|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| DARK ASYLUM - 2001 - Director: Gregory Gieras There was a lot of potential here, but it ends up being just a mildly
entertaining strait to video Thriller. Larry Drake (Mr. Giggles)
plays a serial killer who has finally been caught and brought to tan
asylum. Paulina Porizkova plays a psychiatrist brought in to do
an evaluation. Well, one thing leads to another and Drake's character
escapes. Unfortunately for Porizkova, she and the janitor (Judd
Nelson) get locked in with the maniac when the asylum automatically
locks down overnight. Drake looks completely menacing here, he's
a total freak at times, but then they decide to make it into more of
a battle of wits. There's some tense moments during the chase
scenes, but if director Gregory Gieras would have played off Drake's
character more, it could have been a hell of a lot scarier. I
realize that B-Movie Horror tends to have some silly things happening,
but there were a few here that just made me laugh out loud. Like
Drake pushing over a tree so he could climb up the side of a building.
Gieras over does the "dumb cop" schtick too, these guys make
Chief Wiggums from "The Simpsons" seem like Dirty Harry. |
| DARKMAN - 1990 - Director: Sam Raimi Considering that 1990 was in a black hole for Horror movies, this
one did quite well. Ironically it starred Liam Neeson and Frances
McDormand who would both go on to win Oscars later in their career's.
Sam Raimi finally had tasted some mainstream success with this.
He's probably best known for his work with Bruce Campbell on the "Evil
Dead" series. Raimi has a decent budget to work with as well
which really showed what he could do with a little ca-ching! The
movie is a bit of a throwback to the good old days of super heros.
Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) was in the wrong place at the wrong time
as he runs into crime-boss Robert Durant, played by Larry Drake.
Westlake, a scientist, was on the verge of creating a sort of synthetic
skin that would help burn victims. When the thugs destroy his
lab by blowing it up, they leave Westlake for dead. Little did
they know they had created a monster bent on destruction. You'll
most likely find this one under "Action" and appropriately
so, despite some graphic effects. The final chase is incredible
and fans of Raimi will recognize his intense camera work. There's
more than meets the eye here as this is a love story of sorts as well.
It reminds one of "Phantom Of The Opera" and other classics.
The difference is that there's never a doubt which side the "monster"
is on here. Followed by strait-to-video sequels with different
actors and a short-lived TV series. |
| DAWN OF THE DEAD - 1978 - Director: George Romero George Romero's
sequel to "Night Of The Living Dead" was a big budget film
compared to the 1968 classic. This one follows the lives of 4
people trying to survive while staying in a Mega-Shopping Mall.
This one could fundamentally be the best "Zombie" movie ever
made. There's action, gore, the closterphobic feeling of being
trapped, and characters that you could generally like. They do
a lot to explain the phenomenon in this one through newscasts and other
sources. Romero develops the four characters quite well, this
time there's no racial conflicts and no real human antagonist within
the main characters. The thought of possibly being the last humans on
Earth can be quite maddening. They have an their disposal everything
you could ever want in the mall, enough food to last a lifetime and
so on, but is all that really enough? The irony of the movie is
that in the end the real bad guys turn out be humans themselves. You
can get all philosophical here or you can just enjoy the movie for what
it is. Dario Argento helped with the writing and musical score. |
DAY OF THE DEAD - 1985 - Director: George Romero The third
installment of George Romero's Zombie chronicles is perhaps the weakest
of the first three. Ironically he has the best effects and biggest budget
in this one, which proves that doesn't necessarily mean much. The story
isn't the problem, it's shot around or after "Dawn Of The Dead"
and follows a group of survivors in an underground military base. The
main problem I had was the casting and roles played. Romero's distaste
for the military is too obvious here, the soldiers are complete power
hungry baphoons. The actors are not cast well and the acting is so over-the-top
it's difficult to watch at times. Granted, I have no idea how I would
react in these conditions, but I know a lot of people in the military
and this is not a fair portrayal of them, even under the most extreme
conditions. The film has it's strong points too. There's never been
a zombie film that's dwelled this deep or taken the concept of living
dead this serious. They are doing a lot of research on the undead in
this film, which could be responsible for giving the "living dead"
concept some respectiblity in mainstream Hollywood. |
DAY OF THE DEAD - 2008 - Director: Steve Miner Let's get
one thing strait, this is NOT a remake, although there are some slight
similarities. The main character is again a woman, and the character
of "Bud" is used again, but in a completely different context.
Personally I'm more protective of "Dawn Of The Dead" than
it's predesor. The Romero fans have unfairly ripped this one apart just
like a zombie tearing into flesh. The truth is that this is an entertaining
film. No, it's not a traditional Romero zombie flick, the undead in
this one are the fastest I've ever seen, but remember, this is 2008
and films like this are generally made for a younger generation. You
could say this one is closer to Uwe Boll's "House Of The Dead"
than it is to the Romero film. The bottom line this was a fun ride,
the acting for this type of film was better than average and even included
Vighn Rhames. Mena Survari (American Beauty) was strong in the lead
and overall the special effects were pretty decent. |
DAY OF THE DEAD - 2008 - Director: Steve Miner Let's get
one thing strait, this is NOT a remake, although there are some slight
similarities. The main character is again a woman, and the character
of "Bud" is used again, but in a completely different context.
Personally I'm more protective of "Dawn Of The Dead" than
it's predesor. The Romero fans have unfairly ripped this one apart just
like a zombie tearing into flesh. The truth is that this is an entertaining
film. No, it's not a traditional Romero zombie flick, the undead in
this one are the fastest I've ever seen, but remember, this is 2008
and films like this are generally made for a younger generation. You
could say this one is closer to Uwe Boll's "House Of The Dead"
than it is to the Romero film. The bottom line this was a fun ride,
the acting for this type of film was better than average and even included
Vighn Rhames. Mena Survari (American Beauty) was strong in the lead
and overall the special effects were pretty decent. |
| DEAD-ALIVE - 1992 - Directed by Peter Jackson
Starring: Timothy
Balme as Lionel Cosgrove; Diana Penalver as Paquita Maria Sanchez; Elizabeth
Moody as Mum (Lionel’s mother); Ian Watkin as Uncle Les; and Stuart
Devenie as Father McGruder. |
| DEAD AND BURIED - 1981 - Director: Gary Sherman If this
one doesn't give you the creeps, nothing will. This is one of
the biggest sleepers out there. Dan O'Bannon, who wrote "Alien"
also helped pen this one. James Farantino plays Sheriff Dan Gillis
in the small New England town of Potter's Bluff. He soon discovers
things aren't what they seem when strange murders begin to occur.
The townspeople are killing anyone that wanders into town, some take
pictures while other hack away, burn, or beat the victim with rocks.
It's downright disturbing and unnerving. Without giving away the
plot, I can tell you this is one of the best movies about the "undead"
ever made. It's NOT a zombie film, it's like nothing I've seen
before, the twists and turns at the end are fantastic. There's
not an overabundance of gore, but some of the images will stick with
you for awhile... you might even take them to your grave. |
| DEAD CREATURES - 2001 - Written & Directed by Andrew Parkinson
I rented this because the story line sounded good
to me, people who must kill and eat other people to survive. The
movie focuses on a group of young women caring for one of their number
who suffers from some bloody and gross skin condition. The implication
here is that she’s dead and must eat raw human meat to survive, but
that isn’t clearly explained. They are being hunted by a man for
reasons that also aren’t explained. This movie
fails for me for two reasons: It is intensely
boring. It is so boring that I was unable to sit all the way through
it. The main characters spend most of their time sitting, watching
the “telly” and discussing hopelessly mundane subjects. It could
be that some explanations were given toward the end, but I couldn’t
bear to watch that much of it. The characters
weren’t sufficiently engaging so as to make me care what happened to
them. Frankly, I regarded this as one of the worst movies I have
ever seen, and I don’t recommend it. |
| THE DEAD PIT - 1989 - Directer: Brett Leonard Directed by Brett Leonard. Produced by Gimel Everett. Starring Jeremy Slate as “Dr. Gerald Swan”, Cheryl Lawson as “Jane Doe”, Stephen Foster as “Christian Meyers”, and Danny Gochnauer as Dr. Colin Ramzi.
Synopsis: Dr. Swan, a compassionate psychiatrist, discovers that
his collegue, the brilliant Dr. Ramzi, is conducting sadistic experiments
on his patients. Swan confronts Ramzi in his operating room, located
in the basement of an old wing of the hospital beside a pit, and is
forced to shoot him in the ensuing fight. He seals him and his
dead patients in the pit. Years later, a beautiful
amnesiac young woman is brought to the hospital for treatment.
An earthquake occurs upon her arrival which releases the undead and
fiendish Dr. Ramzi along with his now-undead victims. Jane
Doe, tormented by nightmares and visions featuring Ramzi, makes a friend
& ally in the person of fellow inmate Chris Meyers, an ex-military
explosives expert. He is in the funny farm because he occasionally
reverts to his old habit of blowing up things. His skill comes
in handy later. This is a good and very atmospheric
movie. The parts (for the most part) are well acted. Jane
Doe, played by Cheryl Lawson, runs around half naked most of the time
and is a treat for the eyes. There are some genuine chills as
we watch Dr. Ramzi do hideous things to his victims. Among
those movies in which the dead walk, this is an exceptionally good example.
I recommend it. |
| THE DEAD PIT - 1989 - Director: Brett Leonard What else
can you want in a Horror flick? You've got a busty heroine who
runs around in her underwear, a mad doctor, zombies and a mental institute.
I don't care what anyone says, this is one of the best cult-classics
out there. It rivals even "Re-Animator" with less humor
infused, but still a good dose of twisted fun. For example, at
one point one of the heroes remarks "Damn, for dead people, they
sure are smart." Director Brett Leonard must have been
a fan of Dario Argento as he uses LOUD musical effects to jolt you right
out of your seat. The lighting and effects are low-budget as most
Horror films are, but they are used extremely well. When you put
this all together you get a genuinely scary movie. I can't put
my finger on it completely, but this one still creeps me out, even after
seeing more zombie flicks than any one person should be allowed.
Leonard would go on to work on bigger productions like "Lawnmower
Man" and "Virtuosity" but I would love to see more of
his work. He was able to disturb you with simple effects such
as lighting and gross sounds. This one originally came with a
box that featured a zombie with green flashing eyes. Of course,
you won't find one in tact because some asshole has surely smashed in
the box by now. |
| DEAD RINGERS - 1988 - David Cronenberg Disturbing
doesn't begin to explain this piece of work by David Cronenbergy.
Jeremy Irons is simply amazing playing identical twins Elliot and Beverly
Mantle. You must have patience with this one as the plot is far
from simple. Both brothers are gynaecologists who have a bad habit
of sharing women, and other things. In typical Cronenberg fashion,
the movie is more psychological than action, which can make it move
very slow. It's a journey into madness and drug addiction, you're
never completely sure what's going on until the end... and even then
it's questionable. The special effects are worth watching this
movie alone, at times you completely forget that Irons is playing both
rolls. Cronenberg and Irons are both near brilliant in this one. |
| DEADLY BLESSING - 1987 - Director: Wes Craven I always
thought the Amish were a bit creepy, but this one pretty much confirms
it. Wes Craven had done "Last House On The Left" and
"The Hills Have Eyes" and was just starting to reach his potential
on this one, although he's not quite there yet. There are some
genuine scary moments, but the story seems to be told in parts and pieces
and almost seems to go backwards and sideways. Earnest Borgnine
is fantastic as the Amish Elder who pretty much condemns everyone to
Hell before the movie is over. Without giving away the plot, a
young wife has her friends stay with her after a tragic "accident".
Strange things are going on, including the death of an Amish boy.
As I mentioned earlier, the plot is all over the place, I really feel
you could have literally moved scenes around and it wouldn't matter.
It has the feel of "Children Of The Corn" in some ways, and
"The Omen" in others. Craven knows how to disturb and
scare, there's no arguing there, and in this one he uses spiders and
a snake in the bathtub to yank the willies out of you. This is
one of Sharon Stone's first movies, proving that to achieve greatness,
one must first walk the way of Horror. |
| DEADLY MANTIS, THE - 1957 Your typical
"Giant Insect" movie made around the Atomic Age where it seemed
everything was a huge monster bend on destruction. There's a lot
of Air Force jargon and positioning here that was also popular for this
time period. Unfortunately this can only be viewed as comedy for
today's crowd. I think this one at the time was pretty good actually,
despite some goofy scenes, like the soldiers dancing with each other
at the pool hall, or the Eskimo's running like Hell to get away from
the monster. They sped the film up and the result looked like
a "Three Stooges" short. Special effects aren't bad,
I think director Nathan Juran had to foresight to use a lot of smoke
and darkness to cover any glaring flaws. |
| DEATH SHIP - 1980 - Alvin Rakoff What starts
out as "The Love Boat" and made-for-tv schlock, ends up having
at least a few scary moments. The capable cast of Richard Crenna,
George Kennedy and Nick Mancuso make it watchable, even though they've
all done much better work. It's basically a haunted house on water
with a very disturbing source of horror. It's a decent survival
flick, but lacks good action sequences. You'd get better stunts
from a re-run of "The Fall Guy". It's one of those "coulda
been better if..." films, but trust me, there's been a lot worse. |
| DEATH WISH CLUB - 1983 - John Parr For most
of this movie I had NO idea what was going on. This movie would
make the crew at Troma say "what the fuck!?!". It's
based around a Porn actress who thinks she's a man and her old boyfriend
is trying convert him/her back. Merideth Haze plays "Gretta
and Charlie" and I'm convinced she's on some good drugs the entire
film. Her boyfriend, who stole Richard Dean Anderson's eyebrows
is obsessed with here despite the fact she's a lunatic. The movie
is written by Phillip Yordon, who was around 140 when he wrote this
film. Seriously, Mr. Yordon has an extensive career, and this
had to be one of the strangest. The weird thing about the film
is that I couldn't stop watching it! It has a similar eerie feel
as "A Clockwork Orange" or the Cronenberg's "Crash".
You're sickened but yet intrigued. Troma fans and those with a
taste for the absurd will get a sick thrill out of this one. |
| DEATHSTALKER 2 - 1987 - Director: Jim Wynorski From the
twisted sense of humor of Jim Wynorski comes this Roger Corman produced
"Barbarian B-Movie". If you've seen anything from Wynorski,
like "Sorority House Massacre II" you won't be expecting anything
that requires a lot of cerebral involvement. His wit and style
borders on some Troma work, but with with more tongue and cheek humor.
There's midgets, women wrestlers, breasts, zombies and lot's of over-the-top
acting. It's obviously a parody of sorts that has hints of Sam
Raimi's work in "Army Of Darkness" and the "Hercules"
series. I wouldn't put it in that league, but if you like that sort
of slap-stick style, you'll enjoy this one. "Deathstalker"
is played by John Terlesky, the reluctant hero. Terlesky has the
cheesy good looks but doesn't take himself remotely serious, which adds
to the overall silliness of the film. This is nothing but B-Movie
swashbuckling schlock, but it's darn good for what it is. There's
a surprising amount of action too, albeit most of it is about as realistic
as professional wrestling. My advice, get some freinds together,
pound down a six-pack and laugh your ass off. |
| DEEP BLUE SEA - 1999 - Director: Renny Harlin Sharks are
always a good source for Horror, they still scare a lot of people, and
this movie takes the old "Shark Story" one step further.
This will sound as silly on paper as it did in the movie... scientist
are working on a cure for Alzheimer's Disease and are genetically engineering
sharks for their purposes of finding a cure. Genetically engineering
sharks, now THAT'S a great idea! You can imagine the consequences
here. A group of scientists and other people get caught on the
man-made island where the tests are going on. The sharks are getting
smarter from whatever they're doing to them and after a storm cuts them
off from the outside world, the mayhem ensues. This is definitely
big budget Hollywood Summer type movie with a recognizable cast including
Samuel L. Jackson and LL Cool J. Don't get me wrong, they created
some very tense moments and some genuine disturbing moments created
by the timing of the killings. No, this isn't "Jaws"
but in reality, it moves a lot faster and for some might be more entertaining. |
| DEEP IN THE WOODS - 2000 - Director: Lionel Delplanque The French-made
film is about eccentric as you'd expect from France. It's creepy
and bizarre to say the least. Somehow this is tied into the "Little
Red Riding Hood" story, but it's confusing plot doesn't really
lead you to the correlation without your full attention. The movie
is based in a huge mansion in the countryside inhabited by a strange
man who's obviously got too much money and becomes bored easily.
With him is his relative, 7 year old Nicolas, who doesn't say a word,
but manages to be the creepiest character in the movie. A cast of young
actors and actresses is hired to perform a Play for Nicolas's birthday.
The first twenty minutes is quite disturbing at times, but soon after
it becomes your basic "slasher" film as one by one the pretty
young actors are killed off. Overall, this is worth a look or
two because of the fantastic camera work, the angles and approaches
taken are done very well. The settings are equally as effective
and the lighting used creates some scary moments. You will have
to put up with the dialogue not matching up because it was filmed in
French, but they do a very commendable job with making it realistic. |
| DEF CON 4 - 1985 - Director: Paul Donovan If you can't
find this one in your local video store's "Science Fiction"
section I'd be very surprised. It seems to be one of those films
that had amazing distribution, despite being a sub-standard film.
I may be one of the most popular Post-Nuclear War films out there, and
most likely was so because of the Cold War. It does move along
quite well as three astronauts crash-land to Earth after a devastating
Nuclear War. What they find is a small army put together by an
arrogant young man who more concerned with himself versus the plight
of mankind. The heroes are reluctant, and the bad guys are weak
which doesn't give this one the bite that it could have had. Who
really knows if this is an accurate depiction of the way humanity would
react in times of extreme crisis, let's hope we never have to find out. |
| DEMONIC TOYS - 1992 - Full Moon Pictures It's Child's
Play and Puppet Master Rolled into one! From the mind of Charles
band comes another killer-doll story. This one is great B-Movie
fun with some pretty decent names attached to it. Tracy Scoggins
brings her acting skills to this silly story of toys possessed by a
Demon. Some of the dialogue and lines delivered by the down is
downright funny. There's a real dark edge to this one that keeps
you smirking the whole 90 minutes. Robert Mitchum's grandson
"Bentley" plays "Mark Wayne", and again like Scoggins,
does a very good job with the material. There's a scene where
he's being attacked by a psychotic Jack-In-The-Box that's simply hilarious.
I haven't mentioned the plot yet, because there really isn't one to
speak of. It's just a group of people who get trapped in a warehouse
of toys possessed by a demon... hey, that's pretty deep for a lot of
B-Movie Horror. Good action, tense moments and lots of laughs
make this one worth the rental price. |
| THE DEMON - 1979 - Director: Percival Rubens If you can
stand the first half, this one turns out to be rather disturbing.
There's really no story here, other than a maniac with super-human strength
is killing people on an Island vacation resort. He seems to enjoy
placing plastic bags over his victim's heads. At one point a psychic
is hired to help find the killer when a girl goes missing, which ends
up in a disaster. The major problem with a lot of the action is
that is is just too dark! You have trouble making out what's going
on at times. This clears up at the end when the major chase scene
occurs. Jennifer Holmes plays "Mary" who could be one
of the smarter victims in the history of the "Slasher" by
how she escapes. The film is a bit dated, but overall I think
it could still be enjoyed by the modern viewer. |
| DEMON SEED - 1977 - Director: Donald Cammell Much more
disturbing and scary than you'd expect it to be, not to mention ahead
of it's time. When computers take over every aspect of our lives,
what dangers lie ahead? This film explores those possibilities.
It's based on a short story by Dean Koontz about a scientist and his
experiment gone bad. Alex Harris (Fritz Weaver) and his wife "Susan"
(Julie Christie) have split up. Susan is left in their house which
is run by "Joshua", a computer that basically controls everything
in the house by voice command, it even converses with Susan. Meanwhile,
Alex is doing research with another more powerful computer "Proteus"
who eventually finds a way to take over "Joshua" and holds
Susan hostage. The fear comes form the way Proteus is able to
completely control the entire house and keep Susan a prisoner in her
own home. Robert Vaughn is the voice of Proteus and his delivery
is dry and very eerie. When Proteus decides he needs a child of
his own, the plot thickens dramatically. Director Donald Cammell
does a fantastic job creating tension and Julie Christie's acting is
superb as she is often required to react with inanimate objects. This
is great Horror/Sci-Fi because it makes you think AND manages to frighten
you in the process. |
| DEMONS - 1986 - Director: Dario Argento A mysterious
man in handing out tickets to a "special" movie showing at
a theatre that was apparently closed. Before the movie starts,
a girl cuts herself on a strange mask hanging off a display in the lobby.
When the movie starts, Motley Crue's "Save Our Souls" rings
out during the opening credits (which automatically makes this a winner
in my book). The movie showing is a foreshadowing of the mayhem
to come as director Dario Argento uniquely sets the massacre in motion.
The dialogue is a bit silly and the words done always match up, but
the most important part of this is the gory special effects. The
girl who cut herself earlier makes it about 15 minutes into the movie
before she turns into a Demon in the restroom. The remainder of
the movie recreates a Zombie/Living Dead scenario, except the Demons
are a helluva lot faster on their feet. Gore fans will love the
effects, and their are some generally tense moments as well. A
sequel would follow with similar story set in a high-tech high rise
complex. |
| THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE - 1997 - Director: Taylor Hackford Besides
having star Keanu Reeves destroying yet another accent, this movie has
some very strong performances by it's stars. Al Pacino plays a
powerful head of a New York law firm that recruits a hot-shot lawyer
from Florida named Kevin Lomax, played by Reeves. Pacino's character
ends up being more than just a corrupt attorney in a role custom made
for him. Hell, it's not giving anything away by telling you he's
Satan, it's quite obvious from the first scene he's in. This movie
is like a cross between "The Omen" and "Seven" where
it explores our sins, and questions right and wrong. This can
be a very frightening film for those with spiritual beliefs as Pacino
gives one of the most convincing roles of his career. The speeches
he gives are just as you'd expect from the Devil... he makes his point
with a touch of twisted humor that puts you at ease, lowering your defences
so he can strike. If you were sceptical of lawyers before, this
movie certainly won't change your mind any. |
| THE DEVIL'S DAUGHTER - 1990 - Director: Michele Soavi Dario Argento
wrote this story about Satanic rituals and his protege Michele Soavi
directed. There's some genuine Horror in this film and some moments
that'll downright give you the creeps. However, the story is confusing
to say the least and Soavi seems more interested in creating "scenes"
or images. There's no denying his talent for creating some great
eye candy, but at times the story suffers. The first half of this
film is quite slow, but once the pace quickens, you are glued to the
film. As a lot of Argento films, evil seems to have and keep the
upper-hand. Creepy and disturbing and worth a look even though
the "shocking" end in predictably unpreditable. |
DEVIL'S DEN - 2006 - Director: Jeff Burr You don't
have to think to hard for this one, in fact, the less you think the
better. Devon Sawa (Idle Hands) stars as a punk drug-dealer who visit's
a strip club with his buddy. Soon they discover the club is actually
a lair for a pack of sexy ghouls. This one is worth a look for cult
horror fans because Ken Foree of the classic "Day Of The Dead"
also stars as a sword-weilding hitman of sorts. Devi's Den is part "Dusk
Til' Dawn" with some elements of "Evil Dead" mixed in.
The material is not taken seriously at all, and along with Sawa and
Foree, Kelly Hu (X2) play the roles perfectly. They all know this is
B-Movie horror, but they all act like they're having a blast, which
in turn allows the viewer to have fun as well. Journeyman B-Movie director
Jeff Burr is finally getting to work with some actors that make his
pictures better rather than dragging them down. |
| DISTURBING BEHAVIOR - 1998 A mediocre
mainstream horror film that takes a look as teenage "conformity"
and rebellion. A Psychologist played by Bruce Greenwood has come
up with a way to transform the wild kids of Cradle Bay into perfect
students who don't party, do their homework, and hang out at a local
malt shop, he basically made them the cast of Happy Days. There's
nothing really "happy" about what's going on there however.
The kids are going berserk under the medication, and only a group of
misfits can stop what's happening. William Sadler (Demon Knight)
shines as the school janitor helps stop the madness. There's
enough action to make this one worth watching, but the story is made
more for teenagers. This one came out right in the middle
of the burst of Horror movies in the late 90's thanks to the "Scream"
movies. |
| DOCTOR MORDRID - 1992 - FULL MOON - Director: Albert Band, Charles Band Sorcerers
and black magic are the main theme of this slow moving Full Moon production
directed by Charles Band. Jeffery Combs stars as Doctor Mordrid
and the cast is nicely filled with veteran character actor Brian Thompson
(Cobra) as the evil Kabal, and Yvette Nipar plays investigator Samanta
Hunt. This one reminds me of a cross between the "Warlock"
series and the Dr. Strange character from Marvel Comics. You'll
most likely find this under Horror, but it's more of a Science Fiction
film. It's a decent B-Movie and Combs is great as usual, but as
I eluded to earlier, it really drags along to a very anti-climatic ending.
This one is fine for kids, even though the subject matter is fairly
deep. The blood is kept to a minimum and the effects are cartoonish
and sometimes silly. The relationship between Mordrid and Hunt
is nice, which makes this a feel good flick. Not bad, just have
something else to do to keep yourself busy during the long dramatic
speeches. |
| DOLLMAN VS. DEMONIC TOYS - Somehow
Full Moon Pictures made this one to be the sequel for three of their
other movies. "Dollman", "Demonic Toys" and
"Bad Channels". This could make director Charles Band
a genius, or a fool, depending on how you look at it. From a marketing
standpoint this was a very unique way of bringing all these movies together.
Tim Thomerson (Trancers) is Dollman again, but really who ELSE is qualified!
Sexy Tracy Scoggins reprises her role from "Demonic Toys"
as officer Judith Grey, and for some unknown reason, Nurse Ginger from
"Bad Channels" appears as Dollman's love interest. Yes,
this is as silly as it sounds, and without seeing the rest of the movies,
it's too hard to explain in words. They do a good job with flash-backs
in the movie itself to explain what's going on, although you don't have
to be a brain surgeon. This one falls under the "so bad it's
good" category. The Demonic Toys are quite funny, "Baby
Oopsy Daisey" and "Jack Attack" are what B-Movie Horror
is all about. |
| DOLLS - 1986 - Director: Stuart Gordon It was a
dark and stormy night... LITERALLY. A father, daughter and father's
girlfriend are driving in a nasty storm when their car stalls and they
have to walk to an old creepy house inhabited by an elderly couple who
like toys. Re-Animator director Stuart Gordon also directs this
film about some killer dolls. Charles Band was the producer, and
three years later he would come up with the idea for the "Puppet
Master" series, which are perhaps the most popular "killer
doll" movies. Character actor Stephan Lee plays Ralph, who
picks up two annoying Madonna look-alikes who also stumble upon the
house. Lee provides some great comic relief and realism to the
film. This is a very fun film, with a nice message... don't EVER
grow up, or some evil dolls may hack you to pieces.
|
| DOLLY DEAREST - 1992 - Director: Maria Lease Every story
about killer dolls or puppets have been contributed to "Childs
Play" and "Chucky" even though that was hardly a new
concept. Well, neither is this one, but due to some fairly well-known
actors like Rip Torn, Chris Demetral (Dream On, The Secret Adventures
Of Jules Verne), and Denise Crosby (Pet Cemetery, Star Trek: The Next
Generation), this movie has some clout to it. Actress Candance
Hutson takes steals the scenes as the little girl obsessed or possessed
by her new Dolly. Hutson looks like Drew Berrymore in "Firestarter".
The story takes place in Mexico, where an American family moves to start
up their doll-making business. Yes, that does sound weak doesn't
it. Anyway, the factory is built on or near an ancient burial
ground, and spirits are haunting the Dolls in the factory. This
one is actually more scary than the "Child's Play" sequels,
but maybe not as much as the first one. Director Maria Lease,
who had little directorial experience does a nice job with the potentially,
all right, the silly material. Nice back-drops for the movie give it
a special touch. |
DON'T LOOK NOW - 1973 - Director: Nicholas Roeg Beautifully
crafted psychic thriller starring Donald Sutherland and Laura Baxter
and directed by Nicholas Roeg. This film would be considered very slow
in today's standards, but the tension builds slowly and we really get
to know the characters and genuinely care for them. The story centers
around a couple who lost their youngest girl in a drowning accident.
Ironically they are relocated in Venice, Greece, where there's plenty
of water and images to remind them. They meet a blind psychic who claims
to have seen their daughter in the afterlife, but are things as really
as they seem? Sutherland and Baxter are both superb at their craft and
this film is |
| DR. JEKYLL & MR. HYDE - 1941 - Director: Victor Fleming For my money,
the best version of the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson which casts
Spencer Tracy as the famous Doctor. Slow by today's standards,
but hypnotizing thanks to Tracy's brilliant performance and Victor Fleming's
(Wizard Of Oz) prowess as a director. Hyde is less of a monster
here, but much more intimidating and disturbing than he has or ever
would be. And Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner, they had to be the
most beautiful women of all time. This is a time that we had no
plastic surgery, breast enhancement's, aerobics, special diets and the
advancements in makeup. Still both women are absolutely striking.
You'll fall in love with Bergman from the first scene she's in, and
she and Tracy made a splendid tandem. This version really explores
man's inner soul and brings up a lot of questions about the good and
evil that lies within us all. If you're looking for true Horror,
this one might not be what you're looking for, special effects are rarely
used, but the grand sets and the atmosphere is perfect. This is
movie-making at it's best. |
| DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS - 1965 - Director: Freddie Francis Vampires,
voodoo and werewolfs... OH MY! This one boasts an all-star cast
of Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Donald Sutherlnd and more.
Five men board a train and are soon joined by a mysterious Dr. Shandor
Shreck. Soon he is reading each man's future through his tarot
cards. Each man faces an bleak future including one man who thinks
his wife is a Vampire. It has a very strong "Twilight Zone"
feel, which makes sense considering it's from the same era. The
action moves very well for a movie over 3 decades old, which you can
credit to the short stories of each man's fate, there wasn't a lot of
time to set up the story. Freddie Francis does a very good job
with the material, he later would do Cinematography for "Dune",
"Elephant Man" and many others. The effects are a bit
unrealistic in today's standards, but for 1965, they were done very
well. Fans of "Tales From The Crypt", "Twilight
Zone", "Tales From The Darkside" and other short story
series will certainly enjoy this one and the way it flows from story
to story. |
| DRACULA 2000 - 2000 Wes Craven's
take on the Dracula theme is one of the more interesting I've ever come
across. It turns out "Dracula" was actually Judas Iscariot,
and for those who know their biblical history, you know Judas "sold
out" Jesus and later tried to kill himself, thus his fear of crosses.
Yeah, it might be a stretch, but Craven's gift of creating high-tech
Horror saves any holes in the story. Another interesting twist
is that his love interest, if you call it that, was Van Helsing's daughter.
The casting, in my opinion was very well done. Journeyman Christopher
Plummer was the perfect Van Helsing. Pop-Culture favs like Omar
Epps and Jeri Ryan (Seven Of Nine, and who's never looked better) were
better vampires than heroes. That job was left to British actors
Jonny Lee Middleton and Justine Waddell, which gave the movie much more
credibility. Definitely an interesting take on Horror's most famous
monster. Good action and effects with it's modern Rock/Heavy Metal
soundtrack make it even more enjoyable. Features Slayer, Monster Magnet
and others. |
| DREAMSCAPE - 1984 - Director: Joseph Rueben A fun "sleeper"
(excuse the pun) about a government funded project using psychics to
enter people's dreams. The project was intended to help people
with nightmares, but ends up being used as a way to assassinate the
president. I guess it's not a "sleeper" with a cast
like Dennis Quaid, Eddie Albert, Max Van Sydow, Kate Capshaw, George
Wendt and Christopher Plummer, but I think it's one that people tend
to forget about. Ironically another movie about dreams also came
out in 84', "A Nightmare On Elmstreet". The special
effects were very good and the action was at a steady pace. With
a cast like this one, a movie would have to try to be bad, this one
is definitely one that can be enjoyed today and into the future. |
| DRILLER KILLER - 1979 - Director: Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara
directs and stars in this bad acid trip of a movie about a starving
artist who loses his mind and starts killing people with a portable
drill. I can see where a lot of people will simply dismiss this
movie as crap, but it goes far enough into the realm of weirdness to
be considered a movie that's worth watching. The crew HAD to be
wasted in most of the filming, as it shows the underbelly of the big
city and the sickness of it's inhabitants. I can't say that's
what they were going for here, but if you look hard enough, you'll find
some meaning to this low-budget gore-fest. It's frustrating at
times to watch because of poor lighting and such, and some of the scenes
go on way to long. Even though it came out at the end of the decade,
it still has a strong 70's shock value to it. There's even a brief
nude lesbian scene thrown in for good measure. If you liked "Last
House On The Left" and that style, you'll appreciate "Driller
Killer". |
| |
|