Arachnophobia (1990)
Not quite a Drama, a Comedy or a Horror movie, then just what the hell
is it. Arachnophobia is all of this and more. Taking a basic fear of spiders
we see the life of a small town doctor affected deeply when his town is
besieged by an army of killer spiders that is taking out the town one at
a time. His fear of spiders does not play well as he is put face to face
against a hybrid variety that is very much lethal and very small. Comic
relief is provided by John Goodman as the nerdish exterminator called in to
fight the beasties. A great film that delivers on the fx, chills and suspense,
another rare horror film that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Candyman (1992)
Every culture has its boogie man, one who is summoned by a series of repeated words and with his arrival comes a fatal response. Clive Barker's story "The Forbidden" is well adapted and finely cast with the talents of Virginia Madsen and Tiny Todd. Ms Madsen is a grad student researching urban legends, she is intrigued by the tales of the Candyman and the legends bring her to the ghettos to
find out the truth. To her shock the candyman legends are not only true but reveal a hideous dark
figure with a hooked hand who rips you apart for summoning him. Logically we find that she being
blamed for the grisly murders that seem to follow her. She discovers that the Candyman was an
innocent man who was wrongly imprisoned and murdered by a racist mob. The Candyman is well
played by Tony Todd whose smooth voice entices you sympathize for this murderous fellow.
Excellent scripting, locals and great overall productions set this movie apart from the hundreds of
other exploitation slasher films. Candyman is a triumph of originality in a genre that has very few
original ideas. The climax is both shocking and tragic but the viewer is presented with what has to
be the best horror film of the 90's. Too bad we can't have more films with this much power.
Dead Alive (1992) a.k.a. Brain Dead.
Peter Jackson has really
outdone himself with this tasty number. The man who brought us Bad Taste
and Meet the Feebles has turned out his best effort of the three. Imagine
the standard boy meets girl story, throw in a rabid rat monkey, a bitch
mother, and a whole slew of crazed zombies. The Dead Alive is all that
and more! Peter Jackson had delivered what has to be the best all out
splatter film in horror. The movie starts with the capture of a rare
Sumatran Rat Monkey. The action then shifts to a small town, poor Lionel
is at his mothers mercy. Shy and timid he soon meets the pretty Paquita,
and destiny has shown they are meant for another. Yet during an innocent
date the two are met by his domineering mother who is then bitten by the
Rat Monkey. Mother has taken ill and poor Lionel must help her, with this
the FUN begins! During a luncheon poor mother literally falls apart in
front of her guests and soon passes on. Poor Lionel is at a loss, that is
until his mother comes back from the dead. Mum then attacks a few people,
creating a small army of zombies. The most funny of which is a baby zombie
birthed by the town Reverend and Nurse. We then see one zombie after the
other giving poor Lionel and Paquita’s chance for love a real test. When
all else looks rotten, Lionel’s scheming Uncle arrives hoping to steal
Lionel’s inheritance. He throws a party, the zombies arrive and make the
guests into zombie food. This is where the movie goes really ballistic.
The results are both gory and downright funny. One of the best splatter
movies ever made, The Dead Alive is the very example of what a good zombie
movie should be. With literally millions of gallons of blood at hand,
Peter Jackson delivers a real gore delight. To say that the Dead Alive
is fun is an understatement. This movie is the end all blood splatstik
of all time. Let us remember the wise words of the Town Reverend:
I Kick Ass For the Lord!!
WARNING! There are two versions of this movie in the US, an unrated
and an R rated version, AVOID THE R RATED VERSION AT ALL COST!!!!!!
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
It is well known that are at least 3-4 vampire movies made each year and with the likes of Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee we now have another actor to make Dracula his own. Gary Oldman take the reign as the vampire Dracula in this remake of the classic Bram Stoker novel. The film begins with the tragic origins of Dracula. The real life 16th century Transylvanian prince Vlad is shown as a proud warrior who is quick to defend his native homeland against the Turks. Yet with the death of his true love his faith in god dies as well. He becomes a blood thirsty pagan who is remembered as one of the most brutal men in history. The story then moves into the 19th century with an Englishmen (Keanu Reeves) traveling through the old country. He visits an old count who is most happy to taste his blood. The action then moves back to Victorian England as the count relocates to the British Isles. There he sees the vision of Mina the fiancee of the Englishman he hosted, he is then enticed by her charm and beauty, in her he sees the loves he had lost so many centuries before. Anthony Hopkins appears as the most cunning Van Helsing out to kill the prince of darkness. Although Francis Ford Coppola made a few changes to the classic story the look and atmosphere are superb. The costumes and sets recreate Victorian England in its glory and give the viewer a most pleasing cinematic experience. Not the best adaptation of Dracula but up there with the best, Oldman portrays Dracula with the very energy that made Max Schreck, Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee immortal.
Innocent Blood (1992) a.k.a. A French Vampire in America.
Anne Parillaud played a vicious yet slinky assassin in La Femme Nikita, here she is the visiting vampire out for a little blood. She soon encounters mob boss and ends up turning him into a vampire. Unfortunately she fails to dispatch the body and ends up with a rival vampire on the loose. The newly dead Vampire Mafia Don then calls out his lieutenants and creates a small army of Vampire Good Fellas. Meanwhile our slinky vampire teams up with a cop who is investigating the bloody murders. However the real fun in this movie are the countless stream of horror movie homage’s and cameos. Every TV seems to have a classic horror flik and there are some pretty interesting people in and around the town, including Sam Raimi as a Butcher, Dario Argento as a Paramedic, Frank Oz as a pathologist, Forrest J Ackerman as a car theft victim and the lovely Linnea Quigley as what else, a screaming nurse! A horror spoof that delivers some pretty good laughs a few chills. Innocent Blood may not be as intense
as Dracula but then
again who said Vampires couldn’t be funny……
Interview With A Vampire (1994)
I must admit I am not much of a Anne Rice fan, then again I really don’t read much horror literature outside of Lovecraft and Poe. When Tom Cruise was cast as the vampire Lestat many felt he would not fill his shoes well. Surprisingly he not only plays the part well but the whole cast of Interview With Vampire delivers faithfully to the novel from which is based. A young journalist is met by an eccentric man who spins a tale of adventure and tragedy. Louis was a young plantation owner who soon loses his wife and child, he then encounters Lestat. Lestat is aristocratic and gentile, yet he is also a blood thirsty predator. Louis is then transformed in to a vampire by Lestat and soon they part company when he is disgusted by Lestat’s behavior. He then meets a young girl and gives her new life as a vampire, over the years Louis and Claudia travel abroad seeing the world and attempt to find their vampire heritage. They find in Paris a company of a vampire acting troupe. Louis feels at home and
decides that he and Claudia have found relief yet they are soon parted when the vampires prey upon them. Louis unleashes his fury upon them and flees Paris, resuming his solitary life and continues the search to find the origin of Lestat. The interview ends there as Louis finishes his sad tale, yet to the surprise of the Louis the interviewer is totally enamored with the ides of immortality, he just doesn’t get it. Interview was a major undertaking, Anne Rice wrote the novel with Rutger Hauer in mind, yet being too old the search was one for Lestat. Tom Cruise was not what most fans of the novel had in mind yet he played the part most convincingly, his aristocratic charms and old world manners add to a movie which is Gothic delight. Great use of dark sets, scenic locals and costumes make this film well worth the wait. Whether you enjoy Tom Cruise or not one must agree that Anne Rice’s novel was well treated and hopefully we will see another novel with the same careful treatment. Drink up
and enjoy!
Jacob’s Ladder (1990)
Jacob
Singer is a postal worker (Sic!), who is haunted by what may or may
not be drug induced nightmares, the result of a bizarre experiment
during the Vietnam War. The only relief in his sad, wasted life
is the comfort in his co-worker/mistress played by the lovely Elizabeth
Pena and his chiropractor friend played by Danny Aiello. Jacob Singer
is confronting sick visions which make him feel as if he is turning
into a madman, at the same time we witness flashbacks of a more
happy and very different life prior to his wartime experience. Jacob
has indeed lived two very different lives and one wonders what makes
him live the way he does, he is an intelligent and well educated man
working for the post office. In time Jacob discovers that his war
buddies are being killed off and that they all were receiving chilling
visions as well. He encounters a chemist who tells him they were part
of a plot to increase their efficiency as soldiers by drugging them
with a super LSD. Meanwhile, Jacob is experiencing some truly
nightmarish visions, one of the most notable being a mad hospital with
deformed souls and equally deformed doctors. Somewhat confusing in
its eerie nightmare vision and gory visuals, Jacob's Ladder delivers
a most unique trip into the world of a man who may or may not be living.
The finale is very creepy and has An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge
style twist ending. Having watched this movie many times I still find
myself wondering just what the hell is going on in his life, about the only
logical conclusion being that he is dead and is in hell. What is
certain is that Jacob's Ladder is neither mild nor passive in its nature,
it is shocking and brilliant in its use of gory visuals and nightmarish
visions which will leave the viewer reeling in their own sanity.....
Night of The Living Dead (1990)
Often remakes just can’t give back what
their parent film brought forth. As expected someone was going to remake
Night of The Living Dead, the real question was whether the effort was
worth watching. Master FX artist Tom Savini takes the helm in his directorial
debut as he spins this classic fright fest and updated it for a new generation.
More or less the movie is the same, a pair of siblings visit a grave site and
are suddenly attacked by a stranger. The woman runs away and finds an abandoned
farm house, she then encounters a lone black man who takes charge and helps to
barricaded the house. Soon we have a small family and a young couple join them
in the house as they are held siege by an army of the undead. Yet unlike the
original, Tom Savini decides to have the catatonic Barbara become a hero.
In the course of the film, the shy and scared woman becomes a tough and
headstrong figure who helps take charge of the situation. Both Barbara and
Ben are well played by Patricia Tallman and Tony Todd respectively, and
both are every bit as great as the original pair. The special effects are
well done and in vivid color. The ending is changed slightly but as a fan
of the original Dead Trilogy I find this remake well made and finely crafted,
it may not be as timeless or original as its predecessor but it is a welcome
homage to the work of George Romero and his team of Zombies…..
Se7en (1995)
Have you ever wished that a movie could use the very elements
that once made Horror possible. A mere crime drama opens up to a retiring
detective who has signed on for one more case. His partner is a rookie
detective who is still green. The city is held at bay by a killer who uses
the bible and the seven deadly sins to create horrifying scenes of death
and suffering. In the course of the ongoing investigation the two clash
at what it takes to find the killer. Using unorthodox techniques, the two
come closer to the killer while at the same time discovering they are far
from catching him. Suddenly the criminal turns himself in and in a shocking
conclusion we discover an even more terrifying fate that personally affects
one the cops directly. Seven is the rare movie that does not bow to the
conventions of mediocrity, instead it pulls upon the classic technique
of withholding the shocking scene and letting the viewers imagination
take it from there. The result is an ending that is very disturbing and
really hits the audience where it usually doesn't. A damn fine movie
and a great vehicle for Brad Pitt and the outstanding Morgan Freeman.
Silence of The Lambs (1991)
Not since the days of Hitchcock have we the audience been given a horror/thriller that was every bit as great as anything by the master of terror. Thomas Harris wrote the novel from which this story is based and we first find the camera following a jogger in the woods, yet this normal horror victim cliché is shown to be dead wrong when it turns out to be the protagonist. Clarice Stalling (Jodie Foster) is an FBI trainee who is assigned to investigate a series of brutal deaths. Her job is to interview a serial killer in prison. The idea is that the best way to catch a serial killer is to consult another serial killer. The sight of Dr. Hannibal the Cannibal Lector (Sir Anthony Hopkins) is one of the most shocking in annals of horror, he is neither grotesque or evil looking. What makes him so creepy is that his indeed a vicious killer, yet his charm and grace would suggest a man of education and refinement. Stalling is tested by both her superiors and Lector as she digs through the evidence at hand. Meanwhile we soon witness the cruel acts of suffering at the hands of Buffalo Bill, as he kidnaps a young woman and holds her hostage in preparation for some grotesque sewing project. The step by step process of finding the killer brings Lecter and Stalling closer as a strange fondness develops. The movie then progresses as Stalling is brought to the killer’s identity but not until she earns from Lecter his trust and respect. The finale is a very tight and a well played showdown that leaves the viewer at the edge of the seat, but that is not the only showcase. The escape of Lector and his grisly work are shown to the viewers who may have forgotten what kind of montser he is, all in rich color and in grisly detail. The first horror movie to win a Best Picture Oscar, The Silence of The Lambs would also yield Oscars for Jodie Foster, Sir Anthony Hopkins and director Jonathan Demme. It would also provide many immortal lines and memorable scenes as the genius of Hopkins would come to life as the one of most terrifying movie monsters of horror cinema. Well done!
Tremors (1990)
Remember those movies of the fifties, the ones that
relied on big monster and our fear of the unknown. Tremors takes us
to those wonderful days and gives us a good scare and a dose of fifties
style horror. It seems that an unknown creature is killing the folks
of a sleepy desert town. Two junks dealers meet up with a researcher
and discover the monster at hand. They return to town to the amazed
looks of the locals and are suddenly held hostage by even more of the
tunnel dwellers. Tremors doses not rely on simple gore like many monster
movie of this period, it uses the fear of the unknown and places its
heroes at odds with an unstoppable menace that has trapped them. Great
fx are highlighted with strong performances by Fred ward and Kevin Bacon
as the two junk dealers, but the real kudos go to Reba McIntyre and Michael
Gross who play a pair of survivalists in roles that are very far from their
normal selves. A welcome addition to the field which was sorely lacking
in a great monster movie.