Vincenzo Natali directs Harrison Gilbertson, Laysla De Oliveira and Patrick Wilson in this time warp horror where a group of strangers become lost and trapped in a carnivorous field.

Based on a short story by Stephen King and son, Joe Hill. From the director of Cube of which this shares a lot of DNA. It is genuinely creepy and disorientating. The cast, aside from Wilson, could be a little starrier or sturdier. But in the main(e) this is an effective extension to a The Twilight Zone / Outer Limits episode. Looks lush.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Cube (1997)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Àlex and David Pastor directs Lou Taylor Pucci, Chris Pine and Piper Perabo in this post-apocalyptic road movie where four young adult survivors of a plague try to make it to the ocean.

What a bunch of unforgivable pricks! Still the small scale set-pieces are actually tense and this is a grim yet well realised little universe. Pulls no punches and I respect that.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Cabin Fever (2002)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Jonas Åkerlund directs Mads Mikkelsen, Vanessa Hudgens and Katheryn Winnick in this action movie where an assassin tries to retire only to be hunted down so he cannot cash in his retirement fund.

Juvenile but energetic. You can forgive its overbearing attempts to shock as they are so goofy. Still not very funny but just ludicrous. Crass, brash, flash. When Mads does his thing the action proves acceptable and that’s why I clicked on it in the first place. Matt Lucas makes for a terrible villain but suits the overall tone. Hard to kick this to death when its ambitions are so basic.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Cold Blood Legacy (2019)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

David Cronenberg directs Naomi Watt, Viggo Mortensen and Armin Mueller-Stahl in this British gangster movie where a midwife becomes embroiled with the Russian ‘vory v zakone’ when a teen prostitute dies in her care.

A bit too rote and deadpan to really satisfy. The nude sauna fight is a highlight. Accents are all over the shop.

6

Perfect Double Bill: A History Of Violence (2005)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Ciro Guerra directs Nilbio Torres, Antonio Bolívar and Jan Bijvoet in this Colombian period adventure where twice in one lifetime an indigenous shaman helps white explorers find a rare flower.

Stunning lush monochrome on-location cinematography from David Gallego. This is a spin on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness told from the native’s point of view. Two adventures down river, both taking German experts, once as a young man, the next as a wise man. Hidden agendas, exploitation, madness, enlightenment. Really thrilling, classy stuff.

8

Perfect Double Bill: Birds of Passage (2019)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

David Cronenberg directs Jeremy Irons, Jeremy Irons and Geneviève Bujold in this strange tale of twin gynaecologists whose lives deteriorate when one falls for a woman.

Surprisingly based on a true story. The glacial pace always put me off on previous watches but this third attempt clicked a little more with me. There is some nice eroticism to some of the seductions. Geneviève Bujold is impressive as the distant and flawed actress who disrupts the brothers connection. The nightmare (strange surgical devices, emotion as STD, madness) lingers around the sidelines. It ain’t going to satisfy on a Friday night but it still has enough psychological robustness to be worthy of the talents’ time.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Big Business (1988)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Fritz Lang directs Marlene Dietrich, Arthur Kennedy and Mel Ferrer in this western where a vengeful assayer looks for his wife’s killers, growing to believe they are being sheltered at a criminal hideout called Chuck-a-Luck.

Pretty standard and cheap revenge tale brightened by a couple of rousing shootouts and chases. Where it stands out is exploring the mythology of Dietrich’s showgirl matriarch and by extension the star herself. Her name keeps cropping up in Arthur (dull) Kennedy’s quest… and each time it does we get a joyful flashback to her escapades. Once we are in the secret ranch she owns at the midway point suddenly romance is ignited and everyone is playing against everyone like one of those Tarantino mock-whodunnits. There are random pleasures here even if all the overall form that ties it together is worn and ragged.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Destry Rides Again (1939)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Danny DeVito directs Mara Wilson, himself and Embeth Davidtz in this kids movie adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic.

I was checking out from family movies at this point in my teens – only Disney and Dahl could turn my head. Strongly stylised visuals from DeVito. Nice casting. The transplantation to the United States irks awkwardly at some moments, some blows are understandably softened here, but all in all this is pretty solid. Upbeat soundtrack choices.

7

Perfect Double Bill: James & The Giant Peach (1996)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Ron Shelton directs Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins in the romantic comedy where the sexy muse for her local minor league baseball team has to choose between the gauche up-and-comer and a seasoned journeyman.

Sultry. Sexier and funnier than it has any right to be. The writing is sheer poetry. Sarandon is on fire. Ron Shelton was a former minor league baseball player and used his experience as the basis for the story. The baseball doesn’t really matter however. This is about belief. About philosophy. About acceptance. Home run. Just a lovely way to spend a Saturday night.

“Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman’s back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days.”

8

Perfect Double Bill: White Men Can’t Jump (1992)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/

Mike Barker directs Mila Kunis, Finn Wittrock and Connie Britton in this drama where a successful journalist begins to relive her past traumas (a series of rapes and a school shooting) during the build-up to her wedding day.

Jessica Knoll’s 2015 bestseller was clearly prescient of the #metoo movement… and so was ripe for adaptation. You couldn’t accuse her of cashing in on the bandwagon though Luckiest Girl Alive does share a lot of DNA with the fad films that were rushed into production in the movements wake. This feels like it has just a bit more meat on its bones as a drama and even as an entertainment rather than being a mere awkward to consume echo chamber piece. Kunis gives a spiky central turn, Barker has some smart visual choices up his sleeve – especially when mixing the two jarring time lines. It is admirably hard going during some sequences… though should trauma be this glossy?… and there are four epilogues when one would suffice. Still, worth a punt if you are feeling brave.

6

Perfect Double Bill: Promising Young Woman (2020)

Check out my wife Natalie’s Point Horror blog https://cornsyrup.co.uk

We also do a podcast together called The Worst Movies We Own. It is available on Spotify or here https://letterboxd.com/bobbycarroll/list/the-worst-movies-we-own-podcast-ranking-and/