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435,779 | 9,938,570 | 92,076 | 7 | The saw is what we live by . | A direct reverse of the original , this sequel is a comedy ( albeit a twisted one ) masquerading as a horror film . There's never really a moment where you experience true horror . This film , thanks to a much larger budget , is too polished to get under the skin ( . . unless you are easily offended by cannibal jokes ) . I don't recall one genuine moment that haunts you or even scare you . Despite what happens to heroine Williams , you never feel like she'll not survive . Several of those key ingredients this film lacks is what gave the original it's punch and long-lasting status as a film that must be experienced by every horror fan . The film really boasts having Hopper in it . . though , to be honest , he's coasting here . It's Williams who gets the camera time . . well , her and Leatherface ( . . which can be a good and bad thing ) . Leatherface has all the aura of terror stripped from him here and he's more of a laughing-stock . His brothers torment him and we get an understanding of why he's so strange . The film has a tour-de-nuts performance from Moseley as the brother with a silver plate on his skull ( . . to add dimension , he often takes a hanger and peels off dead skin from his head , around the silver dome , to munch on ) and tendency to use a dead corpse as a puppet to speak through . Poor Williams just gets a raw deal as she tries being heroic , going to ex-Texas ranger Hopper with a recorded taping of a murder by Leatherface and Moseley of two college partiers . Hopper seeks vengeance for the murder of a relative at the hands of the Sawyer family . Using poor Williams , he finds their creepy lair . . an abandoned amusement park . Williams goes through pretty much the same as the original version's heroine . Her head is stuck over a bucket for great grandpa to beat over with a hammer . She gets her own friend's skinned face placed on there by Leatherface . . and is made to dance with him ! She has to fight through all kinds of hell to escape their lair after falling through a hole in the ground . This film is loaded with gore , lots of chainsaw stabbings ( . . we see Leatherface's guts hanging out as Hopper hacks away with his own chainsaw ) , and demented humor . It's overkill , but the blasted movie is so enthusiastic and over-the-top , the sequel becomes entertaining within all the madness . |
435,962 | 9,938,570 | 856,288 | 7 | À l'intérieur ( Inside ) | A deeply bitter and depressed pregnant widow , Sara ( Alysson Paradis ) whose husband died in a car crash ( . . who she indeed crashes into is of major importance later on ) is greeted by a sadistic female psychopath ( Béatrice Dalle , incredibly effective ) who desires to retrieve her unborn child . The film displays a fight for survival as anyone who enters Sara's home , whether it be her mother , friend / associate , or police , is destined to face the dangerous " la femme " who murders without restraint . For a good portion of the film , once La femme attacks her with scissors ( . . this is a weapon La femme uses frequently on many victims ) , Sara barricades herself in the bathroom behind a rather flimsy wooden door . But , as expected , Sara can not remain inside the bathroom and the inevitable confrontation will transpire . . but , not before the walls are painted red with blood , the house strewn to and fro with the bodies of those who had the misfortune of a fateful meeting with La femme . This could very well be retitled , " The Christmas Eve Massacre " as La femme , strikingly akin to The Shape of " Halloween " with how she moves in the distance / darkness and appears from the shadows as if the Angel of Death , slaughters a number of people who intrude on her mission to retrieve her prize . While I didn't find it as grisly as it's reputed to be , the film paints the screen red . Blood squirts and sprays throughout , although ( . . like a lot of slashers from the past 20 some odd years ) about 95 % of the violence occurs off-screen or out of frame . The fact that this film is proclaimed as a godsend to gorehounds , I found it a bit lacking . The scissors , which La femme uses as her basic weapon , is mostly shown rising into strike position with the film going to the next scene as her hand comes down . Like a lot of slashers , we get more of the aftermath of Le femme's carnage , than weapons penetrating flesh . There's one scene , quite memorable , where a sewing needle is stabbed into the neck of an innocent from Sara's own hand , which shows blood gush , but this is one of a choice few scenes that really shows the violence in detail . I consider it a success for directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury , because their film is heralded as the " ne plus ultra " in graphic bloodletting yet so much of what happens to victims is handled away from the eyes of the viewer , leaving the ultimate effect to our imagination ( . . such as the scene where La femme catches her quarry in a vulnerable position , when Sara's arm is reaching through a hole in the bathroom door trying to free herself so she can escape . . La femme sticks Sara's hand through the wall with scissors , yet we never see the act , just the result ) . I like how the film photographs La femme as a lurking unstoppable menace . . I do think she resembles The Shape in this regard , especially . Yet , the agenda of La femme's is cleverly executed . . what motivates her rage is told to us right from the get-go . There's a striking image , my favorite of the film , where Sara leaves the comfort of her hideaway , as a police officer ( . . with a prisoner handcuffed to him , as if a mutt on a leash ) looks for the circuit-breaker after La femme turns out the power , where she lies on her bed , with hair completely open , bloody face , and bloody stomach . . it's the way the scene is lit and how she appears to have finally surrendered to fate . Of course , like most protagonists in slashers , Sara will defend herself in various ways against her pursuer . I particular like how she uses aerosol spray effectively against La femme , who is a cigarette smoker . Since I mentioned " Halloween " and how La femme ( . . interesting how she has no definitive name ) favors The Shape , I also found similarities in how the French directors use a singular location , the claustrophobic confines Sara finds herself , eerily similar to the home invaded by Michael with Laurie Strode trying to hide the best she could . . and in " Halloween " there is an effective use of a sewing needle against The Shape . I have noticed that the film's main criticism is the use of computer graphics for the infant , but , in actuality , this didn't bother me that much . There were certain situations , artistic and otherwise , that needed particular elaboration , for story-telling purposes , and I think this perhaps could only be accomplished through CGI . |
436,473 | 9,938,570 | 67,983 | 7 | Whoever Slew Auntie Roo ? | Rosie Forrest ( Shelley Winters ) , as the film presents in the opening singing to her daughter who is a rotted corpse , is pretty mad you could say . The mansion she lives in was obviously constructed at her late magician husband's command since the daughter's room is so well hidden within secret passageways , if ( . . and when ) the police were to search for someone ( or two , to be precise ) it's nearly impossible unless you know the right button to push and the specific door to enter . We are presented with two orphans , Christopher and Katy ( Mark Lester and Chloe Franks ) notorious for their constant attempts at running away and misbehaving ( they give their " den-mother " the silent treatment out of protest for having to return to the orphanage ) . 10 children , the kindest of the orphanage , are selected to spend Christmas with Rosie , and Christopher & Katy are NOT on that list . Yet , they take it upon themselves to hide in the luggage cart of the carriage anyway and are invited into the bosom of Rosie . Rosie often sees a corrupt con-artist , Mr . Benton ( Ralph Richardson ) who pretends to be a medium who can contact her late daughter Katherine . A child's voice claiming to be Katherine is actually the maid conspiring with the butler scamming cash from Rosie when Benton separates their cut . Albie ( Michael Gothard ) presents himself quite the loyal butler attending to Rosie's every need until that right moment when he can get a big payday through some sort of blackmail . Albie knows Rosie is bonkers and buys his time . That time may've arrived in the luggage cart for Christopher believes Rosie is a witch and that he and Katy are to be stuffed in an oven and eaten when she's gets a chance ( Christopher compares their situation to the dark fairy tale , Hansel and Gretel . . an aspect the film tries in every way to exploit throughout even using Christopher's narration parlaying excerpts from the story ) . What does happen is that Rosie sees Katherine in Katy and really wishes for her to stay . . without Christopher who becomes Rosie's arch nemesis . Both scheme against one another as Christopher finds the room where the dead daughter is locked away and sees Rosie singing to her . The final thirty or so minutes is Christopher trying to rescue Katy ( . . and himself ) from the clutches of Rosie who keeps the entire house locked away . Katy is kept locked away in Katherine's old room while Rosie forces Christopher to assist her in everyday chores once Albie and the maid exit the premises with a nice fat check through blackmail ( Albie threatens to expose Katy's whereabouts when Rosie informs the orphanage that she must've disappeared ) . The ending is quite twisted . . if you have an understanding of the dark fairy tale mentioned throughout , then you might have an inkling what I'm talking about . I'll be honest , this is really a sick little number . It exploits a mentally woman for comedy using the death of a daughter as the catalyst . It also is quite disturbing as a misunderstanding through the paranoid mind of a boy leads to a horrible tragedy . Even more so twisted is that Christopher understands where Rosie keeps her expensive jewelry and steals it , burying them in a hole within this teddy bear Katy insists on getting ( it was Katherine's ) . If you want me to tell the truth the boy protagonist isn't the kindest , most pleasant kid in the world . . anything but . He's just a smaller version of Albie . But , poor Rosie is used by everyone in the film . Everyone preys on her mental weaknesses . The really crazy part is this film plays Rosie's madness for snickers . I think this film works best for those with a macabre sense of humor . Not for all tastes , that's for sure . |
435,960 | 9,938,570 | 35,489 | 7 | The Undying Monster | The House of Hammond is burdened by a family history of suicides at the supposed sight of a monster . When a nurse . . and Oliver Hammond ( John Howard ) , who now owns the current estate of his family . . is attacked at the edge of a sea-side cliff next to the lane traveling to the Hammond estate , Scotland Yard science detectives Curtis ( James Ellison ) and his unflappable assistant Christy ( the delightful Heather Thatcher ) are called on to solve the mystery that has shrouded the family for centuries . Also left mangled and torn at the scene of the attack is a dead cocker spaniel dog . The troubling aspect of this crime scene , where it appears as if a savage animal of some sort committed the carnage , is that there are no footprints leaving a trace of what caused such a violent rampage . With the nurse unconscious in a coma and slowly withering away from a severe brain hemorrhage , amazingly Oliver is recuperating well despite some nasty cuts and bruises he supposedly suffered at the hands of whatever caused the attacks . When asked about what committed the attacks , though , Oliver's muddled story leaves little for Curtis and Christy , and the village police , to go by . Ruffling the feathers of the Hammonds and their hired help , it appears that secrets are being held from Curtis and Christy as they pursue the truth behind the deaths that have plagued this family for so long . Also acting suspiciously is the village doctor , Jeff Colbert ( Bramwell Fletcher ) who seems to be deliberately making things difficult for Curtis such as muffling the footprints left on the floor of a secret locked room , or his taking the Hammond family history book from a library before the detective could retrieve it . And , curiously , why would a renowned brain specialist leave London for a small village position ? Would it be that he has designs on marrying Helga Hammond ( Heather Angel ) who would be sole heir of her family estate if Oliver was out of the way ? Curtis and Christy will have to use their scientific methods of spectrum DNA analysis , which has solved cases in the past , if they wish to figure out what monster , or possible human murderer , is behind the death of the nurse who would succumb to her injuries . Before directing " The Lodger " , John Brahm does what he was commissioned to do . . bring an atmospherically crafted mystery , shooting from all sorts of fantastic angles , with his cunning abilities using the camera , fluidly expressing a sense of style that would later cement his legacy as a quietly underrated genius . You can see how Universal inspired other studios in just how " The Undying Monster " opens . I felt the " bending trees " which populate the surrounding areas of the Hammond estate , and the massive studio sets representing the inside of Hammond castle ( . . and the mausoleum housing the Hammond ancestry ) , resemble " Frankenstein " more than " The Wolf Man " , the model obviously for the werewolf theme in " The Undying Monster " . You can certainly see what skills director Brahm had in the studio system such as the opening shot where the camera eyeballs various Hammond staples in the living room of the castle , and the nurse running for her life down the lane as the camera follows her from a distance . I loved one particular shot where Brahm's camera captures a conversation behind the rising flames of a fireplace . The monster itself , certainly a werewolf style which resembles the iconic Jack Pierce standard , only makes a major appearance at the end . . only do we get a good look at it's face , with the director using the usual dissolves from hair to face when we find out who is plagued with lycanthropy . A good portion of this film , though , is the unveiling of a mystery , with Curtis discovering what secrets this family might be hiding , while also utilizing the new methods of investigation to find about about strange evidence in order to find out what caused the attacks that lead to an unfortunate death . The script has the family's past as sordid with supposedly a member selling his soul to the devil . That kind of reputation only fuels the idea of a monster , with the family's name continuously remaining notorious . As each suspect is ruled out , Curtis , a scientist who scoffs at the notion of the supernatural , will discover , through science no less , just who his culprit actually is . Lycanthropy , in this film , is looked at as an affliction of a diseased mind , passed down through the generations . Thanks to Brahm's sure hand , and an interesting script , this film rises above being just a Wolf Man rip-off . But , this was just a stepping stone to greater triumphs , with " The Undying Monster " serving as a template where Brahm would lay the stylistic groundwork for what was to come later . |
436,868 | 9,938,570 | 286,214 | 7 | Texas Chainsaw Massacre-The Shocking Truth | Fascinating documentary detailing the behind-the-scenes development of the cult favorite Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE , with telling interviews from cast and crew . You learn about all facets of the film's beginning to end , and the aftermath regarding it's popularity , featuring interesting comments about how difficult it was to shoot in the Texas heat , how certain aspects of it's design came about , and open discussions regarding many of it's most important scenes , acted and presented . I found art designer Robert Burns ' comments most fascinating as it is obvious his disdain for director Tobe Hooper , and his negative reaction to the movie itself . Also brought up are the hostile feelings of several cast members towards Paul A Partain who stayed in character ( . . he was the whiny wheelchair bound crippled brother to Marilyn Burns ' Sally Hardesty ) really getting on their nerves , and how Robert Burns went about his duties at creating such an incredible atmosphere regarding animal bones . We find out about how nearly all involved were paid little for their services despite major box office gross . We listen to how Marilyn Burns was physically abused in her role , such as when she's hit across the head with a broom ( . and especially when she leaps through a window reluctantly ) . I recommend this documentary to TCM die-hards for you're provided a wealth of info on the film . The interviews are quite candid , with few holding anything back . You can sense that the film's shoot was a very difficult experience for many people . . the infamous dinner table scene was particularly grueling for those who were participants . Also brought up are the subsequent sequels , and how they were managed badly by studios , none able to match the intense and harrowing original masterpiece . |
436,332 | 9,938,570 | 95,924 | 7 | Pulse | An electrical force ( possibly alien , although the director , who also wrote it , doesn't specify exactly ) terrorizes The Rocklands ( Cliff De Young & Roxanne Hart ) . Bill Rockland's young son David ( remember Joey Lawrence ) comes to stay in LA for the summer . The entire family begin to notice their appliances and mechanized systems are malfunctioning often effecting even their water . Soon violence will erupt with scary results . The director Paul Golding does a good job with showing us how the force takes over mechanical devices with starling effects . We see this mechanical fungus-like evolution forming . . I've never seen anything quite like it . Golding also enforces our dependency on electrical appliances and machinery as we have moved into a more modern age . It's a set-up " what-if " scenario with the force working almost as a virus moving from house to house effecting those who live within each place one at a time . Obviously , those on the outside look at the victims of the pulses as crazy . . that is until it happens to them next . |
436,155 | 9,938,570 | 62,870 | 7 | Justine | Sisters raised in a convent , Justine , naive & virtuous innocent , and Juliette , wholeheartedly prepared for any wiles of carnal desire the world has to offer , are sent out after the loss of their parents and finances run out . While Juliette dives in head first without a second thought into a wicked world , embracing it to the fullest , Justine is almost like a rabbit tossed into a den of lions . Her trust in people leads to being taken advantage of , penniless , destitute , on the run for crimes she didn't commit , and facing perilous situations towards her life and virginity , seemingly always able just to escape by the skin of her teeth through fate and happenstance . Meanwhile , Juliette , commits the very atrocities Justine is accused of , and rises through society living lavishly , but never emotionally fulfilled . All the while the film returns to the Marquis De Sade ( . . the always powerful Klaus Kinski , showing a very tormented man seething with agony like an imprisoned zoo animal longing to escape his misfortune ) , behind a jail cell , alone and haunted by his muses , the very creations of Justine and Juliette as their story unfolds . Essentially a series of ( mis ) adventures as Justine seeks shelter from a world that wants to devour her . . nearly every possible sanctuary from harm seems to hold someone ( . . or multiple someones ) with sinister intent . Just when you think Justine might've finally escaped the evils of the world around her , someone hostile spoils her happiness . While one is branded a thief and murderous who is not guilty of the crimes against her , the other does commits these deeds and reaps the benefits substantially . . perhaps the Marquis sees the world through a different pair of eyes , as in his story those who take to committing wicked and carnal acts are rewarded while virtue and innocence leads to mistreatment and cruelty . Or , in order to survive in such a harsh and barbarous environment , one must succeed and triumph by being ever more treacherous , sadistic and savage . . . obviously the examples of Madame Dusbois ( Mercedes McCambridge , living it up in her role as one of those devouring lions who poses a major threat to Justine , even after the poor girl helps her escape prison and a certain hanging for a list of deeds committed against mankind ) and Juliette work in this line of reasoning's favor . Yet , by the end , Justine is justified for hanging tough and enduring each and every hardship faced along life's way . Juliette sees that the lifestyle she has lived leaves her an empty void yet unfilled despite being where she is , and Justine , having found love through a kind , handsome artist , has come full circle understanding the world for what it is . I think the story of these two sisters is perfect material for a director like Jesús Franco who operates without restraint working with more of a budget . While I believe many will find the film frustrating as Franco uses zoom and often toys with focus ( . . although , I think it works to great advantage in the opening as we see De Sade moving throughout his jail cell while the characters of Justine and Juliette take shape in his mind while also presenting themselves " in person " ) , I think this is one of his best films , using the locations at his disposal to full effect , actually having the ability to establish time and place thanks to period costumes and lavish sets . I think many will find his cast rather average to hammy . I relished McCambridge and LOVED how Franco introduces her . The camera moves with her in frame as Dubois exposes the joy of being who she is . . through McCambridge we can see that she basks in the lifestyle she has led up until this point , not expecting to die . I thought Dubois was one of the most entertaining characters in the film , far more lively and ferocious than Romina Power as Justine , whose performance never dramatically cuts the mustard ( . . it almost appears as if she's about to crack a smile , even as her character faces dangerous situations , remaining fresh-faced and bubbly like a school girl ) . Franco mentions in an interview that he wanted Rosemary Dexter ( who plays Juliette's murdering cohort and lover ) for the role of Justine , who could display the pleasures that were starting to form through the agonies occurring to her . I think one can see in her opening scene in the Paris brothel that this would've been more ideal casting . . just the way she lies in a room presents something unique and interesting . Maria Rohm fits her seductive role as Juliette , this type of casting works because she has the type of look the character needs . I did think Romina Power had this precocious child-like spirit that Franco elicits for the character of Justine , and she certainly is a gorgeous creature , young with a " post-card " beauty which photographs well , but there's not an iota of depth . Franco admits that he often even shot Power's scenes as Justine when she had no idea they were for the movie ! Fans of Jack Palance will revel in his deranged portrayal of a " minister " , who operates a sect of monks who use females left behind by the world as examples of their doctrines of pleasure through pain . . often almost a drunken buffoon spouting gibberish as if he were on the verge of a nervous breakdown , this might also leave some who have seen Palance elsewhere burying their heads in their laps in embarrassment . I'm not sure if this is the user comment to read because I thoroughly enjoyed the film despite it's various weaknesses . Sure , I agree that Franco doesn't tap into the beast as he could ( . . because it's certain that there's room for some serious exploitation and brutality that goes unfurled ) , but I found this film stylistically inspired , specifically his use of color , camera-work , and setting . I do wonder what the film could've been if Franco had been able to use his choice for Justine . |
436,689 | 9,938,570 | 62,865 | 7 | Day of the Evil Gun | Not bad little western starring Glenn Ford as Lorne Warfield , a gunfighter who has had his belly-full of killing and just wishes to carve out a new life with his wife and two daughters . When he finds they have been kidnapped by Apaches , Warfield will have quite a few obstacles in his path before he can rescue them . Arthur Kennedy has the best role of the film as Owen Forbes , a man in love with Warfield's wife and resents the man for walking out on his family . Forbes is slowly growing accustomed to killing as many will die by his gun along the way . Warfield is always looking over his shoulder in regards to Forbes but will have to form a partnership with him in order to somehow survive an accompaniment of ordeals along the way such as Army deserters wishing to make a trade with those Apaches who have kidnapped Warfield's family . They'll have to contend with Mexicans , also . The film is excellently photographed by cinematographer W Wallace Kelley , especially many numerous long shots which really open wide the hot desert landscape Warfield must ride ( . . and walk ) along the way . But Kelley's marvelous camera-work during the Apache attack on the small town filled with betrayed Army deserters led by John Anderson's Jefferson Addis , is wonderful to behold . Probably my favorite sequence is when Warfield and Forbes have been tied up to be meat for the buzzards as we watch and wonder in horror how they'll ever escape this ordeal . When you have Glenn Ford and Arthur Kennedy as your leads , a film would be hard to dislike . This one does have a rather routine plot , but as I mention above the cast and photography is first-rate . |
436,317 | 9,938,570 | 78,437 | 7 | Jungle Holocaust | Two oil men , Robert ( Massimo Foschi in a very demanding role ) and Rolf ( Ivan Rassimov ) get lost in the wilderness and have to fend for their lives in the jungle populated by a Cannibal tribe whose methods hearken back to the Stone Age . They get separated after an unfortunate incident riding a river when their raft breaks apart on top of rocky rapids . Robert especially finds himself in a precarious position . He is taken by a tribe , raped of his clothes , and imprisoned for use as an alligator target ( they use various animals to trap alligators for their meat ) . Somehow Robert must find away out of their clutches and back to the airstrip holding the airplane that brought him to the godforsaken jungle . With a female Pulan ( Me Me Lai ) he will need her to introduce him to foods or means of nourishment to stay alive . But , the presence of those cannibals always weighs on Robert's mind . More of a survivalist drama than a horror film shows various snakes feeding ( such as a fruit-bat & Gila monster ) and does show the cannibals partake in a human meal . Stnningly photographed and quite exciting , this film surprised me a bit as we see Robert slowly descend into a primitive in order to make it in this beast of a habitat . |
436,703 | 9,938,570 | 107,076 | 7 | Hunting season . . is over . | Emil Fouchon ( Lance Henriksen ) and Pik van Cleef ( Arnold Vosloo ) have a very lucrative business that pays in dividends . . and cost men their lives . They give their bored wealthy clients prey to hunt down and kill in this umpteenth variation of The Most Dangerous Game . It's rife with poetic violence thanks to director John Woo's always flashy style , but don't look for some sort of deep , thought-provoking experience because this is the type of genre film bent on showing bodies being shot to kingdom come and lots of slow-motion gunplay with explosions galore . That stuntman for Van Damme is quite amazing although the wig he's saddled with isn't too convincing . Van Damme portrays Chance Bourdreaux , a man who gets involved when assisting Yancy Butler's Natasha Binder . . a woman searching for whoever murdered her father . It all leads to Emil's business and how he likes to use those somewhat skilled ( . . and desperate ) in how to survive often finding war vets and the like . What Emil never counted on was a real challenge in Chance who seems indestructible and flat-out hard to kill . Soon , Chance and Natasha are on the lam . Wilford Brimley portrays Uncle Bouvee , a dear ally to Chance and knows how to shoot an arrow from his bow with a marksman's skill . This film has lots of of what you expect from an actioner from a director known for setting up amazing sequences of bullet-infested violence , but there's little real time in this for character development . Seems most of the attention was devoted to how Van Damme could kick a guy while shooting him at the same time , or how to find various ways to shoot a person . Then there's the awesome sequence where Henriksen is really on fire when he removes his coat . . THAT was stunning and I personally commend the actor for staying in that moment even as it was life-threatening . Fun , in a brainless sort of way , but doesn't hold up next to Woo's masterworks with Chow Yun Fat , HARD TARGET is merely an ant stomped under foot against HARD BOILED or THE KILLER . Henriksen and Vosloo are great as the heavies , though . |
436,207 | 9,938,570 | 76,731 | 7 | Snowbeast | Rills ski lodge's Winter Carnival faces a major crisis . . the tourist festivities , including the Snow Queen Pageant , have been interrupted by a carnivorous Yeti on the prowl for humans to munch . It'll be up to Tony Rill ( Robert Logan ) , director of operations with grandma Rill ( . . veteran actress Sylvia Sidney ) over the lodge , newly employed Olympiad skier Gar ( Bo Svenson ) scarred by recent failures at living up to his past successes at his profession along with estranged news reporter wife Ellen ( . . the absolutely stunning Yvette Mimieux ) , and Sheriff Paraday ( Clint Walker ) to catch and kill the snow creature terrorizing the slopes and mountain wilderness near the lodge . I think this film will be more of a treat for Sasquatch / Yeti movie aficionados than the average horror fan . This is every bit the television movie ( . . back when television movies were all the rage before cable became such a presence ) with the film at times pinpointing the complications of Gar and Ellen's failing marriage and how the perilous situation at hand brings them closer than ever before . There are no Yeti gore attacks , with this film often showing a white furry arm with sharp claws either grabbing victim's heads or coming towards potential innocents as the screen merely fades into blood red at obvious commercial breaks ( . . the blood red screen fade outs were a nice little visual trick I enjoyed ) . I think what truly enhances this particular Yeti monster movie is the incredibly gorgeous Colorado locations with director Herb Wallerstein and expert cinematographer Frank Stanley ( The Eiger Sanction ; Thunderbolt and Lightfoot ) often focusing on how the sun shines over the mountainous landscape with the snow traveling with the wind . . the idea that such an ideal picturesque place could harbor such a predatory beast is , in my opinion , this little movie's greatest strength . It helps when a television director has such a gifted camera-operator because Stanley is used a great deal with Wallerstein almost completely depending on point-of-view shots with the snow creature spying on potential victims through trees , establishing the beast's presence with it's arm often moving branches out of the way ( . . the creature's presence is also signified by it's intense growl , increasing in noise when it draws closer to lunch meat ) . I think many will find " Snowbeast " tedious viewing because of the melodramatics regarding the Sebergs and a slow-moving approach gradually developing towards the climactic showdown between Svenson's Gar and the snowbeast after it causes an avalanche of logs which tip over their RV ( . . trapping the poor sheriff ) . Following the wake of the Spielbergian juggernaut JAWS , many films thereafter would feature an authoritative figure ( . . in this film , the sweet-hearted elder Sidney ) wanting the knowledge of a potential monstrous threat ( . . instead of the shark , this film's is the Yeti ) held in quiet out of fear that tourism would be drastically effected ( . . instead of the Amity beach , this film is set in the Colorado ski lodge ) , only to face the horrifying consequences ( . . the beast attacks during the pageant with tourists running for their lives in fright ) . Solid cast also boosts this obscure creature feature . |
435,800 | 9,938,570 | 455,135 | 7 | The Eye3 | Chongkwai ( Ray MacDonald ) purchases a " cursed " book which depicts various methods of seeing and encountering ghosts from the spiritual world . He invites a group of friends from Hong Kong to his home in Thailand and they decide to see if the book can actually perform the tasks it represents . In doing so , one of the group , Kofei ( Yu Gu ) comes up missing during their forest hide-n-seek game using a cat thanks in part to a ghost who " masks " him from them . Haunted by his disappearance , upon returning to Hong Kong , May ( Kate Yeung ) & Teddy ( Bo-lin Chen ) begin experiencing ghostly apparitions popping up throughout the city with a grief-stricken April ( Isabelle Leong ) making a drastic decision in order to find Kofei , for whom she believes is dead . May & Teddy will accept a dangerous mission , entering the spirit world as if dead ( . . another method in the book is sleeping while dressed in burial clothes ) to find Kofei . . and April who has become missing as well . The Pang Bros take the franchise into a completely different direction , sacrificing some genuine scares , adopting an almost entirely light-hearted approach to those scary spirits who walk amongst the living . Even the title opening credits are played out in a colorfully jokey manner . But , when the gang play around with the spiritual world , the tone shifts somewhat , but the Pang Brothers always implement some tongue-in-cheek gag that removes the sheer horror of the situation . An example being when Teddy is temporarily taken over by a spirit who has him break-dancing in a contest with a couple of clowns . It's hard to really be scared of an umbrella floating in the air , although May certainly is terrified . Who would've ever thought a basketball could be used as a scare device ? And , most of the book's methods of contacting the spirit world are rather silly such as tapping on bowls at Midnight with chopsticks awaiting hungry spirits , or looking between your legs for a spirit . I did love this one developed sub-plot regarding a dead girl who had no idea she was deceased , discovering this only after finding her corpse video-recorded at a crime scene thanks to Teddy's morbid voyeurism ; she even tries to stop the camcorder with her hand going through the object . The special effects are impressive . I thought the spirits were creepy enough when they expose themselves . I found the twist at the end regarding May and Teddy's fate rather amusing and it fits in with the overall mood of this film . If you are looking for an Asian terror tale , look elsewhere , because The Bros Pang just weren't in the mood this time around . I think the comedic tone will repel some viewers because the cover of the DVD I rented promised something terrifying . But , to be honest , the first two films were full of such despair and angst , it was refreshing to see the third film a bit more cheerful and playful . |
436,565 | 9,938,570 | 83,336 | 7 | Wolfen | Detective Albert Finney must figure out what is causing vicious canine-like attacks on people . The case really doesn't take shape , despite many street denizens , derelicts , and hobos being viciously torn apart , until a wealthy business man , van der Veer ( behind a major ground breaking undertaking ) is killed . What baffles police is how one man of such prominent means is killed the same as the forgotten who live around the filthy places . Finney will seek the help of coroner Gregory Hines ( steals every scene he's in ) , psychologist Diane Venora ( quite the looker back in the day ) and animal specialist / zoologist Tom Noonan for understanding just what types of predators he's dealing with . The film takes on a different spin regarding the werewolf genre than it's associates that came out the same year ( " An American Werewolf in London " ; " The Howling " ) in that these creatures are closer to actual canine than your typical " man gets bit by a werewolf and turns due to a Full Moon Curse or any other decided shape-shifting ability " . Also , Native American folklore and the understanding of this certain type of wolf ruled extinct thanks to human hunters comes into play in this story . It's truly a parable of man against nature in a state of unbalance when a hunting ground is disturbed . I didn't really buy the ending . . I actually thought it was kind of ridiculous . . but enjoyed the mystery and suspense leading up to the final twenty minutes or so . The " urban blight " photography and the " through the eyes of the hunter " steadi-cam make this film a much more rewarding experience that perhaps makes up for the ponderous ending that came off heavy-handed to me . Good cinematography of the city overall and a capable cast take this beyond where it could've easily wound up . . a promising werewolf tale in an urban setting that falls under the weight of it's supposed message regarding man's disruption of a natural way of life . |
436,000 | 9,938,570 | 416,315 | 7 | The Scarecrow reviews " Wolf Creek " Intense Spoilers | I'll start with the entire " based on a true story " aspect of the film . If Ben is locked away in a room to himself , how could the other two girls ' stories be told ? How do we know the situations they face have any merit ? Or is the whole " based on a true story " merely a fake tag in the vein of " Blair Witch Project " ? I totally agree with buddy that the director ( or , maybe my gripe is toward the editor ) seems to shifts focus unevenly . I agree with buddy that intercutting would've worked ten times better continually giving us different perspectives . Ben gets to escape and into the forest he goes , but we follow the black haired girl for most of the way , then collapsing into the blonde haired girl's story immediately . There doesn't seem to be a balance between all three victims . I agree with buddy that the ending is abrupt and rather unsatisfying . That's why I questioned whether this was really based on a true story or a writer's way of predicting a possible true story that MIGHT occur in the quiet reaches of the Outback . I'll say this the film certainly didn't help the tourist trade any . My major problems with the film concern the black haired girl who just makes ineptitude an artform . For instance , she shoots the bastard and has him laying on the ground . What does she do ? She hits him a mere two times on the strong part of the back . Me ? I'm gonna smash the bastard's head it with the butt of that rifle until I see his freakin ' brains . But , it doesn't stop there . She has to head back to the bastard's place because she couldn't finish the job to start with and the bloke follows them to a cliff where she and the blonde push their vehicle over trying to trick the bastard into believing they were dead . He doesn't fall for it and now they have to hit the ground on foot as he surveys the damage . The black haired chick tells the blonde to stay put because she was slowing her down ( I don't know about you , but the blonde should've punched her lights out for proposing such a thing ) ! So the black haired girl makes it back to the bloke's place , even finds a gun and loads it . What does she do ? She decides to head over to this little shed like thing ( anyone give me a reason why and I'll be more than thankful ) and subsequently loses the gun ! But , it doesn't stop there . Instead of finding the proper weapon and waiting to kill his butt , she decides to snoop through the private belongings of past victims ( anyone keen enough should see this was simply a screenwriter's way of impacting the viewer through showing us all the innocents this bloke has killed along the way . . an emotional parlor trick ) ! The time she wastes doing this could've been better served finding some kind of weapon and preparing for the bloke to come back . It still doesn't stop there . The black haired girl finds several cars in a parking lot . She goes into one of them and cranks it up . The bloke is right behind her and stabs her ( reminding us of Myers first visual kill in " Halloween " ) through the back . Now , how could he guess which car she'd choose and how could he get in without her hearing ? ! I'm sorry I go on this way because I think this film really builds up the characters well . They are human , not just clones of past characters from slashers with little more depth that an egg shell . I love the photography and like how he operates using the beauty of Austrailia ( and the wide scope of this country ) as both a pleasure and horror . I think the aspect of " where do you run when you don't know where you are " definitely works in this film . It taps into my hidden fears ( being far away from the existence of people and having no escape ) and I responded to it . I think the film works on many levels . I still find it flawed ( I hope I made myself clear on why I thought it was flawed above ) and think it lacks tight enough editing . To be based on a true story , I find too many things quite ridiculous . . such as the bloke's marksmanship shooting . I just don't think this guy could be this good with a rifle . I just don't see how anyone would leave a man on the floor without making sure he was dead . |
436,678 | 9,938,570 | 92,147 | 7 | Vamp | To become members of a fraternity , AJ ( Robert Rusler ) concocts a scheme to get in by bringing a hooker to their party . He'll persuade his pal , Keith ( Chris Makepeace ) to use nerdy , rich Duncan's ( Gedde Watanabe , scene stealing as always ) car . . and wallet . . to drive to the city to pick up a hooker ( . . or hookers , but preferably one will be sufficient ) . They immediately run into a no-good albino thug ( Billy Drago ) and his group and escape a scrape . But , their night takes a turn for the worse when they find a strip club , called " After Hours " whose boss , Katrina ( Grace Jones ) is an Egyptian vamp . The ones under her employ are vamps as well , and soon poor AJ will make the mistake of meeting Katrina in her living quarters back stage after her provocative , unusual number for the crowd of patrons . She'll tear into his neck leaving him for dead . . until they find out that he was not alone and actually had two friends along , Keith and Duncan . Luckily , a non-vamp , Amaretto ( Dedee Pfeiffer , who is a wonderful , welcome presence ) who had a past kiss with Keith will assist him when he's running for his life and looking for AJ , who had been temporarily disposed . But , Keith doesn't just have the vamps to contend with , the Albino has rounded up his gang of co-horts so escape for the poor guy seems nearly impossible . That's not counting the number of vamps who live around the club and underneath in the abandoned sewer system below . Finding that his best friend is indeed a vampire , Keith and AJ have a very awkward moment where friendship will be called into question as the blood-thirst becomes unbearable . Keith will find that a route out of the clutches of those vamps around him seems almost impossible as even his friends are after his blood . It'll come down to Keith and Amaretto to somehow find a way out of the situation they find themselves as even Duncan is turned over to the dark-side , and even escaping in a car will be a daunting task as garbage men are " corrupted " by Katrina as well . Katrina has a man under her , Vic ( Sandy Baron ; always dreaming about Vegas ) that watches after things in the club . . always returning to Katrina when mistakes are made by her hired help or when things regarding their secret may be divulged . Silly , colorful , stylish 80's vampire comedy is quite lurid thanks to the setting around the strip club . The casting excels as Makepeace is quite a likable hero displaying his dismay , confusion , and horror at what is taken place around him . Sandy Baron has some of the best lines as he explains to Makepeace about there being no escape and that their business is a lucrative one for it eliminates the degenerate slime of the world by making them lunch . Watanabe carries a facade of sophistication trying to sound rich with his voice . . he so desperately craves to belong to a popular group and Keith & AJ provide that glimmer of hope as he often shells out bucks for their beer amongst other things . Then you have Pfeiffer as the sweet , bubbly love-interest with an aura of natural charm . She really shines bright , radiating such an , at times , quite sleazy flick . And , she's sexy to boot which is a knock-out combination , a winning role she should be proud of . Rusler has some great moments as a conflicted vampire , trying to determine what's best when faced with possibly drinking his best friend's blood or falling on the stake . Except for a jaw-droppingly bizarre opening act , Grace Jones has limited time on screen . Her dance number stops the show , though . . it's hard to forget . And , her feast of Rusler's neck is quite gruesome . She's equally exotic and menacing , never uttering a word , using her sheer presence to seduce and captivate the viewer . Good make-up effects , and a heavy dose of humor really make this a surprising gem ready for fans of 80's horror . It is a required taste , however , for it dwells in some rather scuzzy places . Great use of neon shading the buildings , streets , and sewers bring an atmosphere that reminds us of the time this flick was made . Billy Drago has like 5 or so minutes and compliments Grace in the menace department . . although , his work is often used for laughs , even though his intensity is at a high as he confronts our heroes ready to inflict damage . The violence includes a stripper vampire stabbed in the heart by the heel of a stiletto shoe , a heart ripped from the chest of an employee by Jones who was displeased with her mistake at selecting a victim with friends , and a smashing finale where we see a vampire's face strip away at the sight of sunlight . And , Jones ' transformation ( . . teeth protruding , eyes rolling back , toe nails extending ) into a vampire is eerie , and her ripping away at the neck wound of a victim she's feeding from is perfectly savage . Really has that kind of off-the-wall , disastrous , exhausting " night in the life " premise where a character escapes one perilous situation after another , wondering , like the viewer , what could possibly happen next . . maybe , that's what draws me to this movie . |
436,074 | 9,938,570 | 74,559 | 7 | Futureworld | A newspaper writer , Chuck ( Peter Fonda ) uncovers a possible secret plot by the diabolical Dr . Schneider ( John P . Ryan ) when an employee within the Delos corporation ( which has now created another paradise such as the Westworld of the first film except this time it's almost completely operated by androids ) has evidence of a corrupt nature . Assigned to partake in a trip to Delos , along with famous television reporter , Tracy Ballard ( Blythe Danner ) who deems him a relic saying the television medium is the better way to produce news to the community at large , Chuck notices how most on the guest list are high-ranking political members from various countries which seems rather fishy . Thanks to an employee , Harry ( Stuart Margolin ) who works most of the water systems of Delos ( the androids have the weakness of not being able to withstand liquid for it fries their electrodes and inside circuitry ) Chuck and Tracy find that Schneider is creating duplicates from the cells of those who make their way to Delos , tapping each's drink with sleeping medication while they are being probed and scanned of what makes them human while immersed in a deep sleep . It's the perfect plan to rule the world really . . by killing the humans and replacing them with duplicate androids , who can be controlled by Schneider , the world is his oyster . So the film shows how Chuck and Tracy try to find a way off of Delos , while on the run from their duplicates ordered by Schneider to kill them . Exciting , popcorn thriller lifts elements from INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS very effectively . While Fonda might be very bland in the lead , his situation is what grips you . The fetching Blythe Danner is quite game , though , and is fun to watch . Yul Brynner has a cameo in a dream sequence of Tracy's . Chuck and Tracy once had a sexual relationship for which spurned the nickname of " Socks " for her . Chuck pretty much calls Tracy that throughout the film . Arthur Hill has the role of Dr . Duffy , who seems quite the diplomatic sort , but is overshadowed by the villainous John P Ryan as Schneider . The special effects are quite good as we see faces removed when certain androids are killed with the electrical work on the inside of the head . The sets are amazing as well . Just a fun sci-fi sequel to a great original film . The ending is quite satisfying . |
436,559 | 9,938,570 | 76,704 | 7 | Shock Waves | Nazi zombies rise from the watery depths to terrorize and kill a group of shipwrecked survivors on Nazi SS Commander Peter Cushing's island . That's pretty much the outline as this film follows these unfortunates who seem to have no hope at all as they run for their lives , trying desperately to find a place to hide or some sort of boat to get away . The zombies have rotten faces , blonde hair & black goggles . It seems as if the only way to kill them is to remove their goggles . The zombies preferred way to dispatch their victims is drowning . A surprisingly effective low budget wonder actually benefits from the skeletal ruin of the manor owned by mysterious Cushing and chilling score . John Carradine has a marvelous opening performance for the film . He's so much fun to watch that when he's gone you immediately miss him . Cushing is unfortunately not used as much as I'd like to see him , but provides us with certain information regarding the killer Nazi zombies . |
436,959 | 9,938,570 | 475,532 | 7 | Cello | Tragedy strikes a deeply depressed musical teacher's family as they fall prey to a vengeful ghost seeking revenge . There's a secret Mi-ju ( Hyeon-a Seong ) is hiding and we can see that whatever is plaguing her in how she carries herself and on her face . The film's most symbolic image may be several claw mark scars down her arm . . they hold a special meaning as to why Mi-ju's innocent family is being preyed upon . A student she gave a bad grade to is causing mischief which seems to have no relevance to the proceedings , but we realize that certain phone calls sent to her ( I hope you're happy . . You ought to be . . ) aren't from this rude girl . Haunting her besides these phone calls is the mental illness plaguing her autistic daughter . Mi-ju pops pills and we can see a cold distance in her marriage to businessman husband . Her sister-in-law is slowly driven crazy by the absence of her fiancé , going to school in America , who has quit calling her . Mi-ju's husband has hired a mute ( . . she swallowed acid ) housekeeper , who lost her family and once attempted suicide several times . And her normal , adorably cute daughter is a victim to the unraveling of the family . The husband , often at work or away from the malevolent occurrences damaging his family , soon himself makes discoveries involving his wife's past which yield a dead school friend of hers , a promising cello musician named Tae-yeon ( Da-an Park ) . Soon Tae-yeon's musical score shows up out of thin air as a constant reminder of that certain secret Mi-ju has kept buried which we'll soon see solving all the mysteries as to why her family suffers so . Asian ghost revenge tale where the lead protagonist is hiding something that will soon come back to haunt her . It's the whole " sins of the mother " where you can perhaps hide a truth from others , but you yourself know what really happened . Mi-ju is a failure in life , not only as a cello player , but as a mother , whose guilt and joyless existence are on display . As I mentioned above , the claw mark scars are perhaps the image one should remember for this reminds Mi-ju of her past for which she can never escape , no matter if her shirt sleeves cover them or not . Not only do the claw marks work as an interesting symbolic image for the story regarding a character's past sins , it remains in our minds for we know there is something to them as it pertains to the mystery of the film . The twist at the end is an oft-used Twilight Zone type of gimmick where a character can truly never escape from the consequences of her own actions . Some of the special effects are decently staged ( . . what happens to the sister-in-law , for example , or the image of Tae-yeon often popping up out of nowhere ) , but the film is more of a mystery unraveling with the ghost making occasional appearances as a reminder of who is causing the supernatural terror to Mi-ju's family . The violence is limited to the end as Mi-ju loses her family members one by one to " the ghost " . The use of the cello instrument is a key image throughout the film , obviously , and the autistic daughter has a significant role ( . . and is the cause of an unfortunate major family tragedy ) in the story . . perhaps she's a representative of bad karma or something regarding her mother's sins ? I was so into the story , I paid little attention to the technical side of things , but it's quite professionally made with beautiful camera-work . This is very story-driven psychological thriller with the ghost more or a less an image of Mi-ju's undoing . The creepiest image for me personally was the ghost's ghastly white hand , with those long , black finger nails crawling up the throat of Mi-ju . |
436,220 | 9,938,570 | 102,724 | 7 | Psycho IV : The Beginning | I'm free . Maybe as Norman Bates announces this at the end of the film , in a sense , not only was Norman finally cured of his Mother , but Perkins was finally free of the character that both made and abused his career . Anyway , the Norman Bates saga comes full circle and Perkins , as mentioned above , finally has the opportunity to close the door on the signature character that he could never fully escape . Norman has a way to release the horrors of his youth as a radio show on controversial topical subjects , hosted by DJ personality Fran Ambrose ( CCH Pounder , I always liked this actress ) , sets their program's night on children who murder their mothers with visiting psychologist Dr . Leo Richmond ( Warren Frost ) as their guest . Norman claims he'll murder his wife at the show's close for becoming secretly pregnant against his wishes . . Norman is frightened at the possibility that a monster will be born into this world and he will not watch it happen . The rest of the film has Norman telling of two victims he murdered shortly after his mother's demise , how his mother tormented him as a teenager , his mother's sexual relations with a brutish married man , and ultimately the poisoning of his mother and lover through the use of strychnine . As we follow the details into his life , Perkins himself often enters this world . . Norman as an adult has still not been able to release himself of the past that has haunted him . All the while , Fran tries somehow to talk Norman out of the killing of his wife . . often her task is difficult as Dr . Richmond , a doctor who has dealt with Norman in the past , often adds his two cents with terrible results . Director John Landis has a wonderfully slimy role as the radio director who loves the idea that Norman is venting his miserable past on his show thinking of the ratings . Henry Thomas ( a frequent collaborator under Mick Garris ) effectively tackles the role of a young Norman , capturing his frail psyche , not to mention his feeble ability to stand up to his mother , and the vulnerability that comes under such a devotion for someone who doesn't have the capability to love you the same way ( . . not to mention , the quiet jealousy venting under the surface ; the innocence Thomas has makes his horrendous deeds towards his victims even the more shocking ) . And , Thomas even favors Perkins quite a bit as far as his physical features . . his smallish frame works wonders for the character . Norman's mother , channeled through Olivia Hussey , is evil incarnate , a tyrant who makes Norman's life a living hell . Despite being nasty bitch , Hussey is still incredibly alluring ( . . especially when bathing herself with iced tea ) and sexy with Garris ' camera seductively capturing her . But , this film is completely B & W regarding Norman . . he's the victim in this film and Hussey with Thomas Schuster as lover Chet , are looked at with complete scorn . Those two female victims murdered are dwelt on screen with gusto . . Thomas ' Norman doesn't look like the kind of kid who would stab his first victim so heinously or strangle his second with such ferocity ( . . the second death is even more horrifying because she isn't dead , in her trunk , as the car quietly drowns into the infamous lake where Norman leaves his victims ) . While not told in sequential order , the film is so well crafted , in my opinion , I never felt confused . . this is Norman telling the story and he'll tell it how he wishes . I think Garris must've been thrilled to be the director who closes the series to such a historic character in the annals of horror . This could be his best film as he photographs Perkins and the unfolding of events quite stylishly . And , the ending , as Norman faces his demons one last time within the decrepit house on the hill , is fitting and satisfying . |
435,881 | 9,938,570 | 100,586 | 7 | Shadowzone | Surprisingly effective little sci-fi horror flick produced by Charles Band's Full Moon Pictures . Experiments funded by the military has a staggering side-effect when the head scientist , Dr . Van Fleet ( James Hong ) discovers that an alternate universe exists when a subject is induced into a vast , deep sleep . . something sinister lies on the other side and uses the subject as a portal into our world . Everyone within the underground facility are in danger as the being which has found it's way into our dimension is hostile towards those it / they consider a threat . Captain Hickock ( David Beecroft ) is investigating the mysterious death of a test subject in the underground facility and we can see that the scientists involved with the EDS ( Extreme Dream Sleep ) are hiding something . Sensing this , Hickock wishes to see the printout results on the corpse and to settle doubts that his death wasn't a result of the sleep experiment . . unconvinced of the results , and unpersuaded that Van Fleet's claims of a genetic cerebral hemorrhage as the cause are correct , he wishes to see if another current subject would suffer the exact fate if the sleep levels were the same . In doing this procedure , the current subject is induced into sleep too long and the being from the other universe is able to use him as a gateway into our plain . This puts everyone in peril for the being has the amazing power to shift it's molecular structure and can imitate anything lifted from the thoughts of humans . It travels throughout the facility and must be caught and killed or else . . once it attacks Van Fleet who had locked himself in the sleep lab with the being , we realize that it is not exactly friendly . Really neat B-movie cast includes Louise Fletcher as a rather odd scientist ( Dr . Erhardt ) who finds the being spellbinding , and seems to have been cut off from society a bit too long , and Miguel A . Núñez Jr . as computer specialist / electronics genius Wiley . If you have seen Miguel A . Núñez Jr . in other films , you can just about expect his fate . David Beecroft is your typical hero , an outsider unaccustomed to the way things are in an underground facility isolated from the world he belongs . Through Hickock , Beecroft is a no-nonsense , take-charge kind of character who is realistic and practical when faced with a really difficult situation , which he certainly inherits when searching for the truth regarding the death of a civilian . Frederick Flynn is the tobacco-chewing , easily rattled handyman , Tommy Shivers , who could use a shave , bath , and some manners . He's also really bad at his job , and we see how poorly managed and worse-for-wear the facility is as Hickock inspects the place . . pipes often spit steam , water leaks are apparent , and rats are visible in the kitchen area . Affected by earthquakes and hampered by such a small staff , the facility sure could use a make-over . The being itself is a series of monsters , not particularly as scary now due to the advancement in special effects ( . . or as effective as say Bottin's work in THE THING or Stan Winston's work in PUMPKINHEAD ) , but effectively grotesque when they pop up on characters . . the monkey creature is quite a ghastly creation . I have read about SHADOWZONE's comparison to ALIEN , but the only similarity I noticed was the plot regarding characters roaming the halls and rooms of the facility as the being is somewhere in the vicinity . . some attempting to put food together for the long haul with Hickock & Wiley attempting to repair the damaged transformer after the mishap regarding the being's entry into our universe . Shawn Weatherly is scientist Dr . Kidwell , who is so attached to her pet monkey ( . . a supposed lab animal no longer needed when Van Fleet began to test human subjects ) she'll risk her life to find it when it goes missing . . the twist regarding her finding a monkey is a doozy . Not as gory or violent as it could've been , probably due to lack of budget ( . . for a Band production , the film looks great , particularly the underground facility and it's devastated state due to natural and unnatural factors ) , but director JS Cardone is able to build the dread quite nicely due to the fact that the being could be anywhere and mimic certain things ( . . this was perhaps what many believe was ripped from THE THING , I guess , because an animal is used by the being to trick characters ) . Maureen Flaherty and Robbie Rives are the nude test subjects shown frequently in all their glory . Lu Leonard has a funny role as the rather grumpy cook dealing with a rat problem Shivers won't correct due to his procrastination . Hong is entertaining in an all-too-short role as a nervously cautious scientist worried that Hickock might make a discovery that halts the funding of his experiments . The film does feature some questionable decisions by characters who seem to leap before thinking things thru . |
435,787 | 9,938,570 | 132,910 | 7 | The Crow : Salvation | A wrongfully executed man named Alex ( Eric Mabius ) , resurrected from the dead by the crow , returns with a vengeance to find the man with a scar on his arm that killed his beloved Lauren ( Jodi Lyn O'Keefe ) . To find that man , Alex will first seek out the four men who falsely accused him on the witness stand which led to his death via electric chair . The crow will guide him on his journey to finding those responsible . Erin ( Kirsten Dunst ) , Lauren's sister , and Peter Walsh ( Grant Shaud ; was Alex's attorney ) are Alex's only allies in the search for retribution . Soon dirty cops are unmasked leading straight to the Captain ( Fred Ward ) and even Erin and Lauren's own father , Nathan ( William Atherton ) . I like this film and think the reason it turns out better than I expected is due to the heart of the picture . . one man's will to find the one's responsible for the death of his love . There is some strong talent in the cast for a direct-to-video feature and the young leads of Mabius and Dunst { . . not to mention Ward , Atherton , Midkiff , and Shaud } bring much to this film . The film's budget is exceedingly lower , but I felt it makes up for it in keeping the plot simple instead of overloading us with an overkill of sick visuals . Now , that's not to say it doesn't lack punch and edge . There are some very gruesome moments indeed and much flesh is displayed , but the levels are down exceedingly . Plus , this film doesn't make out the perversion as beautiful , but with a disdain towards those young ones exploited { example being when Alex confronts the young girl tied to a pole in the strip club owned by the dirty cops } . The film doesn't speak highly for the cops on the force under the Captain . The world of this film isn't Gothic like the other two but just as corrupt . While the other two felt like they were set in a much darker time and place , this film feels closer to our time in modern society . That might turn some away who like the dark , noirish vision of the first two . But , I do feel the heart of the story is still here and the element of man's link with the crow is quite present here . |
436,794 | 9,938,570 | 98,412 | 7 | Sundown-The Vampire in Retreat | Any film that has David Carradine as Count Dracula and Bruce Campbell as a dorky , rather inept Van Helsing descendant is gonna grab my attention . From what I understand Anthony Hickox's ( Waxwork ; Hellraiser III ) vampire western , Sundown-The Vampire in Retreat , rather lingered in obscurity which is rather surprising since it is such an interesting , colorful , sprawling , ambitious hybrid of genres . And , the film is packed full of terrific names in the cast ! For an avid horror and western fan such as myself , Hickox's film was quite a treat and I could just feel the enthusiasm behind the direction although his influences are very visible . The score is rousing and quite orchestral , despite the fact that this film is actually set in modern 1990 with family man , David Harrison ( Jim Metzler ) , wife Sarah ( Morgan Brittany ) and daughters driving into an American Western town of Purgatory to help assist an old college " pal " , Shane ( Maxwell Caulfield ) adjust a machine which might have the ability to create synthetic blood . This machine was purchased by the mysterious millionaire , Jozek Mardulak ( David Carradine ) , who is the authority over the town which consists completely of vampires who have taken a vow to not harm humans unless absolutely necessary . Interesting enough , Mardulak seeks favor from God for the murderous , blood-sucking deeds from his past with a township also guilty for those innocents who perished thanks to their thirst . But , under Mardulak's nose is his lieutenant , Ethan Jefferson ( John Ireland ) plotting to overthrow the great leader so that his race can hunt humans again . Shane joins forces with Jefferson and has plans of his own . . in a major sub-plot , it is revealed that Shane and David's wife slept together and that daughter Julie could in fact be his . Shane desires to " turn " Sarah and Julie if just for spite because he's an egotistical , arrogant , smug punk who doesn't like playing second fiddle to anybody . The problem for David is that he can not defend his honor properly because Shane has superior powers thanks to his vampiric abilities . And , also , Jefferson plans to kill all the regular citizens of Purgatory if they do not comply with demands for joining the hunt . Shane has developed a wood-tipped bullet which , when fired into the heart , splinters on impact killing the vampire . Having built an army of vampires by hunting human outsiders willing to join him , Jefferson plans an onslaught which threatens all the work Mardulak has contributed to conforming his race . A nerdy descendant of Van Helsing , Robert ( Bruce Campbell , operating his shtick without restriction ; very cartoony and animated offering quite a nervous and over-his-head , but impossibly brave hero ; quite an alternative to his Evil Dead series persona ) kidnaps a vampire diner waitress in Purgatory , Sandy ( . . the yummy beauty Deborah Foreman who steps away from her usual adorable cuteness ; quite a sexy and alluring presentation , but she had tapped into this kind of deliciousness in Hickox's previous horror flick , Waxwork ) threatening to sprinkle holy water on her if she doesn't take him to Mardulak's home . Lots of stuff going on , that's for sure . There's even time to show a frightened young couple , who witnessed their friend's beheading at the hands of hillbilly vampire , Mort ( the great M Emmet Walsh ) imprisoned next to him by the sheriff because they know too much with the town wanting to feast from them . The vampires survive off of the artificial blood Shane's machine , produced from David's schematics , and heavy UV cream . This was my first viewing of the film and as much a buff as I am , I shamefully admit to just finding out about this rather recently . I thought the film is quick paced enough to look over it's flaws , although there were times when certain performances were a bit cringe-worthy , particularly Metzler as the heroic father whose dramatic scenes with Brittany ( . . who is cute , but doesn't exactly blow you away with her performance , either ) regarding Shane are overwrought . Caulfield nails his part as the a$$hole of the film , behind the possible destruction of a family and only joining forces with Jefferson as a way to get his " property " , Sarah and Julie . Campbell and Foreman have nice chemistry together in their sweet , budding romance . But , Carradine as Dracula , masquerading as Mardulak is money and seeing him opposite old Hollywood veteran Ireland in a gunfight was sheer bliss for me . We definitely see the spaghetti western influence here . . I am pretty sure Hickox just dreamed of directing such a scenario . The vampire effects are surprisingly good , but many will probably wince at the bat creations ( . . there are different effects used such as animated and clay forms of vampires in bat-form ) . Rarely is their any fanging on screen , which was the greatest drag for this vampire cinema lover . It was a lot of fun seeing M Emmett Walsh steal entire scenes so easily and Buck Flower as a town vampire switching allegiances to Jefferson's clan ( . . his confrontation with Foreman is a doozy and his fate regarding an open umbrella is priceless ) . Ireland once again , no matter his age , finding that menace was also a pleasure and he knew how to really bare those fangs so fiendishly . Fabulous use of Moab , Utah locations shot in widescreen and the wonderful sense of irony in the plot being that these vampires , in their attempt to go straight choose such a hot place as their refuge from humankind . |
436,660 | 9,938,570 | 124,621 | 7 | The Frightened Woman | Dr . Sayer ( Philippe Leroy ) , a wealthy physician with psychological issues regarding the opposite sex , kidnaps an employee , Maria ( Dagmar Lassander ) , a free-thinking liberal woman who believes men must be the ones " fixed " instead of females . Sayer retreats to his palatial estate , running Maria through a humiliating series of mind games , threatening to molest and kill her . Sayer's desire , it seems , is to dominate her body , mind and soul , making her his sexual slave , obeying his commands , adhering to his every wish and whim . After resistance , at first , Maria slowly teeters towards his objective , but has plans of her own . . she says she wishes to help Sayer relinquish his sadistic behavior towards women , so that he could love and not feel such yearning desires to harm . It seems that Sayer has her under his grip , agreeing to certain rather embarrassing scenarios ( . . such as lotioning his toes , " making love " to a blow-up doll which is a recreation of himself , often spending time topless , and even getting hosed down when she slaps him hard across the face bringing blood from his nose ) which almost break her , but something happens as the troubled doctor slowly falls in love with Maria . . and through what appears to be a desperate attempt to end the madness , Maria gains an upper hand , toying with Sayer's lust for her body . More of a battle of wills , a kind of sexual warfare where it seems one is in charge when in fact the other truly has the upper hand . Through a great deal of the film , Sayer mistreats Maria , forcing her ( . . it seems ) to submit to his series of psychological games of a sexual nature . Her attempts to escape fail because his home is such a well designed fortress . . it's a typical European art deco kind of palace , fashioned and orchestrated by a man who has kept to this weekend retreat of his for quite a spell ( . . it features walls and doors opening at his command , with an area quarantined off for his " victims " ) . But , once Maria seemingly downs a bottle of pills as a result of her anguish at his hands , the tables are turned and she has him where she wants him . He finds that he actually craves her and Maria uses this to her advantage , playing hard to get when Sayer wishes to embrace and ravage her ( . . and , I could understand his frustration because she has this allure that can drive a man crazy ) I felt the film works , ultimately , as a war cry for women , their empowerment and uprising against men who have the notion that they should always have control , sexually and mentally . The " twist " finalizes this ideal . I couldn't swallow Sayer's fate because of his rigorous cardiovascular activity and exercise regimen . . we see how he develops his toned athletic figure , and how this regimen is part of the normal routine every weekend before the true mind games with his victim begin . If he is so well fit , and spends such time developing himself for the extracurricular activities which follow his regimen , how could he suffer the fate which follows his finalizing the deal with Maria at the end when she stops resisting his advances ? Maria , he would later admit , is the first he's actually kidnapped ; others from the past , call-girls , were paid for their services so that Sayer could feel the power of dominating a woman , even if it's all a fictitious charade brought about by a deeply troubled individual with an inability to connect with the opposite sex . The spontaneous decision to do so , to take a leap from the norm , costs him more than he could ever know . All this psycho-sexual sub-text is rather fascinating to see unravel , but Dagmar Lassander , such a yummy sex kitten , was my reason for enjoying it so . . without her , I couldn't have liked it as much because she's vital as a victim worth striving to obtain . Perhaps the film's highlight , the delicious dance as Lassander , clothed in gauze ( ! ) , unravels the wardrobe exposing her breasts to a jazzy score . . it's the kind of sexually seductive moment that makes your mouth water and forehead sweat . Dagmar Lassander must've been a joy for fashion designers because she wears those clothes so well . . she has this kind of cool , a sophistication and screen presence along with her beauty and seductive powers , Dagmar transcends the part to create an iconic character which would define her career . . even if the film isn't well known ( . . I found about through word of mouth ) . The provocative nature of the script and risqué subject matter might not appeal to certain crowds as it deals with sex ( . . and pain ) in many different forms , the dialogue quite illustrative and elaborative . At times , I couldn't help but chuckle at Sayer's comments towards an imprisoned Maria , regarding how he enjoys making women suffer , and the thrill he gets at forcing them into a type of slavery ( . . in an attempt to make the words poetic , it all feels rather hokey ) . But , Dagmar is the real reason to see it , and the film , to me , works at it's best as a fetish film , a possible male fantasy with this seemingly prim and proper idealist , captured and held against her will , forced into a precarious situation , her fate possibly at the mercy of a complex and possibly dangerous masochist . Her submission , and how she reacts towards his aggressive behavior with her ( . . there are times where she unfolds to a wavering desire to embrace him , unveiling a possible attraction towards him which , in itself , might startle some who watch it ) are among the most fascinating highlights of this exploitation feature . My other favorite scene , besides the dance , is the piano concerto with Sayer fondling Maria as she plays a soothing melody . |
436,467 | 9,938,570 | 95,971 | 7 | The Rejuvenator . | A wealthy , self-absorbed , withering actress , Ruth Warren ( Jessica Dublin ) demands to be a guinea pig in an ongoing series of experiments she's been funding for three years . Dr . Gregory Ashton ( John MacKay ) has almost perfected a serum which can reverse the aging process , but still hasn't quite succeeded at synthesizing it without the need for cadavers ' brain fluid . This breakthrough would provide Ruth with the youth that she desires , tiring of being stuck in an old body , longing to be beautiful again . Despite his warnings , Ruth insists on taking the serum , and Ashton reluctantly agrees . . shortly afterward , the results are staggering . Looking as she did in her younger days , Ruth , now taking the alias of Elizabeth ( Vivian Lanko ) , wishes to celebrate her new found freedom , but a price comes with this . . the serum's not perfected and Elizabeth's body suffers monstrous side effects . Needing more and more of the serum to return to her human form , Elizabeth is building a tolerance and Ashton is running out of brain fluid needed to keep her from turning into a hideous carnivorous beast . Superb ghastly monster design make-up enhances this Mad Scientist movie . The film has familiar traits that identify with other sci-fi horror films of the past in that a scientist will do whatever it takes to succeed , accepting bodies for his experiments without knowing how they were retrieved . After he discovers what Elizabeth has done , killing innocent victims for their brains , Ashton still forges ahead despite the fact that he understands what kind of monster he has created . Brian Thomas Jones ( . . also the director ) and Simon Nuchtern develop back stories for their small cast . . we see how each character longs for another . Elizabeth ( . . when young , beautiful , and full of life ) devours men , and embraces night on the town , enjoying her supposed new lease on life . She's a selfish creature who is willing to commit murder in order to retain this youth she's been given , and Ashton struggles endlessly to discover that key element needed to perfect his breakthrough , knowing that if he doesn't , Elizabeth will continue to destroy innocent lives . Katell Pleven is Ashton's loyal , hard-working assistant , Dr . Stella Stone , who's in love with him . Her contributions have lent a great deal to Ashton's work , helping him strive to succeed while Dr . Germaine ( Marcus Powell ) , a colleague of Gregory's father's , wishes for his experiments to cease . . Germaine considers him an unethical scientist whose unorthodox theories are a threat to the medical community and will attempt to stop him in any way possible . James Hogue is Elizabeth's long-time butler , Wilhelm , who loves her with all his heart , and doggedly remains by her side , no matter what . While Elizabeth and Ashton have an affair , Stella and Wilhelm yearn for it to end ( . . the filmmakers establish fantasies where Stella and Wilhelm dream of embracing Gregory and Elizabeth ) . But , these little stories serve as minor back ground to supply characterization within a monster movie where a creature kills to remain lovely and young while the scientist who made this happen suffers to solve the crisis , with a bureaucrat breathing down his neck , trying to find something to incriminate him . What Ashton doesn't know is that his security guard , Tony ( Louis Homyak ) is spying for Germaine , and this will cost both men dearly . Features some potent graphic violence as the monster goes on a rampage , removing brains from the heads of victims , when she isn't killing those who get in her way . As in most films regarding " dangerous " science , the scientist ultimately pays the price for attempting to alter with the life cycle as it has been , and those involved suffer the consequences as well . This was a nice surprise , thanks to an internet pal , I had the opportunity to see it . Yet another science fiction sleeper worth pursuing in the 80's which deals with the effects of attempting to change the way life works . . the scientist and his patient , both hellbent on accomplishing the impossible , pursuing the seemingly unattainable achievement . |
436,239 | 9,938,570 | 410,537 | 7 | The Ghost | An amnesiac , Ji-won ( Ha-Neul Kim , playing the character as vacant and lost as possible ) troubled by a traumatic past which is slowly unraveling memories , begins to realize that a ghost , possibly of a high school girl , Su-in ( Sang-mi Nam ) is killing former friends who ridiculed this girl because of her low-income status . What Ji-won doesn't realize is that her " past self " was a nasty rich bitch who treated those less fortunate , from a financial standpoint , like dirt while her " rat pack " would join in on the festivities of name calling among other cruelties . Along with her boyfriend , Ji-won will indeed seek out the truth behind the deaths of her former friends and who is behind them . Soon , the complete mystery tucked away in her subconscious , will reveal a horrifying drowning that perhaps shapes what has been taking place to her former school chums . Each of Ji-won's high school friends die by drowning shortly after the ghost appears to them in a vulnerable state unable to find help from their menacing visitor . As you've read throughout the user comment section already , " The Ghost " is stylishly directed and rather well acted . The film looks great and the cast doesn't disappoint . There are even a few scares here and there . . but it's all rather familiar . The twist at the end saves this film , I believe , from completely feeling " been there done that . " It's a mind-boggling doozy of an ending , I'll tell you , where someone isn't who they appear to be . . it's the case of " identity crisis " where jealousy can drive the motivations of a cast-away so longing to have the life of the one they envy . It's the kind of twist that takes you right back through what you just have seen , putting a new light on the story and central character . The film is designed like " The Grudge " as a spook film , so there isn't any graphic violence , the emphasis is on creeping the audience , not blood-letting . The ghost , as can probably be pictured in the minds of those who have seen numerous Asian horror flicks , is a girl with long black hair which splits to reveal this discolored eyeball that peers at a potential victim . When her hands reach out , and her feet walk across the floor , water is shown soaking off , foretelling to the viewer this restless spirit's fate . I felt the director skillfully crafts the story , supplying the memories of a past conveying to us just the kind of loathsome person Ji-won was , and how Si-un was treated by her . This back-story is supplemented as the story comes to the obvious confrontation between Ji-won and the ghost . I think one can rightfully criticize how similar this film feels to others that have came before it , but at least we get a back story into their lives and what motivates the horrors to those who kept a specific secret one fateful day . |
435,724 | 9,938,570 | 286,306 | 7 | Deathwatch | There is a German trench occupied by soldiers of the Royal army who have recently " escaped " a brutal battle . Inside the trench , dead German bodies are everywhere caked in mud with knives among other things stabbed in them . It appears that they killed each other . They often hear distant gunfire and explosions yet see no one . A certain German soldier , who can speak French , tells the British accompaniment that they will kill each other like the others . What's even worse than the mental disintegration of nearly each British soldier is that ghoulish entities ( and this barbwire which seems to have a life it's own ) are killing the soldiers . Also , certain soldiers ' personalities and behavior seem to be oddly shifting into madness as they begin to attack each other and grow more and more insane . Will any of these soldiers be able to survive ? And , better still , where are they really ? Jamie Bell , an underage soldier ( . . and rather cowardly ) seems to mature while he watches the others around him fall apart at the seams . It's an unlikely scenario that he'd be the one to try and control what's happening , but that's one of the many good things this eerie little horror item has to offer . The film is startlingly really good as the foreboding within this massive trench seems to last throughout . It has an unpredictability about it ( . . to a point , but I believe we get a general idea of who might survive the trials facing them as a whole ) . There's this ominous grip which never released me and the way the film is photographed inside the muddy trenches with all the corpses , barbwire , and constantly flowing rain . . there's atmosphere aplenty . Even the cast bring a lot . The situation they face brings a claustrophobia and watching these men come apart brings a lot of tension . Then there's the spooky supernatural aspects which work exceedingly well during the nighttime . I will say that many might roll their eyes at the denouement , but overall this was an enjoyable little flick . Time well spent . |
436,067 | 9,938,570 | 87,182 | 7 | Dune | While the story is anything but simple , the heart of it concerns the planet of Arrakis , which holds a specific spice which yields a magic to sustain life , stretch the conscience to new heights , and even possibly the ability to " fold " space . The Emperor ( José Ferrer ) wishes to command that planet , but needs to rid himself of the people of Atreides who seem to be close to holding a deal with the spice planet once dominated by the evil people of Harkonnen . There's a traitor amongst the Atreides , put there by Baron Vladimir Harkonnen ( Kenneth McMillan , really hamming it up to a maniacal level in nearly every scene he's featured in ) , so that the Harkonnen race can retake the planet and spice reserve . Paul Atreides ( Kyle MacLachlan ) was supposed to be a female child since that would've created harmony amongst the planets , but he is quite special in how the story unfolds . He seems to have this destiny in place to lead the people hidden on Arrakis to overtake their own planet and be the guiding force over the other planets . Trying to cram so much Herbert into a decent running time seems just too difficult a task for Lynch who tries to cover up the muddled unevenness with technical savvy . Visually , DUNE is a canvas of pure art in set design and a pleasure to behold . Yet , the film suffers when it comes to story-telling and visuals can only take you so far . This cast is really good , but they aren't assisted by the dialogue they must speak . Sting and Brad Dourif seem perfect for their benevolent roles as Harkonnen henchmen as Lynch does show his often sadistic side in film with embellishing these beasts with much more attention than the heroes which seem to come off cold . Certain characters like Linda Hunt's Arrakin Shadout Mapes or the charismatic supporting players Richard Jordan ( as Duncan Idaho ; soldier for Paul ) , Patrick Stewart ( as Paul's trusted teacher Gurney ) , Jürgen Prochnow ( as Paul's father and the leader of the Atreides ) , & Max Von Sydow ( as Dr . Kynes ) barely get enough time on screen to develop . Still , the film is dazzling to look at even if it suffers badly in the overall complete Lynch product . I can understand why people side against it since Lynch isn't really your true Hollywood filmmaker and comes the closest to being that in his film DUNE . It still has enough signature moments ( specifically when we see the Harkonnen side where we see the design of their ships and planetary structure of dark , steel , and smoke ; not to mention how the Harkonnen side behaves with morbid delight in their horrendous deeds ) such as the weird dreams Paul has , the visual template of unusual thought narrative , and the diseased sores on the Baron's porcine face . |
435,788 | 9,938,570 | 360,130 | 7 | Undertow | The lives of Chris and Tim ( Jamie Bell and Devon Alan ) are overwhelmed at the arrival of their widower father's brother . They soon find out why he is there . . it's to collect half these coins his father once stole as father John ( Dermot Mulroney ) has them hidden somewhere . Murder will result as the boys ( carrying the gold in a knapsack ) run for their lives through murky , poverty-stricken Georgia with their pursuer , Deel ( Josh Lucas ) always nipping at their heels . Another aspect fueling Deel's rage was John's taking away his love . That is seen as betrayal , but with John also lying to Deel about the coins being gone doesn't help . The film is basically a chase , but feel very reminiscent of " Night of the Hunter " because the framework is essentially the same . We watch a psycho really determined to get what he believes is his right to own . . those coins are meant to be lining his pockets . He isn't afraid at killing the boys , proof after Deel murders their father and attempts killing them with a shovel . We know that if Deel catches them , it's certain doom . Also , the journey itself , despite the garbage-poor look of the boys travels , is almost idyllic as it adds a realism and unusual feel . We feel like these places they travel , and people they meet , are honest-to-goodness real and intricately drawn out . The film is conventional , but at the same time David Gordon Green is able to meander by having his boys meet certain individuals on their journey who mold them and shape them along the way . Also , Lucas isn't afraid to make his Deel extreme and on-the-edge scary that he's willing to do whatever it takes to get what is coming to him . . what he waited in prison for . |
436,177 | 9,938,570 | 69,822 | 7 | Breezy | Perhaps not as viciously attacked now as it was in it's initial release , this burgeoning love story between two unlikely souls , seems to have gained an audience . While I might have problems believing this kind of romance could ever work ( . . or last ) , it just was too irresistible thanks to the pleasant leads who give endearing performances . The serious approach might wring in a few laughs because of the subject matter , and even I must admit to , at times , finding it a bit corny . The story is quite simple . A lonely , yuppie , middle-aged real estate agent and a young , life-loving , excitingly refreshing unpredictable hippie begin an unlikely , budding romance towards the end of Vietnam . The film exposes the feelings of the older section of yuppie America and how they look on in disdain at the hippies and their culture . Through William Holden's Frank Harmon he hears their feelings , but finds his feelings have quite changed as this girl , who genuinely cares for him despite their massive age gap and cultural differences , has rejuvenated his spirit creating an embrace for life deemed lost . The film shows the way others react ( and how Frank himself becomes embroiled by their reaction with oncoming guilt about the age difference ) to their courtship and how they try to keep it going despite the subtle backlash . Through it all Kay Lenz's Breezy just accepts Frank for who he is and could care less about his age or what others might think . It's odd seeing old-school pro William Holden , from the old Hollywood , in such a film as this regarding an old business man having a fling with a hippie girl . Perhaps not being able to get around that may've brought on the critical insults and slamming Eastwood suffered in his gentle directorial offering . Obviously , Holden isn't your typical middle-aged lonely heart , but perhaps the idea a yuppie business man and a much younger hippie falling in love seems too hard to get over . It's the acting that pulled me in . The leads are so engaging and charming , I couldn't resist getting sucked into it . It's a harmless flick for the exception of nudity ( . . mainly Lenz baring her breasts to Holden before they embrace for love-making ) and is made with love and heart . It's nice to see , though , that others are discovering it and embracing it themselves with open arms . Maybe Eastwood was disappointed with the results in 1973 , but perhaps he can find solace in the fact others from this generation have accepted it all their own . |
436,939 | 9,938,570 | 371,257 | 7 | Stay | A psychiatrist , Sam ( Ewan McGregor ) , tries desperately to keep a patient of his , Henry ( Ryan Gosling ) from committing suicide when he turns 21 . Yet , as Sam continues his mission to try and keep Henry from making that grim decision , reality around him becomes distorted and surreal . People who are supposed to be dead are indeed alive , not to mention many vanish and reappear , or change roles according to either Sam or Henry . For instance , Sam encounters Henry's supposedly dead mother who , in turn , believes he is her son . Henry's mother's dog viciously bites Sam's arm , yet Henry informs him that Olive ( the dog's name ) has been dead for many years . A young woman named Athena ( Elizabeth Reaser ) is one minute some waitress Henry grew attached to , yet the next she's his fiancé . All this occurs as Sam pursues Henry's whereabouts as the young man often returns to him for comfort . Then there's Lila ( Naomi Watts ) , Sam's lover & a painter , who had attempted suicide before , but even she may not be who she seems ( her face often distorts with Athena's creating this whole other weird vibe ) . Even Leon ( Bob Hoskins ) , Sam's blind friend , is claimed by Henry to be his dead father . There's even a scene where Henry and Sam are talking at the same time , saying the same thing . The ultimate image that reflects back to us over and over is a car crash on the Brooklyn Bridge which might be the true answer to all the madness occurring to Sam and Henry . Universally panned by many ( . . and seemed to go through theaters faster than an eye-blink ) , I think it's quite underrated and should be given a chance by fresh eyes . Everything bizarre and unusual that happens on screen can really get frustrating ( like seeing certain faces playing duel characters ) , but if one can hang on until the very end everything gets it's just explanation . The film is certainly mind-bendingly trippy , and Forster's camera is always shaking things up where we can not settle into a comfort zone . I liked it and thought it's puppetering twists from strange scene to strange scene as we follow not only Sam's wild journey for truth , but seeing Henry's abilities to change those around him ( such as giving sight to Leon ) can be a lot of fun . It's a given , though , that many are just not gonna except it on it's own terms and will shut the film off half way saying to hell with it . |
435,766 | 9,938,570 | 144,546 | 7 | Outside Ozona | The Skokie Ripper has picked up killing women and stealing their cars along the Midwest and the film centers on various characters that he will affect in one way or another as their lives intersect in this interesting ( I thought ) character study . The thoughtful , existential screenplay was written by director Cardone and deals with topics such as regret , loneliness , fate , and death . Outside Ozona might make an interesting companion piece with Cardone's desert Midwestern vampire tale , The Forsaken . The film is filled with colorful , often profane dialogue . Could be Cardone's most ambitious script as a writer and he rarely has had such a competent cast to work with which included Robert Forster ( as a gentle truck driver ) , Kevin Pollack ( as an out-of-work circus clown ) , Penelope Ann Miller ( . . cast against type as Pollack's dim-bulb stripper-girlfriend ) , Taj Mahal ( as a disgruntled and troubled radio jock whose voice is an important part of the film ) , Meat Loaf ( as Mahal's radio manager who can not stop his employee from letting off steam on the air in a revolt against having to cover two shifts because another didn't come into work ) , Sherilyn Fenn ( in a minor role as a possible victim of an unlikely serial killer ) , Swoosie Kurtz ( as a diner waitress ) & David Paymer ( as a bible-quoting , fanatical sociopath murdering females on the road in his twisted , warped view of working for the Lord ) . Kateri Walker is a beautiful Navajo woman Forster befriends as she plans to take her dying mother , Effie ( Lois Red Elk ) to New Mexico before her death . The film basically follows the characters as they converse about their lives and what possibilities have passed them by . |
436,782 | 9,938,570 | 74,695 | 7 | Cross of Iron | Hauptmann Stransky ( Maximilian Scell ) badly wants that iron cross . Steiner ( Coburn , battling that German accent , but I still liked him in the part and felt he fit the role well ) , a veritable war hero respected by many , has one and stands in the way of Stransky getting just that . Stransky claims he lead his accompaniment bravely into battle ( of course , he's lying through his teeth ) , but many men around him , especially Steiner know different . As Steiner and his men are at their posts as the Germans retreat , Stransky doesn't inform them leaving the soldiers for dead . Though , as we have already established in several war scenes , Steiner is able to escape certain death from Russian tanks and foot-soldier gun-fire . He still stands in the way of Steiner getting that cross as he courageously ( and intelligently ) leads his men through rough terrain and possible death to get back to a German outpost in a nearby village . Sluggish pacing , at times , makes this film a chore to sit through . . it really felt a lot longer to me than it was . Still , the film has thrilling war sequences sprinkled throughout , Steiner men's voyage across war-ravaged Russia is indeed quite interesting and harrowing , the camaraderie between Steiner and his men is refreshing and realistic , and seeing Steiner and his men outsmarting the Russian forces through cunning ways of quick escape is suspenseful and quite entertaining . Ultimately , seeing what Steiner and his men go through on their difficult journey makes the impending tragedy even more jolting . I felt the film is a bit sloppy and uneven , but has enough compelling elements ( such as Steiner's seeing visions of his beloved soldiers ' faces during good times once they are dead ; the Russian kid that gets it by his own people ; war-ravaged country-side and the dead lying all throughout ) to keep the interest of Peckinpah faithful . |
436,781 | 9,938,570 | 107,209 | 7 | Faraway , So Close ! | Cassiel ( Otto Sandler ) decides to follow Damiel's path and become human , but realizes that this world differs greatly from where he came from . His supposed " nemesis " is a shady character named Emit Flesti ( Willem Dafoe playing him very oddly ) who can communicate through both worlds . . he talks with Cassiel's " angel partner " Raphaela ( Nastassja Kinski ) and can also chat away with mortals . He seems to have this particular interest in time and time seems to be very prevalent in how Cassiel views this brand new world . The world to Cassiel can be a curious beast . . he starts out as any new babe in a brand new world by slowly adjusting to his surroundings . He visits several mortals he viewed as an angel in the other existence taking what little he knew from them incorporating everything into his new man . . Karl Engel . As Karl , he has a hard time making headway in the mortal world , at one point deep in an alcoholic daze , but meets a corrupt businessman who changes him into a whole different person . Money begins to slowly corrupt Karl who is entering a world of crime with his boss that may ruin his goal set when he even decided to come to our world . . to try and bring humanity to a cold and sad world . That seems to be Flesti's desire ( as he often tells Raphaela who often begs him to let Karl alone ) for Cassiel . . that his Karl descend in this mortal world finding out that he doesn't belong here and should return to his angel duties . This film is quite a contrast to " Wings of Desire " for which it's a sequel . While Damiel's entrance to our mortal realm was indeed because of love for his beloved Marion ( the lovely Solveig Dommartin ) for whom he often shadowed , Cassiel's decision came because he wanted to make a difference . . bring joy to a disheartened world . But , corruption , greed , and other vices may put a damper on those plans . The film , through Wenders direction , lovingly meanders with the German and American languages often mixed together as characters speak . There's less of a melancholic tone to this one where " WoD " was centered in a location of West Berlin before the wall came down and many's hopes and dreams seemed nil . Like in the first film , the camera offers a POV shot of how Cassiel flies , and there's the drifting between B & W and Color to show the changing of worlds for which the angels and mortals inhibit . |
436,279 | 9,938,570 | 57,226 | 7 | The Kiss of the Vampire | Gerald and Marianne Harcourt are on their honeymoon when the motorcar they are driving runs out of petrol . They have no idea that the village they have to stay at houses a nearby vampire , satanic cult lead by the sophisticated evil Ravna and his son Carl in a château where many reside . Through the sufferings of hotel proprietors Bruno and Anna is an example of what Ravna can take away with his evil vampiric spell . When Marianne falls under the spell of Ravna , Gerald will have to join forces with Professor Zimmer to stop Ravna . Stunning and intense Hammer film is of a surprising quality . . it also has this enormous task of being great without the usual suspects such as Cushing or Lee as actors & Terence Fisher or Freddie Francis as director . The color , writing , acting , and suspense is top-notch . Ravna has an evil presence because he takes from loving families and turns their innocence into corruption . There's a powerful scene where Gerald is able to make his way into the château finding his beloved Marianne in a trance . Ravna has Marianne even spit in Gerald's face as a way of enforcing the fact that she is no longer the woman he loves . The film , despite a marvelous suspenseful set-up having us wonder if Marianne will ever be saved from the mental grasp of Ravna , does have an abrupt , silly ending as Zimmer calls upon a horde of bats from a spell he speaks inside a pentagon that will strike at Ravna's château & his unfortunate " family " as they are trapped inside unable to escape ( Zimmer placed the mark of the cross on all the doorways and exits ) . |
436,412 | 9,938,570 | 67,921 | 7 | The Scarecrow reviews " Valdez is Coming " | Burt Lancaster ( who I just thought was great , though he battled with the accent just a bit . . a minor squabble ) portrays Bob Valdez , a former Apache hunter for the Calvary now a constable who accidentally shoots an innocent black man claimed to have murdered the husband of Gay Erin ( the beautiful redheaded Susan Clark ) . Gay's lover is Frank Tanner ( Jon Cypher ) , the leader of a band of cutthroats who lead the crusade to take out the black man who was mistaken for being the one who killed Gay's husband . Valdez tried to smooth things over by consulting with the black man , but hothead RL Davis ( Richard Jordan . . a bucketful of energy and spunk ) open fires before the constable to get the honest proof of the victim's innocence . Valdez ends up killing the innocent man and desires all who fingered him to pay for the man's pregnant squaw to have passage home . This is an insult to Frank who is a racist pig who loathes the sight of " greaser " Valdez . When Valdez persists , in kindness and gentle-care , Frank to pay $100 , he is is attacked and roped to a wooden cross . . they send him into the desert this way to perish . RL Davis is sent on his way when he is told by Frank that he couldn't shoot straight . RL , in his only moment of kindness in the film , releases Valdez from his ropes after an incident when Bob tried to break the wood roped to his arms . After being lent help and rest by his friend , Valdez will seek revenge for what Frank and his cronies did to him . What Frank and co . doesn't know is that Valdez is a great shot and smart tactician . He knows the mountains and is a wily problem for Frank to solve . Still Valdez has a problem when RL tells Frank of Bob's friend's helping him and this act of betrayal proves once and for all that RL is a greedy lowlife simply desiring to be one of the guys . Still Frank will continue to underestimate Valdez who knows the entire country all too well . Before it's over , Frank will , without a doubt , know that . . Valdez is coming . The film is a blast to watch . It's one of those vendetta entertainments that often frequent the multiplexes in the 60's and 70's when the rules , thanks in large part to Peckinpah's " The Wild Bunch " , were starting to be broken . We were actually seeing the men act and talk the way they did in those days . The mean behavior exhibited by crooked men who lived for wealth and prestige . In this film Frank seems to be one mean sonofabitch and finds that he is slowly losing his men one by one to a superior enemy he misjudged because of different skin color . He automatically looked at him as a weak peasant instead of a great gunfighter and that theme works greatly here in this short and satisfying western . |
436,361 | 9,938,570 | 52,905 | 7 | The Hound of the Baskervilles | The Baker Street detective team of Sherlock Holmes ( Peter Cushing , in fine form as the studious , sophisticated , unflappable intellectual with a nose that knows ) and Dr . John Watson ( André Morell as the always-surprised good physician who often inspires the answers Holmes needs through out-loud observation ) are called on by Doctor Richard Mortimer ( Francis De Wolff ) to protect the well being of the last remaining relative of the Baskerville family line , the tall & dashing Sir Henry ( Christopher Lee , with not much to do except for looking like a wealthy aristocrat ) . It seems that an old family curse has taken Henry's uncle Charles through a hereditary heart ailment causing failure at what seems like something that elicited shocking fright . Henry also has a weak heart so it provides Holmes and Watson with an opportunity to not only cease the death of the last aristocrat left while also solving a mystery of what has taken the lives of several of the Baskervilles . Various sub-plots develop which may provide a key to the mystery's being solved , father and daughter poverty-stricken farmers , Mr . Stapleton ( Ewen Solon ) and Cecile ( Marla Landi ) who live on the moors near the Baskerville Hall , a tarantula that was stolen from Bishop Frankland ( Miles Malleson whose priest really loves his sherry ) a renowned entomologist whose stolen spider was placed in Henry's boot to possibly kill him , an escaped convict who was found butchered and mutilated wearing some of Henry's clothes , and a dagger used by Sir Hugo to kill a servant girl which has been found by Holmes at the sight where the convict's body was first found . As Holmes and Watson pursue the answers that unravel as the case develops clues , the howling of the moors enhances as does the possible love affair between Sir Henry and Cecile . Important aspect in the tale has Holmes finding an abandoned old mineshaft where a bone , important to the mystery of what it howling , lies inside . While looking and finding the bone ( with Mortimer and Mr . Stapleton guiding him inside ) , a cave-in collapses almost killing our sleuth begging the question . . who would want to silence Holmes ? Is Holmes finding a specific bone in this mine detrimental to a certain discovery someone wants kept hidden ? Hammer studios provides fans of atmospheric horror another colorful , flavorful flick with the Moors an exciting setting for a Holmes / Watson mystery . With Cushing and Morell a fun team , and the fog shrouded moors providing an eerie mood , this is a ton of fun for fans of Conan Doyle and Hammer horror . |
435,969 | 9,938,570 | 58,466 | 7 | Phantom of Soho | Slick Bryan Edgar Wallace mystery set in the seedy Soho district of London ( . . filmed in Berlin ; part of Germany's successful Krimi crime genre , which resembles Italy's giallo ) where a killer wearing golden gloves , black robe , and skull mask ( . . the latter is revealed at the end ) is stalking and stabbing a group of questionable aristocratic individuals who populate at a strip club known as Zanzibar , and are caught off guard by the killer when they are most vulnerable . Obviously the killer must be found and who better to do so than the finest at Scotland Yard , led by Chief Inspector Patton ( Dieter Borsche ) and his lieutenant , Sergeant Hallam ( Peter Vogel ) answering to Sir Phillip ( Hans Söhnker ) . A successful crime novelist , Clarinda Smith ( Barbara Rütting ) , quite the opportunist , seeks to join the investigators , betting she could solve the mystery before they can . Each individual murdered seem tied together somehow , and the killer leaves a manila envelope ( . . with different types of currency , and a golden cigar case by one ) at each crime scene . Patton and Hallam must determine the motive and why these certain individuals are selected for execution . It all ties to the Zanzibar strip club and the wheel-chair bound owner of the establishment , Joanna Gilyard ( Stanislav Ledinek ) . Always by her side is Dr . Dalmer ( Werner Peters ) , an established physician , known to care for wealthy clientèle . Patton and Hallam notice a rather ominous looking fellow hanging around Zanzibar , often hiding behind objects to spy on them , a visible birthmark around his eye , making him a recognizable figure , Wilhelm Grover ( Otto Waldis ) . . he himself gets involved when Patton's on his way to discovering a truth about the killer . Another character who soon adds extra weight to an already difficult case is a bar photographer , Corinne ( Helga Sommerfeld ) whose job catches incriminating pictures of political and important figures in England . . she may hold an answer herself in what is going on regarding the identity of the killer . And , another suspicious character arises , a blackmailing sailor , Captain Muggins ( Hans W Hamacher ) who threatens to expose information regarding a sunken ship and insurance fraud which certain people don't want published . Like any good mystery , Franz Josef Gottlieb's PHANTOM OF SOHO , follows the detectives on their pursuit of the killer , adding up the clues as characters are bumped off , tying up the loose ends as the complicated plot unfolds . If you follow behavior and how Gottlieb's camera sometimes casts doubt by pointing out faces during key moments of dialogue , you might just figure out who the killer is even if motive isn't clearly established until the end . Like many popular Giallo , this Krimi mystery is effectively stylish ( . . and atmospheric in the Gothic tradition ) and even lurid at times ( . . since this is German produced , you even see dancers expose their breasts while stripping for on-lookers in the Zanzibar club ) featuring devious characters with sordid pasts . And , at the heart of the story is a bona fide revenge angle for a very unjust act towards an innocent victim seeking retribution . Gottlieb's style is rather flashy , shooting characters from unusual ( . . but effective ) angles , and the convoluted story is handled with expert skill . I recommend PHANTOM OF SOHO to fans of the Giallo , while it does lack the beautiful men & women wearing glamorous fashions , the gratuitous violence and sex / nudity associated with the popular Italian sub-genre , this Krimi mystery establishes the familiar framework the audience is accustomed to . . unscrupulous characters with amorous appetites , dying at the hands of the killer , for a certain cause not yet established , the executions shot in a specific way ( . . the POV camera is the eyes of the killer as the gloved hands , one with the established knife , peer from the sides of the screen , confronting a frightened victim who is frozen from shock , stabbed in the heart , with the envelope planted either under the victim's hands or between their fingers ) , as the detectives solve the mystery . The colorful cast help matters immensely as does the intriguing plot ( . . and how it's designed ) . . I expect many will undoubtedly find such a film " old and boring " , but fans of mysteries might like it . |
436,530 | 9,938,570 | 95,863 | 7 | Phantasm II | Along the northwest , The Tall Man ( Angus Scrimm , as menacing as ever ) has raped graves and murdered small towns , building his dwarf army . Mike ( James LeGros , who never really comes into his own as Michael ) has spent seven years in the psychiatric hospital being " mentally rehabilitated " , but knows that The Tall Man isn't some aberration and sets off to see what graves he has exhumed . Reggie ( Reggie Bannister , cool and balder ) tells Mike he's just imagining The Tall Man . . that is until The Tall Man blows up Reggie's family in a house ! Reggie joins Mike on the road , properly motivated to put a stop to The Tall Man once and for all . Along the way , Reggie picks up a mysterious , but very attractive , appropriately named hitch-hiker , Alchemy ( Samantha Phillips , who has done mostly soft-core porn in her career ) . Another important female character , Liz ( Paula Irvine ) , is somehow psychically linked to Mike and sees what happened to him as a teenager . She knows too much about The Tall Man and is a direct target . The Tall Man seems to be playing mind games with Mike leaving " bread crumbs " so that he and Reg can follow his direction . It all leads to a showdown in a little Oregon mortuary where the killer spheres , evil henchmen , and monstrous dwarf minions are let loose on our heroes . As like the first film , plot coherency goes out the window as Don Coscarelli throws caution to the wind filling the screen with lots of outrageous violence . This film seems to have had the biggest budget of the series and it shows in gruesome ways . Reggie seems to have taken the heroic role here since LeGros just really doesn't have that kind of charisma to be that great hero we can root for . Scrimm brings the same sinister sneer and dominates the screen with his ominous presence . |
436,322 | 9,938,570 | 67,950 | 7 | Requiem for a Vampire | Two " teenage virgins " , Marie & Michelle ( Marie-Pierre Castel & Mireille Dargent ) have escaped from I'm guessing a reform school . Their driver was killed as another car's inhabitants ( I'm guessing the police ) blast out their vehicle's back window with gunfire . Hiding away from those hunting them and burning the car ( . . and dead driver ) , Marie and Michelle hide out temporarily in a cemetery ( . . in one weird scene , Michelle trips into a freshly dug grave knocking herself out on the casket while a member of the grounds almost buries her alive ! ) until their safety is assured . There's seemingly abandoned greystone ruins of a château near the cemetery surrounded by massive trees and an idyllic countryside for which Marie and Michelle decide to hopefully inhabit for the time being . What they don't expect is a female vampiress , Erica ( Dominique Toussaint ) who has a barbaric entourage of hunters as servants who rush them . When the girls try to flee , bats hanging from tree branches " hypnotise " them enabling Erica to capture them as she plans for Michelle and Marie to meet her master , the last full male vampire whose powers have weakened over the ages . Erica isn't completely a vampire despite her fangs and blood-drinking . . she can still tolerate sunlight and isn't a true member of the undead . Her blood sister Louise ( Louise Dhour ) is even less a vampiress for she doesn't have the luxury of fangs . Louise is the type of vampire sister who hands down the orders from her lord and plays the piano ; she's also the one who watches her master's casket . Michelle and Marie are introduced to the last male vampire as he bites them from behind . Michelle and Marie try to escape the next day but run around in circles it seems . . despite following different paths hoping to escape , they always return to the château with a skull at the door . Louise informs Michelle and Marie that they are to be initiated into the vampire fraternity having received the " divine bite of the vampire " , but first must lose their virginity to him . Louise points out that you can not be a virginal vampire . They wish for Michelle and Marie , before their initiation , to lure male prey to the château by nightfall . Marie meets , falls in love with , and loses her virginity to a man walking the cemetery one day named Frederick . She later tries to save him from being a victim of Erica's . The older man who Michelle lures ( thanks to a striptease & drawing him by giving chase ) isn't so lucky . Michelle must find out where Marie has hidden Frederick for he threatens the vampire whereabouts and identity ( . . this leads to a whipping torture as Marie hangs with stripes down her back and Michelle , devastated for what she has done , with tears staining her cheeks ) . Will Marie be seduced into the way of the vampires ? Will Marie give up her love's hiding place ( where he is hidden is certainly an interesting place ) ? Will the last male vampire's legacy live on through his blood daughters ? If you are familiar with Rollin , this film carries his various signatures . . beautiful french countryside , atmospheric cemetery , Gothic greystoned ruins of a castle where rows of steps are endless and halls echo , skulls make their mark throughout showing up near tombstones , places marking the vampires ' lair , etc . , limited dialogue and back story , fluid camera-work capturing the entire landscape squeezing every bit of ambiance available , an abundance of nudity and sex , and a jazzy organ score in the background . The version I watched had gratuitous extended scenes of sexual molestation as Erica's barbaric servants rape and abuse various enslaved nubile females , chained within a pit , as she takes a few bites for good measure . This might serve as titillation for many ( there's also a scene where Marie and Michelle grope each other ) , but I yawned through most of this . I thought Dominique Toussaint was striking ( she seemed to have such a presence that leaps from the screen ) as Erica , wearing a clinging gold dress and purple cape that swings open . . the way she opens her cape might be theatrical to many , but I lapped it up ( . . woof . . woof ) . She really looks like something out of a comic book . . now I do not mean this as an insult , far from it . I think Erica just looks incredible and Dominique just runs with it , easily overshadowing the weary last male vampire who is in the film mere minutes and looks as if his powers were weakened . This film's strength is some truly stunning uses of the château ( the way Rollin shoots overhead as Marie and Michelle try to flee Erika , and when Michelle leads the horny old man on a wild goose chase through halls & up steps , are really thrilling set-pieces ) , the vibrant green and red colors Rollin uses in the last male vampire's mausoleum , the cemetery bright blue skyline at dawn as Marie ( believing she had lost her love to the last male vampire forever ) woefully walks across with various crosses in the distance , and the windy green covering the cemetery grounds as Marie and Michelle comb the area in search of refuge from a shady past . My favorite scene ( other than when Erica appears ) is when Marie and Michelle hear organ play from within the château cathedral believing cloaked monks await inside . . only to find skeletons behind those very cloaks and Louise , the vampiress playing the tune they heard . Don't expect a satisfying story or a quickened pace . . Rollin isn't the type of filmmaker that worries about moving anything too fast . I don't even think we see the first vampire until thirty minutes into the film and the sexual sequences in the bondage chamber go on forever it seems . |
436,384 | 9,938,570 | 80,440 | 7 | The Black Cat | One thing I often have a problem with when watching Fulci is not his gifted , truly blessed stylish touch , particularly how well he can film faces and use the dark so ominously and effectively . . it's his unfocused , often incredibly pee-brained plots . This plot has this bizarre idea that a man named Robert Miles , fueling with a repressed hatred for others such as a past lady-love , can force a cat , through hypnotic suggestion to attack others ( while , as we see in the opening kill , the cat itself possesses a driver to send his car straight into a parked vehicle . . which means that Miles possesses the cat which possesses another man . Alrighty then . ) . Then , the story shifts where the cat can make Miles do it's bidding after the ex-professor attempts to kill it . Now , I didn't understand how this mumbo jumbo works so maybe you can tell me . Anyway , various victims fall prey to the cat such as a local drunk who falls on a pitchfork , a woman ( Miles lady-love ) who gets burned alive in her house , a young couple who are seen on the floor with foam coming out of their mouth ( ? ! ) , and Inspector Gorley ( David Warbeck ) of Scotland Yard who is forced by the cat to walk in front of a moving car ( ! ) . Jill ( Mimsy Farmer ) , a top-notch photographer , is in the village to lense old ruins . She comes in contact with both Miles and the cat when she hears men chatting about the mad psychic professor in a pub . Immediately her life is in great danger , especially after she's asked to take crime-scene photos and notices several cat claw gashes on a victim's hand ( the drunkard who receives the pitchfork in his torso ) . And , the young couple found dead ( due to information Miles provides his former lady-love begging for his assistance in finding her missing daughter ) had locked their door from the inside of the shack where they were found leaving only a tiny duct as the only entrance in ( . . for which Jill sees cat footprints in sand within that duct exit ) . So , the cat's identity is threatened . But , as Jill seeks after the truth , will she be able to survive Miles ' wrath or be trapped within a mortared wall never to be seen again ? In this film , Fulci uses a really cool camera trick by lensing from the eyes of the cat as it heads for a particular destination suggesting to the viewer that possible death was imminent . Fulci also loves to focus the camera in on the crazed ( . . and , at times , focused ) eyes of Patrick Magee , a really intense actor who has the ability to show facets of madness so incredibly and convincingly . Fulci creates some really foreboding shots of his mad face within the dark . The film is quite Gothic with Fulci very dependent on fog as a mood piece . Not overtly violent , but gets it's point across . There are some nasty moments when the cat attacks the hands and face of certain victims . But , this is at it's best an exercise in style . . which Fulci can give to us in abundance . |
436,102 | 9,938,570 | 94,701 | 7 | Bad Dreams | A influential cult leader , reminiscent of Jim Jones , Harris ( Richard Lynch ) seduces his communal group of worshipers to take part in a suicidal fire pact which explodes the house they live in . . but , one survives , Cynthia ( Jennifer Rubin ) who awakens twenty years later to the care of Dr . Berrisford ( Harris Yulin ) . Spending her days in a mental hospital without any family to speak of , Cynthis attempts to revive memories of her past before the house fire which took the lives of those she cared about . Her memories will assist the police in closing a case long spent open as Detective Wasserman ( Sy Richardson ) , working the scene at that time , remains convinced that Cynthia's not the victim she seems to be . His feelings are assisted when members of Cynthia's therapy group , each known for suicidal tendencies , each begin killing themselves , with her nearby , believing she's a possible catalyst as to their sudden decisions to end it all under grisly circumstances . Before each member of her therapy group dies , Cynthia is either visited by Harris ( . . either as he was in the 60's or with charred burnt flesh ) or sees him following them . Her assigned psychiatric physician , Dr . Alex Karmen ( Bruce Abbott ) , doesn't believe in Cynthia's bogeyman manifesting from her nightmares to kill members of her therapy group and is convinced there's another type of motivation causing the strange suicides which have began to emerge . Karmen pursue the truth with odd resistance from his own superior , Berrisford , as Cynthia slowly falls prey to her hallucinations ( . . or are they ? ) of Harris who beckons to join his unity where those she once knew await her on the other side . If she doesn't end her own life Harris will continue to take souls . . it's up to her . Slippery thriller , almost completely set in the mental hospital , where the viewer is to guess whether what Cynthia sees ( . . nightmare man , Harris , who pops up often to spook her ) is real or a product of fantasy fueled by something malicious . Rubin's beauty is used rather well as she's often running around in a gown , conflicted and confused about her present mental state . Great villainous heavy Richard Lynch has a tailor-made star vehicle , often showcased in terrifying burn make-up , as the supposed supernatural killer causing the patients under Karmen's care to off themselves . Berrisford's philosophy and unorthodox methods of treatment for the patients under Karmen's care is of the utmost importance to the plot , but it's subtly infused within the story . While the similarities to " Nightmare on Elm Street " are striking ( . . Part 3 in particular which also starred Rubin in her first film and was set in a mental hospital ) , " Bad Dreams " ultimate twist at the end pries it apart from the Freddy Krueger franchise . Still , I imagine many will shrug their shoulders at this film as merely a rip from the franchise being that it concerns a nightmare man , with a burnt face no less , terrorizing Rubin . The title doesn't help the film's cause either . The film has a strong cast with Abbott ( . . fresh off the heels of " Re-Animator " ) , Yulin , as usual portraying the quietly malevolent and untrustworthy type of character who reeks of malicious intent , and Dean Cameron ( Summer School ) as a jokester with a nasty streak that explodes into violent rage at the very end when alone with Cynthia . Those familiar with Susan Barnes sweetheart in LA Law will find her very profane and confrontational patient Connie quite a polar opposite ( . . or polarizing , to be more specific ) . The gore is limited but there are inspired sequences of violence such as what one patient does to himself with surgical scalpels , the aftermath of a couple who decide to hurl themselves into the hospital turbines ( . . lots of blood spray spurting from ventilation shafts leave quite a lasting impression ) , and a suicidal leap onto the steps from an upper floor window . But , Lynch's burn make-up delivers the ultra-creepy goods . I think despite seeming unoriginal and rather familiar ( derivative ) , " Bad Dreams " remains quite entertaining as the plot plays out and all the pieces fall into place . And , if anything , you have Lynch's tour-de-force performance to enjoy . Great little kill-fantasy played out in Karmen's mind after Berrisford fires him . |
436,144 | 9,938,570 | 22,827 | 7 | Doctor X | Dead-on-Arrival pacing and excessive attempts at unsuccessful humor plague what could've been a very satisfying psychological character study about a serial killer who preys on victims during the Full Moon cutting into their skulls while also cannibalizing them . Lionel Atwill portrays Doctor Xavier . . called on by police to find the killer amongst his staff of colleagues working at his institution . Fay Wray portrays Xavier's daughter , who will be the female in danger , and Lee Tracy is the wisecracking reporter . To snuff out the psychopath , Xavier will gather his scientists together at his château for the next 48 hours ( the police gave him a time-line to find the killer or they would all be under arrest ) . While at times a trial to sit through , director Curtiz is a marvelous artist who frames stunning shots utilizing the two-strip Technicolor and terrific sets to maximum effect . Yet , he can not overcome a very slow-moving plot , Fay Wray's annoying screaming for no reason , Lee Tracy's very dated and boring comic interludes , and hammy overacting . I think the most intriguing and chilling portion of the film come at the end when we are introduced to the killer for the first time when shapes himself as a beast through synthetic flesh . |
436,312 | 9,938,570 | 230,169 | 7 | Ed Gein | Surprisingly good umpteenth re-telling of Ed Gein seems to be the most on-track with how the notorious nutcase's life went down . There's a scene early on where a neighbor proclaims to Ed after going to the movie show with her son , " You guys are going to those horror movies all the time . " Ed answers tellingly , " They're very educational . " I think this film successfully lets us see what can happen to a man mentally wounded by the upbringing of an overbearing , fanatical mother . The film shows how she seems to be the guiding force behind the murders and cover-ups . For instance , mother ( commandingly played by Carrie Snodgress ) manipulatively commands Ed to kidnap and kill a bar matron named Mary ( Sally Champlin ) for dirty-mouthed hussies deserved to have their mouths washed out with poison . And , poor store clerk Collette ( Carol Mansell ) is singled out for no apparent reason but mainly perhaps she represents that lust that is dormant in Ed's heart . Somehow , despite mama Augusta's death , a huge part of her remains inside Ed's mind . . a towering presence that can manipulate and order him to do things . If you see a loosely , but at times accurate film from the early 70's , DERANGED , both are similar in ways , but have a different feel towards the circumstances regarding Ed's situation . This film plays Ed's life more matter-of-factly without the dark humor that lay at the heart of DERANGED . This film wants to show us the way Ed was without winking at how absurd he was and his bizarre , sick habits regarding skinning victims and eating their innards . . often feeding the unaware neighbors next door people they've know from the city . The film also shows how Augusta's insistent disgust towards " modern women " has penetrated Ed enough where he can not remain around females who are different from his mother . Her quoting from the bible , mainly Revelations , is often reverberating around in his skull bearing down on him to " do God's work " so that his mother could return to earth to be with him . Steve Railsback , a criminally underrated actor , again is perfect as another serial killer ( he portrayed Charles Manson amazingly in " Helter Skelter " in 1976 made-for-TV effort ) with Ed Gein . He seems to tap into the man's simple-mindedness and delusional , quiet madness . He makes him strange , but also deceptively harmless . We can see why we might be leery to hang around him , but trusting him doesn't seem that difficult . The film isn't that gory , but does show how he does the work mother tells him to do . |
436,416 | 9,938,570 | 383,574 | 7 | The Scarecrow reviews " Dead Man's Chest " | If you have seen the previews and understand that this is labeled under swashbuckling FANTASY , then you probably do not need to complain at the film's lack of logic . . because there really isn't any . If you seen a Davey Jones pirate who appears to look like he's a crossbreed with a squid , then you ought to know what you are going to see . The film is perfect summer blockbuster material . It revels in it's silliness and ridiculous stunts and bows it's giggling head to all those movies that play with believability throwing caution to the wind . The film's nonsensical storyline consists of three different factions after the heart of pirate ghoul Davey Jones which is locked away in a chest and he holds the key . Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley must get the compass which guides the way to the chest because certain governmental baddies desire that heart for it would mean the seas would be owned by East Mining company . The power of the seas is Davey Jones due to a love pact with it . Captain Jack Sparrow also desires to have the heart because if anything the open seas should be rules by a pirate . Sparrow has a map of the key and the compass . . how he retrieved either one is a mystery ( he recovered it from a dead corpse's casket ; at the beginning of the film we see he hid in the casket blowing a hole out of it after getting the map . . I do not know how he came upon the news of where the compass or the map would be . . we must accept what we get or not } . So Bloom must get Sparrow to give him the compass or else . Soon Sparrow meets up with Bloom's father who leaves a mark on Sparrow's hand declaring him ill fitted for certain doom . Soo Davey Jones desires to catch Sparrow for he desires Sparrow's soul . It goes on and on , but the film is about the dead man's chest and how everyone needs the heart inside . The film has an abundance of stunt sequences which defy everything beyond any form of logic . The sequence where Bloom must save Sparrow from being burned and eaten because his crew is captured by a tribe who think Sparrow is a god , shows this oval cage of bones and skulls which has encased them and their adventure down hills is extremely ridiculous . Not to mention , the dueling on top of a wheel towards the end . There's this octopus creature which consumes ships { an amazing scene where this thing engulfs a ship and it's crew is astonishing } called a Kragon and the grotesque masking of Davey Jones ' crew for who are all amphibious are highlights in good computer graphics . Overlong , overblown , but never boring . |
436,807 | 9,938,570 | 104,053 | 7 | Trauma | A serial killer , who collects heads from the victims he / she decapitates , " murders " a troubled anorexic teen's " medium " mother ( Piper Laurie ) and Romanian father ( Dominique Serand ) . David ( Chris Rydell ) , an artist , assists Aura ( Asia Argento ) in her quest to find out the butcher who claimed the lives of her parents while also trying desperately to remain distant from the clutches of Dr . Judd ( Frederic Forrest ) who wants to put her back in the Farraday Clinic so that she can get the proper treatment from her illness . Meanwhile , the killer continues killing selected people as David and Aura find out that each person was acquainted with one another and it deals with a tragic accident one rainy night with a Dr . Lloyd ( Brad Dourif ) playing a major part . As they search for answers , the motive for the headhunter will become clear . The killer lives next door to a boy who studies and collects butterflies . That boy notices the wire-machine that the killer uses to collect his / her head-trophies and will play a specific part at the end . A decent Argento effort is better than a lot of horror directors ' really good work and TRAUMA has a visual polish and style ( . . not to mention ghoulish , sometimes humorous , beheadings ) that makes up for a rather tacky ending . . an ending I just didn't really buy into . I thought the one beheading , from a female victim David finds out about Lloyd from , is quite inspired as is a head-removal using an elevator shaft . Argento uses POV shots mostly with the camera acting as the eyes of the killer . Perhaps the melodrama concerning anorexia is a tad heavy-handed ( . . this is a slasher flick after all ) , but Argento admitted the story regarding the disease was personal ( concerning a niece he has that was suffering with it at the time he decided on making a film with a female lead character suffering with the problem ) . It brings a uniqueness to the character so I have no real qualms with it . |
436,607 | 9,938,570 | 211,443 | 7 | Jason X | In 2455 , serial killer Jason Voorhies ( the film confirms he murdered over 200 victims ) is accidentally set free from cryogenic stasis to dismantle and destroy a crew on board a transport ship heading home . Along with Jason was Rowan ( Lexa Doig ) who tried to stop Jason back home on earth where they were both found . . it was indeed her who trapped Jason in the cryogenic chamber , was stabbed by Jason using his trademark machete from the inside through her on the outside which opens the coolant to freeze her as well . She understands what kind of zombie monster he is as explained with how they tried many other aspects and methods of death which wouldn't end him . One by one members on board try and fail to stop Jason . Those still alive for the time being contemplate how to escape the ship before he catches up with them . This New Line release , much like the ninth film ( JASON GOES TO HELL ) , takes the Jason model and tries to spin a new , different type of story set in the future allowing the monster fresh new ways to kill humans . Supporters of Jason enacting bloodshed in his normal environs might balk , but a chance to see him out of his normal routine is refreshing . And , the flick plays it's wacky premise to the hilt . The computer effects are decent , if less stellar than normal bigger-budgeted films , but the gore is on display aplenty . One poor soul is cut in half , another is thrown on a drill ( the scene shows the man's body sliding down the screw piece ) , and in the film's best sequence a female medic's head is submerged in cryogenic fluid and smashed over a counter as it shatters into pieces . There's an amusing holograph sequence where they buy time to survive by creating an illusion of Crystal Lake with two nudie cuties distracting Jason . There's even a female android who does battle with Jason ( it isn't much of a contest as she has superior firepower that subsequently blows him to bits ) . . when it appears that he is finally conquered , he is reconstructed by a mechanical device that can repair torn tissue and muscles , into a half-cybernetic being ! This is clearly a flick designed for the Friday audience allowing us to see Jason doing what he does best , killing innocents who try their damnedest to escape the terror that awaits them . |
436,093 | 9,938,570 | 58,307 | 7 | The Long Hair of Death | Perhaps director Antonio Margheriti's answer to Mario Bava's BLACK Sunday , THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH features a witch destroyed for the death of Count Humboldt's brother , framed for the murder by the real killer , Kurt Humboldt ( George Ardisson ) vying for a power of position in the kingdom . The witch vows revenge , cursing the Humboldts and calling on her daughter , Helen ( Barbara Steele ) to wreak vengeance on them . Having failed at her attempt to dissuade Count Humboldt of passing sentence on her innocent mother , Helen is then pushed off a cliff , into a rushing river , by him . Poor Elizabeth Karnstein ( Halina Zalewska ) , as a child , had to watch her mother burn alive , and attend the funeral of her sister , Helen . As an adult , life hasn't improved much as Elizabeth has followed the commands of Count Humboldt , often fighting off the sexual advances of Kurt , who proclaims his intended desire to have her regardless of the young woman's disgust towards him . Under marriage , Elizabeth endures Kurt's control over her body , awaiting possible revenge down the road . . it comes in the form of Mary ( Barbara Steele ) . Helen's body awakens as the rains fall bringing hope to a village riddled with the black plague , and her corpse rises in the form of Mary , interrupting a church sermon , causing an already guilt-stricken Count Humboldt to collapse in a state of shock , his death providing Kurt with the throne . Kurt becomes enamored and infatuated with Mary , lustfully desiring her , soon plotting to kill Elizabeth . Mary , at first hesitant , soon joins Kurt in his scheme to poison her , suffocating her within a closed crypt . Thoroughly pleased with their " success " , Kurt awakens the next morning in horror as the maidservant , Grumalda ( Laura Nucci ) exits her room after having a conversation with Elizabeth ! How could this be ? ! The rest of the film shows Kurt's progressive state of unease as others mention seeing and talking with a wife that's supposed to be dead . Admittedly , Margheriti's film takes it's time developing the plot , but I truly enjoyed the Gothic trappings of the massive castle and the secret walls which seem to exist throughout , leading to rooms as an exit from the burial chamber . Steele is featured in quite a grand style , Margheriti allowing her to seduce Kurt with her feminine wiles ( . . she is positively beautiful in this movie , and enchanting ) and embellish in his torment at the end as a spirit whose finally seeing her enemy squirm . Ardisson , as the conniving , lecherous , egotistical , back-stabbing , underhanded Kurt Humboldt is a perfectly loathsome creature easy to root against , with the ending providing a feeling of satisfaction that justice was served . I wonder if those behind THE WICKER MAN saw the ending to this movie . I would definitely warn those with little tolerance for characters moving throughout a castle at great length , because this film follows them almost from one complete place to another . I had a feeling that Margheriti wanted to establish the importance of a medieval palace and how the characters move throughout , displaying the ability to cleverly hide adultery and fornication , while also showing how one could concoct a scheme to successfully murder someone without getting caught . And , to be honest , I think Margheriti simply enjoyed shooting within the castle , hoping to engage the viewer in the atmosphere within the walls . Above all , THE LONG HAIR OF DEATH is still a revenge story through and through , with the director building his story , bit by bit , allowing Kurt to follow his rotten father ( . . who at least felt sorrow and guilt for actions he committed ) to his own tragedy , just as the witch he put to death promised . |
436,842 | 9,938,570 | 473,514 | 7 | Mulberry St | A day / night in the lives of an eclectic group of characters , who live in a crumbling apartment complex soon to be possibly condemned on Mulberry St , are focused on as a societal collapse is imminent , threatening NYC due to a crisis of infection from wide-spread rodent bites . Manhattan soon is overrun by infected citizens who are slowly transforming into human rodents ! Once the citizens are completely infected by the rat virus , they attack anyone in their path , longing to feast on their flesh . Characters like Clutch ( Nick Damici ) , a former boxer seen often jogging on the streets ( also the one his fellow neighbors in the Mulberry St apartment put their trust in ) , his daughter Casey ( Kim Blair ) , recently returning from a tour in Iraq carrying a facial scar she's self-conscious about , Kay ( Bo Corre ) , a Polish-American single mother who works at a local pub nearby , are just a few the film isolates as the outbreak takes shape . While the influences of Night of the Living Dead ( characters trapped in an apartment complex as infected humans await them outside ) and 28 Days Later . . ( the " giddy-up " rat-humans , shaky cam style and running humans trying to escape as the predators pursue them ) are undeniable , I still found " Mulberry St . " a pulse-pounding thrill-ride . The rat-humans are shot quite the same way as the " rage-infected " human zombies of 28 Days Later ( & 28 Weeks Later ) . . the camera doesn't really completely eyeball them , because they move so fast , in such a frenzied state like wild animals starving for supper , that we don't exactly identify with them . And , once they are on the rampage , our regular working-class heroes are often on the move , or trying to find shelter or weapons to protect themselves . Appropriately grim with a rather downbeat climax as governmental biological teams finally arrive after night closes , with many of the cast members either dead or turned . The shaky-cam will undoubtedly turn some people off ( . . or turn their stomachs ) , but it gives the film an immediacy that I felt keeps the viewer on edge . I can see why director Mickle opted for the shaky-cam technique . . it does give the film a documentarian closeness with those characters focused on . There are shots within the apartment which give " Mulberry St " a claustrophobic dread while outside , there's too much space ( . . and often a deadening silence on desolate streets with rat-humans eating silently , always listening for sounds of fresh meat ) as bodies lie all over the place . Larry Fessenden has a funny cameo as a running civilian who locks the gate on a fellow citizen , later suffering the consequences when he himself needs help . I think " Mulberry St " is a rare film in that the characters , and the actors portraying them , are multi-dimensional . |
435,669 | 9,938,570 | 69,253 | 7 | The Crimes of the Black Cat | Fashion models are dying mysteriously by a heart attack after encountering a wicker basket containing a cat which leaps upon them . One of those victims , was the lover of a blind composer she duped for ambitions in the modeling world , yet he will seek her killer putting his own life to great risk . That blind composer , Peter Oliver ( Anthony Steffen ) wishes to find the murder of his ex-lover for whom he deeply cared for , despite her faults at bedding other men who could assist in her rise as a top model in the fashion world . In a restaurant bar , Peter overhears a conversation between the mysterious white-caped drug addict , Susan ( Giovanna Lenzi ) , wearing a talisman ( . . with an eyeball in it's center ) and another whose male voice is a whisper loudly giving instructions . This conversation , interrupted by a jukebox's rock music , is of major importance in the murders that will occur during the film's running time . Being blind , of course , has it's disadvantages ( . . perfect for exploiting in a giallo thriller-mystery where twists and turns pull the rug out from under the viewer who are , in a sense , blind as well ) so Peter will need assistance from chauffeur / employee Burton ( Umberto Raho ) and his lover Paola's ( Isabelle Marchall ) roomie Margot ( Shirley Corrigan ) who works at the fashion studio . Françoise Ballais's ( Sylvia Koscina ) studio is preparing for an upcoming Autumn line in Hamburg , and her dashing " husband " , Victor ( Giacomo Rossi-Stuart ) , quite the ladies man bedding the models under her employ secretly , manages things during such a busy time of the year . The studio faces a crisis that throws their lives into a tailspin , Harry ( Romano Malaspina ) who has his own photography studio ( . . and was the slain Paolo's cousin ) has incriminating pictures of Victor in bed with the victim . When someone stabs Harry in the throat with a knife , he becomes a leading suspect . Meanwhile other models who have incriminating evidence against Victor die in almost the same fashion as Paolo , a wicker basket yielding a cat results in their deaths by heart attack . The film follows Peter and company as they try to find the one ( s ) responsible for the murders as they compile . This has everything I desire in a giallo thriller . The convoluted story keeps piling on the twists . Susan , the lady with the white cape , is my favorite revealing mystery . . she's given an interesting development , and is quite a tragic character , who is revealed layer by layer , for as she is given exposition we are lead closer to identifying the murderer . As I've come to expect , this giallo gives us another wild plot twist at the end after it seems like we've established who the killer is . The reveal off-sets the vicious knife slashing of a character we care for , brutally displayed showing the blade as it penetrates the flesh as she cries in agony and dispair with nowhere to escape . As usual we have our amateur sleuths , these civilian detectives who actually discover just as much , if not more , than Inspector Jansen ( Renato De Carmine ) and his police . While the DVD print of this film is of lesser quality ( . . it looks as if the film is directly lifted from the film stock without the usual " touching up " that many giallo thrillers have enjoyed in the past , getting the treatment with a lavish quality transfer , enhanced beautifully for the viewer ) , I think the film will be a lot of fun for giallo fans who expect certain things that " 7 Shawls of Yellow Silk " will give them . There's nudity , some gratuitous camera glides down the naked backs of women taking showers , and stylish camera angles and uses of light & shadow . The expected red herring or two is here as well . Couple all this with a blind hero who must use his other senses ( . . including his intellect ) to figure out specifics with the help of his friends , and you have quite the adventure . - Spoiler paragraph - I like the touch of how the models die . Wearing yellow shawls containing a liquid repellent that sends the wicker basket cat into a frenzy , whose claws contain poison once they scratch , is such a nifty little way of adding something new to the giallo instead of the typical knife stabbings ( . . although they are included as well ) . I am torn regarding the episode at the Glassworks where a certain individual , possibly the killer , leads our hero into a most certain doom making stupid decisions that give Peter time to remain alive as the police close in . . . why would this person not just kill him and get it over with ? Yes , I will admit that this sequence is incredibly tense as Peter , blind as a bat , tries to thwart the other's plans of killing him , but still . . |
435,991 | 9,938,570 | 417,148 | 7 | Snakes on a Plane | A surfer stumbles upon a murder at the hands of notorious gangster Eddie Kim and must be protected by FBI agent Samuel L Jackson on board a flight equipped with an army of deadly poisonous snakes , planted there to kill him so that he couldn't testify . Somehow Jackson and the flight attendants must find the means to keep those on board safe and kill the snakes that are threatening their lives , not to mention another unfortunate dilemma facing them . . both pilots are bitten by snakes and someone else will have to land the plane ! A disaster movie with CGI snakes that attack a bunch of folks on board a plane with Sammy L working his usual cool / charisma . You are most certainly confident that he'll find a way to save as many as possible . The snakes bite into a breast nipple , eyeball , penis , throats , buttock , faces , leaving some nasty after-effects such as sores and mouth-foaming . A dog and man are victims of a massive python which wraps around and chokes them before the feeding occurs ( . . the dog's fate isn't elaborated , although the film shows the python swallowing the male victim's head ! ) Fun supporting cast add color to the proceedings . Like in a lot of disaster films , we are introduced to the supporting characters before the perilous situation takes place with the release of the snakes which are ultimately antagonized by the pheromones of leis flowers . Featuring characters that mimic cultural archetypes such as Rachel Blanchard as a Paris Hilton wannabe with a dog , IPOD , and Valley Girl looks ( . . her name is Mercedes ) and rap star Three G's ( Flex Alexander ) who is a cocky germaphobe with attitude . Lin Shaye has a wonderful role as flight attendant on her last tour , Grace ( . . one knows her fate when she mentions how she plans to retire after this one last flight ) . Julianna Margulies is flight attendant Claire , who plans to become a lawyer after this last flight , and is called upon to help Sammy L's agent Neville Flynn , when the going gets rough . Kenan Thompson lends his usual funny expressions to the character of Troy , Three G's entourage and high school chum who looks out for him and is asked to land the plane based solely on his video-game expertise ! The computer generated snakes aren't always that convincing , although that's part of the movie's charm . Fast-paced thrill-ride that aims to please . The absurd premise just draws you in and it's up to the filmmakers to sell such an idea as passengers joining together to find a way out of such a difficult situation through a variety of ways . . you must take a leap of faith when you see Sammy L killing snakes with a taser gun ! |
435,784 | 9,938,570 | 377,749 | 7 | Deadbirds | A group of bank robbing murdering thugs hole up at the Hollister farmhouse embedded within massively long corn rows . William ( Henry Thomas ) was given directions to this place by a dying Confederate soldier named Jeffy who was is love with Annabelle ( Nicki Aycox ) . . Annabelle , however , was always in love with William . Along with his brother Sam ( Patrick Fugit ) , Annabelle , former black slave Todd ( Isaiah Washington ) , portly Joseph ( Mark Boone Junior ) , and sneaky , untrustworthy Clyde ( Michael Shannon ) they murder everyone within a bank as soldiers planned to store their gold in it . William , as they were fleeing the scene of the crime in a gun battle with other soldiers , actually shoots a boy . When they approach the rows leading to the plantation , the group encounters an eye-less , pale skinned monstrosity for which is gunned down immediately . This perhaps was their warning to stay away . . not heeding to it would be their downfall . It's quite clear upon staying within the farmhouse that something's amiss . . there's an atmosphere of doom surrounding this that slowly releases it's secrets . Sam received a nasty gunshot wound that seems infected to the point where it threatens his life , but that is just a taste of what awaits them . Weird noises and the sight of demonic children ( . . with Todd later seeing the ghost of a slave gutted ) awaken a fear in each member of the group as supernatural forces show themselves as they fall to the evils one at a time . Through the dying Sam , the farmer Hollister ( Muse Watson ) reveals himself and his past actions regarding his possessed children , his dead wife , the slaves he sacrificed , and his lynching by the neighbors surrounding the farmhouse . Sam passes this knowledge to Annabelle before he's dead . We get an understanding that the farmhouse and it's surrounding rows is cursed . . anyone who decides to enter in suffer for it , never to escape . Southern Gothic creeper , really has a sense of dread that builds thanks to a marvelously spooky setting . The film has lots of moments concerning the evils which provoke the cast that works well at getting under the skin . And , the unique story-telling regarding the plight of the characters , who are indeed unpleasant , greedy murderers is well told I thought . Using voodoo or whatever it was that was written within the torn book Todd was reading lets the film go into some thrilling areas particularly concerning the children and what they turn into . Plus , the filmmakers take every opportunity to throw up a scare concerning the characters who leave the film in one way or another such as Joseph being pulled into the well by something after hearing the frightened voice of a girl who needed help or Clyde who had been stuffed with straw , his eyes , nose & mouth tied with twine , and hung on a stick to resemble a scarecrow . Todd's exit is particularly weird . A unique , somewhat original horror tale . . it's more about execution ( how it builds tension within that creepy farmhouse and it's old rooms containing some disturbing history ) than the story , though . Oh , look fast when William is running up the stairs to find Clyde and you'll see the his " demonic " reflection come across the window . |
436,042 | 9,938,570 | 60,188 | 7 | Brides of Fu Manchu | The diabolical Chinese architect of doom , Fu Manchu ( Christopher Lee , imposing as ever ) still carrying a devious desire to control mankind across the globe , has orchestrated a new plan to destroy the top military nations ' generals and Commander-in-chiefs who are gathering together in London for a service dedication at St . Paul's church . Through a method using energy ( . . provided through the use of light , heat and power , transmitted by sound waves ) , Fu Manchu needs the cooperation and know-how of the top industrialists and scientists , and in getting that he kidnaps their wives and daughters ( . . they are the " brides " of the title ) , using hypnosis with his incredible mental powers , removing their will and in doing so can command them to do anything he so desires . Fu Manchu's arch nemesis and wily adversary , Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner Sir Dennis Nayland Smith ( Douglas Wilmer ) , along with pathologist Dr . Petrie ( Howard Marion-Crawford ; Smith's Dr . Watson , you could say ) and Parisian Inspector Pierre Grimaldi ( Roger Hanin ) , must discover his plans and stop him before the cunning mastermind is able to remove the great military leaders which help to keep our world's countries safe . The film has three basic settings . London where Fu Manchu has dacoit soldiers attempting to kidnap Marie Lentz ( Marie Versini ) , the daughter of a great scientist needed to assist the madman in equipping his machines with the proper settings to bomb major cities . Marie's fiancé , German research chemist Franz Baumer ( Heinz Drache ) , helps Smith and company in their efforts to find Fu Manchu's headquarters , buried underground in the foothills of a specific French mountainside . The film often shows the trapped women imprisoned in Fu Manchu's headquarters , and slave Abdul ( Salmaan Peerzada ) who plans to save them . A certain industrialist , Jules Merlin ( Rupert Davies ) , is chosen for his expertise in building little wireless sets which enable Fu Manchu's henchman to set up their operations in small locations . The film shows Merlin's daughter Michel ( Carole Gray ) imprisoned which motivates him to do what Fu Manchu asks . When Marie is finally kidnapped in a well orchestrated siege in an opera house , she will coordinate an escape plan with Michel . Baumer will also infiltrate the headquarters posing as his fiancé's father . The film also has scenes in Paris where Merlin's business is centered . Marie doesn't know that her best friend , Nikki Sheldon ( Harald Leipnitz ) is actually working for Fu Manchu and assists in having her captured at the opera house . Fu Manchu's corrupt organization is under the disguise of Wireless International . Showing his capabilities , Fu Manchu destroys a cruise ship , The Windsor Castle , which will prompt Smith to move faster in stopping him before he's able to carry out his ultimate plan . Using Marie's father , Otto Lentz ( Joseph Fürst ) expertise , they will hatch a plan to use a stronger signal to counteract Manchu's with the lives of many important figures ' lying in the balance . Plot-heavy , exciting , fast-paced fun with a great cast and dangerous situations creating an exhausting thrill-ride with Lee in great form even though he doesn't even attempt to sound Chinese . Wilmer is effective at portraying Fu Manchu's adversary ; he presents the commissioner as fast-thinking , wise , and courageous . Smith has to have certain attributes if he's able to somehow defeat a villain such as Fu Manchu , with lives at stake . I think Wilmer is convincing , selling his Smith as someone we can count on to catch the terrorists out to cause chaos and global mischief . There are some thrilling set-pieces , such as the opera house kidnapping , the fight that breaks out between the " brides " and Fu Manchu's dacoit soldiers , and an attempt at hi-jacking Marie in her hospital of employment . We get to see Baumer beat the hell out of Fu Manchu's men and the destruction of the Windsor Castle ship as Smith and his men failed in saving those killed is quite a stunner . Unfortunately , Fu Manchu's headquarters inside the foothills look like cheap sets ( . . it's clear , I believe , that producer Towers desires to mimic Hammer ) , but that did very little to distract me from the perilous situation the madman was creating for our heroes . There's so much going on , you have little time to catch your breath . Director Don Sharp once again shows his skills at creating a lot with little , crafting a nice adventure out of the money producer Harry Allan Towers was able to give him . Rounding out a solid cast includes Tsai Chin as Fu Manchu's daughter Lin Tang , ever supportive and willing to obey . Burt Kwouk ( the Pink Panther movies ) is Feng , Fu Manchu's top scientist who is leader over the mechanical operations functioning the energy sent to destroy targets at his boss ' command . It's great to actually see Asians portraying Fu Manchu's Chinese soldiers . |
436,460 | 9,938,570 | 62,022 | 7 | The College Girl Murders | Prussic gas , a murderer donning a red clansman suit and hood wielding a white whip , and the murders of college school girls at the hands of paid convicts enlisted by a mysterious mastermind who keeps his face hidden within an office containing aquariums of turtles and fish . The inspectors at Scotland Yard , Higgins ( IJoachim Fuchsberger ) and his superior Sir John ( Siegfried Schürenberg ) certainly have their hands full with this case . It all seems to center around student Ann Portland ( Uschi Glas ) , who , when she turns 21 , is to inherit a great deal of wealth . The girls who are targeted share a room with Ann , but the reason for their murders remains a mystery SY's finest must figure out . The staff of the girls ' dormitory all seem to be hiding something and certain members of the faculty are falling prey to the killer in the red monk robe disguise , talented enough to precisely strangle the necks of those attacked with the whip . Two prisoners are commissioned by a mystery man to use the newly created toxic gas created by a scientist murdered at the beginning of the film during what was supposed to be a monetary exchange for his creation . It's a clever scheme where a driver , Greaves ( Günter Meisner ) meets the convicts ( . . who hide in a barrel ) who are assisted by a corrupt prison guard . Taken blindfolded to the secret room of the mastermind , he gives them orders on who to kill and how . Uncovering this operation is a top priority for Higgins and Sir John for it will lead them to the truth they seek in regards to the murders and why they are happening . Under suspicion are girls ' dormitory headmistress , her author brother , a sweaty , incredibly nervous chemistry teacher , a snooping gardener , and the Bannister . Some are red herrings until they are disposed of , throwing the viewer for a loop each time until the real mastermind is discovered . The ending features multiple twists . Out of the Krimi films I've seen , THE COLLEGE GIRL MURDERS is the closest to a giallo with it's colorful killer , a convoluted plot yielding lots of surprises and potential suspects , & sordid shenanigans between adults and the college girls at the dormitory . I think you can also see the influence of James Bond on this particular Krimi film with the villain mastermind's secret hideout with an alligator pit ( . . which isn't used ) , the fake bible / water pistol , when opened , fires the gas into the face of startled victims , the Greaves ' Royles Royce which has latches that cause flaps to darken the windows without revealing the passenger in the back seat , and the peep holes used to spy on the girls in their rooms and while swimming . Many might consider Sir John a liability due to his bumbling , buffoonish behavior and how he often undermines Higgins ' abilities to get at the truth ( . . perhaps poking fun at know-it-all British inspectors who harm a case more than solve it ) . . I felt he was used as comedy relief , particularly with his attempts at psychoanalyzing suspects and potential victims , often misunderstanding what are told to him . Higgins , using the skills adopted over his years as an investigator , instead follows the clues / facts , often avoiding Sir John as much as possible . Capable direction by the reliable Alfred Vohrer who keeps the pace humming at a nice speed , and the screenplay is full of interesting characters and lurid content . . the fact that so many of the adults surrounding the dormitory are suspect , any of them might be the one wielding the whip or calling the shots behind those murdered girls ' executions . I'd say this may be one of the best ( . . if not the best ) examples of the Krimi genre , for it keeps you guessing , always one more ace up it's sleeve . . the revelations unearthed at the very end are quite eye-opening ( . . and , you even get a literal unmasking of the real mastermind pulling the strings to top it all off ) . |
436,453 | 9,938,570 | 71,628 | 7 | House of Whipcord | Naive , young , gentle-hearted , beautiful French model , Ann-Marie Di Verney ( Penny Irving ) is drawn to a dark and mysterious " writer " , Mark E Desade ( Robert Tayman ) after meeting him at a party , later ( . . after a date ) agreeing to meet his mother outside of London , despite knowing little about him . Ann-Marie's pal and roommate , Julia ( Ann Michelle ) doesn't like the idea of leaving with a man she has just met and these worries come to fruition when Mark takes her to an abandoned institution which works as a cover for a hostile prison for " immoral girls not fit for society who must be punished into submission " . Mark's mother , Mrs Wakehurst ( Barbara Markham ) was once a prison governess who lost her job after her aggressive torturous methods towards a French inmate ended in death . The elderly , blind Justice Bailey ( Patrick Barr ) , whose mind is slipping into senility , once holding a prominent position , is now operating as the secret prison judge , having left his wife for Wakehurst after getting her off for her previous misdeeds regarding the murder of the girl ( . . the penalty being the loss of her license , and the source of her deep rooted , and thriving bitterness and hatred for " loose women " ) . Their marriage has worsened substantially over the years , and we discover that Mark is their illegitimate son ( . . there are also disturbing incestual undertones eluded to later on ) Forced against her will into an illegal imprisonment , Ann-Marie notices other girls that have met these particular circumstances as well . . it seems Mark's job is to lure women to this place so that they can be tried and convicted in some sort of bogus sentencing , a ceremony so ridiculous ( . . Wakehurst must now inform of her husband of the lines he's supposed to say due to his forgetfulness ) it borders on parody . You can only imagine how shocking and surreal such a situation can be . Told not to speak unless spoken to , given very little to eat , and a penalty system for bad behavior ( # 1 : Solitary confinement , # 2 : A flogging , & # 3 : Death by hanging ) , Ann-Marie will have to figure out some way to escape or else face the dire consequences of her current predicament . Working with fellow prisoners who have had enough of their cruel mistreatment at the hands of Wakehurst and her unpleasant guards , Walker ( Sheila Keith ) and Bates ( Dorothy Gordon ) , Ann-Marie will attempt to break free from the harsh confinements of such a bleak and unfriendly environment . Meanwhile , Julia confides in her lover , Tony ( Ray Brooks ) regarding Ann-Marie's whereabouts setting out to find her if she can , attempting to discover just who Mark is and his location . Appropriately grim women-in-prison film throwing a young lamb into a den of wolves . Barbara Markham is quite impressive as the diabolical ( . . with homicidal tendencies and a yearning to see the pretty deteriorate ) warden who hides behind this cloak of morality , wielding her power as if chosen by God to reform those deemed unfit to exist , when in reality she enjoys making girls suffer . The unbridled sadism , buried underneath this cold and calculating execution by the warden and her staff , really has you pitying poor Ann-Marie , who really is a sweet-hearted teenage girl who isn't ashamed of her body . Penny Irving positively glows in the opening scenes , a very vulnerable , somewhat bubbly girl whose modeling career is seen as a blight on society ( . . Walker obviously wishes to , along with writer David McGillivray , create a film exposing authoritarian types who use their power and code of ethics as a tool to discriminate , as the hypocrites they are ) by certain people who really wish to punish and harm because of the thrills that such methods provides . Sheila Keith is particularly memorable as Walker , an obvious lesbian who harbours a lust for Ann-Marie , but hates her at the same time for the type she represents . Through facial movements and specific gestures , Sheila Keith is also able to show her attraction to Ann-Marie , but , at the same time , we see the conflicting repulsion that soon overcomes her . It's a very convincing performance that can elicit chills . The film doesn't actually dwell too much on the whip flogging , although Walker establishes the potency of it's use very well showing whelps and bruises on those victimized . There's a certain hopelessness that permeates throughout Walker's film for Ann-Marie as she is constantly on the verge of escape only to be ensnared right back into the snake pit by unforeseen circumstances . Thanks to cinematographer Peter Jessop's lighting and the miserable aura of the institution setting , Wakehurst's prison is quite a morose and unforgiving place and you can do nothing but feel for those trapped within it's cells . Walker really wishes to keep the indelible image of the hangman's noose in our minds , knowing that this method of execution has been used ( . . we witness a prisoner sentenced to hanging for attempting to steal a piece of bread , and the failed operation to sneak her away from the death chamber ) before and could be Ann-Marie's fate if Wakehurst has anything to say about it . Walker alternates between Ann-Marie's plight and Julia in London growing more concerned about her friend's condition and reasons for not communicating somehow . It's a form of manipulation , of course , allowing the framework to advance regarding Julia being Ann-Marie's only hope ( . . another form of manipulation is Walker establishing Ann-Marie's potential getaway thanks to a truck driver nearby the Wakehurst estate ) . Stanley Myers score exceptionally conveys the mood of the film's plot all too well . Robert Tayman has quite a malevolent presence , despite his handsome allure which draws women like Ann-Marie to their doom . Jessop has a way of lighting Tayman that gives off a sinister intent , and you can just sense that this poor girl , under his spell , is like a fly caught in the spider's web . Penny Irving is quite uninhibited in this film , not afraid to show her gorgeous naked body , including a rather uncomfortable disrobing scene where she's forced to remove her clothes by Walker and Bates before being taken to her cell . |
436,191 | 9,938,570 | 82,479 | 7 | Antropophagus | An group of tourists offer to give an American , Julie ( Tisa Farrow ) , a ride to an island village where pals of hers ( . . a French couple we see killed at the opening of the film ) were supposed to be waiting for her . Deciding to remain on the island for a spell , the group find the village without people , providing quite an ominous suspicion that something's amiss . When the sailboat they were riding is sent away mysteriously into the sea adrift , the group ponder why , holing up in the home of Julie's friends , awaiting for the night to fall , hoping that the boat would return to shore . The remaining members of the group do find a person in the village , but she remains elusive warning for them to leave the village . They then find the French couple's blind daughter who is deeply traumatized . But , what none of the visitors plan on is encountering a dangerous , psychopathic cannibal ( George Eastman , in hideous make-up , with unhinged eyes . . his build works to enhance how scary he looks as he approaches victims ) without an ounce of humanity . He seems devoid of anything remotely civilized and there's a reason revealed later involving his son and wife in a raft isolated in the middle of the ocean . Aristide Massaccesi ( Joe D'Amato ) and George Eastman craft quite a sickening tale which has given " Antropophagus-The Grim Reaper " an assured following . " Antropophagus " is the very definition of a slow-burner as it idles along showing the tourists walking throughout the village ( . . modeled after the Greek Islands and looking eerily similar to Narciso Ibáñez Serrador's " Island of the Damned " ) attempting to find any citizens . I love horror films which show visiting outsiders finding a complete village abandoned like a ghost town as if they just vanished off the face of the Earth , and seeing our cast moving throughout and finding no one certainly worked for me . I think this beautifully sets up just how monstrous the film's predator really is . . such a menace that he empties a city of it's people . I think Massaccesi's decision to not show the killer until 50 minutes in will test the patience of many , but I felt that the director was building the dread of his arrival . I mean , we know that someone is on this island somewhere and I felt that Massaccesi wishes to keep him hidden for as long as possible . His impact to the film , when he does arrive , is immediately felt when Eastman's fiend bites a plug of skin from the neck of a victim . He'll also bite a chunk of flesh from a throat later in the film when he pulls a victim's face through the hole of a mansion's ceiling . The most infamous death concerns the removal of a fetus from a pregnant victim's womb ( . . Massaccesi said it was a rabbit ) taking a bite out of it . You also see the aftermath of a cleaver stabbed into a victim's face . Massaccesi even pays homage to Spielberg with an underwater attack at the very beginning reminiscent of Jaws . There's even the eating of intestines that will leave many jaws dropping to the floor in dismay . Massaccesi has shown ( . . as Buio Omega will prove ) that he isn't afraid of making films with disturbing subject matter and scenes with ( in ) human behavior that shock . I think the film's finest moments occur when Massaccesi shoots the use of candle-light at night through the darkened rooms of the French couple's home with Julie and Bodin's Daniel encountering a frightened innocent hiding from Eastman's monster , and specifically the Roman catacombs where Eastman's lair of eaten bodies is located ( . . this is very akin to the work of Lucio Fulci with the presence of remains , corpses , skulls , bones & red-eyed rats running about ) . The film also has a nifty sequence where Julie finds a hidden room where Eastman's sister kept many of his first victims through the breaking of a mirror , in the mansion of a family who worked for the village . Also , cool is a suicide where a woman decides to hang herself , and Julie , at one point , is trapped in a gated graveyard by a jealous Carol ( Zora Kerova ; who was upset because Daniel preferred Julie over her ) . A young Serena Grandi has an early role as the pregnant victim , Maggie , who is found by her husband in the catacombs . I think " Antropophagus " is very similar to Fulci's works at the time ( . . from " Zombie Flesh Eaters " into his more sadistic 80's gore flicks ) and just as willing to push buttons , repelling weak-hearted audiences . To those of us who have seen a bunch of these movies , though , the impact isn't as severe , but I find his unflinching ability to shock rather amusing . But , I think it can be sensed , here , that when inspired , Massaccesi can create a sense of atmosphere . With the amazing setting , Marcello Giombini's often haunting music score , and Enrico Biribicchi's lush cinematography , Massaccesi had all the tools to make quite an impression . Unlike many , I didn't have any problem with the pace because my eyes were taking in the location and how it was brought to the screen . And , Eastman is quite an impressive beast . |
436,518 | 9,938,570 | 90,190 | 7 | The Toxic Avenger | When I was a teenager , the only available place to watch trash was on USA's Up All Night which showed their movies cut with just enough on screen to tease and tantalize . A trio of films appeared on USA which caught my attention , the Toxic Avenger series , and I was introduced to Troma . This was their flagship series , and it was rare that you'd find any other item as entertainingly zany , sick , and cheap as these films . Even close to these films were the Class of Nuke ' Em High movies which dealt with high school kids introduced to what toxic waste could do . But , in The Toxic Avenger , a geeky , buck-teethed janitor whose trusty mop was always by his side , ogling the bikini-clad aerobics gals who'd come to the gym he was employed to maintain their impressive bods , is the subject of what toxic waste can do to your anatomy when the skin and body are immersed in such chemicals . . it can turn you into a grotesque superhero with amazing physique and martial arts skills , not to mention you can rip arms off and propel men in the air with ease . It all starts when four psychopaths , Slug ( Robert Prichard ) , maniac Bozo ( Gary Schneider ) , and their girlfriends , Wanda ( Jennifer Prichard ) and Julie ( Cindy Manion ) who frequent a gym wish to cause " mop boy " Melvin Junko ( Mark Torgle ) as much harm and humiliation as possible just for the hell of it . During their past time , these four enjoy driving over innocent people with Bozo's car , adding up points kind of like in the movie Death Race 2000 . We see this when the four single out a kind little kid with a helmet riding his bike as they run him over before crushing his head under their back tire ! They take Polaroids , for which gets the girls hot and bothered . Yep , this is not for the squeamish or those who demand films of good taste . Anyway , Julie prompts Melvin to slip on a pink tutu so that she can get all worked up for a little sex , setting the poor kid up for a cruel practical joke , concerning a lamb , with all the customers of the gym laughing their asses off at his expense . Tormented and crazed , Melvin throws himself through a window . What Melvin doesn't expect is to fall into a barrel of toxic waste placed inside a parked truck hauling the stuff to a nearby landfill . The toxic waste in turn transforms Melvin into a ghastly monster with a homing beacon towards evil . Anyone corrupt , gangsters , hoodlums , and crooked city officials , are targets of the Toxic Avenger . Three slimy thieves with weapons attempting to rob a taco store with an innocent bi-stander getting a shot-gun blast to the chest , a blind beauty's seeing-eye-dog also getting it right in the stomach , with our toxic superhero coming to save the day . He rips the leader's arm off before stuffing him into a stove , makes an ice-cream sundae out of another's face before driving a drill into his eye , and boiling the last criminal's hands in grease ! A gang of mobster's thugs beating up a beat cop get their heads caved in by crushing blows while the third gets away momentarily before attempting to retaliate with more hoods carrying arsenal . This all takes place before Melvin can get his revenge against the four who ultimately wronged him the most . There's a loopy sub-plot featuring the love-affair between Toxie and a blind babe who talks with eyes WIDE open ( . . she's the one with the dog who got shot by the hoods in the taco store ) . And , the actual chief villain of the film is the corrupt mayor of Tromaville ( . . the humongous Pat Ryan ) who works behind the scenes with the villainous scum behind the crime of the city . He wants Toxie dead for the heroic monster is bad for business . Obviously , this includes far more gratuitous material than was shown on USA many years ago , including boobs , gory violence , and ample profanity . There's a photo of the aftermath of the bicycle kid's brains all over the pavement , a crooked underling of the mayor gets his head smashed by a set of weights , and Toxie thrusts his fist into a stomach removing the guts . As you'd expect with a Troma film , the acting is ( . . intentionally ) so rotten it's hostile to the eyes , the camera-work & editing are ( . . purposely ) unprofessional , and the characters are ( . . obviously ) written as farcical ( . . and dimwitted ) as possible . Everything in the film is heightened to a great degree crying aloud . . this is supposed to be as loud and warped and sophomoric as possible for the viewing enjoyment of those with an appreciation for trash . There's this little part of me that embraces a film like Toxic Avenger because I think it succeeds in what it sets out to do , and the crowd catered to get their money's worth . The film is basically a vehicle to shock and disgust and does so unabashedly . |
436,192 | 9,938,570 | 69,239 | 7 | Hungry Wives | Very unusual Romero feature , which to me resembles a Cassavetes film , regarding an emotionally numb housewife , Joanie ( Jan White ) who desires something more than sitting at home while her hippie daughter Nikki ( Joedda McClain ) is out having a good time and husband , Jack ( Bill Thunhurst ) is always away on business . When Jack is home , he's constantly griping about this and that , and her daughter is dating Gregg ( Raymond Laine ) , a young man who embraces a care-free lifestyle and carries a very unappealing disregard for the suburban rich and the old establishment . Joanie's sexual life is anything but grand and she finds herself drawn to Gregg , despite finding his manners off-putting , and is quite uncomfortable with his liberated , unconcerned behavior towards those he finds ugly . Yet , she desires for his touch after arriving home after an unfortunate night with a really troubled neighborhood gal-pal , who Gregg embarrassed earlier in the evening after a visit with a witch ( . . he tricked her into believing that she was smoking marijuana ) , hearing the passions of her daughter being balled by him in Nikki's bedroom . Joanie becomes intrigued with witchcraft after her initial visit with the neighborhood witch , and soon starts dabbling with it after purchasing some items from a store . When Nikki leaves home after realizing her mom was listening to her throes of sexual bliss , Joanie soon supposedly uses a spell on Gregg to seduce him , with an affair as a result . Joanie is also plagued with surreal dreams of a nightmare man ( Bill Hinzman ) breaking into her home , dressed in black with a creepy disfigured mask , chasing after her . . when she attempts to escape Joanie finds that the outer door knobs are either chained or belted . In the opening scene , Joanie has a dream depicting various images of things both from her past ( . . a baby that may've been miscarried , limbs whipping across her face as hubby remains with his face buried in his newspaper unconcerned with her well being and practically ignoring her mere presence , future lover Gregg , among other things like riding a swing ) and possible future , with Romero setting up the fact that this woman is troubled with a variety of emotional problems . I think the film is an experimental , avant-garde way of viewing the psychological torment of a woman needing emotional fulfillment and not finding it . Through the subtle , under-played performance of Jan White ( . . I love an actress who tells us through her eyes what the character is truly going through , even if we can not see it on her face ) , we get an idea of how Joanie is hiding buried desires while attempting to disregard how she truly feels , eventually succumbing to them . I never felt she was a witch who could perform any act of magic , but someone embracing something new and different as a way of bringing meaning to an unrewarding life . Joanie is often shown , when her husband is home ( . . which isn't much ) , miserably withdrawn and perhaps seething with regret ( . . this was what I felt looking at her in the scenes when they are together in bed or at the dinner table ) at ever marrying this man . I don't think many casual horror ( . . and Romero ) fans will cling to " Season of the Witch " for it really isn't a horror film at all despite the deceptive title . More of a bleak study of a woman with too much time on her hands , living an unsatisfied life yearning for something more substantial . My favorite sequences concern Bill Hinzman's masked intruder who rushes Joanie attempting to assault her in her nightmares . Romero uses a lot of expressionistic lighting , often through window shades at night with his camera often closing tightly towards the faces of characters , mainly Joanie and Hinzman's nightmare man . The opening dream sequence is something straight out of Bunuel . . all you'd need is a goat as a finishing touch . Most of the film , though , is dialogue and performance , as the film often scathingly involves the nature of bored housewives , their behavior and gossip . The film very much rides on the success of White's performance because Romero's camera often focuses completely on her face . A great deal of the film is often claustrophobic , taking place in Joanie's home and Romero pretty much captures every aspect inside . . this is indeed Joanie's prison and I felt he does a good job of often confining us to this place . Still , the film is unpolished , often moving at a rather leisurely pace , with abrupt music disrupted by quick cuts from one scene to the next . The print , for which Anchor Bay apologized for , isn't the greatest in the world , looking quite affected by time . |
436,225 | 9,938,570 | 62,032 | 7 | Succubus | Lorna Green ( Janine Reynaud ) is a performance artist for wealthy intellectuals at a local club . She falls prey to her fantasies as the promise of romantic interludes turn into murder as she kills those who believe that sex is on the horizon . It's quite possible that , through a form of hypnotic suggestion , someone ( . . a possible task master pulling her strings like a puppet ) is guiding Lorna into killing those she comes across in secluded places just when it appears that love-making is about to begin . After the murders within her fantasies are committed , Lorna awakens bewildered , often clueless as to if what she was privy to within her dreams ever took place in reality . If someone asked me how to describe this particular work from Franco , I'd say it's elegant & difficult . By now , you've probably read other user comments befuddled by what this film is about , since a large portion of it takes place within the surreal atmosphere of a dream . Franco mentioned in an interview that he was heavily influenced by Godard early in his career , as far as film-making style , and so deciding to abandon a clear narrative structure in favor of trying to create a whole different type of viewing experience . And , as you read from the reaction of the user comments here . . some like this decision , others find the style labouring , dull , and bewildering . I'll be the first to admit that the film is over my head , but even Franco himself , when quizzed by critics who watched " Succubus " , admitted that he didn't even understand the film and he directed it ! Some might say that " Succubus " was merely a precursor to his more admired work , " Venus in Furs " , considered his masterwork by Franco-faithful , because it also adopts the surreal , dreamlike structure where the protagonist doesn't truly know whether he / she is experiencing something real or imagined . In a sense , like the protagonist , we are experiencing the same type of confusion . . certainly , " Succubus " is unconventional film-making where we aren't given the keys to what is exactly going on . And , a great deal of the elusive dialogue doesn't help matters . " Succubus " is also populated by beatnik types and " poet-speak " , Corman's film , " A Bucket of Blood " poked fun at . My personal favorite scene teases at a possible lesbian interlude between Lorna and a woman she meets at a posh party . . quite a bizarre fantasy sequence where mannequins are used rather unusually . Great locations and jazz score . . I liked this film myself , although I can understand why it does receive a negative reaction . Loved that one scene at the posh party with Lorna , a wee bit drunk , writhing on the floor in a gorgeous evening gown as others attending the shindig ( . . equally wasted ) rush her in an embrace of kisses . |
436,318 | 9,938,570 | 414,982 | 7 | Final Destination 3 | Wendy ( Mary Elizabeth Winstead ) , a control freak , is the chosen one who foresees tragic deaths at the hands of a roller-coaster hydraulics disaster causing the ride to run off it's rails . Certain characters are prevented this disaster , but , unfortunately , Wendy's boyfriend and best friend are not amongst the survivors . Her best friend's boyfriend , Kevin ( Ryan Merriman ) will assist her in trying to cheat death's force once again as it's angry and hungry for those souls lost in it's grip the first time around . Among the gory death sequences include a horrifying tanning incident ( I'll never set foot in a tanning bed after seeing this ) , how a motor fan ( exploding from the hood of Kevin's truck as they " dodge death " ) can inflict damage to a person's skull , how an exercise machine can be bad for your health ( . . specifically your head ) , how not to use a staple gun ( one word for this sequence . . OUCH ! ) , and how a sign can smash one poor soul slicing him in half ( quite a nasty bit of business ) . But , these death sequences don't even come close to the harrowing subway sequence that closes the film . Wendy's premonition of the roller-coaster disaster is quite a humdinger as well . Before each death , the film exposes to us death's design in full from start to finish . . how every little detail is met to ensure those targeted die quite terribly . When death's design takes root , Wendy feels the force like a wind . . in a graveyard scene , trees actually tilt to one side ! Also , Wendy's camera , that took photos for the yearbook containing the characters who made it off the roller-coaster , gives away clues to how they each will die the second time . Like in the Saw series , I can just picture script writers at their laptops and around tables with their thinking caps on coming up with elaborate ways on how to murder these characters in the film . Surely , though , if you are entering the theater by the third film you ought to know what you're in for . It's all about how death will retrieve the souls that escaped it the first time , but far more unpleasantly . I believe this supernatural ( literally ) slasher should please fans of the series . It delivers , I believe , exactly what fans expect . More discriminating viewers will probably quite often exclaim , " Yeah right " , rolling their eyes , bemoaning at such a picture as this one . I'm a fan of the series so it worked well enough for me . |
436,859 | 9,938,570 | 848,557 | 7 | Diary of the Dead | I remember seeing a very uncomfortable George Romero being interviewed by one of his stars John Leguisamo on the DVD for " Land of the Dead " and realized that this director is always in a better place when he can make the zombie films his way , not under the tyrannical eye of studio bosses who wish to add their two cents to how he should do this and that . I later watched the DVD document on " Diary of the Dead " and George appeared spirited and relaxed . . he was making the film with a much smaller budget , independently without the pressures that plagued his previous undead picture . Saying that , the new undead film I felt was a heavy-handed but ultimately satisfying excursion into the Blair Witch territory of what the camera eyeballs in real time with an obsessed starving student filmmaker wishing to capture their experiences for a misinformed public to see . I think the heavy-handedness is in the narration from Debra ( Michelle Morgan ) who is our voice into the aftermath of a zombie plague that has slowly swept across the United States and world , and how our government in America is trying to keep the truth from us , telling the story of her boyfriend Jason Creed , a starving student filmmaker who often aggravates his peers with how he drives them to participate in the live emotions they feel while capturing the situations they face . The experiences as the group moves from one place to the next include coming across zombies , a town group who have formed a society using goods abandoned by a frightened public seeking shelter elsewhere , nasty National Guardmen who want their food , a kindly mute Amish farmer who offers a barn refuge when the zombie close in , a hospital when one of the students shoots herself in desperation after driving through people , Debra's parents ' house , and a fellow student's parents ' mansion equipped with a safe room . There is a limited amount of zombies which will undoubtedly disappoint those fans wanting non-stop grue . The flesh eating is at a minimum and , unlike the previous four in the undead series , there isn't a " feeding frenzy " where a large group are overrun and rip to pieces by hungry zombies . The cast is mostly young college movie career types with cell phones and egos , wishing to remain alive not knowing what lies ahead , by forging forward anyway with Jason capturing everything he can , even putting his life in great danger . For me , I felt what hurts Romero's film is that so many zombie films have flooded the market over the years , not much of what takes place feels fresh . The technique used for the plot of this undead film has been applied by dozens of other filmmakers over the years . And , sadly , there's nothing fresh about our government's methods at concealing the truth from a terrified and confused public . These will factor into , I'm sure , why many will side against " Diary . . " although , I enjoyed Romero's attempts at something different , in his undead series . The novelty of this modern age's media overload , with the internet & cell phones , used as a device to tell his story , I think Romero's social satire might just be laid on a bit thick , but I understood what he was trying to do . Romero has admitted that each zombie film is meant to make statements on the life of civilization in the world ( . . or town in the US ) at each specific time , so the facts that he explores how our nation might react to such an undead plague has potential for exploration . Now that I found out a sequel is in the works , perhaps as a series , this film will work better once it's companion is made . The use of cell phones , the internet & regular steadicams does provide some affective scenes along the way ( . . as does security cameras ) . Romero injects dark humor in the film , as well , and I like the little mummy gag . Romero uses a combination of practical effects with computer graphics . But , the film is ultimately about the effects of a zombie outbreak overtaking a nation through the eyes ( . . and camera ) of a group of would-be student filmmakers . The violent bits include : what one victim , bitten , does with a scythe when a zombie is tearing into his neck , putting the curved blade through two heads in one strike . A zombie's skull disintegrates from acid . A zombie nurse's eyes explode ( . . yet , it continues to pursue humans after the fact ) after electric jolts from a defibrillator machine thanks to paddles applied to her head by one of the scared students seeking help for their friend who had just shot herself . |
436,126 | 9,938,570 | 289,438 | 7 | School Killer | Why has Ramón ( Carlos Fuentes ) brought his five college mates to a spooky abandoned school building which used to service the black sheep children of wealth ? That answer might just lie in a diary in his possession supposedly written by his dying father . What they come in contact with is in fact a relived episode involving another group of six , with five of them presumably meeting graphic fates at the hands of a sadistic security guard ( Paul Naschy ) which occurred 20 some odd years ago . But , as they seek out a way to escape from this place , terror awaits them as that horrifying moment in time replays as the group run for their lives , often in states of panic as the killer begins to hunt and destroy them in a various bloody ways . Will Ramón and any of his pals survive this night of horror or becomes ghosts forever repeating the very same night like those before them ? Stylish Spanish slasher has that professional gloss and potent , shocking violence to match . Some witty exchanges between the characters . . layered in their dialogue are pop-culture references to American horror films which might annoy some viewers . A demented Naschy is really ferocious with the kiddies as he attacks them gleefully . . quite a bloodthirsty maniac who carries out his violent acts with relish . I found the loud musical cues a bit annoying and the filmmakers often use flashbacks from previous events in the film as reminders to the audience . I don't think these tricks are necessarily needed , but felt the director wished to communicate in depth with the viewer hence the use of cues and flashbacks . A minor diversion for this film's plot keeps moving and the camera follows the pace of the characters and how they react to the chaotic situation presented to them . Your enjoyment of this film may ultimately come down to your acceptance of the paranormal supernatural aspects of the plot . Moments in time relived and a killer who continues his work seemingly from the grave . The twist does seem a bit jarring and abrupt , but this might ( . . or might not ) work considering how the story plays out regarding why Ramón's father is shown amongst those ghosts re-enacting those grisly events two decades prior . I will say that this film probably wouldn't hold up if scrutinized in detail , but as a slasher flick , it's a breath of fresh air . |
436,213 | 9,938,570 | 48,696 | 7 | Tarantula | Working on a nutrient experiment that could both grow a food supply large enough to feed an ever growing global populace ( while also hoping to perfect a nutrient that would keep humans from needing food ) , a rare disease called acromegaly ( causes the pituitary gland to malfunction causing facial , neck , hands & feet distortions resulting in suffocation and death towards humans , most of the time over many years after receiving it ) is found in a corpse in the desert near the town of Desert Rock . Professor Gerald Deemer ( Leo G Carroll ) , a nutrient biologist , is the remaining member of a trio working on the experiment , whose colleague and understudy ( both way too eager to see if they had perfected their experiment ) die from acromegaly . The understudy , Paul , revolting against his professor , causes serious damage to their lab while getting his mad revenge by injecting Deemer with their created nutrient . While a fire kills most of the caged animals being experimented on , a tarantula escapes , growing daily in size . On a murderous rampage through the desert , sucking human and cattle dry to the bones , country doctor Matt Hastings ( John Agar ) , Desert Rock sheriff Jack Andrews ( Nestor Paiva ) and Deemer's new understudy Stephanie " Steve " Clayton ( the lovely Mara Corday ) will find themselves in great danger as it leaves puddles of venom as a reminder of where it's been ( . . including rock slides which nearly kill Matt and Steve ) . During the film we , along with Steve , watch as Deemer slowly succumbs to acromegaly attacking his body at an alarming rate . We also watch as the gigantic tarantula scours the desert downing power lines , hovering over screaming human victims with little room to escape , and on the prowl for it's next meal . I guess , many will watch a creature feature such as this one for chuckles and kicks . I admired the effects for a ' 55 film . At the very least , the story's premise was intelligent and thoughtful . . the whole idea that these scientists , thinking about the future and how to thwart starvation and hunger , with their experiments , as always was the case when man attempts to solve the problems we face , ending with tragic consequences . I felt that Deemer seems singled out as a villain , because of his dogged secrecy regarding understudy Paul ( . . and his colleague's fate as well ) , but his overall intentions are good , and perhaps success would've been imminent had his partners been more patient . The effects of the tarantula are flawed , but I admired such effort and there are some nifty scenes such as one where the spider attacks Deemer's home , and another where it knocks over a power pole with sparks flying . If you want to nit-pick , there's room to scrutinize , but I thought this B-movie effort from the great director Jack Arnold was lots of fun . Agar was always a charming and handsome lead , very likable and Mara Corday his equal , as the typical screaming woman running for her life as the tarantula draws near . I think Carroll fits the bill nicely as a scientist who means well , but holds a responsibility for telling the authorities of what had transpired , opting instead to pursuing a breakthrough with his limited time left , receiving his grim fate , often handed down to characters who weren't completely honest when they should've been . |
436,934 | 9,938,570 | 89,013 | 7 | Demons | A mysterious partially masked young man is handing out special tickets to people on the subway for the attendance of a theater house called Metropol . Once inside , a film will be played about four young adults who visit Nostradamus ' grave and facing demonic possession and mutilation . The cause was a demonic mask which cuts one of them toying with it . In the theater of Metropol a hooker finds a metallic mask prop which leaves her with a little cut when she started wearing it in jest . The wound bubbles and explodes green puss . From their she transforms into a demon clawing her friend leading to a plague of demonic possession as anyone who receives a slashing from the fingernails of those " diseased " turn as well . Soon everyone finds out about the demonic presence as they witness a woman transform in a hideous sequence . Darting for the exits , they are blocked off with no escape it seems . Soon a breakout of attacks by those possessed leads to a major problem for the remaining survivors not only trying to remain safe , but finding a way out . The film centers on George ( Urbano Barberini ) and love-interest Cheryl ( Natasha Hovey ) trying to lead those still alive to safety while we see an onslaught of bloody effects thanks to demons tearing the flesh of anyone running for their very lives . Those still alive decide that the movie must be stopped and when they enter the projection room notice that it runs automatically . Even after destroying the machines , the evil still remains leading them to realize that the theater itself houses the true demonic force terrorizing them . We see this when a door opens for a group of druggies to enter in so that they could escape police . . but , a demon is let out ( the blind man , whose non-functioning eyes were gouged out ) , to roam the outside world , let free to spread the demonic plague on others . Crazed and graphic , Lamberto Bava's horror flick is filled to the brim with gruesome bits and carnage . How the demonic force came to be and who the host of this demonic attack on the senses really is remain a mystery never quite elaborated on in any form or detail . This movie is about style and gore . . and this is exactly where it succeeds . Lamberto Bava & company unleashes a violent frenzy of ripped flesh and slashed throats . The film is know for the off-the-wall sequence where a helicopter comes into the picture and you might see similarities between this film and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD . . Romero's film is clearly an inspiration . While these are classified as demons , they operate and function like mad zombies desiring to kill . This is the perfect anecdote for the horror fan craving lots of gore . Once the bloodshed ensues , Lamberto and company pull out all the stops . The flick really is a never ending cycle of bloody death . |
436,123 | 9,938,570 | 366,292 | 7 | One Missed Call | Yumi's friends are dying in bizarre ways to what seems to be a supernatural vengeful ghost who forewarns her prey by sending them a ring-tone playing a specific tune . Following that tune is the final words spoken from each chosen victim's mouth before they die . On their phones , is a set date and time in the future when they will perish . Yumi ( Kou Shibasaki ) joins forces with Hiroshi Yamashita ( Shin'ichi Tsutsumi ) , whose sister was a chosen victim who died from terrible burns . Their journey to find out who is responsible for the abnormal murdering spree leads to a family with possible abuse involved . There's an important sub-plot featuring Yumi's harsh up-bringing that might be an essential aspect in the grand scheme of things . One major question is obvious . . why are these certain victims chosen ? Why would a ghost go out of her way to kill these people randomly ? The film seems like a standard , modern Asian horror flick using technology as a means for ghouls to travel so they can inflict bodily harm to their chosen victims , if you go by the premise alone . But , Miike does get a chance to imbue his warped sense of humor within the plot as Yumi's final college chum , Natsumi ( Kazue Fukiishi ) is exploited by a television show for ratings as the world watches with bated breath if she'll die in the studio across the airwaves as a monk tries to exorcise her from the monster pursuing her . And , the final thirty minutes toys with us as it shifts from one proposed ending to another . To be honest , the supposed climax in the old abandoned hospital , quite darkly lit , where we think Yumi is finally encountering the ghostly killer claiming her life is next , is solidly eerie . I think , for the most part , this is a professionally made , well-executed , slow-burn creeper . Rather level-headed ( . . but , still with quite a few WTF ? sequences to keep us on our toes ) , if a bit overlong . I think there's a good 90 minute movie here , but I do still think it's worthwhile even it's not Miike at his best . I'm afraid , this film's air of familiarity will hurt it somewhat . |
435,903 | 9,938,570 | 100,261 | 7 | Nightmare at Noon | A completely albino Brion James ( . . everything white , including his eyes and little hat ) works for some sort of terrorist organization as he , surrounded by gun-toting hoods in suits , injects a desert community's water supply with a type of toxic liquid which causes those who drink it in the community to go apesh ! t , some sort of homicidal rage with their faces skin tone turning a shade of green not to mention their blood . A lawyer , Ken ( Wings Hauser ) and his wife Cheri ( Kimberly Beck ) are on a weeks vacation who happen to enter this town after picking up a hitchhiker , Reilly ( Bo Hopkins . . is this guy cool or what ? ) , an ex-cop thrown off the force for murdering a rapist . Canyonland , the name of the little town , a tiny spot surrounded by a desert mountainous landscape , is the community whose citizens have become homicidal and extremely powerful . The sheriff , Hanks ( George Kennedy ) and his daughter , Julia ( Kimberly Ross ) must somehow contain order when chaos has erupted all around them , needing the assistance of Ken & Reilly as once-normal folks attempt to attack the group and each other . This was quite a multi-genre movie . Parts horror , action , western , and zombie movie , it kind of feels like " The Crazies " set in around Utah . The cast is why I'd recommend it to genre fans , but there are lots of action sequences and bizarre attacks such as when one old-timer in overalls named Charlie goes berserk , stabbing a diner waitress in the hand with a knife , tossing Ken and Reilly throughout the establishment like rag dolls , stealing a cop car after throwing Julia over the hood ( ! ) , driving his car through a lady with curls still in her hair when she attempts to curse him out for ramming into the back of her vehicle , blasting cars with a shot-gun , and even shooting his own son ( . . a deputy attempting to secure the shot-gun away from pa ) point-blank . You have a mother chasing after her daughter with a butcher knife . A motorcycle rider shooting folks on the street before hitting a car with his bike exploding into a car . Even Ken's wife ( . . who happen to drink water in the diner ) wigs out throwing Julia into a wall ! Poor Julia gets thrown around the room by an unhinged Cheri as Ken and Reilly must deal with a scrawny crazed auto mechanic in a junk yard . Looking for something different . . this is it . Fans of Wings Hauser will get a kick out of playing against type as a " tenderfoot " yuppie lawyer . And , Bo Hopkins gets to be a laconic hero , chewing gum , wearing his shades , and knowing exactly what needs to be done . And , good ole George Kennedy again portrays the fatherly , trustworthy man of wisdom with reserve and dignity . . his fate will leave many mourning . Try it out if just for Brion James as the mute in white who has the technology to render a town without the power to communicate or leave when he sets up an electronic perimeter which shuts down the ability to leave town in your vehicle or call out for help . Lots of shoot-outs and gushing green blood . Even a helicopter chase around mountains . Bodies in slow motion as they propel in the air . |
436,685 | 9,938,570 | 67,243 | 7 | Assault ( The Creepers ) | A hideous rape to a lovely young teen girl heading home through the woods after exiting her all-girls-school opens this adult British mystery thriller . Soon , the one responsible for the rape will strike again , this time killing the second victim . Although this time the man gets sloppy as an Art teacher , Julie West ( the beautiful Suzy Kendall ) drives her car , with other students inside the back seat , into the forest on the main road finding him hovering over the dead student's body . Her description is hazy because of the light reflecting on his face . She still poses a threat , but not as so as the first victim , Tessa ( Lesley-Anne Down ) whose so traumatized she's borderline catatonic . Several possible suspects are served to us such as Dr . Greg Lomax ( James Laurenson ) who is trying to mentally assist Tessa back to health , Dr . Bartell ( Anthony Ainley ) , and the headmistresses husband ( Leslie Sanford ; who is often shown peering at girls ' legs , up their skirts and carries a lustful gaze ) . Det Chief Velyan ( Frank Finlay ) will reluctantly agree to allow Julie to make artistic renditions of a possible murderer , placed in the newspaper of a dogged reporter ( Freddie Jones , underneath a large hat and sunshades ) to flush the killer out of hiding . Here is when the danger towards Julie . . and Tessa . . increases as someone will obviously attempt to silence the voices that can put him away . I watched this film under a low-quality VHS print under the title , " The Creepers " and must say I liked it . I've noticed many label this a British giallo and that's a pretty good assessment I must say . It shows poor Tessa get her shirt and bra viciously torn off , nude photos of naked girls found by the headmistress possibly implicating her vile husband who will not hide his lust for young nubile flesh . The music was a bit loud , often melodramatically overlapping key moments of dialogue like when Julie was being interviewed by Lomax in the police car . I liked Kendall as Julie , quite a strong female heroine performance as she must contend with the fact that this killer is at large and could be just about anyone . The opening chase scenes through the woods as a killer stalked his two victims is dazzling and frightening at the same time . Tense final revelation where the killer reveals himself to be quite an important man in society while chasing poor Tessa , who has trouble even speaking or responding to anything , is a fine conclusion as Julie tries to save her as she is being raped yet again . |
436,851 | 9,938,570 | 89,087 | 7 | The Emerald Forest | Tommy is taken from his family by an Amazon tribe called " The Invisible Ones " and father Bill spends ten years searching for him . After finding a few leads , he has an encounter with a dangerous cannibal tribe called " The Fierce Ones " and actually stumbles on his son as he tries to flee for his life . The dilemma of the piece comes with a decision left up to Tommy , leave his tribe which are essentially his real family after ten years of living with them or joining his father in the modern civilization across the river . The film is more a focus on how modernization , progress if you will , has began to wipe out the trees and land of Amazon tribes as they slowly die out . Interesting enough is that Bill is a model example of this type of progress as he heads a log dam which clears land once civilized by The Fierce Ones tribe . He will spend time with The Invisible Ones tribe and find the error of his ways seeing that what he and others ( White Man ) are doing to people who have lived here for centuries destroying cultures . We also see how the ugliness of prostitution has became a stigma to tribes as The Fierce Ones trade women from The Invisible Ones tribe for machine guns . Using the machine guns , The Fierced Ones have a clear advantage over The Invisible Ones and their mere spears . Again , through that we see how progress can also destroy a civilization . . The Fierce Ones can wipe out who they deem a threat and / or nuisance with advanced weaponry . When The Invisible Ones lose a great deal of their men to those machine gun attacks , Tomme ( his name amongst his tribe ) will search for his father across the river for help to get back their women who have been traded to a prostitution house . Stunning cinematography ( by Philippe Rousselot ) and score are highlights of this amazingly shot film set in the Amazon . Through Boorman's fluid camera-work , we follow the characters as they travel to destinations in the immense forest , yet see what is happening as modernization is chopping away the trees that once populated said Amazon forest . I thought the angle of the modern age clashing with tribal customs in the form of Tommy to be the strong point of the film while the progress part of the film as it pertains to the cultures being wiped out laid on a bit too thick . I didn't quite like the remaining twenty minutes ( the deal with the prostitution ring resulting in heavy violence and the whole rain ordeal as it destroys the dam ) as much as the first hour as Powers Booth's Bill was amongst a culture of people he knew nothing about . Seeing his son almost completely tribal is interesting not to mention the viewer getting a glimpse into a unique culture of people and their ways of living . The mythological aspects were also diverting from the realism of the film ( if a wee bit silly ) . Young Charley Boorman is quite impressive as Tomme . |
436,081 | 9,938,570 | 826,587 | 7 | Night Junkies | Lurid vampire film , set within a seedy part of London where night feeders feast on the blood of prostitutes . Well two , in particular , both bitten by a mysterious woman , never named ( . . and whose face is never shown ) . One is Vincent Monroe ( Giles Alderson ) , a night feeder who waxes existential about how the addiction for blood is akin to a heroine junkie's need for the next fix . He falls in love with a tough-talking , street-wise exotic dancer , Ruby ( Katia Winter , who smolders on screen ) for whom he bites , and turns , into a feeder . Ruby is haunted by the nightmarish childhood where memories of her heroine-addicted father ( . . seen at the opening as we view his puss-oozing arm , infected by the ugly needles ) who would commit suicide in the next room . Ruby is being groomed as the top stripper of a club magnate , Max ( Jonathan Coyne ) , a bald vicious sort , in tailor-made suits who " protects " the female investments under his employ . The lucrative prostitution ring he runs in his stripping establishment is ran under Max's iron fist and , along with his muscle ( Daniel Kobbina ) , persuades his girls to participate in keeping the business a success . Ruby is continuously pressured by Max to take her position as a dancer one step further by making more money having sex with clients . Soon Ruby will attempt to leave her boss with Vincent working as her avenger . . but a Jack-the-Ripper type psychopath ( René Zagger ) , under Max's employ , also a feeder ( . . the other male turned by the mysterious female who seems to meet men she picks up at bars with the sole intent on spreading her " sickness " to others ) has a fixation with Ruby and will seek revenge for what Vincent does to his boss , as well as to settle a score with the one who denounced his advances . This psycho is the actual one feasting on his boss ' employees . I commend the effort of director Lawrence Pearce whose obviously working with a rather low budget . . it really shows because he shoots most of the film at night , with characters shot in darkened rooms and streets . Set in London , the director opts to show very little of the characteristics associated with the city , probably due to financial woes than choice . Yes , he does use modern techniques , but the director seems intent on keeping this " vampire " tale story-driven , even if the setting is riddled with foul characters and ugly circumstances . London , in this film , is portrayed as a nasty world replete with loathsome people . The title is quite appropriate . . this views vampirism as an addiction with the need to feed insatiable , always there yearning for blood as the body desires oxygen . We are privy to Vincent's methods in how he selects and disposes with his victims . He tries to be selective , but there are times where he must not be choosy . He informs Ruby as they stroll a bridge that over the edge is his " . . cute little community which rests at the bottom of the Thames . " Ruby finds this repulsive , but Vincent believes he's doing them the community a service , if he left the bodies he fed from lying dead , " . . it'd be like a user dumping needles on the street . " This film is very talky with Vincent narratively explaining the burden of his addiction . At the forefront is this tragic love story between two lost souls trying to make a pact against feeding , but fighting the craving for blood ( . . along with the psycho searching for them and his climactic confrontation ) will test their bond . Not a bad little movie , I rather liked it . But , the film is drenched in unpleasantness ( the sleazy nature of Max's business is exploited ; René Zagger's sadistic psycho beats a drunken hooker across the face in a rage , lapping up the blood on her face like a starving mutt ) , so it's not for all tastes ( . . pun intended ) . Many might feel that René Zagger is a bit too over-the-top . . he certainly seems to be enjoying himself , relishing his violent behavior theatrically . |
436,099 | 9,938,570 | 878,695 | 7 | Murder Party | Insane goremedy about an unfortunate average-joe who discovers an invite at his feet on the sidewalk to a " murder party " on Halloween . Expecting a Halloween-themed costume party , Chris ( Chris Sharp ) finds this an then some with a gathering of eccentric artistes who plan to use him as their focal inspiration for an extreme art piece . The group will murder him in some grotesque way yet undetermined as Chris is tackled by them and tied to a chair , bound and gagged , he awaits in horror as they discuss and delay his artistic demise . . he's to be a sacrificial lamb as the artists compete for a grant promised to the one who impresses their mentor , Alexander ( Alex Barnett ) the most . But , as the night approaches the witching hour ( . . the time appointed for Chris ' death by Alexander ) , unforeseen circumstances arise and Chris watches as those among him fall prey to their own frailties , egos & insecurities , with the scene actually turning into a legitimate murder party . Alexander brings to the party a drug-dealing foreigner with a gun named Zycho ( Bill Tangradi ) who has a barbiturate which works as a truth serum and doping agent . . this will bring out the buried secrets which will compel murderous acts along with a very unstable painter modeling his costume after the baseball furies from " The Warriors " who needed such a place to unleash his hidden desires for bloodshed . While the graphic violence rears it's ugly head at the end , most of this film is a satire on artists and their pursuit for achieving success . Chris is a blue-collar product of the working class who makes the fateful decision ( . . probably taking that step at doing something unpredictable which throws a potential cog in the wheel of his daily routine of getting up , going to work , coming home , and watching television ) of entering a world very different from his own . But , as the film culminates towards the violence , it's an explosion with poor Chris experiencing the madness first-hand . I think many will find this unique , refreshing and different than the usual horror coming out these days , while others will be repelled , disturbed and sickened by the dark humorous situations that occur as the film continues . As far as the gore is concerned , director Jeremy Saulnier cheats a bit , not always having his camera hone in on the violent acts ( . . probably due to budgetary constraints , and perhaps not wanting to have his film too gratuitous ) . But , there are some rather unsettling moments of violence that achieve quite a visceral feel such as when one sets his werewolf mask on fire ( . . trying to light a cigarette ) with parts of the rubber melting into his face as he attempts to peel it away and the use of a chainsaw to the face . Bullets shot into the heads of certain victims as blood drools and wicked swings of a baseball bat also play into the violent climax . There's even an ax attack on artists during an exhibit performance . I'm pretty sure many will be wondering whether or not ( . . as they are watching the film ) this will ever have murders during the party because the director builds up to it by exposing the artists and their MANY faults as they seem to delay the inevitable . I found this amusing because when the violence ensues it rarely stops , until Chris attempts to flee the maniac left standing . The film is , in my opinion , quite tongue-and-cheek and shouldn't be taken too seriously . If looked at improperly , this film might be quite unpleasant viewing . |
436,037 | 9,938,570 | 370,082 | 7 | Wishing Stairs | If you give your heart , the 29th step will appear and grant your wish . It's one of those " Be Careful What You Wish For " type horror flicks with an invisible 29th step taking the place of the genie's lamp . Overweight Hae-ju climbs the 28 stairs nearby her boarding school hoping to lose the excess fat that has made her quite a fixture for chuckles and ridicule . When she takes that one extra step , it seems her wish has come true when Hae-ju notices such rapid weight-loss in such a short period of time . Kim so-hee is quite a success in her ballerina class and an apparent shoo-in for the special part of Gisele in a major Russian play . She's in love with a class-mate , Jin-sung ( the film doesn't just come right out and say it loudly , but you can see her adoration for Jin-sung in nearly every moment they are together ) who desperately covets the same part so-hee seems destined to portray . Jealous and obsessed , Jin-sung scales the 28 stairs , eyes closed in concentration , hoping to make that one extra step desiring the role of Gisele over so-hee . When , like Hae-ju , she feels that 29th step under her feet , Jin-sung gains hope that it'll all work out for her behalf . It does , but there are consequences for making such a request . . in a tragic set of events , Jin-sung will accidentally push so-hee down a stairway . Kim so-hee's leg is damaged in the process and subsequent grief leads to the young girl to the point of taking a leap out her hospital window . Blamed and hated by the students in her class , Jin-sung gets what she asked for , but it costs her much more than she receives . But , Jin-sung's nightmare merely begins . . secretly Hae-ju had a fixated hero-worship for Kim so-hee and takes to the 29 steps in request that the one she deeply cared for would return . In true " monkey's paw " fashion , it's quite possible Kim so-hee just might answer that request , with both Jin-sung and Hae-ju becoming haunted by her spirit . |
435,775 | 9,938,570 | 785,533 | 7 | Stuart Gordon's The Black Cat | Edgar Allen Poe ( Jeffrey Combs , a bit hammy but still entertaining ) is really struggling to find the inspiration to write another tale of the fantastic as his darling wife Virginia is slowly dying from tuberculosis ( " The White Plague " ) and his damn cat Pluto seems to be more irritating than usual . Living in poverty and drinking heavily , Poe is sliding into an abyss of sadness and depression . Virginia wishes to sell her beloved piano and Edgar returns from another round of gobbling booze so the idea of talking finances seems moot . A visitor , hoping to purchase their piano , is witness , along with drunken Edgar , to Virginia's beautiful playing only to see the horror of her throat's blood vessel bursting resulting in lots of splatter . Blood all over the piano and floor as Pluto drinks a little from a puddle . Very soon , Virginia can no longer stand very long and is practically bedridden . But , they are so poor ( . . and Edgar makes so little for his work during this period ) and burdened with debt that their doctor will no longer invest in the welfare of her condition . With his wife at death's door and a creative drought lasting endlessly , Edgar is slowly growing mad and Pluto the cat just won't keep away from the pet goldfish and canary . He even claims that the cat is " killing " Virginia as Edgar spots it around her face when he walks into the bedroom . Soon she's passed on and he is at the point of no return . . blaming the poor cat , Edgar cuts out his eyeball and eventually hangs him . Yep , cat lovers may wish to look elsewhere for their entertainment . With no money to properly bury his beloved , Edgar decides to leave her casket open while burning down the home they lived in . . while Pluto hangs from the neck in death . Little does he know that Virginia actually awakens from the dead and Edgar carries her from the flaming house to live elsewhere . Yet , he will be haunted by the sound of a cat and the shadows of the feline loom around him . Stuart Gordon presents a stunning looking film which might appeal to gorehounds and B & W Gothic horror fans alike . One image seems directly inspired by Tourneur's " Cat People " as a frightened Edgar walks hurriedly from a bar he just got thrown out of as a large panther-like shadow follows him across the stone walls of buildings . There's a nasty " head-splitting " scene where an unfortunate victim stands in the way for Pluto as Edgar lunges an ax directly into said person's face dicing the skull . The blood-vessel burst is a nasty bit of business as Stuart has sprays and gobs of the thick red stuff landing on the camera and piano keys . It's clear Stuart had to add a little black humor within the sad scene as the cat drinks from a blood puddle as if it were milk . The effects are amazingly accomplished on such a tight budget using both make-up effects and computer generated work . I watched the behind-the-scenes documents on the making of the short film from the Masters of Horror brand and the creation of the special effects and make-up . Combs looks very similar to Poe . My only real problem is the dialogue which seems rather modern , but I dealt with it okay , I guess . I think Gothic horror fans would fall in love with Stuart's use of black and white photography , splicing bits of color within . The setting , I felt , was pretty accurate for that time period considering the smallish budget this kind of production has . I am kind of curious if the twist at the end will work for many . . I kind of thought it works as a presentation of a troubled artist finding inspiration through a bout of dementia . |
435,990 | 9,938,570 | 373,889 | 7 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Harry Potter's internal struggle with the evil Lord Voldemort is at the heart of this cerebral installment , taking a break from the overpowering action we are used to seeing ( . . tournament wizard contests and such ) instead focusing on a potential threat towards Hogwarts school in the chuckling new professor , Dolores Umbridge ( Imelda Staunton ) with her wide-eyes and seemingly modest exterior harbours an aggressive desire to have full control of the school , operating by her strict standards , attempting to remove wizardry , enabling the students to practice their craft . Secretly a war is brewing between Dumbledore ( Michael Gambon ) and Voldemort with Harry playing a vital chess piece . It will be revealed that either Harry or Voldemort will live but both can not co-exist , a prophesy most certain to propel the next film . But , this film does follow Harry ' further growth as a powerful wizard , and his nemesis particularly in this movie is Umbridge who wishes to silence the young man from even mentioning Voldemort's name . Pursuing the knowledge of casting spells which can protect them from harm , and thus enabling them to join Dumbledore's army , Hermoine ( Emma Watson ) and Ron ( Rupert Grint ) will convince Harry to train volunteers secretly behind Umbridge's back . Harry also converses with his godfather , wrongfully accused serial killer Sirius Black ( Gary Oldman ) who keeps him informed of the latest news regarding what Dumbledore wishes to remain hidden for his safety . We witness a very paranoid Minster of the Ministry of Magic believing that Dumbledore may be enlisting a force against him ( . . perhaps in part to whispers from those who might wish to see Dumbledore out as headmaster of Hogwarts ) and it's visible as the newspapers increase the unease as Potter's claim of Voldemort's return has many split , some considering it bogus , others worried that he's correct . Film still features state-of-the-art special effects ( . . such as our introduction to Hagrid's giant half-brother and the frightening dementors working for Voldemort ) , but the emphasis is more towards Potter as a central figure as turmoil rages within the world of magic and wizardry . While growing into adulthood , the teenage students are forced into adult decisions as secret evils await them and the political order of things is a boiling pot where Voldemort is on the thoughts of everyone even if many would rather remain blinded / oblivious to such a horrifying truth . You get a nifty showdown between Dumbledore and Voldemort and the teen wizards even face off with Voldemort's brood who escape Azkaban . Potter's emergence as a powerful wizard whose humanity is his strength ( . . Voldemort considers him weak because of his emotions for those he loves ) an unfolding character arc because he will be tested against the dark powers with Voldemort desiring to take control of his body . And , a very important plot-point emerges regarding Severus Snape ( Alan Rickman ) and why he holds such a grudge against Harry , concerning Potter's father . Once again we realize that Lucius Malfoy ( Jason Isaacs ) is a dangerous presence in that he's an agent for Voldemort working on the inside , an intruder who can disrupt things within the Ministry of Magic . Helena Bonham Carter returns in a small role as sorceress Bellatrix Lestrange , murdering a major supporting character who was such a guiding force in Harry's life . Above all , the importance of friendship is at the very core of this installment . . Harry needs the support of his friends and allies more than ever before . There's a lot going on and it's clear that the screenplay tries to fit as much as possible from the source novel . |
436,516 | 9,938,570 | 81,081 | 7 | Contraband | Lucio Fulci's lone foray into the Euro-crime genre stars Fabio Testi as Luca Di Angelo , the brother of a slain mobster who must somehow survive the mafioso takeover of the sadistic Marsigliese ( Marcel Bozzuffi ) in Naples , Italy , also vowing revenge against him and his sleazy gun-toting henchman . The Marsigliese is targeting all the mob gangs who run illegal smuggling operations , wishing to take over the whole city as chief crime-lord , but the thorn in his side is Luca , who is willing to do whatever it takes to avenge his brother's murder ( . . which , adding to the agony , happened not far from him ) . My very first Poliziotteschi was entertaining for it's graphic blood-letting and enthusiastic staging of gangsters and hoods being killed / beaten in ultra-violent ways ( . . I do wonder if the slow motion action set-pieces , where characters fall from great heights or through windows , was inspired by Bloody Sam ) . Bodies riddled by bullets , with lots of blood squibs . A woman's face is viciously scorched . Brains shot out the back of a mobster's skull . A spike stabbed into a hood's chest as blood slowly leaks out . A throat is blown apart . Even though Fulci wasn't directing a horror flick , he could still serve up the blood shed unrestrained within a serviceable plot dealing with a criminal world wrought with violence and corruption . The cast and story are quite familiar to what you often associate with mafioso tales featuring betrayal , revenge , & violent methods at securing power , prestige , and wealth . A shared empire is desired by a mafioso boss with a grand scheme to run coke through Naples without the trouble of other mobs dealing in lesser " risky " criminal ventures . Interesting enough , we are taken right into the criminal underworld as investigators attempt to solve the string of murders occurring across the city . But , we see how crime doesn't always pay and if you are immersed in this culture , as Luca is ( . . pulled into assisting a smuggling empire with his slain brother and other capos ) , there's a possibility that you endanger those you love . In CONTRABAND , Luca's wife is kidnapped , badly beaten , and anally raped as the Marsigliese demands a partnership ( . . it's all a set-up to finish off the last , remaining capo left in the city ) in his drug-running operation . Nifty climactic showdown with old retired dons helping out Luca against Marsigliese and his thugs with even Fulci getting to fire a machine gun ! Composer Fabio Frizzi provides a rather disco-funkadelic type of score coexisting within a brutal crime story . Saverio Marconi has a memorable role as a trusted mobster , Luigi Perlante , who is in cahoots with the Marsigliese , Ajita Wilson ( Macumba sexual ) has a minor role as part of Luigi's entourage , and Romano Puppo is the Marsigliese's cold-blooded trigger man . Venantino Venantini is Captain Tarantino and Fabrizio Jovine is the Chief of Police , trying to end the smuggling operations plaguing their economy-deprived city . The film's bread-n-butter are the shoot-outs and assassinations , with Fulci trying to cover up the story's inadequacies with lots of action . The film does suffer some pacing issues with an on-going gag involving Guido Alberti , as the powerful Don Morrone , watching television , with only an appetite for spaghetti westerns . Photographed by the great Sergio Salvati , Fulci's long time cinematographer ( . . and a staple for Charles Band productions as well ) . Special effects from Germano Natali , a long time collaborator with Fulci and Argento , whose work here is satisfactory ( . . the stand-out , besides the brains exploding from a skull , being a henchman's stomach exploding from a shot-gun blast , with his intestines spilling out on the street ; the weakest effect showing the obvious fake head of a mafioso being blown apart by a machine gun ) . |
436,679 | 9,938,570 | 62,453 | 7 | Viy | Khoma Brutus ( Leonid Kuravlyov ) is ordered to say a prayer for three nights over the dead corpse of a young woman who in actuality is in league with Satan . He had met this one woman in the form of an old , haggard lady beating her with a stick due to her tormenting him with various witchcraft tricks at her disposal . In a little shack , covered with gray cobwebs , dust & portraits of Christ , Khoma will meet fear head on as she does witchcraftian theatrics with the coffin trying to shake him from his faith and the chalked protective circle he has made for himself . In the final night , she will call on countless ghouls , demonic spirits , and the very spirit of evil himself , Viy , to rattle Khoma's resolve . It's clear throughout that this theologian of the church is imperfect and flawed as he often tries to break free from those holding him at bay near this farm place so that he will carry out the mission set before him . To be honest ( . . and fair ) , this felt more like a goofy cartoon than a thriving scary movie about one's facing pure evil with little escape other than facing the demons presented before him . It's very tongue-in-cheek and silly with Kuravlyov playing him almost as a fool who does not deserve the right of being placed in any position of warding the evil from a condemned soul . The final night provides some creepy looking demons , springing from all the hidden places . There are tons of visual gimmicks and tricks like how the witch's coffin floats in the air towards our hero . I just consider this a comedy fantasy with small horror elements using witchcraft . |
436,544 | 9,938,570 | 443,527 | 7 | The Hamiltons | The Hamiltons have a " disease " and need blood . Lots of it . David Hamilton ( Samuel Child ) had to take over the fatherly duties of the family after both the parents died . He's homosexual and has a way of luring specific males into his home , but these selected " derelicts " have no idea who they are really coming home to . Francis ( Cory Knauf ) is a weakly , fragile young man who loathes his family's secret practices which is to bring those selected victims " lost to the world " ( such as wanderers , hitchhikers , hippies ) into their basement for the removal of the blood . Blood , we come to understand sustains them . Without the blood , they'd die . Anyway , Wendell ( Joseph McKelheer ) is the hotheaded Hamilton who has problems restraining himself . Darlene ( Mackenzie Firgens ) is Wendell's twin who is probably as devious as her brother , but is able to be much more trustworthy and seductive . It's when she's on the attack of a victim with no escape where the true animal emerges . We see this when she brings a school chum / neighbor named Kitty ( Jena Hunt ) home for a sleepover . Wendell can barely hold his urges together as he's around Darlene and Kitty . . coping for the meantime until he'll be able to release and feed . Francis has a camcorder he uses throughout the film to record images of his family among other things and takes a shine to a captive hitcher named Samantha ( Rebekah Hoyle ) . He begins to feed her and talk to her , needing desperately for contact with someone who can hear his problems with this messed up family . Day by day , Francis is fighting a starvation that will kill him if he doesn't find sustenance soon . Confrontations with Wendell , who can be quite hostile towards his younger brother whose weak state obviously repulses him ( . . not to mention Francis ' sympathy for the victim which clearly raises an ire in Wendell ) , doesn't make life any easier as David spends a lot of time working at the local slaughterhouse . David also wishes to keep his troop together with attending to a social worker , Paul ( Al Liner ) who has the ability to split them apart if he sees anything abnormal or warped going on . Francis flirts with turning them in because he slowly cares for the captive girl , but siding against his family , the only people he's ever known proves quite difficult . With time running out for Sam , Francis will have to make a decision , one way or another . Unpleasant and disturbing , we get a look inside a group of savages who must survive by masking themselves into the suburban world of picket fences and white kitchens . Sure , Wendell and Darlene do not , unlike David , try to hide who they are and embrace " the kill " with relish . The twisted part of the film has this certain someone / something named Lenny locked in a little room the Hamiltons feed blood to . . anyone who sticks their hand in that door receives some nasty wounds . We watch in horror how they select , capture & torment those unlike themselves . Survival and deception . . that's the themes , I feel , are at play here . Francis will either embrace his own or side against them perhaps paying the ultimate price in return . How long can Francis deny who is as his physical conditions worsens ? Lots of things going on with this family and we see the results of their actions . Not as violent as it could be , this film plays more with what you don't see than bludgeoning us with excessive gory violence . |
436,945 | 9,938,570 | 265,651 | 7 | Ripley's Game | The improviser with no conscience is now later in years and more sophisticated and calm in the way he does his work . " Tom Ripley " ( John Malkovich ) is bothered with the annoyance of a former partner he assisted on a painting scheme named Reeves ( Ray Winstone ) . Reeves needs an innocent to kill some people for him so he can make some serious business profit . The pawn of Ripley's game , and the innocent stained with blood , will be painting framer Jonathan ( Dougray Scott ) who is dying of leukemia . Jonathan isn't wealthy and makes an insult towards Ripley at a party function ( that Ripley overhears and visibly it is etched that he's angry about it ) that will put in motion him being selected as the one probable to commit murders for Reeves . Jonathan is indeed a tragic character in this film for he kills once to earn a cool profit that would benefit his money-strapped family after he's dead , Reeves threatens that very family if he doesn't murder again . Ripley steps up to assist Jonathan in the second kill ( which Reeves informs must be completed with the use of a garrote ) , which is anything but easy killing a man with a wire-strangling device , on board a train . When one of the second kill's men doesn't die , they come looking for Ripley and Jonathan which makes up the final thirty minutes of the film . I have to say , the film is entertaining , specifically for Malkovich's portrayal of a much wiser , more seasoned specialist who doesn't suffer from guilt or bothered by reasoning out his actions . He's cold , calculating , swift , and infinitely quick-thinking . Dougray Scott's interpretation of the sad Jonathan is also a marvelous watch because he is engulfed with the torment of his actions . His wife wants to know how he earns so much money and where he goes when heading off to Berlin to assassinate people . The knowledge of having to kill weighs him down and tears away at his very guts . He doesn't enjoy killing and it deeply bothers him . Jonathan loves that son of his and adores his beloved wife . Ripley doesn't even wince at killing , but Jonathan isn't a sociopath monster cloaked by this quiet demeanor . Reeves is the chief motivator of the violence and enjoys sitting back while others does his dirty work . Ripley doesn't quake at Reeves ' feet , but Jonathan has his family to worry about . Reeves has the power to harm Jonathan and that control forces the innocent to do his bidding . |
436,307 | 9,938,570 | 73,470 | 7 | Strip Nude for Your Killer | The Milan fashion world is rocked by a serial killer , wearing leather gear and motorcycle helmet , stab-killing those involved with Albatross studio . . it coincides with the unfortunate accidental death of a model receiving an illegal abortion . Carlo Bianchi ( Nino Castelnuovo ) is a very successful photographer enjoying the sexual kicks you receive from being a big-shot in the industry . He literally beds one gal he suckers into a sauna not but shortly after meeting her , promising of a healthy career as a model ( . . naked nearly the entire film , Femi Benussi shows she's unafraid to bare it all for the audience for almost her total screen time ) , but she'll , like others , gets stabbed multiple times after discovering the water faucets running in her employer-to-be Gisella Montani's ( Amanda ) abode . The constant with all these killings revolve around Gisella . . her heavy impotent husband ( Franco Diogene ) , her homo-sexual photographer Mario ( Claudio Pellegrini ) , and eventually herself are targets for the mysterious homicidal maniac . Gisella is also being black-mailed by someone in her inner circle ( . . of the remaining still alive ) . Others will follow as Magda Cortis ( Edwige Fenech , whose character is an apprentice to Carlo ) and Carlo become civilian detectives with their own lives endangered in the process . As mentioned in practically every user comment , " Strip Nude for Your Killer " lives up to it's lurid title . Ample nudity from uninhibited actresses , the lives of those associated with the fashion world ( . . particularly those who will do anything to gain success and fame ) are skewered and every character in the film embellishes in sex and hedonism . Fenech delivers the usual tasty nudity and looks fantastic even with a short hair cut . Her lover Carlo is the complete anti-hero , he treats Magda like a sex toy , even choking her not once but twice . He was one of those who left the dead model's body left in a tub with running water ( . . the image of this dead model is displayed quickly before every murder scene takes place with the director letting the viewer know that this is the motivation behind the stabbings ) . The stabbings themselves are often gushing wounds , but the final attacks show the aftermath of a castration and breast removal , pretty potent , shocking stuff . There's even some sad humor portraying Gisele's portly husband ( . . who is quite a danger driving on the roads of Milan with director Bianchi's camera following with a POV shot of the car passing through endless traffic , red lights , and even threatening civilians walking on the streets ) as a clown in heat who can not deliver in the clutch . Nice job by Blue Underground bringing giallo fans a print of true quality and the film looks great . . with good use of color and sound photography , Bianchi really provides the film with style . Yet , this isn't particularly any different than the endless chain of gialli circling the market , so to combat this Bianchi put naked flesh across the screen almost through the film's entirety . This giallo does have your typical wacky twist revealing why this killer is so viciously killing his / her victims , but this time , the revelation might be underwhelming considering it's a person who isn't as significantly drawn as other characters in the plot . This is indeed a true treat for those with an appreciation for smut . Film suffers for not having a likable character to root for , but Fenech once again portrays the endangered character in pursuit ( . . and being pursued ) of the killer . |
435,728 | 9,938,570 | 49,103 | 7 | The Creature Walks Among Us | . . we all stand between the jungle and the stars , at a crossroads . I think we better decide what brings out the best in humankind , and what brings out the worst , because it's the stars or the jungle . Seeking the Gill Man for scientific study , Dr . William Barton ( Jeff Morrow ) and geneticist Dr . Thomas Morgan ( the dashing Rex Reason ) are on an expedition in the Everglades hoping to find it with skipper Jed Grant ( Gregg Palmer ) operating the boat . Along for the ride is Barton's stunningly beautiful wife Marcia ( Leigh Snowden who is quite the eye-candy these Gill Man movies are accustomed to ) . Barton's a brilliant scientist , but crippled with jealousy . . obsessed so that he's eaten to the pits when he sees any man even near her . This jealousy , at times , overwhelms him with uncontrollable rage . Meanwhile , the crew ( which includes other scientists aiding Barton and Morgan including a sonar specialist who can track aquatic life underwater ) eventually find the Gill Man , but he's not easy to capture and corners them into anchoring when the channel they travel comes to land . In a smaller boat , the Gill Man attacks them as they are pursuing it , accidentally covering himself with gasoline . Scared , skipper Grant sets the Gill Man on fire nearly killing it . Wrapped heavily in bandages , the Gill Man is losing oxygen as Barton and Morgan try to save it from certain death . Noticing unused lungs , they decide to open them through a surgical procedure converting the Gill Man from fish to amphibian to mammal with the result being an increase in metabolism perhaps offering a rapid case of evolution in a small period of time . Now breathing on it's own , Barton and Morgan notice that the Gill Man's outer scales were burned away in the mishap of fire and that a layer of human skin is underneath . . this shows an increase in it's sensitivity to pain . The Gill Man is made a special suit for the loss of his stronger scales . Once ashore in San Francisco , Barton's behavior regarding his wife worsens as he notices Grant's aggressive advances towards Marcia . He can not shake the idea that his wife would eventually leave him and this causes a nasty streak that will lead to the murder of Grant while the Gill Man , adapting to his new system of life caged near the plantation they work and live , watches it take place . Barton tries to frame the Gill Man , but it tears from the cage going berserk . The introduction of murder between one man against another ( . . and perhaps it's own carnal lust for Marcia , often shown eyeing her from below ) seems to have effected the Gill Man greatly as it chases after Barton who shoots his gun towards the creature . Ripping through the plantation , the Gill Man will blaze a path hunting Barton while others try to somehow survive the carnage . Quite underrated Universal sequel to " Creature from the Black Lagoon " suffers only from a rather rushed resolution . I think the set-up of the film is quite intelligent and the debates between Barton and Morgan are quite fascinating . Barton wishes to pursue greater heights since seeing how to convert a sea animal to a land mammal , but Morgan believes they should take things slow , gradually understanding the Gill Man more before leaping into the ideas of increasing metabolism in " changing man " . We also understand early on that the Gill Man suffered a disconnected thought process due to a lack of oxygen to the brain for nearly an hour which may've caused permanent damage so this might explain why it reacts so violently towards the end . But , through it all , Morgan believes Barton was actually the real monster whose demons bested him and that the Gill Man had not reverted back to what it was . . but that it was just protecting itself against a predator ( we see that before Barton tried to kill him after the witnessing his murder of Grant that the Gill Man killed a bobcat which had entered it's cage killing a couple sheep ) . I thought the boat attack towards the beginning . . and the climactic rampage through the plantation . . were quite thrilling . Good cast , too . Only if the screenplay had been a little stronger opting to focus on the troubled marriage of William and Marcia instead of the evolving Gill Man on land . |
436,931 | 9,938,570 | 84,861 | 7 | Vice Squad | The sleazy side of LA street life on the Sunset strip with psychotic killer pimp Ramrod ( Wings Hauser ) set up by hooker Princess ( Season Hubley ) in cooperation with the police after he had cut up her best friend Ginger . After escaping police , Ramrod will search the strip ( . . with no reservations about using violence as a means for extracting Princess ' whereabouts from those he questions ) for Princess with one goal in mind and that's repeating what he did with Ginger on her . It's up to Tom Walsh ( Gary Swanson ) and the Vice squad to find Ramrod before he gets to her . The ugly , nasty side of prostitution is exposed in this thriller with Hauser effectively scary as the sicko , matched by Hubley as one tough , foul-mouthed broad . Mostly profane and unpleasant , but also fast-paced and suspenseful . |
436,439 | 9,938,570 | 82,934 | 7 | Postman Rings Again | Now , I certainly think Jessica Lange was a great-looking woman in this picture , but having to top Lana Turner was just too great a task to pull off . She certainly looks ravishing , though , as the young wife of a gas-station owner yearning to have a life with loner Nicholson . This film is notorious for it's heated sex scenes , but they can not mask the emptiness of this film where , to be honest , Nicholson just seems lost to this role . He seems to be sleep-walking . Colicos plays the Greek husband for whom Nicholson's drifter Frank and Lange's Cora plan to kill . I mainly wanted to see it because it has a pretty solid director helming it in Rafelson , but it was mainly because I desired to see Sven Nykvist's cinematographic work . The period atmosphere worked for me as well . Still , the film lacks the bite of the original film and I could never quite get into this film . It seemed to lumber along and it doesn't help that the film doesn't quite gel cohesively as a whole . What I mean by that is , it seems Rafelson and company want to get as much of the novel in as he can so the film feels uneven . |
436,231 | 9,938,570 | 67,341 | 7 | Let's Scare Jessica to Death | Recently released from a mental institution , Jessica ( stunning performance from Zohra Lampert who shows the fragile slippery slope her character's mental state is operating on ) is taken by her troubled and tired husband Duncan ( Barton Heyman , who shows the weary state his wife's condition has caused him . . we see that he is constantly frustrated or frightened when Jessica might shows signs of seeing people that aren't there or experiencing things that would point out her insanity again ) and pal Woody ( Kevin O'Conner ) to live in a farm house near an apple orchard . Duncan was once on the Philharmonic and Woody decided to join them for the time being . Once they arrive to the house , however , there's an uninvited guest . . the mysterious red-head Emily ( Mariclare Costello , quite seductive and creepy ) who just might be a vampire . All the locals in town act real strangely and wear bandages on their necks . . this might explain the vampire theory . There's a wise tale speaking about an Abigail Bishop ( in the family portrait , Abigail looks exactly like Emily ) who drowned in the lake , near their farmhouse , before she could ever wear her wedding dress and marry . Swimming in the cove near their house , Jessica sees something or someone white under the water beckoning her to come while moving toward her . Telling Duncan , his reaction of horror ( here she goes again seeing things ) is one Jessica will have to deal with as Emily whispers to her which forms a mental anguish that remains tormenting her throughout . When awful occurrences continue to happen to Jessica ( she discovers the body of an antique owner who moved from New York like they did bloodied in the cove thanks to a mute girl which isn't there when Jessica returns with Duncan ; Jessica's pet mole was stabbed ) , her marriage to Duncan becomes strained and he is seduced by Emily . Jessica's life becomes a nightmare as everyone around her seem ghoulish with a strange gash down their face or neck . Emily , in my favorite sequence , rises from the cove in pursuit of Jessica after almost biting her . I love this film because it's unsettling almost from the very beginning , with eerie music accompanying an uncanny creepiness in how the film is photographed ( I use the term hypnotic , which is what it felt like to me ) . . but , I felt the film's greatest success is asking the question . . is what Jessica seeing real or merely a delusion of a damaged mind unable to grasp reality ? Or , are there vampires at this little town led by Emily , who once drowned but has returned to collect victims who dare enter in ? The answer is up to you . This is one of those unsung gems from the early 70's that deserves attention . It's a testament to this particular decade that I can find gold nuggets I've never heard of such as this film when I watched it back early last year for the first time . The DVD boom sure has given rise to cult films that remain with you after the credits roll . |
436,215 | 9,938,570 | 119,784 | 7 | The Night Flier | I have to say one of my choices as a horror sleeper from the 90's is this little creepy grisly effort from director Mark Pavia , based on a Stephen King story , regarding a narcissistic , manipulative , and ultimately vicious tabloid reporter who'll stoop to the lowest level to keep his story on the front page , meeting his match when he begins tailing a vampire killer flying a black Cessna plane who hypnotizes victims around plane air strips throughout Northeastern United States , the rural routes of small town America . At the bottom of his plane is maggot-filled earth , and inside , smeared throughout the controls is dried blood , collected over the his time of mutilation and death . Julie Entwisle , just a bubbly , high-spirited cutie presented as the perfect little fish to be devoured by Miguel Ferrer's cunning shark , tries to forge her way into the tabloid's upper tier , starting from the bottom with a key ability to get forms of information difficult to reach for the paper's top piranha . Anyway , we see as he flies in his own plane from destination to destination , Ferrer's Richard Dees working through the first murder sites , gathering bits and pieces from whatever he can find , through testimony and bribing coroners for photos of mutilated victims . We also get a chance to see his ways of flamboyant journalism by disturbing a victim's grave , adding ugly dead flowers and his own blood ( . . while even stooping so low as to move the gravestone ) . . everything is for getting the top story printed with extra spice . I think the idea of the main character being a real slimeball could hurt the film for many because it's much easier to cast a likable hero who we feel sympathy for as he / she pursues the killer leaving a graphic trail of gruesome murders , with throats ripped open so badly that the head is pulled apart from the neck displaying bloody flesh . There's even one scene where the head is ripped completely from the body , placed in an appropriate area as to show those who investigate that the vampire can operate without restraint almost teasing the authorities to catch him . The opening kill shows long gashes down a male victim's face . . good , gory carnage is left in this vampire's wake . The closing sequence is one that receives mixed reaction . I've read from some who love it , believing it's the most effective portion of the movie , while others believe it's the most harmful . I particularly love the scene where we have Dees , after finally becoming sickened by the airport lobby slaughter by the vampire , watching from the mirror as the invisible count takes a leak , with the urine being blood red . . haha , nice touch . The B & W portion where Dees confronts victims , dressed as vampires , as the count allows him to see what it's like from the other side , I thought was a nifty little moment of nightmarish power . I think we have been spoiled rotten by DVD special features , given access into the movie-making behind-the-scenes effects process . For some , the practical effects of gore , displaying the killer's grisly methods , will receive less of an impact , but I enjoyed them even though I know how they are brought to life ( . . I think for some , the nasty open wounds from the vampire's finger nails look less effective , and we can understand how they were created ) . I think the casting of Ferrer is ideal just because of the type of character he portrays . He indeed has a taste for bloody carnage and the vampire , through the final climactic sequence , first seeing the wake of violence of an entire group of people awaiting a trip to some unknown destination , and the B @ W vision through a taste of the killer's blood , gives him an opportunity to experience just that . The audience does get what they crave , this bastard's comeuppance . He wanted that front page and gets it , but this time , Entwisle's young reporter ( . . who gets shafted by Dees ) benefits . It's a fitting conclusion , I think , which speaks volumes for why this film must have an anti-hero as the main protagonist . I like how the film presents Dees , the backstories of those with stories to tell of past victims to him , the sleazy process of how he operates , and the way Dees falls to the one warning him to stay away . I loved the ending with how Dees , who basks in exploiting whatever works to bring him success , becomes the victim . |
436,625 | 9,938,570 | 71,200 | 7 | The Beast Must Die | Millionaire Tom ( Calvin Lockhart struggling in a miscast part ) , who fancies himself quite the hunter , gathers a collection of various individuals at his palatial , massive estate ( with surrounding forest ) determined to find the werewolf among them . He has an expert in the knowledge of lycanthropy , Dr . Christopher Lundgren ( the great Peter Cushing , my real reason for seeing this flick in the first place besides it's being an Amicus production ) among the group . He suspects a hairy Paul ( Tom Chadbon , an actor I really liked in this film ) to possibly be the werewolf , because of his nose-thumbing and witty insults towards the millionaire . Another possible suspect might be the nervy Jan ( a young Sir Michael Gambon ) . Both Jan and Paul try to leave the estate and fail miserably because Tom always has his eyes peeled for anyone suspicious . Tom even seems pretty suspicious of the sophisticated and terribly irritated Arthur Bennington ( the always terrific Charles Gray ) who finds the insinuations of his being a werewolf preposterous and insulting . Tom has cameras installed all throughout the woods and on the grounds ( along with a massive grid with sensors underground dictating if movement is occurring within the radius of the grounds ) with a security room featuring television monitors showing every last movement that occurs in and out of the mansion . His man of security , Pavel ( Anton Diffring ) thinks this whole werewolf business is rubbish . Despite all the equipment and ways of tracking the beast , Tom finds his quarry quite elusive and intimidating . The werewolf is smart , fast , and deadly . Tom fails many times in catching the werewolf as several characters , including the entire security room and Pavel , are destroyed by it . He must kill the beast before the three days of the Full Moon end . Neat little werewolf whodunit benefits from a fine professional cast . The werewolf is essentially a wolf covered in extra fur , so somehow director Paul Annett has the difficult task of making him believable scary . Annett , had to include a gimmicky " werewolf break " ( producer Max Rosenberg , who said he hated this flick , insisted that Annett include it to " save it " ) with William Castle-inspired 30 second clock so that we , the viewer , could decide who the werewolf was among the cast . I enjoyed the aspect where the prey outsmarts the smug hunter , who doesn't understand defeat . |
436,513 | 9,938,570 | 395,584 | 7 | The Devil's Rejects | A trio of sadistic psychopaths escape from the law , retreating to the hooker ranch of a relative pimp , as a determined , hostile sheriff ( . . out to avenge his slain cop brother , a victim of theirs ) is out to find them , with wicked plans to make the group suffer in store . Rob Zombie's mosaic of 70's Grindhouse amidst a western motif , features a gallery of unpleasant characters , committing horrendous acts towards innocent people . It's simple . . if you do not have the willingness to operate on the same level as the evil hoodlums you are pursuing , then you're dead . The Firefly clan have no moral constraints or are they bound by the laws of appropriate decency . . they love terrorizing the weak-willed and positively embrace wickedness of all types . Obviously modeled somewhat after the Manson family , The Firefly clan thumb their nose at conventional behavior , in favor of raising as much hell as humanly possible . Kidnapping , sexual molestation , mind games , torture , and murder . . the Firefly family have no qualms in harming and brutalizing those with the misfortune of entering their orbit . Zombie produces an adversary in Sheriff Sheriff John Quincy Wydell ( . . played with intensity and ferocity by William Forsythe , in perhaps his finest role to date ) who goes beyond the law in order to apprehend and inflict his own brand of justice against these fiends . It's clear that Zombie wants to produce a subtext in this war . . is Wydell any different than those he's hunting ? I think this film really goes into a dark place despite the black humor , where we watch a man , hired by his citizens to uphold the law , progressively going mad , believing he is God's " arm of vengeance " , willing to hire vicious bounty hunters ( . . portrayed by pro-wrestler Diamond Dallas Page and Danny Trejo , who call themselves the " Unholy Two " , I call them the " White Trash Duo " ) to find them for him . You know , Zombie doesn't let either the Firfly Trio or Wydell off the hook . We witness Otis and Baby ( Bill Moseley & Sheri Moon Zombie ) hold a traveling blue-grass group hostage at gun point , slowly terrorizing them in various ways before disposing of them . So Rob exposes in detail their willingness to hurt others , absolutely enjoying their handiwork . This film has Captain Spaulding ( Sid Haig ) in on the action this time , as the three gather at the western whorehouse town of his " brother from another mother " , Charlie Altamont ( Ken Foree ) . Zombie's style of the film has lots of action shot from several perspectives and the camera-work is never still . . the film is always moving , with Rob insisting on a documentary kind of feel ( . . He even hired a documentary cinematographer , Phil Pharmet of HARLIN COUNTY USA fame ) placing the viewer right into the center of the action as the tale of the criminals and their hunter unfolds . Those that decide to commit crime pay a hefty price , even if Zombie's film likes to paint a heroic picture of the Firefly clan , unabashed serial killers lovingly cruel , doing so for kicks and giggles . They even get to go out to the beautiful ballad of FREEBIRD . . very much outlaws going out on their own terms , not Wydell's . But , just like we watched Otis and Baby prey upon the family of Banjo and Sullivan , Wydell gets his chance to make them suffer as well . Neither brutal attack is fun to watch , both , at times , explicit in violence , performed with relish and damaging intent . I remember having a hard time sitting through the attack on Roy Sullivan ( Geoffrey Lewis ) , his wife Gloria ( Priscilla Barnes ) , Adam Banjo ( Lew Temple ) , his wife Wendy ( Kate Norby ) and their roadie , Jimmy ( Brian Posehn ) with Otis and Baby often deriding them waving their guns around , ordering them around , using threats as an advantage , controlling their every move thanks to possessing weapons . I must say that Norby and Barnes are real troopers for allowing such awful things to take place to their characters , willing to subject themselves to offensive acts committed by Otis towards them . There are times , such as when the camera shoots from the ground into Otis ' face as he prepares to crush Roy's skull with a large stick , that he looks exactly like a young Charles Manson . . makes the scene even more powerful and creepy , particularly when he proclaims he's the Devil , doing the Devil's work . Actually , Zombie shows less violence than you realize , effectively using sound effects as the camera moves around the acts themselves ( . . such as when Wydell uses a stapler one Otis and Baby , puncturing pictures of victims to their chests or when he jabs Spaudling with a cattle prod ) . There are some effective uses of the camera capturing poor Wendy attempting to escape one time , another running around , completely insane seeking help , wearing her husband's facial " skin mask " that echoes THE Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE ( . . Marlyn Burns running in terror as Leatherface follows with his chainsaw ) , finding herself in the middle of the road as a semi hits her head on . Superb soundtrack impressively accompanies the movie , adding a little extra to Zombie's intentions of presenting us a realistic 70's atmosphere . His influences , like in his first film , are present for us to see . . Zombie doesn't hide from the fact that certain kinds of directors ' works inspired him and that is ever present in THE DEVIL'S REJECTS . Hiliarious scene where Wydell is enraged by a Groucho Marx-loving movie critic who makes derogatory remarks about The King . . and the " chicken f # cking " scene where a furious Michael Berryman ( . . as Charlie's employee ) gets all tore up about a poultry farmer's insults towards his possibly humping a chicken , due to his " sexually frustrated looks . " The cast seem to be enjoying themselves , but the subject matter can be quite grueling and disturbing at times , especially if the viewer ( s ) isn't in the right state of mind . |
435,733 | 9,938,570 | 80,904 | 7 | Humanoids of the Deep | A fishing village comes under attack by amphibious humanoid monsters who have evolved thanks to scientific experimentation in the size growth of aquatic life . A creature feature taken to the extreme . . bloody mayhem and graphic violence are on display . The sleaze quotient is high in that the monsters wish to mate with the female population , ripping their clothes as they sexually molest them in a grim manner . The carnage that ensues in the climactic attack by the monsters on the happy community attending their annual festival is a gorefest . This film is not for the faint of heart , but is a special treat for those who love their films bloody with lots of skin ripping , blood squirting , and the aftermath of poor victims who are torn to shreds . The ending , showing one of the poor girl's who was impregnated , packs a punch . Vic Morrow portrays Hank , an important man in the village who voices loudly his approval of a new cannery coming into the town brining jobs and employment . With fishing becoming a hardship ( the running irony is that these monsters are in fact eating the fish ) their village needs an economic boost . Anthony Pena portrays Hank's Native American rival Johnny Eagle who wishes for the cannery to stay away from the land of his people . Ann Turkel is Dr . Susan Drake , a scientist who knows about the escaped experimental , evolving aquatic life that are killing , raping & maiming . Doug McClure portrays the film's blue-collar hero , fisherman Jim Hill , whose wife , Carol ( the lovely Cindy Weintraub ) unfortunately has to face off with two of those things while her hubby is trying to defend his town against those monsters during the festival attack . The monsters , even if rubber-suited , are scary and effective . |
436,369 | 9,938,570 | 393,685 | 7 | Santa's Slay | Satan's spawn Santa ( Bill Goldberg . . YES , the pro wrestler ! ) has been stuck with the burden of obeying the wishes of children for 1000 years thanks to a pact he made with arch angel " Grandpa " ( Robert Culp ; an inspired bit of casting since Culp is a frequent visitor to pal Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion ) when he lost a bet . Now that the 1000 year debt has been met , Santa will now go on a Yuletide rampage of violence where no one is safe ( he destroys a group of carolers ! ! and thrusts a Jewish deli owner to the wall with a candelabra ! ! ) . Even the strip club will suffer Santa's wrath ! Santa has actually planned payback on Grandpa for his years of suffering and will try to chase down his grandson Nicolas ( Douglas Smith ) to the arch-angel's whereabouts . You see Arch-angel Culp decided to give up his immortal wings for Nic's mortal grandma out of love . So Santa can end the family line by killing Nic . Nic's girlfriend Mary ( Emile de Ravin ) will also be included in running for her life as they remain in constant peril . Nic and Mary are under the notion that at Midnight Christ Mass will be over and Santa will have to discontinue his slaying because that The Day Of Slaying ends . So Nic will try to avoid Santa until that time or else suffer the consequences . The opening of the film has a family consisting of hilarious cameos by James Caan ( ! ) , Rebecca Gayheart , Fran Drescher , & Chris Kattan being slaughtered by Santa right before they were to partake of the Christmas Eve dinner ! Dave Thomas has a funny satiric role of a crooked minister who frequents the strip club that goes up in flames thanks to Santa ! A film that is so jaw-droppingly absurd and outrageous , I often couldn't believe what I was seeing . Santa's " reindeer " ( actually resembling a buffalo ! ) eats a valet of the stripper club ! He tosses explosive presents from his sleigh at Nic and Mary as they try to escape him on a snowmobile ! He uses a glow-in-the-dark candy cane to track down Nic and Mary in a darkened school house , uses a tree ornament as a smoke bomb , amongst other innovative Christmas weaponry . The film is a wild-ride of gags . If you take this seriously at all , you'll miss out . |
436,532 | 9,938,570 | 479,143 | 7 | Rocky Balboa | For those who have a place in your heart for this beloved character perhaps will hold this film to high esteem . To be honest , I was holding back the tears in the very first few moments because The Rock was visiting his darling wife's grave . He is quietly enigmatic as he frequents the old Philly streets of his youth pulling the memories that flow deep down in his heart . . just reminiscing those cherished times between him and his Adrian . I believe the film is not just a final decisive close for the old champ , but a loving ode to Philly where the man is an icon . Stallone pours his heart and soul into this character making him so vivid and real . You love him because The Rock is a representation of old school hard work , guts and determination . The film itself has a nearly 60-year old arthritic restaurateur Rocky , who shares experiences in the ring with those who visit his food establishment , contemplating a return to the ring . He doesn't know that the " money-people " behind Boxing Champ " The Line " Dixon want The Rock to have an exhibition bout with their champ for charity . It all spurns from an outcry at a very simple little experiment ESPN ran regarding a computer simulated fight between Rocky , in his youth , and the now-Champ Dixon . When buzz circulates regarding The Rock getting cleared by the boxing commission to fight , Dixon's people definitely see the dollar-signs this fight would fork in . The film is ultimately about Rocky having one last chance to prove to himself , he can go one last fight with a real competitor . Like the film itself , Stallone allows the character to go out with a sterling close . The fight itself is often been criticized , but I felt it had enough action to satisfy those looking for action . It is heavily edited , but we see lots of impacting blows and Stallone shows how great his physique is at such an older age . The only major character returning to this film is Paulie ( Burt Young ) , Talia Shire's Adrian is viewed through Rocky's eyes in haunting ghostly flashbacks when he frequents areas where they bonded as love-partners . Milo Ventimigilia plays Rocky's son . Geraldine Hughes is really good as Rocky's possible love-interest Marie ( this growing relationship makes up a good portion of the film as Rocky bonds with Marie's son " Steps " ) . Tony Burton makes a surprising turn as Duke , the man who reshapes Rocky's work-out regimen . |
436,558 | 9,938,570 | 317,919 | 7 | Run , Tom , Run | Ethan ( Tom Cruise , who puts in a demandingly physical performance ) is retired from field work , engaged , and happy until he's called upon to rescue an operative he trained ( Keri Russell ) from an evil black market " deliverer " , Owen Davian ( Philip Seymour Hoffman , who makes a great villain within the screen time he's given ) . When that mission ends tragically , Ethan and his MI task force ( consisting of one-two-three punch of Ving Rhames , Jonathan Rhys Meyers , & Maggie Q ) will join to try and stop Davian's selling of weaponry and other dangerous war toys to varying countries . Davian is a national threat to everyone and must be stopped . What Ethan doesn't know , however , is that someone within his own organization is partnering with Davian . What's even worse is that Ethan's beloved wife Julia ( the delightful Michelle Monaghan ) is in grave danger ( as evident , it seems , in the opening harrowing sequence ) . With seemingly insurmountable odds ( the deck is indeed stacked ) , how will Ethan ever be able to not only Davian , but uncover a high-ranking suit in his own organization ? And , is there any hope for Julia ? The mysterious weapon Davian has stolen from him by Ethan and the gang is a suitcase housing some sort of nuclear weapon nicknamed the " Rabbit's Foot . " This could've easily been titled , " Run Tom Run " because Cruise is constantly moving and film briskly follows him . JJ Abrams creates an energy in MI : III very akin to his " Alias " series where you never know who to trust and the camera never stops moving . The film feels a lot like " Bourne Supremacy " and is almost as fun . It has one of those endings , though , that doesn't quite match other inspiring action set-pieces such as the remarkable " attack on the bridge " sequence where Ethan and his crew are being shot at by a jet plane's missiles not to mention helicopter soldiers ' machine guns . Also , the Shanghai sequence where Ethan uses a fulcrum to swing himself from one building to another and then parachuting from that building almost being hit by several vehicles is also a masterful highlight . The ending just seems rather uninspired next to those sequences . This film , I'd have to say , is the most entertaining and energetic of the series . The cast is much more lively and the pacing which darts after the characters is almost exhausting . |
436,347 | 9,938,570 | 251,736 | 7 | House of 1000 Corpses | Demented debut from rocker Rob Zombie features a family of backwoods deranged psychos preying upon four teenagers who are in search of a notorious serial killer known as Dr . Satan . Filmed at Universal Studios , Zombie was allowed access to footage and props from their great classics such as CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON , THE WOLF MAN , THE OLD DARK HOUSE , and even THE MUNSTERS . Problems Zombie faced were more than the pleasures of attaining the sets or production values , as camera operators came and went , & studio suits ( . . asking for cuts upon cuts , never quite pleased with what they were seeing , eventually shelving the film altogether before selling the property back to Zombie , with the film being distributed by LIONSGATE ) played a part in his film's disjointed , often uneven presentation . Admitting to interspersing shot footage on a video camera , Zombie really creates quite an odd experience , with plenty of sadistic displays by the Firefly clan towards their victims . The film takes place during Halloween Eve and Night , adding a great deal to the overall look of the film ( . . lots of pumpkins and costumes ) . Zombie effectively uses neon and candlelight giving his family of weirdos an alluring setting to commit their variety of sick activities . One victim is turned into an art piece , " Fishboy " , kidnapped cheerleaders are subjected to torture , victims dressed in bunny suits are tormented psychologically by their captors , with two of them eventually lowered into an underground cavern where muddy ghouls live along with other freaks of nature ( . . along with Dr . Satan who operates on victims , opening up one's skull , using a drill , and the " Professor " , with goggles , a horribly disfigured face with a mouth that releases mucus of some sort , chasing after a victim with an ax ) . The first portion of the film shows the four traveling teenagers meeting up with Captain Spaulding ( Sid Haig ) , a vulgar , pot-bellied clown who operates a gas station / murder museum , featuring collectibles you can buy along with displays of all sorts of unusual things ( . . and pictures ) . Spaulding even has a tour ride for visitors regarding wax museum mannequins depicting various notorious serial killers . Soon they desire to see Dr . Satan , with Spaulding sending them to the freakshow that is Mother Firefly ( Karen Black ) , her daughter Baby ( Sheri Moon Zombie ) , twisted albino son " artist " Otis ( Bill Moseley ) , massive mute auto mechanic Rufus RJ ( Robert Allen Mukes ) , belligerent and loud Papa ( Dennis Fimple ) , and the burnt subservient titan , Tiny ( Matthew McGrory ) . This gallery of the bizarre and grotesque are given star treatment while the " normal " kids don't help their situation any by fueling their " hosts " disdain through obnoxious behavior , goading them ( . . specifically the girls who often curse or berate Baby and Mother who flirt with their boyfriends ) by often antagonizing when they should leave well enough alone . Moseley has quite a powerful , if unpleasant , presence as Otis , quite confrontational and unrestrained while Baby enjoys carnage , gleefully cheering during their attacks on victims . Once the film moves away from the house , chock full of odds and ends like a junkyard untended , into the dark and sinister underground cavern ( . . and above ground where a cemetery is present ) the film shifts in tone completely , as Denise ( Erin Daniels ) , the remaining member of her friends , runs for her life from the Professor through a hall lined with corpses . . cobwebs and lights are ever present as Denise attempts to save her skin not knowing what lies in wait . Her situation looks hopeless . The film features Zombie's music and some really strange nightmare sequences , often either tinted in bright colors or sepia tones . Certainly , you can sense just how much a fan of horror Zombie is as his influences are quite visible . Prepare to be bombarded by lots of peculiar images and characterizations . The cult following doesn't surprise me because HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES has enough unusual qualities to appeal to the Midnight Movie crowd . Lots of in-jokes such as the shirt ( . . and Halloween costume ) Tiny wears , not to mention his cereal ( . . also , you'll notice a grisly skinning scene where Otis wears a victim's face ) and wicked humor that will not appeal to all tastes . Tom Towles and Wolton Goggins star as country cops out to investigate the Firefly's residence finding themselves unwelcome . Great supporting star treatment for Karen Black as the loony mother of the clan . Almost everyone in the film has filthy dental care . A superb star vehicle for scene-stealing Sid Haig , provided with a role that might well define his career , later even enhancing it more in THE DEVIL'S REJECTS . Baby's giggles might induce either chills or aggravation , considering what she finds funny . Definite highlight for Sheri Moon would have to be Baby's stage show to a Betty Boop song . . her performance can be ( . . purposely ? ) irritating / grating . |
436,739 | 9,938,570 | 71,318 | 7 | Chosen Survivors | Selected intellectual minds , and important folks deemed special for forwarding the human race once a thermonuclear war is to rage across the globe , find themselves fighting for their very lives underground in their fancy governmentally ( supposedly ) secure bomb shelter well equipped with all the resources they could possibly need as vampire bats , which rest within a cavernous area secret to them , enter and attack when the group is most vulnerable . With a female assigned , via taped recording , guiding their day to day activities , offering a planned regimen for them to survive on , the group find themselves at odds with Raymond Couzins , a loudmouth who often stirs up bad vibes with his constant talk of conspiracy theories , and drunken insults . Yet , perhaps there is some truth to what he's saying as Dr . Peter Macomber ( Bradford Dillman ) holds a secret which will only add to the worsening mental state of the group as a whole . Realizing that they were merely part of an experiment on how a group could function together in an isolated situation , had such a catastrophic event taken place , the group hope that a signal had reached Washington , for Couzins , in a bumbling mishap that damages important electrical equipment resulting in the death of a member , leaves them with few alternatives left . Major Gordon Ellis ( Richard Jaeckel ) comes up with a method that could be quite dangerous . . someone could climb an elevator shaft 17oo feet which could open a door to the outside providing a chance for contacting help . Macomber , despite the group's hostile feelings towards he and his government which put them in their difficult crisis , comes up with an idea on how to kill the bats , through electrocution by suckering them with blood as bait . I must say that this was a pleasant form of entertainment . Sure , the special effects are rather inferior to today's modern technical improvements , but they didn't seem to bother me all that much because I found the cast so much fun to watch , and the premise was quite enjoyable . It's essentially mixes the always-reliable " animals attack " premise with the theme of nuclear war and how mankind could deal with such a thing . Perfectly capping these elements with a government conspiracy plot yielding terrified characters in search of an exit . Perfectly 70's carrying the sensibilities of the time , with a cast of familiar faces . I thought Dillman has a startlingly good scene where he admits to who he really is and the hoax that has put them all in grave danger . . I think Dillman realistically displays the emotional weight his character is bearing in both coming clean with his confession while showing that he believed that the experiment was for the betterment of mankind . I thoroughly enjoyed Cooper as the antagonist , and Jaeckel is a delight as the sincere army man , burdened with keeping the underground shelter under operation despite a series of set-backs that make that nearly impossible . I also loved this confrontation between the accusing Couzins claiming Ellis was perhaps behind a conspiracy to keep them in the shelter . . Jaeckel and Cooper produce some fireworks . Some performances are overwrought , as often was the case for Made-for-television movies with character actors , but I think the situation stressing and depressing those caught between a rock and a hard place , warranted such heightened emotions . I think Woody's elevator shaft climb was quite suspenseful . . it sure had me biting my nails . I do think the story provides some food for thought , and is a perfect time capsule of what was on the minds of the country at that time . |
436,604 | 9,938,570 | 159,693 | 7 | Razor Blade Style | Lilith Silver ( Eileen Daly , fetching in the lurid , sexy role ) is so overcome with boredom she takes on the role of hit-woman-for-hire , labeled by the media and police as the " angel of death . " She murders certain chosen subjects who are part of an ancient secret sect known as The Lost People , or the Illuminati . . they wear a seven-pointed-star necklace and eyeball ring . Lilith is told that it is imperative to collect the eyeball rings from her victims as part of her finishing the kill by her source ( . . and lover ) , Platinum ( Kevin Howarth ) . The Illuminati's leader , Sethane Blake ( Christopher Adamson ) , is the one responsible for turning Lilith into a vampire centuries previous . The Illuminati are a powerful group with many of their members deeply en-routed in the fabric of London such as the government and police . Inspector Price ( Jonathan Coote ) , of the Scotland Yard , is part of the group but doesn't understand that his leader is indeed a vampire such as the one murdering those of the case he has been investigating . Price will take it upon himself to hunt down Lilith as a modern-day Van Helsing wannabee , but has no clue that those myths such as crosses and stakes have no effect on vampires whatsoever ( well , the stake can make you bleed , but isn't a major factor as in myth regarding it stabbing you in the heart with instantaneous death ) . What we do understand , through Lilith's narration is that decapitation and major blood-loss are what do the trick in killing their species . With the group hiring Lilith wanting their stash back because of her failure to retrieve the eyeball ring of a recent victim , Platinum's life will be in grave danger . Lilith cares for him and will risk her life in order to save his . It all leads to a confrontation between Lilith and Sethane as expected . Clad in tight leather with an ax to grind , Daly is quite easy to watch just by her sheer sex appeal alone . There's an overall Gothic tone , with lots of heavy breathing , hissing , and an abundance of theatricality . The film is a low-budget affair which took director Jake West 3 years to complete with the cinematography mostly shot on 16 mm film stock which actually gives it a grimy , grungy kind of appeal that works . West uses an assortment of framed shots assaulting the viewer with his camera calisthenics . The cast is lively , especially Adamson as the animated villain who loves to stretch out his dialogue with a sort-of hammy delivery and Coote as the rather uninformed , constantly-duped inspector make for an entertaining diversion from the usual vampire norm . Full of blood and feeding with Daly just relishing the role of vampire with the camera just embracing her figure and how it fits in the suit she wears on duty . Very British with an amusing ending . |
436,171 | 9,938,570 | 374,180 | 7 | Werewolf Hunter : The Legend of Romasanta | A wolf becomes man to seduce and kill female victims in Allariz . Romasanta ( Julian Sands ) goes on record in front of a jury of his peers and the court proclaiming himself a werewolf . Almost all of Romasanta's conquests were not of anything remotely human until he falls in love with Bárbara ( Elsa Pataky , a stunning beauty ) , the sister of his wife and mute child . When Romasanta kills his wife , María ( Maru Valdivielso ) and mute child Teresa ( Luna McGill ) , Bárbara seeks him out after being seduced herself by him . Joining forces with DA Bastida ( Bary Piquer ) they are on the hunt to find him before more and more lives are taken by the wolf . With help by Antonio ( John Sharian ) , someone bitten and controlled by Romasanta , they might just be able to find him . Professor Philips ( David Grant is a persuasive doctor who proclaims that Romasanta is not responsible for the killer impulses the wolf brings out . Handsome production and great photography help the flick which doesn't produce the goods in werewolf transformations , instead opting for being a historical document on a serial killer stating on record he is a werewolf who can not help but kill when the beast comes out to play . The acting is adequate and there are a few brief moments of violence , but many viewers wanting a full-fledged creature feature with gory attacks will be disappointed , perhaps even bored . But , the film is well made and visually sumptuous . Just don't expect blood and guts . |
435,708 | 9,938,570 | 51,422 | 7 | Blood of the Vampire | Dr . John Pierre ( Vincent Ball ) is sentenced to prison for performing a procedure scorned by his superiors as illegal practice by attempting to transplant a different type of blood to a man who was bound to die anyway . He has a doctor who could vouch that his procedure was done under only the most unusual circumstances , but an evil scientist , Callistratus ( Donald Wolfit , actually pretty decent under hideous make-up ) has a corrupt Prison Commission officer Auron ( Bryan Coleman ) transport him to his insane asylum . Callistratus , the supposed " vampire " of the title , was brought back to life thanks to a new heart transplanted to him through the work of his freakish assistant Karl ( Victor Maddem , a face on one side drooping with this disturbing eye giving him a scary , mangled disposition ) and a drunk surgeon . Pierre is granted a reprieve when it's found that his witness , of the procedure considered malpractice was in fact a case of trying to save his dying patient , did not send a damning letter supposedly claiming that he doesn't even know Pierre . The fact that Auron was the forger increases Callistratus ' motivation for using Pierre as quickly as possible . He desires Pierre to finish his work regarding counteracting a blood disease where one set of cells are killing another set . . Callistratus ' heart is not helping his blood function normally so he needs Pierre to discover his cure before death returns his way . Soon , Pierre tries to escape with a prisoner chum , Kurt ( William Devlin ) resulting badly . Callistratus sends , through Auron , a letter announcing Pierre's death by trying to escape hoping to buy as much time as possible for him to discover the answer to the blood problem . What he doesn't suspect , nor Auron , was Madeleine Duval ( Barbara Shelley ) coming under disguise as a housemaid . . she is Pierre's lady-love who just wouldn't believe her man was dead . This will put her in great danger for Karl knows who she is ( . . he stole her photo locket from Andrew Faulds ' evil Chief Guard Wetzler , who confiscated it from Pierre ) and so does Auron . Can Duval help her love escape ? Will Pierre be able to free himself from the clutches of Callistratus ? Not really a vampire film as the title suggests , but Callistratus is quite the nemesis for our falsely imprisoned hero . He wants to live and will take the necessary steps to see this happen . The prison conditions , and the overall Middle-Ages-type prison setting are what makes this such a colorful horror flick . There are deadly dogs that are released to attack a few people , we understand that many people suffer horrible deaths thanks to Callistratus ' blood-draining experiments . You have the corrupt middle-man Auron halting Pierre's release from his asylum and the " innocent trying to escape from these harsh environs " is a plot that always works in such a macabre setting as is in this film . You add Duval's in disguise facing possible peril , the suspense increases . Not too shabby for a film that was not made by Hammer studios . Good production values and stylish direction are assets . Flawed , but entertaining . |
436,019 | 9,938,570 | 35,899 | 7 | Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man | Lawrence Talbot is resting comfortably idle ( . . but unknowingly alive ) in his casket when a couple of grave-robbers disturb his tomb , removing the wolfsbane keeping him at bay unleashing the werewolf on an innocent community once again . Talbot , realizing that if the killing is to stop he must die , seeks out the old gypsy woman Maleva ( Maria Ouspenskaya ) whose son brought the curse upon him . But , the authorities and his psychiatric doctor , Dr . Mannering ( Patric Knowles ) are out to find him , hoping to return him to an asylum thinking he's merely a mad murderer needing to be locked away . Instead , Talbot is led to Vasaria where Dr . Frankenstein's castle was located hoping he could help him . Unfortunate for Talbot , the doctor has since died and he finds the monster encased in ice , blind and weak . Talbot desires Frankenstein's diary and appeals to the scientist's ancestor , Baroness Elsa Frankenstein ( Ilona Massey ) hoping to sell the place ridding herself of an accursed property that has slandered her name , and finds a village of people wishing him to leave . When the monster ( . . played by a stilted Lugosi , attempting to show it's limitations due to a loss of power and sight ) bursts upon frightened villagers , Talbot finds himself in need of help . Mannering promises the village he'd disassemble the monster as his creator had pieced it together . Led by Elsa to the castle , Mannering finds a will to provide the monster with full strength due to a mad curiosity . Finding the diary thanks to Elsa , Talbot hopes to rid himself of the lycanthropic curse , but Mannering has other plans . With a dam underneath the castle , the village might decide to take drastic measures to relieve themselves of Frankenstein's memory forever . I love most of this movie , especially Talbot's struggles to rid himself of the curse that has become an obsession due to his uncontrollable killing spree . Great scene where he attacks a street copper and this perhaps , next to The Wolf Man , Chaney's meatiest role as Talbot . We do get a climactic battle between the werewolf and Frankenstein's monstrous creation , but I was never quite sure of the motivations behind Mannering who seemed very stable and controlled . . I wasn't convinced that such a man would purposely give strength to such a humongous and dangerous monster threatening to harm anyone in it's way . It was really neat seeing Maria Ouspenskaya with a stronger role as Maleva , who refers to Talbot as her son bringing a warmth and tender relationship between the two . I'm not sure what happens to her at the end as the castle is reduced to rubble , but it was great seeing her as a more prominent figure trying to help a troubled soul with a burden beyond his control . Massey is a stunner , dressed very well by the costume department , under a sexy accent . Atwill is the mayor of Vasaria , attempting to keep his people from forming into a lynch-mob . Dwight Frye is merely reduced to a villager questioning the mayor of his methods at not interfering with the activities of those in Frankenstein's castle ruins when it's clear experiments are taking place . Thanks to the impeccable work of director Roy William Neill , who was a seminal artist behind the beloved Holmes / Watson films , develops an incredible atmosphere and his noirish stylistic imprint displays what he could do with Universal's studio backing . I think this is essential viewing to all Wolf Man fans despite it's story flaws . Kind of episodic as Talbot seeks a cure , meeting various situations to the conclusion in the Frankenstein castle . You get to see the Wolf Man move around more than later on , especially at the end when the beast continually charges the enormous monster . I won't ridicule Lugosi considering the infamous history of production problems which would explain certain facets of the monster not explained on screen . I will say that this must've been an embarrassment to him considering how Karloff made the monster such an indelible iconic figure , and his performance turns out so laughable due to cuts and edits . |
436,972 | 9,938,570 | 82,782 | 7 | My Bloody Valentine | George Mihalka's fully restored MY BLOODY VALENTINE was finally being seen by devoted slasher fans like myself who have opined about it's forcibly excised gore footage remaining left out for decades despite the glorious nature of DVD . Giving the film new life , we can finally enjoy it the way it should've been seen 20 years ago . While the setting ( . . a spooky mine shaft ) , killer ( . . the miner costume , helmet , and gas mask ) , and the strong characterizations remained intact , there was always something missing . Seeing the gore inserted ( . . a bit obvious , but not enough to distract from the experience , or not at least to me ) where it belongs adds a nice jolt ( . . or punctuation mark ) to each attack , providing a more satisfying punch left untempered in the film's original castrated release . A mining town ( . . the kind of place where dreams die a slow , agonizing death ) plagued by the memory of a deranged psychotic , Harry Warden , who murdered several folks he held responsible for the methane explosion that killed his fellow workers and buried him alive . When this town , Valentine's Bluff , decides to hold a new dance after not having one for 20 years , the killings start up again . The killer wears a coal miner's uniform and gas mask ( . . with the helmet light often shining in the faces of those he surprises ) often plunging his pick axe into the torsos of surprised victims . Could it be Harry Warden ? Chief Jake Newby ( Don Francks ) and Mayor Hanniger ( Larry Reynolds ) decide to cancel the Valentine's Day dance after party organizer , Mabel Osborne ( Patricia Hamilton ) , a beloved member of the community , is found inside a spinning dryer in the local Laundromat , heart cut from her chest . Undaunted , the young adults , accursed to belong to such a dead end town , want to have some fun ( . . instead of the usual action inside the local pub ) and decide to host their own Valentine's party at the mine , inside the eating cafeteria . But , they have not idea what horrors await for many of them , particularly the ones who decide to take a little visit into the mine as the killer hides within , ready to strike from any dark corner . The film is mainly centered around a love triangle between TJ Hanniger ( Paul Kelman ) , the mayor's son who left for The West Coast finding tough luck returning home a failure , his former high school flame , Sarah ( . . the lovely Lori Hallier ) he left behind , and her current beau , Axel ( Neil Affleck ) . While TJ and Axel's friendship deteriorates , they will have to join forces , heading into the mine to find Sarah , who has went in with her best friend Patty ( Cynthia Dale ) , Cynthia's boyfriend Hollis ( Keith Knight ) , goofy cut-up Howard ( Alf Humphreys ) , and another couple who merely serve as the typical love-making kids who die at the killer's hand while doing the nasty in the engine room . Like many of the film's supporters , I like this slasher's setting , a blue-collar town where there are few career options available . I think the cast of characters are likable enough . The love-triangle isn't too overbearing and provides decent-enough sparks which infused friction into the slasher story . The costume of the psychopath , the boogeyman tale of Harry Warden , the closing song about his grip on the town , and the neat hunting ground of the killer as he pursues victims in the mine all , I felt , help enhance this slasher from the doldrums many others find themselves . . repeating the same repeated cycle of Jason Voorhies or Michael Myers . As I mentioned , many of MY BLOODY VALENTINE's fans had anticipated for the uncut release for quite a while , not necessarily holding director Mihalka responsible ( . . what can a filmmaker do when a production company guts your films ? ) for the long-standing neutered release because the Canadian cast and the better-than-usual characters , developed effectively by the filmmakers , add quality to the film . But , the gore-scenes returning to the film as Mihalka intended needed to deliver and I was pleasantly surprised that several sequences are superbly executed , such as the pick axe embedded into the jaw of a victim with such impact the eyeball protrudes , with my favorite being the poor girl who is lifted from her feet , impaled on a water pipe . Of course , the nail gun kill , while not gory , does make one cringe , and when a trapped character severs his arm , it certainly packs a wallop . And , the killer gets to slam his pick axe in torsos and one victim's face is buried in boiling water used for cooking hot dog wieners ! Even a ghastly heart removal and a body's discovery in a laundry mat's clothing drier are included to the gorehound's delight . Each and every additional scene add just a little more power to the film , and it was great seeing them for the first of many viewings in the future . |
436,695 | 9,938,570 | 75,261 | 7 | Squirm | Surprisingly fascinating " nature goes berserk " film opting to go more towards a character driven piece than you normally see in these kind of films . The plot is really silly , but fortunately Lieberman has the skills to shoot the film evocatively ( especially the wooded areas and candlelit nighttime when the worms descend on a town not ready for them ) . The cast , and good Georgia accents , also bring a freshness to this film that adds an original peculiarity to the mix . It isn't exactly gory , where Lieberman seems to want it to get under your skin more than shock you with graphic violence . That feeling of dread knowing they will eventually come out from hiding , the hordes of them , also adds a quiet intensity to the film . I like the leads of Don Scardino as Mick , from " the city " , who comes to Georgia to begin a hopeful relationship with the sexy Patricia Pearcy as Geri . The other element of fear derives from loony Roger ( RA Dow ) who desires Geri and is insanely jealous of Mick . Rounding out the interesting cast is Jean Sullivan as Geri's traumatized , numb mother Naomi ( recently losing her husband has certainly caused a depression ) , Fran Higgins as Geri's sister Alma , and Peter MacLean as the Sheriff ( with the teeth ) who doesn't like Mick in his little town " starting trouble . " |
436,493 | 9,938,570 | 92,576 | 7 | Stagefright | A stage production comes under siege of a serial killing actor ( notorious for shopping up 16 different victims to pieces with an axe ) named Irving Wallace who has escaped the holding cell of a psychiatric hospital . After a stagehand is killed with a pickax , the director quietly decides to continue his stage production out of desperation for his sagging career and a good payday . He informs actress Corinne ( Loredana Parrella ) to lock the exit / entrance door and hide the key . Of course , she's the next female victim to be killed , viciously stabbed by Wallace , who hides under the hawk head of actor Brett ( Giovanni Lombardo Radice , really playing his prototypical homosexual prankster to the hilt in scene-stealing fashion ) . So the crew who decided to stay on and continue the play are trapped in the building ! If that isn't inspired , I don't know what is . The rest of the film has the crew trying to stay close together and alive as Wallace roams the building with various weapons he confiscated from a workshop ( including a drill which penetrates the stomach of one victim , a chainsaw which cuts one fellow's arm clean off and cuts two more poor helpless souls in half , and stabs another quite viciously with a blade ) . The female protagonist is Alicia ( Barbara Cupisti ) , an actress fired from the leading role when she escaped from the building for a while to get her bruised ankle looked at ( coincidently by a doctor at the psychiatric hospital ; Wallace hid in the backseat of Alicia and her stagehand friend's car ) . They do remember a skeleton key being placed in an office desk drawer which might be their only means out of the building . Soon , the killer will have it and Alicia will have to use her brains to get out of the building or else . Director Soavi himself plays one of the cops stationed outside the building in the car supposedly to guard them from further harm . . he has a novel with the photo of James Dean printed on it wondering to his partner if he resembles the Hollywood legend . Not exactly original , but a pulse-pounding gore-thriller nonetheless . Soavi was establishing himself here staying close to the genre of his predecessors . He'd later make his own path with Dellamorte Dellamore . Stagefright is very stylish with a rather silly ending that just won't quit . |
435,935 | 9,938,570 | 59,727 | 7 | The Skull | The skull of the Marquis De Sade , imbued with demonic powers , is removed from his grave by a phrenologist with an obsessive curiosity regarding the notorious writer's sanity . This skull has the ability to mind control individuals , often resulting in death to others . The film introduces us to researcher and artifact collector Dr . Christopher Maitland ( Peter Cushing ) who often writes about ( . . and has a distinct fascination with ) the occult , as his interests lie in studying his collection , a vast cornucopia of objects , antiques & books , hoping to unlock the secrets of the unknown . When a fellow colleague , whose sole interests in the occult are to make a hefty sum from collectors such as Maitland , offers him a chance to retrieve the possession of the Marquis De Sade's skull , it's hard to refuse . Maitland later discovers that his fellow occult collector , Sir Matthew Phillips ( Christopher Lee , billed here as a guest star , when in fact he has one of the strongest , albeit despite a small amount of time on screen , roles in the film ) once had the skull , but it was stolen by Anthony Marco ( Patrick Wymark ) the very one who wishes to sell it to him . But , Phillips informs Maitland that he's glad the skull was stolen , telling him of nightmares and the evil control it has over the owner , warning him to stay away from it . But , Maitland shrugs off Phillips's warnings of the skull's danger as superstitious mumbo jumbo , and discovers for himself how all too real this evil truly is . Well , I'll say this , Peter Cushing and director Freddie Francis give it everything they have despite a rather hokey premise of a skull having supernatural powers . Cushing displays how his character is unable to resist the powers of the skull's control , with horror and confusion taking over . We see a battle of wills with Cushing's researcher losing almost every time , simply too weak to overcome the evil which slowly takes over his mind . We see how the skull , since the one who once had it was such a sadistic and cruel sort who enjoyed pleasure through pain ( . . claimed in this film as possibly practicing sorcery , an apprentice for Lucifer ) commands those whose minds it takes hold over to kill others nearby . In Maitland's case his wife , with the only thing saving her being a crucifix she wore as a necklace . The Christian iconography is heavily used to establish the oft-used theme of " good vs . evil " against the skull and it's demonic grasp of Maitland . We also see how , if you do not obey what it wishes , the result is grim , as the ending so well tells us . Francis , with the flimsy material that probably wouldn't hold under close scrutiny ( . . if the skull was so powerful how come it never exited the grave ? If De Sade in life was such a sorcerer , how come he died the way he did in a prison ? And , where does the power of the skull derive from when all that is left of the one who practiced sorcery is dead ? ) , does what he can through tricks and style . The De Sade book , with binding made of human skin , sold to Maitland by Marco , removes itself from a shelf floating to the table where the skull lies within the " devil's star " . The camera P-O-V peering at Maitland through the following eyes of the skull . A key turning on it's own releasing the skull from it's " glass cage " . Windows opening on their own with the wind blowing the curtains . A mirror breaking as Maitland walks past . And , Francis sure opens the film with a visual aplomb . . a distorted graveyard with a creaky gate as the phrenologist enters the dug grave of De Sade relishing the moment . And , any film which has a bidding war over Satanic artifacts between Cushing and Lee , and the two icons playing pool , works for me ! Some great names in the cast have smallish roles such as Nigel Green as an inspector with Patrick Magee as his partner , investigating the violent aftermath of what the skull leaves behind . Michael Gough as an auctioneer . Jill Bennett as Maitland's wife Jane whose life is in danger while she sleeps as her husband grapples with plunging a dagger into her . This is definitely Cushing's film . He has many scenes where it's just his character alone with the skull , attempting unsuccessfully to fight the evil desiring to overtake him . Peter Woodthorpe has a memorable role as the nosy landlord of Marco's , whose poking nose sends him to an early grave . Probably the film's most bizarre , baffling set-piece is a nightmare where Maitland is forced by cops into a car , led to a strange building with a judge forcing him into putting a gun to his head , before carting him off to a room as a colorful poisonous gas enters through vents . |
436,886 | 9,938,570 | 53,903 | 7 | The Hellfire Club | Rousing swashbuckling tale of an heir Jason ( Keith Michell , in fine form as an Errol Flynn type hero ) , whose despicable father finally leaves this mortal coil for Hell after his death in a hunting accident , must contend with his equally devious , aristocratic scumbag cousin Thomas ( Peter Arne ) who lays claim to the estate and has the paper entitling Jason to the kingdom . Unfortunately , Jason will have to secure that paper from Thomas somehow by sneaking into his service as a servant . Jason , who was raised by Timothy ( David Lodge ) , once a servant of his fathers ' . . and only one his late mother could trust . . has been part of a traveling circus for some time and has keen acrobatic abilities , not to mention sword-fighting knowledge . This knowledge , and acrobatic skill , comes in handy when Jason's identity is found out , perhaps through Isobel ( Adrienne Corri ) who is to marry Thomas but falls in love with his cousin . Isobel is from poverty and so desperately wants a title of wealth that Thomas can provide . . but despite her feelings towards Jason he stands in the way of her goals . Thomas ' power with the English government ( . . but his underhanded secret dealings with the French offer possibilities of his possible downfall ) puts Jason in prison when the evil aristocrat murders Timothy framing him . Jason had retrieved the paper stating his legitimacy to the kingdom and hid it in his lawyer's study . But lawyer Merryweather ( Peter Cushing , amusing even if on screen for mere minutes ) will not allow his knowledge of the paper known to the judge or jury at the trial for Jason's being tucked away in prison might just benefit England and bring down the corrupt Thomas and his Hellfire Club cohorts . But , Jason's circus-pals will not stand at bay as their friend lays in prison for the gallows and rescue him . Through a cunning kidnapping of the traveling French Marquis , Jason will go within the lair of Thomas ' Hellfire club cavern to rescue his lady-love Yvonne ( Kai Fischer ) , held prisoner so that a thorn can be removed from the evil cousin's side . Can Jason rescue Yvonne , thwart Thomas ' plans , and , above all , remain alive ? Lots of sword-dueling , acrobatic stunts , colorful sets & engaging performances rise this above merely the mundane . It has an appealing hero , loathsome villain worth rooting against , beautiful women , and an exciting prison escape . The circus troupe provide lots of joy as they cunningly trick the guards in the prison escape . Good production values and some suspense as poor Jason faces one trial after another so that he can get his revenge and claim his birthright . The Hellfire Club is an interesting backdrop to the action proclaiming what kind of sickening brutes Jason , and England , are up against . |
435,721 | 9,938,570 | 120,894 | 7 | Immortality | A " vampire " , Steven Grlscz ( Jude Law ) , chooses female victims for their " emotional " blood hoping that the perfect mate who'll love him perfectly , will indeed " cure " him of his illness . We see a victim in the early going he selects who was about to throw herself in front of a subway train . He offers kindness to her for she probably could've used it . But , his befriending her in a sense is a way of gaining her trust until she completely gives herself over emotionally ( . . through complete love hopefully ) , but as often as it has been , this person wasn't . He feels certain emotions in his chosen victims , whether it's disappointment or despair , each person has that strong emotion which carries freely through the blood . He must feed on blood to remain alive and when he disposes of the body in a quick-sanded marshland , it is unfortunately discovered by fisherman using illegal netting . He has to contact the police to inform them of his previous relationship with the dead woman so that his guilt won't be so glaring . So for a time , two detectives follow him suspecting him as the murderer . Meanwhile , Steven meets structural engineer named Anne ( Elina Löwensohn ) and they soon begin a growing relationship where he begins to feel is true love . Will Anne be able to save him ? How will she react if Anne discovers who Steven really is ? And , will Steven be able to elude the police from suspecting him ? All these questions will get answered as Steven must eventually feed or die in the process . Something also touched on is that Anne notices how Steven studies people . One of the detectives , Healy ( Timothy Spall ) notices that Steven copied a finger gesture in how he puts out the tip of his cigarettes . We later find that besides blood , Steven must also keep himself alive by constantly studying the human condition . Fascinating study on a person whose illness is really never completely elaborated on . That might very well frustrate some viewers wanting an answer , but what if there isn't one ? In a sense he is a vampire because he must survive by feeding on blood . But , his life is anything but flamboyant . There are improbabilities such as how Steven seems able to elude his crime against the victim at the beginning of the movie . The film provides us with a gang so that we can see how fast Syteven moves proving to us that he is beyond merely a mortal , but something much different . The love of the film is tested with Steven's condition which makes for an interesting drama particularly Anne's reaction once she finds out . |
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