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Post by Captain Spencer on Mar 19, 2021 16:42:20 GMT
Psycho Cop (1989) A mentally unstable police officer, who worships the Devil, stalks a group of college students vacationing in a house in the woods. Not much to recommend this cliched slasher which of course does bare a resemblance to the much better Maniac Cop, and it even rips off some scenes. But unlike Matt Cordell, the Psycho Cop talks and makes wise cracks when he does his killing. Some neat ideas and good direction, but lame dialogue and wooden acting keep this at the level of mediocrity. I really wanted to love this, as I remember having heard about through the old Commandofans forum, or ManiacCopfans forum back in the day, and it seemed to have quite the following there, but when I finally managed to pick up a decent price (still ridiculously overpriced, that is ) DVD copy back in 2012, it ended up with me being screwed over, as it was not just pricy as hell, but also cut to pieces, or so I learned afterwards. The film was kind of boring, little that I actually remembered from that one time watch, but last summer I saw the sequel (believe it or not, they made another one) and I guess it was mostly the same crew who did one of those later Sorority Massacre/House sequels (was it Jim Wynorski?) and I actually enjoyed the ridiculous cheese that was Psycho Cop Returns, as it was just so much more fast paced and over the top. Yeah lostinlimbo said the same thing, he enjoyed the sequel but not the original. Well if I come across Psycho Cop Returns I just might check it out.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Mar 19, 2021 19:46:33 GMT
AND
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Mar 21, 2021 7:28:21 GMT
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Post by lostinlimbo on Mar 22, 2021 0:17:10 GMT
What might seem like a silly action-comedy, actually is a mean-spirited and sleazy exploitation film. Quite intense, and fast-paced when a backwoods baseball game between city women and horny rednecks eventually turns into a game of survival. Death quickly follows. An average, and for most part aimless slasher with a couple decent death scenes and creative final twist. Too bad it’s sluggish in between those moments and the characters are fairly uninteresting. The punk song constantly playing on the walkman, before someone dies, detailing how it’s going to happen will test your patience.
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Mar 22, 2021 14:40:38 GMT
D-Tox (2002) by Jim Gillespie I remember the joy of renting this back in 2002 or 2003, along with my dad, as it was not everyday, you would realize or stumble upon an unseen, or never even heard of, new Sly Stallone title. But somehow, D-Tox either flopped big time, or just got drowned by the studio, and I guess the fans who had not seen it at the cinemas, just had to cope with the whole DTV feel, which surrouned several of Sly's releases of the early 00s, and which surely has to be absolute low point, in his career. Kind of sad, knowing that he finally managed to hit back, with one of his best film/performances in Cop Land, just a few years earlier, and suddenly he dished out Get Carter, Driven, D-Tox, Avening Angelo and appeared in these rather mediocre/bad family comedies or other forgettable european sequels, like one of the Taxi films. Still, I had not seen D-Tox for almost a decade, and I guess there were a reason to why I still owned a copy of it, but I was not all the sure, when the film started up, and we got immediately thrown into the trashy and cheap looking editing/pacy DTV b-movie serial killer story, which felt like it took forever, before it changed into more of a slasher/horror vibe, with what I guess is the main reason to why I could not get rid of it, in the first place. And that is the The Thing (1982) snowy/paranoia feel, that and quite the impressive cast of character actors. Sadly, the plot and characters, are all over the place. It really is a huge mess of a film, where I guess the studio and people behind, did little to ease out the problems, as it feels like several directors and writers has worked on this, picking up where the former ones left off, and tried to fill in some "missing" pieces, and it just went from bad, to worse. I hate when real talent is wasted, and seeing all these great and likeable people, just thrown into such a lousy movie, that is not how it should be. I believe it even had at least one other or alternative title, but it seems like D-Tox is the one, at least in my country it has always went under. Theres is some neat and gruesome killings, the whole eye-drill part was nasty stuff, but you never once cared for any of the people, not even Sly. Robert Patrick is of course in asshole and douchebag mode, where Tom Berengers seems a bit too "simple minded" at times, and of course, the killer part is never really a shocking reveal either. Still, a few of the therapy sessions or group meetings is almost turned into a parody, with all the clichees and sterotypical characters. It is not among his worst films, but quite a drop from the films he did during the mid towards late 90s, and now I have not seen Get Carter or Driven in years either, but I remembered not being blown away by either. D-Tox is just a very forgettable and poor attempt on the overdone late 90s Se7en/CopyCat serial killer trend, but is of course not even close of those films, in either quality or entertainment. The only reason that I end up with a rather "kind" rating, is the link to the The Thing snowy/winter paranoia feel or atmosphere, but surely one I could easily go without seeing, for another decade, or more: 4/10
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Post by Anonymous Andy on Mar 22, 2021 17:58:10 GMT
Good/not great Friday night entertainment. I liked it, but given the stacked cast, expected a little more. 6/10
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Post by Anonymous Andy on Mar 22, 2021 18:00:05 GMT
Silly '70s Hammer/Amicus riff that features dwarves, rock n' roll and Michael Gough as a giant blob. 6/10
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mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
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Post by mgmarshall on Mar 22, 2021 18:04:53 GMT
Damien: Omen IIYou know, I've seen the original multiple times now, but I don't think I've ever actually seen any of the Omen sequels all the way through. I remember seeing bits and pieces of them on AMC or some other channel back in the day, but never in their entirety. We're definitely striding pretty solidly into camp territory with this one. It's pretty silly and over the top. Plus, with as many crazy "accidental" deaths that happen in this one, it's kinda hard to believe that nobody besides William Holden figures out that they're all connected. Jonathan Scott-Taylor isn't quite as good as Harvey Spencer Stephens was, but he still pulls it off pretty well. He's definitely got that "spoiled, vindictive rich kid" vibe going on a lot, which certainly helps me dislike him. The rest of the cast is fine. William Holden seems like he's sleepwalking through it a little bit, but he's okay. Lee Grant is strongly melodramatic throughout. It's nice to have Leo McKern back, even if they immediately kill him off. But probably my favorite of the whole bunch is- no surprise- Lance Henriksen as Damien's Satanist school drill sergeant. Even this early in his career, the man is just intense and terrifying, I love it. Overall, this one doesn't quite live up to the original, but it's not too bad.
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Post by Prime etc. on Mar 22, 2021 18:48:39 GMT
Doesn't it seem like the 70s was the time for certain big name Hollywood actors to finally cross over into genre horror film?
If you ignore the fantasy elements in Moby Dick, the Omen was Gregory Peck's first foray into fantasy film I think. What did William Holden ever do in fantasy film before Omen 2? Arguably Charlton Heston avoided it until the Awakening (if we ignore his science fiction films)? Richard Burton -- The Exorcist 2.
I watched a minor giallo
DEATH STEPS IN THE DARK -- 1977 more of a comedy than a horror film. I don't think they did a good job explaining who the killer turned out to be. It has a clumsy sleaze quality to it as well--they throw in a lesbian scene which didn't appear to have any story value--I know that may be true of other giallos too but in this case it just came across as totally irrelevant to the story which was confusing enough. The director sure liked to use extreme close ups. Star Leonard Mann looks a lot like Ethan Hawke. Some of the comedy worked but not enough of it.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on Mar 23, 2021 20:09:48 GMT
The Dark and the Wicked (2020) Wasn't expecting much, but this movie shook me, deep down. Quietly sinister, well acted, deadly serious and just plain creepy af. What a pleasant surprise!
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Post by Captain Spencer on Mar 24, 2021 4:13:48 GMT
The sequel has a different movie company, a different director, a much smaller budget and fewer stories. Is all this a bad thing? No, not necessarily, but it would have been great if the budget allowed for better make-up effects for the tale The Raft. The Stephen King short story is really good, and this would have been a terrific opportunity to present it as truly horrifying on screen, but the filmmakers chose the pedestrian approach for this segment, so the result was somewhat disappointing. But overall I thought Creepshow 2 wasn't bad at all. What it lacks in The Raft segment it makes up in the other two stories, which are quite enjoyable.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Mar 24, 2021 4:35:21 GMT
The Red Queen Kills Seven Times (1972) A young female fashion photographer, whose nasty sister was accidently killed years before, becomes the target of a cackling killer dressed in a red cloak. Nicely done giallo with supernatural undertones. It has an intriguing storyline and stays the course on being absorbing and suspenseful right to the end, plus with some really cool twists. Haunting music score by Bruno Nicolai
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Post by stefancrosscoe on Mar 24, 2021 10:29:02 GMT
The sequel has a different movie company, a different director, a much smaller budget and fewer stories. Is all this a bad thing? No, not necessarily, but it would have been great if the budget allowed for better make-up effects for the tale The Raft. The Stephen King short story is really good, and this would have been a terrific opportunity to present it as truly horrifying on screen, but the filmmakers chose the pedestrian approach for this segment, so the result was somewhat disappointing. But overall I thought Creepshow 2 wasn't bad at all. What it lacks in The Raft segment it makes up in the other two stories, which are quite enjoyable. Somehow, the Raft is the one I always enjoyed, way more than the other two. And I would have loved a whole film based upon that episode. Have not seen either of the Creepshow films (not including the much later one) for a long while, but I do notice that the swedish Retrofilms, will put out a remastered DVD/Blu-ray this fall, so I will surely be on the lookout for that.
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Post by gspdude on Mar 24, 2021 12:24:53 GMT
Mirror Mirror(1990) Bullied high school girl gets supernatural revenge when she learns how to control an evil mirror (or is it controlling her?). Some standard kills of both the deserved and undeserved, all of which you see coming, and some brief nudity in a shower scene, which never hurts. But overall this movie never grabbed me. Even Karen Black couldn't raise it above mediocrity. 4/10.
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Post by Captain Spencer on Mar 24, 2021 13:59:16 GMT
The sequel has a different movie company, a different director, a much smaller budget and fewer stories. Is all this a bad thing? No, not necessarily, but it would have been great if the budget allowed for better make-up effects for the tale The Raft. The Stephen King short story is really good, and this would have been a terrific opportunity to present it as truly horrifying on screen, but the filmmakers chose the pedestrian approach for this segment, so the result was somewhat disappointing. But overall I thought Creepshow 2 wasn't bad at all. What it lacks in The Raft segment it makes up in the other two stories, which are quite enjoyable. Somehow, the Raft is the one I always enjoyed, way more than the other two. And I would have loved a whole film based upon that episode. Have not seen either of the Creepshow films (not including the much later one) for a long while, but I do notice that the swedish Retrofilms, will put out a remastered DVD/Blu-ray this fall, so I will surely be on the lookout for that. I plan on watching the Creepshow TV series on Shudder in the near future.
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Post by theravenking on Mar 24, 2021 17:13:42 GMT
Damien: Omen II But probably my favorite of the whole bunch is- no surprise- Lance Henriksen as Damien's Satanist school drill sergeant. Even this early in his career, the man is just intense and terrifying, I love it. Sadly Henriksen disliked working on the film, calling it a miserable experience. Originally his role would've been much larger, but when the original director Mike Hodges was replaced by Don Taylor he didn't get along well with Henriksen.
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Post by Prime etc. on Mar 24, 2021 19:07:17 GMT
I didnt like Creepshow 2--the change in style was disappointing and the stories--truth is, none of the Creepshow stories are all that great when it comes to a good surprise like the best Twilight Zone or something. But Creepshow 2 felt so cheap. I saw it in a theater--so disappointed.
I was interested in checking out the Mirror, Mirror series--I vaguely remember them advertised--the first one anyway. But it sounds like they don't have much popularity.
I was going to watch the Red Queen Kills Seven Times but I always find another giallo in the queue that distracts me from a particular choice.
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Post by Ass_E9 on Mar 25, 2021 5:30:34 GMT
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mgmarshall
Junior Member
@mgmarshall
Posts: 2,062
Likes: 3,317
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Post by mgmarshall on Mar 25, 2021 21:20:23 GMT
Silent Night Deadly Night 5: The Toy MakerWelp, god help us, this is even worse than part 3 or part 4. At least Better Watch Out! had Robert Culp being a little fun to watch for a little bit. At least Initiation had some okay giant bug puppets. This one has nothing to recommend it that I could see. The killer toy props are all cheap and unconvincing, as are the few brief gore effects. Mickey Rooney looks tired, confused, and unhappy to be there in every scene he's in. By the way, it's nice of him to appear in this one after publicly decrying the original. I guess these kinds of movies were okay by Mickey so long as he was getting a paycheck out of them... I don't know yet if I plan on checking out that remake that came out a few years back, but surely it can't be as bad as this one.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Mar 25, 2021 21:51:35 GMT
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