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RABID - 1977 - Director: David Cronenberg Very underrated
film by David Cronenberg that stars a young Marilyn Chambers.
The story starts as Chambers character is forced to go under emergency
experimental surgery after a bad motorcycle accident. Unfortunately,
the side effects of the surgery are lethal. She develops a taste
for blood and begins attacking those around her. Soon after she
infects the victim, they become "rabid" and start attacking
others. What it turns out to be is sort of a "Zombie"
film where the victims become monsters that are feasting on the living.
Cronenberg's style here isn't nearly as refined as in his others works
like "The Fly" or "Dead Ringers", but his talents
are quite evident as he manages on many occasions to disturb the viewer.
If "Living Dead" films are ever going to take off again, this
may be the approach they want to take. This is a much more believable
storyline than the "nuclear waste" theory. I don't want
to give the impression this is "Dawn Of The Dead", but maybe
the early stages of a catastrophic event like that. This is one
you want to find, and besides, who else but Cronenberg would have a
Santa Clause shot at a mall by a security guard in front of children. |
RAVENOUS - 1999 - Director: Antonia Bird "It's
lonely being a cannibal... you don't get that many friends."
This is the type of dark humor that flows through this film set in the
time of the Mexican-American War. Guy Pierce (L.A. Confidential)
plays Captain John Boyd, who has been sent to an outpost for basically
being a coward. Soon after a stranger played by Robert Carlyle
(The Fully Monty) wanders into camp claiming the rest of his party was
still held up in the mountains and needed help. I'll leave the
story alone from herre, but will tell you that this movie is NOT for
the easliy queasy. It's based on a urban legend of sorts that
if you eat somebody, you gain their strengths, but unfortunately also
have the craving for more and more. David Arquette (Scream) and
Jeffery Jones (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) also provide supporting rolls.
Perhaps the most disturbing part of the film is the musical score that
is both haunting, silly, creeping and everything in between.
There's a simple string rythym that still give me goosebumps when I
hear it. Get mentally prepared for this one, that's all I can
say. |
RAZORBACK - 1984 - Director-Russel Mulcahy This Australian film
has been called "Jaws" on land or in the Australian Outback,
but in a lot of ways it reminds one of "Mad Max" and "Road
Warrior". The reason being it has all the bizzarre characters
of the Mad Max films. Yes, there are obvious comparisons to "Jaws"
as the Razorback in question is an oversized freak of nature that's
terrorizing the locals. The first half of this film was quite dark
and disturbing, it wasn't until our hero Gregory Harrison meets a
local Australian girl when it get's a bit silly. Harrison's character
is searching for his missing wife who was filming a story on the kangaroo
slaughter. He just HAPPENS to get lost in the middle of nowhere and
stumbles accross a farm with a beautiful woman who HAPPENS to be tracking
razorbacks for scientific purposes. Despite this astronomical coincidence,
this is a very good film directed by Mulcahy, who would go on to film
classics like "Highlander" and later some episodes of "Tales
From The Crypt". |
RAWHEAD REX - 1986 - Based on story by: Clive Barker This film
is best known for being Clive Barker's first story made into a film.
Rumor has it Mr. Barker wasn't happy that the way the movie turned out,
I on the other hand thought it was good fun, and even better than other
films made from his stories. This one has "Drive In Movie"
written all over it, bold effects, great chases and lots of blood.
Yes, the creature is almost laughable, especially his eyes, I swear
he's cross-eyed! The movie is set in England which give the film
a more gothic and eeire feel. The basic plot is that a demon "Rawhead
Rex" has risen again to basically raise Hell on Earth. An
American writer, played by David Dukes, ends up going "head to
head" with the monster. Hey, Clive may not be happy, but
this one is harmless fun, even though it trys to have a religious theme
to it and a deeper storyline. |
RAZOR BLADE SMILE - A Jake West Film - 1998 I bet you
think you know all about vampires... believe me, you know fuck all.
Our heroine/villian Lillith starts off this sexy thriller with this
classic line. This is B-Movie at it's best as the director
tries, and sometimes succeeds with some nifty modern camera work.
The plot is actually quite strong for a Vampire flick and the fact that
it's set and made in Great Britian helps give it a cold gothic feel.
Lillith has fallen for a human male and risks her own life (life?) to
save him. This is where the lines are drawn between good and evil,
you end up cheering for her, but let's face it, she's still a vampire!
There's more people killed with guns in this movie as they twist the
stereotypes of vampires as we know it. Thus, the "fuck all"
comment. The ending is simply delicious, I didn't see it coming. |
RE-ANIMATOR - 1985 - Story: H.P. Lovecraft - Dirctor: Stuart Gordon Modern day
classic, simply stated. Yes, it's a B-Movie, but it raised the
bar for B-Movies so high it may never quite be reached.
The movie launched the career of Jeffery Combs as one of the biggest
names in B-Movies. This one really has the elements of the classic
horror films. Man's quest for imortality, the Mad Scientist (Combs),
the hero and heroine (Bruce Abbott and Barbara Crampton) and the villian,
(David Gale). The plot is simple enough, Comb's character, Herbert
West has discovered a "re-animation" serum that will bring
the dead back to life. The problem is that whatever and whomever
is brought back isn't quite right in the head. Speaking of heads,
one character loses his and, well, let's say there's never been anything
quite like it as the decapited head and body are brought back to "life".
There's a lot of really twisted humor fused into the mix, and the tension
is raised dramatically due to the characters relationships. Lot's
of blood, dead bodies, dead cats, and overall sick shit... ya gotta
love it. |
REALLY WEIRD TALES- 1987 - Director: John Blanchard, Paul Lynch A must see
for fans of SCTV! Martin Short, Joe Flaherty, Catherine O' Hare
and the late, great John Candy take a chapter from "The Twilight
Zone" in this parody. Flaherty is the host, who is
closer to his character "Count Floyd" than Rod Serling.
His dry wit is just right for this format. There's three stories,
all pretty weird, and loaded with gags you'd expect from the SCTV crew.
The first story has Martin Short as a bad lounge singer who's doing
a gig at a fictitious Hugh Hefner character. He falls in love
with one of the "playmates" and discovers everything is not
as it seems. Short's character is way, way, way over the top and
as big of a fan I am, I had a tough time with him in this one.
Story 2 was easily the best with John Candy as a stranger who show up
in small town and acts as a motivational speaker. The town falls
in love with him until his financial advice starts going array.
I'm not sure I've ever seen anything that Candy wasn't funny in, and
this is no exception. Candy fans must see this one. Finally,
Catherine O'Hare stars as a woman who has a horrible curse. Anyone
she falls in love with, well, blows up! She was raised in a Nunnery
where they all were mean to her because she knew about her powers and
wanted her to grow up hating people. All in all, it's entertaining
and very sarcastic. Some won't "get it", but for those
who do, you are in for a treat. |
REAR WINDOW - 1954 - Director: Alfred Hitchcock Hitchcock's
in-depth look at voyeurism is more of a "Mystery/Suspense"
piece than true horror, even though the subject matter includes murder
and the possibility of someone being cut into pieces and buried in a
flower garden. Jimmy Stewart stars as a photographer who is confined
to a wheelchair after severely breaking a leg. Out of sheer boredom
he begins closely watching some of his neighbors though his "rear
window". He soon suspects one of his neighbors has done off
with his wife. He get's his therapist and girlfriend involved
in the mystery which leads to very tense and sometimes humorous predicaments.
If you can stick with the first half of this one, you're in for a nerve-wracking
rollercoaster ride. Hitchcock's directing is nothing short of
brilliant here, which is why he was awarded an Oscar for "Best
Director" in 1954. I'll mention again that this is a slow
moving, dialogue-based thriller which may not move nearly fast enough
for the younger generation. It's unfortunate because this movie
had a long-lasting effect on Cinema that is still used in today's filmmaking.
Raymond Burr and Grace Kelly also star in this classic. |
REEKER - 2005 - Director: David Payne Effective
thriller that pits a group of friends against a mysterious and twisted
killer who first appears as a horrible odor, thus the "reeker"
name. Don't let that hokey premise gool you, the scent is death and
it's done quite well, the effects and killer are quite effective. The
cast also does a good job, Scott Whyte plays an annoying but likeable
stoner and Michael Ironside always adds creedence to fills like this.
Overall, a good film with a very interesting twist and killer ending,
definatley qualifies as a sleeper. |
REGENERATED MAN - 1994 - Director Ted A. Bohus Ultra-low
budget film that was so dumb it was smart. Director Ted A. Bohus
(Vampire Vixens From Venus) has a wicked sense of humor, I was literally
laughing out loud on more than one occasion. The material is closely
related to Troma, the story is even similar to "The Toxie Avenger"
series. Bohus get's tremendously bad but good performances by
this wacky cast that doesn't take itself serious for moment. The
main character "Arther Lundquist" is a loveable moron with
some extremely goofy facial expressions. This movie is not for the mainstream
crowd, I don't think the average moviegoer would catch the intense sarcasm.
Hardcore Troma and B-fans will recognize Debbie
Rochon in a small role. |
REPLICANT - 2001 - Director: Ringo Lam This Sci-Fi
Thriller stars Jean-Claude Van Damm and Michael Rooker and deals with
the topic of cloning. Rooker is after a sadistic serial killer
known as "The Torch", played by Van Damm, who in burning young
women of whom he considers to be "bad mothers". A replicant
is made of the killer by the government as a test to see if it will
lead them to the killer. Rooker takes on the duties of baby-sitting
the replicant while he tries to provoke him into leading him to "The
Torch". At first I thought this was a silly premise and that
there were holes in the story, but then I realized, "how the hell
do we know if this would work or not!" In other words, put
away what you know and enjoy the fast-moving action. Although
this one didn't receive much press and had limited theatrical release,
I felt it was one of Van-Damm's better rolls. He was good in both
rolls, and with the special effects, I honestly thought there was two
of him, credit the crew for making you forget the fact Van-Damm was
playing both parts. Rooker was solid as always as the rough cop
who tries to be tougher than he really is. Good entertainment,
worth the rental price. |
REPTILICANT - 2006 - Director: Desi Singh "Reptilicant"
director Desi Signh obviously knows what makes a good B-Movie action
film, unfortunately he doesn't have the budget to pull it off in this
one. Be warned, this is ultra-low budget, but does feature the capable
and buff Gary Daniels (Fist Of The North, Rage), who's kick-boxing background
has made him a B-Movie Action Star. The storyline about an alien, or
rather a guy in a rubber suit, running amuck in Alcatraz is constructed
well enough, but the special effects would only convice young grade-school
children. Daniels really doesn't go into action until the last fourth
of the film in a laughable fight with the "Reptilicant". He
does manage to lose his shirt so he can show off his six-pack. This
film is really a product of our times, they wouldn't make these if there
wasn't a market somewhere. Be warned, this is shot digitially so it
has that soft-core porn feel, watch only to be mildly entertained by
the pro-wrestling dialogue and action sequences. |
RETRIBUTION - 1988 - Director: Guy Magar It's the
story of a man who attempts suicide on Halloween and survives his jump
from the top of a building. After getting out of the hospital
and after extensive psychiatric help, he starts have hellacious nightmares
about people being brutally murdered, only to find out when he awakens,
these people have actually died. Dennis Lipscomb plays "George
Miller", the nerdy fellow who I have been referring to. Considering
the time period, one can't help but think the movie was influenced by
"Nightmare On Elm Street", even though the plot is quite a
bit different. Lipscomb plays a very neurotic character who is
actually pretty hard to like, even though he's kind, polite and apparently
liked by everyone else in the movie. Unfortunately this one doesn't
live up to it's potential, there's some really dumb moments that have
nothing to do with the plot, and George's girlfriend, who happens to
be prostitute, is about as stupid as they get. I will admit that
the way the story finally comes together is fairly interesting, but
it takes too long, and the payoff is too short. |
REVENGE OF THE DEAD - 1983 - Director: Pupi Avati The FIRST
thing you need to know about this film, is that it is NOT a Zombie movie.
Yes, it is based around the dead coming to life, but it is more of a
psychological thriller than and all-out Gorefest. I've seen countless
reviews of this film where it was called everything from "boring"
to the worst Zombie film ever made. Again, it is NOT a zombie
film. The premise is closer to a "Pet Cemetery" than
"Night Of The Living Dead". In response to the "boring"
elements, yes, it is slow moving film, but comments like "the worst
movie ever" are completely absurd. The story IS hard to follow
as you get lost with all the characters, mostly due to the fact it's
an Italian-made film, and the names start to blend together. But
Director Pupi Avati has the knack for creating some unique camera angles
and uses some very effective locations for this "artsy" film.
So don't blame the director or actors for this one, blame whoever does
the marketing. If this was promoted properly, the critics may
be singing a different tune. |
ROUTE 666 - 2001 - Director: William Wesley This is
a perfect example of what happens when you take a very weak story, low
budget special effects and put some good B-Actors in and let them run
with it. Lou Diamond Phillips stars as special agent Jack La Roca,
who, with his partner played by Lori Petty (Tank Girl) are in charge
of brining back federal witness "Rabbit" played by Steve Williams
(X-Files) to testify in court. They find him in a remote town
somewhere in the Southwest when then run into others that are looking
for him, the Russian Mafia. So far it sounds like your average
Action film, then it takes a turn for the worse. In the process
of bringing him back they get lost and end up on, you got it, Route
666, which is haunted by a group of convicts who were killed years ago
when their escape from a chain-gang fell through. Then ONLY reason
this movie works is the cast. Besides Phillips, Petty, and Williams,
there's Dale Midkiff (Pet Cemetary), L.Q. Jones, and Alex McAurthur,
all capable actors. The camera work is jerky and the fight scenes
are all done at close range which makes it's appeal more for kids.
The action is also all shot during the day time (probably in a day)
which really takes the scare out of the Zombie/Ghosts that are attacking
them. Overall, the dialogue is quite funny, Steve Williams steals
numerous scenes. You'll be surprised to see these actors is a
very low budget film like this, but it does work on some levels and
the action is consistent enough to keep you watching. |
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