Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 15th, 2002
Jason is resurrected by an unfortunate accident involving a boat anchor and a power cable.He climbs aboard a ship carrying a graduating class to New York City, and proceeds to do his stuff. While those of us who caught this on its original theatrical run were disappointed that we had to wait a full hour before Jason reached NYC (or, more accurately, Vancouver), a return trip reveals this as one of the better made entries in the franchise. The characters, though thin, make are a bit more coherent than in Part VII, the action is competently staged, and once Jason hits Manhattan, much is made of the fact that he can chase and slaughter in full public view, and no one wants to get involved.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 14th, 2002
Synopsis
A group of college friends gathers at the isolated island home of Muffy St. John for an AprilFool’s weekend. One by one... Well, you know how the rest of it goes, don’t you?
SPOILER WARNING: ...or do you? The film’s main distinction (other than having somevery funny pranks and actors playing something approaching real characters) is that all of themurders turn out to be a practical joke – no one gets killed. Does this make or ruin the film? Hardto say – my own feeli...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 14th, 2002
Plot? What plot? Oh right: traumatized telekinetic teen accidentally raises Jason from the bottom of the lake. Jason kills folks. That’s about it. But you don’t watch these for the plot --you watch them for the killings. These are, sad to say, relatively restrained, and some of Jason’s tool acquisitions are silly (where did he get that electric hedge trimmer from?). The characters (I use the word loosely) are even more interchangeable than ever, and the continuity goes all to #%&@ in the latter part of the film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 10th, 2002
Written by Dan Bradley
Jason Voorhees (Kane Hodder) has been about everywhere on earth, including to hell and back. It only seems fitting that his tenth feature takes him not only into space, but into the future as well. With the highest production value of a Jason movie to-date and one of the niftiest extra features I’ve ever seen, Jason X’s futuristic settings, slayings and familiar action feel right at home on DVD.
The plot for Jason X is simple, albeit a huge departure from previous slasher films. After repeated execution at...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 8th, 2002
Synopsis
A colony of genetically mutated rats is making more and more violent forays into the livesof New Yorkers. Department store security head Madchen Amick and exterminator VincentSpano are on the front lines, determined to stop the assault. The plot and characters are standard-issue TV fare. This is the R-rated version of the film, so you see stuff that won’t be showing upon the TV broadcast, and it’s pretty obvious what that stuff is: an ear-removal moment, and somelaughably g...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 2nd, 2002
Synopsis
In an opening sequence that chills no matter how many times you see it, the little daughter ofDonald Sutherland and Julie Christie drowns. The action then shifts to Venice some time later, asthe couple move through the mourning. A blind woman claims to be a medium with visions ofthe daughter. Christie believes, but Sutherland will have none of it. But then why does he keepseeing a little figure in a red raincoat, a figure that might be his daughter...
Director Nicol...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 2nd, 2002
Synopsis
Twenty years ago, there was a mining disaster. The only survivor wreaked bloody revengea year later. Nineteen years later, he seems to be back, and the usual bunch of kids is in trouble.Neat looking killer, cool setting, and some unintentionally hilarious acting and dialogue are theorder of the day. The killings aren’t as graphic, sadly, as some of the publicity stills. The moviewas cut prior to release, and this is still not the restored version. Who know if we’ll ever see...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 7th, 2002
Nicholas Cage did this film in 1989, long before most of the more famous films he places high atop his resume. He admits this is a film he would not be able to do today but is damn glad he did. Director Robert Bierman was also pretty much a novice when he created this quirky dark comedy.
To be honest I never saw the film when it was originally released and approached the DVD with a lot of skepticism. Most of the performances are way over the top and the cinematography is simple, often resorting to what Hollywood calls "stolen shots" (filming done without any set-up in a public area using real people.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 29th, 2002
Recipe for Hell's Gate:
Synopsis
A young girl (Kensit) is literally shocked into remembering that she was once the mole of Jack The Ripper.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 27th, 2002
If you are a fan of the teen slasher movies, popular since John Carpenter’s Halloween began, then the Scream series is a virtual hoot. The first film made fun of the so-called “rules” of the horror film. The second film, of course, covered the obligatory sequel. Scream 3 delves into the horror trilogy. The same cast of characters, led by real-life spouses Courtney Cox and David Arquette, appears in the same goofy roles. Scream is one of the better attempts at satire to appear in cinemas over the last few years.
