Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
I think you're thinking of Creep (2004) with the London Underground monster. This one is definitely worth your time too though.
Films you've seen in 2026
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straightorbroken
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Final Destination 2 (2003).
It's very much still in natural disasters territory for me, like a series of stunts involving young people wearing bland clothes from the GAP. Clear sadly cleared out now. I'm hoping the 3rd will be the last of this feel and the rest will crank up the horror and less hijinks. Otherwise I'll be going through 6 films that don't warrant being a franchise that has lasted this long. Very early 2000s. Some good campy moments though (the security camera middle finger made me laugh).
I give it a C.
It's very much still in natural disasters territory for me, like a series of stunts involving young people wearing bland clothes from the GAP. Clear sadly cleared out now. I'm hoping the 3rd will be the last of this feel and the rest will crank up the horror and less hijinks. Otherwise I'll be going through 6 films that don't warrant being a franchise that has lasted this long. Very early 2000s. Some good campy moments though (the security camera middle finger made me laugh).
I give it a C.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
National Treasure (2004)
It doesn't get more AMERICA FUCK YEAH than stealing the Declaration of Independence because there's a map for buried treasure on the back of it, but this was mildly diverting brainless old school entertainment. GOD BLESS THE USA!
It doesn't get more AMERICA FUCK YEAH than stealing the Declaration of Independence because there's a map for buried treasure on the back of it, but this was mildly diverting brainless old school entertainment. GOD BLESS THE USA!
straightorbroken
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Final Destination 3 (2006).
I give it another C.
I give it another C.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Hannah & Her Sisters (1986)
I put aside my usual revulsion for Woody Allen when this showed up on Prime as it had won a couple of acting Oscars & a lot of acclaim. This comedy drama about a dysfunctional family, with a star-studded cast, is one of his better efforts with a few good quips, but like every other Woody film, it just doesn't properly click for me. I never felt like I was watching real people interact. A major plot point of a man having an affair with his wife's sister is also a CHOICE with the Soon-Yi revelations a few years away.
I put aside my usual revulsion for Woody Allen when this showed up on Prime as it had won a couple of acting Oscars & a lot of acclaim. This comedy drama about a dysfunctional family, with a star-studded cast, is one of his better efforts with a few good quips, but like every other Woody film, it just doesn't properly click for me. I never felt like I was watching real people interact. A major plot point of a man having an affair with his wife's sister is also a CHOICE with the Soon-Yi revelations a few years away.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Educating Rita (1983)
Alcoholic university professor Michael Caine gets reinspired by Scouse hairdresser Julie Walters. Although blatantly based on a play (it's very stagey), both leads are very good (I'm no Caine fan, but I'd call this by far a career best performance), but I kept getting jarred out of it by another city being passed off as Liverpool. No idea why they didn't just film it here when there's a million other things filmed. Bizarre.
Alcoholic university professor Michael Caine gets reinspired by Scouse hairdresser Julie Walters. Although blatantly based on a play (it's very stagey), both leads are very good (I'm no Caine fan, but I'd call this by far a career best performance), but I kept getting jarred out of it by another city being passed off as Liverpool. No idea why they didn't just film it here when there's a million other things filmed. Bizarre.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Come Back Little Sheba (1952)
An alcoholic & his frumpy, lonely wife take in a student lodger & are forced to confront the misery of their own lives. Shirley Booth made her film debut aged 54 in this after years in the theatre, & won the Best Actress Oscar. She only made 4 other films, but she was never going to get another role like this. It's an amazing performance - pitiful & heartbreaking in equal measure. This doesn't seem to be ever mentioned as one of the old time classics but it really should be - a tough & downbeat watch but still relevant today. I'm now thoroughly depressed & pondering the FUTILITY OF LIFE
An alcoholic & his frumpy, lonely wife take in a student lodger & are forced to confront the misery of their own lives. Shirley Booth made her film debut aged 54 in this after years in the theatre, & won the Best Actress Oscar. She only made 4 other films, but she was never going to get another role like this. It's an amazing performance - pitiful & heartbreaking in equal measure. This doesn't seem to be ever mentioned as one of the old time classics but it really should be - a tough & downbeat watch but still relevant today. I'm now thoroughly depressed & pondering the FUTILITY OF LIFE
jyxz
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Apparently it was a CHOICE to just make it NORTHERN rather than Scouse. Plus Dublin had the look and feel of a traditional university that the director was after. And it was cheaper.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Mrs Caldicot's Cabbage War (2002)
Widow Pauline Collins is packed off to a nursing home & leads a revolution of the olds against the OPPRESSIVE REGIME there. This gentle comedy has a sharper point to make about the way the elderly are marginalised & patronised.
Widow Pauline Collins is packed off to a nursing home & leads a revolution of the olds against the OPPRESSIVE REGIME there. This gentle comedy has a sharper point to make about the way the elderly are marginalised & patronised.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Whale Rider (2002)
13 year old Keisha Castle-Hughes became the youngest nominee for the Best Actress Oscar (at that time) as a young Maori girl trying to prove to her traditionalist grandfather that she's the next leader of the tribe. This doesn't follow a typical Hollywood path, it's a look at people trying to reconcile an older way of life with the realities of the modern world. Taught me a fair bit about Maori culture too.
13 year old Keisha Castle-Hughes became the youngest nominee for the Best Actress Oscar (at that time) as a young Maori girl trying to prove to her traditionalist grandfather that she's the next leader of the tribe. This doesn't follow a typical Hollywood path, it's a look at people trying to reconcile an older way of life with the realities of the modern world. Taught me a fair bit about Maori culture too.
straightorbroken
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The Final Destination (2009).
If viewed without having seen the first 3, keep the score below. If you have seen them, subtract a mark down to a D.
I give it a C.
If viewed without having seen the first 3, keep the score below. If you have seen them, subtract a mark down to a D.
I give it a C.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Amsterdam (2022)
Christian Bale & pals witness a murder, get framed for it & uncover a wider conspiracy in the early 1930s. Despite its ensemble cast, this bombed at the box office & was mauled by the critics - but I liked it! I loved the visual style, I liked the twisty plot, the quirkiness worked OK for me - although it's very much an ACQUIRED TASTE. Maybe they should have kept the original title - Canterbury Glass sounds much more
Christian Bale & pals witness a murder, get framed for it & uncover a wider conspiracy in the early 1930s. Despite its ensemble cast, this bombed at the box office & was mauled by the critics - but I liked it! I loved the visual style, I liked the twisty plot, the quirkiness worked OK for me - although it's very much an ACQUIRED TASTE. Maybe they should have kept the original title - Canterbury Glass sounds much more
straightorbroken
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Touch of Evil (1958)
Arguably the last true film noir. Marlene Dietrich in full drag and her most effective role since she was let loose from Von Sternberg. She says one of her most memorable lines on film, which is where the credits roll. Masterful. Some shots clearly influenced Fellini's 8½ (1963), but there must be an infinite list of films that pay homage to this. Anyway, Dietrich is a minor, yet pervasive presence. Janet Leigh offers starlet resistance. Zsa Zsa Gabor in full drag king mode and she vants to vatch! It's a cameo, but you may not even realise it's her. Orson Welles as director offers some stunning images and as an actor easily his best performance if you ask me - the look on his face as Tanya tells him he has no future. Charlton Heston plays a Mexican - Orson himself tanned up in another film he was in, his own Othello (1951), so I guess it was all the rage back then.
I give it an A.
Arguably the last true film noir. Marlene Dietrich in full drag and her most effective role since she was let loose from Von Sternberg. She says one of her most memorable lines on film, which is where the credits roll. Masterful. Some shots clearly influenced Fellini's 8½ (1963), but there must be an infinite list of films that pay homage to this. Anyway, Dietrich is a minor, yet pervasive presence. Janet Leigh offers starlet resistance. Zsa Zsa Gabor in full drag king mode and she vants to vatch! It's a cameo, but you may not even realise it's her. Orson Welles as director offers some stunning images and as an actor easily his best performance if you ask me - the look on his face as Tanya tells him he has no future. Charlton Heston plays a Mexican - Orson himself tanned up in another film he was in, his own Othello (1951), so I guess it was all the rage back then.
I give it an A.
American 1996 remake of the 1955 French classic. A very swollen Isabelle Adjani plays the abused wife who, along with his mistress, an iconic Sharon Stone in amazing outfits, kills her hideous husband and dumps his body in the pool of the boarding school they all work at. The body vanishes and somebody starts leaving clues that they know what happened. Kathy Bates turns up as a very nosy detective and one of the “worst American remakes” is actually a queer reimagining and I’ll die on this hill!
H
hyperwoof
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Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026)
I may be getting soft in my dotage but this was such a sweet movie, anchored by two lovely central performances from Sally Field and Lewis Pullman. Kind of a buddy movie really, but played with some real depth. Gentle but in a good way, rather than tedious and boring. Bonus point for Lewis’s arse wearing a wet suit - something for the kink lovers there!
I may be getting soft in my dotage but this was such a sweet movie, anchored by two lovely central performances from Sally Field and Lewis Pullman. Kind of a buddy movie really, but played with some real depth. Gentle but in a good way, rather than tedious and boring. Bonus point for Lewis’s arse wearing a wet suit - something for the kink lovers there!
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Pather Panchali (The Apu Trilogy 1) (1955)
This trilogy is often cited as amongst the greatest films ever made in many critics polls & it's certainly a milestone in Indian cinema. Filmed on a tiny budget with amateur actors, it shows the life of a poverty stricken family in rural India circa 1910. It's an important historical document, a landmark in arthouse cinema & as far removed from the conventions of mainstream cinema as you can get. A little slow moving at times, but I'm glad I watched it.
This trilogy is often cited as amongst the greatest films ever made in many critics polls & it's certainly a milestone in Indian cinema. Filmed on a tiny budget with amateur actors, it shows the life of a poverty stricken family in rural India circa 1910. It's an important historical document, a landmark in arthouse cinema & as far removed from the conventions of mainstream cinema as you can get. A little slow moving at times, but I'm glad I watched it.
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Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
The Man In The Iron Mask (1998)
This was Leonardo DiCaprio's follow up to Titanic & it's a proper old fashioned Sunday afternoon matinee watch, great swashbuckling fun. Very entertaining.
This was Leonardo DiCaprio's follow up to Titanic & it's a proper old fashioned Sunday afternoon matinee watch, great swashbuckling fun. Very entertaining.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Children Of The Corn (1984)
Linda Hamilton & her fella arrive in a small town to discover that the kids have murdered all the adults & worship some weird demon thing behind a barn. This was so ominous & creepy for the first 70 minutes - I was so impressed. Unfortunately the last 20 minutes became a bunch of limp plot contrivances, handwaving & cruddy special effects. Shame as if they'd kept it up this could have been an absolute classic of the horror genre. Unsurprisingly the child that looks like a young Mick Hucknall is the most EVIL OF THEM ALL.
Linda Hamilton & her fella arrive in a small town to discover that the kids have murdered all the adults & worship some weird demon thing behind a barn. This was so ominous & creepy for the first 70 minutes - I was so impressed. Unfortunately the last 20 minutes became a bunch of limp plot contrivances, handwaving & cruddy special effects. Shame as if they'd kept it up this could have been an absolute classic of the horror genre. Unsurprisingly the child that looks like a young Mick Hucknall is the most EVIL OF THEM ALL.
Debbie Jellinsky
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That funeral scene is heartbreaking and camptastic at the same time.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Aparajito (The Apu Trilogy 2) (1956)
The family move to the city, the father dies, the son comes of age & his relationship with his mother grows increasingly distant. Although documenting a world that doesn't exist anymore, the themes remain universal, understandable & affecting.
The family move to the city, the father dies, the son comes of age & his relationship with his mother grows increasingly distant. Although documenting a world that doesn't exist anymore, the themes remain universal, understandable & affecting.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
The Firm (1993)
Tom Cruise (looking VERY youthful here) is a hotshot young lawyer who gets given a dream job at a law firm only to find up they're up to ALL SORTS of nefarious shit (well, what company isn't? ) This thriller was one of the big films of 1993, it kept me gripped, but it's about a half hour too long.
Tom Cruise (looking VERY youthful here) is a hotshot young lawyer who gets given a dream job at a law firm only to find up they're up to ALL SORTS of nefarious shit (well, what company isn't?
) This thriller was one of the big films of 1993, it kept me gripped, but it's about a half hour too long.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Dust Devil (1992)
Chelsea Field picks up hitchhiker Robert Burke in the desert to discover that's he's an evil immortal demon type that sacrifices & cannibalises people & eats their souls & EVERYTHING (don't you just hate it when that happens?) This horror Western has a stunning, unique visual style, is genuinely unnerving & does wonders with a small budget. It really should be much better known.
Chelsea Field picks up hitchhiker Robert Burke in the desert to discover that's he's an evil immortal demon type that sacrifices & cannibalises people & eats their souls & EVERYTHING (don't you just hate it when that happens?) This horror Western has a stunning, unique visual style, is genuinely unnerving & does wonders with a small budget. It really should be much better known.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Creep 2 (2017)
More found footage shenanigans with the LOVABLE LOON from the first film. This is a fun mini cinematic universe, might try the later TV series The Creep Tapes next.
More found footage shenanigans with the LOVABLE LOON from the first film. This is a fun mini cinematic universe, might try the later TV series The Creep Tapes next.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Apur Sansar (The Apu Trilogy 3) (1959)
Apu has lost all his immediate family, marries someone out of obligation, loses her in childbirth, & tries to forge a career as a writer in the unforgiving environment of 1920s British India. The end point of the great artistic achievement of this trilogy, it's actually somewhat uplifting despite that it doesn't shy away from the cruel reality of life for your average person back then in India.
Apu has lost all his immediate family, marries someone out of obligation, loses her in childbirth, & tries to forge a career as a writer in the unforgiving environment of 1920s British India. The end point of the great artistic achievement of this trilogy, it's actually somewhat uplifting despite that it doesn't shy away from the cruel reality of life for your average person back then in India.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Open Range (2003)
Kevin Costner's return to directing a Western after the interminable & overrated Dances With Wolves. OUR KEV & pals run foul of monstrous tyrant Michael Gambon leading to shootouts galore. This has no pretences at being any other than a traditional Western & is all the better for it. Sometimes they DO make 'em like they used to.
Kevin Costner's return to directing a Western after the interminable & overrated Dances With Wolves. OUR KEV & pals run foul of monstrous tyrant Michael Gambon leading to shootouts galore. This has no pretences at being any other than a traditional Western & is all the better for it. Sometimes they DO make 'em like they used to.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Life Of Pi (2012)
I wasn't a fan of the book & although this adaptation is visually stunning, it's not enough to overcome what I didn't like about it. Props to Ang Lee though for making a cinematic experience out of the seemingly unfilmable.
I wasn't a fan of the book & although this adaptation is visually stunning, it's not enough to overcome what I didn't like about it. Props to Ang Lee though for making a cinematic experience out of the seemingly unfilmable.
straightorbroken
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Phantasm (1979)
Some spellbinding thrills and lots of jaw-droppingly amateurish tape barely holding the peices together to make the most wonderfully bizarre late 70s horror that somehow exists beyond it's very apparent limitations. It's less than 90 minutes so whizzes by fast. I do have to wonder if the sequels will indeed try to retain this wheels-coming-off splendour.
I give it a B.
Some spellbinding thrills and lots of jaw-droppingly amateurish tape barely holding the peices together to make the most wonderfully bizarre late 70s horror that somehow exists beyond it's very apparent limitations. It's less than 90 minutes so whizzes by fast. I do have to wonder if the sequels will indeed try to retain this wheels-coming-off splendour.
I give it a B.
Phantasm is one of my favourite franchises. It’s so batshit and original. All the sequels are worth a watch and all have their own identity (2 being a big budget 80s splatter and 4 being the most similar to the original, even using deleted footage from the first film)
Debbie Jellinsky
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Obsession (2025)
My expectations for this were sky-high after the advance buzz and rave reviews this new horror has been getting for months, but it was just fine. It was basically a Tales from the Crypt episode or Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered from season 2 of Buffy as a feature film.
It has some freaky scenes and good to great performances, but I keep wondering how people get scared by this in 2026? Maybe I've just seen too many horror movies in my life.
I found Bring Her Back way more disturbing.
Edit:
During the end scene all I could think was
My expectations for this were sky-high after the advance buzz and rave reviews this new horror has been getting for months, but it was just fine. It was basically a Tales from the Crypt episode or Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered from season 2 of Buffy as a feature film.
It has some freaky scenes and good to great performances, but I keep wondering how people get scared by this in 2026? Maybe I've just seen too many horror movies in my life.
I found Bring Her Back way more disturbing.
Edit:
During the end scene all I could think was
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straightorbroken
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Phantom of the Paradise (1974).
Omg I need to watch this again!
I give it an A.
Omg I need to watch this again!
I give it an A.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
The Thing (1982)
Scientists are stranded in Antarctica with a shape shifting thing that could be any one of them. I knew this was a well regarded classic of the horror genre but had never seen it. It's tense as fuck from the word go & the body horror stuff is not for the squeamish.
Scientists are stranded in Antarctica with a shape shifting thing that could be any one of them. I knew this was a well regarded classic of the horror genre but had never seen it. It's tense as fuck from the word go & the body horror stuff is not for the squeamish.
FannyFaudrey
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Love it! I watch it at least once a year!
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
The Favourite (2018)
Rachel Weisz & Emma Stone vie for the attentions of Olivia Colman's unstable Queen Anne, in a Best Actress Oscar winning performance that I'd never gotten around to. Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the most unique & talented directors of his generation. Every film of his plunges you into a new world, often with little explanation, & this is an entirely different & more unusual ride than suggested by its Merchant Ivory-esque plot.
Rachel Weisz & Emma Stone vie for the attentions of Olivia Colman's unstable Queen Anne, in a Best Actress Oscar winning performance that I'd never gotten around to. Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the most unique & talented directors of his generation. Every film of his plunges you into a new world, often with little explanation, & this is an entirely different & more unusual ride than suggested by its Merchant Ivory-esque plot.
FannyFaudrey
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Wonderful film.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Peeping Tom (1960)
A skeevy voyeur tries to capture the deathly expressions of fear on the faces of his murder victims on film. This ruined the career of director Michael Powell upon release, as critics & audiences alike were repulsed - what it actually is, is a film decades ahead of its time & has since been rightly re-evaluated as a masterwork. Seedy, creepy & unflinching, the seeds of so many modern horror films started here. It's a must watch for anyone with any interest in the genre. There's a full version on YouTube if anyone wants to give it a go.
A skeevy voyeur tries to capture the deathly expressions of fear on the faces of his murder victims on film. This ruined the career of director Michael Powell upon release, as critics & audiences alike were repulsed - what it actually is, is a film decades ahead of its time & has since been rightly re-evaluated as a masterwork. Seedy, creepy & unflinching, the seeds of so many modern horror films started here. It's a must watch for anyone with any interest in the genre. There's a full version on YouTube if anyone wants to give it a go.
Sardonicus
HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE
Tumbleweeds (1999)
Single mum Janet McTeer packs up her daughter, her car & her life for PASTURES NEW whenever something goes wrong in a relationship. This road movie is nicely made, but I've seen the trope of irresponsible mother vs common sense teenage daughter a few too many times.
Single mum Janet McTeer packs up her daughter, her car & her life for PASTURES NEW whenever something goes wrong in a relationship. This road movie is nicely made, but I've seen the trope of irresponsible mother vs common sense teenage daughter a few too many times.