Reviews

A difficult one to sum up. Poltergeist II covers the whole scale. The first half of the movie has very much the same feel as the original; a normal suburban family getting on with life, whilst eerie things begin to occur in the background.

The sequel to the excellent Poltergeist picks up four years after the original, and the Freeling family are still attempting to come to terms with the aftermath of their experiences and are struggling financially, unable to get an insurance payout on their home which mysteriously vanished in the first film; the family are living with Diane's mother.

So far, so fairly good. The inciting incident occurs when Diane's mother suddenly dies, and the mysterious and very scary looking Reverend Tom Kane displays an unhealthy interest in Carol-Anne.

Unfortunately, the main flaw with this film is that it's climax is devastatingly anti-climatic, we see the "other side" for the first time, but it is all very bizarre and unsuspenseful which ruins the film's impact, which until the final 10 minutes was reasonably exciting and scary.

All in all, worth a watch for fans of the original, because this is a decent ride. Don't expect too much and you will most likely enjoy this good but flawed picture.

Generations has long been criticised as one of the poorer Star Trek films but I disagree with that assessment.

One of the focal criticisms people make about the movie is Kirk's role in the film. William Shatner is afforded nothing more than a glorified cameo. However, I think this adds to the picture as opposed to detracting from it; Generations is a Next Generation movie, so to feature Kirk prominently would be a mistake and a slight on TNG cast, who all acted ably in their first screen adventure.

Also, Kirk's death (also heavily criticised) to me is well done too. The character had long stated in the series and films his destiny was to die alone; and although not strictly true, his death did seem remote and lonely and the fact he died not in a hail of bullets added to the picture in my opinion.

Patrick Stewart as Picard, and Shatner demonstrated real chemistry together,and Brent Spiner as Data steals nearly all the scenes he's in; an emotion chip adds some real comic moments.

Malcolm Macdowell also is a terrific villain, with a real, simple aim which thankfully makes the plot a lot clearer as science, admittedly complicates matters a bit too much in several sequences.

All in all this is a terrific, traditional Trek adventure. Well worth a watch.

An extremely disappointing follow up to the horror classic, Psycho and its actually rather good sequel.

Psycho III, unlike its predecessors is little more than another 80's slasher flick and not a particularly memorable one at that.

This instalment tries to pay tribute to Hitchcock, its opening scene being an obvious homage to Vertigo as well as Diana Scarwid's protagonist being another somewhat too obvious reference to Janet Leigh's iconic Marion Crane character from the original Psycho.

Somehow, somewhere though this film falls extremely flat; there's little to no suspense, an uneasy randomness to the kills, and it feels nothing like a Psycho film aside from the forced references.

The studio probably felt the same way about this film which is why another sequel was commissioned as a TV movie in 1990; to bring a slightly more fitting end to the franchise.

I'm sure many eyebrows were raised when someone made the decision to cash in on the 1980's slasher flick boom by distributing a sequel to the 1960 horror classic, Psycho.

Psycho II is set 22 years after Hitchcock's masterpiece and is surprisingly entertaining.

The film is paced slowly with some great camera work and the film makers obviously made an effort not to tarnish the legacy of the original, namely by staving off graphic murder scenes (for the most part, anyway).

Anthony Perkins was obviously well in tune with his Norman Bates character as he played him as a likable and sympathetic person much like he was in the original Psycho (It can't be easy to return to a role after two decades). It's a nice touch to have Vera Miles, also from the first film amongst the supporting cast. Meg Tilly also gives strong support as Norman's confidant.

Psycho II is full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up until the end.

A strong recommendation from me. 8 stars.

As a stand alone horror movie, this is just fine. As the eighth installment of the fairly successful 'Halloween' series it's terrible.

*SPOILERS MAY FOLLOW* Firstly the viewer is insulted before the creepy Halloween theme music even plays. It consists of psychiatric nurses discussing how Myers survived having his head chopped off in H20. It wasn't Myers you see, no, he'd torn out some policeman's voicebox, and put his own mask and suit on the poor bloke. So, Laurie Strode only succeeding in killing a law enforcement officer and not her psychotic brother. Myers has once again got off scot free. This in itself is laughable but what's even more shocking is that Jamie Lee Curtis' appearance in the film is nothing more than a cameo, yes she's hacked to pieces within minutes.

Therefore an audience is left wondering what direction Halloween: Resurrection will take, now Loomis, Lloyd and Strode are all dead. Does Myers have any more family members to hunt down and kill? Apparently not.

The deranged killer instead takes it upon himself to kill teenage interlopers who have taken up residence in his old house on Halloween night for an internet reality show.

So, after bludgeoning to death most of Haddonfield for over twenty years and surviving more physical harm than Rasputin, it seems no one can end Myers tyranny. All except, Busta Rhymes? Yes, after conquering the music world, Rhymes almost single handedly conquers Myers and puts an end to his latest killing spree.

This is a sequel we could have done without. H20 seemed a relatively fitting end to the series and if they needed to follow it up, they should have tied up the loose ends from parts 4, 5 & 6, instead of wasting time on this rubbish.

With Halloween 9 on the horizon, Michael Myers is in grave danger of becoming a parody of himself, much like Freddy Krueger did. Hopefully, the writers and film makers will see sense and give the Halloween series a fitting finale, (maybe by reintroducing Lloyd's baby) while it just about maintains its credibility as a superior horror series.

Double Indemnity is a film which fully embodies its genre, all the classic noir elements are present: venetian blinds, diagonal lines, a femme fatale and a victim of fate.

Fred MacMurray takes the central role as victim of fate, Walter Neff; cast against type, MacMurray gives a thoroughly convincing performance as a typical insurance salesman transformed into a calculating killer.

The estimable Barbara Stanwyck also delivers a typically faultless performance as the coldhearted and seductive Phyllis Dietrichson who enlists Neff in a plot to kill her husband and cash in on the insurance money.

Although this film may seem clichéd today, as many thrillers since have offered similar plot lines, rarely has the story been told so well. For fans of Film Noir, Stanwyck or MacMurray, this is an absolute MUST SEE!