Horror Movie Reviews

Not the best of Wes Cravens horrors but not the worst.

Simple but enjoyable horror yarn that is crude in budget but still interesting and compelling to watch.

Although one of the secondary characters, the film is most noticable for character actor/muscleman Nicholas Worth who plays the musclebound demonic sherrif guardian to the hell gate.

Everything is idyllic in Suburbia when the little family moves in, as the father have got a new job in a computer company there. But no paradise would be complete without its snake. Strange things happens as the family joins the local country club without the husband, as it certainly holds secrets. Suspenseful and well-made chiller with a bitchy Susan Lucci as club chairperson. The movie captures the sense of paranoia and the special effects final is worth waiting for.

Welcome back to the early eighties as "Lover's Lane" revisits the time when low budget slashers were all the rage. The film tells the story of a deranged, hook-handed maniac who escapes the asylum on the anniversary of his previous massacre to kill again. Intro the whacky teens who decide to party near the scene of the original massacre and you can guess the rest. "Lover's Lane" is an enjoyable romp into familiar horror territory and boasts good performances by the young cast as well as an appearance by Richard Sanders from WKRP fame. The film is not high on bloody gore but there are plenty of victims and chase style suspense sequences to ensure a fun time will be had by all. Gotta like that out of control ending as well. The only complaint is that the DVD's lone extra is the theatical trailer, a director commentary would have been a welcome addition. In all, "Lover's Lane" should be of interest to fans of eighties slashers.

Fast pacing and fine acting make this low budget version of the classic campfire tale of "the Hook" really worth a look. What appears to be a straight forward story of hormonally charged teenagers attacked by a maniac at their make out spot is actually a richly textured morality tale riddled with undertones of incest, betrayal and infidelity. The subtle allusions to TV and movie classics of the past are fun to look for and hard to spot. Like a lot of films in this genre, half the fun is guessing who the killer is and this film really throws in several great twists. Lovers Lane was also instrumental in making the careers of several of the actors involved, like Anna Faris who went on to star in "Scary Movie I & II", as well as Billy O'Sullivan who was then cast in "Wakin Up In Reno" with Billy Bob Thornton and Charlize Theron. There's also some great music including a track by rising R&B singer Colin Peacock. So what if it doesn't have some of the glossy effects of Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer - this movie makes up for it on guts and raw energy. Definitely something that should be on a collectors shelves if for no other reason that to see the "first" movie of some future stars.

This otherwise typical low-budgeter probably has its fans for two reasons. One, obviously, is the intriguing presence of young Dennis Hopper. The other--maybe not so obviously--is that the feature is a not-bad little noir, replete with brooding atmosphere, smokey chiaroscuro, and an everyman enthralled with an exotic, enigmatic woman. The movie's main problem is poor pacing, exacerbated by a tinny, monotonous score. There are also plot lapses that have nothing to do with the leading lady's origins. Though reminiscent of Cat People, the film merely flirts with horror, though it smacks enough of the supernatural to pose lingering, disquieting questions. Is she or isn't she--the ultimate femme fatale--a Siren....

This is one of those little-known films I watched during late night television in the 1980's. I was so intrigued, I never forgot it. Now I finally own the DVD copy of it. This film is interesting to watch and really has that weird 1960's feel to it. Set during the month of August. This film offers the most relaxed performance I've ever seen Dennis Hopper play in any film and he was the age of 24 at the time. This isn't your normal beach movie and it's in black & white. Dennis Hopper plays a sailor on shore leave. He roams around Santa Monica pier and comes across the Blue Grotto, a nice jazz place. There he meets a woman with long black hair, "Mora" (Linda Lawson). A mysterious old woman comes out and tells "Mora" she must leave quickly. John the sailor is so drawn to her that he follows her into the night on the beach. She lives in a apartment above the Merry Go-Round. The sailor asks her to see her again tomorrow for breakfast. A friendship begins. Mora's job is a pier attraction. She is the mermaid. But there is another side of Mora so mysterious that Johnny doesn't know. Memorable good scenes are those when Johnny follows the old women to Venice and who can forget Marjorie Eaton as the Fortune Teller. Also in the cast is Luana Anders, Tom Dillon and Gavin Muir.

This film is the final one of the set, and that's a good thing. It's an effective close, though biblically, its concept cannot possibly be correct.

The bible clearly indicates that the antichrist has power of the surviving christians. Nowhere does it even suggest that David will be able to use computers to launch an electronic counter-attack.

But that's the point of this film. Opening in the critically unexplained wake of a nuclear attack from Russia (which now lacks the power to be the force it is in this global worldview,) allowing David to be rescued by double-agent Connie, who is one of the most interesting characters in the films.

Picking up a scientist, her daughter (who tries, badly, to emulate Blaire from the "Facts of life), and a young man disfigured by the nuclear waste left in the world. A doomsday person.

This film is the ultimate road trip movie, actually. Only a group on the run would dare to drive through a midwest that is totally devastated by nuclear war, and only for the strongest reaons would they be chased during such a condition.

I must argue the point, however. This film somehow feels off. It breaks the tradition.

this movie rocks. i mean i first wached this film when i was [little] and got the socks blown off of me i was scared to death well [i'm older] now and seen that they maid it into a dvd and want to get it this is one of the best end time movies in the world

Look yeah this movie was horrible the first time I saw it-or should I say fast forwarded through it. NO Zombies! The cover art looks cool so I gave it a try. Then 2 years later in college I saw it again and forgot what crap it was and rented it again by mistake-still crap! Then I saw this on DVD 2 years after that and decided Whoa I remember this! Why is this on DVD, it's crap? I bought it and fell in love with it! It took like 3-4 try's for me to see that this was scary at points. Yes contrary to belief there is zombies in it but not many. When a man's grave is being video taped and you see his face on the monitor it is creepy as hell! Also Stephen King RIPPED OFF this movie for Pet Cemetery! Give this movie a chance! The DVD has a Theatrical Trailer, a few promotional items and a scene selection. The thing that bugged me is that the print used looks like crap! This is one of the worst DVD transfers I've seen.

The correct name of this wondeful film by Pupi Avati is "Zeder," and is also available on DVD under that title. I have that copy and it is horrible. By the previous review I take it this copy is just as terrible.

Apparently there is a crystal clear copy available in Europe in the PAL format, Region 2, letterboxed, uncut, and all.

Why does everyone want killing and zombies and action (and it does have these things)? "Rosemary's Baby," for example, is the most perfectly frightening and terrifying film. Not that "Zeder" is as superior, but the subtle things happening are what is important.

Now, what needs to happen is someone with brains needs to release this film in its proper format on DVD in the States. Yes, "Pet Semetary" is very similar and was perhaps inspired by "Zeder," but otherwise, this is a truly original film.

Three and a half stars. Not as bad as some would have you believe, but when it is compared to White Zombie (as it must be), it is found lacking.

The Good:
A lot is right about this movie. Halperin does another good job with a low budget and an exotic setting. While I doubt the crew ever went to SE Asia, the film does an admirable job of transporting the audience to the mysterious time and place of what would be Viet Nam in the years World War One.
In the plot, a meek British soldier in love with a girl who loves his friend discovers the secret to controlling minds. The doomed romance angle explored in Revolt is intelligent, even interesting, building as it does on some of the themes present in White.
It just isn't handled in a very thrilling manner. Which leads me to...

The Bad:
There is not much action in this movie. There is quite a lot of talk. A predictable outcome. Uneven performances. No Lugosi. And only two or three brief scenes possessing the surreal horror which infused White with such atmospheric, dreamlike menace.
Too much of the film is taken up by the young lovers, making this less like White Zombie and more like White Christmas.

The Ugly:
Plus, the audience is left with no one to root for. Certainly you can't root for the guy turning men into murdering zombies. But I can't find it in my heart to root for his callous "friends," either, who drove him to such lengths by toying with his heartstrings. But maybe that's just me, the romantic monster film fan.

The Extras:
The extras on the disc are spare but amusing, including a trivia game. For correct answers you are treated to footage of a zombie being bludgeoned in Night of the Living Dead. For wrong answers you are mocked with a clip of this movie's villain laughing in your face. Nice.

Very thrilling and breath taking

The silliness begins in 1955 with newlyweds Brian and Peggy Bell undergoing a secret government experiment to give humans an increased resistance to radiation. As an unfortunate side effect, (don't all nuclear experiments have icky side effects?)their newborn child has developed the ability to cause people to burst into flame. Alas, Brian and Peggy are our first victims and our first hint that this is not going to be a special-effects masterpiece.

Jump to the present-day (late 80's) and our little firestarter is all grown up in the form of university student, Sam Kramer (Brad Dourif). Sam's opening scene is a school play audition wherein his performance is so pathetically bad that even his loving fiance, Lisa (Cynthia Bain) tells him not to quit his day job. If this scene was meant to ease the audience into Dourif's unconventional manner of acting by poking fun at him, it doesn't work, because we'll get to cringe a whole lot more as Dourif spends the rest of the film screaming and bugging his eyes out in an over-the-top performance that, for many other actors, would be a career-ending one. Even if this movie had a decent director, Dourif is woefully miscast and should really stick to roles that welcome complete psychosis like Grima Wormtongue (The Two Towers) and Piter De Vries (Dune).

Cynthia Bain doesn't fare much better, which is a shame because she does show some promise and is one of the better actors in the movie. Indeed, seeing her smiling face early on, while dressed in some attractive, if outdated outfits is one of the few bright points of the film. Unfortunatley, the screenplay soon has her bouncing between moderate to extreme hysteria, reminiscent of the closing scenes of Pumpkinhead, but without the believable motivation. It is actually a testament to her acting abilities that she can keep a straight, albeit tortured face through an increasingly ludicrous and muddled plot. In one scene, while driving her deteriorating, flamethrower of a boyfriend to the doctor, she has to alternately comfort and express her love for him while dodging the jets of flame shooting out of a hole in his arm. With driving skills like these she belongs in NASCAR, not this whacked-out flick.

If you think this sounds completely insane, just wait, it gets better - or worse depending on how you like your camp. After all, the words, "subtle" and "Tobe Hooper" are never found in the same sentence, let alone the same screenplay. As with Hooper's other works like Poltergeist and Lifeforce, the level of chaos and zaniness can only escalate, but in this case, on a very limited budget. Soon Sam Kramer is inadvertently toasting everyone around who even mildly upsets him - from a snotty radio producer (John Landis in a cameo role) to a friendly old security guard to an evil doctor/scientist who's trying to inject our poor hero with some green goo that looks fresh out of a cylume stick. All of this culminates in one of moviedom's most memorably silly climaxes that will leave you either laughing hysterically or uttering a very large: "huh?".

Bottom line: If you enjoy campy movies, Spontaneous Combustion can be quite fun at times. Unfortunately, the film is laced with enough seemingly serious acting and overtones to give the viewer the feeling that it wasn't meant to be funny. This, combined with a demented musical score and some seriously flawed writing make for an experience that can only be truly enjoyed by die-hard Brad Dourif (or Cynthia Bain) fans.

As far as this DVD version goes, the transer is very so-so and the only extra offered is a theatrical trailer. Blech.

spontaneous combustion
Function: noun
: self-ignition of combustible material through chemical action (as oxidation) of its constituents -- called also spontaneous ignition

The thought of inanimate objects -- such as a pile of rags, or an old collection of tools -- spontaneously bursting into flames, is terrifying. Well, imagine if there was such a thing as spontaneous HUMAN combustion! Pretty scary, huh?

For Sam, it's not only scary, it's reality.

Sam always knew that there was something wrong with him, but he couldn't quite figure out the origin of his problem. After years of research, Sam discovers that his parents had been used in a number of atomic-weapons experiments shortly before he was born. The government was attempting to engineer the perfect weapon for war. When the project fails, the government hides all evidence of the project, and it becomes a tightly-kept secret.

Or did it?

No!

As a result of Sam's parents' repeated exposure to radiation, both of their genetic codes were changed, eventually being passed onto their first (and only) child, Sam. Because of the radiation running through his veins, Sam discovers that he has the uncanny ability to make things AND PEOPLE burst into flames.

Talk about getting "hot under the collar"!

"Spontaneous Combustion" is a masterful horror/sci-fi movie by one of the most talented filmmakers in the industry - Tobe Hooper ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Poltergeist").

Boris Karloff has always been one of my favorite actors and a double feature DVD is always welcome news. This DVD in particular contains one of Karloff's forgotten gems and possibly the silliest film he ever made.

"The Ape" (1940), made for Monogram, represents the nadir of Karloff's career. In the film he portrays a kindly doctor who seeks to cure ingénue Maris Wrixon of polio through injections of human spinal fluid. Of course, spinal fluid is difficult to obtain, particularly as the victim must be alive. Enter the solution to Karloff's problem. A circus ape escapes and breaks in to Karloff's home. Karloff kills the ape with a knife and skins it, sewing the skin into a costume. Since no one but Boris knows the ape is dead, Karloff dons its costume and goes out to kill townspeople for their precious spinal fluid. (Wouldn't it have been simpler just to buy a costume?) There is a hilarious scene with Boris running for home after one murder wearing the costume by carrying the headpiece. Simply precious. Directed by William Nigh, who directed Karloff in his "Mr. Wong" series, also for Monogram. To quote film critic Michael Weldon, "And you thought only Bela Lugosi made films this bad."

"British Intelligence," made the same year for Warner Bros., is a taut, nifty spy thriller set in World War 1. A master German spy has been operating one step ahead of the British and the causalities are mounting. As his mission is extremely important to the German war effort, the Germans dispatch Margaret Lindsay (operating as a nurse at a British field hospital) to England as an assistant. It is there in the home of one of the British bigwigs that she meets Karloff, who works as the butler. Is Karloff the dreaded spy? Or is he a red herring to throw us off the track? Could it be someone else? The film will keep the viewer guessing until the last tem minutes. Directed by Terry Morse, who also directed Raymond Burr's scenes in "Godzilla, King of the Monsters" (1955).

Okay, I'll assume that if you're here you already know somewhat of what you're in for. These are two Chiller Theatre reguars (perhaps I'll take this as an apology for what went on with the K. Gordon Murray collection...I want my Brainiac!) with an extremely oddball 1968 latin skinflick thrown in, which is actually a grade lower than "Curious Dr. Humph". Alpha offers 2 of these films but you know you're getting more bang for your buck here, no offense Alpha. With "Monstrosity" 3 girls are used as pawns by a body seeking crone and the doctor who is assisting her. Everything but the kitchen sink is in here, not bad for a flick that takes place in 4 rooms of a mansion. Atmosphere, bad acting and general insanity abound. The Spanish maid gets a cat brain and winds up on the roof just above the dogman - and here I thought we would have a good fight. Well, whatever... Mix the special effects of Hypnotic Eye with the good time cheese of Spider Baby, and this is what bubbles out. Next up we have "Love After Death", what looks to me to be a South American skinflick from 1968. Best special effect is the drag queen. Oh, and check out the miscasting of the dead guy's wife. Her, a virgin? Yeh; she's as pure as the driven snow... after it's been driven over a couple hundred times. Seems that her impotent man turns into a dynamo after he's buried- this guy rises from the grave in more ways than one!! But anyay, it looks like it was filmed in New Jersey for six bucks (check out the castle and you'll see what I mean. Can't find a castle, borrow a museum... (see Unhinged for more on that one. Nice little shock ending there, and actually was a fun little time spender. On to "Incredible Petrified World" another Chiller Theatre classic- just scanned through it as I have VHS from Sinister Cinema and have seen it a billion times. All I have to say is: see it for the lava. Pour whiskey on a cowpat and light, I guess...Gotta love this film. Also included are a slew of trailers and some great new music from Something Weird favorites The Dead Elvi. (If anyone reads this who can do something about it, how about an album or two on this website, it'd be much appreciated).

All four films in this collection have very good quality pictures. Although going by average quality of the films themselves this is one of Brentwood's less strong 4-movie collections, there isn't one single movie that I outright hated. And at this price, you only need one good film you are not likely to find elsewhere to make it worthwhile. Going from the weakest film to the best:

SNOW BEAST, a TV movie, takes the then-recent film Jaws, turns the shark into an abominable snowman, and the beach resort into a ski resort, and throws out everything that was good about that film, including any suspense or interesting characters. There are some things worth slight amusement. For example, when the camper (replacing the fishing boat in Jaws) is knocked over by a bunch of rolling logs, somehow the camper winds up filled with the large logs although the whole thing, including the side on which it was hit, is still completely intact! Everyone involved in the film must have failed physics.

MOON OF THE WOLF is a TV movie about a local cop investigating brutal murders which may or may not have been committed by an animal (of course we all know it is a werewolf). Since it is a TV movie it is quite tame and the budget is low, which is not necessarily an impediment to a good film, but it is all too predictable and fails to build suspense. It even completely fails to make any use of potentially interesting local flavour (Cajuns, bayous or local legends) except for the presence of one bed-ridden francophone. Even the fine performances fail to make this film anything more than an adequate time waster.

WOLF MAN is a low budget 1970s movie which was released theatrically only in the southern states. Like most rural films it has a certain charm (local playhouse quality acting and all). It isn't really a copy of the original film, but pretty well everything in it had been done countless times before (in the original, in dozens of Hammer films, etc.) Therefore, since the film has little action, but depends upon building suspense, it doesn't work as well as it should. With such nice touches as the devil-whorshipping southern preacher this film could be a classic if it had come out before most of the things in it became cliched.

In contrast, SCREAM OF THE WOLF, which is the best entry in this collection, is very original. WHICH is why it will actually disappoint viewers who WANT it to follow expectations. Intelligently scripted by Richard Matheson (who scripted the best of Roger Corman's Poe films), competently directed by Dan (Dark Shadows) Curtis, and filled with excellent performances, this film easily surpasses the limitations imposed upon it by nature of being an old TV movie (including by hinting at some things not mentioned on TV in those days). I don't want to risk spoiling anything by describing this movie in more detail.

With 3 out of 4 of the movies being 1970s made-for-TV horror films, this collection does have some nostalgia value for those of us who grew up on such things, and there are many familiar faces and bit players you rarely see anymore. Other than for that reason, and for "Scream of the Wolf", I can't give this collection a very high recommendation. Younger viewers who have no attention spans as a result of growing up on splatter films might want to give this one a pass.