Sisu (2022) – Jalmari Helander

Sometimes you just want a little of the old ultra-violence and you want to see nazis get the comeuppance you know they deserve. Sisu will check that box for you. Running a brisk ninety minutes there is blood, gore and violence galore as we join an older prospector (Jorma Tommila) in 1944 Finland. He’s left…

Deadpool (2016) – Tim Miller

Ryan Reynolds was made for the role of Deadpool, the Marvel meta-merc. His appearance as the character in Wolverine: Origins was horrible, and this is nothing but redeeming, and insanely funny. While the film is an origin story, showing how Wade Wilson (Reynolds) became Deadpool, it also knows to make fun of itself and origin…

Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972) – Amando de Ossorio

The Spanish/Portuguese horror classic Tombs of the Blind Dead finally found its way into my viewing schedule. It was a fun and interesting watch, with some curious things going on with the treatment of female characters, but the dead Templar zombies are pretty cool. Virginia (Maria Elana Apron) – arguably the most attractive actor in…

Battle Royale II (2003) – Kenta Fukasaku and Kinji Fukasaku

Battle Royale II is very much a different creation from its predecessor. Set three years after the events of the first movie this film moves the film mythology forward. Shuya (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and Noriko (Aki Maeda) have made their escape, and Shuya has now started what the rest of the world calls a terrorist organization,…

Battle Royale (2000) – Kinji Fukasaku

It’s been over a decade since I last watched this iconic action film. And while I didn’t remember all of the characters and details of the film I knew it was a kick-ass film and was eager to take a look at it. Wrapped in blood and violence the film is a harsh coming of…

Apostle (2018) – Gareth Evans

There’s a lot to unpack in Gareth Evans’ film, Apostle, there are concepts of religious tenets, blood, sacrifice, family, worship, deification, and faith, all of it wrapped up in a character driven tale starring Dan Stevens and Michael Sheen. If you try to take it as the straightforward tale that the film’s plotline offers, you’re…

TAD 2021: Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It dir. Yernar Nurgaliyev

Kazakhstan delivers Toronto After Dark’s Opening Night Gala Film, Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It, and it sets up perfectly what to expect from TAD if this is your first time. There is going to be blood, wild on-screen deaths, laugh out loud moments, uncomfortable humour, and a lot of cross genre entertainment. Datsan (Daniar Alshinov)…

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) – Danny Steinmann

1985 gave us perhaps the worst entry in the Friday the 13th franchise. The fifth film, in the series, delivers us a Jason movie without Jason in it. The story picks up a half a decade (?) after the previous film as Tommy (played by Corey Feldman in the previous film, and briefly in this…

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) – Joseph Zito

Back when I first started the blog, I got through the first three Friday the 13th films, and kind of stalled. Now, here I am ten years later, continuing the journey with Jason (Ted White in this film) as I explore the beautiful Shout! blu-ray box set. This is the last film released that still…

Millennium (1997) – Walkabout, and Lamentation

Walkabout written by Chip Johannessen and Tim Tankosic is a bit of a different story for Frank Black (Lance Henriksen). First airing on 28 March, 1997 the story sees Frank awaking covered in blood and no real memory of the past few days. As he and Peter (Terry O’Quinn) begin to investigate, they discover something…