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MANIAC - 1980 - Director: William Lustig Easily one
of the most twisted profiles of a serial killer. Joe Spinell comes
off as one of the sickest bastards you'll come accross in film.
As dissappointing "Henry, A Portrait Of A Serial Killer" was,
this film exceeds expectations. Director William Lustig, with the special
effects of Tom Savini, has created a disturbing piece of Cinema.
There really is no story here, but rather a look inside the life of
sicko "Frank Zito" (Spinell). To say he has issues is
an understatement! He seems to be a combination of serial killers.
He misses his dead mother, even though she abused him and was a prostitute.
Now he scalps helpless young victims and staples their hair on manicans
that he has sitting around his apartment. Yes, it's as hideous
as it sounds as you actually see him scalp a victim. Very disturbing
to say the least. The people in the film have the sickening feel
and look of a bad porno, and Spinell even looks like Porn legend Ron
Jeremy. This one is not for the weak or even the casual horror
fan. This is for hardcore fans only! To ease into Lustig's
work, try the "Maniac Cop" series first before graduating
to this one. |
MAUSOLEUM - 1983 - Director: Michael Dugan There's
little to do with an actual mausoleum and more to do with demon possession.
The budget and quality of the film is decent, even if a lot of the effects
are pretty cheesy. You've seen the story a number of times, or
at least a variation of it. In this one, Bobbi Bresee (looking
ravishing as ever) is the victim of the possession and her alter-ego,
so to speak, is luring men to her beautiful home and killing them.
Yes, the story is a bit more detailed than that, but that's all that's
worth summoning up. This isn't a bad film, and there's enough
going on, but for some reason I expected better. Again, I must
add that Bresse looks fantastic and this is before the days of "enhancements"
so more than likely it's all real. |
MAY - 2003 - Director: Lucky McKee Delightfully
twisted performance by Angela Bettis and some deliciously wicked writing
and directing by Lucky McKee. This one starts innocently enough as you
quickly fall in love with the quirky "May" who has some major
social issues. The character of "Polly" is played extremely
well by Anna Farris (Scary Movie). Her seductiveness will turn on guys
and gals alike. This in almost a chick-flick until the last fourth of
the film, but as soon as you see a group of blind kids crawling around
on broken glass searching for a doll, you know this is about to take
a sick twist. Without giving anything away, May is obsessed with "parts"
and soon decides to make her own special friend. Very touching and demented
film with a dark sense of humor and even some good messages about life. |
MIDNIGHT'S CHILD - 1992 - Director: Colin Bucksey When you
go back and look at the release date of this film, it says April, 1992.
Considering the similarities with "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle",
I looked up the release date, it was January of 92'. I guess it's
safe to say this was most likely a copy-cat thrown together due to the
success of "The Hand...". The whole "evil nanny"
theory isn't a new one, but it seems to go in cycles. This one
has a more supernatural twist to it, but unfortunately it doesn't make
it anymore interesting. It's way too wordy and and the nanny in
question (Olivia d'Abo) is supposed to be Swedish, but I think they
made that up out of the blue, her accent was just stupid sounding.
The action really doesn't happen until the final 10 minutes, by then,
if your'e still watching, it really doesn't matter. Overall, the
acting is fine, it's just a rehashed story that needed something more.
Only recommended for a slow night. |
THE MIGHTY PEKING MAN - 1977 - Meng Hwa Ho Hong Kong's
answer to "King Kong" remade in 1976 combines that story with
"Sheena". In perhaps the one of the sexiest but yet
innocent performances ever, Evelyn Kraft is the playful "Samantha",
an orphan who has befriended the giant "Peking Man".
She wears the skimpiest outfits and has problems keeping in her outfit.
She basically makes Jessica Lange look like Rosie O'Donnell. This
is really schlock at it's best... or worse, depending how you look at
it. The special effects are comical and the dialogue is moronic,
but for B-Movie lovers, this one's gold. It's along the same lines
as most Godzilla films, but with more of a mixed racial cast. The story
is about greed and the consequences for your actions, you can see it
coming a mile away but you don't really care, it's harmless fun. |
MIMIC - 1997- Director: Guillermo del Toro Smart and
scary is the simplest way to describe this one. Amidst the new
"Slasher" craze created by Wes Craven in 96' with "Scream"
comes this horrifying look at evolution gone bad. Mira Sorvino
stars as Dr. Susan Tyler, an enotmologist who had saved millions by
breeding an insect that would feed off cockroaches carrying a deadly
virus. Three years later the insect she created reamerges in the
sewers of New York City, and they're starting to take shape... of us.
Charles Dutton (Aliens 3) and Jeremy Northam are the male leads, and
add some clout to the project. There's some elements of Alien
here, at least the way the creature kills it's victims and the special
effects. Yes, the basic story could be right out of the 50's with
the oversized bugs and all, but a stellar cast and some great work by
director Guillermo del Toro (Cronos) makes this one a legitmate contender. |
MINDWARP - 1990 - Bruce Campbell Post-Apolyptic
nightmare. This movie is more gore than horror as it takes a gloomy
look into the future. Are we simply drones plugged into a computer
main frame, and is the outside worlda barbaric region run by cannibals?
Director Steve Barnett does a nice job keeping you on your toes.
Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead) plays "Stover" a survivor on the
surface world who rescues a yound woman named "Judy" who has
been banished from her world of computer-based dreams and reality.
When Stover and Judy are pulled into the horrible world of cannibalistic
mutants, this one quickly becomes a gorefest of blood and body parts.
This is one of Bruce's more serious roles, there's barely a shred of
his normal silly demeanor, which isn't a bad thing really, it adds to
the disturbing nature of the film, and there's really nothing funny
going on here. The effects are done very well as the underground
world is pretty believable... just don't watch in too many times or
you'll pick out a few things that don't quite fit. Overall, this
is a very good Science Fiction film that wanders into Horror and Gore
on a regular basis. The Fear Factor is higher because of the
disturbing images and dark atmosphere. |
THE MINION - 1998 - Director: Jean Marc-Piche Dolph Lundgren
stars as "Lukas" a Holy Warrior who's out to save the world
from an "anti-christ" or something to that effect. In
a nutshell, this was another play off the "Millenium" scare
that the world would end in 2000. The story is much like "The
HIdden" or "Fallen" where the demon passes from body
to body. Bottom line is that this movie offers nothing we havn't
seen before. Lundgren is his usual effective, but stiff self
with his martial arts skills beginning to fade. The cinematography
is good to above average, and it's certainly not painful to watch, but
don't expect more than an average action with a hint of Horror strait
to video film. |
MIRROR MIRROR - 1990 - Director: Marina Sargenti Good B-Movie
Horror than combines multiple films together, from "Carrie"
to "Amityville Horror" to just about every other movie about
demon possession. Combine that element with the stereotype High
School movie and you have most of the plot. The "Mirror Mirror"
concept is loosely based on the old "Cinderella" fairy tale
as those who wish into the mirror have their wishes granted, just not
quite the way they envisioned. This concept would later be used
in the "Wishmaster" series. The production value is
actually quite good in this one and the acting is better than average.
Having Karen Black in cast always helps of course, and the younger cast
is equally as effective. For awhile you might be disappointed
in the way the story goes, but it does level itself out. Good
action and enough going on even for today's audiences. Critics
would most likely rip on this one, but for the genre it's done very
well, especially considering this is director Marina Sargenti's shot
at directing. |
MIRROR MIRROR 2 - 1994 - Director: Jimmy Lifton Keeping
in line with weak sequels, this one just doesn't live up to part one,
even despite having veteran Roddy McDowall and Sally Kellerman in the
cast. The characters are not likable and the story is simply confusion.
The subtitle is "Raven Dance", but you're never really told
why. The story is the same as the first for the most part as evil
is unleashed from the "Mirror" which has now made it's way
to a convent. There's not much to say here other than it's a very
average B-Movie Horror film. |
MISSION TO MARS - 2000 - Director: Brian DePalma In the world
of big-budges Hollywood films, very often when one company has an idea,
another film very similar follows suite. I don't know which one
came first, but Touchstone had "Mission To Mars", which was
released first, and Warner Bros. "Red Planet". This
one didn't pack the quite the star power as it's competitor, "Red
Planet" starred Val Kilmer, this one had Gary Sinise and Tim Robbins.
They both dealt with a small crew and their journey to Mars. Brian
DePalma (Carrie) has had some hit and misses over the years, this
one's first half was great. An adventure to help save a
stranded crew member. The second half was evolutionist fairytales
and basically tearing any religion to shreds. DePalma tries to
pull this off with a "Disney-like" delivery with a silly soundtrack
and even sillier special effects. Bottom line, humans should be
offended. I'm not taking sides in the argument between creationism
and evolution, but DePalma's theories are just a bit too far fetched
even for the most wild imagination. |
| THE MONSTER IN THE CLOSET - 1986 - Writer/Director: Bob Dahlin
Synopsis:
A small town is terrorized by a monster which appears in closets (many
closets, all over town) and bites people, draining their blood.
The local sheriff’s department fails to kill the invulnerable creature,
resulting in the U.S. Army being called in. When they, too, are
unsuccessful, the President declares a national emergency, resulting
in widespread panic.
I’ve
read other reviews of this movie. Many people seem to not understand
that it is a spoof—not to be taken seriously. If you don’t expect
horror, and have a “Monty Python” sense of humor, you should enjoy it.
Everyone is, of course, a stereotype: the priest, the general, the absent-minded
professor. Reporter Richard Clark, played by Donald Grant, looks
like Clark Kent. Every time he takes off his glasses, Professor
Diane Bennett goes into a state of starry-eyed reverie. In fact,
when this happens while he’s in the monster’s clutches, the monster,
too, falls in love with him and spends the rest of the movie carrying
Clark
around in his arms! There are other hilarious scenes, such as
the blind man (John Carradine) chasing his dog around the apartment,
trashing the place with his cane, wandering into the closet and getting
killed.
If
you’re looking for chills, don’t rent this movie. It you want
some laughs, you’ll probably like it. |
MOSQUITO - 1995 - Director: Gary Jones Anybody
who's spent time on a Minnesota lake in July knows this is movie is
hardly fiction! I might as well get this out of the way, I promise
not to say this movie "sucks". Gunnar Hansen, better
known as "Leatherface" from the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"
movies stars and helped write this one. It's B-Movie all the way,
no doubt about it. A meteor lands in a swamp and somehow causes
the little bastards to grow to five feet long or so. The Mosquito's
are right out of a 50's movie and the dialogue is choppy and unrehearsed.
But still, I sat through this and actually enjoyed most of it.
The action is steady and they actually have some decent chase sequences
but they don't keep it going, it's like they ran out of money for that
effect or something, (which maybe exactly what happened). The
shining moment is when Hansen finds a chainsaw and says something to
the effect of "I havn't handled one of these in over 20 years!
Feels pretty good!" Hey, this wasn't meant to be a
serious movie, it's completely campy, but makes for a good time watching
it with some friends and having a few beers... O.K., a LOT of beers.
|
MOTEL HELL - 1980 - Director: Kevin Connor All right...
this is about a dark of humor as you'll find, it'll leave you almost
speechless. If you look under some categories, they list this
as a comedy first! Veteren actor Rory Calhoun and Nancy Parson's
are hilarious and completely twisted and brother and sister who
run a Motel and make "Farmer Vincent's" special meats.
Mysteriously a lot of their guests disappear... and what are those mysterious
moving sacks in the backyard garden? This one has elements of
"Texas Chainsaw Massacre" but with more humor infused versus
fear. This is a cult classic to say the least and still remains
a good rental at most video stores. Just be prepared to be a little
sick to your stomach! It makes you wonder about any strange neighbors
you might have! Director Kevin Connor did a lot of TV before and
after this one, which explains some of the almost "Waltons"
style dialogue that actually adds to the over all fear factor. |
MURDER BY PHONE - 1980 - Director: Michael Anderson A stupid
name for this movie even though it's basically the plot, you would think
there was a more creative title, even the Canadian title "Bells"
was pretty silly. They should have tried to keep the overseas
title "The Calling". Anyway, Richard Chamberlain stars
as Nat Bridger, a college professor who ends up investigating some mysterious
murders. A disgruntled former phone company worker has devised
a machine that would send a frequency through the phone line, killing
the person who's on the other end. The concept is interesting
and the results are bloody and actually pretty scary. The problem
is that Richard Chamberlain talks waaaay too much, and when you throw
in John Housman in some scenes, you get a lot of over-the-top gibberish
that doesn't work well in this Thriller. Overall, it's not a bad
flick, just a little slow at times with a few outdated special effects,
but they do created tension which most important. |
MY BLOODY VALENTINE - 1981 - Director: George Mihalka It's hard
to believe this was one of the more popular Slasher flicks of the early
80's. Granted it wasn't in the same league as "Halloween"
or "Friday The 13th", but I think it's safe to say most fans
of horror have seen or know about this movie. It's a Canadian-made
film which proves the U.S. wasn't alone in making bad Slasher's.
The plot behind this is your basic revenge theme, but it's got to be
one of the most ridiculous. Twenty years ago five miners werre
left inside the mineshaft to die because of sheer carelessnes on the
part of the job Foremans. The lone survivor, "Harry Warden",
was found weeks later and in the meantime had gone mad. This
all happened on Valentine's Day by the way, and the following year Harry
returned to get revenge on the Foremans and the town. He vowed
to start killing again if the town ever celebrated Valentines Day...
yeah, that's a major stretch. The first half of the movie is
loaded with bad acting, cheesy party gags and general stupidity.
The second half redeems itself a little with some pretty good action
and a twisted ending, even though these victims rate very high on the
stupid scale. If you really want a good Canadian Horror movie,
try "Black Christmas". |
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