Hannibal picks up a few years after The Silence of the Lambs left off. Clarice Starling (Julianne Moore replaces Jodie Foster) is in trouble with the FBI over a drug bust gone wrong. Her career has basically been a disappointment, since she never managed to get ahead; she’s still being held back because she’s aContinue reading “‘Hannibal’: Anything’s Better Than the Book it’s Based On”
Author Archives: GhoulieJoe
William Friedkin’s ‘The Guardian’: It’s Worth at Least a Perfunc-tree Glance
Camilla (Jenny Seagrove) is the world’s best nanny. She’s sweet, knowledgeable, and works weekends. Too bad she’s also a Druid priestess (it’s quite the ma-tree-archy) who tends to sacrifice her young charges to a baby-eating tree. Up-and-coming couple Phil (Dwier Brown) and Kate (Carey Lowell) hire her, feeling blessed that all she asks in returnContinue reading “William Friedkin’s ‘The Guardian’: It’s Worth at Least a Perfunc-tree Glance”
‘Gothika’: Slick High-Budget Horror with Actors You’ve Heard Of
Halle Berry is Dr. Miranda, a prison psychiatrist. Among her many tasks is counseling Chloe (Penelope Cruz), who’s convinced the devil is raping her. Miranda’s smug sureness of who’s crazy and who’s not is challenged when after an encounter with a ghostly girl, she wakes up in a cell at her work, suspected of murderingContinue reading “‘Gothika’: Slick High-Budget Horror with Actors You’ve Heard Of”
Bill Condon’s ‘Gods and Monsters’ is Beautiful and Bittersweet
Fictionalized version of the last days of James Whale, director of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. It’s the 1950s, and Jimmy (Ian McKellen) is an old man now, having long been booted out of Hollywood for being openly gay. His mind is starting to go, leaving him with two options: not take medication, be overcomeContinue reading “Bill Condon’s ‘Gods and Monsters’ is Beautiful and Bittersweet”
‘Dead Friend’: A Nifty Korean Ghost Story
Korean movie, AKA The Ghost, AKA Ryeong. Ji-won (Ha-neul Kim) is a college student with amnesia. She starts having visions of an angry spirit coming to get her, but doesn’t remember what she did to cause it. She’s approached by Yu-jung (Hie-ju Jeon), one of her old friends from high school, who helps her gradually recall that she,Continue reading “‘Dead Friend’: A Nifty Korean Ghost Story”
‘From Within’ is Pretty Not Terrible
Lindsay (Elizabeth Rice) is a Christian teen in Small Town, USA. Suddenly, apparently because of a curse, teenagers are killing themselves faster than fashion dictates change. It seems that evil apparitions that look like the victims are killing them. The town points its collective finger at Lindsay’s schoolmate Aiden (Thomas Dekker), the son of aContinue reading “‘From Within’ is Pretty Not Terrible”
‘From a Whisper to a Scream’ is a Seedy Gorefest with a Little Social Upheaval–Love it!
Mid-’80s Vincent Price movie, AKA The Offspring; it’s told in four segments with a wraparound story. Having just witnessed the execution of a serial killer, reporter Beth (Susan Tyrrell) pays the dead woman’s uncle Julian (Price) a visit. He sits her down and explains how his town of Oldfield, Tennessee poisoned his niece’s mind by demonstratingContinue reading “‘From a Whisper to a Scream’ is a Seedy Gorefest with a Little Social Upheaval–Love it!”
1985’s ‘Fright Night’: Sassy, Fabulous Vampires!
Not to be confused with the 2011 remake. Charley (William Ragsdale) is a normal teenage boy who likes to do teenage boy stuff, like try to score with his girlfriend Amy (Amanda Bearse) while watching Fright Night, a TV show devoted to classic horror movies. His good times are disrupted by new neighbors Jerry (ChrisContinue reading “1985’s ‘Fright Night’: Sassy, Fabulous Vampires!”
Tim Burton’s ‘Frankenweenie’: Wholesome Undead Canine Shenanigans
Not to be confused with the (godawful, hate it!) remake; this is one of Tim Burton’s early works. 10-year-old Victor (Barret Oliver) loses his dog Sparky when he’s hit by a car. Unbeknownst to his parents (Shelley Duvall and Daniel Stern), he brings Sparky back to life a la Frankenstein. Unfortunately Sparky gets loose andContinue reading “Tim Burton’s ‘Frankenweenie’: Wholesome Undead Canine Shenanigans”
‘The Fourth Kind’ is Eerie, but Nowhere Near Based on a True Story
Dr. Abigail Tyler (Milla Jovovich) is a psychologist in Alaska whose patients all seem to have repressed memories of being abducted by aliens. (The title comes from Allen Hynek’s scale for UFO experiences, being, respectively, sightings, physical effects, and the actual presence of aliens, though Hynek did not posit a fourth kind himself–thank you, Wikipedia.Continue reading “‘The Fourth Kind’ is Eerie, but Nowhere Near Based on a True Story”
