The Wraith

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The Wraith is a modern remake of the Clint Eastwood classic, “High Plains Drifter.” In “The Wraith,” Eastwood is replaced by Sheen, and the horse by a fantasically futuristic car; the Dodge/PPG Industries Pace car, AKA the Turbo Interceptor in the film.

Jamie Hankins is dating Keri Johnson. The leader of a notorious road racing gang has claimed Keri for himself, however, and decides to eliminate the competition. Jamie is brutally murdered and his body set ablaze in a fiery car crash. Now, Jamie was no good guy in life, and upon his arrival in Hell, he makes a pact with the devil to exchange the souls of every gang member responsible for his death, in exchange for his own soul’s release.

Jamie returns to Earth as Jake; the driver of the hottest car ever built. One by one, he eggs members of the gang into races, where he emerges victorious and the loser ends up dead; his eyes missing. This is a sure sign they have been sent back to Hell. Each time a gang member is killed, a mysterious brace disappears. Once the last member is dead, the final brace is gone, and Jake/Jamie is free once more.

The Woman in Black

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1983 horror novel by Susan Hill about a menacing spectre that haunts a small English town.

It was adapted into a stage play by Stephen Mallatratt. It was also made into a TV movie in 1989, based on a screenplay by the distinguished film and television writer Nigel Kneale, best known as the creator of the Quatermass science-fiction serials.

The stage play was first performed at the Theatre-by-the-Sea in Scarborough, UK in 1987. It was very well received and moved to the Fortune Theatre in London’s West End in 1989 where it still runs today, as well as at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley. The stage play is notable for having a very small cast, but it remains a popular and chilling theatre experience.

White Noise: The Light

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2007 horror thriller film, directed by Patrick Lussier and written by Matt Venne. It is a stand-alone sequel to the 2005 film White Noise, directed by Geoffrey Sax. Lussier and Sax worked together on the 1996 television movie Doctor Who.

Budgeted at approximately $10 million, the film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, some disturbing images, thematic material and some language. The film was released to movie theaters internationally and was released direct-to-DVD in the United States on January 8, 2008.

Plot

After witnessing the murder of his wife and young son at the hands of Henry Caine (Craig Fairbrass) who then turned the gun on himself, Abe Dale (Nathan Fillion) is so distressed that he attempts to take his own life. A near-death experience follows that leaves Abe with the ability to identify those who are about to die. He acts on these premonitions to save three people from death, among them a nurse met during his recovery, Sherry Clarke (Katee Sackhoff). Abe soon learns that Henry, before murdering Abe’s wife and son, actually saved their lives. This leads Abe to believe that Henry also had the ability to see death. This makes Abe want to learn more about Henry, so he visits his house only to learn that Henry survived his suicide. Investigating further, Abe discovers that three days after cheating death, those whose lives he saved will be possessed and compelled to take the lives of others. Accepting this responsibility, Abe comes with the terms of a horrible fact that he must consider killing to prevent further tragedy.

White Noise

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“White Noise” is a fairly suspenseful, largely nongraphic suspense/horror film that does a good job of conjuring up a perpetually creepy mood. True, part of the credit goes to the drizzly Vancouver locations, but it’s nice to see nevertheless. At heart, this is a B-movie, full of large lapses in logic and several plot twists that came out of nowhere. I’m willing to forgive the film these flaws because it’s quite honest about its Saturday Afternoon Double Feature pedigree.

Michael Keaton’s performance is the greatest strength of the movie. He starts off as a married man who is perhaps a little too contented. (I suspect that his buddy-buddy relationship with his ex-wife in scattered scenes suggest his character has lots of repression issues.) Following his second wife’s death, Keaton’s character becomes more and more obsessed with the possibility of communicating with the dead via the static in videotapes, radio, and the like. Even if such communication were true, his constant obsession is definitely an unhealthy one.

I admired his performance in this film. Naysayers may tell you that he’s over-the-top but that’s exactly what this film needs to jerk itself out of its Made-for-TV mode.

In fact, I’d compare what he does in this film to what Vincent Price did for similar B-movies in the 1950s and 60s. He takes what could be a throwaway film and turns it into something to viewer can take seriously for 90 minutes. I came to this film expecting to hate it and yet I enjoyed it almost entirely because of Keaton’s talents.

What Lies Beneath

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What really sets this movie apart from other “horror” movies is that it is really limited on the violence, abeit some scenes have scary situations, but nothing like Scream or The Amityville Horror. While it may not be suitable for small children, you can rest assured your older children will not be exposed to mindless violence or foul language. Most of What Lies Beneath’s scary moments involve “jumping out of your seat” scares during the first half, such as Pfeiffer’s character walking down the hallway, and all of a sudden something falls behind her that will make you jump.

The cast of characters is relatively small, so you get to focus more on Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford(both who have aged fantastically over the years) who are a married couple now with the house to themselves after the daughter goes of to college. Pfeiffer, after a series of events, begins to suspect that her next door neighbor may have been murdered by her husband. She does a little investigating, with a little “Rear Window” thing going on, and then she starts to encounter strange things in her own home.

The bathtub fills up by itself, words appear on a computer screen without anyone typing them, and as she suspects a ghost, Ford just thinks she is making it up in her head. This is only the tip of the iceberg, the story goes much deeper than this, with many twists and turns that will keep you guessing many things until the end.

My only complaint is that some scenes last longer than they should, with more dialog than necessary, especially in the beginning. But “beneath” that, you will be entranced by the master direction of Robert Zemeckis(Castaway, Forrest Gump), and the superb acting abilities of both Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford.

The Watcher in the Woods

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Back in the good ol’ days of Disney before putrid sludge like High School Musical and Hannah Frickin’ Montana, you got cool little movies like The Watcher In The Woods. This was back when you could make a “family” horror film and have it work.

Watcher deals with a family moving into a nice new home near the woods. Bette Davis, the previous owner of the house, still lives on the grounds and becomes interested in the older daughter, Jan, who reminds her of her daughter who had disappeared under bizarre circumstances in the woods many years ago. Jan starts to notice bizarre goings on with the woods like flashing lights, eerie messages from her younger sister, and images of a blindfolded girl who seems to be begging for help. This starts Jan on an investigation to find out what happened to this girl and how to help her, whether she’s alive or dead. This movie was quite good, and with alot of the plot points I can’t help but think that recent movies like The Ring, Stir of Echoes, or any of the other billion movies that deal with a ghostly child, have in some part been influenced by this movie. This manages a great sense of spookiness throughout with practically zero violence or death.

You’re not gonna be lying trembling under a blanket with fear crying for mommy or anything, but to create spookiness with what is practically G-rated material is impressive. Then in the last five minutes or so of the film, there’s a big zinger thrown at you that shifts the entire plot. This twist, which jumps right into sci-fi almost, may seem a bit corny, but you gotta admit it’s original. This forgotten classic from the Wonderful World of Disney is well worth checking out.

Two Thousand Maniacs!

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Blood Feast may be Lewis’ most famous film and the one that he’ll always be remembered by, but 2000 Maniacs is seen as probably his best film by many fans. The budget’s higher(just a bit), the acting is better(but just a bit), and the story is more imaginative(quite a bit).

Though it’s a gore film, I’d have to say that Blood feast was actually gorier than this one. But 2000 Maniacs(due to the budget it looks more like 20 maniacs) manages to be entertaining coz it actually is interesting and funny.

Blood Feast only had the gore going for it(as well as a few laughs), coz you really can’t say it was terribly interesting as far as story goes. But any way you slice it, both 2000 Maniacs and Blood feast are required viewing for the cult/exploitation/horror film fan, as well as any film historian for that matter.

Trick or Treat

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The music in this movie does have a lasting appeal to anyone whom might have grown up knowing what a metal band was and how some mentally-unadept children reacted to songs by such bands. As for those of us though that appreciated the music for the artistry and show of the music itself, it is one HELL of a ride!

Like any great theme ride, you must have a feature, or in the case of this movie….Three! Ozzy “The Self-Proclaimed Prince Of Darkness” Osbourne as a Baptist Preacher protesting the very music which he helped to make famous throughout the world was a total hoot! I laughed until I cried in seeing him “dolled up” in such a ludicrous role. Gene Simmons, of KISS fame, as “Nuke”, an overworked disk-jockey whom befriends the anti-hero in this film was an absolute pleasure (must have been his vacation).

Then there was the performance of Tony Fields as the “Devil Worshipping” rocker who comes back from the dead to gain revenge on a small town that refuses him a gig at the local High School’s Halloween Dance, total hillarity! While the primise of this film are totally ludacrous, the music spells out the time in which this film was made. Poinient and precise is all I can say about the soudtrack which was masterfully performed by the band Fastway!
If one listens to the soundtrack closely one can get the meaning of each and every song!

The soundtrack follows in the footsteps of the band W.A.S.P. and thier movement against the “Washington Wives” and all of those “Parental Advisory” stickers we now see on music and movies today. Censorship in any format is wrong and this “Horror Parody” proves as such!

Thir13en Ghosts

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Sure, a lot of critics hate this movie, but when are critics supposed to like horror movies. My answer: Never. So a good suggestion is to pay no attention to the critics and see the movie yourself, and then draw your own conclusion. In my opinion, this was an awesome horror movie that keeps you guessing.

For a horror movie, the story was very complex. The directing and acting was really good in the movie. Especially Matthew Lillard’s performance. There are enough creepy ghosts and surprises that will get you hooked in no time.

If you liked, “House on Haunted Hill,” chances are that you will enjoy this movie as well, being that it was produced by the same people. The audio and visual effects were incredible, and made the movie that more impressive. Although all the flashing lights might give you a little bit of a headache; small price to pay, if you ask me. My only complaint is that I think the movie could’ve been a little more scarier at certain parts. Other than that, I thought it was great.

I’m not going to take the time to go over the movie’s story, because you’ll find out when you go see it. The previews have been very careful about not giving anything away, so I will do the same. Just know this; Poor family without a home + vengeful ghosts trapped in glass rooms in creepy mansion = one hell of a time!

The Terror

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Jack Nicholson plays a french officer in Napoleon’s army who ends up at the castle of Baron Von Leppe (Boris Karloff), after wandering around lost for seven months. He’s met a mysterious girl who just might be a ghost! Von Leppe is pretty mysterious too! He’s been in the castle for 20 years after murdering his adulterous wife, Ilsa.

Is Ilsa the same girl that Jack ran into? And what about the strange witch who lives near the castle? And the hawk that seems to possess human intelligence?

THE TERROR is one of Roger Corman’s better films, leaving his infamous rubber monsters behind, in order to get under our skin with creeping undercurrents of fear and dread. Nicholson is great, actually showing some of the snearing stuff that would one day make him a megastar. Karloff is himself, in one of his better latter-day performances.

Also watch for Jonathan Haze (Little Shop Of Horrors) as Gustav, and Dick Miller (Bucket Of Blood) as Von Leppe’s faithful servant.