Odysseus: Voyage to the Underworld

 This is a 2008 fantasy film loosely based on a legend in Greek mythology. It was directed by Terry Ingram, written by Brook Durham and Kevin Leeson. It stars Arnold Vosloo, Steve Bacic and JR Bourne.

Odysseus the hero has sailed for many years, and ended up on a strange island where winged vampire creatures live. There is also a beautiful goddess who tells them she's there to help them, only nothing could be further than the truth. The island is filled with hidden horrors and flying monsters, while the hero and his men are prone to being stranded.

Certain scenes come across as animated, with low special effects and gruesome make-up. There are elements that are different to the Greek epic, and a lot of changes to the original story. The title was originally called "Odysseus & the Isle of Mists". It was filmed in Abbotsford, Canada. The film's production companies are Insight Film Studios and Plinyminor. 

I rate this a 3/10 for being too dim and gloomy. MINI SPOILER: Homer is in it!  

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The Wizard of Mars

 This is a low budget sci-fi from 1965. It was directed by David L. Hewitt and written by David L. Hewitt, L. Frank Baum and Amando Busick. The stars includes John Carradine, Roger Gentry and Vic McGee. 

This is set in 1975 with a space craft from Earth carrying four astronauts, who crash on the surface of Mars. There's very little supplies, although they encounter a number of challenges while searching for the source of a signal that they believe is another ship. They travel gorgeous Martian landscapes until they find what they were looking for. Some are not very nice surprises.

The characters include astronauts Dorothy, Steve, Doc and Charlie. There is even a "gold road" that leads to a castle! All is loosely based on the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Another title of this film is "Alien Massacre". This was filmed in Nevada, USA. 

My rating for this often quiet film is 3/10. 

Mini spoiler is: Nice big clock in the castle.

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Psychic Killer

This horror thriller "Psychic Killer" is a 1975 film. It was directed and written by Ray Danton and stars Paul Burke, Jim Hutton and Julie Adams. Writers alongside Danton are Greydon Clark and Mikel Angel. 

A psychiatric patient grieves the loss of his elderly mother who was left vulnerable after he was sent away. He loses his best friend to suicide and he locates a magical pendant from his friend's box. After being discharged from hospital, he returns home, which is full of bad memories. He experiences visions of various people abusing his elderly mother before she died.

This film was also called "The Death Dealer." It borders on horror and thriller but uses a lot of scientific info. Kirlian photography was the main focus on the story to explain how the main lead was able to astral project. However, what the character was actually doing was not something that happens during an astral projection as his body died and reanimated again. This implies that the character was really undead and a ghost while astral travelling. In the box of the magical pendant was a photo of his dead friend's daughter, but is really of the singer Natalie Cole. 

My rating is 5/10 as it's a simple well made TV film I regard as drama horror. I believe there were many cut scenes of nudity and gore. Some shocking and gruesome death scenes. 

Mini spoiler: the cat is the highlight of the show. 

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Fourth Wing (book review)

Just finished reading an intense high fantasy book. It's called "Fourth Wing" and the author is Rebecca Yarros. This is the first book of a series, and it's been given a lot of mixed reviews, some very glowing and others hating it. It's a story in the Empyrean series that begins with "Fourth Wing". I must be honest with my review and will mention a few SPOILERS so if you haven't read this book then you can choose to just stop reading my review and look away!

The main character is a young woman named Violet Sorrengail. She's got unusual hair colourings, which sets her apart from everyone else. She's been forced to attend the brutal Besgiath War College by her ruthless mother, despite her wanting to excel as a scribe, which is what her late father wanted her to do. 

The military style training is cruel and dangerous, which has many fatalities. She manages to pass them and is then faced with the scary "threshing" test of meeting dragons, who would kill cadets they sense are too afraid and weak. As Violet is frail and physically fragile, she doesn't think she'll survive that but her cleverness and kind nature is her strength.  

Dragons in this book are similar to those in other popular fantasy stories but with big differences. It gives a unique perspective on the humans as well as dragons and quickens the storylines. It's not only the dragons that are awesome as certain human characters are impressive too! The story is full of mystery, action, magic and romance. It's worth reading and definitely my cup of tea!

I rate this novel a 10/10.

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