Horror Queen

Not too bad…

PLOT

A group of college students agree to spend a weekend on an island in the middle of nowhere, with a couple that plans on teaching them more about movie making. What they don’t realize is that the couple is loco crazy and plans on killing each one on screen and turning the finished project into a horror movie. Their reasoning is that horror movies are big sellers, as are reality shows so the project will work great. There’s also some stereotypical characters such as the dorky girl (played by Danica McKeller!) who everyone else picks on and the popular guy who actually likes the dorky girl.

TRIVIA

Juliet Landau previously starred on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and appeared in The Tool Box Murders.

THOUGHTS

When you buy a set of three movies for $5 from Wal-Mart at Halloween, you don’t really expect a lot, which is why Hack! surprised me. I put it on planning to watch a few minutes before bed and sat through the whole thing. It’s low budget, but there were big parts of the movie where I managed to forget about that. I found myself frequently getting caught up in the movie and forgetting about everything else that needed to be done the next day. If you get a chance, or see the set at Wal-Mart, go ahead and grab it.

What would Halloween be without reviewing one of these?

PLOT

Good old Mikey is being transferred to a new mental hospital when he decides to kill the crew and set off on a trip back to Haddonfield. Dr. Loomis rushes after him because he knows that Laurie Strode has died (for now anyway) and he daughter Jamie is living with another family. Jamie heads out on Halloween with her foster sister Rachel, unaware that he uncle is following behind. He stalks them throughout the night, forcing them to hide in various places. It quickly becomes clear that Michael won’t rest until his entire family is dead…

TRIVIA

Originally the character of Jamie was called Brit.

Jamie Lee Curtis declined returning for the movie.

John Carpenter co-wrote a script for Halloween 4, but it was turned down.

THOUGHTS

Here’s my problem with the Halloween franchise: Jamie is clearly established as Laurie Strode’s daughter, but when Laurie returns to the movies, suddenly she’s forgotten. We then end up with Laurie and he son, with no mention of a daughter that appeared in three movies. Then Laurie comes back for another movie and there’s no mention of her son yet again. You’d think if Michael is so crazy about killing off his family members, that he’d want to get his nephew and not Busta Rhymes. It’s one of those things that always annoyed the crap out of me. As for Halloween 4, it has some good moments, but it’s not that great. I’m not a big fan of horror movies centered around children as the main characters so Halloween 4 doesn’t make the top of my list.

One of my faves…

PLOT

The movie begins with a teenage girl running through the woods and trying to survive as a serial killer takes down her friends. It then jumps five years ahead where the same girl, Molly, is now studying forensic psychology at an unnamed college campus. Only her professor, Marshall Kane, and another student know who she is because she keeps her past a secret. Molly and five others are placed in the same study group, but when the students start dying, they notice that the murders fit the same pattern used by Jack the Ripper. They find themselves forced to work together before everyone ends up dead.

TRIVIA

The original cut of Ripper Letter from Hell received an NC-17 rating in the U.S. The director cut some of the death scenes to get an R rating.

Actors Emmanuel Vaugier (Saw 2) and Kelly Brook both appeared on “Smallville” as the love interest for Lex Luthor in different seasons.

THOUGHTS

Though it may seem odd, Ripper Letter from Hell is actually one of my all-time favorite horror movies and has been since I saw it when it was first released on DVD. I saw it once and bought it a few weeks later. There’s something about this movie that I really like and it might be the storyline. Plus I’d love to attend classes at their school! I’m surprised that the producers made a sequel to it, just because it doesn’t seem that well known. I know a lot of horror movie fans who have never seen the movie before. If you haven’t seen this one, I highly recommend it.

Invertebrates!

PLOT

Val Kilmer plays a doctor obsessed with global warming and working on a new research project in the middle of nowhere. He asks for four research students to work on the project and asks his daughter to come along. Later he changes his mind, but Evie decides to come along because she wants to spite him. The four students and their helicopter pilot arrive at the site, only to learn that everyone is dead or missing. They quickly discover that a prehistoric type of bug (actually an invertebrate) was discovered and that it’s taking over the land.

TRIVIA

Part of the newer releases from Ghost House Underground.

THOUGHTS

I literally did a little happy dance in the middle of Best Buy when I discovered that Val Kilmer was in The Thaw, which led to much laughing (from other people). I fully love him and have since The Doors, but his movies have been all over the place lately. This one was kind of just there, but I will admit that it had a few good moments. There were two times when I actually said something out loud because I found something gross or disturbing. There’s a lot in it that relates to humans, in terms of what would you do or how you would act kind of moments. Basically I didn’t expect a lot from the movie, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised because it was better than I thought it would be.

Not too bad.

PLOT

Trick ‘R Treat tells several different stories relating to Halloween that interweave and loop around to explain how everything is connected. The movie opens with a couple coming home for a party and the woman getting murdered by someone hiding in their decorations. It then tells the tale of a serial killer who hates kids and adults and a virgin hanging out with her sister and friends who just want her to take the plunge. Another story surrounds a group of school kids investigating a Halloween urban legend in their town and another follows a man and the adorable (so cute!) figure that won’t leave.

TRIVIA

Trick ‘R Treat had an original release date of 2007, but was pushed back and eventually released on DVD.

THOUGHTS

The second I saw Trick “R Treat advertised, I knew that I wanted to see it. Then I heard from a friend who doesn’t like modern day horror movies and he loved it, so that upped the ante. Now that I’ve seen it, I can safely say that I thought it was good, but it wasn’t as great as everyone else thought it was. My main focus was on Sam, the bag covered kid from the end (and the movie poster) because I thought that thing was adorable. I literally couldn’t stop talking about him. My boyfriend loved this and I liked it, which makes it a pretty unique movie in our household.

You know you love that voice…

PLOT

Lewis is getting ready to fly home from college when he starts talking to his former classmate and current crush Venna who is now single. Lewis decides on the spot to trade in his plane ticket, buy a car and pick her up on his way home. He has to stop and pick up his older and estranged brother Fuller, who was recently arrested yet again. Fuller buys a CB radio from a truck stop and they start messing with a trucker by the name of Rusty Nail. Lewis poses as Candy Cane, a horny woman who plans to meet Rusty at a hotel. When Rusty finds out that it’s all a cruel joke, he decides to make his feelings known as he chases the brothers across several states.

TRIVIA

Joy Ride was released as Roadkill, Radio Killer, Road Killer, Never Talk to Strangers and Never Play with Strangers in some countries.

The original titles of the movie included Squelch, Candy Cane and Highway Horror.

Eric Roberts and Eric Stoltz were both considered for the part of Rusty Nail, but it went to Ted Levine, who wasn’t credited.

THOUGHTS

I have to admit that Joy Ride is one of those movies that I tend to forget about, even though I like it. I recently sat down and watched it again and it still felt as good as it did the first time around when I saw it in the theater. Originally I only saw it because of Paul Walker, but now it’s really Steve Zahn who’s the standout. Of course you can’t forget about Ted Levine. He can do more with his voice than most actors can do with their whole body.

Not as bad as you’ve heard.

PLOT

Travis is celebrating finishing up his thesis movie for film school and drinking with his friend Lisa. When he leaves for the night, someone slips her a drugged drink and she ends up killed, after having her liver removed. The movie then jumps to Amy, a legacy at the school who meets a security guard who just happens to have survived the first movie. She decides to use the woman’s experiences and make a horror movie. As work starts, another friend is killed and Amy learns that Travis killed himself after getting a bad grade on his film. She then meets his twin Trevor and discovers that Travis may have been murdered. Quickly Amy realizes that Travis’s death and the deaths going on around her are somehow connected.

TRIVIA

Actually filmed on a real college campus in Canada.

THOUGHTS

I really like two things about this movie. (1) They brought back Loretta Devine who is fantastic as a security guard who wishes she was Foxy Brown and (2) they used Rebecca Gayhart at the end, to even further connect the two movies. I just wish they had kept that storyline going, rather than doing what they did with the urban legend name. I do kind of like Urban Legends Final Cut and I like the idea of the movie school playing a main role. I know a lot of people hated it and I don’t think it deserves some of the reviews it got.

Brittany Murphy as a virgin?

PLOT

Jesse Bradford and his girlfriend are making out when they’re both killed. Jody, the sheriff’s daughter, turns her boyfriend down for sex that same night and he dumps her. Her dad discovers that the killer went after the couple because they were both virgins and his daughter turns to the school English teacher (played by Jay Mohr of all people) for support. As more kids start dying and the victims are more virgins, the teens decide that sex is the only way to keep themselves safe. Jody herself has more to deal with when she learns that her dad and some other men in town have their own secret and it relates to the killer.

TRIVIA

Ted Levine was an early choice to play the sheriff in Cherry Falls.

The original version of Cherry Falls was much bloodier and gorier, but was significantly cut to fit the MPAA standards.

THOUGHTS

After learning about the earlier version of Cherry Falls, I’d love to see that one. There are so many gory movies out there that I can’t believe the MPAA had such a problem with this one, given that I found it pretty tame. At the same time though, I love the premise! The idea of a serial killer going after virgins is unique and something that I’ve never seen in a movie before; I’m a little surprised that no one hasn’t “stolen” the idea since then. Cherry Falls isn’t my favorite movie and I don’t think it’s great, but I do like it.

The best movie I haven’t seen in a long time.

PLOT

Wolf Creek starts with Liz and Kristy meeting an Australian man Ben at a party. Since they’re from Britain, they decide the smart thing is to pair up with him and head out to Wolf Creek to camp. They hike up to the crater, but get back and realize their car isn’t working. A man named Mick shows up and kindly offers to fix their car for free, though he refuses to drive 5 miles in the opposite direction to the safety of a small town. Mick then feeds them drugged water and when Liz wakes up, she’s tied up, but manages to escape and find Kristy, who’s being threatened by Mick. Liz shoots Mick and the two girls escape, but of course they don’t get very far…

TRIVIA

Based in part on the real life Australian killings known as the Backpacker Murders.

THOUGHTS

I haven’t seen Wolf Creek in quite awhile and had only vague memories of it, none of which were good. Still, when I saw it at a local flea market for $2 on DVD, I couldn’t pass it up. This time around, I found the movie a little unsettling, though in the best of ways. The movie does a good job of setting up the relationships between all of the characters and actually get you interested in them before all the “bad” stuff starts happening. Once it does, it just gets better from there. The end of Liz is one of those scenes that just made me wince, as is a scene that comes towards the end. The friend I watched it with summed it up best when he said, “this makes me think twice about visiting Australia”.

Random.

PLOT

Jeremy Melton asks a group of friends to dance with him as a kid. Three act rude, one is nice and another ends up making out with him. When they’re caught, she blames him by saying he attacked her and he gets beat up by a bunch of boys. Now all the girls are adults and barely remember the event. One of the girls is killed after a bad date and all the girls start getting weird Valentine’s Day cards and tell the police about Melton. The movie centers on Kate who is starting back up with her ex-boyfriend Adam who is an alcoholic. As the movie continues lots of red herrings are introduced and all the girls are slowly dispatched by the mysterious killer.

TRIVIA

Very (very, very) loosely based on a book by Tom Savage.

Tara Reid and Jennifer Love Hewitt originally had roles in the movie.

Director Jamie Blanks also did Urban Legend among others.

THOUGHTS

First of all, I own and still occasionally listen to the Valentine soundtrack because it’s like a mini-glimpse at hard rock from the time. Second, I actually saw this movie in the theater with my then roommate and best friend. I’ve also read the book, which is so much better than the movie though also extremely long. I never really liked the movie and still remember saying (after seeing it originally) that I could write a better Valentine themed movie myself. The Denise Richards death in the hot tub is probably the best reason to watch Valentine.