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| WANTED - 1999 - Director Harald Sicheritz - Released by Mr-Film in Austria Starring
Alfred Dorfer, Michael Niavarani and other actresses/actors from Germany
and SAustria. Special appearance by former Spaghetti Western star John
Phillip Law as a bounty hunter. Music spoofing the Westerns of old done
by Lothar Scherpe. In this plot, a doctor blothes an operation and retreats
into a fantasy world. Listening to spaghetti western music via a walkman,
he withdraws into a fantasy world where he imagines himself an outlaw
in the wild west. Films such as Once Upon A Time In The West, The Good,
The Bad & The Ugly, and others are satirized in these "adventures"
the now unbalanced doctor dreams up in his head. For example, during
a gunfight, he squares off with his opponent, to the typical closeup
camera shots and musical score, only to have his challenger drop dead
from a heart attack before guns are |
WARLOCK - 1989 - Director: Steve Miner Generally
silly movie about a flying male witch played by Julian Sands.
This one seemed to be made more for teens as the fate of the world lies
in a dizty 20 year old played by Lori Singer and a man from the past,
WAY overdone by Richard E. Grant. I'm not sure why this movie
was so popular, it was total Hollywood glitz with a B-Movie script,
and should have been treated that way. They would throw in an
some occassional gore for a little shock value, but most of the action
until the end took place in daylight, which has little or no fear factor.
It's a decent family popcorn movie, meaning the action moves along,
no sexuality and a story line so dumb even the kids will get the basic
premise. Good vs. Evil, nothing more nothing less. |
WAXWORK - 1988 - Director: Anthony Hickox This is
a tough one to decide on. On one hand, the idea is good, and there's
plenty of action and special effects. On the other hand it's a
bit silly and rather confusing. Not that silly is a bad thing,
but this is the wrong kind of silly, this is more, well... stupid.
Zach Galligan (Gremlins) stars in this fantasy about a mysterious Was
Museum where the displays come to life and if you get too close you
get sucked into them yourself. It has the feel of a Full Moon
production but something's missing, or rather there's too MUCH to follow.
If you don't think very hard and just enjoy the storylines, you will
have some fun, but try to make sense of things and you're bound to be
dissapointed. |
WAXWORK 2 - 1992 - Director: Anthony Hickox Much funnier
and bigger than the first film. This one had stories within stories
as they pay tribute to everything from "Alien" to "Dawn
Of The Dead" to "The Haunting". It's quite cleverly
put together as our hero's from the first film played by Zach Galligan
and Monika Schnarre use the magical time dimension again. They
are looking for evidence to help one of them beat a murder rap... yeah
it's confusing again, but that's all I can say without spoiling the
plot. This one boasts appearance from the likes of Bruce Campbell,
John Carradine, Patrick Macnee and others. There's some funny
moments in this one, especially the Bruce Campbell skit. This
is actually a decent one for the family, despite the heavy action and
some bloody special effects. This is Zach Galligan's best work
next to the original "Gremlins". |
WHAT LIES BENEATH - 2000 - Director: Robert Zemeckis Typical
Hollywood arrogance, throw a couple big named stars like Harrison Ford
and Michelle Pfeiffer together and you can get away with a boring script
and story. I like both of them, Ford especially, but this one
was simply boring! I realize you need to set up the story, but
for the first three-quarters of the movie? The scariest things
to happen in the first hour where Pfeiffer getting scared by her cell
phone and stepping on a little piece of glass! For true fans
of Horror, this is like watching Disney. It turns out to have
a story similar to "Fatal Attraction" as Ford's character
had an affair and is now being haunted by that womens ghost... or something
like that. Most of the movie's dialogue is whispered, apparently that's
supposed to be scary or something. |
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS - 1979 - Director: Fred Walton II "Have
you checked the children?" These five words are enough to
scare the life out of anybody who's every been a babysitter. Carol
Kane plays Jill Johnson, a young girl that's being harrassed by menacing
calls while watching a neighbor's children. She calls the police,
and after a few more phone calls from the prankster, they discover the
calls are coming from the house. "Black Christmas" in
1974 used a similar concept 5 years earlier, but this movie made the
"they're inside the house" scare famous. Charles Durning
plays the detective who's trying to track down the killer played in
a very disturbing manner by British actor Tony Beckly. This movie
influenced a lot of the 80's Slasher flicks, even though it is overshadowed
by the "Halloween" and "Friday The 13th" series.
It's more of a Psychological Thriller as it creates some incredibly
tense moments even in today's standards. |
WHEN A STRANGER CALLS BACK - 1993 - Director: Fred Walton II It's 15
years later... it's a similar scenerio... the baby sitter is watching
the children, they comes a knock at the door. If you thought that
opening sequence from the first film would be hard to match, this one
is very close to doing just that. Of course by now, this scenerio
has been done over and over in a number of different ways, but this
one manages to be unique. Jill Schoelen (Popcorn, Cutting Class)
plays Julia, the babysitter who is being harrased by a man at the door
asking to use the phone. You just have to see this for it to make
sense, she does everything right, which is rare for a horror flick.
Carol Kane reprises her role from the first film and a Women's
Counselor who helps Julia through her torment. Charles Durning
returns as well to help find the elusive killer. This one is most
likely under the Mystery/Suspense category, but don't let that fool
you, there's some genuine disturbing and frightening moments here. |
THE WICKERMAN - 1973 - Director: Robin Hardy Horror?
Probably not, but a disturbing story nonetheless. Scottish Police
Sgt. Howie (Edward Woodard) is summoned to an Island off the mainland
to investigate the dissapearance of a young girl. What he finds is a
bizarre community of Pagans led by Christopher Lee. This is a
humorous film and playful at times, but the underlying story is of true
terror. This is really a battle of religion when it comes down
to it. Sgt. Howie is appalled at what he has seen here and is
set on finding this young girl and solving the mystery. There's
no doubt this film will stick with you for a long time, it shows the
sickness of Pagan rituals and how people can be lead astray by such
simple beliefs. Although I could sense the ending early in the
film, it didn't diminish the creepy ending. Apparently these rituals
are based in fact which makes it even more unsettling. Christopher
Lee is spectacular in what he has called one of his most favorite rolls. |
WISHMASTER 3 - 2001 - Director: Chris Angel Since the
line "I wish I'd never seen this movie" has been taken for
sure, I'll try to avoid it. It's not bad enough to say I wish
I hadn't seen it, but on the other hand, it's the weakest of the series
so far. Sean Connery's son Jason replaces Andrew Divoff as the
evil "Djinn" and is decent, but not nearly and sick as Divoff.
Plus the special effects were more based on a lot of blood rather than
the "magical" powers featured in the first two. One
could argue that this is a rip-off of "Hellraiser" or a number
of other types of films, but they're fun and harmless. There are
a few moments where they really insult your intelligence, but for the
most part it's a worth sitting through. |
WITCHCRAFT - 1988 - Director: Rob Spera Don't people
know you should NEVER, EVER move in with your Mother-In-Law??
Obviously some people don't quite grasp that concept, like our heroine
Grace. This movie is a bit of a "Rosemary's Baby" rip-off,
except it doesn't have a shred of the suspense of that classic.
This one really doesn't have much of anything to offer, unless you're
a big fan of David Hasselhoff or Linda Blair. It had a couple
minor moments of intrigue, like the mouth-sewing scene, but I've seen
movie trailers with more action than this entire movie. They tried
to lead you to think the "Butler" was the bad guy here, but
it was such a lame attempt you could see it a mile away. It's
truly amazing this one spawned a long series of sequals that grew worse
and eventually became Erotica. |
WITCHCRAFT 2: The Temptress - 1990 - Director: Mark Woods "The
WITCH is back!" This one follows "William", the
child born in the first film into his teenage years... although he looks
well into his 30's. William is being haunted by a Witch, causing
some nasty nightmares. The Witch is played by Delia Shepard, who
happen to be "Penthouse Of The Month" two years earlier...
so WHY didn't we get to see here naked more during the movie!
That alone was a humg The acting is sub-par again as it was in
the first one, it has the feel of the erotica movies that became so
popular in the mid-90's. I'll most likely put this line in every
review of this series: "I still don't understand why this series
is so popular!". |
WITCHCRAFT 3: The Kiss Of Death- 1990 - Director: Rachel Feldman Allright,
I'm not a lawyer, but shouldn't you be asking your client what happened
waaaay before sentancing? Apparently defense attorney William
Spanner didn't think of that until the day before his client was going
to be sentanced for murder. Trust me, if I noticed this, it must
be obvious. This is just one of the inconsistencies of the this
moronic script. It's got that erotica feel to it, bad acting and
bad special effects. The only problem is that this one has no
gratuitous sex, so what's the point!!! Anyway, the "William"
character is back AGAIN from part 2, and the director acts like everyone
in the world knows his story. This time a schmarmy male witch
is going around literally sucking the life out of his victims.
I guess this one could have been Warlockcraft, which sounds about a
stupid as the movie. William is forced to use his powers to save
the day... and I STILL don' unterstand why this series was so popular. |
WITCHCRAFT 4: Virgin Heart - 1992 - Director: James Merendino This one
had two things going for it... Julie and Strain. The leggy bombshell
makes this one watchable. The 6'1' Strain has since become a
"B-Movie" Queen and the inspiration behind "Heavy Metal
2000". Other than that, it's about as bad as the others.
Apparently musicians are selling their soul for success and our hero
Will Spanner is trying to stop put an end to it. Full of miscues
and a bunch of wannabe gangster-types. I'll give Charles Solomon,
the actor who plays "Will", he does his best acting in this
one... unfortunately, I don't think he has done a lot since... maybe
he saw the first three movies of this genre. |
WITCHCRAFT 6 - 1994 - Director: Julie Davis More horrible
dialogue, stupid story and a lot more nudity than scares... not that
nudity's a BAD thing, it's just that's all this one has going for it.
You get to the point where you wish that's all there was. These
films are made for cheap thrills and mindless entertainment.
The character of Will Spanner returns, played by Jerry Spicer, who is
more tolerale thn the previous actors in this role. He's helping
the police track down a serial killer who is actually a couple trying
to find a virgin for their master. The whole things feels like
a porn movie, which I guess what erotica is! This series has never been
about horror, and this one further proves that sex is the most important
component of these films. |
WITCHCRAFT 10: Mistress Of The Craft - 1998 - Director: Elisar Cabrera The series
has moved to England and so has the cast, except for vivacious Stephanie
Beaton. For some reason, the British make things seem more believable,
and the fact this one deals more with Vampires is also a plus... and
of course have Eileen Daly as one of the primary victims didn't hurt.
There were some unintentional hilarious moments as well, such as a fight
scene between scene where a vampire gets stabbed in the heart with a
high heel shoe. The fight choreography is some of the worst I've
ever seen, which again, was SO bad it was funny, I was literally laughing
out loud in parts. Overall, it's one of the few I'd watch again,
I mean after all, Stephanie Beaton taking a bath for 10 minutes isn't
exactly hard on the eyes. |
WITCHCRAFT 11: SISTERS IN BLOOD - 1994 - Director: Ron Ford As this
series progressed (or regressed in some cases) the stories got weaker
the acting got worse and the budgets got lower. By this time these
were heavily into the erotica, in fact, the actresses spent MUCH more
time topless than clothed. Director Ron Ford doesn't pretend this
is anything more than what it is, and gives people what they want...
nudity and sex. The character of Will Spanner is taken over by
James Servais, a basic unknown who has a good look, but needs some work
in the acting department. The story is based around a college
drama professor who's into worshiping Satan. He recruits some
young hotties to do his bidding while the local police, one of them
played by Stephanie Beaton, are on his trail. Comparing this to
the earlier films, you can easily tell the quality and budget has gone
down, but on the other hand, if you like good erotica, this one delivers
with some very "hot" scenes with some girls who don't mind
getting down and dirty. OH, I almost forgot, Ford does have one
of the best "pen in the eye" scenes I've ever.. ahem.. seen. |
WITCHOUSE - 1999 - Director: Dave DeCoteau Full Moon
Pictures release with limited budget that will mostly appeal to the
younger generation. Dave DeCoteau is known for having a young
hip cast with some nice effects and a sexy attitude. This is not
his best work, but it's entertaining enough to keep you interested.
The downfall of using young actors and actresses is their experience.
Most of the players in this film are good and have potential, but there
are some moments of bad dialogue and overall the story is pretty generic
as it deals with Witches (what else?) and Lillith, the mythical first
woman before Eve and her "rebirth". If you throw out
all background knowledge and could care less about the budget factors,
you might be disappointed. To date there have been 2 sequels. |
THE WOLF MAN - 1941 - Director: George Waggner There's
been so many "Werewolf" movies made over the years one forgets
about the movie that started it all. Lon Chaney Jr. plays the
man-beast is this 1941 classic. The action is mild compared to
today's standards, but still can be a very enjoyable film if you let
it. The settings are immaculate and creepy, one may argue it's
even more "gothic" than "Dracula" or "Frankenstein".
The Wolf Man has always taken a backseat to those fellow monsters, but
the werewolf along with the vampire has stood the test of time and continue
to scare audiences of all ages. Lon Chaney Jr. was never a flashy
or overly-handsome actor, but he had a sad look and an infectious friendly
smile that made you really like him as a character. This conflicts
with your emotions as he's plays both good and evil, you really do have
sympathy for this character. The story is simple enough, Chaney's
character, Larry Talbot, is a wealthy man who returns home to
live with his father (Claude Rains) in their massive estate. He
is bitten by a wolf, then kills it with his silver handle cane, which
he leaves at the crime scene. A lot of the movie is a "who
dunit" mystery with Chaney's character struggling to fight his
inner demon... the werewolf. The immense influence this film had
is still felt everytime somebody watches a "Werewolf Movie". |
WOLFEN - 1981 - Director: Michael Wadleigh Extremely
well done "Werewolf" movie that often takes a back seat to
"The Howling" and "American Werewolf In London",
that came out around the same time. Albert Finney plays a mild-mannered
New York City cop who is investigating strange deaths that appear to
be done by an animal... particularly a wolf. You hardly ever see
the creature, which actually makes it more frightening. The investigation
and creepy atmospheres alone are enough to scare. You see a lot
through the eyes of the creature, which is a very effective way of bringing
the monster to life, perhaps this is where they idea for "Predator"
came from. Surprisingly, the only other film Michael Wadleigh
had, and ever has directed was the original "Woodstock". Gregory
Hines is the coroner helping to investigate, and Edward James Olmos
plays a Native American thought to be a shift-shaper. This is
more of a thinking man's Horror film that takes a very serious scientific
and mythical look into the world of the lycanthrope. |
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