New York, seven years into a nuclear dystopian future. Our protagonists are Cory (Kealan Patrick Burke) and Alexa (Jennifer Bihl), who are fugitives from the military. They run across Alice (Debbie Rochon) and Mason (Lee Perkins), and the four of them set up shop in an abandoned building. The boys discover a supply of wineContinue reading “‘Slime City Massacre’ Defied My Expectations”
Category Archives: Movies: S
‘Smile’ is Worth Your While
Rose (Sosie Bacon) is a therapist at an emergency psychiatric unit. Her tightly ordered world is upended when she meets a patient named Laura (Caitlin Stasey), who has visions of unholy apparitions smiling at her. Shortly after, she cuts her own throat. When Rose starts seeing the grinning specters herself (the curse is passed toContinue reading “‘Smile’ is Worth Your While”
‘Spiral: From the Book of Saw’ is Sorely Disappointing
Zeke Banks (Chris Rock) is a detective who plays by his own rules, which often gets him in trouble, especially after he busts a colleague for shooting a witness. Suddenly a spate of brutal murders leads him to suspect that there’s a Jigsaw copycat out there–and the killer is targeting his fellow officers. I wasContinue reading “‘Spiral: From the Book of Saw’ is Sorely Disappointing”
‘Seconds Apart’ is Worth Watching at Least Once (or Twice)
Twin brothers Jonah (Edmund Entin) and Seth (Gary Entin) are teenage psychopaths with telepathic powers and the ability to make folks hallucinate. As part of a mysterious project, they manipulate people into killing themselves. On their trail is the troubled but dedicated Detective Lampkin (Orlando Jones). About ten years ago, I asked my sister forContinue reading “‘Seconds Apart’ is Worth Watching at Least Once (or Twice)”
‘The Shed’: A Decidedly Un-Sparkly Teen Vampire Dramedy
Stan (Jay Jay Warren) is living with his grandfather Ellis (Timothy Bottoms) on the edge of the woods. When neighbor Bane (Frank Whaley) is bitten by a vampire while hunting, he decides to snooze the day away in Ellis’s shed. This brings nothing but problems for Stan, as Bane tends to munch on anything thatContinue reading “‘The Shed’: A Decidedly Un-Sparkly Teen Vampire Dramedy”
'Snatchers': Imagine 'Juno', but with Hostile Aliens
Sara (Mary Nepi) is a teenage girl who’s determined to win back her ex-boyfriend Skyler (Austin Fryberger) by giving him her virginity. Unfortunately for her, he’s been infested with extraterrestrial matter, and impregnates her with alien spawn. She runs to her smart friend Hayley (Gabrielle Elyse), who stands by her when the quickly gestating creatureContinue reading “'Snatchers': Imagine 'Juno', but with Hostile Aliens”
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is, Beyond a Doubt…Really…Something…
Alvin Schwartz’s series of three Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books were published over forty years ago, and generations of people have grown up reading them. Now imagine the pressure of adapting those beloved books into one movie. Consider that the stories in the book are based on folklore and urban legends, andContinue reading “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is, Beyond a Doubt…Really…Something…”
‘The Strangers’: Dark, Disturbing, and All Too Plausible
Kristen (Liv Tyler) and James (Scott Speedman) are a couple staying in an out-of-the way vacation house. They’re menaced and tormented by three masked sociopaths (Gemma Ward, Laura Margolis, and Kip Weeks). First and foremost, The Strangers is darn creepy. The magic of this movie is its wondrous subtlety. For example the scene when theContinue reading “‘The Strangers’: Dark, Disturbing, and All Too Plausible”
Dario Argento’s ‘Suspiria’: Still Scary After All These Years
Directed and co-written by Dario Argento, the king of Italian horror. Suzy (Jessica Harper) is an American boarding at a German dance school. On her arrival there, she runs into Pat (Eva Axén), a girl fleeing the building after being expelled; she disappears without even packing her things. After a series of crazy mishaps (likeContinue reading “Dario Argento’s ‘Suspiria’: Still Scary After All These Years”
‘Summer of Fear’: Do it for Linda Blair and Wes Craven!
Rachel (Linda Blair) is a teenage girl with a nice life: well-to-do, with a loving family and boyfriend (Jeff McCracken), and a cool best friend (Fran Drescher). Then her aunt and uncle die in a car accident, and her cousin Julia (Lee Purcell), whom no one has seen in ten years, comes to live withContinue reading “‘Summer of Fear’: Do it for Linda Blair and Wes Craven!”
GhoulieJoe 