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Post by stefancrosscoe on Mar 10, 2021 11:05:56 GMT
Silent Night Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!Christ, what a boring nothing of a movie. Back in December, I had planned to watch all the Silent Night Deadly Night movies, but I didn't make it past Part 2. And while that movie was admittedly a corrupt, lazy dumpster fire of stock footage and incompetent editing, at least it had Eric Freeman's nutty performance keeping me entertained. This one has got nothing. Bill Moseley, when utilized correctly, can be one of the most entertainingly batshit performers out there. This movie? Gives him two lines of dialogue. Bill Moseley is gold, you do not waste gold!Also, wow does this movie ever wish that Samantha Scully will remind me of Jennifer Connelly in Phenomena. But Jennifer Connelly was likeable in that movie. This lady isn't in this one. The only person here who's even remotely fun to watch is Robert Culp, and the movie strands him on the sidelines for the duration. Once again, you do not waste gold!I think this one can be best summed up with the following- When the rule of "never reference a better movie in the middle of your crappy movie" still applies when you're showing clips of Roger Corman's The Terror, we have a serious problem. This is the one, with Leo Johnson (Eric Da Re) from Twin Peaks? I have only seen it once, but yeah, I was not exactly too "thrilled" about it either. I got fooled (big time), into thinking I had picked up an entire DVD-set of all the films, where of course the first two, was the only reason to why I did so, and I remember that I somehow had completely ignored to check upon it a bit further, before purchasing it, as this was sadly only the last three chapters, ignoring the first two. So, yeah, it was quite a drop, from the first two, then heading into this absolute borefest of a third "sequel", which I am not sure what I ended up rating, but it cannot be a very "positive" one. Still, I do remember that either both, or at least one of the latter sequels, actually turned into quite a pleasant surprise, at least compared to the third one.
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mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
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Post by mgmarshall on Mar 10, 2021 14:29:55 GMT
Critters 4: They're Invading Your SpaceWell, I at least liked this one a little bit better than Critters 3. It's still nowhere near as good as the first two, and despite the space setting the production values are noticeably lower (Only two Critters? Come on...). Plus, it really takes its sweet time actually getting to the Critters action. Once it finally does, things do pick up quite a bit, though. So, what makes this one better than part 3? Well, its strongest asset is probably the eclectic, talented cast. In addition to Don Keith Opper, who's likeable as always in his last appearance as Charlie, we've got the deranged, pervy, Klaus Kinski-eqsue Anders Hove (Radu from the Subspecies movies), a super-young and earnest Angela Bassett, and a quirky, delightfully off-kilter almost leading role for Brad Dourif. Plus, I didn't notice this during my viewing of the movie but apparently the voice of the ship's onboard computer is Martine Beswick. Weird. Oh, also- between this and Silent Night Deadly Night 3, I've unintentionally watched two movies with Eric Da Rae in the same 24 hours. He's fine here. The other thing this entry has going for it is the surprisingly dark turn it takes with the relationship between Ug and Charlie. I won't give it away, but it genuinely surprised me and was really kind of a downer. As the final appearance from both characters, it's a fairly bleak note to exit on, and a bold non-audience-pleasing choice to make for the fourth direct-to-video entry in a franchise.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Mar 11, 2021 3:05:20 GMT
The Dunwich Horror (1970) A young warlock has sinister plans to bring into the world ancient creatures from another dimension. Based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft and executive produced by Roger Corman, this was somewhat disappointing. There is a unique sense of visual style with the use of thermal vision and psychedelic imagery, but it fails to deliver the goods on truly intense horror. Dean Stockwell (looking ever so groovy with shaggy hair and moustache) gives a nicely oddball performance, but unfortunately Sandra Dee was a bland leading lady.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Mar 11, 2021 10:28:21 GMT
Critters 4: They're Invading Your SpaceWell, I at least liked this one a little bit better than Critters 3. It's still nowhere near as good as the first two, and despite the space setting the production values are noticeably lower (Only two Critters? Come on...). Plus, it really takes its sweet time actually getting to the Critters action. Once it finally does, things do pick up quite a bit, though. So, what makes this one better than part 3? Well, its strongest asset is probably the eclectic, talented cast. In addition to Don Keith Opper, who's likeable as always in his last appearance as Charlie, we've got the deranged, pervy, Klaus Kinski-eqsue Anders Hove (Radu from the Subspecies movies), a super-young and earnest Angela Bassett, and a quirky, delightfully off-kilter almost leading role for Brad Dourif. Plus, I didn't notice this during my viewing of the movie but apparently the voice of the ship's onboard computer is Martine Beswick. Weird. Oh, also- between this and Silent Night Deadly Night 3, I've unintentionally watched two movies with Eric Da Rae in the same 24 hours. He's fine here. The other thing this entry has going for it is the surprisingly dark turn it takes with the relationship between Ug and Charlie. I won't give it away, but it genuinely surprised me and was really kind of a downer. As the final appearance from both characters, it's a fairly bleak note to exit on, and a bold non-audience-pleasing choice to make for the fourth direct-to-video entry in a franchise. Reading your review, I am kind of willing to pay this one another visit, as I might have been a bit too harsh from my last watch. I only saw it once (or so I remember), where as the third one, was kind of a nostalgic movie, due to many visits to the rental store back in the day. Considering the names involved in part 4, that is quite a lively crew, also the darker or bleaker stuff is something I either did not pick up on, or have most likely forgot over time, so that is also things which makes me a bit curios if I should give it another go.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Mar 11, 2021 10:35:04 GMT
The Dunwich Horror (1970) A young warlock has sinister plans to bring into the world ancient creatures from another dimension. Based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft and executive produced by Roger Corman, this was somewhat disappointing. There is a unique sense of visual style with the use of thermal vision and psychedelic imagery, but it fails to deliver the goods on truly intense horror. Dean Stockwell (looking ever so groovy with shaggy hair and moustache) gives a nicely oddball performance, but unfortunately Sandra Dee was a bland leading lady. A truly great movie poster and film title (somehow it feels very familiar, yet I have never seen it before). Might be another pick for the October Challenge, as I need to update my 70s horror films, as I feel there is lots to be seen from that decade.
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Post by gspdude on Mar 11, 2021 12:58:00 GMT
Mill of the Stone Women(1960) aka Drops of Blood. A sculptor keeps his daughter alive with the blood of young women and saves his victims as exhibits ala House of Wax. For some reason I had assumed I had seen this but was pleasantly surprised it was a FTV for me. It has a good atmosphere and several really pretty European actresses and, despite some serious over acting by the main protagonist in the middle of the film, I quite enjoyed it. 7/10.
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Post by forca84 on Mar 11, 2021 17:17:40 GMT
"Hercules" (2014) "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" "The Shadows" (2011) "Feeding grounds" (2011) "Storage 24" "Bubble" (2005) "True Grit" (2010) "Band of Brothers"
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Post by Prime etc. on Mar 11, 2021 18:04:16 GMT
Re: Dunwich Horror
It does have a neat poster In the movie itself the monster looks pretty good-and in one quick scene you can see Stockwell's face super-imposed on it.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Mar 12, 2021 3:07:20 GMT
Horror High (1973) by Larry N. Stouffer Another impulse watch, thanks to the enormous free movie archive that is on Youtube, and this one was probably the best or most enjoyable film from last night. The story of a young man who is bullied and blackmailed by everything from his fellow class "mates" to teachers, is probably not groundbreaking stuff, but I thought for such a (most likely) low budget release (loved the crackling sounds and the grainy drive-in picture) it was well handed and acted out. I could see the similarities towards later high school horror films where an outsider is driven into madness, as Carrie (1976), Christine (1983) and maybe also Trick or Treat (1986) at least shares a few of the same style and setting, that and The Nutty Professor. 6,5/10 I hadn't seen Horror High (aka Twisted Brain) in quite some time, so this post prompted me to look it up. Sure enough I found it on Tubi and watched it. Can't say my opinion of it has changed much, I still think it's mostly a piece of junk. It is fun in parts, but too bad the budget was so low they couldn't afford the make-up effects. Usually the picture quality for movies is good on Tubi, but in the case of Horror High they used a beat-up damaged print for the transfer.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Mar 12, 2021 9:50:43 GMT
I guess Horror High is more like a cheaply made, drive-in movie. And I fully understand, that it is not something which might gather a large fanbase of followers. But still thought it was surprisingly fast paced and fun, but not enough to make me want to pick it up on DVD.
By the way, I tried to catch The Awakening (1980) last night, and managed the first 15-20 minutes, but then I ended up (once more) falling asleep on the coach. Not because of the movie, but I was so damn tired, and woke up, to the ending credits playing in the background. But I will try to see the rest of the film, maybe next week.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Mar 13, 2021 15:13:36 GMT
Screamers (1995) by Christian Dugay Seen it once or twice before, but kind of wanted something within the world of 90s sci-fi/action-thrillers last night, at least to get me started up, and thought I might give this 1995 Peter Weller film another chance. For the first 40-45 minutes, I kept thinking to myself "Now why did I not rate this solid sci-fi film an higher rating that 6/10?", then sadly I realized that while the third and final part does not "suck", it still kind of falls flat, compared to the impressive, unpredictable and at times, very exciting and thrilling ride that Screamers start up with. Anyway, Peter Weller puts in a very good performance here, and he usually seemed to thrive within these kind of movie genre, the sci-fi and action part, and while few of his co-stars comes off as "likeable", I kind of felt the film hit off best, when it was just Weller and his much younger and naive marine side kick, along with those damn David's, who were some creepy bastards. Sadly, when things began to take off, a little too much, some very annoying newcomers arrives, and the Screamers as well, begin to reveal too much of themselves, and while I hoped for a bit more of the psychological paranoia "Who is the real deal, and who's not" the film seems to show too much, where I would have prefered the "less is more" style. Still, Screamers is a well worth a watch, and would maybe go very well along with Starship Troopers (1997) or Soldier (1998), as part of a little 90s sci-fi/action movie night. All in all, I really wanted it to keep on in the same style and pace as the first half, more of less, but when the film hit above the hour mark, I kind of knew why I have never rated it above a 6/10, which is still a good one, but not anywhere near a great one. 6,5/10Dead Man Walking (1988) by Gregory Dark Once I noticed that this film contained not only Wings Hauser, but also Brion James and Jeffrey Combs (here listed as Jeffery), then I guess my plans for which film to watch next, was not that hard to pick out, of all the potential ones from Youtube. It is set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, where the plague has divided the rich, the poor and the unlucky ones, into different zones, and where those trapped among the poor and unlucky, are well, pretty much left on their own. Here, a certain new kind of "eccentric" behaviour, have started to settle into a few of the more extreme people, who realizes that instead of just awaiting a painful and horrible death, they will kill of time, and play some rather different versions of the russian roulette, and this is where Wings Houser comes in, as Luger. A man with nothing to lose, and he is convinced by a former driver (Combs) to a rich and wealthy businessman and his daughter, who were attacked by a ruthless criminal, known as Decker (James), who has kidnapped a young woman and set into the wasteland to cause total mayhem, and since the Police is of no use, Luger is the only one capable of helping out. I kind of liked this film, even if it does drag on a bit, here and there, and I would have wanted maybe a bit more night time scenes, rather than day time. Still, Hauser and Combs are a fun duo to watch, and Brion James delivers surely one of his most sadistic and nasty villains, I have ever seen, one that even tops Mad Max Cleaver Jenke, from House 3 (1989), or the Horror Show. 6/10
Final Jeopardy (1985) by Michael Pressman A surprisingly fun and well acted made for tv movie, where a naive couple of out of towners, arrive with bright hopes of landing a successfull job interview, along with doing some nice sightings in the big city. But sadly all they end up with, is an unpredictable nightmare, and as the day goes from bad to worse, it means everything from mean dogs and violent gangs are onto the them, and with little to no help from anybody else, this little "nice" trip into the big city, soon turns into a survival of the fittest, if they can hold out until the morning. Richard Harris and the beautiful Mary Crosby puts in some fine performances, as a young and naive couple from the countryside, who tries their luck in Chicago, but is instead swallowed up, by the chaotic and dangerous difference between daytime and night time, as the city changes from a crowded and fun place, into the complete opposite, and yeah, for a tv movie, this one was really good, one I would like to have a DVD of, if it excists. 6,5/10
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Post by Captain Spencer on Mar 14, 2021 4:17:01 GMT
Schizoid (1980) A killer is bumping off members of a particular therapy group with a pair of scissors. The Cannon Group tried to corner the slasher market with this 1980 feature. You could even say Schizoid is an Americanized version of a giallo. In any case, it is quite suspenseful and the storyline is complex. Throws in lots of red herrings to keep you guessing who the killer is. Worth checking out.
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Post by movielover on Mar 14, 2021 4:21:35 GMT
Dark Skies - Great movie. Reminded me a little of Poltergeist, but with a sci-fi slant.
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mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
Posts: 2,048
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Post by mgmarshall on Mar 14, 2021 11:13:51 GMT
Critters Attack!Welp, this was pretty much a waste of my time. It was dull, uninspired, and fairly tame. (The made-for-TV qualities are strong on this one) The cast of children and teenagers range from competent to annoying. Dee Wallace is fine, despite the movie completely wasting her presence. I did enjoy that they primarily went for practical effects instead of CGI, and the Critters puppets used here are pretty good. They try for that 80's throwback aesthetic here and there, but it's pretty half-assed. Overall, it just didn't leave too much of any impression. As I do not have Shudder, I guess I won't be seeing that Critters: A New Binge series they did...
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Mar 15, 2021 5:31:40 GMT
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Mar 15, 2021 5:32:10 GMT
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Mar 15, 2021 5:33:11 GMT
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Post by movielover on Mar 15, 2021 6:25:57 GMT
Burn, Witch, Burn (a.k.a. Night of the Eagle)
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Mar 15, 2021 14:08:36 GMT
Slaughter High (1986) by Mark Ezra, George Dugdale and Peter Mackenzie Litten This film caught my eyes, big time, due to the great movie poster and striking title, when it was brought back into the light by Lionsgate and their "The Lost Collection" of 8-10 DVD releases, of "The "best" films, that you have forgot". Or something similar. Sure, out of all of these so called "best" films, few if any really deserved that kind of description, but I gotta say, I really had a good time watching both Slaughter High and My Best Friend is an Vampire, which were part of this 80s collection, that arrived back in spring of 2009. I think I also picked up Hiding Out with Jon Cryer, but sadly that one turned out to be a bit of a downer, not bad, but felt like a cheap yuppie-teen comedy, meant for Matthew Broderick, but since they could not get a hold of him, it landed with Cryer instead. Anyway, Slaughter High was supposedly to be named April Fools Day, and happened to be in the making around the same time as another mid 80s slasher, with the exact same title, and a similar themed plot as well. So things were changed, that and with the tragic news, that one of the main leads (Simon Scuddamore) who plays Marty, ended up taking his own life, the film were put on hold for a while, and not released until around 1986. Sure, Slaughter High ain't as good or well made as April Fool's Day (1986), which most likely had the better cast, director and bigger budget to play around with, still I have always gotten a kick out of watching Slaughter High, as it is really a goofy and light hearted slasher, which I guess was not that unusual, as it felt like the further into the 80s one got, the more silly and over the top they became, and I guess it was a natural reaction, as one could only go that far, with another Friday the 13th rip-off, including tits and ass, creative kills and some forgettable murdering lunatic. I like the atmosphere, the scenery and location of the school building, even thought I always got a laught out of seeing all these "young" students, as most where likely hitting the 30s or way above, where even the lovely Caroline Munro probably was closer to her 40s than 30s, at the time of filming. Still, I could care less, as she looked fine as hell, but I wonder how many students there really were at the school, as we only see the same ones, and a grumpy gym teacher and some random care taker, but I guess the budget only had so much to offer. The story is pretty simple, it is part Terror Train (1980) and part April Fool's Day, and where the popular crowd, ends up tormenting and making some very cruel attempts on doing a "joke", on their fellow geeky student, Marty, and of course, things go way over, causing a freak accident, and yeah, much later on, we are invited along to a high school reunion, and everything is going okay, until people suddenly gets their stomach turned inside out, being hacked and electrocuted to pieces, and so on. The jocks and bimbos are the usual unlikeable gang of cliches, but here, the killer/victim is even less likeable than most of the bullies, and that is kind of little downer. All in all, some of the kills are ridiculous, other more forgettable and lame. Yet, the film never gets boring, and while surely not among the better late 80s slashers, I have always enjoyed the cheese it offer so much of, and I am glad it were handed an uncut DVD release back in 2009. 6/10Alien from the Deep (1989) by Antonio Margheriti Another piece of italian jungle adventure junk, tried to be sold of as a "great" sci-fi/horror film, with some giant claw, and a crew of annoying and cheesy dubbed actors, trying to keep up, with all the boring stuff which goes on. Charles Napier tries to put in a bit of a performance here, but is constantly let down by his fellow cast, and yeah, this one is only for the die hard fans of trashy late 80s monster movies. 4/10Street Asylum (1990) by Gregory Dark Another surprisingly enjoyable Wings Hauser and Gregory Dark late 80s film, and one which turned into a real crazy one, as when you have both Hauser and Brion James, being among the more sensible and "normal" characters in a film, then you know you are about to witness something "special". As Street Asylum is pure sleaze, from start til finish, and I really enjoyed all the ridiculous and slimy things that happened throughout the time, where Hauser is brought in, to a very special Police force group, which is more like their very own death squad, or scum squad, which is set out in the streets, to clean up the human waste, and use any means in order to get it right. Of course, the real human waste, is the one in charge, a ridiculous nasty and sleazy guy, who wants to run for Mayor, but seems more interested in having some freaky sex stuff taking place at his office and watching home made videos of his fellow officers in action. Hauser puts in yet another impressive performance, and while Brion James has just a very small one, he is hard to miss out, and then you have the stunning Roberta Vasquez as Hausers romantic interest. I kind of have enjoyed a few of these late 80s and early 90s Wings Hauser releases, and would love to find a decent DVD copy of it. 6/10
Love at First Bite (1979) by Stan Dragoti Not seen in a while, but remember it never quite impressed me, and sadly, I was once more reminded of why. I guess with the 1979 relase of Dracula (with Frank Langella) and the success of Young Frankenstein (1974) and the Blacula films as well, trying to cash in on those films success were very tempting, but this was a very uneven and mediocre horror comedy, that never quite managed to find the right "balance". 5/10
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Mar 15, 2021 16:34:42 GMT
Critters Attack!Welp, this was pretty much a waste of my time. It was dull, uninspired, and fairly tame. (The made-for-TV qualities are strong on this one) The cast of children and teenagers range from competent to annoying. Dee Wallace is fine, despite the movie completely wasting her presence. I did enjoy that they primarily went for practical effects instead of CGI, and the Critters puppets used here are pretty good. They try for that 80's throwback aesthetic here and there, but it's pretty half-assed. Overall, it just didn't leave too much of any impression. As I do not have Shudder, I guess I won't be seeing that Critters: A New Binge series they did... I guess I have not missed out on much, this time either. Had the film it my hands, during one of my visits to the only official movie and music store left in my city, last year, but I felt it was too pricy and I could do much better. So I ended up with Knives Out and the last Rambo movie instead, which I thought was a pretty good purchase. Maybe, if Critters Attack! arrives at Netflix or something, then I could be "tempted" to check upon it, but still, I doubt it. Would rather re-watch the original series, at least part 1, 3 and 4, as I did re-visit the second one for not that far ago, but we are closing down to easter, and it is one of the few horror films I can think of, which seems to fit well with that time of year, and a real good movie as well.
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