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Reviews
Inferno (1980)
Visually Beautiful Horror Film
Inferno has all the visual beauty of Suspiria with it's stunning production design and colorful lighting with random bursts of cringe-worthy violence, but something is missing. It can never figure out whose story it is and some of the acting is not the best which makes it hard to get on board completely. It still has enough memorable moments and great visuals to make it worth a watch.
Suspiria (1977)
Beautiful Horror
A young American dance student arrives in Germany and discovers that the school she came to study at is a front for a witch's coven and they're not thrilled she's trying to find out all of their secrets. Beautiful visuals and head-scratching moments abound as Dario Argento spins his adult fairy tale for you like a half-remembered childhood nightmare. There's not another movie quite like it.
Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)
If Only It Were the Final Chapter
After the mediocrity of part 3, there seems to be a lot more enthusiasm behind the scenes of this sequel and I do believe everyone involved thought this would be the last sequel, because they pull out all the stops. Once again, Jason has survived all the damage done to him in the last film and he breaks out of the morgue, leaving a trail of dead bodies behind him, as he makes his way back to the woods surrounding Crystal Lake where he decides to terrorize a house full of partying teens and a single parent family that lives next door.
Everything from the kills, the effects, the score, and the performances seem to be heightened this time, creating a nice over the top mood that would have been a fitting end to the series...but we all know how that turned out.
Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
Typical Slasher Cliches
When you take away some of the fun 3D effects, it becomes clear how little this third Friday the 13th film is bringing to the table. Jason has survived his wounds from the last film and heads to another part of the woods to terrorize a young woman and her friends who have come up there to have some fun at her family's cabin. A few of the death scenes are creative, the final girl puts up a good fight, and Jason finally gets his hockey mask, but even the ending steals the original film's ending almost frame for frame.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
Slasher Heaven
This sequel dispatches with any degree of realism and brings in Jason as the sole villain. Yes, Jason who was presumed dead in the first film. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but Steve Miner's assured direction and flair for suspenseful set pieces will keep your mind off of silly things like logic. He has an eye for attracting nice and likable young people to line up for the slaughterhouse and it stings a little when some of these pleasant folks are knocked off with spears, hammers, knives, and machetes.
Amy Steel gives Jamie Lee Curtis a run for her money as the not-so-hapless heroine who uses her smarts to try and survive this nightmare.
Friday the 13th (1980)
Summer Camps Were Never the Same Again
So many of the charms of Friday the 13th have now become pathetic cliches that it's hard to really see it for the groundbreaking film it was. Taking the simplistic slasher formula that John Carpenter and Debra Hill perfected in Halloween and adding Hershell Gordon Lewis style showstoppers for the death scenes would become the slasher formula for the next decade.
It's not as accomplished or attractive a film as Halloween, but it doesn't need to be for what it wants to accomplish. It's a no frills thrill ride with some great scares and outstanding effects work by Tom Savini.
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
A Masterwork
Shot for very little money with a no-name cast, George Romero's Night of the Living Dead still has the power to inspire and terrify. The simple story revolves around a terrified young woman who witnesses her brother being attacked and killed by a ghoulish man in a cemetery and, when she runs for safety into a farmhouse, she meets others who tell her that her brother was attacked by a zombie and there are more of them on the way.
It's claustrophobic, intense, and takes a lot of big leaps and risks story-wise. It's stark and haunting.
Carrie (2013)
Dour
While technically well made, this new version of Carrie takes itself far too seriously and is missing the lighter tongue in cheek touch of De Palma's first adaptation. With the humor and style, it feels depressing and not much fun to watch. It doesn't help that Chloe Grace Moretz is miscast in the lead and the usually reliable Julianne Moore doesn't intimidate as her religious zealot mother.
There are a few nice surprises during the prom sequence involving some splashy new death scenes and modern effects, but the meat of the story has a whole chewed through it.
Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
One of the Best of the Series
After 6 films, I wouldn't envy anyone tasked to bringing back Freddy Krueger from the dead. Least of all Wes Craven who had a lot more riding on this return than just a regular film school grad or music video director. Craven's meta approach to the story is a stroke of genius and allows the film to take Freddy back to his boogeyman essence and drop all the wise cracks and comedy.
Heather Langenkamp gives one of her best performances as herself trying to figure out how Freddy has crossed over into the real world and is trying to manipulate her young son.
Halloween (1978)
The True Slasher Classic
It's hard to pinpoint exactly why such a simple story works well here and doesn't work as well in the later sequels or ripoffs. It's not non-stop action from start to finish nor is it the goriest movie ever made, but it has an undeniable tension thanks to Carpenter's spooky score, Dean Cundey's perfect framing, and Carpenter and Hill's tight script with relatable characters that are well played by Jamie Lee Curtis and co.
Halloween (2018)
Needed More Heart
Michael Myers is back and, truthfully, he hasn't looked or moved this good since Nick Castle played him in the original film. Haddonfield also feels more like the midwest during fall rather than Utah or California like the other sequels. John Carpenter has even returned to do the score and it's some of his best work in years. To top it all off, Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode. How could it go wrong?
Unfortunately, the assembled all these great elements without a workable script and no amount of Michael Myers stabbing random townspeople to Carpenter's rocking synth will make up for the fact that it's a poorly written attempt to address Laurie Strode's trauma without having to actually study it and tackle it in a realistic way.
Scream 4 (2011)
Some Good and Some Bad
Scream 4 came out a good decade after the last film and, while it has some inspired moments, a lot of it makes you want to ask "why bother?" The new cast of teenage characters, with the exception of Kirby, don't impress or engage and there aren't a lot of memorable suspense sequences.
The film is redeemed by a wild finale that's both disturbing and wickedly funny.
Scream 2 (1997)
Exciting Sequel
Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson take the survivors of the original film and place them at a college campus where a copycat killer has been carving up coeds as the film based on the original slayings has been taking the box office by storm.
Scream 2 is still witty and funny at times, but it's a meaner, gorier film than the original with a couple of very strong suspense sequences that are masterfully directed by Craven. A very, very worthy sequel.
The Stepfather (2009)
Would Be Fine for Lifetime TV
Dylan Walsh is a strong actor, but the material he's been given doesn't help him attempt to go toe to toe with Terry O'Quinn's iconic performance in the original. The stepchild's gender has been switched and Penn Badgley brings a lot of welcome vulnerability to the role while Sela Ward's concerned wife and mother doesn't get as much to do nor does Amber Heard as the concerned girlfriend.
The script has more cliches and bad scares than the original which hurts it a lot, but it's entertaining enough if you just want to decompress and watch something that doesn't require you to do much thinking.
When a Stranger Calls (2006)
Entertaining If Mediocre
The location for this remake of the 1979 cult classic is the biggest and brightest star of the film. It's a gorgeous lakeside modern home with huge windows allowing no privacy to anyone inside. This adds to the tension a lot once the film kicks it into high gear and the deranged "stranger" starts harassing Camilla Belle's hapless babysitter.
The twist is still the same as before, but the filmmakers do play with modern technology in fun ways and the last act of the film does produce some suspense if you can make it through the first hour of Belle wandering around the house and widening her eyes at every strange noise only to discover it was something completely innocent.
To Die For (1995)
Great Role for Kidman
Nicole Kidman stars as Suzanne, a small town news anchor who dreams of becoming a big star on a bigger network, but she can't convince her husband (Matt Dillon) to let her follow her dreams. Thankfully, a trio of outcast high schoolers are easier to convince and she manipulates them into murdering her husband so that she can achieve her dream.
Kidman is at her best here. Funny and scary in equal parts. Buck Henry's script is sharp and funny and the supporting cast are more than up to the task.
Killer Party (1986)
Not Sure What I Watched
Killer Party goes from zombie movie to music video to slasher to ghost story to possession film to frat comedy so many times during its runtime that you might want to wear one of those airplane pillows to prevent whiplash, but it balances all these genres and subgenres better than any film should be able to and it's never dull. It keeps things moving fast enough so you don't have a lot of time to think about how a lot of it doesn't make much sense.
May (2002)
Be Her Friend...Or Else!
May follows a similar thematic track as Carrie, Repulsion, and other films of that sort by focusing on a withdrawn, friendless young woman who only has her doll to keep her company. Every human keeps letting her down, but she discovers that all of them have enough good parts to construct a whole person who'll be more of her cup of tea.
This female Dr. Frankenstein tale has an unforgettable central performance by Angela Bettis who has an unconventional quirkiness that's as appealing as it is creepy.
Los ritos sexuales del diablo (1982)
Sex, Sleaze, and Satan
What Black Candles lacks in plot and character development, it makes up for in sleaze and overt sexuality. I can't think of the last time I saw a semi-mainstream film this steamy and overloaded with sex scenes and nudity. Most of the time, it's riding a fine line between softcore and hardcore.
Since all the performances have been dubbed, it's hard to judge many of the performances or the dialogue. The story seems to be a take off on Rosemary's Baby with a paranoid woman thinking she's being roped into a Satantic cult for some nefarious reason. These reasons are never made clear and, besides one nasty scene where a man is stabbed by a sword through his rectum, it's light on horror.
Phenomena (1985)
Unusual Even For Agento
Dario Argento takes a trip back to the always spooky world of boarding schools which he visited with Suspiria in 1977 but adds telepathy with insects and a lot of heavy metal music.
Phenomena can feel a bit bloated in parts, but when it decides to bring the crazy, it really delivers with razor slicing chimps, pools full of maggot ridden corpses, and surprise decapitations. Jennifer Connelly seems like a strange person to be in an Argento movie, but her wide-eyed innocence contrasts well with all the mayhem around her.
Scream (2022)
Very Good Sequel/"Requel"
Even without Wes Craven at the helm, this new "requel" to the popular Scream franchise brings back all the audience favorites and supplies just enough horror and humor to give it's audience something to scream about.
Some of the new cast stand out more than others, but they're a generally enjoyable group to spend time with and the writers and directors know how to play on that fine line between humor and horror while delivering a couple of nice surprises. It can work well as a sequel or as a stand alone film for those unfamiliar with the franchise.
Profondo rosso (1975)
Fantastic Horror/Thriller
Deep Red proves they don't call Dario Argento "the Italian Hitchcock" for nothing. The story has a British pianist witnessing the murder of a famed psychic in Italy and trying to solve the case with the help of an intrepid reporter.
While a little overlong and prone to meandering, Deep Red has more twists and turns than most average murder mysteries put together and will keep you on your toes throughout the entire runtime. Acting is good from Hemmings and Nicolodi, Argento's visuals are stunning, and the score by Goblin is both rocking and spooky at the same time.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
Great Cast, Great Sequel
Nancy Thompson returns from the original film to help a group of teenagers confined to a mental hospital after their parents sent them there due to so-called nocturnal suicide attempts that are really just the antics of madman, Freddy Krueger.
Visually interesting and filled with memorable characters and set pieces, Dream Warriors is one of the best installments of the Nightmare franchise. At this point, Freddy has just begun his turn from boogeyman to second rate lounge comedian, but he's still sinister enough to supply a few scares.
Halloween (2007)
Mostly A Misfire
Rob Zombie puts his own overly vulgar spin on the John Carpenter classic, turning cinematic madman Michael Myers into a character we should pity rather than fear. Instead of him being the embodiment of evil on earth, he's just an abused social reject with a stripper for a mother, rude tramp for a sister, and an abusive drunk for a stepfather. With this household, it's no wonder he snaps and goes on a killing spree.
This extended prologue, while misguided, is still the only interesting part of the film. Once the film hits the hour mark, it reverts to an almost shot for shot remake of the original film but without that film's scares and well crafted suspense. Zombie and co. Have also gone out of their way to make sure the teenage babysitters in this retelling are as crass and annoying as humanly possible so you're rooting for Myers to hack them to bits.
Fear No Evil (1981)
Cool Scenes, But Bad Pacing
Satan himself has returned to earth in the form of weird high school outcast, but thankfully, so has the angel Gabriel and it's up to his new earthly body to stop Satan before he kills off everyone in the school.
Fear No Evil has some excellent ideas and many of them are executed beautifully. It's a decent mix of The Omen and Carrie, but the pacing feels off. Everything is revealed at a snail's pace and none of the characters are interesting enough to get invested in.
It might be slow, but it delivers when it needs to with some truly bizarre sequences such as a moment where a student is killed during a game of dodgeball and a passion play becomes real during the a reenactment of the crucifixion.