Disc Type

They really don’t make horror films like they used to. I understand that each decade graces us with new, unique genre mechanics, but there is just something to be said about the horror elements found in 1980’s cinema. While Hellhole does not have any supernatural or modern science fiction qualities, it does carry the classic “mad scientist” narrative quite well. The film also boasts one of the silliest, yet terrifying, villains I have seen to date. Hellhole is a film that gracefully slips below the radar, but for the cult cinema connoisseur, the strong writing is really what makes this film a great find.

The film opens with Susan (Judy Landers) escaping from a home invasion: Her mother has stolen implicating bank statements from the doctor she works for, and a goon is attempting to get them back. The goon is none other than “Silk” (Ray Sharkey), a rather flamboyant hitman, clad in a studded leather suit, a long red scarf, and a silly hairdo. Susan knocks herself out and finds herself in an all-woman insane asylum, suffering from amnesia. Silk attains an orderly position at the hospital to wait for her memory to return. To my pleasant surprise, the plot did not end here. In fact, the film includes a parallel storyline to Silk: the board of medicine has hired a private investigator (Richard Cox) to take a position as an orderly in an effort to find incriminating evidence against the mad psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Mary Woronov).

For a film called Joseph and Mary, the titular characters are little more than a footnote in the overall film in my opinion. Jesus has an even smaller role, which is a notable first for film when it comes to films that reference the character. I give it points for it focusing on less notable people rather than the big three. However, that said, execution of the project was a failure to launch due to predictable storyline and lackluster performances.

The first half of the film is underwhelming, merely the setup for the bigger aspect of the story, which is forgiveness. The film does a good job showing the evils that man is capable of, although a bit more gore would have improved getting that point across; however, I understand that is a family-friendly story and understand the necessity to keep matters PG. That said, the largest theme of the movie is the decision between choosing forgiveness or acting on vengeance. That is the dilemma that Elijah finds himself in. Having that as a theme served as more of a crutch for the film than asset if you ask me, especially given that it is a family-friendly story. I’m sure without much provocation you can figure out how things turned out, and that preconceived knowledge and the fact that matters didn’t deviate in the slightest is what diminishes much of the mystery of setup.

From the very beginning one can see there was great potential here. The show was based on a collection of books that appear to be quite popular. They're called The Outworld series, written by Canadian author Kelley Armstrong. The show avoided most of the standard clichés. No full moon reference at all here. The werewolves "change" at will or when emotionally charged (“you won't like me when I'm angry”). There are no silver bullets. These guys might be stronger and harder to kill than a human, but severe body trauma or blood loss kills them just like anyone else. No pentagrams or wolfbane to be found in the show. Such potential. After three years, the ride comes to an end with all of that potential unfulfilled. The werewolves might have been hard to kill. Alas, the show was not. 

Bitten told the story of Elena, played by Smallville's standout actress Laura Vandervoort. Elena is a werewolf. Any aspect of her normal life is long gone. The show long ago ceased in any attempts to have the character try to balance the two lives. The show was at its best when it told the story from the point of view of Elena. She's a unique character in this world. She's the only female werewolf known to ever exist. The idea is that women are not physically strong enough to survive the "change", and only boys carry the trait genetically. That puts Elena in a rather unique and clever place for both the show and werewolf mythology. Some might find it a bit sexist, but we won't go there.  Vandervoort is also a good enough actress to be interesting, and even at times compelling, in the role. There wasn't any help here from the writers, cast, or crew. The plot moved at an annoyingly slow pace, and after 10 episodes you look back and see just how little story was actually told. Now after three years the show ends, and I don't feel like the journey took me very far. Vandervoort is also getting frighteningly thin. Her face bones are protruding from her skin these days. She makes Calista Flockhart look like Orson Welles. I kept screaming at the screen, "Eat a burger, for crying out loud." Maybe it's just the Italian in me. 

I have just reviewed The Bible Stories: Jacob in which I may have left people hanging, because I teased the end of the story. Of course that only applies to people who have never read the Bible. The Bible Stories: Joseph will give you some of those answers if you never got to the Good Book. Jacob indeed survives and thrives, so God was good on his word. Jacob had many sons, but in this film he is older and played by Martin Landau, not Matthew Modine. Jacob had 12 sons with two wives and two handmaids who were all involved with the births. Jacob (also known as Israel) entered into a covenant with God to create a new nation of plenty and prosperity.

The Bible Stories: Joseph is the best of this series that I have reviewed. The story is very well told and extremely compelling, moving, and inspirational in real ways. The story starts in the middle by introducing Potiphar (Sir Ben Kingsley), the Pharaoh’s most trusted advisor, as he is looking over a potential new slave. The slave is Joseph (Paul Mercurio) who Potiphar buys in a fairly apathetic fashion, but this new slave becomes enormously profitable in short order. Everything that Joseph becomes involved with generates fantastic bounty and success. This is noticed first and foremost by Potiphar’s wife, Zuleika (Lesley Ann Warren) who gets Joseph more responsibilities, but what Zuleika really wants is more access to Joseph. When Joseph repeatedly refuses her advances, she accuses him of rape. By this time, Potiphar knows Joseph so well and values him so highly that he finds a way to avoid giving the death sentence that Zuleika demands. He sends Joseph to the prison, where his services become even more productive and beneficial. The story then weaves the earlier story of Joseph into the telling, the story of Joseph’s brother’s and their jealousy.