Directed by Norman J. Warren [Other horror films: Satan’s Slave (1976), Prey (1977), Terror (1978), Inseminoid (1981)]
This British film was a bit of a mess, and that’s probably being kind.
At times, Bloody New Year felt like a silly version of Poltergeist, only not nearly as enjoyable and generally a lot more pointless. Theoretically, the movie could have had potential, but it’s pretty hard to tell looking at this final product.
Really, Bloody New Year is just odd. There’s a little charm in the various oddball dangers the group of friends face (such as a biting bannister, a killer vacuum, invisible laughing people, etc.), but even when things are tied together at the end, it doesn’t really do much to help.
The cast is pretty much entirely forgettable, which may not be a big surprise, but at the same time, at least one or two cast-members tend to stand out in a movie, so the fact that none did here was somewhat bothersome.
I don’t exactly know who this movie would be best for. Sure, it’s an 80’s obscurity, by-and-large, but it’s by no means a hidden gem, and while there’s some over-the-top scenes here, I don’t think it really gets wild enough to come across as that memorable. Perhaps during certain scenes, in the moment, I enjoyed watching them. But overall, the movie’s pretty poor, and an interesting setting (a deserted island) doesn’t much forgive the other flaws this British flick possesses.
4/10
This is one of the films covered on Fight Evil’s podcast, so if you’re interested in hearing myself and Chucky (@ChuckyFE) discuss this one, give it a listen.
Directed by Jesús Franco [Other horror films: Gritos en la noche (1962), La mano de un hombre muerto (1962), El secreto del Dr. Orloff (1964), Miss Muerte (1966), Necronomicon – Geträumte Sünden (1968), The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968), Der heiße Tod (1969), Marquis de Sade: Justine (1969), The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969), Paroxismus (1969), De Sade 70 (1970), Il trono di fuoco (1970), Nachts, wenn Dracula erwacht (1970), Les cauchemars naissent la nuit (1970), Vampyros Lesbos (1971), Sie tötete in Ekstase (1971), Jungfrauen-Report (1972), Drácula contra Frankenstein (1972), Der Todesrächer von Soho (1972), La fille de Dracula (1972), Dr. M schlägt zu (1972), Les démons (1973), La comtesse noire (1973), La maldición de Frankenstein (1973), La nuit des étoiles filantes (1973), Los ojos siniestros del doctor Orloff (1973), Al otro lado del espejo (1973), La noche de los asesinos (1974), Les possédées du diable (1974), La comtesse perverse (1974), Les gloutonnes (1975), L’éventreur de Notre-Dame (1975), Sexorcismes (1975), Frauengefängnis (1976), Jack the Ripper (1976), Un silencio de tumba (1976), In 80 Betten um die Welt (1976), Die Marquise von Sade (1976), Greta – Haus ohne Männer (1977), Die Liebesbriefe einer portugiesischen Nonne (1977), Die teuflischen Schwestern (1977), Der Ruf der blonden Göttin (1977), El sádico de Notre-Dame (1979), Mondo cannibale (1980), El caníbal (1980), Die Säge des Todes (1981), La tumba de los muertos vivientes (1982), La mansión de los muertos vivientes (1982), Revenge in the House of Usher (1983), El tesoro de la diosa blanca (1983), Macumba sexual (1983), Sola ante el terror (1983), Sangre en mis zapatos (1983), Mil sexos tiene la noche (1984), El siniestro doctor Orloff (1984), Lilian (la virgen pervertida) (1984), La esclava blanca (1985), Killer Barbys (1996), Tender Flesh (1997), Mari-Cookie and the Killer Tarantula (1998), Lust for Frankenstein (1998), Vampire Blues (1999), Dr. Wong’s Virtual Hell (1999), Helter Skelter (2000), Vampire Junction (2001), Incubus (2002), Killer Barbys vs. Dracula (2002), Snakewoman (2005), La cripta de las mujeres malditas (2008), La cripta de las mujeres malditas II (2008), La cripta de las condenadas (2012), La cripta de las condenadas: Parte II (2012)]
To be honest, I’ve not seen that many Jesús Franco flicks (and as you can see, even within just the horror genre, he was hella prolific). Off the top of my head, The Bloody Judge and Oasis of the Zombies are the only others from him I’ve seen. Not that I have anything against Franco – I’ve heard pretty mixed things about his work, but plenty of it sounds interesting. All of this is to say that I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect going into this one, but I certainly wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did.
Sure, the gore here is definitely good, and I’ll touch on that in a bit, but the story was surprisingly solid, sympathetic to both sides of the violence. Things went a bit deeper than I’d have expected, and on a whole, it was a nice surprise.
As far as performances go, the only one that really stood out was Helmut Berger. Gérard Zalcberg was pretty solid as a degenerate rapist and murderer, to be sure, but Berger is by far the most memorable. It’s not as though we’re inundated with bad performances, though – most people here do perfectly fine.
The gore within Faceless is most paramount, though. It’s just fantastic – the most brutal scene is a botched removal of a face (utterly sickening, but it really does it’s job), but even the successful facial removal is gruesome (especially given the victim is still alive, and taunted with their own face in sociopathic fashion). You also have a decapitation by chainsaw, a stab through the throat by some scissors, a needle stab in the eye, some power drill and hook action, all the goodies. This movie came to play, and play it did.
Even without the great gore, there were some really suspenseful scenes here. In one, a victim was just about to make herself known to someone searching for her, but last second, she’s dragged into another room and all hope vanishes. Speaking of vanishing hope, the conclusion here is a lot darker than I’d have initially expected. Talk about a dreary finale.
Faceless isn’t the most amazing Italian movie of the late 1980’s, nor do I suspect it’ll be the most memorable as the days move on, but it was a surprisingly solid time, and I’d certainly recommend it to fans of the genre.
7.5/10
And for even more on this, Faceless was one of the films covered on Fight Evil’s podcast, episode #28. If you’re interested, listen to Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and I discuss this one.
Directed by Tim Ritter [Other horror films: Day of the Reaper (1984), Twisted Illusions (1985), Truth or Dare?: A Critical Madness (1986), Wicked Games (1994), Creep (1995), Alien Agenda: Endangered Species (1998), Screaming for Sanity: Truth or Dare 3 (1998), Twisted Illusions 2 (2004), Deadly Dares: Truth or Dare Part IV (2011), Hi-8 (Horror Independent 8) (2013, segment ‘Switchblade Insane’), I Dared You! Truth or Dare Part 5 (2017), Trashsploitation (2018, segment ‘Truth or Dare’), Hi-Death (2018, segment ‘Dealers of Death’), Zombarella’s House of Whorrors (2019, segment ‘Cosmic Desires’), Sharks of the Corn (2021)]
Dedicated to H.G. Lewis, Tim Ritter’s low-budget fourth film is overly inept but extraordinarily fun, and if SOV horror is something you’re a fan of, I think you’d find this a blast.
The story, if taken seriously, is actually somewhat tragic, what with a man believing his wife is cheating on him, and so he decides to kill the men ‘making’ his wife unfaithful. Of course, in as low-budget, gory ways as possible. Obviously, this isn’t a Hollywood film, and the acting is pretty awful across the board. That said, so many of the lines of dialogue are hilariously awesome that it doesn’t matter (such as a favorite of mine, “Why is she writing all of this down?”).
Asbestos Felt does fantastically great as the paranoid husband, with plenty of cheesy dialogue and overall a beautifully delicious performance. Courtney Lercara, the wife, wasn’t quite as memorable, but I did love her over-the-top scenes of her various lustful encounters. Pretty much everyone else was second tier, but that doesn’t stop individuals such as Raymond Carbone, Joel D. Wynkoop, and Rachel Rutz from standing out of the pack in their wacky, goofy ways (Rutz’ nonsensical dialogue just broke me up multiple times despite her short time on screen).
For a lower-budget flick, the gore effects are decent. They don’t really become great until the ending (such as the hammer in the jaw scene, perhaps my favorite kill, followed by the lawnmower sequence), but you can tell that Ritter definitely got his sensibilities from the Godfather of Gore, H.G. Lewis, who, like I mentioned at the beginning, this film is dedicated to.
I have a few issues, though, that hinder this film from reaching it’s arguably-rightful place of above average. One was a dream sequence which struck me as way too goofy, though the fact that it is clearly a dream sequence grants it some leeway. The other problem, though, is the conclusion, in which the movie shifts gears from a slasher to something else (and to avoid spoilers, I’ll just say it sort of comes out of nowhere). The final 15 minutes felt far more stale to me than the rest of the film, and I would have been okay with a 70 minute film, cutting out or changing the conclusion.
It’s a shame, as pretty much everything else is both amusing and deeply enjoyable (I always loved his random beach-rage sequence – for some reason, that’s always a scene that I remember the most from this flick). The twist, such as it was, came across as slightly more sophisticated than one might think from a film like this, but it certainly added a tragic twist to the film. If only the ending was better. It’s still a deeply enjoyable film, though, and despite my seemingly unenthusiastic rating, I’d recommend it to fans of lower-budget outings from the 1980’s.
Directed by Chuck Russell [Other horror films: The Blob (1988), Bless the Child (2000)]
This is one of those films I can watch over and over again without getting tired of it. Without a doubt the best movie in the Elm Street series save the first one, Dream Warriors does almost everything right.
Like most movies in this series, this is sort of a hard one to take an overall look at, what with the fact I’ve seen it around eight to ten times, thereabouts. There are portions that feel a bit out there, such as the whole mysterious nun (who communicated to Neil, but not to Nancy, for some reason), and while it led to a pretty good origin of Freddy’s birth (‘the bastard son of a hundred maniacs’ – such a great description), it didn’t really feel like it fit. That said, it added something interesting to the film, so I don’t really begrudge it.
The whole ‘dream powers’ thing is the type of idea that, in many other movies, I’d find sort of ridiculous, but it’s done really well here. I still laugh a bit at how Ira Heiden’s character looks while a magician, but still, I think they did a fine job blending some lighter fantasy with the dark horror elements. Speaking of which, I absolutely love the opening to this one – the papier-mâché house, the utterly creepy dream, and then the suicide attempt. Grabs your attention right from the start.
The special effects, too, are damn good. My favorite death is the whole marionette kill, and the scene with Freddy in the stars, cutting the strings, has always been a favorite of mine of the series. Freddy-snake looks a little suspect, but the skeleton sequence is solid, so that’s a plus.
There’s no performance here that disappoints. It’s great to see Heather Langenkamp back, along with John Saxon (despite neither one having particularly happy endings). Jennifer Rubin, for some reason, stood out, along with Ken Sagoes and Patricia Arquette (who is, behind Nancy, my favorite lead character of the series). Of course, Englund gets the highest praise – while more comedic influence is creeping into his character, he’s still plenty menacing here.
And “Dream Warriors” by Dokken? What a kick-ass song.
Honestly, there’s not much about this movie that I don’t like. I don’t think it’s a perfect 10/10, but at the same time, I can’t really pinpoint my perceived issues with the film. Perhaps it comes from the sub-plot regarding Freddy’s mother, and the fact that despite thinking that he’d finally be put to rest, he’s clearly still an active spirit come the end of the film. It is a bit bothersome that he’s been seemingly destroyed three times (if you want to count the half-assed ending of the first film), but he seems immune to defeat.
All that said, though, without a doubt, this is the finest Elm Street film past the original, and I don’t believe I’ll ever really get tired of it. A solid film overall.
8.5/10
This is one of the films covered by Fight Evil’s podcast. Listen to Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and I discuss this one below.
Directed by Dean Crow [Other horror films: Father’s Day (1988)]
Filmed in Indiana (though not my birthplace, I’ve lived here most of my life), I was rather interested in seeing if this film could live up to other “city folk in the forests” type films, such as Hunter’s Blood or Moonstalker. Alas, while it has it’s positives, Backwoods doesn’t quite hit those high notes I was looking for.
The cast of this one is small – only four important characters, and two who are sort of just there at times (the fate of one of them, we never do find out). There’s nothing wrong with that on the surface, but when the first forty minutes or so focus mainly on three characters with little horror and only occasional tension, it doesn’t make for that enthralling a film.
What doesn’t really help matters is the fact that this isn’t really a slasher, which, I have to admit, were my expectations going in. The antagonist, a mentally-challenged guy named William, mainly made to strangle his victim, or grab their hair, or other stuff that didn’t involve slashing. Because of that, there’s wasn’t much in the way of a body count (given the small cast, that probably isn’t shocking) or gore. We do get a pretty solid finale, and there’s a painful-looking fishhook net, but that comes a bit late, and it’s too little, to really fix the lack of blood.
For much of the film, it plays itself more as a drama, especially when William’s father, somewhat animated (and, at the same time, taciturn) is mournfully explaining the woes his family has faced. There’s even some sad-ish music in the background. It helps build up toward the end a bit, but I don’t think I can fully forgive the light horror that the first hour of this film possesses, no matter how solid the ending was.
Dick Kreusser, who played the father of William, was probably the best out of the cast. He did a decent job showing emotion while playing a ‘man’s man’-type of guy. The two main characters, though, weren’t quite on the same level: Christine Noonan was nice to look at, but her character made some rather foolish errors, and Brad Armacost, who seems to be the only cast member of this film who is still acting, came off as an arrogant Yankee most of the time.
It’s the heavy drama, though, and the sluggish pace, not the acting, that makes this film a chore to sit through. Like I said, it does pick up at the end, and the fishhook net is pretty dangerous-looking, but it’s a case of ‘too little, too late.’ It’s a shame, as an 80’s backwoods horror film from Indiana sounds like it’d be my kind of movie. Backwoods just couldn’t make it, though.
Directed by Bruce Pittman [Other horror films: Mark of Cain (1985)]
Nothing at all in tone or style like the first Prom Night, Hello Mary Lou drops the slasher aspect of the classic 1980 film and instead adopts a possession story, which actually works well to the film’s benefit.
If you’re a fan of 80’s flicks in general, I can’t see how this film would disappoint you. The story, while not overly original, is still pretty fun. Decent special effects, and even a good atmosphere at times. First, though, let’s talk about the actors and actresses, who do quite a bit to boost enjoyment in this film.
There are a hell of a lot of solid performances here. Michael Ironside doesn’t disappoint as the principle with a dark past. An early performance by Louis Ferreira is probably more enjoyable than it should be. Brock Simpson (who actually not only had a small role in the first movie, but has appeared in all four Prom Night films, each time playing a different character) does pretty well as a rather spaced-out and, shall we say unique, high school student. Always a pleasure when he came on screen.
The two best performances, though, go to the star, Wendy Lyon, and though with only a few appearances, Beth Gondek. Lyon did commendable throughout, and really got the most of her role as she could. She had a lot of heart, and really helped make the film more fun. Gondek, despite being a bit of a no one (including this film, she has a total of seven credits on IMDb), really stole the few scenes she was in. There’s a rather emotional portion when she’s talking to Lyon, and I’ll be damned if I didn’t buy every word. I really wish she got more screen-time than she did, as she did amazing.
Special effects throughout were generally pretty good. The rocking horse was a bit odd, and there was a dodgy-looking electrocution toward the end, but the blackboard scene was pretty cool, as was a mirror sequence. There was some legitimate suspense during the locker room scene, and it ended in a decently gory way. That said, gore wasn’t a strong point here, but the deaths we do get all end up fun regardless.
At times, the film sort of felt like the fourth A Nightmare on Elm Street, albeit a bit more tepid. Lyon, all out of sorts after the death of a friend, keeps having visions while at school, and some of them are even decently creepy. There’s a good atmosphere during those sequences also.
And if none of this grabs you, if you hold on long enough, there’s some solid nudity nearing the end of the flick.
Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II is a lot of fun, certainly funner than the original. Solid performances, good story, and everything just seems to work out. It’s not perfect, of course – at times, I can’t pretend it doesn’t drag a little bit. And the ending, while sort of fun, in a cheesy way, doesn’t really do it for me. But overall, I really liked this when I first saw it some years back, and it still holds up. Definitely an 80’s horror flick I’d recommend checking out.
8.5/10
This is one of the films discussed on the Fight Evil show, so if interested, listen to Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and I talk about it a bit.
Directed by Clive Barker [Other horror films: Nightbreed (1990), Lord of Illusions (1995), Clive Barker’s Salomé & The Forbidden (1998)]
This is a good film, and it’s still a good film upon seeing it again, but some parts just rub me the wrong way, one of them being Kirsty’s first on-screen appearance. She seems agitated, and is acting, in my opinion, oddly, yet no reason for this is given (unless it’s just the stress of moving to London, which is possible). That’s another issue I had, though – while this movie is supposed to take place in London, most of the characters seem to have American accents. I realize that this was a decision by someone who believed that it’d help with American viewership, but still, it sort of took me out of the immersive experience I’d have preferred.
Lastly, the homeless man/demon is following Kirsty before there’s any real reason for him to do so. Again, never expanded on. Still, the movie is solid. Cenobites are fantastic, Kirsty is a decent (and easy on the eyes) character, and Frank/Julie are quite the threatening pair. And of course the special effects are extremely solid for the most part. Overall, it’s a good film with a flaw or two. Certainly worth the watch if you’ve not seen it before. Great 80’s horror.
8/10
Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and I covered this film in a ten-minute conversation on Fight Evil’s fifth podcast. Listen below if interested.
Jiggy's Horror Corner 