Amityville II: The Possession (1982)

The Amityville train crashes into ‘we have no idea what to do this time’ station on its second outing. It’s a prequel to the first film; you can tell because of the fashions. With nothing new to offer it tries too hard to be scary and edgy, but everything feels forced, from the rocking furniture to the domestic violence, incestuous relationship, demonic possession, ancient burial ground, etc. Some inventive camerawork and another fun score from Lalo Schifrin are the highlights.
Writers Tip #1: If you make a prequel or a sequel it’s preferable that you actually watch the original film because continuity is a real thing.

1½ “Nooooooooooo” screams out of 5

The Andromeda Strain (1971)

TAS is one of the best man Vs germ films that I've ever seen. It's directed by Robert Wise from the novel of the same name (1969) by Michael Crichton. Wise uses a variety of techniques to make the lengthy running time seem less laborious. The deep focus, split screen effects, colour and occasional use of mechanical noises as part of the soundtrack are used sparingly and thus make a huge impact when they do appear. It's heavy with tension as it is, but is shot in such a way that a clever re-edit could turn it into a terrifying real life documentary.

3½ giant leaps out of 5