Malaria is a simple country, where the people are poor and sell evil inventions to support themselves. It’s populated mainly by mad scientists and their assistants, called Igors, who are second-class citizens. One particular Igor (John Cusack) is our protagonist. When his master Dr. Glickenstein (John Cleese) dies unexpectedly, he sees his chance to pursueContinue reading “‘Igor’: My Kind of (Re)Animation Movie”
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‘Hellbent’: A Gay Slasher You Can Get Behind
Lonely wannabe cop Eddie (Dylan Fergus) and his buddies: bisexual bed-hopper Chaz (Andrew Levitas), awkward Joey (Hank Harris), and studly Tobey (Matt Phillips) head out to the West Hollywood Halloween Carnival to get some bootie. Eddie is especially interested in Jake (Bryan Kirkwood), a hottie he met earlier. They catch the attention of a maskedContinue reading “‘Hellbent’: A Gay Slasher You Can Get Behind”
‘The Haunting’ (1999): I Enjoyed it More Than the Original–Come at Me!
Dr. Marrow (Liam Neeson) is a psychologist conducting an experiment ostensibly about insomnia but actually about his desire to “investigate the dynamics of fear.” This equals taking naive Eleanor (Lili Taylor), sex kitten Theo (Catherine Zeta-Jones), and goofy Luke (Owen Wilson) and testing their reactions to a supposed haunting in the giant mansion they’re stayingContinue reading “‘The Haunting’ (1999): I Enjoyed it More Than the Original–Come at Me!”
‘Hard Candy’: Not for the Squeamish
Jeff (Patrick Wilson) is a thirty-two-year-old photographer, and when he’s not taking pictures of underage girls for a living, he’s picking them up through the internet. His newest online prey is fourteen-year-old Hayley (Elliot Page, in his former life as a teenage girl), who agrees to go back to his house and pose for him.Continue reading “‘Hard Candy’: Not for the Squeamish”
‘Hannibal’: Anything’s Better Than the Book it’s Based On
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”
‘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”
‘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”
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