Tag Archives: worst movies

Uncategorized

976-EVIL

4 Comments

976-EVIL

976evil

Today’s feature is the horror flick 976-EVIL: the directorial debut of Robert Englund, who is widely recognized for his role as Freddy Krueger from the A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise.

976-EVIL was written by the duo of Brian Helgeland (Mystic River, The Postman, L.A. Confidential) and Rhet Topham, whose only other theatrical credit was Trick or Treat.

As mentioned, 976-EVIL was the directorial debut of Robert Englund. Outside of the A Nightmare On Elm Street franchise, Englund has also featured in movies like Wishmaster, The Mangler, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Python, and Lake Placid vs. Anaconda.

The cinematographer for the film was Paul Elliott, who shot Friday the 13th Part VII, My Girl, and did camera work on movies like True Grit, No Country For Old Men, Trick Or Treat, Humanoids From The Deep, and Legion.

The editor for 976-EVIL was Stephen Myers, whose other credits include the documentary The Pixar Story, the Hulk Hogan holiday flick Santa With Muscles, and Sometimes They Come Back…Again.

976-EVIL had two credited producers: Lisa Hansen (Scorcher, 976-EVIL II) and Paul Hertzberg (Hotel Erotica).

976evil2The musical score for the film was provided by the duo of Steve Rucker and Thomas Chase, who are best known for working on cartoons like Dexter’s Laboratory and The Powerpuff Girls.

The effects work for 976-EVIL was done by a team that included Marcus Tate (Darkman, UHF), William Mesa (Death To Smoochy, Red Planet, Deep Blue Sea), Tim Donahue (Timecop, Deep Blue Sea), Hal Miles (Leprechaun 4, Communion, Leviathan), Howard Berger (Intruder, People Under The Stairs, Maniac Cop 3, Vampires, The Faculty), Robert Kurtzman (It Follows, From Dusk Till Dawn 3, From Dusk Till Dawn 2, Ghosts of Mars), Kevin Yagher (A Nightmare On Elm Street 2, The Dentist, Trick or Treat, Children of the Corn III), Christopher Swift (Congo), Grant Arndt (Leviathan, Hell Comes To Frogtown, Pumpkinhead), Gino Crognale (DeepStar Six, From Beyond, Troll, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), Rick Lalonde (Son Of The Mask, Child’s Play), Larry Odien (Legion, Space Truckers, Captain America, The Pit and The Pendulum), and Zandra Platzek (Masters of the Universe).

976evil4The cast of the film includes Stephen Geoffreys (Fright Night), Patrick O’Bryan (No Holds Barred), Sandy Dennis (Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf?), Jim Metzler (Hot to Trot, Children of the Corn III), J.J. Cohen (Almost Famous), and Paul Willson (Office Space).

The plot of 976-EVIL centers around an oft-bullied high school nerd, who calls a hot line that promises to end the peer bullying that he constantly faces. However, this hot line is actually run by Satan, who grants the nerd supernatural powers to take revenge on his bullies.

976-EVIL ultimately grossed just under $3 million on an unreported budget. While that was hardly impressive, the movie did wind up getting a direct to video sequel in 1992: 976-EVIL II: The Astral Factor, which was directed by Chopping Mall‘s Jim Wynorski.

The reception to the film was overwhelmingly negative: it currently holds a 5.0 rating on IMDb, along with Rotten Tomatoes aggregate scores of 9% from critics and 28% from audiences.

Right out of the gate, the premise behind 976-EVIL is more than a little bit ridiculous. A demonic hot line would be all fine and good if this movie were written as more of a horror-comedy, but it just doesn’t quite nail that balance. The screenplay never brings the laughs or the scares adequately, and comes off more or less like one of the later (and lesser) A Nightmare On Elm Street movies as a result.

Speaking of which, one of the few positive aspects of those later Nightmare movies are the effects, which at times carry them. 976-EVIL, unfortunately, doesn’t have the impressive level of gore and makeup that those movies could provide, which means there isn’t a whole lot to distract from the other weaknesses of the movie.

On the positive side, the movie generally looks decent (outside of the effects). The production design and cinematography are both on point for this kind of flick, but they aren’t nearly enough to carry it when all is said and done. Without startling effects, well-written jokes/scares, or a stand-out performance, good shooting and design isn’t enough to pull the movie through.

Personally, I think most of the value of 976-EVIL comes from the novelty of it being directed by Robert Englund. I can see why some people like it well enough, but I don’t think anyone out there really loves this movie. Best case scenario, this is a mediocre horror film. However, I would recommend it to anyone who appreciates a kick of nostalgia, because it offers plenty of that to go around.

For some other thoughts on 976-EVIL, I recommend checking out the coverage by Film Connoisseur for a more-or-less positive spin, and We Hate Movies for some comparatively less-than-charitable opinions.

Uncategorized

Demonic Toys

2 Comments

Demonic Toys

demonictoys1

Today’s feature is 1992’s Demonic Toys, a horror film that unsurprisingly prominently features a group of demonic toys.

The original idea for Demonic Toys is credited to company head Charles Band, with screenplay credit going to David S. Goyer, who has since become a bit of a Hollywood sensation with films like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Man Of Steel, The Dark Knight, and Blade. However, his earlier credits include b-movies like Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys, the abysmal early Marvel film Nick Fury: Agent of Shield, and Kickboxer 2.

The director of Demonic Toys was Peter Manoogian, who was also behind low budget flicks like Arena, Eliminators, The Dungeonmaster, Seedpeople, and DevilDolls.

The cinematographer for the film was Adolfo Bartoli, who shot such movies as Prehysteria, Trancers II, The Pit and The Pendulum, Dollman vs Demonic Toys, Subspecies 4, Trancers 4, and Trancers 5.

demonictoys1The editor for Demonic Toys was Andy Horvitch, who cut the Stuart Gordon movies Stuck, Edmond, The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit, and The Pit and The Pendulum, as well as the low budget flicks Arena and Beeper.

The musical score for Demonic Toys was provided by Richard Band, who has worked on Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dreams in the Witch House, Castle Freak, The Pit and The Pendulum, Arena, Troll, and Laserblast, among many others.

The most prominent producer of the film was Full Moon Features and Empire Pictures head, Charles Band, who is widely known for his low budget horror films. His companies have been behind franchises like Dollman, Puppet Master, Ghoulies, Demonic Toys, and Trancers, as well as cult classic films like Robot Jox and Re-Animator.

The effects work for Demonic Toys was done by a team that included Palah Sandling (Dr. Alien, Trancers II), Dennis Gordon (Robot Jox, Q: The Winged Serpent), Harvey Mayo (Robot Jox, Puppetmaster), Kevin McCarthy (Ice Cream Man, Hobgoblins, The Ambulance), Phil Meador (Splash, Ghost Dad), Mark Rappaport (Predator 2, Killer Klowns From Outer Space, The Core), David Allen (Dolls, The Stuff, Laserblast, Q: The Winged Serpent), Yancy Calzada (Mega Piranha, Trick or Treat), Chris Endicott (Prehysteria), and Allen Gonzales (Mortal Kombat, Highlander II, Ghost Dad).

demonictoys4The plot of Demonic Toys follows a group of people who are trapped in a locked toy storage facility, where they inadvertently awaken a demon. The otherworldly creature then uses the various shelved trinkets as vessels and weapons, and makes himself stronger with each subsequent kill.

Demonic Toys has had crossover sequels with fellow Charles Band properties Puppet Masters and Dollman, but didn’t get a true standalone sequel to its own until 2010, with Demonic Toys 2.

demonictoys2The reception to Demonic Toys was generally negative: it currently holds an IMDb rating of 5.1 and a Rotten Tomatoes audience review aggregate score of 32%. As with many Full Moon movies, it never released to theaters, and has thus not had a huge number of eyes on it outside of dedicated horror fans.

First off, the eponymous toys in the movie look absolutely terrible. Most of them are nothing more than semi-elaborate hand puppets, which is painfully obvious every time they are on screen. Worse than that, however, is that a couple of them are vocal, meaning that they have constant, jarring mouth movements. It would be one thing if they were saying things that were menacing or otherwise necessary, but most of the dialogue from the monstrous playthings are poorly delivered one liners and riffs. Speaking of which, the biggest weakness of this movie is a sense of humor that never finds its footing. Throughout the whole film, I can’t think of a single joke that honestly landed for me, and I can’t imagine it looked any better in screenplay form.

The primary antagonist of the movie is a mysterious demon who controls the various toys. However, he doesn’t use the toys for much other than his casual dirty work, preferring do engage in a few parlor scenes and monologues with various characters himself. Typically, I wouldn’t mind that so much out of a b-movie villain, but the demon here has a huge problem: until the very end of the movie, he is played by a child, who is dubbed over with an adult voice with a heavy effects filter. It both sounds and looks terrible, and is immensely distracting in all of his scenes.

Speaking of which, I’m not entirely clear as to why each of the toys had a unique personality, when they are all being directly controlled by the same demon. Wouldn’t they all be identical reflections of that demon, rather than different based on their appearances? Unsurprisingly, there isn’t much time spent on how the toy possession works, so it just stands as lingering logic issue.

demonictoys5The setup for the plot of Demonic Toys is a bit overly complicated and over the top, to say the least. The plot kicks off with an undercover illegal gun trafficking bust that goes wrong, which sounds like the start for a very different kind of movie. Apart from establishing the location and revealing a tiny bit of character backstory, this elaborate initial setup doesn’t have any real bearing on the rest of the plot. Some good movies can pull this off really well, as crucial information is revealed before the turn. However, there isn’t much revealed about the characters in the opening, apart from the fact that the lead is newly pregnant. The experiences shown in the opening don’t reveal a whole lot about the gun runners or the demon either, making it feel basically like wasted time.

Towards the middle of the story, it is revealed that the demon is looking for a new physical body, and needs to take over an unborn human child to do so. From that point on, the plot centers around the demon setting up a ceremony to take over the woman cop’s 1 month old fetus, which is a bit of an odd turn. From there, an umbilical war occurs between the demon and the fetus soul of the unborn kid,  which eventually ends in the demon being thwarted. The end of the movie shows a bit of a creepy/supposedly-touching moment between the cop and her fetus-ghost, which gives the movie a vague anti-abortion vibe. After all, it is established that this fetus, which is less than 1 month into development, has a fully developed soul that is capable of possessing objects and influencing the natural world. To put it mildly, the tone of the entire last act is fucking weird. I half expected a post-credit sermon about the demonic evils of abortion.

demonictoys3Overall, Demonic Toys is just a less entertaining or well developed version of Dolls / Puppet Master / Child’s Play, and it doesn’t try to hide that at any point. Much like Dolls, there is a giant killer teddy bear. Much like Child’s Play, there’s a innocent doll with a filthy mouth. Much like Puppet Master… it is almost exactly the same thing as Puppet Master. For the life of me, I don’t understand why this is its own franchise when Full Moon already had Puppet Master in their arsenal. In any case, the bizarre third act almost makes it worth watching for the WTF-factor, but not quite. I still enjoyed seeing shitty hand puppets murder people, but enough to recommend this to anyone but the most die-hard Full Moon die-hards.

Uncategorized

Trick or Treat

6 Comments

Trick or Treat

trickortreat1

Today’s feature, in the spirit of the Halloween season, is 1986’s Trick or Treat.

The screenplay for Trick or Treat is credited to producer Michael S. Murphey, Joel Soisson (Dracula 2000, Piranha 3DD, Mimic 2), and Rhett Topham (976-EVIL), with uncredited work done by Glen Morgan (Final Destination) and James Wong (The X-Files).

The director on Trick or Treat was character actor Charles Martin Smith, who has appeared in such movies as The Untouchables and Starman. His other directing credits have included Air Bud, Dolphin Tale, and Dolphin Tale 2.

The cinematographer for the movie was Robert Elswit, who has shot such acclaimed films as Nightcrawler, There Will Be Blood,  and The Town, as well as less acclaimed flicks like Gigli and 8MM.

The editor for Trick or Treat was Jane Jaffe, who was an assistant editor on films like Pretty In Pink, Terms of Endearment, St. Elmo’s Fire, and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension.

trickortreat2The music for the movie was provided by Christopher Young, who has provided scores to such movies as Swordfish, Sinister, Priest, The Core, and Hellraiser over his career.

Trick or Treat was produced by co-writers Michael S. Murphey (From Dusk Till Dawn 2, From Dusk Till Dawn 3, A Nightmare On Elm Street 2) and Joel Soisson (Maniac Cop 3, The Prophecy, Dracula 2000), along with Scott White (Gotham).

The makeup effects on Trick or Treat were provided by Alec Gillis (Mortal Kombat, Wolf, Leviathan), Chris Goehe (Howard the Duck, Signs, Dead Heat), Everett Burrell (Castle Freak, Re-Animator, DeepStar Six, Troll), Rudolph Eavy III (Cyborg, Weekend at Bernie’s), David Kindlon (Leprechaun, DeepStar Six, Hell Comes To Frogtown, From Beyond), Daniel Marc (House II), Ralph Miller III (Dolls), Brian Penikas (Tank Girl, Leviathan), and Kevin Yagher (A Nightmare On Elm Street 2, Child’s Play).

The special effects crew on Trick or Treat was made up of Thomas Love (Midnight Run), Steve Wolke (Swordfish, Lawnmower Man 2), Larry Roberts (House of Yes, Masters of the Universe), Randy Kenan (The Abyss, Muppets from Space), and Jeff Frink (Dead Heat, Maximum Overdrive).

trickortreat6The visual effects team for the movie included Doug Beswick (Aliens, Evil Dead II, Blade), David S. Williams Jr. (Blood Diamond, xXx, Tremors, SpaceCamp), Dick Ramirez (Dune, SpaceCamp), Richard Malzahn (Suburban Commando, Leviathan, Kull The Conqueror), and Jeff Burks (The Abyss, Predator).

The cast of Trick or Treat is made up of Marc Price (Family Ties), Tony Fields (Santa Barbara), Doug Savant (Desperate Housewives), Elaine Joyce (Motel Hell), Gene Simmons (Never Too Young To Die, Runaway), and Ozzy Osbourne (The Osbournes).

The story of Trick or Treat centers around a outcast high schooler with a deep love for metal music, whose musical idol is killed in an apparent hotel fire. After the rocker’s death, his last recording winds up in the hands of his biggest fan. However, this final release proves to be more than a standard album, and the young fan starts having strange visions and dreams after listening to it.

The songs used for the movie were provided by the band “Fastway,” which was made up of Dave King of Flogging Molly and Eddie Clarke of Motorhead.

Glen Morgan, a now-prolific Hollywood producer of such movies as Final Destination, Black Christmas, and Willard, appears in his only on-screen acting role in this movie.

Trick or Treat was produced by Dino De Laurentiis’s company, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, which also released such films as Blue Velvet, Maximum Overdrive, Manhunter, Evil Dead II, and Pumpkinhead.

Trick or Treat now has a bit of a cult following based on its outlandish plot, soundtrack, and rock star casting. This is in spite of the film not receiving a new video release in a number of years, reportedly due to rights issues with the music included in the soundtrack. Currently, it hols a 5.7 rating on IMDb, along with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 63% from aggregated audience reviews.

trickortreat4Trick or Treat capitalizes on the widespread fear of the rebellious influence of rock and roll on the youth of the United States, which was the loathed genre of choice of middle class parents prior to the rise of rap and hip hop as the new musical social pariahs. The inclusion of Gene Simmons and Ozzie Osbourne in the cast was clearly designed as a nod to their own penchants for controversy, not unlike the fictional rock star at the center of the film. Both men, on top of releasing controversial rock music, were known for their wild concert exhibitions, and were thus the ire of many religious zealots and puritanical social critics.

I don’t think that this movie was ever meant to be taken particularly seriously as a horror flick. The film makes it pretty clear that the idea of rock music inspiring violence and misbehavior is ridiculous, and the plot seems to mock the ludicrousness of the concept. Basically, the film takes the position that the only way that music could cause teens to commit crimes is if they were possessed by evil ghosts of metal gods. That said, the comedic elements aren’t explicitly laid out, and there aren’t any jokes to speak of, so it defies being labeled a comedy. I can’t help but wonder if this could have been a really hilarious horror/comedy movie if they had been willing to lean into the comedic elements a little harder. Alas, the movie sits in a no-man’s-land between being funny and scary, and never really finds a good balance.

The effects work in the movie is surprisingly interesting and strange, and goes in directions that I did not at all expect or predict going into it. I thought that this would be a pretty simple possession deal, but there are some proper monstrous shenanigans in this flick, which is certainly a memorable aspect to the movie. I also think Wes Craven took some notes from this movie when he was working on Shocker, as there are a few notable similarities with that flick, particularly in regards to the villain.

Overall, Trick or Treat is a case where the concept was way better on paper than the execution wound up being on screen, which is a real shame. It is still worth seeing for the novelty value and a few highlight moments, particularly for anyone looking for a 1980s metal nostalgia trip. But, because it isn’t particularly easy to get a hold of, it may take more effort than it is worth to dig up a copy. That said, it isn’t impossible to find online if you do some searching for it.

Uncategorized

Wolves of Wall Street

Leave a comment

Wolves of Wall Street

wolveswallstreet1

Today’s feature is David DeCoteau’s Wolves of Wall Street, about literal werewolf stock brokers.

Wolves of Wall Street was written by Barry L. Levy, who also provided screenplays for the films Vantage Point, Paranoia, and a short film called How The Pimp Saved Christmas.

Wolves of Wall Street was directed by David DeCoteau, an infamous b-movie director who has been behind such films as Puppet Master III, Dr. Alien, Prehysteria 3, The Killer Eye, Retro Puppet Master, and A Talking Cat?!?

The cinematographer for the film was Horacio Marquinez, who shot movies like World’s Greatest Dad, Vacancy 2, StarStruck, and Dummy.

The team of effects workers for Wolves of Wall Street included Luke DiTomasso (A Most Violent Year, Nurse Jackie), Tobi Britton (The Flamingo Kid), Brian Abbott (Captivity, Party Monster), Ildiko Juhasz (Return To Sleepaway Camp), and Leza Ann Rawlins (The Motel, Going Under).

The team of producers for Wolves of Wall Street was made up of Paul Colichman (Murder Dot Com, Gods and Monsters), Roberta Friedman (A Good Night To Die, Alphabet City), Andreas Hess (Ice Spiders), Sylvia Hess (Nuclear Hurricane, An Accidental Christmas), Michael Mahoney (Castle Freak, Trancers 5), and Jeffrey Schenck (Malibu Shark Attack, Big Monster On Campus).

wolveswallstreet2The musical score for the film was provided by Harry Manfredini, who has provided music for such memorable horror films as Friday the 13th, Swamp Thing, House, Deepstar Six, Wishmaster, Jason X, and The Omega Code.

The cast for the film included Eric Roberts (Miss Castaway, Inherent Vice, Doctor Who), Elisa Donovan (Clueless), Bradley Stryker (The Lizzie Borden Chronicles), John-Paul Lavoisier (One Life To Live), Jason-Shane Scott (Starship Troopers 2), Michael Bergin (Baywatch), William Gregory Lee (Justified), and Jeff Branson (The Young and The Restless).

The story of Wolves of Wall Street follows a young, aspiring stock broker as he moves to New York and breaks into the world of Wall Street. In order to make his way, he joins up with a ruthless firm of brokers, who demand his life in exchange for success. Also, they are apparently werewolves.

wolveswallstreet3Wolves of Wall Street, as the title suggests, is (very) loosely based on the story of Jordan Belfourt, which would be made famous in Martin Scorsese’s lauded film The Wolf of Wall Street. Belfourt, on top of his notorious career on Wall Street, produced a number of b-movies (including Santa With Muscles) over the years, and became a friend of David DeCoteau’s from acting as a producer on his films Skeletons and Prey of the Jaguar.

Wolves of Wall Street, shockingly, is not a very subtle movie. The parallels between wolves and stock brokers are made constantly and explicitly, to the point that is is exhausting to sit through. Stock brokers are shown urinating on objects to claim them, obsessing over red meat, showing off superhuman senses of smell, and pack hunting, and the full moon might just have more screen time than Eric Roberts by the end of the movie. Before I even got halfway through the movie, I was muttering to myself “yeah, I get it.” At the same time, the movie does everything it can to not show that the stock brokers are actual werewolves, which I have to assume was a budget decision. After all, special effects makeup is expensive, and I think this movie was made for less than the wardrobe costs of The Wolf of Wall Street.

One of my biggest issues with Wolves of Wall Street is that the supposedly relatable and pure protagonist is a bit of an asshat from the beginning of the film. The central romance of the movie is the direct result of him essentially cornering a woman and refusing to accept that she didn’t want to date him, which eventually gets him what he wants. As the plot goes on, he becomes increasingly possessive and aggressively jealous. Basically, he is exactly the sort of jackass that the rest of the stock brokers are, but the audience is supposed to be on his side because he is theoretically good-hearted deep down. It doesn’t help that the actor playing him is absolutely terrible, but the writing of the character would have ruined him regardless.

Worse than the bad characters, abysmal acting, and heavy-handed writing is the hard fact that this movie is just plain boring. In spite of all of those other problems, this might have made for a fun and cheesy film with the right spin on it. Unfortunately, this movie as it stands is the rough equivalent of watching paint dry, and I know what I’m talking about there. The only reason I might recommend watching this movie is for the interesting tangential connection to Jordan Belfourt and the much superior Scorcese movie, and because of how hilarious this movie would have been if it starred Leonardo DiCaprio as the Belfourt surrogate and Matthew McConaughey in Eric Roberts’s role. If only.

Uncategorized

The Exorcist II: The Heretic

8 Comments

The Exorcist II: The Heretic

exorcistii1

Today’s film is 1977’s notoriously terrible Exorcist II: The Heretic.

Exorcist II was written by William Goodhart, who only had two other film credits in his career: 1980’s Cloud Dancer and 1969’s Generation.

The film was directed and produced by John Boorman, who is known for such films as Zardoz, Deliverance, and Point Blank.

The cinematographer for Exorcist II was William Fraker, who also shot The Island of Doctor Moreau, Street Fighter, Tombstone, 1941, and Rosemary’s Baby, among many others.

Exorcist II had two credited editors: Tom Priestley, who cut Nineteen Eighty-Four, Deliverance, Voyage of the Damned, and The Return of the Pink Panther, and John Merritt, who worked on the Boorman films Zardoz and Excalibur.

The musical score for Exorcist II was provided by Ennio Morricone, who is known for scoring such films as A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, Once Upon A Time In The West, The Thing, White Dog, and Wolf.

The effects work on Exorcist II was provided by the team of Ron Berkeley (JFK, The Alamo), Wayne Edgar (The Rookie, Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure), Gary Liddiard (Tango & Cash, TRON, Sneakers), Dick Smith (Scanners, Marathon Man, Taxi Driver), Albert Whitlock (Clue, The Thing, The Blues Brothers), Jim Blount (Time After Time), Chuck Gaspar (SpaceCamp, Mitchell, Anaconda), Jeff Jarvis (RoboCop 3, Howard the Duck), Richard Ratliff (Speed, Howard the Duck, Communion, Gremlins), and Bill Hansard (Hudson Hawk, Gremlins).

The cast for the film included Linda Blair (The Exorcist), Ned Beatty (Captain America, Network), James Earl Jones (The Ambulance, Field of Dreams, Conan The Barbarian), Paul Henreid (Casablanca), Kitty Winn (The Exorcist), Max von Sydow (Minority Report, Judge Dredd), Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), and Richard Burton (Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?).

exorcistii2

The plot of Exorcist II follows Reagan, who was possessed in the first movie, as she has entered young adulthood. While she doesn’t recall the events of the first film, she is put through experimental hypnosis in order for doctors and priests to learn more about what happened, and hopefully save future possession victims.

Reportedly, the original cast and crew of The Exorcist were almost unilaterally against the idea of the film having a sequel. Linda Blair eventually agreed to be involved, but later hated the eventual product.

Before John Boorman was brought on board to direct the film, an offer was made to have the legendary director Stanley Kubrick helm the project, which he unsurprisingly declined. Boorman was approached because he was initially considered for the original film, but chose to make Zardoz instead, which proved to be a colossal failure.

Reportedly, the rough cut of the movie was 3 hours long, and had to be dramatically cut and simplified for the theatrical release. After the initial poor reception, it was re-cut again in hopes of improving the response, which was ultimately futile.

Exorcist II: The Heretic was followed by three more sequels in the franchise: 1990’s The Exorcist III, 2004’s Exorcist: The Beginning, and 2005’s Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist.

A number of actors were considered for the lead role in Exorcist II: The Heretic, including Jack Nicholson, David Carradine, and Jon Voight.

The screenplay written by William Goodhart was mostly ignored throughout the filming of the movie, and was rewritten nearly day-to-day throughout the production.

At the time, Exorcist II was the most expensive film ever produced by the Warner Brothers studio, with an estimated budget of $14 million. It was ultimately profitable, raking in over $30 million domestically, but far under-performed on its lofty expectations.

The reception to Exorcist II was legendarily negative. The original writer of The Exorcist, William Peter Blatty, claimed that he openly laughed when he fist saw the movie, and that people threw objects at the screen during the screening he attended. The Exorcist director William Friedkin is quoted as saying that the film “was as bad as seeing a traffic accident in the street. It was horrible.” Currently, it holds Rotten Tomatoes aggregated scores of 22% from critics and 13% from audiences, along with an IMDb rating of 3.7.

One of the most perplexing aspects of Exorcist II is the music, which couldn’t be more of a departure from the menacing, minimal, and iconic theme of the first movie. It almost defies description: the theme is something between rock and pop, but somehow sounds not quite like either. Other parts of the score sound like they were pulled straight out of a spaghetti western. Ultimately, none of it quite fits with what the movie should have been.

Exorcist II contains a number of surreal dream sequences, which are meant to explain the origins of the possession in the first movie. While they are visually striking and interestingly shot, they never come close to being honestly coherent, which almost certainly turned off most casual audiences.

The screenplay is almost certainly the weakest link with Exorcist II: both the story and the dialogue are severely lacking, and the reported constant rewriting almost certainly didn’t help anything. It is hard to say how much of the fault is with the initial screenplay and how much is due to the rewriting, but I think it is fair to say that neither were done particularly well.

Overall, I found Exorcist II a bit too boring to justify sitting through as a good-bad watch. There are certainly highlights, but the only reason I would recommend watching it is because of how publicly the movie failed, and how much it has seeped into the public consciousness over the years. It comes off not unlike Zardoz: a bad art movie with high aspirations and barely a shred of coherence. But, for what it is worth, I think Zardoz is a far more enjoyable bad movie watch.

Uncategorized

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood

3 Comments

Friday the 13th Part VII

fridaypartseven

Today’s feature is Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, in which Jason Vorhees faces off against a telekinetic heroine.

Friday the 13th Part VII was directed by special effects guru John Carl Buechler, who also directed the movies Troll and Ghoulies Go To College. His special effects credits included movies like From Beyond, Dolls, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, Carnosaur, The Gingerdead Man, and Robot Jox, among many others.

The cinematographer for the film was Paul Elliott, who also shot Fat Albert, My Girl, and 976-EVIL, and provided camera work on Legion, No Country For Old Men, True Grit, Trick or Treat, Saturday the 14th, and Humanoids From The Deep.

Friday the 13th Part VII had three credited editors: Maureen O’Connell (The Hidden, Doogie Howser, M.D.), Martin Jay Sadoff (Graduation Day), and Barry Zetlin (Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, Ghoulies II, Children of the Corn II).

The music for the movie is credited to two people: prolific horror score composer Harry Manfredini (Jason X, Wolves of Wall Street, DeepStar Six, House, Friday the 13th, The Omega Code, Slaughter High, Wishmaster, Swamp Thing) and Fred Mollin, who would return to do the music for Friday the 13th Part VIII.

The team of producers for Friday the 13th Part VII included Barbara Sachs (Friday the 13th Part VIII), Iain Paterson (House of Cards, The Riches, Are You Afraid Of The Dark?), and Frank Mancuso Jr. (Species, Friday the 13th: A New Beginning).

The special effects team on Friday the 13th Part VII included, apart from director John Carl Buechler, Lynn Buechler (Carnosaur, Ghoulies), Lou Carlucci (In the Mix, Killer Klowns From Outer Space), John Criswell (From Beyond, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie), Robin L. D’Arcy (North, House II), Jim Doyle (The Stuff, Showgirls), John Foster (Robot Jox, Carnosaur), Greg Johnson (From Beyond, Critters), David Kindlon (Leprechaun, Wolf, DeepStar Six), Joe Podnar (The Midnight Meat Train), Timothy Ralston (Evolver), Patrick Simmons (Arena), Richard Snell (Hudson Hawk, The Running Man), and Heidi Snyder (Ghoulies II, Gremlins 2).

The cast of the movie is made up of Kane Hodder (Jason X, Friday the 13th Part VIII), Susan Blu (Jem, The Transformers), Lar Park Lincoln (House II), Terry Kiser (Weekend At Bernie’s, Weekend At Bernie’s II), Kevin Spirtas (The Hills Have Eyes Part II), Heidi Kozak (Slumber Part Massacre II), and William Butler (Ghoulies II, Arena).

Friday the 13th Part VII was the first Friday the 13th movie to feature Kane Hodder as Jason, who is now the most popularly associated actor with the role. He was already an experienced stunt coordinator, and provided his own stunts in the film.

Most of the music used in the film is recycled from the previous movies in the franchise, which is why Harry Manfredini is given a music credit. The few original compositions that were used were provided by Fred Mollin, who shares the music credit.

The original vision for the movie was to pit Jason Vorhees against Freddy Kruger, but New Line Cinema and Paramount Pictures weren’t able to figure out the logistics behind the scenes. However, the ending of Friday the 13th Part IX officially combines the universes, and sets up their eventual confrontation in 2003’s Freddy vs. Jason. Due to the lack of Freddy Kruger, the screenplay for Friday the 13th Part VII was eventually written for a Carrie-like telekinetic adversary instead.

Jason X, the tenth film in the franchise, re-creates an infamous death sequence from Friday the 13th Part VII, in which Jason traps a teenager in their sleeping bag and slams them repeatedly against a tree.

Reportedly, it took nine re-submissions with new cuts in order for Friday the 13th Part VII to get an R rating from the MPAA ratings board, which was dead set on giving the film an X. Because of this, a number of death sequences were left on the cutting room floor.

The writing work done for Friday the 13th Part VII is a bit of a mystery. The initial writer of the screenplay, Daryl Haney, was dismissed early in the production, and all of the rewrites are credited to an apparent pseudonym, Manuel Fidello.

The budget for Friday the 13th Part VII was under $3 million, on which it grossed over $19 million domestically in its theatrical run.

The reception to Friday the 13th Part VII was generally negative, though it has a bit of a cult following among horror fans now. It currently holds a 5.2 rating on IMDb, along with Rotten Tomatoes aggregate scores of 26% from critics and 38% from audiences.

Personally, I think that Friday the 13th Part VII deserves some credit for doing something a little different with the franchise. In all of the previous entries, Jason had never had a real challenger before with any kind of otherworldly or paranormal powers. While Tommy Jarvis was able to get the better of him twice, he is definitely just a human, and wasn’t a toe to toe match for Jason. Tina, on the other hand, has the destructive powers of her telekinesis, which she uses to physically challenge Jason.

The effects team for The New Blood clearly had a blast thinking of ways to use Tina’s telekinesis to fight Jason, and the powers certainly opened up a lot of new doors and possibilities for deaths and effects. Personally, I am a big fan of the entire sequence where Tina essentially collapses a house in on top of Jason with her powers.

It is pretty evident that the MPAA ratings cuts hurt the movie significantly. A lot of the draw for the Friday the 13th franchise films are the creative deaths and effects work, which is primarily what got cut and minimized in order to get an R rating. I doubt that the uncut version would have fared tremendously better with audiences, but it would almost certainly have worked better for die hard fans of the franchise.

The appearance of Jason under the mask in The New Blood is really strange and demonic, more so than he is in the other movies. While Jason’s appearance varies somewhat from movie to movie, he is usually more zombie-like and decayed than demonic. Whether you dig his look here or not, it certainly stands out as one of the most memorable faces of Jason in the franchise.

fridaypartseven1Overall, Friday the 13th Part VII is one of the most memorable entries into the franchise, if not anywhere near being one of the best. I generally recommend giving it a watch just based on the ludicrous premise alone. Personally, I think it is more enjoyable than the other “bad” entries into the franchise, and would recommend it over Jason X, Part V, or Part VIII.

Uncategorized

Leprechaun In The Hood

4 Comments

Leprechaun In The Hood

leprechaunhood1

Today’s film is one of the most notorious horror sequels of all time: Leprechaun In The Hood, the fifth entry into the franchise.

Leprechaun In The Hood was directed, produced, and co-written by Rob Spera, who has worked extensively on the television shows Criminal Minds and Army Wives, as well as the films Bloody Murder 2: Closing Camp and Sexual Predator.

The cinematographer for the film was Mike Mickens, who was a camera operator on such films as Bats and The Apostate before shooting Leprechaun In The Hood.

The editor for Leprechaun In The Hood was JJ Jackson, who cut a number of episodes of The Real Housewives of Orange County, along with an assortment of low-budget movies.

leprechaunhood2The team of producers for Leprechaun In The Hood included Bruce David Eisen (The Dentist 2, Trucks, Evolver, The Dentist), Ralph Cooper (Hugo Pool), Michael P. Flanagan (Pitch Perfect, 88 Minutes, The Black Dahlia), Darn Spillman (Blood Surf, Van Wilder: Freshman Year), and Mike Upton (John Wick, Black Christmas).

The effects work for the movie was provided by a team that included Gabe Bartalos (From Beyond, Dolls, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Leprechaun 3, Leprechaun), Terri Lynn (Saturday the 14th Strikes Back), Christian Boudman (Double Team, Men In Black 3), Tim Jacobsen (Mad Men, Lie To Me, Terriers), and Craig Kuehne (Fringe, Grimm).

The cast for Leprechaun In The Hood was made up of Ice-T (Tank Girl, Johnny Mnemonic), Warwick Davis (Leprechaun, Willow), Lobo Sebastian (Columbus Day, The Longest Yard), Dan Martin (Heat), Anthony Montgomery (Star Trek: Enterprise), and Rashaan Nall (Cuts, One on One).

Leprechaun In The Hood was the fifth film in the Leprechaun franchise, following Leprechaun 4: In Space. It was followed up by a direct sequel: Leprechaun: Back 2 The Hood, though it was a sequel in title only.

The Leprechaun series was recently rebooted in 2014 with the film Leprechaun: Origins, which was produced by WWE studios with the wrestler Dylan ‘Hornswoggle’ Postl taking over the titular role.

Though Leprechaun In The Hood has a definite ironic cult following now, it was certainly not well received at the time. It currently holds an abysmal 3.6 rating on IMDb, along with comparably low Rotten Tomatoes scores of 33% from critics and 31% from audiences.

Leprechaun In The Hood is packed full of poor attempts at humor throughout its run time, which mostly just come off as being offensive to a variety of people, and not necessarily even the ones you would expect. For example, this movie is graced with offensive portrayals of Asians and trans women, which is not something I expected from a movie about an Irish mythic figure invading Los Angeles.

leprechaunhood5The constant rhyming from the Warwick Davis’s Leprechaun is as grating as ever in Leprechaun In The Hood, but has the added dimension of being integrated into music in the movie. The infamous rap number that concludes the film is about as close the movie comes to having a real highlight.

Speaking of the rap number, the way the film is edited actually pulls the sequence out of the chronology of the story. The Leprechaun’s rap at the end of the film is shown to be how he possesses a number of women, who were used as his servants throughout most of the movie. Clearly, the rap number was intended for earlier in the film to establish his power of possession and the characters of his minions, but the film was re-cut at some point to move the sequence.

leprechaunhood3Overall, Leprechaun In The Hood is only about as entertaining as the premise can carry it. The writing tries a little too hard to be funny, and comes off as shitty and offensive instead. Personally, I think Leprechaun 3 is the most entertaining entry into the franchise, but there are plenty out there who swear by this one. For bad movie fans, it is essential watching regardless, but I think that it generally fails to live up to its potential.

Uncategorized

Shredder

Leave a comment

Shredder

shredder1

Today’s feature is the 2003 snowboarding-themed slasher movie, Shredder.

Shredder was directed and co-written by Greg Huson, whose only other notable credits are for editing a variety of Playboy documentaries. His co-writer for the film was Craig Donald Carlson, who apparently served as an electrician on the killer puppet movie Pinnochio’s Revenge.

The cinematographer for the film was Charles Schner, who was a camera operator on Carnosaur 3 and Captain America: Civil War, and worked on a variety of television shows including The Mentalist, My Name Is Earl, and American Horror Story.

The editor for Shredder was Andi Armaganian, who has done extensive cutting work on the television shows Arrow and Smallville.

The musical score for Shredder was provided by Alan Derian, who was composed music for a variety of low budget features, including Red Line, Beatdown, Beneath the Blue, and Eye of the Dolphin.

The team of producers for Shredder were Jerry P. Jacobs (Disaster Movie, Cyber Tracker), Geof Miller (DeepStar Six, House IV), and Rory Veal (Lovers Lane),

The effects work for the film was provided by the team of Jerry L. Buxbaum (The Kill Hole, Bullet), Mark Villalobos (Army of Darkness, The Mangler, The Prophecy), Minky Billups (Baby Geniuses, Mission Impossible: II), and Scott Billups (Barb Wire).

The cast for Shredder included Scott Eric Weinger (Aladdin), Lindsey McKeon (Saved By The Bell: The New Class), Billy O’Sullivan (The Van Dyke Show), Brad Hawkins (Boyhood), and Candace Moon (Lions For Lambs, Speed Demon).

Shredder was briefly released to theaters in parts of the northwestern United States, where snowboarding is a big hobby.

In Japan, there was apparently an attempt to market the film as a Friday the 13th sequel, going by the title of Jason Z, which was an aping of the 2001 hit Jason X.

shredder3The reception to Shredder was very negative: it currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes aggregated audience score of 24%, alongside an IMDb rating of 4.5.

Shredder is plagued with awful characters and dialogue from start to finish. There is a constant barrage of lines like “You are so killer!” and “Somebody kill me!,” and more utterances of the word “dude” than I have ever heard outside of The Big Lebowski. The characters are by and large immature brats of high class birth who aren’t identifiable in the slightest, and basically only exist to be “shredded.” By the end of the film, I hated snowboarders as much as the killer, and couldn’t help but pull for the masked skiier to finish off the bunch.

shredder2Shredder tries to ride the line between horror and comedy, presenting an assortment of red herrings and ludicrous character deaths. Personally, I got a slight chuckle out of the sheer silliness of the frozen corpse inside of a snowman and the snow angels made with killed snowboarders. However, most of the attempts at humor just don’t work in the slightest, and come off as either in poor taste or just extremely lazy. In a lot of ways, it bears similarities to Scream in how the characters are written with an awareness of slasher movie tropes, but without any sense of subtlety.

Overall, Shredder is a fairly generic slasher movie that clearly had aspirations of being more. As it is, though, there isn’t a whole lot to recommend here. Horror fans might enjoy it for the generic slasher that it is, but it certainly isn’t anything unique to go out of the way for.

Uncategorized

From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter

8 Comments

From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter

dusktilldawnthree1

Today’s feature is the concluding entry into the From Dusk Till Dawn trilogy: From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter.

From Dusk Till Dawn 3 was co-written by original From Dusk Till Dawn director Robert Rodriguez with his cousin Alvaro Rodriguez, who has served as a writer on the From Dusk Till Dawn television series and Machete.

The Hangman’s Daughter was directed by P. J. Pesce, who also helmed Smokin’ Aces 2, Lost Boys: The Tribe, and worked on television shows like Tremors, Fringe, and Supernatural.

The cinematographer for From Dusk Till Dawn 3 was Michael Bonvillain, who also shot the films Zombieland and American Ultra.

The editor on the film was Lawrence A. Maddox, who has worked extensively on the television shows Raising Hope and Life on Mars, and also cut the film American Kickboxer 2.

The musical score for From Dusk Till Dawn 3 was provided by Nathan Barr, who also did the music for Beerfest, True Blood, Club Dread, Hostel, and Hemlock Grove.

hangman3The team of producers for The Hangman’s Daughter included original From Dusk Till Dawn director and co-writers Robert Rodriguez (The Faculty, Sin City) and Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Django Unchained, Kill Bill), Meir Teper (Crazy In Alabama, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape), Gianni Nunnari (The Departed, From Dusk Till Dawn), Michael Murphey (Dredd, Trick or Treat), Lawrence Bender (Intruder, Reservoir Dogs), and Elizabeth Avellan (The Faculty, Desperado).

The makeup effects work was provided by Howard Berger (The Black Cat, The Faculty, Maniac Cop 3), Michael Deak (Pick Me Up, From Beyond), Chiz Hasegawa (Tremors 4, Scream 2), Greg Nicotero (Intruder, DeepStar Six, From Beyond), Robert Kurtzman (It Follows), Melanie Tooker (Legion, Wishmaster), and Bill Hunt (District 9, Scream).

The special effects team for The Hangman’s Daughter included Andre G. Ellingson (Criminal Minds), Giuliano Fiumani (The Core, Waterworld), Chris Hanson (S. Darko, The Faculty), Albert Lannutti (Fright Night), Wayne Toth (The Faculty, Spawn), Janek Zabielski (The Mangler), and Eugene Botha (From Dusk Till Dawn 2).

The visual effects crew for the film was made up of Jim Carbonetti (Simon Sez, The Faculty), Scott Coulter (It’s Alive, Shark Attack 3, The Faculty), George Johnsen (Dogma, Foodfight), Laurel Klick (Wolfen, Bordello of Blood, Mortal Kombat), Greg Nelson (The Faculty, Torque), Patrick Perez (Speed Racer, Stealth), and Jeremy Yates (Simon Sez).

The cast of From Dusk Till Dawn 3 was made up of Michael Parks (Tusk, Red State, Django Unchained), Danny Trejo (Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn 2, Breaking Wind, Anaconda), Marco Leonardi (Cinema Paradiso), Temuera Morrison (Speed 2: Cruise Control), Rebecca Gayheart (Urban Legend), and Orlando Jones (MADtv, Evolution).

hangman4The name of the film, The Hangman’s Daughter, is taken from a short story written by the real author Ambrose Bierce, who is fictitiously portrayed as a lead character in the movie.

Much like From Dusk Till Dawn 2, From Dusk Till Dawn 3 released straight to video, and was similarly poorly received. It currently holds a 4.8 rating on IMDb. which is still very low, but is notably better than From Dusk Till Dawn 2‘s 4.0.

Michael Parks is fantastic, as he always seems to be. the movie vastly improves whenever his character is on screen. However, he typically appears in conjunction with a couple of bible salesmen, who are a bit excessively cartoonish in the first section of the movie.

The Hangman’s Daughter has a pretty interesting story before the vampires pop up, which is a big improvement over the second movie. The characters (for the most part) are compelling and given some degree of depth, including even the bible salesmen couple as the movie goes on.

hangman1I personally like that the setting of the movie is in the past, rather than another story set in the present day. The lack of the familiar “Titty Twister” bar makes it feel more like a departure from the first movie, which I think is a good thing in this case to keep things fresh.

As was the case with Texas Blood Money, The Hangman’s Daughter definitely looks notably cheaper than the first From Dusk Till Dawn, but I found that the gore and makeup looked much better here than in Texas Blood Money, which relied a bit too much on visual effects rather than practical ones.

A handful of decisions that are made throughout the movie are thoroughly confusing to me, like the clairvoyant inebriation of Ambrose Bierce, the sepia dance sequence that comes on without precedence, and the really disappointing conclusion. However, I think there were far more good things going on in this movie than bad, which is more than I anticipated from the film. I would go so far as to say that this movie is a pretty decent sequel for From Dusk Till Dawn, when you take the budget differential into account.

Overall, I think The Hangman’s Daughter is definitely worth checking out for fans of the first movie, or for anyone who enjoyed Michael Parks’s recent work in Kevin Smith’s Red State and Tusk. He is definitely the primary draw here, though there are plenty of other positive things to enjoy in the movie. It isn’t great by any means, but it is serviceable for what it is.

Uncategorized

From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money

8 Comments

From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money

dusktilldawntwo1

Today’s feature is the reviled straight-to-video sequel, From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money.

From Dusk Till Dawn 2 was directed and co-written by Scott Spiegel, who was also behind the cult classic slasher flick, Intruder. His co-writers on the film were Boaz Yakin (The Punisher, Prince of Persia) and actor Duane Whitaker (Hobgoblins, Pulp Fiction).

The cinematographer for Texas Blood Money was Philip Lee, who provided camera work on such films as Best Seller, Hoosiers, and Jurassic Park III, and was cinematographer for the horror flick Route 666.

The editor for the film was Bob Murawski, who also cut the films Gone With The Pope, Army of Darkness, The Hurt Locker, and Drag Me To Hell, among others.

The musical score for From Dusk Till Dawn 2 was composed by Joseph Williams, who also provided music for The War At Home, Roswell, and Windfall.

The team of producers for Texas Blood Money included original From Dusk Till Dawn director and co-writers Robert Rodriguez (The Faculty, Sin City) and Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, Django Unchained, Kill Bill), Meir Teper (Crazy In Alabama, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape), Gianni Nunnari (The Departed, From Dusk Till Dawn), Michael Murphey (Dredd, Trick or Treat), Russell Markowitz (Wishmaster, Suicide Kings), Lawrence Bender (Intruder, Reservoir Dogs), and Elizabeth Avellan (The Faculty, Desperado).

The makeup effects crew for From Dusk Till Dawn 2 included Greg Nicotero (The Faculty, Scream, Maniac Cop 3), Chiz Hasegawa (Tremors 4, Scream 2), Howard Berger (Trancers, Intruder, Troll, Ghoulies), Kamar Bitar (Sin City, The Cell), Michael Deak (Pick Me Up, Demonic Toys, Arena, From Beyond, The Dentist), and Robert Kurtzman (It Follows, Intruder, The Faculty, Vampires, DeepStar Six).

fromdusktillsawntwo2The special effects for the film were provided by Mark Byers (Leprechaun 3, Epic Movie), Jason Collins (Firefly, Ghosts of Mars), Steven Ficke (Cellular, Snake Eyes), Chris Hanson (S. Darko, Vampires), Scott Kodrik (The Faculty, Mortal Kombat), Antony Stone (Jungleground), and Janek Zabielski (The Mangler, From Dusk Till Dawn 3).

The visual effects work for Texas Blood Money was done in part by Jamison Goei (Whiplash, Dracula 2000), Phillip Giles (The Prophecy, Guardians of the Galaxy), Gina Di Bari (Red Planet, Wishmaster), Dave Gregory (Contact, Poison Ivy), Eugene Jeong (Watchmen), Shant Jordan (Bats, Street Fighter), Laurel Klick (Wolfen, Mortal Kombat), and Patrick Perez (Stealth, 2012).

The cast for the film was made up of Robert Patrick (Terminator 2, The Faculty), Bo Hopkins (Midnight Express), Brett Harrelson (The People vs. Larry Flynt), Raymond Cruz (Breaking Bad), Danny Trejo (Machete, Desperado, Anaconda, Breaking Wind), James Parks (Red State, Death Proof), and Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, Maniac Cop, Maniac Cop 2).

fromdusktillsawntwo3Texas Blood Money was the second of three original movies in the From Dusk Till Dawn franchise, followed closely by The Hangman’s Daughter. The property has since been rebooted as a television series that started in 2014 on Robert Rodriguez’s El Ray network.

From Dusk Till Dawn 2 was reportedly made on a budget of $5 million, but ultimately went straight to video with no theatrical release. Reviews of the movie were overwhelmingly negative, raking in a 4.0 rating on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 9% from critics and 20% from general audiences.

Texas Blood Money is very slow to get started, which isn’t helped by the fact that the criminal set up in the first half isn’t nearly as compelling as the one from the original From Dusk Till Dawn. Even when the action does get going, it isn’t shot or paced particularly well, making the whole film feel much longer than it actually is.

The significant budget constraints on the production mean that the sets and effects look visibly much cheaper than the original film, but they don’t look awful for what they had to work with. The most distracting thing I noticed were the bats, which look really terrible depending on the scene. For instance, in the Psycho-esque shower scene, which is filmed in close confines, the bat looks nothing short of comical. However, in outdoor sequences, it doesn’t look nearly as bad.

fromdusktillsawntwo1A lot of the shots in Texas Blood Money strike me as if the director and cinematographer were trying a bit too hard to be original and artistic, which is sort of a unique problem for a horror movie. The problem is that many of the shots are distracting, and draw the audience’s eye away from the action. For instance, there are a few shots that are done from various obscured points of view, which while interesting, don’t serve much of a purpose. At worst, they are jarring enough to pull the audience out of an otherwise tense scene.

Overall, Texas Blood Money is disappointingly dull above all else. If there is anything that can be said of the original From Dusk Till Dawn, it is that it certainly wasn’t boring. Texas Blood Money totally missed that sense of fun that was captured so well with the original film, which turns it into a bit of a slog. Unless you are a die hard fan of the first movie, there’s not enough here to even justify a casual glance.