Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Helloturia I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

GL84 A string of strange deaths in a small-town lead the sheriff to a rather obscure mystery he was involved with years earlier that has resulted in several youths running rampage over the residents that may have a more ghastly ulterior motive.Not really too sure what to make of this one, as there's a lot to work with that really shines through. The initial part of the murder mystery is pretty decent with a couple fun and admittedly enjoyable stalking scenes that definitely give off a tense vibe from time-to-time, and the finale offers some pretty interesting revelations that are definitely unnerving, but the fact that the film is just so slow-going and dragged-out that it really loses a lot of it's steam just by dragging out the investigation and doing nothing with what should've been a tense scene beforehand. Add to that a low number of kills which result in a tame amount of blood, a lot of broad comedy that really isn't funny and shouldn't be in the movie and a far more complex plot that normal really doom this one significantly.Rated R: Language and Violence.

Scarecrow-88 From director Michael Laughlin(the underrated STRANGE INVADERS with Paul LeMat)and writer/producer Bill Condon(director of GODS AND MONSTERS), shot in New Zealand substituting a town in Illinois miles out of Chicago, comes this rather interesting mad-scientist "killer college kids" movie about how neurological experiments, which require volunteers(students wanting to make a couple hundred), could be linked to a series of sadistic knife stabbings; differing methods as to how they are performed leaves policeman John Brady(Michael Murphy;MANHATTAN)baffled to the point that he must call up Chicago for some assistance. Brady has a history with the scientist, Dr. Le Sangel(Arthur Dignam), whose work is the template used by Professor Gwen Parkinson(Fiona Lewis;DR. PHIBES RISES AGAIN)in conducting her behavioral experiments which includes a certain type of drug, a pill called PRL-B58, which supposedly awakens a part of the brain we don't normally use. In fact this drug in actuality allows Parkinson(or someone else maybe)to puppet human guinea pigs into committing homicides. Brady's boy, Pete(Dan Shor), is Parkinson's latest victim and might be used to kill his dad. Brady's wife died he believes at the will of Le Sangel for leaving the scientist and his research project. Brady and Le Sangel become mortal enemies, although it's believed the scientist was killed. With Louise Fletcher as Barbara Moorehead, Brady's love interest, Dey Young(the snobby saleswoman who hurts Julia Roberts' feelings in PRETTY WOMAN)as Pete's girlfriend, and Marc McClure(Jimmy Olsen in the SUPERMAN movies)as Pete's pal who convinces him to be involved in Parkinson's seemingly innocent experiment for $200. The knife murders are quite potent including one scene where a mother finds her son in the bathroom, his hand sliced off, the murderer(a robotic girl absent any free will of her own)returning to not only finish the job on him but pursues her as well. I think the cinematography(by Louis Horvath)and hypnotic Tangerine Dream score boost this rather cold thriller. Great cast that really never quite rises above the material for some reason..maybe they didn't receive the proper motivation because the performances come off as stiff and unconvincing. Michael Murphy has certainly been better than he is here. One of the few instances where the filmmakers attempt to "doll up" Louise Fletcher.

moonspinner55 Australian-New Zealand-US co-production about modern-day teenagers in a small town "outside of Chicago" who come under the influence of a nefarious scientific team conducting paid experiments in their laboratory-fortress; the resident chief of police, harboring a grudge against the government-funded operation since the mysterious death of his wife, investigates. Director Michael Laughlin, working from a thin script by Bill Condon and himself, is very apt at creating atmosphere and mood, and the tension which slowly develops rests entirely upon these attributes (the characters and dialogue being of little consequence). His handling is, at times, uncomfortably physical, yet the violent sequences are paced in a realistically awkward manner--as if in a tumultuous dream-state. Laughlin takes it all quite seriously, with no camp overtones, though he doesn't give his first-rate cast an opportunity to do any real acting (Louise Fletcher, speaking with a light, frivolous twang, is particularly frittered away). Still, the look of the picture, the music by Tangerine Dream, and some of the horrific images are unique and memorable. *1/2 from ****

morrison-dylan-fan In the last few weeks I've been passed one or two (what looked like) low-budget horror DVDs.Im surprised to find out that this is the first film by writer Bill Condon.While it has some slight "slasher" parts that defined the 1980s horrors,thankfully this films doges most of these things (no sign of groups of "dumb teens"),and thought flawed,this is still a very good under-rated horror: The Plot:Pete Brody finds out that hes been offered a place at some top colleges (includeing the same one his dad,the head of police,John went to.)But he unable to afford the cost of going to them,Pete gets some advice from a friend,so he decides to go to an "animal testing" lab,and offers himself as a human guinipig.What Pete does not know is that his dad blames the death of his mother on the lab,and with killings starting to happened by teens who are on a "weight loss" pill made at the lab.So John decides to look deeper into the workings of the lab... View on the film:The score is by famous electronic band Tangerine Dream,who give a very good ambient score,and there's also song by before-he-went-solo Nick Caves band The Birthday Party.The screenplay by Bill condon,one of the things thew film looks at is animal testing,thought sadly Condon does not fully build on the very interesting issues,thought he thankfully does include some good horror scenes (the best one being in a mens toilet!)The odd thing is for some scenes it seems that someone has pressed "mute" on the sound-effects!Final view on the film:A good horror film,with a good cast,score and screenplay,thats sadly let down by the low budget.