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

V/H/S/94

V/H/S/94 Movie Review

Remember the days of VHS? The filmmakers here sure do (or at least pretend to), and they are bringing them back in a most 1990's way. Yes, this is the fourth movie in a series that previously brought us V/H/S, V/H/S/2. and V/H/S: Viral. 

"I like them"

We begin with "Holy Hell", which serves as the wraparound story. A SWAT team raids a warehouse, where they discover dead bodies, evidence of ritualistic sacrifices, and other signs of degenerative behavior from a cult group. This is all loud, with tons of audio effects and screaming people, guns, and so on. This part is not written particularly well--in fact, the dialogue is abysmal, and the story is only mildly interesting, leading to a plot twist that is obvious. 

They look suspicious

The first full story we get is "Storm Drain". A news reporter (Anna Hopkins) and camera operator (Christian Potenza) go on location to a storm drain to report on the local legend of a half man, half rat that hangs out in the sewers of Westerville, Ohio, a suburb of my hometown, Columbus. Much like the opening, this one is not written well, with dull dialogue. The reporter interviews a few people, including a guy with an assault rifle who likely wouldn't be allowed within the city limits of Westerville in real life. Another person interviewed is a minister, and he makes a return later in a big way. This one, like every segment in this anthology, borrows heavily from many other films--the ritualistic stuff is fair, but the reveal of the mutant monster is impressive, with a cool creature feature throwback feel. The practical effects, especially with the closing moments, are satisfying as well. The closing also mentions a pumpkin festival of some sort, reminding me of Circleville, Ohio--references to places I grew up only add to my enjoyment of this segment. 

I could see this coming out of Circleville

Next up is "The Empty Wake". A dead man's family requests his wake be recorded all night, and poor Hayley (Kyal Legend) is assigned the job of staying with the body. We find the man had committed suicide, and was so badly mangled the casket is closed. There's not much turn out, and Hayley spends almost the entire time alone--until, of course, the dead man comes to life. This segment does a nice job with a slow burn type approach--not a lot is happening, but with every small step, the tension, and Hayley's fear, builds. What we see when the man emerges from the casket is nothing short of frightening, and the closing minutes of this segment are fantastic. 

If this casket's a-rockin'

In "The Subject", Dr. James Suhendra is experimenting with machine-human hybrids. He is a wanted man, and the police soon track him down, killing him somewhat in cold blood. The police force then find themselves trapped in the building, and doing battle with Suhendra's subjects. Grey area is created when one of the police officers tries to help one of the hybrid monsters, who herself realizes what she has been turn into. Both the best and worst of this segment come visually. The hybrids, especially the one we get the camera point of view from, look stunning. Unfortunately, a decent story gives way to gunfire, gunfire, and more gunfire. Worst of all, once the action really gets going, it looks like we're watching somebody play a first-person shooter video game. I've enjoyed playing those games a time or two in my day (I can't tell you how many quarters I put into the "House of the Dead" arcade back in the day), but watching somebody else play them--especially when what I am trying to watch is a movie--is not my cup of tea. 

Reload!

The final segment is "Terror". In some attempt to make America great again, a wacko militia redneck group that looks like they may be from the aforementioned Circleville plans on bombing a government building in Detroit. Strapped with guns and a combined IQ that would struggle to reach triple digits, the men document their grand plan. Their weapon? The blood of a vampire they have captured. How to use said weapon? Inject the blood into animals and allow sunlight to hit them, blowing them, and everything around them, to bits. The idea is cool, and when the idiots inevitably face off with the vampire, we find the creature looks quite unique and terrifying. Visually, this one has what we expect as well, as it legitimately looks like somebody's home recording from the early 1990's. The beginning of "Terror" is rough, but my goodness, does it ever turn out to be more entertaining than it had any business being. 

If this doesn't say Circleville...

If you gave up on this franchise after Viral, you may want to come back to the series. This one is a Shudder exclusive, and at the time of its release, it was the most successful movie premiere for the streaming service. While not quite as good as the first V/H/S/, it is a step up from the second outing, and much better than Viral. I wish the wraparound story was better, and that "The Subject" would not have gone all "Doom" on us, but "Storm Drain" and "The Wake" are decent, and "Terror" is borderline must-see. The fifth installment, titled V/H/S/99, has been announced, with a release date of October 20, 2022--V/H/S/94 has made me somewhat excited to see this. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 6

V/H/S/94 Movie Trailer

NOBODY SLEEPS IN THE WOODS TONIGHT

Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight Movie Review 

A group of youngsters are sent to a camp in the middle of nowhere to break their addiction to...technology. The large group is split up into smaller groups to go on hikes, and we follow one such group, consisting of a quiet loner girl (Julia Wieniawa-Narkiewicz), a nerdy boy (Michal Lupa), a promiscuous blonde (Wiktoria Gasiewska), a jock (Sebastian Dela), and a gay fella (Stanisław Cywka), all led by their adult counselor (Gabriela Muskała). 

Our heroes

Once in the woods, the group comes across cannibal monsters, and the fight for survival is on! The names of the actors probably gave this away already, but in case you're wondering, this film comes to us from Poland, and was hyped as "the first Polish slasher movie". If you watch this on Netflix, you will notice one thing very early on--the film is dubbed, and done so very poorly. Having seen many movies presented this way, I was okay with this, but my girlfriend was having none of it. If your tolerance for bad dubbing is on the level of Sani's, you will be happy to know there is the option to switch to the original audio and subtitles in your own language. Once this change was made, we continued watching, noticing a good bit bit of comedy early on--while this element never completely went away, it did slowly give way to a more traditional horror approach. If you are a fan of horror (and since you are reading this right now, I assume you are), you will recognize a lot of what is happening in this film, as it has many scenes that are not so subtle nods to movies that came before it--Friday the 13th Part VII, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Wrong Turn are just a few. As for the monsters, they look like some sort of deformed trolls, but their story is actually quite tragic, and they look really cool.

His appetite is out of this world

Something the movie pulled off well is making the viewer care about some of the characters--my girlfriend was near tears at one point. Gorehounds will delight in this flick as well, as the blood flies throughout, and the death scenes are executed nicely. Be sure to pay attention to the music, as it is one of the best scores I've heard in a while. Throw in some surprises, and there's a lot to like about this outing. Unfortunately, the end leaves a bit to be desired (but also leaves the door open for a sequel), and the lead in to it is rather weak. I know a lot of people are not taking kindly to this movie because of its heavy borrowing of other films--again, I see this as more a tip of the cap to them than thievery. While there is not a ton of originality in Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight, it is a fun horror film, and one of the better ones you'll find on Netflix right now. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

Nobody Sleeps in the Woods Tonight Movie Trailer

SHE DEMONS

She Demons Movie Review

Three people stranded on an island find it is also inhabited by Nazis and, you guessed it, she demons. Released in 1958, this movie is largely the standard "white American folks stuck on an exotic island" fare of the time (though in this one, they are joined by Sammy Ching, played by Victor Sen Yung, who, while American, was of Chinese descent), complete with a sort of tribal dance. There is also a lot of unexpected comedy, especially from Sammy, who seemingly got paid by the one-liner for this one. The she demons are not, in fact, demons, but...actually, we'll get to them later--for now, we'll just say they add the slight bit of horror in this movie. Oh yeah, the movie also is an early entry into what would become known as Nazisploitation, or Nazi Exploitation films--this subgenre hit the peak of its popularity in the 1970's, so She Demons, while not the first film to feature such elements, was certainly ahead of its time. 

Though Ilsa it's not

We eventually find out that Nazi Col. Karl Osler (Rudolph Anders) has created the she demons in an attempt to restore the beauty of his wife, Mona (Leni Tana), who was scarred during an accident and wears bandages around her face and head. Once we find this out, we naturally stick around to see what she looks like under those rags, and wow, that payoff is executed well. As for the she demons, they are just women who Osler has experimented on, using heat from lava...or something...and the earth's core and perpetual motion play a role...if you've seen these 1950's sci-fi flicks, you know to expect this sort of scientific nonsense--anyway, the experiments leave the women disfigured. 

"My, what big teeth you have"

The acting in this movie is abysmal--our lead, Fred Maklin (Tod Griffin), is as wooden as it gets. With his fake radio announcer voice and lack of any emotion, one would swear he was pulling a parody of actors from similar films from the era--Irish McCalla of Sheena, Queen of the Jungle is only slightly better as spoiled rich girl Jerrie. The film itself features favorites such as stock footage and superimposed shots--the scene of the heroes in front of the flowing lava near the end is especially amusing. There is a lot to sit through to get there, but once the shipwrecked trio discover the Nazis and she demons, the movie does become entertaining. While not a feature I would search out again, She Demons turned out to be a slight bit better than I expected it to be.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 5

She Demons Movie Trailer

TALES OF HALLOWEEN

Tales of Halloween Movie Review

 It's Halloween Night in the 'burbs, and there's madness around every corner. Adrienne Barbeau seemingly reprises her DJ role from The Fog, and she's with us for this ride, introducing many of the stories we are about to see. Ten segments make up this 2015 horror anthology, so let's get right into it. 

Sweet Tooth

Our first story shows a couple teens picking on a kid, letting him know that if he doesn't leave some of his candy for local legend Sweet Tooth, the creature will seek revenge. 

"Make it a full-sized Snickers"

We get a ton of gore to start us off, and a fairly interesting story to boot. The acting is shaky (that's being nice), and the flashback scene is more irritating than anything. Still, this was a solid start to the film, and it left me wondering how Sweet Tooth would do as a standalone feature film. 

The Night Billy Raised Hell

Mr. Abbadon (Barry Bostwick from The Rocky Horror Picture Show) catches young Billy in the act of egging his house. He brings Billy into the house, and takes another youngster in the same outfit for a night of terror around the neighborhood. 

Looking for their next victims

This one is heavy on the comedy, but unfortunately, isn't really funny. It's not particularly scary either, but sort of redeems itself with a little twist ending. The one thing that stands out about this entry is the lighting--it's fantastic.

Trick

Four adults are terrorized when a group of kids invade their home. This outing starts off slowly, as we are briefly introduced to the adults--this is just long enough to find them uninteresting, and slightly annoying, but that is strangely the point (it makes sense, trust me). Why are the kids doing this?

The why is just out of the shot here

If The Night Billy Raised Hell took the foot off the gas for this movie, Trick pressed it back down. The segment is vicious, gory, and has a fantastic twist at the end. 

The Weak and the Wicked

A boy dressed in a home-made superhero outfit and sporting a stopwatch stops three bullies from torturing a young boy, telling them he is there to "spill the blood of the wicked". When confronted by the bullies, our hero gets scared and runs away. Is he running out of fear, or for another reason?

Tick tock

Once the bullies catch up with the fleeing fella, we get a flashback scene, and learn who these four people are--to say they have a history, and that the Viking-helmeted hero has a very good reason for seeking revenge, is an understatement. The ending of this story is bloody and terrific. This was probably my favorite segment in this movie. 

Grim Grinning Ghost

An older lady (Lin Shaye of the Insidious franchise) tells the story of Mary Bailey, a girl who was made fun of her entire life for having a deformed face. The story goes she comes back from the dead to laugh at the living behind their backs. The lady's daughter gets creeped out, and when she has to walk home after her car breaks down, she thinks she is hearing laughter, sending her into a near-panic. 

As if this walk wasn't scary enough

This segment will leave you feeling a little on edge, as the tension is built quickly. The payoff is one you will see coming, and will miss if you blink it, but is one that is satisfying. The real question is how long will it be before Disney finds out about the title of the segment and puts together a lawsuit?

Ding Dong

A woman is distraught about not having children, making Halloween a night of misery for her. She turns into a demonic looking witch, and unleashes the fury on her poor husband, clawing his face. A year later, on Halloween Night, they are dressed as Hansel and the witch from Hansel and Gretel, and excited to be handing out candy. Side note: as I watched this, I was trying to figure out who the actress is. It turns out she's Pollyanna McIntosh, known as Jadis to fans of The Walking Dead.

What did you do with Rick?!!

The approach of this segment is almost exclusively that of comedy, so don't look for any scares here. This story is not really funny, but certainly very quirky, and entertaining enough that you will keep watching. 

This Means War

A traditional Halloween fan is dismayed when new, loud neighbors (including James Duval) decorate their yard with gory effects and loud, heavy metal music. The man gets furious over the loud music, and the battle is on!

John the Mod goes metal!

I don't know why the guy was so upset--while certainly no fan of most metal, I would happily take that over the "music" my neighbors feel the need to share with the rest of the neighborhood. This is another segment that forgoes any bit of horror for a straight comedic approach, but there's really not much to it. The eventual fight is uninspired, and the finale is not unexpected. There is a dude in the crowd who looks like The Blue Meanie though, so there's that.

Friday the 31st

This one starts off with a woman running from a deformed guy (or a regular looking guy in a cheap mask...whichever) carrying a severed head. She ends up in his shed, where she finds he has a collection of heads. She escapes, only to be killed when he tosses a spear about thirty yards and directly through her. This obvious nod to slasher films then takes an unexpected turn when a U.F.O. flies over, and out of it appears a small alien looking to do some trick or treating.

Seriously

What starts off as a horror approach takes a quick turn to comedy when the little green guy shows up, and stays there until the end. It actually produced a moment, soon after the alien crawled into the woman's mouth, that made me laugh loudly, but it went south quickly from there. The segment ends with a showdown that reminded me of Freddy vs Jason, or a Monty Python bit. This segment started strong, but unfortunately, fell apart. 

The Ransom of Rusty Rex

Two crooks decide to kidnap the child of a millionaire. Once they have him and remove his Halloween mask, however, they realize they have picked up more than they bargained for. For some reason, when I saw the reveal, the first thing I thought of was the cover boy of 1980's tabloid magazines, but he was actually played by the late Ben Woolf from American Horror Story.

Rusty...not Bat Boy

Speaking of the 1980's, director John Landis has a cameo in this one, playing the aforementioned millionaire. This one is also much more comedy than horror, but lacks any laughs and is just kind of there.  

Bad Seed

A jack-o-lantern comes to life and bites its maker's head off. Now the police are searching the town for it.

I think she found it

Another legendary director, Joe Dante, pops up in this one. More than anything, this segment ties the rest together. The killer in this one, of course, looks ridiculous, but the pumpkin display it hides in looks cool, and the final shot is impressive. Unfortunately, this wasn't a great story to end the movie with. 

Honestly, Tales of Halloween was a fun watch. While not on the scale of the great horror anthologies such as Trick 'r Treat or Creepshow, it is certainly better than most similar movies, especially the ones that have come out the past 30 years. It would have benefitted from more horror and less comedy--that said, nothing here is so bad it's unwatchable, and the better segments are quite enjoyable. One thing I really loved about this movie is it truly captures a Halloween feel. We have seen countless movies that are set during Halloween but don't deliver that feeling of it--this movie nails it in this department. Also be on the lookout for references to other horror films, as this is full of them. It may never become a go-to every Halloween for me, but I can say my first viewing of Tales of Halloween won't be my last.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

Tales of Halloween Movie Trailer

THE HILLS HAVE EYES PART 2

The Hills Have Eyes Part 2 Movie Review

Set seven years after the events of the original The Hills Have Eyes, this one has survivors Bobby (Robert Houston) and Rachel (Janus Blythe) heading a motocross team that has a race in the desert...the same desert where Bobby's family was butchered and eaten by Rachel, then known as Ruby, and her family. Bobby says no thanks, but Rachel leads a group of victims, and they soon come across the remaining cannibals. If you are a fan of the original film and are hoping this one lives up to what Wes Craven brought us in 1977, you'll almost certainly be disappointed. The story goes that this was in production, then shelved, and Craven moved on to create the classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. After the success of that movie, production kind of came back together for this sequel, except Craven was told no more shooting could be done, and to throw something together with what he already had. There wasn't enough footage to make an entire movie, so the holes were filled in with a lot of flashbacks from the first film, including a dog flashback...seriously. Beast, the survivor dog from the first film, is back, and he has flashbacks from the first movie. 

"The year was 1977..."

Remember how the original movie was brutal, gritty, and so chilling it was uncomfortable at times? That's pretty much gone in this movie, traded for a more conventional slasher approach--worse, there are many elements of comedy thrown into this one. Along with the return of Blythe and Houston, Michael Berryman also reprises his role of Pluto, and we get the rematch nobody at all waited for when he faces off with Beast once more. There's really not a lot going for The Hills Have Eyes Part II--I dig any scenes with a desert setting, some of the death scenes are mildly interesting, and you have to love Berryman, but these alone are not reasons to watch this movie. It had been years since I last saw it, and I forgot just how uninteresting this movie is. Berryman said it's a bad movie, and Craven disowned it. That says everything you need to know about this flick. 

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 4

The Hills Have Eyes Part II Movie Trailer

GROTESQUE

Grotesque Movie Review

Lisa (Linda Blair, The Exorcist) takes her friend Kathy (Donna Wilkes) to visit her parents. Along the way they come across some punks who soon show up at the house to kill and rob everybody. If you ever watched The Exorcist and wondered whatever happened to that young girl who seemed to be destined for stardom, well...this movie pretty much defines what would lie ahead for Blair; low-budget horror films with little to no notoriety. Interestingly, Blair seems to have accepted this fate by 1988, when this one was released, as she doubles as a producer for the film. I love seeing how 1980's movies portrayed punk rockers--they are almost always evil, of low intelligence, and generally act like they are out of their minds. 

Or have done a line of the best cocaine 1988 had to offer

Grotesque is a film that never quite gains traction, but that is likely because it seems to have no direction at all. We see this movie go from a home invasion film, to a slasher, to a monster movie, to a revenge flick--it's as if the makers of the magic couldn't agree on a horror sub-genre and said screw it, we'll cover them all! Unfortunately, none are done particularly well, but the quick changes will leave you oddly locked into the movie. The acting is bad, the dialogue is dull, and the suspense is nonexistent. From a technical standpoint, there's nothing worth mentioning in any positive light at all. However, when you stick with this film (and you will stick with it), you will be treated to a double twist ending that will both catch you off guard and impress you...before going far too deeply into the rabbit hole and making you throw your hands up in the air. The last five or ten minutes of this movie saw it go from about a 3 to a 6 and back to its final resting spot...

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 5

Grotesque Movie Trailer

THE HIDEOUS SUN DEMON

The Hideous Sun Demon Movie Review

After being exposed to a radioactive isotope, Dr. McKenna (Robert Clarke, who also wrote, directed, and produced the film) develops an interesting condition-- he becomes a monster when he steps foot in the sun. You have to love these old science gone wrong movies, especially ones that explain how humans transform from a single cell organism to a fish to a reptile and finally to a mammal before being born. Clarke turns in his best Tommy Wiseau, not only in his roles as writing, director, producer, and lead, but also in his performance--Clarke temporarily breaks his wooden performance to deliver a "You're tearing me apart, Lisa" moment that is almost as memorable as Wiseau's. Working alongside Clarke is Patricia Manning, who turns in an acceptable performance as Ann, McKenna's assistant. Nan Peterson is also here, and that is notable for two reasons.

This movie being from 1958, you know the monster is likely going to look questionable, and boy, does he ever. If you were to tell me the mask that was used was picked up at the local five and dime, I would believe you. 

It may have cost a little more

The actual action is minimal, but you may delight in some of the sound effects, especially those of the guns. There are seemingly hundreds of fist fights, and they are so bad you'll roll your eyes. The dialogue leaves a lot to be desired, and the movie does drag at times, so you may find yourself mentally checking out, but if you stick with it, you will come across a few things to keep you going--my favorite is a movie mistake that is puzzling. At one point, you see Peterson's character talking and...something...move out of the shot. 

I'm going with alien

The final scene is a fun one, with a rather cool climax. There is a lot to sit through to get there, however. There's certainly much better, similar movies out there, but The Hideous Sun Demon does have its moments.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 5

The Hideous Sun Demon Movie Trailer