First watches first up:
ALLIGATOR II: THE MUTATION
(Jon Hess, 1991)
Direct To VHS sequel that follows a detective's investigation into missing fisherman leading to the discovery of a giant alligator roaming the sewers heading towards a lake. The alligator has mutated thanks to the chemical dumping from a corrupt corporation. The 1980 original was a very fun B-movie that delivered the goods and had a great lead courtesy of the always reliable Robert Forster. This, however, was awful. I couldn't stand the lead actor and there's way too much of the story dedicated to the police investigation of the slimy company. The alligator seems to take a backseat until the final act. GRADE: D
CRAWLSPACE
(David Schmoeller, 1986)
The son of a Nazi surgeon owns an apartment building and rents exclusively to beautiful women. Unbeknownst to them, he spies on them through the crawlspaces and is doing some deadly experimenting of his own. Klaus Kinski stars as the perv, and he's easily the best thing about this - a truly unnerving performance. The rest of the film doesn't fare as well, just a standard 80's era chiller with copious sex and violence. Also, people crawling through ventilation has to be one of my biggest cinema pet peeves. GRADE: C
DEADLY BLESSING
(Wes Craven, 1981)
The last Craven theatrical release for me to see. *sigh* There's a few TV movies he did I still haven't seen, though. A woman grows suspicious of the religious community next to her farm after her husband, a former member of the sect, mysteriously dies. The film features Sharon Stone in her first significant role, and Ernest Borgnine appears as the sect leader. Craven left behind the grindhouse-y feel of some of his earlier work for a more classic looking picture, though I found this to be mostly bland. There is a great moment with a snake in a bathtub that serves as a prelude for the famous moment in A Nightmare on Elm Street. GRADE: C+
(Roman Polanski, 2000)
I tried to watch this unsuccessfully for last year's fest, so when I saw it was on one of my streaming subscriptions I finally watched it. This had a brutal CinemaScore of "D-" from audiences. It's easy to see why - it doesn't really go into horror well into the final act and lacked a strong resolution. Most of it plays as a goofy Da Vinci Code style mystery where Johnny Depp travels across Europe looking for a set of books that could bring about the antichrist. Polanski can do slow burn very well and knows how to do occult - Exhibit A being his classic Rosemary's Baby. While I'm not as hard on it as audiences, it's just flat and overlong. GRADE: C
OTHER MOMMY
(Rob Savage, 2026)
There's a reason this had such a great trailer: because it's basically a 90 minute trailer. It just moves from set piece to set piece with little flare and even less sense. Nothing is fully explained, and even the metaphor it barely hints at doesn't work. Jessica Chastain stars in this live action Coraline as the mother whose daughter starts seeing an "Other Mommy" who wreaks deadly havoc on their family's lives. The gory sequences feel cartoonish and out of place, and the Ghost Hunters-esque bit just doesn't work at all. I didn't realize that was Karen Allen as the grandmother. Cool title drop, though! GRADE: D+
THE REFLECTING SKIN
(Philip Ridley, 1991)
In 1950's Idaho, a young boy begins to suspect his widowed neighbor (Lindsay Duncan) is a vampire responsible for several deaths and might be trying to turn his veteran brother (Viggo Mortensen, mumbling all his lines). Even with that description, I don't think you can prepare for this genuinely odd, dream-like film. It's kind of a mess - a strange blend of art house eroticism, American Gothic, pulp vampire tale, and coming of age film. The acting is over the top. That said, it's jaw-droppingly gorgeous. The cinematography is worth the price of admission alone. Those amber waves! GRADE: B
Some rewatches...
ALIENS
(James Cameron, 1986)
Reviewed Ridley Scott's original masterpiece here. I know it's a contentious debate over which one is better and I'm firmly on the side of the original. I do love this one, too. It's a technical marvel even after 40 years, and of course there's Miss Weaver's Oscar-nominated turn. Sigourney returns as Ellen Ripley, who is found 57 years after the events of the first film. She's brought on to a mission with some marines to investigate why a colony on the moon went dark. (Critters, obviously.) Far more of an action movie than a horror like the original, but it works so well. GRADE: A-
BURNT OFFERINGS
(Dan Curtis, 1986)
Another movie I watched a couple decades ago, but I couldn't remember how I felt about it. I'm mostly positive on it, but it's a bit of a mixed bag. A family moves into an old estate for the summer, and begins exhibiting strange behavior as the house seems to have control of them. The cast (Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Bette Davis!!!) is great, and the actors are bringing way more to the material than is actually there. The film is way too long and repetitive, but I appreciate the more psychological approach to a haunted house film. I'd totally live in that house! GRADE: B-
HOUSE
(Steve Miner, 1986)
I saw this sometime in the mid aughts and didn't care for it. Figured a rewatch was due for its 40th as its a movie so many talk about fondly. I still don't care for it. A writer (William Katt) struggling to put together his newest project about his time in Vietnam temporarily moves into his aunt's house after she died by suicide. Strange things start happening. There's a bit too much trauma dumped on to the main character (Vietnam! Divorce! Missing Child!), and the film doesn't blend its comedy and horror elements so well. It feels like a second rate Sam Raimi. Haven't seen any of the sequels, not sure I ever will. GRADE: C
SOUL SURVIVORS
(Stephen Carpenter, 2001)
Carnival of Souls knockoff in which a young woman and her friends on their first night away at college are involved in a deadly car accident. Several weeks later, Cassie (Melissa Sagemiller) finds herself drifting between reality and dreams, with visions of the dead haunting both. I believe I thought this was okay when I saw it shortly after it was released, but now can confirm it's absolute shit. It makes little to no sense, just a collection of scenes that other movies (namely Carnival and Jacob's Ladder) have done much better. Also, how did they have a midterm three weeks into the semester? GRADE: D
THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE
(Tobe Hooper, 1974)
I had the chance to see this on the big screen for the first time ever. Just me and some other old guy in the theater, but oh so worth it. I reviewed it here for its 50th and I stand by what I said. Never turn down an opportunity to see these movies on the big screen. GRADE: A
And now the big screen Cape Fears. I saw the '91 version many years ago. I have no intention on watching the recent limited series despite it having quite a few people involved that I like. That said, the best version of this story is obviously The Simpsons.
CAPE FEAR
(J. Lee Thompson, 1962)
Tense thriller about a psychopath who served eight years in prison for assault. After his release, he stalks and torments the lawyer who witnessed the crime helping to put him behind bars. Robert Mitchum is a villain for the ages, an absolute nasty creation who pushes the limits of what could be seen (but mostly implied) in a film for this era. Between this and The Night of the Hunter, he delivered the goods for movie sickos. Hitchcock's influence is heavy particularly with that iconic Bernard Herrmann score, but the film feels much darker. GRADE: A-
CAPE FEAR
(Martin Scorsese, 1991)
Pulpy remake and one of Scorsese's most mainstream films follows a newly released convict (Robert De Niro) stalking the former public defender (Nick Notle) who withheld evidence causing his sentence. Everything is considerably more over the top for the update, and it works extremely well. It makes the film's best sequence stand out even more - the mid movie scene involving Cady trying to seduce the daughter (Juliette Lewis, who well earned her only Oscar nomination here). Scorsese beings the sexual subtext straight to the surface. GRADE: A-
I also have no intention of watching the new Carrie series despite liking some of Flanagan's limited series. I have seen the 2013 remake which I found to be middling. I haven't seen the TV movie from 2002, but I might check it out if I have time this year.
CARRIE
(Brian De Palma, 1976)
I think I’ve only seen this once the whole way through previously in the late 90’s. Though outside of his Hitchcock fetishization (I’m not sure we need the Psycho score to be used so blatantly) this is De Palma at his peak. An outcast teenage girl suffers a humiliating locker room experience (who hasn’t?) causing the popular kids to get in trouble, so they decide to get revenge on her at the prom. Also she’s telekinetic and only discovering her abilities. And her mom is a religious fanatic. Good times! Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie own this, both were deservingly nominated for Oscars. I’m not sure if Carrie is the first horror film to score multiple acting nominations. The cinematography of the famed prom sequence is dazzling and dreamy, still a powerful sequence after all these years. GRADE: A-
THE RAGE: CARRIE 2
(Katt Shea, 1999)
I haven't seen this since I saw it opening day in theaters. Two decades since that bloody prom night, another teenage girl finds herself with telekinetic abilities and using them to seek vengeance. Her best friend committed suicide after being humiliated by a group of jocks who try to have sex with girls just to score points in a cruel game. Sadly, some of the issues presented in the film are still timely. The film, however, is mostly a stale remake of the original, but Emily Bergl is compelling as the lead. Amy Irving is the only actor to return from the first with there being quite a bit of footage from it sprinkled throughout. And some random black and white shots that add very little. GRADE: C
Lastly, The Fly and its remake. There are several other sequels to both of these, but I couldn't get access to all of them so I just went with these two. No limited series as far as I know...yet. (Be very afraid, indeed.) The 1958 one is a first watch.
THE FLY
(Kurt Neumann, 1958)
After a scientist is found dead in a hydraulic press, his wife recounts the story of how he worked on a molecular transporter that caused him to turn into a human-fly hybrid. I wasn't able to get access to any of the sequels, but I hope to in the future. I enjoyed this, a very good example of the schlocky B-movie monster pictures of the era. David Hedison was swoon-worthy as the lead, outside of his transformation of course. The Fly has quite a few classic moments that have been parodied over the years, but the film seems to always have its tongue in its cheek. GRADE: B+
THE FLY
(David Cronenberg, 1986)
I think I first saw this on cable when I was a pre-teen and vividly remember the arm wrestling sequence. If I recall, I might have seen the sequel first but I had to be really young. I did try to get that film to watch but it proved to be hard to get a hold of. Oscar-winning makeup is the highlight of Cronenberg's most mainstream film focusing on a scientist (Jeff Goldblum) who turns into a fly after his experiments with teleportation backfire. It smartly uses the original's story as a jumping off point before going deep into body horror. Wonderfully gross, with Goldblum and Geena Davis making a sexy team. GRADE: A-
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