Red-Barracuda

This film seems to have a pretty bad reputation but I can't really concur with this assessment. Sure, its daft and limited in some ways but its also rather entertaining throughout, or at least that's what I thought. It follows the very specific idea from the original movie of genre-mashing a crime film with a vampire horror flick. In this one, five criminals travel to Mexico to rob a bank but in true Dusk Till Dawn tradition, vampires enter the fray and complicate matters somewhat.

This one begins with a fun film-within-a-film sequence starring b-movie legend Bruce Campbell and super-hot Beverley Hills 90210 babe, Tiffany Amber-Thiessen. As nice as this opening is, you sort of wish those two might stick around for the rest of the movie, rather than get violently obliterated within the first couple of minutes! In the event, we have the likes of Robert Patrick and Bo Svenson putting in decent turns. While the characters on offer are very standard, they are also well defined enough to be more than serviceable. But the film works best as a bit of genre-mashing fun, with the requisite crime and vampire elements awkwardly combining once again! Also, it seems like quite a few folks seemed to have an issue with the plethora of silly POV shots that punctuate the whole movie, such as shots from inside mouths and gaping wounds or a fan-cam - I personally found all this nonsense, rather entertaining, which is what I would say of this movie as a whole. A silly but fun sequel to a film which was pretty ridiculous in the first place.

The third entry in the 'Lone Wolf and Cub' series finds Ogami Itto - ex chief executioner of the Shogunate (once more splendidly played by Tomisaburô Wakayama) - on a road trip full to the brim with bloody violence. Like before, Ogami is hired to kill, while simultaneously the target of hired killers himself. In this one, he saves a prostitute from a deadly fate and is then hired by the female boss of the brothel to eliminate an undesirable individual.

This entry continues the excellence of this samurai series, with great cinematography, interesting characters and well choreographed martial arts violence, typified by a grand finale where Ogami takes on a mini army of assassins all by himself. While this one has its share of blood fountains, the level of visceral violence is down a notch from the previous two entries in the series. There's a bit more about honour and the samurai code underpinning events. But all that being said, this one still certainly delivers the particular brand of beautifully well-orchestrated mayhem that 'Lone Wolf and Cub' has justifiable become famous for.

I recall when this one came out it held the world record I think for the longest gap between sequels. It seems pretty clear that this was finally made in 1983 to cash in on the early 80's craze for slasher movies but the 23 year gap inadvertently works in the film's favour, in that is gives a realistic premise for Norman Bates being released after a long incarceration. The story positions Norman as a vulnerable, mentally ill man trying to readjust while another series of murders start in and around the old motel.

You're always going to have your work seriously cut out by making a sequel to an established all-time classic movie but it does have to be said that Psycho II rises to this challenge far better than most people could have reasonable expected. Its got a decent story-line with twists and turns that don't break the test tube, Anthony Perkins is very good once again as the central character, there's some fine camera-work in places, a pleasing injection of 80's-style slasher violence added to the mix here and there and some genuinely unnerving scary moments occurring in the Bates residence. If I had to criticise it would be to say that I didn't really care for the idea of opening with the classic shower scene from the first movie - removing that scene from its original context seems cinematically criminal. On a less egregious note, the pacing flounders a bit at times, with the movie feeling like it might be slightly too stretched out. But these are minor grumbles in the grand scheme of things, as Psycho II is overall one of the very best slasher films from its day and an intelligent and very well made film overall.