OCTOPUS - 2000 - Director:  John Eyres

A Russian submarine carrying barrels of Anthrax is sunk during the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis.  Year's later another sub carrying a dangerous terrorist to justice finds out that the cargo left by the Russians has caused an Octopus to mutate to monstrous proportions.  This is a throwback to the old Classic Monster movies with a modern twist.  Jay Harrington (who looks like a young Bruce Campbell) plays the Government Agent returning the terrorist to the states to be tried.  Put away your brain for this one and enjoy the ride, it's loaded with action, some very silly, but there's never a dull moment in this over-the-top B-Movie.  There's some extremely cheesy lines, mostly delivered by the tough Marine Biologist played by Carolyn Lowry, they try waaaay to hard make here play the tough female when her actions could speak louder than words.  Some decent effects for the most part and a nice finish.
FEAR FACTOR: 4  -   STUPID VICTIM SCALE: 3  -  SFX:  6

OMEGA MAN - 1971 - Director:  Boris Sagal

Charleton Heston stars as a Doctor Robert Neville, fighting to survive after a plague has devastated mankind. A deadly disease has been unleashed on mankind, and Neville is the only human immune to it.  The rest of humankind are dead or on their way including a group of people who are sick, physically and mentally. They are lead by "Matthias" (Anthony Zerbe) and spend their time trying to get Neviile.  These "monsters" can only come out at night due to their sensitivity to light and appear to have lost pigment in their skin making them pale and eerie looking.  Considering this film came out in 1971 around the time of Vietnam, explains alot ot the dialogue and concepts.  Matthias and his followers are anti-machines and feel they need to destroy anything linked to the past... including humans that are still alive.  Veteran Director Boris Sagal does a great job of bringing you into Neville's world and making you feel like you're part of his world.  Neville has created transformed his apartment building into a fortress to defend agains the "mutants" that come out at night. Unfortunately, the last twenty minutes of the film seem rushed and the story concludes quite strangely. Despite this, it's a Classic Horror/Sci-Fi flick that still stands up pretty good to today's standards..
FEAR FACTOR: 5  -   STUPID VICTIM SCALE: 1  -  SFX:  5

OMEN, THE - 1976 - Director:  Richard Donner

This movie scared and scarred me for life.  I saw this at an impressionable young age on Network TV of all places and was hooked on the series ever since.  Yes, it may have been influenced by "The Exorcist", but the only similarities are the use of a child as a tool of fear, and the religious theme.  Damien Thorn was raised by the ambassador to the U.S. from England (Gregory Peck).  You are symathetic of Damien as he's just an unassuming child, but the evil that surrounds him is disturbing to say the least.  Accidents begin to happen to anyone who gets too close to the truth.  I promise you'll never look at crows the same way again. Once Peck's character, Robert Thorn discovers the truth, the tension mounts dramatically.  He finds out that Damien can only be killed by a dagger of Meggado.  It is my contention that this movie IS more frightening that "The Exorcist", but that will be argued for eternity.  For those who grew up in a Christian household, a lot of the scripture and references will chill you to the bone.  There's been a lot of religious-based horror over the years, but nobody has ever come close to the strength of this series.  "The Exorcist" may be more frightening in some peoples eyes, maybe even most peoples, but you can't deny that after the first film, that series series lost it's power.  "The Omen" trilogy hardly has a weak link... oh yeah... they did make a part 4 didn't they.
FEAR FACTOR: 8  -   STUPID VICTIM SCALE: 2  -  SFX:  5

OMEN II- "DAMIEN: OMEN II" - 1978 - Director:  Don Taylor

Our favorite Son of Satan has hit puberty, and has learned who he really is.  There's some incredibly disturbing situations in this one as Damien has gone to live with his Uncle and Aunt, Richard and Ann Thorn played by William Holden and Lee Grant.  Damien is played by Jonathan Scott-Thomas, who is perfect for the young Damien about to hit puberty.   Lance Henrickson (Alien) plays Seargeant Neff, who is a guardian of sorts of the young Damien, and is the one that actually tells the young lad who he is after a disturbing incident with a teacher at military school.  Personally, I enjoyed this one as much, if not more, as the the original.  The story was well-exectued and like the first one had extremely graphic deaths waiting for those who got to close to the truth.  The soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith was simply haunting and added an incredible element of fearand tension. This series continues to be one of the most accurate and disturbing religious themed Horror movies out there.  It continues not to exploit, but rather send us an "Omen" that we all should be watching for.
FEAR FACTOR: 7  -   STUPID VICTIM SCALE: 3  -  SFX:  5

OMEN III: The Final Conflict - 1981 - Director:  Don Taylor

While the overall feel of this movie reflects the first two, it differs significantly in a couple different ways.  Damien is no longer an innocent child, and he's fully aware of his powers and the prophecy. Sam Neill is perfect as Damian Thorn in his early 30's.  He is the head of Thorn Enterprises and has weaseled himself into politics.  There's a more "dangerous" feel to this one as Damien approaches his final destination.  Quite possibly the most disturbing scene from all three "Omen" movies occurs as Damien is talking and taunting a statue of Jesus.  Without giving anything away, Damien is being stalked by a group of Monks out to put an end to his wicked ways before he get's even more powerful. Damien becomes a "Hilter-like" character with an army of followers at his disposal, adding to the fear factor of this film.  There's some very gruesome sights in this one as there were in the previous fillms.  Director Graham Baker does a great job keeping with the dark feel of the series, using just the right amount of shock value and Biblical facts to disturb the Hell out of you.
FEAR FACTOR: 8  -   STUPID VICTIM SCALE: 3  -  SFX:  4

OUT OF THE DARK - 1988 - Director: Michael Schroeder

Some "wacko" in a clown mask is killing off the girls at a phone sex service... now THAT'S my kind of movie.  This movie is basically an excuse for gratuitous sex, nudity and filthy talk, but turns out to be a somewhat decent "whodunit".  Yes, the dialogue is dumb, the characters are even more stupid, but dammit, people in clown masks are just plain scary.  This movie is custom made for "Nick At Night" or any other cable channel to run late on the weekends.  It's not brain surgery, in fact, you don't even need a brain to watch this one.
FEAR FACTOR: 5  -   STUPID VICTIM SCALE: 6  -  SFX:  3

OZONE - 1993 - TEMPE ENTERTAINMENT

The phrase, "It's so bad it's good" fits this one to a "T".  Director J.R. Bookwalter obviously had a budget of next to nothing heree, but made due pretty well actually.  He got a great effect from leading man James Black II who was actually a talented guy.  The story is based around a new drug on the streets that's making people into raving lunatics, almost like a zombie of sorts.  Eddie Boone is a cop caught in the middle of a world gone mad.  He's actually been infected and is starting to trip out himself.  This movie is for B-fans only, if you're expecting anything more, you'll be dissappointed.  I don't think the creators had anything else in mind actually.  There were actually a couple creepy moments in the beginning, but after that, it bacame a gross-out marathon.
FEAR FACTOR: 4  -   STUPID VICTIM SCALE: 5  -  SFX:  3