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.

Halloween 3: Season of the Witch (1982)

No matter how good the movie itself is, "Halloween 3: Season of the Witch" will always be considered a failure because it wasn't about Michael Myers. Produced by both John Carpenter and Debra Hill, the third installment of the "Halloween" franchise was meant to turn the series into an anthology of films based on the holiday Halloween in some fashion or another with the fourth film planned as a ghost movie. I can understand the general public and various movie critics being confused by this concept after the first two films were both about Michael Myers. It was an ambitious and creative concept that simply went against the norm.

Had it been on it's own and not associated with the "Halloween" franchise, "Season of the Witch" is still a unique and entertaining film. It has elements that I haven't seen elsewhere, solid casting especially with Dan O'Herliy as the villainous Conal Cochran. The version I saw looked restored or otherwise the original version had some very high film and lightening productions values for the time. My only complaints about the film is how often they play the annoying music of the Silver Shamrocks commercial and the cop out demise of Conal Cochran.

I should also add that this is the first film from the "Halloween" franchise that I saw from beginning to end, after being edited for broadcast TV.


Dr. Dan Challis becomes wrapped up in a mystery after a crazed man gripping a popular Halloween mask is admitted to his care. While sedated, the man is attacked and killed by a man in a business suit who promptly goes to his car and pours gasoline all over himself before striking a match, burning himself up and the car in an explosion. Dr. Challis is assisted by the victim's daughter, Ellie, who tells Dan that her father sold the popular masks in his shop near by. The last place he was seen before being admitted to the hospital was at the Silver Shamrocks factory where the masks were made. Dan and Ellie go to the small town where the factory is and soon discover that the factory is manned by dozens of the men who looked like the original assailant. After digging deeper than they should and attracting notice, Dan and Ellie are captured and soon learn about the diabolical scheme that the owner of Silver Shamrocks, Conal Cochran, has planned for all of the children who love to wear his masks.

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.

Creepshow (1982)

“Creepshow” may be one of the better horror anthologies around. It might not be the best but it’s pretty damn good! It was directed by George A Romero and written by Stephen King, this collection of short horror stories offers interesting story arcs, screenshots that resemble old time horror comic book panels, and acting that is purposely over the top so that it feels like a comic book. The cast is packed full of famous actors of the time and they all give great performances. This one of the earliest horror movies that I saw from beginning to end and it remains one of films that I have the fondest memories of, that is why I thrilled to have this movie featured as my 200^th review!

The first story, “Father’s Day”, is about a rich patriarch who acquired his wealth through unsavory deeds, who is then killed by his aged daughter who was left to take care of him on Father’s Day. On the anniversary of the murder, the surviving relatives gather to “pay respects’ but are killed off one by one by his reanimated, revenge filled corpse.

“The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill” stars Stephen King as Jordy, a down on his luck farmer who has a meteorite crash into his barren corn field. Jordy touches the meteorite cracks and is immediately burned by it and is now infected by a fast growing plant “virus”. His dreams of wealth and fame are dashed when the meteorite cracks. He goes into his house and laments his loss as the infection slowly overtakes him. He only makes matters worse when he takes a bath, dooming the transformation.

The third story, “Something to Tide You Over”, is about a wealthy man named Richard who finds out that his wife Becky is cheating on him with a man named Harry. Richard coerces Harry into joining him on a drive to the beach where Richard forces Harry to dig a hole in the sand and bury himself. Richard leaves a TV set on the beach that shows that Becky is also buried up to her head on the beach and is about to be drowned by the incoming tide. Both Harry and Becky die, only to come back and have their revenge on their happy-go-lucky killer.

The fourth story, “The Crate”, is the most in depth piece of the anthology, focusing on both a mysterious crate found in the basement of a university and the vicious beast that’s trapped inside…for over 148 years, and the dysfunctional relationship with a meek professor and his overbearing wife.

The fifth story, “They’re Creeping Up on You” is the most memorable piece, about a wealthy, ruthless business man with a fear of germs who lives in a secluded New York penthouse. He watches as the city is suffering from a massive black out, as well as receiving threatening phone calls from those who he has wrong. Over the course of the story, cockroaches, one by one, begin invading his sealed environment. When the power goes out in his building, the bugs begin to take over until they drive the miser to his death.

The overlapping storyline is about a boy who loves reading horror comics but is yelled and at slapped by his disapproving father. The boy gets his revenge by ordering a voodoo doll and sticking it with a pin over and over again….

Father's Day Cake!

Poor Jordy

Sea-Zombie Becky and Harry

The Yeti from the Crate!!

 Voodoo doll