

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The Last Sacrifice: Rural England Is Really Pretty Wild

Summary

A documentary about a murder in rural England and its connections to the folk horror boom of the Seventies.

I had been interested in this documentary for some time, so to my delight when I looked and saw it had come out on digital I immediately gave it a watch.

I have to say I was disappointed with it, there are some interesting insights presented, and the final story about how the Teletubbies was connected to it is funny, but the documentary just doesn’t go deep enough for me.

In that I mean that a lot of the observations and comments made, strike you in the ‘yes obviously’ sort of range, these are all things that many people who know a lick about horror films and history already know. Whilst I can understand that this is made for a mass audience not someone who watches probably close to one hundred horror films a year, if you include rewatches, and who reads books on the genre space, I did find that it felt pedestrian.

Moreover, the film clearly cut a lot out, but what it leaves in raises ground for pause, as there are throw away segments and lines of inquiry that seem to go nowhere, and it makes you think the film should have been edited down even more to remove these loose ends, but as it stands it wasn’t.

Overall, if you are looking for something more casual or don’t know much about horror you will likely enjoy it, if you want a more thorough look I would recommend the folk horror documentary on Shudder.

3/5

Pros.

It has some interesting points

It feels like a love letter to folk horror

It sets up other better documentaries

Cons.

It does not go far enough

It has multiple dead ends

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The Witches/Devil’s Own: Terror In The Home Counties

Summary

Witches in an English village , why I never thought I would see the day.

After a very unnecessary and confusing segment in Africa, Joan Fontaine’s quiet teacher ends up working in an English village and wouldn’t you know there is witchcraft. In many ways this film feels like a forbearer for films like the Wickerman or Virgin Witch that would come later, but unlike them it did not go as far as they would go, in either the shocks department or in exploring the subject matter.

There are some interesting moments wherein you see certain aspects of witchcraft such as the stuff with the dolls, which is like voodoo but different enough, however, the film fails to explore them in much depth. This is particularly true of the African witchcraft elements the start of the film introduces.

My issue with this film is the pacing, whilst there are entertaining parts of the film, the pace was so glacial slow at other times that you started to lose interest and that really hurts the film.

Overall, if you are a fan of folk horror you will get something out of this, otherwise the dryness of it might be a bit off putting.

3/5

Pros.

The weirdness

The proto folk vibes

The performances

Cons.

It doesn’t explore its mythology enough

The opening is really not needed

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To The Devil A Daughter: Nightmare Orgasms

Summary

Christopher Lee leads a satanic cult, intent on bringing a demon into the world.

At this stage I am cleaning up, these next few days will be the last of my Halloween watches before we get back into more regularly scheduled programming. As you know I am a big Lee fan, as such I couldn’t let Halloween pass without watching a Lee film. Here we are on that front.

I have to say this is not one of the strongest Hammer entries, I feel that The Devil Rides Out is much stronger, and gives Lee more to do. He is the antagonist here, and other than a few mind powers scenes that mimic his Rasputin film, he is not given much of substance to do, other than look evil.

The plot around this young lady from Germany and her parents involvement in a satanic cult, is not so much a head scratcher, as a film that leaves you entirely baffled it is so convoluted that you don’t know which way is up by the end of it, and have no idea what has remotely happened.

There is one scene that I would be remiss not to mention which is Hammer in all of their late seventies weirdness, and in this scene the central young lady is supposed to be having a bad dream yet is moaning like she is in the throws of sex, this scene lasts a long time. Take that as you will.

Overall, a good idea ruined by trying to do too much.

2/5

Pros.

There is some great unintentional comedy

Lee is a good villain even if he is given nothing to do

Cons.

It is convoluted

It has needless nudity and sexual elements that do seem to serve a purpose

The characters are not well developed

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Rasputin The Mad Monk: The Holy Power Of Mind Control

Summary

Did you know that Rasputin had a British accent.

I thought this film was a lot of fun, it was silly and had a number of good funny moments, they weren’t intentional sure but that doesn’t stop it from being funny.

I thought Christopher Lee did a good job in the role and managed to make Rasputin and his magical powers seem threatening. I would have liked if they had gone full John Carpenter and in the final shot when they look out of the window to see if they killed Rasputin for him to have just been gone.

There was an awful lot of focus placed on Rasputin’s way with women and whilst I suppose that makes some sense there has to be a question about who they are doing that for, it feels once again as though the audience is trying to give its teenage fans a giddy thrill.

Overall, if you enjoy the pomp and the absurdity of Hammer in its heyday then you will like this, not necessarily super scary but still a lot of fun.

3/5

Pros.

Christopher Lee

It is a lot of fun

It is over the top

Cons.

A bit too focused on pleasing the teens

It missed the chance to set up a sequel

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Blood On Satan’s Claw: Seventies Era Teenage Nudity

Summary

The Devil comes to the south of England.

In many ways this and many films like it are a forgotten art form, the focus on folk traditions and atmosphere over jump scares and wild moments, is something few filmmakers do anymore.

I would argue therein lies this film’s greatest strength, its sense of time, place and environment. It feels like a very specific world, and one in which you become fully invested and sink into. The horror builds slowly over time and escalates more and more until it hits a crescendo.

Whilst I appreciated some aspects of this crescendo, such as the practical costume design of the Devil/Demon, I thought others came off as a little needless. I am talking about the rape scene, which is long and drawn out, as well as the copious amounts of nudity in the film, which feels done to get teens on-board rather than for story based reasons, such as in the Wicker Man.

Overall, an interesting film that cuts its own character, but one which may also make some people feel uncomfortable.

3.5/5

Pros.

The setting

The atmosphere

The very British sensibility to it

The creature design

Cons.

There are a few script issues and things that don’t make sense

The rape scene is uncomfortable

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The Lord Of Misrule: Posh Lady Vs The Folk Devil

Summary

A posh English Vicar, Tuppence Middleton, runs afoul of an ancient God.

There is a good sense of place here, and a certain folk tradition, however, as the film progresses you start to realise you have seen this before. The good and fresh ideas that this film presents in the first act that then get turned into repetitive slop in the end.

The mythology of the film’s antagonist is interesting but never fully explained, which feels like a missed opportunity. Ralph Ineson is as always great, however, his character makes little sense, as the opening frames his character in the procession to see off the beast and having lost a son to it, yet then being the evil cult leader servicing the beast in the end.

Whilst I appreciate what this film was trying to do in terms of aesthetics and an adherence to British folk tradition, it was just creatively hallow.

Overall, good ideas wasted with generic storylines.

2/5

Pros.

The ideas

The setting and the feel of it

Cons.

The ending

Making Ineson the villain again

You feel like you have seen it before

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Downton Abbey, The Grand Finale: The Scandal Of A Divorcee Having A One Night Stand

Summary

We return for one last trip to Downton Abbey.

In many ways this film was unnecessary, a lot of it felt like filler, and it didn’t really need to be a thing. However, it was nice escapist entertainment, and allowed you to return to a simpler time for an hour and change.

It did meaningfully close out the series/film saga in such a way as to suggest it is in fact the end. Homage was paid to the earlier seasons of the show, and moments that fans would remember, there was a sense of change that permeated the film, and whilst no major characters died there was enough done to provide a sense of finality.

I would say that Mary, Michelle Dockery, has the most boring plotline, with her being scandalised for her divorce, even in high society people would not have been so precious about it at that time. This stretched incredulity a bit too much. Coupled with the fact that she then had a one night stand and was blackmailed for it, it all seems very American and over the top. That is not what Downton is.

The plotline about Mary taking over Downton and becoming the lady of the house was far more well done and in keeping with the series.

Overall, a solid if somewhat unnecessary third film.

3/5

Pros.

It is fun escapism

There are some cheer worthy moments

The ending hits the right note

Cons.

It is unnecessary

The divorce storyline

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