Change Your Image
nailhead
Reviews
American Justice: The Central Park Jogger Case: What Went Wrong? (2003)
Disturbing.
I was only seven years old when this took place and I remember vividly the graphic details of what happened that night in Central Park, 1989.
In a nutshell, a young female jogger was on her nightly routine when she was viciously raped and beaten in to a coma. She was pronounced dead on the scene and the case was initially treated as a homicide, though she eventually recovered. That same night, a large group of teenagers were terrorizing Central Park; beating homeless people and assaulting other joggers. Members of the gang were arrested and tried for the rape and beating of the female jogger. They were sentenced to 15 years.
In 2003, as the jogger released her autobiographical account of what took place and her successive recovery, new evidence came to light that exonerated the young men who were tried for the assault.
It's a disturbing display of pure evil; both in the human psyche and in the American judicial system.
Doppelherz (2003)
Uninspired, generic abstract filmmaking
I am a fan of Marilyn Manson; his music touches me, his autobiography related to me on various levels, and his artwork is erotically horrific. When I heard of Doppleherz, I felt I would be in store for yet another delightfully delerious dose of Marilyn's artistic endeavors. How wrong was I?
The film is nauseatingly repetitive, obviously on purpose, and wreaks of imitation. I felt as if I were watching a failed attempt at recreating the bizarre atmosphere of abstract German filmmaking and after fifteen minutes or so, I realized that was exactly what I was watching. As talented as Marilyn Manson (aka Brian Warner) is, this 30+ minute short film is pure uninspired, generic abstract filmmaking.
Honestly I feel that were the background music looped throughout the entire film not the opening track to the companion album, The Golden Age of Grotesque, and every line in the film a lyric from said album, this film may have packed more of a punch. Sadly, the only punch I felt was in the stomach as I quite literally found my self vomiting after watching half the film.
Marilyn Manson is a talented musician, an entertaining writer, and a gifted artist. The moral of the story is to stick to doing what you do best, and leave all else to those who know how to handle the craft.
Sleepaway Camp (1983)
A ghastly ghoulish go go delight!
It had been years since I saw this movie, but I remembered the key elements. Young girl is harassed at camp, her bullies start dying off, unforgettable ending. I just never realized how big of a classic this really is. For those of you who don't know, the film starts off with a man on a boat in the middle of a lake with his two children. The boat tips over, another boat comes racing towards them and kills all but one.
Flash forward 8 years later, the sole survivor now lives at her aunts house, where she sends the girl, Angela, and her cousin, Ricky, to summer camp. At camp, Angela is brutally teased and taunted by her fellow campers. Her cousin Ricky continuously comes to her defense, but the bullies are all being killed off by a mysterious unknown attacker. All of this leads up to an ending that I believe to be one of the most shocking in cinema history.
Felissa Rose gave an excellent performance as Angela, who makes you sympathize heavily for her, due to her soft mannered and soft spoken personality. She is very much the kid we all were, and some of you might still be. A vulnerable target for those with a superiority complex, very much the outcast.
Writer/Director Robert Hiltzik fills the film to the brim with psychological undertones, masterfully creating a genuine thriller out of this low grade, slasher extraordinare. But you don't care about that, do ya'. You want gore! And while it's not an overtly gory film, there are enough offerings of blood here and there to keep you gorehounds satisfied. Not to mention some nifty death scenes. And the ending, my friends, is what makes Sleepaway Camp worth the watch. That's not to say SC isn't a good film, in my opinion it's great, but for those of you who have no clue as to how it ends... You will not be disappointed. They just don't make horror films like this anymore, folks.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
One of the greatest horror films ever
Greeting's boys and ghouls, 'tis I, Nailhead, the Ghastly Ghoulish Go Go Guru. Webmaster of The Saw Is Family, the greatest Texas Chainsaw Massacre site ever. I have come to give you my review of Tobe Hooper's 1974 classic, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre! The film begins with news reports of graverobbing, and continues with five youths checking on a family grave. This is where the film becomes a nightmare of horrific perportions. They pick up a maniacal hitchiker who assaults one of their group, and they end up wandering into the clutches of Leatherface and his flesh eating family, one by one. This films grabs you by the throat and does not let go until every ounce of life is squeezed out of you. The dinner scene is one of the most intense, psychologically terrorizing scenes in film history. The gore level in this film is absolutely zero, which makes it just the more terrifying. The acting is so great and so realistic, as is the way the movie was filmed, it gives you the feeling that this is more of a documentary then a movie, which boosts the terror level 100 fold. Do yourself a favor, go see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre now, I guarantee you will never be the same!
The Funhouse (1981)
One of the greatest horror movies of the 80's
Being a fan and friend of Tobe Hooper, i viewed this movie knowing i would enjoy it. What i was pleased to find was that, had i not been his fan and friend, i still would've enjoyed this film just as much. It takes a while to get started, but once it does it packs a whallop ride and the coaster doesn't stop until the end credits roll.
The cinematography and directing are fantastic, the writing is excellent, and the acting is superb. On a scale of 1 to 10 i give it an 11.
Halloween (1978)
The greatest horror film ever made...
Hands down, the best. My all time favorite movie, and undoubtedly the greatest horror movie ever made. The atmosphere of this movie is so utterly creepy that i get chills looking at still images from the film. The soundtrack is one of the best movie scores ever created, it only enhances the films creepy atmosphere. Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasance both deliver unbelievably believable performances, and John Carpenter's unique style of direction have made this film the ultimate horror classic. If you are in search of the Holy Grail of spooky suspense/horror/slasher flicks, HALLOWEEN is the king of them all. On a scale of 1 to 10 i give this a 25...