British Horror

Saw two very different films this weekend, although both were horror films from the UK: Attack the Block (2011) and The Vampire Lovers (1970). I liked both quite a bit. Attack the Block was a fast-paced alien invasion flick in which a gang of criminal teenagers wind up being the heroes who fend off an alien attack on a South London council house.

It worked, in large part, due to the fact that it wasn't a spoof and took its premise seriously. Not that it wasn't funny but the alien bits were actually scary, and the consequences were real. It also took a real risk in opening up the movie by showing the kids terrorizing and mugging a lone woman on a dark street. The fact that by the end of the movie the gang members were mostly redeemed was a pretty astounding piece of script-writing.

I liked The Vampires Lovers as well, although the script, while not terrible, was certainly not astounding. I probably liked it because of scenes like this:

But there were other reasons. Peter Cushing. Fog machines. A decent vampire story in which the vampires are just the embodiment of pure evil. Plus lesbians. Vampire lesbians.

I got out of the house as well this weekend to enjoy the weather. Took my first swim of the summer at a friend's pool. Might even have gotten some color on my pasty skin.