Maniac Cop (1988)

I wanted to like "Maniac Cop" because it co-stars a young Bruce Campbell trying his acting chops outside of the "Evil Dead" films but this movie is too clunky and poorly acted by to many of the other actors to really get into. This was also during the time that the slasher/stalker sub-genre was becoming too diluted and a film really needed to stand out from all of the other cookie cutter imitations, which this ultimately becomes even though it had sequels following the original film. The scares are few and far between and not worth the time watching even thought Tom Atkins and Bruce Campbell really try to carry the movie as well as they could.


A tall, stocky New York cop is going on a killing spree, murdering innocent citizens and not the felons or vigilantes that would normally be expected. Jack (Bruce Campbell) is set up as the fall guy after his wife is found murdered in the hotel where Jack was caught having an affair with fellow officer Theresa and is arrested, even though the murders continue. Theresa and Lieutenant McCrae (Tom Atkins) keep searching for the real killer and discover that is a fellow police officer named Cordell who was arrested for police brutality. Cordell was trying to clean the police department of corruption as well and is back from the "dead" with an agenda for revenge.

Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)

How could you not love a movie about an elderly Elvis (he’s alive!) and JFK (he’s actually an elderly black resident who believes he’s JFK) who fight an ancient mummy killing the residents of a nursing home in the middle of Texas?? “Bubba Ho-Tep” is a rare gem of a movie that mixes comedy, horror, and a sense of sharp melancholy in a way that is entertaining and memorable. It was co-written and directed by Don Coscarelli, the man who gave the world the “Phantasm” series and “Beastmaster”, and stars Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. The film was not released and shown in mainstream theaters but was able to cover costs in independent and art house theaters in the US. It has a cult following and earned approval from most movie critics.

Elvis is alive and well (not really) and living in a convelsant home in Texas in the late 1990’s. He explains that he traded places with the best impersonator he could find, a man named Sebastian Haff, and was doing ok for himself until he lost any proof that he had showing that he was the real Elvis and finally having an accident where broke his hip and had a coma. Now he is old, alone, ignored, and his only friend is an elderly black man who thinks he’s JFK. When residents began dying and Elvis is attacked by a giant scarab beetle, Elvis and JFK begin to look for clues as to what’s happening in their little home. It turns out that a re-animated Egyptian mummy that was stolen from a travelling museum exhibition is eating the souls of the residents at Shady Rest Retirement and it’s up to Elvis and JFK to stop him, since no one would ever believe their story.

Favorite moment - I really enjoyed the relationship and chemistry between Bruce and Ossie in this film. I get the feeling that these two actors really enjoyed working together on this film and playing such interesting, iconic roles.

Elvis and JFK

It's Bubba!

Evil Dead (2013)

It’s truly a rare occasion when a horror film is remade and is equal to the original and the 2013 version of “Evil Dead” is such a film! This is a movie in which I will not blink twice and have any issue with people saying that they loved the newer version more than the original. The original was made by a group of college aged friends who only knew the basics of film making at the time, barely had a budget, and had to come back several times to the cabin in Tennessee to finish the filming the movie, and yet it’s a classic that has inspired a legion of other film makers and has a massive fan base. The new “Evil Dead” had a small but modest budget, had a cast with some real credentials, and a story concept that was as good as gold, which turned out to be a great film and is easily one of the best movies I’ve seen all year. This project is an example of people who love the movie so much that they get together and present the basics of the story in their own way. It doesn’t hurt that Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell, and Robert Tapert gave their blessings as well as served as the producers. Director and co-writer Fede Alvarez saw the project as happening 30 or so years after the original events took place but by avoiding any attempt to point that out (besides the car!), this movie plays out as a remake and not as a sequel of sorts. There are too many coincidences between the two films not to be a remake, but enough differences that this is truly its own film.

There are several similarities in the two films that you have to look closely to notice.

1.       The most obvious is that the cabin looks the same, at least from the front. In the original, we never got to see the cabin clearly from any other angle. The car that Ash and his friend used to get to the cabin is parked and rusting in the back behind the cabin.

2.       There are two couples and a sister of one of the guys.

3.       All of the characters in the remake become possessed in the same order as their counterparts in the original, beginning with the sister who is attacked by the tree/forest.

4.       David, Ash’s counterpart, is dressed in the same colors and has the same hair color and frame.

5.       A character in both films cuts off their hand after it shows signs of possession. This is one of the two elements from “Evil Dead 2” to be used in this film.

6.       A great and powerful entity is summoned and is vanquished by a lone survivor. This is the second element borrowed from “Evil Dead 2”.

7.       The Naturom Demoto is found in the basement.

There are differences as well, which make up the rest of the film and don’t need to be listed. It’s best to watch the film and see what they’ve changed.

SPOLIER!                              SPOLIER!                              SPOLIER!

What I REALLY didn’t like about the film was a moment during the prolonged showdown. When Mia becomes pinned to the ground by the jeep, she finds the strength to rip her arm apart and run away. What?? Is she a lizard? No! How the hell can anyone do that?? It’s not like her arm was that badly damaged from the jeep falling on it at any time before that. And I feel that it completely takes away from the act of self-mutilation of when Natalie cuts her hand off in the kitchen.

Mia, the "Cheryl" counterpart

 Natalie, the "Linda" counterpart

 David, the "Ash" counterpart

1981 demon

 2013 demon

Ash, Linda, and Cheryl,  1981

David and his friends, 2013

The Woods (2006)

Let’s start SPELL WEEK off right with a movie that is about witches and the evil things they do. “The Woods” is a wonderful example of a movie about a small coven of witches that are hiding in plain sight, waiting for the right moment, and the right girl, in order to complete the ritual that they have been preparing for, for all so long. It has a cast of then up-and-coming actors including Agnes Bruckner and Rachel Nichols, as well horror movie favorite Bruce Campbell.

Heather is a teenage with anger issues towards her mother. After acting out, by burning down part of their home, Heather’s parents send her off to a girls’ boarding school in the middle of the woods. The dean, Mrs. Traverse, allows Heather to join the school after she completes a test that contains occult symbols and meanings. Unknown to Heather, she is being groomed by Mrs. Traverse and the other teachers for a particular magical ritual that they want to complete. Meanwhile, Heather is being bullied by some of the other girls at the school and ends up befriending Marcy, another girl who is being groomed because she posses special powers of her. As Heather continues to lash out at her tormentors and instructors, she comes to realize that some girls have gone missing and the local authorities are under the sway of the school’s staff. Even when her parents come to take her back home, the powers of the coven prevent them from getting very far. The climax reveals the dark secrets of the woods and how it’s history is having a direct influence on the school and those within. 

Evil Dead (1981)

It’s the one and only….errr, I mean the original “Evil Dead”! Before there was “Evil Dead 2” there was a creepy, low budget movie filmed by a group of friends from the Detroit area including that included Bruce Campbell, Ted Raimi, and Sam Raimi, who had just turned 20 when filming began. This was a group of young kids who had no real idea what they were doing out in the wood of Morristown, Tennessee. When it was released in theaters, it quickly became a favorite in the UK but was branded as too violent and banned in some countries. Although it’s a cult and mainstream favorite now, it might have disappeared and gathered dust on the rental shelf if Stephen King hadn’t gave it his approval by calling it one of his favorite movies at the time of its release.

“Evil Dead” is about five college aged friends driving out to a cabin in the woods for a nice spring break getaway. Along for the trip are Scotty and Shelly, Ash and Linda, and Ash’s sister Cheryl. At the cabin they find a tape recorder and an ancient book that was left behind by the last people there. They listen to the recording and by doing so, they release and summon a host of demons. One of the girls, Cheryl, goes out into the woods and it attacked by a tree and that happens to be possessed by the demons. She manages to escape and tries to tell the others what happened. No one believes her but her brother Ash decided to drive her back into town; on the way to town they find that they are trapped in the woods because the a bridge that they crossed earlier is now destroyed. Back at the cabin, the demons begin to possess the group of friends one by one. First Cheryl becomes possessed and is locked in the cellar. Next Shelly becomes possessed and is killed by Scotty after she tries to attack him. Linda is next to fall victim to the demon’s power. Soon Scotty is possessed as well, leaving Ash in a room full of demons. He is forced to defend himself when he is attacked, killing his friends in order to stay alive.

Favorite moment – So many to choose from! Some of the most memorable moments include Linda sitting on the floor while she is possessed, just giggling even when Ash begins to punch her repeatedly in the face. Another is the way that Shelly’s body is quivering after Scotty chops her up with an axe. Another is when Ash beheads Linda with a shovel. 

Evil Dead 2 (1987)

“Evil Dead 2” is a unique movie to say the least. It’s more of a reboot than a sequel; the first portion of the film goes over some of the same story points that the first film was about before going on to new material. “Evil Dead 2” is also unique because it includes some very dark comic moments throughout the film but still remains a horror movie. Most of the horror movies I have seen fail whenever they try to change the mood more than once.

The movie is about a couple who go to a cabin in the woods for a romantic weekend. In the cabin they find a tape recorder and when it’s played a professor of sorts is heard explaining his research about the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, also known as the Book of the Dead. After the tape is played Ash’s girlfriend becomes possessed. He is forced to kill her and shortly after becomes possessed as well. He recovers when the sun comes out and he returns to the cabin after seeing that he is trapped in the forest. The movie continues with new the material which includes laughing inanimate objects, more possessions, more people coming to the cabin, and a creepy demonic hand.

Note - The Book of the Dead has a different name in the original Evil Dead and it's recent remake. In those films it's known as Naturon Demonto. I wonder why there was a change between the films...

Favorite moment – I have to be predictable and say that my favorite moment of “Evil Dead 2” is when Ash’s hand becomes possessed and smashes plate after plate against his head before noticing a knife and dragging his body towards it.