Horror Movie Night Orgy

Horror Movie Review: The Wolfman

2012-01-16T11:58:00.000-05:00

The Wolfman

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Benicio Del Toro, Hugo Weaving, Emily Blunt, and Max von Sydow

Directed by: Joe Johnston

Written by: Andrew Kevin Walker, David Self, and Curt Siodmak

Awards: Best Make-Up 2011 Saturn Awards, Best Achievement in Make-Up 2011 Academy Awards

Release Date: January 27, 2010

Production Companies: Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, and Stuber Productions

Horror became a big time movie presence when Universal Pictures started their monster movies of the 30s and 40s. The Wolfman was a latecomer to the monsters with Dracula and Frankenstein coming out nearly a decade earlier. The difference being that Frankenstein and Dracula have source material in literature and the Wolfman just has folktales. So when they talk about a remake of The Wolfman, they really could go just about anywhere with it.

But Walker and Self did a real good job of maintaining the gothic feel of the original Universal horrors. The plot bares a strong resemblance to the original, as well. Lawrence Talbot returns home, the prodigal son, after hearing of his brother Ben's death by a supposed wolf man. Lawrence doesn't believe the locals, and neither does Inspector Abberline of Scotland Yard (played wonderfully by Hugo Weaving). While investigating his brother's death, Lawrence is also attacked by a Wolfman, but unlike his brother, he escapes, although with a serious bite. Soon Lawrence is being blamed for the other wolf man's murders while he tries to protect Gwen, his brother's fiancee and his new love.

Anthony Hopkins, as is typical, is brilliant as Lawrence's estranged father Sir John Talbot. I'm not a fan of Benicio Del Toro, but he did a fair job as Lawrence. Emily Blunt, however, was not noteworthy as Gwen.

If you like gothic monster films, then you can't pass this up.

Related Trailers

The Wolf Man - In the original 1941 film, After teasing his friends for believing in werewolves, Larry (Lon Chaney Jr.) is promptly bitten by a rabid wolf and faints. Horror superstars share the screen when Larry wakes to find a gypsy (Bela Lugosi) who moonlights as a werewolf. Cursed by the werewolf's bite, Larry suffers torturous full-moon transformations and tries to escape the townsfolk who hunt him. Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers and Ralph Bellamy also grace this classic B movie.

The Rite - Anthony Hopkins also stars in The Rite. Despite his conviction that demonic possession is just so much supersitious mumbo jumbo, Catholic priest-in-training Michael Kovak (Colin O'Donoghue) journeys to Rome to attend a special exorcism school being taught at the Vatican. Before long, true-believer Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins) introduces the young cleric to the devil's power firsthand. Director Mikael Håfström helms this graphic supernatural thriller inspired by a true story.

Needful Things - Max von Sydow also stars in Needful Things, a terrifying thriller based on Stephen King's best-selling novel, also starring Ed Harris, Bonnie Bedelia, J.T. Walsh and Amanda Plummer. A mysterious new antique store opens in the town of Castle Rock, Maine. And for the curiosities he offers, the owner is always willing to make a devil of a deal.

Sleepy Hollow - Kevin Andrew Walker also assisted with the script for Sleepy Hollow. New York detective Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of mysterious deaths in which the victims are found beheaded. But the locals believe the culprit to be none other than the ghost of the legendary Headless Horseman. Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson and Michael Gambon co-star in Tim Burton's big-screen adaptation of Washington Irving's timeless tale of murder and intrigue.

The Haunting - David Self also wrote the screenplay for The Haunting. In director Jan de Bont's remake of the original spine-tingling haunted house adventure, Dr. David Marrow (Liam Neeson) invites Nell Vance (Lili Taylor) and Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Luke Sanderson (Owen Wilson) to the eerie and isolated Hill House to be subjects for a sleep disorder study. The unfortunate guests discover that Marrow is far more interested in the sinister mansion itself -- and, soon, they see the true nature of its horror.

Creature with the Atom Brain - Curt Siodmak, who wrote the original Wolf Man screenplay, also wrote Creature with the Atom Brain, one of his last horror films. A mobster hires an evil ex-Nazi scientist to bring his dead henchmen back to life.

Horror Movie Review: The Human Centipede

2011-10-02T19:01:00.000-04:00

The Human Centipede

Starring: Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, and Akihiro Kitamura

Directed by: Tom Six

Written by: Tom Six

Production Company: Six Entertainment

Release Date: August 30, 2009

Awards: Best Horror Jury Prize at the 2009 Austin Fantastic Fest, Best Picture Festival Trophy at the 2009 Screamfest, and Dieter Laser won Best Actor Jury Prize at the 2009 Austin Fantastic Fest

Two girls on a trip through Europe get lost on the way to a secluded club and wind up in the hands of the deranged Dr. Heiter. Dr. Heiter, an esteemed surgeon known for his work on separating Siamese twins, has developed the twisted dream of not separating life, but joining it, creating a Siamese triplet, a human centipede.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to rent The Human Centipede. I like horror movies that endeavor to scare us, not gross us out like so much of the torture porn that has started since the debut of Saw. (Although, lumping Saw in with some of the later torture porn like Hostel is a disservice to Saw.) But I decided the concept was interesting enough for there to be a redeeming element. I was wrong.

After being joined together by the gastric system, one girl's mouth connected to the anus of the guy in front, the girl in back being connected similarly, Dr. Heiter one night complains to his creation that he should have removed their vocals cords because the incessant sobbing of the girls in particular prevented him from sleeping. After the surgery, that's what the film became. Heiter training his human centipede to walk, and the three victims sobbing. Heiter feeding the head of his centipede, the girls sobbing. Heiter getting excited when the head could no longer keep himself from shitting into the middle's mouth, and everyone sobbing.

And we horror lovers have to accept that the victims do, to some degree, stupid things, but both escape attempts were ripe with idiocies beyond what I would call acceptable amounts of idiocy. Returning to save your friend ensures that not only will you not save your friend, but you won't save yourself either. The other moronic move in the second escape I'll just leave for anyone who wants to check this crapper out, pun intended. But then the girls were idiotic beyond the pale to begin with. They get a flat tire and start walking down the road to find help. Net thing we know they are stumbling through the woods...Why did they leave the road?

Dieter Laser does a great job as the demented Dr. Heiter, so we can thank Laser for one redeeming element, but the very limited scope of the script, the apparent lack of social commentary, the pointlessness of everything associated with the film, wastes Laser's entertainment value.

Related Trailers

The Human Centipede II - Tom Six and Ashlynn Yennie return in The Human Centipede II. Inspired by the fictional Dr. Heiter, disturbed loner Martin dreams of creating a 12-person centipede and sets out to realize his sick fantasy.

Horror Movie Review: The Graves

2011-09-05T11:22:00.000-04:00

The Graves

Starring: Clare Grant, Jillian Murray, Bill Moseley, and Tony Todd

Directed by: Brian Pulido

Written by: Brian Pulido

Production Companies: Mischief Maker Studios and Ronalds Brothers Films

Release Date: October 31, 2009

The Graves sisters are off for one last hurrah together before older sister Megan leave for work in the big city leaving younger sister Abby on her own. But when they find themselves in Skull City and decide to visit the haunted mine, it might be their last hurrah ever.

It's a classic and proven set-up which only needs good follow through and interesting antagonists to get a movie reasonably entertaining enough to pass the time, but whether or not The Graves is reasonably entertaining can be debated.

The downside of The Graves, unfortunately, is what most people comment on. The plot's got some pretty big holes in it. The mine is busy enough that The Graves sisters are at least the third visiting group of victims that day, but when the sisters and the survivor from another group make it back out to the road, it's not help they find. In fact, that many people going missing...unless this is the first day of their vacationer slaughters, officials would be poking around, if not entirely suspicious.

The Graves sisters handle being the target of the insane killers better than is to be expected. Abby (played by Jillian Murray) at least approaches authentic fear, but Megan (played by Clare Grant) never seems affected by people trying to kill her. Reading comic books your whole life does not prepare you for being a potential murder victim.

But there is some fun here, and you could come up with a fun drinking game with this movie. Every time Clare Grant tries to get her hair out of her face, take a shot. Be careful, though...one scene you'll be taking three fast shots at least. And Clare Grant, despite not being scared, is one of the fun aspects of the film. She is very attractive and we all want her in a role where she's wearing leather the entire time.

Tony Todd is also here as a crazed priest for Skull City's crazy cult. I've seen criticisms of Todd's performance here, but if you've seen video of small town religious Shakers and Snake Handlers and the like, the preaching and shaking of Tony Todd in the role really works. Every time Tony shakes when preaching the word, take a shot.

Bill Moseley is entertaining as Caleb "Cookie" Atwood, though there's little explanation for his wearing of the pig nose. Every time Bill snorts like a pig, take a shot.

Don't watch it expecting too much. I haven't even hit all the holes in the plot, but it's not a total stinker. Just go in with bottle and shot glass well in hand.

Related Trailers

Forget Me Not - Jillian Murray also appears in Forget Me Not. A party-filled graduation weekend turns into a nightmare for popular class president Sandy Channing (Carly Schroeder) when her friends begin to vanish one by one. Soon Sandy discovers they have awakened the vengeful spirit of a girl they mistreated years ago. Now she must work to resolve the dark mysteries of her past before she and all her friends become unwilling victims in this bloody horror flick.

Army of Darkness - Bill Moseley appeared as a Deadite Captain in Army of Darkness. Bound in human flesh and inked in blood, the ancient Necronomicon, or "Book of the Dead," transports department store clerk Ash (Bruce Campbell) and his 1973 Oldsmobile into England's Dark Ages. There, he faces legions of undead beasts in a battle for his life.

Night of the Living Dead - Tony Todd also appeared in the 1990 remake Night of the Living Dead. Makeup maestro Tom Savini's shot-for-shot revamp of George A. Romero's watershed black-and-white original brings to lurid color the mortality tale of a band of small-town folks corralled in a farmhouse surrounded by an army of walking dead. Survival is the common goal, but with method and mores in dispute, pistol-packing refugee Barbara (Patricia Tallman) develops her own notions about how to make it through the night.

Horror Movie Review: The Black Cat

2011-08-09T11:10:00.000-04:00

The Black Cat

Starring: Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, David Manners, and Julie Bishop

Directed by: Edgar G. Ulmer

Written by: Edgar G. Ulmer, Peter Ruric, and Tom Kilpatrick

Production Company: Universal Pictures

Release Date: May 3, 1934

Horror movies have changed a lot in the almost 80 years since Universal Pictures released The Black Cat. It's almost difficult to see the horror in the old Karloff and Lugosi films. Horror was more cerebral. The viewer had to consider what was going on, often off screen, and be relieved that the camera man cut away. Compared to a Rob Zombie horror film, they are Gothic dramas. But they are great fun to watch.

The Black Cat, billed as an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's tale, has nothing to do with its source material other than a black cat. Newlyweds Peter and Joan Alison (David Manners and Julie Bishop) are honeymooning in Hungary and encounter Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Lugosi) on a trip to visit an old friend. When the bus carrying both the Alisons and Werdegast has an accident, they trek to a nearby mansion to care for the injured Joan. The mansion turns out to be the home of Hjalmer Poelzig (Karloff), Werdegast's old friend.

It's not long before creepy things begin to occur, originally disregarded as unusual but harmless locals, and the Alisons soon find the benevolent doctor and host may not be as harmless as originally thought. Poelzig betrayed Werdegast telling his wife and daughter that Werdegast had died and married them. No, that's not poor grammar...Poelzig married Werdegast's wife. Then when she died, he married Werdegast's daughter.

So where's the titular cat? Werdegast has Ailurophobia, an extreme fear of cats. Poelzig uses this fear against Werdegast by setting a black cat loose. An interesting, but ignored, plot device in the film includes Werdegast killing the cat only for it to return. Did the cat return from the dead, or did Poelzig have a stock of black cats to use in the event that Werdegast returned?

Writers Ulmer and Ruric weren't afraid to mine some dark topics for this first pairing of monster movie greats Lugosi and Karloff. Poelzig shows a bit of necrophilia in the preservation of his many dead ex-wives. A character gets his skinned flayed and Ulmer even lets us watch...the shadows of the attack...but that's heavy stuff for 1934. All that's missing is a satanic mass...oh...wait, nope, we have that too.

These days people tend to criticize Lugosi's acting, which I don't understand...but here, in a more heroic role, he does an impressive job. I would say he outshines Karloff in this first pairing.

The Black Cat has a number of elements similar to modern horror, making it ahead of its time...the only difference is that nowadays when we are shown everything, in 1934 we were only given glimpses and shadows. Neither way is better than the other, but it is a difference many modern viewers are unable to cope with. But if you can, check out The Black Cat.

Related Trailers

The Bride of Frankenstein - Boris Karloff followed his role as Poelzig with a return to the famous monster make-up in The Bride of Frankenstein. After vowing to step away from his dark experiments, Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) is blackmailed into creating another fiend (Elsa Lanchester) -- this time, in female form -- who will serve as a ghoulish bride for his infamous monster (Boris Karloff). Ernest Thesiger co-stars as Frankenstein's deranged mentor, Dr. Septimus Pretorius, who forces the doctor's hand by kidnapping his wife (Valerie Hobson).

The Return of Chandu - Bela Lugosi followed his role as Werdegast as Chandu in The Return of Chandu. Bela Lugosi plays Frank Chandler, a mysterious man who moonlights as the mystic Chandu, in this 1934 film that's part of a series showcasing the supernatural powers of the good-hearted magician. This time around, Chandu's betrothed, the Egyptian princess Nadji (Maria Alba), is kidnapped by a priestess who believes Nadji holds the key to the resurrection of a cult goddess. Can Chandu get to Nadji in time? Or is he, for once, too late?

The Mummy David Manners had previously workd with Boris Karloff in The Mummy. When British archaeologists uncover the ancient sarcophagus of a mummified Egyptian priest (Boris Karloff), they foolishly ignore its warning not to open the box, and the mummy is brought back to life. Taking the form of a modern Egyptian, he quickly begins his quest to resurrect the soul of his love, which he believes has been reincarnated in a modern woman (Zita Johann).

The Man From Planet X - Edgar Ulmer also directed The Man From Planet X. Planet X is on a collision course with Earth, and Prof. Elliott (Raymond Bond) is monitoring the action from his Scotland observatory. But when a spacecraft from the planet finally lands, the visitor inside falls into the clutches of Mears (William Schallert), an evil scientist. As the alien moves on to terrorize innocent Earthlings and turn them into zombies, reporter John (Robert Clarke) tries to get the real scoop.

Dr. CyclopsDr. Cyclops. After developing a method to shrink people to one-fifth their normal size, mad scientist Dr. Thorkel (Albert Dekker) invites a panel of experts to his jungle lab, where he proceeds to miniaturize his guests. Now, the pint-size group must battle their way to freedom. Thomas Coley, Janice Logan, Charles Halton and Victor Kilian play the hapless quartet of tiny heroes in this sci-fi horror classic.

Horror Movie Review: Husk

2011-07-28T11:37:00.000-04:00

Husk

Starring: Devon Graye, Wes Chatham, C. J. Thomason, and Tammin Sursok

Directed by: Brett Simmons

Written by: Brett Simmons

Production Company: After Dark Films

Release Date: January 28, 2011

Five friends are off to...somewhere...when crows start slamming into the windshield sending the car careening into a ditch and wooden pole. One of the five quickly goes missing and as the other four come to, two wander through a cornfield toward an old farmhouse figuring their friend went there. Soon, fast moving scarecrows are slashing up the twenty-something year old friends.

The atmosphere of Husk is pretty effective creating a strong sense of isolation, though that could easily be dispelled if our victims stopped and thought about what they were doing.

That's the one disappointing part of the film. Our victims don't seem to think through what they are doing and some of their decisions don't make much sense. I thought there would be a reason for the refusal of two of our victims to leave via the car for which they found keys. Brian said he didn't want to leave his girlfriend Natalie, which is fine. He and other lead Chris clearly don't think the best of each other so when Chris reports he saw her dead and has become one of the scarecrows, Brian refusing to believe him kind of makes sense. But why wouldn't the more bookish Scott leave with Chris? And no attempt was made to explain why Scott is seeing flashes of the past.

But even these don't detract from the mood, the creepy scarecrows, or the cool concept of what is going on. The scarecrows hammering nails into their fingers as claws helps show that there is no salvation for these converted victims. And our victims, clearly being city folk, out of their element in a cornfield, confident to the point of arrogance that all they have to do is find the house and all will be ok, criticizes most of our self-indulgent, flippancy toward our lives. Sometimes the best answer is to just run full speed straight ahead, but how often do we over think it and we veer off into missing opportunities and sometimes even ruin, leaving us as nothing but...Husks.

Related Trailers

Scar - Devon Graye also stars in Scar. Joan Burrows (Angela Bettis) narrowly escapes death by murdering the sick serial killer who held her prisoner in his underground chamber of horrors. Sixteen years later, Joan returns to her hometown to visit her niece (Kirby Bliss Blanton), only to discover that a new batch of teenage victims has surfaced. The crimes carry the killer's signature, but with the man presumed dead, the police begin to wonder whether Joan herself might be involved.

Sutures - C. J. Thomason also appears in Sutures. Jason London stars as a harried detective on the hunt for a madman in this gory horror thriller about a demonic surgeon (Carlos Lauchu) run amok with his scalpel in hand, all in a play to score profits on black-market body parts. But there's a plot twist perhaps no one suspects: At one time, the pitiless predator was someone else's prey. Allison Lange, Kate French, Andrew Prine and B.J. Britt co-star.

Albino Farm - Tammin Sursok also starred in Albino Farm. Decades of religious fanaticism in an Ozark Mountain town have produced an in-bred community of albino misfits who have become the stuff of legend in surrounding areas. Now, four college pals are trapped there when their research trip goes awry. Stuck in a land of pigment-impaired predators, the group struggles for survival in this horror fest.

Horror Movie Review: Chain Letter

2011-07-19T15:50:00.000-04:00

Chain Letter

Starring: Nikki Reed, Michael J. Pagan, Brad Dourif, Keith David, and Charles Fleischer

Directed by: Deon Taylor

Written by: Michael J. Pagan, Deon Taylor, and Diana Erwin

Release Date: November 9, 2009

Production Companies: Deon Taylor Enterprises and Tiger Tail Entertainment

A teen gets spam saying that he needed to forward it to five friends. If he didn't forward it, he would die. In that group of five, many of them delete the chain mail. Then, many of them die.

Chain Letter has a lot of potential. The concept, taking a modern day inconvenience, one which many people still give a sort of superstitious respect, and it leading to bloody carnage and misery is one which could have entertained. Unfortunately, the execution failed.

One problem was the kills weren't very creative. The initial kill, a girl chained to her parents' two cars being pulled apart as they pull away, suggests some creativity to come. Unfortunately, after that it was all pretty dull. One girl was even killed by simply being beaten with a chain. In real life, yes, being beaten by a heavy metal chain would be painful and gruesome. But for a slasher flick, it's pretty dull.

Another problem is that our killer, the Chain Man, doesn't follow his own rules. Forward the email, you should be fine. But some who forwarded it got killed, too. Then there's the kid who got the initial email and started the massacre. Chain Man starts sending him multiple chain letters until the teen is yelling at the computer about how he doesn't know any more people. Now, anyone relatively comfortable with the internet knows it's easy to find email addresses on the internet, and this is a gamer geek, but laying that bit of nonsense aside...sending the kid a deluge of emails until he gives up and hits delete so you can kill him...that's like Jigsaw shooting someone who escapes one of his traps alive, or Candyman appearing and killing someone after he says Candyman's name into a mirror twice...not three times.

Throw in teenage victims who are all the same, who are not distinctive from each other, so it's hard to keep track of who has deleted the email and who hasn't. Who's already been killed, who hasn't. And a police detective who goes investigating at night by himself. And an anti-technology group who may or may not be connected with the Chain Man, but it's never really explained. And the police detective, mentioned above, who has memory flashes of scenes he wasn't there for.

But...there's Brad Dourif...and Charles Fleischer...and Keith David. While Keith David's role as the detective was poorly written, he did a very good job with it. Fleischer's role was all too brief, but he played it to the hilt, and Brad Dourif was, as always, awesome.

Too many plot holes, too many dangling plot strings, and a bunch of mediocre victims killed in mediocre ways take what could have been an interesting idea with some great veteran actors and relegates it to...the trash. Just hit delete.

Related Trailers

Nite Tales - Michael J. Pagan also appears in Nite Tales. Deon Taylor delivers twice the chills in this fright-filled double feature hosted by Public Enemy rapper and reality star Flavor Flav. In Storm, a spate of murders accompany a sudden downpour, and in Karma, a group of bank robbers pulls off a heist -- only to find themselves pursued by a killer cannibal.

The Exorcist III - Brad Dourif also appeared in The Exorcist III. William Peter Blatty, who wrote the original novel The Exorcist and the Oscar-winning screenplay, writes and directs Part 3, which is based on his novel Legion. When a supernatural serial killer strikes again, police detective Bill Kinderman (George C. Scott, taking over Lee J. Cobb's role from the first film) investigates. The original's Father Damien, Jason Miller, returns in a guest role.

The Thing - Keith David also appeared in The Thing. Scientists working in Antarctica are forced to abandon their research after a helicopter crashes near their camp, bringing a lone dog into their midst. But the plot thickens when the otherworldly canine changes form in the middle of the night. As it turns out, the dog is a shape-shifting alien that can attack animals -- and unsuspecting humans.

Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight - Charles Fleischer also appeared in Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight. A wanderer who goes by the name of Brayker (William Sadler) holds the last of seven keys that hold the power to eliminate evil and protect the world from darkness in this rousing horror flick. The evil Collector (Billy Zane), however, possesses the other six. Anxious to hold the final key, the Collector assembles a team of walking dead to take out Brayker, Jeryline (Jada Pinkett Smith) and the other residents of a rundown boarding house.

Dead Tone Deon Taylor also wrote and directed Dead Tone. A seemingly innocuous pastime involving fun-loving collegians and prank phone calls turns into a lethal cat-and-mouse game in this blood-drenched fright fest starring Rutger Hauer and Brian Hooks. While vacationing at a secluded mansion after finals, a group of university students dials random telephone numbers and tries to unnerve the person on the other end. But their fun is short-circuited when one of them unwittingly connects with a slasher. The film was originally titled 7eventy 5ive.

Horror Movie Review: Salvage

2011-07-16T16:02:00.000-04:00

Salvage

Starring: Lauren Currie Lewis, Chris Ferry, and Cody Darby

Directed by: Jeff Crook and Josh Crook

Written by: Jeff Crook and Josh Crook

Production Company: Crook Brothers Productions, Off Hollywood Pictures, and The Seventh Level

Release Date: January 19, 2006

"What if every day you relived your own murder?" That's one of the teasing taglines for the little know horror gem Salvage. I discovered the film in a 4 movie "Horror Collector's Set" I was given a a gift. One of those 4 movie on one disc for $10.00 deal where you figure you won't see anything too good, but there probably won't be anything too bad. A collection of entirely forgettable films. So when one turns up to really be enjoyable, you are taken aback with surprise. And Salvage will surprise you.

Claire (Lauren Currie Lewis) keeps having these nightmares where she seems to be reliving her murder at the hands of Duke Desmond (Chris Ferry). The local police believe she's having nightmares even after she presses the alarm at the gas station where she works nights. After all the camera doesn't see any one but her in the store and the man she accuses has already been shot and killed. The story, the theory goes, is that she saw the reports and now is having nightmares about the killer.

We spend a large part of the film trying to figure out if it is a dream and we're expecting a Freddy Krueger kind of thing going on, or if she really is reliving her assault by Desmond. Surely she's not reliving her murder? But maybe...jut maybe...

The Crook Brothers end Salvage with an unexpected surprise hard to muster in a post-Sixth Sense world where we viewing audiences go to any movie half expecting a twist and looking for it so we can smugly say, "Oh, yeah, I knew it the whole time."

Now, let's deal with the unpleasantries. The film was made on a scant $25,000. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and then was released to DVD. It' a B-Movie. Some will not like the less than crystal clear camera work. Some will want to pick apart the acting of the three main actors who have a total of 18 acting jobs total combined. But if you can have the ability to see past the limitations inherent in small budget productions, then this is a gem you should check it out.

And, for the record, Lauren Currie Lewis does a fair job in a tough role, and Chris Ferry is suitably creepy as Duke Desmond. They have room for growth, but they weren't just giving a static recital of their lines and a shallow emotional performance.

Related Trailers

Rise of the Dead - Chris Ferry also appears in Rise of the Dead. Laura Childs's (Erin Wilk) troubling past comes back to haunt her, as the spirit of the now-deceased infant son she gave up several years ago returns for retribution and takes possession of those closest to her to exact its revenge. Now, Laura must come to terms with the decision she's tried so hard to forget and put her demons to rest once and for all. Directed by William Wedig, this indie shocker written by Jeff and Josh Crook also stars Stephen Seidel and Vickie Myer.

Horror Movie Review: The Crazies

2011-07-11T16:53:00.000-04:00

The Crazies

Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, and Joe Anderson

Directed by: Breck Eisner

Written by: Scott Kosar and Ray Wright based on George Romero's 1973 movie

Production Companies: Overture Films, Participant Media, Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ, and Penn Station

Release Date: February 23, 2010

Remaking a horror film, well, any film really, is tricky business. Generally speaking you want to honor the original, stay true to it to a certain degree, and at the same time separate your remake from it and still be enjoyed. Even if a director can accomplish this, there are some who will dismiss the remake entirely and disregard its existence. Others might be willing to go into it expecting to be disappointed, annoyed, frustrated, or even angered and ready to tell everyone how the remake is inferior. But Hollywood seems to have no problem with doing remakes so they must be able to get enough business from those curious but sceptical types and those who have never seen the original and may not even know it's a remake to make just about any movie older than 10 years worthy game for a remake.

I personally try to watch a remake as a beast unto itself, but I do tend to compare to the original as well. It depends on how familiar I am with the film or how recently I saw it as to how much I compare the two. I knew Breck Eisner's The Crazies would get a lot of comparison with George Romero's The Crazies.

It's the same story: A plane carrying a military created bioweapon crashes near a small town. The citizens of the town become infected, one of the symptoms is insanity, and the military comes it to control the situation. A small group tries to avoid both "the crazies", the military, and the disease and escape the town.

Breck Eisner's The Crazies does a better job of creating a tense, horrific tone to the film. The crazies, with make-up to give them a diseased look, are scarier than original version. They are slower and more methodical about their insanity. It creates an intensity missing in George Romero's original.

But the ending to the original is more satisfying than the remake. In fact, the trials of the runaway group is generally more gripping. We get a little glimpse of Russell getting the Crazies, while in the original, his counterpart, Clank, was clearly infected. Judy's infection in the original gives George Romero's version more tragedy. Also, in the new version we have Becca, whose only purpose seems to be cannon fodder for the crazies where in the original Artie and his daughter Kathy add tension to the groups dynamic and more cases of the infection for us to see the progression of the disease.

But the one thing I really missed in the remake was the look at the military side of the events. Removing the close look at the military's procedures removes a lot of social commentary that made the original interesting.

Breck Eisner's The Crazies is scarier than the original, though I was a little disappointed in the uncreative craziness of the infected, and is a worthy horror film in its own right. The perfect version of the movie is somewhere between the two mixing the horror of the remake with the careful use of roles and the commentary in the original. So until that happens, in maybe a sequal since the remake left room for one, we'll have to watch both...and that's fine with me.

Related Trailers

Dreamcatcher - Timothy Olyphant also stars in Dreamcatcher. Four boyhood pals perform a heroic act and are changed by the powers they gain in return. Years later, on a hunting trip in the Maine woods, they're overtaken by a vicious blizzard that harbors an ominous presence. Challenged to stop an alien force, the friends must first prevent the slaughter of innocent civilians by a military vigilante ... and then overcome a threat to the bond that unites the four of them.

Silent Hill - Radha Mitchell also stars in Silent Hill. Determined to save her terminally ill daughter (Jodelle Ferland) from death, Rose (Radha Mitchell) ignores the wishes of her husband and takes her to a faith healer. But her well-intentioned efforts somehow land them in an alternate reality. Now, Rose is in the deserted town of Silent Hill, where her daughter mysteriously disappears and she's left to search for her child in a world of darkness and shadow.

The Ruins - Joe Anderson also appeared in The Ruins. An idyllic Mexican vacation in Cancun takes a dangerous turn for four young Americans when a mysterious tourist persuades them to join an archaeological dig, and they subsequently find themselves lost within the cursed ruins of a forgotten city. Jonathan Tucker, Laura Ramsey, Jena Malone and Shawn Ashmore head the cast in director Carter Smith's bone-chilling thriller, adapted by Scott B. Smith from his novel.

The Amityville Horror - Scott Kosar also worked on the script for the remake of The Amityville Horror. Hapless home buyers George and Kathy Lutz (Ryan Reynolds and Melissa George) discover their dream home is possessed by evil spirits in this terrifying remake of the 1979 horror classic, based on Jay Anson's popular book -- and a reportedly real-life haunting. As it turns out, the Lutzes home has a bloody history (a former occupant killed his entire family there just a year earlier), so it doesn't take long for terror to come knocking.

Case 39 - Ray Wright also wrote the script for Case 39. To save 10-year-old Lillith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) from her abusive parents, idealistic social worker Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) welcomes the girl into her own home -- only to discover that Lillith isn't quite the innocent victim that she claims to be. As Lillith's mysterious past comes to light, Emily finds herself in a world of danger. Christian Alvart's terrifying thriller also stars Ian McShane and Bradley Cooper.

Horror Movie Review: The Crazies

2011-07-07T18:56:00.000-04:00

The Crazies

Starring: Lane Carroll, Will MacMillan, Harold Wayne Jones, Lloyd Hollar, and Lynn Lowry

Directed by: George Romero

Written by: George Romero and Paul McCollough

Production Company: Pittsburgh Films

Release Date: March 16, 1973

I went to rent the 2010 The Crazies and in the back of my mind I knew there was an original version and sure enough, there was. I wondered if I should check it out, or if it was one of those good ideas done poorly and brought back out and redone better situations. Then I saw it was written and directed by George Romero. It's easy to forget Romero has done non-zombie films with the popularity of his zombie films and the fact that his name has become synonymous with zombie. So before watching Breck Eisner's The Crazies I decided to give George Romero's a shot.

In Evans City, people have started going crazy and the military storms in to get control of the situation. They knew there was a possibility of something like this because of a military plane carrying an experimental biological weapon crashed nearby. The weapon causes insanity, sometimes to the point of homicide and suicide, and eventual death.

The Crazies involves two stories. One, the military's attempts to control the outbreak and find a cure. The second, five citizens of Evans City unwilling to be herded into the local high school who try to evade the soldiers, the affected citizens, and the infection itself.

With the five runaways, Romero creates a similar feel as found in his zombie films as they are unable to trust others and are not completely sure they can trust each other. The tension is a little increased, though, as they also must avoid the military who have the organization and weaponry to capably hunt for them.

The most interesting aspect of the film is the military trying to get the disease, known as Trixie, under control before it goes beyond the city and becomes public. Romero's social commentary shines brightly here as the military's interest in keeping their mishap and their work in biological weapons a secret prevents them from effectively dealing with the situation. A voice print identification system makes coordinated communication almost impossible. Lack of planning for the situation increases their need for communication. In fact poor communication and military doublespeak result in two cure possibilities being lost.

The Crazies is not that scary a movie missing the atmosphere created in most of Romero's zombie films and lacking the gore often associated with horror films lacking atmosphere. But it's an entertaining and interesting film. Check it out.

Related Trailers

The Crazies - The 2010 remake. When a plane crashes in a small town, a secret biological weapon is released. As the toxic substance infiltrates the local water system, some residents become gravely ill, while others descend into homicidal madness. Sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) attempts to set things straight, but soon the military becomes involved in containing the killer virus.

Shivers - Lynn Lowry also stars in Shivers. Director David Cronenberg's film debut revels in his pet theme: deep-rooted fears of our bodies and sexuality. A scientist's neighbors fall to primal urges after he unleashes a sexually transmitted parasite that destroys inhibitions in its host body. This terrifying thriller tests nerves with its bloodthirsty, wormlike parasites -- in one gruesome and memorable sequence, they attack a woman in a bathtub.

Season of the Witch aka Hungry Wives George Romero's third film, his second horror film, was Season of the Witch aka Hungry Wives. Director George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) tries out an experimental style in this kitcshy horror flick. Plagued by sleepless nights, suburbanite Joan (Jan White) takes up with the neighborhood witch (Virginia Greenwald), who teaches her the secrets of black magic. But soon after Joan successfully casts a spell to seduce her daughter's boyfriend, she turns an evil eye toward the man she blames for all her pain: her husband.

Horror Movie Review: Deathdream (aka Dead of Night)

2011-06-30T15:49:00.000-04:00

Deathdream (aka Dead of Night)

Starring: John Marley, Lynn Carlin, Richard Backus, Anya Ormsby, and Jane Daly

Directed by: Bob Clark

Written by: Alan Ormsby

Production Companies: Impact Films and Quadrant Films

Release Date: August 30, 1974

Deathdream starts off looking like a war picture with soldiers in Vietnam under attack, but as we blur away from soldiers screaming as they are shot and killed, we hear a quiet woman's voice, "Andy, you can't, you promised to come home."

The sudden shift from a dark and gruesome Vietnam to the bright, comforting kitchen of a suburban family is almost as jarring as anything else you'll see. A family sits over a supper table saying grace, the pre-meal prayer, and as the father stops the mother continues, talking quietly saying, "Andy, you promised to come home." The difference between the comforting suburban home and the war torn Vietnam jungle shows us why some Vietnam vets had trouble returning home, their lives in Vietnam being so different with little similarity.

The family's supper is interrupted by a knock at the door. Andy Brooks was killed in action. The Brooks family devastated as if a 120-mm mortar shell exploded in the center of the dining table.

But later that night, Andy comes home looking none-the-worse for wear. The Brooks are relieved and excited. But Andy's changed and soon the Brooks family will be destroyed.

At first Andy seems to simply be suffering from post war stress: Quiet and distant. But as his behavior turns more violent, more disturbing, killing the family's dog, and other deaths seem to implicate Andy, we know things are worse. Andy has become some kind of undead monster using people's blood to keep his body from decaying.

As the stress of Andy's return strains the family, the parents, Charlie and Christine, begin to turn on each. Christine refuses to believe anything is wrong with her precious Andy. Charlie is torn, wavering from wanting Andy to take responsibility for his actions to wanting to help him get away. Little sister Cathy just finds herself caught in the eye of this perfect storm being spun around and confused about what is happening to her family.

Deathdream won't keep you up at night with any grotesque scenes or sudden shock scares, but it will keep you up thinking about war and family. There's a strong anti-war message, not through showing the violence of war, but the devastating effects it can have on a family and even survivors of war.

But there is also a warning about family and the dangers of putting all love into one member and the whole family rotates around that one member. Without the mother's blinding love for her son, Charlie's desire for Andy to show what a good father he was in his actions, and the sister's complacency in being kept in the dark about what's going on, Andy's return and transformation would have hurt the family, but not destroyed it.

Richard Backus is great as Andy, delivering his lines in a flat, monotone voice making his detachment an auditory sensation. But beyond that, he uses his face expertly to creep us out with smiles formed as if he didn't understand what the purpose of smiling is and thus creating an eerie, unsettling visage.

The DVD is rented from Netflix is a little grainy, but the movie is worth the watch, and interestingly, while the disk says Deathdream, the movie maintains the original movie title, Dead of Night.

Deathdream (aka Dead of Night) is a wonderful little known horror gem for genre fans looking for an overlooked classic.

Trailers

It Lives Again - John Marley, who played Charlie Brooks, also dealt with unruly children in It Lives Again. In the gory It Lives Again, one murderous infant isn't enough -- three are now on the loose, all with razor-sharp teeth.

Superstition - Lynn Carlin, who played Christine Brooks, also starred in Superstition. The Rev. David Thompson (James Houghton) discovers that the inviting pond in the backyard of his new home was used to execute an evil witch three centuries ago -- and her spirit still lurks beneath the surface. Vowing to seek her revenge on anyone who ventures near her watery grave, the sorceress begins to hunt down her new neighbors in a bloody horror spree that turns Thompson's dream house into a violent nightmare.

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things - Anya Ormsby, who played Cathy Brooks, and Jane Daly, who played Andy's girlfriend Joanne, also starred in Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things. A group of actors and their eccentric artistic director, Alan (Alan Ormsby), travel to a burial island rich in tales of evil curses and demons. Their task is to exhume a recently deceased body and try their hand at witchcraft in an attempt to raise the dead. While Alan means for his morbid plan to be a trick that ends in a surprise all-night party, everyone is stunned when the "trick" works ... and the dead become uninvited guests.

Black Christmas - Bob Clark also directed Black Christmas. Terror reigns inside a sorority house a few days before Christmas break as a series of menacing phone calls -- and the discovery of a dead girl's body -- transform yuletide cheer into fear. Margot Kidder, Olivia Hussey and Andrea Martin ("SCTV") co-star as just a few of the petrified sisters at the mercy of an unseen stalker.

Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile - Alan Ormsby also wrote Deranged: Confessions of a Necrophile. When his overbearing mother dies, sociopathic Wisconsin farmer Ezra Cobb (Roberts Blossom) stuffs and preserves her corpse to keep him company. But when the novelty of this solution wears off, Ezra prowls for fresh ladies on which to practice his taxidermy. The results are some gruesome dinner parties in the Cobb household and other gory delights.

Horror Movie Review: Night of the Lepus

2011-06-27T12:42:00.000-04:00

Night of the Lepus

Starring: Stuart Whitman, Janet Leigh, Rory Calhoun, and DeForest Kelley

Directed by: William F. Claxton

Written by: Don Holliday and Gene R. Kearney based on the novel by Russell Braddon

Production Company: A. C. Lyles Productions

Release Date: October 4, 1972

Let me confess...a pg rated movie about giant killer rabbits is something I'd probably pass up, unless it was apparent that it was done up for laughs. Night of the Lepus is clearly not done for laughs, so this is the kind of thing I would typically just ignore. Well, I'm not too proud to admit that when I saw DeForest Kelley's name attached, I got curious. I'd never seen Kelley as anything except Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy in my beloved Star Trek, so the chance to see him, like so many lucky Star Fleet nurses, out of Star Fleet Uniform and in my beloved genre of horror...well, I couldn't pass that up.

Rabbits are running out of control eating pasture land and crops. There are so many rabbit holes horses are breaking their legs in them. It's a big problem and farmer Cole Hillman (Rory Calhoun) has had enough. He goes to his friend Elgin Clark (DeForest Kelley), the head of a local college, for help. However, he doesn't want to just poison them because of the effect it might have on the other fauna in the area...namely his cows. So they get scientist Roy Bennett (Stuart Whitman) to try and come up with a humane way of getting rid of the rabbit menace.

Bennett and his wife Gerry (Janet Leigh) begin working on a way to inhibit rabbit reproduction, but one of his attempts escapes and mutates into a giant carnivorous beast. That wolf-sized rabbit, let's call him Rabbit Zero, infects and mutates the other rabbits in the area. Soon there are hundreds of flesh eating, giant rabbits roaming the countryside eating horse, cow, and human alike.

It's a little slow to start, but in the end I have to confess this was an interesting giant animal film. The effects to create the illusion of giant rabbits are simple, but pretty effective. Impressive miniature sets were created to let real rabbits run through creating a pretty effective effect of giant rabbits rampaging through town. Close ups of rabbit mouths with fake blood and foam help us feel the rabbits are in fact dangerous, and fake rabbits used for when they get shot and splatter blood, a pretty decent amount of blood actually for an early 70s PG film, create an impressively realistic viewing experience. The men in rabbit suits jumping on victims was a bit painful to watch, however.

But most interesting is the vast array of conflicting themes and messages to be found. First there's a theme about using humane ways to get rid of animal vermin, but those attempts in the film go horribly awry, so then it seems to be against humane handlings and just killing outright. After all, had they just killed the rabbits, they wouldn't have become mad eating beasts. However, it also mentions how eliminating one pest in can lead to new pests like the elimination of rabbits in Australia lead to more locust troubles.

In the end it's a balanced display of the troubles endemic in dealing with pests, which is rare for Hollywood, known for taking one side and beating a dead horse with it...ironically.

It's not particularly scary, and it's slow at times, but it's an interesting watch nonetheless.

Related Trailers

Demonoid - Stuart Whitman also stars in Demonoid. A British woman visits her husband at the Mexican mine he is attempting to reopen and discovers that the workers refuse to enter the mine fearing an ancient curse. The couple enter the mine to prove there is no danger and inadvertently release a demon which possesses people's left hands and forces them to behave in a suitably diabolical manner. The only way for a possessed person to free themselves from this torment is to cut off their left hand after which it scurries away in search of its next victim.

Halloween H20 Janet Leigh was a pretty prolific scream queen with Halloween H20 marking her final horror appearance. It's the first reunion in 20 years for two estranged siblings: former baby-sitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her brother, crazed slasher Michael Myers. With a witty script, a great cast (including LL Cool J and Michelle Williams) and Curtis's return to the role that made her a scream queen, Halloween: H20 is the final chapter in a legendary tale.

Motel Hell - Rory Calhoun also appeared in Motel Hell. Farmer Vincent kidnaps travelers and buries them -- alive -- in his garden, fattens them up and harvests them to use in his famous fritters.

Horror Movie Review: Piranha

2011-06-24T15:53:00.000-04:00

Piranha

Starring: Elizabeth Shue, Jerry O'Connell, Ving Rhames, Steven R. McQueen, and Jessica Szohr

Directed by: Alexandre Aja

Written by: Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg

Production Companies: Dimension Films, Intellectual Properties Worldwide, Aja/Levasseur Productions, Atmosphere Entertainment MM, Chako Film Company, and The Weinstein Company

Release Date: August 20, 2010

An earthquake opens an underground lake into Lake Victoria releasing hundreds of prehistoric piranha into the waters filled with teens on spring break. Chaos ensues.

The plot is very basic, if far fetched, but Piranha, a remake of the 1978 movie of the same name, is a fun, if bizarre, movie.

It's bizarre because it can't seem to decide what it wants to be. On the one hand we have all the makings of a lighthearted B-movie with giant killer animals, lots of pointless nudity,and more gore than you can stomach. Elizabeth does a good job as Sheriff Laurie Forrester, single mother of Zane, Laura, and teenager Jake played by Steven R. McQueen, grandson of the late Steve McQueen. Jake provides us with most of the plot by ditching his babysitting responsibilities to show Girls Gone Wild exploiter-like director Derrick Jones. This leads to Zane and Laura getting stranded on an island in the middle of Lake Victoria as the piranha begin to devour every living thing they can get their teeth into.

It was great seeing Jerry O'Connell playing Derrick Jones. I'm a big fan of O'Connell's from his My Secret Identity and Sliders days. Ving Rhames, on the other hand, was underused. The role of Deputy Fallon could have been played by just about anybody else it was such a minor role. Ol' Jerry O'Connell could have done the role fine, though he was wonderful as the Joe Francis parody. Jessica Szohr plays Jakes love interest Kelly and was nominated for the Best Scared-As-Shit Performance in the 2011 MTV Movie Awards. She unjustly lost to Ellen Page in Inception.

It's a fun film if you want a lighthearted, though extremely bloody serious giant animal film.

Related Trailers

Day of the Dead - Ving Rhames is used better in Day of the Dead. Steve Miner (Friday the 13th Part 2) directs this remake of George A. Romero's classic zombie flick Day of the Dead, in which a mysterious disease causes the newly dead to come back to life and threaten the living. Meanwhile, military and scientific experts clash as they try to arrive at a solution. Miner and writer Jeffrey Reddick honor the story and social relevance of the first film but put a fresh spin on this tale of horror and intrigue.

First Born - Elizabeth Shue stars in First Born. Suffering from postpartum depression, Laura (Elisabeth Shue) finds motherhood taxing, and living in an isolated rural home doesn't help. But things only get worse as the arrival of an eerie nanny and a series of macabre events make Laura question her grip on reality. Blair Brown, Steven Mackintosh, Khandi Alexander and Kathleen Chalfant also star in this spine-chilling psychological thriller from director Isaac Webb.

Room 6 - Jerry O'Connell also stars in Room 6. When her boyfriend (Shane Brolly) is seriously injured in a car accident, Amy (Christine Taylor) is forced to confront her lifelong fear of doctors and hospitals. Trouble is, the facility he was reportedly taken to -- St. Rosemary's -- doesn't exist, at least not in the clinical sense. With help from a well-meaning stranger (Jerry O'Connell), can Amy navigate the hospital's creepy halls and solve the mystery of the ominous Room 6?

Mirrors - Alexandre Aja also directed Mirrors. This creepy supernatural thriller stars Kiefer Sutherland as troubled security guard Ben Carson, a man who discovers malevolent spirits living within the mirrors of a fire-ravaged department store. When their murderous nature comes to light, Ben turns to his estranged wife (Paula Patton) to help him save their family -- and himself. The supporting cast includes Amy Smart and Jason Flemyng.

Sorority Row - Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg also wrote the screenplay for Sorority Row. When a prank results in the accidental death of a Theta Pi sister, the sorority's members keep the crime under wraps. But as graduation rolls around, a masked killer begins stalking and slaying the girls responsible for the death. Someone is out for revenge, but who could know about their dirty little secret? Jamie Chung, Rumer Willis and Audrina Patridge ("The Hills") co-star in this not-so-sisterly slasher flick.

And just for fun...a Funny or Die video called Ving Rhames Wins an Oscar for Piranha 3D. Made me LOL...and props for Elizabeth Shue as well!

Ving Rhames Wins Oscar for Piranha 3D from Elisabeth Shue

Horror Movie Review: Fido

2011-06-21T16:22:00.000-04:00

Fido

Starring: Kesun Loder, Henry Czerny, Carrie-Anne Moss, Billy Connolly, Dylan Baker, and Tim Blake Nelson

Directed by: Andrew Currie

Written by: Robert Chomiak, Andrew Currie, and Dennis Heaton

Production Companies: Lions Gate Films, Anagram Pictures Inc, Astral Media, British Columbia Film, CanWest Western Independent Producers Fund, Canadian Television Fund, Chum Television, Movie Central Network, The Movie Network, and Telefilm Canada

Release Date September 7, 2006

Awards: Craft Award for Production Design at the 2007 Directors Guild of Canada Awards, Best Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design at the 2008 Genie Awards, Best Film Score and Special Jury Prize at the 2007 Gerardmer Film Festival, Best Cinematography, Best Make-Up, Best Musical Score, Best Overall Sound, Best Visual Effects, and Best Feature Length Drama Make-Up at the 2007 Leo Awards, People's Choice Award at the 2007 London Canadian Film Festival, Best British Columbia Film and Best Actress in a Canadian Film (Carrie-Anne Moss) at the 2007 Vancouver Film Critics Circle

Most zombie films are about killing zombies or surviving their attacks. Every so often we see a little side idea of controlling zombies in society, but it's rare. That's the genre area that Fido sets out to make its mark.

As with every other zombie film, something makes the dead start walking again and their bites meant death and return as a zombie. As usual, severe head trauma is the only way to kill them. But in Fido, a collar was devised that made the zombies passive and submissive. Thus they became a slave class serving humans. In fact zombies have become a status symbol.

When the Bottoms move in next to the Robinsons, Helen Robinson can't take being the only family in the neighborhood without a zombie. Mr. Bottoms is the head of security for Zomcon, the manufacturer of the collars used to keep the zombies subservient. Helen buys a zombie despite husband Bill's fear of them. Soon, however, despite Bill's reservations, the zombie, named Fido by son Timmy, is a beloved part of the family.

Set in the 1950s-sitcom-like city of Willard, the movie is mainly about Timmy and Fido as their friendship blossoms and the mishaps that occur. An elderly neighbor damages Fido's collar and gets herself eaten and Timmy must kill the zombified neighbor and hide her remains. Unfortunately, before Timmy can do that, the neighbor has killed someone else and soon an outbreak of the zombie plague is interrupting the idyllic community. Will Mr. Bottoms and Zomcon learn that Fido is the cause of the outbreak?

Fido contains many parallels to old boy and his dog shows like Lassie, even with Fido looking for help when Timmy's in trouble with local bullies.

Interestingly enough, Fido not only deals with zombie prejudice, but ageism as Mr. Bottoms and Bill Robinson both express distrust of the elderly.

It's also a look at neglectful parenting as Bill shows himself to be a poor father and husband not even knowing that his wife is pregnant, and the zombie Fido becomes a better father figure.

Fido may not have you laughing out loud, but there is a lot to be amused with in the film, and in the end, despite your attempts, you'll find it to be quite a touching tale.

Related Trailers

The Exorcism of Emily Rose - Henry Czerny, who played Mr. Bottoms, also stars in The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Attorney Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) always manages to keep her emotions in check when she's in the middle of a case, but she finds herself unraveling when she decides to represent a priest (Tom Wilkinson) who's conducted an exorcism gone horribly awry. The highly charged case, in which Erin battles an overconfident state lawyer (Aaron Douglas) who thinks he has a slam dunk, leaves her questioning her life choices, career prospects and beliefs.

Trick 'r Treat - Dylan Baker, who plays Bill Robinson, also stars in Trick 'r Treat. In writer-director Michael Dougherty's fright fest, Halloween's usually boisterous traditions turn deadly, and everyone in a small town tries to survive one night in pure hell … but who will still be alive in the morning? Several stories weave together, including a loner fending off a demented trick-or-treater's attacks; kids uncovering a freaky secret; a school principal -- who moonlights as a serial killer -- poisoning his candy; and more.

Horror Movie Review: Paranormal Activity

2011-06-12T12:28:00.000-04:00

Paranormal Activity

Starring: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, and Mark Fredericks

Directed by: Oren Peli

Written by: Oren Peli

Production Company: Blumhouse Productions

Release Date: October 14, 2007

Awards: Paranormal Activity won the Horror/Thriller Choice Award at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards; Katie Featherstone won the Best Actress Trophy Award and Oren Peli won Honorable Mention at the 2007 Screamfest

Katie has been plagued by...something...since she was eight. It's followed her around from house to house and comes to her at night saying her name, moving things, and looming over her, a shadowy figure in the dark. Now things are getting worse and she wants them to stop.

Live in boyfriend Micah thinks he knows what to do. Get a camera to get proof. What we see is the proof he gets from his video camera. And proof that despite warnings, Micah is one of the reasons the demon, as we learn is the cause of the trouble, is getting worse.

A well done video camera horror can be a wonderful, scary as hell thing. The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield, done with little to no alteration of the footage creates a feeling of watching the video of someone graduation or wedding. It makes it feel real, even when we, conscious that it is just a movie, know it is fake, even with computer generated monsters like in Cloverfield. Paranormal Activity comes very close to that authentic feel, although some scenes clearly have a jump, an unnatural shift in stance and position, which would not happen in a home shot video. Yet it's difficult to disengage from the home video feel giving us the uncomfortable feel that what you are watching is real.

You get frustrated and even angry at Micah for antagonizing the demon, and annoyed that Katie won't be an empowered woman of the 21st century and tell Micah what's going to be done and his machismo "I'm taking care of this. Nobody comes in my house, fucks with my girlfriend, and gets away with it," bullshit can take a hike.

The Ouija board bit doesn't make much sense, but still carries an element of creepiness. It's only after the film is done and you think about what you saw do you realize that it just doesn't make sense. Granted, there's some room for the demon to just be messing with Micah, or Micah not properly understanding what he sees on the Ouija board.

There are two endings, both of which have an element of hokeyness, but the original ending is probably the better one. But watch either one...at your own risk.

Related Trailers

Paranormal Activity 2 - Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat return in Paranormal Activity 2. Doors slamming shut, shadows moving across the floor -- the unexplained, terrifyingly real supernatural forces are back, and this time, Dan (Brian Boland), Kristi (Sprague Grayden), Ali (Molly Ephraim), baby Hunter and dog Abby become part of the nightmare as the cameras roll. Tod Williams (The Door in the Floor) directs and Michael R. Perry ("Persons Unknown") writes this spine-chilling sequel to the wildly popular 2007 flick.

Horror Movie Review: My Name Is Bruce

2011-06-06T12:40:00.000-04:00

My Name Is Bruce

Starring: Bruce Campbell,Grace Thorsen, and Taylor Sharpe

Directed by: Bruce Campbell

Written by: Mark Verheiden

Production Companies: Dark Horse Entertainment and Image Entertainment

Release Date: April 13, 2007

In the town of Gold Lick, Jeff (Taylor Sharpe) accidentally releases an old Chinese god of vengeance and bean curd, Guan-Di. Guan-Di wants vengeance on the people of Gold Lick for the deaths of many Chinese in a mine pit. As Gold Lick natives turn up dead, Jeff talks the townspeople into seeking help from movie icon, Bruce Campbell. But the egotistical, cowardly Campbell has a long way to go before he can become the hero the town needs.

I found this movie very enjoyable, but then I am a Bruce Campbell fan. I relished listening for references to Campbell's other work. I laughed at his portrayal of himself as a shallow, washed up has been. But in that mock self-portrayal we also see Bruce Campbell as an effective comic actor.

Admittedly, I can't guarantee that those who are not fans of Bruce Campbell and his work will enjoy the film. It seems to be a film made strictly for Bruce's fans. I'm cool with that, and I'm looking forward to the sequel, Bruce vs. Frankenstein, but I think it limits My Name Is Bruce's cult film potential.

And just for the record, best line of the film comes after a Gold Lick native says that he kind of liked Bubba Ho-Tep and Bruce replied, "Everybody liked Bubba Ho-Tep!"

Related Trailers

The Woods - Bruce Campbell also appears in The Woods. Set in 1965 in the buttoned-up world of an all-girls private boarding school, this horrifying tale features the acting chops of Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson, who appears as the chilly headmistress. Based on the nightmarish visions she's been having since her arrival, new student Heather (Agnes Bruckner) knows that the woods surrounding the school aren't normal. And when her classmates begin disappearing, she has no choice but to investigate.

Man With The Screaming Brain - Bruce Campbell also directed and starred in Man With The Screaming Brain. Wealthy industrialist William Cole (Campbell) heads to Eastern Europe for a tax shelter. After a maid murders Cole and ex-KGB operative Yegor, a mad scientist merges part of Yegor's brain into Cole's. Complete opposites, Cole and Yegor fight for control of the body they now share. The odd couple can't agree on anything except hunting down the murderous maid.

Horror Movie Review: Transylmania

2011-05-30T16:50:00.000-04:00

Transylmania

Starring: Oren Skoog, Jennifer Lyons, Musetta Vander, James DeBello, and David Steinberg

Directed by: David and Scott Hillenbrand

Written by: Worm Miller and Patrick Casey

Production Companies: Film Rock and Hill & Brand Entertainment

Release Date: November 5, 2008

Early on in horror film cinema the bizarre closeness of horror and humor was used. Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, and the Three Stooges all yucked it up with the monsters of the 30s at one point or another, and a good Horromedy is a great thing. And that great potential is there in the Hillenbrand brothers' Transylmania.

Rusty (Oren Skoog) has convinced a number of his friends to join him for a semester at Castle Razvan in Romania. His real interest is in hooking up with online girlfriend Draguta (Irena A. Hoffman). Everyone else is out for fun. Little do they realize that Razvan has a vampire problem and young college girls have been going missing.

Rusty turns out to be a dead ringer for head vampire Count Radu, Lynne's body becomes possessed by the soul of Radu's former lover, Lia (Natalie Garza) is abducted by Dean Floca (David Steinberg) and becomes a disembodied head so that Floca can complete the body he was building for his daughter, the aforementioned Draguta.

The identity confusion of Rusty and Radu was fairly entertaining, although not taken quite as far as it could have gone. They experience some interesting parallel trip ups in the confusion such as Rado going to a vampire ball held by the college kids being handed a glass of "blood" which he disgustedly spits out saying, "This is not blood." Rusty, thinking he's being taken to another vampire orgy is handed a glass of blood which he disgustedly spits out because, well, it's blood. But the identity confusion only treads the surface. An interesting scene, although admittedly a bit overdone in identity confusion comedies, involved Radu thinking he was seeing his reflection until he remembered he can't see his reflection. It would have been interesting to bring in Rusty's girlfriend, Draguta, who it turns out has a hunched back. Draguta's hunched back was used for obvious comic purposes involving Rusty trying to avoid her and his friends ribbing him, but no real creativity was used.

Lynne (Jennifer Lyons) being taken over by Radu's lover's soul could have taken on some funny twists but they just stuck with Lynne regaining control with the closure of the music box which housed the evil sorceress's soul at awkward times. The evil lover's soul also turning up in other people as others open the music box could have been amusing especially if done well.

Dean Floca as a diminutive Frankenstein was pretty entertaining partially because of David Steinberg's great comedic sense, but it seems more of a throw away plot forced awkwardly into a vampire movie than anything, and the comedic possibilities of Lia as a disembodied head were largely overlooked.

But many things just seemed to get started and then discarded prematurely. An apparent homage to the great Young Frankenstein had horses fart every time Castle Razvan is mentioned. However, after the first third of the movie the joke is gone. Professor Theodora van Sloan (Musetta Vander), vampire hunter, and her self-defense class involving the use of stakes and attackers bursting out of a coma could have been used better, but seemed to be an idea quickly discarded. And Cliff (James DeBello) and his attempts to hook up with van Sloan by pretending to be a vampire hunter not only could have been further explored, but also could have included spoofs of college students/teacher romances. Another joke that just kind of skips along the surface has Rusty take a handful of pills thinking they were Viagra to find out they were a mixture of various pills and not a Viagra in the mix. Rusty just begins acting in a generic high/drunk fashion rather than having him cycle through the effects of the different pills.

In the end Transylmania suffers from too many characters and the jokes aren't explored past the point of predictability. Like Rusty, Transylmania is flaccid and in need of some Viagra, but instead staggers around under the influence of too many characters and disparate, predictable jokes.

Related Trailers

Wasting Away - Oren Skoog also appears in Wasting Away, aka Aaah! Zombies!! Wasting Away focuses sympathetically on a group of zombies just beginning to grasp the implications of their horrific new existence. Writer-director Matthew Kohnen's comedic nightmare combines wit and absurdity in its novel approach to the zombie genre, revealing the suffering of a neglected monster minority.

Killer Pad - Jennifer Lyons also appears in Killer Pad. Three buddies think they've found party paradise when they land a great deal on a Hollywood Hills mansion. They've been warned that the home has a gruesome history, but really, they insist, what's the worst that could happen? Well, for one, the residence they hoped would be a babe magnet turns out to be an evil magnet -- an actual portal to hell. Nightmare on Elm Street star Robert Englund directs this horror comedy.

Cabin Fever - James DeBello also stars in Cabin Fever. Five college friends head off to the woods for a weekend of drinking, partying and fooling around. But as they sit at their campfire the first night, a blood-soaked hermit with a flesh-eating virus approaches them. They shoo him away, but the hapless kids start to catch the bug, and paranoia and hostility run rampant. Meanwhile, the locals slowly learn that they've got the bug, too. Eli Roth (Hostel) directs.

Demon Island - The Hillenbrand brothers wrote and directed Demon Island, aka Pinata: Survival Island. It's a weekend to dismember when a group of college co-eds show up for a wild island adventure and their annual treasure hunt turns into a massive bloodfest. An ancient clay piñata crammed with the evil spirits of a forgotten village wreaks bloody revenge on the hapless undergrads. Only something this evil could tear (literally!) such good friends apart.

Horror Movie Review: Saw VI

2011-05-01T14:38:00.000-04:00

Saw VI

Starring: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, Peter Outerbridge, and Tanedra Howard

Directed by: Kevin Greutert

Written by: Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton

Production Companies: Twisted Pictures, A Bigger Boat, and Saw VI Productions

After the first two Saw films, the franchise has been declining in value with each new installment and after my disappointment with Saw V, I wasn't sure I was going to give this one a shot. But in the end I had to, just for the sake of getting the entire story...and yes that means eventually I'll check out Saw: The Final Chapter.

Well, I can't go so far as to say Saw VI completely redeemed the franchise, but it at least got a little closer to being a satisfying viewing experience.

We start off, as always, with a death game where two bankers who loan money to people knowing they couldn't afford the interest and payments are forced to slice off pounds of fat. The goal is to carve more off than the other. The one with the most poundage of flesh lives, the other dies. A nice reminder to all that the Jigsaw killings are still continuing.

Then we proceed with the story. Jigsaw is still dead. Amanda, Jigsaw's first disciple, is still dead, but both return in flashbacks. Detective Mark Hoffman is continuing Jigsaw's work, but as far as a murderous legacy goes, he's pretty dim. He seems just to be following Jigsaw's instructions and not showing any creative flare in regards to who he is going to kill, or test, and how. Jigsaw's focus through Hoffman is insurance man William Easton. Easton refused to grant insurance coverage to Jigsaw's attempt at a cure for his cancer. Easton, a vice-president for his insurance company, had devised a formula to determine if a potential insuree was worth the risk and he stuck to that formula despite individuals attempts to explain why they aren't as risky as the formula suggests and that their lives are worth the risk. Easton epitomizes the American corporate tendency for banks and insurance companies to reduce a person's life down to cold numbers which makes it easier when making decisions which will affect someone's life. And at the beginning of Easton's trials, we are ready for him to hurt.

However, some of the trials don't seem to fulfill...Easton is certainly put to test and tortured, but always involving the people with whom he works. The problem is that we're not given a good reason why their lives should be at risk making it appear that Jigsaw has started killing innocent acquaintances of his primary target in the course of his trials. I don't remember innocents' lives being on the line any other time. And by the end, we want Easton to survive. He's learned his lesson and can go back and be a more humane insurance veep.

Hoffman, as Jigsaw, is a dunderhead and we want him to get killed because he's not very good at it. His ham fisted attempts to get the police to believe Strahm was the newest Jigsaw killer and hide the mounting evidence that Hoffman is the killer shows his lack of understanding of his own field, especially considering in Saw III where he is billed as Forensic Hoffman. He doesn't understand police work it seems, and doesn't understand the Jigsaw contraptions as seen when he tampers with one of the machines and is reprimanded and told that adjusting one things means other things need to be adjusted as well. Makes me wonder if Easton shouldn't have tried to just directly save his coworkers rather than playing the game. After all, maybe Hoffman screwed something up.

The trials for Easton were pretty interesting though, and that's the sell for a Saw film. But the appeal of the Tobin Bell Jigsaw, while still experienced in flashback, is gone for the annoyance of Hoffsaw. If only he had been killed in III rather than Amanda.

Related Trailers

Boogeyman 2 - Tobin Bell also stars in Boogeyman 2. In an effort to overcome a debilitating phobia of the boogeyman, Laura (Danielle Savre) checks herself into a mental institution, where she seeks treatment under the watchful eye of Dr. Mitchell Allen (Tobin Bell). But, try as she might to escape the haunting memory of her parents' bloody murder at the hands of the boogeyman himself, Laura remains a prisoner of her own mind. Her greatest fears come true when the titular demon comes calling.

Hyenas - Costas Mandylor also stars in Hyenas. Meshach Taylor ("Designing Women") stars in this unimaginably horrific flick about a pack of human-hyena hybrids who, using their animal instincts and shape-shifting capabilities, prey on innocent victims and eat them alive. Some have dismissed the existence of "werehyenas" as an urban legend. But a small band of fearless hunters knows they're out there, and they're determined to slaughter every last one.

Chain Letter - Betsy Russell also stars in Chain Letter. When a group of tech-savvy high school pals receives an electronic chain letter that demands they each forward the message or face consequences, they laugh it off as an online prank and delete the posts. But when the deranged sender of the message starts hunting them down one by one, they find themselves in a fight for their lives. This tense horror film from director Deon Taylor stars Nikki Reed and Keith David.

George A. Romero's Land of the Dead - Peter Outerbridge also stars in George A. Romero's Land of the Dead. Zombie king George A. Romero returns with a fourth gruesome tale of the walking dead -- and this time, they've taken over the planet. Humans have lost the battle against the flesh eaters, and are barricaded in a walled city ruled by ruthless despots. When the zombies develop advanced military tactics, it's up to a group of mercenaries to save the living. Dennis Hopper, Simon Baker, John Leguizamo and Asia Argento star.

Saw: The Final Chapter - Tanedra Howard returns in Saw: The Final Chapter. Insane, intense cruelty is the calling card of the Jigsaw killer (Tobin Bell), whose twisted spirit and terrifying human traps -- recalled in flashbacks following his death in Saw III -- inspire another installment of the hugely successful gore franchise. Led by fellow survivor Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flanery), Jigsaw's past victims band together to support each other. Cary Elwes reprises his role as Dr. Lawrence Gordon.

Feast - Marcus Dunston and Patrick Melton both also wrote Feast. When patrons at a local watering hole (including Balthazar Getty, Judah Friedlander and Eileen Ryan) are attacked by a swarm of flying gargoyle-like beasts, they're forced to work together to fight for survival in this gory horror-comedy, the product of the third season of the "Project Greenlight" series. Together they board up the windows -- the phone, however, is shot, and there is little hope as the carnage continues to mount.

George A. Romero's Survival of the Dead

2011-04-20T14:48:00.000-04:00

Survival of the Dead

Starring: Alan van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Kathleen Monroe, Richard Fitzpatrick, and Athena Karkanis

Directed by: George Romero

Written by: George Romero

Production Companies Blank of the Dead Productions, Devonshire Productions, New Romero, and Sudden Storm Productions

Release Date: September 9, 2009

Let's face it...When we think zombie, we think George Romero. Even if someone doesn't think the name, the modern zombie exists because of Romero. He took it away from Haiti voodoo and made it something unique and beloved as horror movie monsters go. He also broke the monster mold by avoiding explaining how the whole thing began. No Haitian voodoo, no curse, no science, no evolution, no punishment from God, and while some have tried there own explanations in their own zombie tales, Romero zombies just are the reason for their existence is less important than what we do when the dead start walking. So it was with anticipation that I started Survival of the Dead.

And it was with disappointment that I turned off my DVD player at the end of the movie. I wasn't disappointed that the movie was over. I mean, I wanted the thing to be over about half way through. I was disappointed because I felt let down. Granted, I know that movie writers and directors aren't exactly concerned with my expectations and often times movies are ruined because of over consideration of what the fans want...but I think Romero went far off the mark on this one.

Survival of the Dead is about the family rivalry between the O'Flynn's and the Muldoon's. The fact that there is a zombie outbreak is pretty inconsequential. Seamus Muldoon wants to keep the living dead like pets, though it's out of sentimentality that they are not that different from the living, ignoring the fact that they have to be tied to keep them from killing everyone. Patrick O'Flynn wants to kill all of the zombies, so the ages old family rivalry continues on.

Meanwhile, Sarge Crockett and his men try, detached from an organized army, to survive and are drawn to Plum Island, where Muldoon has entrenched himself killing strangers brought to Plum Island by O'Flynn's broadcasts. Then the debate continues on about whether the zombies can be trained to eat something other than humans, with Muldoon's daughter Janet siding with O'Flynn.

A good zombie film is more about how people react than the actual zombies, but long stretches of movie went without any danger from zombies. In fact, it wasn't even a long stretch; it was the vast majority of the film where zombies were just background detail. The most endearing portion of the film was the relationship between Athena Karkanis's Tomboy and Cisco, with Cisco trying vainly to seduce the lesbian Tomboy.

An odd detail in this post-apocalyptic zombie film which made it difficult for me to really see things as dire was a scene where one of the soldiers is watching on his laptop a late night program with a host telling zombie jokes. Things can't be too bad if we can still get wifi in the middle of nowhere and we can watch streaming television shows.

My inability to sympathize with Muldoon's plan and the limited threat of zombies on Plum Island made this film seem pretty boring. Through in what looked like low cost film production and I felt like I was watching a B-Movie without the humor (often an element to Romero's zombie films) or tits.

I hate to give a Romero zombie film a bad review, but there wasn't much here that I saw as positive. Here's looking toward Romero's next one where hopefully we get back on track.

Related Trailers

Land of the Dead - Alan van Sprang's first venture with Romero and his zombies was 2005's Land of the Dead . Humans have lost the battle against the flesh eaters, and are barricaded in a walled city ruled by ruthless despots. When the zombies develop advanced military tactics, it's up to a group of mercenaries to save the living.

The Fog - Kenneth Welsh was on another small island with horrible things happening in The Fog. Selma Blair, Tom Welling and Maggie Grace star in this creepy thriller about an island town off the coast of Oregon that's forced to contend with some unwelcome visitors from its past: the spirits of lepers and sailors aboard a ship that the hamlet's forefathers had steered astray on purpose. Those aboard the doomed vessel all wound up lost in the fog forever. Now, they're back from the mist, eager to exact revenge on the descendants of their murderers.

The White Dog Sacrifice - Kathleen Monroe found herself trying to survive in the woods in The White Dog Sacrifice. Five young campers discover that a fifty year old legend of sacrificial killings is becoming their present day reality.

Bottom Feeder - Richard Fitzpatrick deals with rat creatures rather than zombies in Bottom Feeder. Vince (Tom Sizemore) heads a maintenance team sent underground to fix a mechanical snafu but discovers a much more dangerous problem when a mysterious creature starts hunting them down. As the terrified group searches for a way out, they learn that the bloodthirsty monster is the result of a military experiment gone bad. Seemingly impervious to all their attacks, the beast locks Vince in a desperate battle to save his crew from a gruesome fate.

Saw IV - Athena Karkanis dealt with the all too living killer Jigsaw in Saw IV. Picking up where its grisly predecessor left off, this Saw finds Jeff Reinhart (Angus Macfadyen) searching for his missing daughter, but a videotape from the dead serial killer Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) is Jeff's only lead in his frantic hunt. The film switches back and forth in time throughout previous Saw films and ties up some lingering -- and bloody -- loose ends.

George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead - George Romero wrote and directed George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead. While filming a low-budget horror film, Jason (Joshua Close) and his film school friends hear news reports of zombie sightings. As the living dead close in on the film crew, Jason seizes the opportunity to add real blood and guts to his movie. Meanwhile the American government promises to stop the violent uprising, but the relentless zombies gain an advantage by wiping out all forms of communication with the outside world.

Horror Movie Review: Case 39

2011-04-10T11:04:00.000-04:00

Case 39

Starring: Renee Zellweger, Ian McShane, and Jodelle Ferland

Directed by: Christian Alvart

Written by: Ray Wright

Production Companies: Misher Films, Anonymous Content, Case 39 Productions, and Paramount Vantage

Release Date: August 13, 2009

Wide-eyed, idealistic social worker Emily tries her best to help children not being properly cared for by their parents, but it's hard, stressful work. Then she receives her 39th case. Case 39 is Lillith Sullivan, a little girl whose grades have dropped dramatically at school.

After some coaxing, Emily gets Lillith to confide that her parents are trying to kill her. Only Emily's tenacity finally leads to the Sullivans being caught in the act of trying to kill their daughter and getting Lillith away from them. Emily soon finds herself bringing Emily into her home as a foster child, but it's not long before she realizes something ominous is going on.

Case 39 is a pretty decent suspense-thriller with kudos going to Jodelle Ferland for her creeptastic performance as Lillith.

However, there's not much on the way of horror and I'm not sure why it was given an R rating. There are some blood splatters, some twitchy shots of a creepy girl, a barely seen fork-in-the-eye. I guess it's enough for a Restricted rating, but I suspect it wouldn't have taken much editing to get it to PG-13.

A potentially creepy scene with hornets coming out of a guy's ear, nose, eye, and mouth was ruined by Bradley Cooper's failure to react to the hornets coming from his body and instead reacting to their presence flying around him. Zellweger was fine, but her character was annoying until she stopped cowering in her bedroom and finally decided to do something with Lillith.

Interestingly enough, no explanation is given to why Lillith is an evil demon-child or whatever she's supposed to be. The idea that it was a recent occurrence gets dismissed when Lillith's father yells about living with her for ten years and trying to control her evil. Speaking of Lillith, he theorizes, "From the moment she came into being, she brought something with her. Something older, destructive. Soul of a demon." There is no confirmation of that theory, though and we're left deciding for ourselves what Lillith is.

Case 39 had a lot of potential with Jodelle Ferland as Lillith outshining even Academy Award winner Zellweger, but chose to mute the horror. There's room for a sequel and I'd be willing to check it out. Though I recommend uping the horror ante.

Related Trailers

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - The Next Generation - Renee Zellweger also stars in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - The Next Generation, also known as The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Everyone's favorite chainsaw-wielding psychopath, Leatherface (Robert Jacks), is back for more prom-night gore, and this time he's joined by his bloodthirsty family. Four stranded yet carefree teens are taken in by a backwoods family, clueless of their host family's grisly habits. The terrified youths, including sweet Jenny (Renee Zellweger), try to escape from Leatherface and his crazed clan, including the bionic Vilmer (Matthew McConaughey).

They - Jodelle Feyland also starred in They. Julia Lund (Laura Regan), a graduate student in psychology, has always harbored a nagging fear of the dark and is forced to confront her worst nightmare head on. When a scary real-life event triggers old memories, she begins to suspect that the things she feared were lurking in the dark when she was a child were -- and still are -- real. And what's worse, they might be coming back to get her.

The Midnight Meat Train - Bradley Cooper does a better job in The Midnight Meat Train. as Leon Kauffman, an ambitious New York photographer whose reckless search for a serial killer known as "the Subway Butcher" (Vinnie Jones) leads him down a dark and dangerous path that puts his own life at risk. Leslie Bibb, Dan Callahan, Brooke Shields and Tony Curran also star in this spine-tingling thriller from Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura, a chilling tale based on a short story by horror giant Clive Barker.

Pandorum - Christian Alvart also directed Pandorum. Upon rousing themselves from hyper-sleep, Payton (Dennis Quaid) and Bower (Ben Foster), a pair of crewmen assigned to work on a spacecraft, discover startling gaps in their collective memory -- including who they are and what, exactly, their mission was in the first place. The plot thickens when they realize they're not the only ones on board the ship. Cam Gigandet co-stars in this gripping sci-fi thriller.

The Crazies - Ray Wright also helped with writing the screenplay for The Crazies. When a plane crashes in a small town, a secret biological weapon is released. As the toxic substance infiltrates the local water system, some residents become gravely ill, while others descend into homicidal madness. Sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) attempts to set things straight, but soon the military becomes involved in containing the killer virus. Breck Eisner directs this chilling remake of George A. Romero's 1973 horror classic.

Horror Movie Review: Deadgirl

2011-03-06T16:59:00.000-05:00

Deadgirl

Starring: Shiloh Fernandez, Noah Segan, Candice Accola, Eric Podnar, and Jenny Spain

Directed by: Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Hazrel

Written by: Trent Haaga

Production Company: Hollywoodmade

Release Date: September 6, 2008

Deadgirl is less a story about a dead girl and more the story of disenfranchised friends Rickie and JT. Rickie and JT are your typical angsty teen boys from the lower economic echelons and marginalized by the locals. They have been best buds for a long long time, always there for each other when everyone else and the world seemed out to get them. Then they skipped school and went roaming in an abandoned mental hospital, the Nuthouse as JT calls it.

The two friends soon discover that the old Nuthouse isn't completely abandoned. Inside they find a feral dog and...the naked body of a dead girl in plastic and chained to a table. Except Deadgirl isn't quite dead. She moves and breathes and the friends have to decide what to do.

Rickie wants to release her and get out before whomever did this to her returns. JT assures him that no one is returning considering they had to force open a rusted door, and they should keep her. A bound, naked woman no one is looking for seems to be JT's Christmas gift he never got. Especially when he learns that she can't die.

JT and Rickie then go back and forth for most of the movie as Rickie tries to save Deadgirl and JT's soul, and JT can't figure out why his buddy is trying to spoil all of the fun. JT brings Wheeler, another hapless teen, in on the Deadgirl action. Meanwhile Rickie pines for Joann, his first kiss, revolts against his mother's alcoholic boyfriend, avoids Johnny, Joann's jock boyfriend, and struggles to figure out what he should do.

The story is really about the degradation of friendship with the fate of Deadgirl as the impetus. Should she be destroyed, freed, or kept as a flesh and blood blowup toy for the teens.

Deadgirl is a hard film to watch. The teens are annoyingly realistic. I can even swear to knowing JT and Wheeler personally. JT's confusion over Rickie's betrayal is heart wrenching, only tempered by our knowledge of the horrible things he has been doing. But "it's been JT and Rickie, all the way, man." It almost pales the abuse Deadgirl suffers at the hands of JT and Wheeler.

The film keeps Deadgirl's nature ambiguous until the end when Johnny gets bitten and himself becomes a walking dead person, confirming Deadgirl as being a zombie. Plus, some evidence suggests the zombie virus doesn't only spread from bites as JT begins showing subtle signs of deadening.

Deadgirl is a fascinating character drama with depraved zombie bondage sex. It's about the immature objectification of women, as they cleverly keep Rickie's mother and JT's grandmother off screen, only showing us females whom the teens objectify and want to sexually conquer. And it's about friends growing beyond the bounds of their friendship and the panicked attempts to keep it going. It's not for the weak of heart, but it is a masterful addition to the horror lexicon.

Related Trailers

Red Riding Hood - Shiloh Fernandez also starts in Red Riding Hood. Set in a medieval village that is haunted by a werewolf, a young girl falls for an orphaned woodcutter, much to her family's displeasure.

All About Evil - All About Evil
also stars Noah Segan. A mousy librarian inherits her father's beloved but failing old movie house. In order to save the family business she discovers her inner serial killer - and a legion of rabid gore fans - when she starts turning out a series of grisly shorts. What her fans don't realize yet is that the murders in the movies are all too real.

Raving Maniacs - Trent Haaga also wrote the screenplay for Raving Maniacs. A mysterious drug of alien origin makes its way into the ultimate rave in Providence. R.I. But as the rash young revelers ingest the glowing pills, little do they suspect that they're about to undergo a hideous metamorphosis into lustful and savage bloodsuckers.

Horror Movie Review: The Zombie Diaries

2011-01-30T17:07:00.000-05:00

The Zombie Diaries

Starring: Russell Jones, Craig Stovin, James Fischer, Sophia Ellis, and Jonnie Hurn

Directed by: Michael Bartlett and Kevin Gates

Written by: Michael Bartlett and Kevin Gates

Production Companies: Bleeding Edge Films and Off World Films

Release Date: October 29, 2006

A mysterious virus begins making its way around the world. People in the know are being tight lipped about it, and some citizens are strongly concerned and others are dismissive. But then the virus turns up in Britain killing the infected and turning them into zombies.

Doing a report on the virus, a small news crew gets caught in the country and what they witness and experience is caught on tape. Then we jump to a month later as a small group scavenge for supplies. Then another jump as we get video footage of a large group surviving a couple of months later. They reconnoiter the area surrounding a farm where they have holed up killing the ever roaming zombies. Eventually the group turns on itself. Then we went back to the first chapter to find out what happened to the documentary crew.

The film had potential and moments of great amateur documentary-style handheld camera events. The accidental shooting of survivors thought to be zombies was particularly poignant. The bound, naked female zombie shows the depths which humanity would fall away from being humane according to the two filmmakers Michael Bartlett and Kevin Bates are concerned making the true monsters of the film the all-too-human survivors.

The shaking handheld camera work helps the low budget feature from having to being too realistic in makeup and effects, which helps. I personally love fake documentary horror. People complain about the shaky camera, but I feel that, when well done, it helps create the horror and tension that might be lost in shooting these low budget films like normal movies. You have to focus harder to see what's going on which leads to a stronger scare.

But where their plot for the story is effective, Bartlett and Gates's execution of the fake documentary ruins the effect. The realistic feel of the shaky handheld camera gets ruin by what I would call two glaring mistakes. First, realism includes a plausible reason for actions and little attempt was made, after the first chapter, for why someone was running around with a camera recording things. Even the first chapter didn't explain why so much film was being shot. In The Blair Witch Project, they were students so they were wasteful and then wanted proof of what they were seeing. 86 minutes of film made sense. In Cloverfield they said a few times how they needed to document what was going on. But in The Zombie Diaries, little justification was given for the use of the video camera. It doesn't even fit with the characters we saw. Survivors concerned about zombie blood being tracked in on boots would more likely being telling the camera guy to put the damn camera down and shoot zombies when things got out of control.

But the handheld camera effect loses its punch when you hear the movie score. The other fake horror documentaries did not have a movie score. The lack of music helps make the movie feel real while the musical score makes it feel like you are watching a poorly filmed movie.

On top of that, the nonsequential order of the scenes, coupled with the scratchy and shaky film shots and poor character display makes it hard to tell exactly who you are looking at. I think the three chapters are connected and that the camera used in all three are the same camera, but I'm not certain because it was difficult to tell who was whom. Without clear connections, the three chapters seem disjointed.

Related Trailers

The Sickhouse - Jonnie Hurn has a brief role in The Sickhouse. Archaeologist Anna (Gina Philips) is thrilled to excavate the site of a 17th-century plague hospital. But when her dig unleashes the spirit of a murderous doctor, she'll have to do all she can to thwart the hospital's dormant evil secrets from springing to life. Trapped inside the hospital with four trespassing teens, Anna must find a way out before history repeats itself. Who will become the next patient?

Hellbride - James Fisher also stars in Hellbride. When Nicole's (Rebecca Herod) boyfriend, Lee (James Fisher), proposes to her, she's in heaven -- until she puts on the ring. Then, she's in hell as visions of hideous creatures begin to haunt her and the ring itself becomes stuck. Such is the curse of the antique band that Lee unwittingly purchased, its original owner having been jilted at the altar. Now, the couple must unravel the mystery of the ring and shed its spell before it destroys them.

Horror Movie Review: Triangle

2011-01-12T08:58:00.000-05:00

Triangle

Starring: Melissa George, Michael Dorman, and Liam Hemsworth

Directed by: Christopher Smith

Written by: Christopher Smith

Release Date: August 27, 2009

When I saw the trailer for Triangle, I knew I had to see it because in 2009 I participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I wrote about some kids getting stuck in the Bermuda Triangle. In Triangle, there is no direct reference to the Bermuda Triangle, but writer/director Christopher Smith has said early versions of the story were clearly set in the Bermuda Triangle despite the lack of reference in the movie. So for comparison sake, I had to check it out.

Jess (Melissa George) is a single mother trying to raise an autistic child. Her friend and possible romantic interest Greg (Michael Dorman) convinces her take take some time for herself and join him and his friends on his boat, the Triangle.

But when a storm system rolls in suddenly and capsizes the boat, Jess's small vacation starts giving her more stress. But a cruise ship comes coasting by and the survivors are able to climb on board. The boat seems abandoned and Jess seems oddly familiar with it. But then when they start getting killed off, Jess has to find a way to survive. But flashes of deja vu start to make Jess question what is really going on.

Triangle is a good old mind twist. Melissa George does a fine job leading the cast and Michael Dorman and Liam Hemsworth as Greg's assistant Victor do an okay job as well.

Triangle isn't about gore or shocks or even scaring us, but in challenging us to figure out what is going on. Even at the end when we see how some things are connected, we're still left wondering what exactly is going on.

Christopher Smith included some allusions to another mind twisting horror story, The Shining. An ax, a bloody message on a mirror, the maze like ship and its corridors, as an homage to the story.

Triangle is a fun watch to sit out and talk with others about what we saw, or to just mull over in your head, but it'll make you think...be warned.

Related Trailers

Turistas - Melissa George takes another fatal vacation as Pru in Turistas. In this gripping thriller from director John Stockwell (Blue Crush), a backpacking trip in Brazil turns dangerous for Alex (Josh Duhamel), Pru (Melissa George) and four of their college pals when they find themselves held captive by a radical military gang. The terrified friends fear they may never make it home alive when their captors prove that they'll do anything it takes to complete their ruthless mission.

Daybreakers - Michael Dorman also appears in Daybreakers. In the year 2019, a plague has transformed most every human into a vampire. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.

Knowing - Liam Hemsworth also appears in Knowing. A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

Creep - Writer/Director Christopher Smith also wrote and directed Creep. Trapped in a London subway station, a woman who's being pursued by a potential attacker heads into the unknown labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city's streets.

Horror Movie Review: Halloween II

2011-01-02T18:30:00.000-05:00

Halloween II

Starring: Scout Taylor-Compton, Malcolm McDowell, Tyler Mane, and Brad Dourif

Directed by: Rob Zombie

Written by: Rob Zombie

Production Companies: Dimension Films, Spectacle Entertainment Group, and Trancas International Films

Release Date: August 28, 2009

This is really two reviews, because there are two ways of looking at Halloween II. One review is Halloween II as its own, original horror film. The other is as the remake/sequel that it is.

If you look at Halloween II as its own beast, it's a pretty good horror flick, although not Rob Zombie's best work. Michael Myers, serial slasher, returns to Haddonfield to kill his sister, Laurie Strode, originally Angel Myers. The world has thought Michael dead since the last movie despite his missing body. Laurie, on the other hand, is struggling with post traumatic stress disorder from the attack in the first film. Scout Taylor-Compton does a pretty good job as the emotionally distraught, manic-depressive Laurie Strode. The revelation that Michael is her brother sends her into a tailspin of self destructive behavior. She and friend Annie are exceedingly annoying, but very realistic.

However, Laurie has dreams and delusions which beg many questions. She sees visions of her real mother, played by Sherri Moon Zombie, and a clown mask identical to the delusions that Michael has. How does Laurie know what she looks like? Two people, even related and having the same familial memories, would not likely have the same identical delusions, much less two people who grew up completely separated. Which begs the question, is Michael really just a tool for a metaphysical Deborah Myers? Does she return from the dead as an evil spirit seen only by Michael to drive him to kill?

Speaking of, Michael's kills are generally unimaginative here pretty much sticking with walking up to a person and stabbing him or her with his big knife. But he's effective nonetheless as a serial slasher. Creative kills are nice, but not essential. Less forgivable is his arrival at a massive Halloween party where he kills two people and disappears. The kill is utterly pointless when it could have been something significant. It could have added tension to the character of Laurie Strode, but the deaths go unnoticed and the friend of Laurie's who got killed, her disappearance was easily dismissed as having run off with some guy, so even not finding the victim dead, Laurie was not concerned about her disappearance. The killings at the strip club just outside of Haddonfield at least showed us that Michael killed whomever he came across. The fact that he had a smorgasbord of victims and he just moved on took that away. He didn't even take the van they were making out in.

Despite this, there are some disturbing dream sequences and some of Laurie's delusions are really quite captivating and creepy. And the ending opens up some interesting possibilities for the next film of the series.

However, as a remake/sequel, the questionable things become worse when viewed in comparison with the original. Jamie Lee Curtis's Laurie Strode was a teen scared by an ever following mad man out to kill her, but despite that she found the strength to fight back. She poked him with wire hangers, she shot him in the face, and with Loomis's help, set him on fire in an explosion. Scout Taylor-Compton does nothing but run. Well, she screams and cries, too. Taylor-Compton's may be a more realistic portrayal, but it lacks what every good horror film has. That point where the scared to-be victim fights back. In Halloween II
Michael is not beat by someone finding the strength to fight back, but by numbers.

And Malcolm McDowell's Loomis is, well, lame compared to Donald Pleasence. The differences don't bother me. Zombie's Loomis is a shallow, annoying media monger. I'm ok with that. I mean, I can see the point of having annoying characters. They are supposed to annoy you and hopefully show you through stereotypes real people whom we have grown accustomed to not being annoyed with whom we probably should. But why was he in Zombie's Halloween II? There's no point of revelation to his misguided and selfish actions being wrong. He profiteers off of his experience with Michael, then he confronts him at the end, which is easily dismissed as him trying to secure his rights as the Michael expert and vanquisher, not some noble attempt at redemption, which it should have been.

Tyler Mane's Michael, compared to Dick Warlock's Michael doesn't compare either. Dick Warlock and Nick Castle and Tony Moran before him in the original, were silent, unstoppable killing machines. Tyler Mane's Michael, despite being physically more intimidating, is a grunter and that simple quality makes him more human and less frightening. In the director's cut he even talks, ever so briefly, another stake in the fear caused by our slasher.

But whether you go with more review of Halloween II as a poor remake/sequel, or my some good, some bad review as its own animal, both reviews agree on one thing. Brad Dourif is phenomenal here. As Sheriff Lee Brackett, Dourif gives his best performance. We see that he can do more than be creepy. Brackett, played by Dourif, needs to keep coming back as long as they are planning on making this new Halloween series.

Rob Zombie had said he did not intend to do another Halloween, but when he heard there were plans for a Halloween II, he signed up to help preserve his vision. Sounds like a half hearted reason to do a movie. And that's what Halloween II looks like...a half hearted movie.

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Life Blood
- Scout Taylor-Compton also appears in Life Blood.
Forty years after committing a murder and inexplicably dropping off the map, lesbian couple Brooke (Sophie Monk) and Rhea (Anya Lahiri) are back -- although not necessarily in the form you'd expect. They're as beautiful as ever, but now they're vampires, too. And the ladies' newfound bloodlust, coupled with their killer looks, makes them a deadly pair in this sexy horror flick from director Ron Carlson.

Suck - Malcolm McDowell also appears in Suck. Singer Joey (Rob Stefaniuk) and his band, the Winners, will do anything for rock 'n' roll immortality. So when vampire Queeny (Dimitri Coats) bites into bassist Jennifer (Jessica Paré), the musical wannabes prove that vampires can rock, but stardom too often sucks. Malcolm McDowell stars as a vampire hunter, Henry Rollins as a radio show host, Iggy Pop as a producer, Alice Cooper as an evil bartender and Moby as a rock band's lead singer.

The Devil's Rejects - Tyler Mane has an uncredited role in Rob Zombie's The Devil's Rejects. Enlisting the aid of two vigilante brothers, Texas sheriff John Wydell (William Forsythe) seeks vengeance against his brother's creepy murderers in this Western-flavored sequel to writer-director Rob Zombie's bloody House of 1,000 Corpses. With payback in mind, the posse heads out to the Firefly homestead to take down Otis (Bill Moseley), Baby (Sheri Moon Zombie), Tiny (Matthew McGrorey) and Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) once and for all.

Chain Letter - Brad Dourif also appears in Chain Letter. When a group of tech-savvy high school pals receives an electronic chain letter that demands they each forward the message or face consequences, they laugh it off as an online prank and delete the posts. But when the deranged sender of the message starts hunting them down one by one, they find themselves in a fight for their lives. This tense horror film from director Deon Taylor stars Nikki Reed and Keith David.

Horror Movie Review: Doghouse

2010-12-23T09:00:00.000-05:00

Doghouse

Starring: Danny Dyer, Stephen Graham, Noel Clarke, Emil Marwa, Victoria Hopkins, and Nicola Jane Reading

Directed by: Jake West

Written by: Dan Schaffer

Production Companies: Carnaby International, Carnaby Film Productions, hanover Films, and Molinare Studio

Release Date: June 12, 2009

When Vince (played by Stephen Graham) finds himself caught in the middle of a horrible divorce, his buddies decide he needs to go on vacation. The six men, all having women troubles, or, well, significant other troubles as is the case for Graham (played by Emil Marwa), head to the small town of Moodley where the women outnumber the men 4 to 1 for a boys weekend away.

But their women troubles don't end in Moodley as they find themselves attacked by every woman in town, and not in a good way. All of the women in town have been changed into man-hating, flesh eating zombie women, or zom-birds.

This is a pretty fun story that is able to wrap realistic humor with supernatural horror. Come on, guys, tell me you wouldn't put gas in a water gun to create a flame thrower to fend off zombie women. And putting on women's clothes to blend in with the zom-bird natives! Classic half-assed guy schemes!

And, of course, the zom-birds, many of them are quite attractive underneath their undead exteriors. That's why Victoria Hopkins, the Bride, and Nicola Jane Reading, the Burning Witch zom-bird, get starring credit here.

The humor is subtle and realistic, the violence bloody and grotesque, all in all making this a fun zombie experience. Maybe a good anti-Valentine's Day movie, fellas?

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Severance - Danny Dyer also stars in Severance. A team-building weekend in the mountains of Eastern Europe goes horribly wrong for the sales division of the multi-national weapons company Palisade Defence when they become the victims of a group of crazed killers who will stop at nothing to see them dead.

Zombie Women of Satan - Victoria Hopkins appears with more zombie women in Zombie Women of Satan.

Evil Aliens
- Director Jake West also directed Evil Aliens. The sensationalist reporter Michelle Fox presents the TV show Weird World, with phony matters about UFOS and aliens. When she hears about Cat, a young woman who claims to have been abducted with her boyfriend and become pregnant by aliens, she convinces her chief to travel with a team to the remote Welsh island of Scalled to interview Cat. She invites the cameraman Ricky Anderson with his sound technician partner, the nerd expert in "ufology" and "ley lines" Gavin Gorman, the actress Candy Vixen and an obscure gay actor to prepare the matter. They get a van and wait for the low tide to reach the island, and when they find evidences that aliens have really landed in the location, the ambitious Michelle decides to film her way to fame and wealth.

Horror Movie Review: Puppet Master

2010-10-24T19:27:00.000-04:00

Puppet Master

Starring: Paul Le Mat, Irene Miracle, Jimmie F. Skaggs, Robin Frates, Matt Roe, and Kathryn O'Reilly

Directed by: David Schmoeller

Written by: Charles Band, Kenneth J. Hall, and David Schmoeller

Production Companies: Empire Productions and Full Moon Entertainment

Release Date: October 12, 1989

When I think of Puppet Master, I think of a classic horror film, so when I was researching this gem I was surprised it only came out in 1989. That's 21 years old now, but it had only been out about 5 years old when I first saw it and I thought it was 10 years old then. So I thought maybe the effects were better than I remembered. They weren't. Not to say they were bad, but the puppets, with their stop motion movement, weren't very well blended with the actual actors. It was probably pretty good effects for the time, but Puppet Master gave me the feeling of something like Phantasm which came out in 1979.

Puppet Master is about a group of psychics with various psychic abilities who gather together in response to the death of one of their psychic friends, Neil Gallagher. He had been in search of the secrets of Andre Toulon, the Puppet Master, who was able to create living puppets.

Shortly after arriving in the Bodega Bay Inn where Toulon killed himself to keep his secrets and his puppets away from Nazis, the psychics start getting attacked and killed by puppets. Our protagonist, Alex, and Megan, Neil Gallagher's wife, must find out what is going on before they are killed.

It's an interesting, if straightforward, tale which strains for mystery but doesn't quite get there. Alex, who can dream the future, has some interesting, psychedelic dream sequences, and the all of the characters except Alex are interesting. Alex is a bit bland. Megan's a bit generic, but fills her role adequately. Dana, the White Witch, is fascinating, Frank, the seeming leader of the group, is as sleazy as they come, and Carlissa, who gets psychic impressions off of objects, particularly erotic energy, well, she should have gotten her own movie...It'd be at least soft core porn, but there are plenty of soft core horror porn movies...It would have worked...

Anyway, the real stars of the show are the puppets: Blade, the leader; Pinhead, the muscle; the sadistic Tunneler; the comic relief, Jester; and the strangely attractive Leech Woman.

It's a fun movie and with some interesting characters, half of whom aren't even live actors.

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Inferno - Irene Miracle, who plays Dana, the White Witch, also stars in Inferno. Semi-sequal to 'Suspiria' has a American college student in Rome, and his sister in New York investigating a series of killings in both locations where their resident addresses are the domain of two covens of witches.

Hollow Man
- Jimmie F. Skaggs, who played Neil Gallagher, also appeared in Hollow Man. Scientists discover how to make people invisible, but their test subject becomes an insane killer who stalks them.

Man's Best Friend - Robin Frakes, who plays Megan Gallagher, also appears in Man's Best Friend. A dog turns from man's best friend into man's worst nightmare as he attacks everything that moves.

Child's Play 2 - Matt Roe , who plays the sleazy Frank, also appears in Child's Play 2. Chuckie's back as the doll possessed by the soul of a serial killer, butchering all who stand in his way of possessing the body of a boy.

Jack's Back - Kathryn O'Reilly also appears in Jack's Back. A serial killer in Los Angeles celebrates Jack the Ripper's 100th birthday by committing similar murders.

Tourist Trap - Director David Schmoeller also directed Tourist Trap. A group of young friends stranded at a secluded roadside museum are stalked by the owner of the place, who has the power to control his collection of mannequins.

Demonic Toys - Writer Charles Band also wrote Demonic Toys. A policewoman, her quarry and an innocent delivery boy become trapped in a haunted toy warehouse.

Clown at Midnight - Writer Kenneth J. Hall also wrote Clown at Midnight. Seven teenagers are stalked by a murderous clown while refurbishing an old opera house.

Horror Movie Review: Kill Theory

2010-10-03T16:45:00.000-04:00

Kill Theory

Starring: Agnes Bruckner, Patrick John Fleuger, Taryn Manning, Teddy Dunn, Ryanne Duzich, Daniel Franzese, and Kevin Gage

Directed by: Chris Moore

Written by: Kelly C. Palmer

Production Companies: BenderSpink, Cross River Pictures, Element Films, Last Resort Productions, and Lift Films

Release Date: May 14, 2008

When a group of college almost graduates take a trip to one of their vacation houses, a last celebratory party before graduation turns into the last celebration...of their lives. A psychopath targets them with a challenge: Kill each other and the one survivor can leave, or everyone dies.

This is one of those great "What If..." concepts where part of the enjoyment is thinking. "What would I do? Which character would I most likely be?"

But the execution of the film is solid as well. The acting is pretty decent, the tension strong, and while there's not a whole lot of jumps, it is still filled with dramatic horror.

Some of the characters are annoying, but then that's true about any group of college kids. One problem was there were too many characters and it was difficult for me to keep track of who was whom, including the pairings because there were 3 couples plus a couple of extras. 4 guys and 4 girls total.

The killer is one worthy of a sequel, though a bit reminiscent of Jigsaw from The Saw Series. He communicates via tape and sets traps, although not in a confined room like Jigsaw, but traps preventing the college victims from escaping.

Some of the film is shocking, going against your expectations, and the gore is pretty decent, especially as the kids hope gets strained and they start turning on one another. It's almost impossible to tell who is going to get killed and when. And the ending, tying everything together with the big reveal puts the cherry on top.

A solid straight to video horror which, if they created a sequel, I wouldn't roll my eyes at it. It's definitely worth a watch.

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Vacancy 2: The First Cut - Agnes Bruckner, who plays Jennifer, also stars in Vacancy 2: The First Cut. Three young people check into the Meadow View Inn for a night's rest, fully unaware of the inn's sick-minded employees and their nefarious intentions.

The Devil's Tomb - Taryn Manning, who plays Alex, also stars in The Devil's Tomb. An elite group of soldiers on a covert mission to retrieve a scientist from an underground lab encounter an ancient evil in the facility.

I Spit on Your Grave - Daniel Franzese, who played Freddy, also appears in I Spit on Your Grave. A writer who is brutalized during her cabin retreat seeks revenge on her attackers, who left her for dead.

Laid to Rest - Kevin Gage, the Killer, also stars in Laid to Rest . A terrifying story of a young girl who wakes up in a casket with a traumatic head injury and no memory of her identity. She quickly realizes she was abducted by a Deranged Serial Murderer and in an isolated rural town she must survive the night and outsmart the technologically inclined killer who is hellbent on finishing what he started.

Horror Movie Review: Beyond Re-Animator

2010-09-12T19:22:00.000-04:00

Beyond Re-Animator

Starring: Jeffrey Combs, Jason Barry, Elsa Patakay, Lolo Herrero, and Simon Andreu

Directed by: Brian Yuzna

Written by: Miguel Tejada-Flores, Jose Manuel Gomez, Xavier Berraondo, and Brian Yuzna based on characters created by H. P. Lovecraft

Production Company: Castelao Producciones, Fantastic Factory, Filmax, and Vía Digital

Release Date: April 4, 2003

Awards: Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver at the 2003 Sweden Fantastic Film Festival

The fantastic Jeffrey Combs returns a third time as Herbert West...Re-Animator. After the events of Bride of Re-Animator, Herbert West is locked away in prison. This hasn't stopped him from his research trying to find the cure for death. He thinks he can extract the soul (he calls it nano-plasm, but each is unique to the person...seems like a pseudo-scientific explanation for the soul to me...) and implant it in the resurrected body, thus preventing the madness so common with his reanimations. But there's only so much he can do as a prisoner.

Until, of course, Howard Phillips joins the prison staff as the new doctor. The warden gives him permission to choose an inmate to be his assistant and he chooses...Herbert West. Also interested in stopping death, Phillips assists West in his research.

As Herbert West's luck runs, no one leaves him in peace to do his experiments. The warden despises him and fellow inmates harass him. Also, West's curiosity gets the better of him as he puts the soul, sorry, nano-plasm, of a mouse into one of his human re-animates.

Then the inevitable prison riot...

On the one hand, the script is hard to take. The nano-soul-plasm thing was a big stretch. But, OK, West's reagent has always been a stretch...but we went further this time. However, we have good horror-comedy and gore. Eyeballs crawling, and, well, the penis is something that must be seen. Male heterosexual horror lovers won't mind seeing the penis.

This is a fun gore film and Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West is one of the best horror film characters of all time...

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Dark House - Jeffrey Combs also stars in Dark House. A troupe of actors hired for a haunted house attraction soon find that they are working in a true house of horror.

Legend of the Bog

Jason Barry, who plays Howard Phillips, also stars in Legend of the Bog. When a 'bog body' a 2000 year old murder victim preserved in a peat bog is disturbed by developers in rural Ireland, an archaeologist, a hunter and their helpers face the task of sending him back where he came from.

Werewolf Hunter - Legend of Romasanta - Elsa Pataky, who played a journalist investigating the prison and the love interest of Howard Phillips, also starred in Werewolf Hunter - Legend of Romasanta. An uproar is caused when some mutilated cadavers are discovered, giving way to the legend of the "Werewolf of Allariz".

Rottweiler - Lolo Herrero also appeared in the Brian Yuzna directed Rottweiler. The movie follows the story of a dog who was beaten severely at a young age and has surgery, in which it's bones are replaced with metallic bones. Later, this half robotic dog comes back for a gruesome revenge.

Beneath Still Waters

Brian Yuzna also directed Beneath Still Waters. Two boys make a pact to do something brave, crazy and dangerous. They will see their town one last time before a man-made lake floods it forever, burying it under the deep lake. Everyone's been evacuated - just the church, the homes, the abandoned shops remain. Only the eerie buildings...still hiding secrets that no one suspects. The two boys walk through the doomed ghost town. But the boys discover that the town isn't quite deserted. And they are trapped as a massive wall of water crashes down on the town. Time passes, and the whispered secrets of the town have been long forgotten. But now, fifty years after vanishing, the sunken town comes alive again. A boy vanishes swimming on a moonlit night while his girlfriend looks on. The very shoreline turns hungry, pulling people into the water. And below-below where it's incredibly cold and dark, the sunken town waits. Because beneath still waters something ancient now stirs. A forgotten legend lives again. Half a century ago they thought they had buried this horror forever. But you can't kill what was never really alive. And the massive stone walls of the Dam must soon burst and what was an incredible myth, will become a deadly reality.

Screamers: The Hunting - Miguel Tejada-Flores also assisted in writing Screamers: The Hunting. A group of humans arrive on Sirius 6-B to investigate an SOS signal sent out from the planet, which has been supposedly deserted since the destruction of the man-made weapons known as "screamers." Once the squad arrives, they find a group of human survivors eking out an existence in an old military outpost, but more important, they discover that the threat of the screamers has become even more insidious, now that they're able to morph into human form.

From Beyond - Brian Yuzna also assisted in writing From Beyond. Scientists create a resonator to stimulate the pineal gland (sixth sense), and open up a door to a parallel (and hostile) universe.

Pickman's Muse - H. P. Lovecraft also inspired the movie Pickman's Muse. An artist, Robert Pickman, becomes obsessed by visions of unworldly horror, revealed to him through an ancient artifact discovered in an abandoned church.

Horror Movie Review: Cornered

2010-09-05T12:08:00.001-04:00

Cornered

Starring: James Duval, Elizabeth Nicole, Peter Story, Ellia English, and Steve Guttenberg

Directed by: Daniel Maze

Written by: Darrin Grimwood and Daniel Maze

Production Company: MAZEfilms

Release Date: November 17, 2009

Awards: Ellia English won for Best Actress at the 2009 New York City Horror Film Festival award and the film won 2nd Place for Best Feature Film at the Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival

I love slasher films. They are the best horror films because the writers and directors have to think up a new gimmick with each film. Jason Voorhees is a zombie in a hockey mask, Freddy Krueger a scarred dream demon, Michael Myers is pure evil in a William Shatner mask...but then things get even crazier...Evan Rendell, aka Dr. Giggles, with his doctor fetish, killers in funhouses, ice cream truck killers, killer clown...the permutations of slashers is fascinating.

So comes the nameless killer of Cornered, a killer of convenience store employees and patrons. His targets in this film are five friends having poker night in the upstairs loft over the convenience store they either work in or shop in. The five victims are interesting characters chock full of vices. There's the alcoholic owner of the shop who berates and belittles his drug addicted nephew. There's the donut nomming loser attracted to the chain smoking prostitute, and my favorite...the ice cream loving phone sex vixen. It's easy to imagine that a night of drinking and playing poker could be a comedy film without the slasher who shows.

The killer overheard them discuss how they would stop him and decided to act out their ideas on them. I find that an interesting twist because you can imagine the victims being found and people saying, "What kind of sick mind could come up with that?" and the answer is the victims themselves.

There wasn't a whole lot actually scary going on, but it was interesting and fun. It's pretty obvious who the killer is, so there's not a whole lot of mystery here, but it's fun nonetheless.

It was cool seeing Steve Guttenberg, even for a little bit. I haven't seen him since the 80s. I know he was working, but not in anything that I wanted to watch. And as mentioned, Ellia English as the ice cream loving phone sexer steals the show. It's a fun watch all in all...but do watch it with an open heart...

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Penance - James Duval also appeared in Penance. A young mother decides to become a stripper to earn some fast cash only to find her worst nightmares are about to begin.

High Spirits

Steve Guttenberg also starred in High Spirits. When Peter Plunkett's Irish castle turned hotel is about to be repossesed, he decides to spice up the attraction a bit for the 'Yanks' by having his staff pretend to haunt the castle. The trouble begins when a busload of American tourists arrive - along with some real ghosts. Among the tourists are married couple Jack and Sharon. Sharon's father holds the mortgage on Castle Plunkett, so she's hoping to debunk the ghosts. Jack, on the other hand, after meeting pretty ghost Mary, is very eager to believe. Can there be love between a human and ghost? Jack and Mary are going to try and find out.

Horror Movie Review: Finale

2010-08-11T16:24:00.000-04:00

Finale

Starring: Carolyn Hauck, Suthi Picotte, Elizabeth Holmes, Steven Nieport, and Brad Barnes

Directed by: John Michael Elfers

Written by: John Michael Elfers

Production Company: Fire Trial Films

Release Date: March 29, 2009

Awards: Best Cinematography at the 2009 Boston International Film Festival, Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2009 Oxford International Film Festival, and STIFFY for Best Horror Film at the 2009 Seattle True Independent Film Festival

John Michael Elfers wanted to write and direct Finale to exorcise some personal demons. According to Elfers, the premise behind Finale is based on actual events: his brother's suicide and his mother's paranoia that a Satanic cult was involved. The demon exorcised from his past made for a great demon in Finale.

The Michaels are a typical family until the eldest son and brother commits suicide. Everyone is naturally saddened by the passing, but mother Helen is particularly stricken with feelings of guilt and not satisfied with the lack of answers surrounding her son's death. Helen begins spending much of her time at her son's house where he mysteriously splattered black paint everywhere. She finds a journal and begins learning about his girlfriend and a strange Satanic cult.

Meanwhile, Helen's daughter Kate joins an acting class and, despite her inexperience, lands one of the lead roles in an upcoming play. She also finds herself the love interest of lead actor PJ.

Helen soon finds herself plagued by a demon, written about in her son's journal, who kills through reflective surfaces. While she tries to insure that the mirror demon can't get at her or her family, everyone else begins to think she's going crazy. Kate also learns that not everything is as it seems with PJ or the play director Miss Bliss. Are they connected with the cult behind the demon?

Elfers doesn't waste time to get us looking suspiciously at the reflective surfaces in all of the scenes, and the shots make good use of those objects making them as much a part of the scene as the actors themselves. The film is shot to look like a 70s horror film, so the graininess is intentional for mood and effect. Most impressive is that CGI is not used in the film at all. I assumed it had been for the demon, but Elfers and his SFX crew went with old school tricks...tricks which maybe shouldn't be so quickly discarded for the often times noticeably unreal computer effects.

Not everything is answered here, so if you're hoping for a modern horror film which fills in all of the explanation like a color by number picture, forget it. I think it adds to the mystery of the film, but it may be frustrating for some.

Horror Movie Review: Legion

2010-08-06T18:36:00.000-04:00

Legion

Starring: Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Adrianne Palicki, Charles S. Dutton, and Dennis Quaid

Directed by: Scott Charles Stewart

Written by: Peter Schink and Scott Charles Stewart

Production Company Bold Films

Release Date: January 21, 2010

Ah, the apocalypse. Such a great concept for story telling. The end of humanity not because of global warming, or war, or some giant asteroid crashing into us. Nope, God's ready to pick up his Etch-a-Sketch and shake us out of existence.

And thus we have Legion. Charlie and Jeep work at a diner in the middle of the desert. Jeep pines away for Charlie and tries to care for her, but she just isn't having it. She's pregnant, but she doesn't need a man telling her what to do, like not smoke when you're pregnant. But the humdrum diner life takes a turn for the weird when an old lady tells Charlie her babies going to burn, that all the babies are going to burn, and then tries to kill her, crawling up the walls and across the ceiling in the attempt.

After a plague of locusts, or some such flying insect, Michael arrives. Michael is an angel who has come to Earth and cut off his wings in order to fight for humanity. Michael explains that God has lost faith in mankind and that Charlie's unborn child is humanity's savior. God wants the little brat dead so that can't happen and he's sending angels and possessed humans to do it.

We've got a lot of things going on here which makes for an interesting watch. The possessed humans are similar to zombies. It's like a fantasy tale with an evil sorcerer trying to wipe out mankind, but the sorcerer is God. And it's got the ingredients for a post-apocalypse survival tale, except, well, it takes place during the apocalypse...so would that be trans-apocalyptoc tale?

The horror works pretty good here with the God-zombie humans being pretty cool and creepy. The ice cream truck guy is particularly unnerving with the juxtaposition of the happy sound of his truck and appearance of his uniform with the decidedly intimidating physical appearance.

A problem, though, it it seems to borrow too much from The Terminator. Michael, similar to both the Terminator and Kyle Reese, comes to Earth naked and must get clothes and weapons for his mission. Charlie, like Sarah Connor, is the mother of the savior of mankind and the ending, with Charlie driving in a vehicle filled with weaponry and Charlie voice-over is derivative of the ending to Terminator.

There could have been more action, I suppose, and there were pretty lengthy stretches of talking heads, but I think the reaction of those at the diner to God's plans was interesting. And I think God was pretty accurately portrayed. I saw that some saw the film as blasphemous and anti-Christian because of the portrayal of God, but come on. In the Bible God wavers from flooding the world and turning people into pillars of salt, wiping out whole cities because he was frustrated with out behavior, and then being all nice and benevolent, so this film looks at, what if He decided to turn all Old Testament on us. Also, it's a clear indictment of mankind's generally pissy attitude and activity.

The one question I'm left with is...what's so special about Charlie's baby? When dealing with the end of days and a baby, it's either the devil's child or Jesus reborn. Neither makes much sense in this film, unless Jesus is also rebelling against God and decided to have his second coming. That's the only theory I've got.

Oh, and there's one thing that happens with Michael at the end which makes me wonder why Charlie will have to continue protecting the baby...but I can't explain about that without spoiling it...

Sure, there are problems, but I found it to be a pretty fun movie and Dennis Quaid and Charles S. Dutton both rock.

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Dennis Quaid also stars in Pandorum. A pair of crew members aboard a spaceship wake up with no knowledge of their mission or their identities.

Horror Movie Review: Spring Break Massacre

2010-07-28T11:28:00.000-04:00

Spring Break Massacre

Starring: Sarah Minnic, Reggie Bannister, Bob Farster, John Shumski, and Linnea Quigley

Directed by: Michael Hoffman, Jr.

Written by: Michael Hoffman, Jr. and Meghan Jones

Production Company: Disruptive Media

Release Date: April 2008

Let's face it, with a title like Spring Break Massacre, we can expect a few things...and you can sum it up by calling it a Cheesy B-Movie Slasher. But, I tend to find these fun, so all seemed good.

Well, I mean, the acting wasn't. And the film quality was pretty bad, but then we don't watch B-Movies for best of the line camera equipment and top rate actors.

It's spring break and Heather's dad is going out of town...which means, naturally, PARTY!

Unfortunately for Heather's boyfriend, she and her girlfriends want just a girls' night in. While the girls are having a good time playing cards, Truth or Dare, and planning to antagonize the boys, things turn creepy as weirdo neighbor Mr. Malone starts skulking around.

Meanwhile, Sheriff Yates gets word that a killer has escaped from prison.

So when the killing starts at Heather's house, the question remains: Who is it? Mr. Malone? Stanley Peterson, the convicted serial killer? Or is something else going on?

It sounds good, but unfortunately it was a little dull. The gore was subdued with most kills being done off screen, leaving most of the film was jokes about stereotypical girl sleepovers. Granted, that gives us a lot of tits and ass, which is great, but just not enough plot to keep things going.

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