Incredibly Strange Blog That Stopped Living and Became Mixed-up Movie Reviews

The Sentinel is a Rosemary's Baby/The Exorcist take-off based on the book by Jeffrey Konvitz. Cristina Raines plays a fashion model who has been dating Chris Sarandon for two years. After her father dies, she goes through with her plan to live on her own for awhile before she considers marriage. She finds a fully-furnished, huge apartment with an amazing view in NYC on a tree-lined avenue for $400 a month. Now, right then, even in 1977, she should have known something was up. Just like with Amityville, you need to investigate those good deals before you put any money down. Regardless, she meets her new neighbors, all except for a reclusive priest who stares out of the uppermost apartment. After being plagued by noises in the vacant apartment above her and attending a bizarre party with the other tenants, she discovers that no one except for the priest lives in the building. She also starts to become very ill, and Chris Sarandon basically takes over the lead role as he tries to figure out what that apartment building is all about. The trailer actually gives pretty much everything away, but I won't here. It's an interesting idea and not a bad movie, but there's nothing too spectacular going on; it could have used more style which was mostly only evident in Cristina's hallucinations. Worth a look for the highlights below and the all-star cast: Martin Balsam, John Carradine, José Ferrer, Ava Gardner, Arthur Kennedy, Burgess Meredith, Sylvia Miles, Eli Wallach, Christopher Walken, Beverly D'Angelo, Tom Berenger, and Jeff Goldblum (with an overdubbed voice!). Some of them have only bit parts, but they give the movie an air of legitimacy. The director, Michael Winner, is probably best known for movies like Scorpio (1973) and Death Wish (1974). Some parts of the film that perhaps put the Catholic Church in an ambiguous light were changed for television airings.


 

Tagline: There must forever be a guardian at the gates of hell...

Hightlights: There was a scene in this film that made me scream--a creepy mute lesbian played by Beverly D'Angelo masturbating herself through her leotard to orgasm. Very unsettling. Actual human oddities were used as demons and devils in concluding scenes; a bit uncouth, but it has a definite effect. Great bit of gore where Cristina cuts up the face of her dead father's ghost. Some creepy imagery, but it is somewhat sparse compared to the mildly tedious mystery plot.

AKA Deliria; Aquarius; Bloody Bird; Sound Stage Massacre. Michele Soavi's first real theatrical film, Stagefright is a slasher movie with a tinge of Argento. The basic plot: an ex-actor maniac manages to find his way to a sounstage where a bunch of actors are rehearsing for a play about a maniac. When the actors find the wardrobe mistress killed, the police are called and stake out the outside, while the director plans on rehearsing all night and opening the show early to capitalize on the publicity. To ensure no one leaves, he gets an actress to lock the doors and hide the key. While rehearsing, the masked killer in the play gets replaced by the real killer, who kills (on stage no less, while being directed) the actress that hid the key. Stunned by what's just happened and trapped inside, the rest of the characters try to figure out how to survive long enough to find a way out. This movie rises above the slasher crop with stylish scenes, great shots, some semi-intelligent characters, actual foreshadowing that you barely notice, genuine tension and suspense, some fun gore and creative kills, and a subtle sense of humor throughout. One of the best slashers of the late eighties by far, and it would make a nice double-feature with Intruder, since it's also about employees trapped in their workplace while being slaughtered in interesting ways (I think Stagefright is the superior film).


 

Tagline: The theatre of death.

Highlights: The gore and the kills, of course. Nearly everything after the killing starts, but notably the inclusion of a gun in a slasher plot, the inclusion of a probably gay character in a slasher plot, the deadpan comic relief of the police officers outside, and the great, somewhat surreal second ending (you know, when you thought the Final Girl just might be safe). There's a lot of good stuff here, and I highly recommend it.

Jack Hill's sequel to his own Coffy ups the violence and the fun. Pam Grier plays Foxy Brown, one of blaxploitation's most resourceful heroes, as her man, Carter, is just about to be released from the hospital after plastic surgery done to hide his identity (and explain the new actor as well). Unfortunately, Foxy's brother Link, who's always getting into fixes, sells him out for 20 grand. After the inevitable, Foxy starts her long revenge, becoming a call girl for the villain herself, Kathryn Loder. After she's discovered, she's tortured and abused and shot up with heroin, but she escapes, madder and meaner than ever. Then she enacts a rather ambitious revenge, helped by some like-minded friends who are also intent on getting some real justice.

Jack Hill pulls off a fun crowd-pleaser that keeps you interested throughout and, of course, rooting for Foxy Brown. The production values are fine for the film and don't distract at all, and all of the performances are pretty good, even if they're pretty simple roles most of the time.


 

Tagline: Don't mess aroun' with Foxy Brown... She's the meanest chick in town! She's brown sugar and spice, but if you don't treat her nice... she'll put you on ice!

Highlights: Antonio Fargas, who played Foxy's brother in this one, but also played Doodlebug in Cleopatra Jones and Flyguy in I'm Gonna Get You, Sucka. The fight in the lesbian club. Foxy's makeshift coathanger claw. Where Foxy hides her gun. Death by airplane propeller.

AKA Amityville III: The Demon. Along with Friday the 13th and Jaws, the Amityville series jumped on the 3-D bandwagon of 1983. It's difficult to review those movies since they are usually not on video in 3-D because of the unique process used. I usually assume that it was a much more fun movie to see in the theaters with a big audience, so keep that in mind. Amityville 3-D starts off where the first movie left off. A skeptical reporter and his female partner expose some charlatans trying to exploit the house, and the reporter, enticed by the low selling price and confident in his skepticism, buys the house as his own. He never experiences any hauntings until the end, but his partner, the real estate agent, and his daughter all experience things with generally the same result. After his daughter dies in a boating accident behind the house, his wife goes a little nuts and a paranormal expert is called in for the finale. I'm probably not spoiling anything by saying that the house is destroyed at the end, giving a chance to showcase all sorts of special effects, some of which are a little too flashy and unnatural, and banishing any sequels from using the house directly.

While Amityville II used the camera to often represent the spirit's p.o.v., 3-D one-ups that by adding a fly-buzzing sound to signal the ghost's presence (as well as often using p.o.v.). However, we all know that flies buzzing is a really annoying sound, and I personally think it takes away from the creepiness to announce that type of thing all the time. However, the film does have an interesting discussion on whether or not we can ultimately say that one person's claimed experience is true or false in these areas (at least until the end proves the existence of the demon). Amityville 3-D was directed by Richard Fleischer, a Hollywood veteran pretty much known for effects films like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. David Ambrose was one of the writers, and he also did The Final Countdown earlier and D.A.R.Y.L. later.


 

Tagline: WARNING: in this movie you are the victim.

Hightlights: The daughter's death in the water while the mother was looking for her inside; the daughter walks in the door dripping wet and saying nothing while the mom follows her to the top floor. This prevents her from fully believing later that her daughter actually died, and it's a standout scene. Stars Meg Ryan in a very early role, as well as Candy Clark and Lori Loughlin. The whole what-is-reality theme in the film.

Amityville II: The Possession is very loosely based on the DeFeo murders which famously happened in the Amityville Horror house. More specifically, it's based on a book by Hans Holzer about the murders called "Murder in Amityville." Some strange disturbances were apparently experienced even at that time (prior to the more famous events), and it's definite that their family wasn't the happiest in the world since the son massacred the rest of them. This movie pretty much goes from there, theorizing that Ronald DeFeo ("Ronnie" in real life, "Sonny" in this movie) was possessed by whatever evil spirits lurked on the land. The movie itself seems like one hour of the Amityville Horror plus about forty minutes of the Exorcist at the end. Although generally reviled, this movie does have some pretty creepy scenes, even though occasionally it gets a little wacky. The icky incest subplot provides a genuine sense of strange corruption, as does the rather violent father. The movie tries somewhat successfully to mix two movies in one, as the film shifts dramatically after the actual murders, but I think for most people it is a pretty jarring shift from one formula to another. Personally, I found the movie to be enjoyable and creepy, even though most of the last forty minutes was pretty stale and the characters did not always do what I thought they should have (namely, get the heck away from that house). The director, Damiano Damiani (A Bullet for the General), came from Italian filmmaking, and Dardano Sachetti (Demons, Demons 2) did some uncredited work on the script. Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween III, Fright Night Part II, It) was the credited screenwriter.


 

Tagline: The night of February 5, 1976, George and Kathleen Lutz fled their home in Amityville, New York. They got out alive! Their living nightmare shocked audiences around the world in "The Amityville Horror." But before them, another family lived in this house and were caught by the original evil. They weren't so lucky... this is their story!

Highlights: Some pretty creepy imagery during the initial haunted house activity (especially Sonny's initial possession) and a little during the final exorcism. The demonic makeup effects, a good bit of the time. The shotgun killings of the family, including the little girl's leg twitching one last time from behind her bed. I was born two weeks before the Lutzes fled 112 Ocean Avenue, and I was brought home to my adoptive family on Friday the 13th (Feb. 1976). Creepy, huh?! :P

Advisor's picks:

These are in alphabetical order; my votes for the top ten kids' movies of all time (I decided to go with non-animated). Please comment with your favorites; I may have forgotten one that I would have otherwise included.

The Bad News Bears (1976)
A Christmas Story (1983)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Escape to Witch Mountain (1975)
Lucas (1986)
The Never-Ending Story (1984)
Something Wicked This Way Comes (1982)
Superman II (1980)
Time Bandits (1981)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)





bd's picks:

A Christmas Story (1983)
Explorers (1985)
The Goonies (1985)
The Last Unicorn (1982)
The Never Ending Story (1984)
The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Time Bandits (1981)
The Toy (1982)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)

AKA Halloween Party. Night of the Demons is a great late-eighties fx-heavy horror movie which is sort of a combination between Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and 5 and perhaps Demons and Demons 2, at least in the feel and look of the film. The plot of this one centers around a Halloween party at Hull House, an old funeral parlor that's been abandoned. The kids decide to hold a seance, but that brings forth the demons which infect various characters. As kids die, they invariably show up later in undead demon form, talking crazy. The film becomes more and more strange as it goes on, building an intensity as dawn, and safety, approaches.

The fx by Steve Johnson (fx on Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and also Linnea Quigley's ex-husband--they met on this film) are really a big highlight, but the direction by Kevin S. Tenney (who also did the great Witchboard) is also very professional. Some of the actors are perhaps the biggest drawback, but most of them do okay. Linnea Quigley does well as a rather unhinged demon. The movie was followed by two sequels, both with Angela, although it is unclear why the demons would choose to use that teen's body again rather than a fresh one. It's horror-movie logic, though, so who cares.


 

Tagline: Angela is having a party. Jason and Freddy are too scared to come... But You'll have a hell of a time.

Highlights: Linnea Quigley's use of lipstick and where she stores it. The gore effects. The scene enacted through cracked shards of a mirror. The eventual survivors.