BazPopiolek Reviews

The Beyond (1981)

Cheap, annoying and tacky and not in a good way...

[3/10 · 1 April 2024]

I usually love old classic, low budget, cosmic horror weirdness and all that stuff, I have a huge collection of these kinds of films but this was just rubbish, and actually quite irritating to watch!!!

Terrible music, disjointed editing and story telling, atrociously bad acting, (not even the good bad kinda), and weak totally fake looking cheap special effects!!!!

I don't know how this film gets such praise in the cult horror circles, was pretty much unwatchable... I've seen zero budget student films that were more impressive!!!!

I'm actually quite disappointed because I was hoping I'd missed something special here.. but no, not sure if I'll ever give it another go...

Dead Space (1991)

The epitome of so bad that its good!!!

[6/10 · 9 March 2024]

There's so much fog machine and neon lights in this film, together with the awkward staggered dialogue and cheesy 80s synthwave music, its impossible not to develop fond nostalgic feelings of Sunday night horror/sci-fi TV... The monster looks great even tho its clearly made from coat hangers covered in paper mache and silicone paint, like some kind of school project Queen Alien, but somehow its still awesomely bad/good!!

Hahaha I found this one so much better than the almost identically structured 'Forbidden World' which just fell flat at every turn, that monster was total rubbish.. this somehow just got better and better and even more hilarious as I watched on!!!

Loved it!!!

Great bargain bucket sci-fi!!!!

6/10.

The Night Sitter (2018)

If you don't get the parody and the cult nods here then that's your problem!!!

[7/10 · 3 March 2024]

Lets get this straight out the way, This is not serious well crafted horror with genuine tension, twists and thrills... It is a fun and wacky over the top Horror/Comedy paying homage to the old cult films of the 80s, It doesn't do anything particularly huge or original but everything it does do, it does just right, Cool synth soundtrack, wacky neon lighting, over the top gore, some good laughs and gloriously cliche but solidly performed characters!!!

If you don't get the parody here then that's your problem, but in my opinion this is a perfect B grade psychedelic frightfest!!!

For fans of the original Evil Dead, The Gate, House... and other slimey over the top 80s horrors!!!

Alexander (2004)

Absolutely Fantastic World Spanning Epic

[9/10 · 6 November 2023]

I enjoyed this movie so much on first watch that I straight away purchased the nearly 4 hour extended cut!!!!

What an amazing journey into ancient world, through battlefields that stretch as far as the eye can see, to the mountains and jungles of the east, journeying through deserts into lands lush but unfamiliar.

Alexander swiftly conquering opposition from both the enemy and from within his own ranks, with logic and reason and passionate monologues, sharing culture and beliefs with those that are willing to join him and attempt to create a new world!!

I got completely lost in this world, I honestly cannot understand the savagely low score this movie has..!!!

The only negatives I can think of are that some of the historical accuracy is a little wave but clearly as with most things done for cinematic effect!!!

Also people complaining the fact that many of the Greeks are played by Irish, Scottish, English and American... huuuhhh Boring!!!!!

But for crying out loud, can we just enjoy the epic movie and save the modern political nonsense for lecture hall...

Its absolutely EPIC!!!!

An easy 9/10.

PS. I would love to see a Hannibal of Carthage movie done by this production team!!!!!! Pass it on...

Xtro II: The Second Encounter (1991)

Super low budget Alien clone with some surprisingly cool practical FX

[6/10 · 24 August 2023]

Despite it's low budget and somewhat questionable "Aliens fanboying" this movie has just enough heart, fresh ideas and cool set pieces to entertain you for the evening!!

Fully practical effects are rare thing these days, so looking back these kind of movies is like nostalgic gold dust!! Hahaha Of course it's a B movie... And it never tries to be any but, the lines are cheesy, the acting is a little wooden, but that's kind of part of the charm!!

The monster is pretty cool, Despite some rather heavy handed borrowing from the Alien franchise, Xtro 2 manages to find it's own direction.

Given a higher budget this could have actually been quite epic!! But you gotta love this low budget movie night Sci-fi feel that we all grew up with!

Finally, The scene in the lift shaft contains one of the coolest action movie moments, despite it's budget constraints!!

Definitely my favourite bit in the movie!!

Beyond Skyline (2017)

They listened to the critique, and made a bigger, better sequel

[8/10 · 8 January 2018]

Well the first Skyline movie was kind of a flop.. It had some promising ideas, laying the foundations, but was somewhat meandering and underwhelming in places.. I guess it was just setting the scene.. Testing the waters.. As a lover of 80s B movie monster alien sci-fi stuff I thought it was OK and was looking forward to seeing what happens next... Because the ending was incredibly abrupt, and kinda the best bit of the whole movie...

I think the films crew really listened to the critique from the first movie, they worked really hard on the sequel, and it shows... its got everything!!! Bigger action, better FX, crazier mind bending story.. it needs more and more and more!!! Crazy drama, explosions, more aliens, guns and even some kung fu... Beyond Skyline is everything we hoped it would be!!! It is still a B movie, but come on.. Just enjoy the ride!!!!

Midnight Special (2016)

A slow burning psychological sci-fi drama!!!

[8/10 · 29 January 2017]

First off this film may not be for everyone, It doesn't lay all its cards on the table, explaining everything in clear black and white terminology.. This is not an easy going popcorn blockbuster!!! What it is, is a subtle, subliminal yet emotional, psychological sci-fi drama, revealing just enough for you to piece together your own interpretation of what is happening. Even through to my second viewing I found myself noticing lots of key points that I had missed, raising my appreciation further. There is a deep sense of wonder as you ponder the mysteries of the unknown and once again it's what you don't see or understand that makes this film so fulfilling.. I wouldn't go as far as to call it a masterpiece, but it is definitely a highly original and inspirational movie full of abstract concepts about consciousness and the nature of reality. For all these reason I'm gonna rate it a high... 8/10