V/H/S/99

V/H/S/99 Movie Review

The year is 1999, and the fear is Y2K--actually, that's kind of mentioned a bit in passing in this film, but isn't a major concern--I just like how the year is 1999, and the fear is Y2K sounds. A Shudder Original, V/H/S/99 marks the fifth entry in the V/H/S series, and the sixth in the franchise (Siren, a spin-off of the original V/H/S, is in the mix as well). As with the others, the premise is a series of horrors caught on VHS and presented as an anthology. We are missing the usual wraparound story, however--instead, we get a bit of an interlude between them. These feature stop-motion action starring toy soldiers, shot by a character we will see in one of the stories later on. 

The Germans didn't fare well

Our first segment is titled "Shredding". An irritating, self-titled "punk" band (their music doesn't sound punk at all, but don't get me started on that) enjoys skateboarding, making bad music, and pulling pranks--to build a fan base, they record all this and put it on something fairly new called the World Wide Web.

"Pretend we're dead"

Their latest stunt is breaking into an abandoned music venue that once caught fire, killing a somewhat less annoying, somewhat more punk band a few years prior.

They're no L7 either

The results are predictable, but man, you have to love the practical effects used here. The characters in the band are just unlikable enough that you cheer for their demise, though you may feel for the poor drummer. We're not off to a great start, but once the band made it underground, this one got exciting.

Next up is "Suicide Bid". Would you let a group of really annoying women bury you alive overnight so you can join their group? A seemingly smart college student name Lily proves her bulb doesn't glow so bright after all when she agrees to do just that. The group is the most evil of all--a sorority. I could live hundreds of lifetimes and never understand why people subject themselves to the things they do to join college fraternities and sororities, but that's not what we're here to talk about. The reason for the burial also has something to do with a local urban legend, and you know that's going to come into play. While it's hard to feel sorry for Lily (she did voluntarily put herself in this situation), you can certainly understand her fear, and the terror creeps up in this segment, leading to a wonderful ending. 

Looks wonderful to me!

Wanna play a game? If so, our next segment, "Ozzy's Dungeon", might be for you! Ozzy's Dungeon is a children's game show--picture Double Dare in The Upside Down, with the Fly Girls from In Living Color, and hosted by Wayne Newton on cocaine.

"Can this be real?"

The gameshow has an unbeatable obstacle course, and when one contestant gets seriously injured during the course, her family is out for revenge. They capture the host (actually Steven Ogg of The Walking Dead fame) and force him to go through a homemade version of the course. This segment starts off strong, but really drops off once it gets to the revenge part. From there, it kind of drags to the point of becoming boring. Stick with it though--the ending is beyond bizarre, and has a fun little twist. 

It made me grin too

The toy soldiers story takes an unexpected turn, then transitions into the next segment, "The Gawkers". A group of teen boys with a video camera go around the neighborhood recording themselves doing stupid stuff and spying on girls. When a woman moves across the street, they all go full obsessed and, from one of the boy's bedroom, watch her every move. When they convince the little brother to secretly install a camera on her computer, however, the boys have gone too far--and the woman knows it. What they want is to see her naked; what they get is...well, half that, but so much more. I really liked this segment. The boys, for as annoying as they could be, were somewhat likable in their innocent idiocy. They were like a group of guys who have never had a girl even talk to them, and their interactions actually felt very real. The reveal of the woman was awesome, and the resulting onslaught was both classic and original. This was the best of the installments. 

What's Gorgon on here?

A couple buddies are hired to document a ritual performed by a coven of witches. Their purpose? Summon a demon to take over the body of Kirsten, a woman who has volunteered to be there (what's up with these people volunteering for these things?). An uninvited demon arrives, however, and as the witches cast it back to hell, it drags the two videographers with it. The guys must now find a way back home. That's what's happening in "To Hell and Back", the final segment of the movie. This one looks absolutely stunning, and, in many ways, may be exactly what you picture hell to look like. The practical effects are fantastic, and the creatures look frightening. You may recognize a couple people in this story--Joseph Winter and Melanie Stone of Deadstream are both here--in fact, if you look close enough, you may recognize at least one other character from that movie too. As was the case with that film, this one is heavy on comedy--unfortunately, there's more miss than hit this time, and, with such a wonderful set, you wish they would have focused more on the horror. While still a fine segment, ending the movie with this one makes it feel like it went out with a whimper. 

That's no reason to turn your back on it!

As is always the case with anthology movies, some segments are better than others--"The Gawkers" stands above the rest for sure. "Suicide Bid" is also very solid from start to finish. The remaining three are a bit unbalanced--there's a lot to sit through with "Shredding" to get to a decent ending; "Ozzy's Dungeon", the weakest overall, starts off on fire, goes ice cold, then picks back up for the closing minutes; "To Hell and Back" looks phenomenal, but otherwise is nothing great. I believe an anthology film should be like a rock concert--start off hot and finish hot. With that in mind, I would have kicked this movie off with "Suicide Bid" and ended it with "The Gawkers", which they kind of, sort of did, but not really. That aside, V/H/S/99 was a fun movie. More often than not, practical effects were used, and they looked great. The stories were interesting, and there were some genuinely creepy moments. Stay tuned for the credits to enjoy a post-credits scene, and some Danzig awesomeness while the credits roll. When I reviewed V/H/S/94, I said it was the best of the series since the original film--this one is even better, and is just as good as the first movie. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

V/H/S/99 Movie Trailer

DEADSTREAM

 

Deadstream Movie Review

Social media influencer (God, I hate that term) Shawn (Joseph Winter), known for livestreaming himself facing his fears via outrageous stunts, loses his many sponsorships and a large portion of his following after a controversial outing. Now, with one sole sponsor, and allowed back on a social media platform with strict guidelines, Shawn attempts to win back his followers and old sponsors by facing his biggest fear yet--ghosts. To do this, he is going to lock himself in Death Manor, known as "the most haunted house in the country", for the night...and, of course, livestream it. As is the case with a lot of similar movies, this one has the action in the middle, with the viewers commenting on the right.

Influencer influenced

Every once in a while, my girlfriend will pick out a newer horror movie for us to watch, and for me to review--my loyal readers know that, more often than not, what she selects is...let's say...not great. As this movie started, and I saw some dude who looked like Sami Zayn's little brother being obnoxious and reminding me why I seldom ever watch any videos online while simultaneously making me wonder why so many others do watch people such as this guy, I started to wonder if I would make it through this entire movie. Shawn positioned the cameras, and I realized I would be looking up this guy's nose for most of the movie--now I knew for sure I'd never make it. But then, something interesting happened. Shawn got into the house. A story began to unfold. A few creepy things started happening. Then a mysterious girl named Chrissy (Melanie Stone) showed up, and the movie took off like a hydraulic launch roller coaster and didn't slow down. (Speaking of launch coaster but kind of off topic, let's take a moment to remember the awesomeness that was Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster, which was recently retired...or retired as we know it...or something). Obviously, what we have is a haunted house movie, so we're going to see ghosts, and I cannot stress enough how much I love how they look.

No CGI nonsense here!

The practical approach to the special effects is absolutely wonderful, and is an art that is sadly missing in most modern horror. There are many moments throughout that remind me of The Evil Dead, but in a most respectful, groovy way. The comedy is hit or miss, but when it hits, there are some laugh out loud moments--the running gag about no cursing is particularly funny, as is the naming of the cameras. The jabs at the "internet famous" and their fans also land. For the most part, this is a two person show, and Winter and Stone, both relative unknows, turn in very impressive performances. The house is genuinely creepy, but as the most haunted house in the country, I would have maybe made it even less touched. There's graffiti all over, making it seem as if tons of people have visited. I would have gotten rid of all that, and made it so that this place is so scary, nobody dares step foot inside. That aside, once you get past the first fifteen or so minutes, there's really not a lot to complain about. The first main twist is one you'll see coming, but the false finishes are clever, and will have you glued until the end. Over the years, I've wrapped up a few reviews by saying something along the lines of "I wanted to like this movie, but..." With Deadstream, it's quite the opposite--I generally dislike having social media/cell phone text interactions in movies, I have no interest whatsoever in "influencers", and, for the most part, I'm not a fan of most recent horror comedies, so upon starting this movie, and seeing a terribly annoying influencer, with text on the screen, I really wanted to dislike this movie, but I couldn't. Deadstream is funny, it's scary, it's smart, it's made very well, is one I recommend, and is a flick I believe will only get better with each additional viewing.  

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

Deadstream Movie Trailer

BAD CANDY

Bad Candy Movie Review

A couple disc jockeys on radio station 66.6 tell spooky tales on Halloween, resulting in an anthology movie filled with stories that all intertwine at least somewhat--picture Trick 'r Treat, only not nearly as good. Before we move on, I know you may be wondering about that radio station--it's a horror movie, so it's all silly fun, but, of course, 66.6 cannot be an actual station--judging by scene featuring the drug dealer listening to it in an old Bonneville, we know it's a regular radio station, and it appears to actually be in the 105 territory. That said, the FCC would have a field day with this show. You probably know the DJs--one is Zach Galligan (Billy from Gremlins) and the other is Corey Taylor from the band Slipknot--picture Mr. Bungle, only knot nearly as good. 

Thank me later 

Back to the movie--there are more stories in this feature than I care to dive too deeply into (this is supposed to be QUICK horror movie reviews, after all), but I'll briefly touch on each. The whole thing starts off surprisingly well, with some really nice Halloween settings to get us in the mood, and a clown turning a brat of a kid into a toy. The clown will pop up throughout, ala Sam from the aforementioned Trick 'r Treat. 

Hi Jack

We then have a girl with the ability to bring her drawings to life--this may come in handy as she battles her drunken redneck stepdad who, if nothing else, has good taste in retro furniture. 

Look out, Ben

It's in this story we begin to see how bad the CGI is, and man, is it ever terrible. There's not much, if any, improvement throughout the rest of the movie, which is all the more disappointing in that the practical effects, when used, are actually okay. More disappointing is the movie as a whole kind of falls off the cliff after the first twenty minutes. There's an old feller putting razor blades in candy--he ends up with the razor blades in his own throat, kind of like in Night of the Demons (anybody else noticing a pattern here?). 

The shirt I'm wearing right now looks just like this one...seriously

From there, we see a drug dealer at a Halloween party--the dude reminds me of a million guys I knew back in my Ohio days--I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but that doesn't matter--he ends up in the Bonneville and eventually in a bathroom, where he is stalked and finally meets his demise in a scene similar to one from Scream 2. 

Never press your ear against the stall!

A woman leaves the party to go to work in the morgue and starts to seduce a dead guy. When he appears to come back to life, she flips out, looks like she's on an acid trip, and sees cadavers turn into zombies. Some guy attacks some woman at her house and chases her to a playground, where there's a battle to the death. A rideshare driver and his buddies kidnap some people with questionable morals, tie them up, put large pumpkins on their heads, and set them loose to be stalked by their friend. 

LENNY!

The woman in the morgue installment is dull and ramped up only slightly when the corpse appears to come to life. The cat and mouse between the man and woman offers nothing of any real interest. The story with pumpkinheaded people is painfully bad, especially in its brutally horrible attempts at humor; Lenny, however, looks so fantastic it almost makes up for the time it takes to get to him. The movie ends with a story of a house burning down, and ties directly to the gents at the radio station. The final little twist is surprisingly satisfying, if not a bit predictable. 

Here's a hint

Bad Candy is one of those movies that has loads of potential, but comes up short in practically every way it can. To even the casual viewer, the most obvious shortcoming will be in the special effects category. The CGI looks like some of the worst stuff to come from SyFy Originals--maybe even worse. I get that there are people who are into this, and, if given the right type of movie, I am too--this isn't that type of movie. They also tried to do way too much. Perhaps had they picked three of the more interesting stories and expanded on them instead of stretching about a half dozen uninspired yarns out to around 103 minutes, a better movie would have resulted. This brings us to the third major issue--lack of originality. I pointed out a few examples, but believe me when I tell you, there are many more instances of thievery going on here. The acting leaves a lot to be desired as well, though Taylor's performance as Chilly Billy was better than I expected. Bad Candy does have a couple bright spots, but it's safe to say it will never become a Halloween tradition in my household.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 4

Bad Candy Movie Trailer

DEATH SPA

Death Spa Movie Review

Sometime after his wife commits suicide, Michael Evans (William Bumiller) sees his hip spa become the scene of grisly accidents. Could the ghost of his dead wife be haunting the club? Why is she appearing in his dreams? Were they truly accidents? If you've seen this 1988 low-budget film, you know the answers...actually, even if you haven't see it, you still likely know the answers to the questions surrounding Death Spa or,

How Starbody Health Spa

Became

Death Spa

With such a premise, we know we're getting a rather ridiculous movie. The special effects are hilariously bad, and you could probably accurately guess the year this movie was made as well, as this flick has that odd combination of 1980s and 1990s horror films that really only movies that came out in 1988 or 1989 can claim. They sure loved this whole cutting edge computers thing back in the day, and they tease that perhaps a master hacker is behind everything, via computer operated exercise machines. There's actually some recognizable faces here too, led by horror icon Ken Foree. Merritt Butrick of Fright Night 2 fame pops up in what is his final movie appearance--on the flip side, Karyn Parsons, known worldwide as Hilary from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and more locally (at least in 1993) as the star of my friend's dreams, makes her film debut.

For you, Jeff

Walking out of this one, more than remembering the movie as a whole, you will likely only recall its parts. Such scenes include a machine designed to work out the shoulders tearing the ribs from a man's body; a woman bleeding to death after an unplugged blender eats her hand; the shower scene from Porky's if the girls had been attacked by hot water, flying tiles, and broken glass; and, probably most memorably, a man being attacked by a reanimated fish.

Fish heads, fish heads

There's a lot to sit through to get to it, but the final act is absolute madness--there's hilarity, chaos, deaths, and cheesy effects to take you to the finish line. It's just a shame the rest of the movie wasn't quite as interesting. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 5

Death Spa Movie Trailer

THE BLACK PHONE

The Black Phone Movie Review

Living in a town terrorized by a possible child killer, Finney (Mason Thames), a young boy frequently picked on at school, is kidnapped and placed in a basement. His only connection to the outside world is a disconnected...yes...black phone. The man who took Finney, known simply as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke, Sinister), suggests the phone doesn't work, but Finney soon finds himself receiving mysterious calls on it. This 2021 film was released with a fair amount of attention and adoration. The thriller did well at the box office, earned many rave reviews, and was the talk of the town in the horror community for a bit. It came to Peacock soon after, and that's where I decided to check it out--while not a bad movie, I'm thankful I decided to bypass paying to see it at the theater.

Depp-Wonka's evil younger brother?

Set in 1978, the movie does bring the nostalgia--this carries the viewer for much of the first act, as most of the rest of this time is spent meeting uninteresting characters. Naturally, once Finney is taken, things pick up, and the movie begins to take turns you may not expect. Without giving away too much, I'll say I had no idea the movie would cross over into a horror genre that is not slasher, and the results are mixed. Hawke is as good as you would expect, even if he toys with going a bit too Nicolas Cage. The child actors, on the other hand, are a struggle. Thames is okay in the lead role, but most of the rest of the children--especially Madeleine McGraw as his sister, Gwen--leave a lot to be desired. The acting is so bad at times it almost takes you entirely out of the movie. There is some suspense for sure, even if we know how the movie will end. The gore is left to a minimal, though one scene in particular is jarring in its brutality. Oh yeah, there's that cool mask too.

"Thank you so much for remembering!"

The Black Phone is a decent horror flick--it may not be as good as you've heard, but it is one worth checking out--if nothing else, it has a somewhat original story, and is not a sequel, reboot, or remake. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6

The Black Phone Movie Trailer

WILLY'S WONDERLAND

Willy's Wonderland Movie Review

A stranger (Nicolas Cage) passing through a small town runs over spike strips, blowing out all the tires on his car. The town mechanic only accepts cash, which the stranger does not have, and the ATM isn't working; thankfully, there is a way for the man to pay the mechanic--by spending the night cleaning up an abandoned family entertainment center filled with animatronic characters (think Chuck E. Cheese, but with less gun violence). This 2021 flick blends a nice balance of horror, comedy, and action, even with a slightly scaled down performance from Cage--in fact, Cage's performance is one with no spoken lines, which inherently brings the Cage crazy down a bit, though we do catch glimpses of the Nic we all love, particularly when he's playing pinball. 

Nicolas Cage

Being

Nicolas Cage

Naturally, Willy's has a checkered past, and we learn its history as the movie unfolds. The story tiptoes along grounds we have visited before, but that really doesn't make the movie any less interesting...or fun. Chipping in to help Cage in his battle with the come-to-life animatronics is a group of teens--one of them has a direct link to Willy's Wonderland, none of the rest have any real backstory or character development at all, and none of the people playing these characters have much acting ability. The movie keeps a steady pace, and surprisingly never veers too far into the comedy path. Some questions are left unanswered--why does Cage (his character has no actual name, by the way--he's credited as The Janitor, but he's never named in the film, hence me referring to the actor instead of the character's name) have to down the can of energy drink every time his alarm goes off? This includes when he is about to do battle. Why is playing the pinball game equally as important? Why does he wait until each animatronic comes to life and fights them one on one? He has plenty of opportunity to destroy them while they are still stationary, but he doesn't. Ultimately, none of this matters too much--after all, we're not expecting a Hitchcock masterpiece going into a movie titled Willy's Wonderland and starring Nicolas Cage. The movie does deliver where expected, however, and is quite a fun ride along the way, complete with a fantastic soundtrack--just try getting these songs out of your head. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

Willy's Wonderland Movie Trailer

HOUSE ON WILLOW STREET

House on Willow Street Movie Review

Hazel (Sharni Vinson, You're Next) leads a group of criminals as they break into a house and kidnap the daughter of a rich dude. Unfortunately for the kidnappers, the daughter, Katherine (Carlyn Burchell), is hiding a secret that will result in the tables being turned on the bad guys. South Africa offers up this 2016 horror flick that was originally titled From the House on Willow Street--I kind of like that better, but let's move it along. I'm not giving away too much to say that there's something very evil about Katherine, and the casting of Burchell for this role was perfect--she has a natural look that lends itself well to this character, and what she becomes later.

Does she look like somebody you want to kidnap?

This movie actually gets off to a great start--once Katherine is chained up, we begin seeing the human side of her kidnappers, and the not so human side of her. This leads to a fairly engaging story that plays out well--at least at first. The special effects are decent for the budget, but that all falls apart during the fiery climax. Once Burchell is in full makeup, she looks wonderfully wicked, though scaling it back just a bit would have probably resulted in a scarier character. She does great with her own voice, but this gives way to the less interesting demon voice we get in almost every possession type film. The acting struggles a bit--Burchell and Vinson turn in good performances, but the rest of the cast is much weaker. We see several ghosts throughout, and the work here is impressive--a comparison to Thir13en Ghosts would be fair. The fault of the movie is in its jump scares reliance--they are far too frequent, to the point you see them coming a mile away. The ending is a bit disappointing, both in story and visuals. House on Willow Street is not a great horror film, and is one you will likely forget, or maybe confuse with dozens of similar films, but there is enough going on to keep your attention the entire way.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6

House on Willow Street Movie Review

FEAR STREET PART THREE: 1666

 

Fear Street Part 3: 1666 Movie Review

For the conclusion of the trilogy, we journey back to where it all started--Union, in 1666. As I believe the only proper way to truly review this movie is to dive into the deep end with it, I will warn you now--there will be spoilers ahead, and despite the name of this blog, this review won't be real quick. I repeat...THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!

At the conclusion of Part Two, we saw Deena (Kiana Madeira) sort of jump into the body of Sarah Fier, all Dr. Sam Beckett style. 

Minus the awesome blue lighting

Deena realized that stopping the curse wasn't as easy as they suspected, so we start Part Three off in 1666, where Deena is living the life of Sarah. We discover that Sarah, much like Deena, has a secret girlfriend--her name is Hannah, and she is played by Olivia Scott Welch, the same actress who plays Samantha, Deena's girlfriend, in 1994. We also see many of the other actors from both 1994 and 1978 appearing as different characters in 1666, which is cool and makes sense for some of the characters, but seems gratuitous for others. I am not a huge fan of most films with a colonial setting, and this flick did nothing to change my mind. The movie makers did a nice job with the look, but the acting was certainly a struggle here, as most of the talent had difficulty with the accent and slip in and out of it often. The violence is there, but scaled back a bit from what we saw in 1994 and 1978. 

Tommy...less violent, more insane

There's not a lot happening in 1666, but it is rather fast paced, and that will make sense soon. What we need to know is this--as expected, Sarah Fier is not really a witch. Though it has been believed for hundreds of years (and a few hours, from the viewer's perspective) that Sarah put the hex on Shadyside and made a pact with the devil, the movie delivered what most of us probably expected and few of us wanted--the tried and true tale of a falsely accused witch. No, the true maker of the pact with Satan was Solomon, a fella whose bloodline eventually leads to somebody we know from 1994 and 1978.

He doesn't seem so Goode now, does he?

I was really, really hoping that when we got to 1666 we would see Sarah as a true evil, chaos-causing witch, and they actually tease this at one point when Sarah declares something along the lines of "If it's a witch they want, then a witch they will get", and I prepared for all Hell to be unleashed upon the ignorant--alas, once Sarah arrives in the tunnels, she discovers Solomon has already made the aforementioned pact with the evil one, and is appalled...by him doing pretty much precisely what she was going to do! Solomon's deal was to deliver sacrifices in exchange for wealth and success, and this was passed on for generations--hence Goode being sheriff, and his brother the mayor of Sunnyvale. So they get into a fight, she loses her hand, and Solomon delivers Sarah to the pitchfork and torch-wielding simpletons who have been hunting her down to hang her and Hannah for being witches. At the tree, to save Hannah, Sarah falsely admits to being a witch, further stating she corrupted Hannah and that Hannah was innocent--this works, and just prior to being hung, Sarah promises revenge on Solomon. This all happens over the span of about an hour, and once Sarah hangs, the movie transitions brilliantly back to 1994. 

So

Cool

Back to the present, Deena knows Sheriff Goode is behind all the evil, and she rounds up the remaining troops in an effort to take him down. They end up at the mall where it all started (well, the mall that is built on top of where it all started) and come up with the most convoluted plan ever to kill one person--why they couldn't just hide and shoot Goode once he arrived is beyond me, but hey, we got some cool neon and black light stuff going on, and another Carrie reference, so I guess that makes it acceptable. 

Groovy

The demon ghost killer people show up, and in a cool scene, they fight and (temporarily) kill each other. It is teased that Ruby is making her way there to unleash the terror, but once she finally arrives, she does little. Naturally, Deena ends up in the tunnel with Goode (and Samantha, who, I guess, never went full demon?) and we see the sheriff's demise--to say it's anticlimactic is an understatement. Everything that happens from there is dreadfully bad (did they get lost in the tunnel?), and a sequel, or continuance of the story, or another trilogy, or something else, is teased. 

Can we just leave that here?

After really enjoying the first two films of this trilogy, I was very much disappointed with the final one. Visually, the movie was wonderful, and it still had a couple surprising developments, but sadly, they were not where we wanted them, and that's in the story itself--the final stretch develops pretty much as you expect it to, and there's really nothing satisfying about this. Obviously, if you watched the first two films, you will want to view this one to finish it off...maybe a better idea is to imagine the third film in your head. 

On A Scale Of One Ten: 5

Fear Street Part 3: 1666 Movie Trailer

FEAR STREET PART TWO: 1978

Fear Street Part 2: 1978 Movie Review

The survivors of Fear Street Part 1 break into the home of C. Berman (Gillian Jacobs), who then tells the tale of her time at Camp Nightwing in, you guessed it, 1978. We flashback to this disco-tastic time and place, where we meet sisters Cindy (Emily Rudd) and Ziggy Berman (Sadie Sink of Stranger Things fame), a young Nick Goode (Ted Sutherland), a bunch of campers and counselors, and a masked maniac killing them--yes, the second movie in the Fear Street trilogy is a not-so-subtle nod to the slasher genre, and more specifically, the Friday the 13th films. 

The fourth Tommy?

C. Berman tells the teens her sister was killed in 1978, so a large part of this movie is trying to figure out which sister survives--this may leave you guessing right up until the end. Clues are dropped along the way, and references to David Bowie will either help or confuse (I personally thought it was a stretch that C named her cat Major Tom when the guy who killed her sister was named Tommy, but I got past it). We also get more of the history of the rivalry between Shadyside and Sunnyvale, and see that little has changed between 1978 and 1994.

Hatred turned up to the max

 The first film started the trilogy off strong, and the second outing kicks it up from there. As I mentioned when reviewing 1994, there wasn't a great deal of 90's nostalgia with that movie, but with 1978, this changes--this movie comes really close to capturing the look and feel of films from that time. The music is what you would expect from the era, and ranges from the aforementioned Bowie to The Runaways to The Velvet Underground to disco. The acting is decent--Sink and Sutherland are likable, McCabe Slye is creepy as Tommy, and Jacqi Vene nails the pot-smoking, free love chick character--Ryan Simpkins is a bit of a struggle as Alice, and the rest of the cast is just sort of there, the result of minimal character development, but certainly acceptable as inevitable victims. The carnage is unrelenting, and some of the death scenes are brutal and graphic. We even have child campers being offed, though they don't go so far as to actually show this happening like they do with the older victims. Without giving away too much of the central plot of the trilogy, we learn how to end the curse in this one, but the final scene (back in 1994) shows this may not be as easy as it seems, and we get a tease of what is to come in the final film. Fear Street Part 2: 1978 does a wonderful job of carrying the story laid out in the first film. It also feels more like a Friday the 13th movie than some of the films from the actual franchise do--even if the movie had nothing else at all going for it, that alone makes it worth watching, but fortunately, there is a lot to like in 1978.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

Fear Street Part 2: 1978 Movie Trailer

FEAR STREET PART ONE: 1994

Fear Street Part 1: 1994 Movie Review

Shadyside has quite a history of violence, tragedy, and bizarre events--the most recent is a slasher killing teens in a mall...and a curse...and a witch...and ghosts...and, well, yeah, there's a lot going on in this Netflix original, but I will try to present it to you with minimal spoilage. The title should tell you two things right off--this is the beginning of a series of films (a trilogy, to be exact), and it's set in 1994...oh, the stories I could tell about 1994...but you are not here for that, and I don't have all week, so let's stay focused on this movie. Fans of R.L. Stine may also recognize the title, and yes, these movies are based on the author's books, but if you are expecting something geared toward the younger audience, you are not quite ready for this flick, as the blood is plenty and the f-bombs are excessive. Coming out of the gate, you will get the overwhelming feeling you have seen all this before--if you think to yourself "this is some odd combination of Scream, Stranger Things, and The Outsiders", know you are not alone. 

Children of the Socs?

This one starts off strong, with a scene that will make even the most cynical of us miss the mallrat days just a bit--the black lights effect in one store is particularly cool. 

Killer

After a promising (albeit heavily borrowed) opening sequence, the movie slows considerably, as we find out about love interests, the early days of the internet and chat rooms (I had no idea of the existence of either in 1994), and the rivalry between Shadyside and Sunnyvale. We also get to hear a lot of cool music from those days (though being a music geek as well as a movie one, I noticed a few songs used had not yet been released in 1994), and meet the main characters--I could have done without Simon (Fred Hechinger), but the rest are fine. If you are wanting that nostalgic feeling for the 1990's that movies such as It brought for the 1980's, you won't get much of it here--between the opening sequence and the showdown at the grocery store near the end, the nods to the time the story is set in are subtle (the band posters and stickers were my personal favorites). Once the murkiness of the plot clears up a bit, the remainder of the movie is a wonderfully fun ride, with slick flashbacks, villains that may remind you of 2001's Thirteen Ghosts, and a few twists. The ride lasts right up until the end, which leaves us eager for the next film--and we don't have to wait long! All three movies are shot, and Part 2 will be released July 8, followed by the third film July 16--and my reviews will appear soon after! 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

Fear Street Part 1: 1994 Movie Trailer

CAVEAT

 

Caveat Movie Review

Barrett (Ben Caplan) hires Isaac (Jonathan French), a loner suffering from memory loss, to look after his mentally ill niece, Olga (Leila Sykes), for a week...in an abandoned house...out in the middle of nowhere...and on an island. Let us also add that Isaac has no idea where this island is, he can't swim, and, upon arrival, is told he has to wear a locked jacket with a heavy chain linked to it, and the other end of the chain is connected to the very dark, creepy basement. All of this adds up to my main issue with this movie--who would agree to keep this job? He is not forced into this in any way. We are also not told of any critical need for money Isaac may have. So why go through with this insane plan? 

"I had nothing better to do"

This 2020 film comes to us from Ireland, and is a Shudder Original, so head over there if you want to check it out...after reading this, of course. The film starts off well, with Olga creepily walking around the house, holding the most terrifying looking rabbit I've ever laid eyes on. 

She's seen enough of him

After a rough time getting Isaac in place for the rest of the story, the movie gets far more interesting. This is not a loud, in your face slasher type flick, but rather much more like a Japanese ghost story movie--a slow burn, with visually disturbing moments and an unnerving atmosphere. This is a three characters show, and to their credit, all three of these performers do a nice job--with less talented actors, this could have been a disaster. The final third of the movie brings plenty of suspense, a little blood, and some twists and turns, leading to an ending I suspect most will either love or hate--I lean toward the former. This film could have bordered on being outstanding had we been given a better reason for Isaac to accept this job (not to spoil anything, but near the end, we find even more reasons why he should have turned the money down)--as it is, Caveat is still a chilling horror movie that is certainly worth checking out. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

Caveat Movie Trailer