Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on October 25, 2017

(2002) Written and directed by: Lucky McKee; Starring: Angela Bettis, Jeremy Sisto, Anna Faris, James Duval and Nichole Hiltz; Available on DVD Rating: **** “If you can’t find a friend, make one.” – May Canady (Angela Bettis) Humans are, by-and-large, soc   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on October 17, 2017

(1982) Written and directed by Frank Henenlotter; Starring: Kevin Van Hentenryck, Terri Susan Smith, Beverly Bonner, Robert Vogel, Diana Browne and Lloyd Pace; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: ***½ “Duane Bradley is such a charming character with a really nasty, sadistic   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on October 10, 2017

Note: This post simultaneously appears on Realweegiemidget Reviews. “The only thing more terrifying than the last 12 minutes of Suspiria are the first 92.” – voiceover from Suspiria trailer I’d like to extend a great big thanks to Gill Jacob for inviting me to do a   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on October 8, 2017

(1964) Written and directed by José Mojica Marins; Starring: José Mojica Marins, Magda Mei, Nivaldo Lima, Valéria Vasquez and Ilídio Martins Simões; Available on DVD Rating: ***½ “What is life? It is the beginning of death. What is death? It is the end of life. What is exis   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on September 30, 2017

He Who Gets Slapped (1924) The second American film from Swedish director Victor Sjöström (The Phantom Carriage) is a grim tale of betrayal and revenge, starring Lon Chaney. Chaney is Paul Beaumont, a brilliant scientist poised to bring the results of his research to a board of his peers. On...   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on September 25, 2017

(1925/1929) Directed by: Rupert Julian; Written by Elliott J. Clawson and Raymond L. Schrock; Based on the novel by Gaston Leroux; Starring: Lon Chaney, Mary Philbin, Norman Kerry, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Snitz Edwards, Virginia Pearson and Mary Fabian; Available on Blu-ray, DVD and Amazon Video   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on September 9, 2017

(1920) Directed by John S. Robertson; Written by: Clara Beranger; Based on the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson; Starring: John Barrymore, Martha Mansfield, Brandon Hurst, Charles Lane and Nita Naldi; Available on: Blu-ray and DVD Rating: ****   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on September 6, 2017

(1920) Directed by: Paul Wegener and Carl Boese; Written by Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen; Starring: Paul Wegener, Albert Steinrück, Ernst Deutsch, Lyda Salmonova and Lothar Müthel; Available on DVD Rating: ****½ “Venus enters the constellation Libra. The time is favorable   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on September 2, 2017

Deathdream (aka: Dead of Night) (1974) Director Bob Clark and writer Alan Ormsby (the same team that worked on Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things) best collaborative effort uses the real-world nightmares of the war in Vietnam as a backdrop for their horror film. John Marley and Lynn Carl   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on August 27, 2017

(1966) Directed by Terence Fisher; Written by: Jimmy Sangster; Based on the character created by Bram Stoker; Starring: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Andrew Keir, Francis Matthews, Suzan Farmer, Thorley Walters and Philip Latham; Available on Blu-Ray (Region B) and DVD Rating: **** &#822   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on August 19, 2017

(1990) Directed by Frank Marshall; Written by Don Jakoby and Wesley Strick; Based on a story by Don Jakoby and Al Williams; Starring: Jeff Daniels, Harley Jane Kozak, John Goodman, Julian Sands, Henry Jones, Stuart Pankin and Roy Brocksmith; Available on Blu-ray and DVD. Rating: **** &   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on August 13, 2017

(1971) Directed by Yoshimitsu Banno; Written by Yoshimitsu Banno and Takeshi Kimura; Starring: Akira Yamauchi, Toshie Kimura, Hiroyuki Kawase, Toshio Shiba and Keiko Mari; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: *** “I just planned a regular movie, but when I look on the internet   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on August 1, 2017

The Snorkel (1958) After her mother’s supposed suicide, Candy (Mandy Miller) suspects her stepfather is the real cause for the unexpected death. Candy also accuses him of killing her father, years earlier. Unfortunately, no one believes Candy, writing it off as mere flights of fancy. The suspe   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on July 23, 2017

(1971) Directed by Robert Young; Written by Judson Kinberg; Starring: Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters, Anthony Higgins, Robert Tayman, Laurence Payne and David Prowse; Available on Blu-Ray and DVD Rating: ***½ “None of you will live. The town of Schtettel will die. Your children wi   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on July 16, 2017

(1962) Directed by Peter Graham Scott; Written by John Elder (aka: Anthony Hinds); Additional dialogue by: Barbara S. Carpenter; Based on the novel Doctor Syn – A Tale of Romney Marsh by Arthur Russell Thorndike; Starring: Peter Cushing, Yvonne Romain, Patrick Allen, Oliver Reed and Michael Ri   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on July 8, 2017

(1967) Directed by Roy Ward Baker; Written by Nigel Kneale; Original story by Nigel Kneale; Starring: Andrew Keir, Barbara Shelley, James Donald and Julian Glover; Available on Blu-ray (Region B) and DVD (Region 2). Rating: ***** “I wanted a scientist who was on the edge of terri   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on July 1, 2017

A Boy and His Dog (1974) For those who like their post apocalypse science fiction with a sardonic edge, this movie hits the spot. It’s easy to see how the film influenced Mad Max, and many other post-apocalyptic flicks that followed in its wake. Apparently, Harlan Ellison didn’t like thi   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on June 28, 2017

(1981) Written and directed by Peter Hyams; Starring: Sean Connery, Frances Sternhagen, Peter Boyle, James Sikking and Clarke Peters; Available on Blu-ray and DVD. Rating: **** “…What appealed to me about making it in outer space, and making it really a western, was the fro   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on June 19, 2017

(1977) Directed by Donald Cammell; Written by: Robert Jaffe and Roger O. Hirson; Based on the novel by Dean R. Koontz; Starring: Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver, Gerrit Graham and Robert Vaughn; Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: **½ “I, Proteus, possess the wisdom and ignor   read more

Cinematic Catharsis Posted by Barry P. on June 10, 2017

(1970) Directed by Joseph Sargent; Written by James Bridges; Based on the novel Colossus, by D.F. Jones; Starring: Eric Braeden, Susan Clark, Gordon Pinsent, William Schallert, Leonid Rostoff and Georg Stanford Brown; Available on Blu-ray (region B) and DVD Rating: ****½ “   read more