‘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”

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”

1987’s ‘Flowers in the Attic’ is Disturbing but Delightfully Trashy

When her husband dies suddenly, Corrine (Victoria Tennant) has to pack up her four children: six-year-olds Carrie (Lindsay Parker) and Cory (Ben Ryan Ganger) and teenagers Cathy (Kristy Swanson) and Christopher (Jeb Stuart Adams), and reunite with her wealthy estranged parents, whom she hasn’t seen in 17 years because she married her uncle (yes, youContinue reading “1987’s ‘Flowers in the Attic’ is Disturbing but Delightfully Trashy”

‘Feardotcom’: Lovely, but Completely Nonsensical

Feardotcom(.com) is a website run by serial killer Alistair (Stephen Rea), who believes that “Reducing relationships to anonymous electronic impulses is a perversion.” His solution: kidnap young women and film himself torturing them until they beg to die, thus creating “intimacy with death.” Protagonist Mike (Stephen Dorff) is the detective who’s been hunting him forContinue reading “‘Feardotcom’: Lovely, but Completely Nonsensical”

1989’s ‘Far from Home’ is Cheesy and Predictable, but I Kinda Like it

Joleen (Drew Barrymore) is a fourteen-year-old on a road trip with her father Charlie (Matt Frewer). They run out of gas in a small town in Nevada, where fuel is hard to come by. So they temporarily set up shop in a trailer park. Joleen, eager to meet boys, runs across Jimmy (Andras Jones), theContinue reading “1989’s ‘Far from Home’ is Cheesy and Predictable, but I Kinda Like it”

‘The Exorcist III: Legion’–Not as Scary as ‘The Exorcist’ But Creepy, and At Least There’s No Pea Soup-Spewing

Ignoring the second movie, The Exorcist III picks up roughly 15 years after the original left off, with Lieutenant Kinderman (George C. Scott) investigating a series of murders that appear to be the work of the Gemini Killer (Brad Dourif), who’s supposed to be dead. Meanwhile, Kinderman encounters Patient X (Jason Miller), a mental patientContinue reading “‘The Exorcist III: Legion’–Not as Scary as ‘The Exorcist’ But Creepy, and At Least There’s No Pea Soup-Spewing”

‘Evilspeak’ is Big Time Dated, but Still Way Flash

Private Coopersmith (Clint Howard) is a recently orphaned teenager in military school. His poor soccer skills and habit of crying frequently make him unpopular, and he’s often tortured by four really mean guys. On a cleaning detail in the school’s chapel cellar, he discovers a boatload of Satanist paraphernalia. With a combination of black magicContinue reading “‘Evilspeak’ is Big Time Dated, but Still Way Flash”