Witchhammer [Kladivo na carodejnice]

An absolutely superb contribution to the cinema of witch trials and forced confession. What makes this one stand out is the slow dawning realisation from the village authorities that witch finders are just pests who once brought into a community cannot be removed until they’ve burnt everybody alive and taken all their money and worldly goods. Excellent.

Irréversible Inversion Intégrale

The same movie assembled chronologically and yeah the plot’s now easier to discern and it’s still bleak as fuck, but no.

The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent

An eighties comedy starring a fake version of Nicolas Cage played by Nicolas Cage where most of the humour stems from characters talking to fake Nicolas Cage about films starring Nicolas Cage or a film they’re going to make starring fake Nicolas Cage played by Nicolas Cage which is actually the Nicolas Cage film you’re watching.

The Northman

Maximum viking.

The Exorcist III

An absolutely fascinating mess where nobody involved appears to have any control over whatever the fuck it is that they think they’re doing, yet the end result is weirdly entertaining.

The Ninth Configuration

During the making of The Exorcist there were a lot of heated disagreements between the Williams over the amount of theological discussion between characters, writer Blatty wanted it all kept in because he felt that was the point of the book not the exorcism itself. Director Friedkin felt that leaving it all in would make the film long winded and boring. After the hopeless Exorcist 2 bombed Blatty made this, his own sequel that ignored the supernatural and focussed on intense theology conversations, and in the process was able to prove that Friedkin was 100% correct.

The Exorcist

As brilliant now as it was back then.

Madeleine: Anatomy Of A Nightmare [Madeleine, anatomia di un incubo]

Before I watched this I had never seen a topless woman riding a horse at a gallop in slow motion. I’m sure some other stuff probably happened too, I wasn’t paying attention though.

The Violent Professionals [Milano trema: la polizia vuole giustizia]

I was quite often confused as to what the fuck was going on but then there’s plenty of lengthy car chases that give you time to untangle the plot and by the end I’d thoroughly enjoyed it all.

Tragic Ceremony [Estratto dagli archivi segreti della polizia di una capitale europea]

A film set in England but filmed in Italy by people who have absolutely zero comprehension that England and Italy are different places, packed with over the top gore effects including a head cleaving that everybody was clearly so pleased with that they show it five times and nothing makes sense but it’s ok because this is remedied by a doctor who, though not present for any of the film, appears at the end and explains what just happened. King.

Like Rabid Dogs [Come cani arrabbiati]

Forgot to pad out all the tits and violence with a story.

Synchronic

Has plenty of big ideas but refuses to look any of them in the eye, choosing instead to stare at the floor and shuffle its feet around a bit.