Silent Night, Deadly Night isn’t a horror film I’ve ever completely loved but considering there aren’t many great Christmas horror films out there and with some cheesy moments, it’s still a fun little 1980s flick.
Dawn of the Dead is one of only a few horror remakes that was any good (off the top of my head, The Thing and The Fly are others) and as Zack Snyder’s feature film debut it’s a solid start as this was quite entertaining even if the social commentary gives way to cool action.
As I’ve said many times, I don’t care for found footage movies but The Poughkeepsie Tapes, while hardly great, has some genuinely creepy and disturbing scenes… in between some laughable ones.
Home for the Holidays is, to me anyway, holiday classic that probably doesn’t get the attention it deserves. While Planes, Trains and Automobiles is in its own right a great Thanksgiving film, this one deserves its place on the holiday as well.
The Moderns is an environmentally rich drama that has shades of Robert Altman which makes sense as director Alan Rudolph was a disciple of his, and even a little Woody Allen in some respects. It’s not the most fascinating tale or anything but the performances by both Keith Carradine and Linda Fiorentino were both top great.
The Devil’s Candy doesn’t entirely break new ground in the supernatural horror realm, it is still well done film written and directed by Sean Byrne, a rising talent who I hope gets more opportunities.
While I grew up in the 1990s, and in the Pacific Northwest, I never really got into grunge music, though I knew all about Nirvana of course, so Hype didn’t do a whole lot for me but at the very least did give a good history of the music from that time and the bands that sprung from it.
Teen Wolf Too is really the quintessential example of a needless sequel, though not nearly as awful as something like Weekend at Bernie’s 2, not that’s all saying that much, even Michael J. Fox’s charm could’ve saved this.
Teen Wolf isn’t exactly a memorable film from the 1980s, not even the most memorable Michael J. Fox movie of 1985 for that matter, but it’s still a lot of fun and with that era, the make-up effects actually weren’t half and the movie itself is propelled on Fox’s charisma.
Don’t Knock Twice has elements of a solid supernatural horror but on the whole, the film goes down familiar territory and fails to stand out with the rest and will easily get lost in the crowd of the others. Still, this is worthy of a rental as those few scenes were genuinely creepy.
The Pink Panther Film Collection Starring Peter Sellers is a nice set, well 5 out of the 6 movies anyway, showcasing Sellers physical comedic style and those around him. Outside of Trail of the Pink Panther, these are well worth checking out.
Car Wash is an oft funny 1970s ensemble comedy with the likes of Richard Pryor and George Carlin making brief appearances but making the most of their limited screen time.
The Lawnmower Man Blu-ray released through Shout Factory has some good video/audio transfers and a nice selection of bonus features, though the movie itself is laughably bad and the 141-minute long director’s cut is quite tedious to sit through.
Ben is the sequel to cult favorite Willard and as with its predecessor, marks its debut at least in North America and while I wasn’t as enamored with this as some, it does make for a fun double feature.
Willard is a cult classic and finally gets a release on both DVD and Blu-ray so fans can finally revisit after many, many years.