Would You Rather (2012) #460

What would you do if you had the chance to become financially secure, freeing yourself and your family from overwhelming medical bills and stress. “Would You Rather” explores how far a young woman would attempt to endure to save herself and her brother from financial ruin and to get him the medical help he desperately needs. A dark psychological horror film starring Brittany Snow, Jeffrey Combs, and Robin Lord Taylor.

Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect) stars as Iris, a young woman struggling to find employment while taking care of her younger brother who is slowly dying from leukemia. They are unable to afford the cost for his treatment and the future seems dire. Her brother’s doctor introduces her to a philanthropist named Shepard Lambrick, who offers to take care of her debt as well as find a bone marrow donor for her brother. All she has to do is to come to his residence and play a evening of the game Would You Rather. Considering his generous offer, Iris agrees. 

Shepherd Lambrick, played by the amazing Jeffrey Combs “ “, “ “, and “ “, has assembled eight poor souls who are in desperate need of winning the grand prize at the end of the game. The guests joining Iris all have problems of their own which include an elderly paralyzed woman, a gambling addict, and alcoholic, and more. Shepherd’s son Julian and several butlers also join the group. The game begins during dinner when Shepherd offers Iris $10,000 to eat a steak and foie gras after learning that she is a vegetarian. She accepts the offer as she swallows her pride and principles. The game continues playing on the guests weaknesses, becoming more awful as the prize increases.

“Would You Rather” is a gruesome, chilling movie. It has a similar theme to others movies I’ve reviewed such as “Kindan No Osama Geemu” and “13 Sins”. Not quite torture porn, the film walks a fine line with its level of blood and violence. The games go dark very fast and never let up. That’s not to say that character development is a second thought. Some characters have chemistry with each other and bonds are made as they suffer together. My only disappointment, from a narrative standpoint, is the development of Julian. It felt like that there was more to his relationship with his father and their family history after a few subtle comments made early on in the film. 

Castle Freak (1995) #411

Director Stuart Gordon returns to familiar ground with his 1995 film "Castle Freak", which is inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's short story "The Outsider". "Castle Freak" sees the return of Jefferey Combs, as the character John Reilly, and Barbara Crampton as his wife Susan. All three professionals seem more mature and laid back in this film when compared to their earlier work such as "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond"; "Castle Freak" is a darker, has a a steady build of tension, and deals with themes more adult, such as the dealing with the accidental death of a child and alcoholism. Although the movie is only loosely based on Lovecraft's short story, the movie feels very much like a story he would have written. It follows themes that Lovecraft used several times including a lead character having a mysterious family past.

While the story is and performances are solid, the film quality of the movie is lacking, which is evident since this film went straight to the video shelf. My other complaint is the overly energetic score by composer Richard Band. His work for the "Re-Animator" series was perfect, matching the chaotic nature of the Dr. Herbert West and his ungodly creations, but in this film it stands out as a stark opposite of everything that is occurring on screen.

John Reilly, his wife Susan and his daughter Rebecca, arrive in Italy to take over an old family estate that he has inherited from an unknown duchess that he was related to. There is an immense amount of strain between John and Susan ever since he was responsible for a car accident in which their son was killed and Rebecca was left blind. As the family goes about their business of settling in and deciding what to do with the estate, the unknown and deformed inhabitant in the basement escapes and begins to watch the family. This "castle freak" begins to kill the locals and the deaths are blamed on John. As John tries to clear his name and prove his innocence, the freak sets his sights on Rebecca, resulting in a climatic fight with John on top of the roof in a rain storm.

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 Frighteners (1996)

Michael J. Fox was well known for his comedies like "Back to the Future" and "The Secret of my Success" as well as his role on the series "Family Ties". He is an actor that you would never consider starring in a horror film ("Teen Wolf" doesn't count) but here he is, starring in Peter Jackson's "The Frighteners". The film does have plenty of comedic moments but the horror elements outnumber them pretty quickly. Michael J. Fox delivers a great performance and has plenty of help with horror veterans Jeffery Combs and Dee Wallace. This would turn out to be Fox's last major starring role in a movie before he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

It's crazy to imagine the fact that if Peter Jackson had not wrote and directed his ghost story "The Frigheners", he most likely would have never gone on to direct "The Lord of the Rings"! This is because he bought and used so many new computers in order to create the special effects and CGI that appear in "The Frighteners" that he had to figure out what the next project could be that would require just as many effects; a few years later he secured the rights to "The Lord of the Rings" and the rest is history.


Frank Banister is able to see and communicate with the dead spirits around him, those spirits that have not gone through the "Great White Light". He uses this ability to scam the locals of the town he lives in; his two ghost friends go to a house and start "haunting" it and he comes along and exorcises the "bad spirits" away for a hefty fee. He has his fair share of critics, including Ray, one of his most recent customers. But Frank is stunned when he sees a number scratched on Ray's forehead; Ray soon dies of a heart attack. After a rash of unexplained deaths in town, a disturbed occult expert working in the FBI comes to town and investigates Bannister, believing he is the one responsible. The agent connects the death of Bannister's wife and a series or numbers as his main proof. The real killer turns out to be the disembodied spirit of a teenage serial killer named Johnny Charles Bartlett, who has taken the guise of the Grim Reaper and is intent on becoming the most famous killer ever! Only Bannister and Ray's wife Lucy can stop the renegade spirit while trying to deal with the insane FBI agent....

House on Haunted Hill (1999)

Do you know who makes a great mad scientist? Jeffrey Combs! He was great on the "Re-animator" series and he's now/was freaky as Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacuttin the remake of "House on Haunted Hill". Granted, this is more of ghost story than one about a mad scientist but I think it counts because while he was alive, Dr. Vannacutt performed hideous experiments and torture upon the mental patients in his care. And after their uprising, Dr. Vannacutt became one badass ghost straight from a Tool music video.

Simple synopsis 

Stephen Price is throwing a party for his wife Evelyn. They thoroughly hate each other and would love to find a way to kill the other, so Stephen holds the party at a condemned insane asylum and invites his choice of guests and not hers. But a group of unassociated individuals are arrive, a group that neither Stephen or Evelyn even know. Stephen continues with his party plan and explains that whoever stays the night wins $1,000,000 dollars. Once inside, the party is trapped and the spirit if Dr. Vannacutt begins to play with the guests. Or is it just an elaborate scheme of Stephen's to scare his wife to death?

Favorite part - I love the whole movie! But the opening scene with Stephen is a great way to start a movie!

Beyond Re-Animator (2003)

Jeffrey Combs is back as my personal favorite mad scientist of all time, Dr. Herbert West! “Beyond Re-Animator” is the third movie involving this arrogant but brilliant “Frankenstein” style scientist, this time serving time in prison for his crimes against humanity, but dead and alive. Directed by Brian Yuzna, it comes at no surprise that the movie was filmed and produced in Spain, including a cast of supporting local actors. I was lucky enough to first see this movie at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in 2003, and I was one of many who loved how Dr. Herbert’s new assistant was lovingly named Dr. Howard Phillips. Like “Dagon”, this was the perfect place to see this movie, surrounded by fans who loved every Lovecraft reference and forgave every cheesy moment.

Young Howie watches his sister get killed by a runaway corpse that wandered away from a local cemetery after being reanimated by Dr. Herbert West. Finding a single syringe of Dr. West’s reanimation solution, Howie internally decides to dedicate his life into becoming Dr. Herbert’s assistant. Thirteen years later Howie is now a young physician and is now called Dr. Phillips. He becomes the resident physician at the prison that Dr. West is serving time in. Howie meets Dr. West when one of the inmates has a heart attack; Howie gives West his old syringe and they try the 13 year old solution on the dead inmate. It works and he comes back but not before wounding a guard and attracting the attention of the Warden. Howie also attracts the attention of a visiting reporter, Laura Olney.

During his time in prison, Dr. West has continued his research and has developed a way to extract “NPE” (Nano-Plasmic-Energy) from the living. With this energy and the solution, the dead that are brought back appear normal and retain their memories and regular motor functions. This of course only causes more problems when chaos breaks out in the prison, including the death of the Warden who has the “NPE” of a rat infused into him. The colorful cast of inmates take full advantage of the chaos and reanimation solution, and the ending is a fun chaotic mess. During the buildup to the big climax, Laura is killed (for a second time), Howie goes insane, and Dr. West escapes into the world to continue his research (aka cause trouble) once again.

Favorite moment – One of the inmates reminds me of Tom Savini and after he dies and is brought back, he runs around the prison missing his lower half. He hates Dr. West for killing his pet rat and tries to get his revenge. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un02Tpqwy5U

The Attic Expeditions (2001)

“The Attic Expeditions” was one of the films that graced the screens of the H.P. Lovecraft Festival during one of the years that I decided to skip. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had gone and was a part of the collective audience and that fantastic energy that flows throughout that theater. It’s a perfect movie for that festival besides the fact that Jeffery Combs is one of the stars. It deals with magic tomes, false identities (like “The Thing in the Doorstep” style), and magic rituals gone astray.

I don’t want to spoil the movie so I’ll keep the outline simple.

Trevor and his girlfriend are really into magic and spells and during a ritual he kills her as a sacrifice. He doesn’t remember this or much of anything after he wakes up and finds himself in a hospital of some kind. He is then placed in a home for troubled young adults where he is quickly befriended by Douglas (played by Seth Green). The house is under surveillance by Dr. Ek (played by Jeffrey Combs), and Dr. Ek is delighted to share his technique and philosophies to Dr. Coffee (played by Ted Raimi). Ultimately, Dr. Ek wants the book that Trevor used and will resort to some very unethical means to get want he wants

Favorite moment – As always, Seth Green is a hoot to watch and you can tell that he is having a lot of fun with his role in this film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSkNYyd_WyI

From Beyond (1986)

“From Beyond” holds a special place for me for a couple of reasons. One reason is because the first time I saw it was on the big screen at the Lovecraft Film Festival around 2007. Seeing a movie like this surrounded by die hard Lovecraft fans allows you to appreciate all of the fun and over the top moments that you might otherwise judge as silly if you saw it by yourself. People cheer when Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton first appear on the screen and they cheer even louder with every gruesome death that takes place. The other reason why I’m fond of this movie is because I was able to meet Barbara at this showing! She gave a wonderful 30 minute Q&A session during the festival, talking about this film as well as the “Re-Animator”. She is every bit as wonderful and gracious as you could hope.

“From Beyond” is essentially a sequel to the original Lovecraft short story of the same name, picking up right before the story's climax. As I previously mentioned, this films stars Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, who both starred in Mr. Stuart's "Re-Animator". Joining this stellar cast is another horror heavy weight, Ken Foree, best known for at the time for his role as Peter from "Dawn of the Dead". This film is an improvement upon the "Re-Animator", allowing each of the actors to grow and flesh out their characters. It's great to see Barbara's Dr. McMichaels as the lead, taking control and leading the narrative.

Dr. Pretorius has created a machine called the Resonator which stimulates the pineal gland and allows those near the machine to see creatures from other dimensions. During their first experiment, something comes and kills Dr. Pretorius and his assistant Crawford is blamed for his death. Psychiatrist Katherine McMichaels and police detective Bubba Brownlee take Crawford from the psychiatric ward that he is being kept and back to the house where the Dr. Pretorius died so they can recreate the murder scene and find out what really happened. The Resonator is rebuilt, and throughout the movie both Crawford and Katherine fall under its power and exhibit strange behaviors. The three end up fighting more dimensional monsters and the perverted beast that Dr. Pretorius has become.

Favorite moment - When Bubba is consumed by dimensional bees while saving Crawford and Katherine from the Resonator.

Re-Animator (1985)

“Re-Animator” is perhaps the most famous Lovecraft film to grace the screen to date. Jeffrey Combs portrayal of Herbert West is one of the most entertaining and honest interpretations of a Lovecraft character in my opinion. He has the arrogance, stubbornness, and ambition of the Herbert West found with the original story. Mr. Combs and director Gordon Stuart are able to insert some dark humor into an otherwise grisly tale without ruining the atmosphere. While there are plenty of extra characters added and the overall narrative does not follow the short stories, enough of the theme from Lovecraft’s work is found within the movie; Herbert West is essentially a modern day Dr. Frankenstein who creates more than his fair share of monsters.

The movie begins when Herbert West transfers from The University of Zurich to Miskatonic University after learning all that he could. He quickly gets on the wrong side of Dr. Hill after accusing him of stealing the work of his professor in Zurich. West quickly convinces his roommate, Dan Cain, to assist him in his experiments in reanimating the dead. Dan’s girlfriend Megan doesn’t trust West and by the end of the movie she can pretty much blame everything that goes wrong on him. And Dr. Hill. As West and Cain perform more experiments, they have more monsters to explain and handle until the movie finally ends in a messy gory mess, all in a very 80’s, mid-range budget special effects style of course.

Favorite moment – The opening scene and when West declares “I gave him life!”; it does a wonderful job of preparing the viewer as to what kind of movie they are about to watch.