jsnyang48's Reviews

Village of the Damned (1995)

Creepy

6 March 2002

The movie is pretty well pasted with a clever script and some creepy scenes. We also get some good acting from the adult actors and one of the child actors (David), but when we consider the other children, they seem to be creepier when they're 3-years old. When the movie brings you to the part where they're somewhere around 8 or 9 years old, the movie starts to loose the creepy elements. Basically because the children's acting starts to loose its balance as they tend to act mature. I think those children are creepier when they're unable to speak than they are when they try to talk in the manner of adults (eg. the scene where they all lined up infront of the campus, they were muted and still, and that had a creepy effect along with the score!!!). But besides that, the movie does have powerful special effects and some really neat scenes. The movie did a great job on the visuals and the scores!

9.5/10 -0.5 for loosing the creepy effect, but later as the movie reaches its climax where we get the children lining up in front of the cops, from then, the acting didn't seem so weird anymore and they're "mature" way of talking didn't seem to mess up the eeriness.

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StageFright (1987)

Pretty cool

3 March 2002

Warning: Spoilers

Let me start by saying that STAGE FRIGHT is a typical Euro slasher. When we hear that, we should be able to tell what kind of film it is, masked killer (an owl for a mask..... very original!), mass killings (pretty much of a typical Italian slasher, a lot of killings and a sole survivor), and a simple plot (everyone locked inside a studio, and must find the key to freedom before Wallace gets them). The movie is indeed entertaining, filled with suspense and some comedy, and there are some pretty kool deaths too(Guy drilled through the stomach, Peter loses his arm and head......gruesome!!). Theres only one thing in the movie that I find confusing, and that is the ending....but that don't matter too much. Overall, it's a pretty cool slasher and definitely worth checking out.

9/10 *******SPOILER ALERT*********** -1 for the ending, how the heck did Wallace survive after gettin' shot "right between the eyes"??????

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The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)

Gorier than the first, but not better

2 March 2002

THE RAGE: CARRIE 2 isn't that good. The finale really was a gore ride, some nice body counts, but the whole thing put together aint that good. The main low down is that the movie sticks too much romance in (especially the guy and Rachel), in CARRIE, there's only one or two scenes that involve strong romance between Tommy Ross and Carrie. Other than that, the only thing that links this movie to the original is that Rachel and Carrie have the same blood running in them, and two characters in movie are based on the original. I was mostly amazed at how they were able to link Carrie's situation at school to Rachels.

8/10 -2 for too much romance and off tracking the original movie

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Carrie (1976)

A classic

2 March 2002

Though CARRIE isn't a ride for blood and gore, it still manages to bring satisfaction. There are few scenes with visual campaigns that pictures Carrie's psychic powers in Stephen King's novel, but the movie sets her degree of power at a lower range. The highlight of this movie is basically the Prom night near the end, that is where Carrie exposes her hidden potential before her class mates. Even though there's a good pacing, superb acting, and pleasing special effects (the mirror shatters), but there's still something that I find disappointing. It's probably the degree of Carrie's power that disappointed me. I saw the movie before I read the book, at first I was stunned by the cleverly written screenplay (great dialogues and scene transitions) and some cool special effects. But after I read the book, I found quite some missing links like Susan's psychic link with Carrie at the end and the falling rocks. The biggest change is probably the Prom night, Carrie in the book destroys the whole town, but in the movie she only burned the school. Anyhow, that doesn't damage the movie itself, its a great movie and its an absolute classic.

10/10

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Lord of Illusions (1995)

From the chilling imagination of Clive Barker

1 March 2002

LORD OF ILLUSIONS is rather chilling, it's the idea of Nix's existence that darkened the atmosphere in the movie. The movie does contain some blood and gore (The Swann dive!!!!) and some eerie scenery. The one and most baleful scenery is Nix's hiding place(?), it serves both thrills and chills (The markings on the wall, the people that live in that kinda place.....scary). Even though the movie's highlight events are quite far from each other and happen after a long time interval, somehow, the events in between still brings scares. Every once in a while, the movie just won't keep you relaxed, it finds ways to stick in an event and keep you attached to the story (e.g. D'Amour's dream, the appearance of Butterfield and the bald guy etc). What I'm most satisfied with, is that it is a supernatural horror, and it does provide a great example for a modern day horror movie.

12/10 +2 for Nix's appearance, quotes, and the nightmare he gave me after viewing this movie!

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Demons (1985)

SCARY!!!

1 March 2002

DEMONI follows a plain and simple storyline, but it still had everything an audience would ask for. Even though the pacing is slow, and not much gore is presented within that time interval, but later on in the movie we do get a few satisfactory body counts. Gore is the key factor to this movie, it delivers the audience with on-screen gore and some really neat make-up. The most frightening element in this movie is the make-up of the demons. Especially the first 2 demons that show up within the 30-40 minute range. I was more terrified by the demon make-up and the kool transformation of the second demon than I was by the other demons that showed up later on (except the one that crawled out of the girl's back, neat). Overall, this movie does serve us with some nasty looking demons and body counts in bloody detail.

9/10 -1 for the scene transitions in between the 50 minutes range(From rising action of evacuation to the gangsters ride)

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Zombie (1979)

A frightening masterpiece

1 March 2002

Warning: Spoilers

******POSSIBLE SPOILERS*********** Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE (U.S. title) is an eye feast for all horror fans. Nasty zombies with worms crawlin' out of their eyes, a dead woman gettin' feasted on, an eye-piercing (grotesque and disturbing), people getting a chunk of their flesh ripped out, on screen gore, eerie (and also terrific) scores, gruesome make-up and sharp scenery...they're all here. What is there to say but that this is a terrifying zombie flick with everything a horror fan would want? This movie kicks ass, its scary (the mood, and the way the living dead moves and feasts!!), gory (The girl getting her eye pierced....) and suspenseful (The cop becoming a zombie near the front part calls for result at the ending). Practically everyone gets on the zombies menu near the end of the movie (besides the 2 protagonists), and the ending simply leaves the audiences to imagine the terror.

10/10

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Urban Legend (1998)

Trash

27 February 2002

URBAN LEGEND is juiced with creativity, but somehow it lacked originality because it followed SCREAM's footsteps. The only notable thing in this movie is the appearance of Robert Englund (my favorite actor as Freddy Kreuger), watch out for his excellent performance. Other than the appearance of Robert Englund, this movie is trash. The teenagers acting is too scream-ish and their acting basically tells us they're trying to be another SCREAM movie. The body counts, sigh, presented in a modern teeny horror style: picture blended with sound effects and nothing goes on-screen but whiteflashes or quick glimpses. Forget this junk, it may only be worth watching once, or as I have seen, people sighing as the movie goes on and leaving the theaters.

5/10 -3 for SCREAM like acting (SCREAM would've been good if there weren't followers adapting its style and recreating another movie that made it look bad) -2 for using the modern teeny horror way to present bodycounts -2 for time derived dialogue (The murderer's lines towards the protagonist near the end of the movie were said in the way Billy from SCREAM had presented his motive) +1 for sound effects and audio mixing +1 for Robert Englunds excellent performance

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Warlock: The Armageddon (1993)

Pretty good...except...

27 February 2002

Not bad, WARLOCK: THE ARMAGEDDON does seem better than the first. Even though there are many body counts, and we do see some improvements in the special effects, something still seemed to be wrong......

There are still scenes that reveal a load of cheesy effects such as the scene where the receptionist's lips are sealed (VERY obvious stop-motion). But in this sequel, some REALLY cool action takes place, scenes where the Warlock meets the people against him. My personal favorite was the scene where Julian Sands shot down two old magic dudes with his "hand gun". This sequel does contain creepier scenes that prophecizes the reborn (?)Warlock, and scenes that hints an upcoming bodycount. Overall, this sequel is worth watching.

9.5/10 -0.5 for cheesy level, but only half the points are removed due to the other cool scenes.

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Warlock (1989)

Disappointed

27 February 2002

Warning: Spoilers

WARLOCK wasn't as I'd expected it to be, and I felt disappointed at it. Everything other than the special effects (discard the cheesy video painting from the special effects list) and the excellent performance of Julian Sands, was mediocre. But the movie was a waste of time. Reasons: 1) Featured simplicity in plot, a plain storyline and not much to look out for (It's basically just "see who gets to the papers first"). However, the movie does find a way to keep the audiences awake, that is, to insert various scenes where the Warlock works on his own (like the "child's fat" and the flames). 2) The movie was made to be a serious film with additional comedy, but somehow it worked out on a cheesy scale. 3) Too much comedy in the movie does damage to the atmosphere, for example, the behavior of the guy from the past. Basically that sums up the low downs of this movie, and my last suggestion would be, only worthwhile if you are interested in movies that follows this kind of pace (fast, but scene switches around every minute or so).

8/10 -3(study above) +1 for the terrific musical score PS. If anyone knows the song title in the WARLOCK trailer by Jerry Goldsmith, please E-mail!! I'm looking out for the album with that song.

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Celebrity Deathmatch (1998–2007)

Fun, entertaining, and GORY!!!

26 February 2002

CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH is full of entertainment. Even though 3 celebrities (the 3 losers) are mocked each week, but still, its done in a fashion that makes the scenes memorable and entertaining (Clay). The best fight in my personal opinion is the one with John Travolta versus Nicholas Cage in the Face/off action. That one was funny, entertaining, and like any other deathmatches, gory. Most of the fights are either very bloody or gory, but they're all presented in comical action. That really is what made the show so great, and I just can't deny it.

10/10

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Jeepers Creepers (2001)

Jeepers Creepers, the best yet

25 February 2002

Warning: Spoilers

The reason why I feel that JEEPERS CREEPERS is the best horror movie yet (since Wishmaster) is because it is comprised of appalling ideas and impulsive scenes. I hope not to spoil any scenes from this brilliant masterpiece so I choose to only put my thoughts in a short paragraph that would not encompass a single spoiler(as there are too many good scenes to share). The Creeper and the acting (Trish and Darry) is the spotlight of this movie, and also, the brilliant score mixed in the background. Most of the scenes where the suspense slowly builds up are wonderful, hair-raising, and heartstopping. Despite all the "good" scenes, the one and most PERFECT scene was the finale, or the ending. The ending basically tells us why the movie is called JEEPERS CREEPERS.

12/10 +2 for the superb ending and how well it summed up the movie (don't really know why in the commentary track, it is said that "Hush hush, the boogeyman's here" worked better)

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Valentine (2001)

still not looking towards something new

25 February 2002

Why do horror movies tend to follow SCREAM's footsteps, or other junk like URBAN LEGEND? This one happened to do the same thing, but with exceptions. Rather than being a horror flick, VALENTINE turned out as a "mystery murder" (as of SCREAM and other SCREAM wannabes). Even though this movie looked towards the direction of a teeny slasher, there still is something about it that is worth remembering, that is, the ending. Nothing more than the ending is surprising, most of the scenes contain obvious false alarms. Only the ending is unpredictable for first time viewers. But overall, this flick still does deserve a viewing or two.

7/10 -2 for OBVIOUS false alarms -4 for Scream-like acting +1 for excellent sound mixing +2 for ending

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Final Destination (2000)

Pasted with astonishing events

25 February 2002

Warning: Spoilers

Too bad the film makers didn't show Death on screen as in Cemetery man, but that still doesn't drag down the grade of this package of originality and taste. FINAL DESTINATION is more likely to be considered "awesome" and "surprising". Most of the deaths were carried out by Death himself in this movie, so thats why the surprising body counts tend to look more like "accidents", and the way they were presented was original. Most of the bodycounts happen in an unexpected manner and you never know when to hold your breath or to let go, cause things just keep happening (referring to the scene where the dude gets stuck in his car and Alex runs over to save him, after that, its full of surprises). And the scene where the teacher smells Death in her house also calls upon originality. Originality was the main source of this movie, it would definitely NOT disappoint you.

9/10 ***POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD****** -1 for the time dragging during the air port scene, where we see various character developments of Alex's class mates who dies on the plane about 5 minutes later.

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Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986)

Jason LIVES!!!!

25 February 2002

JASON LIVES is considerably one of the best in the FRIDAY THE 13TH series. I admired the creativity in this sequel, I really do. The film makers were able to provide Jason all his weapons in one scene, and that was something different from the other series (where we see Jason picking up an instantaneous choice of weapon). In JASON LIVES, Jason is "armed and dangerous", he carries with him a bunch of weapons on a belt. What I thought was the spotlight of this movie, was the 3rd appearance of Tommy Jarvis (How we get to see the result of his conflict with Jason Voorhees) and Jason's selection of weapons (a weapon per victim). This sequel is actually cooler than scarier, and the Chi-chi music really does work out in certain scenes. Rent it, or buy it. It is worth your time to view JASON LIVES!

9/10 -1 for the time wasted by the scene where Tommy tries to push the rock onto the boat at the climax.

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Dr. Giggles (1992)

Dr. Giggles, not bad at all

24 February 2002

DR. GIGGLES aint too bad at all, the body counts reach a high value and so does the fright factor. The body counts, yes, the amount body counts are way above expectation. From vague memory I can still grab out at least 15 or 16 body counts from the movie. Most are pretty creative, I was mostly amazed at how the creator was able to link the body counts to a doctor's utensils. The fright factor was invoked by Larry Drake's excellent performance as the sadistic Dr. Rendell. His performance as Dr. Evan Rendell was what freaked me out, especially the scene where he was shot and how he was able to giggle as his expression slowly fades to pain. THAT was SCARY. This was a great horror flick, creative and at the same time, scary. Its definitely worth checking out.

10/10 BEST scene: The opening credits where the screen takes us on a journey through a victim's body, and how we see the red blood cells flying toward the screen.

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A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Another great 80's movie

23 February 2002

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET was cool, right after my first view of the movie it came directly to my wishlist of DVDs and I ended up buying the whole series box set. The only thing I gotta say was, it was worth it, and it was awesome too. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET wasn't just cool, but it was also creative (The whole idea of a serial killer existing in a dream), scary (The idea of dying during a dream), and bloody (YEAH!!! Tina getting slashed in the chest and dragged around the room by a supernatural force, and Johnny Depp sinking into a bed jetting out a room full of blood). I could clearly see why people had given Freddy Kreuger his title of fame, and also lauded the movie for its effectiveness (considering originality and its bloody details). In my opinion, the most entertaining thing about this movie was the fight to stay awake, and Nancy's adventure in unraveling Freddy Kreuger's past and his scheme to murder the children of Elm street. This movie rules, it can keep your eyes opened throughout the movie and through the night.

10/10

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Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985)

A surprising twist

22 February 2002

Maybe all Jason fans had purchased a copy or rented FRIDAY THE 13TH : A NEW BEGINNING to see Jason in action. But some might be disappointed at this sequel, and some might be surprised (like me). I wasn't p***ed at the "copycat murder" at the end, but I thought that was actually quite a smart thing for the director to do (keeping the audience seated for the first 80 mins, then let them realize what had really happened). A very smart way to put an end to all the killing, except it didn't seem to satisfy Jason fans. But overall, the movie's still pretty good.

9/10 -1 for the body counts, not as amusing as in part 4

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Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984)

Jason's back

22 February 2002

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 4: THE FINAL CHAPTER was enjoyable. I enjoyed this sequel simply because it was entertaining, and scary. The movie was REALLY entertaining, some of the entertainment comes from the comedy (referring to the Teddy guy's relationship with Jimbo) factors and the scene switches. What I thought was most amusing about this movie was the on-screen body counts and the make-up. I can tell that the body counts are applied on screen in addition to Tom Savini's effects. Thats really all there to say about this sequel great music, kool body counts, neat make-up, and high entertainment value.

10/10

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Friday the 13th: Part 3 (1982)

Not bad

22 February 2002

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 is not bad at all, full of surprises and some excellent cinematography. Most of the body counts are presented on screen and in a special way (like the guy who gets split in 2 while walking on hands). There are also scenes with great photography(referring to the scene where the guy plays the yo-yo, and how it reaches the camera), well, basically the scenes that were meant for the theaters in 3D. As for the surprises, this is where we see Jason in his infamous hockey mask for the first time in the Friday history. That was a pretty pleasant surprise for I who had skipped part 3 and watched the whole series. But the other surprise is a let down at the opening credits where we see a cool Jason Voorhees corpse from part 2(?). But as the camera gets closer to his face, we see a HUGE FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 3 logo fly right out of his face mixed with a technical dance music(what the hell!!!???), that opening scene made the movie look like funky dance movie or some cheesy musical if you had missed the FRIDAY THE 13TH part. Overall, the movie is pretty good and is worth renting.

8/10 -2 for the opening credits, they could have done better by mixing the audio with the creepy chi-chi music.

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Dracula 2000 (2000)

no.....

19 February 2002

DRACULA 2000 encompasses many great scenes following the tradition of Matrix-like action, and the special effects are pacifying as well. However, there is a back drop in this movie. Before the appearance of the 3 female vampires, we could see that the movie is original, fast pacing, and ready to sit in the vampire category along with other Vampire flicks. But when the movie gets to the part where Mary meets the 3 vampires, the movie looses its originality. Somehow the 3 female vampires had acted in a way that reflected the acting in scream-wannabe movies. That was what screwed up the rest of the movie. If you have a vampire flick, you should keep it to its category, but the female vampires somehow made a link that related this movie to a bunch of scream-wannabe junk. If it weren't for their scream-like acting, the movie would have not been linked to a different category and would've been good. I'm not telling you to stay away from this movie, but its only worth a rent (in my opinion).

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Fright Night (1985)

One of the BEST vampire movies

19 February 2002

FRIGHT NIGHT is an excellent vampire movie for any horror movie fan to consider. The movie stars Chris Sarandon (Child's play) as the blood thirsty vampire, and Roddy McDowall (The Mad hatter from Batman the animated series) as the dubious vampire hunter from a T.V. show "Fright Night" who later turns out to understand something about vampire hunting. The acting is superb, we get excellent performances from all every cast, especially from Charlie Brewster, Roddy Mcdowall and Chris Sarandon. The script is cleverly written as well, much of the dialogues are interesting and the events are laid out perfectly well that it doesn't leave you to yawn for a minute. The movie also has great special effects (loved the part where Jerry Dandridge turns into a bat shown in a silhouette form) and the scenes where Jerry casts no reflection in the mirrors are awesome. I have only one thing to say about this movie, WATCH IT, you'll be pleased with it! Other recommendations: John carpenter's VAMPIRES, its another vampire flick thats also worth checking out.

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Braindead (1992)

DEAD ALIVE rules!!!!

18 February 2002

DEAD ALIVE is awesome. The movie is packaged with everything a gore fan would possibly expect to see. Stuff like gross zombies, on screen decapitations, on screen deaths, a Kung fu fighting priest, a zombie baby, rat monkey and many other VERY gory scenes (especially the finale, where Lionel uses the Lawn mower as a cure for the zombie plague) would definitely satisfy a horror buff. The movie is not recommended for the weak stomach, because of the gore scenes that come frequently within short time intervals. Peter Jackson (director/writer) did an excellent job on this movie (as he did for all his other movies, especially LORD OF THE RINGS), he was able to give the movie both a comical and a horrific factor. I would also recommend BAD TASTE, just as gory, and just as good.

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Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Spectacular

17 February 2002

TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY is spectacular. The acting, the special effects, the music, the action........are wonderful! This is definitely a sci-fi action movie that an audience would not want to miss. In my opinion, the spotlight of the movie is the special effects. As you sit back and enjoy T2, you'd find yourself with your eyes wide open as you watch the special effects take place. The best special effects are applied on the T-1000 (played by Robert Patrick), and I mean it. T-1000 is this shape shifting guy (liquid metal) that can take shape at pleasure with its own body. There are certain scenes where certain parts of T-1000's body changes shape, and those effects are amazing. It's special effects took a step further than its period of production. This movie rules, and I think it really did deserved the Oscars it won.

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An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Amazing, simply amazing

17 February 2002

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON was amazing. The movie delivers the audience a sit-thru of eye feasting effects, especially the scene where the protagonist (David Kessler) slowly transforms into a werewolf. Not only does that scene satisfy the audience, there are also other elements in the movie that are pleasing. Elements such as: background music (amazing score, loved the score during the scene where Jack and David walk their way to the "slaughtered Lamb"), the comedy (The relationship between David and Jack shown thru their dialogues), the acting (excellent, all the actors and actresses did an excellent job bringing this movie to life) and the memorable quotes. Scenes are laid out perfectly well in this movie and its absolutely worth it to get the Universal release of the collector's edition DVD. I would also recommend THE HOWLING, the metamorphosis of David Kessler was rather similar to the transformation of Eddie Quist (except for the lighting).

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