Ghostly Vengeance

A sequel that picks up almost immediately where its predecessor left off, Police Story 2 finds our likeable officer, Chan Ka Kui (Jackie Chan) in a rather precarious position. . . reprimanded for his blatant destruction of the mall (in order to catch the villains at the end of the previous feature), not only is he demoted, but he also learns that all of his hard work was for naught – for drug kingpin Mr. Chu (Yuen Chor), who was supposed to spend life behind bars, has been released by a trifecta of doctors who have claimed that he only has three months left to live. Yet, this is only the beginning. . . throw in a spiralling out of control blackmailing case (in which a company’s holdings are being bombed), and more issues between Ka Kui and his spunky girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung), and we can easily say that he has his plate full.

Watching Mario Bava’s first credited directorial effort, Black Sunday (1960), is like experiencing those magical Universal monster movies from the 1930s and 40s for the first time. . . with a palpable atmosphere and a rich grounding of very specific lore (that would influence future films for decades to come – much like vampire lore, the crucifix still plays a crucial role), this fantastical tale of witchcraft cannot be easily forgotten. Opening with the gruesome genesis scene (a sort of flashback to the seventeenth century) that will carry the movie, a stunning witch has been cornered along with her servile lover Igor Javutich (Arturo Dominici). . . the clerics, along with the pitchfork and fire wielding townsfolk, know of only one way to vanquish the evil foe – to first pierce her face with a mask version of an iron maiden and then burn her at the stake. . . but, soon after accomplishing the first task, a rain like no other scatters the horde (as if the storm itself was summoned by Satan), the priests forced to bury the pair separately with a number of safeguards in place.

If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like if fifty savage prisoners attempted to attack a single man in a prison stall, then 2014's The Raid 2 might just be for you. Before moving on, to let you in on how they shot the scene, a simply genius technique is used where the stall walls are on hinges – so that the handheld camera can get in and around the developing action. Written, edited, and directed by Gareth Evans, this Indonesian import is a sequel to 2011's The Raid: Redemption (also created by Evans), starting up a mere two hours after the previous film finished. Miraculously, you really do not need to see the original, as this story is easy to catch on to, despite its complexity when compared to the 2011 feature. If Redemption was shot in the style of a non-stop action video game, its sequel is as if John Carpenter (Escape From New York) and David Cronenberg (A History of Violence) came together with Martin Scorsese to create a twisty story along the lines of The Departed.

With some early success in China in the mid to late 1970s, Jackie Chan attempted to break into Hollywood – making appearances in The Big Brawl (1980), The Cannonball Run and its sequel (1981 and 1984), and starring in The Protector (1985). . . perhaps you would think that this was the beginning of his now illustrious career, but no. His supporting roles did not bring him fame in the west, while his first American starring role was a box office bomb. Instead of returning to China sunken and defeated, he began work on what would arguably become his greatest film, Police Story (1985), co-writing and co-directing with Edward Tang and Chi-Hwa Chen respectively. Taking on the starring role of Chan Ka Kui, Chan brings forth that appealing blend of comedic goof-ball and ninja mastermind – a more than likeable everyman who just happens to be a master of the martial arts (for most of his future roles, Chan would play slight variations on this iconic character – making him one of the most popular action stars of the past thirty years).

The ‘slasher’ sub-genre of horror is often said to have started with two films, 1974's Black Christmas and 1978's Halloween (while others might also lump 1974's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in with that grouping), and that very much may be true, but some of its roots most definitely grew out of the giallo films of the late sixties and early seventies, case in point, Sergio Martino’s 1973 horror mystery thriller Torso – featuring all of the trimmings (pardon the pun) that would soon litter each and every slasher flick to come. Now, what should one expect to see in a movie like Torso. . . sex-crazed teens (who tend to investigate strange noises instead of finding safety, or wander off alone in unpopulated areas), suspicious looking peeping Tom’s (likely a red herring or two), an unknown psychopathic killer who uses some sort of bladed weapon (the suspense is killing me – as the murderer is masked. . . and not only uses a knife, but an ascot to strangle those unlucky individuals – I doubt it’s Fred from Scooby-Doo) – all these tropes would soon be found in your prototypical slasher film.