Genre: Horror

Year: 1976

Country: UK

Rating:

Starring: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Billie Whitelaw, Harvey Stephens

Director: Richard Donner

My Review: The Anti-Christ is coming. This Exorcist 'rip-off' is a damn good movie. The music is awesome (by Jerry Goldsmith - Won an academy Award in 1977), the cast (Gregory Peck and Lee Remick) outstanding, the story is chilling, the cinematography was above par, the editing, pacing and direction (by Richard Donner - Superman, The Goonies, Lethal Weapon (1-4), Maverick, Conspiracy Theory) excellent. All around damn good. The story: Robert and Katherine Thorn (Gregory Peck and Lee Remick) are raising their child in a position of privilege. As the son of America's ambassador to Great Britain, and heir to the Thorn fortunes, Damien is assured a place in the upper echelon of tomorrow's society. Confronted by unusual circumstances, deadly 'accidents', and warnings from a priest and a photographer, Robert comes to believe that his 'son' is actually the Antichrist. The writing is outstanding and this movie rates a 5 out of 5.

Summary: An American ambassador learns to his horror that his son is actually the literal Antichrist.

Genre: Horror

Year: 2003

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: J.D. Lloyd, Jerry Lloyd, Jamie Morgan, Erick Robertson, Oliver Spencer

Director: Eric Morgret

My Review: An ambitious independent effort, and an excellent 'Lovecraftian' production. The production wasn't too bad, better than the acting anyway. The pacing was far too slow, and the music a bit too slow. The lighting was well done, but the sound work wasn't mixed well or consistently applied. The direction wasn't very good but the editing was fairly well done. The special/digital effects were very well done (considering the budget), but the acting was the worst part of this movie. I liked the story about an attempt by the 'Old Ones' to return to our world through the medium of a body jumping master of the Pnakotic code. This psychic powered harbinger of doom jumps about from body to body, controlling various characters in preparation for a ceremonial alignment of the stars, but Professor Upton does his best to thwart the plans of Yog-Sothoth and protect humanity from certain destruction. Despite the excellent story, the poor acting, listless direction and slow pacing really hampered this movie. I give it a 2 out of 5. I didn't watch any of the shorts and had considerable problems getting this movie to play in my Samsung BD-P3600. The only thing that worked was using the 'chapters' option to start playing the movie from there.

Summary: Insane asylums, shallow graves and magick of the blackest kind. Maelstrom Productions' newest project is an updated but faithful adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "The Thing on the Doorstep". Stephen King describes Lovecraft as "The 20th century horror story's dark and baroque prince". Shot entirely on Digital Video, the film promises to satisfy fans of Lovecraft and the genre itself.

Genre: Crime

Year: 1971

Country: UK

Rating:

Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke, John Clive

Director: Stanley Kubrick

My Review: Directed by Stanley Kubrik and starring Malcolm McDowell. This violent drama is set in a not too distant dark future where law has broken down, and gangs of violent youth prowl the night. The main characters are members of such a gang. This movie recounts the adventures of the gang's leader - Alex DeLarge (played by McDowell). A boy who loves a bit of the old ultra-violence. Raping, stealing and beating hapless citizens in violent orgies of excess designed to sate their perverse ideals of happiness. All good things come to an end, and eventually his lads turn on him, leaving him for the law; he's reprogrammed by the government. He's returned to society. Now cured, he falls prey to those he once preyed upon. When the public at large hears of his plight, the government un-programs him, returning him to his 'normal' violent self. A very interesting film, examining the role of government and the cynicism of society. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: The adventures of a young man who loved a bit of the old ultra-violence, went to jail, was brainwashed and came out cured, or was he?

Genre: Drama

Year: 1983

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Anthony Zerbe

Director: David Cronenberg

My Review: An adaptation of a Stephen King novel (with same name). Directed by David Cronenberg (Scanners, Videodrome, The Fly (remake), Naked Lunch, eXistenZ, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises), starring Christopher Walken (as Johnny Smith), Sarah Bracknell (as the love interest), Herbert Lom (Johnny's Doctor), Tom Skerritt (as the Sheriff) and others. As an adaptation it's one of the better at portraying Stephen King's novels. The screenplay/writing was quite good. The characters are well developed and the drama well handled. The performance by Christopher Walken was outstanding. The music is excellent and the direction terrific. Although it's billed as a horror movie, there are no monsters, buckets of blood or cheap slasher tactics employed in this paranormal thriller. The Story: Johnny Smith wakes up from a five-year coma. The car accident changed many things in Johnny's life. All his personal relationships, his physical condition, and his outlook on life. One thing he didn't anticipate was the 'gift' - An ability to 'see' into the past, present and future. Can Johnny use this gift to make things right, or is the future set in stone? Excellent all around. I give this movie a 5 out of 5.

Summary: A man awakens from a coma to discover he has a psychic detective ability.

Genre: Horror, Sci-Fi

Year: 1958

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Marshall Thompson, Shirley Patterson, Kim Spalding, Ann Doran, Dabbs Greer

Director: Edward L. Cahn

My Review: This 50s (1958 release) sci-fi movie gives us a look at space travel in the distant future - The year is 1973, and the first manned expedition has gone wrong. A rescue ship is dispatched, and a lone survivor is picked up. Did Col. Edward Carruthers (played by Marshall Thompson) murder the remaining members of his crew? What unspeakable horror has stowed away on that return journey? The acting was mediocre (except for Thompson), and the direction poor. While the special effects were o.k. the rubber, pigeon-toed, monster costume was laughable. The suspense and mystery were helped by excellent pacing, fine lighting, black and white camera work and fair editing. The best part of this movie is the 'Alien' connection. The writing follows a simple but well executed script. While watching the crew disappear one by one, crawling through air ducts, fighting the monster with welding torches and the ultimate ending sequence, one can't help but draw the same conclusions that many have. Here is good inspiration for an awesome movie. I enjoyed it. 3 out of 5.

Summary: In 1973, the first manned expedition to Mars is marooned; by the time a rescue mission arrives, there is only one survivor: the leader, Col. Edward Carruthers, who appears to have murdered the others! According to Carruthers, an unknown life form killed his comrades during a sandstorm. But the skeptical rescuers little suspect that "it" has stowed away for the voyage back to Earth...

Genre: Sci-Fi

Year: 1954

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens

Director: Gordon Douglas

My Review: A 50's monster film. This one involves a classic sci-fi, horror, theme - Radiated/mutated giant insects on a rampage! These mutant ants threaten the American southwest.

The location shots and black and white camera work was great. Starring a great cast; James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon and James Arness (who bears an uncanny resemblance in stature, features, mannerism, and speech - to John Wayne). Arness played Marshal Matt Dillon in the Gunsmoke series from 1955-1975), the acting was very 50s. A bit over-dramatic, but fairly well acted. The acting of Sandy Descher as The Ellinson Girl was very good - Until she opened her mouth. Unfortunately, she was saddled with some poor dialog. Screaming hysterically, her lines were... "Them! Them! Them!" Look for a very young Leonard Nimoy at appx 55 minutes in. He pulls a cable from a tele-type machine and has a brief conversation with a secretary about 'Texans'.

Throughout this movie, I couldn't help but draw comparisons (favorably) to some of my favorite films - Alien and Aliens. Several scenes remind me vividly of the Alien series (and Aliens in particular).

First there's the 'shell-shocked' Ellison Girl. A young girl is found wandering the desert, clinging to her damaged doll (who's head is empty - as evidenced by the missing piece from the top of its head). This Ellison Girl (with no name) has the same far away stare and mutism evident in the 'Newt' character from Aliens. She only perks up/becomes responsive when confronted with the threat presented by the Alien creatures which killed her entire family.

In one scene there's the use of the term; "Stay Loose" and it's analog "Stay Frosty" in the movie Aliens. Police Sgt. Ben Peterson (played by James Whitmore) and Trooper Ed Blackburn (played by Chris Drake) are continuing their investigation at the scene of some recent carnage (Gramps Johnson's store). Night has fallen and the wind is picking up. Trooper Blackburn is fated to stay at the scene where one of the locals has been attacked and killed by the Alien creatures. As soon as Ben leaves, Trooper Blackburn hears the eerie chirping sounds of the Alien creatures returning to the demolished remains of Gramps' store. As Ed draws his gun, a feeling of dreads falls over us - I don't this is going to end well for Ed.

In another scene, three people wearing fallout suits and gas masks descend into the underground lair of the giant ants. They're equipped with flame throwers, and they're on a 'bug hunt'. As they rappel down into the oddly contoured tunnels (very Gigeresque), one of them remarks on how the walls are cemented with saliva. If this isn't inspiration for Alien and Aliens, I don't know what is. As they begin exploring the area in their gas masks and air tanks they look like they're wearing space suits. A low lying ground fog is evident throughout the chambers. When they finally find the 'egg chamber', we're treated to a scene where there are several large egg casings. You can even make out movement inside one of the semi-translucent egg casings. As some of the eggs are unhatched, the leading female scientist then instructs them to destroy all the eggs. "Now, burn it." "What?" "I said 'burn it'. Burn EVERYTHING!" Following that command, they spray the eggs with white hot purifying flames.

The windswept desert of Them! is present in the newly colonized planet in Aliens. The ants and their hives are obvious inspiration for the drones and queens of the later Alien films. The atomic 'What-If' theme featured in this movie was the progenitor to an entire genre of 'radioactive' monster movies. Although the special effects in this movie were primitive, the production value (in general) was very high. The sound production, sound effects, wind noises, and eerie score really helped this movie. The chirping noises that the ants made were very creepy. I can imagine myself isolated in a windswept desert at night, if I heard that noise I would probably shit a brick! A great movie all around. I give it a 5 out of 5.

Summary: Nuclear tests in the desert result in the growth of gigantic mutant ants who menace cities in the American south-west as a team of investigators and the army search for a way to control their spread in this Cold War-era monster film.

Genre: Action

Year: 1987

Country: UK

Rating:

Starring: Timothy Dalton, Maryam d'Abo, Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker, John Rhys-Davies

Director: John Glen

My Review: The first 007 movie after Roger Moore's retirement. Starring Timothy Dalton, this movie marked a resurgence of the James Bond franchise. The story - James Bond is dispatched to protect a defecting Russian General. When he 'fails' to eliminate the beautiful assassin, Bond is sucked into a complicated double crossing weapons heist involving freelance Russian and American villains. Maryam d'Abo does a fine job playing the Czech cellist turned reluctant assassin - The Bond girl in this movie. The movie featured lighter moments, British humor; but bond stayed relatively stoic, as funny as Timothy Dalton can be (not very). The movie contained all the gadgets, girls and gabby bad guys you expect in a Bond movie. The involvement of US/Soviet/Afghan conflict dates the movie and does very little for the plot. The pacing was a bit too fast, with the convoluted pace, but the action scenes fit smartly with the overall pacing. I enjoyed the movie, but it clearly wasn't on par with others in the genre. 3 out of 5.

Summary: James Bond is living on the edge to stop an evil arms dealer from starting another world war. Bond crosses all seven continents in order to stop the evil Whitikar and General Koskov.

Genre: Documentary

Year: 1987

Country: United States

Rating:

Starring:

Director: Duff Schweninger

My Review: The Silent War - One of a collector's series by 'Video Ordnance'. I'm not quite sure why I bought this movie. I was in the military at the time, and we'll stick with that as my story… Anyway, this documentary sought to show us what the state of undersea combat was like at the time of its production (1987). Unfortunately, it didn't do a very good job. All the footage was cobbled together from other productions, and it seemed as if there was no original content in this documentary. The style definitely reminds me of a 'military' produced instructional video; and that's not good. I was not impressed by the poorly produced effort. The only consistent element was narration, and that was well done. I give it a 2 out of 5.

Summary: