The Butterfly Effect (2004)

"The Butterfly Effect" is considered to be Ashton Kutcher first non-comedic role and he does a wonderful job of not being funny. "The Butterfly Effect" is more science-fiction than horror but it is 100 percent a thrilling psychological trip. The subject matter, especially the events that take place during the main characters youth are dark and disturbing, which keep the movie serious and thoroughly grounded. Even though the film was panned by critics, it was still considered to be a box office success and proved to the masses that Kutcher was able to carry a film that wasn't a comedy. The film co-stars Amy Smart, an actor who has also been primarily seen in romantic comedies. Eric Stoltz has a small role as well, revisiting the horror genre after appearing "The Fly 2" and dark films like "Killing Zoe".

The film follows Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) and several key events in his life that he has no memory of. To try to overcome his blackouts, Evan begins keeping a journal to help him remember. The events are traumatic and effect everyone involved including Evan, and his friends Lenny, Kayleigh, and her violent brother Tommy. The events include Evan's father trying to kill him when he comes to visit at a mental institution, a prank that kills an innocent mother and her infant, and even darker moments. Evan ends up moving away with his mom and grows up to be a successful college student. By accident, Evan discovers that he can go back in time, retaining his all of his knowledge, and change the events that occurred when he read from his old journals. This is a trait that both his father and grandfather had; it's also why they were both eventually deemed crazy by those around them. Having noble intentions of saving Kayleigh from the grief of their shared childhood, Even goes back in time and tries to adjust the events so that they wouldn't have a traumatic outcome. Unfortunately, every attempt ends in more tragedy and every time he tries to adjust the past, his brain hemorrhages more and more until he's at death's door....

The Craft (1996)

"The Craft" was purposely cast with attractive young actors in order to attract a large audience for the box office; luckily the actors were talented as well! "The Craft" is a fun fantasy/horror film that focuses on four young women who practice witchcraft. While none of the actors in the film were standout success stories when the film came out, they did manage to find a spotlight from this movie and others that shortly followed. Both Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich appeared in "Scream" which came out later that year, and of course Neve appeared in the sequels and other mainstream films. Fariuza Balk would soon be seen in the awkward "Island of Dr. Moreau" and "American History X". And star Robin Tunney would have moderate success in the years to follow, including a staring role with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the action/horror movie "End of Days".

Sarah is the new girl in school and is having the typical difficulties of trying to fit in. She ends up befriending the group that she was advised to stay away from, three semi-rebellious girls who have difficulties of their own; Bonnie,who is self conscious of massive burn scars on her back, Rochelle, who is bullied by a racist cheerleader type, and Nancy, their goth leader who lives in a trailer with her mom and abusive, drunk step-dad. They embrace Sarah when Bonnie catches her balancing a pencil on it's tip during class. They tell Sarah that they are witches and have been looking for their fourth member to complete their coven. Sarah has natural powers (inherited from her mom, who died during childbirth), and joins the three. They have a breakthrough one night and actually begin casting spells. Bonnie's scars heal, Rochelle extracts revenge when the cheerleader starts losing her hair, Nancy's step-father dies and leaves her and her mom a healthy insurance settlement, and Sarah enchants a cute boy to like her. But Sarah realizes that something is wrong when the three become power hungry and the cute boy becomes obsessed and dangerous. When Sarah tries to leave the coven, she's told that she can either stay or die. Finding her inner strength, she leaves and prepares for the worst....

The Frighteners (1996)

Michael J. Fox was well known for his comedies like "Back to the Future" and "The Secret of my Success" as well as his role on the series "Family Ties". He is an actor that you would never consider starring in a horror film ("Teen Wolf" doesn't count) but here he is, starring in Peter Jackson's "The Frighteners". The film does have plenty of comedic moments but the horror elements outnumber them pretty quickly. Michael J. Fox delivers a great performance and has plenty of help with horror veterans Jeffery Combs and Dee Wallace. This would turn out to be Fox's last major starring role in a movie before he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

It's crazy to imagine the fact that if Peter Jackson had not wrote and directed his ghost story "The Frigheners", he most likely would have never gone on to direct "The Lord of the Rings"! This is because he bought and used so many new computers in order to create the special effects and CGI that appear in "The Frighteners" that he had to figure out what the next project could be that would require just as many effects; a few years later he secured the rights to "The Lord of the Rings" and the rest is history.


Frank Banister is able to see and communicate with the dead spirits around him, those spirits that have not gone through the "Great White Light". He uses this ability to scam the locals of the town he lives in; his two ghost friends go to a house and start "haunting" it and he comes along and exorcises the "bad spirits" away for a hefty fee. He has his fair share of critics, including Ray, one of his most recent customers. But Frank is stunned when he sees a number scratched on Ray's forehead; Ray soon dies of a heart attack. After a rash of unexplained deaths in town, a disturbed occult expert working in the FBI comes to town and investigates Bannister, believing he is the one responsible. The agent connects the death of Bannister's wife and a series or numbers as his main proof. The real killer turns out to be the disembodied spirit of a teenage serial killer named Johnny Charles Bartlett, who has taken the guise of the Grim Reaper and is intent on becoming the most famous killer ever! Only Bannister and Ray's wife Lucy can stop the renegade spirit while trying to deal with the insane FBI agent....

After.Life (2009)

The film "After.Life" is a bit of a head scratcher; it's meant to be a psychological thriller but the only one that seems to be psychologically thrilled is Christina Ricci's character. The film had an interesting concept but the production and the script fail to full take advantage of it. The story is murky and full of moments that make you feel stupid for the the actors on the screen. As I continued watching, I kept hoping for some clear explanation as to why Christina's character was so challenged and what motive Liam Neeson's character had, but alas, the answers were vague at best. I'm confused as to why Neeson took this role and I've even more confused as to why Christina's acting chops have gone down the hill over the past 15 years??

Anna is a middle school teacher who is having an rough patch in her relationship with her boyfriend Paul. It's clear that they don't listen to each other and it feels like they really should break up. One day, Anna goes to the funeral of her old piano teacher, where she meets the owner of the funeral home, Mr. Eliot Deacon. Later that night she meets Paul at a fancy restaurant where things quickly go to hell when he says that he's moving to another city; she assumes he's breaking up with her and leaves when his real intention was to ask her to marry him. As she drives away full of rage during a heavy rain storm, she ends up in an accident on the freeway. When she wakes up, she finds herself in the prep room of the funeral parlor, unable to move. She sees Eliot standing above her, preparing her for her funeral which is to be held in a few days. He tells her that she's dead and continues to do so when she tries to insist that she is very much alive. The truth (?) is that he's sedating her (often) and is making it seem that she is dead. She's too weak and her mind it too boggled to escape, and every time she tries, she fails horribly. Justin tries to find out the truth but his efforts are just as wasted as Anna's. It's only when it's too late that Anna realizes that she is indeed still alive....

Author's Note - Marquee Movie Stars

Horror movies have provided many actors their first chance to be in front of a movie camera. It acts as a spring board for actors to get noticed if they appear in the right flick, it gives them the chance to perform with an accomplished director at times, and others act in horror movies because they just want the paycheck. Every now and then you will see an accomplished actor appear in a low budget horror film without a known director attached to it. This week I will be reviewing films that have very well known actors, typically in films that they have appeared in later in their careers. There will also be one or two films that showcase an actor or two before they have reached super-stardom.

Mimic (1997)

"Mimic" was Guillermo del Toro's first American film and only his second full-length production. His work as a director in the horror genre takes a few steps forward from his outstanding debut "Cronos". The film feels like a summer blockbuster, that it was made for the masses, which is made appearant by the casting choices and hefty budget for the time. While most people rate the movie highly, it failed to cover it's costs while in the box office. Luckily this fact did not harm del Toro's future as a director as he followed this film with "The Devil's Backbone" in 2001 and "Blade 2" in 2002.


The cockroaches of New York City are carrying and spreading a diesease that target and kills young children. The CDC is unable to find a cure or develop a vaccine to neturalize the diesease. They decide to approach the matter from a different angle, and with the help of Entomologist Susan Tyler, they introduce a bio-engineered breed of insect named the Judas Breed to kill off the cockroaches. The experiment is a success and the cockroach population drops to a new low. The Judas Breed were designed to die off within six months and were unable to reproduce. But.....
Fast forward three years and Susan is once again called into duty after two kids sell her a "weird bug" they found in the subway tunnels. To Susan's surprise, it's a large baby Judas. Before she is able to fully disect the spescisem, her office is broken into and steals the dead insect. Susan and her husband Peter go to the subway and break in to the area where the boys had found the bug, only to be turned away by a subway police officer named Leonard. A young austistic child named Chuy and his father Manny become involved after Chuy sees "the man with the funny shoes" enter an old church where a murder supposedly took place. All the main characters end up in the subway tunnels for their own reasons and end up attracting the attention of the Judas Breed, now called Mimic for their abiltiy to look like humans with long coats. These human sized, praying mantis-termite hybrids are quickly reproducing and present a real threat to the world at large. It's up to Susan and the others to find the nest and end the Judas program once and for all.

a Mimic

Susan and her husband Peter

A solider class Mimic

Norman Reedus is thrilled to be in his first movie

Trolljergeren (2010)

"Trolljergeren", also known as "Troll Hunter" in English, is a fantastic Norwegian horror/fantasy film that highlights the mythical creatures in a way that has never been seen before! What's great about this movie is that it touches on several different kinds of trolls and finds a perfect reason to connect them all together into one story. Each type of troll is given it's fair share of screen time and demonstrates their various traits. Otto Jespersen is amazing as the lead character, Hans the Troll Hunter. Best known as a comedian in Norway, Otto plays his role extremely straight and without too much emotion throughout the film which allows the college students working with him to have the excitable reactions one might have when encountering a troll.
The special effects vary throughout the film, with some trolls looking better and more detailed than others; this is too much of a distraction but is noticeable.


A trio of college students are following a hunter named Hans who they suspect is an illegal bear poacher. At one site where a dead bear is found, local hunters remark how the bear tracks look odd but Finn Haugen, the head of the Norwegian Wildlife Board, reassures that the bear tracks are real. The three finally track down Hans one night as he comes running out of a forest yelling "troll"! The commentator, Thomas, is bitten by something in the dark and the three also find that their vehicle has been destroyed. They ride with Hans back to his camp and ask if they can come along and film whatever it is that he's doing. He thinks about it, asks if any of them are Christians, and after they say no, he allows them to come along. The next night Hans takes the three to another forest where they find a three headed troll. Hans allows it to chase him and leads it back to his Land Rover where he activates a high powered UV light that turns the creature to stone. Hans begins to break down the stone remains as Finn arrives with a bear carcass and begins imprinting fake bear tracks. The three college students soon realize that they are privy to a secret government organization and the trolls are indeed real. They continue their travels with Hans as he tries to figure out why there is so much troll activity all of a sudden.

Oh, that's not good!

UV lights turning an older troll to stone

Hans the troll hunter and Johanna the sound tech

That's a large one!

Lair of the Mountain Kings!