Shameless Self Expression

Cynical American psychologist Dana Andrews arrives in London to meet a colleague (Maurice Denham in an excellent cameo), only to find that the man has died. Andrews scoffs at the suggestion that Denham’s run-ins with a Satanic cult resulted in him being cursed. He then meets the cult’s leader (played by Niall MacGinnis) and that’s when all manner of eerie things start to occur. Pretty sure the unflappable shrink doesn’t know what to think. Peggy Cummins plays Denham’s niece, who assists Andrews in his investigation.   Director Jacques Tourneur ( “Cat People” , “The Comedy of Terrors” ) had moved away from RKO and producer Val Lewton by the time of this popular 1957 cult horror film. Based on a Montague R. James short story and scripted by   Charles Bennett ( “The 39 Steps” , “Foreign Correspondent” ) & Hal E. Chester ( “School for Scoundrels” ), it’s more plot and character driven than the Lewton ‘chillers’. In fact, for much of its length it plays more like an occult...

  A grieving, hard-drinking widower and war veteran (Chad Michael Murray) finds himself caught in the middle of some trouble between cops (Swen Temmel, Bruce Willis), and criminals (whose numbers include Zack Ward, Michael Sirow, Donna D’Errico, and Sean Kanan). The gun battle steps onto Murray’s property after a drug bust gone bad.   More of a Swen Temmel and Chad Michael Murray film than a Bruce Willis film, this 2021 film from director James Cullen Bressack (who directed Willis and Murray in “Fortress” ) is pretty shoddy stuff. The editing and camerawork in the fight scenes in particular is dreadful, achieving nothing except drawing your attention to the stunt doubles by (badly) trying to disguise them. Judging by the end credits, nearly every credited actor had their own stunt double. Somewhere Tom Cruise is weeping.   I like that Bressack tries to give the film a sense of urgency out of the blocks, but it does make it a touch difficult to find your bearings...