thriller – Page 3 – Anomalous Cinema

It Comes at Night (2017)

October 18, 2024January 24, 2025 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

I was hoping to recommend a horror movie, but this is more of a psychological thriller. Pretty damned creepy at times though. I saw It Comes at Night when it first came out and gave it a good rating, but I didn’t remember a thing about it. I figured why not rewatch it after a few drinks and give you a more off the cuff recommendation?

Ahem…

Killer cinematography. The whole cast is solid. Nice to see Christopher Abbot again in a role before I began recognizing his awesomeness. There are bits of this that remind me of how it felt at the beginning of Covid (oh boy doesn’t that make you want to watch this now?). Some people were turned off by this not being a straight forward horror movie. Some were turned off by not knowing exactly what is going on. I was not turned off. I am not calling this a fun movie, or even a great movie, but it sure as hell is Anomalous Cinema.

The themes reminded me of the OG Twilight Zone episodes The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (1960) and The Shelter (1961). I suggest if you’ve never seen those, watch them AFTER It Comes at Night.

Available on Blu-ray from Lion’s Gate.

If you are a fan of Anomalous Cinema, please consider supporting this site by donating any amount (even $1.00 is appreciated) via Venmo @vergeoflight / Cash App $vergeoflight / or Paypal at this secure link. A Paypal account is not required. Thank you.

Clearcut (1991)

October 11, 2024January 17, 2025 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

Graham Greene stars as an Indigenous activist seeking to teach a lesson to the head of a logging company. I only saw this movie for the first time recently and what a pleasant surprise it was. Clearcut is an original mix of horror and thriller, and is satisfying throughout the run time. Going in knowing as little as little as possible will give you the best viewing experience. It would be best to not even watch the trailer.

Available on Blu-ray from Severin Films.

The Reflecting Skin (1990)

August 16, 2024November 14, 2024 vergeoflightLeave a comment

Just-Watch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

A boy lives in early 1950s rural Idaho where reality is very strange, and mysterious deaths are occurring. When I first heard the COIL song “Omlagus Garfungiloops” I was baffled by the sample “You’ve been exploding frogs again?” A friend informed me it was from the movie The Reflecting Skin. I knew I needed to see this. I finally was able to rent a copy a year or so later and was 100% not disappointed. I have watched this one multiple times over the years. I never get sick of it. This movie is darkly surreal, beautiful, horrific, funny at times, and features very good performances. That includes an early appearance of Viggo Mortensen, who I’ve been a big fan of ever since. There are moments where you see the limits of the budget, but they take little away from this unique indie masterpiece.

BONUS: You can watch director Philip Ridley’s bizarre short film The Universe of Dermott Finn (1988) here on YouTube. Check out an article about Ridley’s multi-faceted career here.

Not available on domestic Blu-ray.

Serial Mom (1994)

July 5, 2024October 10, 2024 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

I am a big John Waters fan, but have somehow never featured one of his films here. I really enjoyed his book “Crackpot,” his yearly top 10 lists are amazing, and my partner and I saw him do his live show in 2023 (on his 77th birthday no less!). Yet I didn’t recommend one of his movies as I figured that if you liked any of his work you’d have seen it already. Serial Mom is a bit of an outlier among Waters’ output though. It’s neither the gross out legend of Pink Flamingos, or the crowd pleasing schmaltz of Polyester. It also went years without being available on disc, until Shout Factory released a really nice looking restored edition in 2017. I recall looking to see if this was available to stream anywhere a while back, and was surprised to find it was not. Fortunately it looks as if the previously mentioned disc version is now streaming. The title tells you all you need to know about the movie. It’s campy, ridiculous, dark, and a hell of a lot of fun. If you’ve never seen Serial Mom, or it’s been a few years, sit your ass down and enjoy. Also do NOT wear white after Labor Day.

Available on Blu-ray from Shout Factory.

Cisco Pike (1971)

May 17, 2024August 15, 2024 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

Kris Kristofferson plays a musician and former drug dealer who gets forced by a bad cop (Gene Hackman) to try and sell a bunch o’ stuff in one weekend. My first experience with this was when I saw a 35mm print a few years ago, and I really enjoyed it. Cisco Pike is packed with gritty and goofy early ‘70s counter culture stuff, and so many choice actors from that era too. If you grew up anywhere near that time you’ll be pointing at the screen every few minutes. Don’t go expecting non-stop action and you’ll probably like, dig this flick.

Available on Blu-ray from Powerhouse Films.

A Revolution on Canvas (2023)

April 26, 2024April 23, 2024 vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on Max | imdb | trailer

Sorry I got my wires crossed and have done two Max posts in a row. I will do my best to avoid that in the future.

The Iranian visual artist Nickzad Nodjoumi exhibited 100+ artworks at the beginning of Ayatollah Kohmeni’s reign in 1981. He had to flee the country due to controversy the exhibition stirred up, and his work has been held by the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art ever since. This documentary was made by his daughter and deals with Nickzad’s life, career, family, as well as his attempt to reclaim his work. I was unfamiliar with the artist before seeing the film and I am now a fan. His art is often dark, brave, and scathingly critical, but always beautiful. The story of his family is engrossing as well. I tip my hat to Max for releasing this film. I learned things, and so will you.

Not available on Blu-ray.

The Train (1964)

March 8, 2024March 7, 2024 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

Normally I do Amazon Prime this round, but I messed it up (I apparently have that Starz / MGM+ add-on to Prime). Thankfully the movie is available on Tubi and other plaforms.

A train carrying Nazi looted art must be stopped by French resistance fighters. The story is not based on true events, but you will not care. This is a surprisingly heavy action flick for the mid ‘60s. Damn near everything you see was done using real trains and military gear. Get ready for many suspenseful moments, as well as some dark turns. The Train is high quality entertainment that I am astonished escaped me until now.

Available on 4K UHD from KL Studio Classics.

The Oxford Murders (2008)

March 1, 2024March 31, 2024 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

Alex de la Iglesia is probably my favorite living Spanish director. I fell in love with his first film Accione Mutante (the Severin 4K/UHD release is highly recommended) and have enjoyed almost everything he’s made since. His work ranges from gory horror to innovative comedies. The director’s big break for English language audiences was The Oxford Murders. Unfortunately it didn’t advance his career much, but it’s still a very good mystery/thriller starring Elijah Wood and John Hurt. The only flaw is that it is so complicated it gets bogged down, but damn if I wasn’t engaged throughout. Check out Iglesia’s other work, including his recent series Thirty Coins on Max.

Available on Blu-ray from Magnolia Entertainment.

The Street Fighter (1974)

January 26, 2024March 17, 2024 vergeoflightLeave a comment

Streaming on Roku Channel | imdb | trailer

NOTE: Some streaming services are showing the cut version of the film (1 hour 15 min). Make sure you’re watching the most uncut version (1 hour 29-32 min). Also the film should be in Cinemascope format (there will be black bars on the top and bottom of the screen). Some services are showing it cropped. The version on currently on Roku as of 3.17.24 looks like the one you want to see.

Sonny Chiba stars as Terry, who is one bad ass karate mercenary. Organized crime hires him to do a job, but things go off the rails and many asses must be kicked before the credits roll. I first heard of this movie from watching True Romance (1993), which was scripted by Quentin Tarantino, where the lead characters go to a Street Fighter movie marathon. Back then I had never even heard of Sonny Chiba or seen one of his movies, which is a pity because I would loved his Shadow Warriors TV series as a kid. I look at The Street Fighter as my gateway drug to hundreds of cult films that were never shown on TV and hard to find on VHS. Tarantino’s success led to him getting this film, Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond, Detroit 9000, Switchblade Sisters, and many other titles seen by a wider audience. Bottom line, this is an excellent martial arts film with plenty of bizarre quirks and funny moments that make it a very enjoyable watch. Oh and if you do attempt a marathon, stock up on psychoactives, because the rest of the series is pretty awful.

Available on Blu-ray from Shout Factory (as part of The Street Fighter Collection).

Black Christmas (1974)

December 22, 2023March 14, 2024 vergeoflightLeave a comment

JustWatch Streaming Info | imdb | trailer

This one is for you younger readers that may have never seen this excellent Holiday Season horror film. Black Christmas is considered one of the earliest slasher films, it was a massive influence on John Carpenter’s original Halloween, and the director went on to make a little movie called A Christmas Story. That is correct. Portland’s own Hollywood Theatre once even showed both on the same night, but not as a double feature unfortunately. Director Bob Clark was also the man behind the raunchy teen comedy Porky’s and the highly recommended horror film Deathdream (aka Dead of Night). Black Christmas took me multiple viewings to really appreciate because it is pretty tame in the blood department. Clark was not setting out to make a gory “hack ’em and stack ’em” slasher. However it features two excellent performances from Olivia Hussey and Keir Dullea (Dave from 2001: A Space Odyssey), plus you might recognize multiple other beloved actors in supporting roles. This is one of my top three Christmas horrors, along with Christmas Evil and Silent Night, Deadly night, so do not miss it. Don’t waste your time with the remake by the way, it’s just ok.

Available on 4K UHD / Blu-ray from Shout Factory.