Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Far superior to the original George Romero version, Dawn of the Dead is a fantastic horror movie. DotD successfully uses the dumb zombie genre to reveal something about human compassion and strength through difficult moments. Genuinely well developed characters and dialogue. Tons of over-the-top gruesome sequences. Dawn of the Dead is a treat. Perhaps not as good as 28 Days Later, which is my favorite zombie movie of all time, but Dawn is destined to be a classic of horror. Along with 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead is really one of the only truly scary zombie films you will ever watch.dawnofthedeadmovie.net
I recently viewed the Italian 1979 Lucio Fulci film Zombie for the first time. Not scary, just full of gross-outs. In one really absurd sequence a topless scuba diver is menaced by a shark. It's a real shark. Then a rotting zombie starts walking menancingly toward the diver. The zombie wrestles the shark. Now keep in mind it's a real shark. Somehow the actor put blood in his mouth and wrestles a real shark while pretending to bite it. I have no idea how this was accomplished.
Dagon
I’m a fan of the writings of H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft, along with Robert E. Howard ( Texan creator of Conan the Barbarian), were writers in what mainstream literary critics will call the Jazz Age. Of course, Lovecraft and Howard were writing for the Pulps, which were lurid, cheap magazines. These two have been ignored as highbrow literature until recently. H.P. Lovecraft’s influence on the modern horror story can be seen anywhere. Despite the few movie adaptations of his work, there is very little violence in his writings. In fact, there isn’t any. They are more mood pieces than anything.
The film Dagon is a loose adaptation of a few of his stories. The Shadow Over Innsmouth, Dagon, and a smidgen of Call of Cthulhu. Basically, Dagon is a crazy, low budget, non-stop action, zombies-running-amok, creature feature. Its also terrific. This is clearly Stuart Gordon’s best movie. Movie fans will remember Stuart Gordon, for Rean
imator, From Beyond and the dreadfully awful, Castle Freak.
Unlike, the Shadow over Innsmouth, Dagon doesn’t take place in Lovecraft’s mythical, New England setting of Arkham. It take place off the coast of Spain in a moldering fishing village. The production is a joint venture of Spanish and American film-making.This film has genuine scares and a lot of real gross-outs. Be warned, that it does cross “over the line” at moments.
A first rate cast, especially a certain saucer-eyed Macarena Gomez, who gets my vote as best actress playing a priestess of a mutated fish god. Some fans have remarked on her similarity to Sixties horror star Barbara Steele. See next review below. Hoping to see more of this fine actress in the future.
movies.fantasticfactory.com/dagon
Black Sunday
Black Sunday is a work of visual genius. This Italian made film from 1960 has the feel of the old expressionist Universal Studios classics, such as Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein, etc., but it is not an imitation of those classics. It is a classic in it's own right. Black Sunday, also called La Maschera del Demonio, has been the template for dozens of gothic horror movies ever since. This is my only problem with the film. I've seen so many films like this, even though this is one of the first "modern" gothic horror films, it is too easy to follow the plot. Yes, the lead protagonist Princess Katia (Barbara Steele) has a portrait on her castle wall of Princess Asa Vaida (Barbara Steele again!), that looks just like her. This same evil look-alike motif will be re-applied in Steele's next film Pit and the Pendulum. The next problem with the film is over dubbing of the actors voices from Italian to an almost American accent. I realize that many of the so-called "spaghetti- horror" and "spaghetti-westerns" do this for obvious reasons. I just resent that the British actors don't use their real voices. I've seen it described as a silent movie with sound.
It sounds like I'm slagging on Black Sunday. I'm not. Watching the flawless transfer on DVD, I was literally stunned by some of the images of terrifying beauty. Director Mario Bava manages to turn that fog and rain machine on full blast and somehow it doesn't seem hokey. This film was not made on some studio back lot, but in real spooky castles, and it shows. I'm certain that serious film students over look this terrific film due to the subject matter.
British actress Barbara Steele is great in her dual roles in this film. She makes a great vampire and a great damsel in distress. The whole cast really is on target for this film that I suggest you check out.
For more about the films of Barbara Steele go to www.BarbaraSteele.com.
Switchblade Sisters
(Rolling Thunder DVD)
This is my all time favorite exploitation film of the 70's. Jack Hill's Switchblade Sisters is the touching story of an all girl gang called the Dagger Debs. Here's the premise: The leadership of the Debs is threatened when a new girl, Magi, comes to town and has the moxie and charisma to take command of the Dagger Debs away from the chipmunk voiced leader named Lace. If you close your eyes she sounds just like Frenchie from Grease. The Debs decided to break away from the male gang, named the Silver Daggers. The internal jockeying for power plays out while the girls have an all out war with a group 
of drug dealing, left wing Yippies. The Debs get some added muscle from a group of Black Feminist Maoists hell-bent on violent revolution. Destruction and mayhem follow.
Switchblade Sisters is great, kitschy fun and every scene is mesmerizing. For those who like Jack Hill's films such as Foxy Brown, this is worth checking out. Interesting and entertaining commentary by Quentin Tarantno can be found on the special features, as well as other exploitation films by Jack Hill. As with other films of this genre, it also includes the obligatory "Women In Prison" sequence complete with a butch lesbian warden.
One of the young thugs in the film is played by none other than Don Stark, who most people will recognize as Bob Pinciotti, or "Donna's Dad" on That's Seventies Show. He plays a teenage pimp who whores his girlfriend out in the boy's bathroom at school. I'm sure he looks back on this film with pride.
The lead actress, Joanne Nail, reportedly turned down the "Farrah" role in Charlie's Angels to be in this film. Just something to think about.
Ginger Snaps (2000)
Why are Canadian horror films always so good? Ginger Snaps is first rate! This is a great werewolf genre movie that won't insult your intelligence.This is a dvd that I always screen to friends. Everyone always begrudgingly acquiesces to watch it. However, without exception, anyone who views this terrific gem of a movie can't help but be enchanted by
it's clever dialogue and plot.
I can't imagine why this film isn't more popular, especially with teenagers. Ginger's transformation into a werewolf is linked with her changing body. Her sister, Brigitte tries to help her deal with her monthly "curse." Of course, this is all clever allegory for the primal force of puberty. Everyone felt like a monster during that time, but I'm sure it's worse for girls.
"I get this ache... And I, I thought it was for sex, but it's to tear everything to fucking pieces."
Mimi Rogers also makes a surprise appearance in this off-beat film as the girl's mom.
One of my favorite horror films. If you are a fan of the horror genre, do yourself a favor and promptly buy this DVD. Use this link I thoughtfully provided for you.
Ginger Snaps 2 (2004)
Ginger Snaps 2 is a different departure from the first film. My wife called it, Wolf-Girl Interrupted which I thought was clever. Anyway, GS2 is more about Brigitte than Ginger. Emily Perkins does a decent job as a sullen little goth-girl. Brigitte is mainlining wolfsbane in an effort to stave off the effects of her lycanthropy. The camera loves to show close ups of her sticking herself with a needle. After an "episode" of which I won't spoil, she gets thrown into a Canadian girls reformatory-drug rehab center. I realize that we have now crossed into the realm of the "Women in Prison" genre. The problem is that she needs to shoot up her wolfsbane or turn into a werewolf. She decides that she isn't going to screw the young good-looking guard to get to her "drugs", but trust a precocious bleach blonde name Ghost. She gets her wolfsbane finally and but not before she goes through a few changes. One very gratuitous scene she and the rest of her fellow female inmates are being guided through some kind of relaxation exercise. It becomes a scene where all t
he girls are simultaneously masturbating. The scene ends and we realize it's all a dream! Anyway, Ghost and Brigitte escape from the center all the while being chased by a large male werewolf that wants to mount Brigitte. I'm going to halfheartedly recommend this film. Certainly not as good as Ginger Snaps 1, but it was interesting to see the characters again, even if it was teetering on being a sleazy horror movie.
Ginger Snaps Back (2004)
Ginger Snaps is a far better film than GS2. This is a prequel that takes place in the frozen frontier of Canada. All of the Ginger Snaps movies are Canadian acted, directed and produced. Brigitte and Ginger are back, but they are their ancestors. Ginger Snaps Back shows the very source of the werewolf infection that will plague them in the future. GSB is a great stand-alone film. Excellent period costumes, first rate cast and acting. Emily Perkins has grown out of her gawkishness in this film and with her costumes, she could pass for a Barbara Steele type heroine in some 60's Hammer House of Horror film. Katharine Isabelle shows an even greater range of acting. I predict both of these actresses will get picked up by Hollywood.
Bubba Ho-Tep (2003)
Here's another indy flick that might be of interest. Bubba Ho-Tep is a weird little movie based on the short story by East Texas writer Joe. R. Lansdale. Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) fed up with hi
s fame and fortune, switches lives with a Elvis impersonator. The real Elvis is alive and he now lives in a East Texas retirement home. His only real friend is a Jack Fitzgerald Kennedy. Yes, the President, but he's actually a black man (Ossie Davis). It's complicated. Anyway, strange deaths occur at the old folk's home. It's up to a bed-ridden Elvis and our former President to figure it out. With a little sleuthing our two heros discover that 3000 thousand year old bones from an Egyptian exhibit were stolen by crooks who crash their bus into a creek near the old folks home. They decide to kill the mummy that is eating the souls of their fellow patients.
This is a wild premise for a movie. I do recommend this flick, but it does suffer from a pacing problem. Bottom line is that it really is about two geezers in a retirement home. Elvis doesn't get out of bed for the first third of the film. I also wanted to see more character development with the staff and inmates of the retirement home. I think fans of the current Mummy films will be disappointed, for their is no crazy action. Bubba Ho-Tep is full of dark humor, but it is far more subtle than other Bruce Campbell vehicles such as the Evil Dead Trilogy.
What it does have going for it, is Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. Their commitment and performance to their respective characters helps overcome the slowness of this movie. Bruce Campbell has done a convincing job of playing The King. To me, the most poignant thing about this movie is not two wacky characters taking on a silly mummy, but how they deal with old age. That is the real antagonist in this film. This movie has inspired me to read the works of Joe R. Lansdale, which I'm unfamiliar with.
The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
This movie doesn't get the recognition I think it deserves. Loosely based on the classic in kook literature by John Keel, the film version is a somber, sad affair compared to the light-hearted book. For those who've never looked into the original book, John Keel is a writer investigating an alleged UFO flap in a small West Virginian town called Point Pleasant. Strange things happen. He interviews people who are harrassed by "Men In Black" who have expressionless, doll-like faces. People tell stories that they have seen a terrifying flying creature which is later dubbed the Mothman. The Mothman warns of the collapse of the Silver Bridge, which eventually happens. This case is often discussed by people who are interested in the paranormal. Some say the weird events were due to extraterrestrials. Others say they were "ultraterrestrials", spirits of this world such as fairies but seen in a modern context.
The movie is a fictionalized account of these "true" encounters. The whole UFO angle is dispensed with. Instead we have a very complex movie that deals with grief. The creature (s) are explained as being akin to angels, demons and fairies, not really in the material world, but looking from a distance. I thought The Mothman Prophecies was eerie as hell, especially the treatment of Indrid Cold, the smiling MIB from the book. We never get to see his face, but what we do see looks somehow wrong. Just thinking of Indrid's phone calls gives me goosebumps.
If you are a fan of early X-Files, this may be a good DVD for you.
Here's an official site at Point Pleasant. I guess they're trying to promote tourism.
Here's a good site with lots of Mothman information.
Mothman has terrific art direction and a real spooky sound track. Below are some items to purchase if you are interested in this movie or subject.
