Hide and Go Shriek (1988) A group of high school friends celebrating graduation sneak into a furniture store to party and have sex but are interrupted by a killer in this enjoyably cheesy slasher. The movie is filled with stock characters and familiar plot elements, but it’s better made than you’d think and the cast is energetic and likable. The make-up FX leave a lot to be desired – there is a good decapitation by elevator – but it never ceases to be entertaining and the twist at the conclusion is genuinely surprising. B–
Last Night in Soho (2021) Shaun of the Dead‘s Edgar Wright delivers a wonderful homage to the psychological thrillers of the 1960s with this mystery-horror about a fashion student (Thomasin McKenzie) who moves to London and is transported back to the ’60s, where she’s convinced she’s witness to an unsolved murder. Both elegantly shot and energetically paced, Last Night is what most current throwbacks aspire to be, both respecting the subgenres and adding to it with flares of surprises and thrills that could be found in the best of the Italian giallos of the ’60s and ’70s. The cast is excellent, especially Anya Taylor-Joy and Dame Diana Rigg in her last film role, and the screenplay by Krysty Wilson-Cairns is first-rate. Don’t miss this! B+
The Masque of the Red Death (1964) An attractive, but empty, Roger Corman production, this somewhat overrated adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s story features a tyrannical, Satan-worshiping prince (Vincent Price) who uses his luxurious castle as a sanctuary for he and his wealthy, corrupted friends against a deadly plague. Where Poe’s story reads as a metaphor for trying, and failing, to escape death, Corman’s film is little more than a handsomely produced series of lavish, colorful set pieces and stunning cinematography by Nicholas Roeg. Price is his typically scene-chewing, enjoyable self. C+
Scalps (1983) Infamous ’80s splatter from zero-budget auteur Fred Olen Ray about a group of archeology students who’re targeted by a vengeful Native American spirit that possesses one of the group and turns him into a disfigured killer. Not a good film in the technical sense, Scalps is stiff, muddled, and unconvincing but is nonetheless mesmerizingly watchable hokum that has plenty of low grade charm and some surprisingly effective make-up FX. B