Category Archives: Reviews: Movies

Movie Review: Hunchback of Notre Dame

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

hunchback39banner

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Directed by William Dieterl
Starring Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke, Thomas Mitchell, Maureen O’Hara, Edmond O’Brien, Alan Marshal, Walter Hampden, Harry Davenport

It’s amazing how a movie can change over the years. Or does it? As the saying goes, a movie never changes, but the viewer does. The more movies that we watch, the more we learn about films. And the more we learn, the more we learn to appreciate them. So watching something at an older age, compared to watching something younger, can result in quite a different of effect, and opinion. This film is proof of that theory.

Continue reading →

Movie Review: Rogue

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

roguebanner

Rogue (2007)
Directed by Greg McLean
Starring Radha Mitchell, Michael Vartan, Sam Worthington, Caroline Brazier, Stephen Curry, Celia Ireland, John Jarratt

Ever since Jaws, I’m not too fond of movies where there is some underwater beast making meals out of people. It is the one sub-genre that can still under my skin. I don’t completely avoid them, but I’m usually not in a hurry to run out and watch them. But I made an exception for Greg McLean’s Rogue when it first came out over here in the states. This film is about a very large crocodile that doesn’t like the fact that a boat tour has come into its territory and decides to make sure they don’t leave.

Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Unnamable

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Unnamable banner

The Unnamable (1988)
Director Jean-Paul Ouellette
Starring Mark Kinsey Stephenson, Charles Klausmeyer, Alexandra Durrell, Laura Albert, Eben Ham, Blane Wheatley, Mark Parra, Delbert Spain, Katrin Alexandre

The first feature films to be based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft (at least officially credited to him) started in the ’60s with Roger Corman’s The Haunted Palace (1963), based on the story “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward” (even though they billed it as a Edgar Allan Poe movie!). Then we had Die Monster Die! (1965), The Shuttered Room (1967), and The Dunwich Horror (1970). We did see some adaptations in different series like The Night Gallery, but for the most part, it never really brought a lot of attention to the author and his work. Then in the mid ’80s, there was a slight resurgence of his work, starting with Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator (1985), followed by From Beyond (1986), each based on stories of the same name. Granted, these versions were probably a little more intense than what the author intended, it still got the ball rolling and brought attention to Lovecraft’s name and his work. The following year we got David Keith’s The Curse, based on the story “The Colour Out of Space”, and soon more were to follow.

Continue reading →

Movie Review: Clark Ashton Smith – Emperor of Dreams

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

emperor of dreamsClark Ashton Smith: The Emperor of Dreams (2018)
Directed by Darin Coelho Spring
Featuring Donald Sidney-Fryer, Harlan Ellison, S.T. Joshi, Cody Goodfellow, Skinner

Clark Ashton Smith, one of the “Three Musketeers” of the legendary pulp magazine Weird Tales (with H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard) has sadly not received the popular attention that the creators of Cthulhu and Conan have benefited from. This new documentary hopefully will remedy that situation.

Smith lived from 1893 to 1961, primarily in the Gold Rush town of Auburn, CA. For about 50 years, he resided in a cabin there without electricity or running water. He never attended high school, but educated himself by devouring all of the books in the local library. He developed an incredible vocabulary and style that soon established him as a promising poet and the protégé of the “Keats of the West Coast,” George Sterling.

Lovecraft encountered Smith’s poetry and began a correspondence to state his admiration that blossomed into a lifelong friendship, all expressed through the mail, as the men unfortunately never met in person. The title of the documentary comes from the first line of Smith’s poem “The Hashish-Eater”, which Lovecraft praised in his Supernatural Horror in Literature. Continue reading →

Movie Review: Curse of the Crying Woman

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment


cryingwomanbanner

The Curse of the Crying Woman (1963)
Directed by Rafael Baledon
Starring Rosita Arenas, Abel Salazar, Rita Macedo, Carlos Lopez Moctezuma, Enrique Lucero, Mario Sevilla

Back in my early days of being a horror fan, I had a friend that asked me if I had seen any of the Mexican horror films from the late ’50s/early ’60s. At the time, not only had I not seen any of them, I wasn’t really even aware of them. When he offered to send me a couple of them, I told him not to, because I really didn’t want to get into yet another sub-genre of the horror genre! Silly me. Of course, this didn’t stop my friend and he sent me a couple of titles anyway. They were The Bloody Vampire aka El vampiro sangriento (1962), and The Curse of the Crying Woman aka La maldición de la Llorona (1963). After watching them, I was hooked. Growing up on the Universal classics, I had always loved the glorious black and white films, where the atmosphere is thick and heavy and I found that same style in these from South of the boarder! Continue reading →

Movie Review: 100 Bloody Acres

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

100bloodyacresbanner

100 Bloody Acres (2012)
Directed by Cameron and Colin Cairnes
Starring Damon Herriman, Angus Sampson, Anna McGahan, Oliver Ackland, Jamie Kristian, John Jarrett

Horror / comedy films are a tough nut to crack without damaging the integrity of the film. Meaning making it not that funny, or just not scary, but being able to find that perfect balance. Many have tried and many have failed. But the writer/director team of Cameron and Colin Cairnes have cracked that nut just right with this film. Showing that you can have a simple story, but with some great characters, can make a very entertaining movie. Continue reading →

Movie Review: Child Eater

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Child Eater 6

Child Eater (2016)
Directed by Erlingur Thoroddsen
Starring Cait Bliss, Colin Critchley, Jason Martin, Dave Klasko, Brandon Smalls, James Wilcox, Melinda Chilton, Andrew Kaempfer

This is another title that snuck by me when it was making the rounds a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I’m not sure it got the attention it deserved because I am just hearing about it now. So I’m trying to help either re-start the ball rolling, or at least continue it, because this little flick is more than worth your time. Continue reading →

Movie Review: Desecration

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

desecration1

Desecration (1999)
Directed by Dante Tomaselli
Starring Irma St. Paule, Christie Sandford, Danny Lopes, Salvatore Paul Piro, Vincent Lamberti.

“My films are really about peeling back the layers of pain and guilt buried in the unconscious mind.”

That above quote really captures the work of filmmaker Tomaselli. He is one craftsman that really is creating from his mind, heart, and soul, and I think that really shows in his work. I can remember reviewing this film when it first came out two decades ago and was impressed with what he was showing us. Now with the 20th Anniversary Blu-ray getting a release from Code Red, what better time to take a trip down memory lane than now, right? Has my thoughts on this changed over the years? Has it gotten better, or worse over time? Read on to find out.

Continue reading →

Movie Review: Let the Right One In

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Let the Right One In Banner

Let the Right One In (2008)
Directed by Tomas Alfredson
Starring Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergguist, Peter Carlberg, Ika Nord, Mikael Ralm, Karl-Robert Lindgren, Anders T. Peedu, Pale Olofsson, Patrik Rydmark

This film was making noise here in the states way before it finally reached our shores. It was getting praise from around the world, being a new take on a very old theme. So once I finally got the chance to see it, how could it live up to this tidal wave of a reputation? Like everyone else, I was consumed by this incredible tale of loneliness, revenge, and that hope of finding a true friend.

Continue reading →

Movie Review: Killer Crocodile (1989)

by in Reviews: Movies and tagged , , , | Leave a comment

killercroc

Killer Crocodile (1989)
Directed by Larry Ludman (Fabrizio De Angelis)
Starring Anthony Crenna, Ann Douglas, Van Johnson, Thomas Moore (Ennio Girolami), Sherrie Rose, Julian Hampton

If anybody watches Killer Crocodile and expects some high-tech, big budgeted film, then they are going to be very disappointed. Come on people, the title alone says it all…pure cheesy entertainment. But even better, this cheese comes from Italy.

Continue reading →