Pairic

SCP: Overlord: The Secure Contain Protect Foundation has a worldwide mandate to investigate anomalous events and entities. It sends a Mobile Taskforce in to investigate the farmhouse HQ of an esoteric cult. Even from a distance levitating figures can be seen above the house. Inside there is a reality dysfunction as the soldiers come under attack from invisible enemies. Great effects and action are delivered considering the budget was less than $25k. These are Fortean troopers at war with Lovecraftian acolytes and entities. Just 35 minutes long but it packs a punch. Looking forward to viewing more short films in this series. Director Stephen Hancock. Writer Evan Muir. 8/10.

The Long Walk: An American dystopian horror/survival thriller film. This may not be our future or even our present, it might even be set in an alternate history past, The Civil War which divided America took place 19 years ago but all of the cars we see seem to be of a 1970s-80s vintage. The same is true of military vehicles. In its wake the war left economic chaos. Every year, thousands of teenage boys apply to participate in the Long Walk, an event in which 50 randomly chosen boys are given water and rations and must walk without stopping along a preset route while soldiers escort them. Any walker who falls below 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h) is given a verbal warning, but can nullify it by maintaining speed for an hour. If a walker receives three warnings and falls below speed again, he is immediately executed by the soldiers. The Walk ends when there is only one survivor left, who receives a cash prize and can have one wish fulfilled. There is surprising camaraderie among some of the boys, four of them even forming a c;ose bond. Others are more cynical and taunt other walkers. The executions are quite savage and graphic, we see brains being blown out. The Major berates, encourages and provokes the boys along the route, he seems more like a symbol of the Authoritarian Regime. As the days pass, the number of walkers dwindle due to executions and some leaving the road to be gunned down immediately. Almost as distressing as the killings is the physical and mental toll which the march takes on the participants. Horror, satire and at times a dark line of humour coalesce to provide a commentary on current events and a film which excels on its own terms as an SF/survival thriller with a few interesting plot twists. Directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by JT Mollner. It is based on the 1979 novel of the same name by Stephen King. 8/10,

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues: Maybe not enough laugh out loud moments but the constant stream of satire kept an enduring grin on my face. $0 years on all the old classics are there with their wonderful/appalling lyrics. Nigel the lead guitarist now runs a cheese and guitar shop, you can swop cheese for a guitar or vice versa. Lead singer David's wife left him after an epiphany which may have been a misunderstanding. David hasn't spoken to Nigel for 15 years, it takes us a while to find out why. David who composes music for true-crime podcasts and on-hold phone music. Derek the bass player is the curator of a glue museum, he also released a song, Hell Toupee. He feels he is the glue that held the band together. They get together for one final gig in New Orleans but are disturbed by ghost tours in their haunted house. So many of their drummers have died getting a new one proves difficult. There are numerous cameos in the film with Paul McCartney and Elton John in supporting roles. Best not to give too much away. An entertaining comedy/satire. Directed by Rob Reiner, Written by Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer. 7.5/10.