Reviews

So THE RULES OF ATTRACTION by Bret Easton Ellis has always been one of my favorite books and I was so excited when I discovered in Mar. 2002 that a film adaption was made. So I saw this last night and I must say I wasn't disappointed because compared to other adaptions it was well done. First off, Roger Avary's direction was fantastic and much better than his direction for KILLING ZOE. I do agree with other IMDB users who say the film was pretentious. It was. Compared to the book the relationships in the film are pathetic. Yet, the acting was fantastic. Shannyn Sossamon totally surprised me with her acting as Lauren. I must admit every time I've read the book I pictured Lauren as the blonde ditz. But Sossamon's acting changed my view and she should be proud of that. Van Der Beek wasn't bad but I'm sure they could've found someone better to play Sean. The other surprising acting came from Kip Pardue who played Victor. Wow!

Okay there have been some great horror films but BLACK CHRISTMAS makes my Top 5 list. It clearly is terrifying from start to finish. Even the trailer gives me the creeps. I'm not going to tell you the plot the Db already has it but I would really like to recommend this to anyone looking for a great horror film. The lighting is perfect the fact that the killer's face is never seen until the end, (but wait is she/he really the killer???) The acting is great and it has a fine cast for a slasher film, people who's fame really kicked in, or already had like Keir Dullea from Kubrick's 2001 which was prior to this. He was in his early 30s playing a kid in his early 20s. Margot's cocky and obnoxious sorority girl is great too. But the most unsettling thing about this film (in a good way) would have to be the creepy phone calls. So go rent this film you won't regret it.

I recently purchased this movie NIGHT SLAVES, but I received a copy, so my guess is that this was never released on video, which is a shame, because it is a fun film. Now, I didn't think the film was great, but it was entertaining and short. I could see some stupid producer making a boring mini-series out of this story, but luckily this film is short and never loses your attention. The plot is not perfect, and the acting is subtle. I would only recommend watching this movie if you are bored and want some entertainment, not if you're looking for a great movie to watch with some great actors and a "sounds-interesting" plot.

SUMMARY: Clay Howard (Jim Franciscus) is in a horrible car crash, which kills another couple involved. Clay is put in the hospital, while his wife Marjorie (Lee Grant) and friend Matt (Scott Marlowe) plan to leave him and become lovers. A metal plate is inserted into Clay's head, he leaves the hospital and takes a road trip with his wife. They stop in a small town for the rest of one day and evening. That night Clay wakes up from his slumber to discover the entire town loading into one truck and vacating the town, his wife included. He meets Naillil/Annie (Tisha Sterling) who tells him she's to make sure he doesn't escape. The next morning Clay wakes up to find his wife in bed, sleeping and everything back to normal. Was it a dream, or is he really going crazy? Clay decides to stay in town a few more days and figure out what really is going on.

This is a great made for TV film. I suggest you check it out if the chance arises. The setting is creepy in the old town. The ending is no big surprise. A recommendation for this film would definitely be: THE STEPFORD WIVES. ** 1/2 STARS and 7/10.

SOMETHING EVIL is as good as you could make that film. You couldn't have done it better, however it's still a slow film. Directed by the world-famous Steven Spielberg, you'd expect this film to be much better, however add awful writer Robert Clouse who wrote three mystery films but dozens of kung fu films, you can see why this isn't top quality. Since I am a Spielberg fan I had to get this gem and I am glad I did, it's rare.

SUMMARY: Marjorie [Marge] Worden (Sandy Dennis) and her family which includes: husband Paul (Darren McGavin), son Stevie (Johnnie Whitaker) and daughter Laurie (Debbie & Sandy Lempert), move into a brand new country estate only to find that a demon lurks there. Marge investigates and slowly goes insane, while her skeptic husband carries on his advertising business. She learns about the demon haunting the house from neighbor Harry Lincoln (Ralph Bellamy). The ending is a battle of good vs. evil.

I love the setting in the countryside. You'd think it was all innocent, especially since the majority of the film takes place in daylight. The ending is still a shock. I enjoyed this movie. The acting is great, even from Johnnie Whitaker, who has a smaller role. RECOMMENDATION: The Amityville Horror. ** 1/2 stars, 7/10. SEE THIS MOVIE IF THE CHANCE COMES UP!!!!!!

TASTE OF EVIL is a wonderful suspense film from two horror masters. The director John Llewellyn Moxey, who directed such great horrors as: Desire the Vampire, Killjoy, No Place to Hide, Home For the Holidays, and the famous TV film The Night Stalker, all made-for-TV movies. The other horror master, writer Jimmy Sangster, who wrote excellent horror for: the TV film GOOD AGAINST EVIL, TV film SCREAM PRETTY PEGGY, many Hammer Horror films and the most famous and scariest KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER episode, HORROR IN THE HEIGHTS. I'm glad I have this film, it is fantastic!

SUMMARY: At a young age, Susan Wilcox (Barbara Parkins), is traumatically raped and goes into shock. She is taken to a mental institution. Many years later, her mother Miriam Jennings (Barbara Stanwyck) takes her home to their gigantic mansion. While home, Susan sees her stepfather, Harold Jennings (William Windom), dead and his dead body floating around the house. However, Harold seems to be on a business trip and phones home everyday. Is Susan going crazy and why are there more dead bodies piling up? What is the secret of Susan's homecoming?

I love the setting in the creepy old mansion. The dead bodies give me the creeps. I really love this movie. The acting is so-so, Barbara Parkins does the best. RECOMMENDATION: Scream, Pretty Peggy. *** 1/2 stars, 9/10. SEE THIS MOVIE IF THE CHANCE COMES UP!!!!!!

REVENGE is a beautiful TV film that stays with you even after you watch it. It's a decent film written by Joseph Stefano the creative genius behind Alfred Hitchcock's PSYCHO and the slasher TV film HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS. It's a great little rarity that I have and I am glad that I have this film.

SUMMARY: Frank Klaner (Bradford Dillman) loses his briefcase at his place of work. Amanda Hilton (Shelley Winters) phones Mr. Klaner, telling him she has his briefcase and can pick it up at her home. He goes late night to her home, where he is knocked out and locked in a cage in the woman's basement. Dianne Klaner (Carol Eve Rossner), the man's wife calls the police and has them investigate. But why is Frank locked up? What has he done? Can the police find him before it is too late?

I love the setting in the disgusting, dark basement. I really love this movie. The acting is great, especially from Winters and Dillman who have a wonderful relationship onscreen. Winters is terribly menacing and that's what makes the film memorable. RECOMMENDATION: A Taste of Evil (1971) (TV) which stars Barbara Stanwyck. **** stars, 10/10. SEE THIS MOVIE IF THE CHANCE COMES UP!!!!!!

I recently got HONEYMOON WITH A STRANGER from a trade, I guess it was never released on video, which is a shame, it could be a Crime Cult Classic especially with the famous Janet Leigh and the cult icon Barbara Steele starring. This is a nice variation of the novel "Trap for A Lonely Man", but with a female as the main character rather than a male. In the novel, a woman leaves on a holiday and doesn't return. Her husband who has many wives hires a detective to look for her, she returns, however she looks totally different and the man swears she is not his wife. HONEYMOON WITH A STRANGER is totally the opposite.

SUMMARY: Sandra Latham (Janet Leigh) marries a wealthy man Ernesto (Joseph Lenzi). On their honeymoon in Spain, Sandra wakes up one morning to find Ernesto gone. She tries to contact him but nobody knows where he is. She files a report with the police that he is missing. That's where Captain Sevilla (Rossano Brazi) comes in. They search for him and in the mean time discover he's taken off on many of his wives and changed his name numerous times. Finally they contact him and he returns, but is a totally different man (Cesare Danova), physically as well as mentally. Sandra realizes this is not her husband but there is no proof that he isn't. They contact his sister Carla (Barbara Steele) and his brothers, but they all say that that is the real Ernesto. What is Sandra to do? Is there a stranger in her house or is she just really crazy?

This is a great made for TV film. I suggest you check it out if the chance arises. The setting is fantastic in Spain and the acting is superb. The ending is a real shocker, something you WOULD expect had the acting not been so convincing. A recommendation for this film would definitely be: THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY. *** STARS and 8/10.

DEAD is a simple horror movie with great special effects. It tells the tale of a girl, Mary, at an Ivy-League school being stalked by a mysterious killer through a chat room. After a few creepy chats, she is stalked and killed. Her friend Louise tracks the killer down but surprise, she is too killed. Mary's roomate Tina is the only one who can stop the killer but how? This movie also has the coolest death scene. A girl gets chased through a factory and killed. She is knocked out, put on the plank, cut with a press, then pushed into a large "packing popcorn" filled machine. She suffocates and drowns in the packing popcorn. Cool! It's a English-dubbed movie from Germany, it's hard to get, so go look for it!

Okay, I love this movie!!!!! I watched it over and over again. It is so hard to tell who the attacker is. You keep thinking it's one person, then another, then back to the first person, then another person. It is so suspense full you want to fast forward your TV to the end to see who it is.

SUMMARY: Gail Osborne is raped and left at her home. She is in the hospital and begins to tell the story of how she was raped. It goes from her meeting her steady boyfriend, to her teacher who takes a liking to her, to her ex-boyfriend, all different stories, all suspects. But who did it?

I love the acting, they have a lot of great talent in here. The suspense is wonderful and the settings are superb. If it comes on TV watch it. *** 1/2 stars 10/10

I never got to see "Scream, Pretty Peggy" when it first aired, but many years later I watched it on TV here in Chicago. I taped it, luckily, I was happy to have a copy, because this movie is one of the best TV movies of our time.

SUMMARY: Peggy Johns (Sian Barbara Allan) takes a job as housekeeper from a college employment department in a old mansion owned by Mrs. Elliot (Bette Davis) and her son Jeffrey (Ted Bessel). Jeffrey is an artist who works in the creepy old mansion. Peggy finds out about his deranged sister who lives in the mansion above the garage. She suspects something is wrong when George Thornton (the former housekeeper's father) comes to the mansion to look for his daughter. The daughter is missing. Peggy get suspicious and looks further into the history of the family. Mrs. Elliot warns Peggy to leave because she is in danger. Peggy does not listen to her and stays. But there's a murderer and he's after Peg.

I love the setting in the creepy old mansion. The killer still gives me chills every time you see her in the white cloak. I really love this movie. The acting is so-so, Bette Davis has a hard time though. If you liked this movie check out "The Dark Secret of Harvest Home". It's another horror TV movie starring Bette Davis. I think this one if my favorite TV movie after "Stranger In Our House". *** 1/2 stars, 10/10. SEE THIS MOVIE IF THE CHANCE COMES UP!!!!!!

Well, I saw this movie a while ago. I thought it was good, but cheap. By cheap I mean you sit through 2 hours waiting to see why this native is following them, then when you find out why, you want to rewind and watch something else. It lives up to its expectations until the last 10 minutes. It has a few good lines, but definitely too many repetitive ones. I liked the acting.

A single man takes 2 women, a mother and a daughter on a boat ride to a secluded beach from their vacation club on a raft. The raft pops when they reach the beach. They decide to wait, but there's a problem. The man rented it for 2 days. They decide to try to find their way back to the club but run into trouble along the way including finding dead animals on sticks, tigers, and natives. When they kill one native, another native comes after them. They try to run, but he keeps catching up with them. After 2 deaths, the purpose comes clear.

I loved Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady) as the daughter on the trip. There is one messed up part where she dances to soft music and it looks weird. I gave this a vote of 8/10 and *** stars.

Well, if it comes on, watch it. It is a rare one. Don't let my review trick you. You will never find this one on video, of course, I have it. Just be warned. The "Terror Trap" web site claims it to be a horror. It is more of a Drama/Thriller/Adventure.

Okay, this was a good TV movie, I actually saw parts of it when it aired as ABC's Movie of the Week in 1972. I bought it and I like it.

SUMMARY: Mercer Boley and his daughter Diana Boley travel down into Mexico, even though no Mexicans are present. They stop at a shop owned by Uncle Willie to see something supernatural that would be good for his next book about Hell. Uncle Willie shows them a supposed Gargoyle head found outside his shop down a cliff. Mercer is unbelieving. Diana just finds it interesting. As Uncle Willie explains its origin, some things attack the barn they are in. It causes a fire, which kills Uncle Willie. Mercer and Diana drive away and their car is attacked by the same things that attacked the barn. They come to a motel run by Mrs. Parks (Grayson Hall from "Dark Shadows"). She gets very upset when a disturbance erupts in the Boleys' room. A Gargoyle steals the other Gargoyle head and runs away. The next day, the Boleys tell the Police about how someone started the fire in the barn. The Police book motorcycle hoodlums and Diana gets upset because it is unfair. That night, Gargoyles abduct Diana and tip over their car leaving him unconscious. They take her to their mountain lair and tell her she must teach them everything she knows so that they may kill the humans of the world. Meanwhile, Mercer tells the Police and they start a man hunt with the hoodlums. Many of them die, they even find Mrs. Parks bleeding and hanging upside down from a pole.

I won't ruin the ending, but it is a typical one. This movie was sort of good, but was arguably short. ** 1/2 stars.

Okay, well when this premiered on ABC or was it NBC on January 11, 1972 I was 8 years old and at my friend Todd's house. We turned on whatever channel it was on and sat down to watch some movie our friends said they saw TV spots for it that day. When the girl at the beginning was attacked I had to walk out of the room. See, I wasn't a big horror fan and I hated horror movies. I came back in and watched one of the best TV movies, let alone horror movies ever. The sequel came out 1 year and 5 days later, I was 9, and I thought the sequel was scarier than the first. I love this movie and that's why I gave it a 10/10.

SUMMARY: Carl Kolchak, reporter in Las Vegas, investigates a series of murders that seem to be caused by a vampire. People don't believe him and he finally meets up with the vampire. G

Great suspense, nice acting, violent, and since it started me on horror movies, I give it **** stars.

I love this movie! It's better, sexier, and even more scary than the original "The Night Stalker". I know sequels degrade the first films, but this is the best sequel besides "Scream 2" and "A Nightmare On Elm Street 3" that I have ever seen.

I love this movie and give it **** stars. SEE IT!

I have this movie, and I find it one of the best horror TV movies of the 70s ever. I love it. Elizabeth Montgomery deserved an Emmy. She was splendid.

Lizzie Borden kills her father and her step-mother with an axe in 1892 Falls River, Mississippi. She is put on trial for murder. She has flashbacks, (at first never saying she killed her parents; then finally showing the murders). She is found not guilty.

*** 1/2 stars

I have this movie which someone in my family taped in the early 80s off of TV. I just saw it again on TV and went on an all out search for the tape. I found it and viewed the whole thing.

SUMMARY: Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin- "The Night Stalker", "The Night Strangler") is a INS news reporter who stumbles upon first a ghost known as the "Doppleganger" who mysteriously is a ghost who starts people on fire in their sleep. Then Kolchak comes to a Monawhatzit (not the real name) a ancient being that feeds off peoples energy after killing them.

Great movie, I wish this was released on VHS or DVD.

Okay, this was a good movie, a lot of special effects which were pretty good at the time especially since this was on TV. I liked the acting, and the cameos.

SUMMARY: Mandrake, a famous magician of the mystic arts, is hired by Robert Reed, who plays a tycoon, to help him defeat these men that want to destroy his amusement park.

I luckily have this movie. I enjoy it very much. *** 1/2 stars

I saw this movie on TV here and here is a summary:

A young photographer goes to a castle to photograph a soap opera queen and ends up watching the guests get slain.

The setting was great, the music was cool but the acting SUCKED:

I.E. OLD RICH GUY: No, don't [the killer] will kill you. PHOTOGRAPHER GIRL: Life without [recent boyfriend] just isn't worth it.

Doesn't look bad, but the guy she's talking about she met that night and says she can't go on. They didn't even have sex or kiss.

All in all, ** stars

Also, if you watch this a "Fall of the House of Usher" the 1989 version, you might realize that they used the same sets in both movies.

P.S. If you're a kid who read the book for class, and went to the video store to rent a copy to compare, stick with Vincent Price.

Okay, it's probably the best black comedy I have ever seen. Here is a summary:

A really ugly Miriam Knight (Stockard Channing) who has switched colleges 5 times to meet a man arrives at a new campus. Everyone is cruel to her, including the Purser on "The Love Boat". Miriam gets in a car accident and has to have plastic surgery. She comes out of it as a beautiful vixen. She goes after the people who were cruel to her, killing them all in clever ways

i.e. Plumber drowning in bathroom, cheerleader backflipping out a window, football captain skydiving with no parachute, a billard pool player hitting an exploding 8-ball.

This was a great movie and I am lucky to have it, it was never released on VHS. It should be though. The only thing I did not like, was that it was degrading to men. **** stars

Also, look for the plumber's coffin to get stuck behind Miriam and the Private Eye in the backround when they are talking at the funeral.

Okay, I am so fascinated with the "Sleepy Hollow" movies, but this one is the most inadequate one. The acting is horrible, the camera shots are worse, but this movie does hold a place in my heart, so I gave it a 7. It was an okay movie, Jeff Goldblum was not a good Ichabod though, but Butkus rocked. It always comes on here in Chicago the Wednesday before Halloween from 4 in the morning to 6. I have it now, it was released on video for some time.

All in all, this is an average TV movie, and WOULD BE BETTER AS A "LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRARIE" HALLOWEEN SPECIAL. If you get a chance, check this out.

I fell in love with this show when I was 10 years old in 1993. There was a rerun on Scifi Channel called "Horror In The Heights". The whole plot scared me and I could not sleep. The episode was about a Rakshasa demon that was eating people. I loved it! That would have made a good sequel to "The Night Stalker" and "The Night Strangler". A little trivia for you:

This was based off of a TV movie and a sequel listed above. Well, there was supposed to be a third installment called "The Night Killers" about some aliens. The film had to close filming because of refusal of acting by Darren McGavin (Kolchak) because he thought it was ridiculous. The show emerged a year later and one of the episodes was called "UFOs" and was all of the footage from the third film.

I fell in love with "Midnight Offerings" when it aired August 6, 1996 on MonsterVision on TNT. The movie makes sense if you watch it more than once, it also has a few good lines. For example:

"Tell the police? They'll Put me in a basket-weaving class for sure."

"The police have better things to worry about than your extra-curricular activities dear."

Melissa Sue Anderson is great as a bitch-witch and it totally shows. This one was never released on VHS although, I have a copy with no commercials. Here is a quick review: Robin Prentiss (Mary Beth McDonough; The Waltons) is new to Ocean High School. She makes a boyfriend her first day. But that boyfriend belongs to Vivian Sotherland (Melissa Sue Anderson; Little House On The Prairie), who is a Hectite witch.She tries to kill Robin, because she knows Robin is a witch too. Can Robin save herself or be destroyed by Vivian?

If you ever have a chance, check out this movie. I gave it a 10!

This is a great movie that I saw on a little region broadcast show here in Illinois called Svengoolie. It is sort of like MonsterVision. I loved this movie and bought it. It is a sweet movie. See it if you can. I absolutely thought it was great.

There is also a book by Lois Duncan. Check it out.