[4] An expedition team discovers the body of an ancient Egyptian prince, but when they bring it back to England, a mummy starts picking then off one by one. This Hammer horror sequel gets off to a shaky start with ten minutes of clunky narration and then falls into a tediously predictable revenge plot. Budgetary constraints, which Hammer normally overcomes with ingenuity and resourcefulness, get the …
[4] I don’t think a Psycho sequel could ever possibly work, but that doesn’t stop screenwriter Tom Holland from giving it the old college try. The script paints Norman Bates (a returning Anthony Perkins) very sympathetically — reformed, recently released, and ready to start a new life. But someone keeps playing tricks on Norman, leading him to believe his domineering mother is still alive. The …
[5] This haunted hotel room flick, based on a short story by Stephen King, brings nothing new to the haunted house subgenre. It even veers straight into cliches like dramatic temperature changes, ghostly images of murders past, and (my favorite) the paintings that change. I know it must be hard to breathe new life into a tired formula, but screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski …
[3] Linda Blair’s still got demons, and Richard Burton’s trying to figure out what happened to the nice priests who got pea soup all over them in the first movie. Exorcist II: The Heretic is convoluted and esoteric, the action is minimal, and the horror non-existent. John Boorman (Excalibur, Deliverance) delivers a highly odd, surreal, and ultimately terrible sequel to The Exorcist. The cheap sets, …
[3] Director William Castle, better known for gimmicky horror flicks like The Tingler, tries his hand at a straight-forward thriller. The story centers around three girls who make a night of prank calling people and telling them, “I know who you are and I saw what you did.” Unfortunately, one of their targets is a paranoid murderer (John Ireland) who takes their joke a little …
[6] Like the first movie and The Blair Witch Project before it, PA2 utilizes a faux verite approach to exploit some of our most primal fears. I’m not sure I want this crude, unpolished treatment to become a full-blown sub-genre, but one of these kinds of movies every couple of years could be a nice diversion from homogenized remakes of iconic horror movies. Basically, if …
[6] Often regarded the best of the atomic age ‘giant critter’ flicks, Them! is best in the beginning, during two police officers’ discovery of a little girl roaming the desert in a catatonic state. Looking for her family, they come across a demolished trailer and a destroyed store, a few dead bodies — and what’s that eerie sound? It’s genuinely spooky for a while. Production …
[6] Gore, boobs, and monsters have always been a recipe for success — at least a moderate degree of it. Piranha 3D, Alexandre Aja’s remake of Roger Corman’s cult classic, proves the recipe may well be immortal. This flick is a big love letter to the low-budget creature features of the 70s and 80s. It’s not better than any of those movies, it’s not quite …
[7] Street Trash is grade-A schlock, precisely the kind of movie that would make your mama cry if she knew you were watching it. An unwitting liquor store owner discovers an old crate of booze and starts selling it to the local homeless population. Unfortunately, the toxic brew has a nasty side effect — the drinker quickly disintegrates into a puddle of bubbling goo! The …
[6] You’ll find immense, beautifully dressed sets and breathtaking oceanside locations in the 1979 Dracula. You’ll also hear a richly romantic John Williams score. These elements go a long way in creating a mood and atmosphere that are more lush than any Dracula movie has ever had before — and are enough to warrant a recommendation. But I think the superlatives end there. Frank Langella …
Copyright © 2024 | Theme by MH Themes