There’s a certain X-Factor with “The Final Terror” that makes it an enjoyable watch. I call this a slasher film in denial. “The Final Terror” falls into a between space in that it isn’t gory or trashy enough for the slasher crowd and nowhere near sophisticated enough for the elite thriller seeking crowd. It’s not surprising then to learn that the movie was completed in 1981 and shelved temporarily as it didn’t fit neatly into any category and had completely unknown actors.
“Without Warning” is a fun cross between gruesome sci-fi and slasher flicks that were doing good business in the late seventies and early eighties. A real coup was getting two terrific old timers Palance and Landau to headline the proceedings and inject real intensity into their wacky characters. They certainly help distinguish “Without Warning” and raise it from being of interest to only genre fans into being also a real curio.
Serial killer John Wakefield went on a killing spree on Harper’s Island, a small isle off the coast of Washington State, and murdered a number of people before being killed by the island sheriff Charlie Mills. The sheriff’s wife was among the casualties and he consequently sent his daughter, Abby, to live with family in L.A.
For the longest time while I was growing up “John Carpenter’s The Thing” was the scariest thing I’d ever seen. Even watching it on grainy VHS the ground breaking practical effects and suspenseful set-pieces, the extremely effective moody atmosphere and isolated icy setting made a massive impression. For many the film is on the short list of the top horror movies of all time.
An asbestos abatement crew, headed by Gordon, wins the bid at the abandoned Danvers State Mental Hospital. Promising to deliver in one week Gordon puts a lot of strain on his crew that has some issues to begin with.
As the week progresses at Danvers the crew will experience real terror as dark secrets come to light.
Ever since “Scream” (1996) re-charged the horror industry that was, at the time, slowly migrating towards Direct to Video the genre has stayed relevant among A-listers and, obviously, below that as well. A number of exciting talent were able to take advantage of this boost early on; among them Australian born director Jamie Blanks, an obvious horror enthusiast who made two noteworthy entries in the “New-age” slasher category.
Theatre director Alan leads his acting troupe, whom he continually refers to as his “children”, to a graveyard on a remote island to perform a necromantic ritual in order to raise the dead. At first it seems the ritual is a bust … But then the dead start to rise and the living have a survival fight on their hands.
Five years after surviving a night of terror at the hands of Jason Voorhees; Tommy Jarvis finds himself in a rural halfway house in New Jersey for mentally disturbed teenagers. Ever since that fateful night Tommy has been, more or less, a basket case and has never gotten the image of Jason out of his mind.
Before long a series of murders in the area shake up the local community and soon the killer’s sights are on the residents of the halfway house. Could it be that Jason himself is back from the dead and committing these murders?
It’s that time again and horror buffs are re-watching the Halloween series. Trouble is nowadays that the series has four timelines! For this year I chose the option of watching the Michael vs. Jamie storyline covered in “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers”, “Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers” and “Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers”.
“Forced Entry” is a tough-to-watch exploitation cinema homage that’s heavy on the gore and leaves an impression.
