devil fetus header - a young nam stands in the center of a grid of fire

I never thought I’d see a film like Hausu again. That movie, a psychedelic fever dream from Nobuhiko Obayashi, was off the walls and inventive in a way I never expected, and never expected to see again. I am so happy to be proved wrong by Devil Fetus, an on the surface low-budget Hong Kong horror flick that stretches every single dollar to provide some hilariously over-the-top effects and set pieces, going to some bizarre corners in a delightfully schlocky mess I enjoyed the hell out of.

ChrisSeptember 26, 2025September 28, 2025Leave a comment

the living dead girl - a close-up of a woman whose mouth has blood on it.

Reviews

Hooptober 12.0 – The Living Dead Girl (1982)

Being Film #9 for Hooptober 2025

There were a lot of things running through my mind watching La Morte Vivante, aka The Living Dead Girl. I wish I meant that in a good way, but the truth is despite the cult status of Jean Rollins and the notable similarities between his films of the fantastique and the Italian giallo I adore, this film was so mind-numbingly dull any mental distraction was welcome. I hate the feeling of not really giving a film a chance, but maybe this is one cult that just isn’t for me.

ChrisSeptember 21, 2025September 21, 2025Leave a comment

Features, Reviews

Something Like a Filmography: Ran (1985)

Something Like a Filmography takes a (brief) look at the filmography of Akira Kurosawa. Twice a month, Chris and Jon share their impressions of each film, both on its own terms and in terms of Kurosawa’s legacy and its intersection in the Cinema Dual hosts’ lives. FROM THE BOX: With Ran, legendary director Akira Kurosawa reimagines Shakespeare’s King Lear as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan. Majestic in … Continue reading Something Like a Filmography: Ran (1985)

ChrisFebruary 15, 2025May 19, 2025Leave a comment

Features, Reviews

Something Like a Filmography: Kagemusha (1980)

Something Like a Filmography takes a (brief) look at the filmography of Akira Kurosawa. Twice a month, Chris and Jon share their impressions of each film, both on its own terms and in terms of Kurosawa’s legacy and its intersection in the Cinema Dual hosts’ lives. FROM THE BOX: When a warlord dies, a peasant thief is called upon to impersonate him, and then finds himself haunted … Continue reading Something Like a Filmography: Kagemusha (1980)

ChrisJanuary 30, 2025May 19, 2025Leave a comment

Reviews

Hooptober 11.0 – The Fog (1980)

Being Film #23 for Hooptober 2024

No one made horror like John Carpenter. It wasn’t just the man himself (though lord knows he plays a HUGE part); it’s the tight-knit group of collaborators. I can’t imagine watching something like The Fog without the singular cinematography of Dean Cundey, or the editing of Tommy Lee Wallace, or his game cast regular or soon to be regulars like Jamie Lee Curtis and Adrienne Barbeau. You put all that together with the man’s signature keyboard score and yeah – he can make something as innocuous as fog seem terrifying.

Of course it helps to also have ghost pirates with leprosy…you know, to add to the fog’s terror.

ChrisOctober 7, 2024Leave a comment

Reviews

Hooptober 11.0 – Return To Horror High (1987)

Being Film #14 for Hooptober 2024

Oof. There is the kernel of a great concept in Return To Horror High, taking a meta, tongue-in-cheek approach to horror and genre filmmaking cliches, but unfortunately Bill Froelich isn’t the guy to make it. There are a few measly pleasures to be had here, but for the most part this is a limp, unfunny, and not even remotely scary or creative slasher. But you do get George Clooney for about five minutes, and a fun, slightly unhinged Maureen McCormick performance, so if you ever had a thing for Marcia Brady this just might be your bag…

ChrisSeptember 27, 2024Leave a comment

Cinema Dual (TEST SITE)

Examining a life through the media we consume. In other words, I’m reviewing all of my physical music media in alphabetical order, one day at at a time. Except when I don’t, as has been the case for the past few years. Still, we march onwards…Coffee essential, but not mandatory

Tag: 1980s

Hooptober 12.0 – Devil Fetus (1983)

Hooptober 12.0 – The Living Dead Girl (1982)

Something Like a Filmography: Ran (1985)

Something Like a Filmography: Kagemusha (1980)

Hooptober 11.0 – The Fog (1980)

Hooptober 11.0 – Return To Horror High (1987)