Review: Breach (2020)

Stars: Bruce Willis, Cody Kearsley

Budget: unknown

Directed By: John Suits

Jeez Bruce whats going on buddy, you
have two extremes going on in the same
vein at the moment.
One hand you have Nic Cage churning out
DTV films with his mad little Nic Cage style.
Despite the low budget, crazy ass stories
this guy finds himself in he still brings it to
the table. Seems to still be enjoying his job.

Now on the other foot you have a similar story
With old Bruce, he's churning out at least
2-3 STV films a year lately. Except I've noticed
He just seems to be going through the motions
Bruce is playing a tired a old Bruce Willis.
Now don't get me wrong I'm not saying Nic isn't
playing a old Nic Cage in everything.
In fact I assume to Nic this is just all happening
around him and he's just existing in it lol.

Oh and Thomas Jane is in here too, getting a paycheck for 5 minutes work with the most abysmal acting I've ever seen. Anyway lets get on with the film shall we?

Right so we see a ship that's bound for leaving a dying earth, some guy is trying to get on with his pregnant girlfriend. His girlfriend just happens to be Thom Janes characters daughter, who is the captain and commander of the ship. He lets them on, he doesn't really know the guy is the father of the baby and doesn't seem to really like him but lets him stay aboard. I'm sure I seen this scene because it comes up again later in something odd that doesn't make sense.

Anyway most of the crew and passengers go into cryosleep for the voyage to a new planet they are colonising. Someone plants some icky black fluid on the wall that eventually breaks out, it is ferofluid, no it really is, but in the film it is some alien parasite but like also evil distilled.
BW is a maintenance worker and the lad, Noah who is also masquerading as a maintenance/cleaner go about their business cleaning as their 'assigned' jobs. Both become suspicious of each other Noah thinks BW, Clay is a saboteur when he see's him collecting parts and chemical to make what he thinks is a bomb. Clay see's that Noah has no experience at all doing anything so is suspicious due to that. 

Anyway Clay is just making bootleg booze with a still for all the other awake crew members, he follows Noah after questioning him about stuff to see that he's trying to enter his credential as a worker in the computer database. Noah gets arrested as a stowaway, even threatened to be killed later because of this, I dont get why he doesn't just say I'm with the captains daughter, he let me onboard?
Buuut It's movie I suppose. That's the problem with this film its all over the place with it's writing. Anyway people start getting taken over by the ferofluid zombies who occasionally have the strength to punch clean through someone, then other times just above normal human strength or equal.
They spend a good protion of the film trying to come up with an idea to save people in cryo and stay locked in a security room.

After one of the guys says it was him who planted the evil juice as they don't deserve a second chance. Noah uses vents to wake up the captain who uses uber weapons and marines to try and fight the ferozombies. They just keep coming like they always have though until Thom blows himself and all of them up with a grenade. This has been their plan all along though and now all fuse into a big wobbly mess monster and start commanding people infected to leap into the warp reactor.
apparently human flesh is a great accelerant and the ship in pushed to and beyond max speed. The surviving crew members surmise they want to get to the new planet to infect that world too.

Earlier they noticed one of the cleaning fluids did away with the ferozombies and somehow incorporae it into some flame throwers. Clay get thrown around a bit as he helps Noah and pregnant GF escape in an escape pod then blows up the ship.
Now that's not the end theres a bit of a twist ending that I won't spoil because this film isn't great no but it's also not so bad enough that deserves spoiling, as, to me, The guy playing Noah really does seem to be putting his all into the role where the likes of BW and TJ are just sleepwalking through. Also it's kind of Lovecraftian, the cosmic horror takes a while to really get going but it's full on in the last few minutes of the film.

THN awards Breach 2020, a weak 2 out of 5 stars, watch if theres literally nothing else on or if your still a hardcore Bruce fan.

THN's Top Five Haunted places: England Part 2

 Today we take a second look at England as a whole for another top five haunted places, what weird and wonderful places will we find this time. Like always I am a skeptic BUT I want to believe I so want there to be something ELSE in this world. Will these (often) tragic places persuade me otherwise?
When or IF this virus ever eases up, or we just have to start to learn to live with it like the flu I would like to a tour of some of these places.

So here we have it another five spooky places to visit in England:

1. Tower of London, London

Constructed by William the Conqueror in 1078 it was lived in by many monarchs for a about 500 years before it was to become the final resting place of many many famous names. Among these names were Anne Boleyn, Sir Walter Raleigh and the infamous Guy Fawkes all spent their last days in this place.

Obvious with all this death and suffering there is now said to many many disturbed spirits haunting the site. Especially since many years later the grounds around would also become the killing grounds for Jack the Ripper!
Some of the ghosts seen are trivial to terrifying, from two ghostly beef-eaters smoking pipes before they vanish to a ghostly monk who's sandals can be heard slapping down corridors. More spookily Henry VI can said to be seen appearing as a wraith form in the room he died in.

If these are real I'd love to go there and see if they could sway me to believing, one day maybe, one day.

2. Berry Pomeroy Castle, Devon

A Tudor mansion built in the 15th century by the Pomeroy family who owned the land since the 11th century. Sold in the mid 1500's due to financial problems, it was then abandoned in the 17th century when the family moved away.
In the 19th century it became a picturesque popular tourist attraction which it still is today, throughout this time many ghostly apparitions have been seen, or spooky noises heard. Now as you know a lot of castles are haunted by some kind of lady, white, green or shadowy. Pomeroy seems to be a rare case of two Lady ghosts, even rarer a blue one!
It appears a blue lady is quite a vicious one story of her luring people to the tower only to make them fall to their deaths, said to be the daughter of a Norman lord who killed her own baby due to it being her fathers child.
The white Lady is your typical story Margaret Pomerory who was supposedly imprisoned by her jealous sister in the dungeons for her being better looking, is said to haunt there. Spooky goings on in this eerie place.

3. Dunster Castle, Somerset

Something has been on the grounds of Dunster castle since the Anglo-Saxon times, then in the Norman times a wooden fort was built on the site. This was quickly upgraded to a stone shell in the 12th century. It was then sold to a family in the 14th century, the De Mohuns, who lived there all the way to the late 20th century!

Now most places have a lady of a certain colour type Dunster Castle however has a green 'man'. In the stables that have been there since 17th century which now houses a shop for the site, many people have seen a green glowing light around the area and also feeling a menacing uncomfortable feeling and mood there.
There are also many other ghosts said to be haunting the site from, a disembodied foot being seen and the spooky ghost of a 7ft tall ghost!

4. Treasurers House, York

There was a house here by the first appointed treasurer on York, though this only now exists as an external wall. Though other parts of the masonry were used in the current 12th century house too. In 1547 the job of treasurer was removed, the house then became residential from then. The house was restored at the end of the 1800s going into the 1900s, which it's been looked after since.
It's spooky goings on are said to be due to the house being built on some old Roman roads leading out of the Roman times York of the time. People have said to have seen up to nine Roman soldiers passing through the house!

5. Theatre Royal, London

Back to London for the last one on todays list, the good old theatre royal, Somewhere i've actually been! Though not for ghost hunting purposes, I watched the Lion King Musical here, was a two for one special with Shrek the musical as a matinee and LK in the evening.
Enough about my time though, lets delve into what makes this one of the most haunted Theatres in the UK and not just the spelling of Theatre in the UK lol...

To start iff there has been a theatre on the site of drury lane for 350+ years, so if ghosts truly do exist well you can bet something haunts these halls. It is like most places home to a ghost of some shade of colour. This one houses a man in grey, wearing a wig, hat and grey cloak many people have seen him passing from one side of the upper circle to the next then on through the wall, in the day time too!

Renovations of the theatre later revealed that the body of a man stabbed a few times and wrapped in a grey cloth was found behind the wall. Though this sounds quite grisly the appearance of the man in grey is supposed to mean a good performing run for the current show in the theatre.

Joseph Grimald is also said to reside within the walls of Drury lane, he was the first (supposedly) incarnation of what all modern clowns now model themselves on. Oddly asked to be buried without his head attached to his shoulders, this has led to some seeing a disembodied clown head floating around. I don't know about you but that would make me shit my pants.

Okay then folks that's five more spoooooooky places to visit should you be travelling around England in the UK, drop a line if you enjoyed this, see you in the next one!

Review: Critters Attack! (2019)

Stars: Tashiana Washington, Dee Wallace

Budget: unknown

Directed By: Bobby Miller

Oh man, oh jeez, well lets start off with other things first. This is a SyFy channel film and supposed a reboot of sorts for the franchise. It was great to see practical effects used again but I feel the puppets and things were the actual props used it the older movies.

There's a scarred crite leader, now admittedly i only watched this once but I never knew why he has that eye scar other than that puppet had it and well fuck it they used it.

This movie also sees the return of Dee Wallaces character but she's had a name change, or uses a code name to avoid 'potential legal issues' which says to me they weren't really allowed to mess with past stuff or limited at least.

Now on with a little explanation of a few things, this movie feels nothing like a critters movie in anything other than name and inclusion of the characters.

It was a bland story with wooden acting and felt like someone had once heard of critters a while ago, not ever watched one of the films or did when they were young then tried to write a story based on that all that.

It includes a lot of things new like a queen crite?

Also i'm sure crites were asexual or it's never been revealed if they have a multi sex civilization in previous movies.

All it's ever been said they eat and lay eggs producing more crites, which is even thrown out in this movie too as it seems like they new lay small versions of themselves in people now?

Which brings me to another point, this film brings up new and interesting things but goes nowhere with them at all.

In a Reboot or re-imagining or Remake you still usually keep things that are familiar to the viewer like I said earlier this doesn't. There's no Charlie character, though the main characters dad is a drunk and a police officer but that's it. There's no bounty hunters though I think 'aunt sue' is supposed to be that but if she is it's very lightly. I know the originals weren't super gory either but this takes the piss as it doesn't show hardly anything, at one paint the critters form their usual big critter ball. They chase ONE person like this and you don't see the aftermath when he's run over like you do in the past.

Character wise the daughter played by Tashiana is terrible, yes she's lost her mother a long time ago and is driven but her attitude stinks towards her guardian drunken sheriff dad, maybe because he's a drunk you say?

but then it's no, as he's not an ass hole he's actually quite 'functional' and what he says is usually true or right Drea just throws it back in his face. She's interested in getting into college and finishing it to honour the memory of her dead mother who had to drop out when she got pregnant with her, which is a nice motivation at least.

So the film we see some craft crash to earth in a small american town, a deliver guy sees this and goes to check out what it is. He is quickly devoured, we then meet our protagonist Drea she works in the same place, she's been refused entry into a college/university she's applied too.

The delivery place she works in the owner asked if she's seen the delivery boy she hasn't, he sends her to the uni she keeps applying for to deliver. we cut to a field where the delivery boy is and we see little crites pop out of him like mogwai from a wet gizmo, no eggs in sight.

Somewhere Dee Wallace playing this aunt sue has hi-tech equipment that has tracked the crafts, she sets off to the crash sites. Every time she catches up with where the critters were she's like one step behind them for a few times.

At the university, Drea meets an old friend from school, after oddly drooling over a boy like a love sick puppy. He's a proper Chad with a personality that seems all the place (in fact everyone seems like their personality is eclectic in this movie just bad writing i guess).

This friend gives her a number to a woman on the board of people who let people into the school, if she babysits for her it might let her get some good grace under her belt for gaining entry. She takes her brother with her as he apparently fancies the girl she's looking after.

After the internet is destroyed by the critters they go for a walk and find a second craft (though that's off screen out of view) with a new female type critter that's wounded, it's cute but it's also an odd addition as stated earlier. They take her back to treat her wound, the other critters smell her and give chase though. While healing the females wounds the normal critters attack the town and one hidden in Drea's car attack them. they stop it but it's also sabotaged her car too.

They walk to see the drunk cop guy guardian, he doesn't believe them about aliens. Despite them having proof Drea see's a bottle on his desk and storms off. They go to see her employer to borrow his truck to get out of town, due to some factors they decide to get a satellite phone from the kids mothers office in the university. There the Chad gets killed by the rolling critter ball the aunt Sue woman shows up and they kill loads of critters, the female is a good critter for some reason and helps them fight the evil black furred ones. The film feels like they ran out of money near the end too as it end really abruptly.

THN hated this bland shitty reboot etc, it's even worse then the newest leprechaun film too, I swear SyFy managed to buy the old puppets and rights for pennies with certain rules/restrictions. Whatever the case it's just not a good continuation, THN awards Critters Attack 1 star out of 5

Review: The Toll (2020)

Stars: Jordan Hayes, Max Topplin

Budget: Can't find

Directed By: Micheal Nader

The Toll, well, well. This film has all the hallmarks of a winner. An authentic story small tight cast of pretty decent semi-known actors.
Add to that a writing/directorial debut too with a plot that has some good supernatural chills.
Which is unfortunately destroyed in the last act with a VERY shitty reveal that undermined everything that has been built up until then.

As I stated the acting is reasonably good especially from Jordan who is the most veteran actor in the film.
All the characters seem to be believably playing the role they've been given.

It s a story we've seen a number of times people drive get stuck on a road they can't escape from but it's the extra stuff (until the last act as stated) that makes for a decent watch.

So lets get on with this very annoyingly let down of a movie.

So needing to get to her fathers ranch after a late flight in, Cami (Hayes) gets a late night uber type service. It's 1am so she's a dubious of the guy that come to pick her up, Spencer (Topplin) is her driver and he seems to be a socially awkward individual which doesn't fill her with confidence also.
So worried about Spencer they drive off, the guy tries to make terrible small talk to which Cami just asks him to keep quite. She not exactly a likable character and at this point I was routing more for Spencer to be honest.
Especially when he relays fears that he's just as afraid of being killed by his passengers as they are of being killed by him. She does seem to soften a bit until he says about his bow and arrow and hunting humans, as a joke (that's a bit silly either way).
Cami freaks out a little more when Spencer takes a turning on his app that she's never been down before and berates him for it, he says it's told him to go down there.

Of course the car breaks down, Cami thinks Spencer is to blame, she goes to walk off to look for help, Spencer gives her a torch so she can see in the dark and at her request stays in the car. Down the road, the way they've come up Cami encounters stop signs and barricades telling her the roads closed.
Confused she carries on. Back at the car Spencer thinks he see's something and goes to the back of the car. It's about then Cami walks down from the opposite side she left from all confused as to how.
She surmises it's a round road and then Spencer shows her the writing on the car says they must pay the toll man.

Cami freaks both of them out by saying it could be those people that pull people over to rob and kill them, Spencer says they'd have done it already if it was. He goes off into the wood and comes full circle too. A little while later an older woman ride down the road on a tractor.
After they explain their situation to her she look at them in terror and sorrow. She explains they're on the Toll mans road now and he wants a toll in blood from them, she knows because it once happened to her, especially so if one of them was thinking bad thoughts like suicide or murder. This was odd and strangely out of place to me but well exposition i guess.

So growing trust the two both start to look down a detour way that they're told will be their only escape from the road and the Toll Man. Though they still do get at loggerheads as it's the Toll Man's 'thing' to try turn them against each other. Some of the things they see allude to abuse in Cami's life and insecurity in Spencer's. They do seem to break each other out of it by being like look it's not real maybe a bit too many times. Then remembering another thing the woman said that He can only affect you if he can see you they get back to the car and blackout all the windows.

Fine you might say, but it's about here that the film devolves very rapidly, exposing shit plot holes and destroying any of the previous character development. So they forget about the camera in the car and it starts to show them messages to kill the other one. Now here at THN we rarely spoil films endings but I'm sorry I just have to here I can't let you watch this albeit only 80 minute film and think it's okay only to be shot down by the dribbly ending.

SPOILERS AHEAD STOP READING IF YOU WANT TO WATCH

Turns out Spencer is a fucking rapist killer and it's his thoughts that got them on the Toll Man's road, this guy who I had previously thought was just a misunderstood anti-socialite, who i'd been routing for because Cami was and still is a bit of a mouthy bitch. This repartee they built and the whole way the film was going is just derailed here. So he tries to kill Cami to escape the road with his bow, she pretends to be dead, then kills him when he comes over to have a look, rather than just shoot her a few more times with arrows, specifically in the head.
Now I'm all for subverting expectations but to just have the guy turn out, in a supernatural based movie just to be a typical murdering dick is just meh to me when it could have gone so many more interestingly different ways.

THN awards The Toll (2020) 1 star out of 5 for decent performances by the leads.

THN's Top 5 Haunted Places: Wales Part 2

We may have looked have looked at different areas in Wales for haunted places before, now we just look at the place as a whole. we'll have a quick description of where the place is located, unless of course the place calls for more description of the surrounding land. Quite a few castles in this one but thought it'd nice to have a running theme.

So lets now dive into another top 5 haunted places that you can possibly visit or at least read about in wales, part 2:

1. St.Fagans, Cardiff/Glamorgan

Any one picture of St Fagans wouldn't do it justice so I've just included here the tea room and gift/supply shops. The area is a massive outdoor museum located on the outskirts of Cardiff.first opening it's doors in the late 1940's it's been open ever since to the public. It is free to enter due it being a historical learning site. Many of the buildings range from 100 or more years old, meaning haunting's and sighting have been abound in the area ever since it's been open.

From civil war ghost being captured in photos to a woman named Polly who has been heard singing in a room in the castle. If you can get there like i said it's free to enter, before the pandemic there was ghost walks in the night for around £15, maybe they will come back at some point.

With over 500 years of history if i did believe in ghosts i'm not surprised something is going on here!

2. Cardiff Castle, Cardiff

This site has literally one of the longest roles in history and so many things have been and gone from here that have held both tragedy and death. In the 1st century Romans built forts on the site, then in the 11th century the Normans built the keep on the hill, that's still there in the picture.

Then in the 15th century pretty much everything else was built as it is today, with the final thing being the Bute Family turning the house into the building it remains in the 19th century.

What a history right?

Doesn't end there though as the walls were used as an air raid shelter in WWII, the place serves as a giant garden to sit and eat or relax on a sunny day these days (when your not on lock-down).

As for haunting, well you can book a tour when covid hasn't messed things up for around £16 at the time of me writing this. On the tour you will learn about the ghostly and ghastly goings on in around the area. Such as the summoning of spirits and the dead by the 3rd marquis of Bute, or you might hear ghostly sounds or even if your particularly unlucky the dark horse and carriage that are said to be the harbingers of death!

3. Oystermouth Castle, Swansea

Oystermouth is in the part of Swansea known as the mumbles, i've always laughed at this name as imagine everyone there just walks around muttering under their breath. In reality I have been there once or twice and despite an old rap for being a 'bad place' I think that was more in older times like late 70s and back. But anyway on with the castle, it's truly ancient from before the 14th century.

As far back as 1106, so you know in the proceeding 900+ years a lot of gruesome and terrifying things have happened in and around it's grounds.

That it has, in it's early years there were many many fights to take, then retake the Gower grounds by the Normans and the welsh people. It's been said that it's been destroyed and rebuilt more than a lot of castles.

Like a lot of places its got it's own white lady and host of spooky sightings of shadow figures and odd noises. It does offer a 30 minute ghost walk, with a hot chocolate afterwards!

4. Caerphilly Castle, Caerphilly

Here's one I've actually been too before, quite a while ago now though, like 8+ years. It was a beautiful site and is one of the biggest castles still remaining for it's age. Hailed as one of the most formidable castles of the time, built in the mid 1200's it truly was a fortress. It is second only to Windsor Castle in size.

Unlike most castles this one is home to a 'green' lady, one Princess Alice, who had a secret lover Gruffudd. The man foolishly confided in a monk who went back and told her husband. While she was away in France he did away with the man. Alice apparently dropped dead on hearing the news of the death of her lover, she now supposedly roams the grounds as a green envious spirit.

Though before he was killed Gruffudd did manage to hang the monk from a tree which has become known as 'monks vale' now, before ending up swinging himself!

5. Tredegar House, Newport

Back closer to my neck of the woods again now, with Newport again. Also a place I've been too, strangely enough. A large mansion house with lovely grounds right on the outskirts of Newport, before St. Melons. built in the 17th century, it's now under the national trust as a protected building.

The house and grounds, when Covid isn't about is host to many different ventures, from concerts to St Davids day celebrations. It's frequently used as filming locations and A Christmas Carol story telling in the winters around Christmas, as well as the, you guessed it spooky goings on.

It indeed does have a lady in white, this one is Lady Gwyneth Erica Morgan, she was found dead in London in the river Thames after a trip there. She was not buried back home until her father died. So now her spirit is supposedly haunting the halls restlessly.

There you have it folks another 5 spooky places you've learnt about in wales, will you or would you like to visit any of these places?

See you next time!

THN's Top 20 Films: As Of 2021

Thought i'd do a little bit of a top 20 films that I've liked over the past few years, I find every year that my tastes change so this list is NEVER 'definitive' of how i'm feeling from day to day, or even year to year.

Some of these may well surprise you and in the future I think I might break down my list into something more of a top 10 favourite films of a decade even. That would allow me some more interesting inputs as each decade certainly has it's own styles and story telling. You'll also notice that in some cases I like a movie not for what you'd expect, like the story or acting etc, sometimes it'll be how it effected me or introduced me to something else!

But for now lets see where my tastes take me for 2021, There won't be spoilers, well shouldn't be many at least just a brief description of the movie and why I like it.

in at number 20:

20: Happy Death Day 2017
Oh it's just groundhog day with a horror slasher, well yeah duh!
it's a film that takes 2 ideas, a slasher and reliving the same day over and over and smashes them together into a (relatively) new thing. I applaud them for trying to make some new and unique with a tired old genre. IT is still just a slasher at heart with a masked killer which is why it's at 20.

19: Demons/Demoni 1987
The first film that I ever watched that properly made me shit my pants and have nightmares (even to this day, though nightmares now are pretty much indistinguishable from dreams lol). Directed and produced by both Lamberto bava and Dario Argento it was no surprise. Demons is a psuedo zombie flick where if you even get a fleck of demon juice on you you turn into one. Unfortunately it doesn't hold up to well these days, some of the effects are still decent looking but the acting and aging has not stood the test of time.

18: Texas Chainsaw Massacre 1974
Why so low?
I'm just not a fan of Hillbilly murder films, I find a group of inbred (usually they are 90% of the time) yokels just not that scary for some reason. Especially since the protagonists in these films seem to make a lot of silly decisions that get them into this situation.
Now Leatherface though, he is a brilliant character that really brings this series/franchise into my area of likes. I do like a good unstoppable masked nutter and I do love chainsaws too.

17: Re-animator 1985
My introduction to two of the most brilliant people in horror movie history, Barbara Crampton and Jeffery Combs. Also to Brian Yuzna who has a distinct style that I grew to love over the years. this really got into watching From Beyond and really into lovecraftian and eldritch horrors.
The movie itself is a trip into lovecraft territory with all the experimental oddities you could expect from a serum that brings back everything from full humans to fingers and eyes as undead killers.

16: Hellraiser 1987
My introduction to the world of Clive Barker and possibly, to me at least, one of the best adaptations of his books, even if I don't think he liked it a lot. In the short story/novella Pin head isn't even a major player. But it's what this film does right that makes it stand out.
It is once again a window into time and you can clearly see it's age, so in that respect it hasn't aged well time wise. But the visceral effects all of which were practical were and still are very believable of someone returning from the dead like that.
Also it's the start of a franchise that got more and more convoluted and worse as it went on, but I am a sucker for franchises as you all know.

15: Zombie flesh Eaters or Zombi 2 1979
This was another one like demons/demoni I watched relatively young and got quite scared at, one of the most realistic zombie take over movies I think i've ever seen, even more effective than dawn of the dead (more that one later). Rewatching as an older kid had me still a little freaked but also more in awe of two of the best scenes in zombie movie history.
The shark vs zombie fight, which was actually as real as they could make it and the most infamous scene in this and any other zombie movies the wood splinter in the eye scene. 

14: Bad Taste 1987
Peter Jacksons first movie and my first forray into low budget films and how good they can be with a little help from friends and clever use of the budget you have. This film has buckets of blood and viscera mixed with one of the most bizarre story lines, with aliens (full on alien costumes too on the budget) taking over a small New Zealand village intent on using humans as a food source. It soon soars out of control as one of the team get his head cracked open, loses some of his brains and fills the gap with alien brains. I am NOT making this up.
Derrick then goes on an alien killing spree with a chainsaw, my ultimate introduction (and I might add) my favourite era of Jacksons film making. God I loved having Bravo on cable as a young me lol.

13: Scream 1996
I'm 14 years old slasher flicks are quickly becoming my favourite bread and butter, yet their getting a bit samey, some almost invincible killer gets a body count and gets stopped till the next instalment. No some franchises tried turning this around in their series,s such as Halloween 3 and Ft13th Pt5, but quickly went back  by the next part.
Scream from the amazing Wes Craven turned slasher flicks meta, the killers were human again, the teens were self aware and knew of other slasher flicks which really amped the deaths a lot. I like a lot of people probably seen a lot of me in Randy's character.

12: The Lost Boys 1987
I've complained that some films truly show their age and in that respect don't age well, but there's time where a films age and the time it was filmed in is more like a window, or time capsule. The Lost Boys is one of films, it embodies the 80s from fire lit beach parties with muscular saxophone playing shirtless guys to outstanding performances from the cast of 80s movie staples such as Keifer Sutherland and Cory Feldman.
The stories unique and a lot of the practical effects still hold up well today. Cry little sister.....

11:  Return of the Living Dead 1985
Now this one is a thing for me, I know this one is a comedy just like the second one, but this one has more serious and much bleaker tones compared to RotLD2. Why does this matter?
Because between the both of them depending what mood i'm in I sometimes prefer one over the other as the second actually has people surviving and winning in the end compared to everyone getting obliterated in the first, BUT! I do consider the first to be a better film overall, both acting and story wise.

10: Dawn of the Dead 1978
Travesty some people might say that I don't like the OG night more than dawn, well sorry but I do and another thing that will probably make you gasp is because it's black and white. But I do have an explanation, The first one again is bleak, I hate the ending and yes I know why it is the way it is but it just puts me off all that build up for a pop, dead.
Now the colour thing, no matter what way you look at it, this movie is at times waaay too dark and seeing some ofthe zombies sans colour just isn't as scary as seeing a colour zombie, you miss out on green or greying flesh which for me just detracts from the overall effect for me. Not that i'm not thankful for it or we wouldn't have gotten Dawn at all.
Wow this is long one, Dawn on the other hand has a slightly more optimistically bleak ending and the effects and the setting and scope are just hundred fold better than Night. Expected with effects expert Tom Savini working on the film. I think with Dawn you could still see something like that happening these days too.

9: Child's Play 1988
Childs play exercises one of the best keep it hidden till the end moments in horror movie history for me, not only that the Brad douriff voiced chucky, good guys doll is one of the most memorable supernatural killers to me. It's one of the very few franchises to keep dead on track with every subsequent movie being a sequel to the last.
Though each subsequent movie ditched the keep the killer hidden more and more and the comedy ramped up but then so did the killing. Ade Due Dembela, give me the power the power, will be forever etched into my mind.

8: The Invisible Man 2020
Not many movies from recent years make such a big impact on me anymore but I can happily say some do, especially this offering. Liegh Whannell is an amazing craftsman I had seen only his previous work upgrade before this and that wowed the hell out of me, aside from the bleak ending. So I knew this guy could do wonders with a tiny budget and set up such as this.
Everything from the making lead woman seem like she's banana's from living with abuse for too long to the lingering shots of empty spaces that make you wonder if someone is there watching her. Then there's the horribly graphic scene in the restaurant that only an invisible person could pull off. This should be one to go down into some future hall of fame, like people 2050 watch this and are wowed still.

7: Halloween 1978
Yes the OG original one is probably one of the few franchises where I like the first movie in the series best. The score, the build up the kills it all comes to a head with an amazing ending. Brilliant acting from veteran actor Donald Pleasance as Dr Loomis. Such an unfortunate turn of events that after Halloween 2 this series just kept on getting worse and worse.
Well till we got the 'almost' amazing 2018 wedge in reboot/sequel that course corrected the series, now lets see where they go with the two parts, that have been delayed because of Covid till this october now.

6: Fright Night 1985
My favourite vampire film, I'm not a massive fan of vampire films on the whole but this film is to me at least pretty much flawless. Everything from Roddy McDowells disbelieving Peter Vincent to Chris Sarandons perfect portrayal of a terrifyingly seductive vampire.
This film boast one of the strongest scenes in any vampire movie I have ever seen. Where Jerry dances with Charlies girlfriend and you can see SHE IS TERRIFIED but also totally under his control. All Charlie can do is look on powerless as it all happens too. Absolute move gold!

5: Nightmare on Elm Street 3 1987
Okay, okay I know it's not part 1 but here let me explain, I DID see part 1 first, when I was like 7 or 8, great parents right? But I wasn't a fan of then and kind of avoided it till about 13 when I decided to watch part 3 (good god I'm glad I didn't watch part 2 or I might never of tried it again) I was blown away, as it's more of a direct sequel to part 1 as well it gave me a new love for the series and I actually appreciated part 1 a lot more because of that.
So that's why part 3 is this high it's the one that got into the series as a whole.

4: Evil Dead 2 1987
I know, another sequel before the original, but this is my reasoning. I love evil dead, it's a great movie and you can appreciate it as is. Evil Dead 2 however takes the first movie condenses it then expands on it adding so much more to the mythos of the series. It sets up the next movie superbly and you can tell Bruce Campbell was just let off his leash in this one. From the giggling house props to the chainsaw hand everything in 2 is iconic an much more memorable, Groovy!

3: Friday the 13th Part 6 1986
The first Friday film I ever watched and my favourite slasher franchise too. What a place to start, this is nearly everyone's favourite part or at least in their top 3. From the odd James Bondesque opening scene with a banging Alice Cooper song for a marked return to it being Jason and now in his powered up zombie persona.
Featuring some of the coolest kills such as folding a guy in half and the last show of series hero Tommy Jarvis, played by the awesome Thom Mathews. I may be jaded as it's the first one I saw, but as with nightmare on Elm street A later addition is my favourite.

2: Alien 1979
Numerous reasons for loving this one and still waaaaay holds up well vs the test of time despite the computer systems looking older than my old commodore 64. It's the way you'd think space truckers would still do things in that time despite it being so far in the future.
We see the gradual growth of one Ellen Ripley from a second in command who no one really respects into a bona fide hero and survivor. This is the RIGHT way to do female heroism and shows that even back in the late 70s not everyone was thinking women couldn't be heroic. The creature is scary and can magically materialize from vents and walls to get you.
You don't need big machine guns, rippling muscles or be a man, just be someone with your wits about you and stand firm to your beliefs.

1: The Thing 1982
I don't think this will surprise anyone, considering my number 2. I loved it as a kid just for the bizarre nature of it all overwhelming my little mind. To now as an adult where I understand every little nuance from shadows on the walls to the paranoia of being isolated with a creature that can mimic anyone you know. It's effects still stand the test of time, it's story is timeless, you can imagine this happening in almost any time period and having the phones, satellite links, internet links all sabotaged leaving you in the same predicament as these men find themselves

Honorary Mentions:

Stalled:
I really love this low budget (almost) one set piece film it's like at 21st place but can easily move up in my ratings especially if I've watched it recently. The story has a surprising heartfelt twist that really throws you through a loop too.

CHUD 2, Bud the CHUD:
This can sometimes take the spot of RotLD amazing performances and comedy by the lead CHUD actor too. Almost invincible zombies just like RotLD too.

That's my list like I said changes from time to time but most of those movies are my favourites, now don't forget that's just 20 movies i've seen so many over my lifetime that even films in say spot 200 or beyond are still what I would regard as a good film, these are just the ones that have stood out to me.

THN's Top 5 Haunted places: England

We come to the main part of the country now, I could split this up into areas like some of the others but I'm sure that would just take too long. Instead i'll select a few scary or spooky places from the lists around the middle of the country.
This will allow me me to just come back and do multiple entries on just England now, this will be the format I'll go with unless I decide to do more focused areas such as Orkney, Isle of White or even Jersey, or in Ireland's case it will still be split into Northern and Southern.

So, Spooky places in England, just like the rest of the UK the mainland is steeped in history, a lot of old buildings and areas surviving until this day and age, either renovated or left dilapidated but protected by status. Here THN takes a look at FIVE of the most scary places you could see, stay at or visit in England starting with:

1. Pluckley Village in Kent

Yeah that's right A WHOLE DAMNED VILLAGE, this places as an extreme plethora of ghostly and ghastly goings on. From haunted buildings to ghostly sightings in nearly every area.

One such ghost is the Watercress Lady, an elderly lady who sit on Pinnock bridge apparently smoking pipe, unsurprisingly she's known for her name due to picking the plant and selling it to the villagers.
She was said to have fallen asleep while smoking her pipe and it dropped upon her setting her ablaze which she died from.

There's also the Church of St Nicholas, which is said to be haunted, a group of people waaaaaaay back in the 1970's did an overnight there and were disappointed that all they caught was the vicars dog coming to see them. That would be when the vicar told them he didn't own a dog.

2. Pendle Hill, Lancashire

This wouldn't be a list of English places if it didn't include Pendle Hill, it's one of the most widely known places even outside of the UK. Mainly due to it's horrific witch trials and killing of 12 'Witches' back in the 1600s for the death of 10 people. !0 of them were found guilty, subsequently executed and buried there. Their restless spirits are now said to haunt the place they were buried.

Some genuinely scary stories from some people who've stayed there or just visited include a lot of them saying it feels like invisible hands were around their throats.

Before Covid-19 many ghost walks or overnight stays were available in Pendle Hill, lets hope this starts up again in 2021 when we are vaccinated.

3. The Ancient Ram Inn, Gloucestershire

One of the oldest buildings still in use, built in 1145 the building is used for tours and can even be rented for overnight stays!

It is said to built on two ley-lines which directly draw energy from stone henge, which attracts spirits and also traps them there. This makes this one of the most haunted buildings in ALL of England.
One of the most famous ghosts is of a woman, who hid there from witch hunts in the 1500's though she was caught eventually. Her spirit has been felt there by people, in fact she has her own room.

The house has been shown on a LOT of  ghost TV shows such as, Most Haunted, Ghost Adventures. Theres the Vicar and also children too, so if your looking for a (supposedly) spooky night this might be one for you.

4. Samlesbury Hall, Lancashire

Another one from Lancs, and another 'most haunted house' also home to one of the most typical ghosts a white lady. This lovely stately home has root back to the 14th century, it has some picturesque white and black fronting to the building too.

The difference between this white lady and many others is that she is named, so many in other areas are only guessed at or are totally unknown. One Dorothy Southworth, a former resident of the halls, her story is tragic. She had to meet her lover in secret due him being of a different religion, He was ambushed and killed one night then Dorothy was sent to a convent. Despite this convent being in a different country, it's said Dorothy returned to mourn in her own halls.

A tour of Samlesbury is free, or at least was before Covid hit, hopefully they start up again soon, it's closed on Saturdays, which is an odd day to be shut!

5. Buckland Abby, Devon

Originally a monastery from before King Henry the VIII, the king disbanded it in his rule, then in 1581 it was bought by Sir Francis Drake after his 'travel around the 'then known' world.

Drake was well known for supposedly diddling with the Devil, allowing him to perform some of his amazing feats. Winning wars, returning from travels to distant lands and most spookily for Buckland it's apparent renovation that only took 3 days.
The place is now open and people claim to see Drake himself walking the halls, trapped there in the daytime but able to ride the moors in a black coach drawn by a headless horseman in the nights. Finally one of the more interesting things on offer here is the drum of Drake.
This drum is said to sound in Englands darkest hours, the last time anyone heard it sound was at the beginning of WW1.

Hope you've enjoyed this Top 5 Haunted places edition, we'll going to Jersey next a small island off the bottom of the UK, how scary are the places there?

Stay tuned and see!