The Mummy’s Shroud (1967)
[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…
1408 (2007)
[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)…
Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)
[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…
Paranormal Activity 2 (2010)
[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,…
Dracula (1979)
[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…
The Dunwich Horror (1970)
[5] Dean Stockwell and Sandra Dee headline this so-so adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story. I gotta say, I've yet to see a Lovecraft adaptation I really like. The internalized dread and abstract horror just don't translate to film very…
Cry of the Banshee (1970)
[6] A witch casts a spell on a nasty lord's family after he slaughters several members of her coven. Cry of the Banshee then becomes a "ten little indians" scenario as the witch's otherworldly servant of evil dispatches of the…
Pet Sematary Two (1992)
[4] Mary Lambert returns to direct the sloppy, uneven sequel about new characters who discover the burial ground with resurrection powers from the first film. She's working with a solid cast that includes uber-baddie Clancy Brown (Highlander, Carnivale), Anthony Edwards,…
Dagon (2001)
[7] A frantic man (Ezra Godden) stumbles into a Spanish coastal village where the inhabitants are metamorphosing into sea creatures. As far as Lovecraft adaptations from Stuart Gordon (From Beyond, Re-Animator) go, I like this one best. The script is…
The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
[4] An American family moves into a British mansion with an old woman (Bette Davis) whose young daughter disappeared over thirty years ago. When the American family's two daughters begin hearing and seeing things, it quickly becomes obvious that Davis'…