Strippers vs Werewolves, a horror comedy directed by Jonathan Glendening in 2012.  This film is dire- bad script, acting, direction, editing etc.  A film with 20 producers is not going to succeed.  One of the worst films I have ever experienced.  Nightmare on Elm Street's Robert Englund and Steven Berkoff are guest stars.

It does not end well for Berkoff, he appears after six minutes and thankfully after nine he is dead - was it the strippers or the werewolves?  Do we care?  Not the best three minutes of his acting career.  The producers on the commentary says Berkoff "was the sweetest guy".

Berkoff was among familiar faces: Billy Murray previously acted with Berkoff in Dead Cert, Just for the Record and The Rapture and earlier McVicar; Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet in The Rapture and The Krays; Simon Phillips in The Rapture; Joe Egan in Dead Cert and Just for the Record; Coralie Rose in Dead Cert; Shaun Lucas in Big Fat Gypsy Gangster; Mo Idriss in Dead Cert and Big Fat Gypsy Gangster.

The make-up of the werewolves makes them look like reject hobbits.

One of the strippers kills an over-amorous werewolf using a silver pen, and the werewolves seek revenge.

Sarah Douglas plays Jeanette the owner of the strip club.  On the commentary she describes herself as the mother figure to the strippers, and she organises a fightback against the werewolves.

The film is ignored by mainstream newspaper and magazines, I don’t blame them, but some horror fan websites do review the film.  A couple of American reviewers don't seem able to handle non-American films and accents - surprising as the USA has eight different languages each spoken by more than a million Americans.  Also Harry Potter films and Bond films have been top of the American box office.

"Our movie werewolves talk with British accents that even with a few kill and eat scenes are still quite off-setting to listen to…  I’m not sure if it’s me or that simply British horror-based films sometimes seem a bit confusing…'Strippers vs Werewolves' falls into the line of British humor meets horror genre products than crosses over only slightly... but not enough to win my heart” (Adrian Halen,  HNN Horror News Net, 6 Nov 2019, click here).  Presumably he would be quite disturbed if he ever saw Dogboys or 28 Days Later not to mention the Hammer Werewolf, Dracula and Frankenstein films.

Less extreme but still confused is "Everyone in this production is a Brit, so the performances come across much better than they actually are,  I suspect.  At least to my Americocentric ears, one could read the phone book and as long as it was done in a British accent I’d think you were the next Sir Laurence Olivier” (TGM, Horror DNA, 7 Oct 2012, click here)".

A more sensible American review is "Strippers Vs. Werewolves never forgets what it is: 100-percent B-movie fun. The script is far more clever and funny than most movies of this caliber, but the acting and FX are about what you’d expect.  Characters are fleshed out and unique, which I greatly appreciated, especially the different werewolves and their completely over-the-top personalities. Do they chew the scenery as much as they chew flesh? Sure, but all in good humor... The second act does drag quite a bit, as there’s a lot of talking about strippers versus werewolves, but not a lot of actual versus-ing going on. Director Glendening has a few things to learn about pacing" (Mr. Dark, Dread Central, 12 May 2012, click here).

The Director of Photography was David Meadows and the Editor was Richard Colton.  Best name from the credits, Lloyds de Vere of Onger- he doesn't appear elsewhere on Internet searches.

All images from the film.

RED 2 with Bruce Willis reviving his role as Frank Morris, a RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous) member of the CIA alongside John Malkovich (Marvin Boggs) and British spook Helen Mirren (Victoria Winslow).  Hit man Han Cho Bai played by Byung-hun Lee is hired to kill Morris.

"Cars careen, lazily written infiltration plans are executed, and the violence is plentiful and toothless. You can tell the villain has been revealed when he’s the only one who really cares about murder" (Nicolas Rapold, New York Times, 18 July 2013).

Lee meets Cobb- Steven Berkoff in his best Chinese cliché character, but negotiations do not go well and Cobb is killed, death by origami.  Berkoff is on film for under a minute.

Bruce Willis' Cobb has the occasional action fight and romantic interest but he seems to saunter through the role with no real conviction.

Victoria Winslow does a lot of the killing.  "Like the first one, it's played for laughs in-between bouts of mayhem; most of the gags are off-target, though Mirren's Nancy Mitfordesque assassin gets a pretty good kill ratio" (Andrew Pulver, The Guardian, 1 Aug 2012, click here).

John Malkovich plays Marvin Boggs in his usual sardonic manner.

Directed by Dean Parisot in 2013.  Brian Cox who plays Ivan was in The Flying Scotsman with Berkoff, and extras David Papova was in The Borgias, Lee Asquith-Coe was in Strippers vs Werewolves and Gino Picciano was in Dead Cert.

The Director of Photography was Enrique Chediak and the Editor was Don Zimmerman.

All images from the film.

 

Nicole Cernat plays Katherine in her only acting role.  Otherwise Steven Berkoff is in good company with Peter O'Toole and Edward Fox in a historical drama released in 2014.  Director Michael Redwood also wrote the script.

"Legendary actor Peter O'Toole shrugged off illness to carry on working 10 hours a day on his final film, its director has revealed... He had suffered from a long illness, his agent said at the time of his death. But O'Toole defied his health problems during filming of Fall of an Empire: The Story of Katherine of Alexandria in January 2012. The film's director, Michael Redwood, said 'Peter was certainly not the type to let illness decide over his career, and despite his being poorly at the time of filming, he remained full-on 10 hours a day, showing great interest in the storylines, angles of shots and the lighting'" (6 Apr 2015, ITVX, click here).

Steven Berkoff plays Liberius but does not have much to do in this unimaginative historical drama.

"a Roman epic on a British budget... Michael Redwood’s attempt to revive the might of Rome – with help from Peter O’Toole – lacks drama, spectacle and a heroine who fails to convince... it’s almost eerily lacking in drama or spectacle: gathered old boys (Steven Berkoff, Joss Ackland, Peter O’Toole) and Sam Beckinsale from London’s Burning merely enter and exit, declaiming from a none-too-rigorous script while keeping one eye on the production accountant" (Mike McCahill, The Guardian, 2 Apr 2015, click here).

Cinematography was by Ralph Messer and Peter Taylor, and the Editors were Helen Ellene Michael and Phil Sanderson.

The film becamw the subject of an investigation by the Financial Conduct Authority "We looked into whether Katherine of Alexandra Ltd established and operated an investment scheme without FCA authorisation... In return for funds paid to Katherine of Alexandria Ltd to fund the film’s post-production, marketing, promotion and to secure distribution, investors would receive a proportionate percentage of royalties from the film on its showings after release... We believe the investments offered by Katherine of Alexandria Ltd in the film are likely to constitute a collective investment scheme (CIS)... Anyone who wishes to establish or to operate a CIS must be authorised by the FCA to do so. Katherine of Alexandria Ltd is not authorised by the FCA so was in breach of the provisions of section 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA)... Although we believe that Katherine of Alexandria Ltd established and operated a CIS without FCA authorisation, we do not believe it would be in the investors’ best interests for us to pursue legal or enforcement action at the current time to close down either the company or the film investment scheme" (Financial Conduct Authority, 25 Feb 2016 updated 26 Feb 2016, click here).

All images from the film.

Sasha Bennett directs We Still Kill the Old Way, a film about old time gangsters against young gangs, released in 2014.  Ian Ogilvy stars and Steven Berkoff gets a special credit.

...then shortly after he confronts a gang who are attacking a woman.  He knocks one down with his knuckleduster but his age and the number of gang members mean he is overpowered and kicked to death.  His brother Ritchie Archer a retired East-End gangster, played by Ian Ogilvy, decides to reform his old gang to get revenge.

The gang terrorise the neighbourhood.

But Ritchie and his old gang pick off the gang members.

Not a bad film to see once, and it had a follow-on film with the weaker title We Still Steal The Old Way, but obviously without Berkoff.

Director Sacha Bennett is also credited as Music Supervisor and has a cameo in the film.  Cinematography is by Ismael Issa and editing by Guy Ducker.  Craig Miller is Berkoff's stunt double.

All images from the film.

North v South- Long Time Coming.  Steven Nesbit directs this 2015 gang film which went straight  to DVD. Steven Berkoff plays his usual gang leader role about North and South gangs meeting and fighting, but a couple of young lovers get mixed up in the struggle for power.

The two gangs meet to discuss how to work with each other to form "the biggest criminal conspiracy the UK has every seen".  Berkoff is Vic Clarke, one of the gang leaders.

A clown travelling home with his daughter stumbles into the meeting venue and becomes a victim of the gangs.

The girl hides under the table- in the meeting to discuss co-operation guns are still pointed.

Berkoff controls his gang but his daughter falls in love- with someone from the other gang.

The star crossed lovers in this film which has some similarities with Romeo and Juliet.

Things do not go well for Berkoff.

The Director of Photography was Kyle Heslop and the Editor was Kim Gaster.

Steven Berkoff during filming.

All images from the film and the DVD extras.

  Remembering Nigel

A comedy from 2015 directed by Frank Howson.  It attempted to get crowd funding but failed to reach the target.

7 Cases directed by Sean J. Vincent in 2015, his only film.  He says "Last week we shot the final scenes (bar a couple of composite elements) of 'Seven Cases'. We were lucky enough to have been able to get the great Steven Berkoff to play the lead antagonist role of 'Lawson'. As you might expect, Steven brought a level of performance to the scenes that has elevated the film to new heights. His intensity and talent in playing complex characters was a pleasure to watch and directing him was a real privilege" (Sean Vincent, 19 Nov 2013, seanvincent site click here).

Floyd (Dave Vincent Philips) and Mitchell (Paul Cooper) are down-at-luck robbers who plan one last job to set them up for life- yes that old cliché.  They succeed in escaping from a robbery with seven cases of money (the 7 cases of the title).  But when they wake up the next day the money has gone missing.

The money has been taken by Lawson (Steven Berkoff) who has attached each case to a victim.  When they find the victim they realize if they take the case the victim dies.  He watches progress on his CCTV monitors.

The victims include model and singer Samantha Fox (first photo) and Samantha Sprackling from the band Republica (second photo).

The film consists of a lot of dreary shots of the two robbers in a car, but occasionally (rarely) there is some good photography by Sean J. Vincent who also co-produced, script writer, editor, sound editor and handled special effects- never  a good idea to have so many roles in one person.

The film copies the Saw films with the challenges to find the victims and the intricate weapons of death but is a poor substitute (though I dislike the Saw films).  The dialogue is stilted and the voice-over pretentious "money isn't the key to happiness, but when you've got nothing..." and "we haven't got a hope, and hope is all we need".

Best name from the credits- actress Samantha Sprackling - "a British singer, songwriter, and actress. She is the lead singer of the electronica band Republica" (Manila, 13 Mar 2921, Ethnicity of Celeb website click here.)

I assume Berkoff competed his role in the film within a day, which seems to be typical in his "star name for hire" roles.

All images from the film.

 

Rise of the Footsoldier  Part II.  Directed by Ricki Harnett in 2015.  It was the first film he directed, and he is also the writer and  lead actor.

A sequel, this continues the attempts of a group of hoodlums to set themselves up in crime.  The film is made up of set pieces- the fights with other gangs, the nightclub with drugs, the sex scenes, all interspersed with a collapsing family life.

The gang off to a job.

The wife (Coralie Rose) has had enough.

He has to consider whether he wants to continue as a hoodlum, or become a family man - "retirement is a fantasy".

Steven Berkoff as Dr. Flint in a minuscule 90 second role as Dr. Flint in a scene that barely makes sense.

There are some good shots in this otherwise poor forgettable film.  Cinematography was by Alfie Biddle and editing by Gabriel Foster Prior and
Paulo Pandolphoe.

Like Berkoff Coralie Rose also appears in Dead Cert and Strippers vs. Werewolves.

As with similar films the number of producers is an indication of how bad the film is.  There are 1 associate executive producer, 3 associate producers, 3 associate executive producers, 1 executive producer, 1 producer, 2 executive producers and 4 associate executive producers.

"Entirely unnecessary sequel on the further fortunes of a football hooligan turned gangland bruiser trying to rise in a grotty underworld of thugs’n’drugs... The plot follows football hooligan turned gangland bruiser Carlton Leach, played again by Ricci Harnett who also writes and directs, as he tries to regain a foothold in a grotty underworld of thugs and drugs... it’s a largely forgettable slog littered with tired clichés and ropey performances, seemingly aimed at an audience made up of drunken stag parties" (Benjamin Lee, The Guardian, 10 Dec 2015).

"With the men front and centre, women are very much resigned to gangland stereotypes: ‘Irish girl who knows when to keep her mouth shut’ and ‘disgruntled wife’ being the two most complex. “Gypsies” also get a rough deal, painted as en vogue pests with incredibly broad strokes" (Emma Thrower, Empire, 11 Dec 2015, click for empireonline site here).

"Lead actor Harnett also writes and directs this time around. Unwisely, he over-compensates for a thin story with sweary geezer mayhem, gentlemen’s clubs and white powder consumption. He makes a scrappy job of the exploitation highlights, while lacking the craft or insight to do much with the domestic scenes either. Very poor indeed" (Trevor Johnston, Time Out, 7 Dec 2015 click here).

All images from the film.

Manhattan Night directed by Brian De Cubellis in 2016.  Based on the novel Manhattan Nocturne by Colin Harrison.

Porter Wren, played by Adrien Brody, is a journalist now unhappy with his work and life "I’m always running to the place where the bad thing just happened".

He meets Caroline Crowley (Yvonne Strahovski) and gets involved in trying to find out who murdered her husband.  The film tries to be a Maltese Falcon or a Chinatown with a deepening mystery and no-one being as they seem, but while film noir uses the maze of plot to develop the intrigue, here the plot twists seem forced and often seem unrelated to the murder.