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.

Rest Stop (2006)

"Rest Stop" was touted as being  "hauntingly realistic" on the DVD cover but I didn't feel that that was quite accurate. Very little about this film felt realistic and that's ok, it's a horror movie after all! There are plenty of times throughout the movie where you get to, or have to, suspend your sense of reality to enjoy the horrific moments that are taking place. Part "The Vanishing" and part "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", "Rest Stop" is all about being stranded alone and completely helpless in the middle of nowhere while being emotionally prodded by a twisted individual in a yellow truck. While Jaime Alexander is recieving rave reviews for her performances in the "Thor" series, her acting in this film is rather inconsistant and I expected more from directed John Shiban (who worked on "X-Files" and "Break Bad") to ensure that his actors would be up to the part. Jaime's character does have moments of expressing her fear and hoplessness but she lacks any sense of being drained and exhausted after how long her ordeal lasts.

Jess and his girlfriend Nicole are skipping town and heading towards Hollywood. The road trip is full of loving glances and teasing insults. They leave the main highway shortly after crossing into California and find a lonely derersted road to have sex, which they film, and sleep through the night. The next day their moods have completely changed as Nicole accuses Jess that they're lost and are running low on gas. A old yellow truck almost runs into them as it barrels down the road in their lane, the same truck that drove by the couple while they were having sex the day before. Their fighting contiunes until Nicole demands that they stop at a rest stop so she can use the restroom. Jess begrudgily does so and waits at the car. Nicole goes to the restroom and when she returns, Jess and the car are gone. Nicole gets pissed off, stomps around for a while, and waits for Jess to come back. Soon the yellow truck returns and almost hits Nicole; as it drives past the driver throws out Jess's cell phone and speeds away. Nicole now realizes that the truck driver has done something to Jess and realizes that the trucks license plate number was written on the door of the restroom stall she used. She goes back to the rest room and sees that other people have left warnings about the same truck, some dating as far back as to the 1970's. An insane family in an old winnebago, an escaped victim trapped in the broom closet, and a highway patrol officer all prove to be useless in saving Nicole from the truck driver's relentless cat and mouse game.

Good times for Nicole and Jess

Bad times for Jess

Very bad times for Jess and the Highway Patrol Officer

Extremely bad times for the yellow truck, Burn, baby, burn

No Man's Land, the Rise of Reeker (2008)

"No Man's Land, the Rise of Reeker" is an interesting take on the slasher sub-genre, feeling like a bloodier and more violent take of the film "Indenity". A mix matched group of strangers are stuck in the middle of a desert rest stop, unable to leave, and are being stalked and killed by an unseen force. That force happens to be the disembodied spirit of a seriel killer who was caught and executed in the 1970's. While the movie itself was mediorce I must admit that I really enjoyed the ending and how it explains and reveals the little details that take place throughout the movie. And I recently discovered that this is a prequel of a film titled "Reeker" that was released in 2005.

Freddy Vs. Jason (2003)

For years horror fans had speculated that Freddy Krueger would go toe to toe with Jason Voorhees, especially after Freddy's trademark glove came up through the floor and grabbed Jason's hockey mask at the end of "Friday the 13th part 9". That was in 1993; it wouldn't be until an additional "Friday the 13th" was made and ten full years had passed before the world was given "Freddy Vs. Jason" in 2003. The movie....is what it is. It takes elements from both franchises, dozens of teens to kill, and a story that finds a way to blend the two together easily. The best scenes are of course when the two villains are going at each other but the teens deaths are fun as well. This film is more about action and satire than horror and that's ok. This is the last appearance of both title characters before each series was rebooted.


Freddy Krueher is trapped in Hell and can't escape unless the teens on Elm Street believe in him. Since no one remembers or knows of him, he decides to trick Jason Voorhees into going to the suburbs and killing on his behalf, hoping to stir up some memories. Eventually someone does, a patient in a mental hospital, and Freddy is released. But Jason keeps on killing Freddy's victims, so the two go head to head in Freddy's dream world. During this time, some teens are able to drug Jason long enough to return him to Crystal Lake where he and Freddy have a final showdown in the real world, where Jason has the upper hand.

Valentine (2001)

"Valentine" is just another insipid slasher flick that tries to capitalize on a holiday. It has a similiar feel to "Prom Night" and doesn't add anything new to the slasher sub-genre, effectively tripping over all of the cliches that the first "Scream" film so politely pointed out. It is clever enough that it includes an element of foreshadowing as to how everyone will die, something that I really appreciate. The casting choices were made be who was pretty and not necessarily for their acting skills, although the film does star Katherine Heigl a few years before she became a household name.


During a junior high dance, a socially awkward boy bravely asks five girls to dance. Three of them are mean and insult him, the fourth politely turns him down, and the fifth accepts. The two soon find themselves making out under the bleachers but when they are discovered by some other kids, the girl screams that he is assualting her. The boy is badly beaten and transfers away from the school soon after. Thirteen years later, after everyone has grown up to be as gorgeous as models, the five five friends begin to pay for their behaviour from that dance that happened so long ago. Some receive cards with threatening messages while one recieves a box of chocolates filled with maggots. And then people start dying; the girls, their boyfriends, police detectives. The movie boils down to trying to figure out who the killer is and if it is indeed the boy from thirteen years ago or someone who is using him as an excuse....

My Bloody Valentine 3D (2009)

"My Bloody Valentine 3D" is a remake of the low budget, 1981 Canadian film "My Bloody Valentine". The film is vastly superior to the original and yet has it's own faults. This version is more intense, more violent, and simply has a better story line; it has the same basic premise as the original but the plot points are clearer and the pacing is stronger. Of course one of the most noticeable differences are the action shots that were used to take full advantage of the 3D properties that the film had, when shown in the movie theater. Now, on a basic TV, the sequences look a little silly and hammy. But that's alright, it's still a mildly fun slasher flick all the same.


In a small town, six miners become trapped deep underground during a cave in. By the time the rescue crew is able to get to the men, six days later, five of the men are dead and one is comatose. Harry Warden, the survivor, is taken to the local hospital but after he arrives is when the rescue team realizes that the five men who died were actually killed by a pickaxe.

Exactly a year later, Harry awakens form his coma and kills the entire hospital staff and disappears. Meanwhile, a party is taking place at the former mine (WHY???), where Axel, his girlfriend Irene, Sarah, and her boyfriend Tom are having fun. Tom is the mine owner's son and is believed to be responsible for the cave-in the year before because he forgot to release the built up methane gas. While in the mine, Harry appears in his miners suit and has his pickaxe in hand. Harry attacks Tom and hits him in the shoulder as the other three run to their truck, believing that Tom is dead. Tom runs deeper into the mine to hide from Harry. As Harry is about to kill Tom, the town's sheriff arrives and shoots Harry. Tom quickly leaves town and life goes on.

Ten years later, Tom returns to sell the mine. His father is dead and he wants nothing to do with the family business, despite the pleas from the locals. While in town, Tom learns that Axel is now the sheriff and is now married to Sarah, and that Axel's ex-girlfriend is now the town's whore. Unknown to most, Axel is having an affair with Megan, one of Sarah's employees. Megan happily tells Axel that she's pregnant with his child, which places him in a unwanted situation. That night, Irene is having sex with a truck driver who later tells her that he filmed the two together. Irene becomes furious and follows the man to his truck, completely naked. While they are fighting, the trucker is impaled by a pickaxe and a man who looks just like Harry begins killing various townspeople. Who it is, no one knows....until it's too late.

Psycho (1998)

If there was ever a film that was never needed to be made, then the 1998 remake of "Pyscho" is the ultimate example of that. It is almost an exact frame by frame remake of the classic Alfred Hitchcock film which merely uses a different cast and appears in color. Even the music from the original movie is reused. The new cast, with Vince Vaughn in the role of Norman Bates, just doesn't deliver or exceed the performances from the first movie. If anything, both Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche fall vastly short from the stellar performances of Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh. The script doesn't sound real and comes across as hokey in this day and age, especially during the last scene where they psychologist is explaining Norman's mental state. The film was both a commercial and critical bomb. Just watch the original!

Scream 2 (1997)

"Scream 2" is a delightful follow up to the hit that resurrected Wes Craven's career just at the right time. He's back with writing partner for the sequel, one that proves to be just as effective as the first. It has more scares and more victims but it also has too many faces with too little screen time to ever clearly suspect who the killer or killers are this time around. The opening scene is fantastic and sets up the mood perfectly for the rest of the film.


The film takes place two years after the Woodsboro Murders from the first film. After a gruesome double killing at a preview showing of the movie "Stab", which was based on the Woodsboro Murders, news reporters flock to Sidney Prescott once again to see what she thinks about the situation. She wants nothing to do with the media circus, preferring to focus on her college studies and her boyfriend Derek and her friends Randy (from the the first movie) and her best friend Hallie. It's not long before Dewey arrives on the scene as well as Gale Weathers, who attempts a one on one confrontation between Sidney and Cotton Weary, the man Sidney accused of being her mother's killer. After all of the stress and awkwardness of the day, Hallie convinces Sidney to come to a party with her. Of course the new Ghostface Killer/s shows up and kills one student before attacking Sidney. She escapes and the movie becomes a cat-and-mouse game as Sidney tries to figure out who the killer is while trying to stay alive.

Prom Night (1980)

The original "Prom Night" is one of those stalker/slasher style films that felt like a cheap carbon copy of all of the other similar movies that came out around this time. It has the unknown killer, an escaped convict that "must" be the one responsible for the current series of killings, teenagers having sex and smoking pot, and the needed surprising twist ending. This film also includes a disco dance scene involving Jamie Lee Curtis that is just painful to watch. Like many others, I was not impressed with this film and only begrudgingly watched it again just so I could review it for this project. It has not aged well over time and I can only wonder if the remake made any improvements when it was produced in 2008.


Four young kids are responsible for the accidental death of a younger neighbor and make a vow to never tell anyone, unknown to them that someone witnessed the accident and failure to admit it. A local rapist is convicted of the "murder" and the kids grow up without a care in the world. Flash forward to six years later when the four teens are getting ready to go to their high school prom, as well as the brother and sister of the young girl. The night of the prom falls on the anniversary of the accident, and the conspirators  begin to receive spooky phone calls from a stranger. During the day and throughout the dance, they are slowly killed off one by one until the "dramatic" climax finally reveals who the real killer is. (yawn)

Hatchet (2007)

"Hatchet" dives right in without apology as a comedy/horror film that really tries to be both genres. It's full of over the top gruesome death scenes, head slapping nonsense, and a plot that would be a straight forward horror story if it wasn't for some of the comments and responses that the characters make. My favorite is easily Tony Todd's cameo as the tour guide Reverend Zombie and his reasoning as to why he can't take the two main characters on a swamp tour; perfect delivery and I'm sure he had a blast performing it!

Ben is in New Orleans during Mardi Gras but his heart isn't into partying or having fun; he's still lamenting over his break up with his ex girlfriend. He decides to leave his group of friends to take a swamp tour that he had heard about a year before. His friend Marcus comes along and soon regrets it as they see who is leading the tour and who else is coming along. These include a fake movie producer and two girls who think they are starting in a scandalous video, an older married couple, and a lone woman who is looking for her dad and brother. The tour guide is only leading his second tour and crashes the boat into a submerged tree which forces everyone to abandon ship. On land they come to discover that they are right outside the house where legendary killer Victor Crowley was rumored to have been killed in a fire. It's only a rumor because he's still alive and goes on a murderous rampage, killing the tourists one by one.

The Hills Run Red (2009)

What's more fascinating than a film that is screened only once and then is never seen again because of the impact that it had on it's viewers? This concept is explored in two separate movies, each offering a unique take and exploring the reasons why. The first film is "The Hills Run Red", which is about a slasher film that is shown once but is pulled after the audience declares that the violence is too life-like and scary. A young college kid named Tyler becomes obsessed with the film, collecting every little clue and picture that he can find that is related to the movie. He eventually learns who the director's daughter is and kidnaps her after he goes back to her place. She's a junky and he forces her to get clean so she can take him to where the movie was filmed. After a week she finally agrees and takes Tyler, his girlfriend Serina, and his best friend Lalo. Alexa, the director's daughter, takes them deep into the backwoods where the group runs into violent rednecks and the actual killer from "The Hills Run Red", Babyface! Tyler quickly learns that the scenes from the film were real, that the victims were actually killed, and that the deranged director Concannon is casting him and his friends as the newest stars of his movie!

Maniac (2012)

“Maniac” is a “stalker/slasher” film about a serial killer who scalps his victims and staples his trophies to the headpiece of his mannequins. Starring Elijah Wood in a very different role than we are used to, this was a remake of a movie from 1980. The movie is film from the perspective of the killer, Frank, using the P.O.V technique. We rarely see Frank except for moments when he sees his own reflection or at brief moments that are used for artistic purposes. Because you are watching the film through the eyes of the killer, the viewer isn’t able to experience the horrible events from a distance and in a different context. The film was produced and the script was co-written and Alexandre Aja, who was also the producer and writer for the excessively violent French film “Haute Tension”. This was a very difficult movie to watch and I found very few moments entertaining. I will admit that the best scene in the film is at the end when Frank is killed by his inner demons, and oddly enough, the perspective is from his victims looking down at him as they tear his face apart.

Slaughter (2009)

“Slaughter” rounds out this week’s theme of stalker movies, a film from the After Dark Horrorfest 3 8 Films to Die For collection. In this movie we see the stalking element in full effect as a reckless teen from the county goes to the big city and lures men back to her family farm, has an intimate evening with her date who goes missing in the morning. If any killer was going to be compared to a spider, then Lola is the perfect example. She spins a delicate and devastating web that entraps Faith, a young woman on the run from an abusive and obsessive ex-boyfriend. This movie claims to be based on real events although it never says which ones and research into this matter has proved that there are several stories that this could be inspired by.

Faith is moving to Atlanta to escape her abusive boyfriend Jimmy. While out in a bar one night, Faith notices a guy being rough with a very young woman who looks distressed by the situation. She comes over and tells the woman that she’s been looking for her all evening; the girl plays along and leaves the guy behind. The girl, Lola, thanks Faith for the help and after a while the two become friends. Faith visits Lola at her family’s farm and the two go out to the bars later that night. Faith joins Lola on a date with a well to do but much older guy, and when he asks if they are sisters, Lola says yes; they are about the same height, build, and have similar hair. Faith stays the night in the barn that Lola lives in and catches the teen having sex with her date. In the morning her date is gone but has left his expensive watch behind. Lola is afraid that Faith thinks that she’s a slut but Faith is only concerned about Lola’s safety. When Faith returns home she finds out that Jimmy has found out where she lives. She tells Lola this who then invites her to stay at the farm, to which Faith agrees to.

 As Faith stays, and helps out with farm chores, she learns that her father and her brothers live in the farmhouse and won’t talk to Lola. Faith becomes suspicious of Lola’s father and the missing dates that Lola brings home. After snooping around the slaughter house and discovering the family’s dark secret, Lola’s father knocks Faith out and drags her to the pond, ties and concrete block to her legs, and pushes her in. As Faith comes to, she sees a graveyard of cars that have once belonged to the many dates that Lola has brought to the farm. Faith blacks out and is saved, but by who and why?

Favorite death scene – the on screen killings don’t really begin until later in the film and some of these are pretty horrendous, context-wise. I can’t say that I have a favorite because they are a little unnerving. 

Путевой обходчик aka Trackman (2007)

“Trackman” is a Russian film that follows some of the traits of a typical stalker movie. There are a group of people who enter the killer’ lair, this time being confusing old subway tracks that are no longer in use. Victims are killed one by one and in this movie, the killer removes the eyes of each victim as a form of trophy. The movie even includes an old myth about the man who lives in the tunnels, a mutated survivor of the Chernobyl melt down. And like most other slasher flicks (except for “Halloween” and “Scream”) it’s full of characters that you really don’t care if they live or die. I wonder if they write the characters just because they don’t want you to care about them, knowing full well that they’re going to be killed off? This film was produced and distributed by Ghost House Underground and has been one of the higher quality films I have seen from them.

Three criminals rob a bank and when one of them starts firing and killing the security guards, they are forced to take three hostages with them as they escape. They have a full proof plan for their escape by running into the abandoned subway tunnels nearby, going so far as to booby-trap the entrance so no one can follow or realize where they went. Once inside, they are to meet a fourth member of the group. They never find him because he ends up being the first victim of the Trackman, a large manic killer who lives in the tunnels and conveniently has a sign with his chosen title hanging near his lair. One by one the six are stalked and killed until it’s only Grom, one of the criminals, and one of the bank employees. The ending a pretty silly and almost ruins the mood of the movie.

Favorite death scene – Grom gives the security officer that they took hostage a gun to protect the two bank employees after they realize that they are being stalked. The girls leave the security officer since they feel safer with their kidnapper but one shortly returns. The security guard doesn’t realize it’s her and shoots her several times. This death scene is the only one where you feel sorry for the character dying because it was such a tragic mistake.

Is this the killer from "My Bloody Valentine"? This is a subway, not a mine!

"You look like a spooky clown without eyes. You should "look" into this as a career option!"

Scream (1996)

By the 1990’s, stalker films had become a joke and the genre was filled with movies that only cared about killing people in more and more unusual ways and forcing a twist or concept that wasn’t very convincing. Somehow writer Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven came up with the perfect formula that made the stalker/slasher film relevant and entertaining, introducing the sub-genre to a new generation. “Scream” is a smart movie, a movie willing to point out the formula of a horror movie in bullet points and follow each one exactly. “Scream” had an amazing cast filled with young actors that would go on and have impressive careers. “Scream” would also become its own franchise that for the most part remained somewhat clever.

“Scream” is about Sidney Prescott, a teen who has already dealt with tragedy when her mother was killed the year before. Now someone is killed off two of her classmates and comes after her the next evening. She escapes and her boyfriend Billy is arrested because he is caught at the scene of the attempted murder. When his cell phone history clears his guilt, Sidney is still unsure if she can trust him or not. She is attacked once again at the high school, prompting the principal to suspend classes until further notice; the principal is then killed in his office. One of Sidney’s friends throws a house party and there carnage escalates as more people are killed and the mystery of who the killer is becomes more blurred, because at this point anyone (except Sidney) could be the killer.

Favorite death scene – The best death scene in this film is easily the first one which involves Drew Barrymore. What makes this movie great is that the killer is human and sometimes a klutz, so when you hear each moan or see them fall or get hit, it gives a real sense of believability to it. And with Drew, your heart drops because she was so close to getting away but you knew that she woulnd’t….

Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers (1988)

By 1988, the acting in “stalker” movies improved only slightly; it’s best to watch these films with a group of friends, maybe with a few drinks, laughing at how absurd but fun these movies were. “Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers” is both a slasher flick and a self-parody of the genre that it represents. The original had a unique ending that is addressed and honored in the very beginning of the sequel, which is a brilliant move that both honors the first film and sets the tone for the second. And as a possible marketing ploy, the two leading actors are siblings of much more famous entertainers; Pamela Springsteen and Renee Estevez.

“Sleepaway Camp 2” takes places at the summer camp Rolling Hills. It’s your typical rural summer camp that kids from New York get to go to (I knew it was an East Coast thing!). The movie opens up at a campfire and a few boys and a girl telling horror stories. This is when you notice the mediocre acting and the horrendous mullets. The girl tells the story of Camp Arawak and how a bunch of kids were murdered by a boy that was dressed up as a girl. Another camper adds that the killer was sent to a mental hospital, had a sex change, and was released recently. The girl’s counselor Angela shows up to take her back to her cabin. Of course Angela IS the killer from the other camp and kills the girl on the way back, beginning the body count that will eventually include every person at the camp. A bit over the top? Perhaps! Angela kills each camper after they misbehave in one fashion or another or simply get on her wrong side. She kills the twins because they were smoking pot, she kills the peeping toms because they were peeping, she kills Molly’s boyfriend after he tells Angela that his dad arrested her in the previous film, and so forth.

Favorite death scene – this film doesn’t show many graphic killings but the leading up the death itself is sometimes the best payoff. For example, I liked the scene where a couple of the boys were dressed as Freddy and Jason and were going to scare the girls. Instead, Angela shows up dressed as Leatherface and kills them, one with a real working knifed glove and the other one with a chainsaw.

Friday the 13th (1980)

"Friday the 13th" is one of the major influences for the sub-genre of slasher/stalker movies of the 1980's. It set the standard for killing people in unique ways, included plenty of sex and drugs, and had a twist ending. It wasn't the first to do any of these but it solidified the chemistry of these elements and applied it to each sequel that followed . As a horror film, it is inferior to "Halloween" with it's cast of actors and general sense of suspense. Where "Friday the 13th" really delivers is with the twist that it's Jason's mother that is the killer at the end. This was a surprising twist at the time and became the basis for an interesting mythos in the "13th" series.

Favorite death scene - Of course the best is the showdown between Alice and Jason's crazy mother. Why? Because this is really the only characters you care about in this movie.