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the_asylum666
Reviews
CBS Library: Once Upon a Midnight Scary (1979)
Absolute classic! I love it (maybe spoilers)
This is a true rare gem, and its a shame that not many people have heard of it. It stars the awesome vincent price as a storyteller who introduces 3 stories, (its an anthology film basically) These include one about a boy who is the only one who can see a ghost, the legend of sleepy hollow (we all know that one) and one about a boy searching for a clock that could bring about Armageddon. Its not scary and is pretty tame stuff (though it might frighten really small children, specially the witch in one segment) but is very addictive and great fun. I got my copy from ebay and i highly recommend it to anyone. Its quite short at about 5o mins but that will only get you rewinding and watching again and again, i certainly did. A must own.
Through the Dragon's Eye (1989)
Still great after all this time
I remember being obsessed with this show as a kid after seeing it at school. However I got to thinking about it recently and figured that I'd be put off now by the fact its painfully obvious that its people wearing furry suits and that most of the landscapes look like theyve been painted on a wall in the background. Anyway I have managed to see it again and I found myself falling for it again. it works great as an adventure story, There's so many different elements to it, the quest for the veetons, The widgets who keep appearing and The Evil Charn. actingwise varies, Sean Barret (Gorwen) comes across sounding very wooden, though he does seem to try and I realize he might stammer cos the character is supposed to be weakening but it still sounds wooden. David Collings (Charn) is quite entertaining as he is very menacing in the role and is obviously having fun with it. I also warmed To Tim Lyn as Boris. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this cast has actually gone onto do bigger things like The Archers and Emmerdale. This is definitely a guilty pleasure. Like I said, I thought id grow out of it but i havnt. A classic gem. My fave episode is probably the great battle, tho Charn goes from being genuinely menacing to a bit over the top villain in this one.
Session 9 (2001)
Downright Creepy.And it DOES MAKE SENSE!!!!!!
Logan 22's comments basically translate to "I don't have the brain power to figure out this psychological and meaningful plot (and there is one trust me)so I'll just slag it off instead. It's easier".
The film was excellent. It gave us something different than the average horror. We get four guys working in a mental hospital trying to rid it off asbestos. Weird s**t goes down. One of the crew hears a mysterious voice all the time which we later discover to be on a session tape of a patient. All the guys seem to be getting stressed out. And eventually murder ensues. This film's tactics is to confuse you and chill you out when the reality of what is going on finally hits you. And for all those who think the plot doesn't make sense. I'll be kind and do your own brain work for you
SPOILERS
Years ago there was a patient named Mary committed at the hospital. She has 4 personalities. One is called "Simon". Simon is evil and got her to kill her brother. Interviews with Mary and her "others" are recorded on Session tapes. Still with us? Good
Years later the place is shut down and along come our guys. You'll notice that the voice Gordon hears in his head is "Simon's" so anyone who says the session tapes have nothing to do with anything are full of it! This is to show that Gordon suffers from the same mental illness as Mary. Hence thats why he was infected with Simon. The fact that he would be possessed by the same alter ego is what makes the idea chilling.
The first day of getting the job. Gordon had walked through the hospital and Simon had somehow noticed he was already a weak man under stress and possessed him. Later when Gordon went home he killed his wife and child so anytime you see him talking to her on the phone he is talking to no one. He is insane. Eventually he goes on a kill spree and kills the crew.
Makes perfect sense to me!!
Clue (1985)
F***ing Brilliant movie.
Its based on a board game. It flopped at the box office. Most critics dislike it (from what I've read) It must be a bad film right.
WRONG!!!!
I first saw this film a very long time ago when I was a child when it came on TV and I absolutely loved every second of it. I was drawn to it because it starred Tim Curry whom I had just been introduced to with with films like IT and The Three Musketeers.
The plot concerns a group of strangers who are individually invited to an old house. Each character is instructed to use an alias such as "Colonel Mustard, Proffesor Plum etc." It turns out that each guest has a guilty secret and someone has been blackmailing them all. Anyway to make a long story short -too late- lol (see the movie and you'll get the joke)the blackmailer turns up dead and suspicion falls on everyone but who did it and where and with what?
SPOILERS COME HERE The movie is a spoof of murder mysteries. Amusingly enough it also offers 3 endings. A killer is unmasked and then just when you think the credits are going to roll some text comes on screen "That is how it could have happened but what about this" and then we are treated to another climax. This works well considering the game involved the players making assumptions on how it could have happened. SPOILERS END HERE
The film has a great cast. Tim Curry is a god. He seems to be enjoying every minute of this film and it really shows. He steals the whole film and is flipping hilarious. The rest of the cast all have their own memorable quotes and moments. This film is very quotable.
Cop Let me out: I'll book you for murder! Wadsworth: What do you mean...murder? Cop: I just said it so you'd open the door.
Plum: What are you afraid of a fate worse than death? Peacock: No just death isn't that enough?
The bottom line is that this movie is a gem. An absolute classic. Its funny as hell. Sports a great cast. Is quotable and has so many classic moments there isn't time to name them all. No movie collection is complete without this baby.
I give it 100% score wise. It is f***ing Brilliant!
Fear (1996)
I fear this movie is...R.U.B.B.I.S.H!
Jury have you reached a verdict? Lets examine the evidence...
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
The antagonist "David" is completely unlikable and a total jerk. But hey that's ok because his character is supposed to be that way. He is the villain of the piece and we should hate him (one thing the writer managed to get right) but the protagonist? Are we really supposed to hate her? I certainly did. She behaved so pathetically stupid that the her character defied any sympathy from me.
Now the film could have succeeded if they had taken these routes
A) Let the audience warm to David and then reveal it later that he's a psycho. That would be more effective because we would be disturbed that we trusted this man
B) Reveal him as a psycho but not let Nicole know this till later then then the penny dropping moment would be rewarding to watch.
Of course what does the scriptwriter go for?
David is revealed as a nutjob straight off the bat. Nicole knows this and tries to distance herself from him but goes closer to him just to annoy her dad.
There is a scene where David beats her friend up savagely. He also hits her in the process (actually if this fil is about brain damage which Nicole suffers after he lands her one then that would explain her stupid behavior and I can withdraw my negative comments...of course it isn't so on we go)She realises there and then what he is like and avoids him. Of course what else does she do? Act all "grown up and mature" by telling her Dad that She and her boyfriend have had a disagreement and they will have to get through it. WTF! Stupid Stupid cow! What's to sort out? He just nearly killed your friend. Why would she want to act like she still likes him just to worry her father. I'm beginning to wonder who the psycho is here.
Her stepmother or Dad's girlfriend is also stupid. She lets David into the house and back into Nicole's life after the scene above had taken place. Her reason? They should just get used to the fact that Nicole and David are an item and show some encouragement. At this point I just didn't know where to look. If the writer knew what he was doing he wouldnt either.
David rapes her best friend. Nicole watches from a window as David twists her friend's arm violently behind her back and forces her to have sex with him. Nicole accuses her of betraying her with her boyfriend. Maybe she didn't see her twisted arm but she knows exactly what david is like so why wouldn't she believe her friend?
After all this nonsensical drivel, we are treated to a climax where David invades the Walker home with his psycho buddies in a badly handled attempt at a horror film. I am a huge horror fanatic by the way. This came across as Night of the living deadbeats. There's more character development on any of Savini's Zombies than these characters.
Overall. A protagonist who is completely unlikable and stupid whom wea re apprantly supposed to identify with and care for. Here comes the score.....................F***ing ZERO!
The Sandman (1991)
WOW! Absolutely startlingly brilliant
I first head about this short from a friend who described a movie about "a bird man who comes into a child's bedroom at night" as the scariest thing that he had ever seen. Been a horror fan I had to track this down and I have finally seen it.
My reaction is WOW! This is very short but is so memorable it is unbelievable. The phrase short but sweet comes into mind. The plot involves a boy who is sent to bed by his mother. The boy is scared in the dark bedroom. Suddenly a funny looking man who has a head shaped like the crescent moon outside enters the house and... You wont get any more spoilers from me. This may be animation but it is certainly no children's film. In fact keep them well away from this if you don't want to be up all night comforting them from nightmares. Even though I knew what was coming as far as the ending is concerned it still packed a punch. The final shot is probably the most disturbing shot in animation ever. I was actually taken aback by just how chill inducing the ending is. The music was very well done. This film is all silent apart from the music and sounds, which tell the story. The Sandman himself is just scary as hell. For the uniformed "the sandman" is the traditional man who comes into people bedrooms and puts them to sleep. He can stay the hell out of my house that's for sure.
First chance you get to see this IT WOULD BE A FELONY TO PASS UP!
Out of the Dark (1988)
This is your friendly Dr.Bobo's review
I love killer clown movies. I love mysteries. A murder mystery about a killer clown....HELL YEAH! To be honest. I liked this film. I really enjoyed it. The movie had a lot going for it. Some well known faces, a downright scary killer, some great visuals. A good amount of humour and overall a fun time was had.
Acting:
Cameron Dye: was very good as the protagonists boyfriend, He gave an enjoyable performance and I liked him onscreen.
Lynn Danielson: I don't know really. There were moments when her dialogue felt embarrasingly forced and OTT.
Karen Black: Black doesn't really need to do much here but what she does is certainly not bad.
Tracey Walter: The guy came across hilarious as the smart alec main cop of the film. His sarcasm was a hoot.
As for the film being scary or gory the version I saw was certainly not gory apart from one scene but as far as scary goes it depends on how scared of clowns you are. The site of a clown driving slowly after you at night time may freak you out if you suffer from coulrophobia
The mystery of who was behind the clown mask was good. Though I have read reviews which claim the identity of the killer is very obvious I don't know. If I hadnt had the film spoiled for me before I saw it I am not sure if I would have correctly guessed the culprit. Bobo was cool. He had a creepy deep voice and I LOVED his clown mask! (wish I had one like that) it was just very unnerving. The copy I own is obviously heavily cut because there is only one sex scene. (Very steamy I must add)
Be warned! In no way is this film original. In fact it is very cliched and follows some obvious nods to other films (Black Christmas, Halloween.
The film does what it is supposed to. Entertains you for the time its on.