The last horror, thriller or suspense film you watched

Black Scorpion (1995) by  Jonathan Winfrey

"You can't be the Black Scorpion, because you're the whitest woman I know!"

I somehow "accidentally" ended up with three Roger Corman produced movies last night, The Nest (1988), Behind Closed Doors (1994) and Black Scorpion, where I think the last one, surely was the most enjoyable and fun, and of course it had probably a bit much to do with the fact that the stunning Joan Severance starred as the beautiful cop-turned to vigilante/super hero that of the Black Scorpion.

I guess, if Corman had gotten the rights to do his version of a Catwoman movie back in the 90s, this is pretty much what it would look like, sleazy, campy, sexy and very much a fun and wild ride. Sure, there is no hiding the fact that several of the scenes seems very much "borrowed" from what Tim Burton did a few years earlier on Batman Returns (1992) but I would think it also pays a bit of a homage or tribute to the classic Batman series of the 60s as well.

Anyway, in this film you have a pretty solid cast, and beside the stunning Severance in the lead, you get several familiar faces and names such as Bruce Abbott and Rick Rossovich, but also the ridiculous Stephen Lee, who plays the typical angry and stressed out police chief, who always seems to have a cigarette in his mouth, and then you get the laughable black "butler/sidekick" that is Argyle (Garrett Morriss) who seems to go all the way for this over-the-top Bill Cosby kind of performance, and yeah, of course the evil main villain, the Breathtaker who pretty much looks like he has just "jumped out" the last episode that of Power Rangers, and well, all in all I actually really enjoyed this film.

It might not be among the all time "great" super-hero movies, but heck, I rather sit through this kind of entertainment than to bore myself to death, with another generic 3 hours of CGI filled modern super-hero stuff, that, well just do absolutely nothing for me, what so ever. 

Black Scorpion I think actually got made into several films, even a tv-series, but the first film is probably the best one, and I remember I had seen it, back in the late 90s on night cable, but forgot about the title, so it was very fun when I finally got around to look it up, and realize it was the movie I had been searching for, so long and I am just glad it hold up, so well. 

6,5/10


In the Heat of Passion II: Unfaithful aka Behind Closed Doors (1994)

A pretty much very typical and clicheed 90s erotic soap opera thriller, which has a rather familiar cast of names along the way, and I had seen it back in the early 00s on late night cable, but somehow forgot the title, and after doing a bit of "research" I found it again. 
The plot revolves around a rich middle aged woman in a wheel chair (Lesley-Anne Down, and her greedy and distrustful husband (Barry Bostwick) who plots along with his wifes sexy step-daughter, to get rid of his wife and get to her money.
However, things soon turn nasty and the clichees just stroll along on the assembly line, and when it tries to play "smart", during the last 15-20 minutes (or so) it just seems like it does so, because it runs out of time, not ideas and it feels very hasty and cheap.

There's is a bit of the classic over-the-top sex scenes, thrown in every now and then, and only missing the sleazy saxophone so often played in the background, and, well, I guess I have now seen it, a second time around but also for the very last time as well.

Beside the sexy Teresa Hill as Casey, I really liked the whole creepy shallow art-deco mansion, as it was really a cool looking place, but sadly the plot did never reach its "potential" and, well, I guess it is a pretty decent made tv-movie, but seeing all these talents being wasted, maybe a better writer/director could have done things a bit differently. 

4,5/10