Devil's Rejects (2005) #412

One thing that Rob Zombie is extremely gifted in is the ability to draw so many recognizable names to appear in his films; from Danny Trejo to Kane Hodder, to Ken Foress to even comic Brian Posehn. Sadly, he isn't nearly as gifted at creating a solid horror film. Granted, "The Devil's Rejects" was only his second feature film and is an obvious homage to the grindhouse films of the 1970's but it stands to argue that it is he weakest production, overly violent without a purpose, and it is simply not entertaining for the casual horror film viewer. Besides the fact that the movie stars three of the characters from Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses", "The Devil's Rejects" barely functions as a horror movie in the first place.

Lords of Salem (2012)

Like every other movie Rob Zombie has directed after “House of 1000 Corpses”, “Lords of Salem” is a clever idea that fails to deliver. This time around, Zombie has written a story that has less gore, less out right violence, and tries to make his characters more grounded and believable. His penchant for focusing on the film’s villains is still present, as the main character is slowly seduced as she becomes the newest member of a modern day witch coven. While his wife, Sheri Moon Zombie, gives a better-than-expected performance in this film and the rest of the horror star-studded cast do a thorough job as well, the overall chemistry still falls flat somehow. This is Rob Zombie's first original film that is easily accessible to a mainstream audience.

Heidi is a DJ at a radio station in Salem, Massachusetts. She receives a mysterious record that she decides to play on the air, even though it clearly does not fit with the station’s normal style or rotation; the track is a recording of witches chanting. While Heidi is befriended and brain washed by three modern day witches, a local historian is following his gut feelings and trying to find out who the “Lords of Salem” really are.

Favorite moment - Realizing that one of the modern day witches is Patrica Quinn (Magenta from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show)!!! 

Modern Witches

A Salem Witch's Execution

Heidi and the Beast

A possessed Heidi

George A Romero's Day of the Dead (1985)

George A Romero’s “Day of the Dead” is a decent zombie but is my least favorite of his original trilogy. I have to admit that I enjoy the loose remake more than this version; this film is relatively slow and doesn’t have much action until the end of the third act. This movie has two main storylines, the first dealing with the growing tension between the civilian scientific team working in the makeshift research bunker and the other one dealing with the insane Dr. Logan and the zombie Bub who he is training to be human again. Tom Savini does another fine job with his make-up and special effects for the zombie genre, especially when the movie gets to the point where the victims are torn asunder by the zombie horde.

Dr. Sarah Bowman is the main character in this film that takes place a good deal of time after “Dawn of the Dead”. She is the voice of reason and one of the few people who are not succumbing to the stress of the situation although she is beginning to have dreadful nightmares. When she comes back from a recent deployment looking for survivors and supplies, she learns that the military CO has been killed has been replaced by the tyrannical Captain Rhodes. All he cares about is his men, who he treats more like possessions than as people, and is sick and tired of the antics of Dr. Logan. Captain Rhodes doesn’t think the scientists are doing anything productive and is threating to shut the operation down and take the helicopter and its pilot and leave. Dr. Logan has been busy at work but not with finding the cause or a cure, instead he has been feeding his zombie pets the dead soldiers and training them to behave as if they were alive. Eventually one of the soldiers is bit which sets of a chain reaction of events that causes the zombies to get what they want, fresh meat. Sarah and the two helicopter pilots, Bill and John, manage to escape and live to see another day.

Captain Rhodes is having a very bad day.

 Dr. Logan and his test subject, Zombie Bub.

Sarah having a nightmare.

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

One of my favorite zombie movies ever is the immensely popular “Dawn of the Dead”. The original version has stood the test of time and is still chilling to watch today. These four talented actors playing strong, well-written characters trapped in a seemingly hopeless apocalyptic situation is simply unforgettable. The movie also showcases the make-up work of Tom Savani who created some memorable zombies and left his mark on future horror movies to come. What is interesting to find out is that this movie would not exist if it wasn’t for the assistance of Dario Argento, who was a big fan of Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead”. With Argento’s influence and assistance, Romero was able to find the funding that he needed to film this movie, as well as a place to stay in Rome where he could write the screenplay. All of these factors played important roles in the productions values of the final piece.

This movie has brought me so much joy over the years. It’s amazing to think that in the 1990’s I had to leave a $200 deposit in order to rent this movie from Scarecrow Video because it was out of print at the time. It’s also amazing to remember that when my friend and I watched this film, he was actually afraid to walk home in the dark because he was so affected! And finally, how can you not appreciate the cheesy nature of the motorcycle gang? They provided comic relief, a tilt in the storyline, and numerous bodies for the zombies to eat and tear apart.

The movie opens by showing the chaos behind the scenes at a television studio. Some people are trying to stay focused and work while others are trying to flee. The world as we know it is quickly crumbling as the government is losing control over the zombie “invasion”. Stephen and Francine plan to steal the stations traffic helicopter but they need to pick up Stephen’s friend Roger. Roger, meanwhile, is a member of a SWAT team involved in a SWAT raid on a low income apartment building whose inhabitants are refusing to follow the orders of the mandated martial law. The worst in humanity is displayed by a racist and overzealous member of the SWAT team who is eventually killed. The residents are quickly killed off by the SWAT team and the zombies that they were harboring inside. Roger ends up meeting another SWAT team member named Peter, and together they go and find Stephen to escape the ugly chaos.

The four survivors eventually decide to land on top of a mall in order to grab need supplies. While inside, they realize that they can fortify the building and stay there until they think of some better plan. They manage to block the doors with semi-trucks from a nearby parking lot, but while finishing up the job, Roger is bitten in the leg. After the outside of the mall is secured, the four of them begin the gruesome work of killing off the zombies in the mall, with Roger being pushed around in a wheelbarrow and shooting. Once this task is done, they realize that they can live like kings and do whatever they want in their fancy, comfortable prison. After some time (a few days), Roger finally dies and returns as a zombie, who is quickly killed by a remorse Peter.

Before long, a mob of motorcycle bandits see the helicopter on top of the roof of the mall and realize that there are people inside. After making radio contact and announcing their intentions, Peter and Stephen prepare for the coming onslaught. The motorcycle gang breaks in, leaving a wide opening for the zombies to stumble in from. Stephen becomes greedy as he watches the gang steal random junk from the stores and begins to shot at them. They fire back and general chaos breaks out. Stephen is killed by zombies and is turned, the gang members are decimated by the zombies, and Peter and Francine are trapped. Their only option is to fly the helicopter, which is low on gas, somewhere else, anywhere. Peter chooses to stay behind and just as he is about to commit suicide, he comes back to his senses and makes it to Francine just as she is about to take off. They escape and fly off into the night.

Favorite moment – it’s impossible to choose just one or two!  

Roger turns

Stephen zombie

Time for a break

Zombies want to go shopping too! 

Halloween (2007)

Just because you grew up loving a movie doesn’t mean that you should one day make your version because that version is going to turn out to be a horrible piece of crap that insults the original more than anything else. And for god’s sake, do not ruin the magic of the original by creating some insipid and horrible reason as to why a child grows up to be an unstoppable killing machine. This is the crime that Rob Zombie made and is convicted of by legions of horror movie fans across the planet when he made his version of “Halloween”. This film is a perfect example of what happens when a film maker tries to recreate something and he is clearly out of his league….or out of his mind. He takes the simplicity of the Michael Myers mythos and explains everything, that Michael had a horrible childhood with a P.O.S dad, typical bullies at school, and way too much time on his obsession with masks and his mom asking him to take them off. In fact, Zombie takes the first 35 or so minutes of the movie to explore Michaels’ childhood and how Dr. Loomis tried to help him before everything goes horribly wrong.

Once the movie moves forward and introduces the high school aged Laurie Strobe, the film finds its groove and becomes the remake that we (or maybe just myself) were hoping for; an updated version that trades in the slow and steady build of tension for a more deliberate sense of adrenaline and violence. I’m still not sure how I feel about Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Loomis but I think this is because he plays such a prevalent role in the part of the movie that I don’t care for; his part in the later scenes is quite enjoyable. I do approve of the casting choices of Tyler Mane as an adult Michael, Dee Wallace as Cynthia Strobe,  Brad Dourif as the town Sheriff, and a slew of special appearances including Sid Haig, Ken Foree, Udo Kier, Danny Trejo, Bill Moseley. Scout Taylor-Compton did a great job as Laurie considering who she was replacing; the role of Laurie Strobe almost felt like it was written for the young Jamie Lee Curtis so you can’t be too harsh on Scout for giving it her best to fill this legendary role and making it her own. It’s obvious that the character of Laurie Strobe is not meant to be played the same just by the lines of dialogue.

What I didn’t like –

1.       The first 35 minutes.

2.       Michael killing the Strobes.

3.       The actor who played young Michael. Oh, I guess that’s a part of the first 35 minutes…

What I liked –

1.       The scene in which Michael escapes from the mental hospital.

2.       The kids that Laurie babysits.     

3.       Scout’s version of playing Laurie.

Actor Scout Taylor-Compton as Laurie Strobe (in the middle)

Actor Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strobe (on the left)

Actor Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Loomis

Actor Donald Pleasence as Dr. Loomis

Michael Myers 1978

 Michael Myers 2007

Michael Myers 2007

Michael Myers 1978 saying "Hello!"

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.