39) A Christmas Horror Story (2015)

You better watch out!

Directors
Grant Harvey, Steven Hoban, and Brett Sullivan

Cast
William Shatner - DJ Dangerous Dan
George Buza - Santa Claus
Rob Archer - Krampus
Zoe De Grand Mason - Molly Simon

Recently, an article showed up on Ripley's Believe or Not's website speaking of an old tradition of ghost stories told around Christmas.
Just as the lyric goes in the Christmas jingle The Most Wonderful Time of the Year, "There'll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, and caroling out in the snow. There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago."
One of the most famous Christmas ghost stories in history centers around an old money lender who's visited by three ghosts just before Christmas day. Charles Dickens wrote this story at a time when, as the Ripley's article suggests, ghost stories were common at Christmas.
This tradition may have disappeared for the most part, save for the continual popularity of Dicken's novel, A Christmas Carol being adapted into film over and over again, year after year. But it might still exist as the random Christmas horror movie released around the holidays.
I've seen the Christmas anthology horror flick A Christmas Horror Story pop up in a lot of my streaming services - Shudder, Netflix (I think?), Hoopla. I keep seeing the cover with a powdery white Krampus figure (he suddenly became a thing in horror, didn't he), locked in battled against a ragged looking Santa Claus show up as a movie suggestion.
I think the ghost of Christmas Past Horror Movies has been shoving this movie in my face for reasons I have yet to figure out. Needless to say, I watched it. And now that I watched it,  the ghost of Christmas Past Horror Movies can go back to hell where it belongs.
The movie consists of four stories happening simultaneously, rather than back to back like most anthologies.
Radio DJ, "Dangerous" Dan (William Shatner) is immersed in the holiday spirit as he sips some Brandy with his egg nog and brags to his listeners how much he loves Christmas.
While he's on the air, shortly after his call-screener leaves abruptly telling Dan to "F--k Christmas," messages start coming in about a disturbance at the mall.
Dan tells his listeners to stay clear of the mall while continuing to play Christmas music. This ties in with the end.
The first story involves three high school students, Molly, Dylan and Ben, surreptitiously recording a documentary on the murder of two students the year before in their school's basement. One of their friends, Caprice, is invited but unwillingly has to take a road trip with her family to visit their old Aunt Edda.
They sneak into the school, which used to be a Catholic convent, during winter break to shoot their film. They barely escape getting caught by their principal by sneaking into the basement.
They end up locking themselves in.
Molly (Zoe De Grand Maison) sees an apparition of a bloody young girl - the girl who was murdered in the basement. She possesses Molly and forces her to seduce Dylan (who is Caprice's boyfriend). He resists her advances, so she turns her attention to Ben. He's more of a pushover and ends up getting her pregnant...immediately! Fast work.
Why the ghost possessing Molly wants her to get pregnant isn't well explained. All the audience knows through flashbacks is that there was an unwanted pregnancy and nuns performed an abortion on the now dead teen. Again, nuns performing an abortion? Never look to Hollywood for accurate depictions of religion. But why this constitutes the need for Molly's pregnancy is as mysterious as the ghost herself.
Meanwhile, Caprice (Amy Forsyth - Hellfest) and her brother Duncan (Percy Hynes White - 11.22.63) are reluctantly heading to visit their elderly Aunt Edda with their parents.
During their visit, old Edda tells the children about the legend of Krampus - the demonic adversary of Santa Claus.
Duncan intentionally knocks over a figure of Krampus Edda keeps on an end table. She's placed it there in order to annoy Edda's caretaker who wholeheartedly believes the creature's folklore.
Their aunt then insists they all leave. On their way home, the father has a car accident forcing them to walk out in the cold, snowy weather. It doesn't take long before they all realize they're being followed by someone or something otherworldly. So, they hide themselves in a small church.
The third story taking place at this time centers on a police officer, Scott Peters (Adrian Holmes - Red Riding Hood) who's the same officer that investigated the murder of the two students.
Due to the traumatizing nature of the case, he takes a necessary leave of absence.

George Buza as Santa Claus in A Christmas Horror Story

The day before Christmas, he encourages his wife, Kim (Olunike Adeliyi - Saw 3D) and his young son, Will (Orion John) to sneak into a privately owned spot of land to cut down a Christmas tree. As they're searching for the right tree, Will disappears. 

Scott soon finds his boy in the hollow of a tree. They finally return home, but it becomes clear that Will isn't quite acting like himself. And it turns out, he actually isn't their son.  
On top of all these stories is the one centered on Santa Claus himself as he's preparing his sleigh for Christmas.
One of his elves has become infected by a virus causing him to turn into a raging, ravenous zombie. The other elves quickly become infected, as does Mrs. Claus, and Santa is left to take care of this problem alone.
I love a good anthology movie. They remind me of the nostalgic, straight-to-the-horror EC comics such as Vault of Horror, Tales From the Crypt, or DC Comics' Ghosts: Tales of the Weird and Supernatural. 
The anthology horror movie Trick R' Treat is a favorite of mine that I make a point to watch every October 31. So, I was naturally curious to see another holiday get the horror anthology treatment. With Christmas, it has certainly been done before - The Holidays (2016), All the Creatures Were Stirring (2018), and Deathcember (2019).
When it comes to tying all these stories into one connected thread, it's quite a stretch. Characters alone tie the stories together, but each of their storylines don't seem to. It left me expecting something big by the end, but the movie certainly didn't deliver in that regard.
The suspense, twist and intrigue for most of the stories is done rather well, especially surrounding Krampus. 

However, the story of the students locked in the school's basement drags on with an effortless fizzle of a payoff. This story in particular leaned too far into the area of convolution. It made me think something big would tie everything together.
The acting in this particular story seemed tired and mundane, even for typical teenage shenanigans leading to fear. It seems like this story should have been the big payoff.
All the while, Santa taking on his zombie elves becomes the center story (so it seems). While its ending is certainly an unexpected one, the story itself takes a more comedic and different tone than the rest of the stories. It's the grittiest part of the film unlike the rest which are scarier, suspenseful, and intriguing.
Watching Krampus and Santa go head to head was a fun experience cut too short.
There's a lot of room for improvement within A Christmas Horror Story. It has potential, and did well in some regards, but failed in others.

Krampus attacks Diane (Michelle Nolden).

  

38) Death Warmed Up (1984)

Our salvation belongs to medical engineers. We are the new messiahs. We will be wearing the most beautiful of lab coats. Not in insane asylums, but in chemical biological laboratories. 

Director
David Blyth

Cast
Michael Hurst - Michael Tucker
Margaret Umpers - Sandy
William Upjohn - Lucas
Norelle Scott - Jeannie
Gary Day - Dr. Howell

Continuing on with my Night Screams collection is the 1984 New Zealand "zombie splatter movie" Death Warmed Up. 
It's a science fiction/ horror movie that tries to be at times over the top with gore, serious at other times, and trippy the rest of the time with flashes and extreme high angles or close-ups.
The plot makes for a good horror setup. A young man named Michael Tucker (Michael Hurst), who reminds me of Billy Idol, becomes a test subject for scientist Dr. Howell (Gary Day) who is researching mind control.
In the midst of his research, Howell traps Tucker in a shower and forcefully injects him with a drug capable of mind control.
This drug causes Tucker to kill his parents without his realization of what he's doing. As his parents happened to be obstacles in the way of Howell's scientific research, this certainly makes sense.
After the murders, Tucker ends up in a mental hospital. He's eventually released after several years.
Shortly after his release, Tucker and his girlfriend Sandy (Margaret Umpers), along with their friends Jeannie and Lucas, decide to take a road trip to an island which happens to be where Dr. Howell has a clinic. Of course, only Tucker is aware of Howell's clinic while everyone else, including Sandy, is oblivious.
Tucker is bent on finding Howell and inflicting revenge.
Meanwhile, Howell has a collection of zombies under his mind controlling influence which Tucker and his crew will soon discover.
The final confrontation between Tucker and Howell didn't build up until the last half of the movie, only to end quickly in a poof. It was anything but climactic.
The real challenge for Tucker was getting past the zombies (not your typical walking dead, but rather insane killers willing to do Howell's bid as drastically as they can) and locating Howell.
In one scene, they make their way into a tunnel which ultimately leads to Howell's clinic. The four of them are confronted and chased by these zombies in the tunnels amidst dark corners, flashing lights, and corridor after dark, dank and confusing corridor.
The comedic element, which I found confusing and distracting begins with the group's journey on the ferry to the island. While the four are on the ferry, they encounter a small group of strange individuals.
One is a hunchback named Tex who's under the control or employment of the ferry captain, I don't know what his story or significance is other than someone who's previously crossed paths with Howell.

Michael Hurst in Death Warmed Up

Tex appears randomly throughout the movie.
Also while on the ferry, they meet two other guys - one named Spider (David Letch) - who watch from their van as Jeannie and Lucas have sex in the back of their 1963 Ford Fairlane parked on the main wide open deck of the boat.
The four confront the two guys which ultimately leads to the two stalking and attempting to kill all of them.
I'm guessing all these characters are merely under Howell's control.
I was slightly taken in by this movie, its touch of surrealism and gore, while struggling to determine if it was trying to tell a more serious tragic story or portray a comedic fever dream. It may have pulled some inspiration from Mad Max as far as visuals go. Otherwise, Death Warmed Up was another predictable B-movie.
It ended on a climax that was tragic yet pointless. I couldn't help but wish it would hurry up and end. It was as though the movie was under budget so producers just shot film to use up what was left of their budget. I don't know if that was the case, but it sure felt like it.
It was fun for the mere sake of watching a B-film. And though it started off decently enough, it went nowhere by the middle of the movie.
It's a trip for sure, but I don't think I'm going to remember it in a year's time despite the zombies and the splatter. In fact, I had to struggle to recall what I watched while I was writing my review. I couldn't get invested in this movie. I didn't care about the characters. The story line was just another mad scientist sort of plot. Death Warmed Up just didn't warm up to me, even as a cult film. 

37) L'Aldila - "The Beyond" (1981)

The seven deadly gateways are concealed in seven cursed places. Woe be unto him who ventures near without knowledge.

Director
Lucio Fulci

Cast
Katherine MacColl - Liza Merrill
David Warbeck - Dr. John McCabe
Cinzia Monreale - Emily
Maria Pia Marsala - Jill

Not only is the Italian movie, The Beyond, a true gorefest, it's a gorefest that takes its gory effects seriously and executes them carefully. This movie will make sure the gag inducing scenes will leave an impression on you. It wants the audience to cringe with its extended shots of bloody, foamy, slushy images.
The film starts off in 1927 inside Louisiana's Seven Doors Hotel where a lynch mob is hellbent on finding a painter named Schweick whom they believe to be a warlock.
He's seen painting a disturbing image of a wasteland with dead bodies strewn throughout.
The mob breaks into his room and considers his painting to be part of a ritual. So, they literally nail him to the cold stone wall. Little do they know his murder is reckoned as a human sacrifice necessary to open one of the seven doors to hell the hotel sits upon.
More than fifty years after this event, Liza Merrill (Katherine MacColl - House By The Cemetery), a young woman from New York, takes possession of the hotel and begins renovations to reopen.
In one scene that is nothing short of unsettling and strange, Liza is driving along an empty highway overpass when she comes upon a blind woman standing in the middle of the highway with a German Shepherd dog. This woman, Emily, warns her not to reopen the hotel as doing so will be a big mistake. Of course, Liza moves forward with her plans as Emily sticks around the hotel.  
These renovations open another portal to hell, and souls of the dead begin crossing over, which is never a good time under any circumstance, really.
These damned souls begin manifesting themselves to Liza and others in various and gruesome ways, killing the living in all kinds of crazy ways.
The paranormal events and horrific deaths continue until Liza is forced to confront these demons face to face. 
The Beyond was directed by Lucio Fulci who also directed House by the Cemetery which I previously reviewed. With watching these two Fulci movies, it seems he is a master at unsettling and appetite losing imagery.
The story though was rather muddled and simply not executed well. It lost me towards the second act of the movie. The supernatural element was as clear as day with constant references to the gates of hell that Liza and others unwillingly opened. It's a satisfying premise for a gory movie like this.
This movie had a serious tone to it. In fact, I think it takes itself too seriously with its surreal, otherworldly nature. The story just doesn't live up to the lofty flow and attempt at the dream-like overtones.
I was too caught up in the blood fest and gruesome scenes to pay close enough attention where the movie was going. It looks so real!
Fulci once commented on the lack of understanding many audiences have with his movie.
"People who blame The Beyond for its lack of story have not understood that it's a film of images, which must be received without any reflection. They say it is very difficult to interpret such a film, but it is very easy to interpret a film with threads. Any idiot can understand Molinaro's Le Cage aux Folles, or [John] Carpenter's Escape From New York, while The Beyond or Argento's Inferno are absolute films," he said.
Images indeed. Those images are done well, save for a few minor laughable details that surely a perfectionist would re-shoot to maintain realism. With prolonged shots on one disgusting scene after another, I can see what Fulci means by "film of images."

Maria Pia Marsala as Jill in The Beyond.

Otherwise, the gore is accomplished with artistic care. There's much attention into obtaining the utmost realistic yet practical (at times) special effects.
The superb bloody, foamy, runny, protruding, melting, tearing, steaming realism quality in the gore props is seldom seen in movies from this era.
I recall the scene from Steven Spielberg's Poltergeist (1982) where the researcher's face begins to peel off in the bathroom. It's disturbing, but not nearly as real looking as the gore in The Beyond.
I appreciate the efforts the movie puts forth to tell a story that's not just another ghost story. It's closeups of fear seen on the faces of victims reminds me a little of The Grudge which utilized the same tactic. Fear is in the eyes, and is the savory salt of horror/thriller movies as it helps establish fear in the psyche of the audience. It works when it's done well!
This movie had a few laughable scenes that clearly weren't supposed to be such. In one scene with tarantulas sneaking up on a man who fell off a ladder while sorting through history books and is lying paralyzed on the floor, someone had the "bright" idea to use both real spiders and puppet ones. The contrasting difference stands out like a rubber thumb.
The real tarantulas creep their fat, hairy legs while prop spiders just bounce along barely moving their plastic limbs. But the payoff in that scene, in all its biting and bloody goodness, is well worth it for horror fans. Arachnophobes may want to cover their eyes or leave the room.
Despite the slow pace of  the story, the movie was still entertaining. Where it fails in storytelling, it makes up for in horror, horror, horror. The effort to entertain audiences shines in this movie. And it's worth watching again.

  

36) Il Boia Scarlatto - "Bloody Pit of Horror" (1965)

"The day of the Crimson Executioner has come."

Director
Domenico Massimo Pupillo (credited as Max Hunter)

Cast
Mickey Hargitay - Travis Anderson
Walter Brandt - Rick
Luisa Baratto - Edith
Ralph Zucker - Dermott

Like the movie House by the Cemetery which I previously reviewed, Bloody Pit of Horror comes to American audiences by way of Italy. But unlike House by the Cemetery, it's a lot more trashy and campy.
This is the second movie from my collection of 50 "cult classics" and B-horror/ thriller movies called Night Screams. I mentioned it in my Anatomy of a Pyscho review.
With scenes bordering on risque, and attempts at humor, alongside scenes of young women nearly allowing themselves to be taken captive and tortured, Bloody Pit of Horror certainly lives up to its namesake. It's bloody and pitiful.
A group of people made up of a writer named Rick, his publisher Daniel, and his secretary Edith, along with a photographer Dermott, and five young female models, stumble upon what they believe is an abandoned castle. The models - a group of young women credited as "the Cover Girls" in the credits - are stereotypically naïve, defenseless, scantly clad, and running deathly close to empty when it comes to the will to fight their assailant.
They decide the castle would be the most ideal location for a photo session for the horror photo novel Rick is working on. It doesn't seem to matter to anyone that they have no permission to be inside this castle, nor do they have any regard for safety.
Little do these people know that a former actor named Travis Anderson has taken up residency inside the castle. And the castle was once the scene of an execution.
The opening takes place in the 17th century where we see a man calling himself the "Crimson Executioner" being put to death by impalement for taking laws into his own hands and torturing otherwise innocent people. They place him in a device similar to an iron maiden - a box with spikes on the interior side of a door. His executioners close him in as he screams. Blood oozes from the bottom of the small coffin-like chamber in an attempt to set the horrific mood.
As the crew explores the castle, they find an assistant of Anderson's who takes them to him.
Anderson immediately tells them they have to leave. But rather than leave the castle they're all trespassing in, they pretty much beg to be allowed to stay.

As Anderson sticks to his demands, Edith walks into the room and once Anderson sees her, he reconsiders. It turns out Edith was once his fiancé. What are the chances, right?
However, he tells them the castle's dungeon is absolutely off limits. And as expected, they completely ignore his one rule and hold their photo session in the dungeon with these young, gorgeous models  lasciviously draped over torture devices dating back centuries.
Obviously, this makes Anderson mad. He dawns the mask and costume of the Crimson Executioner, claiming that he's the new embodiment, and he gets to work rather quickly.
Anderson picks them off one by one in the most harshest way he can, until only two remain.
The first to die, dies "accidentally" when a torture device "fails" during a photo shoot.
Rather than react the way anyone would when someone dies in such a gruesome manner, the crew is nonchalant about it. They merely shift their focus on finishing the photo session. Their reaction is more on par with the way a person would act if their car battery died. It sucks but there's still stuff to do.
"Don't tell the girls. They'll just panic," one of the group members says.
When it appears that the accident may actually have been intentional at the hands of an unknown assailant, their attitude doesn't change much. Needless to say, the acting is terrible. The lines were dubbed in English, but that's still no excuse.
Later, one of the girls gets stuck in a device that looks like a huge spider's web with trip wires extended between the web and a door. These wires are attached to several harpoons that'll fire at the slightest touch or vibration. On top of that, a mechanical spider with poison on its mandibles is slowly approaching the trapped model. It could easily be a scene straight from the early Batman series from the 60s. If the Joker had been standing next to her, dastardly explaining his plot to her rescuers, just as she did, he wouldn't be out of place.
How this girl wound up in the web is a mystery. But she explains the situation when two others find her and attempt to a rescue.
Mickey Hargitay as Anderson really gets wild with his character, who's obsessed with his body image, and hell bent on torturing these women for their "sins" as cruelly as he can. He's animated in his actions. His dubbing is rather monotone and lacking appropriate inflection. That's common in early film dubs.
The movie relies much more on it leaning very close to an autoerotic picture without crossing the line into something even partially x-rated, then it does on story.
But it doesn't hold back in the horror with impaling, burning, slashing, cutting, stretching, and screaming.
For 1965 standards, I'm guessing this is hardcore for a mainstream film - even one from Italy.
This isn't the only time director Domenico Pupillo used a scary castle as a backdrop for a horror movie. His 1965 film Terror-Creatures from the Grave about an attorney settling an estate belonging to a deceased client is also set inside a castle.
This movie utilizes the fear of pain, domination, captivity, and stage blood to scare the audience.
Otherwise, it has nothing else going for it. It's meant for screams, cringe worthy torture scenes, twitchy laughter, and helpless young women at the mercy of a muscular, overpowering, demented male executioner. It reminds me of the types of stories you'd read in a classic EC horror comic - Tales from the Crypt or Vault of Horror. It's just plain schlock.
For reasons unknown, the movie concludes with unnecessary exposition as it explains what the audience just saw moments ago. Fans of obscure B-horror might get something out of this movie. Otherwise, it's worth passing up.

35) Quella Villa Accanto al Cimitero - "House by the Cemetery" (1981)

No one will ever know if children are monsters, or monsters are children.

Director
Lucio Fulci

Cast
Bob Boyle - Giovanni Frezza
Dr. Norman Boyle - Paolo Malco
Lucy Boyle - Katherine MacColl
Dr. Freudstein - Giovanni De Nava
Mae - Silvia Collatina

Thanks to the streaming service Shudder bringing me a vast library of horror/thriller titles, I've been introduced to Italian Director Lucio Fulci and his "Gates of Hell" trilogy.
Looking into his movie House by the Cemetery a little more after watching it, I didn't realize it's the third movie in a three-movie series. This includes City of the Living Dead and The Beyond - both I believe are available on Shudder, and will be watched (by me, of course) in the near future.
The title caught my eye. "House by the Cemetery!" Was that the best title writers could come up with? It seems like a very generic title for a horror movie. It would be just as "frightening" to title it The Dark and Stormy Night or just The Scary Movie. Of course, I'm just nitpicking. Seriously, the title is no reflection on the movie's performance.
About 10 minutes into this movie, I caught faint whiffs of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining which was released the previous year.
I don't know for sure, but I'd bet my entire movie collection, and a few action figures, that there was some loose inspiration pulled from Kubrick's movie.
In The House by the Cemetery, there's a little boy who has some sort of remote viewing, or ESP, mind power and who's visited by a little girl from time to time, a father who's preoccupied with his research work, a big fancy place where people were previously murdered (not nearly as big as the Overlook Hotel, but still fancy and dark) and a worrisome mother who tends to fret and scream a lot (for good reason, of course.) If you haven't seen The Shining, these are elements both movies have in common.

The movie starts off with horror right away. There's a young girl roaming an abandoned house looking for her boyfriend. But much to her disappointment, she finds his dead body stabbed with a pair of scissors. Things go from bad to worse for her night as she's then stabbed in the head with a knife. Someone or something unseen then drags her body into the basement.
Meanwhile, in New York City, a little blond haired, blue eyed boy named Bob Boyle (Giovanni Frezza) and his parents, Norman (Paolo Malco) and Lucy (Catriona MacColl) are planning on moving into the same house, called Oak Mansion.
The previous owner, Dr. Peterson, was also Norman's ex-colleague. Peterson supposedly murdered the girl he was having an affair with, and then committed suicide in that house.
Norman is moving in to that same house in order to conduct research on old houses.
As the family is getting ready to move, Lucy shows Bob a picture of the house. The boy notices a young girl staring out of the window in the picture. She disappears when he points her out to his mom.
As they travel to the town of New Whitby, Boston, where Oak Mansion is located, Bob's parents leave him in the car as they make a stop to collect the keys to the mansion. While he's waiting, he sees the same little girl, Mae (Silvia Collatina), from the picture, standing across the street. She communicates to him with the shinin...oops, I mean, telepathically warning him not go into Oak Mansion.
But, the family moves into the old place, which needs work inside.

One obvious oddity about the house is that the basement door is nailed shut. If that's not a red flag, then what is?
As the family is getting used to their new home, a girl named Ann (Ania Pieroni) shows up claiming she's the babysitter that the real estate agent the family had picked up the house keys from had promised to find for their son. They welcome her in, though she acts hesitant a little too often.
I get the impression there's some sort of attraction or...something...between her and Norman.
As the family settles in, Lucy finds a grave marker with the name Jacob Tess Freudstein in the floor covered under a rug, right in the middle of the house. That's stranger than the basement door being nailed shut.
Norman plays it off as normal claiming old houses often have indoor graves because harsh long winters made it difficult to bury the dead back in the day.
Mae continues to visit Bob, and shows him a grave site of a Mary Freudstein in the cemetery near the house. She tells him that Mary isn't really buried there.
When Norman successfully attempts to open the basement door and goes down to see what's hidden below the house, he's attacked by a bat. The bat bites his hand and won't let go. He ends up stabbing it into a bloody mess- literally.
The scene is both horrific and laughable. Watching a grown man repeatedly fight and stab a bat latched to his hand is hilarious. Bravo performance to Norman and the fake bat!
After the incident which freaks out Norman, his attention goes from researching old homes to researching Freudstein.
He learns that Freudstein killed his family - his wife and young daughter - over 100 years ago in that home. But that's not his most horrific aspect of Freudstein.
Things really begin to escalate as whatever or whomever is in the basement begins to emerge.
The gore level and freakiness of this picture is pretty high.
One scene has the unseen being living in the house cut Ann's throat not once  but several times until it's severed.
The climax at the end of the movie begins with Bob getting locked in the basement. He starts noticing eyes staring at him from the dark recesses. The image of those eyes still manages to hold up as an unsettling scene.
The end manages to maintain just enough intensity and nightmarish trauma that kept me glued to the screen.  The effects are dated, but that's not the movie's fault.
Despite the bad voice dubbing, and the similarities with The Shining, this movie still satisfied my horror fandom. It tries to tell a compelling story, but more originality and less borrowed material would have made it better. It's not the greatest horror movie, but it still has a sinister atmosphere and enough gore to make it a slasher classic

34) Anatomy of a Psycho (1961)

A psychotic killer prowls the night. Will he be stopped before he strikes again?

Director
Boris Karloff (as Brooke L. Peters)

Cast
Ronnie Burns - Mickey
Pamela Lincoln - Pat
Darrell Howe - Chet
Michael Grainger - Lt. Mac

During my visit to Crypticon - the Horror Convention in St. Joseph, Missouri, near Kansas City -  this past summer, I found one of those horror collections with 50 B-horror movies in one box.
This collection is called "Night Screams"... because "day screams" just isn't scary, I guess.
If you're going to go to a horror movie convention, you're going to look for horror movies. And for a sticker price of $12, I grabbed it.
I'll watch all 50 movies for sure, starting with this one - Anatomy of a Psycho. And I'll take any readers out there with me as I get through all 50.
What makes Anatomy of a Psycho stand out is its director, Boris Karloff - Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 film, Frankenstein. 
However, he's credited as Brooke L. Peters. And notable B-movie director, Ed Wood, was evidently a contributor to the screenplay. With music borrowed from Wood's movie Plan 9 From Outer Space for this movie, that's definitely believable.
The premise centers around Chet (Darrell Howe), a teenager whose brother is sentenced to death.
Chet can't handle seeing his brother placed on death row. It drives his mind into severe states of psychosis.
No one, not even his loved ones, seems to be able to help him. Chet looses his mind and his grasp on reality. He swears revenge on all involved in the prosecution of his brother. This revenge starts with Chet assaulting the son of the prosecuting attorney involved in the trail.

But one police lieutenant named Mac suspects Chet of this assault.
Chet, meanwhile, has completely lost touch with reality.

Lt. Mac (Michael Grainger) and Pat (Pamela Lincoln) try to help

Chet (Darrell Howe) as insanity slowly takes hold of his mind.

This movie is really more of a crime thriller than a horror movie.
And even as a crime thriller, it's very underwhelming.
None of the acting comes across as convincing, or even half good.
At times, I felt a little confused around the story.
Chet didn't strike me as a character loosing touch with reality. Rather, he seemed like a man grieving pretty hard over the fate of his brother, and wanting retaliation.
At least the movie didn't resort to some special effect or transition scene showing Chet go from angry to loosing his sense of reality. You know, like a swirling spiral superimposed on a close up of Chet's face. Rather, the movie attempts to act it out. Kudos for the effort!
This movie bored me more than it entertained. I was interested, though, in what Chet was going to do in the end, when circumstances caught up to him. It tried. The movie really did try to tell a compelling story. I'm sure I'll watch it again to give it another chance.
The camera angles were so nostalgic, especially at the end when tension and intrigued runs its highest. The drastic high and low angles are very much techniques common in these period films.
All in all, this is very much a B-movie among B-movies. Take it for what it's worth. So, one down, 49 to go!

Coming Up Next...

A 1981 Italian horror movie that I swear took some inspiration from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. 

33) Desperation (2006) - Obscure Stephen King Flick #10

Cans't thou say who made thee...Tak!

Director
Mick Garris

Cast
Ron Perlman - Sheriff Collie Entragian
Steven Weber - Steve Ames
Tom Skerritt - Johnny Marinville
Matt Frewer - Ralph Carver
Charles Durning - Tom Billingsley
Henry Thomas - Peter Jackson

The last movie I wanted to review in my search for obscure Stephen King movies is this 2006 TV movie starring Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Tom Skerritt (The Dead Zone), Henry Thomas (E.T.) and Steve Weber (Dracula, Dead and Loving It). 

There are definitely other obscure, or less popular, King titles out there - Willa, Night Flier, Graveyard Shift (with Brad Dourif - the man who single-handedly made The Exorcist III the only good sequel in that franchise), and Sometimes They Come Back. There's a bunch more.
Desperation seemed to be the best fit for this blog of obscure, or b-horror films, especially when considering its cast.
I didn't know this story was a movie until a few years ago. I happened to stumble upon it while flipping through used DVDs at a Vintage Stock.
Its teleplay was written by Stephen King. It was directed by Mick Garris who also directed other made-for-TV King movies such as Riding the Bullet, Quicksilver Highway, (both of which I reviewed earlier), The Shining, The Stand, and Bag of Bones.
He also directed Sleepwalkers which was written by King but not based on any of his published works at the time. So, he's no stranger to King stories. Those adaptations are hit or miss. I'd say The Stand (1994) is his best King movie - the closest one to a grand slam. Anything else that might be a hit doesn't come close.
Desperation gained poor ratings when it first aired on ABC thanks to more TV audiences tuning in to American Idol on Fox. But it's not like Desperation was the major television movie event of the year.
The movie starts off well with Peter Jackson (Henry Thomas) and his wife, Mary (Annabeth Gish), driving through the Nevada desert.
Their solitude on the lonely highway is interrupted as a police car soon lands on their tail.
The officer pulls along next to them to get a good look, and then pulls back behind them. Confused, Peter takes it slow until the police lights come on.
Sheriff of Desperation, Collie Entragian (Ron Perlman), a towering behemoth of a patrol officer with rimmed hat, black sunglasses, and leather legs, approaches their vehicle.
He's calm, collected, and intimidating as goes through the usual cop stuff. He finally asks the couple to open their trunk. When they do, he finds a huge bag of marijuana.
Entragian flies off the handle and begins shouting at them with insults and demands. Of course, he arrests them and hauls them back to town.

Ron Perlman as Sheriff Collie Entragian, Desperation.

While they're in his cruiser, it's clear there's something not right about this cop.
He tends to blank out,
and also ends his statements with "tak." His mood and mannerisms change on a dime.As he's telling them their Miranda rights, he nonchalantly throws in, "I'm gonna kill you."
When they get back to the station, they find a dead little girl inside the entrance.
Entragian then shoots Peter several times point blank in the chest, leaving him to die as he takes Mary to the holding cells.
Others have already been taken and locked in different cells by Entragian - the parents of the dead girl down stairs along with her older brother David (Shane Haboucha). David "talks to God" as he previously swore to maintain a close relationship to the Almighty after praying his friend would be o.k. after he was hit by a car while riding his bike. We see this in a expository flashback. There's also Tom Billingsly (Charles Durning) who's an old veterinarian from town.
Meanwhile, Steve Ames (Steven Weber) is driving a truck down the same stretch of desert road. He's assisting famous writer, Johnny Marinville (Tom Skerritt), who's several miles ahead of him on his motorcycle. Steve picks up a young female hitchhiker named Cynthia (Kelly Overton).
The scene cuts to Johnny as he pulls his bike over to urinate. He doesn't notice Entragian has pulled up, too, catching him in the act.
He soon recognizes Marinville and asks for an autograph. He later checks his motorcycle bag and finds a bag of marijuana - the same bag he found in Mary and Peter's car. It's obvious now where the stash came from.
Entragian beats up Marinville, hides his bike in the desert several feet from the road, and takes him to the holding cells. While he's hiding the bike, Marinville is able to contact Steve on his cell phone despite bad connections, to tell him what went down.
When they get to the police station, Entragian takes David's mom with him to a huge mine in town called "The China Pit."
The sheriff happens to be possessed by a spirit named Tak, and he needs a new body to take over as Entragian's body is deteriorating.
Back in the police department, the ghost of David's deceased sister, Pie (Sammi Hanratty), appears to him and shows him a bar of soap in his cell. David lathers himself up so he can slip through the bars.
He sets everyone free, and they attempt to find a place to hide.
At this time, Steve and Cynthia find an abandoned RV in the desert, along with Marinville's bike. They suspect something foul, so they drive into Desperation. The place has become a ghost town of dead residents, and buzzards feeding on remains.
The pair decide to explore an abandoned building where they find some historic artifact that momentarily possesses them and ignites their passions, but they overcome this trance fairly quickly. The role of this artifact and others like it is never really explained.
They run into the group from the jail, and together hide in a theater and try to find a way out of town without running into the sheriff.

Kelly Overton, Annabeth Gish, Steven Weber, and Matt Frewer in
Desperation (2006).

David see's the ghost of Pie again who leads him to a projection room where he sees old footage from the early days when Chinese men were taken to the mine and forced to work.
It's related through the footage, the film perspectives of which are not well thought out, that the miners accidentally released the demon monster, Tak, who had been dwelling deep underground.
Now the group realizes they have to fight Tak and put him back where he belongs.

Ron Perlman is laudably daunting as Sheriff Entragian. His presence
makes me want to keep watching. I found it funny every time he'd finish a sentence with "Tak." I don't think I was supposed to laugh at that. Nevertheless, he pretty much makes the movie. But once Entragian is no longer in the film, it completely falls apart, leaving me bored.
The dialogue scene in the theater is just not interesting and drags on for too long.
As the movie starts off strong and promising, it quickly rolls downhill with some dragged out scenes- particularly the scenes inside the theater. There, the group waits for...something to happen while the find a bag of sardines to survive on (for just a few hours) while they prepare for their next move.
The actors just don't seem very invested in their roles. They lack the right emotions at the proper time, except for Sylvia Kelegian as Mrs. Carver who yells at her son harshly for praying to God. Otherwise, Perlman seems like the only actor bring on the scares.
By the end of the movie, I already lost interest in what was happening, or in the characters themselves.
This is a story that would probably do better on the big screen without the limitations of what is allowable for the small screen.
I think TV audiences in 2006 got more out of watching American Idol. This is a weak movie.

Coming Up Next...
Boris Karloff is famous for his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the classic Universal monster movie, Frankenstein.
But he also did some directing as well. And my next movie from 1961 is one of his, starring Ronnie Burns (the adopted son of the late comedian legends, George Burns and Gracie Allen.)

Not Reviews Necessarily: Gateways Into Horror - MORE Personal Favorites in the Genre

The Grudge (2004) - I know the American version of The Grudge has had a lot of poor reviews, I find its use of terror seen in the eyes of various characters as a tool to arouse fear in the audience very clever.
Simply seeing emotions on someone's face can cause that same emotion in another person.
This movie pulls that off rather well with long shots on character's faces when something dark and terrifying is about to show itself. It's all in the eyes.
Despite poor reviews, I enjoyed this movie.

The Invisible Man (1933) - There's so much written about this monster movie. As the Invisible Man is considered a Universal Monster, like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and Gillman (aka The Creature from the Black Lagoon) I've often wondered why he's considered a monster based on the mere fact that he's invisible. The answer lies in his intentions.
For this era of movie making, the special effects are well done. This movie is dark and grim, sometimes humorous. Claude Rains as Dr. Jack Griffin (the chemist who discovers invisibility) is superb.
His monstrous nature arises from his desire to conquer the world, and do so by any means possible, leading to widespread of terror.

The Exorcist 3 (1990) - A lot has been said about The Exorcist (1973). When it comes to the sequels and its one prequel, the third is the only installment in the franchise that's compelling and scary, thanks primarily to Brad Dourif. He's the man who single-handedly made the third Exorcist movie the only good sequel.
Though the movie does drag a bit, the performances are great. Brad Dourif's performance especially really makes the movie. He puts everything he's got into it. And George C. Scott is great to see in this film. Scott is an actor I sorely miss altogether.
The intense exorcism at the end is perfect, and visually memorable.

Trick 'r Treak (2007) - I haven't found any horror movie yet that really utilizes the lore and traditions of Halloween as we know them today into a story.
The John Carpenter Halloween movies take place around the holiday, but Halloween isn't necessarily an integral part of the film's storyline.
Trick 'r Treat is an anthology movie, with separate tales that are all woven together.
The visuals work well, leaving me with an uneasy feeling. And the use of Halloween to tell each story is great. Just as I watch movies like A Christmas Story and It's a Wonderful Life during the holidays each year, I watch Trick 'r Treat every October 31.

The Stand (1994) - After the TV movie Salem's Lot (1979), I think Stephen King's TV miniseries, The Stand, is second best as it's compelling and entertaining.
Sure, the effects are a bit dated, but that...you know...what are you going to do? It is what it is.
It's long if you watch from beginning to end in one sitting. But it kept me interested right from the start. The characters are memorable. The storyline develops fairly well. And though this aired over several episodes, it doesn't really drag on.

The Witches (1990) - While this movie is a children's movie, it centers on witches so it fits well here. Based on the book by Roald Dahl, it delivers scary visual affects (thanks to magic of Jim Henson) wonderful make-up, great casting, fantastic story telling, and is the best Dahl story adaptation after Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971).
Angelica Houston plays the "Grand High Witch" - a role that couldn't have gone to anyone else. She went on to play Morticia Addams the following year in the movie The Addams Family. I wonder if she drew some creepy inspiration from her part in Witches. This movie is original, entertaining and chilling right from the beginning with no dull moments in between.

The Blob (1988) - Seldom are movie remakes both good and memorable. The remake of the 1958 SciFi/Horror movie The Blob is both.
While the original is good despite its B-movie feeling, and stars the legendary Steve McQueen, the remake delivers more in horror and terror.
I loved this movie, turning what could pass as a B-sci fi movie into an entertaining scarefest. It's a fun horror movie. Oh, and great horror effects!
Movie critic Leonard Maltin called it a needless remake. I call it a worthy one!






For more recommendations, click here: Personal Favorites in the Genre no.1

32) Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943)

"There's a curse upon me. I change into a wolf!"

Director
Roy William Neill

Cast
Lon Chaney, Jr. - The Wolf Man/ Lawrence Talbot
Bela Lugosi - Frankenstein's Monster
Patric Knowles - Dr. Frank Mannering
Ilona Massey - Baroness Elsa Frankenstein
Lionel Atwill - Mayor

The Universal Monsters exist deep in the American psyche regardless of whether who has watched any or all original Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, etc., movies from Universal Pictures. There's no escaping them anytime soon. Those monsters are deeply rooted.
Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man is the fifth Frankenstein movie from Universal following right after The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942). It's also the second movie to feature Dracula himself, Bela Lugosi, playing Frankenstein's monster- the role Boris Karloff made so incredibly iconic.
Universal made and released these monster movies fairly quickly back then.
It's too much for me to go into their line of monster movies in relation to this one, but I recommend critic James Rolfe's reviews and commentaries on these films found on his website, www.cinemassacre.com. It's a fantastic source on all things horror- classic and contemporary. If you have an hour and want to get caught up on the previous Frankenstein movies before watching this one, as some tie into Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, Rolfe strung his Frankenstein movie commentaries into one video posted on his YouTube channel.
Anyhow, Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man is a first in monster mash up movies - this one versus that one. It's a trend that still exists. Freddy vs. Jason comes to mind, and I wish Hollywood would continue those kind of movies. They'd bring in money for sure!
The events in this movie take place four years after what happened in both The Wolf Man (1941) and The Ghost of Frankenstein. 
Two men break into the grave of Larry Talbot - The Wolf Man - played by the legendary Lon Chaney, Jr.
After cracking open his tomb in order to steal jewelry buried with him, they find him laying underneath wolfsbane - a werewolf repellent.
Meanwhile, the light of the full moon beams through, waking Talbot up and turning him into a werewolf. One of the unaware grave robber doesn't notice Talbot's arm reach for him until it's too late. The other robber makes a getaway, leaving his accomplice alone to meet his fate. No heroes among thieves, I guess.
Talbot is later found my police passed out a sidewalk in town. The police take him to Dr. Mannering (Patric Knowles) where Talbot's memory returns to him.
Mannering and Inspector Owen (Dennis Hoey) seek to find whether the mystery patient is really Talbot as he claims to be, whom they're informed had died four years ago.
Meanwhile. one night, Talbot turns into a wolf, and kills a police officer on patrol.
The transition affect is worth mentioning.

Chaney had to lay still for several hours as makeup was applied piece by piece, and the camera slowly transitioned each segment shot by shot.
Of course, to modern audiences, it looks and sounds primitive. But understanding just how the effect was achieved is nothing short of praise-worthy.
Mannering figures out Talbot has been roaming around last night. And Talbot tries to convince Mannering and Owen that he's a werewolf, and needs to be killed. He's restrained to his bed after he flips out on both of them.
It's a difficult claim to swallow, and the doctor and investigator head into the town of Lanwelly where they continue their search for answers.
While they're away, Talbot becomes a wolf man again and escapes his restraints.
Talbot then seeks out a gypsy woman named Maleva hoping she can help him.
Maleya claims to know someone who has scientific knowledge of life and death, and takes him into the village of Vasaria to meet this scientist.
That scientist is Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein - this is the movie's callback to Ghost of Frankenstein. 
Frankenstein's castle is just an abandoned, nearly destroyed, pile of brick and debris. But Talbot searches through rubble for files containing information how he as a werewolf can end his own life for good because, as of yet, nothing seems to be able to kill Talbot.
He once again turns into the wolf, and ends up killing a young lady.
The villagers chase him down back to the castle, where Talbot falls through the floor and lands in the basement that's completely frozen over.
And who does he find down there buried in ice - Frankenstein's monster.
I think Lugosi's portrayal of the monster (which, by the way, is how he's credited in the movie) established the famous image of the monster stomping around with hands outstretched haphazardly - the common image that comes to mind when the name Frankenstein is mentioned. Boris Karloff, who previously played the monster, hadn't portray him quite like that.
Talbot revives the monster, and tries to have him locate the doctor's notes in the castle but with no success.

Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's Monster

So, Talbot seeks the help of Dr. Frankenstein's daughter, Elsa Frankenstein (Ilona Massey - I recognized her from the 1949 Marx Brothers film,  Love Happy. She gave Harpo Marx the "whammy").
The villagers are out to get both Talbot and the monster once they discover he's returned.
Then the fireworks really go off when the Wolfman and the monster begin fighting each other.
Frankenstein has strength in his favor while the Wolfman is agile.
There'a musical scene in the middle of the film that was really out of place. But it became my favorite scene as the screen keeps panning back to Talbot who's sitting at a table with Ilona, and looking disdainful.
As the lead singer sees them sitting together, he begins singing to them about life, death, and love. Talbot starts shouting out of paranoia, telling everyone to stop signing and grabs the singer by his collar demanding an explanation as to why he thinks it's OK to sing about such topics in his presence. The moment just cracked me up. Normally song routines in early movies aren't so abruptly ended like that.
It's no spoiler to say the ending left it open for a sequel. And a sequel there was the following year - House of Frankenstein.
This movie is fun to watch, but drags just a little until we see the part audiences waiting for - Frankenstein going the round with the Wolf Man.
However, I think the movie should be called The Wolf Man Meets Frankenstein as it's centered on Talbot for the majority. The title made me think the movie was going to center on Frankenstein's monster. But he doesn't show up until the middle of the film. The Wolf Man is the central character.
My original intention was to watch the Frankenstein movies in chronological order, and begin my reviews with the third entry Son of Frankenstein (1939). I'll still do it. Nevertheless, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man a good movie to watch even before viewing the other films in the series. Aside from being a little slow, it still carries that nostalgic punch that still impacts modern audiences, shining the spotlight on those monsters rooted in our American psyche. Good or bad. Liked or disliked. This is one strong pillar in the foundation of American horror movies.

Coming Up Next...
I'll be finishing up my look at ten obscure Stephen King movies with a made-for-TV adaptation, with a teleplay written by King himself. And it has Tom Skerritt! Woo-hoo!!

31) Willow Creek (2013)

"We plan on retracing the famed 1967 Patterson Gimlin footage, and our search for Bigfoot."

Director
Bobcat Goldthwait

Cast
Alexie Gilmore - Kelly
Bryce Johnson - Jim
Bucky Sinister - Angry man on the road
Peter Jason - Ranger Troy Andrews
Timmy Red - Singer

Bobcat Goldthwait made a horror movie! If you don't know who Bobcat is, just watch the Police Academy movies.
I was listening to either Joe Rogan's Podcast, or  Adam Green's Scary Sleepover Podcast, and I heard that Goldthwait was both a believer in Bigfoot, and made a horror movie based on the famous Patterson-Gimlin footage of an alleged Bigfoot taken in Bluff Creek, California in 1967.
Willow Creek is a "found footage" film like The Blair Witch Project and  Cloverfield. 
I'm not much into those types of movies as I find them annoying. They tend to build up to nothing, and the unsteady camera work is distracting. I didn't care much for The Blair Witch Project as I found it underwhelming and precisely what I just described.
The found footage type of movie is a unique style however, but I think it has worn out its welcome. But that's just my personal opinion. If done right, it does add to the dread of a horror movie.

Anyhow, for being his debut movie in the horror/thriller genre, Bobcat Goldthwait's Willow Creek does deliver on scares and dread.
Jim (Bryce Johnson) takes his girlfriend, Kelly (Alexie Gilmore) to Willow Creek, California, to record a documentary about alleged Bigfoot sightings in the area in the last several years since the famous Patterson-Gimlin recording.
Jim is interested in capturing years worth of stories and sightings, the lore and the legends, of Bigfoot.
He interviews a retired park ranger who shares a sad story about how a Bigfoot literally ripped his dog in half. It paints a picture that if there is a Bigfoot out in the California woods Jim and Kelly are about to pass through, it has a deadly violent streak.
After gathering footage of stories and local sights centered around the Bigfoot lore, as well as personal dialogue between the two for the sake of backstory and exposition, Jim and Kelly drive deep into the woods to camp out off the beaten path. Jim also wants to visit the exact same spot where the 1967 footage was recorded.
On their way driving through the woods looking for the spot, they come across a big guy played by Bucky Sinister (best name ever!) The guy practically yells at Jim, threatens him to go back to town, and get out of the area. It's an unsettling scene that sets the stage for what's too come. It's played out in that the audience doesn't know if this angry guy just doesn't like tourists poking around the forest, or if he's crazy, or if he knows something about those woods and tries to scare off the couple for the sake of their own safety.
Regardless, they ignore the guy's threats, and find an obscure spot to set up camp.
Odd happenings pick up right away. After they set up, the couple decides to take a swim in the river nearby.
Upon their return, they find their belongings thrown about, and their tent collapsed. Was it a bear? Was it locals trying to scare them? Was it a Bigfoot? We don't know.
Regardless, they set up their tent again and are determined to spend the night right there.
Sometime in the early morning hours, Jim wakes Kelly up as he hears someone or something

knocking wood together along with "vocalizations."
His camera is locked on their faces for eighteen straight minutes as this scene plays out, and it really pulled me in. It was the scariest part of the movie. I think it was more impressive, considering how intense those eighteen minutes are, than anything in The Blair Witch Project or the Paranormal Activity movies - those are also found footage films.
Deep grunting noises, and crunching, along with distant howls that sound more human than they do coyote or wolf, grow closer to the tent. Pretty soon, something hits the tent several times, and eventually pushes against it. It's really a chilling, frightening scene as Jim and Kelly are helpless and frozen in fear inside their small tent.
The movie was satisfyingly scary, but the ending was less than so. It was not an ending I expected, nor would I call it a bad ending. It just wasn't the payoff I would have liked. It also left me a bit confused.
For a debut horror movie from Bobcat Goldthwait, Willow Creek was pretty decent. I'd say Goldthwait has a knack to make some decent horror/thriller movies. If he does more, I'll definitely watch them.
I thought his premise would be cliche, but I think it was fantastic, especially the role the Patterson-Gimlin footage had in the movie.
And his use of the unseen works rather well, although I always want to see the monster in movies like this. Even a glimpse would suffice. Then again, bigfoot is one elusive mammoth of a beast, so I suppose it makes sense he's just as elusive in the film.
I definitely recommend this movie during a late Friday night creature feature. It definitely outdoes many other found footage movies thanks mostly to those eighteen minutes I mentioned above. It's fun, scary, and entertaining despite it being another found footage movie.
Here's a fun fact. According to IMDB, Goldthwait did all the guttural noises for Bigfoot himself. And it took only five days to shoot the movie!

Bobcat Goldthwait in a movie that's not Willow Creek but
would be great if it was!

30) Bloody Birthday (1981)

"It's like Curtis doesn't know the things he's doing are wrong - like he doesn't care!"

Director
Ed Hunt

Cast
Jose Ferrer - Doctor
Elizabeth Hoy - Debbie Brody
Billy Jacoby - Curtis Taylor
Andrew Freeman - Steven Seton
Melinda Cordell - Mrs. Brody
Bert Kramer - Sheriff James Brody

For the 30th post on this blog, I picked a movie released the same year I was born because...why not.
I also recently bought a year subscription to Shudder - an on-demand service featuring nothing but horror, thriller, and supernatural titles. It's a horror movie fan's theme park.
Bloody Birthday is a movie I previously heard about, and wanted to watch for a long time. I found it streaming on Shudder and just needed to watch it. I'm glad I did.
When it comes to storytelling, I'm a believer that the storyteller (regardless of medium - writing, film making, whatever) shouldn't shy away from including important elements if they're needed for the story line despite what current sensitivities might be.
This movie did just that, telling a story despite the possibility that some cages might be rattled. This movie is a dark, serious one as it centers around murderous children who have no qualms about their misdeeds.
The movie begins as a doctor arrives at Meadowvale General Hospital somewhere in California. He meets a nurse outside who's watching for a solar eclipse that's supposed to take place.
As the eclipse commences in a time lapse fashion, the sounds of three children - two boys and a girl - being delivered by three different moms is heard over the shot.
The movie cuts to 10 years later, where a young couple is making out in a cemetery at night. They make their way into an open grave as the girl is worried someone will see them. As they start back where they left off, the guy is smashed in the face with a shovel and knocked out cold. The girl is then strangled by someone unseen.
These murders create a big controversy in the community, as murders often do.
Sheriff James Brody (Bert Kramer) visits the local elementary school to ask students if they recognize the wood handle of a skipping rope, which turns out to be the weapon used to strangle the girl at the cemetery.
Things really get dark as one of the girls in the class, Debbie Brody (Elizabeth Hoy), is not only the Sheriff's young daughter, she's also one of the three child killers. After her father's visit to her classroom that led to no results, she and the two other children - Steven Seton (Andrew Freeman) and Curtis Taylor (Billy Jacoby), who acts like the ring leader - set a death trap for her father at his house. This takes place, by the way, as the kids are planning their collective 10th birthday party.

Anyhow, after school, the kids plot to kill the sheriff (Debbie's dad) by placing a skateboard on the front step to make his death appear as an accident.
Debbie calls her dad out of the house under the auspices of showing him something. When he comes out, he steps over the skateboard foiling their plane.
In a scene that really made me cringe, she proudly shows her sheriff dad a jump rope with a missing wooden handle - the one found at the murder scene.
With a smirk on her face, one of the other kids sneaks up behind him with a baseball bat and bashes him in the back of the head.
"Mommy! Daddy fell!" she shouts.
The murders continue with both fun and revenge working as motives. Otherwise, there really are no motives established. I was confused at first, until I remembered the solar eclipse at the beginning.
Each of the three children act so differently from each other. Debbie seems driven by spite, acting vengeful while she murders even her own sister. Steven seems more dead inside, acting on the suggestions of the other two children with no clear motive aside from that. And Curtis seems to murder for the thrill of it with absolutely no real concern about the consequences. He's filled with pride and certainty about what he's doing.
This movie is good but for reasons it shouldn't be. The suspense continues building up right unto the very end. Billy Jacoby is especially good playing a child the audience can't help but despise thanks to his smug nature.
The whole supernatural element (I'm guessing) behind the murderous nature of these three kids, stemming from the solar eclipse at the start of the film, was the movie's low point.
Had the kids decided to go on their rampage for the sake of curiosity - what it's like to kill - or thrills, or even rage would have been much more alarming than a cliche' solar eclipse.

The emotional trauma expressed in the film is well played. The deaths are one thing, but to show just how it's effecting the families and community members makes the story both believable and emotional. Normally in horror movies, deaths are treated as something to be expected. Bloody Birthday makes reactions an integral part of the storyline to enhance the seriousness of what these kids are doing, and how brazen they are when doing it. It's well done.
To me, this seems like a movie that would have a hard time being filmed in today, especially with the number of unfortunate mass deaths taking place at the hands of young people in schools and public places. In a couple scenes, Curtis roams the town with a hand gun, pointing it at unsuspecting people but he's unable to carry out his plans to kill as he narrowly escapes getting caught.
Bloody Birthday is a suspenseful, very dark, and alarming film. I recommend it but with a caution.

29) Cell (2016) - Obscure Stephen King flick #9

"Our sins have overcome us, and we cannot see..."

Director
Tod Williams

Cast
John Cusack - Clay Riddell
Samuel L. Jackson - Tom McCourt
Isabelle Fuhrman - Alice Waxman
Owen Teague - Jordan
Joshua Mikel - Raggedy Man

Zombies, and cell phones, and John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson teamed up in a Stephen King movie nearly 10 years after working together in the Stephen King movie 1408 - oh, my!
How this movie adaptation of King's cautionary novel of the same name, published in 2006, came out without a lot of notice, is kind of weird. When it comes to flying under the radar, this one was so far under that radar, it was practically invisible.
With John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, and Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan, The Hunger Games) in the cast, it boggles the mind.
In Cell, directed by Tod Williams (Paranormal Activity 2) comic artist Clayton Riddell (John Cusack) is just landed at Boston airport from Los Angeles. When he arrives, he calls his ex-wife whom he previously walked out on, and his son to tell them he sold one of his graphic novels. He also makes an attempt to see his son and ex, but to little avail.
His phone dies mid-call, so he finds a payphone to call them again.
While he's on the landline phone, some kind of pulse is mysteriously sent through all cell phones causing users to convulse, foam at the mouth, and start going into violent fits of rage attacking other people and inflicting bodily harm on themselves.
As things inside the terminal escalate rapidly, Riddell and others unaffected by this pulse literally run for their lives.
Riddell makes it to the airports underground rail where he and a few other panicked travelers find that the train isn't operating.
The train operator, Tom McCourt (Samuel L. Jackson), tells them their only option is to abandoned the train because of a power outage, and there's no one in the main control room. Some stay in the train regardless, while Riddell and another guy decide to walk the tunnels with McCourt to escape the airport.
As they approach the end of the tunnel leading to the outside, they're quickly met by a man who kills the one guy. Riddell and McCourt manage to make it safely back to Riddell's apartment.
It goes without saying that any use of cell phones is out of the question.
After a few moments of useless dialogue and suspense that leads to nothing, a young girl named Alice Waxman (Isabelle Fuhrman) who lives upstairs knocks on the door looking for help.
She's panicked as she tells them she just killed her mom.
The remainder of this scene in Riddell's apartment is boring as they are basically sitting and waiting for...their next plan of action, I guess?
But what his role is in the story, and why he's appearing in the dreams of all survivors, or what his messages mean is unclear. And why it's one of Riddell's characters who's manifesting - also unclear. Does this mean that Riddell plays some kind of larger role in the string of events. Nothing along
those lines is explained.
The three of them set out to New England as Riddell wants to find his wife and son.
They camp out where they can, try to avoid the "phoners," - those affected by the pulse -  and run into other survivors.
These phoners, by the way, are somehow able to transfer the pulse themselves, using their voices. How, I don't know?
Meanwhile, Riddell has a dream of a man in a dirty red hoodie. It turns out all survivors are having dreams of the same person. He reveals himself to some as "the King of the Internet."
It turns out this person, referred to as Raggedy Man, is a character Riddell created in one of his graphic novels. But why he's appearing in everyone's dreams, what his purpose is, and what his sinister messages mean is unclear. In fact, it's never really explained.
Riddell finally makes it to his home. Inside, he finds a message from his son on the fridge written with letter magnets, letting him know he went to Kaswhak and his mom is "one of them."
On their way to Kaswhak, they run into Ray and Denise camping out in the wilderness. Ray warns Riddell Kaswhak is a trap set up by the Raggedy man, and not to go.
The ending of the movie just leaves more questions than answers. The motives behind who's responsible for the pulse remains unclear? Who actually is responsible is unclear, too. And just who this dreamy Raggedy Man is, and why he's showing up in people's dreams is one big mystery. Why any of this is happening - mystery!
Yet, somehow, some characters have answers rather quickly. In one scene, Riddell, Waxman, and McCourt come across Charles Ardai (Stacy Keach) - a private school headmaster, and a surviving student, Jordan (Owen Teague - no stranger to King adaptations as he played Patrick Hockstetter in the recent It and It: Chapter 2), have both figured out some things rather quickly when the pulse was just sent out in, maybe, a day's time.
Ardai tells the group with lazy exposition, that the phoners have developed some kind of telepathic abilities among themselves. He also concludes that a war between survivors and phoners will soon take place. How he figured all this out is beyond me.
Jordan somehow figured out that the pulse reset the brains of those infected, and they are in some sort of evolutionary development. They're the beginning of a new species. Again, he figured this out so matter-of-factly, in such a short amount of time is poor writing in my opinion. Jordan later explains that he's super smart, but still. It seems as though the movie is telling rather than showing, and that's  poor writing.

I read the book Cell  back in 2009 - a cautionary story about just how much society depends on their mobile devices, and where their dependence leaves them. According to King, it was based on his dislike for cell phones. This was before he began constantly Tweeting photos of his Corgi, Molly (aka "the thing of evil"), and being blocked on Twitter by President Trump.
I saw production stills pop up on Facebook and some movie websites before this movie was released. Having read the book, I was excited to see a new King adaptation coming out. This was before the current King renaissance we're currently experiencing. 
But news of Cell faded like any typical internet rumor, and I didn't see or hear anything about it until stumbling upon a copy of it at my local public library.
Evidently, this movie went through some kind of release hell before going straight to DVD. I heard there was a very limited theatrical release, but not at any theater near me.
What lacks here is a clear story line, kind of like the movie Mercy (based on King's short story, Gramma) which I previously reviewed.
I found myself lost on certain details, which made the end of the movie confusing.
The story also seems too fast paced with a story line too simplified for its own good.
Even though such a cautionary, or maybe socially satirical tale is timely (though critic Odie Henderson on rogerebert.com says it's late as far as movie goes - not so much King's novel), it could have been so much better.
The cell phone technology offers the story a different twist in the zombie horror genre - a genre I think is dying off...no pun intended. But the movie just falls flat in its delivery leaving wide-open holes in crucial plot points. John Cusack seemed like, well, a frustrated John Cusack. And at times, Samuel L. Jackson just seemed uninterested in what was happening.
The storyline in general brought King's book The Stand. The Raggedy Man made me think of Randall Flagg from the same book.
The suspense started strong in the airport, only to pathetically waft to the ground like a dead leaf anxious to be done with.
I shouldn't have to ask Google to explain the story to me just to make sure I understood what I just watched. And I think, despite a few moments of gore, horror fans will take the two-hour run time to treat themselves to a snooze.

Ambiguous Stephen King