[8] A young man’s soul is transferred to a mysterious portrait that bears the decay and debauchery of his lifestyle. The most interesting thing about this Oscar Wilde tale is that you are never told what Dorian Gray’s sins are, though the film adaptation hints at everything from drugs and alcohol to carnal sins with both men and women. Hurd Hatfield plays the icy cold …
[5] Hammer’s third Frankenstein film (following Revenge of Frankenstein) is more of a one-off than a sequel, having little to do with the films before or after it. Despite the return of Peter Cushing to the role of Baron Frankenstein and Hammer Films’ terrific sets (the laboratory sets are especially good here), the story is too much of a re-tread to stand out in the …
[6] The ‘alternate universe’ aspect of Lovecraftian horror is something I don’t think I’ll ever appreciate, but if that’s your bag, Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond might float your fancy. I like the psycho-sexual stuff going on, especially when everyone’s pineal glands are unknowingly stimulated, causing Barbara Crampton to don a dominatrix outfit and straddle an unconscious man. I’d like the movie to have been more …
[5] An odd and perhaps ill-fitting choice of material for director Mike Nichols (The Graduate). Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer give decent performances, but James Spader leaves a greater impression as a backstabbing protege. Wolf focuses more on the psychological effects of becoming a werewolf and skimps on the visceral thrills. I have a problem with the way Nicholson reacts to his transformation — he …
[7] As much as I hate remakes on the whole, this new Evil Dead movie greatly surprised me with how well made it is and how genuinely scary and tense it is. It also avoids contemporary horror pitfalls — the characters aren’t douche bags and there is none of that bullshit monochromatic photography going on, for starters. Maybe the bar is just really low now, …
[7] Four old men and their families are haunted by the ghost of a woman the men accidentally killed decades ago in this John Irvin film of the Peter Straub story. It could have benefited from a more visionary director, because it really only taps the surface of its atmospheric potential but Ghost Story is otherwise a solid spook tale of ghostly revenge that kept …
[4] A priest’s suicide triggers a zombie apocalypse in this loose sequel to Zombie (aka, Zombie 2), both directed by Lucio Fulci. The story here is silly and the movie takes a lot of detours. The dead priest opening the gates of hell is hard to swallow, but then, few people watch low-budget Italian horror movies for great story. Still, the last act isn’t very …
[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] 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 …
[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 …
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