Category: Art house Movies

Top 10 Films I discovered in 2025

After a couple of MORE than turbulent years, the only thing I really wanted when it came to 2025 was a bit of predictable, uneventful normalcy. With everything from globe stopping pandemics, family deaths and renovation work eating up 2020-2024, All I wanted of 2025 was to finish off a few home improvement projects, get a few videos out on youtube, but otherwise, I just wanted to slow down, not do anything too risky or cavalier, and to just…TRY to get a semblance of a normal life back in the room. I ached for the mundane, just…an 8-12 month window where the worst it got was maybe them forgetting my onions on my fast food order. 

And, in many ways 2025 DID deliver that, a fairly pedestrian 12 months with a few nice things thrown into the mix and only one or two more sucky elements tossed in to remind me that life is fragile, delicate and that at any moment we could all die in horrible and painfully ironic ways. Im honestly pretty happy with how the year shaped up more or less, and anything that DID irk me along the way, was either too small to really leave a lasting mark, or something of a ‘wild card’ situation that I was kind of already vaguely aware could happen, so I was pretty much ready to accept and take on that pain when it did hit. 

And once again, walking side by side with me along the way, I had my old friend Cinema telling me jokes, ghost stories and showing me fantastical worlds along the way. And; as has become a somewhat annual tradition at this point. Ive gone through my years viewings (322 films if you must know!) and whittled it down to a ‘top 10’ of the cream of the crop. As always; I should say that these are in no particular order, and they arnt year specific. These are simply 10 films that I saw for the first time this year and loved so much that I wanted to share them with all of you, in the hope that you find a new favourite, or just appreciate the craft at work in the same way I did. So! Put on your dancing trousers, because we’re about to boogie!

Everything, Everywhere All at Once:

The day after new years day was a pretty uneventful one, after partying till the wee hours the night before I was crusty, headachy, the room was drab and full of the fugg of booze, vape smoke, popped balloons and half eaten remnants of leftover buffet food. All I really wanted to do was crash out in my office and catch a movie that was engaging and unique enough to hold my interest but unserious enough that I could relax into it and not feel like the film was shaking me to make me pay attention. It was there that I landed on ‘Everything, Everywhere All at Once’.

I had been recommended this movie a couple of times throught he previous year, and I thought it had a fun enough ‘wibbly wobbly’ premise, so I decided to take a punt, and I was so glad that I did! An, at times mind boggling plot that beautifully crafts multiple layers of narrative storytelling into a parcel that brimming with enthusiasm and utterly unashamed to show it. 

At its core, this is a family drama, but the fantastical storytelling, intense visual effects, decent contrasting balance of comedy and pathos all congregate together into an absolute feast for the eyes. It absolutely zipped by, even at 2+ hours long and my afternoon got a LOT brighter from there! With fantastic performances, a killer score and a kind of sincerity I rarely see in modern, more mainstream movie releases. Its a film I wont watch often, but I absolutely wont forget, and will relish on a revisit. 

The AGFA Mixtape Release:

This one is a little bit of a cheat, as it isnt necessarily for a singular film, but rather a boxset of releases from the boutique label that just keeps on squeezing my wallet to dust, AGFA. Last year I listed their ‘Hey Folks! Its Intermission time’ set as one of my favourites of 2024, and this past year, they came out with hit after hit, but the crowning gem in my eye was the release of something i’d wished they’d done for YEARS. A comprehensive release of *most* of their AGFA Mixtapes to date. 

For those not in the know, AGFA are a charity specialising in film preservation and the celebration of cult, and US Regional film offerings, they cover near enough all genres from as early as the 20s and as late as the present day, releasing everything from long forgotten 1920s cult gems through to modern day underground hits, counterculture documentaries and everything in between! 

Their ‘mixtape’ line is one I particularly love, these, as the name would suggest, are a mixtape of random ‘off air’ tv recordings from mainline TV channels around the world and public access, random commercials, ‘youtube poop’ style remixes of older media and more! But up until 2025, only 4 of them and a christmas special had been widely available to the public via Vimeos ‘on demand’ platform, with the rest being available only as bookable ‘events’ with digital or print copies provided by AGFA at great cost. 

Well this year, AGFA took 5 of their numbered mixtapes PLUS two of their more ‘seasonal’ offerings and packaged them together in one release, which I pounced on the second I got my chance to! And I absolutely was not disappointed! The obvious gem in the crown for me is the ‘AGFA Special Christmas Special’ a release I’ve now turned into an annual tradition to try and watch every christmas AT LEAST once. Its the perfect blend of seasonal silliness, genuinely lovely counterculture artistry and frankly bizarre glimpses of christmases past. 

But thats really just the tip of the iceberg, while the first couple of AGFA mixtapes are (in my opinion) a little rough around the edges, from ‘Mixtape #3’ onwards things just go from strength to strength with the absurd and daft meeting the genuinely strange. But easily the highlight for this set (and the thing that made me list this as a ‘first time watch’ were the two TOTALLY previously unreleased mixtapes, the ‘Stairway to Stardom’ mixtape and the ‘Lost and found’ mixtape. 

The former, is a collection of clips from the public access show ‘Stairway to stardom’, think ‘Americas got talent’ but the budget is (roughly) $20 and the vetting process seemed to begin and end at ‘Can you get to the studio in the next 20 minutes, and will you bring beer?’ and you’ve landed on fried gold my friend, a relentless free fall into the world of people who think they Mariah Carey, but are actually Mariah from the gas station in town. 

The one two punch that made me love this set is then followed up by the ‘Lost and Found’ mixtape, which is essentially a very VERY early example of youtube poop in motion, a supercut extraviganza of strange online media and lost television footage, remixed and repulped into a perfectly timed selection of alternative comedy gold. 

If I was being honest? I think this whole set would likely be my favourite release of the year. And i’d wholeheartedly recommend it to ANYONE with even a passing interest in the ‘otherworldliness’ of the 20th and very early years of the 21st century. An absolute treat of a set thats seldom left the top of my bluray player since it came in. 

Louis Theroux: The Settlers:

The current genocide happening in Palestine is a scourge on humanity, and the fact that theres a not 0% likelihood that the people currently enabling it will never see ACTUAL justice just about boils my piss. Seemingly; it also annoyed britains calmest and loveliest man Louis Theroux, who returned this year with a new documentary revisiting Israel some decades after his last trip out there to try and get a better understanding of what is going on amongst the people of Israel at this time, and more importantly to try and see what actual real people are living through on both sides of the conflict as incursion and eviction of Palestinians ON THEIR OWN LAND continues and Israeli settlers move in, claiming the land to be theirs. 

This one isnt the easiest of watches, and there are times when Louis himself cant quite believe what he’s seeing or hearing. Im really not kidding when I say that Louis is probably one of documentary films calmest and affable people, and yet there are multiple points in this documentary where he loses composure, or flat out fears for his life. And that ISNT a Louis problem. Thats the bizarre situation a certain subsection of Israel find itself in in the 2020’s. Fear, manipulation and blatant racism runs rife as the documentarian braves being shot at, and even briefly ‘black vanned’. Its an unsettling picture of the middle east at this time. 

Unflinching in what its trying to show, by the end, even Louis doesnt seem to know how this situation improves. But if you’ve been following the ongoing conflict, as I have, you’ll absolutely not want to miss this one, as im certain it’ll be shown in history classes for years to come as probably the most honest and real look at this deepening crisis shown on mainstream television.


Def by Temptation:

One thats been on and off my shelf now for the better part of 20 years, ‘Def by Temptation’, in the UK at least, has one lasting reputation, and thats that it was typically grouped in with 3-5 other movies and released MULTIPLE times through the late 90s and early 2000s as part of ‘multipack’ sets bundled with DVD players to shift units. A treatment I feel was ultimately quite undeserved given those bundles usually contained the kind of movies I review on my channel while wincing. 

In the 2024 black friday sales, I nabbed Vinegar Syndromes release of this film as it was almost out of print and going for a good price. It had drifted on and off my shelf in it’s multipack form, and I figured if VS were giving it a legitimate release, maybe I’d been missing out on something. Turns out, I had. 

Positively OOZING early 90s kitsch, ‘Def by Temptation’ is a cautionary tale wrapped up as a quasi erotic horror film, featuring two friends on different life paths reconnecting and falling into a deadly game against a seductress who may have a LOT more going on than meets the eye.

A Rich and sumptuous piece of 90s cinema, this was made on a shoestring, but feels every bit as professional as a mid budget feature. The fact that the studio that distributed this made every effort to push the fact Samuel L. Jackson is in this film as the main selling point (he has 2 cameos in the whole thing totalling less than 5 minutes) is, in my opinion a tremendous disservice to the craft and work James Bond the 3rd put into this production, the fact this was pretty much his one and only feature (and acting) work, and that he didnt really do anything with his talent past this is frankly mind boggling to me. 

Gorgeously lit, well shot, and boasting a solid set of performances and a nicely bubbling plot that starts by gently guiding the viewer, before slowly fully enveloping them into this world, not to mention a killer soundtrack and some razor sharp editing. This is a seriously underrated horror, and one that definitely needs a lot more love and attention by the horror and film community at large. Definitely one for the horror fan looking for something a little more off the beat and path. 

Vegas in Space:

The tragedy of ‘Vegas in Space’  still to this day lingers in my mind whenever I think about it. An ultra campy, rough and ready pop art vision in sequins courtesy of Doris Fish and Phillip R. Ford, the deaths of two of this films key stars, financiers and producers mere months before the films completion is frankly devastating to hear. Especially considering how unique and fun the film ultimately is. 

I covered this one on my youtube channel towards the back end of 2025 after trying to get my hands on a copy for the better part of a decade, and it was a very rare moment of my preset expectations being not only met, but surpassed. 

Feeling like Joel Hodgeson and Tom Rubnitz collaborated on an all drag space opera, theres very VERY little I dislike about ‘Vegas in Space’. Its colourful, vivid, unflinchingly funny, catty, well paced, well shot, well directed with fun and funky set designs and performances that are both unrelenting and unflinching. The synthy soundtrack only really seals the deal further for me on this one. 

I appreciate this film wont be to everyone’s taste, but in a sea of ‘by the numbers’ productions where I can essentially watch them while doing other things and still fully understand whats happening without missing a beat, Vegas in space had me hooked from the moment the title sequence began, till the moment the last of the credits scrolled off the screen, and thats a very rare thing these days. 

Since my initial viewing, i’ve made it my mission to show this one to as many people as I possibly can, and given currently its availability consists mainly of a Troma DVD thats regularly in ‘clearance’ sales, in some cases i’ve even bought copies of the film for folks to watch when I personally haven’t been able to show them my copy. If you have any appreciation for the counterculture LGBTQ, whimsigoth and Daisy age movements of the mid 80s to early 90s. You’ll no doubt love ‘Vegas in Space’ and should seek it out as soon as possible. 

The Night Stalker:

I had NO idea what or who ‘Kolchak’ was before I was introduced to it by fellow youtuber Mack Lambert. Who kindly invited me to talk about the pilot TV movie ‘The Night Stalker’ on his channel (a video im still desperately trying to assemble but will hopefully be out sooner rather than later). I have to say, I was quite impressed honestly. 

The whole premise of ‘Kolchak: The Night Stalker’ is probably best described as a kind of proto ‘X-files’ meets ‘Columbo’. Carl Kolchak is an investigative reporter who specialises in ‘the unknown’ and particularly in cold or dead end cases where a supernatural or otherworldly presence may in fact be the cause of the incident. 

The Night Stalker was the first of two feature pilots for what would go onto become a 2 season tv series. And it introduces us to Kolchak, who he is and what he does, as he arrives in Las Vegas following up on a series of bizarre murders that have baffled police, but may in fact be caused by non other than a Vampiric entity. 

I wont say anything more than that as I feel that’ll spoil the movie. But this was absolutely one of my favourite murder mysteries that i’ve seen in a LONG time. Gorgeously shot, 70s TV does this film no justice compared to the crisp and vibrant HD scan of the original film elements I watched. Razor sharp editing, lovingly crafted lighting and sequence work, rock solid compositional work and a script that is the perfect blend of mild humour, genuine mystery and the kind of gut punches that make a guy wanna go take a long hard middle distance stare out of a window. 

I utterly fell in love with this world building, and found it quite upsetting that both this film and its follow up are in fact in ownership of a completely different studio to the TV series, AND that both the films and the TV series have had independent releases in the US only, that are now all LONG out of print and going for stupid money. Meaning theres a pretty good likelihood that my chance of nabbing all of these on physical media is about as good as me randomly finding £200 on the street. 

Definitely one i’d recommend for science fiction fans or people with a passion for proto noir cinema. I had a really good time with this unique piece of television history, and I hope you will too!

China O Brien:

With Vinegar syndrome releasing both of the ‘Chian O’Brien’ movies in a deluxe boxset in 4k in late 2024, I just had to check it out as my rothrock filmography has been frankly woeful. And while I could take or leave the sequel, the first entry in this series is everything I love about a good action martial arts movie and then some! 

It all ultimately comes down to Cynthia Rothrock as a personality, if she wasnt the star of this film, this would likely just be another middle of the road slightly goofy action movie. But Rothrocks charisma, charm and the downright fun action sequences in this one really kept me on board for the full duration. It was enjoyable enough that, purely off the back of this one, I went and grabbed a few more Rothrock films to spin this year. 

The 4k scan looks great, really bringing to life the rich neon colours and vibrant surrounding greenery of small town USA in the mid to late 80s. Theres some really nice deep cinematography in this one, which when combined with a punchy synthy score and a light and punch packing script, really sold me on this one. One best enjoyed late night with a few beers on standby, ideally with friends. If you havent seen China O’brien and your into action as a genre, you don’t want to sleep on this one. 

The Fog:

Towards the back end of the year, I tried to focus my attention on checking out a few more mainstream hits that may have passed me by, just to see if i’d slept on anything truely spectacular, and during Halloween 2025, I decided to check out John Carpenters ‘The Fog’…In many ways I was kind of kicking myself from the off as to why I hadnt done it sooner. I mean, its pretty much slap bang in my favourite era of Carpenters work, just after he’d released ‘Halloween’ and ‘Assault on Precinct 13’ just BEFORE he’d work on ‘Halloween 2’, ‘Escape from New York’ and ‘The Thing’. Its basically THE era most people know for Carpenters work, and yet ‘The Fog’ just never quite made it into my rotation. And I really wish it had a lot sooner!

A key thing about Carpenters direction and vision around this time is a seeming relentless urge to slow boil the plot, in lesser hands this could come across as boring, but Carpenter and Deborah hill do such a wonderful job of crafting unique and interesting characters and building a fully flesh and blood world for them to inhabit, that you become engrossed in the towns goings on…So much so that the actual horror element almost takes a back street to just…some absolutely astounding character pieces. 

Its just at the point where you begin to wonder if the horror element is even going to be all that intense with this piece, that it lands with the thud of a sledgehammer, and the whole film kicks into overdrive, taking these well crafted characters and thrusting them into a life or death situation where, because of all the careful setup, the audience IS genuinely invested in ensuring that as many of these people live as possible. 

That is only a small part of what makes this film so brilliant of course, the cine and direction are utterly delightful, the creative vision is precise almost to a surgical fault, and with a star studded cast including Carpenter regulars such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Adrienne Barbeau, Janet Leigh, Charles Cyphers, and Hal Holbrook. The only thing more stunning than the visuals are the performances throughout. A cozy ghost story of a movie, its perfect viewing around Halloween and the colder months of the year, and guaranteed to have you twitching your curtains if you live near the coast!

Miracle on 34th Street:

When it comes to Christmas movies, I have a serious problem, and thats the fact that, due to the nature of the season, I very rarely find the time to make it through a whole movie in one sitting during the holidays. I mentioned this in my recent review of ‘Santa Claus Conquers the Martians’ but it can frequently be the case that I put a movie on, get 10-20 minutes in, and then get pulled away to either help set up Christmas decorations, to ferry family to holiday shopping or festive events, to visit family, to go buy christmas food, to wrap presents, to send out christmas cards. And it can quite literally be the case that i’ve seen a movie maybe once in its entirety, in 5-10 minute chunks across a 5 year window. 

‘Miracle on 34th Steet’ was very much one of those movies, a film uniquely placed in the painful spot of ‘famous enough that I feel I really should have seen it before now’, but not SO important in the holiday schedules that I felt the need to sit and watch this thing from start to finish annually. I can say i’ve seen pretty much all of the 90s remake in dribs and drabs over the years. I’d seen small bits of the 50s TV version over the last 20 years. But I can honestly say, barring maybe 1-2 minutes worth of clips. I’d never seen ANY of the original 1940s version. So! Armed with a rum infused hot chocolate and the missus, I decided to actually, consciously sit and watch the original to really get to the nub of why this film is so fondly remembered and revisited. And I totally get it. 

Edmund Gwenn as Kris Kringle here is positively radiating across the runtime, bringing a level of warmth and openness to Santa that I feel makes all other on screen appearances feel positively pale in comparison. The scripts super tight with a good, but gentle humour to it. It steadily builds up a good ‘festive feelgood’ pace until the final act when it fully unleashes unrelenting seasonal cheer on the audience. With goodwill and jokes that still more than hold up and feel relevant to this day. 

With a grand sense of cine and direction that feels revolutionary for 1947, there are moments of this film that to 2025 sensibilities may seem a bit…off colour, I think its fair to say. But these are mercifully few and far between and what we ultimately end up with is a film with a sincere and upbeat cast, a fun and lighthearted plot with some nice contrasting moments, and probably a less puritanical antidote to ‘Its a wonderful life’ a film that revels in the season and the meaning of Christmas, maybe a touch commercialised? Sure thing, but as Kris in the film protests, this season isnt about the toys, its about the people, and making sure everyone who can, is able to get what they need. This was a first time watch for me, but I could easily see it entering regular christmas movie rotation. 

Sonic the hedgehog 3:

I’ve been a fan of the ‘Sonic the hedgehog’ games since the first one reached UK shores, I’ve played pretty much every mainline title up to date, i’ve watched all the TV shows, read a decent chunk of the comics, kept track of the lore and even given part of my brains capacity over to the Chris Chan extended universe. I have a soft spot for the ‘Blue Blur’. 

And while I was MORE than apprehensive when they announced they were producing a ‘Sonic the hedgehog’ movie, to the point that I actually decided to give the first film a miss just, purely because it seemed set up on purpose to not really be made for me. I decided that, before 2025 rolled to a close, I’d finally give the 3 ‘Sonic’ movies a go. In part out of genuine curiosity, and in part because the latest entry ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ had gained quite a positive critical reception AND it was loosely based on one of my favourite Sonic games ‘Sonic Adventure 2’ 

And I honestly came away really quite impressed, this is quite the anomaly in the the film industry, a franchise that gets better with every sequel. I was already kind of surprised when the first film wasnt quite the dumpster fire I was expecting, but when I actually found myself more than enjoying the 2nd film, I was thrown for a loop, but then the THIRD film!? Well that was a whole other kettle of fish. 

I’ll be honest, its quite an investment to sink into getting to this entry, all the films are quite interconnected and they arnt exactly built for audiences to just ‘hop on or off’. You need to have seen the 2nd one to get the most out of the 3rd one, and you need to have seen the first one to get the most out of the sequels. So I don’t begrudge anyone giving this series a miss given how much time is needed to get up to speed on it. 

But I can say, I had a really good time with this one, while they toned down some of the darker moments from SA2, they did keep a LOT in that I thought would have been chucked, theres some really nice references to SA2 for things that didn make the cut as well. And as this series goes on, it feels like the film makers are having more and more confidence in bedding in references to the games and extended media universes, which helps create a more uniform vision. 

Keanue Reeves is Shadow the Hedgehog here, and I think he does a really solid job. Would I have preferred a slightly campier Shadow, more in line with his Gamecube and PS2 era persona? Absolutely. But even with those edges sanded down I would struggle to say I disliked the new approach. 

With striking visuals a fun and engaging script that isnt afraid to take a family movie to darker and deeper places, and some genuinely well written characters. ‘Sonic the hedgehog 3’ may have some low brow humour and a lack of clarity holding it back from truely being the best it can be. But I cant deny that as the credits rolled, I was raring to go on ‘Sonic 4’ (coming 2027) and I think that the franchise, and this film specifically, would MORE than make a big splash on any family movie night! Whether your a longtime fan of the games, or just morbidly curious like I was. I’d say this one was definitely worth your time!

And with that! We draw 2025 to a close! I don’t think theres anything here that would surprise regular viewers/readers. But I hope if nothing else that you take a chance on at least one of the films in this list, and if you do, please do let me know! I’d love to hear your thoughts! But for now! The wide open plain that is 2026 is ahead of us, and I’ve got some movies to spin!

Take Care!

– Dan

by tytdreviews

The Best of the ‘First Timers’ – 2023

As another year winds down to a close, I decided this year to do something a little bit different. Last year, at the end of the year, I put together a letterboxd list of my ‘Top 10 films I’d seen in 2022 for the first time’. They didnt have to BE films made in 2022, they just had to be movies that, to me; were a first time viewing. And I quite enjoyed the experience honestly. It made for an interesting journey back through my Letterboxd diary list for that year to shortlist out the films i’d watched for the first time, and to see which ones, thanks to the passage of time, had matured into something I’d genuinely enjoyed. 

There were movies i’d loved on the first watch, but had soured over the months since checking them out, by contrast there were films I thought were absolute stinkers for which, the passage of time had actually mellowed my views and given me a new affection towards them. Movies like ‘Flesh for Frankenstein’ and ‘Thriller: A Cruel Picture’ were no brainers, but the likes of ‘SGT. Kabukiman: NYPD’ genuinely caught me off guard! 

So! With 2023 only 2 days away from completion, I thought i’d do it all again and pull up my ‘Top 10 First time watches of 2023’. Frankly; given theres still 2 days left of the year, im a little bit concerned even at this point that I may get one final amazing movie land in my bluray player before the years out…But! We do have to cut these things off at SOME point… Some may surprise, though I reckon anyone who’s been paying attention to my Letterboxd and youtube channel will probably have a pretty easy time guessing which movies made it into this list.

They wont be in any particular order, there isnt really a ‘best film of the year’ situation here (thats not how we roll) Instead, these are just 10 films that left a profound impact on me that I absolutely would recommend you guys, gals and NB sweethearts check out at your next convenience. SO! With that out of the way…

Elvis (2022):

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/elvis-2022/

Starting things off we have a film that I *very* nearly watched this time last year before life got in the way and it *just* slipped back into the first couple of days of January. ‘Elvis’ was one of the first 4k discs I picked up and I was absolutely blown away by both its lavish and sumptuous attention to visual detail, AND the script itself. Dancing a very fine line between campy TV movie and a visual feast. ‘Elvis’ is probably one of my favourite Baz Luhrmann films to date. A kaleidoscope of golds and reds. 

This truely felt like a film pushing the boundaries of the medium itself (as of 2022) in places, and it made me very excited of what lies in store for us in the coming decades. While it absolutely can be accused of boiling down Elvis to ‘just the basics’, with some moments of the film bordering on ‘Dewey Cox’ levels of simplicity. I found that aspect of the production charming and it only further enhanced the campy elements for me. With it shooting well past the 2 and a half hour mark, it unfortunately wont be one I have time to sink into again in a hurry, which is in fact one of the only bad things I have to say about it. Had it been closer to 90 or even 120 minutes, i’d have been much more likely to rewatch it. But even so, this was a delight. 

Paperhouse:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/paperhouse/1/

A film that was recommended to me by a viewer on my youtube channel, i’d vaguely heard of ‘Paperhouse’ before being asked to cover it, but I thought a lot of the promotional work looked a little bit uninspired, so I put it in my ‘to watch’ pile and essentially relegated it to ‘When I have a gap in the schedules’ status. Little did I know that arguably one of the best movies of that season was quite LITERALLY under my nose the entire time, a fact for which I apologise to whoever recommended this one to me for delaying it for so long. 

Paperhouse, from a marketing perspective looks like some kind of drama, maybe with some very light fantasy elements (think ‘Celia’). But if you cut through the promotional materials, theres a much richer complex story being told here, One that strongly reminded me of the works of Guillermo Del Toro’s better offerings…Though miraculously, this one came first. 

A dark and moody fantasy dealing with themes of abandonment, puberty and the ups and downs of life in working class England. ‘Paperhouse’ mixes bleak and gritty cinematography with an abstract fantasy edge to create an end product that Bernard Rose should be VERY proud of. It still blows my mind quite honestly that this thing is trapped on DVD. a 4k release of this film seems like a total no brainer, and I have to assume its caught in some kind of rights limbo because, other than a *slightly* shaky ending, the only other thing I could honestly pick fault with was the DVD presentation starting to show its age. 

Definitely worth checking out if your smitten with young adult-esq fantasy fiction, ‘Paperhouse’ was a film I took for granted, and I regretted doing so every day after watching it.

Beyond the Seventh Door:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/beyond-the-seventh-door/

Another totally pleasant surprise for me this year, this one was recommended by friend of the show ‘Triv’ from Trivial Theater, who brought it up during a podcast recording this year as a film she’d recently checked out that she thought i’d really quite like. And she ABSOLUTELY wasnt wrong! 

‘Beyond the Seventh Door’ is a bit of an oddity, a Canadian SOV film that looks and feels like the kind of thing you’d have seen in the 90s as a physical gameshow on TV, such as ‘The Crystal Maze’ or ‘Legends of the Hidden Temple’. 

Its an oddity also in the sense that…for SOV…80’s SOV…It actually looks really bloody good! We have crisp and sharp video footage that feels right around broadcast quality, the set work is superb with spaces that have lots of moving parts, intricate detailing and interesting small details…This is a low/no budget SOV film that features a scene where our main characters have to solve a word puzzle that built into the floor ‘hopscotch’ style, and when they DO solve the puzzle one of the tiles on the floor starts lowering like an elevator. I have seen HUNDREDS of SOV flicks in my time…I’ve never seen one do something like that!

Littered with small references to the place it was filmed in, ‘Beyond the Seventh Door’ is pretty much the best SOV flick i’ve seen this year. And thats not even BEGINNING to mention ‘Lazar Rockwood’ who’s performance here is absolutely insane and only pushed this thing even further up my ‘must see’ list. If you have any good feelings towards SOV cinema at all, this is a must see in my opinion. A short but sweet fun little romp that has genuine passion behind it and hits all the right notes.

Saw X:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/saw-x/

Towards the end of this year, I finally decided to plug a big gap in my horror knowledge and took the plunge in checking out the ‘Saw’ franchise. Part of this was down to the fact i’d only ever previously seen ‘Saw’ 1 and 2. Part of it was down to the fact that Shudder announced they would be streaming the first 7 films on their platform…and I figured at £4-5 for a months subscription, this would probably be the cheapest way to catch all of them, short of doing naughty torrents or paying £25-£45 for the privilege of a boxset. 

‘Saw X’ is the latest entry in the franchise (coming out this year no less!) and it isnt so much what this film DOES, but rather what it DOESNT do…Set in between ‘Saw’ 1 and 2, ‘X’ breaks from the formula, doing the one thing i’d wished ALL these ‘Saw’ films had done in the first place. It tells a largely self contained story, in an interesting way that prioritizes character development over gory visuals. 

This isnt a film where you need to remember the ‘lore’ of 8 other movies for it to make sense, and it isnt trying to essentially be a glorified ‘snuff’ film as the latter entries in this franchise ultimately ended up. ‘Saw X’ gives Jigsaw and Amanda a LOT more room to explore there own morals, hang ups and humanity. In such a way that NON of the other ‘Saw’ films have really bothered with. Its script is razor in it’s execution, flexing wildly between getting us to sympathise with Tobin Bells character, who ultimately believes that what he’s doing is morally sound. While not failing to remind us that he IS ALSO responsible (directly or indirectly) for multiple people now missing limbs or not being alive anymore. 

Thats not to downplay the kills in this film either however which are some of the series best, with over the top gory slayings that dance a VERY fine line between being quite campy in there execution and downright unsettling. 

With rock solid performances, some fantastic camera work, the sharpest script the franchise has had in *at least* 15 if not 20 years, and a score that felt oppressive and perfectly timed. ‘Saw X’ left a solid impression on me that didnt leave for quite a while, I almost feel bad I didnt get to catch this one in theaters. 

Idiocracy:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/idiocracy/

Another one that I’d put off for years through a mixture of split opinions on what its trying to communicate, AND the shocking fact that this thing hasnt yet made the jump to HD. I caught ‘Idiocracy’ with my partner over the summer for the first time, and while it’s now seen as fairly trite to say this film was supposed to be a warning, not a documentary. I couldnt help but laugh in a somewhat worried way at just how many things mentioned in this film could, entirely realistically, happen in the real world in the very near future. 

I appreciate that, by the time I have gotten to this film, the moment for it has well and truely passed. But as someone who went into this thing only knowing the absolute barest of plot points (a guy gets frozen in the early 2000’s and wakes up in the far FAR future in which humanity has almost entirely out bred and outpriced the intelligent from the planet and created a ‘coddled’ version of society that doesnt know why things are the way they are, but wont question it either) I honestly just found it quite funny. Yes its a bit sneering in places, yes it does dabble in Eugenics talk in places (largely the first act) but once it gets underway and it boils down to ‘average intelligence guy is basically the only ‘Einstein’ on a planet of idiots’, It falls into Mike Judges specialty area. Dumb humour. And from that point on, its just gut buster after gut buster for me. 

Its a largely professional end product as well, which was a nice surprise. Given the budget and how easy it would have been to just turn this into a cheap and nasty ‘dumb people be dumb’ movie. It DOES at least attempt to add a bit more complexity and scathing commentary on society into the mix to bring it up to the next level. I think it’ll be interesting to see how this film ages over the NEXT 20 years…because if the 20 or so years between this film and now has made it feel THIS close to reality. Lord knows where the next 20 will take us. It’s not for everyone, but I personally had quite the soft spot for it.

Deadstream:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/deadstream/

A genuinely pleasant surprise to stumble on, I found ‘Deadstream’ literally at random one night while flicking around on Shudder looking for something to kill 90 or so minutes, normally I don’t tend to watch ‘Shudder Originals’ as my past experience with them hasnt been the best. But the marketing made this sound like it was some kind of ‘found footage’ horror film about a social media influencer livestreaming his time in a haunted house for clicks…and that sounded kind of neat for me…well…neat enough to take a 90 minute gamble on it. 

Then the comedy hit, and I totally fell in love with it. Comparisons to ‘Evil Dead 2’ are kind of obvious with this one, I honestly wasnt expecting this to be a horror comedy, and a GOOD horror comedy at that! Its all presented as if your watching a livestream take place, and while some of the plot points are a *little* bit dubious (our main character has half a dozen ‘go pro’ esq cameras that he sets up around the haunted house that he can control, cut to and generally use at ANY time with NO interruption thats simultaneously able to be controlled by an Ipad, BUT ALSO has a wireless direct feedline to whatever software hes using to stream…thats a big mental leap for me to make honestly) 

In some ways, the simplicity of the execution is kind of what draws me to it, I feel like had this been a much more polished affair, it wouldnt have the charm. Its that rough and ready, rogueish element that really quite won me over. Our lead character is charismatic, has a deep history that gets pooled into across the runtime leading to a nice slowburn release about his character. 

Most importantly, its a movie trying to be a livestream, that ACTUALLY feels like a live stream! Which an astonishing number of movies really quite fail to achieve (its a similar problem that plagues scenes where actors play video games in movies…either they don’t look like they’re *Really* playing the game or the game looks less like a game, and more like an animation…

In either case, Deadstream is a big goofy and surprisingly well made feature that I feel would pair wonderfully with something like ‘The WNUF Halloween Special’ and is absolutely worth your time.

Django Unchained:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/django-unchained/

I can often be accused of being ‘late to the party’ on some movies. In many ways I prefer it that way because it means I rarely get swept up in the ‘hype’ that often comes with new releases. But it does then have the negative consequence of having to find the time to play catch up with the rest of the world. 

This year, I decided I wanted to try and plug a gap in my Quentin Tarantino knowledge, at the start of the year i’d seen just under half of his movies, and (broadly speaking) I do have a soft spot for his work. ‘Resevoir Dogs’ and the ‘Kill Bill’ movies did a wonderful bit of upcycling in taking awesome moments from B-picture exploitation flicks and transplanting them into larger budgeted, studio driven productions…Part of me kind of resents that because I feel it downplays the importance of the cult source material…but then…part of me knows had he not ripped off a ton of exploitation pictures, audiences likely would have never appreciated them, or even known they existed…

My Tarantino gap was really everything after ‘Kill Bill Volume 2’, I’d seen ‘The Hateful 8’ but that was about it. So…as you can imagine, when I found out that Tarantino had gone MASSIVELY grander in his visions for his films post 90s…I quickly got quite invested. And by the time I got to ‘Django: Unchained’ well I just about lost my damn mind frankly. 

Doing what he did with asian cinema, and the cult B-pictures of the drive in ‘Django’ takes the exploitation era spaghetti westerns and pulps them into a 2+hour long visual feast, arguably not just one of his best movies, but one of the greatest westerns of the 21st century (which…being honest, isnt THAT hard of an achievement…but it sounds cool…so im going to roll with it)

An Acidic anti racist script laced with scathing commentary on American culture and slavery. Django is unflinching in what it sets out to do, and it does what it sets out to do really bloody well. 

With rich colourful visuals, an astoundingly powerful script, some of the strongest direction Tarantinos ever committed to film and a score that makes my hair stand up on end. Im getting to a point in life where I feel like I could say ‘Django’ is my favourite Tarantino film. Its almost certainly a peak for him as a creator that he hasnt *quite* managed to scale again since. But if you only catch one of his movies. This or ‘Reservoir Dogs’ are essentials. 

It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/its-a-mad-mad-mad-mad-world/

Making it onto the list by literal DAYS. It was a total accident that I wound up catching ‘Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World’. I decided while on my Christmas Vacation that now would be a time to try and sink all the 2+ hour movies I had because I really don’t have the time to watch anything that long (or longer) while im working. This had been near the top of my ‘To watch’ list for a while, so I gave it a chance and didnt regret it for a second. 

Essentially, it feels like the film makers got their hands on a list of every US comedian or entertainer from 1930 to the present day of 1963 who wasnt dead, called them and asked if they’d be interested in starring in a movie…and seemingly most of them said ‘Sure!’ 

Its SO densely packed with now LEGENDARY comedians you barely get a second to catch your breath before the next madcap scene is taking place. Its a non stop barrage of every single type of comedy you’d care to think of. And while I cant say there was much in the way of total gut busting laughs. It did have a consistently good hit rate for jokes, enough to keep you smiling and chuckling from beginning to end. 

Everyone involved seems to know the tone this thing is working towards, Everyone seems to be having a really good time on set, the direction and cine are astounding for the time with grand comedic set pieces looking utterly effortless for the most part, the script is damn near perfect, the scoring perfeclty suited and highly memorable. This things slow burn, but very VERY rewarding. By the time the end credits came around, I knew i’d just sat through something quite special and I really cant wait till I next get an opportunity to watch it again. 

Barbie:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/barbie/

‘Barbie’ was arguably my most anticipated release of the year, i’d been ready and waiting for it from the moment the very first ‘early preview’ trailer for it launched back in 2022, based on that trailer and the handful of set photos that had come out around it, I knew that there was something special going on behind the scenes with this one, and I absolutely was NOT disappointed. 

They really don’t make movies like ‘Barbie’ anymore, an ultra colourful, seemingly harmless on the surface big dumb adventure comedy movie, the last time this kind of thing had a resurgence was in the 80s with films like ‘The Goonies’ or ‘Pee Wees Big adventure’ only…those films were ONLY really there to entertain. ‘Barbie’ has an added layer to it, which is beyond the bubblegum pop aesthetic and ‘head emptiness, is an acidically self aware script that directly attacks toxic masculinity, attempts to teach progressive feminism in basic terms both to a very young audience or to people who may not entirely understand the fundamentals and not only does it shine a light on those traits, it inverts them, inviting men to question their own flaws and women to question the very purpose of their own personal existence. 

Traditionally; if I go to see a film in theaters, i’ll go once and then pick up the bluray/4k if I really liked it. I went to see Barbie twice in theaters, bought the streamable copy as soon as it became available and as of the time of writing I have the 4k release winging its way to my doorstep courtesy of Amazon. 

Its a truely astounding work of our time that not only something like this would be released internationally, but that TWO major companies would have greenlit this given the film attacks those companies as ‘part of the problem’ amongst its many MANY other axes to grind. Im still kind of in shock the film got made at all letalone released, and its a testimony to it’s uniqueness in a sea of ‘Marvels’ and ‘Star Wars-es…’ that this became one of the highest grossing films of the year. A title I feel it rightfully earned. 

While I will admit, sometimes it can get a little heavy handed on its messaging, i’d also suggest that…some people need that level of detail BECAUSE this kind of content is so alien to them. It can be a bit patronizing to people who get it, but the fact it boils things down to SUCH a simple level that even kids can understand it, I thought was honestly quite wonderful. 

I was sold on the aesthetic of this thing before it even hit theaters, but to be hit with SUCH an ‘out of left field’ revelation that this film was smart, and wanted YOU to know it was smart…was the thing that absolutely made me fall in love with it. 

Easily my favourite film released this year, My only concern now is the glut of ‘sanitized’ movies that’ll be coming in 2025 trying to do what ‘Barbie’ did, but in a safer…more studio friendly way…*sigh* ah well…the world probably needed a ‘Hot Wheels’ Movie that deals with gentrification anyway…

Dr. Caligari:

https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/dr-caligari/

And last, but certainly not least. We have ‘Dr. Caligari’ probably my most anticipated purchase of this year, I nabbed it from Mondo Macabre last Halloween and it arrived just in time for me to include it in my youtube channel, where it (quite rightfully) took the season finale slot. 

Its an 80s neu wave explosion in a paint factory of a movie thats *suggested* to be a sequel to the german expressionist film (maybe even a remake) but realistically…shares a name and a couple of plot beats, but not much else. And I absolutely adored it. The mashing up of the german expressionist movement and the 80s new wave movement was a totally inspired decision, the film looks unique, handmade and fairly lavish given the minimal set scenery (most of this takes place in a void with bizarre props and set pieces in the foreground) 

The script is nuttier than fruit cake, but has a lot to say about the medical industry of the US, the characters are all eccentric, over the top, camp tastic and utterly delightful to be around. The direction is very considered with a rock solid edit, razor cine and scripting and a killer score. This is everything I want out of an art house movie and more, and it’s really put me on to Stephen Sayadian in a big way (my kingdom for ‘Nightdreams 4k’ 

Its just such a delight to sit through honestly, with not a single dull moment, I utterly loved this movie. And with news that ‘Cafe Flesh’ is also making its way to 4k in 2024. All I can say is…I look forward to talking about Sayadians work again this time next year.

by tytdreviews

Finishing the Complete Thirteenth Season (2023)

…I knew I should have just called this one ‘Season X’ or ‘Not Season 13’ or something like that…Bizarrely the actual production of this season more or less went without a hitch. All these episodes were written, recorded and edited between late July 2022 and early January 2023. Before any of the crappy problems i’d had with this year really got underway… With only the last 2 reviews (Die hard Dracula and Dr. Caligari) happening later (Caligari was written, edited and uploaded in late April/Early May, and Die hard Dracula was written in July, edited in late august and uploaded in September)

Quite honestly, it feels like an age ago since I worked on these. im usually quicker at putting together a ‘Finishing the…’ post on these, but the series finished with a perfect dovetail into a TON of personal problems that basically wrote me off for most of July/August/September and October…

I can say that this season introduced me to a few films that im now very happy I checked out, that HAVE been on repeat rotation now for a little bit. Though, i’ve got to admit, because of life stuff happening right at the tale end of the run, I was kind of on autopilot for the back end of this season.

Even so, I think some of my best reviews are included here. Its overall a sturdy season that I think has a decent flow, and given that this was the one and only season of this year. Im quite proud with how it turned out…

The next 12 months (Seasons 14 and 15) are going to feel a little odd comparatively because not only have I had to split the original season 14 almost in half (with half making up half the run of Season 14 – Jan – June 2024, and the other half going into Season 15 – Sept – December 2024) But also because we’re going to be making less episodes overall…It means realistically, the next time I’ll get to sit and properly plan out a new season from Tail to Snout will be Season 16 (Feb – June 2025) which feels like a lifetime away…But planning for that will begin around August of next year…Which’ll crop up on us sooner than you’d think…

Anyway; im rambling…I wish I remembered more about the making of this season honestly. from what I can recall though it was just really smooth sailing right up till the last 6 or so episodes…then things started to get a bit messy…Messy doesnt mean bad mind…I had a lot of fun with this season…Messy here quite literally means…messy.

by tytdreviews

Finishing the Complete Twelfth Season (2022)

Season 12 was a season punctuated with several rather big moments for the channel, ones im very proud of. It was the season that helped us ease into monthly streaming, it was the season to feature our longest review (“Sweet Insanity” – Thanks to Peckingforgoodtv for being a good sport on that one!) it featured probably our most mainstream review (I Spit on Your Grave) and our most obscure review (Santa’s Pocket Watch)

It saw the wind down of “The Comedy Dining Experience” and probably our crowning achievement for the year, as not only did we smash through 150k views (for the 2nd time I might add) BUT! we also FINALLY hit 1000 subscribers after over 6 years of weekly uploads. It’s been a hell of a road, but its one im fiercely proud of, and one that I simply couldnt have done without the help of our wonderful viewers and the many friends and creators i’ve made along the way.

Latter in the year seasons (basically the September – December stint) are always a little less fun for me. Don’t get me wrong! they ARE still very fun, otherwise I wouldnt do them the way I do. But with the pressure to do spooky stuff at Halloween and Christmassy stuff at Christmas, it usually means that at least 8-10 of my 16-18 slots for the year are eaten up with a rigidly structured type of arrangement. one of the things I really love about the February – June/July run is the fact that it’s in total free flow. I can plan the season out months in advance, but all it takes is one release to creep into my radar and I can easily swap it into the schedules with no problem. With the September – December run, im not as carefree.

But this year was a little bit different, Being able to collab with so many wonderful people across this season really helped to keep things fresh and keep my interest on the ball. The fact this years halloween special theme was “Poundland Horror” meant I wasnt rigidly stuck to one genre for a full month and could relax into the season quite nicely. and even the christmas specials were perked up somewhat by being able to tackle movies like “Winterbeast” with George. It just made things a lot less dogmatic and more, just for the fun of it. Yes I didnt get to do everything I wanted to do this season, but I got like; 95% of it done, and thats good enough for me!

Of the two seasons that made up 2022, Season 11 was probably the most fun to work on, but Season twelve was almost certainly the most rewarding. The former was the last hurrah to my old system, and the latter was me basically relearning how to do my trade having upgraded all my kit over the summer. and Season 12b (Im not calling it Season 13, theres no way im cursing this thing right out of the gate) is going to be the biggest and longest season we’ve ever done to date! I honestly cant wait for you guys to see it when we premiere on Feb 3rd 2023!

All I can say is, Season 12 was a fun one, and I hope 2023 keeps that postive energy coming!

by tytdreviews

Footprints On The Moon (1975)

‘Footprints’ was a film that chronically fell into the ‘I’ll cover it next season’ pile. As far back as season 7 I’d intended to cover this one, but when it came to finalising the running order, it just didnt sit right with what was in the dock at the time, so…i’d cull it over to the next season and PROMISE to do it then…where it’d sit on the list again till the very last minute and then ultimately get culled back to the NEXT season and so on.

The fact i’ve actually finally got it out, AND the fact that it came out only a week or so after Severin Films announced a lovely box set which includes this film. was both coincidental and a very nice surprise.

I honestly always seem to forget just how interesting a concept this movie was and how surprisingly fun it could be. Im really going to have to dig it out again in the near future for a re-spin. It’s definitely not perfect. But it is one that I recall with fondness.

Seriously though, quite why the astronauts are in this at all is a mystery to me…oh well..
by tytdreviews

Wicked World (1992/2019)

When it came to an opening episode for season 12, it was really a case of the planets quite wonderfully aligning. I have a real soft spot for the works of Barry J. Gillis. Ever since I first caught his opening feature “Things” damn near a decade ago, I’ve been entertained and impressed with his work ever since and when AGFA announced early last year that they were reissuing Barry’s 2nd feature “Wicked World” well, it all fell into place. I’d just started work on this season at that point, and it arrived WELL in time for me to cover it.

So! given the draught of Gillis titles i’d covered on the channel, his big bluray debute of “Wicked World” really seemed like a no brainer! it has everything you could possibly want in a Gillis movie and more!

If you’d like to grab a copy of Wicked world, theres limited stock available via Vinegar Syndrome Here

And for you really wild cats out there, Barry actually has a new film currently in production and due out imminently with updates coming via his facebook page, which I highly recommend checking Here

Seriously, AGFA have done some lovely work here and the set’s MORE than worth the price of admission to me. one I can definitely recommend!
by tytdreviews

Finishing the Complete Eleventh Season (2022)

Well! when it came to the 2nd half of our 5th anniversairy celebrations, I decided to try and do a bit of everything. Part of me wanted to cover movies i’d wanted to do for years (“Flight to Hell“, “Cannibal Girls“, “Camp Blood“) Some were movies i’d promised id do in the future, and then totally forgot to do in the future (“The American Ninja 4“, “Cyborg Cop 2“, “Alien Species“) and some were first time watches that arrived on short notice and genuinely caught me off guard (“Gatwick Gangsters“, “Night of the Demon“, “Dont go in the house“). Hell, we even rounded off the TYTD Reviews episodes by revisiting our very FIRST video for the channel “The Dragon Lives Again” hopefully finally doing justice to a film I’ve long admired and wished my review of could have been better.

It was a celebration of the old, and a look forward to the future of the channel. With this series marking a few milestones, it being the last season edited in 1080p,the last season edited in Adobe Premiere Pro, The last to use the branding we’ve been using now since 2020 across all fronts and the last season predominantly recorded on my focusrite condensor mic, a mic thats pretty much been what you’ve heard me through since AT LEAST 2020, which also made a few on and off appearences between 2017 and 2019 too.

What does the new season hold? well as seen in the review for “Dont go in the house” i’ve had a systems and kit upgrade on almost all fronts! including a new machine, a new mic, new lights for the packaging shots, new editing software and some other new tools to help give a bit more variety. As such we have new branding across all our main shows, we’ll be solely uploading in 4k going forward with better quality sound and visuals, faster processing power means it takes less time to export and convert reviews now, and as such it means we’ll be able to *hopefully* turn things around a bit quicker which’ll give me some time back to be able to enjoy a sunset or eat a well prepared meal!

There have also been some changes that are not quite as pleasent to announce, but here we are. After 2 years or so of monthly uploads and over 50 feature length commentaries, “The Comedy Dining Experience” will be swapping back to an irregular upload schedule, as it was when we first launched in 2018. Part of this is down to the amount of time it takes to edit the commentaries, part of it’s down to lower uptake than our other shows (we’ve had some episodes record less than 20 views after 3 weeks of being live in some cases) and part of it’s down to both myself and Ben just being absolutely ram jammed with stuff going on at the minute. Im in the middle of writing/recording and editing next years episodes (and I still have stuff to finish with Season 12!) and Bens recently had several good news stories that means he’s a lot busier than he was at the moment.

What this means in practical terms is that the Comedy Dining experience isnt going anywhere, it just means that, for the moment at least, it’s going to be on pause while we sort life stuff out, and when it does come back it’ll be likely an “As and when” affair rather than a regularly scheduled “thing” which will allow me more time to work on and refine our reviews, and it means we wont be oversaturating the channel too.

What it ALSO means is that we can do other fun things like monthly game night streams (we’ve done 3 so far and a pilot) AND it’s meant I can start an official Discord from which we’ll be hosting various watchalongs, games nights and other good stuff, alongside chats on everything from good and bad movies to music and weird youtube oddities, so do please tag along for that!

Season 11 marked a change in the wind for the channel, and with Season 12 currently rolling out weekly, I hope your enjoying the direction we’re taking the channel in, I had an absolute blast working on this season, I think it’s one of my favourites i’ve worked on alongside Season 10 and the chance to work and hang out with so many interesting people in collaboration has been an absolute delight. I couldnt have asked for a better 5th year on the platform.

by tytdreviews

She Freak (1967)

In many ways, I wish I could have been kinder to She Freak, it’s not a BAD movie by any stretch, I just feel like it’s a difficult film to market really, how do you sell a movie thats basically a 60’s remake of Todd brownings “Freaks” but with all the wonderful pathos and artiness that is the chiascuro 1920’s black and white drenched goodness removed?

“Oh, it’s basically “Freaks” but toned down because the MPAA didnt like the original and less interesting” is a HELL of a tagline. Not helped AT ALL, by the fact they hang their hat on the titular “She Freak” who doesnt ACTUALLY materialise ‘freaked up’ until the end, and even then only for 60 seconds max. I know the whole idea is that SHES THE REAL FREAK FOR BEING A JERK YEH? YEH!. But the reality is, it just fell short of really truely winning me over, and in many ways I felt quite let down by it for that.

That being said AGFA have done a BLINDER of a job on this thing, it looks incredible and if you were lucky enough to get the limited edition slip (as seen below) then you were doubly blessed! honestly while the film may not be *THAT* great, the release really cant be faulted.

That slipcover…god DAMN.
by tytdreviews

Nightwish (1989)

I have to admit, when it comes to fan submissions im a bit shit. I honestly cant help it, I have the best of intent to cover stuff, but unless it’s sat in my physical “to watch” pile, or when I look it up it grabs my by the collar and shakes me violently in terms of getting my attention, what tends to happen is it goes on a word document I have for recommendations and then slowly drops down the list into oblivion.

I really want to cover recommendations people send me in because, honestly, I feel if someone feels strongly enough that I should cover something, I should do them the courtesy of doing it. But im currently so inundated with movies (well over 250, NOT including my actual shelf of already watched ‘seal of approval’ movies) and im so limited on time in which to actually work on content for the channel, that I have to pick what I can work with and structure my seasons around genre and availability more than anything else. That unfortunately does mean that sometimes…there just isnt room to cover some things. For which im honestly very sorry, and I do fully intend to try better in future.

This rec came courtesy of a lovely chap called Samulom who’s been following me for quite a while and gave a VERY passionate speech around why he thought this film needed to be seen by a wider audience. I looked it up and wholeheartedly agreed AND mercifully at the time he hit me at JUST the right moment as I was actually about 25% of the way into writing season 11 at the time! So! I found a nice little slot in my schedules and pencilled it in! And I wasnt dissapointed!

And as an aside, I generally start writing for new seasons between August and October and February to April, so if you do have a rec, the best time to shoot your shot is in those months as im usually in the planning stages, there’ll always be a delay because of how I schedule my reviews (for example I wrote September – Decembers reviews this year between March and May) but if you get me at the right time, it’ll get covered!

Anyway! Nightwish! Enjoy!

This posters SO trippy, I love it very dearly, it does everything a good sci-fi horror should do!
by tytdreviews

Valerie and her Week of Wonders (1970)

This is…unfortunately, one of those few situations where I honestly dont have a lot to say about the behind the scenes of this weeks episode. I know it’s always a bit of a downer when all I can really say is “Watch my review for the full story!” But sometimes it just be like that tho m8.

What I CAN say, and its totally off topic, but hey. your reading this, you’ve got time. is that at the time I was working on this review I was in a quite stressful and unpleasent place. in fact a decent chunk of this year has been rather stressful and genuinely unplesent at times. I quite recently got a promotion at work where i’ve basically been assigned to *fix* a VERY broken aspect of their business. I like fixing things, im ALL for improvement projects and optimisation. It’s my jam…but this thing…this fucking thing…holy shit. it’s BROKE.

As a result I spent the first 3-4 months being basically dragged by the project face first into the dirt. it was sprawling, awkward FULL of weird variations and bylaws that made NO sense. I likened the experience of coming into work as “Stepping on Landmines” because the problems were seemingly invisible till stepped on, at which point you’d be launched into 2-3 weeks of absolute shrapnel induced carnage only recovering long enough to accidentally drag yourself onto another one. it’s been a shit time honestly. it was painful and i’d regularly find myself working WAY overtime and burning myself out over the weekends trying to catch back up with myself only to repeat it all again the next week!

But! in the last 4-8 weeks i’ve finally stopped being blown up quite so frequently, i’ve managed to slim out some of the worst aspects of the system and introduce better, more robust procedures that have not only given me back more time during the day to actually work on larger improvements to save me even MORE time. But have actually (more often than not) given me my evenings back as well. Im still a few weeks off saying im “comfortable” again…but for now at least…I dont feel quite so distressed by it all and im kind of getting back to being happy with my lot again…and if thats the direction im heading in, I can live with that!

Anyway; yeh…kind of…went off on a tangent there. ENJOY!

I love this poster, its so striking, yet so simple.
by tytdreviews