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MADMANMARZ
Reviews
House of Wax (2005)
Back to the Basics slasher, I loved it
As a life long horror fan, I absolutely loved this film. This is your text book slasher film. The main set up has been done hundreds of times. Teenagers on a road trip, followed by separating the characters and killing them off. You have your 80's slasher formula, with a nod to the old Vincent Price film rolled into one. One expecting great dialogue and meaning , look elsewhere. It always amazes me how people who seem to abhor slasher films insist on ripping movies like this to shreds in their reviews. If you appreciate a mindless kill flick reminiscent of the 1980's style, this is your film. Again if your looking for a "Ring" like psychological paranormal horror drama, look elsewhere. This one is all about the murders and blood shed. Now, for a horror movie that is a good thing! Paris Hilon's death sequence is great incidentally. House Of Wax is easily one of the most entertaining horror offerings in a while.
The Village (2004)
When is a horror movie not a horror movie?
When M.Night Shamaylan is at the helm!! This film reminds me of classic 80's promotion, where a movie is advertised as something which it is NOT!! During the hey-day of B-cinema many films came out that were marketed as horror and ultimately were not. This film used that technique to fill the seats. The film "Funeral Home" comes to mind, marketed as a zombie movie, when it was actually a "Psycho" inspired thriller. Only with this film the movie is NOT EVEN CLOSE to what is shown in previews. Maybe I would have appreciated it more, if I was not tricked into thinking it was horror. It is obvious by the marketing technique that horror is still a profitable genre, so why is Hollywood not releasing any horror movies in 2004? So far "Dawn Of the Dead" has been the ONLY horror release to date (August 1st) and the new "Exorsist" is on the way. Give the audience that went to see "The Village", what they really want, an authentic horror movie. Not a lame attempt at social commentary disguised as a monster movie. Technically the movie looks great, the acting is solid too, but the script and writing is awful, uninspiring and for the horror movie fan you will be inspired to say "WHAT A WASTE OF TIME". Sorry this director, can not hold a candle to any of the great genre film makers. The movie is not suspenseful at all, the big "twist" is a let down, and the social commentary is very elementary, and nothing slightly thought provoking. If you actually think M.Night Shamaylan and the word brilliant belong in the same sentence, you have not seen too many quality films. After such a promising year (2003) of good horror movies such as "Wrong Turn", "Identity", "Texas Chainsaw 2003", "House Of 1000 Corpses" and others; this year has been a huge letdown for the horror movie fan. This film, is the biggest letdown in the slowest year ever for theatrical horror movies. Judging by the previews I honestly thought Shamaylan set out to make an authentic genre film, boy was I wrong.
S.I.C.K. Serial Insane Clown Killer (2003)
It was a nice try
I seriously enjoyed this little made for home release movie. I eventually see every horror movie that comes direct to DVD/VHS and usually find them too unmemorable to review, but S.I.C.K had a lot of potential. I honestly enjoyed the cast especially the young lady who played Denise, she played the most memorable sex driven character in a long time. Seriously a hot actress and she worked the character well. . I enjoyed the little "twist ending" and the videography was seriously well done. The movie was made by people who had a concept at least of what they were doing. Being a life long horror fan, I have seen them all, S.I.C.K is by no means as good as your average horror film from say 1982, this film lacks effective gore and is more tongue-in-cheek than a serious horror movie still Overall this was a watchable little production.
Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Disappointing
I have always loved horror films my whole life, always felt that they were the movies worth going out to see. Having grown up in the late 70's and 80's, I got to see a lot of great films, including the original Dawn Of the Dead among other "zombie movies". It seems to me the "zombie movie" just is not done right anymore. I can easily name 10 MUCH better horror movies of this type. Maybe it was the annoying hand held camera shots and the way the zombies were more of like "video game" zombies, than walking corpses.I hated the make up effects in this film, and the cinematography made them hard to see at times. Seriously for a $26 million movie, I WAS NOT IMPRESSED. I'm easily more impressed by a good old Fulci film like "Zombie" or "The Gates OF Hell". Computer use does not work in horror movies as well as old style "gore" effects. Ironically, I believe Tom Savini pops up in this movie for a minute. The "Gaylen Ross" store in the mall was a nice touch. Gaylen Ross was an obscure actress who starred in the original. DOTD (2004) was an overall disappointment, but this is coming from someone who has "Zombie Lake" and "Dont Go In The House" in the video collection. I have seen wayyyy to many horror movie and maybe I'm just a little biased to the old "grind house" cinema, more bold and uncompromising, less flashy and quickly edited. 2003 , was a decent year for horror in my opinion. SO far 2004 has been a pretty slow year for the genre and Dawn Of the Dead (2004) just does not make the grade.
The Weekend It Lives (1992)
Nothing to see here, keep moving
Normally I'm very cinematically tolerant, I can find good in very bad movies. For example I think "Invasion Of The Blood Farmers" is a great film. "Ax Em" has nothing redeeming about it. This is a backyard production but that does not always mean a bad viewing experience, there are several creative amateur productions on the video market. This is not one of them. The sound is inaudible most of the time, yet you can clearly hear the director say "cut" after every painful scene. The cast frequently all talks at once making it impossible to understand anything. There is not one effectively executed sequence in the whole production. It is absolutely amazing this film got distributed WIDELY on home video by a company which specializes in "Urban" features. If you subtract all the technical ineptness, you still have a poorly written, poorly directed, poorly photographed, creatively sterile waste of time. Take it from me I have watched 20 years worth of B horror movies.
Sometimes Aunt Martha Does Dreadful Things (1971)
Hippie, cross dressing, drug, psycho movie !
The idea of this film seems interesting enough. Paul and Stanley are two gay jewel thieves. Paul dresses up as "Aunt Martha", Stanley's supposed aunt. This is done to evade authorities, as it happens to be they are wanted for murder. Stanley is also a big time hippie who drives a colorful van, picks up the girls and does a lot of coke. Paul hates it when Stanley brings home girls and goes psycho each time, killing the female guest. The premise is original and entertaining enough to be a classic yet the movie misses it's mark. It's not really the fault of the cast, they do a good job. It's the screenplay and the development of the plot, after the initial set up, the film falls a little flat and fails to live up to it's potential. I would still recommend this one though, if you enjoy obscure strange films.
There Was a Little Girl (1981)
Above average 80's slasher movie
Ovidio Assonitis best known for "Beyond The Door" does a good job with this slasher tale of two sisters. One is a teacher for deaf children, the other is a dangerous psycho who just escaped from the hospital. The evil sister starts killing people who know her sister, including the landlord, the oriental handyman, one of her students(!) and her friend as well. Many of the victims face the jaws of a very scary looking drooling dog! Solid acting and script makes the viewer actually care for our main character. There is a great twist where a second killer is revealed and a good climax as well. Overall "There Was a little Girl (AKA Madhouse)" is a great horror movie. When the second killer is revealed you will find yourself saying "what a psychopath"! That is a sign of an acting and directing job well done.
Crazed (1978)
A second review of this film
Blood Shed/Crazed/slipping Into Darkness was the first movie I ever reviewed on IMDB. Initially I totally bashed the film. After A second viewing I take it back completly!!! The fact that the video art work makes it look like a violent-gore film lead to my negative review. I was expecting a gore fest and instead got a film with low body count and no gore. This film is actually very good. Their are a lot of interesting little things in this movie proving way ahead of the current events of our time. The lead character is constantly having flashbacks of his childhood. Most interesting is the priest flashbacks, the film seems to hint that he was molested by a priest especially of the quick shots of the boy on his knees possibly in a confessional booth. Ironically this issue is currently all over the news. It's almost as if the writer knew of a dirty little secret and was exposing it with this film. The character's army flashbacks are interesting too, especially since real life serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer had a bad experience in the army as well. It seems to me at second look that this film is a realistic look of how a lonley individual with serious past issues can slowly become completly insane and end up murdering people. To top it off there is some funny dialogue by the old ladies in this film to soften the serious tone. A second look at this film reveals a seriously under rated study of insanity. The original title Slipping into Darkness fits the movie better than the Blood Shed tag which will steer you the wrong way!
Jeepers Creepers (2001)
Finally a REAL horror MOVIE!!!!
If any of you out there on IMDB read my reviews you notice that I despise most modern horror films. I hate the fact that every horror film currently has a focus on perfect looking rich teens who are getting slashed in bloodless fashion. The Scream/Last Summer films are all WORTHLESS as far as horror goes. I would call them teenage mysteries not HORROR. Horror is not supposed to focus that much on the character's lives but rather focus on suspense and scares. Be realistic is any sequence of Scream 1-3 scary or suspensfull? Maybe the opening sequence in the first movie but that is it! Tired of movies about the school newspaper and college film makers, I was about to never watch a new horror film ever again. Then came Jeepers Creepers and Session 9 ( see other review). This movie brought to me new faith in the genre. The film's focus is on the 2 characters and the horror they encounter. The story is basic and centers on horror. I have heard people complain the characters in this film do stupid things. Look at it this way, if they did not do stupid things they would never have encountered "the creeper" and there would be no movie. Every aspect of this film I loved. From the photography, soundtrak, acting and special effects. Finally a film without over done computer animation. Finally a horror film without an annoying heavy metal and pop soundtrack. It seems to me many modern horror films like Dracula2000 and Blair Witch 2 exist to sell the crappy soundtrack C.D. of rock music. Horror movies are supposed to have atmospheric creepy music. In my opinion horror film is not the source of media to be used to push the latest Tool song or whatever untalented noise band is out there. That only diminishes the film's credibility and shows the producers true motive, to use cinema as a cross sell for other product. I hate that, I'm a purist when it comes to this stuff! Jeepers Creepers reminded me of what was good about the 70's-80's horror movies. Simple story lines about scary things! Maybe today's tens are so jaded by incredible video games and MTV that they can't appreciate a real horror movie. Many kids have said already that this movie "sucks". Well if you were looking for a teeny-bopper soap opera with Marilyn Manson music in the background, this might suck for you. To those who appreciate true to the gamne genre films, Jeepers Creepers is the answer to your Scream-blues!!
Silent Madness (1984)
Decent paint by numbers slasher film
O.K here is yet another mid-80's slasher film. I remember this film briefly playing in the NYC area. It was originally shown in 3-D. Basically a routine, mental patient escaping from the insane asylum to kill sorority girls film. Overall, it's fairly watchable. Decent pacing and photography help. The sub-plot did not. The little twist at the end worked. The killing sequences were average. I missed it in 3-D so I can't say if the 3-D sequences were good. If anyone saw it in 3-D let me know! I recommend Silent Madness to those who are used to this kind of stuff already. If you only appreciate big scale films, don't bother you won't appreciate it. If you appreciate low budget grind house cinema of the 70's-80's you will enjoy!
The Burning (1981)
Back when Independent films had GUTS there was the BURNING
Boy have times changed. In the 80's independent films usually were risk taking and bold. They pushed the envelope especially with violence! Slasher films of the 80's never received the credit they deserved. This film is one of the underappreciated independent films of the 80's. Can you believe Miramax, Disney's so called "independent film" studio put this out? This was before Disney controlled Miramax. I'm sure the politically correct Weinsteins try to bury this film as a mistake of the past, but this film gave them a career. Riding off the wave of success of Friday the 13th , The Burning was released. I remember it being highly popular when it played. I saw the film at a now defunct Brooklyn theater called "The College", right near Brooklyn College. I remember the house being packed and the audience hungry for gore and scares. The Burning supplied plenty, including the famous "raft" murder sequence in which the evil Cropsey kills off 5 kids at once. I suggest an alternative source to see this whole sequence uncut, the R rated video print has a couple of noticable cuts. Great special effects by Tom Savini, great acting and solid direction, makes Friday the 13th pale in comparison to The Burning. This film and Madman are in my opinion the 2 best slasher films of the 80's. Independent films currently are not really independent but rather backed by a major studio. So to all those yuppies who "love independent movies", you are clueless. This is real independent cinema from the golden age of film where everyone had a chance of their film getting theatrical release and the movie did not have to be a "gay/lesbian" comedy. No knock to anyone who is gay, it just seems to me every independent movie is a romantic comedy about gay people. Re-live the glory days, get a copy of The Burning right now!
Maniac (1980)
One of the most brutal slasher films ever
Maniac is a pretty infamous film. Most critics trashed the film when it came out over 20 years ago because of the film's subject alone, a woman hating psychopath who kills women and keeps their scalps as trophies. The whole movie centers around the killer. In the average slasher film you watch as an outsider as the victims are stalked and killed. In Maniac you join the killer on his rampage. The film is very daring and politically incorrect. Again I must praise the films of the 70's-80's of this kind for being so daring and cutting edge. The film will leave you with a bitter taste in your mouth and could easily shatter your mind. Joe Spinelli's acting is excellent as the killer Frank Zito. The score is haunting and the screenplay is outstanding. Overall Maniac is a overlooked masterpiece. Definatly not for children or anyone with an impressionable mind!!! It is very violent and can scar a person for life if they are not used to extreme cinema. Even the poster artwork is excellent and brutal. You know what you are in store for when the poster shows from the waist down someone with a bloody knife holding a womans scalp. Watch this and than after watch Blair Witch and you will agree with me that most critics are out of their mind's for not realizing this film as a brilliant production and Blair Witch is an over rated piece of junk. It takes a real fan of the genre to appreciate Maniac. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but if your like me and love brutal no holds barred horror films, Maniac is amazing. It is a toss up as to which movie is more brutal , Scavolini's Nightmare or Lustig's Maniac. Both are brilliant.
Zombi Holocaust (1980)
Zombies, Cannibals and a mad doctor = PURE ENTERTAINMENT
Zombi Holocaust is a great Italian splatter film not to be missed! I remember it playing in the 80's when low budget horror was king, released in the US under the famous title DR. Butcher MD. The plot is totally rediculous but works well as a device to display gut munching, gory operating room scenes and machete slashings. Most of the film takes place on an island where the mad doctor has turned the native cannibals into zombies! So you have cannibals and zombies on an island controlled by a mad doctor. Next you add in the newspaper reporter from NY and a crew of island explorers and you have a film similar to Fulci's Zombie only with more gore and a goofier plot! I love this movie and have seen it at least 50 times. Don't fool yourself by renting some lame made for video junk, rent DR.Butcher MD if you can find it, and have a bloody good time!
Giallo a Venezia (1979)
Nasty Nasty Nasty!!!!
Wow! I don't think there is another film out there this messed up! The film itself is part soft core porn part mystery/slasher. The murders that are included are totally shocking, especially the hooker being stabbed in her well.... you know where. This is one of those Italian Giallo films based on the graphic novels in Italy in the late 60's. The Giallo's are fascinating films and are not made for the casual American movie goer. The only available print is in Italian , so I can't judge the acting very well but the screenplay is fine and the pacing and set up is fine. The sex will keep most males very interested and the gore scenes will thrill all gore hounds far and wide!!! Watch Giallo a Venezia for a real THRILL!!!
Snuff (1975)
Brilliant marketing !!
Credit must be given to the people behind Snuff. They took a very poorly made biker-drug war movie, tacked a phony real murder of one of the actress and the rest is history. Much has been written about the Finleys and the history of this movie. Enjoy the first 85 or so minutes and look at it for what it is a low rent action/gore film, than prepare yourself for the mock snuff murder with finger chopping and intestine ripping! Watch it for the historical value only. For quality look elsewhere!
Silent Madness (1984)
Decent paint by numbers slasher film
O.K here is yet another mid-80's slasher film. I remember this film briefly playing in the NYC area. It was originally shown in 3-D. Basically a routine, mental patient escaping from the insane asylum to kill sorority girls film. Overall, it's fairly watchable. Decent pacing and photography help. The sub-plot did not. The little twist at the end worked. The killing sequences were average. I missed it in 3-D so I can't say if the 3-D sequences were good. If anyone saw it in 3-D let me know! I recommend Silent Madness to those who are used to this kind of stuff already. If you only appreciate big scale films, don't bother you won't appreciate it. If you appreciate low budget grind house cinema of the 70's-80's you will enjoy!
Session 9 (2001)
Quite a surprise, excellent
Being totally let down the last 5 years with the lame comedy/90210/horror films that have come out the last 5 years. I was in doubt that a real horror film would ever play again theatrically. Tired of goreless and scareless films like Urban Legend2, Scream, and I know What You Did last Summer, I was about to give up on modern horror. Would we ever see a serious horror movie, with a dark tone and proper horror setting? How many movies had to take place in a movie studio itself? How many movies about rich models? Well here it is: The perfect setting a real shut down psychiatric ward, 5 blue collar workers and a horror film finally light on the laughs. It's dark, makes you think and wonder as to what is going on, and has quite a negative nihilistic "no one here get's out alive" ending. Just the way I like it! I don't want to give anything away but the film has a lot to do with muliple personalities and mental deterioration. Overall everything from the sets, acting and story was near perfect. The pacing was a little slow the first 40 minutes but the last half hour more than makes up for the beginning. Sure a 15 year old kid will find it boring , but not every horror movie is made for little kids. This film has a little gore but is not a gore-fest, some might be disapointed with this, still the fact that the film is excellent should make up for the lack of red stuff! Real horror fans GO SEE IT. If you think Scream is the mother of all horror movies, stay home you little brat!!
The Mutilator (1984)
Another example of what the Horror genre used to be
I remember this movie clearly. The gory posters with the tag line "by pick, by axe, by sword, bye bye". What ever happened to BOLD independent HORROR movies? They don't exist any more, especially on the silver screen. Every horror film of the current crop is poorly distributed on home video, ignored by the press and shunned by the critics. By the time the film is actually released on home video everything scary or violent has been spliced out of the film in order to get the film actually into stores due to the hostile climate by the MPAA towards the horror genre, unless of course the film stars Anthony Hopkins, then you can show all the gore you want and get a theatrical release.
I suggest anyone who is young and did not witness the independent horror boom of the 70's-80's to get out there, track down all the great titles like The Mutilator, and see what I'm talking about. The Motion Picture Association Of America in combination with the 5 remaining movie studios Disney, Sony and Universal) have created an enviornment so hostile to no-holds-barred REAL horror movies, that there really is not HORROR anymore. If you call Scream or Valentine a REAL horror movie take a trip back in time and see what BOLD daring film-makers were doing 20 years before the internet and digital effects age. They were making kick ass GORE movies. All we have now are sarcastic teeney-bopper films that insult the great films of the 70's-80's, meanwhile there is not one American filmmaker who has made a REAL horror film since maybe 1989. when was the last time you were shocked or horrified in the theater? Unless your in your late 20's or older, you were NEVER SCARED IN A THEATRE. In the post-Colombine massacre age making an actual HORROR film is strictly Taboo to the studio executives who decide what you actually see. If they can't sell Mcdonald's cups with the movie name on it, the film is not worthy. When they actually do put out a HORROR film, it's more about marketing the pathetic Industrial-Heavy metal soundtrack, than the movie itself!
The Mutilator does not have any of those sad attributes of the current crop of films, therefore it is a worthy entry in the golden age of horror. Made to shock not to sell music C.D.'s and merchandice, The MUTILATOR is more worthy that ANYTHING put out by American studios in the last 11 years.
Long live the 70's-80's and everyone who reads this can make a change by boycotting today's lame horror movies, and by calling up studios and telling them, if it's not a REAL horror movie WE DON'T WANT IT!!! I'd rather never see another horror movie made than having to suffer with another Urban Legends or Bless The Child.
Nightmare (1981)
Gruesome, violent, AMAZING
One of the most gruesome slasher films, I remember from the 80's that played in theaters was NIGHTMARE. A nicely woven little tale of a dangerous individual released from a mental ward under the impression that he is cured. The nightmare of the title is that of George Tatum's mind. One of the violent murder of a man and a woman having a session of S&M by a young boy. This nightmare is slowly revealed in the film untill we finally witness this sequence which just happens to be one of the most gruesome and powerful murder scenes in cinematic history(in my opinion). The scene really has to be seen to be appreciated, totally mind shattering. Not all of this film is great though. Very slow at parts and a couple of horrible supporting parts weigh the film down a bit. Still the lead role of George Tatum(Brian Stfford) is excellently portrayed, the highlight murder sequence is slowly disclosed and repeated quite effectively, and overall NIGHTMARE is memorable and really delivers the gore(if you like that kind of stuff) and will possibly scar your mind!!!
Final Exam (1981)
Excellent, 80's slasher film
Not as violent as most slasher films from the 80's, Final Exam still delivers the goods with scares and suspense. The most interesting aspect to the film is how the killer's motives are never explained. This actually adds to the film's atmosphere. It's the concept of a random maniac killing random people at a college that makes the film work. The acting is not that bad either. Good direction and pacing are all included in Final Exam to make it a worthy slasher film of the 80's. Most importantly it takes itself seriously and isn't goofy like the current crop of inferior slasher films.
Delirium (1979)
Interesting cross genre film
Delirium is quite an interesting mix of genres. Part slasher, part action and part police flick! The murder sequences are excellent, pretty graphic, while the other elements and sub plots, hold the film back. The last half hour totally weakens the film, that starts out about a Vietnam vet turned serial killer and ends up being about a group of right wingers who take the law into their own hands by using vigilantes on the streets. The leader of the right-wing group happens to be friends with Charlie( the killer). The main problem is Charlie is killed off before the movie ends, leaving us with a predictable showdown with the cops and the vigilantes. It's kind of like 2 movies in one!! I like the film alone for the 70's nostalgia feel to it. Man, do I miss low budget REAL independent films. This is one of them. Interesting and well made but overall eneven.
Just Before Dawn (1981)
Outstanding Horror Film
Another excellent slasher film of the 80's. As usual it has been lost in circulation and as far as I know never re-released on video since it's original Paragon( out of business) prints. Still if you can find it pick it up. If you like suspensful and scary horror films, this is perfect for you. Previous reviews on this site will tell you the plot summary, which is your stalk-n-slash type only with hillbilly brothers born as a result of incest, doing the killing. JUST BEFORE DAWN is excellently photographed, directed and acted. A couple of graphic killings also help the dark mood of the film. Excellent movie, will please even non-genre fans or casual horror fans. Too bad really good horror flicks are not made anymore. Down with the family oriented multi-plex, long live the grindhouse!!!!
Boardinghouse (1982)
A mess of a film that works !!!
Boarding House made in the 80's was one of the first shot on video features. What is interesting is that it actually played in a few theatres and of I was one of the 6 people who saw it at a Long Island NY drive-in. Who cares about how poor the acting and story is, there is plenty of gruesome gore and nudity in this one. This movie will numb your mind quite well and you will just want to keep watching it over and over again!! I own BOARDING HOUSE and I'm proud of it!!! BOARDINGHOUSE is good for all the wrong reasons. Good Gore, poor acting, sound, and everything else. I like Cheese I'm Sorry but I'm addicted to bad movies .
Daddy's Deadly Darling (1973)
Strange Little Film
Daddy's Deadly Darling (PIGS) is one of those films you will remember forever if you see it only once. About a "Deadly" girl who meets a deranged old guy who has a group of wild Pigs that eat people!! Not a gore fest but a very interesting and effective film. The few murder sequences are shocking and the script and whole concept of this movie is BIZARRE! Rent the movie because you know you have NOTHING BETTER TO DO!! It took up 90 minutes of my life and was well worth it!!
The Headless Eyes (1971)
My Eyes, My eyes, my eyes!!!!!
Call my crazy if you wish but I LOVE HEADLESS EYES!!! Sure it is poorly edited and not technically sound, but the film is pretty good. I love the sound track. I thought the killer was interesting and did a good job with the part he was playing. The movie has some very surrealistic moments and it is never boring. I liked the understated cheap-o ending as well. There is also a couple of decent gore sequences which become creepy thanks to the performance of Bo Brundin who is very convincing as a psychopath. I loved the way he talks to the eyes that he ripped out of his victim's head! Lighten up folks, this is a great little creepy horror movie from the early 70's. The director also happens to be one of the better known porno film makers in the industry.