The Exorcist 3 (1990) #395

Although the idea of a sequel to the "The Exorcist" seems like a very horrible idea (and "The Exorcist 2: Heretic" was an extremely horrible idea), the 1990 film "The Exorcist 3" is perhaps the best that we could have ever hoped or expected. The writer of "The Exoricst", William Peter Blatty, wrote and directed this decent follow up, completely ignoring the events in the horrid original sequel. The film suffered the usual demands and re-shoots from studio executives which forced Mr. Blatty to deliver a film that was not his original vision. Even so, this movie is effective and has it's fair share of scares and tense moments. With an all star cast that includes George C. Scott, Brad Dourif, and the surprise return of Jason Miller (who played Father Damien Karras in the original film), the movie is interesting, scary, and highly worth watching.


Lieutenant William Kinderman is drawn into the realm of the supernatural while he is investigating a string of gruesome murders that involves a young boy who was crucified, a priest that was decapitated, and the murder of his close friend who had most of their blood removed and placed in same containers next to their bed in a hospital. Signs at the scenes remind the Lieutenant of a series of murders committed by the Gemini Killer, a murderer who was put to death 15 years earlier. Lieutenant Kinderman soon tracks down a mysterious psychiatric patient in a mental ward who may hold the answers to the recent murders....

Bride of Re-Animator (1990) #394

"Bride of Re-Animator" is a sad, sorry roll of film that should never have been produced. The reasons for the harsh criticism are numerous; characters that were killed off in the original film are back without any explanation or acknowledgment of their previous demise, the main characters return from the original film but fail to have any further development, and a plot that seemed unmotivated and directionless. There were a few elements that reminded me of events from H.P. Lovecraft's original story, so I find that somewhat redeeming as well as Jeffrey Combs reprisal of Herbert West, but overall I was not impressed by this addition to of the Herbert West "trilogy". The film quality was poor, the special effects were tired, and watching this film was more of a chore than it should have been.

The Blob (1988) #393

Horror movies are constantly being remade with updated special effects, modern story lines, and/or cultural twists. The 1988 remake of "The Blob" is an attempt to cash in on a classic film with mediocre special effects that wear thin by the end of the film. Besides a few minor tweaks, the movie is almost the same as the original but takes advantage of having an "R" rating by introducing elements of sex, gore, and language. The movie feels VERY 1980's and falls into the trap of trying to be bigger and flashier than the other movies out at the moment. But like the original, the film is campy, fun, and entertaining as long as you're not looking for something too serious or outright scary.

Even scientific-military types are potential victims of the blob.

Scanners (1981) #392

"Scanners" is a clever, original horror film that was written and directed by a young David Cronenberg. Unlike some of his other films from the 1970's and early 1980's, While "Scanners" is pretty tame compared to Cronenberg's other films, it still has it's wild moments which include Micheal Ironside doing what he does best, acting completely terrifying and insane. The film is about a handful or telepaths and a research/government agency that tries to control and use them. The agency refers to them as scanners because they can "scan"  and control other people and even computer systems. Like other movies in the early 1980's that deal with telepathic powers, the people with these gifts don't always know how to control their powers. In the case of "Scanners", the telepaths are social outcasts, often times unable to block out the voices of the people around them. Those few who have mastered their powers are formidable and deadly.

Cameron Vale is the latest telepath to be rounded up by ConSec, a mysterious agency that trains telepaths to work for them. After their last remaining telepathic agent is killed by a rogue scanner during a conference, Mr. Vale is trained to act as an undercover agent. Vale is able to infiltrate a group of former ConSec telepaths and track down the rogue telepath, the murderous Daryl Revok.

Favorite scene - The telepathic showdown between Vale and Revok. This scene would one day inspire an epic homage that would appear on "South Park".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22Tj_l4PcPs

The Sacrament (2013) #391

"The Sacrament" is an mediocre offering from director and writer Ti West, with horror fiend Eli Roth serving as one of the producers. The film stars regular Ti West collaborators A.J Bowen, Joe Swanberg, and Amy Seimetz. The film might be a little too polished for a first person perspective film but at least the viewer is saved from an overly shaky and nauseating experience. The film doesn't offer anything new to the material that it covers but it does present that content in an entertaining fashion.

"The Sacrament" is a simple, effective, straightforward, and yet predictable horror film about two independent web-journalists, Sam and Jake,  and a collaborator, Patrick, who go to an unnamed country to make a documentary about Parish Eden, a possible religious utopia for former drug addicts and social rejects. Patrick wants to find his sister Caroline, a recovering drug addict, who wrote a letter to her brother asking him to come. When the three first land, they are taken to the parish by armed locals, giving them quiet concern. While the sibling reunite, Sam and Jake interview the parish residents about their new life and what their leader, Father, is like. Sam and Jake begin to see the positive aspects about the simple life that the parish residents are living but when they meet Father, their fears and concerns quickly return. Soon they realize that there are secrets that are being kept from them and that their lives are in grave danger.

Father being interviewed by Sam and filmed by Jake

Sam and Jake

Caroline holding her brother Patrick

Quarantine 2: Terminal (2001) #390

Like many sequels in the horror genre, "Quarantine 2: Terminal" just doesn't live up to the expectations that were set by the original film in the series. This is not to say that this is a poor movie, only that it would have been stronger as a stand-alone original idea rather than as a sequel. "Quarantine 2: Terminal" breaks from the original in two important ways; first, it isn't shown from a found footage style perspective and second, it is an entirely different story than "REC 2", the Spanish version that "Quarantine" is inspired by. Given all of the source material and expectations that were built from the three films that preceeded this one ("Quarantine", "REC", and "REC 2"), "Quarantine 2: Terminal" was bound to struggle. I feel that this film comes across as a knock off of a "Resident Evil" sequel more than one from "Quarantine". The best part of the film is the first 15 minutes as you watch and try to figure out who exactly on board the plane is the person responsible for spreading the rabies-like infection.

Invaders From Mars (1986) #389

Incredibly campy and comically overacted, the 1986 remake of"Invaders from Mars" is a both a let down and yet an entertaining gem of classic sci-fi fare. The fact that the screenplay was written by Dan O'Bannon ("Alien"), was directed by Tobe Hooper ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Poltergeist"), and starred horror veterans Karen Black and James Karen should have been more than enough to ensure a thoroughly frightful and creepy movie, even if it was rated PG. Perhaps it was because the movie DID star horror veterans Karen Black and James Karen is why the movie felt over the top and campy? Or maybe it was because most of the aliens looked more comical than frightening? Hunter Carson (Karen Black's real son) delivers a fairly strong performance that is comparable to the 1950's source material that the movie is based on. Further more, the scenes between Carson and Louise Fletcher (who plays the alien controlled school teacher) are the most genuinely intense scenes in the film. Overall, "Invaders From Mars" is a fun film that brings back memories of watching it during summer afternoons as a child and is still entertaining enough for kids today.

Young David Gardner believes that a UFO landed behind a hill near his house during a meteor shower. He soon believes that his dad, and soon his mom, have become pawns of the alien's invasion of his small town. One by one, the population of the town is assimilated and only David and Linda, the school nurse, are left to warn the military about what is going on. Will the military save the town and David's parents or are they already too late?