Bob_Balaban Reviews

From Beyond (1986)

Stuart Gordon's second film is even better than his debut!

[10/10 · 28 May 2006]

In 1986, one year after Stuart Gordon had directed his cult classic horror-comedy "Re-Animator" he directed "From Beyond" ,another H.P. Lovecraft story which ends up making an even more enjoyable film than his first.

On this film, Gordon teamed up with a lot of the cast and crew from his previous films such as actors Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs, writer Dennis Paoli, and producer Brian Yuzna. By doing this, Gordon creates a similar film to his debut, but due to some liberties taken with the story, it comes out for a much better cinematic experience.

H.P. Lovecraft's short story "From beyond", published in 1920, is actually only used for the per-credits sequence of the film. After that, Gordon deals with the almost "Cronenbergian" aspects of the flesh and human sexuality, while both present in "Re-Animator", here are used much more appropriately.

If you are a fan of "Re-Animator", "The Fly", or "Videodrome", I highly suggest that you give this delightfully odd film a try! THIS MOVIE GETS BONUS POINTS FOR Jeffrey Combs, Barbara Crampton, Ken Foree, and Great Special Effects!

Phantasm II (1988)

Does not pack quite a punch as the first, but is still fun as hell!

[9/10 · 28 May 2006]

In 1979, Don Coscarelli wrote and directed the surreal horror classic, "Phantasm". His film used great special effects and a very creepy score by Fred Myrow ("Soylent Green", "Rubin and Ed"). Nine years later, Coscarelli teamed up with actors Reggie Banister and Angus Scrimm again to make the appropriately titled, "Phantasm II".

While certainly not as creepy as the first film, "Phantasm II" is certainly very fun. Coscarelli was able to use better special effects than in the first film and it certainly is noticeable. Also, this sequel goes with the "Evil Dead II" logic of "bigger is better". Chainsaw duels and explosions are added, not to mention an arsenal of extremely cool weapons including a home made flamethrower and a really cool double shotgun. But bigger is not always better...

One problem that this film has is that it does not capture the "coming of age" theme that the first film has. While this is understandable because all the characters have aged nine years, the feeling the first film had of "investigating something creepy in town" is something we can all relate to. "Stand by Me", "Blue Velvet", and the first "Phantasm" all used this very appropriately, but I only wish that the sequel did as well. Another problem I have is that the character of Mike is so different. In the first he was a curious youngster (similar to Jeffrey Beaumont in "Blue Velvet") but he is much different in this film, as he is much more level headed. However, it is better that his character has changed because he fits the mood of this film.

"Phantasm II" is not a spectacular film, but I really do enjoy it, and that's why I rate it a nine out of ten. It is a rather different film from the first, but is still extremely fun, and that's the reason why I rate it as one of my favorites. Don't go expecting the same mood of "Phantasm", but rather the mood of "Army of Darkness"...

THIS MOVIE GETS BONUS POINTS FOR...

Angus Scrimm, great special effects, creepy soundtrack

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

Tobe Hooper's Masterpiece

[10/10 · 27 May 2006]

In 1974, director Tobe Hooper and writer Kim Henkel set out to make a pitch black dark comedy entitled: "Headcheese". They intended the film to be PG rated comedy, but they ended up making what some see as the most horrifying film of all time which they retitled the more effective "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Now, while they did create a brilliant film which most now see as a classic, in their intentions, they did fail.

Twelve years later, Hooper enlisted L.M. Kit Larson (Wim Wender's great "Paris, Texas") to write him a sequel to "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" appropriately titled: "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2". Larson's screenplay was witty, satirical, and much, much more violent than the original film, which contained much less violence than it is known for. To bring the gore Larson wrote in his screenplay to celluloid, Hooper teamed up with the wizard of gore himself, Tom Savini (Dawn of the Dead, Maniac). Savini's gore looks great and at some points is truly gruesome, thanks to the great cinematography by Richard Kooris. Kooris' cinematography a bizarre yet beautiful feel the original did not have. The age make-up on the grandfather character is also considerably better than in the first film. The music as well, which in the first one was much more avant garde and ultimately bland, here is exciting and really fun.

While Bill Johnson is certainly no Gunnar Hansen at playing Leatherface, this is made up for in the supporting roles, especially those by Bill Moseley ("The Devil's Rejects") and Dennis Hopper ("Easy Rider", "Land of the Dead"). Hopper's character of an insane sheriff hunting down the Leatherface clan is great, but appears to have a much more complex layer to him than the other characters. All in all, the performances do add to the insanity of his brilliant film. I really do enjoy it and I hope you will too!

THIS MOVIE GETS BONUS POINTS FOR:

Chainsaw Duels Dennis Hopper Tom Savini effects