Dennis Rader (Kane Hodder) is a seemingly mild-mannered government worker who gets urges to murder people, so he promptly does. The film shows his spiral of compulsion, murder, and finally his capture. In the roughly bazillion movies about real-life serial killers, this one stands out to me. Not just because for once Hodder (best knownContinue reading “‘B.T.K.’ is a Fascinating Look at a Real-life Killer”
Author Archives: GhoulieJoe
Five Things I Have to Grudgingly Concede About the 1997 Remake of ‘The Shining’
Of course it’s blasphemy to say that the remake of The Shining is superior to Stanley Kubrick’s original, but there are still some things to like about it. I’m working on a writing project about horror movies and parenting, and I’m writing a sub-section about psychotic parents. I tried to use the original, but JackContinue reading “Five Things I Have to Grudgingly Concede About the 1997 Remake of ‘The Shining’”
Five Songs That Make Me Shake My Head at the Narrators
This is a piece I wrote a while back and finally got around to doing my final polish. Many songs involve an unreliable or unlikable narrator whom the listener isn’t supposed to trust or like. For example Dave Matthews Band’s “Don’t Drink the Water,” which describes the horrors of colonialism through the eyes of someoneContinue reading “Five Songs That Make Me Shake My Head at the Narrators”
1977’s ‘Audrey Rose’ is Thought-Provoking and Groovy
Janice (Marsha Mason) and Bill Templeton (John Beck) have a simple and happy life with their young daughter Ivy (Susan Swift). Suddenly a stranger (Anthony Hopkins) begins following them around, focusing particularly on Ivy. When they confront him, Elliot reveals that he believes Ivy is the reincarnation of his daughter, Audrey Rose, who burned toContinue reading “1977’s ‘Audrey Rose’ is Thought-Provoking and Groovy”
‘The Astronaut’s Wife’ is a Creepy Thriller
Jillian (Charlize Theron) is, as the title suggests, married to an astronaut, Spencer (Johnny Depp). While on a trip to space, he and his colleague Alex (Nick Cassavetes) are repairing their shuttle and there’s an explosion, causing them to lose contact with NASA. Upon returning home, both men begin acting strangely. Shortly after, Jillian discoversContinue reading “‘The Astronaut’s Wife’ is a Creepy Thriller”
‘The Abominable Dr. Phibes’ is an Utter Classic
Anton Phibes (Vincent Price) is a man so rocked by his wife passing away on the operating table (being horribly disfigured in a car wreck doesn’t help matters) he decides to kill the eight doctors and one nurse who couldn’t save her, with nine of the ten Biblical plagues: boils, bats, frogs, blood, hail, rats,Continue reading “‘The Abominable Dr. Phibes’ is an Utter Classic”
1997’s ‘Aberration’ is Ridiculous but Occasionally Entertaining
Amy (Pamela Gidley) has just stolen fifty thousand dollars from her ex-boyfriend Uri (Valeriy Nikolaev) and needs to hole up for a while, so she heads to a secluded cabin. Unfortunately there’s a bunch of green goo around, which spawns lizards that are “evolving into a more efficient predator.” They have teeth, spit poison, growContinue reading “1997’s ‘Aberration’ is Ridiculous but Occasionally Entertaining”
‘Arachnophobia’ Stands up to the Test of Time
While on a job in Venezuela, a photographer is killed by a very poisonous and very bitey new breed of spider. The little bugger happily rides home with the corpse to a small town in America. Ross (Jeff Daniels), the town’s new doctor, is unfortunately quite afraid of spiders, but now has to dealContinue reading “‘Arachnophobia’ Stands up to the Test of Time”
‘April Fool’s Day’ is Fun and Delightfully Dated
A group of twenty-something friends and acquaintances are heading to an island to celebrate their friend Muffy’s (Deborah Foreman) birthday. Once there, they run into trouble when they discover there’s a killer among them and no way off the island. Meanwhile Muffy’s behavior is becoming increasingly erratic. It seems everyone present has “little secrets” they’dContinue reading “‘April Fool’s Day’ is Fun and Delightfully Dated”
‘An American Haunting’ is…Definitely Less Ridiculous than the Book it’s Based On
It’s 1817, and Betsy Bell (Rachel Hurd-Wood) is a teenage girl who appears to be either possessed or haunted by an angry ghost who slaps her and pulls the blankets off of her bed, among other things. There are also weird noises and otherworldly animals skulking about the family property. Betsy’s father John (DonaldContinue reading “‘An American Haunting’ is…Definitely Less Ridiculous than the Book it’s Based On”
