Before ‘Scary Movie’ There Was The Horror Parody ‘Student Bodies’

Horror comedies have been around for decades all the way back when ‘Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein’ had the two sharing the silver screen with Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi. And then Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder gave us ‘Young Frankenstein.’ In 2000, the Wayans brought us ‘Scary Movie,’ a crude but hilarious parodyContinue reading “Before ‘Scary Movie’ There Was The Horror Parody ‘Student Bodies’”

‘Dead Alive’ Isn’t Your Typical ‘Braindead’ Zombie Flick

Sometimes fame and fortune doesn’t have the end results we expect. While some filmmakers might think a lot of awards and recognition might bring them more freedom, I think it has the opposite effect sometimes.  Now, Peter Jackson is an Oscar-winning filmmaker and respected documentary producer. But about 40 years ago, he was a youngContinue reading “‘Dead Alive’ Isn’t Your Typical ‘Braindead’ Zombie Flick”

Willem Dafoe Sinks His Teeth Into Role In ‘Shadow Of The Vampire’

Dracula has been in the entertainment world lately. There was the disappointment that was “Renfield” where Nicolas Cage played the character followed by equally disappointing “The Last Voyage of the Demeter.” Then there was “Nosferatu” where Bill Skasgard played him with a Sam Elliott mustache. And now Caleb Landry Jones is playing him.  Other actorsContinue reading “Willem Dafoe Sinks His Teeth Into Role In ‘Shadow Of The Vampire’”

It’s Time To Give ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ The Hook

Back in 1997, a friend and I went to go to the movies. “Jungle 2 Jungle,” Tim Allen’s followup to “The Santa Clause” was about to be released. The movie was a remake of the French movie “Little Indian Big City” which had been heavily panned by critics when it opened in America a yearContinue reading “It’s Time To Give ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ The Hook”

‘Friday Night At Freddy’s 2’ Feels Like Filler For Future Franchise Film

“Friday Night at Freddy’s 2” might be one of the most useless, extraneous, pointless sequels ever made.  The first movie came out in 2023 almost 10 years after the video game franchise started. During that time, there was “The Banana Splits Movie,” “Willy’s Wonderland” and horror short “The Hug.” Still there could have been someContinue reading “‘Friday Night At Freddy’s 2’ Feels Like Filler For Future Franchise Film”

‘The ‘Burbs’ Overstays Its Welcome

“The ‘Burbs” is a very underrated movie that blends dark humor with social commentary on who are the weird people in your neighborhood and who are just quite. Why is our society always focusing on being socialable?  Dana Olsen who wrote the movie said when he told people what he was doing everyone had aContinue reading “‘The ‘Burbs’ Overstays Its Welcome”

‘Jason X’ Does Suck On So Many Levels But It’s So Bad, It’s Good

It seems like a clichéd trope that once a film franchise resorts to being set in space, it’s gone off the rails. “Leprechaun,” James Bond, “The Fast and the Furious” all resorted to sending characters into space.  Even “Critters 4” is set mostly in space but it was actually a sci-fi movie to begin with.Continue reading “‘Jason X’ Does Suck On So Many Levels But It’s So Bad, It’s Good”

Movie Trailers That Fooled Us

Today is April Fools Day. And every now and again movie trailers pull a prank on us. A lot of trailers are released months before a movie is released so test screenings and reshoots can often result in scenes being cut.  And sometimes actors are portrayed more prominently in the trailers even though they haveContinue reading “Movie Trailers That Fooled Us”

‘Urban Legend’ Was Late Filmmakers’ Great Debut

Jamie Blank died recently. He was in his mid-20s when he helmed Urban Legend during the slasher craze resurgence of the late 1990s.I’ll admit I had no idea what an urban legend meant when I saw the movie posters. Yet I had heard a lot of them. There was Bloody Mary, huge alligators in theContinue reading “‘Urban Legend’ Was Late Filmmakers’ Great Debut”

‘Gunslingers’ Misfire On All Level

I’ve never understood the appeal of Stephen Dorf. The son of songwriter Steve Dorf, he’s another “Nepo Baby” that overestimated his abilities and his popularity. There were a few times here and there where he wasn’t too bad. His performance in the third season of True Detective alongside Mahershala Ali has been his best so far in a nearly 40-year career.   But he mostly just gives off a vibeContinue reading “‘Gunslingers’ Misfire On All Level”