I'm in grumpy old man mode today, and have to ask what on Earth is the matter with the weather? In this part of the country, we haven't had a mild day (that is, with the temperatures in double figures) for nearly a month. It's 5.30pm and, once again, my outside thermometers are showing 6 degrees celsius - yes, the sort of temperature you might expect in February, not mid-April. What's worse, the long range forecast on the BBC say's there's not much prospect of things improving in the next four weeks. In April it's not unusual for it to rain nearly every day (as it has done). But, when the temperature is stubbornly three or four degrees below the average for weeks, and you look at last year's abysmal summer, you couldn't be blamed for believing the horror stories of global warming and the prospect of the Gulf Stream failing and plunging the UK into a much colder climate...
Sadly, I think a lack of imagination has meant a serious drop in standards and attitudes in "horror" films. I do love old horror/fantasy films (Terence Fisher's expression was “adult fairy tales”) but want to be uplifted – film should be an emotional experience, but not one that makes you want to slash your wrists. I don't think it's a coincidence that many of the films covered and praised in podcast s and on line ( Night of the Demon, The Devil Rides Out, The Wicker Man etc) are retrospective, and more than thirty years old. Just to establish where I'm coming from, can I say that I really liked Witchfinder General, Hellraiser and Candyman , all of which were gruesome films. One of my favourite horror films is Brian DePalma's Carrie , because it's psychological horror. What distinguishes all of these from lesser films is character and plot. I actually read a review of Carrie on IMDB where the (amateur) reviewer rubbished it because there wasn...
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Basically, we'll have the option of "too hot" or "too cold"...