Tag: 1990

Directed by Mark L. Lester [Other horror films: Firestarter (1984), Blowback (2000), Sacrifice (2000), Pterodactyl (2005), Groupie (2010), Poseidon Rex (2013)]

Class of 1999 is a movie that I’ve long had an interest in. It’s never been a film I knew too much about, but I did have a grasp on the basics (killer robots in a school), and I thought it’d be a fun idea to play around with. While the film could have used a little polish, I found it a decently fun time.

According to director Mark L. Lester, this movie is a sequel to another one of his films, being Class of 1984. I’ve seen Class of 1984, but as I don’t find it a horror film, I don’t cover it here. I don’t know why this film needed to be called a sequel – the themes are somewhat different, and aside from the fact both movies have gangs and schools, there’s not many similarities – but apparently it is, so I wanted to say that Class of 1984 was an often depressing film, but certainly a good one.

This one doesn’t have near as much feeling as that one did, but than again, one was a drama/action/crime film, whereas this one is an action/science fiction/horror hybrid, so we’re talking two different types of films. The story of this one was interesting, as you’d hope a science fiction story would be, so I wanted to tackle that first.

Taking place in, as you can likely guess, 1999 (which is nine years in the future from when this movie was released), apparently the systemic problem with gangs we saw in Class of 1984 has gotten worse, and police don’t even try in some places. There’s a school in Seattle that attempts to stymie their violence problem by bringing in a handful of robot teachers. Things devolve even more from there.

I’m reminded of Battle Royale, actually. I didn’t think the government’s policy in Battle Royale really would have helped with the problems they were having, and while I can definitely say that school should always be a safe place, putting killer robots in charge of kids (both innocent and harmful) isn’t the way to pursue the solution. I get it – desperate times call for desperate measures – but this just wasn’t the way.

As you can expect, the problem is that robots, at least with this programming, don’t differentiate between the wrongs being done. A student starts a fight with another student – yeah, that’s a problem. A student fighting someone who was attempting to rape someone? Instead of going after the attempted rapist, they went after the student defending the young woman, and that’s the exact problem with this type of solution. We’ve seen it time and time again in science fiction and horror films, and it’s no different here.

Stacy Keach (Fear Runs Silent, Roadgames, Mountain of the Cannibal God, The Ninth Configuration) is a big name, and he was fun here. His character didn’t get a whole lot of depth – from his first scene, you could sort of tell what type of guy he’d be – but he had fun. I didn’t know Malcolm McDowell (Silent Night, Firestarter 2: Rekindled, Halloween, Cat People) was in this one, and to be fair, his role isn’t big, but it was nice to see a familiar face.

Technically, I know Traci Lind (Spellcaster, My Boyfriend’s Back, Fright Night Part 2), but she’s not really a face I instantly recognize. Still, she was also solid here, and her budding relationship with Bradley Gregg’s character was decent. Gregg (Phillip from A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors) was an interesting lead. Never loved his character, but it made for an interesting focal point.

Of the three robotic teachers (played by Patrick Kilpatrick, John P. Ryan, and Pam Grier), well, I’d say that Ryan (It’s Alive) was my favorite, as he had a dignified look to him, but Kilpatrick (The Stand) had the best smile. Of course, Pam Grier (Scream Blacula Scream, The Twilight People) is a notable actress herself, but she didn’t make a huge impression on me here.

Despite thinking that the film’s a little rough, the special effects were pretty solid. Until the final 20 minutes or so, they’re not too noticeable, but once they pop up in more effect, there are some good sequences. Related, this isn’t a gory film at all – it’s really more action-oriented much of the time – but there are some good kills, such as someone getting their head drilled into, or a few nice neck snaps, or someone getting lit on fire.

Class of 1999 was a perfectly decent film, and a somewhat fun watch. I guess my issue is that it wasn’t anything more. I had an okay time with it, but I can’t honestly say that I loved it. It was a good way to spend an hour and 36 minutes, but I wasn’t blown away. That said, if you enjoy robots in your horror – something like Chopping Mall, Steel and Lace, Hardware, or Death Machine – then Class of 1999 may be right up your alley.

7/10

Directed by David Allen [Other horror films: Ragewar (1984)]

This is a somewhat difficult sequel to compare to the first movie. While I definitely found the finale of the first movie a more enjoyable affair than what this one had to offer, as a movie overall, I tend to think that this moves at a better pace. Both are likely equivalent, though, and I’d probably say this one is around average.

For the most part, that story isn’t too shabby. Andre Toulon is resurrected by his creations (specifically Blade, Pinhead, Jester, Leech Woman, and Tunneler) while the Bodega Bay Inn has more visitors attempting to research what drove Paul Le Mat’s character mad in the first film. I am glad they attempted to connect this to the first movie, though there is a dating issue – Toulon is shown to kill himself in 1939 in the opening to the first film, whereas his tombstone in this movie reads ‘1941.’ Could be a simple in-universe mistake, but it’s worth pointing out.

Also interesting, we get a new puppet in this film (after losing Kahn, who didn’t get much focus in the last movie, but had a memorable look) in the form of Torch. Torch is among one of my favorite puppets, and along with Pinhead, Tunneler, Jester, and especially Blade, there’s a strong puppet cast in this one (I never cared for Leech Woman, and she doesn’t have a whole lot to do in this movie, but she is here too). I do think the stop motion effects look decent, and as always, it’s fun to see the puppets have fun.

I think where my main hang-up with this film lies is in Toulon’s character. After being resurrected, he grows attached to one of the characters (played by Elizabeth Maclellan), who he thinks is his late wife reincarnated. Because of that, he sort of ignores the well-being of his puppets, and I have to admit to feeling bad for the little fellas. I’d just hope his character would care more about his creations than cling on to a past love (Toulon seemed rather close to the puppets in the intro to the first film), but at the same time, after being dead for 50 years, I can imagine his personality could change some.

And to be sure, the finale did have a creepy moment or two, as he tries to transfer both his soul and the soul of Maclellan’s character into life-size puppets. Admittedly, the final scene of the film was a lot less pleasing, but if I recall, that’s not followed up on in any of the sequels, so I can survive a bad ending if I need to.

Elizabeth Maclellan makes for a fair lead, and while I couldn’t much care for her growing relationship with Collin Bernsen’s character, I did like her brother, played by Greg Webb. Steve Welles did decent, rocking a Claude Rains look to him, and has some solid dialogue. Jeff Celentano and Charlie Spradling (To Sleep with a Vampire, Meridian, Mirror Mirror) didn’t have quite as much involvement as I was hoping, nor did Nita Talbot (Frightmare, Island Claws), but George ‘Buck’ Flower (Drive In Massacre, Pumpkinhead, Cheerleader Camp) was fun to see in a single scene.

Most of the kills aren’t great here, though it was always fun to see Torch light people on fire. Blade did some occasional slicing, which was welcomed, and naturally, Pinhead attempted to strangle people here and there, but the finale of the first movie had a pretty epic scene, and there’s nothing here that even comes close to matching it.

I think this movie is about as enjoyable as the first one is, though for different reasons. To be honest, though I’d seen this once before, it’s been a while, and was personally hoping for a bit more bang for my buck. It doesn’t feel quite as special, though, and the story isn’t really exactly A+ material, but the movie has better pacing than the first one, and I think it’s probably worth seeing if you also enjoyed the first entry in the series.

7/10

Directed by Ernest Farino [Other horror films: N/A]

Steel and Lace isn’t a movie I’d heard too much about before watching. In fact, while I had known of the movie in a vague sense, I think it’d be fair to say that I couldn’t have said a single thing if asked what it was about. All of this is to say that I went into this one pretty blind, and I have to admit that while I liked some of the ideas here, along with the effects, I’m not sure the execution was to my liking.

It’s a bit of a twist on the rape/revenge style of exploitation that was somewhat common in the 1970’s into the 80’s, with such films as I Spit on Your Grave, The Last House on the Left, Savage Streets, Demented, and Ms. 45 (two of those I don’t see as horror, being Savage Streets and Ms. 45). I don’t know of many of these types of films from the 1990’s, though, so that was one of my big points of interest when getting into this movie.

Combining both the tragedy of rape with some science fiction elements of artificial intelligence, Steel and Lace (certainly an apt title) is definitely an interesting, almost unique movie. I think it’s strengths lie in the strong cast, solid special effects, and genuinely fascinating idea. I think it’s held back, though, by the execution of some of these ideas, along with elements of the finale.

When it comes to the kills, most are good. I think the most striking is perhaps an individual being lifted up into some helicopter blades, and while the injury (i.e. death) looks weak, the idea has feeling. There was also a good decapitation and another fellow got lit on fire via lightning bolt. The weakest kill here, I think, would be either an individual being sucked of his lifeforce (or whatever – I couldn’t tell exactly how that character actually died) or someone getting #drilled. Not that the latter kill couldn’t have been good, but I don’t think they had the special effects to back it up.

Another area which I think warrants a positive mention is the cast, most of whom are strong. The primary protagonists, David Naughton (An American Werewolf in London, Mirror Mirror 3: The Voyeur, Amityville: A New Generation, The Sleeping Car) and Stacy Haiduk (Luther the Geek, Attack of the Sabretooth), work well together, and I thought Haiduk did rather stellar. Clare Wren and Nick Tate had strong moments also.

Of the group of men who stood together to protect a rapist (that’s how rich, white men do), those being Michael Cerveris, Scott Burkholder, John J. York, Paul Lieber, and Brian Backer, only two stood out. Burkholder (House IV), York, and Lieber were okay, but Brian Backer (a surprising face to see, as he played Alfred in The Burning) and Michael Cerveris had more character. Lastly, Bruce Davison (Willard, X-Men, and Kingdom Hospital) was nice to see, though I wish his character went a different direction.

Which is sort of fair for the movie as a whole, I think. The ideas here were decent, and they mostly worked out, but toward the end, I did lose a bit of interest, as it dealt more with the emerging emotions of an android, which wasn’t a bad route to take, but I also didn’t care for how it was approached. Also, Davison’s character felt almost too villainous, especially given that the reasons he wanted revenge were completely legit.

More than anything, Steel and Lace is a bit of an oddity. It’s not really the type of film that I’d expect from the 1990’s, though it does sort of make sense when you consider other films from around the same time period, such as Hardware or Death Machine. Even so, while there’s some things in this movie to enjoy, I also think it’s fair to say there’s not really a ton of memorable material here. It’s far from a poor movie, but I do personally find it a bit below average.

6/10

Directed by Charles Philip Moore [Other horror films: Dance with Death (1992)]

As far as effort goes, I think Demon Wind has got a lot to show, and there’s a decent amount to enjoy in the film. It started out decently strong, but problematically, it runs on longer than it really needs to, and I really think that if this had been trimmed a bit, it’d pop up as a forgotten cult classic more often.

Definitely the quality of the film is good, and the production level is surprisingly high. There were some fun special effects and creative ideas thrown in here (such as the fog that teleports people, or the ruins of the house that sort of lead to a pocket dimension wherein the house is still standing), and the story, while it does get a bit tired, is certainly different, at times reminding me of both The Evil Dead and Demons.

Few of the faces here were recognizable, but there were plenty of decent performances, such as those given by Eric Larson, Jack Forcinito (Silent Night, Zombie Night), Stephen Quadros, Mark David Fritsche, Francine Lapensée (Hollywood’s New Blood), and Bobby Johnston (also Hollywood’s New Blood). Perhaps none of them were amazing, but Larson was a pretty good lead, especially for an actor who hasn’t done that much.

The special effects did seem pretty top-notch. The multiple demons all looked solid, and had pretty good designs, especially that Boss at the end, hoofed feet and all. There were also some interesting kills, the one that stands out the most being a girl who is turned into a doll, and then said doll explodes. That’s something you don’t see in every movie.

You can tell this was filmed in the late 80’s – it just feels like something you’d see from that time period (such as Night of the Demons, which this also brought to my mind). There’s a bit of humor here, some fun scenes (a guy does a roundhouse kick that decapitates a demon), and just a good sense of what they were trying to accomplish.

Here’s my issue: I think the movie runs way too long. The film is around an hour and 40 minutes, and if they were able to trim some portions from the beginning (there was a decent amount of set-up here, and it took about 45 minutes to really get into things), or perhaps their conflicts with the demons, which widely felt repetitive, I think it could have been smoother. After a while, as decent as the film was, it just got to be too much, and I was legit tired come the finale.

Otherwise, it’s a unique movie that I’ve wanted to see for a long time. I found it mostly an okay experience, but because of the runtime, I can’t imagine Demon Wind is a movie I’d want to go back to all that often, no matter how fun portions of the film were. It’s definitely a movie I think some people would enjoy, though.

6/10

Directed by V.V. Dachin Hsu [Other horror films: N/A] & Michael W. Leighton [Other horror films: N/A]

I knew pretty much nothing about this film prior to watching it, aside from, of course, the fact it appeared to be a vampire movie. After seeing it, I have to say I’m somewhat torn. It’s a lower-budget film that can clearly be seen in some aspects, but it also has a decent sense of heart, and I think it shows.

What’s somewhat impressive, even, is that the film manages to throw in a few unexpected surprises, and while none of these deeply shift how the movie goes, I was happy that the story had a bit more depth than I had initially suspected, especially once things really start going toward the end.

George Chakiris isn’t a name I know, but I liked what he was going for. You can sort of tell early on about the route his character takes, but it doesn’t make it any less enjoyable a journey. Wings Hauser (who I best know from the oddball 1988 The Carpenter) hams it up beautifully in this film, and I got a kick out of his character. A little more hard to get a grasp on was Pamela Ludwig (Rush Week), who had an interesting switch-up at the end I don’t fully understand, but I did rather like her performance.

I’m not deeply familiar with the music of Agent Orange, but I think it works well with the film, though it does end up somewhat repetitive. Still, it has almost a Bauhaus gothic vibe to it, which works well as the movie throws in references to past vampire films (such as a few scenes from Nosferatu playing on a television to posters of The Kiss of the Vampire and The Return of Dracula being pinned up on one of the character’s walls). The movie is often dim and somewhat grungy, made more obvious by the lower-budget, but it all fits together in a way that works, and goes to a solid atmosphere.

At times, Pale Blood can come across as a bit annoyingly artsy, unnecessarily so, mostly in regards to the first club scene and the multiple visions seen throughout the film. I don’t think it really harms the movie, but it did get a bit jarring at times, and it never really added much.

Ultimately, I didn’t have a bad time with Pale Blood. I didn’t have a great time either, but that’s life. If you’re into vampire films, this might be one to check out for something a little different, no matter how cheap it is, but I doubt it’d make a big impression on most who see it. As for me, I think it’s somewhere around average.

7/10

This is one of the films covered on the Fight Evil podcast. Listen below as Chuck (@ChuckyFE) and I discuss Pale Blood.

Directed by Robert Resnikoff [Other horror films: N/A]

I knew next-to-nothing about this film before going in, so much so that, upon learning that Lou Diamond Phillips was starring, I was pleased that I’d have something to look forward to (I don’t even particularly know Phillips from much, but a familiar face is a familiar face). It’s good that it did, because while The First Power started out reasonably strong, it sort of fizzled out halfway through.

The film does have it’s moments. For instance, the opening, when the Pentagram Killer (Jeff Kober) is attacking a female police officer, or that scene when a guy gets trampled to death by a horse, or even those after-effects of that one kill, with the body hanging in the sky. The First Power isn’t a movie without promise – I just think the promise failed to fully pan out.

Story-wise, it was interesting enough. Having a psychic help an atheistic officer feels a little bit stereotypical, but Phillips worked well with Tracy Griffith, so I don’t think it came out too poorly. Where the film starts to lose me, though, is when the nun (Elizabeth Arlen) joins in on the fun, especially because I don’t think Arlen was given much of a character to work with.

Lou Diamond Phillips (who I mainly know from the CBS show Numb3rs, of all places, where he was a character that popped up here and there) was decent in his role, and I don’t usually see him looking this young. Tracy Griffith was good – she had a serious, yet occasionally playful personality, and I thought her performance was actually better than I expected.

Jeff Kober was okay as the Pentagram Killer. I didn’t think he was great – I would have preferred a more serious Satanist as opposed to a killer concerned purely with screwing with someone, but to each their own. I enjoyed Mykelti Williamson, and sort of wish he appeared a bit more. Like I said before, Elizabeth Arlen’s character didn’t cut it for me, but as usual, that’s more on the script than on the actress.

I think the film has a bit of a TV feel to it. That’s not necessarily a negative, of course – there are plenty of fantastic made-for-television horror films (such as The Norliss Tapes from 1973), but for a movie like this, I think it can be a bit of a problem. It’s not as though there were any big special effect screw-ups or anything, but the vibe didn’t strike me as wholly worth theatrical release.

The First Power was a better movie than expected (even though I didn’t know much about the movie, my expectations for 90’s horror isn’t generally that high), and it certainly has it’s place (and it’s fans, as the film, at the time of this writing, sports a 5.7/10 on IMDb), but I think that it started strong and ended weak, at least with this first-time viewing.

5.5/10

The First Power is one of the films we’ve covered on Fight Evil’s podcast. Listen below as Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and I discuss this film, if it tickles your fancy.

Directed by Jim Wynorski [Other horror films: Chopping Mall (1986), Not of This Earth (1988), The Return of Swamp Thing (1989), Transylvania Twist (1989), The Haunting of Morella (1990), Hard to Die (1990), Scream Queen Hot Tub Party (1991), 976-Evil II (1991), Ghoulies IV (1994), Sorceress (1995), The Wasp Woman (1995), Vampirella (1996), Storm Trooper (1998), The Bare Wench Project (2000), Raptor (2001), The Bare Wench Project 2: Scared Topless (2001), Project Viper (2002), Wolfhound (2002), The Bare Wench Project 3: Nymphs of Mystery Mountain (2002), Cheerleader Massacre (2003), Bare Wench Project: Uncensored (2003), The Thing Below (2004), The Curse of the Komodo (2004), Gargoyle (2004), Komodo vs. Cobra (2005), The Witches of Breastwick (2005), The Witches of Breastwick 2 (2005), Bare Wench: The Final Chapter (2005), Cry of the Winged Serpent (2007), House on Hooter Hill (2007), Bone Eater (2007), Vampire in Vegas (2009), Cleavagefield (2009), The Hills Have Thighs (2010), Dinocroc vs. Supergator (2010), Camel Spiders (2011), Piranhaconda (2012), Gila! (2012), Scared Topless (2015), Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre (2015), Legend of the Naked Ghost (2017), CobraGator (2018)]

Oh boy, this was a fun film.

So, first thing’s first, I guess I have to mention that the flashbacks shown here aren’t from the first Sorority House Massacre (which, in it’s own way, was an enjoyable film), but from The Slumber Party Massacre. Why they just threw that footage here to give this killer an origin is beyond me, but hey, they did. It’s a brave choice, really – instead of footage from the first movie, they throw in clips from an entirely different movie.

This film is on it’s own plane.

I think that I speak for everyone when I say that the VIP here is Mike Elliott, who is pretty much fun in every scene he’s in. He also can’t die, as he’s shot multiple times with a shotgun toward the end, and is still kicking. This is after being stabbed and strangled, so this guy is certainly a go-getter.

The main cast, though, consisting of Dana Bentley, Michelle Verran, Stacia Zhivago, Melissa Moore, and Robyn Harris, are all decent in their own way. This mostly takes the form of nudity and scantily-clad pajamas, but here, everyone plays their parts. I think that Harris (who is on IMDb under the name Gail Thackray) was the most attractive here, but let’s give these women their due and admit all are rather pretty. Some were even in adult films before this, so no doubt that played a part in their casting.

Story-wise, what Sorority House Massacre II comes with isn’t that unique, but it’s not exceptionally poor either, especially when some of the more silly elements (such as Mike Elliott’s red herring status throughout) are intentional. I will admit that they took a route toward the end that I really didn’t care for, so it could have been a bit better, but still, it was decent. I will admit, though, that the addition of Jürgen Baum’s character was pretty pointless, aside from giving us more nudity during the strip club scene (which was funny overall, especially with those two Middle Eastern mens’ catcalls).

None of the kills were great, but most were perfectly competent. Either strangling or death by hook, we did occasionally get some blood splatter, but that wasn’t something they focused on. More than anything, it was half-naked women running around a dark house (they could have escaped easily earlier on, as they could have outrun Elliott’s ploddingly slow character, but of course they didn’t) and trying to survive. In it’s own cheap way, it was fun, save for an element toward the end I could have done without.

The film’s laughable, to be sure, but I don’t think that’s overly damning. As soon as they threw in flashbacks not to Sorority House Massacre but The Slumber Party Massacre, I was in awe. The movie isn’t really played comically, but there were enough goofy things here to make me happy without becoming too overbearingly campy. The first movie is a better film, but this one isn’t a movie I could imagine ever having a problem watching again. It’s not great – and it maybe overvaluing the film to call it average – but that’s what I’m going with, because whatever else you can say about it, it’s a fun movie.

7/10

This is one of the films covered on Fight Evil’s podcast. Listen below as Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and I discuss Sorority House Massacre II.

Directed by Ron Underwood [Other horror films: N/A]

Ever since I was a kid, I loved the Tremors movies. I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve seen the first three movies combined, so to say I grew up with them will be the best I can do. The first film isn’t the best horror film of the 1990’s, but I’ve always found it enjoyable, and nothing has changed.

It’s a pretty simple monster movie with a rather small cast, but Tremors keeps us entertained with the quality character building, interesting ideas, and a decent amount of humor sprinkled throughout (though never becoming too overbearing as to distract from the suspense). If one of the many monsters movies from the late 1950’s had been made around the 1990’s instead, this is definitely what they’d hope to be.

Kevin Bacon is one of those big names that I honestly pretty much only know from this movie. I mean, I’ve seen Death Sentence, and of course I’ve seen Friday the 13th, but as far as Bacon individually standing out, Tremors stands alone. He works fantastically well with Fred Ward, and seeing the two of them interact throughout the film is a lot of fun (“Legs that go ALLLLLLL the way up!”).

Of course, it should go without saying that Michael Gross (who I know best from Family Ties) is great here, along with his wife (played by country singer Reba McEntire), as a pair of gun-nuts who are incredibly fun to watch, and Gross himself has plenty of funny lines (deadpan, “For my cannon” is probably my favorite). It’s clear why Gross made such an impression, even more so than the stars that were Bacon, Ward, and Finn Carter.

The monster design here was pretty interesting, even though we’re basically talking about giant worms. They look suitably dull, and seeing them killed in various ways is fun enough, but also the fact that they do learn as the movie goes on gives them a little more of a fear factor, even though they’re never quite terrifying.

Also, let’s speak briefly about the setting, being the (very) small town of Perfection, Nevada. It was indeed perfection, as a population of about 14 people total has always amazed me, just seeing the way that these people would live as opposed to those in a larger town or city. I couldn’t imagine living in such a small place, and maybe due to that, this setting always stuck out to me as something really memorable.

Other films from the early 1990’s combined humor and horror better than Tremors did (I’m primarily looking at Arachnophobia, which came out the same year), but Tremors has been a pleasure to watch since I was a kid, and I still really enjoy the first three movies, and wholly recommend the first two if you haven’t seen them before.

8.5/10

This is one of the films covered by Fight Evil’s podcast. Listen below as Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and I discuss Tremors.