Silent Hill

No, it isn't very pretty
what a town without pity can do
 - Gene Pitney

Making a movie based on a video game can be quite tricky. Follow the game too literally and the general audience may not be able to figure out what's going on. Disregard important aspects of the game and you risk losing the fanbase, particularly if that game has a strong following. Yep, it's a risky business and the reason why most video game adaptations don't work well. To it's credit, Silent Hill is pretty ambitious in its attempt to make everyone happy. Sadly, it just doesn't work as well as it should have.

The plot of the movie follows the first Silent Hill game closely, but with a few key differences. The main protagonist of the first game, Harry, has been replaced by a female lead, Rose (Radha Mitchell) whose adopted daughter Sharon is having all sorts of terrible nightmares about the town of Silent Hill. Disregarding her husband's wishes, Rose decides to figure out the mystery once and for all and takes Sharon to the deserted town on a dark, foggy night. On the way, they crash, Sharon disappears and it's up to Rose to find out the secret to Silent Hill.

Okay, let's talk about two key things Silent Hill got right: music and atmosphere. Fans of the series (of which I am one) will love the way the music is used throughout the movie. It not only references the Silent Hill themes but takes the music and ambient noise directly from the games and it works extremely well throughout.

The atmosphere of Silent Hill is amazing and the town is really brought to life or..um...death with some of the most inspired set design imaginable. A thick, foggy grayness permeates over the city streets as flecks of white fall delicately from the sky and when the "dark side" takes over, the steel girders and dank appearance looks like it came right out of the game. There's some neat little nods to the gameplay too, like dead end streets where the asphalt ends into cliffs over nowhere, and Rose's cell phone playing static when a monster comes near. It's these little touches that really bring the game to the big screen.

Oh, and the monsters....

Well, the monsters in this movie are a mixed lot to be sure. The armless acid-spitting mannequin from Silent Hill 2 is there and boy, he looks terrific. The animated bugs look like terrible CGI and aren't in the least bit frightening. The nurses are interesting, but their uniforms look like cheap "sexy nurse" Halloween costumes and they move more like modern dancers than monsters. The only danger I got from them is that they could, at any moment, break out with "jazz hands", which may or not not be scary depending on how you feel about chorus lines. But all these monsters take a backseat to the king-mack-daddy monster of them all, Pyramid Head. And they did him right, folks. With his red leather apron, muscular torso, triangle metal mask and machete dragging slowly across the ground, he is definitely the stuff of nightmares. Sadly though, he is underused. Why? Because the writers decided that monsters aren't all that scary and decided to focus on the cult. 

That damned cult!

At the halfway point in the film, the filmmakers decided they couldn't trust Americans to enjoy a good mess-with-your-brain horror movie and threw in a bunch of people in the form of a cult to explain everything. Why? Why add humans that aren't even interesting humans?  Oh, there are a few people from the game, such as Dahlia Gillespie, but she's utterly ruined by a redeeming character arc. Then there are new characters such as Christabella who add nothing to the movie and are completely forgettable. Rose's husband on the "other side" pops in occasionally to show us all he's still in the movie and then leaves. And then there's dark Alessa who pretty much only serves to talk. And talk. And talk. She talks to Rose for 20 minutes, explaining the plot, explaining her existence, explaining her history, explaining...oh god, who cares. It really is one of the low points in horror movie history for me and it's just plain lazy on the part of the writers who figured that the viewing audience were too dumb for the mind-screw. Hey writers, guess what? We're not.

There are a million ways they could have made this better. By focusing on the monsters, for example, instead of making the cult the main antagonist. Or taking some of the scarier moments from the game, like Cybil at the carnival, or Lisa the nurse slowly turning into a monster and reaching out in terror, not knowing what is happening to her but instead we're stuck with explanations and uninteresting characters. So sorry, Silent Hill, you're just not a town worth visiting again, except in the games. Seriously, if you haven't played the games before, go get them and play them. Now. I'll wait. I've got nothing going on really,

Favorite Moments (may contain spoilers):

• The first look at Silent Hill with its deserted streets and buildings and ash falling from the sky.
• The changing of the light to the "dark side" complete with crumbling walls and decaying floors.
• Any moment with Pyramid Head. This movie was in desperate need of more Pyramid Head. In fact, everything could use a little more Pyramid Head. Yeah, I said it.

Fun Facts Kids!

• The acid-spitting mannequin was nicknamed "Trojan Man" on the set because of the silicone "condom" that was pulled down around the actor as part of his costume.
• To get the imposing look of Pyramid Head,  stunt coordinator Roberto Campanella wore 15-inch tall boots strapped to his ankles.
• The witch in the mural of the witch burning in the church was based on Deborah Kara Unger's (Dahlia Gillespie) likeness. 
•  Some of the set's decaying effects were used as inspiration in creating later Silent Hill games.

Agree? Disagree? Or just have a random string of curse words you'd like to share? Comment!

Castle Freak

Born to be bad
That's the story of my life
Yeah, doin' things wrong is my way of doin' things right
 - George Thorogood

Did you ever see those cooking shows where they make food that looks like other food? Like when they create something that looks exactly like a hot dog but it's actually made from Twinkies. Or a pizza that's really a large cookie. Both things look delicious, I mean, who doesn't like hot dogs or pizza? But when you bite into them they're something different altogether. Still delicious but not what you expected.

Castle Freak is kinda like that.

Okay, let me explain. Castle Freak marks a reunion of sorts, with director Stuart Gordon once again teaming up with co-stars Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton. This is the trio that gave us such cheesy classics as From Beyond and Re-Animator, so I gaily bounced into the movie expecting some nice gross-out silliness in the tradition of those two films. Boy was I wrong. Not disappointed mind you, just wrong.

In the beginning of Castle Freak, we see the "monster" chained in a basement and being whipped and flogged by an elderly woman who dies soon after, leaving the poor shrieking thing locked away. Cut to a family visiting the old Italian castle they inherited after the woman's death. The family consists of John Reilly, his beautiful but cold wife Susan and their blind, teen daughter Rebecca. At first, everything seems okay. But you know, the setting is a dark, gothic castle, the kind of 'horror movie' place where rampaging thunderstorms are a natural nightly occurrence, plus there's the chained-up monster in the basement to consider, so of course that 'okay' feeling doesn't last too long.

It's a great premise, so I bit into the movie thinking it was cheese, but it was something completely different altogether. The family isn't made up of people you want to see die. It's made up of people suffering their own personal demons while a sad, pathetic monster who doesn't know anything of the outside world stalks them around the castle. In fact, there's a long stretch in the middle that has nothing to do with the monster, it's more about the family's issues and how they're dealing with them and the actors sell it beautifully. Jeffrey Combs is great as a recovering alcoholic, Barbara Crampton is equally wonderful as his wife who blames him for killing their son and blinding their daughter. But special kudos have to be given to Jessica Dollarhide as the blind daughter. She's not only the most sympathetic member of the family, she also steals every scene she's in. It's a pity the actress didn't do more in her career as she's completely awesome in this.

But forget about them, let's talk monster!

The monster looks great for the most part. Jonathon Fuller, the poor actor who had to undergo the transformation is completely freakish as the suffering creature, and gives him a nice stilted hunch and walk. He looks like what most people would look like if they had been chained and beaten for 40 years. The only issue I had with him was I wasn't sure how I was supposed to feel about him. At first, the monster gets all your sympathy, after all he was beaten and chained, a virtual prisoner. But towards the end of the film, it looks like the filmmakers decided to throw out the sympathy card and just make him a full-fledged perv/killer. I mean, watching him bite the nipple off of a prostitute doesn't really make you feel sorry for him. Though, you will feel sorry for the prostitute. Trust me, if you haven't seen the movie before, you will definitely feel sorry for the prostitute as the torture doesn't just end there.

The end result is dark and haunting, not at all light or silly. It's like ordering cheese, but getting steak and being pleasantly surprised. So, if you're in the mood for something meatier, Castle Freak is totally worth a viewing.

Favorite Moments (may contain spoilers):

• Jeffrey Combs drunken attempt at small talk with an Italian prostitute who doesn't speak English.
• The monster chasing the mother and daughter through the dark castle after murdering the policemen who were protecting them.
• Combs' redemption at the end where he more than makes up for being a terrible Dad.

Fun Facts Kids!

• Giorgio's (the monster) make-up took 6 hours to apply.
• Jessica Dollarhide spent a week at the Braille Institute to prepare for her role.
• Charles Band owns the Italian castle the movie was filmed in.
• The movie was released unrated direct-to-video, however an R-rated version of the film, with some of the gorier scenes cut out, is available.

Agree? Disagree? Or just have a random string of curse words you'd like to share? Comment!

Dracula A.D. 1972

We're old souls in a new life baby
They gave us a new life to live and learn
Some time to touch old friends and still return
 - Paul Williams

You know kids, Tim Burton's Dark Shadows was not the first vampire movie set in 1972 with Christopher Lee in it. No, long before Burton, Hammer released the woefully, wonderfully dated movie that is Dracula A.D. 1972.

The movie centers around busty, blonde Jessica Van Helsing (a young Stephanie Beacham) and her gang of ne'er do wells as they dally their way through youth, crashing parties and hanging out at a local cafe to plot their next crazy adventure - much to the dismay of her Granddad (Peter Cushing.)  Other members of the gang include leader Johnny Alucard (Christopher Neaume channeling Malcolm McDowell), sexy black mama Gaynor, a goth-before-there-was-goth chick (played by the lovely Caroline Munro), Joe, a be-robed wise-cracking comic foil (my personal favorite) and a couple of other groovy swinging characters.

One night whilst looking for kicks, Johnny oh so subtlety suggests they do a black magic ritual at an old abandoned church nearby. The gang seems to think this is a great idea and nobody takes it too seriously with Joe adding that "if we do get to summon up the big daddy with the horns and the tail, he gets to bring his own liquor, his own bird and his own pot." That seems fair enough, as one would think the Devil would have all those things at his disposal and might even be willing to share. Only problem is Johnny ain't exactly who he appears to be and their ritual brings back Dracula from the undead, who is intent on getting rid of those damn Van Helsings once and for all.

Dracula A.D. is okay for what it is. The music suits the times and the kids are alright but I sort of longed for more scenes between Cushing and Lee who play their scenes completely seriously for the most part, ignoring all the wacky grooviness around them. In fact, it's only their scenes together during the beginning and end of the film that tie the movie together. As it is, the middle to the last half really only stars Beacham’s cleavage and the group of friends, so important at the beginning of the movie take a back seat. At one point, Jessica's boyfriend is turned into a vampire and eventually killed, but we aren't shown how or why it happened to him. Who turned him? Probably Johnny, but we're never told. And several members of the "gang" suffer no ill will whatsoever and simply don't appear during the rest of the film.

Also, apart from the hairdos and fashions, this movie could have taken place in any year, as Dracula pretty much just hangs around the church and doesn't venture into the world outside. I would have almost liked to see Christopher Lee stumble around, looking at all the damn dirty hippies and wondering what the hell was going on. But Lee is not known for comedy and that would have almost been too much to watch one as distinguished as he try to pull it off, so I'll take the little screen time he has.

The result is rather uneven, and you can certainly watch much better Hammer films, but the presence of Cushing and Lee (however short their appearance may be) coupled with the high cheese factor make Dracula A.D. 1972 worthy of at least one viewing.

Favorite Moments (may contain spoilers):

• The crashing of the rich kid's party and the hilarity that ensues.
• The entire black magic ritual. Dig the music, kids!
• The opening and ending scenes of Lee and Cushing duking it out to the death.  Just like old times. : )

Fun Facts Kids!

• Marsha Hunt who plays Gaynor used to date Mick Jagger and the song "Brown Sugar" was written about her.
• The Cavern coffee bar gang hang-out was actually an Italian restaurant.
• The French and Spanish versions were released in 1973 so the movie title had to be changed.
• During the Cushing/Lee face-off at the end, some of Lee's dialogue was taken directly from the Stoker novel.

Agree? Disagree? Or just have a random string of curse words you'd like to share? Comment!

Cathy's Curse

I told you I was trouble,
You know that I'm no good
- Amy Winehouse

Oh boy, how does one even begin to describe Cathy's Curse? It's hard to put into words the weird, inept, sheer awfulness of this movie. But at the same time, it can almost be put into the same category as one of those low-budget 'so bad it's good’ movies. Almost. So I guess if I had to use one word to describe Cathy's Curse, it would be orange. Granted this just may be the print I have, and yes, the '70s were a very orange time, but I cannot think of any other way to describe this movie. So I’ll just call it orange.  

The story, if one can call it that, revolves around a man and his family moving into the house he used to live in as a child. His daughter Cathy finds a doll in the attic and starts doing all sorts of awful things like calling the local psychic lady a "fat whore" and attempting to eye-gouge a neighborhood kid with a needle. Apparently the doll is possessed by the ghost of her Aunt, who was burned to death in a car accident as a little girl and now is trying to possess Cathy. Or something.

That's it, that's the story. We don't know how the doll is forcing her to do evil things, we don't know why the dead little girl wants Cathy to be evil. We can't figure out the extent of Cathy's possession. Heck, at one point she even seems to teleport around her Mother, who of course is wrapped up in her own troubles to notice that her daughter does this, because she has suffered a nervous breakdown, which we learn in this exchange when Papa Bear notes that Cathy seems happy in their new home.

 “Well maybe you’d like it better if she was upset, well WOULD you?”
“What you talking about?”
“This is getting pretty ridiculous. You and I both know that I’ve had a nervous breakdown, RIGHT?

So, Daddy is totally oblivious to everything, Mom's a nutcase, Cathy's getting possessed and everything is really, really orange. I really tried to write down all the goofs, plot holes and funny bits into one review but that would take at least 8 pages and I seriously don't have that kind of time, so here’s a breakdown of some noteworthy moments:

• Cathy nearly drowning and Dad carrying a completely dry Cathy out of the water. 
• Food becoming all maggoty and gross, then turning back to normal for no reason.
• The aforementioned scene of Cathy teleporting around her Mom and her Mom not noticing. 
• Cathy breaking a statue with "mind powers" and the housekeeper cheerfully exclaiming "There, all done!" after picking up one piece of it and leaving the rest all over the floor.
• The whole thing being resolved by simply pulling the stitched eyelids off of the doll. There, all done! 

I just can't go on. There are so many things wrong with this movie that it's a lot of fun to watch. I know, I know, I spent the entire review ragging on the film, but I had a fun time watching it. It's that bad. Or that good. Wait, no, I take that back. It's just bad. 

 
Favorite Moments (may contain spoilers):

• Anything actually involving the doll.  That thing was creepy (and sadly under-used.)
• Cathy sitting in drunk Uncle Paul's lap and both happily swearing at the poor psychic neighbor lady.
• Cathy in "full possession" mode with oatmeal make-up caked on her face.

 Fun Facts Kids!

• Cathy's Curse was filmed in Montreal, Canada in 1977.
• One of the recent DVD releases of Cathy's Curse features a goth/dominatrix chick on the cover that has nothing whatsoever to do with the film.
• Also known as "Cauchemares" (French) 
  
• Randi Allen who played Cathy, never appeared in another movie role.
   
  
  

  Agree?  Disagree?  Or just have a random string of curse words you'd like to share? Comment!

Demons

You'll find me in the matinee
The dark of the matinee
It's better in the matinee
The dark of the matinee
- Franz Ferdinand

How many times has this happened to you? You and your bestie have just been invited to an advance screening of some unknown flick. You meet a couple of cute guys (or girls for you fellas out there), get some popcorn and sit down to enjoy the show. 

Then some dumb hooker puts on a mysterious prop mask, scratches her face, turns into a demon and tries to devour everyone in the entire theater. Man, I hate when that happens.

But I love when it happens here. Demons is a film that's ridiculously excessive with absolutely no apologies. It is literally 90 minutes of watching people get killed in bloody and horrific ways, seeing them turn into demons, then watching them kill other people in bloody and horrific ways. In other words, this is totally a 'check your brain at the door' kind of movie and if you're the type who requires a storyline, explanations or likes to point out movie plot holes, you should probably stay away from this film. 

Seriously, what can you say about a climax that involves a preppy turned Rambo, on a motorcycle, speeding between theater seats and decapitating demons with a sword while a boss 80's soundtrack plays? Of course this all happens while a helicopter crashes through the roof of the movie theater. For no reason at all.   

A lot of people mistakenly think that Dario Argento directed this, he didn't. That honor belongs to Lamberto Bava, son of the great Mario Bava. But Dario did co-write the screenplay and his stylistic touch is very present on screen. Even the look of the film is Argento-esque with vivid red, blue and green colors lighting up every inch of the set. And of course, there is gore. Lots and lots of gore.

Okay, I had a weenie little kind of problem with the very ending of this movie. I seriously doubt that the demons could have taken over the whole city in one night when they seemed pretty much confined to the theater. And it's even funnier how the outside survivors appear so nonplussed by the whole affair as they shoot demons and casually say how they are going up north for a "better life." But, as I said before, you don't have to think when watching this movie. In fact, it's a far more enjoyable experience if you don't. 

Favorite Moments (may contain spoilers):

• The masked mystery man handing out invitations in the subway.
• The teeth growing out of the first demon's mouth.
• Motorcycle sword-swinging mayhem!
• Any scene involving Tony the pimp.

 Fun Facts Kids!

• Bobby Rhodes who plays Tony also appears in Demons 2 as a completely different character.
• The Metropol used to be an actual theater in West Berlin. 
• The movie the theatergoers are watching is never named.
• Dario Argento's daughter Fiore Argento plays a small role in the movie.

Agree?  Disagree?  Or just have a random string of curse words you'd like to share? Comment!

Dead Silence

People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared....

- Simon and Garfunkel

Just how hard is it to make a good evil dummy movie? In my last review I noted how dolls are just plain creepy. That's true, but dummies are 10,000 times creepier. They can be lying there, not doing anything and still creep you out. However, as scary as they are, we really haven't ever had a good dummy horror movie. I mean, there was Magic, but that was more psychological than scary. So it was with high hopes that I watched Dead Silence, windering if it would be the scary ventriloquist/dummy movie I've been waiting for.

Yeah, I'm still waiting. 

Jamie and Lisa are a happy garden-variety young couple living in the city. One night, for no apparent reason, they get a box delivered to their door with a dummy in it. Jamie leaves to get take-out, leaving Lisa alone in the apartment with said dummy. Suddenly all sound stops around her, even the tea pot stops whistling. And Jamie comes back to find poor Lisa propped up on the bed with her jaw ripped off.

It's actually a really good beginning. Suspenseful, weird and kind of cool. Sadly the rest of the movie is a waste.

I know this movie has its fans but I just can't be one of them. I tried, I really tried to like it but nothing clicked for me. The blue-tint to the film is off-putting and unnecessary. We get a lot of scenes of annoying cop Donnie Wahlberg accusing Jamie of killing his wife, which is even funnier since it seems like Jamie has a rock-tight alibi getting take-out in a busy city where many people had seen him, but of course, that's never mentioned. Evil ventriloquist Mary Shaw isn't given much screen time so we really don't get a chance to fear her. There's a twist at the end that's more "groan inducing" than eye-opening. And the dummy. The dummy really isn't that scary. In fact, I actually had to re-watch the film again to remember what he looked like.

So sorry folks, I couldn't get into this one.  But I'll be waiting in case anyone finally wants to make a good dummy horror movie.  I'm an optimist. 

Favorite Moments (may contain spoilers):

• A terrified Lisa looking around the apartment as the tea kettle stops whistling and the clock slows down.
• Mary Shaw inviting the little boy who heckled her to come on stage.
• All the stacked dummies in the storeroom turning their head in unison to look at Jamie. 

 Fun Facts Kids!

• One of the dummies in the store-room is Jigsaw's puppet from Saw. Dead Silence director James Wan wrote and directed Saw.
• Donnie Wahlberg who plays Det. Lipton is a former member of New Kids on the Block.
• The town's name, Raven's Fair, is an homage to Edgar Allen Poe.
• One of Judith Roberts (Mary Shaw) earlier roles was as the "beautiful woman" in David Lynch's Eraserhead. 

 Agree?  Disagree?  Or just have a random string of curse words you'd like to share? Comment!

Dolls

Does she walk? Does she talk?
Does she come complete?

- J. Geils Band 

Dolls are inherently creepy. They just sit there with their dead glassy eyes and painted on smiles, looking all sweet and innocent, and you just know they're going to try and kill you with in your sleep with a big butcher knife. Okay, maybe that's just me. But still, dolls are weird.

Enter the movie Dolls, which is one of my favorite movies as an adult and would have been my worst nightmare as a child. Dolls, directed by Re-Animator director Stuart Gordon, is a fun horror flick that doesn't take itself too seriously.  Is there blood? Yep. People get gored, shot and stabbed. Is it scary? Yeah, it's creepy as hell. But it's also cute. Yeah I said it. It's cute.

Judy (Carrie Lorraine) is an imaginative little girl who is vacationing with her unfeeling father and bitchy stepmother when their car gets trapped in the mud. They take refuge in the home of an older couple (Guy Rolf and Hilary Mason having a grand old time) and meet a few other stranded travelers including Brit punk girls, Astrid and Isabel, and overgrown man-child Ralph.

So what we have here is your standard horror set-up with a bunch of people trapped in one house on a dark and stormy night. But then we learn about the old couple's creepy little doll collection and the real fun begins.

Dolls works well in part due to a good script and a good director. The acting is decent, the characters are fun and the pacing is spot on. But at the heart of the movie are the dolls themselves. Think 'killer doll' movie and everyone screams Chucky but whereas Chucky was a foul-mouthed little brat, the dolls in Dolls are, well, dolls. They smile. They have glassy eyes. When they frown, they frown sweetly. Heck, they even smile while trying to saw off your ankle. If you threw Chucky in a room with these dolls, they'd eat him for lunch but they'd also look darn cute doing it, which ups the creep factor.

I have yet to hear a single horror fan say they hate this movie. But a lot of people haven't seen it, which is a shame because it's a great little cult film with heart (and some guts too.) 

Favorite Moments (may contain spoilers):

• Death by toy soldier firing squad.
• Rosemary giving the dolls a look of utter contempt before leaping to her death.
• Punch the Jester telling Ralph: "You know, Ralph...deep down, you know...."

 Fun Facts Kids!

• Bunty Bailey, who plays punk girl Isabel, starred in A-Ha's "Take On Me" video.
• Carolyn Purdy-Gordon (bitchy Step-Mom Rosemary) is the real-life wife of director Stuart Gordon. 
• To make him appear older, Guy Rolfe had to have his very black hair dyed white.
• The movie was produced by Full Moon Productions and apparently Charles Band was not happy with the finished product. Which is yet another reason to hate Charles Band. 

 Agree?  Disagree?  Or just have a random string of curse words you'd like to share? Comment!

Jeepers Creepers

Golly jeepers. Where'd you get those peepers?
Peepshow, creepshow. Where did you get those eyes?
- Siouxsie and the Banshees

Back in 2001, horror seemed to be, for lack of a better word, dead. Original horror was taking a backseat to the bland "Scream" format and movies were formulaic to say the least, with bland actors saying bland dialogue while looking blandly pretty. Oh, and everything was PG-13 (sigh.) However, every so often one or two little gems would sneak in and we'd get a glimpse of good horror. So we got Jeepers Creepers.

Derrey (Justin Long) and Trish (Gina Phillips) are a brother and sister pair traveling home for college break together along a somewhat desolate road and bickering as siblings do. It all seems normal enough, until a truck from hell with the vanity plate "beatingu" tries to run them off the road. Along the way they learn that the driver is not a man, but a thing and that "thing" needs to get body parts ever 23 years. Well, not just any body parts from any body. You see he sniffs you out and if you have something he likes, he takes it from you and it becomes part of him. And after sniffing around the heroes a bit, the creature decides that one of them has something tasty it wants. And the true horror begins as they realize that "beatingu" doesn't stand for two words but three....

Okay, let's start with a few minor issues before we get to the good stuff. First of all, the main characters in this movie do stupid things, things like going down a drain pipe after they see the driver/killer throwing what appears to be a wrapped up body down there.  It’s those moments that make you scream “WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT?" and sadly they do quite a few things like that throughout the movie, especially Justin Long's character who appears at times to have the IQ for a turnip.

But for all those moments, Jeepers Creepers doesn't fail to entertain and is high on character involvement. The psychic who knows what the creature wants and how it needs to feed is a nice touch, played brilliantly by Patricia Belcher, who's one of those 'you'd know her if you saw her' actresses. Gina and Justin make a convincing brother/sister duo and Eileen Brennan adds just the right amount of zaniness as a gun-totin' crazy cat lady the kids run into while trying not to be eaten.

But forget all of them, let's talk about the monster.

The monster for the most part is kept in the shadows which which helps with the freak-you-out factor. And once you do see him, he's something to behold, with some pretty good practical effects, rare nowadays with so much crap CGI. But what is really interesting about him are the weird almost-human qualities. He walks like a man, dresses like a man, obviously can drive a truck, whistles, listens to music. The type of 'monster' monsters you see in horror movies are never able to do those things, which makes The Creeper unforgettably unique. And once he gets the body part he’s looking for, whoo boy…let’s just say he doesn’t exactly fool around.

Jeepers is a fun flick that introduces a little novelty into a tired genre and at the very least it’s nice holla-out to originality. Followed by a sequel which I hate and continue to loathe to this day (although many people seemingly disagree.)

Favorite Moments (may contain spoilers):

• Justin Long’s screams at the end while the song Jeepers Creepers plays in the background.
• Jezelle the psychic’s phone call “Have you seen the cats yet?”
• The Monster’s full face reveal inside of the police station.

 Fun Facts Kids!

• The actor who plays the ‘bald cop’ at the police station is the same guy who plays The Creeper.
• Justin Long’s character has a small cameo in Jeepers Creepers 2 with a couple key parts missing.
• The part of The Creeper was originally written for Lance Henriksen.
• Writer/director Vincent Salva may be a bit of a creeper himself with a previous arrest for misconduct with a minor.

Agree? Disagree? Or just have a random string of curse words you'd like to share? Comment!

New Focus - It's Back to Horror, Folks!

Okay I tried to turn this into a regular blog but then I realized, typing about my life bored the heck outta me. Why write about my troubles, when I could be writing about vampires, zombies and werewolves? You know, creatures with real troubles...

So I once again flipped the proverbial coin and decided that this blog is going back to horror but with a clearer focus. The new improved "Werewolves" will be dedicated to horror movie reviews, with an emphasis on past movies, some of which may be a bit obscure. I shall start posting immediately.

Squeeee!  Let the bloodshed begin!