American Mary (2012) #413

"American Mary" is a stylish and sexy horror film staring Katherine Isabelle as Mary Mason,
a med student who begins performing extreme body modifications to pay her mounting debts. The film is directed and written by the Soska Sisters, who appear in the film as patients/customers of Mary's, spinning an interesting story that tastefully walks the line between torture porn and mad-scientist genres. Mary feels like a real character which makes it easy for the viewers to relate to her. "American Mary" keeps the audience intrigued throughout the film but feels like it sputters to an abrupt end with it's somewhat anticlimactic ending.

Mary Mason decides to become a stripper so she can keep up with her mounting bills that she is incurring while she is at med school to become a surgeon. While "interviewing" at the strip club, Mary is paid $5000.00 to save the life of a man who appears to have been tortured in the club's basement. A few days later Mary is approached by a dancer from the club who asks Mary to perform a body modification procedure on a friend of hers. Mary is reluctant but decides to accept the job and it's $10,000 offered fee. Mary soon becomes popular in the counter culture world of body modifications, meeting clients and making her art. But her actions have repercussions that come back to haunt her...

Katherine Isabelle as Mary Mason

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.

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.

Quarantine 2: Terminal (2001) #390

Like many sequels in the horror genre, "Quarantine 2: Terminal" just doesn't live up to the expectations that were set by the original film in the series. This is not to say that this is a poor movie, only that it would have been stronger as a stand-alone original idea rather than as a sequel. "Quarantine 2: Terminal" breaks from the original in two important ways; first, it isn't shown from a found footage style perspective and second, it is an entirely different story than "REC 2", the Spanish version that "Quarantine" is inspired by. Given all of the source material and expectations that were built from the three films that preceeded this one ("Quarantine", "REC", and "REC 2"), "Quarantine 2: Terminal" was bound to struggle. I feel that this film comes across as a knock off of a "Resident Evil" sequel more than one from "Quarantine". The best part of the film is the first 15 minutes as you watch and try to figure out who exactly on board the plane is the person responsible for spreading the rabies-like infection.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

One of the earliest films about a mad scientist, “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” was a popular choice for Hollywood. Seven different variations were produced between 1908 and 1941 alone. The version I watched was filmed in 1920 and starred John Barrymore. This is a classic silent film where most of the dialogue that the characters say is never revealed; only the “most know” parts are shared with the audience. This means that there is plenty of overacting, intense eye emoting, and overall silliness when compared to acting today. Another aspect of watching a film that is almost 100 years old are the names of various objects or institutions; for example, Dr. Jekyll runs a human repair shop, not a clinic!

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is the classic story of a kindly doctor who is mocked by Sir George Carew, his future father-in-law, who insists that Dr. Jekyll spends too much time helping others and not enough time for himself. After an encounter at a dance hall, Dr. Jekyll comes to believe that Sir Carew was right. He then locks himself in his lab until he develops a potion that will split his good and evil sides in two. The potion works and he turns into Mr. Hyde. When he is Mr. Hyde, he goes to bars and opium dens and does the things that he could not allow Dr. Jekyll to ever try. The problem like any drug is that the side effects kick in and suddenly his evil side becomes more apparent when he turns back in Dr. Jekyll. It becomes an inner battle between Jekyll and Hyde that will ultimately affect his dear fiancée in the end.

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

Human Centipede (2010)

There was a lot of excitement and curiosity leading up the original “Human Centipede”, a movie about a mad German scientist who kidnaps two lost Americans seeking help on his doorstep. They become a part of his experiment that ultimately fails…just like the movie itself. This is a perfect example of a novel new idea that wasn’t thought through and was poorly executed. There is nothing frightening or gruesome to see nor is there anything of the sort that occurs off camera. You leave the film thinking “I’m glad that didn’t happen to me” but you don’t know enough about the victims to feel sorry that it happened to them. The mad scientist isn’t horribly terrifying either. All this movie accomplishes is furthering the recent stereotype that Europe is filled with crazy, sadistic individuals that like to torment tourists.

Watch the preview, it's all you need!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX8fKLjC__c

Autopsy (20008)

“Autopsy” is a fun horror movie that takes advantage of some simple plot points, classic make-up effects, and good casting choices. The film never tries to take itself too seriously or to push the limits on a particular style or theme. The more films I see from this series, the more I come to love the “After Dark Horrorfest” film selections. This movie is from the 3^rd series of the 8 Films to Die For.

The story is simple; a group of young adults who were in New Orleans for Mardi Gras end up hitting a tree on a lonely deserted road. They’re all ok but discover that they also managed to have hit someone as well as a tree. Before they know what to do, an ambulance comes driving up the road and the orderlies get out and collect the man. When they notice the kids, they suggest that they come to the hospital for an evaluation for trauma and to call a tow truck for their vehicle. They all go and end up at Mercy Hospital. Once there, they are slowly separated one by one for various reasons, the first being Bobby who was actually injured during the accident. Slowly, Bobby’s girlfriend Emily realizes that something is wrong when she isn’t allowed to see him after a few hours and she begins to sneak around the hospital. The reveal is that the hospital was closed down after Hurricane Katrina and is being run by a nurse, two orderlies who were former prison mates, and a mad doctor intent on saving his wife with whatever means necessary; she’s suffer from some kind of terminal cancer that they never explain. Emily’s friends are slowly killed one by one by either the doctor’s experiments or by the orderlies who are having a little aggressive, violent fun. The end result is the same as the victims have various organs taken as replacements for the doctor’s ailing wife. Emily uses her cunning and luck to survive the encounter and finally finds the wife and how she’s being kept alive….

Favorite moment – there is a scene when Emily kills one of the orderlies and the effects are great and realistic without the use of CGI.

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.