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Maniac (2012)
You Can't Duplicate Heart and Soul
First, I can't understand why the original had to be remade. What made that film special wasn't the direction from William Lustig, or the gore effects from Tom Savini (although they did do a top notch job), but rather the world created by Joe Spinell. He is the true heart and soul of the original movie, and like anyone's heart and soul, it could never be duplicated. He had as much to do with the film's direction as Lustig did, and even poured much of his own money into it. Once you strip Spinell from the original, it just becomes a generic slasher film, so I ask again, why was this remade? Just make a similar movie with a different title and character names. Its not like the title "Maniac" has a lot of name value...
This movie is exactly what you expect from someone trying to duplicate something unique. A generic modernized version of a classic, with a few gimmicks thrown in so they could at least say they tried. The POV gimmick is just terrible. There's a reason why you don't see films being made this way (besides found-footage garbage). I guess it's an attempt to put us into Frank's head, but its truly unnecessary and doesn't work cinematically. It just comes off as a hokey and desperate attempt to stand-out. If you want to stand-out, do so by making a good movie, not by changing the camera angle. Good film-making requires much more than that.
Elijah Wood as Frank is a true testament to modern filmmaking- Use a pretty face on a killer to create irony OR to cash in on that actor's name value. Joe Spinell wasn't a household name when he did Maniac. Probably due to his appearance. He most definitely didn't have a pretty face. He was over-weight and someone you could imagine having trouble making friends in school. When I watch the original, I see an "ugly" man who struggles with social stress as a result. He makes that role completely believable. Elijah Wood does not. I can't even go into Wood's acting because it's absolutely minimal in this film, since nearly all of the movie is POV.
Another huge gripe for me was the CGI. The first death scene of the film is supposed to set the tone for the rest of the film. But what do we get? A hokey CGI death. Although the rest of the film does in fact have practical effects, they're CGI enhanced. Compare this scene with the opening death scene of the original Maniac and tell me which looks more realistic and less hokey.
Despite how much I disliked this movie, and how much of an atrocity it is compared to the original, I did find that music absolutely perfect for a Maniac-type film. It's just a real shame it was wasted on such trash.
Whats truly disturbing are all the good reviews here on IMDb. A few have even said this film was better than the original. Some have said they haven't seen the original so they couldn't compare. But I say DO compare, you may be shocked to realize how much better the original film is! Regardless, reviews do not make a movie good, so I'm hoping that as the film becomes more commercially available, the true face of this film will come through from the new reviews...or maybe not.
I was once at a screening of the original Maniac in NYC at the Sunshine Theater, of which William Lustig was attending to do a Q and A (he only lives blocks away from the theater). When asked about selling the rights for a remake, he stated, and I quote exactly: "I'm a whore for money." Another sad day in horror. Spinell would've been saddened by this...
We the People with Gloria Allred (2011)
Fiction
This show is clearly fiction. At the end of the credits, it even admits that the events or people on the program are all fictional. The show seems to disguise this fact (unless you have a quick eye for the ending credits) and blends itself in with the other actual court shows.
In an attempt for better ratings, the show slumps to the level of the Jerry Springer show with ridiculous scenarios with a variety of unbelievable actors. They often use gay/trans-gendered characters to make the show more interesting. I find this to be quite a disgrace.It's also quite sad that a legitimate judge would slump so low as to get herself involved with such a program. If you can't get on the ranks of Judge Judy or the People's Court, you can't just make stuff up!
Stolen Voices, Buried Secrets (2011)
Awful and Insulting
How could the families of these victims possibly allow this to be made? The voice overs are a complete mockery of the victims and the cases in their entirety. The over-dramatized and corny voice overs are TERRIBLE, making this the first true crime comedy! Please don't talk like this. The voices speak in an impossible omniscient way that makes it completely unbelievable. Line like, "I was such a good girl in high school, why would anyone want to kill me?" are absolutely corny and pathetic. People should be saddened by these stories, not chuckling at this desperate attempt by producers to be different. I also feel bad for the officers and family members that took the time to be interviewed. I feel that their legitimate statements are overshadowed by the silly voice-overs. These true crimes are a sensitive subject and shouldn't be manipulated into the stupid kind of entertainment that these writers are aiming for.
When You're Strange (2009)
Great Footage, Poor Writing
As a response to the Oliver Stone movie, I expected a lot from this, especially since they had nearly 20 years to put something clever together. What I got is a disappointment. I expected more for a definitive documentary on such a revolutionary band.
The writing of this movie was pretty poor. Of all the directors that would dive in to work on a project like this, they choose DiCillo, who is hardly qualified and it shows through the writing. The editing was only average, which is unfortunate since the film is entirely composed of archival footage, no "talking head" type stuff here.
The fact that they settled on Johnny Depp to narrate this film as a marketing gimmick is quite sad. The new poster clearly shows Depp's name the largest when in fact he contributes very little to the film. His monotone speech is an absolute bore and lacks personality. Completely useless.
The highlight of the film for Doors fans everywhere, has to be the new footage, especially the pristine and sharp footage from Jim's film, HWY. The footage is amazingly clear, easily the best film footage of Jim out there. For the new footage alone, this film is worth checking out, otherwise, don't expect anything creative here. It offers no new insight on the Doors' legacy.
Captives (1988)
Majestic Home Video doesn't seem very royal to me!
Not much is known about Majestic Home Video, except that they released a few titles which are extremely tough to find, including this one, thus, no ratings or comments. After 5 years, I finally came across this VHS under the title of "Mama's Home." According to Gary Cohen, who also directed SOV classics Video Violence 1 and 2, Majestic Home Video cut off the intro, threw some music on top of most of the dialogue and manipulated other aspect of the film. This resulted in a travesty that would become one of the most sought after horror VHS's. Good luck finding it.
Majestic Home Video must have operated out of someone's garage or basement because the equipment they used to create the new "Mama's Home" title and credits is completely amateur and shows mistakes that could've been corrected if they had actually cared about what they were doing. A woman is released from prison after being accused of letting her child die in a fire. Once released, her and her two brothers seek revenge. They intend to torment her ex-husband's family and force them to watch home videos that are supposed to prove that it was his fault the child died in the fire. They stay at the house tormenting the family until her ex-husband comes home. This synopsis is pretty much what is explained on the back of the VHS case, so watching the movie is really just a matter of putting the pieces together since its hard to figure out what's going on since you can't really hear any of the dialogue because of the booming music put over it.
I give the movie 5 stars only because I have not seen the actual "Captives" version of the movie. The only thing Majestic did right was have some awesome sleazy artwork and title, despite Cohen's dislike of them which I can understand. Captives was intended to be a serious comment on violence yet it was marketed as a slasher on the front cover, despite the back of the box reading, "Not A SLASHER FILM..." The movie seems to have been shot okay, despite the usual continuity and logic errors which are common with inexperienced SOV filmmakers. But for what I can tell, the movie could have had a lot of potential if Majestic had not butchered it.
UPDATE:
Camp Motion Pictures DVD has released Captives in its original form as part of an 80's SOV box set
The Night Brings Charlie (1990)
Not the Worst Slasher Flick
It really boggles my mind when someone comes across a movie like this and claims it to be one of the worst slasher films out there. This is by far not one of the worst out there, still not a good movie, but not the worst nonetheless. Go see something like Death Nurse or Blood Lake and then come back to me and tell me if you think the Night Brings Charlie is the worst. The film has decent camera work and editing, which is way more than I can say for many more extremely obscure slasher films.
The film doesn't deliver on the on-screen deaths, there's one death where you see his pruning saw rip into a neck, but all other deaths are hardly interesting. But the lack of on-screen graphic violence doesn't mean this isn't a slasher film, just a bad one.
The film was obviously intended not to be taken too seriously. The film came in at the end of the second slasher cycle, so it certainly was a reflection on traditional slasher elements, done in a tongue in cheek way. For example, after a kill, Charlie goes to the town's 'welcome' sign and marks the population down one less. This is something that can only get a laugh.
If you're into slasher films, definitely give this film a watch. It is slightly different than your usual slasher film with possibility of two killers, but not by much. The comedy of the movie is pretty much telling the audience to relax and not take the movie so god darn serious. You may forget the movie, you may remember it. I'll remember it because I love the name.
The Terrorists (1988)
At least it's film!
I'm familiar with Nick Millard. From Criminally Insane to his ridiculous Death Nurse films. Both Death Nurse films and the sequel to Criminally Insane are shot on video. But for The Terrorists, the film is shot on what looks like grainy 16mm stock, which is the only improvement from his previous films. But with this video release, every shot is improperly framed. The lower half of the screen seems to be cropped out. It's quite odd. Did the video distributors mess with the film or is Milliard just horrible with a film camera? I don't know. Regardless, the film is shot just as bad as his previous films. The pacing of the editing is all wrong. The only action in the film are the gun fights, which are just a back and forth of gun shots that seems to go on and on without anyone moving or dodging bullets. It seems the budget for this film was a lot higher than those of his previous films (since it was shot on film and in Germany). At least his horror flicks had some cheese appeal, this was just boring. It's also worth mentioning that I notice the doctor from Death Nurse in this film.
The Meltdown Memoirs (2006)
Frumkes is a bit Obsessed
This is a pretty informative documentary, over two hours of details on almost every expect of the film's production and history. If you're a fan of Street Trash, surely you'll enjoy the information in this documentary. Almost the entire cast is interviewed, even the rat wrangler that was used in a short scene. But watching the documentary, I felt a bit awkward. I couldn't understand how a grown man, Frumkes, could be so obsessed with this film. It's quite obvious that this film has become one of the soul sources of his income. At several points in the documentary, its obvious he's interviewing himself, at times, it seems like he interviews himself when he's bored at home. But the most ridiculous thing in regards to his obsession with this film is that he's wearing a belt buckle that says "Street Trash." I just thought it was a bit depressing to see someone who is this big a fan of their own movie at such an age.
Don't get me wrong, Street Trash is a fun film, I actually had met him at a showing of the film on the big screen at a local arts theater, but Frumkes did more for this film than what it really deserved. I'm not going to lie, the details are interesting, but come on, this isn't the greatest film of the genre.
Death Nurse (1987)
Moldy Cheese
I've seen some classic shot-on-video movies from the 80's, such as Blood Cult, Dreamaniac, Boardinghouse, GoreMet Zombie Chef From Hell, Cannibal Campout, 555, etc. All these movies in which could have some laughable entertainment value and noticeable effort to make a film on literally a zero budget. But then we have Death Nurse.
This movie, well, why even call this a movie? There was no effort put into making this mess. like the previous reviewer has stated, it seems they had filmed this film and ripped the tape right out of the camcorder and thats exactly how it feels. The editing must've been done on two VCRs, and a good 15 minutes of the film are clips from the Directors previous film, Criminally Insane, keep in mind this movie is only about 55 minutes long, not even a full length movie. Its quite obvious that this film was made to fill the box art it came in.
The only reason to watch this film is for the learning experience on how low cinema could go just to cash in a buck. This is absolutely the lowest your going to find. I once thought that Blood Lake was the worse, well, Death Nurse takes the cake.
Splatter: The Architects of Fear (1986)
Just Plain Stupid
Here is a film that claims to have "...the best horror effects in a decade." When in fact, the effects are horrendous. Right off the bat, they introduce the fakumentary with an eyeball being stabbed. Its just ridiculously dumb. Not only is it obviously fake, but just dumb. Of course all effects are fake, but try at the very least to make them look realistic and not high school level. One effect is of a zombie, but the funny part of the whole effect, is that there is no zombie makeup, just a rubber mask like ones sold at Halloween. Sometimes you have to ask yourself, "are they serious, or is this a joke?" This is something very cheesy to watch, but is watchable for a laugh. Video renters were gullible back in the eighties.
Scarecrow Slayer (2003)
Horrible Filmmakers
The passion for the art of Filmmaking comes before the money. And too often do we see horror films that are made by those without the love of the horror. And what does that result in? A horrible piece of garbage such as this. These people are only out there for the cash. Nothing more nothing less. A true fan of horror doesn't use digital deaths. Another sorry part about this film is the Candyman actor. He must do anything for a couple of pennies. They mustve paid him like 50 bucks to play the role. When people do their job, they have to do it with pride and dignity. Not to make an extra fifty. Horrible. Oh, and by the way, the killer scarecrow idea is getting old, find a new idea.
American Psycho (2000)
Brilliant, Amazing
I absolutely love this film. The first time I saw this film, I enjoyed it. The second time I saw it is when I bought it, I then loved it. The third time was a charm and I began to delve deep into the film and the personality of Patrick Bateman. It then drove me to read the book. And let me tell you, if you think this film is twisted, try reading the book, it will blow your mind. Not only on a violent level, but on a perverse one as well.
After reading the book, I just became amazed at how Harron handled making this film. She captured the feel perfectly, as well as Bateman's personality. It's said that DiCaprio was a choice to play Bateman, man am I glad he did not! The film wouldn't have the right affect. Christian Bale has that everday looking face of gentleman, while DiCaprio doesn't.
I just have to say I'm religous about this film, even more so about the book. So glad they made a film for this book. Rarely do we have films that are from the perception of the killer. We have films like "Maniac," or "Dahmer" that truely deliver the inner most thoughts of madness, and now we have "American Psycho." What makes this film special is that there's nothing there. No reason for the madness, no vengeance, just born from hell madness created by the materialistic U.S.A.
Watch this film.
Blood Bride (1980)
Not much horror here
Don't expect this film to be a slasher, it's not, its more of a thriller type film. The boxart shows a bloody knife in a wedding cake, but dont get the wrong idea, its not a bloody film at all. You have this girl who gets married to this guy, the guy ends up locking her up in the house, its been a while since the last time i saw the film. But i do remember this, dont expect a slasher film here. You have the death of a nun, but thats about the only slasher type part of the film.
Murderlust (1985)
Another Slasher Film without the Blood
Here I am the first to review this film here, I guess it's just that difficult to find. but I'm honored to be the first, although maybe only five people may read this within the next 5 years. Well I heard of the film from a book, sounded like a slasher film, so I thought i'd buy it. I finally tracked the darn film down.
I put on the film, expecting some blood, a couple of slashings, but got none of that. Just got a film about a depressed guy out to kill a couple of prostitutes. Nothing bloody there. But the most surprising moment is when i saw Bonny Schnieder in the film, me being from long island, i watch channel 12 News. Bonny Schneider is one of the weatherwoman on the channel. I was shocked to see her play a prostitute in this film. I'm guessing she was helping out a friend while in college who was studing film, or maybe she tried the acting, even though this was her only film. Oh well, I found that quiet interesting.
I always find it interesting to find a film that is so rare and no longer watched by anyone. When i find films such as these, I see them as a time capsule, caputuring the beauty of the slasher rise in the 80's. Although this movie wasnt anything special, we should all dig them all up and start worshipping them, they deserve it:)
Cannibal Campout (1988)
Great Amatuer filmmaking
I had a difficult time tracking down this film. And like most people tracking down a rare, obscure 80's slasher flick, i finally found it on eBay. I watched it the first time as a horror fan, just looking for some blood and gore and i was pleasently pleased. It had the guts, lots of blood, and a dark humor towards killing people :) The second time I watched the film,I watched it as a filmmaker. I was highly impressed with the guy who made this film. The guy who directed the film (Jon McBride) acted in it, financed it, sang the music for it and edited it. And after all that hard work, he came out with a decent low budget gore flick. Sure the acting was bad, but the kids weren't professional actors and did it for free, so what do you expect? and its not half as bad as other low budget flicks, for example "Blood Lake"
There were many various angle shots that went along very smoothly, which is very uncommon for other low budget indie slasher films. If your into cannibal films and looking for an American style unlike the common Italian ones, check this film out. It does a great job at representing the American side of great cannibal films. I would love to see this film out on dvd, but highly doubt it, since no DonnaMichelle film has ever been made on an official dvd release.
Blood Massacre (1991)
Ehhh...
I'm guessing the only thing that got this movie anywhere was it's title. The title is pretty clever. What could be better than the words 'chainsaw' and 'massacre' being in the same title? The words 'blood' and 'massacre' of course. The box art was pretty awesome too, showing a head with some ribs on a platter. How could any horror fan avoid wanting to watch a film called "Blood Massacre" with body parts on a silver platter?
The case and title makes it feel like your picking up either a slasher film or brutal cannibal film. It's niether that. You got this gang of crooks that come across this family in the woods and they end up being cannibals. Sure, cannibalism is beautiful in horror films, but in this film, it wasn't very graphic like the box suggested.
Overall, the film is worth buying for the Slasher Film collector only, merely because of its rarity and its awesome boxart and title. But for entertainment purposes, don't expect much.
Video Violence (1987)
Cleaver Plot
Here is another one of those low budget horror films from the golden age of slashers. The plot consists of a video store that has someone send them a video of local people being tortured. The video store owner goes on his own private investegation. The only gore and blood of the film is when they review the tapes that are sent to them (which is pretty nice stuff to watch). Besides that, the rest of the movie is just a guy going around town doing detective work. Slightly above average for a low budget 80's slasher, but a decent watch for a story.
Scream (1981)
Boring
This movie is just plain boring. You have a group of hikers stop at this ghost town, where there is a slasher. But the picture of the movie is soo dark that you can barely make out anything. Film has horrible lighting. And the deaths weren't all that special. Had a few knifings, but the blood dosage was very small. I'm all up for slashings, but it's meaningless without the lots of blood. I guess it wouldn't matter anyway because the picture was so dark. Not worth watching, maybe worth adding to your 80's slasher collection just for the reason it being the first slasher film to be called Scream before the more updated blockbuster "Scream."
You Better Watch Out (1980)
BORING!!!
This movie is horrible. It is just pure bordom. You have this guy who for whatever reason believes himself to be Santa Clause. He then decides to rob toys from the factory he works at, donates them to a hospital, all while wearing a santa outfit while driving a van with a sleigh painted on the side. This film is not a horror film by any means. You have two or people die, but it had no effect on me, the deaths were dumb along with the story of the film. Wants some good Santa meyhem? Check out SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT. The greatest santa gorefest film you'll check out. How could people actually convince themselves that Christmas Evil is better than Silent Night Deadly Night? I just do not understand. Christmas Evil is just a horrible movie, although the special features on the dvd were pretty kool.
Mother's Day (1980)
Brilliant
I really do love this movie. It has all the blood, sex and insanity that a good 80's horror film needs. The two brothers in this film are just great charecters. In my opinion, they did their roles very well, and the depiction of the insane family values is just some great stuff. You have an old mother who could barely walk telling her sons to make a game out of rape. Where else do you get a story like that except from slasher films? I will always love this movie. Very creative film. The only reason these films are bashed is do to their budget and poor acting. What do you expect from a film like this. It's not about the acting or poor effects, its all about having a fun time and getting a kick out of the film. Don't expect Citizen Kane for crying out loud.
Maniac (1980)
Masterpiece
I don't care what anyone says about this movie, because basically it is a masterpiece. Regardless if your for or against woman brutality, it is a wonderfully made movie. This movie captures the inner most thoughts of a madman, and how and why he feels the way he does towards women. Its not just another eighties slasher of a nut running around hacking up teen girls (although i do enjoy those). This movie has a lot of depth, and is true to reality, such as Berkowitz case, in which inspired the film. Ussually, i would define slasher films as low budget, bad acting, small plot, and lots of gore. This film is all the opposite, besides the gore. I dont even know if i could catorgorize this film as a slasher, its just that good. After listening to the music score on CD, i even became more fascinated by the film. I dont think there will ever be a score like it, besides Halloween. Watch this, NOW!!
Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Beautiful
I had my doubts when I heard about the plot and Busta Rhymes playing in it, but when I actually saw it, i was just shocked. This movie was just amazing. Its more focused around Micheal Myers rather than any of the charecters. I also loved that it took into consideration the sequal before, in which Jason X did not do, but i still love ya Jason! Myers is just an evil killing machine in this movie, the way it must be. The only problem with the film is busta rhymes, he kind of spoiled it with his terrible humor, but myers makes up for that. I hate all modern horror flicks like scream and urban legend, but this movie is beautiful because it worries more about the main man of the film, Myers, and not the teens. Kill Them All Myers!!!!
Blood Cult (1985)
Hmmm...
I got this movie on dvd for the pure reason that it was a slasher movie. This would be a decent movie if the acting was better, i mean its just terrible, beyond terrible. The best actor is the chinese cook in the campus cafeteria. The death scenes were kool, but would be better if the women being slaughtered acted a lot better. Ive seen bad acting, but the acting in this movie looks like someone is acting acting. Movies ok, just needs better acting and more death. You can definitly tell that the film was made by non horror fans, which also kind of kills it.
Boogeymen: The Killer Compilation (2001)
kool, but not great
This movie did have a lot of kool stuff instore, but the main problem with this dvd is the clips of the movies it has. Some of the clips show the ending of the movie, which spoils it for some, and other clips just plain suck. One clip I totally hated was the clip from Jason goes to Hell. Out of all nine friday films out at the time they had to pick the worse of them. Some clips were rather awesome, but me being a Jason fan, i was kind of dissapointed. Besides the problem with the clips, the dvd is pretty kool.
Unmasked Part 25 (1988)
ok movie
Its an ok film, but must only be viewed by lovers of the horror genre. Deaths couldve been better. The british of the film kind of gets annoyin, but its ok. It's also slow paced, not enough slashings and i dont find it all that satiricle. Very similar to the film the Toxic Avenger in certain ways.