Tusk (2014) #401

"Tusk" is a difficult film to like but it does have some positive aspects to it.

1. It's better than "The Human Centipede".
2. Fleetwood Mac's song "Tusk" was played at the perfect time in the film.
3. This is the first time that I've enjoyed seeing Justin Long in a movie.
4. The end result of the transformation is gruesome and freaky.

That being said, "Tusk" is a train wreck of a movie that starts off fine, losing a bit of steam, finds a little steam, and then goes completely off the rails when Johnny Depp's character is introduced. Considering that the premise of the movie was derived from a joke during one of Kevin Smith's own podcasts, I can see how he didn't even take the concept seriously from beginning to end. It's a shame because the concept had potential and I enjoyed the steady line between comedy and horror that the film had during the first hour.

From Hell (2001)

"From Hell" is a horror film that makes it's own guesses as to who Jack the Ripper might have been. Adapted from the graphic novel written by Alan Moore and directed by the Hughes Brothers, "From Hell" stars Johnny Depp as Inspector Abberline, a brilliant but moody man who uses his slight psychic visions to help him solve cases. The role was a perfect fit for Depp, an actor who started out in a horror film ("A Nightmare on Elm Street" and who has since revisited the genre from time to time. Ian Holm ("Alien") is another great fit, portraying Sir William Gull, a retired surgeon who worked directly for the Queen and her family. The odd choice in casting is Heather Graham as Mary Kelly. one of the five prostitutes who become the focus and victims of the famed Ripper; she is an odd choice only because she never really looks the part. She is able to keep an accent throughout the film and has her own sense of presence when sharing the screen with Depp, but the way that her face and her clothes never look as dirty or worn down as the others becomes annoying after you notice it.


Inspector Frederick Abberline is rudely awoken one day in an opium den by morning by his friend Sergeant Peter Goldy, who needs his help in solving a gruesome murder of a prostitute in the Whitechapel District. It appears that the body was stabbed, gutted, and had an organ removed. Abberline realizes that the murder has to be someone educated and trained in surgical techniques considering how the murder and removal of the organ was completed. Soon another prostitute is killed in a similar fashion as well as having a different organ carefully removed in the dead and dark of night. Abberline finds the remaining prostitutes that had been friends and worked together. With the help of Mary Kelly, Abberline eventually discovers that they may be involved with a plot conducted by the Royal family, or those loyal to it, to cover up a scandal and to take revenge upon those who have "wronged" them. When Abberline begins to fall in love with Mary Kelly, he begins to take the case very seriously, ignoring the direct requests of his superior to leave the case and forget all the he has already seen. But of course that's not going to happen....

Secret Window (2004)

“Secret Window” is an interesting and entertaining psychological movie that allows Johnny Depp and John Turturro to do what they do best, act odd and quirky and unpredictable. This film is like an onion, with layer after layer carefully removed to reveal the full picture. It’s not the most complicated movie and it doesn’t need to be, but there are enough details withheld at the beginning of the film to keep the viewer guessing at how it’s going to end.

Mort Rainey is a successful writer who has more than his fair share of issues to deal with these days. Besides having a bit of writer’s block, Mort is also trying to deal with his divorce from his estranged wife Amy, who Mort had caught with another man at a hotel several months earlier. To add to his stress, a peculiar stranger comes to his house and accuses Mort of stealing his story. Mort outright denies this and sends the odd Mr. Shooter on his way. Mort ends up looking through the manuscript that Shooter left behind and is shocked that it mirrors a story that he already wrote. Mr. Shooter becomes aggressive as the movie unfolds and violence soon follows. Mr. Shooter wants Mort to acknowledge the fact that he stole his story and ruined the ending, and the ending is the most important part of any story…

Favorite part – Mort making eye contact with the squirrel when he comes across a murder scene. If you’ve seen this movie, you know what I mean!

Mr. Shooter threatening Mort

 Amy and Mort

Mort's break with reality....

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

“Nightmare on Elm Street” was one of those movies that everyone at my school talked about, especially around Halloween. Those who had older siblings were the most likely to get a sneak peak at the original or one of the sequels that followed. It was difficult not to see the previews or clips that were shown on various shows. Freddy Krueger was just as well known to any grade school kid as Jason Voorhees, maybe even more so! I personally loved knowing that the psycho dream killer was played by the sympathetic and likable Willy, from the mini-series “V”. When I finally got to see “Nightmare” from beginning to end, I was truly impressed by how intense the scenes with Freddy were. The first film in the series is a straight forward horror movie with great special effects and no attempts at funny catch phrases. Some of the acting is cheesy and the script feels very 1980’s horror genre but these facts are a small part of the movie’s charm. The two unknowns in the lead roles, Heather Langenkamp and Johnny Depp, stood out with incredible performances.

A group of high school friends admit to each other that they’ve been having intense nightmares and after talking about them, they realize that they are dreaming about the same person who is chasing them in their dreams, a man in a green and red sweater who has a glove with knives on the fingers. During a sleep over, Tina is the first to be killed in her sleep while her boyfriend Rod is blamed for the murder. Tina’s best friend Nancy is the next to be harmed while sleeping, burning herself on a radiator while running away from Freddy in a boiler room. When she tries to tell her parents what’s wrong, they quickly become distant and quiet. When Nancy wakes up from a nightmare and has Freddy’s hat in her possession, her mother finally tells her the truth about Freddy’s past…when he was alive and how he was killed. Now it’s up to Nancy to kill Freddy a second time, if she can!

Favorite moment – I don’t know why but I love Glen’s death scene. It’s over the top and straight to the point. I also love the moment that Nancy shows her mom and the dream clinic staff that she had Freddy’s hat after taking it from him during her dream.

Freddy performing a trick

Nancy and her mom fighting about Freddy's hat

Nancy, Tina, and Glen during happier times

The Ninth Gate (1999)

Sometimes cults don’t want to make babies or deal with kids, sometimes they just want to meet the man himself. “The Ninth Gate” is all about that, somewhat, in that the story is about a rare book dealer’s adventure in trying to authenticate a book that was supposedly written by the Devil’s apprentice and details the way in which to summon the Devil. This film is Roman Polanski’s second supernatural themed movie and is unfairly compared to his critically acclaimed work “Rosemary’s Baby”. This is indeed a different film and should be treated as such; I myself thought it took elements from both “Rosemary’s Baby” and another of his classics, “Chinatown”, to form an entertaining horror/film noir mix. Granted, “The Ninth Gate” is not as great as “Angel Heart” in that manner but it is still a fun movie. A bit slow at times, a little uneven, this movie still managed to keep me engaged. The ending does lack a little luster, wherein I was hoping for some sort of revelation but at the same time realizing that I would probably consider anything otherworldly as coming across as cheesy.

Simple non-spoiler synopsis

Dean Corso (Johnny Depp) is hired by Boris Balkan (Frank Langella) to authenticate his copy of The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows and then acquire the real copy by any means if his is not the real version. There are only three copies of the book and it is rumored to be an adaption of an older book that was written by the Devil himself. Corso’s adventure takes him from New York to parts of Europe, those in possession of the book are killed off violently, Corso is stalked by a menacing figure, is followed and aiding by a beautiful and mysterious woman, witnesses a satanic ritual performed by the sect known as the Silver Serpent, and gets beat up/knocked unconscious from time to time.