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436,542 | 9,938,570 | 80,850 | 4 | He Knows You're Alone | A psychopath ( Tom Rolfing who many might think resembles the murderer in " Slumber Party Massacre " ) likes to hunt down brides-to-be and toy with them before his attempt to slay them . This mad desire to terrorize and destroy derives from being a jilted lover whose lady left him for Detective Len Gamble ( Lewis Arlt ) . He murdered her , his first true kill , and I guess the blood lust drove him to continue this path of bloodshed . Gamble has been tracking down the murderer for so long it has become a developed obsession . . that has drove him to the brink . Amy Jensen ( the very likable Caitlin O'Heaney ) is this madman's next chosen target and we watch as he kills her friends while following her around . Amy is engaged to be wed and her future hubby is off on a bachelor weekend with some friends . Meanwhile , a past love-interest , Marvin ( the very charming and witty Don Scardino ) is making moves on Amy so that he can " re-win " her heart . Marvin works at the morgue which provides him with many jokes to put on display . It's clear Amy's not quite sure fiancé Phil is the man she wishes to tie the knot with and it's obvious she has a quietly building love brewing for Marvin . Amy begins spotting the psycho Ray outside her kitchen window , at a carnival , and even during a ride through the House of Horrors . No one believes her ( sigh ) when Amy tells others of the man following her . Friends Joyce ( Patsy Pease ) and Nancy ( Elizabeth Kemp ) are set-targets . Joyce likes to fool around with her married professor ( character actor James Rebhorn ) and meets Ray at her teacher's home when waiting for him to return from the basement regarding why the lights go out . Nancy is awaiting Amy's return from taking her sister to a party when Ray comes at her unannounced as she is listening to music through earphones , eyes closed , smoking pot . It'll all come to a head when Ray chases Amy through her house , on top of her car as Amy is driving carelessly in a state of panic , and finally at the morgue where Marvin works . Meanwhile , Gamble discovers who Ray's next victim would be after discovering a torn piece of wedding dress cloth where the psycho murdered Amy's tailor . Gamble will find Amy's home , a beheaded corpse , and the location of the morgue when he phones the local police department . So you know that Gamble will finally face Ray , the man that killed his fiancé in cold blood while the maniac chases Amy throughout the lower section of the morgue through lots of dark halls and quiet , darkly lit rooms . Gore-less slasher flick has a polished production and great cast ( . . including a young Tom Hanks as a charming Psych major who starts a relationship with victim Nancy ) . But , it's rather lacking in the thrills-department and doesn't strand too far from the formula . Resembles " Halloween " rather than " Friday the 13th " and fails to deliver because of a rather clumsy conclusion . Also missing is a lack of tension . . the killer just isn't that imposing . |
436,870 | 9,938,570 | 91,778 | 4 | Poltergeist II-The Other Side | Having revisited POLTERGEIST just recently , I was startled watching this sequel in just how far it deteriorates in overall quality from one film to the next . Native American mysticism and a crazed cult leader spirit desiring to capture Carol Anne are injected into the story of the sequel where we discover that the Freelings were living above a cavern containing the skeletal remains of a group led by Reverend Kane ( Julian Beck ) proclaiming the end of time was near . . seeing that he was wrong , Kane doesn't allow them to leave . Kane and the restless spirits of his cult wish to have Carol Anne back after tasting what life was like with her presence , not ready to go into the light . Kane is now a demon , pure evil , and the Freelings need assistance from a Shaman in order to defeat him . The Freelings ' powerful bond of love will ultimately determine their outcome against Kane , The Beast . The special effects sequences almost border on parody , not at all scary , but more unintentionally hilarious , such as when Robbie's ( Oliver Robins ) braces go amok or when Steve ( Craig T Nelson ) swallows a " possessed " worm in a Tequilla bottle , with Kane attempting to use him to harm his family , regurgitating it ! This worm starts to grow back into Kane's humanly form ! It's quite gross and would perfectly fit in a goofier monster flick , but the POLTERGEIST franchise was supposed to be a more sophisticated horror enterprise , and the remaining sequels just mercilessly ravage what made the first film so good . I couldn't help but wonder what JoBeth Williams and Craig T Nelson felt while making this sequel , an obvious decline in all areas from the first film , from the rather embarrassing plot to the dialogue they are forced to endure . The sequences where the family must go into the other side to stop Kane once and for all just buries the legacy this franchise might've had , but perhaps there shouldn't have been another film anyway . There wasn't lightning in the bottle twice . Heather O'Rourke is still adorable as Carol Anne , Zelda Rubinstein , in a glorifified supporting role , stops by to help the Freelings the best she can ( . . having delved into the history of what took place in the cavernous dwelling under their house ) , and Sampson as the Indian shaman is a charming , welcome presence who wishes to bestow wisdom to the family often just confusing poor Steve whose life has fallen on hard times thanks to the spirits which won't leave Carol Anne alone . You have lots of special effects as Kane's supernatural power surfaces when Steve allowed him into the house ( . . such as an electrical wire and running chainsaw that go berserk ) and icky creatures designed by HR Geiger . Geraldine Fitzgerald has a small , but pivitol role as Diane's mother who informs her and Carol Anne that they are all clairvoyant . . she serves as a type of protection against Kane . You can just sense that this sequel should've never taken place , merely a cash-in to repeat the success of the far superior original . Kane ( . . Julian Beck , whose cancer really brings an extra dimension to his character ) is quite a memorable menace and this perhaps saves the film from complete crapdom . All the skeletons that reach out to attack ( . . including a nightmare dragging Diane underground ) are effective . |
435,906 | 9,938,570 | 364,616 | 4 | Clawed : The Legend of Sasquatch | Underwhelming , rather gore-less creature feature with no surprises concerning a Sasquatch ( Taku he ) running loose on Echo Mountain , attacking those illegally hunting . Miles O'Keefe is the true heavy of this flick as poacher Ed , out to get the Bigfoot and an Indian Ranger Eagleheart ( Nathaniel Arcand ) who actually saved his ass . Ed loses some pals to the angry Sasquatch , inlisting others in town to go back into Echo Mtn . to get those he deems responsible . The local media consider the poacher attacks as merely caused by an endangered grizzly . Richard ( Dylan Purcell ) is a smart high school kid who understands nature and wild-life regarding their habits and behavior but has been having trouble passing tests in class . He's asked by his disgruntled professor to join up with jock Jay ( Brandon Henschel ) who needs an to graduate the class . . and high school . . to develop an assignment on endangered species . Jay will coerce Richard to spend a weekend on Echo Mountain with his cousin Jenny ( Chelsea Hobbs ) , who has a crush on him , and sweetheart Shea ( Casey LaBow ) hoping to find a grizzly recorded on camcorder therefore achieving that elusive grade he needs to pass class , hopefully impressing his teacher in the process . Sheriff Drake Kassel ( Jack Conley ) attempts to keep order with a mayor breathing down his neck to find that bear which killed those poachers so that locals will quit worrying about it . . that , and the mayor doesn't wish for some killer bear to ruin tourist season . Into Echo Mountain with the dreaded Sasquatch shown from time to time spying on potential victims behind bushes and hanging leafy branches and uttering guttural growls when enraged . " Clawed . . " is practically ready-made for the Sci-fi channel in that most of the violence occurs off-screen and even when we see the aftermath of the monster's attacks , rarely are they that gruesome or stomach-churning ( . . one hunter's holding his recently removed guts , another's face was torn into ) . There's a light amount of profanity and a peek-a-boo shot of LaBow's nicely developed breasts . The kids aren't that obnoxious ( . . well , except for Jay who likes to play practical jokes on his peers and hurl lame insults at nerdy Richard ) , and O'Keeffe as Ed , hides his eyes under a cap most of the time , speaking his dialogue under a bearded scowl . The Sasquatch isn't the least bit scary , and looks like a costume . Nothing that memorable here . You'll probably forget about it soon after it's over . . " Clawed . . " will hide quietly in the ever-growing number of Bigfoot / Sasquatch flicks that have increased in size over the years . Even the location itself can not enhance the rather dull experience . |
436,729 | 9,938,570 | 72,179 | 4 | Slashed Dreams | College students , Jenny ( Kathrine Baumann ) and Robert ( Peter Hooten ) decide to drive up to a certain mountainous spot where their school chum , Michael ( Robert Englund , in one his first movie roles ) , went to live in nature away from the civilized world . A love blossoming between them , Jenny and Robert , through a rigorous journey to find it , come across Michael's humble abode and rest for awhile . While skinny-dipping in the river nearby , they are met by a couple of nutty backwoods hoodlums , Levon ( James Keach , Mr . Jane Seymore ; " Moving Violations " and " Wildcats " ) and Danker ( David Pritchard ) who later proceed to attack them into the night . Jenny is sexually molested and slapped around a bit while Robert watched helplessly with a knife to his throat before being knocked unconscious . Emotionally devastated by her attack , Michael finally arrives with Robert agonizing and full of rage . This will eventually lead to the eventual confrontation between the boys and Robert as Michael attempts to console Jenny , whose having a hard time coping with her mistreatment . Insufferably lame , incredibly corny backwoods thriller ( . . absent the thrills ) has college kids , removed from the comfort of home , thrust into a traumatizing situation regarding menacing backwoods weirdos . The film's supposed key rape sequence is rather tame and doesn't really feature a lot of sexual violence towards the victim , and it happens relatively quickly . The director pulls his punches and the the proceeding scenes afterward also lack any real bite . The villains arrive rather late and aren't even given much time on screen , their threat unable to really nourish in our minds . Viewers like me wanting to see an early performance by Robert Englund will also be truly disappointed as he doesn't arrive into the film until it's almost over , as Michael , his role is of comforting friend , trying to snap Jenny from her emotional turmoil . Thankfully for horror fans , Englund would find his niche as a menacing killer ( . . often a colorful fiend of some sort ) , not some gentle soul comforting victims , but , instead , causing the conflicts which terrorize innocents . Keach and Pritchard could've been memorable villains if they'd been given more time on screen , but they remain in the background because this film merely uses them sparingly as a dramatic device . The film is more of a drama about love and the trials facing someone corrupted , not the Deliverance type of terror tale this should've been . The premise shows lots of potential , but much of the film's running time focuses on our couple coming together thanks to a break up regarding Jenny and popular college boyfriend Marshall ( Ric Carrott ) , their travel to Michael's finding his hideaway , and falling for each other . . nearly 40 minutes or so in , one wonders if this is a thriller at all . The director spends ample time displaying the picturesque setting of the mountainous wilderness with Robert and Jenny having a great time in the process . When the " thriller elements " come into the film , they are given little precious time , leaving those of us , seeking something more worthwhile , wanting . I wouldn't say this is a terrible movie , just not the one marketed to those who sit down to actually watch a thriller . Even the brawl at the end between Robert and scar-faced Levon , which should at least make an impact , leaves much to be desired . The film's music tested my threshold but I made it through somehow . This film deserves a different title than the one it currently has . . . |
436,791 | 9,938,570 | 76,478 | 4 | Nurse Sherri | The film opens with a cult leader attempting to resurrect a dead member with his followers chanting for his rebirth as the sun strikes upon them in the desert . Reanhauer ( Bill Roy ) believes wholeheartedly in his power , and gets so worked up that he collapses with what appeared to be a heart attack . Unable to keep him alive , all those involved , doctors and nurses , are sentenced for attack with Reanhauer's demonic spirit invading the curvaceous body of nurse Sherri ( . . big-chested Jill Jacobson ) targeting each one using her as a tool of vengeance . Forced against her will , with no memory of inflicting such harm , Sherri's host body murders selected victims . Fortunately , Sherri's fellow co-worker , nurse Tara ( Marilyn Joi ) begins a rather blossoming romance with a blinded patient , Marcus Washington ( Prentiss Moulden ) , once a star football player , whose mother was a practitioner of voodoo . Through Marcus ' knowledge , passed down from mom , Tara finds out about possession and how to possibly save Sherri before she murders everyone unknowingly . Meanwhile , Sherri's lover , Dr . Peter Desmond ( Geoffrey Land ) worries about her present condition and welfare . Well , this was my first Al Adamson film and I must agree with his detractors that , just from this film alone , it seems he holds them together with paper clips and Elmer's glue . The animation with which we see the spirit take control of Sherri is beyond awful and rather laughable . A little soft-core nonsense as filler , some demonic possession thrown in the mix ( Sherri actually speaks in another voice when she's possessed ) , with naughty nurse behavior ( . . the three nurses focused on in the film all are quite sexually active and free-spirited ) and a little bit violence / gore . The film is essentially shot in tiny rooms with dull dialogue from a rather mundane cast . The sexual situations aren't that hard-core and Al often shoots them without revealing all that much . The film looks embarrassingly cheap and there's an absence of thrills , although the chilling score ( . . which sounds like something from Dark Shadows ) does help a little bit . Jacobson and Mary Kay Pass ( . . as nurse Beth who seems to be a nymphomaniac if she'll even screw a nutty patient , always complaining of illnesses he really doesn't have , with enough chest hair to declare him a Neanderthal ) aren't bad looking , and Adamson's story-line , although frail , is somewhat coherent ( . . it seems he rarely directs films which are ) . Overall , the movie looks like it cost 5 bucks and Adamson just can not overcome the budgetary restrictions ( . . or , in my opinion , create an unpleasant enough atmosphere due to a sometimes plodding narrative and tedious scenes which do little for the story ) . John F Goff has the role of the hospital's psychiatrist who wants to commit Sherri , not believing the idea that she was possessed ; he constantly bickers with Peter over her . I watched the unrated " lost " version which I guess is the real version to watch of Nurse Sherri . |
436,710 | 9,938,570 | 716,825 | 4 | Santa kills again | The perfect murder is foiled when a wife ( played by Mary Ellen Trainor , once the wife to director Robert Zemeckis , who helmed this episode ) , who murders her husband with a poker , has the misfortune of receiving a visitor as she is about to move the body outside . . an escaped insane madman dressed in a Santa Claus suit ( played by a deviously hideous Larry Drake ) . She fends for her life while trying to find a way of hiding her husband's corpse . She decides to use an ax , once she downs the Santa killer who misses several chances to chop off the woman's head , to frame the killer for her husband's murder . Santa killer locks her in a closet and pursues the woman's daughter as she tries desperate to free herself to save the child . This episode of TALES FROM THE CRYPT just recycles tired material involving the old " Santa kills " theme while also adding the oft-used ( add nauseum ) woman - murders - her - husband - for - a - man - she's - been - cheating - with routine . It's essentially Trainor trying to find a way to avoid being caught with a dead body she kills while also keeping a safe distance from a maniac . There's nothing refreshing or new about this plot which pretty much goes through the motions . Not one of the show's highlights . |
436,896 | 9,938,570 | 96,246 | 4 | The Terror Within | A plague has pretty much removed mankind off the map for the exception of underground bases throughout the US . There are two at least we know of . . Mojave Desert base , the one where our low-budget sci-fi horror flick is set , and the Rocky Mountain base where our base communicates with from time to time . It seems mutated " gargoyles " have spurned from the plague / virus that killed off civilization and are trying to break the stronghold ( a minor steel door " hidden " inside an old metal shack ) of the Mojave underground base . The film opens with hero David ( Andrew David ) and Sue ( Starr Andreeff ) , secret lovers , searching for possible survivors and running into a pregnant woman ( . . after finding a dead family with their stomach's ripped open ) who herself is fleeing a gargoyle . At first , we see through the eyes of the monster after her . David and Sue , through the permission of base commander Hal ( George Kennedy , really slumming it . . he must've really needed the cash ) , bring this female , named Karen ( Yvonne Saa ) , inside the the installation paying dire consequences . . she is carrying a monster fetus growing at an alarming rate . In a scene VERY reminiscent to ALIEN , the gargoyle fetus , as Dr . Linda ( Terri Treas ) attempts to abort it , explodes forth from Karen's womb and escapes into the air duct . The rest of the film shows our small crew trying to find the monster , now fully grown within 45 minutes ( . . now that's fast ! ) , on the four levels of the base as it picks them off one by one , slashing their throats with it's sharp clawed hands . The characters of Andre ( John Lafayette ) and Neil ( Tommy Hinkley ) are modeled after Parker ( Yaphet Kotto ) and Brett ( Harry Dean Stanton ) without much success . Bright spot is Starr Andreeff as Stevens ' beautiful love-interest who may possibly become a victim of the rampaging gargoyle . . in the plot , the gargoyles rape and impregnate other human females so that their race may breed and grow ; Sue , when attempting to assist her hurt lover , is captured and victimized by the rubber fiend . An unconvincing rubber monster suit wore by a tall stuntman , a plot which unashamedly borrows elements from another popular film ( s ) , cheap sets patch-worked together , and underwritten characters . . living the B-movie experience . " The Terror Within " does move at a quickened pace and the cast , at least , seem inspired keeping a straight face . The rubber monster is corny and inspires giggles instead of fear . I do feel this is the kind of film for bad alien movie connoisseurs only . The gore is pretty good . . the way the monster tears at it's victims . There are chase scenes in air-ducts also very reminiscent of ALIEN / ALIENS . Go into this expecting an unoriginal monster sci-fi actioner and you might find it entertaining . But , if the whole point of the film is for the viewer to bite their nails at this horrifying monster popping up out of nowhere , then it fails miserably . Because the rubber monster in this film sure doesn't elicit the same effectiveness as the creatures in ALIEN . |
435,972 | 9,938,570 | 1,063,056 | 4 | From Within | A " suicidal " curse has been unleashed on a bible belt Southern town of Grovetown due to the murder of a practicing witch who was accused of killing a local in a nearby river . The suicide of the witch's son at the beginning of the film , specifying a chant from the Grimoire , invokes the curse causing it to spread from one victim to another after each individual is forced to kill them self by the conjured evil ( . . the evil is a reflection of them , their fate shown right before the victim dies ) . Aidan ( Thomas Dekker ) , is the remaining family member of the witch , her son , until his cousin , Sadie ( Margo Harshman ) arrives . Lindsay ( Elizabeth Rice ) , is a pretty , kind teenager who offers an olive branch to Aidan when he's attacked by the local minister's vocal son , Dylan ( Kelly Blatz ) . Lindsay and Dylan are an item , but this relationship deteriorates over time due to their differences towards Aidan . . to Lindsay , he's a suffering victim whose mother's murder was covered up as an accidental burning , while Dylan sees him as a weapon of the devil who must be put an end to for the safety of his Christian flock . When Lindsay herself receives the curse , she asks Aidan for help while Dylan sets out , with help by local believers , Roy ( Adam Goldberg ) and Paul ( David Ariniello ) , to purge their town of the evil that exists within . As typical of films like these , Christians ( . . and their faith ) is presented as backwards , ignorant , antagonistic , overwhelming , intolerant , and overly aggressive , even to the point of resorting to cruelty and violence ( . . obviously those involved in the making of this film presented this as a symbolic reminder of the " Burning Times " ) The witches , however , are presented as innocent victims , suffering indignity and wrath for choosing to refrain from the religion of those around them , in turn , victimized for whatever horrors might take place , just for what they believe in . A murder ( . . by the local minister , no less , covering up a homosexual tryst with the victim ) begets another . . the witch receives the blame for the crime committed in her backyard and is executed for it . We witness how Christianity is a harmful threat , riddled with corruption , and those that oppose the religion , are set up for potential danger . . it's a presentation that is often brought to the screen this way which is a shame , because not all Christians are such loud , chest-thumping tyrants willing to inflict such damage towards unbelievers . The film's supernatural threat resembles those often seen in the Asian revenge ghost genre , with the setting of a backwater town full of Christian bigots the relative difference . Some recognizable faces pop up such as Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's child , Rumer , as an early victim , Jared Harris as her father , and a completely unrecognizable Adam Goldberg as a vulgar , often imprisoned , representative of the trailer park community , who Dylan uses as an enforcer ( . . of , course ! ) to settle " conflicts of faith " . Laura Allen stars as Lindsay's alcoholic white trash step-mother Trish and Brittany Robertson portrays her school pal , Claire . While the threat of the curse is recognized , the evil Christians , led by the domineering , confrontational Dylan , are presented as the ultimate weapon of destruction . Through the materializing friendship between Lindsay and Aidan , we see a developing uprising against her for " consorting with evil . " Blatant manipulative writing such as this rather irks me because it often displays such a general disregard for those who believe in something the filmmakers clearly do not , and this provides them with an opportunity to demonize them . . a pulpit to use Christianity as a horrifying threat to the world that must be stopped , and only can through witchcraft . Not particularly violent , we watch as terrified victims are confronted by their frightening mirror images , soon perishing when there's nowhere left to run . |
435,760 | 9,938,570 | 65,669 | 4 | The Dunwich Horror | Sandra Dee , out of all people , portrays the endangered protagonist , a college student seduced by the hypnotic ( . . key word ) charms of warlock Dean Stockwell who wishes to to open the gateway for unleashing " the old ones " from another dimension and needs the Necronomicon , in possession of Professor Ed Begley who tours campuses lecturing on the book's content and origins . He wishes to use Dee as a sacrifice to the demon gods on the cliff-side ruins of an ancient alter . Sam Jaffe hams it up as the loony grandfather of Stockwell and Lloyd Bochner is the village doctor Begley confides in to stop Stockwell from what he plans to do regarding the gods which await re-entry into our world and to Dee , sexually ! I found the film , at times quite atmospheric and moody ( . . mainly the first 45 minutes ) , but the ending is sh ! T . Loved the score by Les Baxter , although it seems , at times , to resemble the background music of a Scooby Doo episode . My favorite shot has a camera looking out from a burial plot after the death of a specific character as Stockwell attempts to perform a ritualistic ceremony . The film's night sequences at the end as a band of angry villagers , following behind Begley and Bochner , are attacked by a creature ( that looses itself from a locked room in Jaffe and Stockwell's home ) , within the woods drove me nuts . . you can't see a damn thing unless the director lets loose those color schemes which operate loudly as the monster's " sight " when it confronts possible victims . And , the face off between Begley and Stockwell as Gidget lays on the sacrificial alter in orgiastic ( . . under an induced hypnotic state , although one might use that as a description of Dee's performance ) bliss is laughable . I loved the opening animated credits sequence . Considering this is an AIP production , I was disappointed . At times moody and interesting , other times painstakingly dull . |
436,826 | 9,938,570 | 74,434 | 4 | Drive-in Massacre | A psychopath is slicing the heads off of victims in cars with a sword at a local drive-in and it's up to Detectives Larry and Mike ( Bruce Kimball and Steve Vincent ) to find out who it is . The drive-in theater was once a carnival and many of those who worked in it are employed . It could very well be the incredibly cranky , ornery , and all-around rude theater manager , Austin Johnson ( Newton Naushaus ) whose foul attitude stinks something rotten ; once the barker , he has been left to take care of the entire business while his former employer sold the farm and ran off to Hawaii or some place . Another suspect is the " half-wit " janitor , Germy ( Douglas Gudbye ) who is an admitted former sword swallower , but seems too mild-mannered and simple-minded to be a killer . The main suspect is Orville ( Norman Sherlock ) , a creepy peeping tom , spotted by Germy hanging around cars , spying on certain couples making out . The detectives attempt woefully to solve the case but their methods are a bit suspect ( . . why would you associate yourself with Germy , a possible suspect , no matter how nice and hospitable he might be ? ) . . I mean two victims are killed in cars not feet from where they were staking out ! The major problem established by a host of other users is the languid pace of the entire film . Some interrogation sequences are stretched too long and we witness the uncomfortable cast languishing with rather dire material . I did find the foul character of Johnson rather amusing in how he describes everyone he comes in contact with . . never a kind word for anyone , he's quite the misanthrope . Johnson is the kind of character you yearn to see get stabbed in the throat with a sword . I also enjoyed the opening beheading . . but director Seagall doesn't quite match this with the subsequent killings ( . . one victim's head falls off and a couple is skewered by the dreaded sword while hugging ) . There's a bizarre red herring set-up featuring the great Buck Flower chasing after a female victim ( . . actually played by his real daughter Verkina ! ) inside a warehouse with a machete ( . . he's considered a suspect , but anyone in their right mind knows that the film will ultimately end at the drive-in ) . The truly horrible climax at the end punctuates a rather ineptly made film . . attempting to leave open the killer's identity , it only has you scratching your head . A plausible climax determining who between two obvious suspects might in fact be the real killer would've at least provided a satisfying conclusion to a rather poorly conceived horror film . The really oddball sequence where Larry and Mike are questioning Orville in his home ( . . with nude posters of models pinned all over his living room walls ) really has to be seen to be believed . . seeing Orville squirming and wallowing in misery over his sexual appetites ( . . he even admits out loud to " beating his meat " while at the drive-in , completely overwhelmed in embarrassment ! ) while the detectives appear quite appalled . A film like Drive-in Massacre only proved that in the 70's almost anyone could make a movie . |
436,431 | 9,938,570 | 89,547 | 4 | Mansion of the Living Dead | Four strippers are sent by their travel agent to a supposed paradise which turns out to be an empty , but gorgeous location with a hotel without guests and a creepy manager , Carlos ( Antonio Mayans ; a frequent Franco collaborator ) who keeps a naked woman , Olivia ( Eva León ) chained in a room , tormenting her by keeping food just out of reach . He also has a loony gardener , Marleno ( Albino Graziani ) who likes to pester the girls , when he's not whistling or singing to his beautiful flowers outside the hotel . But , outside the hotel , the girls notice that there are no tourists . Just the oddball Carlos and his nutty gardener . But , the girls , one by one , will soon discover who awaits them not too far from the hotel , restless spirits of accursed Inquisition dressed in monk robes , chanting from within their abbey sacrificing each female soul to Lucifer , condemned to worship him thanks to the power of a witch , Irina burnt at the stake who cast a spell on them . One of the strippers , Candy ( Lina Romay , who barely ever wears clothes , I don't think I've ever seen a more uninhibited woman in all my life ) could very well be the reincarnated spirit of Irina and Carlos is actually a limbotic spirit , real and yet unreal . When he's within the abbey walls , he's seen in a rotted form ( . . his face is covered in a type of waxy substance ) underneath his robe , watching as his brethren takes turns sexually molesting each female victim , serving their Prince of Darkness before plunging a dagger in them . Carlos believes that if Candy is in fact Irina , her kiss to him can set their souls free , no longer to serve their dark lord . Well , that's what I got out this Franco flick . When he sets up the first scene as we see these " undead " monks chanting a rather harmonic tune , the wind ever present , you kind of get an idea that something within the atmosphere of this place in unstable . He is able to display this by showing the wind as it generates a type of rage , also arranging the furious sound of wind on the soundtrack . It only happens when the girls make the unfortunate mistake of nearing and entering the abbey . This is a place of unrest and , I felt , not of our realm . I was a bit miffed with the sub-plot regarding Olivia , but I think she's kept by Carlos as a reminder of what causes such discomfort , the desires of the flesh , and a longing for lustful embrace . Maybe , that's why he mistreats her . She's an outward expression of what torments him from the inside . I love the location and the desolation . Something about the absence of people creates a sense of foreboding . Where is everybody ? Such a beautiful place remains so unoccupied . What gives ? That worked well for me , as did the way Jess creates the atmosphere around the abbey . Many might find some of the Inquisition monks very similar to the Blind Dead Templars . There's lots of naked flesh , drooping breasts which hardly ever remain covered , and lesbian activity ( Lina is a wild cat in this one , even proclaiming how she likes " tree-hugging " , at one time spitting out a hair caught in her teeth ) . If you do not like Jess ' camera work , or the way his female characters walk around naked desiring sex , stay far away . |
435,883 | 9,938,570 | 122,070 | 4 | The Forest | A truly disturbed , cannibalistic psychopath , John ( Gary Kent , under the pseudonym Michael Brody ) who lives in a cave , stalks campers who make the unfortunate mistake of backpacking in his wilderness . Steve ( Dean Russell ) and his buddy Charlie ( John Batis ) get into a playful argument with their wives , Sharon ( Tomi Barrett , the late real-life wife of Gary Kent ) ) & Teddi ( Ann Wilkinson ) over surviving in the woods camping by themselves . To prove a point , the gals decide to head for the wilderness out of Los Angeles for a camping trip disturbing their partners to the point that they soon follow afterward . Falling prey to John , Teddi is soon killed as Sharon runs for her life as the men arrive late to the wilderness due to their truck's overheating . Afraid , tired , and paranoid , Sharon receives some very unusual assistance . . John's ghost children ! That's right , John's children remain in the wilderness , ghostly apparitions which spy on those who exist in the woods , taking a special liking to Sharon , helping guide her to safety and her friends . Meanwhile , Steve and Charlie soon find shelter from a down pour and the darkness of night in the very cave where John lives . Cooking over a burning fire , the meat simmering is actually from Charlie's wife , Teddi ! Unknowingly Charlie eats from the meat when offered by John who finds the outsiders inside his dwelling place ! Anyway , soon , worried about their wives , Steve and Charlie set out to find them as morning breaks . Meanwhile , John goes a hunting , with Charlie , Steve , and Sharon in a fight for survival . When Steve suffers a compound fracture stumbling between two massive rocks over a flowing river , he will be handicapped only increasing such an already nightmare scenario , with Sharon following her ghostly young friends to potential safety . . they even , at one point , plead with their father to not kill her . Charlie , unfortunately , doesn't have such friends . Director Donald Jones ( . . who also wrote it and went broke funding the film ) smartly shoots the film in such a breathtaking , gorgeous location in the Sequoia National Park , in California , where those gargantuan trees tower to great heights , and I basically watch backwoods slashers for this very purpose . For some strange reason , I didn't particularly find Jones ' direction of the setting very atmospheric . . the dread was missing , although there are some rather disturbing attacks by John using his knife ( . . shot in a clever way , Jones ' camera suggests more than what is actually on screen , yet , somehow , still achieves that gasp at what John is doing to victims ) . Within such a picturesque landscape , to see innocents preyed upon by a maniac , that kind of increases the terror . City folk attempting to spend a nice few days in a different place , to smell the clean , fresh air , enjoy the sights of a lovely view , only to find themselves stalked by a creepy predator with a very intimidating knife . Providing the back-story to why John is the monster he is , Jones allows us to witness his memory flashback in discovering his wife's adultery and reacting accordingly ( . . she is also a ghost in the wilderness looking for her children , wishing to punish them for " being naughty " ) killing both her and the lover in bed ( . . a refrigerator repairman ) . The children , sad and depressed committed suicide and now " haunt " the wilderness , still interacting with their pa or whoever they so choose . I realize such a novelty as ghost children in a backwoods slasher is unique and appreciated by some , but I found the idea rather hokey and too silly to take serious . They do help our heroine escape a few potentially dangerous situations , but it was awfully hard for me to keep from giggling uncontrollably . The music I found hideously 80's and the performances aren't mind-blowing . I mean I could react to the situation they were in , because it is indeed quite terrifying to find yourselves in an unfamiliar and hostile territory being hunted by someone who knows the area so well . I think the film is similar in many ways to DON'T GO INTO THE WOODS . . ALONE ! , except that THE FOREST has the aforementioned ghost children ( . . their voices echo when talking to Sharon , their father , or each other ) . Gary Kent looks like a filthy George Lucas , with tattered clothes , and humanity lost . As I mentioned above , the violence isn't as grisly as what is suggested because director Jones is able to effectively cut away from a great deal of knife penetration , yet the way he stages the set pieces leave you rather unsettled ( . . such as Teddi's murder , the violence mostly silhouetted on the surface of a nearby huge stone formation , her pleas for John to stop and , once stabbed several times , attempts to crawl away from her predator only to be finished off ; a hanging corpse John is skinning ) . I've seen better and worse of this type of slasher film , it's rather mediocre , at best , with some effectively shot scenery . I don't really think it's particularly memorable , for the exception of the ghost children . |
436,843 | 9,938,570 | 371,572 | 4 | Beneath Still Waters | A warlock , Mordecai Salas ( Patrick Gordon ) buried , with his chained flock inside a chamber within a devil-worshiping church , under water thanks to a mayor who was able to sink the village of Marienbad with developing deals promising a brighter future for the landscape . 40 years later , after the mayor's death , Mordecai threatens a grand return . The mayor's granddaughter , Clara ( Charlotte Salt ) is the one Mordecai has his eyes on , while also infecting the townspeople nearby with a type of mental sickness , and others with a black sludge-like substance derived from the muddy soil of the water covering Marienbad . Mordecai needs Clara's submission while also awaiting the collapse of the poorly structured dam , built hastily 40 years prior , giving way to a massive crack running down it . Standing in Mordecai's way are Clara's mother , Teresa ( Raquel Meroño ) , a would-be reporter returning home after a stint in London , and a recently arrived photo-journalist , Dan Quarry ( Michael McKell ) who is haunted by the death of his son . Dan is on assignment covering a story on Marienbad's history and Teresa is looking for a hot story . Both will find much more than they bargained for . Well , I explained the synopsis to the best of my ability , but director Brian Yuzna often abandons story logic in favor of bizarre gore and supernatural violence . Unrestrained , Yuzna doesn't seem obligated to tell a cohesive narrative instead taking Mordecai and allowing him to use his dark powers to torment and destroy through mind control while we see the black sludge turning citizens into creepy blob monsters . There's a jam-packed climax which includes the bridge showing signs of crumbling , the earth trembling , a festival commemorating the 40th anniversary of the dam's building which turns into a crazed orgy of sexual deviancy and Dan , quite a skilled scuba-diver , who finds the chamber where Mordecai and his followers ' monstrous remains are awakened ( . . while also holding a book of black magic spells Mordecai used to summon his dark powers ) under the sea . I think a history lesson told to Teresa and Dan by a survivor from the past , Luis ( Manuel Manquiña ) who saw his childhood pal Teo murdered after releasing Mordecai from his roped hands , helps the viewer out somewhat , but Yuzna's been around long enough that he ought to be able to use such an interesting premise ( . . an underwater village housing an evil presence which rises to terrorize ) and make a better film than what we wind up getting on screen . And , I can not understand why Yuzna just won't make a Spanish horror film using the language of the cast . Why try to make a foreign cast , in a foreign setting , speak a language they are not accustomed to ? There's enough gory insanity to perhaps please some horror fans ( an infected policemen chops off his limbs , one poor soul is " sludged " , one victim gets his face ripped apart from the mouth ) , but the film could've been a sleeper and instead comes away a sad disappointment . |
436,228 | 9,938,570 | 82,951 | 4 | The Prowler | A psychopath in battle fatigues kills a couple during a certain dance in 1945 after returning from war . There's this certain letter sent to a person who is reading from Rosemary in regards to her dumping him . Perhaps this is a tell-tale sign of who the killer is and his motivation for bloodshed . It doesn't make much sense , but oh well . In 1980 , the dance-hall will re-open and the mysterious killer laces his boots , zips his coat and makes sure those leather gloves are on nice and tight . The prowler is preparing for his massacre . Pam and sub-sheriff Mark ( Vicky Dawson & Christopher Goutman ) must find out where the prowler is before many people perish . The sheriff ( Farley Granger , in the film maybe five minutes tops ) is " taking a vacation " and puts Mark in charge while he is gone . Lawrence Tierney is Major Chatham whose daughter was the one pitch-forked at the opening of the film in 1945 . Chatham has been able to keep the dance hall closed , but by 1980 , he is wheelchair ridden and unable to do anything about the re-opening . Tierney is pretty much in cameo-form only as he grabs Pam by the shirt-sleeve when she is trying to escape the prowler who is closing in ( why he is trying to slow her down is never explained ) . Pam gets away and calls on Mark to find out why Chatham is doing around that certain place anyway . When mark seeks Chatham out he is nowhere to be found and we never see him again . We do not know what happened to him or anything else . He just up and vanishes in thin air . The film's highlight is far from the idiotic plot and it's dead-as-lead pacing which operates in fits and starts . It drags a bit and some attempted humor ( like when Mark calls this desk clerk , who is massive and lazy , looking for the sheriff ) falls flat . There are characters who are left hanging in the plot as if sucked in by this illogic-plot black hole never to be touched again ( like a drunk friend sleeping off a sick-spell , or this couple making love in the basement ) . . it's as if they were meant to be a part of the film but were scratched out at the last minute . The director tries various ways to build suspense and does when the story stays on Pam being frightened by whatever lies in the shadows . Mark is in the film to be her love interest , but does little to service the plot otherwise except carrying a flashlight around to at least attempt to be searching for the certain individual responsible for possible deaths . The prowler visits the home of Chatham and we get an idea that this place is important to him and explains to us that he harbors a desire to be around this place . Perhaps there's a reason he kills people who decide to venture outside the dance-hall . . it would've been nice to know why , but I guess little details like that are merely annoyances the screenplay writer couldn't afford to get in the way of the killing spree . The film's true strength is the gore . Tom Savini's work here is solid as a woman gets her throat slashed and it looks real . The deaths are all shockingly graphic such as when the prowler thrusts his trusty pitchfork into the torso of a naked girl in the shower or when he lunges his bayonet in the skull of the naked girl's boyfriend . One woman gets the bayonet inserted into her throat . The exploding head by a shotgun gets the grand prize for best moment of the film , but these are the film's only extravagances because the story of the prowler and his reasons for methodical slaughter are just not handled with the same inspiration as Savini puts towards his gruesome effects . |
436,910 | 9,938,570 | 98,331 | 4 | Silent Night , Deadly Night III | Pretty blind Laura ( Samantha Scully playing her cold and distant making it especially hard to sympathize with her plight ) is psychically linked to comatose serial killer Ricky ( Bill Moseley , completely devoid of emotion . . pretty much a walking robot who seems to explode through doors without even cutting himself and takes very slow steps ) thanks to the experiments of Dr . Newbury ( Richard Beymer ) who was able to reconstruct the man's brain placing a glass dome on his head ( . . this is to ensure that nothing touches the brain as it is exposed ) . These experiments is to generate thoughts and images from Ricky's fractured , emotionally damaged mind that might assist him in his goal to free guilty minds through " evil thought cleansing " . But , the experiment goes awry when Laura's tapping into deep wounding past nightmares awakens Ricky who will pursue her , killing anyone who comes in his path . The color red ( or anything representing the Santa Claus killer who took his parents ' lives ) triggers the kill mechanism in Ricky's demented mental framework . Laura is going to Granny's for the holidays with brother Chris ( Eric DaRe ) and his girlfriend Jerri ( Laura Harring ) . Through their psychic link , Ricky can see where they are heading , somehow getting there before they can killing Granny . Without their knowledge of Ricky being at Granny's house , Laura will use uncomfortable feelings ( she can sense something's wrong ) to understand that something is not quite right . . it only increases when Granny is nowhere to be found . Lt Connely ( Robert Culp , a much welcome presence to the proceedings ) will need the help of Dr . Newbury to find and stop Ricky before his rampage leaves a lot of dead bodies . . and is Laura's only hope . Far-fetched premise and incredibly slow killer hinder the peculiar , weird atmosphere of the horror flick . Definitely unlike the previous two films , this is not the slightest bit gory . Blood splatter as violence to others occurs off-screen is about as gross as it gets . It also features a heroine with a potty-mouth and icy demeanor who you have a hard time rooting for . And , with such a robotic , monotonously slow psycho , it's mighty hard getting scares out of the hunting of victims . His amazing power is completely laughable as well . . I mean he receives a shot-gun blast that forcefully throws him across the floor , yet he's able to get up and attack brother Chris who is quite bigger than Ricky . |
436,434 | 9,938,570 | 470,993 | 4 | Crazy Eights | Childhood friends come together for a dead pal's funeral , abiding by his wishes to open a specific box together which contains a map inside leading to a chest containing the skeletal remains of a little girl , and items each person had at that point in their lives ( slingshot , paint brushes , musical notes , etc ) . Trying to find their way out of the area onto a road leading back to their lives away from the past , they seem to be driving in circles . Lawyer Brent ( Frank Whaley , who has made portraying the @ sshole character in movies an art-form ) sees a girl , opting to follow her , hoping to get directions off the path and on the right road . Instead they find a condemned institution , with circumstances trapping them within thanks to possible supernatural forces . Attempting to find their way out , any exit at all seems lost to them , with doors locked tight and windows heavily protected . Slowly unraveling are each character as they remain locked inside this place . Dina Meyer is a professor , Jennifer . George Newbern is the trustworthy and wise padre , a pillar of strength the group begins to lean on . Traci Lords is a singer who is finding it hard to hold together . Dan DeLuca is Wayne , whose broken leg when starting down the steps to the cellar is the catalyst for the group's being trapped inside as they all converge to assist him with the door closing them in . Whaley is the foul-mouthed , moody executor of the will . Gabrielle Anwar is the petite and deeply troubled pottery sculptor with harsh nightmares that have scarred her worse than any of the others , although everyone has been plagued with unpleasant dreams surfacing perhaps buried memories . There's little exposition which might've been written this way on purpose because despite what we see in the early going , their past in the hospital , tested like guinea pigs ( . . perhaps they were autism patients since it's brought up when Jennifer is looking through files surprisingly in mint condition despite 20 years ) is an ambiguous mystery . We know by what they slowly uncover , when the memories emerge , as separated members are killed , that 8 of them escaped from this hospital with one girl , Karen ( . . the one whose skeletal remains were discovered ) , dying of suffocation because she was hidden in the chest as they fled . Leaving her behind and forgetting to rescue her damns them all . As Karen was locked in the chest to rot , the ones responsible now face a similar situation . Mentioned in the movie as well is the fact that Karen's vengeful spirit was released thanks to the group's dead pal , because through the opening of the trunk , her demise and memory became anew . As long as she was absent , their guilt could remain the same , but , through her release , they're besieged by their part in Karen's death . That's the way I saw it , even though I could be wrong . Whatever the case , it appears that each member , when isolated , fall prey to Karen's ghost , in ripped , musty rags and rotted corpse . The film , to me , felt rushed and heavily cut ( . . it kind of feels like one of those film's put through the ringer on the cutting room floor ) with an ending that left me rather flummoxed and confused . There are moments of stupid human behavior . . one questions why these characters would even bother with the obviously abandoned hospital ( . . I mean seriously , do you think a little girl would be living within the walls of this place ? ) or split apart when possible danger is around every corner . I find it hard to believe that , as a unit , they couldn't free themselves somehow from the rickety building . The violence , for the most part , is off-screen . Even when victims are discovered , there's no real focus on their damaged bodies ( . . sure a severed hand is shown , but it doesn't really freak out even the casual horror fan with a rather weak stomach for such things ) . I think the film wishes to explore the trauma of what happens to grown adults effected by a childhood they've buried away , like the corpse of Karen . Perhaps , in unlocking Karen's memory , the events experienced in the hospital resurfaced which led to their downfall . I feel " Crazy Eights " suffers from being too ambiguous , the story of the group too sloppily delivered , leaving us rather confused at to what we just witnessed . To be honest , too , that , despite the aspects mentioned , " Crazy Eights " is still a slasher flick where characters drop out of the story one-by-one with a girl's ghost taking the place of a psychopath with black gloves . |
436,813 | 9,938,570 | 85,318 | 4 | Chained heat | Hunk of trash starring unfortunate Blair stuck in a prison with slimy Vernon as Wardon . Stella Stevens portrays a captain of the joint who wishes to have Vernon's job . The working and living conditions are not exactly the greatest in the world not to mention Vernon has many of the prisoners work as sex kittens for special favors . Blair actually gets some cred along the way and convinces the other girls to revolt against the system . The film is chock full of unpleasantness and actually fits right in with the typical " women-in-prison " exploitive fare . It doesn't offer anything new and has loads of violence , not to mention several nasty rapes ( one to Blair ) . The hedonism is laid thick but this is certainly gaged at a crowd who enjoys that sort of thing . The film has some really putrid acting and that is perhaps a pleasure . This has a grimy picture quality and that may only add to it's appeal for it looks like it was made for 5 bucks . Overall , this film rests in quite a few trash fans ' hearts for it is a definitive example of a low quality shocker . |
436,301 | 9,938,570 | 330,181 | 4 | Gacy | Mark Holton effectively portrays notorious 70's serial killer John Wayne Gacy in this cheap portrait of his life . We get an understanding that treatment from his dad in a sense spawned the monster he'd become . He's seen in the early goings of this biography as a husband in a rather benign marriage with daughters who look completely miserable . He's an obvious mama's boy and Mrs . Gacy is often seen watching programs on the television with her son as they enjoy time together with Kara Gacy ( Joleen Lutz ) often rolling her eyes in bemusement . Soon Kara discovers male nudie mags in his tool box and peculiar-enough , the jeans of young men in his dresser drawers . Soon Kara and the kids are gone and John takes to the streets , suckering young males in various ways to his house before sodomizing and murdering them , burying their bodies in a crawlspace under his home . A running " joke " is how everyone becomes so sickeningly overcome by the smell emanating from his house's crawlspace . Gacy hires young males to work for him , and we get an idea of how others can see his homosexuality . . it's often used as a source of ridicule when talked about by those who can read between the lines . The film doesn't elaborate on the obvious sadomasochistic pleasures Gacy had with chosen unfortunate victims , but we see glimpses of severe mistreatment to several males by handcuffing them using a rope twisting a stick into their throats , gagging them with a sock . We Gacy hit an employee over the head with a hammer , later bribing him to remain quiet . We see Gacy pick up a male promising weed and money , only to commit atrocities towards him ( . . not shown in the film , but subtly hinted at ) . We see how the stench from his crawlspace was a constant reminder of his unforeseen activities . We get an idea of how the image of clowns was of such importance in his life as the camera points out pictures among other artifacts . We do see him in " clown-face " as well . The film always makes it a point to point out the kind of mean-spirited , profane , and slippery human being he really was , and director Clive Saunders unveils to us who he really was behind the masquerade others were fooled by . And , we see how he is defeated by his obsessions for teenage males , both sexually and sadistically . The man we are presented with is a heathen with few qualities , quite unlike the character who duped a community . Saunders and David Birke do the right thing by proclaiming this as " based " on true events , embellishing a bit so that the particular audience interested in this sicko could get an understanding of who he really was , not perceived to be . There is a garden party where important political figure claims he's the " embodiment of the American Dream " , but we rarely see the Gacy figure which impressed a great number of people . He holds out paying his workers , and we see where the money often goes to . . drink and drugs . Once his marriage to his second wife ends , Gacy's activities increase , with his desire for Jimmy ( Oren Skoog ) taking center stage as he offers a free room to him cheap . This sets in motion what would ultimately damn him . . through an attempt to murder Jimmy ( who was planning to leave for the West Coast ) and not paying a disgruntled friend he owed cash to , his true menace would soon be discovered . The film is shot mostly with a steadicam and often up close , I guess so that the setting within the 70's wouldn't be so unrealistic . I think the filmmakers were more concerned with the character of Gacy and his activities than how purely authentic Chicago of that period looks . You can go on IMDb's trivia portion and discover just what mistakes the director made regarding the the goofs of 70's Chicago and how this film doesn't accurately convey the city . Through small clips , we get a small glimpse into his past before Chicago . . the monster that was in Iowa before he took his exploits to Chicago . I say watch this for Holton's performance as Gacy , because I think he brings out the person who this psychopath really was . He has the right look for the role and has that certain disturbing quality about him that Gacy needs for this film . Covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time , and perhaps the budget just wasn't quite large enough to really provide a stronger narrative of one of America's most infamous serial killers . . . using , say , Spike Lee's Summer of Sam ( . . which does cover a period of life in NYC during the murderer's grip over the city ) as an example . The film does spend ample time building the sinister atmosphere of that crawlspace with it's maggots and roaches , sun beaming light through the smallish windows . |
436,131 | 9,938,570 | 973,790 | 4 | Steel Trap | A New Years Party on the top of a plush abandoned building . A group of spoiled success types ( . . rock singer , newspaper columnist , television exec , celebrity cook , entertainment lawyer , high-maintenance slut ) find themselves trapped in the isolated wings of the abandoned building after following a riddle to a properly prepared party by a psycho . The psycho haunts the rooms , hidden behind his prey who wander aimlessly trying to survive as he captures them one by one when certain individuals make the mistake of getting separated . Booby traps await equipped with riddles . A list containing the names of the group given an invite are labeled with specific titles ( Kathy-loser , Nicole-heartless , Adam-pig , etc ) and when each victim is dispatched a red X is marked through them . The killer's weapon of choice is a hook . But , other methods of execution include used an ax splitting the forehead , end of a knife stabbing a hole in the neck , a sliced throat , heart removed from a chest with it beating in the killer's hand ( . . not elaborated in grisly detail , the director uses sounds , only displaying the beating heart ) , the back of a victim's head crushed repeatedly into the floor during a scuffle , and a vicious attack with a meat tenderizer . The gore-murders lack bite and slasher fans who watch this genre passionately will find them merely adequte . This is a rather tedious slasher with a lot of the film showing this group trying to find an exit while bickering with each other . The characters like to insult each other constantly , fighting often over superficial stuff . . their antics are at times playful , other instances nasty . Regardless , the killer couldn't plunge the hook into their gullets fast enough for me . . but , alas , we spend a great deal of time longer with these sleazy egomaniacs which is unfortunate . There's of course a twist ( . . does the killer have a partner in crime ? ) , but " Steel Trap " is little more than a tired Saw retread set in a building that lacks atmosphere , no matter how often the lights blink on and off . The killer should be creepy , but he's merely a walking kill-device whose motives for committing these acts is embarrassingly uninspired . Some slasher fans might get a kick out of who's really behind this mind trap , as the film closes with a warped comic tone mimicking cooking shows . The riddles used in the film are corny instead of witty , leading the characters in a maze of doors and rooms with the killer knowing exactly where to strike almost at all times . |
436,776 | 9,938,570 | 89,173 | 4 | Friday the 13th-The New Beginning | Come on Roy . . get your hands dirty . MAJOR SPOILERS present . A psychopath has taken the disguise of dead notorious serial killer Jason Voorhees and is murdering anyone associated even remotely with a viciously destroyed orphan named Joey . The setting is Pinehurst Mental Institute in a backwoods locale near a small town which serves as a final beacon of hope for releasing patients back into society . Tommy Jarvis ( John Shepard ) , now grown , is still suffering nightmarish visions of Jason , hockey-mask on his face , most often a bloody weapon in his hand . Practically mute and quite emotionally damaged , Tommy keeps mostly to himself while his psychologists , Matt ( Richard Young ) and Pam ( Melanie Kinnaman ) , hope to snap him out of the problems plaguing him . A very unstable patient , Vic ( Mark Venturini ) , who has no reason to be holding an ax in his hand , suffers a psychotic break when a plump annoyance , Joey ( Dominick Brascia ) with a penchant for getting under the skin of those he is around , pushes him over the edge resulting in a grisly hack-job . Almost immediately afterward , anyone nearby Pinehurst is killed in various ways by a maniac who surprises them . The film continues to monitor Tommy and his visions of Jason offering the possibility of himself being the murderer . Anyone who antagonizes him are beaten to a pulp because Tommy doesn't respond to well to bullies who push him . This sequel is infamous for taking the franchise in a new direction , moving away from Voorhees allowing someone else to wipe out a massive number of victims using any number of weapons . An ax , flare ( ! ) , pike , hatchet , and machete are all put to good use stabbing a variety of mentally disturbed patients . Director Danny Steinmann likes to establish a look of surprise on victims ' faces before the moment of death . The evidence is clear that Steinmann had to cut many scenes , specifically during many of the murders . Leave it to the MPAA to spoil the entertainment of slasher fans desiring blood-shed . The film suffers from an endless amount of obnoxious and poorly developed characters , some just thrown into the film to die . A heavy dose of tits are paraded for out viewing pleasure . While Debi Sue Voorhees has a legion of slobbering males celebrating her hefty-size chest , I was particularly fond of red-head Juliette Cummins ' perky rack . Anyways , the movie itself doesn't stray too far from formula despite the fact that Jason himself isn't actually the killer responsible ( . . although , Steinmann makes sure his presence is always felt ) . . victims are set up as lambs to the slaughter . Several victims who are murdered by the psycho aren't shown on screen at all , while most of the slayings aren't elaborated that much . Sure a weapon slams into a body , but Steinmann veers away , his camera honing on the response of those being butchered . This film really does look like it was a victim of serious scissors at work . I often wondered what kind of film this would be intact . Would it in fact rival those great Savini gore-fests ? We may never know . The pretty Kinnaman and Shavar Ross , as a black kid who lives at the institute because his granddad is the cook , are the obvious innocents who run for their lives at the end as the psycho aims to add to them to his death list . Miguel A . Núñez Jr . has a small role as Reggie's jerry-curled bro , Demon , who gets it in the john of all places . Corey Feldman has a very minor cameo opening the film in a dream sequence spying on two kids disturbing Jason's grave , getting killed , with the hockey-masked slasher coming towards him . I thought Shepard , who had very few lines , was very effective as the quiet , troubled , and distressed Tommy Jarvis , displaying the proper amounts of anguish and sadness needed for the character . It's a performance that this film doesn't deserve . This sequel has developed quite a cult following over the years because of Steinmann's decision to go change the identity of the killer , and the overall sleaziness of the film . Crude profanity and rampant vulgarity have earned the mom and son duo of Ethel ( Carol Locatell ) and Junior ( Ron Sloan ) notoriety . The idea that a paramedic was the one responsible for such remarkable feats as killing so many people with such skill and surviving many attacks at the end infuriates a great many Friday fans . |
436,296 | 9,938,570 | 582,734 | 4 | Black Tickets | Eloping couple ( rebelling their parents ' control ) suffer through a series of nightmarish mishaps when their vehicle breaks down near Springwood . Rick ( Brad Pitt , pre-stardom and overexerting himself . . quite a head full of hair ) really wants he and Miranda ( Kerry Brennan ) to make it on their own without the guiding hand of their overbearing parents who wish to control their lives and careers . But , soon his whole world becomes one nightmare feeding into another with various surreal encounters that ensue . In the second portion of the episode , Miranda , contemplating what life would be like through pregnancy and childbirth ( as it pertains to her career and marriage ) , induces a series of nightmarish consequences that would result if in fact she found out she did have a bun in the oven . One of the weaker episodes I've seen doesn't really have many moments that stand out and bite you . The first part of the episode where Pitt goes through various scrapes such as being hit by a van , getting pistol whipped by an elderly man who ( along with elderly wife ) rob him blind , being shot in the leg by Cupid's arrow ( literally ! ) , arrested by police for no apparent reason causing the cops to crash their car , etc . The second one regarding Brennan's constant crisis involving the nightmarish ideas of motherhood rather falls flat and doesn't really have a rightful place in a series called Freddy's Nightmares . Seriously , an episode about an 18 year old's fear of what can occur regarding her being a mother is tame stuff for Lifetime Television for Women or something . . not a show hosted by Freddy Kreuger . Bill Moseley , of " The Devil's Rejects " , House of 1000 Corpses ' , and " The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 " fame turns up in this episode as a tow truck driver . |
436,495 | 9,938,570 | 98,375 | 4 | Spontaneous Combustion | Bizarre Tobe Hooper exercise regarding an unfortunate young man ( Brad Dourif ) with the ability to set people on fire . This ability stems from parents who partook in atomic experiments in the 50's . They die of Spontaneous Human Combustion and it seems that what Sam is beginning to suffer from derives by these pills his girlfriend , Lisa ( Cynthia Bain ) gives him to take for rough migraines . In actuality , Lisa was told to manipulate Sam into taking the pills by Lew Orlander ( William Prince ) , pretty much the young man's father who raised him from a child . Lew has benevolent plans . . he sees Sam as the first " Atomic Man " , a pure killing machine in human form . Sam never wanted this and will do whatever it takes to silence those responsible for his condition . As the film goes , Sam's blood is slowly growing toxic , green in color instead of red . It seems that water and other substances which often put out fire react right the opposite when Sam's uncontrollable outbursts of flame ignite . Come to find out , Lisa has Sam's condition whose parents also dies from SHC . Dr . Marsh ( Jon Cypher ) , someone who Sam has known for quite some time as his physician , is to insert toxic green fluid into their bodies , I'm guessing to increase their levels of flame . Nina ( Melinda Dillon , sporting an accent that fades in and out ) was Sam's parents ' friend and associate on the experiments in the 50's who tries to talk things over with him regarding what is happening . And , Rachel ( Dey Young ) is Sam's ex-wife who may be working against her former husband with Lew and Marsh to harm him and Lisa . Quite a strange little horror flick , filled with some pretty awful flame-effects . Dourif tries to bring a tragic element and intensity to his character whose plight we continue to watch as his body slowly becomes toxic waste with fire often igniting from his orifices . There's this large hole in his arm that spits out flame like a volcano and a massive burn spot on his hand which increases in size over time . Best scene is probably when director John Landis , who portrays a rude electrical engineer trying to inform Sam to hang up because the radio program he's calling has sounded off for the night , becomes a victim of SHC . The flick never quite works because it's so wildly uneven with an abrupt , ridiculous finale where Sam offers to free Lisa of her fire by taking it from her . |
436,476 | 9,938,570 | 85,303 | 4 | Blade in the Dark | Film composer Bruno ( Andrea Occhipinti ) has the misfortune of adding his score to a horror film inspiring a sadistic killer to butcher various women who have a specific relationship with the mysterious Linda who resided in the place before he began leasing it from the owner ( Michelle Soavi ) for a short stay . Sandra ( Anny Papa ) is the female horror director and Julia ( Lara Naszinsky ) is his jealous girlfriend . The film will open doors for both ladies to possibly be suspects . But , if you are keen enough ( . . and really care enough ) , you might see , and hear , a few winks from the filmmakers who it actually might be . That's up for you to decide because it was awfully hard making it past the horrendous dubbing ( some of the sorriest , no-account dubbing ever applied to layer Italian actors . . so bad one actor's voice often interrupts or overlaps another's ) and numbingly dumb dialogue . The film does have a visual flourish and the score ( both the electronic , pulsing beat and loud sound effects within such as increasing heart beats , breathing , etc ) is terrific . It has some stunningly sadistic violence ( the oft-mentioned bathroom sequence which is brutal and the choking of a victim with missing film strip ! ) , but labors along far too long holding the viewer at bay tediously . Instead of packing a punch in pacing the flick , it just goes on and on and on . . It lacks the frenetic energy Lamberto Bava would later inhibit in the far superior DEMONS . BLADE IN THE DARK just has too many numerous problems to overcome . |
436,736 | 9,938,570 | 1,229,820 | 4 | Buried Alive | Yet another independent horror flick ( . . based on a series , I have just discovered ) modeled after the likes of SAW & THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT has old high school friends , once party to ridiculing a kid named Tommy , attacked by a young man with a crow bar , his face masked , with them awakening to find themselves each trapped within a coffin rigged with little clues leading to why they are in their present situation . The film unequivocally paints a portrait towards Tommy , so it's obvious he's not the person responsible , but during the development of the plot , another candidate arises , an auto mechanic whose relations with two key characters adds dimension to the proceedings . The film isn't all that violent , and spends a great deal of time showing the scared victims scrambling for a way out and answers as to why they are in this predicament . Clippings from past recordings also play a heavy role in the developing plot as well . A lot of the time Brit Morgan ( Mel ) talks directly to the camera musing to her web blog about her perilous situation . VERY limited budget shows and the plight of the characters might provide unintentional chuckles thanks to their kooky environs and rather lame death sequences . An annoyance for me personally were the jumps and jerks of the camera screen as if something were wrong with the equipment or some sort of tape malfunction . I guess this was an artistic decision to show how the whole operation was put together in a raw sort of way by someone with limited experience in kidnapping and torturing folks , creating with the materials available to him . Tommy ( Augusto Aguilar ) is a smallish , quiet and timid fellow , who is considered creepy by his peers maybe because he wears black , has long hair and walks with his face often to the ground . Rick ( Bram Hoover ) is the attractive , wealthy and obnoxious bully , known for dating multiple girls , who mistreats Tommy . Tommy is in love with Rick's girlfriend , Becca ( Greyson Chadwick , Dance of the Dead ) and attempts to express his feelings . Travis ( Jeff Blum ) is the film's main cameraman , often following the occurrences surrounding Tommy and his mistreatment at the hands of Rick and others , such as Curtis ( JR May ) , Sage ( Nikki McKenzie ) & Wylie ( Natalie Wachen ) . The film's constant is the killer's various cameras recording the trapped victims , inside their homemade coffins , dying in constructed ways . Wylie is trapped in a coffin with pipes that send water . Rick's coffin is rigged with electrical cords . Curtis needs a specific pill and food or else he will go into shock with help on the opposite side of a glass window ( . . the kicker for this is that a mound of earth awaits such a decision ) . Meanwhile , Sage's " girlfriend " , Melanie ( Brit Morgan ) and brother Travis ( . . the cameraman who was friends with Rick and the others , often even associating with Tommy ; when he wasn't supporting those who ridiculed him by taping the shenanigans ) are following text messages sent to her by the supposed mastermind behind the coffins and secret networking feeding both pursuer and kidnapped . This film often retreats to various cam-corder recordings leading up to the situation at hand with a determined , and rather manic , Mel pursuing any possible information her snooping can provide with Travis a nervous , reluctant tag-along who wishes she would calm herself instead of working into a frenzy . And , the possible danger that might await her seems to be a guiding reasoning behind Travis ' pleas for her to back off the pursuit , particularly when she focuses her intent of auto mechanic Hayden ( John Charles Meyer ) . Hayden's possible guilt grows as she finds out certain things about him throughout her nosing into his personal affairs . Everything , however , revolves around Becca . She's trapped within a box containing pink bubblewrap and is treated with better conditions than her fellow friends / prisoners . And , certain revelations regarding Becca come to light as the film continues . The mastermind behind the whole operation shouldn't surprise many people . |
435,834 | 9,938,570 | 408,666 | 4 | Dark Town | Suburbia is inflicted with vampirism once a slumlord ( . . who is bitten by vampires when he finds them lodging in one of his buildings ) poisons his family with tainted blood ( while also biting his younger daughter ) . A chain reaction of new vampires ignites when those unaware , such as Rakeem ( Delpano Wils ) , his sister Tisha ( Kobina Wright ) and his other friends who show up at the slumlord's house to cause a ruckus due to the death of a young child thanks to a fire . That fire was indeed in the slumlord's building and Rakeem wants retribution , but instead finds himself in a pretty scary situation . . the slumlord's family are out to get their blood . Jen ( Janet Martin ) seems to be the only member bitten who can control the evil raging . . at least enough to assist Rakeem in his goal to kill as many vampires as he can . But , the main goal is killing the slumlord who seems to be in control of the carnage that has emerged . We get a glimpse of how bad the vampire plague has spread through the scurrying shadows that often pass the houses outside . . there seems to be no hope in Rakeem and Jen's cause to end the vampire disease that's spreading quickly and endlessly . Gory micro-budget flick from director Desi Scarpone suffers from unoriginality . He really brings on the vampire feeding and never holds back on the bloodletting . When he focuses on the violence , it's quite effective . It's the other problems that surface such as a plot that really has nowhere to go . It's basically an endless supply of vampire attacks and one-liners from those infected who praise being inflicted with their disease for they say it has changed them for the better . The black characters represented here are mostly gangster stereotypes or those very nervy about being in a suburban white neighborhood . There is an obvious array of profanity and irrational behavior as if they can't think for themselves and are clueless as to how to get out of their situation . Rakeem is really the only fully developed character of the bunch , but Wils doesn't have the kind of talent to bring life to him . The film , interesting enough , mostly has females doing the biting and such . That alone makes this an interesting little watch regarding vampire mania . But , it follows the basic vampire formula and the single location of one of two suburban homes really stifles the ambition of where Scarone wishes to take his film . |
435,998 | 9,938,570 | 113,481 | 4 | Scarecrow reviews the mess that is " Johnny " | Or , perhaps , I'll just try and keep my words minimum regarding this sci-fi film set as the internet age was forming and morphing into the monster it is today . Keanu Reeves has the look of a cool Johnny , but his acting chops stayed at home . He represents the cold , greedy slime that inhibits the business world today . Johnny is a courier , who subjects a portion of his brain ( which housed his childhood memories ) to holding secretive implanted documents between global and underground organizations . The implants in Johnny's latest assignment came from several frightened geeks in Beijing , which holds the important cure for a disease which has spread all around the world called NAS ( some type of nerve disease which gives people the " black shakes " ) . He has to get these files out of his brain before these overload and make his head explode ( or something to that extent , he has massive migranes and head / memory trauma throughout the rest of the film once he implants this cure in his brain ) . A key to unlocking the implant's specific codes are three specific pictures taken from television . . this comes in handy . Beat Takashi plays an overlord of the Yakuza ( who is deeply wounded from the loss of his daughter ) who desires to have that code and orders his right hand man Dennis Akayama ( who wields a mean laser rope which slices heads and body parts . . not to mention steel , clean apart ) to get Johnny's head . You'll see Dennis constantly carrying around a cryogenic container for Johnny's head . Johnny almost loses his head to Dennis when , Mnemonic's client Udo Kier betrays him . The film's tension derives from an unlikable hero ( they call it " anti-hero " ) who must keep his head . Soon the writer provides Johnny with an appropriate ally in Dina Meyer ( who is stunning to the eyes and also suffering from the NAS virus ) . He also has several run ins with Ice-T ( called J-Bone in this film ) who is the leader of an underground force ( who is fighting against the corporate Pharmakom . . the company who are holding the cure hostage , keeping the public from knowing about it so they can continue to profit off the sick ) called the Loteks . Also rocker Henry Rollins gets to portray a doctor ( ! ) who works both to heal those sick with NAS and also assist in removing implanted memory from the brains of couriers . Dolph Lundren laughably plays a deranged minister who likes to stick his victims to the wall in the shape of Christ's crucifixion . He is working for Takashi to find Johnny's head also and eliminates anyone who stands in his way . The film looks reminiscent of " Blade Runner " in how the landscape of Newark appears ( not to mention Beijing ) , soaked in blackened shadows and splashes of neon . The characters also look like they came right out of Ridley Scott's " Blade Runner " as well . Make-up and less than polished attire clothes many on the streets Johnny has to work to get the blasted info out of his brain . So the film meanders all over as Johnny tries desperately to save his own skin , while falling head over heels with the very attractive Meyer . Many people die thanks to Johnny's implanted cure and the film loves to bask the viewer in heavy loads of violence and unpleasant people of the future . It's a bleak world we see in Longo's " Johnny Mnemonic . " Still , the film will pull many in because it ( and the very good visual effects we see when Johnny goes into the computer's mainframe to explore ways of getting himself out of jams and finding out ways to pull the implanted info from his brain ) is incredible to look at with some decent action sequences . But , I felt it's pretty rotten overall with a silly resolution in how Johnny is able to remove that implanted memory , how it seems that every criminal in the film meets Johnny in the same place and still survive , and the character Lundgren plays is so ridiculous you kind of snicker at his vile hijinks . |
436,618 | 9,938,570 | 115,742 | 4 | Boys | A young prep school teen ( Lukas Haas , quite good ) gets involved with a mysterious young woman ( Winona Ryder , who doesn't register or emote . . not one of her better performances ) who has a secret she is hiding . During the film snippets of a past acquaintance ( Skeet Ulrich ) may answer that very secret . Chris Cooper has a thankless , clichéd role as profane , short-fused father of Haas . Jessica Harper has the thankless role as Haas ' mother , the typical hush-hush-wife afraid of her hot-tempered husband . John C Reilly also has a minor role as a kindly officer trying to locate Ryder over the whereabouts of baseball star Ulrich . The oh-so-big mystery isn't anything to write home about and Ryder is merely a confused dame . The supposed fireworks between Haas and Ryder is non-existent & the film is really unfocused . We get a lot of story on Haas ' life in a school for rich annoying kids and with little chemistry between the leads ( not to mention a plot which doesn't provide us much in why either would prefer to have such a relationship ) , there is very little to get excited about . I'd say see the film for Haas ' performance , because the rest of this mediocre effort isn't worth your time . |
436,044 | 9,938,570 | 301,848 | 4 | Slash | A young boy , playing in his papa's barn , witnesses his grandfather Jethro's secret operation . . extracting human blood from victims he wheels in on a gurney to supply that special ingredient which is said to help the crops multiply ( . . a form of voodoo adopted by superstitious farmers desperate for successful crops ) . When grandpa wishes to scold the child , a lantern turns over setting fire to the hay within the barn . The boy escapes but Jethro is not so lucky . . engulfed in flames , we figure his fate is sealed . We later find that a couple driving to a costume party , nearly hitting a cow in the road , bursting through a fence into a field , fall prey to a psycho , donning the disguise of a scarecrow , wielding a scythe . Later , we discover that the child has fully grown into the lead singer of a rock band called , appropriately enough , Slash . Mac ( James O'Shea ) , after performing a gig , receives word from " paw " that his aunt had passed from farmhand , Billy Bob ( Nick Boraine ) . Taken from his father's farm by his mother , Mac decides to attend his aunt's funeral , and thus reawakening the painful memory he had buried regarding Jethro and that traumatic day in the barn . Mac's father , Jeremiah ( Steve Railsback ) , is proud to have his son home , despite the ordeal that prompted his return . Mac's band come with him , their tour bus pulling into Jeremiah's farm presenting quite a contrast , to say the least . But , Mac finds that he enjoys spending time here despite his band's reservations towards such a rural setting . Particularly token black character , Jesse ( Jocelyn Broderick ) , who certainly feels out of place , representing your typical thuggish stereotype , even carrying a gun on his person . When the scarecrow killer targets his posse , Mac will have to decide which is his true family , pops or the band . In a major development , the tour bus has been tampered with the injector pump damaged by someone , obviously the killer . It seems that Jeremiah's harvest just might bring forth plentiful crops . . I'm such a fan of Steve Railsback that I'll just about watch any type of dire entertainment he participates in . Slash is a very tame slasher movie with typically obnoxious characters , the geeky band members & their roadies . Railsback has a little fun with his redneck farmer role , another stereotype very similar to his ED Gein portrayal . As he's entering old age , Railsback sounds a lot like Walter Brennan . I enjoyed how the director shoots him and Railsback understands just how to deliver his corny hick dialogue with just the right amount of aplomb . Nick Boraine amazingly injects a nice amount of innocence and amiability to his stereotypical role of dirty-teethed , filthy farmhand Billy Bob , often the object of Jesse's ridicule . The film really plays off the theme of clashing worlds . . the " fish out of water " division between the urban and rural . The killer mostly commits his murderous deeds off-screen with director Neal Sundström pulling his camera back probably due to lack of funds . An ax is also used on victims . My favorite kill-scene would be when the killer chases after the remaining members of the band , not yet murdered , with a crop machine " threshing " one victim , with the remains " fertilizing " the field ! No nudity although a female groupie , who travels with the band , does have sex with the guitarist ( . . it , just like the murders , is filmed in a rather tame manner ) . I suggest watching this slasher for Railsback , who really provides most of the entertainment . The film presents three likely possibilities of who the killer might be . . Billy Bob , Mac , and , of course , Jeremiah . Although you might be minorly surprised at who it is , you won't be blown to smithereens when his identity is uncovered . |
436,035 | 9,938,570 | 209,264 | 4 | Python | The town of Ruby and it's surrounding country-side are terrorized by a giant python created by the typical secret government organization called Biogene which was released after a plane carrying it crash-lands . Dr . Anton Rudolph ( Robert Englund , who gets all the theatrical dialogue ) , who had a part in creating this massive reptile through variations of serpents , informs Agent-in-charge Bart Parker ( Casper Van Dien , far removed from " Starship Troopers " or " Sleepy Hollow " ) that it's practically unkillable and very fast with a nasty venomous acid-spit you wouldn't believe . Pro-biker John ( Frayne Rosanoff ) and deputy Greg ( William Zabka , known for playing blonde haired bullying punks in the 80's such as in " Karate Kid " & " Back to School " ) who have angst over a chick named Kristin ( Dana Barron , one of many variations of Griswald daughter Audrey in " National Lampoon's Vacation " ) must join forces to stop the python . Could easily play on Sci-fi channel with it's low quality computer effects of the monstrous python . The python really is never convincing which makes the film play rather cheesy instead at all scary . The flick benefits from a cast of recognizable faces . Star Trek The Next Generation's Wil Wheaton plays a real-estate agent wannabe sporting a pink hair-do , Jenny McCarthy stops by to play a wealthy widow sexpot , Sean Whalen is a Barney Fife deputy , and Gary Grubbs ( my favorite of the cast who I enjoyed every moment he was on-screen ) as Sheriff Griffin Wade . |
436,349 | 9,938,570 | 437,179 | 4 | See No Evil | Pro wrestler Kane stars as Jacob Goodnight , a humongous psychopath , who was the victim of a nasty religious fanatical mother during childhood ( . . we see in his recollecting memories , as a child being locked in an animal cage as a result of looking at dirty mags ) , venting his anger on a group of correctional kids from male and female facilities , hoping to remove a year from their various prison sentences by cleaning up a dilapidated old hotel , reeking of rats , roaches , rust , and garbage . Goodnight knows all the rumoured secret passages throughout the hotel and spies on the kids and their guardians , a cop who shot the psycho in the head four years previous after losing his arm by an ax chop , and the female corrections officer , contemplating a marriage proposal . Over an extended night of horror the characters will meet their gruesome fates one by one as Goodnight removes their eyes from the sockets , placing them in jars of water . One female , though , Kira ( Samantha Noble ) is spared from being killed because she has a large tattoo of a cross marking down her back . In his previous murderous rampage , a young woman was also spared because she had a cross tattoo . . although her eyes were removed . In order for any of the kids to survive , they must work together to stop Goodnight who wields a mean axe and often whips a chained hook which catches his prey from quite a length . The hotel has penthouse floors gutted by fire from long ago which killed the owner of the hotel and his wife and sent the place into ruin . Hobos made the hotel their home , before meeting Goodnight sealing their fates . . this is why you'll see numerous dead homeless folks lying all over the place . There's also a hidden room rumoured to carry a safe holding the former hotel owners private holdings in a safe . Standard slasher fare has plenty of ultra-violence to feed the gorehounds . One rich bitch , put in prison for shoplifting , meets her end as Goodnight finds a unique way of shutting her up through a ringing cell phone . Goodnight often likes to lift his victims in the air , clutching their throats with his monstrous grip , slamming them against walls . One victim is hoisted in the air with her head crushing the ceiling of an elevator leaving part of her scalp . Another receives the chained hook thrusted into his throat . Another victim receives the shock of a taser in his throat and safe which crushes his ribs . In a sense of grim irony , one girl , sent to prison for an act to save animals , meets her end by the ones she cares deeply for . I think Kane is an ideal psycho and meets the requirements of hulking monster who really looks the part as he stalks his prey . And , the setting really works as the characters run for their lives trying to outsmart their adversary any way they can . But , director Gregory Dark is like a kid with a brand new toy as his camera speeds up while often shaking obnoxiously , with the lens either shuttering or at different angles . There are quick cuts which break the action that I found rather tiresome , to be honest . I felt Dark really wanted to bring a specific style to this film so that he could make up for it's rather derivative premise . But , Dark's film is a run-of-the-mill slasher and no matter what he tries to do with his camera ( . . and through the editing process ) , he can not mask what SEE NO EVIL is . I'm sure this will satisfy those blood-thirsty slasher fans who merely want death and carnage . Speaking for myself , I'll probably forget it by tomorrow . Oh , and the characters couldn't die fast enough , and what is funny about this film is that the most loathsome character , a real cruel prick named Michael ( Luke Pegler ) , becomes the savior for the chosen " final girls " of the screenplay . Go figure . Goodnight's fate is pretty neat , though . . and what a dog does as it urinates , breaking the closing credits for a moment , is grotesquely amusing . |
435,805 | 9,938,570 | 329,334 | 4 | Bleed | A killer , wearing a plastic white mask and black overcoat , is killing the friends of Hollywood producer Shawn Banning ( Danny Wolske ) who inherited his position when someone sliced open his former employer from crotch to chest . Perhaps the psychopath is newly hired Maddy ( Dabbie Rochon ) , an attractive , raven haired beauty with a troubled family past , plagued with nightmares . Shawn and his friends play a practical joke on Maddy , concerning a supposed Murder Club they started where each member randomly selected a victim to kill . When Maddy accidentally murders a woman in a parking garage because of a dent put into her car by this person , she finds that Shawn's pals were jerking her chain . But , Shawn and his comrades are concerned about Maddy's admittance towards committing the murder and contemplate turning her into the proper authorities . Deciding to wait on a definite decision , each member fall prey to the white-masked psycho with Maddy a suspect considering the fact that she already has killed before . Or , is someone else behind these murders ? Low budget slasher , executive produced by Charles Band , with gore murders that fail to convince . Plenty of tits on display and Allen Nabors goofy character Chris might entertain those with low expectations . The murders include a stomach being opened with intestines showing , a neck sliced , an electrical cord thrown into a pool frying a female victim who had all day to escape , an ax buried into the back of a male victim , and , to top it all , a couple are strangled by a rope during their sexual climax ( . . for added effect , the killer uses the breaker bar of a socket wrench as extra leverage to twist the rope as tight as possible snapping their necks ) . There are enough plot holes to drive a truck through , such as why Maddy has nightmares of murders she didn't commit , how she could murder someone so violently ( . . with blood all over her ) winding up waking in her bed without leaving something at the scene of the crime that would easily implicate her , and how Shawn could go so long , allowing her to continue working at the company despite what she told regarding the murder she committed , and a continual desire to join the supposed club that doesn't exist . What bothered me the most was the film's desire for having us somehow sympathizing with this female protagonist who wanted to join a club after killing someone , later proclaiming it to be an accident . The film builds Maddy as the potential psycho throughout because of her past . Her family disowned her for an abortion . She has black-outs and always appropriately winds up at the scenes of crimes after the fact . In a lot of slashers , the one who seems the most likely killer is often the red herring , but this film goes out of it's way to point the finger at Maddy . When the twist occurs , we're left rooting for Maddy , yet we know she's not right in the head . It's a tough sell caring for this chick . She does look great in a man's Army shirt , though . And , Rochon isn't afraid to let her puppies breathe , either . Low budget horror fans will get a kick out of seeing cult favorite Brinke Stevens as a religious fanatical mother who preaches against what Maddy did , calling her a murderer as beloved Troma producer Lloyd Kaufman is the aloof father who can not get in a word edge-wise to protect the daughter he truly cares about . Cult siren Julie Strain has a minor cameo , showing her tits ( of course ) as the opening murdered male's girlfriend getting her head crushed by a hammer . Oh , and check out the office for which Shawn works , you'll see a lot of Full Moon posters and art-work spread throughout the walls . |
435,704 | 9,938,570 | 86,981 | 4 | Bloodbath at the House of Death | Mediocre spoof of Horror and sci-fi features Vincent Price in a minor role as a Satanic Warlock who gathers up his town of worshipers to disrupt an obnoxious group of paranormal researchers visiting a supposed haunted house where a series of bloody murders took place . At times Monty Python-ish parodying prevails . . if only the gags and one-liners were as funny as the filmmakers wanted them to be . They try really hard , but I have to say I laboured through it instead of enjoying the film from start to finish . Bizarre gore murders such as a man being pulled into a toilet , a woman's throat being attacked by a monster which emerges from the mold on a colleague's arm , a victim stabbed by a teddy bear ( ! ) , a female victim getting " raped " ( . . blissfully , in this case , unlike THE ENTITY ) by a ghost , and one woman getting beheaded by a sword ( . . it glows like a Star Wars light saber , an obvious poke at the George Lucas flicks ) . There's a poke at Carrie where a punished girl ( . . she kissed her boyfriend ) causes her deeply fanatically religious mom's beheading . A lot of paranormal activity where objects fly across rooms and break , along with blood coming out faucets and walls . Dopplegangers from hell killing off their human counterparts in the Headstone Manor is quite an unusual touch , I must admit . The film is a good-natured spoof , but I found the humor itself rather lacking in quality . I'm sure this film , though , will have a fervent following if it were to get a DVD release . Perhaps there's a reason why it hasn't , though . I guess the film's best gore gag would be a badly orchestrated surgical procedure where our lead paranormal scientist loses his monocle inside the body of a patient as his aids laugh hysterically . I'm sure Vincent Price fans will have a good time seeing him swear , gleefully theatrical , parodying his image . I wish there was more of him and less of everybody else . I admit , I was incredibly excited ( . . maybe , TOO excited ) when I found a rare VHS copy of this at a local rental store going out of business , so a degree of disappointment was too be expected . The cast take great pride lampooning the British kind of stage acting , quite animated in their expressions , really letting it hang out unrestrained , but I didn't particularly find very much really gut-bustingly funny . . maybe , I'm not part of that crowd targeted . There are lots of sex jokes and gags , even some homosexual humor . I think the film's biggest misstep is not featuring Price as the central character , even though Kenny Everett has some shining moments . The ET gag with Pamela Stephenson's body being sexually ravaged by the ghost who molested her the first time , her silhouette flying across the image of the moon is certainly a strange moment towards the end . The version I watched suffered from poor picture quality and sound so I would perhaps respond better to a remastered edition . |
435,977 | 9,938,570 | 71,471 | 4 | Evil Eye | Confusing , incoherent mess about a wealthy swinging Italian hunk whose having weird nightmares involving a naked Satanic cult . It seems this cult has a command over him , forcing him to murder several folks who were responsible for killing relatives for inheritance or property . The Italian Lothario is Peter Crane ( Jorge Rivero ) , the kind of handsome stud who wears his shirt collars open revealing his hairy muscular chest causing the female populace to swoon . After Crane strangles his victims , he awakens as if they were unpleasant nightmares , but it's enough for him to visit a psychiatrist , Dr . Stone ( Richard Conte ) regarding them . Soon Stone's assistant Sarah ( Pilar Velázquez ) and Crane become lovers , with her life in potential danger . The film shows the sex-heavy atmosphere of this period in Italy as a collection of men and women join together at either Crane's sprawling luxuriously posh mansion or his decadent party pal Robert's ( Luis La Torre ) sizable abode , getting wasted , kissing , swimming , making out , removing their clothes , and just whatever unpredictable lurid activities that come to mind , embracing sin and immorality , basking in excess . Some familiar faces pop up such as Eduardo Fajardo as Crane's corrupt butler , Walter and Luciano Pigozzi as a victim who kindly offers to help repair Crane's mysteriously immobile vehicle which went kaput while driving on the road . Director Mario Siciliano seems to have control of the film , until the supernatural phenomena increases with objects moving on their own and a detective ( Anthony Steffen ) , whose wife places a charm to ward off evil in his pocket , begins hearing strange noises as he pursues the killer . Gorgeous women in the film such as leggy Daniela Giordano as Crane's mistreated sex kitten Tanya , and Pilar Velázquez , who could shrink my head anytime she wants . Amusing is the fact that Crane can seduce any female he so chooses as they just fall head-over-heels . Before Crane murders his victims , director Siciliano moves the camera into his menacing eyes , hands clinching tight , objects turning towards the target , the women slow to realize ( . . and seem frozen as he draws near ) that they are to be strangled . . all this accompanied by a pulse-pounding score that steadily builds as the killer approaches the victim , reaching it's zenith when the hands grasp the woman's ( . . or man's ) throat . A certain victim's death , after he had murdered an accomplace who feared for her safety , is a laugher . . after puking a frog from his bloody , puss-ozing mouth , a shot gun falls from a shelf shooting him in the temple . Specters with white faces also visit Crane and the detective pursuing him . A REALLY bonkers scene shows Sarah the victim of a train accident , while also displaying her and Crane going over a cliff while driving haphazardly . . random sequences like this leave one scratching their heads wondering what the hell Siciliano was attempting to accomplish . MAJOR SPOILER : The ending , when Crane and Sarah get away at her cabin in the mountains , is particularly a groaner as Siciliano just lets everything go berserk as they are bombarded by demonic supernatural terror with the irksome " it's all a dream " conclusion dropped right in our lap . It's a shame when a film leads you down such a bizarre path , hurling crazy events that make little sense at you , only to take the easy route by claiming it's all a dream . |
436,547 | 9,938,570 | 82,467 | 4 | Graduation Day | High school female track star dies of a blood clot after winning a race with the community in an uproar against Coach George Michaels ( Christopher George playing him as a major butt-head who is VERY demanding of the athletes under his watch ) . He'll be canned after school lets out providing the flick with his motive as a possible killer . Some twisted psychopath in sweats ( much the same as what Michaels is often seen wearing ) , using a stop watch to time his executions , murders the members of the track team the dead female runner was a part of . Soon disturbed parents call Principal Guglione ( Michael Pataki ) wondering why their children didn't come home after a prom party . Inspector Halliday ( Carmen Argenziano ) begins snooping around campus at worried parents ' request . Instantly a beleaguered Michaels becomes a prime suspect after the body of a gymnast is found in a locker . Ensign Anne ( Patch Mackenzie ) returned home from her base in Guam to receive her dead track sister's diploma and soon confronts the killer herself in the climactic chase scene . Kevin Badger ( E Danny Murphy ) is the weary boyfriend of the lost track star . Rather leisurely paced slasher spreads out the death sequences quite a bit trying to mix humor within and rather failing miserably . Low-quality kill sequences only increase the laughter such as a sword embedded within a football thrown into the stomach of a football player or a pair of garden shears used to behead a poor soul taking a leak . Linnea Quigley has an amusing role as horny student Dolores who sleeps with her music teacher for a higher grade and always chases after a male stud ( the recipient of the garden shears before he has a chance to bed Dolores outside of the prom party ) . Vanna White has an early role here as a ditsy blonde who discovers the dead gymnast's body in the locker . Virgil Frye has a silly role as an inept officer . |
436,432 | 9,938,570 | 58,220 | 4 | Zombies | Professional author , Tom Harris ( William Joyce ) , quite the ladies ' man , is commissioned by his aggravatingly persistent editor , Duncan Fairchild ( Dan Stapleton ) , to write a piece on an island supposedly containing voodoo and zombies . When there , he falls in love with the lovely , radiant Jeannie ( Heather Hewitt ) , the daughter of Dr . Biladeau ( Robert Stanton ) who is working with associate Charles Bentley ( Walter Coy ) in creating a cure for " the world's deadliest disease " . Harris soon discovers that the island is indeed populated with tribal villagers who practice voodoo ( . . their dances around a campfire are showcased three different types for long periods ) and zombies with glop faces and bulb eyeballs . Harris soon realizes that the villagers plan to sacrifice Jeannie , and that the zombies are actually created scientifically as a result of the experimental procedures through a snake-venom procedure on island innocents by the doctors seeking a cure that seems out of reach . Also in danger are Harris ' editor Duncan and his nagging , grating wife Coral ( Betty Hyatt Linton , whose voice at high screech were like nails down a chalkboard for me ) along for the adventure . Harris and company will not be getting off the island easily as the villagers and their zombies ( . . those turned into these ghouls are actually humans without the possession of choice or will , robots used as objects of destruction ) are in hot pursuit . Someone , however , is secretly calling the shots , treated as a demi-god wearing tribal gear and paint on his face and head so that he's unrecognizable , speaking orders to his voodoo lieutenant who then sends the zombies on the attack , to either harm or capture . Poverty-row at every respect , from the cast to the make-up effects . Harris is quite a symbol of machismo , shirt unbuttoned , exposing his chest , always punching somebody out that threatens him . The sets of the laboratory is completely naked of the usual machinery one is accustomed to ( . . even Ed Wood's " Bride of the Monster " had more mad-scientist props than this film has ) and the island setting is barely used to any effect ( . . the film's centers on the voodoo parties and the place of refuge and relaxation for Harris and company ; until their lives are endangered , that is ) . The zombies do get a chance to kill a few folks , but not in the ways fans are expecting ( . . this was before Romero would shock the world with zombies eating the flesh of the living ) . There's a weak beheading and a plane is blown to smithereens by a zombie carrying dynamite walking right into a spinning propeller . Harris is a tall , handsome actor with a certain stature who had the look of male heroes at this time . Flirting with the girls in bikinis at the opening , we get an idea of how male heroes were starting to emerge thanks to Sean Connery . " I Eat Your Skin " isn't a proper title , so I just refer to it as it was initially intended , " Zombies . " It's too bad that the zombies in this picture lack in the scary or creepy department ( . . we actually see , through the use of dissolve , how a human changes into these things ) . Perhaps it's Del Tenney's failure at producing an atmosphere that generates such a result regarding the zombies seeming less eerie or chilling . My copy of the film suffered from poor quality , but seeing that this movie had such little entertainment value to offer ( . . it seems to bring enjoyment to the hearts of fans of camp ) I wasn't that disappointed . |
436,385 | 9,938,570 | 79,285 | 4 | Saturn 3 | A robotic monster , built by renegade Captain Benson ( Harvey Keitel , as robotic as the monster in the film ) from Earth , make life hell for Adam ( Kirk Douglas ) & Alex ( Farrah Fawcett ) . Benson ( with a device implanted in the back of his neck that " mind melds " with the gargantuan machine . . this part of the plot is by far the most silliest concept that never gets a full explanation ) is in lust with the lovely Alex and the robot picks up on that and itself becomes infatuated and obsessed with her . Soon Adam finds himself in quite the predicament because Benson considers the Major an obsolete old timer in the way of his plans to supply the Earth with the food sources from Saturn's moon necessary for that planet's survival . Anyway , the film soon consists of the robot attacking or chasing everyone , including Benson ( who was playing with fire to begin with for he hadn't quite read up on what to do if the machine needs to be silenced when enraged ) with Adam needing to figure out how to stop the blasted thing . Ambitious , but cold , dull & life-less . It's derivative of many sci-fi pictures , particularly Kubrick's 2001 , but doesn't have good enough special effects or space-ship interiors ( or exteriors for that matter ) to compete with other far more entertaining , mind-blowing fare . It hurts that the film is completely miscast with Douglas , good as always , but does not belong in this genre . He's always great at playing heroic types , but inside this very uninspired plot Douglas has very little to accomplish . Fawcett is a stunning beauty , but she's merely a pretty mannequin because she is completely wooden . Keitel should've fired his agent for even reading the script for he is sleepwalking something fierce here . And , the most sad statement of all . . Stanley Donen , of all people , directed this rehash . Pretty sad , really . And the idea of having a lust-sick robot on the rampage as your main plot is pretty laughable . We , at least , briefly see Fawcett's amazing rack . . she is quite the lovely creature . |
436,149 | 9,938,570 | 839,880 | 4 | Lake Dead | Typical , threadbare backwoods slasher crap , which proves that the well seems all dried up , has a group of young adults being murdered one by one by a lunatic matriarch's incestial offspring mutant twins and her equally nutty sheriff son . Mama Lake ( Pat McNeely , under a thick southern accent , all demented smiles ) wishes to continue the family line and uses the death of her husband , by a shot gun blast to the head directed by their son Chuck ( James C Burns ) , the sheriff , to lure granddaughters Brielle ( Kelsey Crane ) and Kelly ( Kelsey Wedeen ) with the idea of a possible hotel inheritance . Along with her sensitive boyfriend Ben ( Jim Devoti ) , his college chum Bill ( Alex Quinn ) , Bill's gal Amy ( Vanessa Viola ) and Kelly's pal Tanya ( the yummy Malea Richardon , all too willing to shed her shirt ) , the group head onto the backwoods Lake hotel and estate against the advice of drunken father John Lake's ( Dan Woods ) advice . Soon , Mama's mutant offspring begin killing the Lake sister's peeps , and find that the plan in place is for them to bare Chuck's seed and keep the family tradition continued . Nothing original here folks , kids running for their lives in the woods as two mutant monsters , straight out of " Hills Have Eyes " or " Wrong Turn " , chase them down , mutilating them . Most of the violence is off-screen , and you know who will survive and die . This slasher does nothing to separate itself from the countless number that have came out since the 80's heyday . If anything , " Lake Dead " is far minor to even the tamest entries of the 80's . Stuff like " He Knows Your Alone " or " Graduation Day " are just as hard . I mean you do get Richardson removing her shirt and seducing Bill , before getting a pickax lunged into her skull sticking her to a tree . But , the make-up for the faces of the mutant , silent , skulking killers are cheap and unconvincing , especially when one of them gets bashed in the head with the butt of a shot gun . I gave it a 4 because I felt the camera work was polished enough , and the film moves along well , but if you are looking for slasher fireworks , look elsewhere . |
436,894 | 9,938,570 | 491,005 | 4 | Kaw | Ravens , infected by Mad Cow Disease when they ate from the dead cows of an Amish-like Minnonites community farm , lead a mass revolt descending upon a snowy , small town hungry for any type of flesh that can satisfy their appetites . On the final day of his job as sheriff , Wayne ( Sean Patrick Flanery ) encounters a crisis that affects his whole town as huge , menacing ravens attack in packs leaving several citizens and passersby dead and their flesh torn to pieces . He must find a way to defend his people against these deadly ravens or else perish in the process . There's an army of these birds and they return in waves , always ready for human flesh . Stephen McHattie is Clyde , an alcoholic school bus driver trying to stay sober for love-interest Betty ( Michelle Suquet ) , who runs a little gas station / diner . Kristin Booth is Wayne's photographer wife , Cynthia , for whom he's giving up his sheriff's position so she can have a career as a teacher of anthropology . Veteran Rod Taylor ( the hero in Hitchcock's The Birds ) stars as the town doctor / coroner . Vladimir Bondarenko is Jacob , the religiously fanatical Minnonite who blames the curse of their cows and rampaging predatory birds on the English for he feels their people joining amongst them in activities was against God's will . He is able to hold his son Oskar ( John Ralston ) to silence over the cows keeping the disease a secret from the town . Megan Park is Oskar's daughter Gretchen who , along with Doris ( Ashley Newbrough ) and Connie ( Emma Knight ) , become trapped on a bus when the ravens attack as Clyde attempts to fix his engine while their coach Emma ( Amanda Brugel ) tries to assist him . I watched the R-rated version which contains some pretty gory flesh eating such as when a couple , lost on a road near the town , are under attack swerving upside down into a ditch . . while the car explodes , a bird is shown tearing away at the flesh wound of a gash on the leg of the woman slung from the vehicle . After an attack on Clyde's dog , Wayne stops by the man's house finding the poor canine being fed from by a raven chewing away . Another great scene , my favorite of the film , has Cynthia stopping off by Jacob's Minnonite farm to bring a picture-book and falling into a well containing the skinned carcass of a cow ! Another suspenseful scene has this poor child , off his bicycle , surrounded by a circle of ravens around him . Most of the attacks are shown from afar as birds form a massive attack covering their victims . . we see their destruction afterward as nasty flesh wounds are shown on the dead victims . The ending is a bit too much , however . Has a nifty attack on the main characters as they try to survive a final major swarm upon them in Betty's diner . There's an obvious influence from Hitchcock's The Birds ( I mean Rod Taylor's presence in the film assures at least that ) , but " Kaw " gives an explanation to the devastation that occurs by the ravens . The film is basically " The Birds " using modern movie techniques like CGI . We see birds flying towards ( . . and in waves around ) the screen , into the sky , going into / flying out of trees , and on top of buildings . The cast is okay . . not as interesting as the one in " The Birds " , but they are really in " Kaw " to elicit fear and anxiety as the ravens come after them . Great to see Rod Taylor show up in this film , though . Might be of interest for fans of the " animals run amok " horror sub-genre . The ending is a bit too much , however . And , that one sequence when the ravens attack the school bus by throwing stones they gather in their claws is just ridiculous . |
436,147 | 9,938,570 | 787,505 | 4 | Rest Stop | There's something going on in this film directed by X-Files scribe John Shiban that has eluded me . You get that feeling as the film moves that everything is not what it seems , yet I feel the movie fails at giving you enough to go on to truly care afterward . It's about perception . There are characters the heroine Nicole ( Jaimie Alexander ) meets in the film that she talks to that up and vanish . This might seem like a spoiler , but it's something that really only inherits a wee bit of focus on the filmmakers ' part . They seem to be poking fun at us as we watch curious at whether we should trust what Nicole is seeing or not . It never gets a proper answer and I for one was a bit clueless at the point . There comes a time in a film when ambiguity can just be frustrating because the viewer is led on a wild goose chase that ends at a dead end with little explanation at what we just saw . . it ultimately feels like an exhausting exercise instead of a thrilling psycho-drama . Now there's nothing wrong with ambiguity itself , but give us something to latch onto or you will evade us . That's how I felt as I watched " Rest Stop . " This film is supposedly about a young woman named Nicole who decides to run off to California with lover Jesse ( Joey Mendicino ) to make it big in Hollywood . They make what is supposed to be a slight detour at a rest stop so that Nicole can pee , but it descends into terror for her when she finds that her Jesse is completely missing . Someone in a crusty , dusty yellow truck is a nut job who seems to be causing a lot of trouble to Nicole and we soon realize that he is behind Jesse's disappearance when things start to occur , signs provided to her if you will , she will have to find a way out of a very difficult situation . Nicole is far from any existing town and with limited resources to defend herself against a maniac who provides her with some strong evidence of how evil he can be . That's the easy part . When a female character comes into play , the film makes a really bizarre leap from logic as we are not sure where she ever came from , how she got there , and more importantly where she goes once Nicole tries to break her free from her supposed prison in the restroom's utilities ' cabinet . She meets another , a Police officer in the area ( Joey Lawrence ) , who might seem like her savior , but when he too is a victim of the truck driver startling things occur again that questions if he was ever actually even there to begin with . The truck driver commits torturous acts to Nicole ( like holing her up in the restroom and as she tries to untie a wire that the killer has wrapped around the door lock , she receives a nasty bite from him ) . He then sets fire to the restroom leaving her without a lasting place of refuge from the beast . It's the timing of the truck driver's attacks that has me listless . Perhaps he just likes tormenting her , but he appropriately appears in certain situations where Nicole has time to flee or prepare . It doesn't make much sense , his motives , which propel the film into an illogical idea . Why does he make himself so obvious ? Why does he allow her to prepare ? It seems , I'm going out on a limb here , that he likes having his quarry believe they can find a way of escape only to stomp that hope out when he comes up with his next grisly attack . Yet , why does Shiban decide to play with the viewer by having Nicole experience odd meetings with people that don't exist ? What is Shiban and the writing team trying to say ? And , to cap off the film's unhinged weirdness is a family in a RV . They play a small part in the scheme of things as religious bigots themselves , but the film doesn't do enough for the viewer to explain why they should be in this film at all . |
435,719 | 9,938,570 | 408,345 | 4 | Firewall | Computer Bank Security man Harrison Ford is stuck in an unfortunate decision as his company is about to merge with another whose boss is Robert Patrick . That unfortunate situation is a group of thuggish criminals whose leader is Paul Bettany who holds Ford's family ( including wife Virginia Madsen ) hostage forcing him to encrypt moneys from his bank's wealthiest clients into a Caymen account or else suffer the consequences . Ford will have to find a way to match wits with Bettany and this film shows the cat and mouse game that ensues . Pedestrian , by-the-numbers thriller is about a predictable as they come following right in line with the same types of thrillers Hollywood churns out add nauseum . The cast doesn't have a chance to freshen not-very-ripe material . The uninspired story which tries hard to be slick , but comes off as improbable asking us to believe that Ford could be able to successfully do what he does . Madsen tries to bring life to the typical mother role she's saddled with and Ford tries to muster of his old mojo , but this film is just too ordinary . Bettany just passes time as his talent is squandered on a second-rate villain . Disappointing , unfullfilling thriller . |
436,452 | 9,938,570 | 963,194 | 4 | Repo ! The Genetic Opera | An alt-rock score , a hellish nightmarish world right out of The Crow , colorful , hideous characters who sing , comic interludes expressing past incidents which tell us why the story has culminated to the point we're witnessing , and the grisly operations of a repossessor of organs working for a futuristic tyrannical businessman who practically runs the goth city where the events take place . Paul Sorvino is an obvious choice for the role of Rotti Largo , an intense , contemptible , ruthless corporate giant whose face is perfectly etched with anger and disgust , rotten to the core and dying of a cancer progressively getting worse ( . . his duo of gun toting female guards shoot the doctor for bringing him the news , just a sign of how the state of life is in this depressing future ) . Anthony Head is his diabolical repo man , Nathan , who seeks out those who have signed a contract with Rotti for an organ they needed to live . . if these people fail to pay for their repaired organ , it'll be collected ( . . when Nathan viciously removes the organ , surgically , we can see the bar code ! ) Rotti took advantage of a terrible plight sweeping across the country , organ failures , and offered those afflicted hope , with a price . Nathan is held accountable for a past tragedy , caused by Rotti who was enraged at him for stealing away his bride , Marni . Using a poisonous drug , Rotti had it placed in the vial containing a formula Nathan was working on for his pregnant Marni who fell ill . Nathan , using the infected formula , instead causes the illness to worsen , needing to surgically remove their daughter , Shilo ( Alexa Vega ) before certain death . Caught by police for his actions in saving Shilo , Nathan must work for Rotti as a way of paying off his debt for saving him from prison . Rotti , ashamed of his horrible offspring , Amber Sweet ( Paris Hilton ) , Luigi Largo ( Bill Moseley ) , and Pavi ( Nivek Ogre ) wishes to leave his successful corporation , Geneco , to someone else . He sees this as an opportunity to get the ultimate revenge against Nathan who he hates with an overwhelming passion , for taking Marni away , by targeting a 17 year old Shilo , who has been isolated from the outside world , yearning to experience what life is like away from the prison of her apartment . Nathan has Shilo taking pills for a supposed blood disease , but , unknown to her , it's actually a poison ( . . he wishes for her to remain distant from a world he wants to shield her from ) and Rotti will take advantage of this situation so that he can turn daughter against father . And , Rotti has plans to leave his corporation to Shilo , for she is the only one he sees fit for such an enterprize . By drawing Shilo into the outside world promising her a cure for the blood disease , Rotti can successfully trap Nathan . Also , part of the plot has " Blind Mag " ( Sarah Brightman ) , a friend of Marni's , whose eyes were transplanted thanks to Geneco thanks in part of a contract she signed in blood , wishes to leave her singing career and have freedom from Rotti . Mag will meet Shilo with a domino effect transpiring . . it's only a matter of time before Shilo will discover the truth about her father's practices and the real reason behind the death of her mother . I think this is indeed a cult item , the songs will work for a certain crowd , as well as the grotesque costume designs , and the industrialized look of the world , fallen to ruin , degradation , and decadence . The alt-metal music which accompanies the songs will also work for that target cult audience . It's extremely graphic with some unsettling surgical organ removals . I personally found the music and singers horrid ( . . but that's because I'm not exactly a fan of musicals , especially with a cast who can not sing ) and the characters overbearing . This future , though , is not supposed to be a pleasant world , so the characters and what they have to sing about reflect this devastated society . Full of surgical freaks ( . . like Hilton's Amber ) , junkies ( . . addicted to a hypo-injected drug lifted from corpses called Zydrate ) , and hedonists . Moseley has his usual psychopath , Luigi , with an uncontrollable temperament , often stabbing folks who just so happen to cross him at the wrong time . Vegas has the central role , a pivotal part that inadvertently controls the inevitable confrontation between Nathan and Rotti . The character of Pavi ( . . and to a certain extent , Amber ) reminded me of Eyes Without a Face , with his face covered by a skin mask . . I kind of wondered if this was a homage of sorts . Hilton was expertly cast as a self-absorbed drug-addicted tramp who is obsessed with surgery , and with designs of being a star that takes the place of the beloved Mag . Director Darren Lynn Bousman shoots with soft focus photography , and the bleak world looks lifted right from a computer screen . Vega has an innocence and vulnerability that works for the part of an angel lost in a nightmare where fiends and miscreants lurk around every corner . The make-up effects are quite effective , particularly during those notorious organ removal sequences ( . . and a marvelous reveal of Amber's ruined visage ) . |
435,791 | 9,938,570 | 82,910 | 4 | Piranha II : The Spawning | Police Chief Steve Kimbrough ( Lance Henriksen ) has a problem on his hands . . killer piranha fish can fly ( ! ) and they are quite hungry for the tourists that populate his island . His ex wife Anne ( Tricia O'Neil , who is actually quite good ) is a scuba instructor who loses one of her students when he decides , against warning , to search an old wreckage which housed the piranha . When dead bodies start to increase , Anne tries to warn Hotel Manager Raoul ( Ted Richart , who is basically representing the clichéd manager who doesn't respond well to warnings from his staff or police about possible harm to unknowing tourists for business purposes ) to no avail . She also begins an affair with Tyler Sherman ( Steve Marachuk ) who she finds out is a bio-chemist and one of those scientists responsible for creating the damn things eating people . Another horrifying element is that Anne and Steve's son , Chris ( Ricky Paull Golden ) is out there assisting a wealthy man's boat ride . Goofy sequel shows first-time director James Cameron ( who would , three years later , get it right with his awesome sci-fi action masterpiece , " The Terminator " ) was a bit green on how to create any sense of realism in this silly premise trying to make silly jokes work and his characters quirky . The film does have gore as these piranha behave like bats flying for the jugular ripping throats to shreds of victims . The sequence where tourists get slaughtered in one giant wallop of an attack is inspired and bloody . The film just can not escape it's ultra-silly idea . There ' s one scene that had me rolling in the floor at it's absurdity : a clean-up lady in a morgue catches a piranha in her throat as he plunges at her from the torso of a dead victim ! |
436,323 | 9,938,570 | 113,982 | 4 | Night of the Scarecrow | Warlock's spirit , trapped within a scarecrow as his burnt bones lie in a tomb buried deep within the ground of his cornfield home , rises when the erected slab imprisoning his casket is disturbed as bolts of lightning emerge awakening his lifeforce . . that's the best I can explain it , folks . It seems that the community founded by the Goodmans needed magical assistance if their unfertile land and people starving were ever gonna yield any satisfying results . . in comes the Warlock to fulfill their needs , with his magic book of spells as a tool to help the community thrive and land fertile . When the magician began causing such rampant sin and perversion as his granted freedom gave way to lascivious appetites , those religious townpeople , who haven't succumb to the lusts of the flesh decide to hang him on a wooden cross in the middle of a cornfield , later burning his bones & burying them in a tomb . A scarecrow was erected , as was the slab , over the burial plot of the warlock , reminding the generations of Goodmans of the deeds they committed years ago . Anyway , we are now in the present and the recently awakened warlock uses his scarecrow body to kill various Goodmans ( . . and others in his path ) looking to retrieve his magical book of spells and reunite with his bones so that he can return to fleshly form even more powerful than he is as a walking man of string . Claire Goodman ( Elizabeth Barondes ) is set up as you female heroine and lover Dillon ( John Mese ) , who works for her pops , Mayor William Goodman ( Gary Lockwood , FAR removed from 2001 , that's for sure ) is the male hero who must stop the killer scarecrow before he is able to become all-powerful . Supernatural slasher milks the scarecrow idea for all it's worth . One scene has the scarecrow planting a seed within the lusty daughter of Priest Uncle Thaddeus ( Bruce Glover , appropriately hammy as a corrupt priest who reads lingerie magazines while alone in his church ) as it explodes wooden branches from her skin . Another has the scarecrow sowing Uncle Thaddeus ' mouth shut . Oh , and you especially like the scene where the scarecrow causes one poor soul to grow straw from his facial orifices , fingers and torso . One scene has the scarecrow blowing straw into a cop's face like little nails that stab the guy in the face . Lots of WTF ? death sequences that cause one to giggle . . Some recognizable faces include Dirk Blocker as drunken Uncle George who gets shredded by his tractor , Stephen Root as sheriff Uncle Frank who receives straw " needles " into his face , Martine Beswick as Uncle Thaddeus ' wife Barbara ( she likes to sew , so this ought to hint at how she'll likely perish ) , and John Hawkes as Danny , the nuisance who unearthed the warlock to begin with . Director Jeff Burr tries to inject some style into the incredibly asinine premise , but to enjoy this you'll have to accept the film on it's terms . Judging by the film's user rating , few have . . |
435,749 | 9,938,570 | 1,140,941 | 4 | Joy Ride 2 : Dead Ahead | Two sisters and their boyfriends are being terrorized on desert roads by psychopathic trucker Rusty Nails . Melissa ( Nicki Aycox ; Dead Birds ) and fiancé Bobby ( Nick Zano ) are to be married , traveling with sis , Kayla ( Laura Jordan ) to Vegas for a bachelorette / bachelor party . Kayla stops off to pick up a Myspace date , Nik ( Kyle Schmid ) , to the dismay of Melissa and Bobby . . he's dressed with a leather jacket , rings in his lower lip , and tattoos ( . . a funny scene dispels Nik's disguise , proving that he's not exactly the Goth he's portraying ) . Melissa and Bobby find Nik's immature behavior intolerable ( . . he's your basic clown , rude and crude , not knowing how to shut his yap ) , but they , against their better judgment , take a detour off the highway believing it would get them to Vegas quicker . The station wagon ( . . the sisters ' grandmother's car ) gives up the ghost as they hit a dirt road , and on foot they find a seemingly abandoned farm house and barn . Inside the barn is a practically new muscle car , and the gang reluctantly take it to get on their way to Vegas . It just so happens that the muscle car is Rusty Nails ' and he reacts less than positively to their taking it . Kidnapping Bobby , RN plays a series of mind games with Melissa , Kayla , and Nik . . for Bobby's return , RN demands certain requests . Attempts at trickery fail and RN will cause them a world of pain along the way . This sequel ratchets up the violence considerably as Rusty Nails is proved to be one sadistic bastard . First he demands Kayla's middle finger as a bargaining chip for Bobby ( . . she flipped him off and he simply wants what's his ) . When Kayla and Melissa's idea of snipping the finger from a female corpse in the morgue , RN acts accordingly ( . . a finger for a finger ) The second challenge ( . . Nik , walking into a crowd of partying truckers in drag to score some Crystal Meth ) is disrupted when Nik attempts to escape . Kidnapping Nik , RN takes the boys to his home , forcing them into a game of " torture craps " with the roll of the dice choosing what level of pain would happen on a specific location on the body . Soon RN causes Melissa and Kayla to crash that sweet ride , and has a collision in store for them as they lie upside down and vulnerable . A showdown will commence between Melissa and RN with Bobby's fate hanging in the balance . Unlike the first film which retains Rusty Nails ' mystique , JOY RIDE 2 practically strips him of any mystery whatsoever . He's merely a brute who likes to brutalize and antagonize . I think the original film's appeal was the voice across the CB radio ( . . the ominous voice provided by Ted Levine ) which was of vital importance . . no face , just the sound of a voice calling for Candycane . It wasn't the physical body of the trucker , but his creepy voice's serious tone and the diesel he drives . He becomes just a cold-blooded thug with an ax to grind ( . . while he has a right to be angry for some kids taking his ride , but there are less evil ways of handling such matters ) . The film is riddled with the typical clichés . The bad idea of taking a detour when you know you should ALWAYS stay on the highway . The cell phone that doesn't work . How Rusty Nails is always one step ahead of the gang , knowing their every move . The final girl who attacks her predator with a shovel , pummeling him once or twice before throwing the weapon to the side to see about her boyfriend , instead of making damn sure he was incapacitated , or , better yet , dead . The finale might remind many of DUEL , except JOY RIDE 2 has a preposterous closing which defies simple logic . |
436,482 | 9,938,570 | 479,199 | 4 | Buried Alive | The ole " sins of the father " is mined once again in another vengeful spirit story as troubled college student Zane ( Terence Jay ) is hard up to find his great grandfather's buried gold and was recently put on probation for not paying as much attention to studies as he was clowning around and partying . He has the dweeby Phil ( Germaine De Leon ) studying up on Zane's past , letting him tag along for being such a loyal friend ( . . well , Phil also helped him in making better grades , using the kid's brains to get ahead ) . Zane's cousin is Rene ( Leah Rachel ) , head of a sorority who will accompany him with two pledges , Laura ( Erin Reese ; looking like a young Charisma Carpenter ) & Julie ( Lindsey Scott ) , and boyfriend Danny ( Steve Sandvoss ) . They head off to Zane's father's home for different reasons . Zane to find the location of the gold , manipulating Rene into thinking that the trip was so that she could mistreat her two potential sisters . A thorn in Zane's side is his father's grounds keeper , Lester ( Tobin Bell , given star treatment ) , a foul , dirty lout who lives all alone , secretly discovering the spot in the sub-cellar where some gold was buried . Lester constantly warns Zane about being out when night falls because of the dangers of the dark . Lester is a perverted rascal who often makes sneering remarks and gestures to the girls , while also playing a series of scare-pranks on them . A Native American girl was murdered by her husband , Zane's great-grandfather ( . . who remarried , which birthed the new family line that would lead to Zane and Rene ) , buried alive presumably where the gold was hidden . Her spirit seeks revenge on all those whose blood derived from the murdering bastard who left her to die a slow and agonizing death . Equipped with an ax and the ability to pop wherever she so wishes , and a very hostile attitude , the ghoul will take no prisoners . . all are fair game . There's this amulet worn around Rene's neck which works as protection from death . . it's symbol will assist in keeping one character safe from harm . One victim is sliced in half ( . . right down the middle ) while another's face slides right from the head . . the ax chop happens so fast in fact that you don't ( . . or can barely ) see the blade . The film spends an amount of time with the characters as they get acquainted with their temporary environment , with Rene , basically a bitch always ordering her girls around ( . . I absolutely loathe this whole process , running candidates through a series of trials just to join some stupid institution ) or jealous of Julie who has caught the attention of Zane . . an angle established at the beginning points out this incestuous desire present between Zane and Rene ( . . Rene simmers with disgust when Zane and Julie flirt ) . I will admit that I could care less what happened to Zane , Danny ( . . your basic garden variety handsome jock , a WB pretty boy Rene keeps as a trophy ) , or especially Rene . Rene never gains our sympathy as she insists on ridiculing and tormenting her pledges , especially Julie , who is playful , naive , and bubbly ( . . not to mention positively yummy in a playboy bunny kind of way ) . Laura is the sultry brunette , with silky smooth skin and dynamic figure . She has a thing for religious symbols of various beliefs ( . . like a Celtic and Chinese symbols tattooed on parts of her body ) and is well studied in the practices of other countries ' cultures . Bell is basically a creep , nasty and crude . . but the best thing about this supernatural slasher , for at least he has presence . Despite a grim conclusion for certain characters , I was rather satisfied . . not sure that was supposed to be the appropriate reaction . |
436,823 | 9,938,570 | 322,282 | 4 | Final Examination | Part slasher , but mostly a detective thriller with some rather tame soft-core sex , from director Fred Olen Ray ( . . under the pseudonym Ed Raymond ) regarding a serial killer hunting down models who were all part of a Sorority 5 years ago when a girl supposedly committed suicide driving off a curb near a bridge . The " suicide " , which for a while seems unrelated to the rest of the film , is linked to the murders as transfered LA detective Shane Newman ( Brent Huff ) and his Hawaii partner Julie Seska ( Kari Wuhrer ) seek the find who is behind the homicides at a posh resort . Could the culprit be Derek Simmons ( Winton Nicholson ) , the millionaire publisher of Cavalier magazine for which these girls were invited to the Hawaii resort for a shoot ? Could it be mysterious photographer Taylor Cameron ( Debbie Rochon ) who is to shoot the girls ? While on the case , Shane has altercations with the resort's manager , Miss Pratt ( Kathy Cullis ) who wants them to investigate quietly without announcing a serial killer on the loose possibly hurting tourism . To insure this , Pratt enlists Sam's superior to threaten his job is if he doesn't cooperate . Meanwhile , we also follow the exploits of the girls , Kristen Neal ( Amy Lindsey ) , Megan ( Belinda Gavin ) , and Amanda ( Kalau Iwaoka ) who become nervous about being targets . The first victim's boyfriend , Charlie ( Michael Lloyd ) , who found his girlfriend murdered in a jacuzzi after leaving to fetch some water , might just know a possible clue that could help the detectives . . which could put him in danger as well . The film alternates between Hawaii and Los Angeles , as Sam gets some much needed assistance from his former co-workers back home who themselves discover some interesting evidence regarding the suicide victim , Rachel Kincaid ( Jen Nikolaisen ) , a pregnancy , and a college Professor in hot water , Andrews ( Robert Donavan ) . The slasher element is rather uninspired as the attacks are very uneventful ( . . a strangulation , a drowning , the aftermath of a stabbing ) , but Olen Ray does what he can with developing the detective crime drama portion of the script . The actors deal with some pretty dire dialogue and rather irksome attempts at humor ( . . a lot of exchanges between the detectives , for instance , whose attempts at wit fall flat ) , but the location is stunning and cinematography sophisticated and polished . There are two lengthly car chases that are well executed and exciting , but this kind of film doesn't really need them . Plenty of tits , but the sex is photographed to avoid explicit details . Kari Wuhrer is a pleasant sight , and is featured in a sizzling fantasy sequence swimming and exiting a pool in a bikini as Sam dreams about her , moving uncomfortably in his bed . But , she is given standard , tired cop lingo and the role is the average detective looking for clues . She certainly deserves better . I didn't think Huff was that bad , given the usual detective role always in trouble with his superiors who demand for him to follow the rules and operate in a controlled manner . Olen Ray vet , Jay Richardson has an amusing cameo as Sam's LA superior , Hugh Janus ( . . say it a few times and you'll get the joke ) . The film has multiple endings as characters under aliases are discovered , correlating with Rachel , the victim in the opening of the movie . Rochon , unestablished in great length at first , does get to come into her own towards the end with a memorable , if cheesy / corny , confrontation with Sam at the end . The resort is simply an ideal , breathtaking place to shoot such a murder mystery , but I sure wish the slasher aspects would've been more inspired . |
435,976 | 9,938,570 | 60,049 | 4 | Terror-Creatures from the Grave | An attorney , Albert Kovac ( Walter Brandi ) visits a villa , reporting to go over a will for a wealthy occult professor , Geoffrey Hauff , who had reportedly died , accidentally falling down steps . His death was recorded by five people , and each one whose name was written down on the report are dying in unusual ways . Albert's vehicle suffered a damaged engine thanks to an owl ( ! ) and he remains at the behest of Geoffrey lovely daughter , Corinne ( Mirella Maravidi ) , who is worried for her life . The Hauff villa was erected where a hospital housing those diseased with the black plague , their severed hands ( . . a punishment for purposely spreading their disease to others ) in a trophy case within the hall containing pictures and various artifacts found by Geoffrey as he conducted his research into the morbid history of the area . There are graves nearby the villa which hold those who died in the hospital , and it was said that Geoffrey was attempting to contact the dead , hoping to bring their spirits from their eternal slumber . Along with Corinne is her step-mother , Cleo ( Barbara Steele ) once a potential actress , who gave up the stage to marry Geoffrey . There's obviously more to the story for why would those specific men who reported Geoffrey's death be the ones dying ? The fifth witness's name is anonymous and he could hold the answer as to why those he was with that night are winding up dead . Unremarkable Gothic horror flick from Massimo Pupillo , who didn't take credit for it ( . . I can't say I blame him ) , using a disconcerting score to keep the viewer on edge even though nothing happens for great lengths . The copy I watched ( Terror Creatures from the Grave ) was ravaged by time , the quality of both the film itself and the audio track have seen better days . I kept hoping that the creatures of the title might make an appearance so that I could at least appreciate something for sitting through this tedious ordeal , but even at the end , we see none of those who rose from their caskets ( . . Tombs of the Blind Dead did this soooooo much better ) and I felt cheated . Steele has a rather thankless role as the wife with secrets , who knows more about that night when her husband died than she's letting on . . I think pretty much anyone watching can figure she's not exactly an innocent . There are some icky make-up grue such as the effects of the plague on a victim's face who assists his master in releasing the spirits of those damned , the effects of a face damaged by the trampling of a distressed horse , and the guts sticking out from the stomach of a victim who impales himself on a sword . Brandi is about as bland as the presentation of the film . Alfredo Rizzo is the local village doctor , Nemek who works with Kovac in determining what is killing the men . Recognizable Italian character actor , Luciano Pigozzi has a very small ( . . but important ) role as Kurt , Geoffrey's loyal and trusted servant who talks to no one . Tilde Till is the very nervous and superstitious maid who trembles while working in the villa . Check this out only if you're a Barbara Steele completest , because the movie itself never rises above a mediocre , shambling exercise that lumbers along at a languid pace challenging you to stay awake . This could sure use a restoration , but I'm not certain it'd be worth it . |
436,719 | 9,938,570 | 203,343 | 4 | Blood Dolls | Rather mediocre fare from the much maligned independent producer / director Charles Band who probably tooled whatever resources were available just to fund the project . Had a very strange quality about it with the shrunken-headed millionaire , Virgil Travis ( Jack Maturin , always carrying a scowl ) his muscle and enforcer in clown-face , Mr . Mascaro ( William Paul Burns ) a disgruntled dwarf assistant , Hylas ( . . the great Phil Fondacaro ) and the imprisoned girl rock band who were sent shock waves if they didn't play their instruments and belt out a selected tune at their master's command . The blood dolls are merely a modern take on the popular dolls made famous in The Puppetmaster . I didn't really care for them , at all . . they are basically designed after modern urban street characters like a scummy pimp and muscle-freak with multiple piercings . We watch as Virgil punishes the two experts under his employ who failed to solve his financial woes , through a drill to the chest with the other shrunken into a doll ! I liked the addition of the true villainous being Moira Yulin ( Debra Mayer , seen mostly in lingerie or in a dominatrix outfit torturing her husband , who remains a subservient little puppy always obeying her , often receiving punishment if he angered her with his idiocy ) who works behind the scenes using her inept husband , Harrison Yulin ( Warren Draper ) to gain power and money , her skill and cunning matching favorably against the pint-headed millionaire with revenge on his mind for being swindled by the three conspirators ( . . one her husband , told through an earpiece what he must say and do as she communicates from a different room ) who worked together to bilk him of billions . Virgil uses his killer dolls , and Mascaro himself , to get bloody revenge against those that wronged him ( . . including Nicholas Worth , from the notorious slasher Don't Answer the Phone , as a pampered millionaire , whose mansion serves as a meeting place to talk with his alliances , including the underused Jodie Fisher as Mercy Shaw ) . I really enjoyed Burn's character the most , a morose , cold , pillar of strength , whose monotone , very serious voice never rose even as he watches his master's questionable acts towards others in violent ways . In fact Mascaro , a very faithful servant , was willing to do whatever it took to please his master . He's just such an unusual character . . Band has the whole film played straight which gives the film an even odder quality . Dabra Mayer , whose resume proves that she's a sport often starring in horror schlock , is quite yummy in her scenes whipping and abusing Draper's wimpy husband . While I agree it doesn't touch Band's older films like Trancers , Subspecies , or The Puppetmaster , I'd have to admit that Blood Dolls ranks as one of his better endeavors , although it feels like the movie was made without a polished script , featuring themes the producer / director depends on entirely ( . . his resume shows that psychotic dolls are perhaps his favorite thematic element in killing folks ) for any success . Not as gory as it should've been and the two endings were unnecessary ( . . either one would've been okay , but to feature two in the movie makes little sense ) . |
436,821 | 9,938,570 | 443,473 | 4 | The Condemned | American Variation on Battle Royale except in this film those put on the island , squared off against each other , with bomb locks around their ankles , are adults ( . . mostly those with a criminal past awaiting Death Row ) . Stone Cold Steve Austin is a black ops federal special forces agent , Jack Conrad , who was infiltrating a drug cartel when he was caught and imprisoned in a Central American jail , bought and placed into the death tournament on a reality internet game . Vinnie Jones is a psychotic former special ops guy himself , McStarley , his was for the British government . The collar bombs have a trigger device that will go off if another competitor presses the button . Those handpicked to compete represent various countries , and only one can survive with the prize being their freedom . The corrupt mastermind behind the whole operation is Breckel ( Robert Mammone ) , who looks like a self-absorbed Harvard grad with an insatiable desire to exploit a selected few to reap millions from those craving real violence . . he wishes to " put on a good show " by manipulating his audience establishing heroes , villains , and the weak victims who are unable to outlast the stronger , more savage foes . We watch as the " condemned " fight for survival , trying to outwit each other , as weapons are parachuted to McStarley , and his temporary Japanese partner Saiga ( Masa Yamaguchi ) purposely by Breckel so that they can gain an advantage as a strategy to make his show more thought-provoking and gripping . What Breckel doesn't expect is how intelligent , resourceful and cunning Conrad is , and how he'll set his sights on getting even with ones responsible for placing him in this difficult , dangerous situation . Breckel underestimates Conrad and an even bigger problem develops as his base camp operation is not too far from the action . Also a sub-plot is those searching for Conrad's whereabouts and attempting to pinpoint where Breckel's operation is located . Those expecting a bloody good time will be sorely disappointed as the frenetic camera work disrupts any kind of thrill the premise might produce . You see a blizzard of blows flash by as the high octane editing process and constantly moving camera remove any possibility of seeing two competitors exchanging real blows in a proper fashion . Stone Cold Steve Austin is a credible enough hero and Vinnie Jones is as unhinged a psycho as ever before , but they are undermined by sloppily staged action sequences which will likely give the intended audience a headache or the desperate craving for Dramamine by the time it's over . There's plenty of hand-to-hand combat sequences which could really hum if the director and cinematographer could keep their damn camera still long enough for us to enjoy it . Perhaps the filmmakers didn't have enough faith in their leads to provide realistic combat , but it's a shame that , burdened by the rather thin story-line , it can not deliver on what it's supposed to . Impressive setting with the jungle and dangerous rocks leading to rushing water as Breckel has cameras spread throughout capturing the action as it unfolds ( . . also having men camouflaged filming some action live on the scene ) . An ongoing story-line has Breckel dealing with the animosity of members of his staff who are finding it hard to deal with the violence that is transpiring . Within the screenplay is an indictment on reality television and the desire for viewing real , live bloodshed . Practically everyone's dead by the end of this film . |
436,554 | 9,938,570 | 67,487 | 4 | The Night Evelyn . . | Lord Alan Cunningham ( Antonio De Teffè ) is a nutjob { seen early on trying to escape an insane asylum } , with this castle slowly succumbing to ruin , likes to kill various hookers who resemble his deceased wife Evelyn , a woman who betrayed him for another man , with those red locks . This nutcase is quite wealthy and his bachelor status can be quite alluring . He , however , is overrun by his obsession with his late wife's memory ( specifically her adultery . . he saw her naked with the lover ) . While the memory of Evelyn is almost devouring his whole existence , Alan tries his best to find true love and believes he has with Gladys ( Marina Malfatti , who spends most of the film naked . . that's probably her lone attribute since she isn't a very good actress ) , who agrees to marry him after a very short courtship which should probably throw up flags right away { there's a key moment of dialogue where she knows exactly to the very amount what he is worth } . The only real person Alan can confide in is his doctor from the hospital , Dr . Richard Timberlane ( Giacomo Rossi-Stuart ) . There are other key characters in this film that revolve around Alan . Alan's cousin , George ( Rod Murdock ) , seems to be quite a good friend who often supplies him victims . . I mean dates , while holding onto hope of getting his lord's estate some day . Albert ( Roberto Maldera ) , Evelyn's brother , is a witness to Alan's slaughter and , instead of turning him into the police , squeezes him for cash . Aunt Agatha ( Joan C Davis ) , wheelchair bound , lives at the castle estate and is often seen snooping around behind cracked doors . We later find that she is having a love affair with Albert . All that is described above services the rest of the story which shows what appears to be the ghost of Evelyn haunting Alan , someone is killing off members of the cast family that revolve around Alan , and the body of Evelyn is indeed missing . The ultimate question is who is committing the crimes after Alan and Gladys are married , where is Evelyn's body , and will Alan go over the edge ? I have to be honest and say I just didn't really care much for this film . It's badly uneven and the pacing is all over the place . It looks great on the new DVD and the " rising from the grave sequence " is cool , but what really hurts the film in my mind is that the entire cast is unlikable . You really have a hard time caring for Alan because he is a psychotic who is skating on thin ice in regards to holding his sanity . He can be quite volatile . Who commits the crime really isn't that great a surprise for after several key characters are murdered off , there aren't but a choice few who could be doing it . What happens to Alan doesn't really make your throat gulp because you can make the argument he's just getting what he deserves . Those behind the whole scheme of the film in regards to Alan , as I pointed out before , aren't that shocking because if you are just slightly aware of certain circumstances ( . . or advantages they'd have ) that would benefit them with the collapse of Alan's sanity , then everything just comes off less than stellar . I thought the editing was choppy and unexciting , but the acting from the entire cast is really below par . Some stylistics help and there is a sniff of Gothic atmosphere in the graveyard sequences to help it some . |
436,593 | 9,938,570 | 101,917 | 4 | The Scarecrow gives Freddy's death a mini-review | Unfortunately , my past love for this film has since vanquished after a rather unsatisfying viewing today . I think the director tries too hard at making this an all out comedy that the essence of what made Freddy Krueger so thrilling is silent . There's never a scene where one feels any kind of chilling effect from Freddy . He never appears ominous and that really hurts because even in the series ' worst effort { " The Dream Child " ) , he has some creepy moments . But , in this film , he comes off as an evil clown and the film floats around Wes Craven's rules of how Freddy operates in the nightmare world and how the victims are effected on the outside despite being asleep . The idea of implementing Nintendo gaming from Freddy and his flying on a broomstick like the Wicked Witch of The West really seems yearning for some desperate laughs . The violence is still gory , but less effective . None of the kills in this film even come close to the intense death scenes in " A Nightmare on Elm Street " or even " The Dream Master . " It's actually almost a laboring attempt from me just to have to watch it for it's like watching a once great series die a long , hard death . Even the weak 3-D gimmick ruins Freddy's supposed exit from horrordom . So the film simply fails on most accounts except for the director showing us Freddy's past . That one aspect , and unfolding the mystery of who Freddy's after , is worthy of noting . It's a sad thing because I have fond memories of watching this film . Perhaps it made for that certain age where you just can more easily accept mediocrity . . and a wise cracking villain doing whatever he wants in a nightmare state . |
436,009 | 9,938,570 | 83,973 | 4 | Frightmare | Conrad Radzoff ( Ferdy Mayne ) , a hammy cult icon , dies from a heart ailment ( not before disposing of an ungrateful assistant and TV commercial director , both of whom disrespected him with showers of insults ) . His body is removed from his mausoleum by some film students ( they wish to " invite him to dinner " . . they are quite big fans ) . What these kids ( . . including a young Jeffrey Combs ) don't expect is that Radzoff will be resurrected by a medium to wreak havoc on those who removed him from his place of rest . The list of violent acts include Radzoff pulling one guy's tongue out , setting a woman on fire , elevating a casket which crushes a woman's face , decapitates one fellow , and cremates another guy alive in a coffin . A really weird soundtrack and pesky fog wraps around Radzoff's ghoulish activities . Silly hokum from Troma is limited by a very , very low budget and slowwwwww pace . The film feels a lot longer than it is . The film isn't really that gory and we can hardly see much violence because the film is often too damn dark . At times , Radzoff is an ominous presence , yet at other times he just looks real silly . |
436,160 | 9,938,570 | 95,179 | 4 | The New Blood : Friday the 13th VI | An emotionally fragile young woman , Tina ( Lar Park Lincoln ) , whose dangerous telekinetic powers led to the murder of her abusive father as a child , returns to Crystal Lake years later at the scene where that incident took place thanks to her demanding psychologist , Dr . Crews ( a delightfully slimy Terry Kiser , easily the most interesting character , and better than average performance , of the film ) who secretly plans to exploit her abilities when she's able to control them . In anger at the difficult situation she's facing , she releases a " telekinetic shockwave " which unleashes Jason Voorhees from the bouldered chain holding him captive underwater . Across from her cabin is a birthday celebration being held by a group of young adults who will unknowingly fall one by one to the hockey-masked psycho ready to pick up where he left off many years ago . If director John Carl Buechler had been able to deliver to franchise fans the version he made , this would be mentioned in the same breath as bloody slasher faves , " Maniac " & " The Prowler " ( . . even " The Prowler " director Joseph Zito's Friday film is allowed bloody rites ) . Having seen the deleted gore scenes , you can not help but feel slighted by those involved with censoring ( . . more like butchering ) this sequel . It's a shame because the deleted footage is in rather bad shape , having been buried in Paramount's vault unprotected for many years without much care it seems . There are some really inspired gory bits such as Jason forming his hands into a vice crushing one poor soul's skull like a walnut as blood squirts from the orifices of his face , one victim receiving a chopping ax to the face opening a gaping crevice with gushing blood , one man getting Jason's arm ran completely through him , and another penetrated through the stomach with a spinning saw blade . As is , the slasher film is mostly Jason killing victims off-screen , wiping away the make-up grue completed by the special effects company . What ultimately hurts this film is that the cast of victims attending a supposed birthday party ( . . and a few scattered victims elsewhere Jason runs into ) aren't very interesting at all , merely the same repeated clichés you expect in a sixth sequel to a franchise whose best days seem long past . If you don't have , at the very least , the gory bits inserted into the final product , what's the point of sitting through this umpteenth sequel ? This type of slasher product is specifically designed for Friday fans and gorehounds . . if this film isn't allowed to cater to those it's designed for , what is the point of releasing this film at all ? Anyway , the film's bread and butter has to be the special effects showcase at the end as Tina faces off with Jason . . for once , Jason is provided a worthy adversary who can oppose him . I think this is the only success of true note for Buechler , except some effective camera shots of Jason around cabins , in the woods , and following him as he closes in on those who are about to meet their maker . I do think Hodder is the best representation of Jason , and his make-up job ( both his rotting body and shredded outfit and facial work ) is great . The house explosion at the end is well executed as well . The rating I give the film is for the finished product forced against the director's wishes onto the viewer . |
436,508 | 9,938,570 | 283,632 | 4 | They | One of those " there's something hidden in the dark " kind of horror flicks ( . . like BOOGEYMAN ; 2005 ) , certainly not a choice for those with Nyctophobia . The film never fully spells out what " they " are so we must accept that the " night terrors " that plague our traumatized victims suffering sleep deprivation , are creatures from another type of world / dimension returning to collect those " marked " as children . Director Robert Harmon ( THE HITCHER ; 1986 ) never gives us an entire look of the creature . . just a silhouette of something in the distance moving around , barely recognizable , but just visible enough to allow you an idea that it is present and dangerous . Harmon establishes that what you do not see can be far more scary , or at least that seems to be his goal . . whether it works or not depends on the viewer , if you are gripped by what has beset the poor young adults . The film primarily focuses on Julia Lund ( Laura Regan ; MY LITTLE EYE ) , a psyche major , working on her thesis , whose phobia of the dark ( . . night terrors ) are reawakened after a friend from childhood blows his brains out right in front of her . Soon , Laura meets others who have similar problems with " those who hide in the dark " , Sam ( Ethan Embry ) & Terry ( Dagmara Dominczyk ) . We watch as this trio succumb to those hunting them because you can only run so long from the dark . Ambiguous and extremely grim conclusion left me rather torn . . in a way , I applaud not always letting our lead off the hook in a daring decision by the filmmakers , yet I would've liked to have understood why the creatures ever returned the kids to start with . And , if they were afraid of the light , how could they cause power to go off ? And , what's the reason behind waiting until the characters reached 25 ? The level of uncertainty in the psychology of the creatures themselves makes so little sense , I'm kind of bewildered at what causes them to act the way they do . Maybe , that's beside the point altogether . . it's not about why they come after these characters it's about their pursuit period . Most will overlook the details , focus on the monsters themselves , and watch in horror as the characters attempt futilely to escape to no avail . Marc Blucas is Paul , Julia's paramedic boyfriend who worries about her worsening mental state . Jay Brazeau is Julia's old psychiatrist , Dr . Booth , attempting to help her snap out of what he considers an emotional crisis due to her friend's suicide , and how she couldn't rescue him from such a decision . Another one of those flicks boasting credits featuring Wes Craven's name ( . . which was a hot commodity at the time ) . |
436,591 | 9,938,570 | 92,744 | 4 | The Scarecrow reviews " Bloody Pom Poms " | Getting it out right now , this film is completely lame . . and basks in it's absurdity . The film follows the same line of many " Friday The 13th " type of psychos picking off scantily clad teens , but it just wallows gleefully in it's cheesiness the film is hard not to enjoy a little bit . You have the prototypical heavy kid who is ripe for exploiting himself { aren't fat people supposed to always be the butt of jokes in the Anti-PC 80's ? } with getting his butt stuck in a window as he is flashing people ( I couldn't help it . . I giggled uncontrollably ) , dresses as a woman while spying on chicks showing their tits , and gets his stomach ripped open with guts splattering out . Betsy Russell plays a young teen with hideously , tiresomely goofy nightmares whose boyfriend is Leif Garrett { in the " how far my life has sunk " role often welcomed by once " prominent " stars } . Lucinda Dickey plays Betsy's " pal " and Lorie Griffen { the babe in " Teen Wolf " who is the stuck up snob we all know and love } plays a goofy , but lovable ditz . The film embellishes silly characterizations , but has an " I don't care " attitude that one might admire . There are some violent deaths , but most of the gore is shown not seen in the actual moment . It is not a good film , but it could probably fill the craving for a cheesy 80's horror item if one is looking for it . |
436,252 | 9,938,570 | 99,636 | 4 | The Gate 2 | A rather obscure ( . . and , more than likely , remain obscure ) sequel to the entertaining 80's offering , The Gate , brings two of the components that made the first a success . . Louis Tripp returns as troubled and lonely nerd Terrence and the director pulling strings once again , Tibor Takács . This film takes a different direction than the first for instead of keeping it in a central location , the house possessed , this film follows Terrence and the problems that exist when he decides to go fooling around with the demonic gateway again . This time three obnoxious teenagers , Liz ( Pamela Segall ) , John ( James Villemaire ) , and Moe ( Simon Reynolds ) , butt in on Terrence as he is attempting to open the gateway in the remains of his former neighbor friend's house . Terrence , in his carefully studied research , finds that you can call forth a demon and get wishes granted with proper persuasion . So John , the clichéd bully and his stooge , Moe wish to push around Terrence and mock his even trying to do such a thing as conjuring demons . But , through the insistence of believer Liz , John and Moe humor Terrence to a degree and partake in his little ceremony . This ceremony yields the result of a demon ( one of those little demons that like to bite . . we seen many of them in the first film ) who is instantly shot by John because he is in this film to simply cause conflict and aggravation . He's a butt-head and Moe is here to be his lackey to run into trouble with . Obviously , Liz will warm to Terrence because he is the supposed hero of the picture , though to be honest he's a wee bit creepy in his Satanic garb and " demon-speak " . He actually admits to Liz that he only wishes to conjure the demon so that his job-less , drunk father could get his pilot job back . Each of the four teens get wishes when they threat the demon ( . . who is able to come back to life when Terrence keeps him in a jar of liquid ) . They find that their wishes , though , have serious drawbacks via " Monkey's Paw . " This film , as directed by Takács is not as thrilling as the original because it takes us deep within the whole demonic angle which often descends into foolishness , especially when wishes are granted then taken away . The whole mythology of the gateway as it pertains to Terrence and his cohorts can really get confusing as we hear how everything works and see it . John and Moe try to kidnap the demon to get wishes granted and find that their bodies have become the way out of hell for the " Unholy trinity " who need Terrence as the third gateway and Liz as the sacrifice . The ending has them in another dimension with Terrence about to slay poor Liz who begs for him to fight the force taking him over . It's a weird film , and for that alone this might be interesting for those searching for something different . I guess those who like the first film might try to check it out , but may be disappointed to find it takes a whole different approach . The scares and creepy atmosphere is not present , but the film is so unusual and weird , The gate 2 might just be your kind of diversion from the norm of today's horror film . |
436,457 | 9,938,570 | 90,750 | 4 | Blood Hook | Cheap no-budget slasher with a rather absurd premise . . the ever increasing sound of cicadas who react strongly to rock music ( ! ) cause a local fisherman ( . . whose metal plate in his skull , a surgical procedure made after getting shot in the head during the Korean war , causes such harsh vibrations that he responds violently ) to go berserk casting his line towards unfortunate victims in his general area , the massive float and numerous hooks embedded in the flesh jerking them towards him . He chops the victims up and uses their meat for feeding his minnows ! It seems that this grisly process helps him lure in more quality fish ! A small group of teenager friends enter this fishing village as a tournament is about to begin . As we witness in the opening , Peter van Cleese ( Mark Jacobs ) returns to the place where he watched his father fall into the river never to be found , the loud cicadas skrieking due to the music playing on a tape player . Peter has remained troubled due to this incident and is unwelcome by his father's grounds-keeper , Wayne Duerst ( Paul Drake ) , a very bitter and rude old man who holds a hostility for how his lost friend mysteriously vanished . Wayne's rather unbalanced son , Evelyn ( . . the blubbery Bill Lowrie , with some truly awful dialogue he must endure , trying to express a very disturbed , volatile , and ugly creation of the Vietnam war in an over-the-top and outrageous manner ) hangs around the place , causing the city kids some unneeded aggravation . We also follow a family of four , who enter the fishing community on vacation with father and mother Roger & Shiela Swain ( Don Cosgrove & Bonnie Lee ) falling prey to the homicidal fisherman , Leroy Leudke ( Don Winters ) . . Irving and Ruth-Ann ( Greg Nienas and Julie Vortanz ) are left worried about their parents whereabouts as the local sheriff ( Paul Heckman ) , burdened with little manpower , must begin an investigation in such a prosperous time for his community . Of importance to the advancing plot , Irving uses a metal detector given to him by a more mentally balanced Leudke , to discover certain truths which will indicate the fisherman of his sinister deeds . In a minor sub-plot , Peter's pal , Finner ( Christopher Whiting ) and a local gal , Bev D ( Sandy Meuwissen ) have a blossoming romance that is disrupted rather quickly when it's discovered that her husband is Evelyn ! As Peter pursues the one responsible for attacks on his friends , he'll need some help from Wayne in order to do so . The gore is at a minimum , with most victims , from a large distance , getting hooked by Leudke ( . . always out of frame ) either swimming , on a boat or float , even on ground . It's hard to take these attacks seriously as the victims are strong enough to outlast Leudke who must reel them in like a fish . . it's just too ridiculous ( . . particularly Peter's girlfriend , Ann ( Lisa Todd ) who is a good distance away when the master fisherman snags her ) , and illogical to expect any one with such capacity to pull a victim into the water , reel them in despite resistance , bound them , carry them all the way back to his dock , and subdue them . We often see victims struggling with the hooks , attempting to free themselves as Leudke yanks and jerks . Peter's friends are extremely obnoxious , very vulgar and rude , acknowledging that visitors from the city deserve to die and horribly as they enter the uncharted territory of a rural fishing village . This is even painted with the suburban family whose patriarch is a big city hot shot , deeming himself the expert fisherman because he could afford the very best materials needed for the sport , with the perfectly annoying , nagging wife . The locals are a collection of colorful oddballs , as expected when depicted in the backwoods regions of rural America . One effects sequence is terribly executed and laughable , when Leudke nabs a victim , he jabs a rod into his neck , through his lower jaw so that he can pull a hook out his mouth . . the cast of the actor's complete face looks exactly that with little authenticity . The cheap budget shows all the way through . The premise is original , but too nonsensical for it's own good . . how could even an expert fisherman as Leudke be able to accurately hook victims from such a distance away ? Still , it's rare to see a slasher film set in a fishing community using the tools of the trade so at least it has that going for it . Director Jim Mallon is best known for his duties as executive producer for Mystery Science Theater 3000 . This film was released by Team Troma , but doesn't carry it's usual trademarks , except for the low budget , weirdo characters , bad acting , and strange plot . |
435,996 | 9,938,570 | 185,976 | 4 | Carnage | Andy Milligan schlockfest concerning newlyweds and their pals terrorized by the restless spirit of a murdered bride who wishes for those who occupy her humble abode to leave . This very disturbed ghost bride causes objects of all sorts to move , harm , and kill those who are in , or around , the home for which her husband blew her brains out before turning the gun on himself . Whether it be the newly hired maid or a pair of burglars who just so happen to pick the wrong house to attempt to rob , the bride will frighten and destroy you with whatever weapon might be at her disposal . Michael Chiodo and Leslie Den Dooven are the newlywed couple , The Hendersons , who fail to leave despite the weird goings-on ( . . such as a phonograph which plays the melody of " Here Comes the Bride . . " over and over or home appliances and tea cups continuously moved around when their backs are turned ) and this decision to stay , including a housewarming which leads to a friend slipping on a rug moved by the apparition with broken glass landing into her skin , opening a very bloody wound , and another pal taking a bath when a radio is thrown into the water electrocuting him , will yield repercussions . Like The Amityville Horror , The Hendersons , against obvious signs that something supernatural is present , remain while most of us would get a clue and head out of Dodge . Will The Hendersons be able to survive inside this haunted house or leave while the going's good ? Following the footsteps of Ed Wood , Al Adamson , and Hershell Gordon Lewis , Andy Milligan lends his support to the bad movie movement , writing , photographing and directing ( . . maybe he even catered for all we know ) this flat , snail-paced , poorly performed disaster with hokey gore and poltergeist effects . A supposedly decapitated hand literally falls out of a shirt sleeve . You can tell that strings are pulling the objects which are supposed to move by themselves . The terror scenes which feature the ghost bride ( . . whose eyes are completely white , featuring blood on her wedding gown ) popping up to freak out her victims are embarrassingly corny ( . . particularly the attack on the maid ) . As a horror film , this doesn't work at all , but as a comedy , unintentional or not ( . . I had a feeling , Milligan features quite a bit of intentional comedic haunt bits throughout , in particular the pranks the bride pulls on The Hendersons , hiding a notepad or hanging up a phone when a person was on the opposite line ; even the scene where the bathing victim is electrocuted , he's singing to polka music from the very radio which ultimately kills him ! ) it often entertains . Milligan's cast resemble amateur actors who probably made appearances in a local theater or were friends of his . The practical effects often feature poor make-up , where the wounds are , with squirting blood . The film features amusing dialogue between characters conversing about trivial matters . There are conversations between a secondary character and her psychiatrist mom ( . . about a deteriorating marriage , and upcoming pregnancy ) which has little to do with the major storyline . . . the relationship problems between Walter ( John Garrit ) and Susan ( Deeann Veeder ) which they share with moms takes up large portions of the film , probably servicing the film as filler , before they accept the dreaded housewarming invite from The Hendersons . I did particularly enjoy the banter between Carol's father and his meddlesome maid , Martha , who calls to her attention that the house might be haunted , with pops telling her to quit talking such nonsense . . how aggrevated they are with each other . The film does feature melodrama which brings a rather surreal awkwardness when the graphic violence occurs . . it was as if Milligan was attempting to make two films , and neither is very good ! The characters featured in this film reminded me of those kooky relatives you love but often wish to avoid . The editing during the supernatural attacks will probably either induce groaning , pity , or laughter . Possibly features the worst decapitation ever produced and the flying hatchet which targets a priest ( . . not to mention the whole sequence where the spirits of Ann and Mark Webb cause a maelstrom with intent to harm the priest ) will elicit certain chuckles . The scene where another robber is stuck in the throat with a pitchfork , containing a horribly executed " guts removal " will also tickle the funny bone of many . The ending , where the Webbs wish for The Hendersons to remain , provoking a possible " reinactment " of their demise , doesn't really make a hell of a lot of sense . |
436,716 | 9,938,570 | 95,652 | 5 | Monkey Shines : An Experiment in Fear | A recent quadriplegic named Allan ( Jason Beghe ) , and former track star , finds it hard coping with life having been confined to a wheelchair . His friend Geoffrey ( John Pankow ) is conducting experiments on a certain monkey named Ella which is through a hypodermic filled with a serum that derives from trimmings of frozen human brains in liquefied form . The experiments are about continuing the evolution of primate life into carrying more human characteristics . As Geoff tells his boss , Dr . Burbage ( great character actor Stephen Root of OFFICE SPACE fame ) Ella was already highly intelligent even before the experiments started , but something much more sinister develops when she becomes Allan's animal aide . Ella grows quite attached to Allan and vice versa , but something between them occurs that defies rational explanation . . they are psychologically linked somehow meaning that when Ella goes out into the night , Allan sees through her eyes . It doesn't stop there . . Allan feels what Ella feels and others around him see his behavioral changes which are unlike him such as outbursts of anger and profanity . Allan tries telling others about his link with Ella , but you can understand why they might be worried about his state of mind . But , soon Ella's aggressive nature turns violent and death to others that pose a threat either physically or emotionally ( such as a girlfriend who leaves him after his accident for the doctor who performed an operation on his spine ) occur . Melanie ( Kate McNeil ) is a specialist in the training of monkeys in how they assist those in need of an aide . She is the one that was coerced by Geoff into training Ella to help Allan . Allan and Melanie , as the film continues , fall in love . Melanie will pose a direct threat to Ella as the monkey can not stand others coming between her and Allan . Dorothy ( Joyce Van Patten ) is Allan's mother , a woman who wishes to help Allan but is more bothersome and intrusive than she realizes . Christine Forrest , the director George Romero's wife , portrays Maryanne , a belligerent nurse who complains all the time in regards to how bothersome Allan and his monkey are towards making her life miserable . Maryanne has a parrot which flies into Allan's unprotected face too often and will suffer for it . The longer the film continues , the more it induces eye-rolling . . the premise is so outrageous and preposterous , it's hard not to chuckle . It is one of George's most Hollywood-ish films often allowing contrivances so that Allan will escape dangerous situations when Ella goes on violent . The whole " link " between man and primate thanks to an experimental concoction by Geoff is never fully explained satisfactorily leaving a gaping plot hole that is a wart to what the film is trying to accomplish . It's one thing to let a monkey get away with what Ella does , but another to ask us to believe that Allan feels and sees what she does . Thankfully Kate McNeil is a delightful , welcome presence in the film bringing some class to a rather mundane Romero effort . Disappointing film can not really build suspense because of the stupid story-line . If I wasn't such an Admirer of George's work , my rating would be lower . |
436,276 | 9,938,570 | 295,254 | 5 | feardotcom | Detective Mike Reilly ( Stephen Dorff ) , with assistance from Department of Helth inspector Terry Huston ( Natascha McElhone ) seek the truth behind a series of strange deaths where victims have horrifying facial expressions of fear , mouths opened wide , dry blood trickled from their eyes . These victims fell prey to a creepy website , " feardotcom " where a homicidal rejected medical surgeon , Alistair Pratt ( Stephen Rea ) commits grisly torturous acts to female victims until they beg to die . It seems that once a person logs on to this site ( . . and is willing to play ) , in 48 hours each one dies under horrifying circumstances , often through suicide because the hallucinogenic fears they see are too much to deal with . Pratt is a serial killer Reilly has been unable to capture , with the mad doctor sending him letters as a way to tease the detective . It seems that victims are falling under the supernatural spell of the first Pratt surgical casualty , Jeannine ( Gesine Cukrowski ) whose restless vengeful spirit lives within the Internet wires for which her death was publicized . She wants her body and Pratt found before her soul can rest . . both Reilly and Terry will take part in her game so that this can happen . I loved the way this film looks and the dread and unsettling nature that exists . But , the preposterous premise and lack of chemistry between Dorff and McElhone left me rather underwhelmed and frustrated . The visual work , through the technical collaboration of director William Malone and cinematographer Christian Sebatldt , is stunning . They create quite the nightmarish landscape . . this world we inhabit , particularly at night , is both beautifully conceived ( . . using light , with fluid camera-work , and highlighting the murky world of a city with a moral plight ) yet unpleasant and disturbing . The hallucinations of those who enter the gates of feardotcom often are quite ominous and skin-crawling ( . . such as roaches or apparitions which visit our heroes looking for the killer ) . Rea's cold and uncaring psychopath , seen constantly tormenting a recently kidnapped and bound female victim , is quite a chilling interpretation and his hellish environs certainly only add to the evil of his character . Dorff and his police station is modeled after those noirish types from the 30's . He's hard-boiled and laconic , but maybe a wee bit too young and unimposing for a leader of a force seeking murderers . McElhone is maybe just too beautiful for us to accept her as a blue-collar lonely-heart with a crummy Health inspector job . I say see this movie for it's " Hellraiser without the Cenobites " look and feel and expect a rather far-fetched premise . The film is extremely dark with minor moments of humor injected sparingly thanks to Terry . Malone may need work as a story-teller , but his visual eye can produce some striking images and set-pieces . |
436,308 | 9,938,570 | 462,482 | 5 | Population 436 | An employee for the census bureau discovers something quite sinister underneath the homey , folksy atmosphere of Rockwell Falls which has a community of people all speaking as one collective unit with smiles wide . We see that anyone who might oppose the town's ways , however , are considered " feverish " and must be cured by Dr . Greaver ( David Ames ) . The bureau man is Steve ( Jeremy Sisto ) and along the way he befriends Deputy Bobby ( Fred Durst , not bad ) who is quite sure that the lovely Courtney ( Charlotte Sullivan ) will marry him . But , Courtney secretly wishes to leave Rockwell Falls and begins a romance with Steve that can prove critical to their survival as the very religious town keeps all eyes on the " visitor " . Many of the townsfolk already include Steve as one of their citizens and soon he'll discover one of Doc Greaver's " patients " is a normal girl named Amanda ( Reva Timbers ) whose father dies tragically at the opening of the film because he wished to leave Rockwell Falls . The township believe that anyone who remains in Rockwell Falls overnight will never leave because God wouldn't allow it . Somehow , Steve will have to find a way out of this madhouse also trying to play hero by saving Amanda & Courtney as well . Plays best as an extended Twilight Zone episode . . certainly has that vibe . I think it has a problem of what it wants to be , though . It seems to play for a while as a paranoia thriller where people who go within a town have a hard time escaping . Then if anyone who attempts to go against the town's principles , will face being lobotomized by Greaver as being sick . Yet , there's a twist that offers a supernatural aspect regarding Steve being able to escape that just didn't wash with me . But , that twist merely backs up a claim by the crazed citizens of Doc Greaver's " paradise . " Disturbing and at times effectively creepy with a good performance from Sisto as the unfortunate Steve . |
435,992 | 9,938,570 | 480,249 | 5 | I Am Legend | A plague sweeps across the world and renders civilization a mass of dead and infected savages ( . . named Darkseekers who only hunt at night with an inability to withstand sunlight it seems ) , a survivor , Doctor Robert Neville ( Will Smith ) seeks a cure , working effortlessly in his lab , slowly losing hope of ever achieving such a feat . He also often hunts the Darkseekers at night , setting traps to capture live specimens so that he can attempt to cure them . During the struggle to find a cure , Neville's resolve and courage begin to dwindle , and his need for human interaction are proving to become his undoing . Rather simply and predictably told , with CGI creatures which look like characters from a video game , it's Smith's riveting performance that keeps this rather weak interpretation afloat . Some action / thriller elements are delivered somewhat well as Neville finds himself in life-threatening situations with the Darkseekers . Alice Braga and Charlie Tahan are Anna and Ethan , mother and son survivors who enter Neville's life towards the middle of the film as he , in desperation and despair , almost kills himself by driving straight into an army of Darkseekers . Smith is able to convey a sense of loss and a desperate need for companionship with the film expressing a quiet , devastated New York City . Smith's work opposite his pet companion , Samantha , are really effective and his scene with a department store mannequin echo The Twilight Zone episode , Is There Anybody Out There ? But , you've seen this all before and the film really doesn't set itself apart from other films which focused on the same type of Matheson story . Still Smith does what is required of him and the film benefits from such a performance even if the special effects are not up to par . |
436,741 | 9,938,570 | 80,362 | 5 | The Other Hell | The mysterious deaths of nuns is investigated by the Catholic Church sending a new breed of priest in Father Valerio ( Carlo De Mejo ) , hoping to find a killer in the convent . Valerio believes that the idea of a supernatural evil force lurking in the convent ran by Mother Vincenza ( Franca Stoppi ) is pure rubbish , instead seeking a demented psychopath amongst them , committing murders . What Valerio doesn't realize is that Vincenza is in league with Satan , having cavorted with the lord of darkness , hiding their female spawn in the attic of the convent . The nuns under Vincenza's watch have been driven to fear , with many of them overcome by demonic possession . . any opposing threats , such as the elder Father Inardo ( Andrea Aureli ) who tries to use the rites of exorcism in cleansing the nunnery of it's evil , are destroyed . Vincenza will do whatever it takes to keep anyone from taking her daughter away . In other words , Valerio has a spiritual and physical battle on his hands . Bruno Mattei mentioned in an interview for the DVD release of " The Other Hell " that this flick was remastered from an obscure 16 mm print , having been a flop during it's initial release and abandoned . I guess , even though it's such a bizarre demonic horror nunsploit that often lacks in coherency opting to blindside the viewer with unhinged behavior and gory violence , that we should be somewhat thankful that this film can be seen at all . I can sure say it wasn't boring . Franca Stoppi sure lets it all hang out as the evil Mother Superior , wielding a knife at the end ready to viciously stab anyone that got in her way . There's this witches ' den with a burning cauldron , coffins containing murdered nuns , a slab for " wicked nuns who committed sinful atrocities " where we actually see one dead corpse get her innards plucked , laboratory tubes and flasks bubbling with liquid , etc . There's this cool tunnel leading to the den containing rows of skulls , kind of a " cryptic " form of art . We actually see a possessed nun tormented by blood-oozing stigmatic attack . The priest , Father Inardo is set on fire in his attempts to exorcise the nunnery . We see Franco Garofalo's grounds-keeper / animal wrangler / cook Boris ' hand covered in maggots and bitten by a dog . . he's later attacked in the throat by an unleashed dog . We see an actual rooster beheaded for later din-din . Vincenza and Satan's spawn lives in a small room where dolls and mannequins hang from the neck . We see a previous Mother Superior actually attempting to boil Vincenza's infant daughter in a pot on a stove ( . . and for goofy effect , which might have many chuckling with glee , Vincenza's infant , clearly a doll , telepathically murders the Mother Superior ) . Plenty of audacious moments on display certainly to entertain those craving the twisted delights Mattei and writer Claudio Fragasso churn out in doses . I guess this is probably Mattei's best film . . quite an outrageous concoction of surreal and horrific images . I think it , if anything , will entertain those that are not offended by the blasphemous material . The Goblin score , used from Buio Omega , somehow actually works in this film . |
436,040 | 9,938,570 | 462,485 | 5 | Poultrygeist : Night of the Chicken Dead | Director Lloyd Kaufman returns with another no-holds-barred gore-fest , completely tongue-in-cheek , with plenty of offensive jokes and gags to ridicule nearly every kind of religion and race . Wherever you stand , this film likely pokes fun at you . Parts musical ( ! ) with characters bursting into song at certain points during the plot ( . . or what plot there is ) . A chicken restaurant is built on an ancient Indian burial ground , but this is used merely as an excuse to enact some of the most sickening acts of violence you could ever hope for , even seeing humans transforming into sadistic cannibalistic beaked birds . The film centers around nerd Arbie ( Jason Yachanin ) who is irate at his girlfriend's new position as both a lesbian and vegetarian , whose latest lay is an activist against that chicken restaurant on the burial ground . Arbie takes a job at the place in revenge , but agonizes over her leaving him for another , the choice being a woman even infuriates him more . Wendy doesn't know her lover's true motivations , which have a lot to do with the franchise their protesting . The chicken become " infected " by eggs carrying " evil spirits " ( . . more like a type of green goo , often seen in Troma films ) and when customers eat the food they hideously deform into birds with an appetite for human flesh . We are privy to the siege on the restaurant , Arbie's fellow co-workers falling prey to the infection , and his attempts to protect Wendy as zombie chicken humans attempt to rip apart anyone human . As always , Kaufman finds every kind of way to shock and disgust , through grotesque gore-murders and parodying political and religious people in equal measure . I think his main target are both vegetarians and meat-eaters , many often killed in hideous methods imaginable . As you'd expect , the cast know what kind of movie they're in and perform in that fashion . Kate Graham goes all out as Arbie's love , Wendy , but , to me , Allyson Sereboff was frighteningly skinny as her lesbian lover Micki . Robin Watkins , as corrupt businessman General Lee Roy , grins wide and sends up the hick image with gusto , wearing white and deceiving his customers , knowing that his product has been corrupted by something poisonous and dangerous to humans . There's an orgy of violence and sex in one lengthy sequence where the customers who ate polluted chicken either turn into bird-zombies or those human casualties who are torn into for consumption . Kaufman has lots of grotesque mutations springing from the human bodies reaction to turning into birds . There were times where I thought I was gonna hurl . One victim sprouts " egg-breasts " hatching chicks ! A person's face is pulled off . A broom is stabbed completely through a bird-zombie's crotch . A victim is pushed into a slicer with blood and flesh ( . . and a leg ) spraying all over the restaurant kitchen . A victim's face is forced into a slicer . I could go on and on . Zombie fans craving flesh eating will be satisfied . In other words , if you are a gorehound , then this flick will give you plenty to cheer about . I could do without the musical numbers and many of the jokes and gags fall flat , but it often made me cringe , and I did find the overall film amusing . Jihad or Catholic Priest , gay or straight , black or white , everyone is skewered , Troma fans should be in heaven . Kaufman has a funny supporting part as Arbie in a few decades , reminding him that this is not the career one should strive for . To describe the film's tastelessness , an employee at the restaurant , screws a dead chicken , before it was to be prepared for cooking , with it possessed and growing into a monster on his crotch ! |
435,878 | 9,938,570 | 1,031,254 | 5 | Lost Boys : The Tribe | Parentless young adult siblings , " ex-communicated " surfer Chris ( Tad Hilgenbrink , who resembles a younger James Marsden ) and his 17 year old ' lil sis , Nicole ( Autumn Reeser ) move to lousy Luna Bay where a group of vampires , led by their leader , Shane ( Angus Sutherland , definitely not his half-brother Kiefer ) hunt for fresh victims at night . Shane was once a popular , well-recognized surfer who decided that vampirism was his new avenue in life , and he immediately takes a shine to Nicole ( . . of course ) . Seduced by the charming , brooding , and polite Shane , Nicole , believing it to be liquor , actually drinks his blood from a flask with terrifying consequences . Discovering the hard way that vampires are in fact very real ( . . a truly sizzling babe , who comes onto him strong , attempts to take a bite , getting " antlered " in the process ) , Chris is almost torn apart by Nicole until a certain " vampire hunter " , Edgar Frog ( Corey Feldman , stealing every scene he's in , and a welcome returning presence to the sequel ) rescues him through a knock on the head with a surf board . Chris finds out from Edgar that she can be saved ( . . she's only " half-vampire " ) if he stakes Shane , the one responsible for her condition , before she feeds . Not an easy task because , having true feelings for him , Nicole follows his call to her , embracing the dark side . . can Chris save her ? Edgar informs Chris that he will have to gain access into the group , discover their lair ( . . which is shielded from sunlight , " a cold , dank place with a smell of decay and rot " , as Edgar so eloquently describes ) and put an end to Shane or Nicole will be forever lost . In doing this , comes danger . . Chris will have to drink from Shane's blood in order to infiltrate their " tribe " . Only together , can Chris and Edgar defeat the " forces of evil " . The initial novelty of this particular movie ( . . twenty years after the fact ) was seeing the two Coreys returning . A whole generation ( . . mine actually , the thirty-somethings ) grew up with the first film and the idea of a returning sequel kind of built an enthusiasm . Then came the film itself , with little ( . . and that means VERY little ) of Haim , and a nice little supporting turn for Feldman , who " frogs " his voice to sound as he did as a kid . Director PJ Pesce ( . . a sequels director , of such films as Sniper 3 and From Dusk Till Dawn 3 ) even allows Edgar to repeat some lines almost identically to what he said as a kid regarding where his knowledge came from ( . . comic books ) and the tools of the trade in defeating them . We do learn that Edgar's brother fell prey to a vampire , hinted at during conversations with Chris . . and the vampire responsible we are notified about during the middle of end credits . Unlike the first film , aimed at a much younger audience , this sequel is aimed at the older crowd , with buckets of bloody gore and plenty of tits ( . . and even a bit of sex such as Chris ' little love-making session with the aforementioned vampire babe in Shane's shower ) . We see the graphic reactions vampires suffer when staked through the heart ( . . and one head is exploded when a wooden stake goes right through it ) and the feeding frenzy by a campfire on naughty girls , loosened by liquor , is particularly grisly . The film is really predictable and the climactic battle between Chris and Shane , for which Nicole inevitably gets involved , doesn't hold a candle to the final showdown between Kiefer and Patric of the original . And , why must an enigmatic vampire leader , with rock-star looks , have to adopt to his entourage such an obnoxious group ? This actually is closer in spirit to the original , though . But , the original had such a collection of familiar faces ( Dianne Wiest , Barnard Hughes , Edward Herrmann , Jami Gertz ) that are sorely missed and this sequel is rather soulless , for the exception of Feldman's presence . I think this film delivers the goods the original couldn't capitalize on in regards to the blood-shed and nudity , but there's a sense of fun that seems missing . It's so hard to duplicate the success of a much beloved vampire film which has become an endearing part of many's youth . Haim's less-than-glamorous cameo will cause die hard fans of the original a lot of grief , who were hoping for perhaps a lot more of him , in a supporting role with some worth . As it stands , it seems like his scene was shot just so that he could be in the movie ( . . if you call his scene being " in the movie " ) . While it was kind of cute having a Sutherland returning to this film , Angus just doesn't have a prayer escaping the massive shadow Kiefer left behind . Gabrielle Rose replaces Wiest as Jillian , thankfully for only a small portion of screen time . Tom Savini has a nifty cameo as a vampire whose condo and beach are " comandeered " by Shane and his goons ( . . the carnage really opens the movie with a bang ) . |
436,655 | 9,938,570 | 485,376 | 5 | Dark Corners | I think that's what hell is . . It's having your sins pulled out from the dark corners of your soul and served up to you in this endless loop of torture . This is a dialogue scene which answers the huge question you might be asking yourselves as the film continues . . what the hell is going on with the dame ( s ) . You have two Thora Birchs . . one in a shiny green suburban happy setting ( despite the background noise of news speaking of a Night Stalker killing local women ) and the other is a garbage metallic nightmarish world quite relative ( or and extension ) to David Lynch's Eraserhead where the colors bleed steel and grime . The shiny beautiful Birch is Karen , trying desperately to have children with her wonderful husband David ( Christien Anholt ) whose kooky , witty pal Elaine ( Joanna Hole ) refers her to a " hypnotherapist " Dr . Woodleigh ( Toby Stephens , the bond villain from " Die Another Day " ) who might can assist her in ridding herself of the nightmares she keeps continuously having . Those nightmares consist of a black-headed Birch named Susan who keeps getting attacked by someone dressed in a hood with a demonic face . Susan's world is full of unsavory , creepy characters who look like scary hobos with devious intent always staring and jeering her . For a while , it seems that Susan's world is just a nightmare of Karen's but as the film progresses it begins seeping into reality with both worlds slowly merging . But , as in the case of many of these psychological twisty thrillers , everything is not what it seems . In both planes , the supposed reality of Karen and nightmare fantasy of Susan , their female pals die at the hand of a hooded serial killer . It begins to seem as if she has some primary link with the murderer and murders themselves . Certain items in the nightmarish realm of Susan may open up answers to the curious riddles in the plot . . who is doing the killing and what is exactly real and fantasy ? In the vein ( or a direct rip-off of ) of the fright fest looping nightmarish film " Salvage " , DARK CORNERS follows the same premise and has the same basic finish . The killer of the film is reliving his / her sins and we watch it unfold with Karen as the protagonist . Is what we are watching ever real to begin with or just events unfolding for someone else to relive endlessly for infinity as punishment ? This kind of demented head-scratcher will have quite a few viewers gunning for the eject button because it's a tale of mind-toying where we are part of this long unorthodox nightmare where nothing is what it seems . I felt it resembles " Salvage " a bit too much so that feeling of deja vu was quite apparent throughout , especially in the film's denouement revealing explanation as to why everything is so warped and oddball . The difference between this and " Salvage " is the caliber of actress in Thora Birch and the production values . But , " Salvage " is a nightmare that loops far more than DARK CORNERS which tackles one event over the film's duration using the nightmare as a means of describing the perplexity of the one who is behind the murders . |
436,169 | 9,938,570 | 61,189 | 5 | The Wild Angels | Indie Corman flick about how the lives of a group of Hell's Angels , particularly leader Blues ( Peter Fonda ) , change when one of their own ( Bruce Dern ) is harmed after stealing a police officer's bike . More of a curio regarding neo-nazi riders living by their own rules and partying non-stop , but I kind of felt there's not a lot here except that . This is obviously made for a certain crowd who probably worship it , but I felt it was just dated and silly . It does kind of get disturbing how reckless they live and that mantra of doing things their own way while thumbing nose at " The Man " was probably certainly embraced at that time when the world was changing because of Vietnam . Their behavior is questionable , but I found their chosen symbol of the Third Reich more artistic dressing than representing Hitler and his evil path . Has an interesting cast such as Nancy Sinatra as Mike , Blues ' love interest and Diane Ladd as Gaysh , the lover of Loser , the one badly wounded . More for those who love seeing a group of rowdy roughies getting wasted , dancing gleefully to silly beach pop tunes , and living it up in depravity . |
436,041 | 9,938,570 | 72,626 | 5 | House of the Dead | An adulterer , Talmudge ( John Ericson ) attempting to find his hotel , instead is left by his taxi driver in the rain nearby a mortuary , it's mortician offering him refuge from the storm . While inside , our mortician relates the fates of four customers to him and we are all witnesses to what happened to them . Low budget anthology , perhaps too cheap to really be that effective . Most of the tales presented lack strong story-telling and end way too abruptly . Clearly modeled after the Amicus chillers . I have no idea why this was called " Alien Zone . " The first and second tales really leave much to be desired . A school teacher who hates children ( ! ) finds herself besieged within her very home by those very ones she so despises . The kids ( . . at first wearing clown masks , evoking Michael Myers from Halloween , later carrying the appearance of possible vampiric ghouls ) as they close in on their prey , cornering her as the camera distorts the frame , colors out of control , is quite thrilling , even if what leads up to it isn't . The second tale consists of a psychotic photographer who records women he kills on a movie camera . The fourth tale , which doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense , displays an office employee being subjected to torture within a building complex , rooms with trap doors and walls of spikes . The wraparound story between the mortician and Talmudge won't fool anybody . Talmudge , at the beginning , is shown in bed with an unhappily married woman and inside the mortuary , he follows the mortician as he opens the coffin lids exposing the victims of the tales we watch to him ( . . their bodies are not shown to the viewer , but Talmudge's facial mannerisms express enough through perplexity and disgust to lend us a helping hand in how they look ) . The third , and in my opinion easily far-and-away the best , is what I call , The Case of the Duelling Detectives featuring Scotland Yard's finest detective , Inspector McDowal ( Bernard Fox ) tagging along with New York's finest Private Investigator , Malcolm Toliver ( Charles Aidman ) as he pursues the identity of a specific criminal who is threatening to kill someone he knows with only a note consisting of letters cut from magazine articles as the means for solving the mystery . The two actors , Fox and Aidman , turn in delightful performances as foes , quite the egomaniacs often sparring intellectually with each other , who hurl gentlemanly insults at each other regarding which detective indeed is the very best of his profession and the result of the mystery ( . . although I'm sure many will know the answer ) is most appropriate considering their vanity . |
436,299 | 9,938,570 | 889,579 | 5 | Stupid Teenagers Must Die ! | Microbudget , tongue-in-cheek , horror homage to the 80's slasher / demon possession sub-genres has a group of friends messing around with a Ouija board inside the house of a notorious killer who slaughtered his entire family before committing suicide . They conjure his dark spirit which inhabits various individuals in an endless spree of violence , certain characters dying in the exact same method as the family members did . Two geeky horror fans have created plastic amulets which actually work at warding off spirits which will , at the very least , give those who are still alive , a fighting chance . Shot on video often with color drained , this film looks like a no-budget operation . Three people , and one major financier , put this flick together , shooting in a singular location on Long Beach , California . Once named " Blood & Guts " , a film director Jeff Smith , Writer Curtis Andersen , and producer Sara Parrell all sought funding for , before a pal , Wayne Watson ( . . playing an intruding police officer at the very end ) forked over the much needed dough , " Stupid Teenagers Must Die " is really a goofy slasher outing with 80's references galore and " costumes " representing wardrobe worn by many influenced from Michael Jackson and Madonna . While the cast give it their all , each inheriting a specific stereotype ( . . although the token black character , who mostly died in 80's slashers , portrayed by Jovan Meredith , is the heroic leader ) , the movie has a hard time escaping the shortcomings of a budget stretched very thin . The gore isn't really that effective , with most death sequences splattering syrupy blood all over the place , with characters often entering rooms with victims already massacred , their intestines visible ( . . an " intestine gag " has one of the " theatrical nerds " walking in on a crime scene where guts are hanging like chandeliers ) . Constant profanity , attractive women baring their impressive chests , and a lighthearted approach perhaps will work for the affectionate slasher fans who embrace the genre-s excesses . The use of video for this film and merely acceptable sound display the limitations the crew faced . A forgiving audience might look over such things , but most will look elsewhere for their slasher entertainment . |
435,750 | 9,938,570 | 444,759 | 5 | Art of the Devil | Twisted Thai witchcraft flick with an emphasis on using evil to seek revenge and to gain riches . Jittima ( . . the alluring beauty , Supakson Chaimongkoi ) is a lover scorned , a pregnant victim who seduced a wealthy architect , Pratan ( Tin Settachoke ) who threw money at her to keep her away from his family ( . . that , while also arranging for her to be ravaged by his business chums ) . With the help of a secretly practicing witchdoctor , Jittima uses black magic to systematically eliminate Pratan's entire family . When she is hit by a car ( . . while spellbound at the site of Pratan's family , together as ghostly apparitions looking at her ) , Jittima loses her child , becoming even more volatile than ever before . Adding extra sting to her torment , another family ( . . whose mother's children were Pratan's ) receives Pratan's luxurious estate and inheritance , with Jittima orchestrating a plan to besiege them , using the dark arts to gain access to the fortune she feels is rightfully hers . By capturing ( . . literally ) the heart of Ruj ( Isara Ochakul ) , Jittima will infiltrate the family , marrying him and progressively use witchcraft to destroy them with her eyes on the prize she's so longed for . The film focuses on this family's teenage daughter , Nan ( Arisa Wills ) and the effects on her watching each member falling prey to supernatural forces beyond her control . This is the emotional arch of the film , a family worsening at the hands of a pathological , cold-blooded female with a deadly agenda , gaining trust by those she is in fact exterminating . Interesting enough , the witchdoctor is just as guilty for he willingly participates in performing the rituals which cause such destruction , whose spells cause really horrific acts to innocent people ( . . many of the acts cause hallucinatory effects which force victims to see created horrors , resulting in certain death ) . There's no doubt that Jittima ( . . known as Boom to the family she's annihilating ) is pure evil and to watch so closely her own handiwork , the architect of destruction she is , is really what makes the film so chilling . The violence that ensues can get quite disturbing such as the sight of an army of eels smothering Nan's brother Neng ( Nirut Sutchart ) , Ruj's vomiting razor blades , Nan's mom constantly coughing up blood , her insides hemorrhaging , or reporter , Danai ( Somchai Satuthum ) , a threat to the entire concocted scheme , suffering a piece of broken glass crawling underneath his skin , having to slice his body in order to get it out . . you see the effects of just how dangerous black magic can be . I think it's the way Jittima carries them out , like a Black Widow slowly poisoning her husbands with arsenic , a cold and calculating series of attacks , that provides the film's most unpleasant tone . The inhumanity of it all , and the whole fact that no one suspects her ( . . the cynicism of this kind of power , seen earlier when Nan was forced by a friend , a true believer , into visiting a spiritualist , is established ) is what drives the story , culminating in a showdown between Nan and Jittima , with Danai , a believer in the forces of good and evil , lending a helping hand , trying to uncover the one responsible for causing the black magic . One unnecessary decision , which mars the film , is the bouncing back and forth , to past and present , as Jittima discusses her reasons for what has transpired to a bound and distraught Nan . With more focus on linear story-telling , this could've been less aggravating . Still , the film shows the genesis of the monster that would become Boom until the very confusing climax when Jittima makes a very odd decision regarding her own fate , in turn shattering all that she has strived for . Another really bizarre sub-plot has this mysterious ghost girl hanging around Nan's kid brother . . this ghost child is connected with Jittima , and it's quite a revelation , to say the least . |
435,707 | 9,938,570 | 1,031,280 | 5 | Splinter | A type of predatory organism , which feeds on animal life , traps a couple and a criminal-on-the-lam in an abandoned gas station . Simple as that , a creature feature , shot digital , with a camera that doesn't give the viewer a break from it's constant movement . A couple , Seth ( Paulo Constanzo ) , a bio student nearly finished with college , and his resourceful girlfriend , Polly ( Jill Wagner ) , on a camping trip , are besieged by a criminal , Dennis ( Shea Whigham ) and his druggie girlfriend , Lacey ( Rachel Kerbs ) , forced against their will to drive to wherever they so choose . Stopping off at a gas station for some fuel and coolant for the steaming radiator , Lacey discovers the gas station attendant's body , ravaged by an unknown organism which has torn apart his flesh and is breaking his bones , in the restroom . While Dennis and Polly are inside attempting to get customer service , with Seth outside getting gas , Lacey is attacked and killed by the creature . The other three hole up in the gas station awaiting some form of help while also determining a course for survival . The trio soon discover that even if limbs break apart from the creature , they themselves can act alone , always seeking warm flesh and blood to coagulate with . Another key plot point , Dennis is " infected " by the organism , while changing a tire after Polly run over a dog which had been taken over , thanks to a splinter that came from the creature . For some reason , the creature sends off an unsettling ticking sound and splinters grow from whatever the organism infects . I think the main reason , other than to provide the action scenes with a more immediate , gritty feel , director Toby Wilkins shoots steadicam is to hide how unrealistic the creature really is . So the frenzied camera movement when the creature works its way towards victims masks the monster suit a gymnast is wearing . We get a chance to see how the body reacts to infection through the terror within Dennis , his attempts to cease the breaking of his fingers and arm as it moves through his cells . A nasty decapitation soon follows and the film shows both an arm and hand chasing after our heroes . The villainy of Dennis doesn't last very long due to the cast's unfortunate circumstances , and Wilkins allows him to gain humanity through various ways as the plot plays out . The opening attack on the gas station attendant really sets the stage for how Wilkins will display the creature's savage methods , not allowing us to see very much due to an obvious lack of budget . Each culminating attack works the same such as when Lacy is run over or a cop is ripped in half . I enjoyed the chemistry of Costanzo and Wagner as a very unusual couple , Seth , a nerd , and Polly , an outdoorsy-type , independently-minded woman , their love for each other evident in how they are able to remain so true to each other as the crisis continues . Whigham is given a role where he's justifiably rewarded sympathy for his sins through his heroic actions later in the film , not without suffering and paying a price . Kerbs doesn't last too long , her Lacey basically paranoid and unstable due to major drug use . Established is Dennis ' mission to get to Mexico where a supposed stash is awaits , with a desired goal to get Lacey clean . Sufficed to say , that goal isn't reached . Nothing fans of creature features haven't seen in the past except Wilkins doesn't depend on CGI for his monster . |
436,469 | 9,938,570 | 99,180 | 5 | Bride of Re-Animator | Insane sequel to Stuart Gordon's RE-ANIMATOR is directed by Brian Yuzna who shelled out the cash needed to make the original . He stays close to the tone of Gordon's film while weaving a whole new nutty story , obviously and blatantly paying homage to BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN . In this film Dr . Herbert West ( Jeffrey Combs ) & Dan Cain ( Bruce Abbott ) return from the civil war of a Latin country experimenting of dead soldiers trying to perfect the power of his reagent serum for reanimating dead tissue and organs . West has decided that merely bringing the dead back to life isn't as fulfilling as creating a whole human being using variously deposited body parts from freshly dead corpses . The two doctors have returned somehow ( I couldn't understand how they were able to get their jobs back because neither finished school . . or perhaps they did , but when could they if they were in a foreign country ? Plot holes galore . . oh , well ) to the Miskatonik Hospital with Dan simply wishing to do his job . But , Herbert is at his old tricks again splicing various parts together just seeing if his future plans were possible ( his coolest creation is the " crawling eye " assembled with several fingers and an eyeball ) . When a patient Dan is close to dies , Herbert wishes to use her head ( the beauty of her face and her brain ) while also using Meg's heart ( we know Meg , played by Barbara Crampton from the first film , is the lost love of Dan's life ) to leverage his colleague into assisting him . What Herbert doesn't know is that a doctor at the hospital , Dr . Graves ( Mel Stewart ) , has found some of his reagent and is reviving animals ( such as the bat which breaks free flying at his face in attack-mode ) . When mere animals doesn't satisfy him , Graves revives the dead head of Doctor Hill ( David Gale , sparingly used in this sequel ) and all hell breaks loose . An inspector , Lt . Leslie Chapham ( Claude Earl Jones ) is constantly snooping around West and Cain seeking to find a false move to implicate them . His reasoning for doing this . . Herbert experimented with the reagent on his wife for whom he had possibly beaten to death ! Also , Francesca ( Fabiana Udenio ) , a colleague in the warring country West and Cain escaped , shows up starting a relationship with Dan . Again , a woman has become a major thorn in the working relationship of Herbert and Dan which will lead to a maddening conclusion when re-animated dead , led by Hill , whose head now has bat wings ( ! ) will lead an assault on their basement laboratory ( located in their home which was once an old morgue ) . This sequel , while quite inferior to the first film , has enough wild gags going for it to hold interest . Sadly , it abandons the characters for the exception of Combs who has a field day with this crazy loon . The Bride's sequences are quite grotesque and macabre to say the least . I felt that Gale is quite underused in this flick . . not quite the villain he was in the first film , only getting to impact Herbert's life at the end . Also disappointing is Abbott's Dan Cain who seems less a fixture in this film as he was in the first . Sure , themes within the story impact the character , but Abbott just doesn't seem as inspired or his character as strong as in Gordon's film . Hurting this flick is the lack of freshness the previous film had . There's still plenty of gore for the ones who crave it and has enough wackiness to probably at least gather a modicum of interest from fans of the first film . Perhaps easily forgettable , this flick still has it's moments and deserves at least a moment of the gorehound's time . |
436,777 | 9,938,570 | 493,404 | 5 | Brotherhood of Blood | Roesch & Scheerer's Brotherhood of Blood is quite a claustrophobic little vampire film , mostly taking place within the congested confines of rooms within a warehouse as vampire Pashek ( Sid Haig ) fears his powerful brother Vlad Kossei ( . . for whom he burnt alive many years ago for this vampire's blood-thirst was so intense he wiped out villages in short order ) has been resurrected by an artist perhaps having found his remains in a church in Transylvania . Being held captive is the artist's brother , Tom ( William Snow ) by Pashek's follower Fork ( Wes Ramsey ) and his vampire minions as they prepare for Vlad Kossei's arrival . A small vampire hunting unit , led by Keaton ( Jason Connery ) and Carrie ( Victoria Pratt , another in the long line of female bad-asses , with a very athletic figure , often grimacing , dead-serious demeanor , with no fear at all as danger presents itself ) find themselves almost nearly wiped out by Vlad Kossei it appears . Pashek mentions to Carrie , herself kidnapped by the vampire brood , that if Kossei is able to see his family line successfully killed off by another , the mighty vampire will become all powerful and invulnerable . Cult star Ken Foree has a lucrative role as vampire Stanis who is tortured by Keaton and Carrie in acknowledging who Kossei is and what he's up to . Very low budget , and given some extra mythology , but overall still follows many of the same vampire customs ( . . vampire bite turns you into one of them , sunlight burns their flesh when introduced , they crave human blood for survival ) . Pashek admits that vampires and humans came together in unison to stop Vlad Kossei and that this would be the only way to stop him once again . Kossei's resurrection came thanks to his skull's fangs cutting a certain human's hand . The violence is often cleverly disguised by specific movements and set-ups of the camera with blood scattering throughout ( . . and the sound effect of flesh ripping ) , although there is a pretty nasty fanged tooth removed from Foree's mouth as hunters Carrie and Keaton have him bound to a table , starving him of blood , wishing to gather information as to who could wipe out their entire unit . I found the confinements of the action in small , singular locations rather tiring . . the film is very dialogue driven , with Haig given ample screen time devoted to telling us about his people's history , specifically about Kossei and his reign of terror . Pratt , as I mentioned before , is a tough broad who is often on the winning side in battles with her enemies . Her character and vampire Fork had a relationship before he was turned into an undead bloodsucker . Pretty neat twist . . many will probably see it coming , while others might find it quite a surprise . |
436,001 | 9,938,570 | 264,323 | 5 | The Scarecrow reviews " 2001 Maniacs " | A group of typically sex-crazed obnoxious northerners take a wrong turn on their way to Daytona Beach and wind up ( thanks to some detour sign ) in Pleasant Valley where they are greeted rather warmly ( albeit a bit sinister ) by the southern town folk . Then they all begin being slaughtered by these people as they get revenge for having perished during the Civil War . Robert Englund is indeed a hoot as the head of this southern clan as they butcher and maim these kids ( one dies from acid , another gets pulled apart by horses ) . If one wonders how to take this film seriously at all should've taken a look at the cover of the box which features a crazed Englund donning a confederate themed eye patch . The film is one long gory comedy as we either are turned off at the excessive violence or giggle at the silliness of it . It's certainly geared for those who are willing to let go and just watch not taking anything really that serious . It has written all over it . . " This is only a movie . " A film like this will have a built-in fan base for it delivers on the gore and hokey humor ( specifically covering every hick joke known to man except the fart gags ) . If you are easily offended or can not bend a little in the implausibility of it all . . stay away . |
436,135 | 9,938,570 | 95,740 | 5 | Welcome to Spring Break | Welcome to Spring Break . . the annual migration of the idiot . A maniac in a biker suit and helmet is randomly murdering college kids visiting Manatee Beach on their Spring Break . Questioning whether or not the murders are being committed by a recently executed biker gang member , Diablo , the mayor ( Fred Buck ) wishes to cover them up and hopes that corrupt cop Strycher ( John Saxon , playing a mean , brutish thug with an ugly backstory that surfaces for the viewer when our protagonists search his trailer ) and Doctor Willet ( Tarantino regular Michael Parks ) can keep the crimes hush-hush . But , as the death toll mounts with most of the murders committed with the use of electricity , this task will become nearly impossible to prevent . The film follows a depressed college quarterback , Skip ( Nicolas De Toth ) , who threw an interception which cost his football team the National Championship , searching for his murdered wide-receiver pal and joining forces with bartender Gail ( Sarah Buxton ) whose sister was supposedly murdered by Diablo ( . . she was there when he was fried in the electric chair , which is why many of the future victims are executed with the use of such methods as shocking bolts burning flesh ) . As a team , who are falling in love , they will seek out who killed his friend , discovering that perhaps her sister was not murdered by Diablo , but by somebody else . Making their search difficult is Strycher who wishes to keep his corruption hidden , threatening to kill Skip if he doesn't leave the county . Meanwhile Reverend Bates ( . . deep-voiced Lance LeGault , always looking angelic and sincere ) continues without fail to convince his daughter , who has been partying with the visiting " sinners " , to return to church and joining him in prayer for her " lost soul . " Bates was also there at the execution reading Diablo's last rites , and offers the idea aloud that he may've returned from the grave to seek revenge against those responsible for framing him for a murder he didn't commit . With Diablo's body missing from his grave , Strycher will make the lives of an unruly biker gang , The Demons ( . . for whom Diablo was leader ) , miserable , believing they are maybe responsible for the removal . But , the bikers have a special plan for him . Skip also has run-ins with the bikers for his dead comrade had a series of altercations with them . Umberto Lenzi's slasher flick features the excess of the 80's . Big hair . Loud rock music . Wet T-shirt contests . Bikini-clad babes . Horny males seeking sex . Over-the-top murders including several young women dying horribly from electrocution ( . . the effects which are rubber masks being burned , leave anything to be desired ) . A very attractive tourist prostituting out of her hotel room using a series of disguises ( . . mostly a student of some sort needing cash so that she can help the poor and needy ) as a peeping tom ( . . the manager of the hotel ) watches from a carved hole in a supply closet . At first , you might ponder why the leather-clad psycho , if it were Diablo , would murder such unrelated victims , many of them just in the wrong place at the wrong time . But , like in a lot of these slashers , the unlikely candidate is the one responsible . It would make sense that the one responsible could commit such acts if motivated enough . Lenzi never wavers when it comes to showing the beach party atmosphere of kids enjoying their perverse thrills . The acting in this film will make your eyes and ears bleed , but Saxon almost rescues this with his evil cop routine , always a threat and causing friction with our protagonists and about everyone else in the story . The violence rarely is logical and the methods of electrocution ( . . using cut wires ) are embarrassingly lame and ridiculous . There's even one murder using rising flame from a furnace which is simply laughable , but also effective when we see a burnt skull after the fire goes down . There's moments where Lenzi wishes to inject humor with a practical joker always pulling " death stunts " whose fate is an ironic twist . And , we spend moments with a thief who successfully lifts wallets from female beach babes who trust him . This kind of film will be embraced by those who have a love and appreciation for bad direction , script , acting , and gore-effects . And , I think those who have a love for those times of 80's excess as college kids live it up on the beach , will enjoy this as well . Others , beware ! |
436,033 | 9,938,570 | 455,362 | 5 | The Breed | Brothers John ( Oliver Hudson ) and Matt ( Eric Lively ) bring their college pals Nicki ( Michelle Rodriguez ) , Sara ( Taryn Manning ) & Noah ( Hill Harper ) to their Uncle's cabin hidden away in a far off island where a group of highly intelligent , dangerously ferocious , and very hungry killer canines ( perhaps the proponent of a " seeing-eye dog training " facility shut down after a supposed rabies outbreak which may've been a masking for some sort of genetically enhanced killer dog compound ) await them . The group just want to have some spirited fun away from the doldrums of daily life but soon find they'll have to fend for their very lives as the monstrous nasty mutts lay siege upon them hoping for a major feast on human flesh . Cat-n-mouse game between humans and animals where survival for our heroes means getting away from the predators and off the island . Poor Hill Harper as Noah is the token black guy with no supposed love-interest which predictably prescribes his grim fate right off the bat . Oliver Hudson makes quite a good heroic presence as he shoots his bow and arrow like a marksman ( except for one time where he attempts to put an arrow through a mutt gunning for Nicki's leg and actually hits her ! ) . When Sara is bit , she begins acting strangely and can seemingly sense when they are coming and how they feel . The plot provides an interesting triangle back-story between the brothers and Nicki . Irresponsible bad-boy John used to date Nicki , but was not one to commit to anything while Matt was the boy-genius who concentrated on his schooling and getting ahead as a veterinarian . Nicki chose to love Matt with some tension between the brothers presenting itself . Sara secretly carried a torch for John , but the point where he opens the doors for something to blossom the whole " dog ordeal " springs up ruining the whole possible idea of a romance . But , all the drama will matter a little less when considering blood-thirsty dogs wish to tear your throat out . Lots of thumping sound-jumps to move the audience ( or as it's labeled " jump-scares " ) and near-deaths to certain characters who make it out of situations where they should've been ripped to shreds . |
436,615 | 9,938,570 | 87,981 | 5 | Razorback | A man ( Gregory Harrison ) , shaken from the disappearance of his pregnant reporter / animal activist wife , enters the garbage-strewn , desolate , uncompromising Outback to find her , running into intimidating , troublesome kangaroo poachers ( typical undesirables that often populate Russell Mulcahy's films ) and a gigantic killer boar . The Outback town of Gamulla looks like the type of barren wasteland devastated by nuclear war in apocalyptic films and is photographed as quite menacing while at the same time stunning . While the film is indeed quite ugly , chock full of rotted dead trees , sand holes that have the shape of moon craters , and dust that is thick enough to cut a knife through , there are some amazingly shot sequences at night using light , shadow & cold breath . My favorite sequence has a lost Harrison , abandoned by the two poachers responsible for leaving his wife at the mercy of the giant razorback , trying to find a haven as the Outback becomes a surreal hellish nightmare where giant cracks open upon the ground and dead skeletal animals rise from the earth . In the stunning opening scene , hunter Jake Cullen ( Bill Kerr ) watches as the razorback burrows through his home snatching his grandson as the moon light spirals through a windmill nearby . David Argue & Chris Haywood portray the grungy , unclean Baker brothers who run a meat plant cutting pigs and kangaroos who wish for their secret illegal practices of catching animals to remain under wraps . Arkie Whiteley portrays Sarah , a young woman who researches the growth and well being of boars in the Outback where she lives by tagging them , keeping up with their movements by a computer tracking device ; she strikes up a friendship with Harrison's Carl . Jake's mission in life is to kill the razorback which ate his grandson . The climax takes place in the Pet Pak facility where the Baker brothers cut their meat for storage . |
435,934 | 9,938,570 | 493,452 | 5 | Sl8n8 ( Slaughter Night ) | In 1857 , child murderer Andries Martiens ( . . who was a practitioner of black magic using the heads as a means for traveling to hell and back so that he could retrieve information from his evil parents on where his inheritance was ) was sent into a mine as a fireman to explode methane . His demise ( . . the myth of his death from the duty of the fireman may or not be the truth ; if you survive the explosion of methane , wearing a suit which protects you from flame , then you are set free ) brings notoriety to the mine in present day where a guide , once a worker , takes visitors on an excursion 200 feet underground on a tour , explaining the duties and dangers of this line of work . Five Dutch teens + a counselor and two of his troubled youths take the tour into the mine . Kris ( Victorio Koblenko ) was having an argument with her father over her future when a truck crashes into their car , ending in an explosion which kills him right before her eyes . The mine tour , where Martiens legend lives and breathes giving the guide a spook story to tell , is in the vicinity of where Kris needed to retrieve a manuscript her father was working on regarding the notorious killer . . this is where she finds a Ouija board , the manuscript , and a music box of Martiens ( . . which may have something to it Martiens would've been interested in getting back ) . On an audio tape , played through a cassette player where her father was putting together a background of Martiens , we learn of why the killer needed 8 heads , and was willing to kill peasant children in order to do this . When the grounds keeper locks the gate leaving the tour forgetting about the last group of the day , they find that the lift which brought them underground isn't operational . Finding an access elsewhere to pursue help , the guide informs the group to stay put . Gathering around the Ouija board , the group summon Martiens evil spirit with all hell breaking loose as he can move from human host to human host seeking 8 heads so that he can exit hell . Once a devastating avalanche collapses the guide's exit , he's attacked by Susan , one of Mark's ( the counselor ) kids leaving the group to not only fend for themselves , but stuck with having to find another way out . Maybe , Kris can summon her father's spirit the same as Martiens for answers . . Dutch supernatural slasher with those possessed by the killer's spirit resembling those victims from " Night of the Demons " . . pale skin , discolored eyes , and snarling shark-like teeth . The setting is just perfect for a slasher , though . . inside an abandoned , labyrinthine coal mine , with the lights flickering , where , as the tour guide said while showing the gang around , that if you get lost , you get dead . When violence erupts and the possessed person attacks , the directors ' ( Frank van Geloven & Edwin Visser ) camera is frenzied , shaking all over the place , I guess trying to capture the frenetic nature such situations might produce . The cataleptic state of their camera during these attack scenes as our victims run for their lives ( . . or try to defend themselves ) might alienate many viewers . The cast of characters might be Dutch , but that's where it ends . . this kind of cast could star in any Friday the 13th movie , and we'd not know the difference except that they speak their native language . Kris is given development because , as you know slasher fans following this genre for ages , she's the " final girl " who is appropriately established , as is the counselor ( . . cleverly saved from death numerous times ) . The film goes out of it's way to keep those two alive at the end while others are mincemeat . One poor possessed soul gets half her head taken off by a spate which separates it from the rest of her body , flesh is ripped away from one fellow's limbs before getting his throat sliced just as he's about to hit pay-dirt from the mine , one gets her head blown apart by a shot gun blast after dying from a spear plunged through her , etc . I think slasher fans , if they can look past the bonkers premise and stupid characters , might enjoy this one . That is if they can handle the spastic camera work . . |
436,947 | 9,938,570 | 384,642 | 5 | Kicking and Screaming | Okay Will Ferrell vehicle has the comedian portraying Phil Weston , a vitamins salesman whose whole life has been reduced to low expectations , trying to compete with a father who seems to have succeeded at everything while he has always failed . The only way it seems he'll ever feel good about himself is if he beats Daddy Weston ( Robert Duvall , coasting on his charisma ) where he's best at . . the soccer field . Daddy Weston is THE soccer coach in their little league ( THE GLADIATORS ) and Ferrell's Phil desperately wants to beat his father in the finals to properly say he's the best . We see how Phil is a failure in getting a team going until he partners up with his father's arch-nemesis . . Mike Ditka ! If you are a fan of Ferrell comedies , this will be sure to please . But , this genre has been milked to death and then some and the final result leaves no one surprised . It is funny seeing what Phil becomes as he starts to see success , telling his kids to snap clavicles and smash collar-bones as if this were jail-football . But , the film has the " like father like son " angle as Phil leaves his son on the the bench the very same way Daddy Weston did him . |
435,706 | 9,938,570 | 1,029,234 | 5 | Martyrs | I'm pretty sure a film like MARTYRS is sure to polarize a large majority who finds the actions of this secret society desiring to know without doubt that there's an afterlife to an extent that a chosen victim will serve as a martyr to prove so , rather appalling and disturbing . I have read many find the ending ( . . what the martyr " sees " and the actions of the mastermind behind the project who is told " the answer " so sought after ) rather disappointing , certainly there's a negative vibe I have derived from what ultimately transpires , but I found it so sick and daring that all I could do was laugh . Quite an odd reaction after watching some poor girl tortured for 30 long minutes , just so that elderly wealthy types could learn of the truth behind what lies " on the other side " , but I just couldn't help but bury my face in my hands and laugh . The film is just brutal almost from start to finish without little time to breathe or sigh , just violence heaped upon violence . Director Pascal Laugier ( House of Voices ) establishes right from the get-go that the film would feature victims abused , and the results of such horrors . Mylène Jampanoï , in an astonishing , heartbreaking performance is Lucie , a young woman who massacres an entire family with a shot gun . At first , you believe she's bonkers , but we soon realize that the parents killed weren't whom they appear . . far , far worse . But , Lucie hallucinates , believing that a mistreated victim she didn't rescue as a child after escaping from a place of torture is always coming for her . Along with Lucie is her friend from an orphanage , Anna ( Morjana Alaoui , also delivered a terrific , haunting performance ) who witnesses the aftermath of the slaughter , attempting to clean up the mess , while mortified at such a grisly crime scene . Later , though , after Lucie makes a tragic decision due to a complete psychological breakdown , Anna discovers a secret area hidden , containing a torture chamber with a chained and badly ravaged victim , bound by shackles , her eyes covered by a steel plate hammered into her skull ! Anna removes the poor woman from the prison . attempting to help her . But , the woman finds a large knife , tearing away at her wrist until shot through the forehead . This is when Anna meets those responsible for what has traumatized her friend Lucie . An organization , ran by a woman referred to as Mademoiselle ( Catherine Bégin ) , wishes to uncover the age-old mystery desired down through the ages by those with religious doubt . . is there an afterlife and is there a way at discovering such a truth . Using an unwilling participant as their martyr , Anna could be their link to the truth . So she's brutalized for the remainder of the movie , nearly practically dead when she does experience something ( . . we are led to believe ) . . could she provide an answer they so desperately covet ? I warn those who take the leap and rent this film because it's incredibly violent . Lucie blows crater-sized holes into the bodies of an entire family obviously leaving you breathless before the thing she sees even enters the picture . That created being is scary as hell and you can understand why poor Lucie is so tormented . Then , you are shown a horrifying discovery and witness a person whose been kept in the dark , her skin cut throughout the body , knees practically broken , little sanity left remaining . Then , after all that , you have to sit through what these cretins do to Anna . Each chapter goes one step further . The one who got away . The one almost dead . And , Anna , the one they may finally have to provide the answer they seek . This is NOT for the faint of heart . What ultimately happens to Anna left me rather unnerved , I must admit , and the experience we witness through " her eyes " couldn't impact me because I was so shaken by the damage she had suffered . I can't say I was entertained by this one , and , truth be told , I felt very little after it was over . To be honest , I was glad once it was over because I just grew tired of seeing Anna pummeled and left to rot before the final despicable act was completed towards her person . |
436,861 | 9,938,570 | 38,934 | 5 | She-Wolf of London | Phyllis Allenby ( June Lockhart , oh how young she is ! ) believes she has her family's supposed curse of lycanthropy when a series of murders occurs in a London park near her mansion estate , where the victims ' throats are mangled . Evidence found at her bedside after she awakens in the morning point towards possible guilt ( . . muddy shoes , wet robe , bloody hands ) but her " aunt " Martha Winthrop ( Sara Haden ) sternly refuses to allow Phyllis to tell anyone . Phyllis ' gentleman caller , Barry Lanfield ( Don Porter ) begins to worry about her when Martha insists she's too ill and uneasy to see him . Meanwhile , Scotland Yard police are searching the park at night for a possible wolf or deranged person prowling for a fresh victim . A sub-plot has Martha's beautiful daughter Carol ( Jan Wiley ) , forbidden by her mother to see a poor artist Dwight Severn ( Martin Kosleck ) , meeting him at night in the very park where possible danger could be waiting . . or could she actually be the wolf-woman killing innocents ? Or , could the curse actually be true regarding Phyllis ' being a she-wolf ? After SY Detective Latham ( Lloyd Corrigan ) is murdered by a woman ( . . whose face is hidden , and growling as he screams ) in the park as the police are combing for any possible prowler , the man hunt will certainly be motivated more than ever before . The film shows Phyllis slowly growing mad with fear and anxiety regarding the possibility of committing those grisly acts in the park and Barry searching for who might be the real culprit . I'll get this out before ranting . . the film has wonderful sets . The park and Allensby mansion are superb set-pieces and director Jean Yarbrough's camera-work and lighting is expertly brought to the screen . Even the acting is decent enough . If this mystery thriller had been retitled and repackaged as a stand-alone film released through Universal completely untied to " The Wolf Man " series , it'd probably come across less a disappointment . But , when you have a title like " She-Wolf of London " and a make-up genius , an extraordinary artist , Jack Pierce , who could've given the audience a female werewolf prowling London park ( how cool would THAT have been ! ) then you can't possibly expect us to not be let down ! How frustrating . . I mean , not even a female werewolf in Phyllis ' nightmares , with how often speaks about them haunting her every night . There's a great tragic romance to be damned that'd been perfectly realized here . . imagine if Phyllis actually was cursed with the malady of lycanthropy with the upcoming marriage to her beloved Barry . Imagine Phyllis ( . . or anyone else for that matter ) turning into a female werewolf in her bed , breaking through her bedroom window , with sharp , snarling teeth and fur pouncing on poor helpless victims . That'd been something to see . Yet , sigh , we get a red herring in a mystery where the murders are committed by a garden tool by someone pretending to be somebody she isn't . So much potential wasted . This film isn't a bad one , but when you have an opportunity to create a she-wolf and Pierce on your payroll then take advantage for chrissake ! |
436,079 | 9,938,570 | 918,558 | 5 | Revamped | You'd think with a cast full of B-movie names that populate " Revamped " it'd be a bit better than this vampire horror comedy turns out . Not as many yuks yuks or surprises , and the low budget hurts it when the action occurs . Many great names go rather underused , probably because director-star Jeff Rector couldn't pay them enough . Below-par special effects might either charm the pants off-you ( . . this goes for the acting as well ) or cause intense groaning . It's not without moments , though . A wealthy businessman , Richard ( Jeff Rector ) finds out his wife's cheating , and calls a " vampire hotline " so that he could be turned . That vampiress who does so comes in the package of still-sexy Tane McClure as Lilith . Lilith and Richard develop feelings for each other and their sparks will be rekindled five years later , after his cremated ashes spill on the blood of undertakers ( . . one of them being Lurch , Carel Struycken ) assassinated by a couple of Satanists . Richard does get revenge on his wife and her lover ( played by Kato Kaelin , haha ) and soon finds refuge with underground vampires hiding from a human task force led by the disgruntled Jake Hardcastle ( a bulky Sam J Jones , of Flash Gordon fame ) whose face was scarred by an attack from his wife and daughter , turned vampires he'd have to eliminate . Besides the human task force , Richard and his underground people must also contend with a vampire cult , led by Vladimus ( the rat-like Billy Drago , with only a few scenes , but just as theatrical and menacing . . a most welcome presence , no matter how under-utilized ) and his muscle Kahn ( Deron McBee ) . Richard finds his allegiances complicated when he finds that Lilith is sided with Vladimus , and the human side which remains longs to support his underground pals . He'll find an unlikely alliance with two cops , Detectives Reeger ( Martin Cove , of The Karate Kid fame ) and Peters ( former male porn star Paul Michael Robinson , playing gleefully against type as a virginal Mormon ) . Richard has an underground friend named Mary ( Alana Curry , looking quite yummy in a tight shirt and jeans ) who just so happens to be Reeger's " thought-to-be-dead " daughter . Lilith is torn in her support for stopping Vladimus and his undead gang from participating in a ceremony called the " Black Dawn " , reading from a book of the dead during a certain full eclipse , needing a virgin to sacrifice . . that virgin they desire is Mary . Lilith will join forces with Richard , but has a major problem . . her sister , Lexa ( Christa Campbell , some more eye candy ) is an avid supporter of Vladimus and his plans for a " vampire Armageddon . " The violence is never too brutal and oftentimes many of the murders occur off camera probably due to lack of funding . Director Jeff Rector tries to combat his financial woes by injecting silly humor , poking fun at the vampire genre through his tongue-in-cheek screenplay feeding the characters with dialogue that will either work or not work considering your mood entering this particular film . There were times I chuckled , and Rector's limitations didn't bother me as much as they might others ( . . it does have a rather low IMDb rating , so I'm guessing most found it an awful watch ) . Some other actors who stop by for a moment or two include Fred Williamson as Reeger and Peters ' superior Captain Michaels , Reggie Bannister ( Phantasm ) as a shady goth bar type who helps run a snuff film ring in his bar basement , Dennis Haskins ( Principal Belding of Saved by the Bell ) as a Satanist and Anne Lockhart , of all people , as all-smiles underground " half-breed " Celeste . |
436,832 | 9,938,570 | 116,514 | 5 | The Scarecrow reviews " Bloodline " | From what I understand , this was supposed to be a series of films dealing with the bloodline of a toymaker named L'Merchant who unknowingly created the dreaded puzzlebox for which is a gateway to hell where Pinhead comes from amongst other minions . If that had been the case , perhaps things would have turned out better . Instead we have three different timelines of L'Merchant placed in a 90 minute movie and I feel you can see lots of things left out . The whole film feels uneven and I never could shake the idea that post-production killed an interesting premise . The first timeline shows Phillip L'Merchant creating the puzzlebox for demented magician Duc de L'Isle ( Mickey Cottrell ) and his pupil Jacques ( Adam Scott ) who wish to summon a demon for their pleasure and servitude . Angelique ( Valentina Vargas ) is a prostitute who is selected for such a purpose and once she is killed , her soul is resurrected but this time it's in demonic form . I'm guessing Jacques and Angelique decided they didn't need L'Isle because when Phillip wishes to destroy the puzzlebox he finds the magician almost dead and badly beaten . He is attacked by Jacques when Angelique gets his attention and almost dead when he informs his wife to flee with their unborn child . This first story is badly underdeveloped and that might be due to cutting it into a 90 minute film . This story suffers , but the second film had much potential . This time , the setting is modern day New York and John Merchant has become quite a famous artiste extraordinaire . His design for a high-rise has a sculpted puzzlebox artform . Angelique wishes to dump Jacques and kills him when he breaks some sort of demonic rule or code ( this doesn't get proper explanation ) . She awakens Pinhead from his puzzlebox layer thanks to a doorman who thinks he's about to get the greatest lay of his life . Instead Angelique suckers him into opening the gateway and releasing Pinhead and his demon dog upon the earth . Pinhead stays within a hidden room in the highrise for he desires for Merchant to open a much larger puzzlebox from a design in the building ( this whole angle makes little sense and has some sort of connectional link with a computer ) . John's wife is played by Kim Myers of " A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2 " fame and looks great if I might say so . Anyway , John's son is used by Pinhead as bait to open the large puzzlebox gateway in the high-rise . While this scheme is being concocted , Pinhead has a little fun with twin security guards having them " crushed " together . Unfortunate for Pinhead , John's wife has courage and opens the smaller puzzlebox while the inventor programs his computer to overload the larger design model to explode . The smaller puzzlebox pulls Pinhead and Angelique back inside ( along with the demon dog . . Myers fought them all bravely ) , but not before our star demon of pain killed John via beheading by chain . In the third story , Dr . Paul Merchant ( who also serves as narrator to a group of soldiers assigned for some reason to bring him back to Earth ) has designed an elaborate space station and brought Pinhead , Angelique , the demon dog , and the twins ( now some sort of conjoined monster ) out from within their small puzzlebox . The soldiers assigned to bring Paul back to Earth search the spacestation and become victims of pain thanks to Pinhead and his posse . For some reason , Paul is considered a threat to Earth so the soldiers check throughout to see why he is in space . Paul has told them why he has created this vessel and his goals to finally put an end to Pinhead forever , but this final act feels severely cut and one might wonder where Angelique and the twin monsters vanish to after they kill some soldiers . Pinhead has no idea that Paul has designed the spacestation as a uniquely created puzzlebox in the design of L'Merchant to destroy him . This whole film seems like one crudely pieced together exercise . It's incredibly nice to look at and Pinhead has much more screen time than in the next few films that will be made . He gets supplied plenty of eloquent phrases describing the pain he shall cause . He declares to some victims . . " I . . am . . pain ! " I particularly like the final sequence when he realizes he has been defeated and finishes the film with his final word . . " Amen . " The film really seems to have much potential if it had been a series of films as perhaps planned by Kevin Yagher . There so many problems with the story of Pinhead and Angelique I don't know where to begin . Does Yagher abandon the third film's ending . How come the puzzlebox is in this pillar of the building and how does she know it is there ( in modern day New York ) ? How does she even know about Pinhead and vice versa ? Perhaps much back story is missing because of bad editing . What has been left on the cutting room floor ? That perhaps in the ultimate question . Too much of meat is missing and all we have in this film is leftovers . It isn't all bad for like I said above . . we do get to see the ominous Pinhead much more , but the what ifs of what a trilogy of stronger , more beefed up stories containing Pinhead & Angelique does have me ponder what might've been . |
436,587 | 9,938,570 | 37,098 | 5 | The Mummy's Curse | The devil's on the loose and he's dancing with the mummy ! The mummified one-armed strangler returns as Kharis ( Lon Chaney Jr ) once again seeks his mate , Princess Ananka ( the beautiful Virginia Christine , who rises from the earth in the film's best sequence ) who is reincarnated and listless . Somehow , both Kharis and Ananka find themselves in the bayou of Louisiana after having went into a swamp in New England . . how this possibly could occur is never established . It's been 25 years , and the village folk . . the whole superstitious lot . . are scared senseless of the myth of a bandaged killer and his princess bride . Museum curator James Halsey ( Dennis Moore ) and his assistant Ilzor Zandab ( Peter Coe ) are searching for the remains of Kharis and Ananka for their new museum which drives Pat Walsh ( Addison Richards ) crazy . You see Pat is the foreman behind a great excavation project draining the swamp so that citizens can have a much safer environment to live ( . . and of course opening the door for future businesses to enter in ) , but the workers are worried sick about being killed by the mummy . It doesn't help matters when one of the workers is found with a knife in his back . Later we find that Ilzor is the new High Priest of Arkham , yet another " middle man " who commands his servant lackey Ragheb ( Martin Kosleck ) to feed Tana leave stew to Kharis so that he can find and nab Ananka wherever she may be . A body count escalates as anyone who tries to protect a bewildered Ananka ( suffering a case of amnesia , not knowing exactly who she is ) suffers the suffocating grasp of Kharis . But , what Ilzor doesn't know is that Ragheb will , of course , betray him desiring to take Pat's niece Betty ( Kay Harding ) , a secretary for her uncle who falls in love with Halsey . Where the Egyptian crypts for Kharis and Ananka reside in the ruins of a monastery , where the climax takes place as Ragheb will face those he betrayed . . Ilzor and Kharis as the mummy finally captures Ananka . Will Ragheb be able to control the mummy for himself ? Will Ragheb hurt Betty ? Will Kharis finally return with his bride to Egypt with Ilzor where they belong ? The film has atmosphere to burn and excellent use of shadow as we see the image of the mummy draw near ( also , the film uses the sound of Kharis ' dragging foot to full effect ) , but has a lackluster premise that is essentially Kharis killing people in an alarming rate at a slow speed searching for Ananka , who seems to faint a hell of a lot . Peter Coe as Ilzor is yet another dull block-of-wood in a series of wooden villains who command Kharis to kill . Kosleck is a smallish fiend who isn't that imposing . Christine is fine as the unfortunate princess who has a hard time understanding the horrors swirling around her . But , the film's bread-and-butter is Ananka's rising from the earth burying her . . it's an eerie scene , perfectly chilling , that the film as a whole couldn't accomplish . The curtain closes on a poor , run-of-the-mill , uninspired series . |
436,436 | 9,938,570 | 61,411 | 5 | The Blood Beast Terror | Peter Cushing stars as Inspector Quennell , a detective trying to uncover who it is murdering folks in his jurisdiction . Scales are left at the crime scene and the victims all suffered nasty lacerations where teeth had been gnawing , draining their blood , eating their flesh . Robert Flemyng is a mad genius , an expert in entomology and a geneticist who has somehow created a giant Deaths-head moth , who masks itself as a beautiful woman , Clare ( Wanda Ventham ) , pretending to be his daughter , luring young men with her feminine wiles before returning to insect form and attacking them . While I didn't feel it was as horrible as many feel it is ( . . including Cushing , from what I've read ) , this creature feature doesn't even try to thrill the viewer with any surprises , instead director Sewel and writer Peter Bryan fashion this after many a monster movie . You have the detective searching for the causes behind grisly ( . . though , unseen ) murders . We see the mastermind behind how the monster was created . We see how the unmasked monster operates . We see how the mastermind's own creation causes enough problems with her feeding habits that he must hit the road with the detective in steady pursuit soon making the startling discovery that a giant killer moth is doing in innocent men . Creature turns on creator . Creature's weakness for blood / flesh does her in eventually . Of course , this film provides Cushing's inspector with a cute daughter , Meg ( Vanessa Howard ) , who will find herself in possible danger . Her potential boyfriend , William ( David Griffin ) , a bug catcher will also face certain peril due to his killing a deaths-head moth for his collection . The film features lovely countryside setting with beautiful flowers of a variety of colors and shows how vindictive and cunning Clare is at spotting males , and maneuvering them away from the eyes of possible witnesses . This is no world-beater , but it's an adequate time-waster . I've seen much worse , but Cushing doesn't look very comfortable or inspired in this role , which is a very rare case in such a storied career . Roy Hudd , as a mortician , is a hoot always eating ( . . and offering snacks to Inspector Quennell and Sergeant Allan , played by Glynn Edwards when they are reviewing the bodies of victims ) and grinning wide , cracking wise and often irritating his guests . The killer moth is basically a bug costumed stunt-person . |
435,823 | 9,938,570 | 85,636 | 5 | Halloween : Season of the Witch | A rambling unhealthy old man , clutching a specific Halloween mask , stumbles into a Northern California hospital claiming that a toy factory is " going to kill us all . " This declaration remains buried in the mind of doc on call that night , Dr . Dan Challis ( Tom Atkins , in his first starring role ) who is certainly bothered when a mysterious man , in a business suit , enters the hospital killing the old patient by snapping his cranium before dousing himself with gasoline setting his body on fire , exploding the car in the parking lot . The dead old man's daughter , Ellie ( . . the sexy small-framed Stacey Nelkin ) wishes to know why her father was killed in such a vicious . . and suspicious . . manner and convinces Challis to pursue the truth behind his claims of malicious intent regarding the mask in his possession . Tracing his previous steps indicate the old man was in Santa Mira , hometown to the Silver Shamrock toy factory whose chairman , Conal Cochran ( Dan O'Herlihy , in a chilling performance , portraying him in a sly , all-smiles manner , unveiling his sinister side as the movie continues ) is the major name in the Halloween mask business . Challis and Ellie find that Santa Mira is quite a silent , guarded place , where the citizens keep to themselves and the streets remain mostly quiet . Cameras are everywhere and a curfew keeps the townsfolk in doors at a certain part at night . They will soon find that Cochran is running a corrupt operation where the manufactured children masks being shipped to stores all across American contain a gadget ( . . carrying the Silver Shamrock logo ) holding tiny particles from a stolen statue of Stonehenge which unleash bugs and snakes killing those kids who watch a specific commercial which houses a signal while wearing them over their heads . Will Challis and Ellie stop Cochran's plan or will all the children who tune in be wiped out as a part of an ancient Celtic form of sacrifice ? I'll be the first to admit that this film had me biting my nails to the quick . That pulse-pounding score from Carpenter & Howard really does the trick , the electronic beat moves the viewer along with a sense of urgency and builds dread for those who face potential danger . Writer-director Tommy Wallace benefits from his association with Carpenter and Debra Hill because Dean Cundy provides fabulous cinematography which gives this rather okay effort a stunning visual polish masking certain problems . Also , having Atkins as a very capable leading man doesn't hurt as well . This film was a real chance for Wallace and Atkins to show what they were made of . The flaws of the story are enormous , but the film's initial premise is indeed terrifying . . the idea that a mask can cause insects and snakes to destroy your child while wearing it really gives you a reason to root for Atkins . Atkins gives you the kind of reactions anyone might have when facing such a bizarre crisis as the truths he uncovers . The whole Stonehenge part , how such creatures can come from a gadget on a mask , how these gadgets can wipe out Cochran's multitude of mandroids yet a certain one somehow survives ( . . this ( wo ) mandriod must've been a better model ) , why Cochran wouldn't just kill Challis right away instead of toying with him like a villain would James Bond , the logistical time-frame problems of kids in different time-zones . . all these screenplay problems open up crater-size flaws which aggrevate . Yet , the spooky Santa Mira town really is quite an interesting backdrop which echoes Carpenter's " Escape from New York " as mandroids stationed throughout appear on the far side of the screen or from the shadows . This film has an unpleasant tone of menace regarding how the mandroids kill innocents who might so happen to compromise Cochran's operation ( . . such as how a forensics scientist is drilled through the skull , how one hobo's head is pulled from his neck ) . The climax , which does allow Challis a chance to strike back against his captors , has a rather grim end which might leave you sad or horrified . The mandroids , when damaged , resemble the android who is destroyed in " Alien " . |
436,579 | 9,938,570 | 120,380 | 5 | Trucks | Various characters are trapped at a diner / tourist trap / gas station as semis & other commercial trucks operate on their own circling while " communicating " to each other via horn honking . Father and son , Ray ( Timothy Busfield ) and Logan ( Brendan Fletcher ) operate the desert spot with pal / cook George ( Victor Cowie ) . Hope ( Brenda Bakke , quite low-key , but offers a cool-headed chick ) is a former RN who returned to the small desert town of Lunar after a rocky marriage that ended badly . Military man Thad ( Roman Podhora ) brought along his estranged daughter Abby ( Amy Stewart ) , who reluctantly came along with her father at his ordered request as tourists seeking escape to Lunar while tagging along also is 50-year-old hippie Jack ( Jay Brazeau ) . Meanwhile two truckers , Bob ( Aidan Devine ) and Pete ( Rick Skene ) resist the notion that their trucks will remain with out the drivers who occupy the vehicle seats . These truckers prove quite a problem for Ray as the situation escalates . A visiting couple , car salesman Brad ( Jonathan Barrett ) and displeased wife June ( Sharon Bajer ) are also in Lunar as tourists . One by one , the group fall victim to the homicidal trucks . . cool heads will have to prevail if they have any chance of survival . Is there any hope for this group ? The film provides possibilities for why the trucks are acting in such a fashion . A chemical spill . Area 51 is nearby . There was a comet shower . Hippie Jack offers lots of conspiracy theories and crazy notions . . he offers the idea that the comet shower may've possibly bombarded the atmosphere with alien particles that have the radioactive power to guide mechanized machinery . Military man Thad informs Ray quietly that , while he was working as a helicopter man for the Air Force at Area 51 , a scientific organization was running titled Project : Phoenix where high-powered telescopes sent out signals toward the stars calling out to alien life in space . Perhaps , the unfortunate events occurring is their way of answering ? A different take on Stephen King's short story . Unlike King's only directed film , the zany " Maximum Overdrive " , " Trucks " is told straight , serious in tone , tamer , and saner . " Trucks " isn't as bloodthirsty or outrageous as " Maximum Overdrive . " But , " Trucks " hurts by a lack of budget and it's television confines limit what you can convey on screen . The trucks , like In King's film , do communicate and desire Ray to fill them with gasoline . " Trucks " has a neat little twist that does out duel King's version . This film probably has stronger , more likable characters , but the cast isn't as cool or interesting as King's film contains . " Trucks " really doesn't leave a lasting impression , either . Still not too bad , with some effective scenes . |
436,423 | 9,938,570 | 78,235 | 5 | Last House on the Beach | Franco Prosperi directs yet another exploitation flick inspired by Craven's notorious Last House on the Left , this time a trio of bank robbing hoods ( led by Ray Lovelock , Let Sleeping Corpses Lie ) besiege a group of Catholic teenage students and their Nun supervisor , setting off a reign of terror over the course of three nightmarish days . Sister Christina ( Florinda Bolkan , Don't Torture a Duckling ) tries without fail to rescue her girls from constant harm , sexual molestation and degradation , even suffering depraved persecution herself . The three hoodlums , pretty-boy Aldo ( Lovelock ) and his unhinged co-horts Walter ( Flavio Andeini ) and Nino ( Stefano Cedrati ) , often resort to diabolical acts mistreating the girls , and Christina , making extra efforts to humiliate and frighten their weaker prey . The girls watch as Christina's clothes are ripped away by Walter , forced to put on her nun outfit for their amusement . One of the girls , chosen by Walter as a victim of constant abuse , is held down as Nino penetrates her from behind , with their sole purpose being to " pop her cherry . " It's even shot in slow motion for extra impact as Aldo holds Christina in a position where she's forced to watch without the ability to turn away . When one of the girls is almost raped by Nino , she stabs him in the leg with a comb , later caught after almost escaping by Aldo , and penetrated with a large sharpened stick by the very one who almost sexually molested her . Aldo spends a great deal of time setting himself up as an innocent among two depraved monsters , but he's even worse than they , with his true self really awakening at the end when the girls revolt out of outrage for their captors ' behavior . Thankfully , director Prosperi doesn't actually elaborate the evil actions of the cretins in vivid detail , finding ways to shoot around the explicit acts such as the vaginal violence which leads to the victim's death , or the maid who is bashed across the head by an iron when Walter becomes enraged for no reason whatsoever . The film works off the idea that we will be impacted by who the chosen victims are , teenage girls and their nun . The hoods are your typical scumbags , relishing their activities watching the victims squirm in fear , taking full advantage of them . They are cowards with big weapons who cause harm to those who supposedly pose no threat which always builds up the violent climax where the innocents develop a primal nature , getting even with the ones who caused them such harm . Nothing really special about this umpteenth Italian terror film except the fabulous location on a fine piece of property overlooking a beach with a typically fine performance from Bolkan who plays it completely subtle , using her eyes as a means for communicating with the viewer and has this strength which is credible and admirable . We understand why she snaps ( . . although , it's not a theatrical snap , but a very quiet one , where she contemplates her actions and can not overcome her hostility after the horrifying murder of one of her girls , who almost got away ) , and that also relates back to Craven's infamous film where a very mature and sensitive person can become overpowered with the urge to kill , if pushed to the breaking point . |
435,720 | 9,938,570 | 285,728 | 5 | Dahmer | Interesting if a bit frustrating biopic looking into snippets of Dahmer , the serial killer who murdered homosexuals he desired and craved . The story-telling isn't straightforward and the filmmakers decide to intersperse flashbacks / thoughts within Dahmer's night talk with a potential victim , Rodney ( Artel Kayàru ) . Jeremy Renner was stunning in the lead and I could picture the late Dahmer in these situations thanks in part to a believable performance . I feel through interviews that he delivered his words to those he met in a rather distant cold manner as portrayed here . The film , through Renner , really seems to pointedly state that he was indeed guilty at the things he had done . You often see Dahmer in this film staring endlessly at the possibilities presented him , always puffing on cigarettes and questioning those he finds compatible sexually by challenging their ways of living . Though , the film shows many truths spoke of in biographical shows based on the notorious killer , it doesn't seem to really go anywhere . . which is probably intended . This is a probing , or better still , a peek into a lonely person's life and how it seems that killing those he cares deeply for brings the only true feelings he can express . |
435,695 | 9,938,570 | 91,560 | 5 | Mountaintop Motel Massacre | Evelyn ( Anna Chappell ) is let out of the asylum and takes up running a lodging of terribly run-down buildings while her daughter is playing satanism in her room . In a disorienting frenzy of trashing the witchcraftian objects and dolls in her daughter's room , Evelyn accidentally kills her with a sickle . The daughter , however , was spouting some sort of demonic gibberish just prior to be diced . This segues into the slasher part of the film where various passersby ( including the alcoholic preacher , played by Bill Thurman , who carried Evelyn's funeral services ) unknowingly stop off for lodging at the chain of shacks while a storm of nasty rain blasts down . Why anyone would pay for a building this run-down is beyond me . . heck , Evelyn should be paying them just for their courage to carry out such a venture . Evelyn , hearing the haunting echoes of her daughter's commanding voice , begins traveling through an underground tunnel which lies under the shacks occupied by the guests . There is a secret door located in each bathroom so that Evelyn can slip in and slash throats using the sickle that murdered her daughter . Before any of the killing started , she tormented them with snakes ( one bites the face of the man of a honeymooning couple ) , rats ( crawling all over the preacher ) , and roaches ( enjoying a little free time on the face and body of journeyman carpenter Crewshaw , played by Major Brock ) . You have advertising executive , Al ( Will Mitchel ) pretending to be a music exec for Columbia records so he can get laid , while the two girls just need a ride and place to stay for which he so humbly provides . This is one of those weirdo $5 backwoods slashers where the filmmakers probably gathered together friends and neighbors to work cheap on the flick . The acting exposes their lack of talent . The film looks like it was filmed in the cheapest locale in Louisiana which actually adds to the film , I felt , instead of diminishing it . The director has a talent for lighting in ways through darkness and this provides some effective scenes at night . . especially when you enter the cavernous tunnels below the shacks . Anna Chappell is effectively shot by the camera in off-angle ways presenting her as quite the creepy , bizarre character that she is . The gore is non-effective and laughable at best . Some effective moments can not compensate , however , for an hour of nearly nothing happening . . the pacing drags at a snail's pace . I felt the supernatural aspect fell flat as well . As a slasher , it works as a C-movie of interest to those head-over-heels for micro-budget , " how-low-can-you-go " brand of film-making . |
436,162 | 9,938,570 | 97,388 | 5 | Jason Takes Manhattan : Friday the 13th VIII | The hockey-masked zombie slayer Jason Voorhees ( Kate Hodder , in probably my favorite interpretation of the character ) rises from his watery grave of Crystal Lake boarding a cruise ship headed for New York City , adding quite a few more fresh victims to his already impressive resume . An electrical hose is damaged by a teen couple's yacht anchor awakening Jason from his slumber thanks to a charge that refreshes his corpse . After finishing them off and snatching a brand new hockey mask the male on the yacht had appropriately enough on board , he secretly hitches a ride on the cruise ship Lazarus ( appropriate title for a cruise harboring a killer who understands the meaning of returning to life ) with a graduate class of obnoxious teens to slaughter in various ways ( . . not to mention the ship's captain and assistant ) . A good portion of the film consists of Jason killing people on the cruise because director Rob Hedden had to back paddle when he was informed that budget costs limited his work in New York City . Hedden does what he can with Vancouver to at least convince us those nasty alleys are smoking Manhattan streets with druggie undesirables as perfect fodder for Jason to destroy . Even if you think his methods corny , Hedden at least attempts to return a human face to Jason with the added sub-plot regarding the heroine Rennie ( Jensen Daggett ) reliving a terrifying childhood memory of nearly drowning thanks to Jason , the boy pulling her under after Uncle Charles ( Peter Mark Richman , who is perfectly cast as the overly protective biology teacher on the trip always scolding everyone and barking orders to his students . He's quite an intolerable character ) pushes her in trying to teach her how to swim . On the cruise ship , Rennie faces reminders of Jason , whether it be the child banging on a port hole begging for help as water fills his lungs , or the shivering child appearing as an apparition in her room . This sub-text feels inspired . . at the very least , Hedden tries to inject life into a tired franchise fresh out . I think it's when he feels obligated to retreat at times to the slasher formula with rather uninspired kills ( such as the first female victim who doesn't even swat the harpoon spear Jason is slowly closing into her torso , or the hot high school bitch Tamara who gets stabbed , off screen , by a shard of glass from a mirror Jason shatters ) than Hedden often fails . And , I know many have a problem with the closing sequence inside the sewer , but I admired Hedden's effort to end the series once and for all in a unique way . . as the toxic waste flushes through the sewer , it , in a sense , removes the evil infirmities where we realize that truthfully within this sadistic monster is a frightened child now able to die in peace . There's an element of fun here if you're not too dependent on logic , or aren't too disappointed in the fact that the film doesn't cash the check as it proclaims on the poster and title . But , there's an energy behind the camera-work ( love how they zoom in on Jason , particularly on the subway and in Times Square ) and some good humorous bits such as when Jason finds a hockey sign ( the way the camera frames Jason in front of it is a treat for horror fans of the series ) , when a group of wannabe gangsters retreat from their plan to mess Jason up for destroying their jukebox when he reveals his face to them , or the inspired diner scene where Rennie and boyfriend Sean ( Scott Reeves ) ask for help because a " maniac is after them " , with the waitress ' response being , " Welcome to New York . " My favorite kill would probably be the way Jason murders a rock chick with her guitar . And , that kill with the steaming sauna rock . . OUCH ! |
436,399 | 9,938,570 | 76,191 | 5 | The Incredible Melting Man | To me , there's no doubt that director William Sach's homage to 50's era sci-fi / horror is above all an effects movie . Being a fan of melting effects , Rick Baker produces splendidly grotesque slime dripping from an astronaut's radioactively deteriorating body , a victim of an unexplained phenomena after looking at the sun through the rings of Saturn in his space shuttle . I did ponder how the shuttle returned to earth like a lot of other folks because re-orbit is just as difficult as leaving our planet into space . That bit of detail was unimportant to Sachs because he didn't have the funding available anyway to explain it . Sachs was equipped with some serious talent in this film even if his screenplay is rather terrible . The cast is disposable , especially lead DeBenning as Dr . Ted Nelson , the head doc of a clinic for which the " infected " astronaut , Steve West ( Alex Rebar ; who is given glorious credit by the movie as the title star ) was able to retreat from with relative ease ( . . a portly nurse sees the horrible monster that he is , drops her bottles of blood , and runs in horror , as the film goes slow-motion with her breaking through the glass exit door before being caught ) . Nelson is in charge to find Steve , and soon is aided by General Michael Perry ( Myron Healy ) who works at NASA and was a colleague of the astronaut . Also soon joining the search is Sheriff Neil Blake ( Michael Alldredge ) , a bit miffed about the violent carnage occurring in his town , wanting answers and the killer . Nelson has a pregnant wife , Judy ( Ann Sweeny ) whose had a series of miscarriages , perhaps added to the plot as a means to provide character development . . it's a given that her life could be in danger as Steve indeed shows up outside her house , eventually attacking a victim near it . The film is basically a series of attacks , with Sachs setting up situations where characters are introduced , some are victims , others find the bodies . The sequence with Judy's elderly mother and her husband , stopping off their trip to steal some oranges from a grove , becoming lunch for Steve , is an example of kooky characterization . . I believe Sachs simply came up with scenarios like this to compliment the slime and goo dripping from the melting man . Along with his skin melting away , Steve is also a flesh-eater and we get sequences where crime scenes expose his nasty eating habits . . oh , the reason why he's a cannibal is that Steve needs the cells from humans to survive . The funniest scene in the film has a couple returning home discovering Steve personally . Film director Jonathan Demme enters his home to investigate who has broken in , never to return , as Janus Blythe provides a shocking look of terror ( . . we never see what exactly happened to Demme ) as she barricades herself in the kitchen , eventually chopping Steve's arm off with a cleaver . . the hilarious part is a long take of Blythe cowering in a corner going hysterical , such a meaningless protracted scene that adds little to the film . Sachs had a wonderful cinematographer working for him in Willy Curtis , who should've went on to a more thriving career , utilizing the setting of San Fernando , California quite well ( . . a particular shot of a lumbering Steve , from a distance , the backdrop of an amber sky while the sun was on it's way to setting is quite impressive ) . The power plant finale as Nelson and Blake corner Steve is a marvel of ineptitude to behold . Nelson is simply not a hero of any real measure , making some incredibly insanely moronic choices . . his decision to throw away a gun handed to him by Blake , his constant interference of stopping Steve at opportune times when it was clear that this was a dying creature who couldn't be helped , and his feckless inability to find him despite the area for which he was rampaging ( . . not to mention , Nelson's casual , non-aggressive , approach , with an unprecedented lack of urgency , to finding Steve , despite knowing that it was destroying innocent victims ) . DeBenning brings very little to his role , quite vapid . I think the obvious reasons for the film's series of problems is the limited budget Sachs had to work with ; had he been equipped with more funding , perhaps the crater-size holes wouldn't have been as jarring . I guess it all depends on what you are looking for . . Baker's superb make-up work or the plot and characters which are abysmal . You could say Baker's work has the same effect as the characters and plot . . both are repulsive . |
436,820 | 9,938,570 | 985,025 | 5 | Dark Floors | I'm not familiar with the monster metal band Lordi , but I do like their costumes and make-up , used well in this nightmarish Finnish horror movie which left me rather baffled most of the time . Sarah ( Skye Bennett ) is an autistic girl whose worried father , Ben ( Noah Huntley ) wishes to find her proper help . The hospital have been futilely attempting various methods to cure her , but it seems that Sarah remains in her present condition never to change . Equipped with a crayon and sketchbook , Sarah creates hellish portraits which explain a lot about what will soon take place . Ben decides to take his girl out of the hospital to seek other help while her nurse , Emily ( Dominique McElligott ) attempts to change his mind . They enter an elevator along with a disgruntled visitor , Jon ( William Hope ) , hospital security guard , Rick ( Leon Herbert ) , and nutty , unkempt patient Tobias ( Ronald Pickup ) . Tobias nearly dies after the elevator mysteriously stops , with Emily resuscitating him . When the elevator door opens the floor seems completely empty prompting them to investigate . What they'll soon discover are unthinkable ghouls and demons patrolling the hospital , floor to floor with fewer places to run and hide , as individuals fall prey to the supernatural stalkers . Tobias slips information to the group that Sarah might be the catalyst for the dangers they face and Jon , desperately wanting to get out of the hospital by any means necessary , will wait for a chance to serve her up to the ghastly apparitions . The film follows the transpiring events as they unfold , how time seems to have stopped , how the further the group searches out the hospital it appears more in disrepair , with bloody corpses lying about , the corridors darker and more threatening . I don't know much about the stage act performed by the group Lordi , but I guess their fans will understand this film's premise more than the typical horror fan . I guess the nightmarish realm those of the movie find themselves is like a hellish limbo with the creatures merely present to terrorize them . I'm not sure if these beings are soul-seekers or what , but it seems Sarah is their desired target . . and she , along with Tobias , know what the other members of the group do not know . Perhaps , like Silent Hill , those who can not accept death ( . . I kind of believe they're all dead and until they can face this , they'll never escape this place they find themselves in ) remain trapped in a never-ending set of circumstances . Perhaps the main demon Lordi and his minions wish for them never to leave , which is why they pursue these people to begin with , enjoying the terror they inflict . Tobias , an obvious vagrant that society could give a rat's ass about , understands their present state and desires to die ( . . he wasn't happy with Emily who saved his life from certain death ) . At any rate , I'm not sure of what I watched , because the film presents a series of bizarre sequences where these humans run for their lives as the ghouls chase after them . The slowly decaying hospital setting is appropriately spooky and Lordi & company make for some creepy predators , but the almost incomprehensible plot challenges the viewer's patience ( . . or it did mine ) . For those who can get a grasp of this material , hats off to you . |
436,610 | 9,938,570 | 37,219 | 5 | The Return of the Vampire | You could call this a collection of ideas derived from the Universal brand , even . The film has Bela Lugosi ( still dominating the screen with his quiet menace ) as Armand Tesla , a very reminiscent clone to Dracula in nearly every way except name . He has a werewolf assistant named Andreas ( Matt Willis ) whose Full Moon Curse is controlled by the vampire . The location is London during WW2 and Tesla's greatest adversary is Lady Jane Ainsley ( Frieda Inescort ) and , Sir Frederick Fleet ( Miles Mander ) is one in the making , though he has a hard time believing in vampires despite all the chaos that surrounds him . With his werewolf assistant lending a hand , not to mention his powerful way of hypnotizing the control of young Nicki ( Nina Foch ) , Tesla will be quite a difficult vampire to kill . What could be considered the film's major weakness is that Jane actually put a spike through Tesla's heart , yet this didn't turn his body into dust as so often happens in the vampire pictures . But , perhaps Columbia Pictures wanted to mix things up a bit . . why make their film operate exactly by the rules set by Universal monster films about vampires ? The spike , in this film , remains stuck there only holding Tesla at bay as war ravages the countryside . 23 years later , a Nazi attack disrupts the burial plots of cemetery lots and Tesla's body shows the spike sticking from his heart . When two gravediggers pull out the spike , he awakens from his slumber to seek revenge on a much older Ainsley . . the fact that later Tesla takes the identity of Dr . Hugo Bruckner and Lady Jane can not even recognize who he is after having plunged a spike in his heart is a major story flaw , but it has been quite a long time so I'm sure his face doesn't necessarily come back from the shadows of the subconscious immediately . Purists might balk at the idea of desecrating a vampire surviving a thrust to the heart by a pointed object , but it's something that might leave your mind if you get into this little horror picture . I didn't mind the decision to stray away from the norm , though . Interesting concept regarding how vampire Tesla can actually command his male servant Andreas ( Matt Willis ) to turn into a werewolf . . a werewolf who remains in a suit throughout the movie , known in circles to tickle funny-bones . I do applaud Columbia Pictures for their noble effort in at least attempting to capture the spirit of Universal . And , whether his name is Tesla or Dracula , it was fun seeing Lugosi once again donning the cape . Director Landers does handle the fog-lit cemetery rather successfully . I read that Lugosi was paid merely a small sum to portray this vampire . I thought the setting of England , under attack by the Nazis with all the bomb and gunfire wreckage , to be an interesting place for Tesla the vampire to roam . The film is beautifully shot . . it's clear Columbia forked out some cash in order for their vampire film to achieve that polished look that the viewer is used to seeing in Universal's horror product . The camera throttles the viewer with his deeply evil eyes as they force victims to do as he wishes . |
436,253 | 9,938,570 | 106,557 | 5 | The Final Sacrifice | He who walks behind the rows will show us the way ! So says Micah in this unintentionally hilarious follow-up to the cult classic from the 80's . Keeping a straight-face , this unnecessary sequel { . . followed by many more unnecessary sequels } follows " ragman " John Garrett ( Terrence Knox ) who is on assignment in reporting about what exactly occurred in Gatlin when the town children offed their parents . The film has the clichéd story element of the strife between father and son as traveling with John is his son David ( Paul Scherrer ) . John was once a reporter for Newsweek and now is doing a job for a third-rate gossip mag . The film provides David with a love interest in Lacey ( Christie Clark ) who wishes to escape Americana for New York . Rosalind Allen is wasted as Angela Casual , simply a love interest for John and a set-up sacrificial lamb for the blown-out finale . In another unintentionally hilarious sub-plot , the film provides the demonic corn field with a native American folklore element as John gets support in understanding what the hell is going on through Frank Redbear ( Ned Romero ) , an anthropology professor who explains to him that it is quite possible the Earth is rising up against man for destroying it . One thing I pondered ( . . why should I give this film very much room for thought ? ) was how another town of people would ever take in a group of children who just butchered their parents ? Seriously , would you ? Somehow , I didn't think so . How Michah " transforms " into the leader of the child cult has to be seen in all it's riotous glory . He is " disassembled " molecularly ( . . I'm not kidding ) and reformed by the demonic force in the field . Micah will instruct the children ( . . much like Jacob did in the first film ) to do the work that needs to be done as many will perish for the fields of the harvest moon . Listen to the death list . . ( a ) a news guy gets a corn stalk thrusted through his throat ( b ) one lady gets crushed underneath her house { " What a world ! What a world ! " } ( c ) one man hemorrhages blood from the orifices of his face { nasty bit of business this is } ( d ) one doctor is repeatedly stabbed with syringes { . . the kids finish the job with a nice touch by placing a sucker in his mouth } ( e ) an elderly woman in a wheelchair is sent through the window of a bingo parlor , & ( f ) a town meeting goes up in flames . There's a little sub-plot concerning poisoned corn which might have a hallucinatory effect on children and cause many innocents simply breathing it to die and how certain well-noted citizens of Hemmingford might corruptly be turning their heads so that the town will flourish economically . Will John and Frank be able to stop the evil which awaits in the corn ? Do they bark up the wrong tree and discover that certain members in town want them out of the way . Will Micah complete the cycle of violence and sacrificial offerings so that this beast that awaits can rule the earth ? Does anyone really , really care ? If you bask in the joy of pure rotten cinema { . . as I admittedly did } , then COTC2 : The Final Sacrifice is perfect entertainment . The ending with Redbear only puts a stamp on how the filmmakers wished for us to take it seriously , but I just giggled with amusement . |
436,427 | 9,938,570 | 122,685 | 5 | Reincarnation of Isabelle | A witch , Isabella , was turned into a vampire by Count Dracula , removed from her bed with the bloodsucker , bound to a wooden cross , and a stake plunged into her chest . Her spirit is dormant and the village folk in the castle , gathered together to celebrate Lauren's forthcoming marriage , resemble the people who attended Isabella's crucifixion . The reincarnated spirits begin to thrive once again in certain members of the males within the castle and they are dedicated to bringing Isabella back , their Satanic costumes and ritualistic tools / devices within a surreal worship chamber , her dead body , hole opened where the stake was stabbed , awaiting resurrection . Lauren is to be the door through her reentering our world . Will her fiancé , a non-believer , find a way to help Lauren , or will she be a chosen vessel for evil to be reborn ? Will any viewer even care ? Zany Satanic thriller from director Renato Polselli shifts through different eras , when Isabella was crucified as hecklers and those that care for her look on , in modern time as new people inhabit the castle still housing dark powers , and the worship chamber with followers enacting torturous , barbaric routines for their Isabella . Certain characters stand out in the modern plot . Christa Barrymore is Christa , a believer who is chosen as a way of luring her virgin sisters to their supposed doom , as possible sacrificial victims for Isabella . Mickey Hargitay and Rita Calderoni return from Polsetti's Delirium , to star as Jack Nelson & Lauren , stepfather and stepdaughter . Hargitay , I think , also portrays Dracula in the past , watching in horror as the village men stake his beloved Isabella on a wooden cross in the chest . Calderoni portrays the witch Isabella , and lookalike target Lauren who is chosen to be her gateway from the dead . I attempted , without ceasing , to make sense of the film as the director toys with time and narrative structure , with all types of wacky theatrics ( Stefania Fassio's bonkers Stephy is a bonafide buffoon played to the hilt , aggravating all those around her , always seeking attention ) and visual flourishes ( . . like how he shoots faces from all angles and shrouded in psychedelic colors ) . As you might know , there are ample opportunities for the director to expose breasts , especially the delicious Calderoni who was quite a gorgeous woman to ogle over . The film highlights the " virgins " targeted as potential victims for Isabella , ravaged by Satan's disciples at the end as they are taken to the worship chamber . One , Christa , is almost buried alive in a harrowing sequence as those who attended her funeral had left , her chance of escape left to the mercy of a demented facially scarred servant who is often singled out by the director hiding in corners with a gleeful look on his face willing to cause harm to anyone if allowed . My favorite scene would have to be when Christa is being fondled forcefully from behind by an unknown assailant as he grabs her breasts , his free hand feeling down her body , as she slowly succumbs to an awakening sexual desire ( . . the camera shoots down her chest as the hand grabs and caresses ) . While not as violent as it could've been , this sure is a lurid shocker . A rather alarming sex scene between Stephy , her female girlfriend , and a grotesque " twitching " loon is sure to leave a lasting impression . . either as a way to repulse or excite depending on your taste . There is an explanation at the very end as to what is going on , but I'm sure many will even grow more frustrated and confused . Raul Lovecchio , as a grim-faced occultist , owns a portion of the newly ocupied castle , warning others of the evil that presently resides within the place , and has all the answers as to what is truly going on . |
435,876 | 9,938,570 | 409,999 | 5 | Gargoyle-Wings of Darkness | Underneath a Romanian Catholic church's graveyard lies a breeding ground of eggs containing gargoyles an evil priest is harvesting for Armegeddon as the mother creature is out flying the skies looking for victims to munch on . Michael Paré and Sandra Hess are American agents working on a case regarding a criminal who was snatched away by the mother gargoyle monster , trying to determine what had caused his death , among a string of attacks concerning the beast . Kate Orsini is an art curator helping to restore and modernize the Catholic church where creepy corrupt priest Fintan McKeown is secretly working against his clergy hoping to unleash an army of hatched gargoyles on an unsuspecting public . Petri Roega is a priest sent by the Vatican to replace McKeown and indeed knows what his plans are . Paré will hook up with Orsini after reporting to her after learning about her missing co-workers . . in their search for truth regarding bizarre crime scenes and elaborate pictures of gargoyles found in a book of study on McKeown's desk ( . . not to mention Orsini's discovery of a missing painting hidden in the Catholic church she is working on containing a gargoyle ) they will soon learn about a special crossbow and blood-blessed arrows meant to use on the mother gargoyle sweeping down and snatching human food . Tim Abell , a Wynorski regular , has a supporting role as Lex , a showman who passes himself off as a cult leader of vampirism finding a devoted following of goth-obsessed flunkies who frequent his club for kicks . Abell sees himself what the gargoyle can do when it swoops down taking out a gang of thugs who wish to take over Bucharest's streets . Another Wynorski regular Arthur Roberts has a small role as a Bishop who lives within the ruins of a castle on the outskirts of Bucharest who holds the special crossbow and gives knowledge to Paré and Orsini regarding the gargoyle on the loose . Serious creature feature from Wynorski plays it completely straight unlike his usual efforts , certainly relies heavily on computer generated monsters which look more like giant bats when cloaked in the darkness of night or within the catacombs underneath the graveyard . Wynorski does , when given a chance , direct films geared towards fans of sci-fi / horror / action , but rarely has sufficient funds to finance a feature with superior special effects . When the gargoyle charges towards the camera , that's when the computer generated effects are truly exposed . Wynorski actually focuses more on plot than usual with a cast keeping a straight face with Paré coasting on his charisma . I think fans of Sci-fi channel monster movies will find this better than most of their usual fare , but I'm not sure that's an insult or a compliment for Wynorski's movie . I love gargoyles , but even the finest CGI monster would pale in comparison to the animatronic wonders created by the ingenuity and artistic skill of the crew for the " Lover's Vow " tale in Tales from the Darkside-The Movie ( 1990 ) . Like other directors who wish not to give their correct name in the directorial credit , Wynorski uses the alias of Jay Andrews . The movie doesn't really separate itself from the gluttony of monster movies that have populated Sci-fi channel over the years so don't expect any really big surprises . |
436,715 | 9,938,570 | 111,082 | 5 | Scanner Cop | A former neurosurgeon named Glock ( great heavy Richard Lynch ) was put away thanks to cop Harrigan ( Richard Grove ) . Through manipulating a doctor at a psycho ward , Glock escapes , taking up with a " fortune-teller " named Zena ( Hilary Shepard ) . He seeks revenge for Harrigan's putting him away ( Glock was conducting " brain experiments " on a group of followers ) and , through a series of brainwashing tactics , has civilians killing cops they thinks are various evil concoctions based on their worst fears . Years prior to this , Harrigan was working a beat where a father was going through madness thanks to his overwhelming scanner attacks . . this mental throbbing which work as excessive migraines ( we see these mini-heads bulge from the poor guy's forehead ) as multiple voices from anyone in the general area chime in only adding to his misery . The father hadn't taken medication for his illness for days and his son Sam can only watch in horror as he almost kills not only Harrigan but throws another policeman through a wall . In an unfortunate turn of events , Sam's father is killed because of his attempts at killing those policemen . Without a home , Sam is raised by Harrigan . Sam ( Daniel Quinn ) , now an adult rookie cop , will have to help Harrigan ( now a Commander of the police force ) stop Glock by temporarily stopping the routine of medication which kept the scanner abilities dormant and quiet . As Sam remains off of them , his mind is slowly coming apart . . he must find Glock & Zena before a repeated case of what happened to his father occurs to him . Darlanne Fluegel ( TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA ) stars as Dr . Joan Alden , someone who will work closely on the case as the voice of reason who tries to keep Sam focused while assisting the police . If things get hairy or appear out of hand regarding Sam and his scanning , she'll try to be a guiding hand in him not taking things too far . Not a bad film , but nothing all that special or memorable . I can't say I didn't enjoy it , but I wasn't that overwhelmed , either . Quinn is actually quite good in the lead and Lynch is at his usual slimy best . There are some okay make-up effects showing how scanning another's mind can lead to the exposing of brain hemorrhage is one keeps the meld on too long . There's a head-explosion which is almost expected in the series . The interesting little gimmick added to the film has Lynch's baddie plated with metal on one side of his brain making it hard for Sam to scan him . |
436,091 | 9,938,570 | 294,594 | 5 | The Gathering | Christina Ricci stars as an American , Cassie , who is hit by a car belonging to the wife of a art restorer ( . . . and investigator ) , Simon Kirkman ( Stephen Dillane ) who is currently working on a top-secret project regarding the restoration of a first century church buried under earth . This church , Simon discovers , was built by Joseph of Arimathea and features the faces of a gathering of on lookers who came to the crucifixion to simply watch out of idle curiosity . It is believed that the gathering were condemned ( . . by God ? ) to wander the centuries , forced to watch the same kind of horrifying acts of violence to victims as they had during Christ's crucifixion . Something in the town of Ashby Wake is going to happen and Cassie , who can not remember much about her past , has terrible premonitions regarding certain citizens suffering brutal fates . Cassie has taken to Simon's quiet son , Michael ( Harry Forrester ) , almost mute thanks to the death of his beloved mother , and , after seeing a premonition of his own demise , sets out to stop the future act with the best of her ability . A rather imposing local mechanic , Argyle ( Peter McNamara ) , Cassie discovers , was molested by his priest and certain drunken citizens as a child , and she believes he will be behind something seriously sinister , hoping to stop him before he carries it out . She meets a likable chap who lives nearby ( . . he tells her ) named Dan ( Ioan Gruffudd ) and Cassie opens up to him about her troubling premonitions and he seems supportive , but is he really an avenger for her cause ? And , how come Cassie escaped being seriously hurt after the car hit her to begin with ? Can she save Michael and stop Argyle ? To be honest I found the premise totally silly and couldn't take it seriously . But , it is a well-made thriller that builds over time , filling in the blanks , using Ricci as our guide , along with the priest ( Simon Russell Beale ) who makes some startling discoveries regarding familiar faces which show up during several various places " to watch " horrifying deaths calculated by a supreme being who forces the gathering to forever wander in time . The film , for a while , has two alternating stories , the restoration of Joseph's church and Cassie's attempts to stop a potential disaster , with them intersecting when the faces of the gathering become better known . But , for a long period of time , director Brian Gilbert and writer Anthony Horowitz maintain a heavy level of ambiguity , providing clues using premonitions , ominous faces , past memories detailing a disturbing truth which fuels the violent rampage at the end , and a heroine with several mysteries of her own which slowly unravel as the disturbing event draws near . The themes of fate and redemption are explored and Ricci's Cassie , through her amnesia , can perhaps change an event that's set to happen , unlike the gatherers who merely await in the background to watch it all unfold . It's quite an odd concept I found rather hard to swallow , but I'm pretty sure many will find it to be thought-provoking and intriguing . Like BLESS THE CHILD , not one of Christina Ricci's better known films , but might be entertaining for fans of spiritual thrillers . |
435,951 | 9,938,570 | 32,390 | 5 | The Devil Bat | The town of Heathville's local doctor ( Bela Lugosi ) who is quite mad , unleashes a bat raised in secret laboratory to strike selected victims with a special after shave he had created . What makes Lugosi's doctor more sinister is that he's beloved by Heathville's citizenship . What pushes Lugosi's demented state of anger is the firm for which has made a lot of money off of him , though this element in the story is truthfully unconvincing and merely an escape-goat for the setting up of bat-murders . He feels rejected by those who have profited from his genius . A newspaper reporter and his photographer come to Heathville on assignment to find answers to the mystery of the bat for a special story in their rag . The key to the doctor's downfall is inevitably what draws the bat to it's victims . Ultra-low budget does perhaps limit this film and the story is just too bizarre to take at all serious , but there's a degree of joy in this film that makes it an entertaining watch . Lugosi's career didn't quite flourish like his contemporaries , and the evidence is right here in this low-grade B-film . The swooping bat and it's screeching cry as it dives for it's neck-feast is a hoot and Lugosi , bless his soul , gives what he can to a meaningless film with only it's hokey quality to advance it's recommendation . Definitely for lovers of junk-cinema . |
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