Monster match-up reviews
Alien Vs Predator
Ever since the disembodied head of H.R. Giger's famed creation was spied in a trophy cabinet in the fairly cretinous Predator 2, gits everywhere have gossiped, speculated and conspired to bring these two species together on film. There have been several comic book series already, but Paul W.S. Anderson has both realized and destroyed the dream of spods all over the world by writing and directing this load of twaddle.
Not that I ever expected it to be anything but twaddle: while the Alien films have been a source of artistic and visceral thrills, the two Predator films are derivative and largely uninspired. Paul W.S. Anderson (middle initials possibly invented to distinguish him from Paul Thomas Anderson, director of Magnolia) can handle an action scene competently, but there's nothing to recommend AvP visually beyond the design work, and the Alien models are the same ones used in the superior Alien Resurrection anyway. The film does answer the question of who would win in a fight between an Alien and a Predator if they both fought like Hulk Hogan (the answer, conveniently, is both/neither) - at least it has the good grace to be short.
Zombie Flesh Eaters aka Zombi 2
Lucio Fulci, eh? What a guy. Loves the gore, loves the zombies, loves loves loves to depict horrific injuries to eyes. With this rather excellent cash in on Romero's Dawn of the Dead, Fulci offers all of his passions plus an unexpected bonus: a fight between a zombie and a shark. Perhaps you don't believe me?
I had seen Zombie Fleash Eaters before, but the recently released remastered dvd lifts it out of a twenty-year murk and into its own kind of beauty. This is however the first time I've seen the notorious (and long banned in the UK) eye impalement scene. It isn't anything like as horrible as some would have you believe - in fact, the fakery is obvious - but it's a great attempt at stomach turning right in the middle of a film that seems fairly gentle now. For all his problems with pace (occasionally more than a bit slow) Fulci has a great eye for colour and a wonderful flair for the dramatic - the gorgeously red blood splattered around is about as Italian as cinema gets.
Ever since the disembodied head of H.R. Giger's famed creation was spied in a trophy cabinet in the fairly cretinous Predator 2, gits everywhere have gossiped, speculated and conspired to bring these two species together on film. There have been several comic book series already, but Paul W.S. Anderson has both realized and destroyed the dream of spods all over the world by writing and directing this load of twaddle.
Not that I ever expected it to be anything but twaddle: while the Alien films have been a source of artistic and visceral thrills, the two Predator films are derivative and largely uninspired. Paul W.S. Anderson (middle initials possibly invented to distinguish him from Paul Thomas Anderson, director of Magnolia) can handle an action scene competently, but there's nothing to recommend AvP visually beyond the design work, and the Alien models are the same ones used in the superior Alien Resurrection anyway. The film does answer the question of who would win in a fight between an Alien and a Predator if they both fought like Hulk Hogan (the answer, conveniently, is both/neither) - at least it has the good grace to be short.
Zombie Flesh Eaters aka Zombi 2
Lucio Fulci, eh? What a guy. Loves the gore, loves the zombies, loves loves loves to depict horrific injuries to eyes. With this rather excellent cash in on Romero's Dawn of the Dead, Fulci offers all of his passions plus an unexpected bonus: a fight between a zombie and a shark. Perhaps you don't believe me?
I had seen Zombie Fleash Eaters before, but the recently released remastered dvd lifts it out of a twenty-year murk and into its own kind of beauty. This is however the first time I've seen the notorious (and long banned in the UK) eye impalement scene. It isn't anything like as horrible as some would have you believe - in fact, the fakery is obvious - but it's a great attempt at stomach turning right in the middle of a film that seems fairly gentle now. For all his problems with pace (occasionally more than a bit slow) Fulci has a great eye for colour and a wonderful flair for the dramatic - the gorgeously red blood splattered around is about as Italian as cinema gets.