Horrorfest: He's a maniac, maniac on the floor!

Are we in an apiary?  Cuz I see B's.

CREEP
(Christopher Smith, 2005)

The Bourne Identity and Run Lola Run star Franka Potente plays a woman who gets locked into a subway station late at night and has to fend off a humanoid.  Subways have been the setting for a few horror flicks in the past (Midnight Meat Train, Mimic, End of the Line) but for the most part this setting has been underutilized.  I mean, consider that stations and the trains themselves are inherently creepy.  Sadly, this one doesn't bring anything new to the table, and despite a game Potente there's not much to see here.  I am surprised it took me this long to even hear about this movie.  It was only when I saw an ad for it on Chiller did I realize it existed.  In the end, that wasn't a surprise given the thorough mediocrity.  GRADE: C


MOTEL HELL
(Kevin Connor, 1980)
Hey, here's one that's ripe for a remake!  A farmer and his sister own a seedy motel where they are world famous for their smoked meats.  The smoked meats are, of course, people.  Has there ever been a horror movie involving mystery meat that wasn't people?  This horror comedy offers some entertaining amusements and campy comedy.  What the farmer does to the people is actually pretty gruesome and gets under the skin, especially when his garden started "talking".  It's obviously a little derivative of Texas Chain Saw Massacre, but it works in its own way.  GRADE: B



ABSENTIA
(Mike Flanagan, 2011)
Very very very low budget (about $70k from Kickstarter) debut (I think?) feature from the director of Oculus.  I will continue to keep an eye on Flanagan as based on these two films he's definitely going places.  A former drug addict arrives in a shady LA neighborhood to live with her sister, whose husband disappeared years prior and is about to be declared dead in absentia.  The rehabilitated sister finds that a nearby tunnel under a bridge holds some dark secrets, and soon both sisters are battling an unstoppable, metaphysical force.  Occasionally undermined by its small production scale, this is a small but potent slow burn.  The actresses (Katie Parker and Courtney Bell) playing the sisters bring a welcome sense of realism. Doug Jones (Pan's Labyrinth) appears in a small role.   GRADE: B



BANSHEE CHAPTER
(Blair Erickson, 2014)
I'm glad I watched this! I almost wasn't going to, but I remembered reading a few favorable reviews and figured 'why not?' Smart move! A journalist investigating what happened to her college sweetheart finds a conspiracy involving a mystery drug that allows its users to hear a mysterious radio signal.  However, the users almost all disappear or end up dead. Another low budget chiller, this film has several heart stopping moments and palpable suspense.  Genre fave Ted Levine (Silence of the Lambs, Joy Ride, 2006's The Hills Have Eyes) co-stars as a Hunter S. Thompson-esque writer, with a fine actress named Katia Winter as the lead.  The drug that drives the story is real, and the footage that was incorporated of real figures discussing it certainly added to the film's efficacy.  I'd like to point out that this is NOT found footage, despite what some reviewers seemed to believe.  There are several sequences of found footage, but most is standard narrative.  I thought that was obvious, but I guess some people did not. I thought the "twist" brought up in the last couple of minutes didn't add anything and actually detracted from the overall film. That said, this is well worth watching. Somewhat related: why don't we ever get any banshees in horror movies?  GRADE: B+


HELLRAISER
(Clive Barker, 1987)
Hey, I finally saw this!  This might be the last true post-1980 "classic" I hadn't seen! I'm sure I'll think of another one soon. I was surprised the plot was as complicated (for a horror movie!) as it was. Perhaps I just thought Pinhead shows up and kills people and that's that. A woman helps her dead lover come back to life by "feeding him" dead bodies. He's being chased from another world by the Cenobites, and thus S&M finally arrives to horror. (See below for more.) Grisly, gory and pretty inventive, offering a solid if unspectacular  alternative to the slasher films of that era.  Fantastic makeup work.  Ugh, I really miss practical makeup.  I think a remake has been long in development and I'm sure will happen sooner or later.  GRADE: B


THE PROPHECY
(Gregory Widen, 1995)
Yawwwwn.  Such a snooze. The angel Gabriel comes to Earth to steal a soul that is inside a little girl. Christopher Walken plays said angel. This should work given the premise. Religion is seldom used in non-exorcism horror films, but this film is a big snore. Virginia Madsen (a genre fave thanks to Candyman), Elias Koteas, Viggo Mortensen and Amanda Plummer co-star. All are wasted, but Viggo has some fun. The last act of this drags on and on. Despite coming out in 1995, it was filmed in 1993 but feels like a mid 80's movie. It must be stated: mid 90's Elias Koteas may be one of the hottest guys in cinematic history.  GRADE: D



FROM BEYOND
(Stuart Gordon, 1986)
More gore! Slither and, to some extent, the aforementioned Banshee Chapter owe a lot to this 80's shocker about a group of scientists that bring a violent entity from another reality into ours. Wall to wall cool 80's makeup effects and more S&M! Genre staples Jeffrey Combs (The Frighteners), Barbara Crampton (Re-animator, You're Next)and Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead, both of them) lead the cast of this rather kinky bloodfest. Pinhead ain't got nothing on Crampton in that leather getup. Based on a story by HP Lovecraft, it all ends up feeling a little inconsequential. Enjoyable, but minor.   GRADE: B


MANIAC
(William Lustig, 1980)
With the aesthetic of a third rate 70's porno, this grisly slasher tells the story of a disturbed man who scalps young women in a crime wave across the seedy New York City night. Remember when movies set in NYC had such a grimy feel? It seemed like that all changed in the 90's. Thanks, Carrie Bradshaw! This one gives you the feeling that you'll need a Silkwood scrub down afterwards. Depraved and misogynistic, it still packs a punch of raw horror. Joe Spinell does fine character work (I hope?) as the title psycho, someone who kind of makes Travis Bickle look well adjusted.  GRADE: B