[7] Two high school buddies discover a girl chained to a table in an abandoned mental hospital. At first she appears dead, but she’s actually one of the “living” dead. And she’s all theirs… Yes, just when you thought zombies had been completely used up as cinematic metaphors, along comes Deadgirl, a provocative and deeply disturbing exploration of the slippery slope between male sexual impulse …
[7] The residents of a small California town are slowly being replaced by otherworldly “pod people” and it’s up to Kevin McCarthy and Carolyn Jones to warn the rest of the world about the invasion. This original film version is a modestly-budgeted but effective sci-fi/horror flick. It’s emblematic of the ’50s for its allegorical use of the Red Scare, but it also suffers from some …
[2] John Carpenter has given us a handful of gems over the years, but Ghosts of Mars is not one of them. The movie’s too exotic for its own good. It starts with some quick but tedious exposition, then plops us off in a confusing, alienating environment with little to latch onto. The story has something to do with ghosts and a bunch of leftover …
[7] This vampire flick from the Spierig brothers (Undead) is good old-fashioned B-movie fun. The concept of a world full of vampires on the brink of a blood shortage is interesting, even if the plot goes silly at times. I liked Ethan Hawke as the vampire in charge of finding a blood substitute (just when I was pretty sure I’d never like Ethan Hawke again). …
[6] Peter Cushing returns for Hammer’s first sequel to their highly successful Curse of Frankenstein. Cushing’s mad doctor escapes the guillotine and sets up camp in a new town, where he transplants the brain of his deformed assistant into a reanimated corpse. For campy horror fun, Revenge of Frankenstein begins and ends well, but the middle portion is pretty unremarkable — an uninspired rehash of …
[4] A mummified prince is discovered and brought to England where someone resurrects it to do their evil bidding. Hammer Films follows up their 1959 remake without stars Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing. Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb treads painfully familiar ground with a dull cast and is slow-moving until the last twenty minutes. Composer Carlo Martelli tries to compensate with a musical score too …
[6] A farming town falls victim to an airborne toxin that turns everyone into homicidal maniacs in this remake of George Romero’s 1973 original. The film is directed by Breck Eisner (son of former Disney CEO Michael Eisner), and while it drags in many places and brings little originality to the ‘outbreak’ or ‘zombie’ subgenres, it’s nonetheless a competent little horror flick. My main gripe …
[8] A young boy who can see and hear dead people confides in a child psychologist who comes to believe the boy’s curse is a gift. The strength of The Sixth Sense lies most prominently in the scenes between Toni Collette and Haley Joel Osment. I’m hard-pressed to think of another on-screen mother/son relationship that is more realistic or affecting. Their final scene together, where they …
[5] Dr. Jekyll (and Mr. Hyde) must be one of the harder characters to pull off in any believable way. So while I admire Paul Massie’s bravery, he wasn’t quite able to convince me. I think it’s primarily because of the weird voice he uses while he plays Dr. Jekyll. And how do we explain the fact that he is bearded as Jekyll, but clean-shaven …
[4] The mystery is paper-thin in this tale of Medusa-like sisters who turn their victims to stone. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee have precious few scenes together, and neither are on their best game (Cushing’s character isn’t much to work with). The Gorgon is a sub-par entry in the Hammer Horror canon, but you’ll still find a few scenes of delicious gothic ambience. I love …
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