POLTERGEIST II: THE OTHER SIDE (aka POLTERGEIST 2)

Poltergeist II: The Other Side Movie Review

One year after the events of the original film, the Freeling family believe they are in the clear, but discover otherwise when a mysterious Native American named Taylor (Will Sampson, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest) warns the danger is still very real. Let's address the elephant in the room right off the bat--Dominique Dunne, who played Dana, the eldest daughter in the original film, was murdered by her boyfriend shortly after the release of Poltergeist, and her character is not mentioned at all in this film. I personally would have liked to have at least seen her absence explained (her being in college was in the original script but was scrapped), but, for whatever reason, she's just forgotten. Other than her, the rest of the original Freelings are here, and we also get the return of Zelda Rubenstein as psychic oddball Tangina.

She knew I was going to use this picture

Speaking of oddballs, this movie is loaded with them, which only adds to the fun of it--Craig T. Nelson is awesome in his hilarious, spastic performance, Sampson steals the show as Taylor, and Julian Back is creepy as Reverend Henry Kane.

And honest man?

This movie manages to maintain a fun balance of horror, splashes of comedy, and a whole lot of bizarre, from the strange characters to the use of actual skeletons in the shots to everything that happens on the "Other Side".

It looks like this

Poltergeist II: The Other Side is not nearly as scary as the original film, and probably is not as good, but it certainly is a ton of fun to watch--it is loaded with that off the wall element you expect from 80s supernatural movies (and I haven't even mentioned what happens after Steven eats the worm), and that can never be a bad thing. As with Stigmata, I watched this one while visiting my Mom in Ohio, and we had a blast watching it together for the first time in decades. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

Poltergeist II: The Other Side Movie Trailer

MEDUSA AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES (aka Perseus Against The Monsters)

Medusa Against The Son Of Hercules Movie Review

Perseo (Richard Harrison) does battle with Medusa, some soldiers, and a dragon, while trying to win over Andromeda (Anna Ranalli). This Italian film from 1963 is one of many similar movies from that era known as "sword-and-sandal" films, and most of them are fairly awful, with this being no exception. We start with a theme song that mentions the sons of Hercules--we don't get any plural form in the movie. This was actually part of a series of movies, all very similar, that kind of, sort of tied together. The acting is awful, the dubbing dreadful. The battle scenes are a bore and seem to last an eternity, with little of note actually happening. The story, and movie, plod along at a snails pace, and by the time you are finished watching it, you will swear you just lost six hours of your life (it's actually only 95 minutes). There are exactly two savings graces in this movie: the aforementioned Medusa and dragon.

Not this Madusa

Or this Dragon

We know Medusa as the Greek monster with the face of a woman and living snakes for hair, but what we get here isn't quite...that.

It's this

Yes, the dreaded Medusa looks more like a walking tree with wild, flailing branches than the monster we expect. Is this bad? Not really...actually, yes, completely, but in a most awesome way. Our dragon is just as lovable.

Don't you just want to give him a hug?

I will always love the old, practical way of making movie monsters, and sometimes the worst looking ones are my favorites--these guys fit into that category of enjoyment--CGI will never touch this level of magic. I recommend watching this movie only if you can fast forward through every scene that does not include Medusa or the dragon...unless you're having difficulty sleeping--in that case, it's a must-see.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 3

I couldn't find the trailer, but enjoy the Svengoolie opening for Medusa Against The Son of Hercules