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Reviews
Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)
Unique Sequel
New Nightmare still stands up as one of the most unique and creative horror sequels of the past 30 years. It puts the cast and crew of the Nightmare series back into the real world where the evil that inspired Freddy has been unleashed since they stopped making Nightmare movies. Wonderful performances and a smart script by Wes Craven.
Poltergeist (1982)
A Great Horror Masterpiece
It's hard to believe this lean, mean scare machine got away with a PG rating. It's scarier than any R rated horror film I can think of and more effective due to the emphasis on developing the family unit being put in jeopardy. The effects work still hold up incredibly well.
X (2022)
Olf Fashioned in a Good Way
Sleazy and gritty and full of charming characterizations and buckets of gore, X hits the spot between modern horror and the more free horror of yesteryear, coming across more like a lost regional horror film from the 70's or 80's than something new. It's a familiar story we've all seen in some form or fashion, but it's told well.
They/Them (2022)
Shockingly Terrible
They/Them gives us a somewhat interesting group of LGBTQ kids to pull for and then doesn't put them in any jeopardy whatsoever. Who are we supposed to be scared for? The homophobic camp counselors? It all comes to a head during the insulting ending which has me wanting to break my TV. Avoid at all costs!
A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987)
An Excellent Sequel
Dream Warriors does what any good sequel should do and expands upon the mythology, brings back beloved characters, keeps the stakes high, and entertains us. The characters are likable and enjoyable to watch, many of the special effects are creative, and it provides both scares and a little gallows humor.
Lisa, Lisa (1977)
Low Budget and Effective
There's not a lot of plot or nuance in Axe and it can be a little leisurely paced even for a film with such a short run time. Still, it's hard to deny the odd vibe and mood this film creates with very little. As budgets go, it's obvious this has to be one of the cheapest of the cheap, but they know how to squeeze a penny and still deliver an interesting film.
Die Säge des Todes (1981)
Sleazy Spanish Slasher
Lots of murder, incest, and sleaze, but it's all dialed up to 11 so it's hard to take much of it seriously. It plays like a really gory telenovela most of the time. The effects work is pretty good and it kept me entertained.
Don't Go in the House (1979)
Nasty Piece of Work
After watching this, I was surprised by how little gore there is and yet I felt dirtier and nastier than I have after watching far gorier films. In that sense, you have to hand it to Don't Go in the House. They make you use your imagination a lot more than most of these movies and it's much more effective for it. The acting and mood are better than average as well.
Perfect Strangers (1984)
Had Potential
Some nice shots and a few moments of suspense still don't help Perfect Strangers from dragging a bit too much. It's one of Larry Cohen's more down to earth films without monster babies or blob-like yogurt, but not a lot of the script makes sense and it ends with more of a thud than a bang.
The Return of the Living Dead (1985)
Great Good Time
They don't make zombie movies more fun or spirited than Return of the Living Dead. The entire ensemble cast understands the tone and delivers all the expected laughs while still keeping this serious enough to take the horror parts seriously. Makeup effects are extraordinary.
Halloween II (2009)
A Strange and Compelling Mess
Rob Zombie's second go at the Michael Myers story features many of his less appealing characteristics and fetishes, but does appear to be trying to do something interesting with the Laurie Strode and Dr. Loomis characters, taking them to some brave and frustrating new directions. Laurie is a whiny, drug-addled mess since her last encounter with Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis has sold out into a fame and money-hungry quack. When the film hits, it hits unexpectedly hard, but when it misses, it feels like it's treading water and offering too much filler.
Halloween (2007)
A Very Trailer Trash Halloween
If you've ever wanted to see a version of John Carpenter's Halloween where Michael's evil is explained away by saying he was a product of an abusive household, then this is the movie for you. The backstory does undercut any potential fear, but it's the most interesting part of the film. Once the story takes a familiar turn and goes into the real remake portion of the film an hour in, it fails to deliver any suspense, scares, or likable characters.
Scream (2022)
Fun Yet Unmemorable
Bringing back the three series leads was a smart choice and they're given a bit more to do than characters like this are usually given in these reboots, but the story feels like we've seen it all before. The best thing I can say is that at least it comes close to capturing the tone Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson created in the original series.
Chopping Mall (1986)
A Ture 80's Classic
Chopping Mall supplies everything you'd want from the mid/late-80's horror film. The story is creative and fun, it has gore, nudity, bad hair and fashions, and a great sense of humor. It also has a brisk runtime that keeps you from overthinking anything for too long.
Halloween II (1981)
Michael Takes A Hospital
Halloween II gets the mood and atmosphere right and it does create a seamless bridge between the first film to this one, but all the hospital workers are poorly developed and uninteresting and Laurie Strode's character is mostly unresponsive in a hospital bed until the last act where things start to heat up. At least it does provide us with a rousing final act.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Needed More Mood
H20 wisely gets rid of all the cult nonsense from the past three films and picks up where part 2 left off. What Michael has been doing for 20 years is anyone's guess, but what the film gets right is Laurie Strode's dramatic journey to empowerment and Jamie Lee Curtis delivers one of her best performances. There's some good suspense sequences, but the teen characters are forgettable, there's a lack of mood, and Michael wears many masks in the film and all of them look horrible.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988)
Gets A Lot Right
There's a good attention to atmosphere and suspense as opposed to buckets of gore in The Return of Michael Myers and that's something that's been missing from just about every other sequel. Unfortunately, the Salt Lake City locations don't conjure up the Haddonfield of films past and Michael's look is underwhelming, but Donald Pleasence makes a triumphant return as Dr. Loomis and Danielle Harris and Ellie Cornell are likable and easy to root for as the two sisters being tormented by Michael Myers.
Halloween (2018)
Not Much Happening Here
Perhaps the PR team had be fooled, but I was under the impression that this was going to be a story about Laurie Strode dealing with her trauma and that's only addressed for about 30 seconds and in the shallowest of ways. What we get instead is a shell of a character who they expect us to root for even though they haven't bothered to let us get to know her and assume our love for her from the original film will carry over. It's lazy and doesn't work and she comes across as less a human being and more a one-dimensional Hollywood cliche.
Scream 2 (1997)
Excellent Follow Up
They say that sequels aren't supposed to be very good, but Scream 2 could make a strong argument for the opposite. The surviving cast members are back and, this time, someone's trying to make a real life sequel to the original massacre at the college where they all are. Lots of good suspense sequences and scares and a few laughs as well.
Night of the Demon (1980)
Bad and Entertaining
This might have been made on the cheap, but there are several odd and perverse ideas and themes in here to make it worth watching. It also doesn't skimp on the gore, so it has to be the bloodiest Bigfoot movie out there.
Deadly Games (1982)
Lethargic Semi-Slasher
It's hard to tell what the intent behind Deadly Games was. At its best, it works as a small town mystery/romance/soap opera, but most of the scenes meant to be suspenseful or scary come across as undercooked and like the filmmakers didn't have their heart in it.
Death Screams (1982)
Slow Slasher
A lot of slasher films skimp on character development, but Death Screams tries to cram too much in for its huge cast of characters and it comes across as unfocused. It's almost hilarious once they get to the last 20 minutes and realize they still have 3/4ths of the cast to kill off and start knocking one off every 2 minutes.
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers (1989)
Psychic Links and Clown Music
After a stunning opening credits sequence and explanation as to how Michael survived the ending of the last film, this movies goes downhill fast with Michael's young niece, Jamie, now having a psychic link with him instead of carrying on the mantle as was implied in the previous film. The new teens are a mostly boring and shrill bunch, Michael's mask looks awful, and cops are introduced with daffy clown music, but Donald Pleasence at least gets a chance to ham it up as a now-fully crazed Dr. Loomis. He's at his most manic and bizarre, but it's not like the script gives me much to work with.
Carrie (2013)
Drabby and Style-Free Retelling
This new take on Carrie isn't a terrible movie, but it didn't need to be made and it doesn't seem like anyone's heart is really in it. From the lifeless performances to the half-hearted script revisions and the colorless cinematography, it's obvious that everyone involved didn't care much about how this.
Dear Evan Hansen (2021)
Not As Bad As People Are Saying
Ben Platt might read as too old to play a high schooler on film and that does bring down the film a bit, but his performance is interesting and the film tries to take itself seriously. I wasn't sure if a lot of it was supposed to be a drama or a dark comedy like Heathers.