If you have never seen a Carry On film then you need to sort this out and if you have to pick one apart from Carry on Screaming I cannot think of a better film than Carry on Up the Khyber. Starring all the stalwarts of the Carry On Series you have Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Angela Douglas and Roy Castle. This film is based in British India during the height of the British Empire and some of the locals want to get rid of the British Soldiers lead by the Fearless Kilted Third Foot and Mouth Division.
The Carry On series was a staple of the British Film scene in the 60’s and 70’s and still holds up today. They were some of the first films that took the mickey out of certain stereotypes and other film genres leading to the common spoof film. This film in particular explores the British Stiff Upper lip and also the fact that the British like their tea and do not like to be disturbed in their daily routine.
The Carry On films themselves are from a time, everything is double entendres and cheeky humour but it is a classic series and this film is one of the better examples. The series itself is very much a taste thing and I know many people that just think they are silly and not very good but overall I think they are easy watching and enjoyable especially if you know the references. For Carry on Up the Khyber I give it 7 out of 10.
I have finished watching and reviewing the franchise and wanted to summarise my thoughts on the overall series and this will contain some series spoilers.
From the highs of the first film when Mrs Vorhees is the killer to the low of Jason taking Manhattan when he sort of waved at Manhattan and decided in a city of probably more than 10 Million people he is just going to try and kill the 2 people he randomly followed all the way from Crystal Lake for no apparent reason. This is an awesome series of films that are there to be enjoyed in the context they were designed for and in the form of a Marathon it is a lot of fun.
The Jason as a killer is awesome he really encapsulates the slasher genre, the biggest issue is that they try to come to some conclusion as to why he is a killer and why he has to go after teens and people when just making him a zombie killer that has to be stopped would probably be enough. I think that as a series of films they are all worth watching some more than others but over all a worthwhile series to invest your time in if you enjoy films especially from this era and genre.
I will give the overall series a 4 star pass mark, the weaknesses in the film being certainly 8 and 9 but think that with Jason x and Freddy vs Jason the series is redeemed, I think that we can honestly say though that the remake does nothing for the series and hopefully if they do produce another sequel they decide to take it along a different route from the Michael Bay story line.
