[6] When classic movie monsters invade their town, a group of kids band together to keep them from finding a magical amulet that will enable the creeps to rule the world. The Monster Squad is an ebulient if uneven little horror/fantasy/kiddie film from the grand ole ’80s. I was surprised how politically incorrect the kids were (refreshing), and how daring the story was at times …
[7] I love horror movies and nothing scares me more than religious conviction. So I had high hopes for Kevin Smith’s Red State. The funny man (Clerks, Chasing Amy) does right by the horror genre and delivers a mostly thrilling hour and fifteen minutes, including a protracted Waco-style standoff where anything goes. Smith gets dangerous, willing to kill any character at any time. Fifteen minutes …
[7] Megan Fox (Transformers) may never be put to better use than she is here, playing a stuck-up, conceited high school babe who gets possessed by a demon and starts eating all the boys in school. Amanda Seyfried plays her best friend… or enemy? Girls are complicated. The script by Diablo Cody (Juno) strives a little too hard to infect the zeitgeist (not every teen …
[4] Nazis, a Jewish doctor, his daughter, and a stranger with glowing eyes converge upon a fortress inside the Carpathian mountains where a supernatural creature is trying to escape. The concept, combined with Michael Mann’s stylish direction and an impressive cast that includes Scott Glenn, Ian McKellen, Gabriel Byrne, Robert Prosky, and Jurgen Prochnow, sounds like it could be the recipe for a cool, quirky …
[8] AnnaLynne McCord gives a remarkable performance as a disturbed teenager whose vivid sex dreams and obsession with surgery spiral out of control in this sublime and disturbing coming-of-age horror comedy. First-time feature film writer/director Richard Bates, Jr. serves up a fast-paced script with surprisingly polished style. The film’s many dream sequences are exquisitely designed crashes of morbid imagery and sexual exaltation. The opening scene …
[6] A telekinetic tire comes to life in the desert and starts exploding small animals and many human heads in this bizarre horror comedy from Quentin Dupieux. If the absurd concept sounds remotely appealing, you might enjoy the movie. I enjoyed the early parts of the movie where the tire develops its knack for destruction, first on an empty water bottle, then a can, then …
[7] More of the same is enough to earn a passing grade in the case of Scream 2. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is off to college, but Ghost Face isn’t through with her yet, shoving the sordid story of her mother’s sexual indiscretions and brutal murder front and center. Courtney Cox and David Arquette get more screen time to develop an odd but affecting romantic …
[7] Nazi zombies rise from the sea and prey on a group of youngsters stranded at an abandoned island resort. You either love the sound of that, or you don’t. I dig it. Peter Cushing makes a welcome appearance as the zombies’ former SS commander, and John Carradine plays the crotchety ship captain who unwittingly guides our protagonists to their watery graves. Shock Waves is …
[5] Burgess Meredith stars as Dr. Diabolo, a sideshow barker who gives daring patrons a glimpse at their untimely demises in this horror anthology flick from Britain’s Amicus Productions (ever the poor man’s Hammer Studios). The four featured tales include a mind-controlling cat, a secret society of androids, a killer piano, and dueling collectors of all things Edgar Allan Poe. I expected more from venerable …
[7] While it lacks the pervasive chill that runs through The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon is a well-made thriller that engages from beginning to end, thanks to a briskly-paced script adaptation by Ted Tally (who won an Oscar for his treatment of Lambs). This is a prequel to the time Lecter met Starling, and also a re-make of Michael Mann’s stylish 1986 film …
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