RE-ANIMATOR

RE-ANIMATOR (1985)
US
Directed by Stuart Gordon

CAST:
Jeffrey Combs - Herbert West
Bruce Abbott - Daniel 'Dan' Cain
Barbara Crampton - Megan Halsey

PLOT:
     A dedicated student at a medical college and his girlfriend become involved in bizarre experiments centering around the re-animation of dead tissue when an odd new student arrives on campus.

REVIEW:
     The first time I was able to watch Re-Animator was when I was in high school. Yep, awkward times and situations abounded during that time, and I decided to try to become a wall flower to keep from being made fun of. Didn't work by the way. Anyway, one of my closest friends during the time invited me over to watch horror movies. That night was a double feature of Faces Of Death and Re-Animator. I'll remember it due to half-way through Faces Of Death my friend and I were both kinda grossed out by the movie and it was decided that to become un-grossed out was to order pizza. So we paused the movie and waited till said pizza got there then continued on with the movies for the night. Yep, greasy, extra cheese pizza was just what was needed to get through both movies as the deaths became more ridiculous and over the top, specially with Re-Animator and we laughed all the way through it. Okay, I'm positive I bored you all to death now, so on to the review!

     Now this is more like Jeffrey Combs. Playing a kooky, and completely mad, character. Comb's portrayal of Herbert West is just a joy to watch. He doesn't try to ham up his performance by really over-doing it, instead he just plays West as someone that knows he is smart and everyone around him isn't nearly at his level. Yet it is when he's trying to cover his ass when the dead start messing things up is when he is the most fun as you see he always has a plan or is always thinking of the next step to take. Now when talking about this movie, David Gale as Dr. Carl Hill has to be mentioned. From his holier than thou demeanor at the start to his creepy almost deep psychosis of lust for the dean's daughter, Gale plays the character as just almost pure evil from the start. The movie probably wouldn't work if it wasn't for Gales sleazy, perverted performance, specially once he loses his head. Literally. Daniel Cane, played by Bruce Abbott, is the one downplayed character in the movie, and it works. Here is a person thrust into a weird situation that he has never even comprehended before until he meets West, and is then completely out of his league around him in every aspect except strength, which doesn't really matter when he is faced with the re-animated dead which are twice as strong as he is.

     As for the look of the movie itself. For a low budget movie, it looked amazingly more expensive. This might have to do with there only really being 5 main sets, of which most are re-used throughout the movie. Yet this doesn't bother me a lot as what happens on screen grabs your full attention. The reason for this is because of the actors involved. While most movie makers would have tried to bring in more of a outrageous acting sensibility to all the characters, to me director Stuart Gordon it seems tried to reign in this possibility as just the premise of the movie should be enough. And it is thanks to Gordon that the movie is so over the top and doesn't care what people think, as not once does it try to apologize for what it does or is about to do. Part of this is the insane amount of gore throughout the entire run time of the movie. From the first eye popping scene to the last cut off arm, this movie is a gore hound's dream.

     While the movie is based on a Lovecraft story, it becomes it's own entity due to the dark and tongue in cheek humor throughout, usually thanks to Combs' snide comments and off hand remarks. While the movie is far from perfect, mostly due to pacing issues and one really bad scene involving Abbott and Barbara Crampton. Good thing about that said scene is the attack on Abbott's character as it gets the story rolling again and doesn't let up, as it just gets all the more over the top and heady. If a movie like this is made now, it would have to be released on DVD only as no theater would have it in today's politically correct environment which is a shame as everyone needs a good movie to watch that doesn't take itself seriously and has violence just for the sake of violence.

BEST DEATH:
     Dr. Hill's eye piercing head-ache! 

BEST LINE:
      I was busy pushing bodies around as you well know and what would a note say, Dan? "Cat dead, details later"?

FUN FACTS:
     Re-Animator is a loose adaptation of the H. P. Lovecraft story  Herbert West - Re-Animator.

     The special effects department went through 25 gallons of fake blood during the shoot.

     The first man who is re-animated at the morgue (who goes on to kill the dean) is Arnold Schwarzenegger's movie body double, Peter Kent.

WITCHES: THE DARKEST EVIL

WITCHES: THE DARKEST EVIL (THE DUNWICH HORROR) (2009)
US
Directed by Leigh Scott

CAST:
Griff Furst - Professor Walter Rice
Sarah Lieving - Professor Fay Morgan
Dean Stockwell - Dr. Henry Armitage

PLOT:
     In Louisiana, the thirty-five year old single mother Lavina delivers a evil into the world. Ten years later, Dr. Henry Armitage and his assistant Professor Fay Morgan discover that portlas are being opened to bring forth the Old Gods and must enlist the help of skeptic Professor Walter Rice to help them.

REVIEW:
      When  I first heard they were making a a new version of The Dunwich Horror I must admit that I wasn't that excited about it. Then I found out that Jeffrey Combs and Dean Stockwell were both cast to be in it. Needless to say, my expectations were slightly raised due to this. You have Combs who just seems like if there is a American produced Lovecraft film it seems as if he will be in it. Then there's Stockwell who was in the 1970's version of the movie. Problem was, I just couldn't find the movie no matter what. Maybe it was a sign that I shouldn't try to find it. And here we are two years later and you're reading my review of it. So hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

     Wow. I have never seen Dean Stockwell act this bad before. If he was trying to show emotion I could not tell as  every single face gesture was exactly the same. Well the only time it changed was after he got a face to face meeting with Yog-Sothoth. The after effect is just laughable it's so bad. Now as for Jeffrey Combs as Wilbur Whateley I can't tell if he hated being in the role or just couldn't decide what to do with his character for most of it. I really don't want to hate on Combs, but his acting was nowhere near where it should have been. Thankfully, all was not completely terrible on the acting front, the two bright spots in the whole movie were Griff Furst's Professor Walter Rice and Sarah Lieving's Professor Fay Morgan. These two were the most believable actors in the whole movie's run time as it actually seemed they were having fun in their roles. The one draw back is Furst's delivery of the most stupidest line in the whole movie. Yep, it is groan worthy!

     Now on to director Leigh Scott. I don't know what he was trying to do but the only time it worked is when the two Professors went into the Ward house. Other than that the camera work is shotty and jumpy. The action scenes are unwatchable or just isn't shown at all. It seems as if Scott watched Rob Zombie's House Of A Thousand Corpses before he made the movie, the reason why I say this is that whenever the movie goes to the Whateley house, the camera gets really jumpy, the film fades to black, and there are time slips which just confused me as it seems like all these things were put in for no reason, except to make the Whateley family seem more weird than they all ready are. There was just no reason that I could see Scott filming these scenes that way as it is confusing and to me is lazy.

     My biggest problem with the movie is that, even though it is based on a Lovecraft story it doesn't mean it will be better by throwing in all the Old Gods and Deities names. By doing this it seems like the writer was trying to impress the people that would watch this movie and it get's old quickly. Now for the special effects. Well they do have some in there, but it's all crap for the most part. Also to the writer, explain how exactly Stockwell got the power to shoot lighting out of his fingertips please. I really want to know. And as for the creature Yog-Sothoth, what was with the purple cloud he was always surrounded in. It made it look like the creature was made out of a tennis ball with paper machete attached to it. I could go on, but I'm not going to. So I'll just say it's best to avoid this movie if at all possible.

BEST DEATH:
     It's kinda sad that there really isn't any deaths shown in great detail on screen, so I'll just show put a picture of Combs' final moment instead.

BEST LINE:
     That is not dead can eternal lie,
     And with strange aeons even death may die.

FUN FACTS:
     A afro'd Dean Stockwell, who plays Dr. Armitage in this film, played the role of Wilbur Whateley in the 1970 version.

     Filmed in Lafayette, Louisiana.

NECRONOMICON

NECRONOMICON (H. P. LOVECRAFT'S NECRONOMICON: BOOK OF THE DEAD) (NECRONOMICON: TO HELL AND BACK) (1993)
UK

PLOT:
     H.P. Lovecraft, the well-known horror writer, is looking in the late thirties after the book Necronomicon. He finds it guarded by monks in an old library. He then start copying stories from it, which unfold before his eyes.

REVIEW:
     It seems like a lifetime ago when I first saw the movie. I rented it so where the person I was seeing at the time and I could watch it. It seemed like a good choice considering she liked horror movies, as did I, but I got the added bonus of it being a movie based on stories by H. P. Lovecraft. When I originally watched it, I must say I wasn't that impressed. Now that the movie is two years shy of  being 20 years old, and I haven't watched it in about 16 years, I thought it would be a good choice to go back and review it. As the movie is split up into four separate stories basically, I'm going to give a quick review of each segment. Yes. It will make the review longer, but I think it will make the review flow better instead of trying to cram to much into a overview of the whole movie.

THE LIBRARY (WRAPAROUND)
Directed by Brian Yuzna

CAST:
Jeffrey Combs - H.P. Lovecraft

     Even though this story is mostly just about Lovecraft reading some of the stories in the Necronomicon, it also bridges the whole movie together into one, as after each story it goes back to the library where Combs' character is copying stories from said book. The movie ends with Lovecraft disturbing the natural order of things, as do all who read out of the Necronomicon, and having to fight off multiple monsters. While Combs is the reason to watch these segments, it is also the weakest story wise in the movie. Even though monk stretching the bars is really cool, the whole end part is ruined really by a weak last creature that was suppose to be shocking, I think. But the dimension tunnel was really cool looking though it came from though.

THE DROWNED
Directed by Christophe Gans

CAST:
Bruce Payne - Edward De Lapoer

     A tale of death and failed resurrection. This story is the best acted of movie thanks to Bruce Payne, and his ability to display loss and regret without overdoing it, or chewing scenery. It also has the best creature in it of the whole movie. Even though Payne is the main strength of the story, it is the story itself that is a let down as it doesn't truly has the time to build up any real tension that it is trying to. Christophe Gans, who directed this segment, though adds a style that isn't seen anywhere else in the movie and doesn't try to go overboard with any real fancy shots and because of this, the story plays out nicely, though a little slow.

THE COLD:
Directed by Shusuke Kaneko

CAST:
David Warner - Dr. Madden
Bess Meyer - Emily Osterman

     This segment is probably the most even of the four, yet it is also the most average at the same time. I should mention that most things I've seen David Warner in, he seemed to be playing almost the same character and the same can be said here as well (though I did really like him in Waxworks!) Warner plays a man that cannot be away from the cold for to long, less he starts to die. Even though Warner is the big name in this one, Bess Meyer is the main character as a abused runaway who is taken in by Warner's character who finds out that immortality has a price, and is infectious. The Cold also has the coolest death in the whole movie, even though the plot twist is easily seen.

WHISPERS
Directed by Brian Yuzna

CAST:
Signy Coleman - Sarah
Don Cafla - Mr. Benedict

     I'll go ahead and say that the first time I saw the movie, this was the segment I hated the most. Now though, it's my favorite. The reason for this is that to me, it has the whole Lovecraftian atmosphere and otherness down pat. It is also the darkest of all four stories. Part of this has to do with Coleman's Sarah trying to figure out if she wants to keep her unborn baby while pursuing 'The Butcher'. It's because of her inability to keep work and home life separate, she in turn is responsible for the death of her lover. The story just has a creeping doom feel to it as you know that at each turn things will get worse, and does it ever. As a side note, this is the only segment that has the character going insane after all that has happened or is happening, which is a plus. Also Don Cafla is great in his role of the easily ignorant Mr. Benedict. Easily the bloodiest of the bunch as well.

     While far from a perfect movie, Necronomicon is a fun anthology movie that has great ideals, but yet each segment has flaws that keep them from becoming great, so it just rests easily on the average side of horror movies. 

BEST DEATH:
     Dr. Madden's gooey meltdown!

BEST LINE:
    That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death may die.

FUN FACTS:
     The stories the segments are based on are:
         The Drowned - The Rats In The Walls
         The Cold - Cool Air
         Whispers - The Whisperer In Darkness

     Christophe Gans went on to direct the amazing Le Pacte Des Loups (Brotherhood Of The Wolf) and the under-rated Silent Hill.

     Necronomicon has only been released on DVD in France as a double disc edition and Germany as a single disc release.

     Shusuke Kaneko went on to direct Azumi 2: Death and Love and the two live action Death Note movies.

PARASOMNIA

PARASOMNIA (2008)
US
Directed by William Malone

CAST:
Dylan Purcell - Danny Sloan
Patrick Kilpatrick - Byron Volpe
Jeffrey Combs - Detective Garrett

PLOT:
     Danny Sloan a art student who visits his friend in a rehab hospital sees Laura Baxter, a young woman who suffers from a medical condition called "parasomnia" and falls in love with her. A childhood accident victim, she is actually sleeping her life away and he decides to try to help her after he finds out she's scheduled to be used in medical experiments.  Unaware that her hospital neighbor, a terrifying mass murderer and mesmerist named Byron Volpe has other plans for her.

REVIEW:
     I'll go ahead and start off by saying that I was pretty much hooked with this movie from the first scene. That doesn't mean that the movie was perfect, but it was really good. I liked Malone's work on the remake of House On Haunted Hill and Tales From the Crypt series for HBO, but not so much his movie Creature from 1985. So going into the movie I really had no idea what to expect from it, except that it had Jeffery Combs in a horror movie (sold right there) about dreams (not so much there after watching to many Nightmare On Elm Street movies.)

         Let me start off by saying the main character of the movie is a idiot. All of the bad that happens, and there's a lot, happens all because of him. As for the actor who plays him, Purcell, does a good job with the character, it's just that he isn't quite believable in his role as Danny Sloan, as he seems lost every so often . It could just be that at every turn and action he does is expected or undone by Volpe or that he doesn't really know how to pull off innocent like the role required I can't quite pi it down. Plus as I said before, the character is a idiot and his actions are really suspicious and even down right creepy, but yet innocent in his own way. As for Cheylin Wilson's Laurie,  she's actually quite fun to watch as the sleeping beauty in the movie. It was quite pleasant watching Wilson when she first gets out of the medical center and is just overwhelmed with all the new experiences and sensations as you can tell the joy she feels for it. This doesn't last long as she becomes lost and alone halfway through the movie and you start feeling for her and the disorientation she's suffering and the fear it's causing her.  As for Combs, he's still great fun to watch after all these years, just to bad he plays a cookie cutter detective in a horror movie but he's still good in this role. Just watch for when he blows a hole in his face, as it's pure horror movie goodness!

    Now on to the antagonist in the movie  Kilpatrick's Byron Volpe. What a creepy bastard, but every time he's on screen he takes over the movie and you know it. Sure he overacts in his role every so often but it just helps to add to the character and makes it fun. He's always one step ahead of everyone.  It's not often when a new bogeyman comes on the screen that you actually have fun watching that doesn't spew out bad joke after bad joke, but is educated and truly dangerous. The true danger he possesses is his ability to make people do what he wants from just a look or the sound of his voice. Even though the movie doesn't go into detail if it's a supernatural or giving to him by some other means, it helps add to the mystery of the character.  Also I like the camera effects they use for his eyes when he memorizes someone and the background behind him is just creepy when this happens.

     I should point out that this is more of an art film than anything else since so much of the movie relies on the visuals seen in the movie. Now that doesn't mean that the movie doesn't have a story, quite the opposite, it has a strong story, but the visuals adds so much to the movie that it has to be mentioned. The main set piece in the movie is the end confrontation where I was just blown away  by what I was seeing and really sealed my like for this movie. I'm not going to give away what it is as I feel if I do I'll ruin it if you haven't seen the movie. This movie is a pure fairy tale more than anything else, and a classic fairy tale at that. Let's just say that even though evil is defeated, it has taken it's toll and all does not end well, but ends in a bittersweet way which I applaud Malone for doing.

BEST DEATH:
     Sean Young's header off a building hit's hard and it hits early and sets the tone for the movie.

BEST LINE:
     Pretty things always have a tragic end. It's one of the laws of nature and only serves to make them more beautiful.

FUN FACTS:
     William Malone wrote the story while working on his Masters of Horror episode Fair-Haired Child.

     The movie was filmed on the same set as Malone's 1999 remake of House On Haunted Hill.

     Malone and one of his friends refinanced their homes to make the movie.

     Look for a quick cameo from director John Landis halfway through the movie.