Ghost Ship is the worst kind of horror movie. It’s pretty darn dull, nothing especially frightening although I’ll give it some props for a decent set design and gore effects, just not much else going for it.
Tales from the Darkside: The Movie has two decent stories, one was dull and the other, the wrap-around, so-so. Still, it’s an anthology film worth checking out.
The Phantom of the Opera is an entertaining enough adaptation thanks to a heartfelt performance from Herbert Lom. The Blu-ray release from Shout Factory has a good selection of bonus features and high-quality video/audio transfers.
Kiss of the Vampire isn’t anything special within the vampire horror subgenre, but still thought it was a lot of fun with a simple story and even simpler characters.
Thir13en Ghosts isn’t a great supernatural horror-thriller though the titular ghosts at least had some interesting make-up effects, a few akin to something out of Hellraiser and the production design was rather good.
The Deer Hunter makes its debut on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray through Shout Factory’s well done presentation including several new interviews and previously released commentary track. The film features great performances from Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken.
Escape from L.A. seems to blend together 1980s and 1990s cheese with a mixture of success while others are just too much, though Kurt Russell is still great as Snake. I will say, this one at least does have some replay value.
D-Day: Normandy 1944 is a perfectly serviceable overview of the incredible event that changed the tide of the war for the allies. However, there are far better documentaries out there covering the subject more in-depth.
Glengarry Glen Ross, after all these years still holds up so well, with sharp, pointed dialogue that only David Mamet can write without coming across as pretentious. Beyond that, top notch performances all around, especially Jack Lemmon.
The Curse of the Werewolf is an odd film from Hammer productions as the main star, Oliver Reed, doesn’t even show up until about halfway through and the titular werewolf until the final 10-minutes. Still, when we do see the werewolf, the make-up effects were pretty impressive.
April Fool’s Day is a fun horror-comedy with a respectable ensemble. The kills aren’t bad and while some of the story elements stretched the plot a bit, I still found this to be an entertaining.
Masked and Anonymous is a movie I never had heard of before despite featuring a noteworthy cast, most of whom appeared for the opportunity to work with veteran musician Bob Dylan. For fans of Dylan, this might be a treat.
My Bloody Valentine didn’t quite live up to the hype, though I can at least see how it became a cult classic and why it has a passionate fanbase, for myself there were parts which were kind of bland.
Sliding Doors is such an interesting concept of a movie that works thanks to the lovely performances from both Gwyneth Paltrow and a John Hannah who has a lot of quirky charm. After all these years, the film still holds up so well.
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death is certainly an odd title and really doesn’t factor into the plot, which was a tad uneven at times, but I still found the film, which I discovered has a cult following to be entertaining enough thanks to a charismatic cast.