Puppet Master (1989) Original

I'll just start right off the bat by saying I have no idea how this spawned so many sequels or became as famous/successful as it did. I found it incredibly mediocre and repulsing at times. I love the idea of the killer puppets, but the execution was awful. It takes like two thirds of the movie to explain what is actually going on in the film long after the puppets have already started killing people. And there is just so much about this movie that makes no sense, for example supposedly the original creator of the puppets did not intend them to be used as dangerous weapons, but if that's the case why make them with knives for hands and drill bits for heads? Plus like many movies made during the 80s the characters (the puppets) have catchy nicknames like Blade, Pinhead and Tunneler, as if these characters were designed with the purpose of selling toys based off of the film, but this is a very violent film and not a kids movie (an illogical but common trend in the 80s).  Also the twist didn't make a whole lot of sense to me (Spoiler Alert) how did the bad guy come back after he died? The answer was he used the ancient Egyptian spell he the puppet master used to bring the dolls to life sure, but how could say the spell to revive himself once he was dead? Unless he said it before he died which shouldn't work cause he wasn't inanimate at the time. Also I noticed several continuity errors and such in the film, and I can understand some people may like these movies for being "so bad they're good" but this first one didn't 

even reach that level of bad for me. It just sat at the level between good and bad reserved for the horribly mediocre film which tries to take itself seriously and be good but misses the mark. That being said I didn't hate it, but it wasn't good enough for me to like it either, though I must admit at first the plot with the psychics being in search of these puppets and psychically linked to each other did intrigue me, but it didn't develop or explain itself enough. My favorite thing about the movie was seeing veteran character actor William Hickey (MouseHunt, The Producers, Little Big Man, Prizi's Honor) cast as the Puppet Master. So I give it a 2.5/5. The full movie is available to stream (as well as all of it's 8 sequels) free on Hulu, and you can watch the trailer below:

House of the Devil (2009)

I usually stay away from anything demonic or of the like, but this is a really great psychological retro-themed horror film definitely worth a watch for any horror fan. On one level the film has a bunch of similarities to Rosemary's Baby, but at the same time it also feels like a mini version of The Shining (both in location size and film length) or a haunted house film. The plot centers around a college student hard-up for cash answering a flyer that advertised needing a baby sitter, but upon arrival to the babysitting job she finds out the couple who put out the ad are actually childless. The film is dialogue-less for most of the movie and there's a small cast of about five characters in total or so. The film is stylized after movies from the late 70s and early 80s and is set in the 80s. The fashion and cars are vintage as well as the 80s walkman the main character carries and the music she dances to while "babysitting", and the film's synth soundtrack. The film's feel is reminiscent of some of Poanski's films like The Tenant, as well as some of Dario Argento's 70s films too. All in all this movie was a great psychological thriller with some unexpected scares and it was also surprisingly fun, I found myself dancing in my seat and drumming along to the film's dance sequence set to the 80s one hit wonder The Fixx's One Thing Leads to Another. It can also get surprisingly violent  The film has a cameo by horror veteran Dee Wallce (The Howling, Critters, Cujo, The Frighteners, E.T.) and has character actor great Tom Noonan (Heat, Manhunter, Last Action Hero, Monster Squad) in a creepy role as well. This film was director Ti West's big break, he then went on to make more successful horror films like V/H/S, The Innkeepers, and his newest film produced by Eli Roth called The Sacrament which is available to stream on Netflix and was heavily promoted by them upon the film's release. House of the devil is featured in Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See book, and is available to stream on Netflix as well. I give the movie a 4.5/5 and you can watch the trailer below:

Frozen (2010)

This is not the Disney movie folks, this is about as far as you can get from it actually. This film is a survival horror/thriller about three friends getting abandoned in a chairlift high in the mountains of a ski resort as a snow storm approaches and no one will be back to the resort for at least a week. This movie is amazing for many reasons, and first and foremost I'd say its most amazing feature is its realism. The film uses practical effects which means they actually put three actors in a real chairlift that high up in the air, a lot of the severe weather filmed is authentic, two of the main actors were life long friends so the chemistry between them is real, the wolves are real, most of the stunts actually happened, and so on and so forth. To me that really puts me in favor of this film without even having watched one second of it, but there's much more to love for when you actually do watch the film. The actors are so good, they tell each others life stories throughout the course of the film, and while many writers/actors/directors wouldn't have been able to pull that off without being horribly cheesy, the cast and crew of Frozen make it work, and really make you feel the pain and fear and everything else the characters feel. The film also 

delivers phenomenal thrills and scares without being super violent, dealing with the supernatural, or the slightly implausible but still possible all too commonly filmed scenario of the serial killer. What makes this film scary is nature itself. Humans have been battling nature for as long as we've been on earth, and this film pokes at all the things we have to fear about nature. This film is like Jaws for skiers, I daresay you won't want to hurry up a chairlift after you see this movie. The film did have some moments that were a little cheesy, but overall it could have been so much worse. The movie is a non-stop thrill ride that will make you feel like you just got off the best roller-coaster at your local theme park. The ending is a tad vague for me, but I kind of like it that way because it can be up to interpretation a little bit then, and that's nice because I know there are probably a lot of people who will interpret the ending negatively, but I feel there's room for it to be interpreted positively. I should also probably mention this film was written and directed by Adam Green, the creative force behind the Hatchet movies. Overall I loved this movie and I give it a 5/5; You can watch the trailer below:

The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)

There's really no other way to say it, this movie was disappointing. The plot sounded very intriguing and like a film version of an X-Files episode: Fashion Photographer Laura Mars has psychic powers beyond her control that allow her to see through the eyes of a psychopathic killer that's on the loose. This was an early project for legendary horror director John Carpenter who wrote the film's screenplay. The movie stars Faye Dunaway, a young Tommy Lee Jones, and one of my favorite character actors Brad Dourif, the great character actor Rene Auberjonois is also in he film (playing quite possibly the funniest/best character of the film). The film has a good 1970s vibe present throughout the majority of 

the film (the cars, the fashion, the architecture) and the film has good cinematography (a bit like some of the Giallo greats), but there is a large portion of this film that is really boring, and a lot of it probably could have been cut out. I fell asleep in the middle of the movie, woke up and finished it without missing a beat (the same thing happened when I watched Heat [1995]), I feel like if you're doing you're job of making the movie correctly then I should have had to re-watch what I slept through. Also this movie's plot has been done many times before, so I wasn't too surprised when the twist was revealed at the end because for a seasoned movie buff like myself, it was pretty easy to figure out (for lesser film buffs though it might be more difficult). The other notable thing about this movie is the theme song by Barbara Streisand "Prisoner," which I guess was somewhat of a hit for her. Overall though this was a mediocre movie and I give it a 3/5; You can Watch the Trailer below:

Maniac Cop (1988)

I picked this one up because of its rep as a big cult classic and I heard it was a "so bad it's good" movie, but overall it treaded the line between being an actual "good" movie and a "so bad its good"  movie. So overall I would say it's just a "bad" movie, but one did have some entertainment value to it. The film is about exactly what it sounds like, a "maniac cop" that goes around killing innocent people, but what's interesting is that the killer may or may not be an undead former police officer (that is what attracted me to this film). The film has somewhat of a traditional 80s slasher feel to it, but it tries to hard to be an intelligent mystery with a twist (which it's not), the twist and overall "mystery" are pretty predictable and have easily found solutions (they actually show you the name tag on the uniform of the killer in the movie's opening sequence). Tom Atkins plays the cop who is on the trail of the maniac cop throughout most of the film, and Bruce Campbell (who appeared in this film and it's 1st sequel in between filming Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness) plays the prime suspect who claims he's innocent. I loved Tom Atkins in The Fog, Halloween III, and of course Night of the Creeps, he's still good in this film but I think the writing was a little hokey overall for everyone in this film. Bruce Campbell really shines with his typical slapstick style towards the end of the film, and that quite frankly is the best part of this movie. In the last 15-20 minutes or so is when the most action occurs, Bruce Campbell starts being Bruce Campbell, the maniac cop is revealed and all the good stuff happens, the rest of the film is not as entertaining as the ending. Also another problem with the film is when they finally do reveal the killer's face the makeup is so bad and actors face is so bizarre that all the ominous scary atmosphere of the film and persona of the killer gets washed away with the first glimpse of the killer's face, which needless to say is a big let down. The titular cop is played by cult and B-movie veteran Robert Z'dar (along with his inhumanly large jaw, which is all natural by the way), and he went on to reprise his role in the film's following two sequels. The film itself is directed by William Lustig who aside from this film and its sequels is most known for the infamously gorey 80s slasher Maniac. Overall the film was alright but it could've been so much better if it made up its mind and went with full on seriousness, or full on wackiness, it was too in-between for me so I give it a 3/5. It did have a great tag-line though: "You have the right to remain silent...forever!"  You can watch the trailer below:

Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Every summer I like to watch a summer camp movie, I always like watching movies during the season in which they take place. This movie is famous for its "twist" ending, and it spawned several sequels. This movie is similar to the first two Friday the 13th films and The Burning, and in my opinion is better than the Friday films, but not as good as The Burning. The acting is pretty bad at parts, what makes this film interesting is its exploration of sexuality that you normally didn't see in films much around this time, let alone low budget teen horror movies (I speak of sexuality here as more of a gender/sexuality issue than just showing everybody sleeping around, which is what is more usually common in these types of films). All this being said the "twist" at the end while interesting and different, didn't really affect or change the incidents that occurred during the plot, in other words it's not hard to figure out who the killer is and the whole film makes you think the mystery and "twist" will change who you think it is, it doesn't and is a let down because of it. I give the film a 3/5; You can watch the whole film on Youtube here, and you can watch the trailer below: 

Possession (1981)

Possession is one of the most bizarre films I've ever seen. It's an art house film that delves into the horror genre, but arguably is not about "possession" at all, unless you're talking about Sam Neill's character struggling with the fact he doesn't own his wife, or you argue how one's anger and fear and other emotions might "possess" someone. Because the film does not deal with demonic possession is what attracted me to the film in the first place, I must admit considering myself a religious person I do not personally handle films of that type well. This film was up for some big awards at Canne (including the Palme D'or) the year it came out and Isabelle Adjani won the best Actress prize for her role (the most powerful scene of the film is when she goes into a fit of madness, arguably "being possessed" in the U Bahn station, in which she was actually put into a state of hypnosis by the director). The synopsis of this film is that it is about a failing relationship between Adjani and Neill's characters and the love triangle that exists when Adjani starts seeing another man. She eventually stops coming home and nobody knows where she goes or what she does during the days anymore, but Adjani has a secret, she has just given birth to a Lovecraftian Cthulu type monster and hides it in an apartment. The film shows that complications can come from unexpressed feelings or unresolved emotions and issues and manifest themselves in the most horrific of ways (similar to Cronenberg's The Brood). The film takes place in Berlin before the wall fell, and having just been there for the first time this summer, it is interesting to see how things have changed, and what things have remained the same. Make no mistake this is an Art House film, much more so than it is a horror film, so be 
prepared for Bergman-esque shots and soliloquy, confusion and SO much symbolism. The 

film's symbolism is very hard to understand and is a contributing factor as to what makes this film feel exhausting to the viewer, a different review of the film had this to say about the film: " You're left feeling a bit like the characters, struggling with an experience beyond the power of language to exorcise." And I love symbolism in film and go out of my way to heavily analyze it normally, but as soon as I tried to interpret what was said a million more questions come up and ultimately I'd forget the original idea, and I have read other reviews of people saying the same thing happened to them. While the film is one of the most unique, bizarre and exhausting things I've ever seen, it is wonderfully acted and shot cinematography wise. The film is indeed a unique experience. While it may be becoming easier to find as of late (you can buy it on amazon for about $20 or so) for the longest time it was not available on any video format, but somebody uploaded a bootleg copy of it to youtube and you can see the whole film here. I give the film a 3.5/5, you can watch the trailer below:

Pet Sematary 2 (1992)

Every review I could find about this movie mentioned its over the top gore, and while I usually have the same policy towards gore as CGI (only use it when absolutely necessary) and thought I could just ignore it and make my review focus on the deeper meaning of the film, I find that the goriness of the film is all I can think about after watching this one. I absolutely loved the first Pet Sematary by Stephen King (as you can see in my review of the film at the link) but this one just isn't the same. Now that being said I still think the film is decent if you're a fan of the first because there are a lot of similarities: the evil pet, pretty much everyone dying, several references to the events of the first film, similar sets used, and of course a great Ramones song playing at the credits. The sheer amount of gore is the film's main weakness, but other weaknesses include its trying to hard to be a teen movie. There are all sorts of angsty "teens have problems" scenes, but in the grand scheme of the film they are totally irrelevant to rest of the events in the film, except that they help to emphasize that the main [teen] characters of the film are outcasts whose only true friends have died (the main boy's mom, and the fat boy's dog). This movie has an unlikely hodgepodge of B celebrities: Anthony Edwards (Goose from Top Gun), Edward Furlong (the boy from Terminator 2), Lisa Waltz (Brighton Beach Memoirs, Starry Night), Jared Rushton (Tom Hanks's friend from Big, Honey I Shrunk the Kids) and Clancy Brown (Shawshank Redemption, Highlander, and the voice of Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants). The movie also has some unexpected black humor in it, most of which comes from Clancy Brown's character (the dinner table scene, and the teen with motorcycle scene). As with the first movie when people or animals die the characters then bury them in the special Native American burial ground behind the Pet Cemetery and they come back to life, but usually 

with a murderous streak in them. Furlong's character is obviously messed up psychologically after the death of his mom at the beginning of the film, and he only continues to get more messed up as the film goes on and more people die. But at one point he becomes so messed up (as does his world around him) that this weird synergy is created and it's almost as if his misfit character has found a place he belongs (albeit among the dead/undead), and that is probably one of the best/weirdest and most unique moments of the film, because you don't really know what will happen next (except that he will resurrect his mother). The only other thing worth mentioning about this one is that it has one of the most realistic looking car wrecks I've ever seen in the movies, and I have no idea how they could have damaged the car the way they did without the people inside actually getting killed. And there's a crazy scene where a guy pops the eyes out of a 

taxidermied pug dog (who you think is alive at first).  Also I liked the dog in this movie. In my opinion the dog is much scarier than the cat from the first movie. I should also mention this movie is pretty hard to find at the moment, except if you have Xfinity on demand with Comcast it is currently available there. I give the film a 3.25/5, and you can view the trailer below:

Eyes Without a Face (1959)

I've been told to see this one for years, and I'm glad I finally did. It's one of the most influential horror films ever made, and for good reasons. The bizarre and haunting score for the film was composed by legendary Oscar winning film composer Maurice Jarre (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago), the screenplay was written by the team of Boileau-Narcejac who are known for such film legends as Diabolique (1955), and Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958). The cinematography by Eugen Schufftan (Port of Shadows [1938], The Hustler [1961]) blends the styles of Jean Cocteau (Beauty and the Beast [1946]) with F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu [1922]). John Carpenter has even hinted that the famous Michael Myers' mask was inspired by the woman's mask in Eyes Without a Face, and let's not forget the Billy Idol hit song of the same name that was inspired by the film. Eyes is a french horror film about a doctor who is constantly trying to find a way to restore his daughter's face after she was disfigured in a car accident that he caused. As a result of the accident and her disfigurement, the daughter wears an eerie lifeless doll-like mask. In his search to repair her face however he has sought out experimental alternative methods that science and the medical profession would normally shun, he robs women of their faces in order to transplant them onto his daughter. Although the film's director insists the film's doctor is not a "mad doctor" this film influenced countless mad doctor/scientist movies that came after it. The doctor who at first sees normal turns out to be a cold emotionless sociopath, with no concern

 of his victims. Along with the splendid music and cinematography, the acting is also flawless here. Although the film may seem a little dated (but in a way I can't quite put my finger on) it still stands the test of time feels less dated than some other films of a similar style from its era (Carnival of Souls [1962] for example). The only flaw I could see in this film was that the daughter's mask while great in its effect, was not actually a mask as you could see her lips move whenever she was "wearing" the mask and tried to speak. There were also some times when the film felt a little slow, but I feel as with many art house films, that was intentional and actually added to the unsettling feeling of the film. I give it a 5/5. The film is on the Criterion collection, and thus available on Hulu Plus. The film is also featured in Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See. Here's a link to a trailer someone constructed for the film. 
  

Night of the Creeps (1986)

I had high hopes for this one because I'm a huge fan of The Monster Squad (1987) and Night of the Creeps was the first film for the Monster Squad's director Fred Dekker (House[1986], Robocop 3[1993]). Night of the Creeps is a wonderful cross genre film, with parts of it fitting into Sci-fi, horror, comedy, action, romance, slasher,  and everything in between. Night of the creeps is one part tribute to 50s Sci-Fi B films, one part teen scream (horror movie that appeals to teens), one part parasitic alien film, one part detective film, and one part crazy Animal House-esque comedy. With all those areas to cover it would be fairly easy to mess up in any one of them or have the film not feel like a whole, but Dekker wrote a phenomenal screenplay for the film and never at any point do the films different genre components take away from the strength of the plot or the film as a whole. This is as classic as 80s movies get, the movie has all the classic 80s sterotypes but at the same time it has so many things most 80s movies, or movies in general for that matter, don't have. The film's highlights include a wonderful wise cracking character who happens to be crippled (you don't so many disabled people in movies in general and this film creates a wonderful character who's strong despite his affliction), great catchy phrases from the detective character (every time he answers a phone or acknowledges someone he says "Thrill Me!"), killing zombies with Flame Throwers, explosions, lawn mowers and more, puppet aliens, great special effects and wonderful Animal House inspired Frat antics.  The plot is that parasitic aliens have gotten lose into town the night of the college's formal dance, there's a lot more to it than that but it's best to just see it. Sure there were some parts where the acting is poor or some lines that make no sense (such as the detective shouting "it's Miller time!" while killing a zombie), but overall the screenplay is absolutely wonderful, and so are the actors. The special effects were made by some of the soon to be greatest make-up and special effects artists in Hollywood. Everyone usually raves about the actor Tom Atkins and his performance as the hard boiled detective in this movie, and while I love his character and his dialogue, I don't think it's a role that couldn't have been pulled

off just as well by another actor, though this is probably his best loved role. This film is a huge cult classic and ultimately was denied success in its time like so many genre bending films because people didn't know how to market it. The film is also insanely quotable with my favorite line being the one that is echoed in the poster up there: "I've got good news and bad news girls, the good news is your dates are here" "What's the bad news?" "They're dead." The film has endured over the years because of its intense cult following, and we can only hope that they will keep it around for as long as films can be accessed on one format or another. I give it a 5/5. The movie is featured in Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See book, and you can watch the trailer below:

Fubar (2000) and Fubar II (2010)

If you enjoyed Wayne's World (1992), This is Spinal Tap (1984), Strange Brew (1983), Anvil: The Story of Anvil (2008) or The Big Lebowski (1998), then boy have I got a movie for you. This is a Canadian cult classic about two metal head hicks from Alberta who are just as entertaining and deserving of a fan following as Wayne or Garth, Bob or Doug McKenzie, or Walter and The Dude. The film is shot mockumentary style just like Spinal Tap, so the people in the film are all actors and the characters are all fictional but they feel just like real people and the movie is very realistic (for the most part). There is no real plot except for the development of the characters. Terry and Dean the main characters are two

metalhead/stoner bums who are concerned more with partying than anything else pretty much. Dean's character does develop testicular cancer though and one of the main characters die, so the film has some serious tones but the film handles them with such hilarity that you won't even notice the seriousness that much. This movie is full of wonderful quotable lines like "I recommend you try another sport...like knitting!" or "Turn up the good button turn down the suck button! I think you broke the knob off!" Just as Walter and the Dude have bowling as a pass-time, Terry and Dean have beer and fighting. I didn't stop to count but I wouldn't be surprised if over a hundred beers were consumed by the duo on-screen. The film tends to speak to people in their 20s who might be in or just out of college and who are failing to cope with the hardships of maturity and the real world after school. I found the movie endlessly entertaining and I highly recommend it and hope it catches on here in the states. I also watched the sequel which was made ten years after and is more of the same but with far more serious overtones and more well polished production value. I give the first one a 5/5 and the second a 3.5/5. You can view the trailer below:

Fright Night Part II (1988)

 For those of you that are unfamiliar with the 80s cult classic Fright Night (1985) and its sequels and remakes, I advise reading about it here before continuing to read this review.This sequel came out three years after the original, and it has William Ragsdale and Roddy McDowall reprise their roles as Charlie Brewster and Peter Vincent respectively. This film is just as fun as the first and just as well acted and the cinematography and music are just as great as the first film as well. The only areas where this film really lacks are in its special effects and writing. The writing is still pretty good overall, but there are points in the film where certain things (although may be cool) don't make a whole lot of sense (I'd give the specific example but I don't want to give the surprise away). The special effects however are really where this film suffered, specifically the effects with the vampires. The vampire effects are much different from the first film, (which is too bad because the vampires in the first Fright Night are some of the most unique and coolest looking vampires in the history of film) here they sometimes come off as fake and hokey. The plot of the film is that it is years after the events in the first film, and Charley is now a young college student who has undergone years of therapy that has convinced him that the events in the first film never happened and that vampires don't exist. He also has a new girlfriend, on the anniversary of the events of the first film, and sort of to show himself that he has been cured of his delusional beliefs about vampires, Charley decides to reconnect with the washed up horror movie actor turned TV host, Peter Vincent. Upon visiting Vincent's apartment building though, Charley once again sees someone carrying a coffin into the building, just like the beginning of the last film. Shortly after seeing the coffin and those carrying it, Charley becomes stalked by a beautiful woman, who as you find out later is actually Jerry Dandridge (the vampire from the first film)'s sister bent on getting revenge on Peter Vincent and Charley. The actress who plays the vampire in this film does a wonderful job of being very hypnotic and exotic. The sets are great in this film too, some return from the last movie, and others are very appropriately 80s gothic. This film was not as big of a success as the first film, due partially to the fact that it had a limited theater release, and it's almost impossible to find on any form of home video.

The VHS release of the film came in a coffin shaped box and is now a collectors item, the DVD went out of print very shortly after it was first released (plus the DVD is a horrible fuzzy Pan-and-Scan transfer) so it's hard to find, and it is still not yet known if the film will be released on Blu-Ray, although if amazon is correct you can buy a copy on Blu-Ray for $400. I enjoyed the film despite its flaws and not being as good as the first, I give it a 4/5. You can view the trailer below: 

Event Horizon (1997)

Event Horizon is essentially a haunted house movie in outer space. The spaceship is creepy, full of creepy noises, ghosts/hallucinations, and other blinking lights and other standard fare in haunted house movies. A lot of people either love or hate this movie, it was panned by most critics but it has a strong fan following. The film is set in the future and is about an innovative spaceship that went through a black hole and disappeared, only to reappear years later with its crew missing. A team of astronauts are sent to figure out what happened to the crew and salvage what they can from the ship, the ship's creator (Sam Neill's character) is 

among the salvage team. The new crew starts experiencing strange things on board the ship and they come to a dark conclusion on where the ship might have gone on its initial trip through the black hole (hell). The acting is what ties this movie together, both Sam Neill (Jurassic Park) and Laurence Fishburne (pre-Matrix) give wonderful performances, but the supporting cast although full of relatively unknown faces is also great featuring: Joely Richardson (Natasha Richardson's sister, and Vanessa Redgrave's daughter), Sean Pertwee (Equilibrium, and Dog Soldiers), and Jason Isaacs (The Patriot and Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter series). As the film progresses it gets progressively gory (they had to cut back in order to get an R rating). I absolutely love haunted house movies though and pretty much any twist on them, so this was interesting and enjoyable even if a tad too gory for my liking

at times. The pacing was wonderful, the film had a natural progression leading up to its climax at the very end of the film. The ending was similar to that of Carrie (1976), or Dressed to Kill (1980), or The Fury (1978). The CG is impressive by 1997 standards, but a bit dated by today's standards. It is also notable that the film has a similar feel to the first Alien (1979) film. I give it a 4.25/5; The film is featured in Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See. The film is also available to stream on Netflix. You can view the trailer below:  

Deathdream (1972) aka Dead of Night

I've seen a lot of movies lately that have been based around the famous horror short story by English author W.W. Jacobs, The Monkey's Paw. In The Monkey's Paw a mother wishes that her recently deceased son would come back to life, but when he does he's not the same way she wished he was. The Monkey's Paw is a "be careful what you wish for" story, and so is Deathdream. Deathdream is about a family whose son goes to fight in Vietnam and gets killed, and the mother in her deep grief and denial about her son's death, somehow manages to bring him back home from the dead. Upon the son's arrival back home the family is immediately aware that something is different with Andy and he is completely different from how he was before the war, he becomes increasingly violent and he seems more dead than alive. The film is also a less than subtle look at the issue of how war changes people and a look at the baggage they bring home with them (primarily PTSD). The film covers troubled relationships the soldiers had with family and friends upon coming home, but also their romantic relationships and how difficult that could be, and the film also symbolically looks at soldiers and the drug addictions they would come home with (primarily Morphine because of its use as a pain medication), even though the main character needs blood to survive instead of actual drugs. 

The movie is a good "be careful what you wish for" story, as well as
 a unique zombie and vampire story. This was one of director Bob Clark(Black Christmas, Porky's, and A Christmas Story)'s first films, and for famous horror movie make-up artist and actor Tom Savini (original Dawn of the Dead, Friday the 13th, Creepshow, The Burning, Martin, and Knightriders)'s first film. I love Bob Clark and his style and cinematography that he brings to each of his films, and that style is still present even this early on in his career, and the special effects are of course great (of course because they're by Savini) as well. The acting is great too by the whole cast which includes John Marley (The Godfather)as the father and Oscar nominated actress Lynn Carlin (nominated for Faces[1969] in which she also starred with Marley) as the mother. Deathdream is marvelously creepy and lots of fun because of it and it's message, be it metaphorical or not is much like the message of another film I reviewed  recently (The Walking Dead[1936]), which is "let the dead stay dead." That message of course can also be reinterpreted to apply more directly to one's life as "let the past stay in the past." I loved the film and I give it a 5/5. The film is mentioned in Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See.  You can view the trailer below:

Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

I finally decided to see this one, after years of hearing about it. For those who don't know this film has claimed the title of "worst film ever made" for the last 50+ years. While I personally don't think this is the worst film ever made (or that I've ever seen) it is pretty dang bad. This is the film that would make Ed Wood a star (albeit ironically). Ed Wood made a number of horrible B films throughout the 50s but this is his most famous/infamous. Less than 20 years after his death he would be immortalized in a critically acclaimed film made by Tim Burton, but during his lifetime Ed Wood would never see such positive acceptance of his work. Plan 9 is about aliens that come to earth and plan on taking over the world by raising the dead (don't worry if that doesn't make sense, Ed Wood never makes sense). The film has so many errors that it, Ed Wood, and his other films have all become ironically inspirational, people see his films and think "If somebody can make a piece of crap like that there's hope for me in the film business!" There are continuity errors up the wazoo, wooden acting, horrible sets and lighting (most notably in the airplane scenes) and Cadillac hubcaps on wires posing as flying saucers. The film has one of the biggest cult followings of all time for any film though. The entire genre of "so bad they're good" movies was basically created because of this film, it is still enjoyable to watch and laugh at because of how amazingly bad it is. There are a few things that should be mentioned about the film for those who don't know anything about it: 1). this was Bela Lugosi (the legendary horror actor most famous for playing Dracula [1931])'s last film. Lugosi was one of Wood's heroes growing up and he managed to meet and form a unique friendship with the man, and give him the last few roles of his career. Lugosi died only managed to film about 15 minutes of footage (or less) before he died leaving Wood to find a replacement for him for the rest of the film. His replacement ended up being a 

dead ringer for Lugosi... from the eyes up that is, Wood forced the replacement to walk around the set covering his face with his cape (like classic Dracula) so only his eyes nose and above were exposed. 2). Vampira, a 1950s horror TV host who would introduce B horror movies late at night, (the original Elvira, also think SvenGhouli) makes her most famous film appearance in this film. In my opinion the best scenes of the movie are when Vampira and Tor Johnson ( a 400 pound Swedish professional wrestler with very limited acting ability) are walking through the graveyard together. Both Johnson and Vampira are unusual characters in personality and lifestyle and they are even more unusual in their appearance, seeming practically otherworldly (Vampira pretty much invented the "vamp" look for women, and she had an unusually small waist). 3). Lastly Ed Wood was a master at collecting and using stock footage. Basically anything you see of unusually high quality compared to the rest of the movie is stock footage, which as I mentioned before could 

stand out like a sore thumb, but in other incidents he was extremely creative with it and you wouldn't necessarily know it was stock footage. The worst part of the film however is the last quarter or third of the movie, when the plot just kind of goes out the window, and the dialogue becomes so verbose and lengthy that it's incredibly hard to understand what is going on, and thus it drags and people (like myself and a friend) can tend to dose off at that point. Obviously I have to give the film a very low rating for quality ( I won't even mention how low) but as for pure enjoyment and campy entertainment value, I give it a 3.75/5. The movie is enormously influential, and if you enjoyed it I recommend The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, it's a 2001 film that spoofs 1950s B movies like Plan 9, and it is available to stream on Netflix. You can view the trailer below:

The Walking Dead (1936)

The 1930s are known for such immortal horror classics as Frankenstein (1931), Dracula (1931), King Kong (1933) and The Invisible Man (1933). But often forgotten are other great horror films that should be just as widely known as the aforementioned, like The Most Dangerous Game (1932), The Island of Lost Souls (1932), and this gem. Though White Zombie (1932) is credited as the first zombie movie, it like many early "zombie" movies only used the term zombie in the context of people being hypnotized or drugged during voodoo rituals,  (people who are either just hypnotized and called "zombies" or people who were under the influence of a drug that made them appear dead and then came back to life, but were never dead at any time) but I would argue that this could be considered the first zombie film in a sense as well. This (from what research I did) is the first time the term "the walking dead" is used, it is also one of the first times a person comes back from the dead and is not the same as they were, (Dracula and Frankenstein excluded). Boris Karloff was very influential on the overall turnout of the film. For example his character was originally supposed to not speak once revived, and was supposed to have "Tarzan-like agility," and Karloff thought the

character's lack of speech was too similar to his Frankenstein role, and that the character

should walk more slowly as his body probably would have sustained injury from receiving such large amounts of voltage. It was also Karloff's idea to make his character more likable and also empathetic by having him be a musician instead of a bum and an alcoholic. It is mentioned on IMDB's "Connections" section for the film that "The movement of the first zombie in Night of the Living Dead (1968) was inspired by the way John Ellman walked." This film also has unique cinematography for its time, and a unique blend of on location sets and fabricated ones. The plot of the story is that Karloff plays a man who is framed and sentenced to the electric chair, two witnesses to the crime come to his aid to clear his name, but they arrive too late, however an experimental medical procedure is done involving implanting a mechanical heart The procedure is a success, but when he comes back he is not the same, into Karloff's body to bring him back to life. he now knows subconsciously who framed him, but he is not able to voice any information that he has gained about life after death upon his return from the other side. Karloff's character is wonderfully empathetic, you really feel for him as Karloff has such a wonderful expressive face. The film also has a wonderfully creepy atmosphere since Karloff's character frequents walking through 

graveyards. The ending is also very good in that it has a message/warning  similar to that of Frankenstein and other "coming back from the dead" stories like The Monkey's Paw, in that it is better to let the dead stay dead, and also that one should not "play God." I really enjoyed the film and I give it a 5/5. I could not find a trailer for this film.

Compulsion (1959)

This film is based on the Leopold and Loeb murder trial that happened in the 1920s and was considered by many to be the "trial of the century" when it occurred. Leopold and Loeb were two college aged young adult males who prided themselves on their "superior" intellects, so they sought ought to prove their intellect to others by committing the perfect crime, they murdered a 14 year old boy to prove they could get away with it. Obviously the crime was not made without mistakes, otherwise the two never would have been caught, but they were due to one of the men leaving behind his glasses at the scene of the crime. The two were represented by arguably the most famous defense lawyer of all time Clarence Darrow (the same attorney appointed to the defense at the legendary Scopes Monkey trial, that occurred one year after the Leopold and Loeb case). Darrow gave a 12 hour speech pleading directly to the judge (when pleading guilty to a charge, a jury can be thrown out and the defense can aim their argument  solely at the judge) which is thought by many to be the best of his career. The film did a very good job of being accurate when describing the details of the actual crime and the trial. The only thing that may not have been the most accurate in the film was the portrayal of the relationship between Leopold and Loeb, in real life their relationship was also an intimate one, and due to film codes in the 1950s that detail of the case was spared. I am also unsure how much of the speech made by Darrow was word for word accurate in the film, but I do know that it is one of the best speeches I have

ever heard in general, and by far probably the best speech/argument I've ever heard against the death penalty.
 The legendary actor/director Orson Welles played Darrow in the film and gave a phenomenal performance, even if he only was in the film for less than a half hour (out of the films two hour total length). The rest of the acting was all very good as well, Dean Stockwell gave  one of the more notable performances of his career. This was the first critically acclaimed fact-based crime drama directed by Richard Fleischer, Fleischer would go on to direct at least two other critically acclaimed crime dramas based on true stories with The Boston Strangler (1968) and 10 Rillington Place (1971), as well as several famous sci-fi films (Soylent Green[1973] and The Fantastic Voyage[1966]). There are several other films based on the Leopold and Loeb murder case, the most famous being Alfred Hitchcock's Rope (1948) with Jimmy Stewart, and French director Michael Haneke's Funny Games (1997), but Compulsion is the most historically accurate portrayal. The film did drag a little bit at times though, and the trial only took up the last half hour or so of the film, so with those being my only beefs with the film I give it a 4.5/5 and I recommend it to anyone who likes classic films, or crime dramas. You can view the trailer below:

28 Days Later (2002)

I'd been meaning to see this one for a long time, but just never got around to it like so many other movies on my "to see" list.I had heard basically nothing but good things about this one, though my main hesitation to see it was because I'm not a fan of zombie movies, and yet that's why I liked this one, because it stops being a zombie movie at some point. I had always heard that 28 Days Later was a very non traditional zombie movie, but I was thinking that meant because it was the first film to feature running zombies (lots of movies have used them since though) and other unique qualities that would still make the zombies the key focal point of the movie, while this is true for a while, the film does change at a certain point. At a certain point about a third of the way through the movie, the two main characters meet up with a man and his daughter and flee to the countryside in his taxi cab. Once they leave London, the movie becomes more of an experimental/art film than a zombie film, and zombies won't even be seen again in the film until very close to the end. The

cinematography, countryside and music are all gorgeous at this point in the movie, and the characters are all relieved to be safe and among friends, so their happiness rubs off on the viewer and makes the film just that much more enjoyable. And with the exception of some of the earliest scenes of the movie, even when the zombies are around, the movie is much more about survival and figuring out how to continue/rebuild civilization as we know it than it is about just killing/escaping from zombies. In case you do not know the story, the film is about a zombie apocalypse in London brought on by bacteria found in monkeys. The story really begins though when a man (Cillian Murphy) wakes up from a coma to a completely deserted hospital. The man finds other survivors in the city and the film follows his adventures from there on. The director Danny Boyle is known for using a guerrilla film style with all of his movies ( In Slumdog Millionaire he used cell phone cameras in the alleys of India, Trainspotting uses very fast shaky shots throughout, etc.) and this one 

is no exception. Arguably the most impressive part of this film are its scenes where Murphy walks through a completely deserted London, and that's all real. In order to get the shots of a deserted London, Boyle and his crew filmed early in the morning when there was hardly anyone around and then they used handheld cameras to quickly capture the shots they needed before cars and people would begin to invade their shots. I liked the film and its unwillingness to be confined to the traditions of one specific genre. The ending didn't really sit all that well with me though (it didn't feel like there was any resolution much at all), and I'm still not a big fan of post apocalyptic zombie movies of any kind so I give it a 4.25/5. You can view the trailer below:

Night of the Comet (1984)

Predating most of the 80s classic teen comedies (John Hughes films included) was this unique film. The film is about people in the L.A. area of California who are all getting ready to watch the arrival of comet fly overhead one night, but then due to unforeseen forces (radiation or possibly some alien bacteria) all who were exposed to the comet were either immediately vaporized, or turned into zombies (those who were in a house as opposed to watching the comet outside). At first it seems only two teenage valley girls (both sisters) survived unharmed (all those who were behind steel structures remained unaffected) and all of L.A. is now their playground. The film is unique not only in its plot but also with its characters and their interactions with each other. The girls' father is in the Military Special Ops forces, and apparently he did weapon and combat training with each of them from a

very young age, so though they are typical 80s teenagers in many ways, they are different because they know their weapons and prefer Uzies, also the older sister is really into/good at video games, and nerdy things like Superman. The film is advertised as a comedy but I didn't find it that funny at all actually, (except for my favorite line of the movie: "I'm not crazy! I just don't give a fuck!") but it was still fun and enjoyable because of how unique and different it is. The movie has a very fitting 80s soundtrack and the highlight of the film (or at least most famous scene) is when the girls go on a shopping spree at an abandoned mall. As interesting as the movie was it never really built to a proper climax in my opinion and it just kind of ended without any kind of (or at least very little) resolution. I still liked it though and recommend it if you dig 80s movies, zombie movies, post-apocalyptic movies, horror comedies, or teen movies in general. The movie is now available on Instant Streaming on Netflix, or you can also find the full movie in decent quality on YouTube here. I give it a 4.25/5, and you can view the trailer below:

Village of the Damned (1960)

Although universally thought of as a classic, today it is often overlooked and forgotten about in favor of other classic 60s horror flicks like Night Of The Living Dead (1968) or other classic Sci-Fis like Invasion of The Body Snatchers(1956), but this film should still be just as talked about and beloved as it once was for it holds up remarkably well almost 55 years later. Imagine The Omen (1976) except instead of one evil kid running around destroying things with his mind, you get 12 of them in this movie. The children are born when (after a mysterious sleeping spell overtakes a whole town) all the women in a town become pregnant. Oscar winning actor George Sanders (who is known for his cold calculative and often slimy characters, to which this film's no exception) does a wonderful job as the scientist who wants to keep the children alive for the sake of studying even after they begin to commit unspeakable crimes. The special effects done to the children's eyes are still spooky even by today's standards. The film also builds marvelously until the very end (some older films can really lag, but this is well paced for the time it was made). The film does have at least one sequel (Children of The Damned, which is also acclaimed, and Iron Maiden did a saong of the same name about that film) and the honor of being remade 35 years later by horror legend John Carpenter, but from what I have read there seems to be no doubt that the original is the best. I give it a 5/5, and you can view the trailer below:

All About Eve (1950)

This might be the film I've reviewed that I've most strongly connected/personally related

to. All About Eve is the six Oscar winning (including best picture) 1950 film that is as timeless as any classic. The film tells/shows the destructive power of  ambition/planning (albeit to others whose ambitions overlap) deception and jealousy, and of course the power of the theater which encapsulates all three of those. The film is incredibly relevant even to those outside of the theater though because of the competitive and "fake" nature life sometimes seems to take on due to the insincerity of others (which oddly enough is just as damaging be it detectable or undetectable). The film ultimately is a reminder of the old Shakespeare adage: "All the world is a stage, and we but actors on it," and lastly the film serves as a powerful reminder to me of the importance and value I hold for sincerity; From myself and from others. Bette Davis plays an aging theater actress, Margo Channing. One night Margo gets a visit from a fan whose admiration of her is so impressive to Margo and her entourage, that Margo decides to employ the fan as her full time secretary. Eventually it becomes known to all though that the stories the secretary 
(Eve) tells are all fiction though and that Eve had her rise to stardom through the friendship of Margo and her entourage planned from the beginning, and Eve's

humility is nothing more than a testament to her ability to act. Eve is one of those people I'm sure we all either have or will encounter at some point, who doesn't care who they hurt while they try to get what they want (and simultaneously ingratiating themselves into the hearts of others, due to their lack of realizing the individual's ulterior motives), this film also serves as a reminder that at one point or another in our lives we ourselves be similar (though maybe to a lesser extent) to the title character (it's more or less in the nature of being ambitious, one just needs to really try to find a balance and hopefully ultimately be more sincere). This film also has an abundance of great quotes, wit, and of course acting. Though neither lead actress won the Oscar for this film George Sanders did win Best Supporting Actor for his marvelous part in the film. The film has a 100% rating on RottenTomatoes.com, it is listed in several of my cult movie books, and is agreed upon almost universally as one of the greatest movies ever made. The film is a little long, but in my opinion it never really felt sluggish, and it actually had pretty good pacing and is worth almost every moment. As I mentioned before the film has many famous quotes that have since become even more well known than the film they're from, the best example of this is when Davis's character says: "Fasten your seatbelts, It's going to be a bumpy night!" I give it a 5/5, and you can find the film available to stream on Netflix.  I don't really like trailers for older films, but you can view it below nonetheless: 

Tourist Trap (1979)

This is a very obscure cult classic, but unlike many obscure classics that are good and have seemingly no reason to be (no famous or noteworthy names attached to the project) Tourist Trap has people that add to its unique eccentric style. Most notably Robert A. Burns, the art director from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, was involved with Tourist Trap designing the creepiest mannequins I have ever seen, and being responsible for the also very effective special effects that made them come alive. Composer Pino Donaggio, most remembered for his scores for several Brian De Palma films, Carrie (1976) Dressed to Kill 

(1980), Blowout (1981), as well as Jo Dante's Piranha (1978) and Howling (1981) and Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973), did a very bizarre carnival-esque score for the film. The plot of the film centers around these college aged kids going on a road trip who decide to stop at a tourist trap along the way; Slausen's Wax Museum. Unfortunately for the kids this is a real tourist trap, and the museum's owner and his crazy "brother" are turning the tourists into mannequins. It is also worth mentioning that the lead character/killer is played by the former star of the 50s TV series The Rifleman: Chuck Conners. As mentioned  before the film has several unique quirks about it (the score, the lifelike mannequins, main actor cast against type) and my favorite is the fact that the killer also has telekinetic powers, forget the 
predictable plot twist, now that's truly

unexpected. Like many great horror flicks from the 70s and 80s this was not a success on its initial release, but it found an audience when it was aired on cable TV in the 80s, garnering none other than Stephen King as one of its many fans. King praises it in his Danse Macabre book as an obscure classic saying that the film "“wields an eerie spooky power, as wax figures begin to move and come to life in a ruined, out-of-the-way tourist resort.” The film was recently released on Blu-ray so it is now more accessible than its ever been. It is truly a unique take on the slasher film, considering it has no blood (there is a little actually, but basically none) or nudity in it and is rated PG, but just like Texas Chainsaw, it feels a whole lot more graphic than it is. The film is featured on Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to see  list/book. I give it a 4.5/5, you can view the trailer below: