First watches...
EATEN ALIVE
(Tobe Hooper, 1976)
Hooper's follow-up to his masterpiece The Texas Chain Saw Massacre takes place again in Texas where the deranged owner of a scummy motel feeds some of his customers to his giant crocodile. With the production values of a 70's porno (compliment!), redneck characters, and lurid cinematography, you might feel like you need a bath after watching it. The cast is all solid, knowing exactly the type of film they are in, though the croc effects are a little too low budget. I'm surprised no one has ever remade this because the film doesn't quite get to its full potential. With Marilyn Burns, Neville Brand, Robert Englund, and Mel Ferrer. GRADE: B-
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
(Edmund Goulding, 1947)
A drifter takes a job at a carnival where he becomes the apprentice to a charlatan psychic. He starts a new show among the high society of Chicago where he becomes entangled with a dangerous psychiatrist. Sadly, I didn't get to watch this before 2021's solid remake. I guess that was more of an expansive adaptation of the book. This was my first film with Tyrone Power and he's quite delicious. He had more personality than Bradley Cooper did in the same role. The supporting women (Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray, and Helen Walker) are all aces. I need to watch more old noirs. The women were so great. GRADE: B+
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
(Dwight H. Little, 1989)
I hadn't realized how many remakes there have been, this was actually sandwiched between another horror version that came out in 1988 and a TV movie from 1990. I'd say we're due for a new horror version, but apparently there is a new musical adaptation in development. Robert Englund plays a man whose appearance has been facially scared and makes wisecracks as he stalks a young brunette. So... Bland and dull, the film might have been better if they hadn't made Englund do his Freddy routine. Jill Schoelen - a genre fave - is charming as Christine. Bill Nighy and Molly Shannon (in her first role!) also appear. GRADE: C-
PERFECT BLUE
(Satoshi Kon, 1997)
Hey, a horrorfest first: an anime! I'm not a huge fan of that genre. I can admire the art behind it, but it's just not my thing. This was given a theatrical re-release a few weeks ago, so I checked it out and liked it. A pop star turned actress might be losing her grip on reality after discovering a website that traces her every move and taking a role in a sexual and violent drama. Black Swan was said to be influenced by this, which was originally supposed to be a live action film. Voices of Junk Iwao and Rica Matsumoto. GRADE: B
Anniversary re-watches...
CASPER
(Brad Silberling, 1995)
A young ghost haunting a mansion in Maine befriends the daughter of a medium hired to get rid of the apparition and his ghostly relatives. A top 10 blockbuster from the year it was released, watching this again was a welcome reminder of the days when studios would release live action films aimed at families and they were huge hits. The latter portion of the film is a little too busy, but the sentimental ending works. With Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, and Cathy Moriarty, who gets to drop "bitch" twice in a PG-rated movie. Icon! GRADE: B-
THE CHANGELING
(Peter Medak, 1980)
Having watched numerous interviews in the late 90's with Neve Campbell, she frequently cited this as her favorite horror movie. It's a good, old school ghost story. George C. Scott plays a music professor who after suffering a personal tragedy (trauma!) takes a job in Seattle, renting a historical home with a haunted history. The genre elements work much better than the central mystery. The actual reveal of why everything is happening is a bit of a yawn, though so many films have done similar things since. Scott remains one of the best to ever do it. His real life wife (Trish Van Devere) plays his love interest, and she was also the lead of The Hearse. She's better here. GRADE: B
LOST SOULS
(Janusz Kaminski, 2000)
Haven't seen this since I saw it theatrically in the fall of 2000. Another one of those where I was the only person in the theater, and another one of those that got an "F" Cinemascore. Maybe my own personal screening made me like it more at the time, or maybe I hadn't just been exhausted by the wealth of apocalyptical antichrist movies that were popular at the time. This is the first film Kaminski (Spielberg's frequent cinematographer) ever directed. Stylish - but now a bit dated - cinematography can't make up for a cliched story where a man (Ben Chaplin) finds out on his 33rd birthday he's about to become the antichrist. I guess an Ikea gift card wouldn't cut it. With Winona Ryder and Elias Koteas (yum). GRADE: C
SPECIES
(Roger Donaldson, 1995)
Funny story about this: my brother had just gotten his license and took me to see this, but we couldn't get in because we were too young. So we saw Clueless instead, which he hated and I loved. I've pointed out before that back in the 90's so many films were "Movie X" meets "Movie Y", and here we have Alien meets Basic Instinct. After getting DNA code from an outer space signal, a human-alien hybrid is created. She (Natasha Henstridge) eventually escapes and sets out to mate, leading a crew of scientists, security experts, and an empath on her trail to stop her from procreating. It has the feel of a big budget version of the type of movies Roger Corman would make - equal parts sex and gore. It's fast paced and entertaining, though some of the effects are now a little rough. With Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, and a young Michelle Williams as the youth version of the alien. GRADE: B
THE STEPFORD WIVES
(Bryan Forbes, 1975)
I'll just die if I don't watch this for its 50th! Haven't watched this in over 20 years, but I had a handful of viewings just before the ill-fated 2004 comedy remake. Kind of odd that this is rarely on cable and has no Blu or 4K release. The term "Stepford" has been embedded in our culture, and the popularity of Get Out should have given it some new life. I have to wonder if there will ever be another remake (it wouldn't be the first horror film to be remade more than once) given we're in the age of the tradwife. A photographer (gorgeous Katharine Ross) moves to a small affluent town in Connecticut where the women seem way too perfect. Based on the book by Ira Levin, it has the same slow burn paranoia as his Rosemary's Baby and a dreamy score. Paula Prentiss is a hoot as the new best friend. GRADE: B+
And the Psycho franchise. The sequels are new watches. I reviewed the remake two years ago here.
PSYCHO
(Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
I first saw this in the mid/late 90's when I was consuming almost every horror movie in sight. I didn't know that this was the "shower movie" until it occurred. Between that and the ending, I remember thinking that this must have shocked the hell out of people back when it was released. (Even was I saw the remake in theaters, I remember people gasping at the twist reveal.) A woman (Janet Leigh, iconic) steals money from her employer thinking its a way out of her current predicament with her lover, goes on the run, and ends up at the Bates Motel. There, she meets its caretaker, Norman (Anthony Perkins, also iconic), and his deadly mother. I'm not sure if this is Hitch's defining masterpiece, embarrassing to say I still haven't seen Vertigo. Easily one of the defining films of the genre, and perhaps one of the most studied and dissected movies ever made. In this rewatch, I noticed how all of these actors were around 30 and yet seem so much more mature than their similar aged contemporaries. With John Gavin, who I would steal money and get murdered at an old motel for any day of the week. GRADE: A
PSYCHO II
(Richard Franklin, 1983)
Picking up after Norman is released from the psychiatric hospital decades later, he takes up residence in his old house where Mother is still taunting him. He helps a young co-worker (Meg Tilly) at the diner he now works at, while Lila Crane (Vera Miles) returns from the first hellbent on ending his release. This has two big twists, the latter is silly but doesn't totally derail the film. The best scenes involve Perkins and Tilly, though its worth noting the former's performance remains wildly inconsistent across all three sequels. I don't know if it was Hitchcock's deft touch or if he lost some of his skill as he aged, but he doesn't have grasp on the character the same way he did in the original. GRADE: B-
PSYCHO III
(Anthony Perkins, 1986)
Perkins stepped behind the camera as well for this, which seems to immediately follow the events of Part 2. The Motel has been reopened, and thriving, as a former nun (Diana Scarwid) on the run stays there. Norman develops an obsession with her, while a nosey reporter (Roberta Maxwell, terrific) looks into the murders that keep occurring. There's also a sleezy drifter (Jeff Fahey) who starts working at the motel. The best of the sequels with some occasional sharp writing, decent kills, and that 80's slasher feel. GRADE: B
PSYCHO IV: THE BEGINNING
(Mick Garris, 1990)
I didn't know until after watching that this was a Showtime original movie. In fact, Janet Leigh hosted the premiere. I didn't even know that network existed in '90. It seems to disregard the storylines of the past 2 movies, and picks up where Norman Bates is living with a psychiatric hospital nurse and about to expect a child. He calls into a radio show (hosted by the great CCH Pounder) to tell the story of his upbringing and his obsession with his mother (Olivia Hussey). Henry Thomas plays the younger Norman. I guess this is the sequel/prequel that the TV series "Bates Motel" took most of its inspiration. It's easily the worst of the sequels, clunkily told and generating almost no suspense. Boy, do those flashbacks NOT look like the 40's & 50's. GRADE: C
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