A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund)... I would say that as far as icons go, that Freddy Krueger is as influential, as say, 'Tom Sawyer' in the 19th century and the, 'Three Muketeers' in the 17th century...

I know that may sound odd... But it is true, I mean he is one of the figures that came out in the 20th century that in a lot of ways is extremely recognizable for the latter half of the 20th  century... As a matter of fact, at one point this character was so popular that it was acceptable to have their children wear costumes that were created based on that character!

I hate to say it though, but where as, A Nightmare Elm Street (1984) was truly fantastic, A Nightmare On Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985), while being good, just wasn't as good!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="214"] A classic![/caption]

Written by: David  Chaskin (The Curse) & Directed by: Jack Sholder (Alone In The Dark). Starring: Robert Englund (Night Of The Sinner). Mark Patton (Ana To The Infinite Power), Robert Rusler (Weird Science), Clu Gulager (The Return Of The Living Dead), Kim Myers (Hellraiser: Bloodlines), Hope Lange (Death Wish), Marshall Bell (Starship Troopers) & based on the characters created by: Wes Craven (Scream 4).

This first sequel tells the story of how about 5 years after the events of the first movie, Nancy Thompson's house has finally been sold to a nice family... In this family is the father, 'Ken Walsh' (Clu Gulager), the mother, 'Cheryl Walsh' (Hope Lange), Angela Walsh (Christie Clarke) & there son, 'Jesse Walsh' (Mark Patton).

Now Jesse is just starting to fit in, he has made friends with, 'Ron Grady' (Robert Rusler), and is about to hook up with Lisa Webber (Kim Myers)... The problem is, is that there is an old house guest that is about to rejoin the party and has Jesse do some things that he may not really want to do!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="524"] Jesse Walsh & Freddy Krueger when they first meet each other![/caption]

And in the end, it will take the love of a good woman to stop Freddy this time, before he can make Jesse kill to many people!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Lisa is saving Jesse by making out with Freddy...[/caption]

In the end, this movie does have it's moment, I mean the chemistry between Mark Patton and Kim Myers was really awesome... There is also a scene at a party that is a lot of fun as well!

The main problem that I had with this movie is that the level of homosexual references is just a little to much...

Despite all else though, this movie may not be as good as the first one, but it is a fun one!

http://youtu.be/yv4AFuOY9y4

Scream 4 (2011) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"] Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

In 1996 there was a soon to be legendary teen slasher movie, that would go on to define the slasher movie horror sub genre for the 1990s with the movie, Scream (1996)!

Believe it or not this movie (which was made by Wes Craven), had actually meant to be a spoof of previous slasher movies... The only problem is that it wasn't funny... As a matter of fact, despite the fact that this movie was not really all that funny, it actually turned out to be a piece of cinematic genius that would define that type of horror movie for the rest of the 1990s!

Why was this movie so defining? Well simply put I think it was because it added an element of mystery to the movie... What I mean by this is that this movie had a certain style and panache that definitely defined the 90s (as opposed to your usual Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or Friday The 13th, being more of a slash and grab!)

Now I do like both of those types of movies, but in this case, and I do think that this was largely due to the direction of Wes Craven (who helped define the mystery/slasher horror movie) and the writing of Kevin Williamson (who took it to a new level in the 1990).

I will also say that Hitchcock helped to trail blaze this type of movie, with that said though, Hitchcock's style vs what you would see in Scream are two different movies (i,e. with Hitchcock (as was the sign of the times) there was more mystery then horror, and with what you see in Scream, it is more of a balance of horror vs mystery!)

The reason that I mention all of this is that in 2011, Scream 4 was released in to theaters (unfortunately I did end up missing it then), but I recently saw it fresh... And I gotta say that this one is an interesting one...

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="241"] A fun one![/caption]

You see, this movie (which would reunite Kevin Williamson, Wes Craven, and the original cast members that were in the first 3 movies) told the story of how after many years, Sidney Prescott (Played by: Neve Campbell), comes back to her home town of Woodsboro during the anniversary of the original Woodsboro massacre as part of her publicity tour for her self help book...

What she doesn't know though, is that she isn't the only one that has come home... You see, it turns out that Ghostface has decided to come home to remake the legendary original story line in ways that she, nor Dewey (Played by: David Arquette) or his wife and fellow survivor of the previous massacres Gale Weathers (Played: Courtney Cox) may not be ready to combat!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="468"] Ghostface and Gail Weathers are just two of the original party players that have come together to reunite for the anniversary of the original massacre![/caption]

Another thing that I thought was kind of cool was the introduction of some of the talent that has been making waves on both the big screen and the small screen, like Hayden Panettiere, (Heroes), Emma Roberts (Nancy Drew) & Rory Culkin (The Good Son) to name a few!

Also I thought it was cool how they have utilized talented veteran actors and actresses like Marley Shelton (Planet Terror), and Anthony Anderson (The Departed)!

Now the unfortunate side of this movie (and I hope this movie does properly put the Scream franchise to rest), is A: This movie was definitely dated, and all though it was quite cool to enjoy a classic 90s style teen slasher... In the end, this movie unfortunately tried to re-create that 90s magic, while incorporating elements to make it fresh and new, yet failing to do so! B: I mentioned above that I hope this movie effectively allows this franchise to Rest In Peace... Well that is because this movie has gone everywhere it could... I mean the only directions they can take that I could think of would be to either 1. would be to add the same elements that made the original 3 great (which has been played out), or 2. to have Ghostface go after some other group of teenagers... Although if they do that then it will probably end up being as horrible as the second sequel in the, 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' series.

In the end, I am a fan of the series, and I definitely think if you are a fan of the series that you might like it as well!

http://youtu.be/UlaZfOiGaCU

5 Classic Horror Shows That Were Canceled To Early

In the world of TV, just as in the world of movies, they tend to gravitate more toward Drama/Comedy/Chick Flick style movies or TV shows, a great example of this is the fact that, 'Beverly Hills 90210' a great teen drama that lasted for about a decade was on longer than, 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'...

Now don't get me wrong, both are great shows in their own right, and in all truth and fairness, most of the bigger named Science Fiction or Horror TV Programs out there do tend to last at least 5 seasons (a pretty good run considering that most of the time these shows that go on for at least 5 seasons get at least a 100 hundred episode run if not more.)

In this case I suppose more what I am talking about is those shows that didn't make it very far but should have!  Like do you remember the show, 'Cult'? Didn't last very long, but a fun show about a TV Program and how it, and it's creator influences a group of obsessed devotee's  that are looking for something specific from the past? Of course not! I mean the  show lasted less then a regular season... And you know what? That show is a show that aired earlier this year!

But I digress and apologize, I didn't mean to rant, all I meant to say is that I thought I would do this list to remind fans of some classic horror TV that was canceled well before it's time!

And for number 5: Point Pleasant (2005 - 2006)

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="413"] Point Pleasant (2005 - 2006) a classic horror show that was canceled just when it was finally getting it's sea legs![/caption]

This awesome TV series tells the story of how after a mysterious teenage girl ends up arriving in, 'Point Pleasant', a small coastal town in New Jersey, where she is taken in by an unassuming family, but the longer she stays in this town, the more she finds out the truth about herself, and who her dark mysterious father really is!

Now this show was freaking awesome, and one could almost say is a new take on, 'The Omen', but was canceled way to early and replaced with a show that didn't make it either!

For number 4: Freddy's Nightmares (1988 - 1990).

This one is an interesting one, you see this show is loosely based on Wes Craven's, 'A Nightmare On Elm Street' movie series, which was mocked up sort of similar to the old, 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' anthology show, in which Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) would come on and introduce the stories for the show...

I will admit that I have not seen to many episodes of this series (it doesn't air a lot on TV and I have as of yet been able to find it on Netflix, but the few episodes I have seen are a lot of fun, and it is just a shame that this show did not last beyond it's 2 season run!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="410"] Considering it's backing, and the commercial success of the movies, it is extremely surprising that this show did not end up doing better then it did![/caption]

At number 3: Night Stalker (2005):

Now here is another truly awesome series that had a strong backing (considering that this is a remake of the classic tv series, 'Kolchack: The Night Stalker' but did not end up lasting to long!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="333"] Night Stalker... Another show that was canceled when it was just starting to get amazing![/caption]

You see this show which also had a great cast, including: Stuart Townsend (Queen Of The Damned) as: Carl Kolchak, an investigative reporter whom after his wife dies, ends up investigating her murder through the strange murders of other people that he believes whose deaths are linked to the murder of his wife! Helping him on this is, Gabrielle Union (Bring It On) who plays, 'Perri Reed' another investigative reporter, as well as a few other from their newspaper!

At number 2: Millennium (1996 - 1999)

Admittedly this show has lasted longer then all of the other ones that I have mentioned above... But the reason that I decided to add this series in here is because this show was so abused and mistreated when it was having it's run that every time it was just about to hit the marks and really become something truly amazing, the shows producers seemingly felt like they would have to knock it back down!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500"] A truly classic show that showed amazing potential, but just never seemed to quite get it's sea legs![/caption]

What I mean by this, is that this show which took the lead character, who was a retired FBI Agent with seeming special insight in to the mind of a killer, and how initially he worked for a group of seeming retired investigators that consulted on crimes, but seemed to have a greater agenda that in the end, the lead character tried to stop, and destroy the organization got off to a great and creepy fun start in season 1, as a matter of fact I would say that season 1 is probably one of the more memorable seasons of strictly horror TV show to be released in the late 1990s!

But then comes season 2... I won't bore you with the details except to say that it sucked! But then comes season 3... Admittedly that season took a little bit to completely get the show back on track, and just when season 3 was just starting to get really good, and had a strong potential to make the show really something, they ended the series with an episode that really sucked!

In the end, the only saving grace for this series was the crossover that had Lance Henriksen (Aliens) and Brittany Tiplady (The Pledge) who played his daughter, guest star on an episode of, 'The X-Files'

And finally at number 1: Brimstone (1998 - 1999).

I am going to be honest with you guys and say that where as all of the shows that I mentioned above were awesome, this show for me was truly spectacular that watched and re-watched a few times when the show first aired and when it went on sporadic re-runs!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="304"] A truly great show that was taken way to early![/caption]

This amazing show which starred: Peter Horton (Children Of The Corn) John Glover (RoboCop 2), and Lori Petty (Point Break) and which told the story of how after killing the man who raped his wife and then getting murdered himself, a Detective (Horton) is given a second chance by the Devil (John Glover) is given a second chance at redemption when he is asked to rescue a group of damned souls who have figured out a way to escape from Hell!

In the end, this is one of those few shows that I am still bummed out that it got canceled after only 1 season!

http://youtu.be/AaaLvZsFoUs

http://youtu.be/RYGGfbbJlKo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yTFuRmN4dQ&feature=share&list=PLF1492D6ECEEA57DA

http://youtu.be/mcKyW_AtXB0

http://youtu.be/fKJR8BEJsaU

Top 5 Non-Iconic Horror Movies Made By Masters Of Horror!

You know, a lot of time horror movie directors are usually equated with those horror movies that made them legend, (I,e… John Carpenter for, ‘Halloween’, Wes Craven for, ‘A Nightmare On Elm Street’, Tobe Hooper for, ‘A Texas Chain Saw Massacre’, and even Clive Barker for, ‘Hellraiser’)…

Now I know that, that is not always true, but let’s be honest, even if we don’t do it all the time, we are or have all been guilty of this from time to time (us horror fans I mean… I know I was when I still pretty green to the world of horror).

With that in mind, I thought that I would do my top 5 non-iconic horror movies that were made by Masters of horror…

Now you might be wondering what I mean by a non-iconic horror movie… Well I mean movies that were great, and definitely helped people in their careers, but not the ones that everyone and their mother’s know them for, an example of this would be.

1. Wes Craven for, Deadly Blessing (1981)… A great movie that is a true classic, but it is not, A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)… A movie that besides, ‘Scream’ Wes Craven is most well known for by both horror fans and non-horror fans alike…

So here it is my, ‘Top 5 Non-Iconic Horror Movies, Made By Masters Of Horror!’

At number 5: Clive Barker for, Lord Of Illusions (1995):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="320"] Clive Barker with Scott Bakula (the star of, 'Lord Of Illusions'.)[/caption]

It is true that this movie is considered to be a cult classic, I decided to choose this one, because most people who know Clive Barker know him for his work on creating, ‘Hellraiser’ and I thought that you guys would enjoy this one as it is a lesser known of his classic films but still just as good as even Hellraiser!

At number 4: Tobe Hooper for, Eaten Alive (1977):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400"] Legendary filmmaker, Tobe Hooper posing with, 'Leatherface' (the villain that made him famous![/caption]

Here is a lesser known Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chain Saw Massacre) movie, that was freakin awesome, with an amazing cast that had a pre-A Nightmare On Elm Street Robert Englund in it as well as a pre-Halloween, Kyle Richards in it as well!)

At number 3: John Carpenter for, The Fog (1980):

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] from left: Adrienne Barbeau, John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis and Janet Leigh on the set of, 'The Fog' (1980)[/caption]

Not quite a lesser known horror film of Mr. Carpenter’s but definitely a good one, and I am putting this one here, because if your new to the works of John Carpenter, then you will find this one to be a worthy choice to sink your teeth in to, to see where John Carpenter can take you!

At number 2: Wes Craven for, Shocker (1989).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="250"] Legendary master of horror, Wes Craven on set.[/caption]

I haven’t seen this movie in years, but I remember it being pretty fantastic and featuring a younger Mitch Pileggi (‘Skinner’ from, ‘The X-Files’) this one is definitely a fun one… And honestly one that I am little surprised did not ultimately end up getting the attention than it deserved!

At number 1: George A. Romero for, The Dark Half (1993).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="611"] George A. Romero with Stephen King would make not just, 'The Dark Half' together but would also work together on the movie, 'Creepshow' (1982).[/caption]

Now if you know George A. Romero, then you know that he is most well-known for creating what would come to be called by some, ‘The Dead series’, (I,e… Night Of The Living Dead (1968), Dawn Of The Dead (1978), Day Of The Dead (1985), Land Of The Dead (2005), and I have heard more loosely associated is, Diary Of The Dead (2007), and Survival Of The Dead (2009).) Well there is another movie that I thought that I would mention here that he did that is based on a novel by another master of horror, (Stephen King)….

That movie of course is the movie, The Dark Half (1993)… This movie I don’t want to give to, to much on, except to say that it is a truly fantastic film, with an amazing plot, that has to do with the duality of good vs evil in all of us… and what if the evil was allowed to escape… but also the cast was amazing and the special effects were remarkable!

In the end folks, I am not saying that the movies that made these guys famous... They have been entertaining fans and new people to the genre for a fair number of years now... (heck, Halloween is one of my favorite movies!)

http://youtu.be/YyJvOuxZDHY

http://youtu.be/9cQGA5VRj50

http://youtu.be/0j__l3DgbhE

http://youtu.be/dw2bAg5dwW4

http://youtu.be/3GwO6sO44bU

Swamp Thing (1982) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignright" width="263"] Official Score = 3 Devils[/caption]

Before Wes Craven (Scream) did, A Nightmare Elm Street (1984), he did, The Last House On The Left (1972) with Sean S. Cunningham (Friday The 13th)

With all of that in mind, just before really delving in to the world of A Nightmare On Elm Street, Wes Craven was working on a fun little movie called, Swamp Thing (1982).

Written and Directed by: Wes Craven. Starring: Adrienne Barbeau (The Fog), Louis Jourdan (Octopussy), Ray Wise (Dead End), David Hess (The Last House On The Left), Nicholas Worth (Darkman), and Dick Durock (Death Journey).

Now the reason that I mention all of this is because, even though Sean S. Cunningham was not attached to Swamp Thing, it turns out that Wes Craven may have been inspired to borrow some of the stuff from Sean Cunningham, that they used while working together as well as separate! Included in this batch is David Hess who played, 'Krug' in, The Last House On The Left, and Harry Manfredini (A Secret Space) the person who composed the music for Swamp Thing, also composed the music for Friday The 13th (1980)... And despite the fact that the music was almost exactly the same in both movies, they worked real nicely in both movies!

As for the story, Swamp Thing tells the story of an Agent by the name of Alice Cable (Barbeau) who on her first day being transferred to an undisclosed secret government project that is deep inside some swamp land that is out in the middle of no-where is about to have the worst day of her life!

You see the project, which is being conducted for the government by, Doctor Alec Holland (Wise) is being done to try and create plant life that will grow anywhere, in any temperature, on any surface anywhere on the planet!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="420"] Dr. Alec Holland (Ray Wise) and Agent Alice Cable (Barbeau) during Cable's first day at the research site![/caption]

As it turns out though there is a wealthy Doctor by the name of ‘Doctor Arcane’ (Jourdan), who will stop at nothing to steal Doctor Holland’s research for his own nefarious reasons…

In the end Doctor Arcane sends his henchmen, which are lead by the evil, ‘Ferret’ (Hess) to steal the formula… The only problem you see is that Doctor Holland is consumed by flames during the raid on his lab and heads in to the swamp, never to be seen again… or does he?

After all of this, Alice Cable will have to work to make sure that notebook that she stole during the accident stays with her and doesn’t fall in to the hands of Doctor Arcane and his goon squad, and helping her in all of this is a boy, and a mysterious Swamp Monster that seems to be following her like he knew her!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Alice Cable with, 'Swamp Thing'![/caption]

Now the interesting thing about this movie, is that I am pretty certain that this movie was inspired by, The Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) with Julie Adams (Slim Carter), and I am pretty certain that this movie was partly the inspiration for the creation of the TV series, Beauty And The Beast with Linda Hamilton (The Terminator).

In the end though what makes this movie great is that it was a fantastic monster movie that despite being a Horror/Sci Fi movie, it also has an element of Romance in it, with the interesting dynamic between Cable and the monster how she fell in love with the man and stayed in love with the monster!

http://youtu.be/ZDP9otOTaHI

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_415" align="alignright" width="300"] Official Score = 4 Devils[/caption]

A Nightmare On Elm Street.... Now this one I've loved literally since I was able to talk! You see, when I was young my Dad was a huge fan of horror movies, and one of the earliest horror movies (movies in general) that I can remember seeing is this one, (As a matter of fact the earliest movie I can remember seeing in general was, A Nightmare On Elm Street: The Dream Warriors).

And so it is with great pride that I am able to review, A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)!

Written and Directed by: Wes Craven (Scream). Starring: Heather Langenkamp (Shocker), Johnny Depp (Secret Window), Amanda Wyss (Dexter), Jsu Garcia (Candyman: Day Of The Dead), Robert Englund (Dee Snider: Strangeland), John Saxon (Blood Beach), and Ronee Blakley (The Driver).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Freddy near the beginning of his nightmarish career![/caption]

This legendary horror movie starts off the legend of, 'Freddy Krueger'...

You see, when Freddy Krueger was alive, he used to terrorize families in the town of Springwood by killing their children... Of course that is until he gets caught!

Now the problem is that after he is arrested by the Police, he ends up being released on a technicality! This ends up enraging some of the parents in Springwood. So the parents end up chasing Kruger down and torching him in the building that he used to kill children in!

Now the parents of Springwood can rest easy... Or so they think!

You see Nancy Thompson (Langenkamp), and her friends, Glen Lentz (Depp), Tina Gray (Wyss), Rod Lane (Garcia), are all being terrorized by horrible nightmares...

That would be cool if that's all that it was but, when the kids start dropping like flies when they are in bed... the question becomes, 'Is the curse of Freddy Krueger back to haunt the people of Springwood'?

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="449"] Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) in confronting Freddy (Robert Englund)![/caption]

This movie set the path for a lot of horror movie legends out there. A couple of examples of this of course being the work that Wes Craven has done for Dimension. Robert Englund's long time work in the horror genre, as well as to put New Line Cinema on the map in a major and long term way in the horror field, what with eventually picking up the rights to the Friday The 13th franchise from Paramount, as well as all of the other horror movies that they have produced since A Nightmare On Elm Street came out!

Now this movie would go on to produce six individual sequels, a remake, and the only crossover to date, in horror movie history when Freddy Krueger battled Jason Voorhees in Freddy Vs. Jason (2003).

For all of you new horror movie fans out there, this one would be a good one to introduce yourself to horror with! And for the rest of you guys, this one is a fun one to get back to as well!

http://youtu.be/jdb_HSvf2Zk