Oct 30th  
Prince of Darkness
(US 1987)
Universal. 101m. Panavision

The energy of the devil is transmitted to a liquid container kept secret for centuries in an old California monastery. 
Unpleasant horror mayhem with any attempt at gravitas (or explaining the already daft premise) soon superseded by the director re-using shock elements from most of his previous movies.

w, d: John Carpenter
p: Larry Franco
s: Donald Pleasence, Victor Wong, Jameson Parker, Lisa Blount, Dennis Dun, Alice Cooper
ph: Gary Kibbe
m: John Carpenter, Alan Howarth

+ Carpenter credits himself as writer under the name "Michael Quatermass", as well as having his hero study at "Kneale University", intended as a tribute to Nigel Kneale, who dissociated himself from the film for suggesting he had anything to with its making

Oct 29th  
Night of the Eagle**  
(GB 1962)                       
Anglo-Amalgamated/Independent Artists. 87m. bw

A young professor unwisely shuns his wife's best advice after she reveals that she is a witch.
Slightly less subtle re-working of Night of the Demon, with a stiff and unconvincing central couple, but still quite effective and suspenseful.

Written by: Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, George Baxt, based on the novel "Conjure Wife" by Fritz Leiber.
Producers: Julian Wintle, Leslie Parkyn.
Director: Sidney Hayers.
Starring: Janet Blair, Peter Wyngarde, Margaret Johnston, Kathleen Byron, Anthony Nicholls, Colin Gordon, Reginald Beckwith, Judith Stott, Norman Bird.
Photography: Reg Wyer.
Music: William Alwyn.

+ US title: Burn, Witch, Burn

Oct 21st
That Hamilton Woman**
aka. Lady Hamilton

(US 1941)
United Artists/London Films. 128m. bw

For Trafalgar Day, the story of the love affair between Lord Nelson and Lady Emma Hamilton, told by her in flashback in destitution in Paris.
Luscious historical romance utilising the star British couple of the time, with the leading lady of Gone with the Wind (in a very similar looking role), and Olivier on the spot historically as Nelson, and filmed seamlessly in Hollywood by Korda as anti-Nazi propaganda, for which it largely succeeds (and was also a favourite of Churchill's, who hand a hand in its making) despite the inevitable over-romanticism and an unsuitable original title.

Written by: Walter Reisch, R.C. Sherriff.
Producer/Director: Alexander Korda.
Starring: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Alan Mowbray, Gladys Cooper, Gilbert Emery, Henry Wilcoxon (as Hardy), Sara Allgood, Halliwell Hobbes.
Photography: Rudolph Mate.
Music: Miklos Rozsa.

Oct 12th  
Contagion**   
(US/UAE 2011)                 
Warner Bros/Participant Media/Imagenation Abu Dhabi/Double Feature. 106m.

A deadly flu virus sweeps across the world from Hong Kong, and the authorities and self-appointed experts compete with each other to find a solution.
Viewed now as a remarkably prescient foretelling of Coronavirus (although based on the past Sars virus of 2002), this sombre looking thriller is commendably free of most apocalyptic thriller cliches, with no definite heroes or villains, and looks all the more depressing and chillingly accurate for it. The characters however, are mostly lost in the development of the plot.

Written by: Scott Z. Burns.
Producers: Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher, Gregory Jacobs.
Director: Steven Soderbergh.
Starring (in no particular order): Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Elliott Gould, Chin Han.
Photography: Peter Andrews.
Music: Cliff Martinez.

Oct 2nd  
Effie Gray*     
(GB/US/Ita 2014)
Universal/Sovereign. 108m. Panavision

In 19th century Britain the teenage Effie Gray marries writer John Ruskin, but he becomes aloof to her in a loveless marriage although her face is the inspiration for several famous paintings.
Absorbing and beautiful to look at, but character-wise history told the story better. The writer/star tries to inject extra spark with lots of notable friends in supporting roles, that try to enliven a curiously cold-hearted true story.

Written by: Emma Thompson.
Producers: Andreas Roald, Donald Rosenfeld.
Director: Richard Laxton.
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Greg Wise, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, David Suchet, Tom Sturridge (as Millais), James Fox, Claudia Cardinale, Robbie Coltrane, Derek Jacobi.
Photography: Andrew Dunn.
Music: Paul Cantelon.

EFFIE GRAY (2014). Dakota Fanning as the Scottish girl who became the inspiration for Millais's Ophelia. Although Fanning does a more than creditable job, with better timing the role would have been perfect for Karen Gillan.