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I DISMEMBER MAMA - 1984 - Director: Paul Leder Albert is
one sick bastard... Zooey Hall plays this trouble individual that's
been committed for trying to kill his well-to-do mother. The title
to this one is very misleading, it gives the impression it's a gore-fest
when in reality is more of a crime story. Hall's "Albert"
is a complete wacko, from his acting to his menacing creepy demeanor.
He looks plastic, like a manican, and almost like something off
of Dr. Moreau's Island! Albert escpapes his temporary prison to
return back home. He kills his mother's friend "Alice"
after making her remove her clothes and dance for him. This is
an extremely uncomfortable scene, be warned. Actress Marlene Tracy
did a disturbingly good job with this sickening scene. What really
make this one twisted is when Alice's young daughter "Annie"
arrives home. Albert is extremely charming and befriends the nieve
young lady. Director Paul Leder does a good job at making this
a film that really make you squirm... not from the gore, there was very
little, but from the disturbing situations we find the characters in.
The soundtrack is horribly dated, and the action is pretty slow at times.
I still don't know if I can reccomend this to everyone. It's really
messed up and quite often appauling. If you enjoy this type of
sickness, check this one out... it's for hardcore fans only. |
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER - 1997 - Director: Jim Gillespie This Horror/Mystery/Thriller
was part of the resurgence of the "Slasher" film in the latter
part of the 90's. This one was released on the heels of the success
of "Scream" and became almost as popular. The movie
had the same affect for it's stars as "Scream" as it launched
the film careers of Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Ryan
Phillipe. The cast also included Sarah Michelle Gellar of "Buffy
The Vampire" fame as well as Anne Hesche in a cameo appearance.
It was accused of being your basic "Teen-Slasher" film and
Love Hewitt's bust was the topic of conversation for months afterwards.
The truth is that it's a very well-made film with a good story that
really made you think. Without giving anything away, a group of
teens hit's a man who's standing in the middle of the road with their
car. They decide to dispose of the body instead of calling the police.
Their lives are all turned inside out and they are eventually being
stalked by someone who knows the truth. This one will forever
be compared to "Scream", but the cast and crew knew that going
in. This one can still be credited with the comeback Horror films
made in the late 90's, even if a lot of them were watered down Hollywood
films, the ripple effects rolled all the way down to the indie scene
as well. |
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE - 1978 The movie
starts off like a cross between "Porky's" and "Deliverance".
A young girl from New York City seeks refuge in the countryside to write
her book. She runs into some of the local boys who obviously think
they know everything about women and they sit and brag in front of a
campfire. One of the crew is a slow-witted virgin named Matthew,
and his "buddies" decide to catch this girl and let him have
is way with her. He resists the first few times as this poor girl can't
win for losing as she somehow wonders back into the hands of the perpetrators
after each brutal rape. This is NOT for the weak! There's
some disturbing rape scenes and actress Camille Keaton was more than
convincing, it's really hard to make it though these scenes without
turning it off. Matthew is sent it to dispose of our heroine,
but only pretends to kill her, which leads us into the next phase of
the movie... the revenge. Without going too much into details,
let me say this, it ain't pretty. "Hell hath no fury like
a women scorned" may be the best way to describe it and she extracts
her revenge on the men, one by one. The male audience will certainly
cringe at the knife in a warm bath scene... simply disturbing.
Some may read more into the movie as a women's lib influenced film,
but you might be thinking too much. The end is anti-climatic and
actually leaves you a bit dissappointed. |
THE INCUBUS - 1981 - Director: John Hough John Cassevetes,
who is most famous for playing "Guy Woodhouse" in "Rosemary's
Baby", is Dr. Sam Cordell, and he's got one hell of a mystery on
his hands. Apparently, women are being brutally raped and murdered
with no real clues left behind to lead the authorities to the killer.
It turns out there are more supernatural forces at work here.
You'll find a variety of reviews for this film, most are bad, but I
will say there's a lot worse films on this subject matter out there!
Cassevetes reminds one of Pacino, but not nearly as neurotic, and delivers
most of his lines with a bit of a mumble. Director John Hough
uses some interesting camera angles to create tension, angles that may
have been ahead of their time, good OR bad. Hough, who directed
"The Avengers" TV Series does create a creepy atmosphere with
a very touchy subject matter. This movie does have flaws, and
isn't a "Classic", but it's not all that bad either. |
INHABITED - 2003 - DIRECTOR: Kelly Sandefer Suprisingly entertaining film about "fairies" that inhabit the catacombs below an old house where a young family has just move into. Yes, we've seen similar fims before, this one has elements of "Lepprechaun", "Critters", "The Gate" and other films of this style. Yes, it's cheesy and a bit silly, but the "Evil Dead" type special effect created by director and vicual effects director Kelly Sandefer are actually quite frightening, especially if you consider this one is labeled as "family" before "horror" by some organizations. The story is based on Nordic legends of faries living underground and tormenting human-kind. Malcolm McDowell adds a familar face to the mix and the cast is very capable. If you like the creature films of the 80's, you'll get a kick out of this one. Not recommended for younger children, unless you WANT to give them nightmares. |
INTRUDER - 1989 - DIRECTOR: Scott Speigel A fun little
Slasher film that came it right at the end of the 80's run of this kind
of film so it went relatively unnoticed. At that time the whole premise
was growing a bit tired. The fime was directed by Scott Speigel and
had his buddies Sam and Ted Raimi appearing as stockboys in the supermarket
where the action takes place. Speigel actually went to High School with
Sam Raimi and cult-hero Bruce Campbell. There's many flaws in this one
including an that only someone with no knowledge of the law would believe.
Besides some holes in the plot this one is very entertaining and quite
gorey for it's time. The action is consistent with the killer seemily
able to be everywhere at once and always in the right place. The killer
also had the uncanny ability to place bodies where the victims still
alive would stumble into them. This may be reasons why the slasher genre
had been dying off by the late 80's. Don't let these cliche's turn you
away however, this film has a little tongue-in-cheek humor that is consitent
with work from the Raimi/Campbell connection. |
INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS - 1956 Easily one
of the best Horror/Sci Fi movies of it's time. The acting is one
of the most convincing of the entire Black and White era. Veteren
actor Kevin McCarthy play the lead, Dr. Miles J. Binnell, and is perfect
for this role. McCarthy isn't an over-dramatic actor, and can
portray madness very well. Dr. Binnell returns from a trip to
find strange things going on around town. Soon they discover a
body, with no finger prints. Shortly after they discover a "pod"
growing in greenhouse. This movie is scarier than most because
WE are the monsters. The pod's created perfect replications of
us, except they were not really us. It's a scary concept when
you think about it, they could be anyone, your neighbor, your wife or
even your children. The action moves along pretty well to for
this era, but I'm sure the younger generation will find it a bit slow.
The tension rises as they start to realize there's more of an infestation
than they thought. Most people will more than likely remember
the 1978 version starring Donald Sutherland, which was quite frightening
in it's own right. It should be noted that is NOT a remake of
this movie, it's simiply based on the same concept. Another version
simply called "Body Snatchers" was made in 1993, which was
quite good as well. This is a testament to the orignal story and
it's longetivity. I wouldn't be surprised if there's more movies
based on this concept made in the future. |
THE IRREFUTABLE TRUTH ABOUT DEMONS - 2000 - Director: An excellent
import from New Zealand, even if it is at times fairly confusing.
The story follows a young anthropologist who is being stalked by a Satanic
cult. The entire cast was very believable in this thriller.
I eluded to the confusing storyline before, you don't have to be a brain
surgeon to figure out the basic plot, but there's a lot of dream sequences
that keep you from figuring out what is real and what isn't. Despite
what might lead to mild frustration, this is a very enjoyable film.
The scenery is very dark and gothic, the setting are frightening and
the camera work is fantastic. They don't go overboard with the
fast and furious angles, but it does have a modern element. The
way the demons are presented almost reminds you of Vampires, which I
guess are a form of demon. I'm very interested to see what directed
Glen Standring does next. |
IT'S ALIVE - 1974 - Director: Larry Cohen There's
no real flashy actors, a silly plot and some rather slow dialogue.
Then why does this movie work so well? Ironically, for all the
same reasons. Actors John P. Ryan and Sharon Farrell are the not-so-proud
parents of a new baby... something. The movie is loaded with tension,
mostly thanks to Ryan's extremely grouchy and intense demeanor.
Director Larry Cohen uses child-birth as a tool to create fear.
He plays with your emotions on the most primitive and instinctive level.
There's moral dilemmas to consider such as parents loyalty to their
children despite it's actions. You could get into these arguments,
or just enjoy this as a simple horror movie about a mutant baby with
fangs, muscles and a large head that kills anyone who gets in it's way.
The action is pretty steady for a film from this era, and Cohen doesn't
try to overdo the special effects, but rather shows glimpses and uses
shadows to generate fear. Despite Cohen's reputation as a low-budget
filmmaker, he always seems to be able to implement some disturbing elements
that most directors can't accomplish. Followed by two sequels
to date. |
| THE ITEM - 1999 - Directed by Dan Clark (VII) A
Mad Scientist creates an animal resembling a talking worm—or a penis—and
then sells it to four criminals. The creature is initially in
suspended animation, but, naturally, is awakened with negative results.
If you are into
surrealism, you might like this, but I’m not and I didn’t. The
“creature” appears to be a hand puppet. The plot didn’t
make much sense, and I found that I didn’t really care what happened
to the main characters. |
I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU - 1998 This movie
is like an "After School Special" meets "Subrina"
to form a hybrid of the "Scream" series. This one is
great for kids as anyone over 16 will be offended by the cheesiness
and teen themes. The acting isn't bad really as Sarah Chalke ("Rosanne",
the second Becky), the new girl in a New England town has moved from
California and is being accused of being a witch. The plot is
muddled as they focus more on what it's like moving to a new school.
Surprisingly there's a few good chase scenes with the killer, but you
never really see any blood or violence, which takes the sting out of
it. Basically this is a Witch/Slasher flick that's supposed to
be a Mystery of sorts. After you know the ending, there's more
holes in the story than a pound of swiss cheese. Nice use of effects
and lighting and overall very professional, but better suited for a
younger PG-13 crowd. |
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