3 1/2 stars = Very Good

Vampires from outer space. Whose victims turn into Zombie like creatures that will explode to dust if they don't feed.

Well, "Life Force" is no classic of the horror genre, but it's still a lot of fun! Especially the beautiful naked Vampire in the first part of the film. Yeah, she can infect me!

Don't expect this film to make a lot of sense, but take it for what it is, an enjoyable exercise in Sci Fi/Horror, & nothing more.

"Life Force" 1985

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3vu4q ... shortfilms

Beware of nakedness in this trailer!

5 Stars = Masterpiece

David Lynch films always walk the thin line between reality, & surrealistic, nightmarish fantasy. Both can be equally as grim & bizarre, & you know what, some of his scenes hit me like a chapter out of my own book. The weird things you see, & unusual characters you meet on your road through life. A strange déjà vu resonates in his films. It feels like a half forgotten dream that you had, that is so blurred, that it may just be reality.

This film is no different, filled with strange characters, surrealism, nightmarish scenes, & one helluva scene stealing performance by William Dafoe, as the physically grotesque, pure unadulterated evil, Bobby Peru. Hired by the equally scene chewing, evil, Diana Ladd, mother to "Lula," (Laura Dern's real life mother) Laura Dern, to kill "Saylor," Nicholas Cage, who has ran off with her daughter, but her reasons for wanting him dead is much deeper than that!

One scene really haunts this film. Lula & Saylor are driving down a lonely desert highway at night, & run upon a car wreck. There is a girl left alive, & the tragic pathos of this scene gets to me every time. It is truly a heart rendering experience, that one will never forget. Those of you who have seen this movie, will know what I'm talking about. I won't say anymore, for those who have not watched this film, other than Chris Issak's song, "Wicked Game," will haunt your mind forever. A brilliant score to this truly transcendently beautiful scene of tragedy.

"Wild at Heart" is a quasi, nightmarish, "Wizard of Oz" road movie in reverse, reverse of everything that movie is & more! This is one of Lynch's most straight forward films. There is no contemplating what this film's message is afterwards. It is a film of love, hate, fear, ambition, & desperation. A film that can in trance the viewer with all it's ugly glory. A film about the baser side of life that most people never see, or pretend it's not there, & one more thing, this is my favorite Lynch film by far! Along with "A Clockwork Orange," one of the most brilliant films in cinema!

"Wild at Heart" 1990

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0xwTSxZnHg

4 Stars = Classic

Now here is a film (films) that lives up to it's name, "The Theater Bizarre." Whether this is a good thing, or a bad thing, is a matter of personal taste for depravity, gore, ugliness, sex, torture, death, addiction, sweets (yes, sweets!) & other assorted physical & mental goodies, or baddies, if you like.

This horror anthology of six pretty bizarre stories, from six different directors, is kind of like a anti "Creepshow." As a matter of fact, the first & most ordinary of the six stories is, "The Mother of Toads," ( sounds like Argento) the only supernatural themed story, which is also the weakest of the six. The other five are horrors of the human kind, & are pretty out there, like David Lynch meets David Cronenberg, at their most surreal & ugly moments, hosted by Dario Argento. I'm not saying that these stories are as successful as those great director's movies, but given the small amount of time allotted for them, they make quite a monumental tribute to morbidity. They are ugly, they are disturbing, they are surreal, & they are actually quite mesmerizing in their own sick & twisted way. I suppose one could call this collection of oddities an extreme version of "The Twilight Zone," but you'd never see this coming out of the 1950's television series, nor is it anywhere close to science fiction. There is a science here though, the science of attraction through repulsion.

I'll give this obscure little oddity four stars, not because it's something that everyone will love, but because it is a sincere, unflinching tribute to human ugliness. Something that most people know about, but pretend it's not there. The directors of these stories know it's all to real, as these six metaphors can attest to.

"The Theater Bizarre" 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDK8S0VmTqc

4 Stars = Classic

"Stake Land" plays like an apocalyptic Zombie film with Vampires instead. That being said, the Vampires in this film are but Zombies with Vampire physical traits, & even that is minimal, with no supernatural shape shifting abilities, though their make up is effectively feral in appearance. Their mental capacity is about Zombie level, though they have evolved in to two types of Vampires, with one stronger & harder to kill than the other. It appears they may be evolving more, which is an interesting idea, but it is a thin line to hang a whole film on. Now most of what I've wrote so far, really doesn't sound to interesting, or original, but this is only one aspect of the plot...

"Stake Land" is a chameleon. Yes, it's an apocalyptic Zombie like, Vampire film, but it's also plays out like a western, especially a bounty hunter western. It is a road movie. It is a film that makes statements about how the human race will become fragmented, becoming just as much of a menace to it's self as the Vampires are, with fanatical religious groups, in this case extremist Christians, taking the appearance of Vampires as a sign of God's wrath, & feeding the non-believers to the Vampires as a sacrifice to God. It also taps into the male domination of women through religion, though it takes this premise to extremes, it is also conceivable that these things could & would happen with religious male extremists. So here's a little more fuel to the fire. Still, it's been done before, though...

The thing that makes "Stake Land" a great little film as opposed to a mediocre been there, done that film, is it's great acting, script, direction, & personal character's plot line interaction. Yes, this is an apocalyptic film, but seen at the very personal level of two characters, teenager "Martin," whose family was destroyed by Vampires, & "Mister," ( who reminds me of the Troll Hunter in "Troll Hunter") who saves his life & teaches him to be a Vampire hunter. There is a real relationship here, as "Mister" becomes a surrogate father figure to Martin, & as gruff & grizzled as Mister is, there are moments that shows his love of Martin, like a son. The two go on their journey meeting & helping other people, actually building strong relationships with these people, who are struggling against the Vampires & the religious extremists. These relationships are quite real, & touching. You get to know these characters. You get to care about these characters, & that is this film's saving grace, even though as preposterous a setting as Vampires taking over the world is, "Stake Land" remains a very human film, about human relationships, with all the love & hate that goes with human relationships. This makes "Stake Land" much deeper than most of it's sub-genre ilk. In a way, this makes "Stake Land" the Vampire equivalent to ""28 Days Later" & "28 Weeks Later." It gives you people to care about as those films did. It is no where as groundbreaking as those films, but in the end, it's those little everyday relationships we have, that make life & this movie, worth while.

"Stake Land" 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNC2HwAaWWE

4 Stars = Classic

Hilarious, black comedy horror film, that is a loving tribute to the old Hammer films of yore! Covering, or should I say, uncovering, not just Zombies, but Vampires & other assorted go bump in the coffin creatures!

Pure tongue in cheek acting, funny dialog, crisp direction & editing, with some very good monster make-up, as our two grave robbers, rob the dead to sell to the living, the bumbling pair that they are.

Ranks right up there with "Dog House" as one of the best of the new wave of British horror/comedy films!

Keep on making them!

"I Sell the Dead" 2088

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIQ-xcI1zKQ

5 Stars = Masterpiece

If you're a werewolf lover, than 1981 was your year to howl! Three masterpieces of the sub-genre were presented to us to feast our fangs on! We had, "An American Werewolf in London," "Wolfen," & "The Howling." All of these, true groundbreaking horror films of the hairy kind! This was before werewolves, vampires, & zombies became the CGI infested, mundane, out of thrills, overused sub-genres they are today. This was when fresh blood was pulsing through the viens of horror!

"An American Werewolf in London" is my favorite, but the "Howling," runs a wolf's hair behind in second place. While both these films had mass amounts of neck hair sprouting scares, terror, & suspense, "The Howling" played it a little more straight than "An American Werewolf in London." That is not to say, "The Howling" lacked any black humor & winks, for there is some in abundance, especially the beach cook out scene, where we get to see all sorts of weird characters come out of the woods. All belonging to a commune of sorts. But, this is not your 60's style hippie commune, though the characters are strange enough. They don't welcome everyone, just people that are inclined to sprout hair, grow fangs & claws, & eat people. It's really quite a novel idea, a psychological retreat for werewolves, so they don't eat people. Kind of like telling a Zombie to be a vegetarian. Though this works for awhile, you can take a human out of the wolf, but not the wolf out of the human, & mayhem is but a hair away.

On the serious side, "The Howling" is filled with dread & suspense. A couple of scenes come right to mind. Dee Wallace (what horror film has she not been in?) as news anchor Karen White, is doing a story on a serial killer that is still on the loose. They have been corresponding, & "Eddie," the self proclaimed killer wants to meet. Meet at a peepshow booth in an adult store. This scene seethes menace, suspense, & terror, as Eddie comes up behind Karen in the dark booth putting his hands on her shoulders, wanting to enlighten her to his world. He starts to change, & we can only see glimpses of him, as Karen stares at the camera, wide eyed in terror & screams. All through this, we get a very effective music score to go with it, it is something you won't forget. There is also another scene in the Northern California woods, that is the definition of dread, as Karen's husband hears wolves howling, & goes out to see for himself. This scene truly feeds on the deep down instinctive primal fear of going into the woods at night, alone. Not knowing what or who is out there. The human psyche at it's most primordial & vulnerable.

Yes, "The Howling" does just about everything right, & the most amazing is the special effects! The transformation scenes are pure genius, as make up artist Rob Bottin makes his creatures come to life! Rick Baker started on "the Howling, but left to make "An American Werewolf in London," which was John Landis & his dream movie. Meanwhile Rob Bottin proved he was more than capable of taking Baker's place. He then went off to do "The Thing," & like Baker, became a legend in the business. One unforgettable scene of Bottin's wizardry is where Eddie transforms after being shot in the head & says, "I'm going to give you a piece of my mind," as he digs into his forehead & extracts a piece of brain with his fingers. The black comedy of this scene is not lost, but it's really the horrifying special effects that are the star, & when "The Howling" first came out, this scene was a revelation in effects & horror that is now immortal!

I'm sure most of you, that have read this review, have seen "the Howling." For those of you that have not, why? See it today, tonight, tomorrow, but see it! Now we just need it on Blu ray!

"The Howling" 1981

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhSecwWxtJs

4 Stars = Classic

Here is a more sympathetic & human retelling of the Beowulf & Grendel story, actually a poem, written between the 8th & 11th century.

Here Beowulf is a more kind & understanding protagonist. Grendel is a wronged antagonist, who looks very much human, but is a mutant or abomination in the eyes of humanity. Both are played as sympathetic characters. Gerard Butler does a fine job as Beowulf, as he plays his part as a multi dimensional personality, not just a one dimensional blood, fame & power lusting hero.

Stellan Skarsgard, who looks remarkably like Geoffrey Rush in all that orange hair, does a fine job as the King, who has a secret to hide from Beowulf about Grendel, & only at the end is his hand forced & his humanity at stake for what he has done.

A thoughtful, sincere retelling, "Beowulf & Grendel" is highly recommended!

"Beowulf & Grendel" 2005

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGlSAtb-SDw

Troll Hunter ?

Love it! I had it up earlier. Will repost it!

4 Stars = Classic

Peter Jackson's first big budgeted film with an international cast & wide release, is a genre classic. One part black comedy & one part horror film, this movie has a major "Ghostbusters" knock off feel, & that is exactly what it is, though quite a bit darker than the former, & more complex.

Underrated Jeffery Combs, steals the show as a Nazi like "Special Agent Dammers, trying to expose Michael J. Fox as a ghost busting fraud & murderer, until he gets...enlightened.

For lovers of shits & giggles, with some serious bad guys, or should I say ghosts.

Fun for all, & all for fun!

"Frighteners" 1996

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmQxM32PWRM

4 1/2 Stars = Minor Masterpiece

I was amazed as a child at the original "King Kong."

I'm 51 years old now, & I still can't get enough of giant monster movies, & luckily they seem to becoming back in vogue again the last several years! So the 8 year old in me was very excited when I read about "Troll Hunter," & all the good reviews it was getting. Unfortunately, it did not play in my hometown, so I had to wait for the DVD. Was I disappointed?

One big NO! "Troll Hunter is one of the most clever of the recent run of giant monster movies, & it has stiff competition. I was thrilled with the detail of this documentary (mockumentary) type story, one whose style stems from the "Blair Witch," as far as narrative. The performances, or should I say the dubbing, was well above average. The "Troll Hunter" himself was a fascinating character that had huge amounts of knowledge about the different kind of Trolls & their habits. His secretive nature added to his stigma. The college kids were all done in a intelligent manner, not just air heads filling screen time.

Now the Trolls. The Trolls were GREAT! Huge lumbering beast right out of a fairy tale! Their appearance was somewhat comedic (but Trolls have always been funny looking), but very well done! Their special effects & CGI was superb! I loved the Troll hunters explanation of why the older Trolls have three heads, but I won't spoil it for those who have not seen the movie. I really like how there were different type of Trolls & that they were territorial.

"Troll Hunter" was like watching a guide to Trolls. It brought up Troll subjects that I would of never guessed at, & it did it well. It really could have one believing in their habits, if they existed, but of course they don't, & that is the only minor complaint I have about the film. How could people not know such huge creatures existed??? But, then again, it is just a movie. A movie for all of us that like to transport ourselves back to when we thought such things existed in our 8 year old minds, even if we have 51 year old bodies.

"Troll Hunter" 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9dgeYkYOZA

4 Stars = Classic

As I've said before, I'm a sucker for a monster movie, especially a giant monster movie! "Q: TheWinged Serpent," is such a giant monster movie, & a classic too!

A Mexican Aztec winged serpent god is brought to life through ritual killings by an Aztec high priest, but the death count rises as people in New York City start getting decapitated, & are swept up in thin air. No one knows why, except Michael Moriarty, a small time con man who has seen the serpents nest & extorts NYC for $1,000,000 for it's hiding place, at the top of one of NYC's tallest buildings. A nod to "King Kong."

Moriarty plays his part with the same offbeat manner he is famous for, & is quite enjoyable as the bumbling would be millionaire bum. David Carradine plays a good off beat role as a none traditional cop detective, who is going to outwit Moriarty in divulging the location of the serpent.

What follows is a great little cat & mouse game between Moriarty & Carradine. Great flying sequences as the winged serpent attacks & kills it victims off of skyscrapers. The stop motion effects are superior for 1982, as the winged Serpent looks great! A foreboding reptilian bird like giant, that makes its victims know how it feels to be a worm plucked out of the ground by that pesky Robin, after a rainstorm in the morning.

All this & more, make "Q: The Winged Serpent," a very enjoyable monster romp, for us giant monster fans!

A cult classic!

"Q" 1982

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bjsag2vYlQ

4 Stars = Classic

Way underrated sequel to the masterpiece, "Poltergeist."

This film in some ways, was a lot more terrifying than it's predecessor, especially in the character of one Reverend Henry Kane. Just about the creepiest character I can remember from any horror movie! The scene where he walks up to the house to see Carol Anne, is as eerie as they come. The tension of that scene is physically tangible, as he & Mr. Freeling (Craig T. Nelson) have a match of wills, as "Kane" tries to enter the house. Then he walks off & disappears! CREEPY! The scene at the outdoor mall is just about as creepy, as people walk right through "Kane," as he follows & talks to Carol Ann. Julian Beck as "Kane," looks like a walking skeleton with just skin, hair, & those malevolent huge eyes! Better casting has rarely been seen! Also of note, is the forboding music score that accompanies these scenes. They'd lose quite a bit of potency, without that menacing score.

Also of note, is where Mr. Freeling is finishing up a bottle of Quervo Gold tequila, & becomes possessed by "Kane", then vomiting "Kane" out, who was lurking like a Mescal grub at the bottom of the bottle! Then "Kane" crawling out from under the bed with no legs, vaguely looking human, then turning around & smiling. Ranks right up there with "Frank's" resurrection, from "Hellraiser, as one of the best in horror!"

Sadly, the ending killed the full potential of this film. It was if the movie ran out of ideas, & it did, abruptly! Still in retrospect, this film is a classic, & deserves to be reassessed 26 years later.

"Poltergeist II: The Other Side." 1986

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MVl-U-QlgA

3 1/2 Stars = Very Good

What do you do when your girlfriend is kidnapped by demons? Why summon "Lo" of course!

"LO" has to be one of the most ingenious films I've seen in a long time, for a budget the size of the cost of a used car, & not a luxury model either! I mean this is as bare bones as it gets, yet the make up is well done (probably the biggest part of the budget), the script is very witty, with large amounts of very good tongue in cheek, black hearted comedy. The title might even be a pun on the budget?

"Lo's" acting is very competent, especially Jeremiah Birkett, who as "Lo," does the best Ron Pearlman imitation I've seen, absolute perfection. I mean this character could've been written for Pearlman, that is, if this film had the budget. Ward Roberts as Justin, the love forlorn inept boyfriend of missing "April," plays his part very well. He kind of reminds me a little of Bruce Campbell of the "Evil Dead" series, but does not have Campbell's comedic range, nor charisma. Then there is "April," Sarah Lassez, who may or may not be human? Her acting style in this film is a dead ringer for Liv Tyler's performance as the dizzy dame with an agenda in, "One Night at McCool's." This girl has a future, & it does not hurt that she's quite alluring too!

The only thing that knocks this film down a half star from classic status, is the severely limited production. The film plays out like a theater performance stage production on film. Maybe I shouldn't knock it down a half of star for that, but I do, because I could just imagine what this film would be like with a budget, with the same director, writer, & actors, given more room & money to create . It could've been astounding, though it's pretty astounding for what it achieves with so little!

You could do a lot worse than checking out this "Lo" budget film!

"Lo" 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhFsK7e8wUo

4 Stars = Classic

"Sinister" starts out pretty much like every other haunted house film made in the last 20 years, & believe me, there was more haunted house films made, than dead people! Well, maybe that's a hair of a overstatement, but it sure seems that way. This film could be construed as "The Amityville Horror" influenced school of haunted housed movies, but it definitely graduated near the top of it's class.

So here we have another film in this overused & abused horror sub-genre, ho hum. Then you start to get into the movie a little more & it has a neat little twists, as Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke), the father of a young family moves into a house that nobody wants. Ok, that sounds familiar? But, the town does not want Ethan Hawke, as he is an investigative journalist/novelist that writes about true murder cases of people. His biggest success, is where he actually cracked the case of a murder, making the cops look inept, which most of them did not take to kindly to, including the head cop of the new town he moved to, telling him he should pack up & leave.

Ellison told his wife he was writing a new book, but didn't tell her the whole truth. As the house they moved into was the scene of four family members murdered, & a fifth member, a little girl is missing. Ellison is using this house to write a new book, one that will save his career, at least he thinks...then he finds an 8mm film of the family members being murdered, each one singularly, in a different manner, but not only the family from the house, but others too! A dark shadowy figure appears in these films. After watching this, strange things begin to happen to the whole family. The children have imaginary playmates. The shadowy figure appears in glimpse, & the corner of Ellison's eyes. It has an agenda, it wants the children!

"Sinister" is a film that will crawl under your skin, moving around, making you just intrigued & uncomfortable enough to keep watching, as a feeling of impending doom starts to arise from the plot. It most definitely has a sublime creepiness that grows more potent as Ellison begins to become aware of the danger to his family, & himself, made all the more potent by fine direction, acting, & a deliberate pace of new secrets being opened up, as the lid of doom inches ever closer to shutting on the family. You are glued to the screen wondering what will transpire next, even if you think you know, there are a few good twists, that reveal their selves, in a very potent ending, that you soon won't forget!

Take the time to check this one out. It's, well, creepy.

"Sinister" 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgYxydrVlDk

3 Stars = Good

Serviceable remake on the minor masterpiece original, though not as psychologically heart rendering, it just does not have the deep traumatic horror & terror of the first film. I mean how far would you have to be pushed over the edge of survival to use your own dead mother as bait for the muntant killers, as was in the original? This remake just does not run that deep, & that scene from the original is so deep, theres no bottom to it's tragedy.
The remake is not shallow, but there are sandbars that pop up to many times along it's winding course to make this horror remake completely navigable.

"The Hills Have Eyes" 2006

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O76m3kpgPTQ

If you've seen this, but not the original, than watch the original.

4 Stars = Classic

Here is a very good post "Rosemary's Baby," satanic cult film. With Alan Alda & Jaqueline Bisset, who I've always thought as one of the hottest women of her day! Great acting abounds, with good direction, story, & execution!

Great creep factor here, a superior film for it's sub-genre!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxnAy5mWh_Q

4 1/2 Stars = Minor Masterpiece

Coming from a guy who went to see the first Alien film in the theater, to seeing it to many times to count afterwards. Wanting to try to figure out all the ambiguities of that film, & it was very ambiguous, with no clues about the xenomorph & the alien spaceship, & where they came from. So, all I have to say about "Prometheus" is, without giving it all away:

Genius, pure, genius! It answered all my questions about the first film, then some! It also created more ambiguities, but that's the charm of many great films, leaving the viewer wanting more. Just like life, there is never no complete answers on where you'll be tomorrow, what will happen to you after you die, or who is responsible for life on the grand scale. So goes "Prometheus," for it can't answer those questions either, but it does make you wonder.

A new chapter has been born, one that leaves room for other, maybe more intriquing chapters to come, full of more ambiguous questions for the next film to explain?

Quite the accomplishment, Mr. Scott!

"Prometheus" 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sftuxbvGwiU

4 1/2 Stars = Minor Masterpiece

Here is a superbly creepy & disturbing film. A single father believes he's been chosen by God to destroy all the "Demons" on his list. He drafts his two sons to do God's bidding, as they stalk the "Demons" & kill them one by one. One child is skeptical & horrified by his father's actions, as the "Demons" look like humans. The other dives in head first in the killing spree, that adds a body count so high, that the FBI is on their trail.

Intelligent script, great acting, & great direction by one Bill Paxton in his first directorial debut. A ride for the mind, & a trip for the soul. Are these "Demons" real, or is the father a complete religious psychopathic murderer?

Watch & see!

"Frailty "2001"

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1319633177/

4 1/2 = Minor Masterpiece

Dark, dark, movie, set aptly in the Dark Ages.

There are murders going on in a monk monastery. A Franciscan Monk (Sean Connery in a dark ages Sherlock Holmes role) & his aid (A very young Christian Slater) are there to investigate the murders.

Great atmosphere, dripping with dread & suspense, fill this film with foreboding. Very realistic sets, costumes, make up, & the cinematography is absolutely beautifully bleak! The cast is uniformly excellent in their roles. Ron Pearlman exudes pathos & malevolence at the same time, as the deformed hunchback, who is one of the suspected murders, maybe his best role as far as stretching his acting abilities. F. Murray Abraham exudes malicious sadistic intent, as the Spanish Inquisitor. Sean Connery & Christian Slater are a perfect paring of master & apprentice.

A portrait of the total iron fisted rule of the Catholic Church in the Dark ages, where no one dare utter a progressive, scientific thought. A portrait of the miserable, masochistic, sadistic, & isolated life's of the monks, who seem to haunt, more than inhabit the monastery they live in.

Highly recommend for those who love the bleakness of a time where a wrong word could make you a heretic, or worse, a witch, fictionalized in a movie very accurately, very entertaining!

"Name of the Rose" 1986

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEi7XL0wrG4

3 1/2 Stars = Very Good

Hilarious black comedy spoof on the slasher genre! Quite juvenille, but hey, we were all juveniles once!

Bill Paxton steals the show as an aging hippie, & head island bumblebutt, of a whole herd of island bumblebutts, who are getting wacked, one by one.

Which one of these bumblebutts will get wacked next? Which one of these bumblebutts is the killer???

Watch & die of laughter, or disgust, depending on how juvenille you are?

"Club Dread" 2004

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAsNBX3cTGY

5 Stars = Masterpiece

This is, in my opinion, the greatest horror anthology ever stringed together, & most of you probably have seen it many times. For those that have not, do! Now!

George Romero directs. Not his most groundbreaking film (no pun intended), that would be "Night of the Living Dead." Not his best known sequel, that would be "Dawn of the Dead." This is not a sequel at all, but it's Romero's most entertaining film & my favorite of his!

Written by Stephen King. Make up effects from Tom Savani, are wonderfully gruesome!

My favorite episode, "The Crate!"

"Just tell it, to call you Billy." LOL!

Worth the Blu ray upgrade!

"Creepshow" 1982

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bO3gyT3Imc

Ok, this is definitely a sharp left turn from the theme of this thread, but over in T-Rab's thread, this has popped up, & I thought we need a trailer!

5 Stars = Masterpiece

Hilarious black comedy from the master, Stanley Kubrick, spoofing & really making a statement out of the cold war & the USA's anal paranoia of Communist take over. Still holds up fantastic today! Got to love the nuclear bomb riding Slim Pickens! What a classic scene!

Peter Sellers is at his best portraying three very different characters! His Dr. Strangelove has to go down as a comedic performance of the 20th century! A true masterpiece!

Communism will never be the same! Neither will Capitalism!

"No fighting in the war room!" LOL!

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb" 1964

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgd_aJBBRfs

5 Stars = Masterpiece

As I've wrote before in two other reviews, 1981 was the year of the wolf, the Werewolf. It produced three masterpieces of the sub-genre, "An American Werewolf In London," "The Howling, & "Wolfen." Of these three, "Wolfen" is the odd movie out, or the dark horse, if you will. It's strays far from the traditional lycanthropy film. Some might even question if it's a true werewolf film. I myself, have asked that question, but the answer is yes, for a lack of a better classification to stick this film into.

The mayor of NYC , his wife, & his bodyguard are brutally murdered at night in a NYC park. The police are at a loss to figure out just what happened. The feds are brought in, & they suspect terrorist. Albert Finney as the world weary police detective, "Dewey Wilson," is on the case. He finds strange hairs on the victims, analyzed by an zoologist, who finds them to be wolf hairs. Dewey at first finds this ridiculous, wolves in NYC! Then he stumbles on to vagrants, junkies, & the unwanted, disappearing at an alarming rate in NYC. People that nobody cares about. People who have literally slipped through the cracks of the system & disappeared. They all seem to be disappearing from the same area, a run down part of NYC, slated to be demolished & revitalized. The area it's self exudes dread with it's ghostly abandoned buildings, looming menacingly as if hiding horrors untold. So our story begins.

"Wolfen" is as serious of a horror film as a deer running for it's life from a pack of wolves. The dreadful atmosphere is so thick with foreboding that you could shovel your way through it. Other than Gregory Hines hilariously wisecracking coroner, that helps Finney figure out the puzzle, this is a very somber film. It crackles tension! A particularly potent creepy scene, is where Finney goes into a bar where American natives hang out. He has questions. The answers he receives makes you skin gooseflesh. This scene is just amazing, it could've of been a disaster, but the great acting, dreary surrounding, & cinematography make it mind blowing! But it's the events that lead up to it, that really build a solid foundation of dread at it's scalp tingling finest, as Finney is terrified at what he suspects, comes true. There are other blood pulsing scenes in this film! An abandoned church scene where Finney & his female colleague, the beautiful Diane Venora, who is part of an anti terrorist team, hear a baby cry at the top of a winding stair case. They proceed up & your fists clinch, your imagination runs wild with anticipation. Baby's crying have always been a great source of dread in horror films when done right, & this one is perfect! The film starting scene with the Mayor of NYC, is another hair raiser!

"Wolfen" really uses cinematography, & special sound effects to get at you with tremendous effect! It is also of note that this film uses the first POV camera in cinema, shot in the perspective of the creatures point of view, like night vision detecting heat sources. The sound was also from the creatures viewpoint in these scenes, which also was a new technique. The effects are unsettling to say the least, as the camera & sound keep switching from the creatures perspective to it's prey, humans. You're just waiting for the carnage to begin! The soundtrack is incredible, for it hugs this film in it's every twist & turn like a constrictor squeezing it's prey. The amount of added atmospheric dread it brings is invaluable to this film's success!

If there is fault with this film, it would be the ending, depending on your point of view. I myself was totally engulfed by this film in the theatre, but the ending kind of knocked it down for me. Today I'm of different opinion, the ending is quite suitable, let alone surprising! It complimented the film's theme perfectly. Also of note, the director of this film was none other than Michael Wadleigh, whose only other film before was "Woodstock!"

If you've not seen this film & have some time, check it out, it's an obscure treasure, totally overshadowed by the two other lycanthrope films of 1981, but worthy every bit as much. If you've only seen it once, & didn't like the ending, see it again, with an open mind. You may just find out this is not only one of the best werewolf type movies ever committed to film, but one of the greatest horror films of the 80's, & believe me, there is a lot of competition!

"Wolfen" 1981

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLqmhMDEWsI

4 stars = Classic

"Blood for Dracula," aka..."Andy Warhol's Dracula, (1974), is a Dracula movie unlike any else.

I saw this film the first time about twenty years ago. I had read a lot about it, mostly good to great things. So I was very excited to see the film! I watched it, then marked it off until now. I was expecting a straight Dracula film, with a strong Dracula, orchestrating all the events that happen around him. Evil personified, that's Dracula, right? I mean, he's "the Prince of Darkness," right? Well, all I 'm going to say is, not in this film.

"Blood for Dracula" is a black comedy, played totally straight without a wink at the audience once, well, maybe it does wink a few times, (;=). It totally flew over my head twenty years ago, because this was not what I was hoping for. All it's dark humor lost on me, but not now! Yes, this is a art house film, but it is also accessible to those who will expect something that it is not a straight horror film, or anywhere near. For those that want Count Dracula to be "the Prince of Darkness," I suggest you go looking somewhere else, because you won't find it here. What you will find is one of the most peculiar Dracula movies ever made, an anti Dracula movie, filled with all sorts of sexual goodies that it was also noted for, which it does provide in ample amounts. It is a film played straight, for an audience who can appreciate black comedy that is so subtle, it's overt.

Now it's time to go to Italy & find some "Wirgins!"

"Blood For Dracula" 1974

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xglbet ... shortfilms