RETRO HORROR FIX: THE WILLIES

THE WILLIES
Echo Bridge
1990 Color
92 Mins.
Horror/Comedy
Sean Astin, Clu Gulager, Joshua Miller, Tracy Gold, Kirk Cameron, Suzanne Goddard and James Karen star.
Written and Directed by Brian Peck
Rated PG-13 for language, violence and gore.

Very few people have seen this neat little kiddie horror flick that I grew up on. Released straight to video in December of 1990 the film centers on two brothers and their cousin trying to scare each other while on a camping trip. Their creepy little tales of the macabre are visualized in appropriately campy and fun ways. But what makes this little film stand the test of time is that although the stories center around kids the executions although light are not kiddie like. There's a fare amount of gore and some impressive but goofy practical effects and the culminations of the stories are haunting and kinda scary. The Willies is by no means a perfect film or even a classic but it does hold up pretty well. It's clever and fun and brings you back to a time when the genre was creative and silly. The film is loaded with a bunch of clever cameos most notably from Kirk Cameron before he was a douche and Tracy Gold on their famous TV show. Return of the Living Dead veterans Gulager and Karen show up as well. And with the recent success of the super censored Goosebumps film it's a reminder of how great kid horror flicks used to be. ***.5/5

FRANCHISE KILLER: DEMONS

I remember being a kid and seeing these films at a very inappropriate age. It scared the crap out of me. That disturbing image of those pesky demons running down that hall was the stuff of nightmares. Cinematic experiences such as these have shaped me into the giant horror fan I am today. Add that to the fact that Demons 1 and 2 have two of the hottest guys ever seen in a horror movie. Not until I was older did I see the comedic value and sexuality of the films which makes me appreciate them that much more.Written by genre master Dario Argento and directed by the amazing Lamberto Bava the films have garnered and earned there well deserved place in the classics of genre cinema.

DEMONS
New World
1985 Color
88 Mins.
Horror
Urbano Babereni, Natasha Hovey, Karl Zinny, Fiore Argento and Fabiola Toledo star.
Written by Dario Argento
Directed by Lamberto Bava
N/R contains language, violence, gore, drug use, sexuality and nudity.

Nothing beats the first. Demons is a gruesome, entertaining, nightmarish, cheesefest masterpiece. Completely outrageous on every level and featuring  a trademark kick ass soundtrack. Demons tells the tale of a mysterious movie screening that goes awry. As unknowing patrons fill the seats of the seedy old school movie theater they soon find themselves in jeopardy as the demons on screen begin to infect the guests. Finding themselves barricaded in the theater they must try and survive the terrifying onslaught of goretastic proportions which include several trademark scenes such as the puss filled demon cut on a prostitute's cheek, a demon birthing sequence, decapitations and lots of flailing blood and guts. Nothing has as much power or is as memorable as the scene when the horde comes flailing down the hallway in slow motion with glowing eyes, razor sharp claws and hungry mouths. All of this fun leads up to the iconic finale as the sexy hero rides a motorcycle through the theater tearing apart the demonic beings. Every moment of this film makes this a classic and rightly so. *****/5

DEMONS 2
Imperial
1986 Color
92 Mins.
Horror
David Knight, Nancy Brilli, Coralini Cataldi-Tassoni, Bobby Rhodes and Asia Argento star.
Written by Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava
Directed by Lamberto Bava
N/R contains language, violence, gore drug use, sexuality and nudity.

Yes it's true Demons 2 is not as good as the original but it's still a great movie. This time setting the action in a similar way in an high rise apartment building. The curse begins to spread this time from a screening of the infamous movie on TV which bleeds into a birthday party. The effects have been upgraded and the film is even more outrageous. Although not as scary as the original the film does boast some of the most creative practical creature effects ever seen on film. Sure they don't hold up that well but a baby demon with wings ripping it's way out of a possessed dog's body is the stuff that fanboys dreams are made of. It all culminates with our sexy hero (even more studly this time) repelling down the side of the building while trying to save his pregnant wife whose going into labor all the while being attacked by the demon leader. Filled with amazing effects and some nightmarish sequences including a powerful redo of the original's hallway sequence. Demons 2 does the sequel thing right. It may not be a better film but it extends the mythology and has a damn fun time doing it! ****.5/5

NEW BLOOD: 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE

Paramount

2016 Color

105 Mins.

Horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman and John Gallagher star.

Written by Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken and Damien Chazelle

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg

Rated PG-13 for language, violence and gore.

Trust me do yourself a favor and don't try and find out what happens in this film before you see it. It will greatly affect it's surprisingly innovative execution. Even though the less I tell you the better off you'll be I'll briefly explain the setup. Centering on a young woman, Michelle played by a very strong Mary Elizabeth Winstead who at the beginning seems to be running from something. Well on the road she falls victim to a horrific car accident. When she awakens she finds yourself chained to a wall with a tray of food in front of her. Moments later her Captor Howard played by a very creepy John Goodman enters and explains to her that there was some sort of attac on the outside world and that he saved her life. She of course questions him right off the bat as any good heroine would do. But after some events she believes his story and then it begins to unravel and the horrifying truth is finally exposed. Along for the ride is another man he let Into the Bunker one of his neighbors Emmett played by a very Charming John Gallagher Jr. I won't say what happens in the film's third act only to say that it's absolutely worth the wait. Although this is being marketed as a sort of sequel to Cloverfield it's absolutely its own beast. First-time director Dan Trachtenberg fills the film with nail-biting suspense and a thick atmospheric dread. The three central actors all give solid performances and add a surprising amount of depth to their characters. The standout performance of course goes to John Goodman completely out of character here and and doing a damn good job scaring the shit out of us. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is so impressive as the final girl. Her character is strong right from the get-go but becomes so Kick-Ass and self-reliant it's hard not to clap out at her every action. The culmination of events is truly shocking and leaves promise for one hell of a sequel. Still what stands is an extremely satisfying genre film that is entertaining, sweaty palm inducing suspenseful and increasingly creative as it moves along. My only complaint is that I wish it all would have just been a bit scarier especially considering the surrounding events. That being said 10 Cloverfield Lane is the best genre film to come out in quite some time. ****.25/5

WEEKEND WARNING: 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE

Like the original "10 Cloverfield Lane" arrives on a wave of Buzz. Although not as strong as the original the concept at hand looks way more intriguing. Now I'm not sure how much this actually has to do with the original film but the trailers are exhilarating and hold promise for what will be one of the years most innovative and satisfying genre films.

THE DEAL: Centering on a young woman played by the amazing Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Live Free or Die Hard, Faults) who gets into a severe car accident and awakens chained up in an underground bunker. She is told by her Captor played by a welcomely creepy John Goodman that's something terrible and mysterious has happened to the outside world and he is her savior. But as time passes she begins to question the situation finding holes in his story. Eventually learning the horrifying truth of which I have no idea what it is.

THE BUZZ: Buzz is very strong the film is sitting at 100% positive on rottentomatoes.com. which leads me to believe that this will be one hell of a movie. Now critics are saying that the actual relation to Cloverfield is on the light side butt it's  still one hell of a tense thriller leading to a shocking third Act.

POSITIVE: 

Mara Reinstein of Us Weekly says "For the Love of Google don't scour the web for third act spoilers. Just know that an Old Fashioned scary movie can still make you squirm laugh and gasp for air."

Justin Chang of Variety says "A sensationally effective semi sequel that bears virtually no narrative are stylistic resemblance to its predecessor." 

Mike Ryan of Uproxx says "It's all very exhilarating and at times it's one of the scariest movies I've seen in a long time."

David Sztypuljak of Hey You Guys says "A roller coaster ride which will have you clinging to the edge of your seat from start to finish!"

Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly says "It's lean and taut and tense and moves with Swiss-clock precision."

Eric Davis of Movies.com says "A psychological cinematic chess game stuffed with Thrills chills and a neat little premise that keeps you guessing till the very last shot!"

Alan Scherstuhl of Village Voice says "As a game like simulationist PG-13 horror chamber piece, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a success: well shot and staged arresting acted, edited with a crisp unpredictability."

Tim Grierson of Screen International says "Forget monsters in 10 Cloverfield Lane it's the paranoia and claustrophobia that will kill you." 

Greg Wakeman of Cinemablend.com says "Concise, suspenseful, yet still playful and smartly orchestrated."

Matt Prigge of Metro says "A crackerjack exercise not just in genre but genres, with exacting direction, three great Performances and a genuine respect for audience patience, intelligence and willingness to go with a story that drags you hither and thither."

Jamie Graham of Total Film says "Cloverfield was all about making viewers gasp and pant. 10 Cloverfield Lane demands you hold your breath as unnerving as it is surprising."

CONCLUSION: So it looks like people are really taken aback by what is sure to be one of the most entertaining genre films of the year 10 Cloverfield Lane may end up finally bringing out the horror film that we've been wanting for since The Conjuring. If you haven't seen the electrifying trailer which is one of the best I've ever seen I highly recommend you click on the link below and see it for yourself! I am 95 percent sure this will be an amazing movie!

RETRO REVIEW: POPCORN

POPCORN
Columbia
1991 Color
91 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Jill Schoelen, Tom Villard, Dee Wallace and Kelly Jo Minter star.
Written by Todd Hackett
Directed by Mark Herrier
Rated R for language, violence and gore.

The Posses, posses, possessor! Anyone who knows what I'm referring to saw this hidden gem in theaters when it came out in 1991. I thank my father every day for blessing me with the horror education of my youth.Popcorn is such a unique genre film. Centering on a group of film students throwing an all night horrorthon who find an old film about a creeper who murdered his family on stage back in the day. Soon after people begin to disappear as the killer moves towards a young woman named Maggie who bears a questionable past. I don't wanna say much more than that. The film is filed with nightmarish imagery, strong performances inventive makeup effects that still hold up and at atmosphere of surreal, mounting dread. The film stars scream queen of the time Jill Schoelen (Stepfather Phantom of the opera)  as well as genre vet Dee Wallace (Cujo, Critters) and genre fave Kelly Jo Minter (Nightmare 5, People Under the Stairs). Unfortunately the film didn't do well in theaters and has never really found it's deserved cult audience and sadly director Mark Herrier never went on to bless us with more genre features. However, recently the film has had a bit of a reemergence and more and more people seem to be referring back to this hidden horror gem. Popcorn was a huge part of my childhood. it's not a perfect film by any means, that cheesy horror vibe finds it's way in it's finale but the film still stands as an innovative little genre feature that's drenched in horror nostalgia and isn't afraid to be different.****.75/5

NEW BLOOD: CONTRACTED PHASE 2

CONTRACTED PHASE 2
IFC Midnight
2015 Color
78 Mins.
Horror
Matt Mercer, Marianna Palka, Morgan Peter Brown and Anna Lore star.
Written by Craig Walendziak
Directed by Josh Forbes
N/R conatins language, violence, gore sexuality and nudity.

I was definitely not a fan of the original movie. Although an interesting angle I found it to be painfully unnecessary. Centering around a troubled young woman who receives a killer STD after being raped at a party. She soon after begins to exhibit grotesque symptoms that get increasingly worse. What begins as the sniffles soon manifests into vomiting, bleeding and rotting from the inside out. All pushing her towards her final zombified state. This one picks up where that one left off. Lacking the ambition or creativity of the original this entry focuses on a side character from the first who slept with the infected young woman. He begins to exhibit symptoms and accidentally passes them to others. So basically the same setup as the original except nastier which includes but is not limited to chunky blood urine, horrific nosebleeds and puss maggot filled skin abrasions. The infections becomes a sort of epidemic and the film tries to spread it's focus to patient zero and his hysterical motivations as well as a useless Canadian/Irish/English police detective. It all plays out in an extremely amateur fashion and despite a charming lead performance from Mercer is completely uncomfortable, unnecessary and unintentionally funny. Each scene seems to become stupider than the last moving towards it's actionesque finale thats neither believable or effective on any level. If you must, know that this film pales in desperate comparison to the mediocre original but the storyline and the way the subject matter is approached no matter how inconsistent or ridiculous is still slightly interesting. So despite my miserable experience with this film I'd probably still show up for a sequel just too see what idiocy happens. *.5/5

NEW BLOOD: SOUTHBOUND

SOUTHBOUND
Orchard/ Dark Sky
2016 Color
89 Mins.
Horror Anthology
Chad Villella, Matt Bettenelli-Olpin, Kristina Pesic, Fabianne Therese, Nathaie Love and Hannah Love star.
Written by Roxanne Benjamin, Matt Bettenelli Olipin, David Bruckner, Susan burke, Dallas Hallam and Patrick Horvath
Directed by Roxanne Benjamin, David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath and Radio Silence
Rated R for language, violence and gore.

Well I'm still waiting for the next great horror anthology after Trick or Treat. That being said this is more a step in the right direction than the forced VHS franchise, In the Dark or the overly mediocre ABCS of Death. At least this film tries to maintain an air of consistency. Ultimately it fails but the everything leading up to each storys lackluster finale is dark, innovative and nightmarishly immersive. It starts off strong enough with a story about grim reaper like creatures and than we move onto a story about a satanic cult, an accident victim with loads of impressive gore, a missing sister and finally we loop around to the beginning of the first story which centers around a brutal home invasion. Every tale is narrated at the beginning by genre vet Larry Fessenden giving the audience a bit of a setup and centering around an infamous highway, one bad decision and the consequences that follow it.  None of the stories are explained satisfyingly but are intriguing and weird in a twilight zone way nonetheless. Featuring strong performances and accomplished starts from all the writers and directors. I only wish it would have culminated to more. Still Southbound is worth seeing if only for the promise of the film it could have been. ***.25/5