Hands down the best horror movie of the millennium so far and the best werewolf movie since "An American Werewolf In London", this CANADIAN movie was an absolute joy and all horror fans need to see this movie now. Emily Perkins and Katharine Isabelle star as Brigitte and Ginger Fitzgerald, two sisters whose relationship is changed forever when Ginger gets bitten by a werewolf. Their bond seems unbreakable with their slogan being "out by 16 or dead in this scene but together forever"; bringing up a suicide pact they made as youngsters as well as their mutual hatred of the horrors of suburban living. This hatred is further fueled by them having a model mom's mom (Mimi Rogers) and having to go to attend a suburban high school where everyone is a cliche except for the Fitzgerald sisters and the cool drug dealer named Sam (Kris Lemche). An interesting aspect of Ginger's horrific transformation is that in addition to her growing more hair and a tail, she also begins to change into a girl who is trying to claw her way into society's acceptance rather than the "fuck you" attitude towards this type of behavior that is displayed at the beginning of the film. We are taken through the torment of both sisters as they try and figure out what is going on and with Brigitte as she tries to find a cure for her sister. I am so excited by how great this movie is that I am writing this like a giddy pre-teen who just brushed against Justin Timberlake in a crowd. "Ginger Snaps" shows us that horror is not dead and that we just need more directors like John Fawcett and writers like Karen Walton who choose not to follow the crowd and instead do what they think would be great. I am actually excited by the genre again!!!!! By the way, try to find the Canadian DVD for a plethora of extras including commentaries by both Fawcett and Walton, audition tapes, rehearsal tapes, and some behind the scenes footage.
It really is nice when you rent a straight to video thriller and it actually delivers. Director Richard Shepard ("Oxygen") has crafted an entertaining story about a woman who has recently lost her children to a car wreck and her husband to another woman who is now on a trip to Mexico with her brother Sam. It doesn't take long for Sam to disappear and the story then follows the path of the desperate sister named Mitch to try and find out what happened as in her mind, Sam is all she has left in the world. I found the film to be quite realistic in the fact that Mitch really doesn't give a damn what happens to her as she feels that if she doesn't have her brother, she has nothing. This leads us into some seedy areas of Mexico City as well as introducing a variety of characters including a sympathetic cab driver, a thug kingpin, and an American embassy guy. The thing that I enjoyed most about this film was the way that we were shown Mexico City from it's grand monuments to it's poor neighborhoods in almost a loving way with much attention being paid to camera work and atmosphere. Star Stacy Edwards who played Mitch was also in "In The Company Of Men" with another memorable performance as the deaf Christine. Also look for Robert Patrick ("Terminator 2") as the embassy agent and some great performances by Mexican actors Jorge Robles as Pedro the cab driver and Mitch's guide and Roberto Sosa Martinez as the lead thug.
Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988)
Like most people, I did not like this entry in the "Hellraiser" series. Luckily, I got it for free in the "Hellraiser" metal tin DVD set that Anchor Bay so kindly put out but there is no way in hell that I would have bought this movie on my own. Although many of the stars from the original return including Ashley Laurence, Clare Higgins, Doug Bradley, Simon Bamford, Nicholas Vince, and Sean Chapman, the sequel just doesn't cut it due to a confusing story and way too much time spent in a silly other world that I found was unscary and annoying. The film starts with Kirsty from the first film in a mental institution being treated by a doctor (Kenneth Cranham) who decides he will bring back evil stepmom Julia from the grave. Much gore ensues as well as the aforementioned effects laden world which starts strong but then continued to drag down my pleasure until I was counting the minutes until the end credits began to roll. Surprisingly, Clive Barker produced this film but it lacked all of the charm of the first one. The positive aspects were that we got to briefly see how Pinhead got the nails in his head, as well as a variety of disturbing images including a schizophrenic vs. a straight razor, an eyeless clown juggling his eyeballs, and some Escher-esque type landscapes. This could have been so good but I guess they went for too much too soon in trying to top the original which is always a very difficult task especially in the horror genre. I also really missed Grace Kirby who played the female cenobite in the first movie as I found her to be much scarier (and sexier) than her replacement in "Hellbound".
I was expecting so much more from this one and maybe that it why I wasn't very into it. Joe Don Baker stars in this true story of Buford Pusser, a man who goes home to redneck America only to get in a whole heap o' trouble when he decides that he doesn't approve of illegal activities and decides to raise some hell. Unfortunately for Buford, he keeps getting his ass kicked but like a Christian crusader terminator, he keeps coming back to rid the town of the gambling, prostitution, and alcohol axis of evil. I didn't really sympathize with Buford's plight because I felt he was taking things way too seriously and also the fact that he had no regard for the safety of those around him in his blind fury against redneck crime. Now, although I always like to see rednecks getting their ass kicked, when it is straight laced rednecks against wild partying rednecks, it is just not that interesting seeing rednecks fight each other. If Buford were not kind of a hillbilly himself and was placed in the same situation, I would have been rooting for him like I was rooting for Burt and Jon in "Deliverance". Now, I am sure that the real Buford was probably a lot different than Joe Don's performance as well as the fact that things were sensationalized as this is an exploitation movie of sorts but I was never really on Buford's side. If I were that real Buford, I would have gotten my stick and beat on the producers after seeing this. Maybe that it what the two sequels should have been: "Walking Tall 2: Stickkicking in Hollywood" and "Walking Tall 3: Buford Goes To Vegas" (I would love to see that). Sadly, two of the actresses in the film have since committed suicide: Brenda Benet (good hooker Luan) and Elizabeth Hartman (Buford's wife). Look for Kenneth Tobey (villain from "Billy Jack") as a villain.
After seeing Jess Franco's recent "Tender Flesh" and "Lust For Frankenstein", I was expecting another videotaped mess but somehow this was a really cool little movie. I know that the problem with the other titles was both the casting choices and the truly awful job done with all technical aspects such as lighting, camera operation, sound, and editing. I don't like saying that but it is very true. Now with "Killer Barbies", all of these technical jobs are done quite well and the cast is great in their roles. It is a weird phenomenon that a classic director can switch from making gold to making shit over a year or two. I am assuming it is the people he is working with and I somehow get the impression that this exploitation filmmaker is being exploited by some people who want to cash in on his name. Maybe that is it or maybe it is the aliens among us. Anyways, the Killer Barbies are a band led by the luscious Silvia Superstar who are on tour when their van breaks down. A creepy man named Arkan (Aldo Sambrell from "Armour Of God II" and a whole slew of spaghetti westerns) tells them that they can stay at a nearby castle while he calls a tow truck. Most of them agree and soon find out that the castle is inhabited by a Countess (Mariangela Giordano from "The Sect") who needs human blood to have eternal youth. The rest of the film has the band trying to escape from the castle as well as the Countess' henchman Baltasar (Santiago Segura from "Day Of The Beast") and his two "little people" children. I know that without the appeal of the band members (and actors who played band members), this would not have been a very good movie but I must say that Silvia and the band stole the show by being cool, sexy, and realistic as musicians in trouble in a Jess Franco film. Look for Charlie Chaplin's grandson as one of the band members. If anyone has a line on where I can get this soundtrack or any records by the band, please e-mail me.
Full Moon strikes again with more fun in their sequel to 1994's "Oblivion". Oblivion is a town set in a weird hybrid of the old west and the distant future complete with saloons, whorehouses, aliens, spaceships, and robots. This makes for an interesting setting and a fun cast of characters makes for a good time. Richard Joseph Paul returns from the original as the sheriff of the town as do most of the townsfolk and the sexy leather-wearing villainess Lash (Musetta Vander). In this story, a bounty hunter (Maxwell Caulfield from "The Boys Next Door") arrives in Oblivion to track down a person who is guilty of espionage while Lash is up to her old antics by trying to rip off a jewel mine. Caulfield is perfectly cast as this lippy yet sophisticated shitkicker who dresses well and enjoys his job. Look for many famous faces as the residents of Oblivion including Isaac Hayes ("Truck Turner") as Buster the bartender, Julie Newmar (Catwoman) as Miss Kitty, Carel Struycken (Lurch from "The Addams Family" movies) as the undertaker Gaunt, George Takei ("Star Trek"'s Sulu) as the town drunk, Andrew Divoff ("Wishmaster") as the lizard faced Jaggar, Irwin Keyes, and Meg Foster. B-movie fans will love this as much as they love most Full Moon movies and there are the usual cheesy effects as well as a giant turtle.
Irwin Allen disaster epics are on many people's guilty pleasures list when it comes to 70's filmmaking and I am no exception. "Flood" is not nearly as well known (or well made) as "The Poseidon Adventure" or "The Towering Inferno" but it contains all the elements that makes this sub-genre so popular: the melodrama, the all-star cast, the special effects (with lots of miniatures), and the money hungry stubborn people in power. In this plot, we have a small town whose livelihood depends on the fishing season and will be compromised if the nearby dam's floodgates are open to alleviate the growing pressure created by the recent heavy rainfalls. Of course the mayor puts profit in front of safety thus paving the way for an epic disaster and much destruction. The suspense somehow works even though we know the inevitable will happen and when it does, we see a number of daring rescue attempts, death, and people in seemingly no-win situations. Although this is not on the same scale as Allen's bigger movies, it is still enjoyable and worth a viewing if you are a fan of the genre. Some of the stars include Robert Culp ("The Greatest American Hero") as the cool guy helicopter pilot, Martin Milner ("Adam 12") as the guy who is trying to prevent the disaster, Barbara Hershey ("Boxcar Bertha") as the love interest/mayor's daughter, Cameron Mitchell ("Blood And Black Lace") as the dam operator, and Carol Lynley ("The Poseidon Adventure") as a pregnant woman who keeps passing out. Also look for Roddy McDowall in a small role as a fisherman and 70's heartthrob Leif Garrett as a local teen.
Would this still have been a good movie without Patricia Arquette and Gabriel Byrne? I cannot say for sure but I was very pleased with the casting choices for this difficult film. Promoted as a horror movie, I found the real horror was what the characters and story suggest about the Catholic church. Some truly frightening revelations about greed and cover-ups are exposed and make this story much more interesting than the demonic possession angle the the trailer implies. Arquette plays Frankie, a hip hairdresser who receives some rosary beads from her vacationing mother. Soon after receiving the beads, Frankie receives the stigmata, or holes through her wrists like the holes that were driven through Christ's wrists on the crucifix. Byrne is brought to Frankie by the church to investigate the phenomenon and do a little PR work. Frankie continues to receive the wounds of Christ and begins writing in a mysterious language that reveals much about the Church and the gospels. You will have to see the movie to find out what exactly is revealed. I found this film to be very entertaining and I felt that director Rupert Wainwright and director of photography Jeffrey Kimball made an extremely good looking film with lots of color and memorable imagery that accented and did not detract from the story. Many critics of this film have been bitching about the "MTV style editing" which I would normally be bitching about as well but for some reason, I really felt that the style of this movie called for it. I cannot say anything bad about it because although there were many flash cuts and symbolic images, I guess the main thing is that they were all relevant to telling the story. A lot of the films that employ this style seem to get carried away with the imagery and just toss flashes of things in because they look cool. Wainwright has managed to make a cool-looking film that also tells a good story and does not have a bunch of weird symbolism for the sake of having weird symbolism.
Personal taste may account for my dismay when I watched this. I have been reading about the new line of Stan Winston remakes of old monster movies entitled "Creature Features" and decided to watch this one first as I have been hearing that this is the best of the series so far. I must say that I was disappointed. I think the pacing was a little sluggish (although the premise and back story were quite unsettling) and I am not a huge fan of period monster movies unless they are exceptionally good. What we have here is a sideshow operator who finds a real mermaid in Ireland and decides to bring her to America and cash in. As we have learned from "King Kong", this is not a very good idea. Transporting the creature by boat also does not help as this opens the door for all kinds of mayhem if the creature gets pissed off and gets loose. This was one of those movies that would have been much better if they didn't spend as much time on things like telekinesis between the creature and our female lead and would have been a lot more fun if there was a pissed off monster loose on the boat eating people. I know my version isn't quite as ambitious as trying to develop characters but remember folks, this is supposed to be a freakin' monster movie! I wanted to see a monster and some carnage and frankly I was bored and disappointed. If it weren't for Carla Gugino, I would have turned this off much earlier or just fast forwarded to the brief display of effects at the end. I really hate to give this a bad review because I really want to like and promote this series but I can't say this was worth my time. Many others disagree and think this was great but I just felt that the energy was not put in the right places for a "creature feature". Hopefully, I will have better luck with "Earth Vs. The Spider" or "Teenage Caveman".
Jean Rollin is another one of those amazing directors whose name I have heard a lot but I have never actually checked out any of his work until now. The amount of exciting directors never seems to end in the world of film and although I am sad that I will probably never see all the movies that I would like to, I am also pleased that there is such an infinite amount of knowledge and new ideas to find in the world of movies if you are interested enough to look. "Fascination" is a great looking tale of a rogue named Mark who stumbles across a castle (complete with moat) while on the run from a group of thieves and he decides to take refuge there until nightfall. He soon finds two beautiful bi-sexual women are inhabiting the castle and want him to stick around for a special gathering they are having with some other beautiful women who enjoy wearing see-through robes. We discover later that the women also have a taste for human blood and our male stowaway seems to be the perfect snack. It is not until one of the girls named Elisabeth (Franka Mai) decides that she is in love with Mark that things get complicated as she does not want to drain him. This sets off a murder spree when Elisabeth's "partner" Eva (former porn star Brigitte Lahaie) decides to dispatch the remaining thieves with a scythe and also serves as showing us some very memorable imagery. There is nothing like seeing a perfect looking blonde in a see-through black cape walking through the country with a scythe. Finally, we reach the climax of the film where all of the female characters get prepared for their midnight ritual and slip into their more comfortable clothing. Although this film is quite heavy on the nudity and not too heavy on the character development, it is still easy to follow and has a good story. The main point of checking this one out though is for the beautiful cinematography where (as with Mario Bava and Dario Argento) you can see that much care was taken in making sure that every camera shot (and everything in it) looked good. Lahaie was in a number of Rollin's other films including "The Grapes Of Death" and "The Night Of The Hunted".
This is one of those movies that you hear what it is about and it has to be seen to be believed. I heard that this was about a black dude who is tossed in prison and when released, takes revenge on the people who put him there by strangling them with his cock. Just writing it down makes me laugh. I wasn't expecting much but seeing that poor actor trying to act while fighting with a huge black penis wrapped around his neck made me realize that Lugosi didn't really have it that bad with the giant octopus in "Bride Of The Monster". I would love to have been on set the day they were shooting that scene. As I was watching the movie, I knew that our hero Charles was hypnotizing women by dropping his drawers but I never thought that I would see the murder weapon in all of it's glory. Fantastic! The only thing I wonder is how Charles' girlfriend survived the sex scene. Now I am not the one to usually point out plot holes but come on! Why does everything feel like a sexual reference in this review. Anyways, overall this is not the best blaxploitation movie that I have seen or anything and it actually looked extremely low budget but I'll tell you it held my interest and I was not overly bored. Worth checking out and congratulations to director Jamaa Fanaka (who went on to make the "Penitentiary" series) for having the balls to make this.
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