jamesmorgan-04114 Reviews

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)

The Black Sheep of the Series

[6/10 · 25 November 2021]

Graduating teens board a cruise ship headed to New York City, but unbeknownst to them, crazed serial killer Jason Voorhees has been reborn and boarded the boat as well, leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake.

By this point, it was obvious the creators of this franchise had run out of ideas and were just throwing darts at an idea board to figure out what to do next. It's not quite as silly as sending him to Hell or to space, but it's very close. Even worse, he's only in Manhattan for the final 20 minutes of the movie.

Most of the gore, probably due to the MPAA, has been hacked out, so it feels more like an elevated TV movie and some of the characters can veer towards the annoying side. It's still not a terrible time if you go in with lowered expectations and, if you're watching the 7th sequel in a slasher franchise, you'd be silly to expect anything earth shattering.

A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989)

Cool Concept with a Rushed Execution

[5/10 · 25 November 2021]

The Dream Master's Alice returns and finds herself troubled by more nightmares about Freddy Krueger. Even worse, she finds herself pregnant and Freddy's trying to get to her and a new batch of fresh victims through her unborn child.

None of this is ever completely explained, but it's an interesting idea. The Dream Child doesn't lack visually interesting set pieces and creative death scenes, but the story itself meanders a bit too much in the middle portion and you start to wonder where the whole thing is going. By the time it reaches the bizarre finale, you'll wonder how you got there and if everything was made up on the spot.

On the plus side, Freddy is less of a comic in this one and it has a lot of style.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

A Few Cool Moments

[5/10 · 25 November 2021]

It's a fool's errand to try and remake a horror classic such as Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street, but if you're going to do it, at least try to bring something new to the table.

In this remake's defense, it does go back to the darker, scarier Freddy with a much welcome breath of fresh air. Freddy doesn't mess around here. He has a few quips, but nothing that take you out of the movie or change the tone drastically. The makeup is a huge misfire, making Freddy look less scary and more catlike. Jackie Earle Haley does the best he can do with what he's been given, which isn't much, and I liked what he brought to the role.

The teen roles are a mixed bag with Katie Cassidy and Kyle Gallner bringing a lot of charm and charisma to their roles with Thomas Dekker bringing a nice tormented approach to his character. Unfortunately, Rooney Mara has been saddled with an unworkable version of classic heroine Nancy that portrays her as sullen and cold, so it's impossible to warm up to her or root for her. Connie Britton and Clancy Brown are wasted as two of the parents.

The Omen (2006)

No Point

[6/10 · 25 November 2021]

In spite of a bug budget, stellar cast, updated effects, and a few interesting sequences, this remake of The Omen doesn't make a very strong case for its creation. Everyone involved is adept and competent and it's far from a terrible movie, but there doesn't seem to be any new twist or fresh interpretation on the familiar story to make it worthwhile.

This version of The Omen follows the original script almost exactly, which makes sense considering it'd be hard to improve upon, but it leave the film feeling passionless and more of an exercise than a film that needed to be made.

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

A Different Kind of Horror

[10/10 · 25 November 2021]

After moving into her new apartment with her actor husband, Rosemary has a nightmare that she's sexually assaulted by the devil himself and, soon, discovers that she's pregnant. As it inches closer to her delivery, she gets sicker and sicker and feels as if she's losing her mind. She can't trust anyone and starts thinking that all those surrounding her in the apartment building are practicing witches and Satanists who want her baby for their nefarious ceremonies.

Produced by schlock master William Castle, Rosemary's Baby feels about as un-Castle like as you can get. It's a slow, brooding study on paranoia, motherhood, and urban isolation. Mia Farrow is in every scene and carries the weight of the film on her tiny shoulders, instantly grabbing the audiences sympathies. A scene stealing role by Ruth Gordon adds a lot of humor and fun to an otherwise startling and creepy film.

Director Roman Polanski is brilliant at finding the terror in the mundane without any bombastic music, heavy makeup effects, or buckets of fake blood.

Poltergeist (1982)

Still Scary

[10/10 · 25 November 2021]

A likable suburban family find their cozy home visited by playful spirits who move things around and talk to their youngest daughter through the TV static. When she disappears, they bring in psychics to help them get her back, but that means one of them will have to take a trip into the other side to rescue her.

What works so beautifully about Poltergeist is that it takes a good amount of time to establish the family and all their sweet, funny, and awkward dynamics before plunging headfirst into the horror. Even the poltergeists themselves don't appear at first with loud horns and bursts of strobe lights. They manifest in small, insidious ways until building into something truly horrific.

The whole cast is great, but special mention goes to JoBeth Williams as the matriarch of the family who's love for her daughter drives every choice she makes and every scene she's in. It's beautiful and moving work.

The Omen (1976)

A Horror Classic

[10/10 · 25 November 2021]

An American ambassador switches his wife's dead baby with a recently orphaned child and pays the price when the child grows up to be a magnet for strange accidents and deaths. A priest tries to convince him that his child is the son of Satan, but could that possibly be true?

Strong performances anchor the silly premise and the strong script make this insane idea seem downright plausible and terrifying. Gregory Peck brings his typical wholesome and decent demeanor to the table and makes you care for a man who's tasked in murdering his child. Lee Remick is also fantastic as the put upon wife who has a gnawing feeling that her son isn't really hers.

The effects are wonderful and jarring accompanied by Jerry Goldsmith's award-winning score full of big orchestrations, scary chants, and whispery voices.

Firestarter (1984)

Alright Adaptation

[7/10 · 25 November 2021]

Charlie and her father are on the run after a government agency goes after her to harness her powers for evil. Once caught, Charlie has a few surprises up her sleeve to make sure they pay and pay big.

Stephen King adaptations are notoriously hit or miss, but all things considered, Firestarter turns out to be an engaging and entertaining film on its own right. The performances are solid and many of the effects are still very impressive to look at. Tangerine Dream's eerie and beautiful electronic score is another big plus, giving the film a strange and unique feel.

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010 Video)

A Real Love Letter to Fans

[10/10 · 24 November 2021]

At nearly 4 hours, Never Sleep Again covers everything you'd ever want to know about the Nightmare on Elm Street series and does it in a fast-paced, breezy way that keeps you entertained the entire time.

Just about everyone involved in the franchise is interviewed with the notable exceptions of such bigger named stars like Patricia Arquette, Johnny Depp, and Lawrence Fishburne, but it hardly matters that their insights haven't been received because there's so much else to dig into.

If you're at all interested in the series, this documentary is a must-see.

The Evil Dead (1981)

A Low Budget Triumph!

[9/10 · 24 November 2021]

A handful of friends go to a dilapidated cabin in the woods for a weekend of fun and unearth horrible demons after reading from a creepy book they find in the basement. Trees come to life, people get possessed, ankles are stabbed, many people are dismembered, and blood pours from light fixtures.

The Evil Dead is a true funhouse of horrors executed by a master at his craft. Sam Raimi shows more potential and ingenuity in this film that most filmmakers do in a whole career. What he's able to achieve on such a slight budget and with so few resources still boggles the mind all these years later.

While the sequels are more known for their campy laughs and over the top gore effects, the original keeps things pretty serious and is really frightening when it sets its mind to it.

Hellraiser (1987)

Dark and Sinister

[9/10 · 24 November 2021]

A couple moves into the abandoned home of the husband's brother who the wife had a brief affair with a few years ago and, after an accident, drops of the husband's blood fall onto the floor and bring the brother back to life. Stuck with the decision to continue her boring marriage or reignite the passion of the affair with the brother, the wife decides to bring strange men back to the house and kill them to rebuild her former lover from scratch.

A big kink is thrown into this plan when the woman's curious stepdaughter discovers her stepmother is murderer and her lost uncle is a bloody corpse-like creature upstairs. And that's not even mentioning the demons from Hell that show up, wanting a mysterious puzzle box.

It's all very gothic and melodramatic with Christopher Young's lush score blasting away in the background of every scene. The atmosphere is grim and moody and unlike most films from this time period. There's an uneasy sexuality behind even the bloodiest of scenes that's sure to get under a lot of people's skin. If that was Clive Barker's intention, he succeeded admirably.

Mike's Murder (1984)

Winger is Excellent!

[6/10 · 24 November 2021]

A strange and occasionally lurid pot boiler about a bank teller who gets caught up in the murder investigation of her drug-dealing hookup.

The pacing is sluggish at times with the titular murder not occurring until nearly halfway through the film. Debra Winger is wonderful in the lead role, bringing a lack of showiness and a raw vulnerability to the part, but the script lets her down. Besides Mike being good in the sack, we can't understand why she's so drawn to him and so eager to risk her own life to solve this case.

John Barry provides a pretty score that seems at odds with the grit of the film itself and the finale does have some thrills even if everything gets resolved a little too easily for Winger's character.

Sweet Sixteen (1983)

This Birthday's A Killer

[7/10 · 29 September 2020]

Melissa, a boy-crazy teenager, becomes the lead suspect in a series of murders and it's up to a sleuthy classmate to figure out if it's really Melissa or someone else killing all these random men around town.

This cast has an impressive pedigree with the likes of Patrick Macnee, Susan Strasberg, and Bo Hopkins among the cast, but the story feels a little underbaked even if it does touch on some interesting concepts such as shaming and racial injustice. The identity of the killer will definitely surprise you if you're able to make them out in all that underlit darkness.

Close Calls (2017)

Both Interesting and Frustrating

[6/10 · 29 September 2020]

A gorgeously photographed fever dream of a movie that unfortunately has too many ideas floating around and competing for the spotlight to do any of them justice. You have a teenage "bad girl" forced to stay home and care for her ailing grandmother while her father and wicked stepmother-to-be go out to dinner. She gets really high and things start getting progressively weirder as she receives mysterious phone calls and her grandmother turns into a grotesque monster.

Nothing is ever really explained and the grandmother seems to only be there to give the lead a reason to stay home. She doesn't figure into any of the main action at all and is only really good for a few interesting shot moments of surrealism.

There's some obvious talent in front of and behind the camera, but the script isn't as flawless as the visual elements and it can make Close Calls feel a bit like a chore to sit through during certain moments, but when it comes to life, it can be really interesting. At least the filmmakers were going for something different and it's not another boring slasher movie we've seen a trillion times.

The Prowler (1981)

A Savini Showcase

[5/10 · 15 July 2020]

It's been years since a jilted soldier stuck a pitchfork into his girlfriend and her lover and this small town has decided to bring back their big spring dance, but the killer is still in town and he's not too thrilled about this.

The Prowler is basically just My Bloody Valentine, but with huge chunks of boredom thrown in. There's about 30 minutes of good movie here and the rest should have been scrapped and re-tooled completely. It's hard to find fault with the first 25 minutes or so. There's some atmosphere, a good set up, characters who don't completely annoy you, and some of Tom Savini's nastiest effects work, but the film shoots its load early on and just barely manages to gather enough energy to give the audience a decent finale.

For most of the film, it's mainly people walking around dark houses without a true threat in sight with a couple of isolated murder scenes thrown in to keep us awake.

If you're into Savini's work, The Prowler is still a must see and he's the true star of the show.

Incident in a Ghostland (2018)

Worthwhile

[6/10 · 15 July 2020]

Two sisters are put through the ringer when a pair of psychos hold them hostage and torture them in their secluded home. It's nothing shockingly brave or daring, but Ghostland does have a few memorable moments throughout and a real sense of sadness for what's happening to these girls. The acting is pretty good, too.

Gutterballs (2008)

Excellent Effects and Not Much Else

[5/10 · 31 May 2020]

Gutterballs gets the sleazy element of the slasher down, but forgets to give us any characters to root for. The whole thing takes place in a bowling alley the night after a woman was raped by a mob of terrible men and someone begins killing the people responsible (and everyone else unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time).

There's a heavier emphasis on sex and nudity in this one with a surprising amount of male nudity and it includes what must be the most sexually explicit death scene in slasher history. The special effects makeup stands out as well with a few horrifyingly well executed murder scenes. It's just a shame that the rest of the film can't compete thanks to a pretty generic and uninteresting script.

Mausoleum (1983)

A Campy Delight

[7/10 · 20 January 2020]

I'm aware that Mausoleum might not be considered a good or respectable movie, but it has such a great "can-do" attitude and sense of fun that really won me over slowly but surely throughout. Y'see, a woman named Susan has been haunted ever since she stepped into a mausoleum as a little girl and this demon picks the present day (well, 1983 present) to fully possess her and turn her into a wonky faced, tooth-breasted succubus. She starts having really yellow teeth, killing gardeners, and throwing random people off of the top floors of malls because she couldn't get a painting she wanted.

Mausoleum is total camp and it's better if you just turn off your brain and embrace the fact that this movie has nothing important to say about the world or human nature. It just wants to show a woman getting really mad and using her powers to kill all the people who make her mad. It's perfect for a drunken movie party with friends.

Witchtrap (1989)

Dissapointing

[2/10 · 20 January 2020]

Kevin Tenney hit horror gold when he delivered the one-two punch of Witchboard and Night of the Demons. While the first was more Hitchcockian in approach and the other was a wild, anything goes thrill ride akin to walking through a funhouse, they've both gone on to rightly become 80's horror classics. Surely, Witchtrap would either supply the Hitchcockian thrills or the funhouse chills, but it doesn't really do anything and it's hard to imagine that it was even made by the same guy as it's almost entirely devoid of personality or style.

The film is about a group of paranormal investigators and some policeman who show up at a reportedly haunted bed and breakfast after the house claims yet another victim. The setup isn't unlike The Haunting, but Witchtrap is certainly no haunting. Pretty soon, one of the lead characters starts getting uncontrollable shakes (that never really stop and that's about all she has to do in the entire film, but it does keep her from delivering her flat line readings) and people start dying in a variety of odd ways like shower nozzles impaling them through their necks.

There's some attempts at humor here and there with the two policeman who trade barbed quips every so often, but it doesn't feel like the movie itself is going for spoof or parody and, since the horror scenes fail to chill or excite, this leaves Witchtrap in an odd, uneven place. There are some great special effects, but they can't save a movie that's stuck telling an unremarkable story. Even the usually spunky Linnea Quigley can't bring the film's slacking energy up (though, to be fair, she is only in a tiny bit of the film).

Witchtrap is, unfortunately, a straight up bore and an almost total waste of time.

It's My Party (1996)

Deeply Moving

[8/10 · 11 January 2020]

It's My Party got off on the wrong foot for me, but it ultimately builds into one of the most heartbreaking, yet life-affirming movies I've ever seen. It chronicles the relationship between Brandon and Nick, a gay couple who fall apart at the seams when Nick reveals he's HIV positive. Brandon moves out as Nick's condition deteriorates over the next few years until his doctor finally tells him that he has some choices to make before he becomes a vegetable. He decides to gather all his friends and family to his house to throw one last party before he decides to take his own life to spare himself from the agonizing pain he knows is coming his way. When Brandon shows up, drama ensues.

For most of its run time, I couldn't help but think that It's My Party could have benefited from a few trims here and there. Once the final 30/40 minutes happen, though, I started questioning that initial reaction. The film builds to such an effective emotional fever pitch that I started thinking we probably needed all those early scenes to really get to know these characters and to feel something when tragedy strikes.

The acting is absolutely wonderful and I don't think Eric Roberts and Gregory Harrison have ever been better. Lee Grant's harrowing sobs as she realizes her moments with her son are numbered will forever be etched into my mind and heart.

It's Alive (1974)

Parenting Can Drive You Nuts

[6/10 · 7 October 2019]

Lenore and Frank are a happy couple with one young child already thriving and another on the way. When Lenore goes into labor, the baby claws its way out, killing all of the doctors and nurses in the operating room and disappearing into the night. Suddenly, the couple is on the news and everyone's talking about what bad, irresponsible parents they are for unleashing this crazed, mutant child upon the world as their monster son continues to wreak havoc and bloodshed around town.

It's Alive has a few pacing issues during its second act, but it builds to a fairly satisfying finale and the film's low budget is much to its advantage, keeping the demonic baby in the shadows most of the time or switching to its P.O.V. to built tension much like the shark in Jaws. Bernard Hermann's score roars with intensity.

Sharon Farrell and John Ryan are excellent as the worried parents who begin to slip into a delicious madness by the film's finale. It's never a very scary or intense film, but it's not a total waste of time either.

The Wisher (2002)

I Wished For This One To Get Better

[5/10 · 5 September 2019]

Spliced (or The Wisher as it goes by in some circles) is an average addition to the straight to video horror glut of the early 2000s. It's no better or worse than its contemporaries, but does have a decently creepy looking villain if that's any help.

A young woman goes to see a horror movie called The Wisher against her parents - ahem - wishes due to her nightmares (involving bleeding birthday cakes) and she suddenly starts seeing the villain from the film lurking around every corner and, every time she makes a wish, bad things happen to the people closest to her.

Spliced can't quite make up its mind if it wants to be a traditional slasher or a supernatural one. Even at the end, we're never quite sure if there's something more cosmically sinister at foot. The acting ranges from passable to shrill, especially from the lead who the audience can never warm up to. She seems seconds away from a mental breakdown before the horror even starts.

The whole thing looks and feels like a slightly bloodier feature length episode of Nickelodeon's Are You Afraid of the Dark?, which isn't always a bad thing, but there aren't many thrills or interesting twists here to make it rise above the pack. It's ok for putting on in the background when you're cleaning house.

Hello, Dolly! (1969)

Well Done Movie Musical

[8/10 · 15 August 2019]

Anyone who's seen Hello, Dolly on stage knows that it's known for its breakneck pace, farcical plotting, and toe-tapping songs. Thankfully, a lot of this has remained in the movie adaptation which doesn't suffer as much as many other stage musicals do during the transition to film. The entire score has been left intact besides a new opening number for Dolly, an extra reprise of "It Takes A Woman" for Dolly, and a completely brand new song for Dolly at the film's midpoint entitled "Love is Only Love" which, while lovely and well sung by Streisand, does little to keep the plot going and stops the film right in its tracks.

It seems as if the makers of Hello, Dolly are trying so hard to make every musical number a show stopper that they let many of the numbers go on way past their expiration dates which leads to tedium. A number like "Put on Your Sunday Clothes" or "Before the Parade Passes By" are great vehicles for opening up the picture and bringing in hordes of extras to fill the scene, but a small, intimate number like "Dancing" simply doesn't need the entire city of New York joining our 4 leads at that point.

Some of the wittier elements of the first half of the script have been dropped or rearranged for seemingly no reason, which kills a lot of the comedy, but the performers are all game with Streisand leading them all with a spirited and committed performance that seems to get better and more assured with every passing scene. By the time she shows up at Harmonia Gardens and delivers her rendition of the hysterical dinner scene, she'll have you in the palm of her hand.

Some of the other performances are a little too big for the screen with Michael Crawford coming across as especially grotesque at times. Even so, the spirit of Hello, Dolly (though dimmed) manages to come out on top in the end.

New Year's Evil (1980)

A Wasted Premise

[6/10 · 13 August 2019]

As far as holiday horror goes, a few holidays have gotten the shaft, such as New Years. With that holidays love of parties and new beginnings, it seemed inevitable that, somewhere, an exploitation maven would craft a horror film about a bunch of party-loving teenagers or college kids who are terrorized by a crazed madman wanting to make a clean slate for the next year. Besides maybe Terror Train, there aren't a whole lot of horror films that take place on this holiday.

Here comes New Year's Evil to help us out. It's not the usual teen or young adult oriented slasher film and, instead, focuses on mostly adults and the seedier side of adulthood. It feels much more Maniac than Friday the 13th with it's big city locations, slice of life plotting, and mostly adult cast.

A radio DJ keeps getting mysterious phone calls from some psycho with a voice box who says he's going to kill someone in every time zone where it turns midnight. He's a lofty fellow.

New Year's Evil deserves some credit for remaining fairly entertaining in spite of it's wacky plotting, uninteresting characters, and surprising lack of gore. It's not one of the 80's slashers that you'll remember much about after seeing it, but at least it's not one you'll never be able to forget because how much much of your time it wasted.

Friday the 13th (1980)

It's Got A Death Curse!

[8/10 · 3 August 2019]

As much as I love this movie, I'll be the first to admit that it doesn't really set out to do that much. It has no lofty ambitions of being an emotional psychodrama that wins awards. It's a down and dirty exploitation flick and it's proud of it. Aesthetically, it might borrow aspects of films like Psycho and Halloween but it can only dream of being as polished and, dare I say, classy as those films. What Friday the 13th does offer is a gritty slasher flick with a bit more suspense than expected.

A group of attractive young counselors have been hiring to clean up the cursed Camp Crystal Lake so that it can have its grand reopening. Before they get much work done, they start to get killed one by one and it becomes obvious that the camp's infamous death curse is real.

It's bare bones Agatha Christie material with more blood and guts. It even takes place on an appropriately dark and stormy night, which does add a look of creepy and hokey atmosphere to the film that a lot of the subsequent clones never possessed. Even the acting isn't as bad as one might remember with all the young people turning in very capable performances with a great last act surprise visit by Betsy Palmer as a former cook at the camp.

Harry Manfredini's psycho inspired string score excites and Tom Savini's gruesome makeup effects stop the show on multiple occasions.