Week 15 Rankings

1. -tie. Indianapolis Colts (13-0) - They continue to roll on even though they let Brandon Marhsall set the record in receptions in a single game. They play two 7-6 teams hungry to make the playoffs in the next few weeks, is an undefeated season a possibility?

1. -tie. New Orleans Saints (13-0) - Another close game for them and another win, they seems to keep on rolling and get those close wins. Dallas this week could be there last possible chance to lose an undefeated season.

3. San Diego Chargers (10-3) - They have now won 8 in a row and are on of those teams no one wants to play right now.

4. Minnesota Vikings (11-2) - Took on a good Bengals team at home and handled them well in a 20 point margain of victory.

5. Philadelphia Eagles (9-4) - Had to be one of the craziest games in a while, a 45-38 win over the Giants which gave them the sole lead in the NFC East. There offense seems to be clicking but I have some issues with the defense.

6. Cincinnati Bengals (9-4) - The usually reliable Benglas looked pretty bad losing 30-10 in Minnesota. Another elite match up this week @ San Diego.

7. New England Patriots (8-5) - Randy Moss may have given up by the rest of the team hasn't. I think they team mvp for them is Wes Welker, he catches everything!

8. Denver Broncos (8-5) - Congrats to Brandon Marshall for breaking the nfl single game record for recpetions in a game, bad news is that you lost to the Colts. More good news, you face the Raiders and Chiefs in the next 3 weeks.

9. Green Bay Packers (9-4) - This team is clicking of offense and defense, and has won five in row. They are playing on the road against Pittsburgh and Arizona in upcoming weeks, that should prove how far this team has come.

10. Arizona Cardinals (8-5) - They should buy stock in some new gloves. They turned the ball over a whoping 7 times on monday night football. Warner and company looked way off their game.

11. Miami Dolphins (7-6) - This team keeps rolling along even with all the injuries they have faced. They have been 7-2 over there last 9 games and doing so without Ronnie Brown or Chad Pennington. This team could surprise anyone.

12. Dallas Cowboys (8-5) - Tough home loss to the Chargers raises a lot of questions about the Cowboys, and losing DeMarcus Ware for any extended period of time ads injury to insult.

13. Baltimore Ravens (7-6) - Ah it sure feels good to play the Detroit Lions invisible defense. They combined for 548 total yards in a 48-3 killing of the Lions.

14. Tennessee Titans (6-7) - Another blowout game, Titans thrashed the Rams to the tune of 47-7. Did I mention yet that Chris Johnson is good?

15. New York Giants (7-6) - Lost in a heartbreaking high scoring loss to the Eagles at home, which now puts them in need of some help to make the playoffs. They might be a good team who doesnt make it this year.

16. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-6) - They are only averaging 12 points a game in their last 3 games. They seems to be stuggling running the ball, as I have noticed on my fantasy team.

17. New York Jets (7-6) - Just when you thought they were done, they suck you back in! Of course if they did not beat the Bucs it would look like something was seriously wrong. Thomas Jones is quietly having another good season (1167 yards and 11 td's)

18. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-7) - 5 losses in a row including your last two to the Raiders and Browns, something is very wrong in Pittsburgh. Oh next three games? Green Bay, Baltimore, and Miami.

19. Atlanta Falcons (6-7) - This team has been ravaged by injuries yet still held close to the Saints in a 26-23 loss. They also have a pretty easy remaning schedule. I would like to see what they could have done with Ryan and Turner for a whole year.

20. San Francisco 49ers (6-7) - So niners have to be the most inconsistent team this year. They are a few plays from having a winning record but something always happens. I was really hoping for a playoff run from my team but it could be too little to late, and they would need to win out which would be possible except that they have to play in Phildeplphia next week.

21. Houston Texans (6-7)- I got to say that Andre Johnson is the best WR in the league when healthy.

22. Carolina Panthers (5-8) - Hoping they keep losing since the 49ers hold the right to their first round draft pick.

23. Buffalo Bills (5-8) - Not sure why they were underdogs to the Chiefs? Looks like their defense has been doing ok lately and they have two good running backs in Lynch and Jackson, tough end to the year they finish by playing Pat, Falcons, and Colts.

24. Chicago Bears (5-8) - Ah Bears, such potential...

25. Washington Redskins (4-9)- There RB's get hurt every week now, it has gone from Portis to Betts to Cartwright to Gather. Yet still only the 4 wins.

26. Seattle Seahawks (5-8) - Only had one touchdown and were not impressive in last win over 49ers, more like lucky. I think signing Housh was not the answer. The answer would be, get a real running back.

27. Oakland Raiders (4-9) - I hate the Raiders and was actually rooting for Gradkowski. Now he is hurt.. "We had heard that Russell’s just had a tough time, and you could tell when he stepped on the field and the crowd started booing,” Washington defensive end Andre Carter said.

28. Kansas City Chiefs (3-10)- Good news is Jamaal Charles is coming around and you are playing the Browns next week. Bad news is you are the Chiefs.

29. Cleveland Browns (2-11)- I heard that Cleveland fans will forget this whole season since they beat the Steelers, um not sure about that.

30. Detroit Lions (2-11) - At one time this offense looked really good, last week they only scored 3 points. They still need a lot of work.

31. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-12)- Last game they didn’t manage a first down until the middle of the third quarter, and that came on a penalty. Nuff said!

32. St Louis Rams (1-12)- Ah poor Rams, back again on the bottom of my list. Keith Null was St Louis' starting Qb, he completed 27 passes for 157 yards with 5 interceptions but alas...he had a touchdown!! Good job 6th round pick out of West Texas A&M. This is why Tim Tebow has a chance in the NFL, indeed.

Most Valuable Player

Otherwise known as the MVP, So who do I see as the front runner for NFL MVP? I will brake down the AFC and NFC by listing three contenders and my pick for who will win. Here we go...

AFC-

#3 -- Chris Johnson RB Tennessee Titans- I know the team is only 6-7 but they have been on a tear since starting out 0-6 and have only lost one game since their bye week, so why the sudden turn around? Chris Johnson has to be the most important player on the Titans. He is on pace to maybe set the record for all time yards rushing in a season. He has 1,626 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns as well as 42 receptions for 391 yards and 2 more touchdowns. I was able to watch him play the niners and he is the real deal. I think he is the fastest running back in the league and is a td threat anytime he touches the ball. If his team started out better he could be the favorite to win this award.

#2 -- Philip Rivers QB San Diego Chargers- Chargers are sitting at 10-3 and have now won 8 in a row. Why Rivers? Well the NFL loves to hype up its young players, especially quarterback's who you will see more of on this list than anyone else. QB's always get the praise and besides the Colts the Chargers are the class of the AFC. I can even see them pulling a playoff upset and beating the Colts. With 3 games left Rivers has lead the Chargers with 3,583 yards passing with 22 td's and only 7 interceptions. I also think his way of leading his team to win at the end of games makes him more valuable. The chargers have had some rushing problems this year and Rivers has stepped up to lead the team to where it is now.

#1 -- Peyton Manning QB Indianapolis Colts - Was there any question? The Colts are Peyton Manning, I am going to be telling my kids one day about being able to watching Manning, yes he is that good. Manning has lead the Colts to a 13-0 record is in every other commericial on TV and is a damn fine quarterback. The Colts have already clinched home field advantage through the playoffs and Manning has had another outstanding season. He has thrown for 3,905 with 29 td's and 14 interceptions. Can you picture the Colts being lead by another quarterback? Would they have half as many wins?

NFC-

#3 -- Aaron Rodgers QB Green Bay Packers - Another young QB who is having an outstanding season. Rodgers is Mr. everything for the Packers this year. The team started out 4-4 and after week 9 they have won 5 games in a row. I also don't know if is just where I live but I have seen the Packers play at least 5 times this year, so they are getting a lot of media attention (a former qb of theirs may have had something to do with that...) and Rodgers is proving he was worth a first round (overall) pick. With three games left he has thrown for 3,579 yards with 25 td's and only 7 interception. He also leads all NFL qb's with 271 yards rushing with 3 more rushing td's. He is a main reason the Packers have turned it around, they can always count on a good game from Rodgers and are looking for a long playoff run.

#2 -- Adrian Peterson RB Minnesota Vikings - Oh, you thought the Vikings were sitting at 11-2 because of Brett Favre? No no no, it is because of this man that Favre is having such a good year. I almost included grey beard on the list but than I said why is he having such a good year? Well Peterson makes the pass game work, the opposing team has to compensate for him and that opens up the pass. He is also having a nice little season with 1,200 with 14 td's and is even becoming more of a factor as a receiver, he has set a personal record with 36 receptions for 319 yards. Without Peterson rushing this team would lack that big td threat and wouldn't be the same team.

#1 -- Drew Brees QB New Orleans Saints - When your team goes 13-0 and you are putting up amazing numbers, you are usually a shoe in to win the MVP. I see no reason why Brees should not win the NFC MVP. He has lead his team to some close wins, and has amazing numbers. He has thrown for 3,832 yards with 32 td's and only 10 interceptions. This guy is like Peyton Manning light, he is a great team leader and since coming to the Saints he has become the face, heart, and soul of the franchise. Brees is easily my pick for the mvp, the only question left is will the team lose and how far will they go in the playoffs?

Horror in suburbia! The cult films from Merton Park Studios

My local horror film factory...

Merton Park had one of the many small suburban film studios spread around the outer reaches of London. They flourished when there was a demand for different weekly movies with full-length supporting B-movies. The government also had a tax incentive that ensured a regular proportion of films in British cinemas had been produced in Britain.

Operating between 1929 and 1967, Merton Park Studios had a long-running success with adaptions of Edgar Wallace crime dramas. But when I noticed the studios' name also cropping up on horror movies, I was excited that a few world-famous cult films had been made locally. Not necessarily 'cult' because they were any good, though!

Perhaps the best-known movie to be made here is the King Kong knock-off Konga, which used a 'man in a suit' years before Dino De Laurentiis visited Skull Island. It's a cheap monster movie but great fun for Michael Gough's cruel character and shouty performance. The guy in the gorilla suit is continually hilarious.

Of course, it's a different story from King Kong in that a scientist turns a baby chimpanzee into a giant gorilla (!!?). Konga doesn't climb the Empire State Building, he stands next to Big Ben while the army launch rockets past him. Well, actually Croydon High Street stood in for Westminster. I love the fact that places local to where I live have been seen around the world because of these films. (Full review of Konga here).

Low-budget producer Herman Cohen (Berserk!, Black Zoo) also shot Horrors of the Black Museum at Merton Park, also starring Michael Gough. It's infamous for the eye-gouging binoculars which caused such a stir in 1959, with accusations of 'sadism' from film critics. The story's finale was filmed in South London's Battersea Funfair, just before Gorgo flattened it.




The other horror films shot here may be less familiar...

Ghost Ship (1952) is an early drama made at the studios, but with extensive location work. It's an amateurish suburban mystery which pads out the running time at every opportunity. The saving grace is that this is the earliest film I've seen to star Hazel Court - predating even Devil Girl From Mars. Amazingly, it's on DVD in the UK.

Another B-movie quickie, made to support Horrors of the Black Museum, The Headless Ghost (1959) was also produced by Herman Cohen. Drearily-paced and unfunny, the only saving grace is having a spectral Clive Revill, a twist on his turn as a ghostbuster in The Legend of Hell House. Plus there's an uncredited appearance by Janina Faye (Horror of Dracula, Day of the Triffids). This is also on DVD in the UK!



The Projected Man (1966) and Devil Doll both starred Bryant Haliday, who had a short run of leading horror roles (with Curse of Voodoo and Tower of Evil). On DVD in the UK (but edge-cropped to 16:9 - only the UK VHS has the full 2.35 widescreen Techniscope image)



Devil Doll (1964) will only work if you're freaked out by ventriloquist dummies, but Dead of Night (1945) did it better. This is also inspired by Svengali, but John Barrymore did it better. William Sylvester (2001: A Space Odyssey) and Yvonne Romain (Curse of the Werewolf) in the cast help considerably. On DVD in the UK.

Hopefully the 'hospital' location in Invasion (1965) is still around for me to visit. In the story, the building is cut off from the outside world when two (Japanese?) aliens visit Earth. Invasion is a good example of the 'pub invasion' genre, where Earth-shattering events take place while witnessed from a confined space. 

First contact is made with a handful of humans, as opposed to the whole world like in The Day The Earth Stood Still. This scenario is of course perfect for low budgets (see also The Man From Planet X, Devil Girl From Mars, Target: Earth, Night of the Big Heat, and The Earth Dies Screaming). It stars the late Edward Judd of First Men In the Moon, Island of Terror and The Day the Earth Caught Fire.

While I'd once rated the golem horror IT! (1967) as one of the worst British horrors of this era, I've actually changed my mind since seeing the recent DVD. It stars the ever watchable Roddy McDowall and Jill Haworth. Full review here.

 

But The Frozen Dead (1966) is pretty bad. Plodding action and a complete waste of a good Nazi zombie idea. Bizarre that a young Edward Fox (The Day of the Jackal) plays a mute zombie soldier. An extensive use of locations makes me wonder whether this was shot after the studios had closed - the interiors look like they might have been locations too. Maybe not as bad as The Blood Beast Terror (a killer moth) and The Vulture (a were-bird).

Merton Park's best known non-horror film must be The Leather Boys (1963). A 'kitchen sink' drama set in the South of England for a change. Rita Tushingham (from A Taste of Honey) accuses her new young husband that he'd rather hang out with another motorcycle buddy than stay at home with her. 

The original book was a little more explicit at hinting at the relationship between Colin Campbell and Dudley Sutton's characters. The movie is affectionately heralded for its snapshot of many bygone London locations, including bikers' hangout, the Ace Cafe, which is still there today.

Timeslip (aka The Atomic Man, 1955) stars Faith Domergue (This Island Earth) and Peter Arne in a twisty high-tech (for 1955) thriller that makes British B-movies look respectable! Full review here.




The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn (1956) is only twenty minutes long, but deserves a special mention for the blossoming talent that it captured. There's an early multiple role for Peter Sellers (Dr Strangelove, The Pink Panther) as well as an early producer's role for Michael Deeley, long before he made The Italian Job and Blade Runner.  It's also the best visual record of the influential humour of The Goons radio show. This short but very funny film is the rare jewel in Merton Park Studio's filmography. For a full illustrated review, follow the above link.

MERTON PARK FILM STUDIO HORROR FILMS

The Ghost Ship (1952)

Horrors of the Black Museum (1959)

The Headless Ghost (1959)

Konga (1961)

Devil Doll (1964)

Invasion (1965)

The Projected Man (1966)

IT! (1967)

The Frozen Dead (1967)

This week, I visited the only building still standing from the studio complex. The Long Lodge (the long black building near the bottom of the map) was used as the studio's headquarters. The neighbouring Leather Bottle public house, (at the bottom left of the map) is also still around. The lodge can be found on the Kingston Road, opposite a small parade of shops between Raynes Park and Wimbledon, and has two commemorative plaques outside (pictured) which I feel rather sells it short.

For more information, here's a recent article by movie expert Tise Vahimagi, about the Edgar Wallace thrillers that were shot at Merton Park Studios.

The British Movie Forum has a short thread about the studios, through which I found the rare floor plan.

LOFT (2006) Kiyoshi Kurosawa's toys in the attic

LOFT
(2005, Japan, Shi no otome)

A young writer is sent to a remote house to concentrate on her next novel. But she notices some strangeness happening in the house opposite. Like a handsome man carrying what looks like a dead body in a sheet. Intrigued by both him and what he's doing, she investigates the house and discovers a 1000-year old corpse. The mummified body might also be connected to why she's started vomiting up black mud...

Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Kairo (Pulse) helped lead the J-horror boom - with even more creepiness than Ring and matching it's shock moments as well. I've kept trying his movies, enjoying Sakebi (Retribution) despite not fully understanding it. Kurosawa's films seem to fit inside the horror genre, but often meander into the world of arthouse, where symbolism and mood are often more important than story. I've enjoyed his films by immersing myself in their atmosphere, without concentrating too much on the intricacies of narrative and character and what he's actually trying to say.

But I'm annoyed with Loft. Spoiling a perfectly fine horror film in the last segment of the film. While slow-moving, there's plenty of scares and creep-outs, but suddenly the characters are acting all, well, out-of-character and the cameraman seems to, well, fall over. It then gets back on track after a strange series of creative freakouts, but the final capper to the whole film hangs on a very poor special effect, that could almost be an intentional joke, and a pratfall. I'm not amused.

You'll have probably seen the leading actors - Miki Nakatani as Reiko the writer, also played Mai in Ring and Ring 2 as well as starring in Memories of Matsuko. Etsushi Toyokawa as the distinctive-looking professor was also the black-clad super-baddie in Yokai Daisenso - The Great Goblin War.

This reviewer for Cinema Strikes Back identifies elements of satire in the film - I wish I'd known beforehand. But even accepting that the director is playing with the genre, there are several sloppy scare moments that simply look mis-timed (like the hand on the corner of the window, featured heavily in the posters).


Unsurprisingly, this hasn't been rushed into a DVD release in the west, despite the director's cult reputation and the intriguing trailer. I found this on DVD in Malaysia (from PMP) which has very good English subtitles, but the picture has been savagely cropped from widescreen to full screen by simply lopping off both sides (a crude 'centre-cut' to adapt the widescreen image to old-style TVs). Not the best way to see a carefully visual film, but the only subtitled DVD I know of.

Loft is one of those films that I'll need to read more about before I stand a chance of appreciating it. In the meantime, I'd better take a break and try out one of Kurosawa's non-horror movies. Tokyo Sonata looks very promising...

Week 14 Rankings

1. New Orleans Saints (12-0)
2. Indianapolis Colts (12-0)
3. San Diego Chargers (9-3)
4. Minnesota Vikings (10-2)
5. Cincinnati Bengals (9-3)
6. Arizona Cardinals (8-4)
7. Denver Broncos (8-4)
8. New England Patriots (7-5)
9. Philadelphia Eagles (8-4)
10. Dallas Cowboys (8-4)
11. Green Bay Packers (8-4)
12. New York Giants (7-5)
13. Miami Dolphins (6-6)
14. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6)
15. Baltimore Ravens (6-6)
16.Tennessee Titans (5-7)
17. Jacksonville Jaguars (7-5)
18. Atlanta Falcons (6-6)
19. New York Jets (6-6)
20. Carolina Panthers (5-7)
21. Houston Texans (5-7)
22. San Francisco 49ers (5-7)
23. Seattle Seahawks (5-7)
24. Chicago Bears (5-7)
25. Oakland Raiders (4-8)
26. Washington Redskins (3-9)
27. Buffalo Bills (4-8)
28. Kansas City Chiefs (3-9)
29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-11)
30. Detroit Lions (2-10)
31. St Louis Rams (1-11)
32. Cleveland Browns (1-11)

MY BLOODY VALENTINE (1981) - 28 years later...

MY BLOODY VALENTINE
(Canada, 1981)

This beats Friday the 13th, any day of the week!

I'm pretty sure I saw this supporting Friday the 13th - Part 2 in a Bournemouth cinema while Lady Diana and Prince Charles were getting married (July 29th, 1981). The Royal Wedding was on every TV in the country and I wanted to escape somewhere until it was all over...

The original My Bloody Valentine has always been a solid horror movie, but the many shock moments were severely castrated by censor cuts. Practically every kill is cut down so much that you barely know what has actually happened. What was worse is that there were some great colour photos of the make-up effects in Fangoria magazine showing us what we'd missed.

Through the years, each release on home video - VHS, laserdisc, all the way upto the first Paramount DVD release - I was hoping for some cut footage to reappear. But even the DVD was the same censored version.

Then in 2006 came the entertaining and fact-packed documentary about the 80's slasher movie genre, Going to Pieces. In the DVD extras was the tantalising news that the director of My Bloody Valentine, George Mihalka, had held onto the uncut version. Thankfully this has lead to a full restoration.

Now, I've finally watched the Special Edition, released on DVD earlier this year, ending a 28 year wait to see the version that I'd always wanted, with all the scenes promised in those early issues of Fangoria. This new version is a slasher that surpasses the early Friday the 13th movies on almost every level.

In Valentine Bluffs, a Canadian mining town, preparations for a Valentine's Day party are underway. But the Sheriff and the Mayor are getting nervous because the last time they had such a celebration, a lot of folks got killed by an insane miner brandishing a pick-axe. They haven't celebrated the occasion for nearly twenty years, until now. As February 14th gets closer, it looks like the date is indeed cursed. Also, the biggest Valentine's party picked the worst location possible, near the entrance to the town's coal mine...

Near the start of the story, someone gets a rhyming Valentine card and a gory present that feels exactly like the end of the 'Poetic Justice' segment if Tales From The Crypt (1972), in turn based on the EC horror comic story. But after that it's a familiar blend of sexed-up youngsters (miners, not minors) and gory mayhem, right down to the barman who could be a close relation of Friday the 13th's Crazy Ralph. "It could be you!" is his way of saying "You're next" to die horribly, rather than a prophecy of a lottery win.

Like Friday the 13th, I didn't recognise any of the actors, and the atmosphere is helped enormously by extensive location filming, that keeps everything looking real, even though some of the acting isn't. The leads are all very strong, with stern silent hero-type T.J. (Paul Kelman) looking a lot like a young Rufus Sewell. My least favourite is the goof-off character who manages to make all his friends laugh by making the worst jokes possible.

But My Bloody Valentine is very different from Friday the 13th in many ways. The drama actually works, with the older townsfolk looking very nervous about the town's nasty secrets, and two of the miners caught in a painful smalltown love triangle.


While Tom Savini's effects for the first Friday were convincing, they were barely glimpsed. The murders in My Bloody Valentine are more complex and sustained, often with a 'double-whammy'. They take the more realistic take that murder is often prolonged and painful. At the same time they dreamt up some unique kills for the slasher genre. Even the photos of the body being dragged along the ground, a pick-axe skewering the jaw of the victim, look remarkably convincing.

The scene in the showers is famous for its pay-off, but I found the build-up particularly unsettling, with prolonged takes of the victim being carried along, held by her head, shown from the point-of-view of the murderer, shining his helmet-lamp into her terrified face. Yes, it's intense and horrifying - in Friday the 13th it's almost over before it begins.

The FX are remarkably convincing for the most part, at a time when everyone was trying to perfect prosthetic gory effects to top the last. For the first time I noticed a hand 'wobble', in the game where two macho miners play the 'stabbing the table between the fingers' game (also used in Aliens). Looks like they were using a very convincing prosthetic hand - I thought they found a couple of experts to do it for real!

While the many of the characters are 'up for it', and this is an unofficial entry in the get drunk, 'have-sex-then-die' genre, sex is treated far differently than the usual half-naked girl wandering around with a knife. The opening scene cleverly confuses expectations in an underground triste, the best pool player in town is a flouncy-looking blonde, when the hero is in a fight the women don't just stand around and cower - they join in, and my particular favourite, a guy actually gets a condom out before sex. This is so very rare in movies nowadays, let alone 1981! It's a more adult attitude, and a bucking of the cliches. After watching a lot of horror films, I've gotten very tired of the cliches.


Lastly, while Friday the 13th took three films to sort out the iconic look of Jason, My Bloody Valentine hits the ground running with the awesome image of the miner dressed in black, with a gas mask covering the face. The pick-axe completes a really scary look. But with most of the blood diluted by censorship (Friday the 13th had cuts as well), the film disappeared without a sequel, maybe because it didn't have a catchy ad campaign, and the killer doesn't have a nick-name. I don't know why, but it didn't catch on - but now it's one of my favourites of the slasher genre.


The new Special Edition Lionsgate DVD has the option to watch both the original cinema release or the new restored version - both work seamlessly. There's also an interesting interview with the director and a couple of the cast, (why build sets when everything you need is 2000 feet underground?) and Ken Diaz (The Thing, Pirates of the Caribbean) and Tom Burman (The Manitou, The Exterminator, Grey's Anatomy) talk about how their impressive special effects were done.

The restored, original trailer of the 1981 My Bloody Valentine is here on YouTube...

I'm a Horror Blogger - official!

Zombo's Closet of Horror is a blog that casts a wide eye over the genre - my recent favourite was a look at the family who built their own full-size recreation of The Munster's mansion...

Zombo has cleverly realised that bloggers love talking about themselves, and regularly invites horror specialists to write about motivations and interests. I was recently invited to join the party and Zombo, John Cozzoli, published it today. Thank you very much for the opportunity, John.

Read it here... Meet The Horror Bloggers - Black Hole Reviews