Category: 1980’s

Directed by John Carpenter [Other horror films: Halloween (1978), Someone’s Watching Me! (1978), The Thing (1982), Christine (1983), Prince of Darkness (1987), They Live (1988), Body Bags (1993, segments ‘The Gas Station’ & ‘Hair’), In the Mouth of Madness (1994), Village of the Damned (1995), Vampires (1998), Ghosts of Mars (2001), The Ward (2010)]

John Carpenter’s Halloween is a true classic, and one of my favorite horror flicks of all time. The Fog is not far behind.

An almost flawless movie, there’s very little to gripe about when talking about The Fog. The score is fantastic, there’s a plethora of great actors and actresses, you get a fun story, great visuals, and often a feeling of claustrophobic suspense.

It’s amazing how well-done some of Carpenter’s early horror work is (Halloween being his first horror movie, and The Fog being his third, the television film Someone’s Watching Me! popping up between them). This film had an atmosphere to kill for, and the score ranks up there with the Halloween theme as one of the creepiest scores around.

Of course, the highest awards, as far as the cast goes, are awarded to Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Tom Atkins. Barbeau hadn’t really done horror before this (she was in two television horror films, one being the aforementioned Someone’s Watching Me! and the other being The Darker Side of Terror), but she does wonderfully here. Her silky voice is certainly soothing and memorable, and just as memorable, her line, “There’s something in the fog.” Always a chilling scene.

Curtis, of course, was in Halloween (and in 1980, not only was she in this movie, but also appeared in both Prom Night and Terror Train), and does pretty fair here, though it’s worth noting her character doesn’t really have that much to do. Still, she’s a nice presence. As for Atkins (aside from this one, his biggest additions to the genre are Halloween III, Night of the Creeps, and Maniac Cop), his persona is fun, and again, while he’s not all that consequential to the plot, it’s still enjoyable seeing him run around trying to save people from the fog.

Even some of the smaller actors and actresses stand out, though. Janet Leigh (from, of course, Psycho) did her character extremely well, and despite never having much screen-time, was always a pleasure to behold. Nancy Loomis (also from the first three Halloween‘s) got some good lines in, playing Leigh’s sardonic assistant. And Hal Holbrook (who I recognize most from the fantastic, yet underrated, Rituals from 1977, along with a few appearances in The West Wing) does beautifully as the often-drunk Father Malone.

Much like Halloween, gore wasn’t this movie’s strong point, but then again, it really didn’t need it. The atmosphere alone is worth much applause. The slow, creeping fog covering the whole of Antonio Bay is always good fun to view. Combine that with the score, and the lack of gore goes by pretty much unnoticed.

Really, aside from a few of the characters not having much to do, I’m having difficulty finding flaws to this movie. From the atmosphere to the acting, most everything about this movie is solid. Even the story is decently fun. Seen this plenty of times before, and I’ll see it plenty of times in the future.

9.5/10

Directed by David DeCoteau [Other horror films: Dreamaniac (1986), Creepozoids (1987), Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988), Murder Weapon (1989), Puppet Master III: Toulon’s Revenge (1991), Blonde Heaven (1995), Skeletons (1997), Shrieker (1998), Curse of the Puppet Master (1998), Talisman (1998), Frankenstein Reborn! (1998), The Killer Eye (1999), Witchouse (1999), Ancient Evil: Scream of the Mummy (1999), Totem (1999), Retro Puppet Master (1999), Voodoo Academy (2000), Prison of the Dead (2000), The Brotherhood (2001), Final Stab (2001), The Brotherhood 2: Young Warlocks (2001), The Frightening (2002), Wolves of Wall Street (2002), The Brotherhood III: Young Demons (2003), Leeches! (2003), Speed Demon (2003), Ring of Darkness (2004), Tomb of Terror (2004, segment ‘Evil Never Dies’), The Sisterhood (2004), Possessed (2005), The Brotherhood IV: The Complex (2005), Killer Bash (2005), Witches of the Caribbean (2005), Frankenstein & the Werewolf Reborn! (2005), Beastly Boyz (2006), Grizzly Rage (2007), The Raven (2007), House of Usher (2008), The Brotherhood V: Alumni (2009), The Brotherhood VI: Initiation (2009), The Pit and the Pendulum (2009), Nightfall (2009), Puppet Master: Axis of Evil (2010), A Dream Within a Dream (2011), 1313: Wicked Stepbrother (2011), 1313: Actor Slash Model (2011), 1313: Boy Crazies (2011), 1313: Giant Killer Bees! (2011), 1313: Haunted Frat (2011), 1313: Bigfoot Island (2011), 1313: Cougar Cult (2012), Snow White: A Deadly Summer (2012), 1313: Night of the Widow (2012), 1313: Frankenqueen (2012), 2: Voodoo Academy (2012), Immortal Kiss: Queen of the Night (2012), Hansel & Gretel: Warriors of Witchcraft (2013), The Dead Reborn (2013), 3 Wicked Witches (2014), 666: Kreepy Kerry (2014), Devilish Charm (2014), Knock ’em Dead (2014), Bigfoot vs. D.B. Cooper (2014), 90210 Shark Attack (2014), 3 Scream Queens (2014), Evil Exhumed (2016), Sorority Slaughterhouse (2016), Asian Ghost Story (2016), Bloody Blacksmith (2016), Swamp Freak (2017), Puppet Master: Blitzkrieg Massacre (2018), Bunker of Blood: Chapter 6: Zombie Lust: Night Flesh (2018), Bunker of Blood: Chapter 5: Psycho Sideshow: Demon Freaks (2018)]

This movie is wholly too goofy for me to get into. I’m not entirely averse to silly horror movies – when I saw Terror Toons (2002) perhaps five years back, I sort of liked it. But there’s a line to how much I can take, and Nightmare Sisters went far, far past it.

There’s some appeal to the movie, to be sure. Linnea Quigley’s a big name in horror, for good reason, having appeared in such classics as Graduation Day, Silent Night, Deadly Night, The Return of the Living Dead, and Night of the Demons, and she’s a treat to see. Some of the other actors/actresses were decent, such as Brinke Stevens (perhaps the most attractive of the three girls) and William Dristas.

But Nightmare Sisters went overboard with it’s comedic style. The beginning fortune-teller portion overstays its welcome (“Hokey smokes, that’s a lot of ashes,” I admit, did get a slight chuckle), and then it takes something like fifty minutes until we’re given something resembling suspense. The somewhat famous bubble bath scene was okay, but again, after a few minutes, it doesn’t really add anything to the movie aside from more skin, which we really didn’t need.

I first saw this October 2017 during a horror movie challenge, and I was looking forward to it. What exactly I was expecting, I’m not sure, but I was disappointed then, and with a second viewing, I’m disappointed still. It may be a piece of 80’s cheese, and I know that it has it’s fans, but it’s far too cheesy for me.

4/10

Nightmare Sisters was covered on Fight Evil’s eighth podcast, and you can listen to Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and I talk about this below.

Directed by Jack Sholder [Other horror films: Alone in the Dark (1982), The Hidden (1987), Natural Selection (1994), Wishmaster 2: Evil Never Dies (1999), Arachnid (2001), 12 Days of Terror (2004)]

I’ve seen this movie so many times, it’s really hard to take a step back and look at the whole picture. Portions of this movie are really cool, and the special effects are amazing (Freddy popping out of Jesse’s body, Freddy’s melting face at the end, etc.), but the movie, as a final product, is rather nonsensical.

There were subplots that weren’t really expanded on (such as why the house was hot, why things kept catching fire or exploding), elements of Freddy’s abilities that weren’t touched upon the previous movie, and the fact that almost all of Freddy’s appearances toward the end seem to be in this reality, not a dream world, was left completely alone.

The movie is a mess. But as much a mess as it is, I still think it’s fun and rather unique, which makes sense as it’s probably the black sheep of the original series (the first film to Freddy’s Dead).

Despite having a bunch of no-name actors, I think things work out okay. Mark Patton, Kim Myers, Robert Rusler, Clu Gulager, and Marshall Bell are all pretty memorably characters (especially Bell, who dominated as a gay gym coach). The acting isn’t great, and sure, sometimes Myers’ got a bit much, but still, I think it worked. Robert Englund, of course, did well as Freddy.

Somewhat related, while it doesn’t really make sense to me, I did like the whole poolside massacre sequence. Solid stuff, including one of my favorite lines of Freddy’s, being, “You are all my children now.” Again, it doesn’t make sense, but it’s a fun scene.

The original movie is a beloved classic, so any sequel would come as a disappointment, and given that this one is so far removed from the first, it hits this one even harder. And without a doubt, the third movie blows this one out of the water. But still, I’ve seen this movie multiple times, perhaps seven, eight times now, and Freddy’s Revenge is fun. Wish they tried tightening the story, or doing more with Grady, or even touching more on what is obviously Jesse’s battle with his sexuality, but still, it’s a fun mess. And it’s still better than the god-awful fifth movie.

7.5/10

This sequel was covered on episode #32 of Fight Evil’s podcast, so if you wanna hear Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and myself discuss this on, give it a shot.

Directed by Christopher Reynolds [Other horror films: N/A]

So, you all know me: if it’s an 80’s slasher, chances are high that I love the movie. And this late 80’s addition to the genre is no different.

After a prank goes awry, those involved are slaughtered ten years later. Plot-wise, there’s not much going on, and I thought it worked out just fine. This independent Oklahoma rip-off of Halloween was a lot of fun. It’s low-budget, but has a lot of heart (think HauntedWeen, and this won’t be the last time I make the comparison). The musical score is a complete copy of Halloween’s, and the final twenty minutes (along with the fact the killer is mute, and just escaped from a mental institution) takes heavily from Halloween also.

Even so, there’s some memorable stuff in here, from hammy acting to decent kills. While the gore was kept to a minimum, there was some decent blood during a few scenes (which is definitely one area where HauntedWeen one-ups this film).

The acting was about how you’d expect, but I got a kick out of it. Our main girl Gretchen (played by Loretta Leigh Bowman) did her part well, and was an attractive young lady to boot. We got two zany side-characters, one being a mortician’s intern (played comically by Mark Massey – his only other role was in the SOV horror film The Ripper from 1985) and the other being Deputy Buddy (played by Barry Brown – his only other film being an early 90’s crime/thriller, which, worth noting, is the only other film the director of this movie directed). Both were zany goodness with strong Oklahoma accents (which is a trait shared by almost every cast member, our lead girl with the most notable accent).

Perhaps my favorite character, though, is Sheriff Chism. He’s a genial, nice guy, who actually tries his best to help the girls out. Really, Chism’s a great character, and I had fun with him. The actor who portrayed him, G. Michael Smith, has only this single movie under his belt, which is a shame. Most likely, he’s just a citizen of Oklahoma City (where this was filmed) who the director thought fit the role best, and boy, does he ever.

This movie had a few comedic scenes thrown in (including one juxtaposition near the end which I laughed aloud at), and overall, Offerings was a fun film. While lacking in the gore department, I got a kick out of this one, and while it might appeal purely to slasher fans of the bygone era, it’s a movie I recommend.

7.5/10

Directed by Tom DeSimone [Other horror films: Sons of Satan (1973), Hellhole (1985)]

Hell Night was a decent movie, but it actually didn’t do nearly as much as I thought it would, especially given the sub-genre and time period.

At an hour and forty minutes, this movie’s a tad longer than many slashers of the 80’s, but more than anything else, things felt drawn out as opposed to expanded upon. The reveal near the end was sort of cool (though expected), but it didn’t really mean much, as there wasn’t all that much backstory given to why exactly the killer went out of his way to kill during this night and not previous initiations.

The 1980’s mentality was fun – I loved the soundtrack and most of the dialogue (while some of the acting was lacking) was pretty amusing. But given the length of the movie, I was expecting a bit more than I got. Loved the atmosphere throughout most of the film, and most of the kills were acceptable (though only a few really stuck out to me), but something was missing.

What that was, I don’t know, but despite all the flaws, I moderately enjoyed it (including Linda Blair’s decently done character); it falls just below average, and there are certainly other slashers I’d go watch again before giving this another shot.

6.5/10

Directed by Tobe Hooper [Other horror films: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Eaten Alive (1976), The Dark (1979), Salem’s Lot (1979), The Funhouse (1981), Poltergeist (1982), Lifeforce (1985), Invaders from Mars (1986), Spontaneous Combustion (1990), I’m Dangerous Tonight (1990), Night Terrors (1993), Body Bags (1993, segment ‘Eye’), The Mangler (1995), The Apartment Complex (1999), Crocodile (2000), Shadow Realm (2002), Toolbox Murders (2004), Mortuary (2005), Djinn (2013)]

It’s no secret that the original film, while it has it’s merits, has never been a favorite of mine. It is, however, so much better than this piece of trash.

Tobe Hooper took a different approach with this movie, throwing away the bleak and gritty tone of the original for a black-comedy with very little to offer.

There’s not many pros, so I’ll get them out of the way first. Stretch (played by Caroline Williams) was a pretty good character throughout the movie. Not only was she decently attractive, I thought she did a good job portraying how maddening being a capture to that insane family was. Dennis Hopper’s Lefty was a fun character in the beginning, but very quickly became an idiotic mess as soon as soon as Stretch fell down the hole into the Sawyer’s lair. Leatherface, as a character alone, was okay.

Everything else was hideous.

Chop Top (played by Bill Moseley in a very early role) had no redeemable qualities. Any time he was in a scene, the scene got worse. I couldn’t stand him during any portion of the movie, and when he was with his family, he only got more annoying. The Cook (Jim Siedow) was far better done in the first film (played by Siedow still). Here, he is over-the-top (like almost every character) and utterly irksome.

The original film had a demented house, which was gritty and terrifying. While the final setting here was cool (an abandoned theme park or some such), it was lacking the threatening feel of the house in the first movie. It just felt too goofy and extravagant.

This whole movie was too goofy, in truth. I don’t really do comedy mixed with my horror. Very few movies of the sort have really done it for me. You take a good concept and ruin it like this, it just bothers me. If you liked the movie, great. It’s a pale shadow of the original, though, and honestly, having rewatched it twice now, I don’t think I’ll ever desire to see this atrocity again. If I want my fill of a chainsaw massacre, I’ll stick with the superior original, third film, or 2003 remake.

4.5/10

Directed by Howard Avedis [Other horror films: They’re Playing with Fire (1984)]

I’ve long heard about this film, and for some time now, have been interested in seeing it. Does it live up to my expectations? For the most part, but it does have one glaring problem.

Mortuary has a lot of class for a slasher, and while the story itself was lacking in the atmosphere I was hoping it’d convey, there are plenty of suspenseful and well-done scenes. The setting, a coastal California city, stood out, and many of the actors were solid.

Mary McDonough, David Wysocki, Christopher George, and Bill Paxton all stood out positively (which, for George, is a good thing, as this is his final film before his death). Paxton in particular did extremely well with his role, a quirky, possibly messed up son of a mortician. He was over-the-top at times (the scene with him skipping through the graveyard was a bit much), but his character was fun, especially toward the end.

While we had decent suspense throughout, the one big problem with this film is lack of kills. On-screen, we get very little in the way of deaths, which is disappointing, as the few we do get are decently well-done. Something like two, three death scenes tops doesn’t really do it for me, and while certainly the story was interesting and captivating, a few additional tertiary characters to be bumped off would have made a positive difference.

That said, Mortuary ended up as a fine film. Sure, the route it took was one almost utterly expected (the ending itself wasn’t too far removed from Happy Birthday to Me), but this film took it with class. A solid movie, I just wish it had spent a bit more time giving us some kills. Otherwise, this is certainly worth a look for fans of the slasher subgenre.

8/10

Directed by Don Coscarelli [Other horror films: Phantasm (1979), Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994), Phantasm IV: Oblivion (1998), Bubba Ho-Tep (2002), John Dies at the End (2012)]

While lacking much of the dreamy atmospheric feel that the first film possesses, Phantasm II makes up for it with both all-out action and fantastic special effects.

In many ways, this flick comes across as a buddy road trip movie, with Reggie (Reggie Bannister) and Michael (James Le Gros, replacing Michael Baldwin) attempting to track down and kill The Tall Man. It’s a fun romp, and seeing Reggie with his chainsaw and Mike with his makeshift flamethrower searching through desolate buildings carries with it a lot of appeal.

Even with this film coming out nine years after the original, Reggie Bannister still does a great job with his character, and though I’d have preferred Baldwin to be recast as Mike, Le Gros doesn’t come across as too out of place. Paula Irvine does a pretty good job as Liz (Mike’s love interest), and Samantha Phillips, while lacking in screen-time, has a strong presence also. Needless to say, Angus Scrimm continues to dominate as The Tall Man, and does a fantastic job as a threatening, powerful, unknown force.

Like I said, the movie mostly lacks the dreamy, somewhat incoherent feel of the first film (though it does pop up now and again throughout the movie), and instead replaces that by-and-large with an action/road trip, which, while at times fun, doesn’t quite have the same effect. It felt more Hollywood, in short. Which isn’t to say the movie still doesn’t stand out, but the feel of the movie is certainly far removed from the first.

That said, the action sequences (chainsaw fight, for example) and special effects (Tall Man’s scenes near the end) were top-notch, and highly recommended to any fan of horror. Much like the first movie, Phantasm II also leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions, which has it’s pros and cons. The beginning and ending both seem a bit of a jumbled mess (really makes us question what the reality of the first and second movies really were), but while somewhat annoying, it has it’s charms too.

Phantasm II isn’t as good as the original movie, but it is still a very strong film, and undoubtedly more fun than the original, but probably, in the end, less memorable. Certainly worth watching still, as this series really is one that has to be seen to believe.

8.5/10