I'm dealing with a laptop where the "A" key doesn't function very well, so I might need to keep these entries short. Anyways...
THE ADDICTION
(Abel Ferrara, 1995)
Lili Taylor stars an NYC doctorate student who is randomly bitten by a vampire (Annabella Sciorra) in this short, but moody black and white drama. The cast features a who's who of then-up-and-coming New York based actors (Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Kathryn Erbe). This might have been mumblecore before that was a thing as it was hard to hear some of the dialogue. Taylor was, as always, a mesmerizing talent. GRADE: B
BLACK DEATH
(Christopher Smith, 2010)
I believe this is the fourth film from Smith I've watched during these fests. I did enjoy his film Severance, but the rest were mediocre. Eddie Redmayne plays a young monk who teams up with a knight (Sean Bean) to find out if rumors are true that a small town is bringing it's bubonic plague victims back from the dead. I appreciate the moral ambiguities of the film, but most of it is a slog. With Carice von Hauten. GRADE: C
THE CELL
(Tarsem Singh, 2000)
Haven't seen this since I saw it theatrically in August of that year, so I was looking forward to a revisit. The reviews were mostly negative when it came out, except Ebert who gave it 4 stars. Stylistically, it's still impressive - cinematography, costumes, production, makeup are all top notch. Storywise, eh... A child psychologist goes into the mind of a comatose serial killer to help police find the whereabouts of a missing woman. It's music video style is even more apparently years late, and the notion that every serial killer was just a child who needed a hug was always questionable. With Jennifer Lopez, Vince Vaughn, and Vincent D'Onofrio. GRADE: B-
THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN
(Marc Caro & Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 1995)
I have to admit I was half-zoinked out on medication when viewing this, so I'm not sure that was the best way to view it. Or given the visual nature of the film, it may have been. A mad scientist steals the dreams of children in an attempt to live forever. A visual dazzler, but the story didn't quite engage me. Maybe it the meds? Might need to rewatch this in the future to find out. With Ron Perlman and Dominique Pinon. GRADE: B
THE HEARSE
(George Bowers, 1980)
A recently divorced teacher moves to a new town for the summer where she plans to get her deceased aunt's estate in order. There, she finds herself given the cold shoulder by the townsfolk. Oh, and there's a hearse stalking her. I think the concept of someone being stalked by a hearse could really work in better hands (do it, James Wan!), but this just feels like a predictable 80's TV-movie. Not in a fun campy way, unfortunately. With Trish Van Devere. GRADE: C+
HOWLING 2: YOUR SISTER IS A WEREWOLF
(Philippe Mora, 1985)
Shouldn't every movie have that as a subtitle? The world would be a better place. This is the first Howling sequel I've seen. Not sure how many there are or how good/bad they are supposed to be, I've seen the original several times. The film follows Ben, the sister of Karen from the original, as he teams up with Karen's co-worker and a werewolf slayer and go to Transylvania to kill the werewolf queen. Outside of a hairy werewolf threeway, there's not much of note here. Sybil Danning is amusing as the queen. With Christopher Lee and Reb Brown. GRADE: C
HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP
(Barbara Peeters, 1980)
Very much a Roger Corman-produced creature feature with sex/nudity, but quite entertaining. Humanoids come up from the deep ocean and attack a California town. And that's about it. The running time - just 80 minutes - is too scant to offer much beyond its 50's monster movie meets 70/80's sleeze. Fun time, though. I vividly remember seeing the video box at the video store when I was a kid. Yes, first post this season and I've already mentioned video stores. With Vic Morrow and Ann Turkel. GRADE: B
LIFEFORCE
(Tobe Hooper, 1985)
After a strange encounter in outer space, astronauts return to London with an alien that turns everyone into vampires. I watched the theatrical version, which is just over 100 minutes. It does not waste a second of that, so it wasn't shocking to learn the director's cut runs almost half an hour longer. Definitely needed some breathing room as this version runs way too fast, no down time at all. I'll check the longer version out someday, as I wasn't too enamored with this hundred minute preview. With Mathilda May, Peter Firth, and Patrick Stewart. GRADE: C+
THE LONG WALK
(Francis Lawrence, 2025)
In an alternate American timeline where a new Civil War changed civilization, a bunch of Junior Character Actors volunteer for The Long Walk - a days-long walkathon that will yield riches to whomever wins and death to those who can't make it. Fittingly, from the director of 3 of the 4 Hunger Games films. I like that this resembled a 90's Stephen King prestige film, but I could have done without all the headshots and shitting. So much shitting. Some potent moments thanks to superstar-in-the-making David Jonsson, but still a little far fetched. I don't buy they could go that long without sleeping or passing out. With Cooper Hoffman, Charlie Plummer, Judy Greer, and Mark Hamill. GRADE: B
MONKEY SHINES
(George Romero, 1988)
I only have a few Romero films left to see. This one follows a recently paralyzed law student who gets a helper monkey, a capuchin named Ella, and the two develop a violent link to each other. It must be said that Jason Beghe was an absolute snack in this era. Oof. Romero goes with a serious tone, which surprisingly works. It could have easily just been a campy gorefest, but it feels grounded. That said, it still runs a little long and the monkey effects are a mixed bag. With John Pankow and Kate McNeil. GRADE: B-
PITCH BLACK
(David Twohy, 2000)
Happy 25th to this fun science fiction action-fest that I first watched in 2002 during my Graduation Summer Film Festival. Ah, to go back to those days again! After all these years, it's still a fun time. Vin Diesel plays Riddick, a criminal on a spacecraft that crashes on a planet about to experience an eclipse. Unfortunately for the crew (including Radha Mitchell and Cole Hauser), the planet has creatures that come out to hunt in the darkness. It does a lot with its modest budget, even if the creatures now look a little dated. I remember someone once saying that this film was one of the few genre films to embrace the rave era in a unique way. I immensely disliked the other adventures of Riddick. Diesel really did have a unique star quality here, though. GRADE: B+
PSYCHO BEACH PARTY
(Robert Lee King, 2000)
Adapted from a play, this parody of beach movies from the 50's follows Chicklet, a teenager with a split personality that might be murdering the popular beach kids she desperately wants to be friends with. Intentionally campy cult-wannabe films rarely work and this is no exception. Kinda feels like an inside joke stretched out to feature length and none of it is amusing. With a few tweaks, it could have been something fun. Lauren Ambrose, Nicholas Brendan, and Thomas Gibson star. And Amy Adams in her second role! GRADE: C-
SHIVERS
(David Cronenberg, 1975)
Denizens of a luxury Montreal apartment complex are turned into nymphomaniacs thanks to a slug creature made by a mad scientist. It's early Cronenberg, of course! He hadn't quite developed his touch just yet as this was rough around the edges and not as thrilling as it could have been. I actually think he should redo this now just to see what he could do with it. Rabid was quite superior. With Lynn Lowry and Barbara Steele. GRADE: C
THE STUFF
(Larry Cohen, 1985)
I watched Cohen's It's Alive last year and enjoyed it. This one follows a private detective investigating a new food phenomenon called The Stuff. It's not quite ice cream, not quite yogurt, but everyone is addicted and it's turning them into mindless zombies. Far more of a comedy with some slight horror elements, the 80's was ripe for this type of consumerist satire. Feels like something that's been done and redone many times since, so the age may have hurt it a tad. With Michael Moriarty and Andrea Marcovicci. GRADE: C+
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE NEXT GENERATION
(Kim Henkel, 1995ish)
Not sure what year we could technically assign this to. It had small releases in '94 & '95, but wasn't properly released until '97 - the year after its future Oscar-winning stars broke out. There were rumors their agents tried to bury the film, but both stars have spoken very fondly of the experience making it in recent years. Renée Zellweger stars as a high school senior who, on her prom night, gets lost in the woods of Texas with some friends and must fend off a murderous clan of rednecks led by Matthew McConaughey. Henkel co-wrote the original, but this is the only film he ever directed and it shows. Scenes are ineptly staged, and most the horror and humor fall flat. Still a little worth seeing for its two leads, both had charisma from the beginning. If I recall, I may have seen this a year or two before I saw the original so I missed the cameo at the end on first watch. GRADE: C-
THE THING
(John Carpenter, 1982)
Hey, this is my first viewing of this during a horrorfest. I had the opportunity to see this in theaters for the very first time and couldn't turn it down. Lots of views on DVD and cable, of course, but wow did it look great on the big screen. Cundey's cinematography and that Morricone score! Those practical effects! A team of scientists in Antarctica comes face to face with an otherworldly evil that can take human form. I still haven't seen the original, might need to get cracking on that. We need more arctic-set horror. With Kurt Russell, Keith David, and Wilford Brimley. GRADE: A
THE TOXIC AVENGER
(Macon Blair, 2025)
The title card refers to this as The Toxic Avenger Unrated. I watched the original for last year's fest and wasn't really a fan of it. Wasn't really a fan of this, either, but I laughed during both. It is kinda crazy something this gonzo played in multiplexes across the country, I will admit. Peter Dinklage plays the terminally ill janitor of a chemical factory who after being transformed into a mutant seeks revenge against a corrupt CEO (Kevin Bacon). With Jacob Tremblay and Taylor Paige. GRADE: C
THE WATCHER
(Joe Charbanic, 2000)
James Spader plays a stressed former detective seeking a fresh start in a new city when a serial killer (Keanu Reeves) starts stalking and killing young women. Very much leftovers from the 90's serial killer craze with nothing new to offer. There's so much of the plot of this that just wouldn't work in the age of cell phones. Not to be confused with the much superior film from 2022. Marisa Tomei is wasted as a psychologist. GRADE: C-
WEAPONS
(Zach Cregger, 2025)
All the children but one boy from a teacher's classroom disappear late into the night causing the members of a small town to clash with each other in deadly ways. A sinister force might be pulling the strings in Cregger's blockbuster follow-up to 2022's terrific Barbarian. The last act probably made me laugh harder than any other movie in recent memory - intentionally, of course. Just an exhilarating final act. I know a lot of people are crazy about Amy Madigan here (when is she not great?), but I was really impressed with Austin Abrams as the town junkie. With Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, and a pornstached Alden Ehrenreich. GRADE: B+
WOLF CREEK
(Greg McLaen, 2005)
Happy 20th to this Ozploitation slasher released amidst the torture porn trend of the mid aughts. While I think that genre label was very reductive, there's no doubt it was a thing. Looking back, perhaps it was the last stand of the slasher genre as no one has really figured out what to do with it since. Anyways, I've seen this several times since watching it in a theater alone back during the Christmas holidays of that year where it infamously earned an "F" Cinemascore. Equal parts slow burn horror and Aussie travelogue, it follows three young twentysomethings who take a long road trip to a meteor site. After some car trouble, they're rescued by a redneck (John Jarratt) who has bloody plans for them. I know I've made this joke before, but I will again: it proves that no matter where you are, lunatic rednecks will kill you. Great cinematography, but those characters made such stupid decisions. Oof. Nathan Phillips - what a cutie! I saw the sequel and don't remember anything from it other than the dick getting cut off. Apparently, there's a third one in development. GRADE: B+
