THE DANMAN CAN

Wake Up Dead Man (2025) is fun overall and perhaps a notch above  Glass Onion   (2022) [ review ] (I'm not sure; I haven't revisited that one since I saw it in the theater), but it's longer than necessary and very heavy-handed with its themes. I still love  Knives Out  (2019) [ review ], but these films are definitely diminishing returns. Also, shouldn't there be a comma in the title? Rian Johnson Feature Films Ranked

There is definitely some fun to be had in this update and I appreciate that it did its best to set itself apart from the 1984  original  [ review ] (other than the obvious but expected callbacks), but it leaned too hard on the Dexter angle and did that whole going-for-gravitas-while-also-eating-its-exploitation-cake thing that a lot of modern horror films attempt and don't quite nail.

It's not a home run as far as excitement level goes, but  Alfred Hitchcock 's Saboteur  (1942) is good, solid entertainment, with some nice character beats (particularly the blind man, even if it is a trope) and a fun finale. It's a touch patriotic for my tastes (though it makes sense considering the time it was made), but it never dips into xenophobia. Saboteur  has an effective message (without being too  heavy-handed) that, like many of Hitch's movies, favors the mistakenly-identified common man. Alfred Hitchcock Feature Films Ranked Top 20 Director

Luigi Cozzi 's  The Killer Must Kill Again (1975) is a slow-moving, perfectly serviceable but ultimately unthrilling giallo starring intense Charles Bronso n look-alike Antoine Saint-John  as the titular character (which isn't a spoiler—it's revealed immediately, plus check the credits). While this is Cozzi's best film (that I've seen), it doesn't do enough to set itself apart from its many counterparts of the decade. Luigi Cozzi Films Ranked Giallo Feature Films   Ranked

While it's a very enjoyable and brisk picture (and I do admit it's kinda fun to spot the edits ), I've always found  Alfred Hitchcock 's Rope ( 1948), with its heavy focus on cinematographic technique, a bit distracting as a movie, hence it sits smack dab in the middle of my Hitch rankings. I can see why this would make an excellent play , but for me it's "merely" a great film. Alfred Hitchcock Feature Films Ranked Top 20 Directors

Nobuhiko Obayashi 's  School In The Crosshairs (1981) has a lot of the same zany youthful energy and wild mixed media style as his earlier cult hit House (1977) [ blogpost ], only it leans into sci-fi instead of horror. SITC pits a telekinetic schoolgirl against fascist mind-controlling beings to battle conformity and save the human race. While there is a sense of ennui throughout (aided by the somber score), the film is a joy. Nobuhiko Obayashi Feature Films Ranked

Hélène Cattet  and  Bruno Forzani  have done it again, distilling the cinematographic essence and language of  James Bond /Eurospy/ Diabolik / fumetti  into a lean, violent, impressionistic mood piece with a sweet soundtrack of choice cuts.  Reflection In A Dead Diamond (2025) is audiovisual candy for a niche audience. Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani Feature Films Ranked

Derek Smalls: The official explanation was he choked on vomit. David St. Hubbins: He passed away. Nigel Tufnel:  It was actually someone else's vomit. Derek Smalls: They can't prove whose vomit it was. David St. Hubbins:  They were no prints. There's no way of inspecting or photographing. Nigel Tufnel: You can't really dust for vomit. 🎶 Big bottom, big bottom Talk about bum cakes, my girl's got 'em Big bottom, drive me out of my mind How could I leave this behind? 🎶 Rob Reiner Feature Films Ranked

Guillermo del Toro 's lushly photographed  Nightmare Alley  (2021) received a black and white extended director's cut via  The Criterion Collection . I'd seen the (color) theatrical cut twice before. I don't necessarily think the director's cut, which adds almost 10 minutes of footage, is better than the theatrical cut, but it's quite an interesting (and equally excellent) alternative. Bradley Cooper  carries the film really well, amongst a top notch cast. There are the trademark del Toro flourishes of brief but gruesome violence and there's the sumptuous cinematography, along with wonderful Art Deco production design, and delicious period costumes to savor.  Since the last time I watched the GDT film, I've read (and greatly enjoyed) the story's source,  William Lindsay Gresham 's  1946 novel , and I've been meaning to revisit  Edmund Goulding 's (also excellent) 1947 film  adaptation . NA  is a fairly straightforward story, bu...

Sam Raimi 's  Crimewave (1985) mixes madcap cartoon antics with film noir in a truly surreal cocktail. Not all the of the humor lands in this  Joel  and  Ethan Coen  co-scripted oddball, which drags in places and has a weird rhythm, but it's never less than entertaining, visually inventive (if geometrically impossible), and particularly fun with the right audience. Sam Raimi Feature Films Ranked

Jealousy and paranoia. Power and toxicity. Recommended for fans of  Rebecca  (1940) [ review ], Gaslight (1944) [ review ], and  Tristana  (1970) [ review ]. Luis Buñuel Films Ranked

"You watch your mouth, buddy." "Excuse me. You're standin' in your pizza." "The law is some tricky shit, isn't it?" Ridley Scott Feature Films Ranked

The French Dispatch   (2021),  Wes Anderson 's ode to journalism (via the likes of  Harold Ross ,  James Baldwin , and more), draws inspiration from (and pays homage to) sources as varied as  Jacques Tati ,  The Adventures Of Tintin ,  Jean-Pierre Melville ,  Serge Gainsbourg , and  Henri-Georges Clouzot , just to name a few. In typical Anderson fashion,  TFD  features an enormous ensemble of famous actors (many of whom have worked with him before), but it also spends a healthy amount of time with a select few charming characters ( Benicio Del Toro ,  Frances McDormand , and  Jeffrey Wright  being standouts).  Split into three main stories plus a wraparound,  TFD  is  incredibly  dense (even for Anderson), both on the visual and storytelling front. Most of the amazing design, tongue-twisting dialogue, visual effects, animation, and information zips by at lightning pace. And yet there are some ...

"Life goes on. It always does. Until it doesn't." Stanley Kubrick Feature Films Ranked Top 20 Directors

Greetings,  Weirdos ! Tune in as your favorite local horror hosts,  Uncle Spooky ,  Demented Danman , and  Lil Spooky , unwrap their must-see Christmas horror picks and bring some spooky cheer to the holiday season! 🎄 Listen to  Weirdo Wednesday Podcast : Episode Eight  here . Let us know what topics/films you'd like to hear us talk about!  Follow us  on your favorite streaming platform and on  Instagram . We love feedback and positive reviews too. Don't forget that WW takes place every Wednesday evening at  Cinema Salem  in Salem, MA at 7:30 PM (tickets  here ). Dates for fall 2025 Freakout Fridays at  The Owl Theatre  in Lowell, MA are listed below (tickets  here ). Come get Weird with us in both Salem and Lowell! WW Podcast Themes  by  Demented Danman WW Logo by  Iris Miller WW Owl Poster by  Lil Spooky

Aesthetic. Melodramatic. Tragic.

It's odd to think of calling a film as strange as  Hiruko The Goblin  (1991) "conventional," but compared to  Shinya Tsukamoto 's feature film debut,  Tetsuo: The Iron Man   (1989),   that description applies, to some degree. It's even odder to hear Tsukamoto, in an interview on  Mondo Macabro 's (who also released Tsukamoto's great 1999 film  Gemini   ( review ) here in the States) Blu-ray, say that he actually gravitates more towards this style of film, but because  Tetsuo  was so popular (sparking an excellent 1992 sequel,  Body Hammer  and a not-so-good 2009 sequel,  The Bullet Man   ( review ), he continued to make films in that experimental vein.  Perhaps it's partly because  Hiruko  is based on the  Yōkai Hunter  series manga by  Daijiro Morohoshi , and perhaps it's partly because this was only Tsukamoto's second widely distributed feature film (and backed ...

"Reality is not what it used to be." The final film in  John Carpenter 's self-described "Apocalypse Trilogy" (which includes  T he Thing   (1982) ( review ) and  Prince Of Darkness   (1987) ( review )),  In The Mouth Of Madness   (1994) (one of my  Top 10 Horror Films (1990–Current) ) was a box office failure but, like many of the director's films, has gained cult status and appreciation over the years. For my money  ITMOM  is the best  Lovecraft -inspired story—with allusions to  King  and  Barker —ever put to film (particularly fitting given that one of the main characters is a horror novel writer). Of Carpenter's work, it bears the most similarity to  POD  but with better acting— Sam Neill , capable of great range, is perfectly cast here.  Michael De Luca 's script is taut and suspenseful. Along with  Edward A. Warschilka 's tight editing and Carpenter's expert direction, the story su...

The last time I reviewed  Sleepless   (aka  Nohosonno ) (2001), in 2021, I mentioned that, up until that point, it was one of a handful of  Dario Argento  feature films that I still had yet to see. It was definitely the one with the best reputation of his "late period" films. Since then, I've seen all but one of the other Dario films that I mentioned in that earlier review — The Five Days   (1973) ( review ),  Trauma  (1993) ,  The Phantom Of The Opera   (1998),  The Card Player   (2004) ( review ), and  Dracula 3D   (2012).  Do You Like Hitchcock?   (2005) is the only Argento feature film that I still have yet to see. For his return to the  giallo  (after the bomb of  POTO ) in  Sleepless , I've seen it mentioned more than once (including by my friend  Michael  in his  review ) that Argento put together a greatest hits package of his trademarks. Indeed, the director i...

There are many aspects of  Neil Marshall 's  The Descent (2005) that I love—the premise, the top notch all-female cast, the cinematography (though some of the camerawork is not my speed), the production design, the creatures, the effects, the gore. But the film (which I've seen three times now) has never quite grabbed me the way I wish it would. It's a very good, straightforward, tightly paced, claustrophobic, and somber horror thriller but not quite a classic for this viewer.  Neil Marshall Feature Films Ranked

"Hail Mary, full of grace. Give this bitch the speed of the Holy Spirit!" Juliet: Parting is such sweet sorrow. Tromeo: It totally sucks. Lloyd Kaufman Feature Films Ranked

 "I'm a goddamn marvel of modern science." "Your hand is staining my window." Milos Forman Feature Films Ranked The Danman Top 100 Films (2024 Edition)

"From the moment you looked at me, I had an idea you had an idea." Classic Screwball Comedies Ranked

"Unless I miss my guess, Captain...you're out of uniform." "Get back in the car, you smirking slut!" "Sometimes I even have trouble imagining that I'm me, if you know what I mean." Mike Nichols Feature Films Ranked