The Howling

News anchorwoman Karen White nearly gets murdered by a serial killer while trying to get a juicy story. In the aftermath she has nightmares and is in therapy.

After the incident, she also takes some time of that she spends in a small community called The Colony. After getting a warm but weird welcome from the locals it soon turns out that things are not what they seem. First cows get killed by 'wolves' and the thought dead serial killer has also found a home near Karen. He, like everybody else in the community turns out to be a werewolf.

The transformation we witness is very similar (and no less gory) than the one in An American Werewolf in London. With help from a male colleague she escapes the claws of the locals and they all die in a flurry of silver bullets.

Back in the television studio she intends to warn the public of the dangers lurking, much to the annoyance of her producer. In the middle of her announcement, she turns into a werewolf herself in front of the entire live audience. Most of the people watching, however, believe it to be special effects. Karen also dies from a silver bullet, while still on live TV.

The film ends in a diner with the guests discussing the news announcement and one of the Colony's members, that did get away in the end, sitting at the end of the bar asking for a rare burger.

6/10

Absence of Malice

Investigator Rosen and his team get nowhere with the disappearance of a union figure. Realizing they are stuck they manipulate journalist Megan into making a connection between the case and liquor importer Michael Gallagher, who just happens to be from a not quite clean family background.

In reality, there is nothing that suggests that Michael himself has anything to do with anything but law enforcement's idea is that he could get them some information on the case in exchange for being left alone. Michael Gallagher is rightly pissed off and tries to find his way out of his troubles.

He does actually have a solid alibi for the time of the disappearance, as well, that he does not wish to share. He was in Atlanta with a friend to support her after she had had an abortion. After Megan talks to said friend and - despite being asked not to - uses the abortion story in a news story, the woman commits suicide.

DA Quinn gets involved in the story as well, offering Gallagher that he makes a statement clearing that their investigation in his business brought no result and Gallagher is cleared of any wrongdoing. In exchange, he too expects information on the union figure.

In the end, it all comes to blows with both Rosen and Quinn losing their jobs.

6/10

The Evil Dead

Poor timid Ash. Here he thought he was going on a nice road trip with his girl, his sister and a couple of friends. And then it turns into this horror trip.

First, they hear weird sounds and the basement door flies open. When they investigate they find a nasty looking book and an audio tape. Feeling adventurous, the friends listen to the tape that unfortunately releases demons onto the little cabin they are in.

Then the sister investigates noises in the woods (like you do) and gets attacked by same woods (so far, so normal). The group soon realizes that all is not well and they will be stuck at least for the night.

But soon sis starts turning into this...thing that attacks and after she injures the girlfriend, she turns as well. So the demons take one after the other with only Ash remaining to fend for himself. And boy does he give it his all. He makes a full transformation from scream queen to bad ass in the course of this one night. He lives to tell the tale.

Cult horror that pulls out all the stops and sometimes, interestingly, slows down to show, say, bodies decaying before delivering another blow.

Quite awesome, this.

8/10

Mephisto

This film is based on the book of the same name by Klaus Mann, the story of the actor Gustaf Gründgens. The book was originally published in 1956 but after Gründgens' death (1963) his adoptive son fought to have the book banned, because it portrayed Gründgens in a less than sympathetic light. Consequently, it was taken off the market in 1966. In 1981, ignoring the ban, the book was finally republished in Germany. The film came out the same year.

The main character is called Hendrik Höfgen (brilliantly portrayed by Klaus Maria Brandauer), an actor that in the 1930s initially supports the Bolsheviks but it may not even be a political statement. He simply does not concern himself too much with the political changes in his country. So ignorant is he that he is not even aware of a vote that puts Hitler in charge in 1934.

His wife, whom he married not for love but because her father had considerable influence before the Nazis took charge, leaves for France and they lose contact. Also, some of his colleagues chose to leave the country. When one actress tells him she is learning English and about to leave for America, because there is no future for literary art and theater in this new Germany she also suggests Höfgen leave, as well. His reaction, "Ich brauche die deutsche Sprache! Ich brauche meine Heimat!" ("I need the German language! I need my home!").

Höfgen stays and bends enough under the new regime to coax his way to the top and into a circle of friends of an influential Nazi. All the while, he hides a friend in his apartment and has an affair with a black dancer, until his Nazi friend suggests she get out of the country and he no longer associate with her.

He spends the best part of his career playing the role of Mephisto in Goethe's Faust. Eventually, he is handed the reigns of an important theater in Berlin. Höfgens is every inch the opportunist, convincing himself that he only lives for the theater and politics barely come into it.

from Roger Ebert's review: This is a human story, and as the actor in this movie makes his way to the top of the Nazi propaganda structure and the bottom of his own soul, the movie is both merciless and understanding. This is a weak and shameful man, the film seems to say, but then it cautions us against throwing the first stone.

The film was nominated in the Best Foreign Language category (for Hungary) at the Oscars.

8/10

For Your Eyes Only

With For Your Eyes Only James Bond returns to earthly grounds - no outerspace or underwater adventures.

But first and before the credits we have to say some goodbyes. First, Bond visits the grave of his late wife and then disposes of his old foe Blofeld (for copyright reasons).

What follows is some old-school secret agent adventures. Almost immediately we start into a fist fight followed by a car chase (perusing the rather slow but cultish 2CV), but not 007 is behind the wheel but the latest Bond girl Melina, dead set on avenging her parents' deaths. So while looking for the culprits, Bond also has to keep Melina safe and keep her from killing people.

And where does a secret agent go the chase bad guys when beaches and exotic lands are not an option. Why, of course, the alps. There he meets Bibi, an infantile ice skating protegé, who offers herself up to him but gets turned down. By the notorious womanizer James Bond. Together Bibi and Bond go and watch the biathlon, primarily the east German champion Erich Kriegler, who of course is in cahoots with the bad guys...and he is armed and on skis. Cue ski chase (not a new theme in the series).

Also after Bond - a young Charles Dance as Claus. While he is after Bond they both jump of a ski jumping ramp. Obviously. Then Bond is off on his skis again, chased on skis and motor bikes. Later he gets attacked in the ice rink by guys in hockey gear. Lucky for him, his pursuit of the bad guys then leads him to warmer areas, namely Corfu (and later Albania).

Oh, the point of all this is to retrieve the Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator (ATAC) before it falls into the hands of the Soviets, as the transmitter can order attacks by the Royal Navy's fleet of Polaris submarines' missiles. In the end, Bond makes sure nobody gets his/her hands on it by simply destroying it.

It ends with Bond in Melina's arms. Of course.

5/10